When the authorities were truly willing to put in the effort to resolve an issue, they were very efficient. Sure enough, two days later, ...
When the authorities were truly willing to put in the effort to resolve an issue, they were very efficient. Sure enough, two days later, portraits of Yan Xi were plastered all over the streets and alleys. Official government portraits were usually not very accurate. Capturing forty or fifty per cent of the likeness was considered quite good. This portrait resembled Yan Xi himself by about fifty per cent.
That evening, Yan Xi followed Yang Duoming to look at the portrait on the wall under the moonlight. He laughed and commented, "Big Brother, this portrait actually looks quite a bit like me, doesn't it?" This time, it was Yan Xi who had personally come forward and paid people to deal with Jiang Hongjin, which was also why he was wanted.
Yang Duoming looked at the portrait and said, "Let's go back." With this portrait around, if Yan Xi showed himself in public, he would definitely be caught very quickly.
After returning to their lodgings, Yang Duoming advised, "For the time being, stay at home and don't go anywhere. I'll handle the matters outside."
Yan Xi suggested, "Big Brother, we can just leave Luoyang City and return to the northwest." As long as they returned to the northwest, why should they fear the Prefect of Luoyang?
Yang Duoming responded, "Inspections are extremely strict right now. Going back to the northwest would actually be more dangerous. Besides, I still need to confirm Jiang Hongjin's injuries."
Yan Xi said, "Then Big Brother, you must stay safe." These trash fragments1 of government, when common people were robbed or killed, they couldn't solve the case even after half a year or a whole year. Yet when Jiang Hongjin was attacked, the local authority immediately put the entire city under lockdown.
Yang Duoming went alone to a teahouse to drink tea. He had not been seated for long when he overheard the people at the neighbouring table discussing Jiang Hongjin's attack in hushed tones.
A man with shifty eyes and a body as skinny as a bamboo pole leaned in close and whispered, "Did you hear? They say that Tongzhi2 Jiang had his face slashed by bandits. The wound stretched from his forehead all the way to his neck, and the blood covered the ground. It was terrifying."
Yang Duoming, sitting nearby, heard these words with perfect clarity.
The man sitting together with the bamboo-pole-thin fellow had a black mole beneath the corner of his mouth. The mole-faced man was greatly startled and wondered aloud, "Just who did Tongzhi2 Jiang offend to end up being disfigured like this?"
The bamboo-pole-thin man responded, "Exactly! Once someone's disfigured, he can't continue being an official anymore. I heard this Tongzhi2 Jiang is the youngest son of the Minister of Revenue. Who knows how this matter will eventually be settled?" From these words, it was clear that the skinny man had a well-informed network of contacts.
The mole-faced man exclaimed, "No wonder! No wonder the entire city of Luoyang is filled with the sound of the wind and the cry of cranes3. It turns out he's the son of the Minister of Revenue!"
The two muttered to each other for quite a while. Only when three constables carrying large sabres walked in did they finally stop talking.
Today, Yang Duoming was dressed in a light blue, long, round-collared robe, with his hair wrapped in a silk square scarf of the same colour. This outfit gave him a refined and scholarly appearance. Combined with his gentle features, the constables merely glanced at him and moved on. A scholar who looked as weak as he was not considered a suspect by the officers.
One of the constables walked towards a table in the corner, where several burly, rough-looking men were seated. The constable said fiercely, "Come with us." These men did not look like good people at all.
The people at that table did not recognise the constable's authority. A hot-tempered man immediately shouted angrily, "What right do you have to make us go with you? Who do you think you are?" Clearly, this group had some sort of status or backing, too.
Seeing the conflict break out, the two people seated beside Yang Duoming ran off without paying for their tea, fearing they would be implicated. Seeing this, the others also got up and left. Naturally, Yang Duoming left the teahouse with the crowd.
Yang Duoming did not go far either; he simply waited on the street outside. Soon, he saw the constables escorting a group of people out of the teahouse, heading towards the government office.
Only once the group had gone far away did Yang Duoming return to the teahouse. He took money out of his sleeve and handed it to the shopkeeper. "I didn't pay for the tea just now." This confession meant that he had come back to pay for his tea.
