The news that Jiang Hongjin had offered a high reward quickly spread throughout Luoyang City. Naturally, Yang Duoming also got wind of it, ...
The news that Jiang Hongjin had offered a high reward quickly spread throughout Luoyang City. Naturally, Yang Duoming also got wind of it, and his brows immediately knitted tightly.
Yan Xi said, "There are plenty of people who care more about money than their lives, Big Brother. I think this place is no longer safe. We have to think of a way to leave the city."
Yang Duoming replied, "Mm, we'll leave the city now. But before leaving, we need to make some changes." If they went out looking the way they originally did, Yan Xi would definitely be recognised.
Two shichen1 later, Yang Duoming left Luoyang by carriage. When they passed through the city gate, the soldiers checked Yang Duoming's household registration and travel permit and found nothing wrong with those documents. The officer stated, "Ten taels of silver per person."
Yang Duoming was extremely shocked. "Mr Officer, why do we have to pay money just to leave the city?" However, he was inwardly cursing: these dog-like scum were actually taking the opportunity to extort money.
The officer responded impatiently: "What are you whining about? If you don't pay, don't even think about leaving the city." Such a rare opportunity was hard to pass up; how could he not take advantage of it?
Yang Duoming pleaded, "I don't have that much money on me. Could you take a little less?" After saying this, he took the purse from his sleeve and handed it to the officer.
The officer accepted the silver, but his eyes fell on the jade pendant at Yang Duoming's waist. "If you don't have enough money, you can use that jade pendant to make up the difference."
Yang Duoming reflexively grabbed the jade pendant at his waist and protested, "No, this jade pendant is very important to me. I can't give it to you." To the officer, the pendant appeared to be of good quality and likely worth some silver.
The officer didn't have such a good temper to begin with. He snapped, "If you won't give it to me, then get lost! As if I care about that lousy piece of jade of yours." Even after saying this, his eyes remained fixed on that jade pendant.
Yan Xi, who was disguised as the carriage driver, walked over with his back hunched and reminded Yang Duoming in a lowered voice, "Young Master, we cannot afford any delay regarding the Old Master's condition! If you don't hurry, you may not be able to see him one last time."
Yang Duoming looked deeply conflicted. In the end, he still could not bear to part with the jade pendant. Instead, he pulled the green bamboo hairpin out of his hair and handed it to the officer. "This hairpin was carved from fine green jade. I bought it for eighty taels of silver back then."
After hearing the carriage driver's words, the officer accepted the jade hairpin and said, "The jade pendant." If Yang Duoming still did not hand it over, he would not let them pass. In any case, it was this frail scholar who was in a hurry, not him.
Yang Duoming was so angry that his face turned red, but no matter how angry he was, he still retained some clarity of thought. "This was given to me by my fiancée. I can't give it to you."
The officer retorted, "Is a woman more important than your father? Weigh it yourself!" This officer was openly extorting money, yet no one nearby who wanted to leave the city dared to speak up.
Yang Duoming's whole body began to tremble, but in the end, he gritted his teeth and handed the jade pendant at his waist to the officer. "Can you let us go now?"
At that moment, a low-ranking leader guarding the city approached the officer and instructed, "Return that silver to him!" Seeing that the officer was clutching the silver and would not let go, the low-ranking leader continued, "Don't take things to the extreme. Always leave one line when conducting yourself and handling matters2." If one did things too excessively, retribution would come sooner or later.
It was only after hearing this that the officer handed the purse back to Yang Duoming. "Hurry up and go."
Yang Duoming boarded the carriage with a face full of grief and indignation. Unfortunately, these officers were the sort who could peel off a layer of your skin3 even if you had no money. No matter how grief-stricken he was, they would not sympathise with him.
That officer held up the jade pendant in his hand and said to the low-ranking leader, "This jade pendant has to be worth at least two or three hundred taels of silver!"
After travelling more than twenty li4, Yan Xi turned his head towards Yang Duoming inside the carriage and commented, "Big Brother, your acting just now looked exactly real." Ever since he began doing intelligence work, Yang Duoming had specifically studied people skilled in disguise. However, after all this time, he had only learned a bit of fur and hair5 of it.
This time, the two of them were able to pass through smoothly, firstly because Yang Duoming acted very convincingly, and secondly because the officers were not that interested in catching the so-called murderer; they only wanted to scoop up oily water6 as much as possible. Otherwise, with Yang Duoming's meagre disguise skills, he would still have been very easily exposed.
Yang Duoming replied, "Enough nonsense. Hurry up and go." He had been acting in his true colours7. So naturally, it was no different from the real thing.
