CH 44

With identification from the little beggar, Ye Zhao very quickly expressed her professional judgment that the man was the murderer based on his moves, the weapon he’d used, his stature, and his physical strength.

The murderer was given special treatment and locked up in the imperial prison with officials accused of crimes or treason. The Minister of Justice, the city magistrate, and the prime minister all received orders that very night to conduct a secret investigation. Yin Qianwei, who claimed he could make the dead talk, tortured him until he wished for death and was ready to reveal everything, even the mistresses he had and the number of his illegitimate children.

This murderer wasn’t a native from the Central Plains, but a Semu, named Li La. He’d been in the Great Qin for many years, learning and perfecting his qinggong, making good use of his dagger. In certain circles, he was known as “Flying-Over-the-Grass.” He usually specialized in contract killing, robbery, and shady sexual dealings. A few days before, a rich customer found him and said that Master Li had swapped a counterfeit jasper tiger for his real one the previous year. Still resentful, he gave Li La a hundred taels of gold for the other’s life and promised another hundred after the job was done.

Li La should have taken care of it a long time ago, but he’d been engrossed with a new and very gentle prostitute on the Qin River, and the matter dragged on for a few days. Then, after the arrival of the Eastern Xia delegation, emergency measures were taken throughout the whole city and, to escape the authorities’ investigation, he covered up his tracks and framed someone else. But the person he’d framed turned out to be the prince of Nanping. The uproar it caused frightened him so much that he arranged to meet the middle-man under the willow tree across from Taihui Restaurant for the rest of the money, and prepared to escape. He hadn’t expected to meet Xia Yujin and his group, who’d come to dine out. His qinggong was useless against the general’s fierceness; he was beaten to a pulp there and then, arrested, and brought to justice.

The middle-man had either felt the change in the wind, planned to renege on their deal, or witnessed the chaotic situation; he had shown neither head nor tail. On the portrait drawn according to Li La’s description, he was a middle-aged man, who looked like a native from the Great Qin, neither fat nor thin, nor tall nor short, with a short beard. He was impossible to identify.

The officials in charge of the interrogation checked the information three times and confirmed the truth of his words with the Qin River prostitute. They felt wretched — this small, insignificant murder case was creating a conflict of interest. Why was the prime minister directly presiding over the trial?

So they threw Li La back to the city magistrate’s prison, sentenced him as the law allowed it, and left him to wait for the fall executions. Unfortunately, the harsh beating Ye Zhao gave him was intensified by Yin Qianwei’s treatment. He lost too much blood and died.

After the authorities found out this wasn’t a political case, they weren’t willing to waste money to give medical treatment to such scum. They left him there without a care, his injuries to worsen, and removed him the next morning.

Thus did the truth come out.

Xia Yujin was still bearing a grudge and refused to forgive Prince Yinuo. “So it really had nothing to do with the Eastern Xia delegation? What a coincidence!”

“We have an eyewitness living in the tree who clearly saw the murderer’s face that night,” Assistant Prefect Niu said indifferently. “You were there with me when he said he did. What kind of coincidence would that be, encountering a murderer by the side of the road?”

Refusing to give in, Xia Yujin tried to rope in his wife’s help. “Ah-Zhao, what do you think?”

“Huh?” Ye Zhao had been lost in thought. She turned around after being called several times and, once she’d heard their argument again, said in a low voice, “What if it has to do with him? What if it doesn’t? Without evidence, what’s the use of torturing a confession out of him? If the motive isn’t the jasper tiger, then do you know what the fake Master Li produced is? The Eastern Xia delegation arrived in the capital eight days ago, but Li La accepted the assignment fifteen days ago…”

“Maybe he was instructed to say this?” Xia Yujin said.

Ye Zhao shook her head. “I asked friends from the jianghu. They confirmed that he was Flying-over-the-Grass. He’s greedy, lecherous, mean, and immoral. How could such a man bear torture and die just to shield someone behind the scenes?”

There was nothing to be done. Despondent, Xia Yujin asked, “So it really has nothing to do with that bear?”

“It’s better that it doesn’t,” Ye Zhao muttered to herself in a weak and inaudible voice. “If this really is a scheme of his, it’ll be complicated. The Great Qin hasn’t recovered yet and the treasury is empty. We can’t raise troops.”

Seeing her so worried, Xia Yujin went to comfort her. “Don’t worry too much. To forge something, Master Li needed to have the original. Whether it be a military tally or an official’s seal, how could an important item change hands for days without anyone noticing? Besides, not everyone is as generous as I am when discovering they’ve been cheated and just beat him up a bit. If he encountered a petty person, they could very well have murdered him.”

The Eastern Xia delegation was about to leave. Even if she still harbored doubts, she couldn’t find evidence in such a short period of time.

Ye Zhao could only bury her concerns, smile and agree with him. She petitioned the Emperor to conduct a strict search of the Eastern Xia delegation as they left and to give the order to each of the officers stationed at the border between the Great Qin and Eastern Xia to train harder, consolidate their city walls, train new recruits, strengthen their defense, report the slightest whiff of trouble, and never let the slightest opportunity for the other party to get the better of them.

The Emperor allowed each demand.

When Xia Yujin opened the letter, he felt his whole body relax. He pulled his wife to go see the leaving of the bear, satisfied to see the group stand at the city gate as they were inspected and re-inspected. The only fly in the ointment was that his imperial uncle had told him again and again not to take advantage of their departure to torment them again.