While the shopkeeper was giving him change, Yang Duoming inquired, "Shopkeeper, what happened in Luoyang City?" Yang Duoming spoke fluent official speech, so it would not easily arouse suspicion.
Hearing Yang Duoming speak fluent official speech, the shopkeeper asked him back, "Dear customer, where are you from? Such a major incident has happened, and you haven't actually heard about it?"
Yang Duoming replied, "I came from the prefectural city and only arrived today." He spoke fluent official speech, and all scholars liked to speak this way, as though only by doing so could they show how different they were from others. Therefore, when Yang Duoming said he had come from the prefectural city, it would not arouse any suspicion.
Seeing that Yang Duoming looked refined and scholarly, and that he had also taken the initiative to come back and pay for his tea, the shopkeeper immediately said a few extra words: "They say that Jiang Daren, the tongzhi2, was attacked by bandits. In order to track down the culprit, the authorities are arresting people everywhere. Anyone who resembles that bandit has been taken to the government office. Seeing that you are a scholar, dear customer, it would be best not to wander around too much lately, so as to avoid getting involved in trouble." Yang Duoming and Yan Xi looked absolutely nothing alike, so there was no risk of a mix-up.
Yang Duoming put on a shocked expression and gasped, "What? That bandit is far too bold, actually daring to come to Luoyang City to attack Tongzhi2 Daren?"
The teahouse waiter leaned over and said in a conspiratorial tone, "Exactly! I heard that bandit slashed Tongzhi2 Daren's face." After saying that, he even made a gesture to illustrate this, drawing from his forehead down to the corner of his mouth. "I heard the scar is this long!"
The shopkeeper scolded the waiter, "Go do your work. What are you doing, chewing the root of your tongue4 here? Be careful; disaster can also come out from the mouth5." If the waiter caused any trouble, the shopkeeper would also be implicated.
When Yan Xi learned that Jiang Hongjin had a facial injury running from his forehead to his neck, he immediately let out a strange chuckle and clicked his tongue. "The wife of the person who did it must have been seduced and taken away by some little white face6. Otherwise, he wouldn't have slashed someone else's face." They had only instructed the bandits to break Jiang Hongjin's arms and legs, not to disfigure him. That was why Yan Xi made such a guess.
Yang Duoming remarked, "Regardless of the reason, if the rumours outside are true, then our goal has been achieved." Once Jiang Hongjin had been disfigured, he could no longer serve as an official.
Yan Xi pointed out, "After this incident, Jiang Hongjin will definitely return to the capital. Even if we want to deal with him again in the future, we won't have the chance." Making a move in the capital would not be as convenient as doing it in Luoyang, and it would be even riskier.
Trusting his intuition, Yang Duoming said, "I suspect there will be no need for us to deal with him again in the future." Given Wangfei's temperament, she would never spend a large amount of manpower and money to deal with Jiang Hongjin. Moreover, if she were to send them to the capital, Wangye would definitely be alarmed. As far as he knew, Wangfei seemed not to want Wangye to know about this matter.
Yan Xi had been thinking about one matter these past few days, but no matter how he thought about it, he could not figure it out. "Big Brother, tell me, what deep hatred does Wangfei have with this Jiang Hongjin?"
Yang Duoming replied coldly, "I already said this matter ends here. Don't mention it again in the future." He had promised Wangfei that he would not let a third person know about this matter. If she found out that he had leaked the secret, who knew what would happen!
Yan Xi lightly touched his mouth before promising, "Once we return to the northwest, I promise I won't say even a single word, all right?" He simply could not believe that Big Brother was not curious.
Meanwhile, inside the tongzhi2's residence, dark clouds hung heavily over everything. Because Jiang Hongjin had been disfigured, ever since waking up from his injury, he had stayed in the study, refusing to go out. Yurong had been so shocked that it had affected her pregnancy, so at that moment, she was lying in bed to protect the fetus.