Back then, when Yang Duoming's family suddenly suffered a drastic change, he endured a great deal of hardship at the hands of such officers. It was only because of his firm and resilient nature that he survived; otherwise, they would have driven him to death long ago.
Five days later, Yang Duoming and Yan Xi returned to Haocheng. Instead of going home, Yang Duoming went straight to the Yun residence to inform Yuxi about Jiang Hongjin's disfigurement.
After Yuxi had finished listening, she fell silent for a moment before saying, "There is no need to mention this matter again in the future." In her previous life, when she had ended up with not even her corpse or bones remaining8, the chief culprit had been Jiang Hongjin. Still, she herself had also borne responsibility. She had been too weak and cowardly back then. If she had possessed half of Yurong's fierceness, she would not have fallen into such a tragic situation, let alone in her current state of ability and mind. Now that Jiang Hongjin was impotent and disfigured, it could be considered repayment of the debt he owed her. As for whether he would be good or bad in the future, she would no longer pay any attention to it.
Yang Duoming thought to himself that her decision was just as he had expected. "Wangfei, hiring people this time costs eight thousand taels of silver." It was also because Jiang Hongjin's status was special that the asking price had been so high.
Yuxi responded, "It has been spent, so let it be. How is the situation in Luoyang?" Since she had other plans, she now had to start making them.
Yang Duoming shook his head. "Very bad. From last winter until the first lunar month, more than six hundred people in Luoyang City either froze or starved to death. The authorities concealed this news and did not report it." In a peaceful world, even more than ten people freezing or starving to death would be a major matter.
Yuxi remembered that Yun Qing had previously said that over a thousand people had also died in the same way in Cangzhou, and her brows furrowed tightly.
After a moment's thought, Yang Duoming told her what had happened when he left the city. "Those officers are actually no different from bandits." If the upper beam were crooked, the lower beam would be crooked too9. For these officers to dare squeeze money so brazenly from passing travellers, their superiors must have permitted it; they might even be sharing the spoils.
Yuxi sighed softly. "If even Luoyang City is like this, other places must be even worse." Although Luoyang was not the provincial capital of Henan, its economy was very prosperous, on a par with Haocheng's.
Yang Duoming remarked, "The situation in the northwest the year before last was about the same as that in Hebei. It is also thanks to Wangye and Wangfei that the common people of the northwest enjoy the good days they have now." He said these words with complete sincerity.
After pondering for a while, Yuxi said, "We have more or less figured out the situation here in the northwest, and with the Surveillance Commission present, there should not be any major problems. On the other hand, we truly know very little about the situation in Shaanxi, Henan, and Hubei. You have also been to Luoyang twice, so you can be considered familiar with that area. I want to send you to Henan. Are you willing?" She wanted Yang Duoming to gather intelligence on every aspect of the situation in Henan.
Yang Duoming was first stunned, then became wildly delighted. However, in order to confirm his guess, he asked, "May I ask what situation Wangfei wishes to know about in Henan?"
Without even thinking, Yuxi replied, "Everything." After pausing, she added, "Qingluo is pregnant. Stay in Haocheng for a while and spend some time with her." Not long after Yang Duoming left for Henan, Fu Qingluo discovered that she was pregnant, but it was a high-risk pregnancy. Momo Quan's medicinal meals were said to be effective and also had a great reputation outside. For the sake of the child she was carrying, Fu Qingluo came to ask Yuxi for help, which was why Yuxi knew she was pregnant.
Yang Duoming's face was full of smiles as he said, "Wangfei, if there is nothing else, I will return to my residence first." The loss of their previous child had left the couple with an unforgettable pain.
Yuxi smiled. "Then hurry back!" A man who loved his wife and child could make others feel more at ease.
After Yang Duoming left, Yuxi lowered her head again and attended to other government business. It was now the second lunar month and spring ploughing was about to begin, so there was much to prepare. In addition, the matters of water conservancy projects and road construction were already keeping her busy.
Around dusk, Yun Qing returned, but his expression did not look very good.
Yuxi walked forward, took off his cloak, and asked with a smile, "What had happened to make your face stiff like a board10?"
Yun Qing shook his head. "It's just some messy matters in the army. Let's not talk about it. Let's eat!" He didn't want to tell Yuxi about them in case they put her in a bad mood.
Yuxi smiled and said, "No matter what they are, there'll always be a way to resolve them. There's no need to be angry." If it were only a military matter, Yun Qing would definitely tell her. Since he wouldn't tell her about it, this matter was probably related to her. However, as Yun Qing clearly did not want to speak of it, Yuxi did not ask any more questions.