Prince Yinuo freely allowed the officer at the gate to inspect his luggage. Aside from the gifts given by the Emperor — cloth, gold, and silver — as well as the porcelain, ironware, tea leaves, and other small knickknacks he’d bought himself, there was nothing special. Right as they were being let pass, the daughter of a merchant, who was in line to leave the city and only five or six years old, the age to jump about, started chasing and noisily playing with her older brother. She carelessly ran off without looking at the road, and bumped into Yinuo. The candied hawthorn she was holding fell off as she was herself thrown to the ground.

The little girl looked up, saw the man’s tall stature and his mean appearance, and started wailing.

The city officials rushed forward to drive her away.

Prince Yinuo squatted down, gently picked her and the candied hawthorn up, handed it back to her, and smiled at her. “Good girl,” he said, “don’t run around. Go back to eat your candy.”

The little girl saw that this brutal man was actually very gentle, so she stopped being scared. Hiding her hands behind her back, she seriously said, “Mom says, if something falls on the ground, you can’t eat it.”

Prince Yinuo was slightly taken aback.

“The child is used to being spoiled. Please forgive her, my lords.” The girl’s father came over running, gave his babbling daughter a slap, and dragged her back, incessantly apologizing to the officials.

Prince Yinuo threw the candied hawthorn aside. “No matter,” he said, smiling.

He stood up, looking at this child who was wearing cotton clothes, embroidered shoes, and beautiful small silk flowers in her hair, already looking away and clamoring for her father to buy some new candy. She probably didn’t know that this kind of life of eating their fill and wearing warm clothes was the dream of the overwhelming majority of children in Eastern Xia.

Eastern Xia was bitterly cold, and lived off animal husbandry. The royal family wasn’t wasteful. Common people spent seven or eight months a year gnawing on grass roots and eating animal hides; a family with a good iron pot at home wasn’t considered poor. Throughout his journey, he saw the vast regions of the Great Qin, its beautiful scenery, rich soil, its shops, showing off dazzling arrays of goods. There was no shortage of grain in the silos, people wore damask, gauze, and silk satin in the streets, and ate exotic delicacies. He was amazed by the piles of waste of banquet food.

RoyalFather, the powerless lambs of the Great Qin are living happily, while the eagles of Eastern Xia are beset by hunger and cold.

But we won’t always live like this.

Take it away. We’ll take it all away.

He would lead those eagles to spread their wings into the Central Plains and drive out this pampered herd of lambs, reduce them into slavery, and let experience the days of eating grass roots while the people of Eastern Xia took over those fertile lands and lived in prosperity. The children of Eastern Xia would wear brand-new cotton clothes and embroidered shoes, hold candied hawthorn, and live a life sweeter than honey.

The city gate opened wide. The city official respectfully invited the Eastern Xia delegation to start on their journey back home.

Prince Yinuo turned his head and looked back at the bustling streets and the lofty palaces he was reluctant to part with. Over the wall of the city, a black cloak flapped in the wind, wrapped around a perfectly straight figure. It was Ye Zhao, this uncommon she-wolf of the Great Qin, who wasn’t matched with a wolf of her own but a delicate little lamb. Thinking of his silly and childish behavior, Prince Yinuo shook his head, and couldn’t hold back a chuckle. He clenched his fists, fingernails cutting his skin deeply, containing his desire and eagerness, the shout that almost tore out of his throat.

Farewell, flourishing Great Qin.

But we’ll come back, and become the masters of this place.

The sky was a little overcast. Ye Zhao, uneasy, watched the convoy of the Eastern Xia delegation slowly walk away.

“Don’t worry,” Xia Yujin said happily. “If the sky falls, it’s not your responsibility. It could be nothing at all, and just that you’re worrying blindly. The Emperor and his ministers were the ones who allowed them to go, so if anything happens, it won’t be your fault. There’s no use overthinking it now. You should focus on the future and make sure you’re ready.”

Ye Zhao smiled faintly. “You’re right.”

A soldier’s responsibility was to fight, even to the price of his life, whether it be against invaders or at times of unrest. As long as she received no special order, her duty was to organize and train the troops. As for the rest, it was the responsibility of the Emperor and his other counselors. She was a general at the service of the defense of the country, with power and status. She couldn’t intervene in the governing of the country.

Later, she would write a letter to General Liu at the border. He was highly competent, had a good moral standing and reputation, controlled fifty thousand well-trained elite troops, and would not underestimate the enemy. She expected that even if Eastern Xia came calling, they would not be able to cross the natural stronghold of Jiaxing Pass.

“That’s right!” Xia Yujin casually held her shoulder. Eastern Xia’s dog of a prince wasn’t worth caring about. Now that the big event was over with, there were more important matters to focus on. He laughed evilly, then uncompromisingly suggested, “Ah-Zhao, today’s a happy day. It’s worth celebrating.”

Ye Zhao, mind still immersed in military affairs, didn’t react for a while. “What’s there to celebrate?”

“That obnoxious bastard’s gone, the truth about Master Li’s death has been revealed, and the burden on my shoulders has been lifted. Let’s go home and celebrate with a drink.”

“Drink?” Ye Zhao suspiciously glanced at him.

“It’s my own house, I’m not afraid of humiliation,” Xia Yujin said. He lifted his hand and swore, “I just want to drink with you and rejoice, nothing else!” Except for touching his wife’s beautiful slender waist and long legs, he promised he wouldn’t do anything!