Jiang Hongjin looked at Changming as he walked in and asked, "Have you still not caught that bandit?" Yan Xi looked especially fierce and burly, so Jiang Hongjin was sure that there must definitely be someone behind him.
Changming shook his head. "No, but Prefect Daren has already ordered a strict, thorough investigation and sealed the city gates. As long as that person is still in Luoyang City, he will definitely be caught." However, Luoyang City was so large that if someone deliberately hid themselves, it would be impossible to find them.
Jiang Hongjin's eyes were cold as he said, "If we cannot catch that bandit within these few days, then catching him later will be extremely difficult. Pass on my words: anyone who can provide useful clues will receive a reward of one hundred taels of silver. Anyone who can assist in capturing the criminal will receive five thousand taels of silver as a thank you from me personally."
Changming opened his mouth, just about to say that making such a big move would attract too much attention. But seeing the hatred bursting from Jiang Hongjin's eyes, he swallowed all those words back down.
That day, Jiang Hongjin left the study for the first time. First, he went to visit Chang'an, who had already woken up. Compared to Jiang Hongjin, Chang'an was in a much worse state: he had been beaten so badly that he had vomited blood. Fortunately, the physician said that Chang'an had no vital organs damaged.
Looking at the white gauze covering Jiang Hongjin's face, Chang'an cried out in grief, "Second Master, this servant has wronged you! This servant failed to protect Second Master!"
Jiang Hongjin replied, "This is not your fault." The biggest problem in this matter lay with him. He had expected the person to act as they had last time, lurking in the shadows. However, he had not anticipated that they would have courage so great that it wrapped around the sky7 to hire someone to harm him. Growth required paying a price, and this time, the price he had paid was high.
Chang'an broke down and started to sob.
Jiang Hongjin said, "Don't think too much about it. Just focus on recovering from your injuries!" Having said this, he turned and left. Instead of returning to the study, he went to the rear courtyard.
After entering the bedroom, Jiang Hongjin looked at Yurong, whose complexion was somewhat pale. He sat down and took her hands in his. "My injury has frightened you and our child."
Faced with Jiang Hongjin's gentleness, Yurong felt uncharacteristically flustered. "I'm fine. Rather, Second Master, what do you plan to do about this incident?" However, as she had already been worried about this, when the news of Jiang Hongjin's injury reached the rear courtyard, Yurong was indeed somewhat frightened, but her pregnancy was not actually affected. The so-called pregnancy scare was something Yurong had deliberately done.
Jiang Hongjin said, "I will definitely tear that person into ten thousand pieces." His words were filled with overwhelming hatred. Anyone who had suffered such a vicious attack would hate the other party to the bone.
Yurong said, "Second Master, the most urgent matter right now is your facial injury. The physicians in Luoyang certainly don't have the same medical skills as the Imperial Physicians in the capital. If possible, you should return to the capital for treatment!" Yurong was very worried that Jiang Hongjin's face would be scarred, which would mean he could no longer serve as an official. If that happened, his life would hold no real prospects.
Jiang Hongjin said, "I know how to handle this matter. Just take good care of yourself!" Even if he was going to return to the capital, he still had to find out who was behind this attack. Having been harmed to such an extent, how could he possibly return to the capital if he did not even know who his enemy was?
Yurong looked at Jiang Hongjin's retreating figure with a sorrowful expression. The successive upheavals had clearly already brought about a significant change in his temperament, and she had no idea what the future would bring.
Footnotes Full List
- 渣碎 (zhā suì): scum; worthless people. An insulting slang term.
- 同知 (tóngzhī): government sub-prefect (old)
- 风声鹤唳 (fēng shēng hè lì): extreme nervousness and panic, in which people become frightened by every little sound
- 嚼舌根头 (jiáo shé gēn tou): to gossip or talk idly about others.
- 祸从口出 (huò cóng kǒu chū): careless speech can bring trouble.
- 小白脸 (xiǎo bái liǎn): a pretty but often weak or morally dubious young man; sometimes implies a kept man or seductive pretty boy.
- 胆大包天 (dǎn dà bāo tiān): extremely bold; audacious to the point of recklessness.
COMMENTS