The next day, Yuxi asked Xu Wu, "Yesterday, Wangye said that something bad had happened in the army. What was it?" As Xu Wu was in charge of intelligence work, he was bound to know about it.
Seeing that Yuxi had asked, Xu Wu did not conceal the information. "Xiao Yongchang went to Wangye to lodge a complaint, saying that Han Daren11 relied on Wangfei's power to pursue private gain through public authority and treated human lives as if they were grass."
When Yuxi heard the name Xiao Yongchang, she thought for a moment and asked, "Is this the same Xiao Yongchang as Yuan Ying's wife's younger brother?" Seeing Xu Wu nod, Yuxi smiled and inquired, "Could there be some misunderstanding in this?" Han Jianming was rather tactful in dealing with people and usually avoided offending others. With Yuxi present, no one would be so blind as to make things difficult for Han Jianming in official matters and thereby form a grudge with him. As for Xiao Yongchang, he had no direct dealings with her Dage, either publicly or privately.
Xu Wu shook his head. "Xiao Yongchang is very brave in battle, but his brain is missing a tendon12. This time, his concubine's tangge13 committed an offence and was sentenced by Han Daren11 to twenty years. In the next two days, he will be sent to Linzhou to clear land. His concubine blew pillow wind14 into Xiao Yongchang's ear, and without investigating the matter at all, he ran to Wangye's side and started making a fuss about it. He even said in front of quite a few people that Wangfei was shielding her maiden family." Even if he wanted to stand up for his concubine, a person with a normal brain would first investigate the matter thoroughly.
During the first part of the conversation, Yuxi's expression remained as usual. However, when she heard the latter part, she smiled and remarked, "It seems many people are dissatisfied with me taking charge of governance."
After some thought, Xu Wu remarked, "Wangfei, that Xiao Yongchang is just someone without brains. You shouldn't lower yourself to argue with him."
Yuxi raised her head and stared at Xu Wu. "Are you very close to him?" Seeing Xu Wu shake his head, Yuxi smiled and asked, "Since you have no particular relationship with him, why are you speaking on his behalf?"
Xu Wu replied, "If this matter blows up, it won't be good for you, Wangfei." In fact, some people in the army had strong opinions about Yuxi taking charge of governance, but Yun Qing had suppressed their views. If this matter became public knowledge, those people would probably use it to attack Yuxi.
Yuxi smiled and responded, "I act uprightly and sit straight; what is there to be afraid of? Besides, if I were afraid of those flowing words and flying speech15, I would have been gone long ago. How could I have lived until today?"
Xu Wu nodded.
Yuxi continued, "Since he has made trouble until it reaches Wangye's presence16, let Wangye resolve it!" She would not step over the sacrificial stand and take the cook's place17.
Footnotes Full List
- 时辰 (shíchen) — 2 hours
- 做人做事留一线 (zuò rén zuò shì liú yí xiàn) — leave some leeway; don't push people too far.
- 剥你一层皮 (bō nǐ yì céng pí) — means 'to exploit someone harshly/squeeze someone dry'.
- 里 (lǐ) — ancient measure of length, approx. 500 m
- 学了点皮毛 (xué le diǎn pímáo) — only learned the basics/superficial knowledge.
- 捞油水 (lāo yóushuǐ) — to get illicit benefits/make corrupt profits
- 本色出演 (běnsè chūyǎn) — literally 'performing in one's true colours'; means 'acting naturally because the role matches one's real experience/personality'.
- 尸骨无存 (shī gǔ wú cún) — to die so completely/miserably that nothing is left
- 上梁不正下梁歪 (shàng liáng bú zhèng xià liáng wāi) — if superiors are corrupt, subordinates will follow.
- 板着一张脸 (bǎn zhe yì zhāng liǎn) — literally 'holding one's face stiff like a board'; means 'to look stern/sullen'.
- 大人 (dàren) — title of respect toward superiors
- 脑子缺根筋 (nǎozi quē gēn jīn) — not very bright/lacking sense
- 堂哥 (táng gē) — paternal older male cousin
- 吹枕头风 (chuī zhěntou fēng) — to influence someone through intimate pillow talk, usually a spouse or lover
- 流言蜚语 (liú yán fēi yǔ) — rumours and slander
- 闹到……面前 (nào dào… miànqián) — to bring/escalate a matter before someone
- 越俎代庖 (yuè zǔ dài páo) — to exceed one's duties and interfere in someone else's responsibilities
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