Chapter 17

I'm silent for time. "Where is that man's sister now?" I ask gloomily.

Yao Jinzi’s eyes are mocking as he says, “Rest assured, you’ve already snuffed out anyone who could talk. She and the original caretaker of that property are dead. Now the only ones who know are you, me, and those who work the fields.”

My eyes narrow. "Hong Feng doesn't know? And I trusted you before?"

His ridiculing look grows even more intense. “You’re fond of ordering me around in bed and never kept any despicable affairs from me, since I’m already a dead person in your eyes and you’d kill me sooner or later.”

I noticed his seemingly indifferent tone and expression, saw the deeply hidden shadows in his eyes, knew that he was recalling the unpleasant memories from before when Zhang Qinglian tormented and humiliated him, and felt the softest part of my heart stir.

My eyes soften. I spoke in a low voice, “Jinzi, I won’t kill you. No matter what you might do later, I won’t kill you.”

Yao Jinzi stared at me with a cauterizing gaze, then suddenly huffed bitterly, not looking at me or saying anything.

At this moment, the carriage abruptly came to a stop. Xiao Lu squeezed in and said, “Sir, Sir Gao’s eunuch has come to invite you over."

Gao Yushu is sneakily inviting me to the house of escorts from last time. I reckon there’ll be some corrupt scheming in that secluded place, so of course I must be there for something so important.

I told Xiao Lu and the coachman to wait outside before I went in with Jinzi.

Lan Guan came over to greet me and saw that I wasn’t smiling or talking. “Sir Zhang, long time no see! Xiao Yun missed you so much, he wasn’t willing to see other guests!”

The mention of that Yuan Qingyun guy makes all the hairs on my body stand up. “Thank you for your trouble, Proprietor Lan, ” I say quickly, “but I have business today, no need to ask him over!”

Lan Guan smiled and said, "Sir Gao already did so." This is the first time I’ve seen a man take affectations and gestures so similar to a woman yet actually be more charming than a woman, as if he’d been acting as one in theatre for many years, [1] and it’s rare that I wouldn’t be weirded out by such a thing. No wonder Gao Yushu’s infatuated with him.

When we entered the private room, there were already three people in it, and out of those I only knew Gao Yushu. One is young, probably around 30, with beautiful clothes and a very handsome face – this is likely that one son-in-law. The other is a middle-aged man of over fifty years of age with an shamefully large belly that’s plump off of prosperity and a face full of worry – this should be provincial governor Cui Yu, then.

They stood up to greet me upon seeing me come in, but suddenly stopped when they saw Yao Jinzi behind me.

Stupefaction skimmed past Cui Yu’s face. “It turned out to be you, young mister Yao.” [2]

The son-in-law didn’t overstep his bounds and look over at Gao Yushu,

but his awkard expression is completely obvious. It can be assumed that he and Yao Jinzi had a bit of a friendly relationship before.

Yao Jinzi did a barely noticeable nod towards Cui Yu in what might be considered a greeting.

Gao Yushu is also very awkward, but that’s because he doesn’t think Yao Jinzi should be trusted and I shouldn’t have brought him here.

Jinzi spoke with a blank look, “Sir, I’ll be waiting outside the door.”

I’m feeling a bit aggravated. I didn’t raise my voice, but I did raise its frostiness. “Not necessary. You’ll stay here.”

After that, I firmly grabbed Jinzi’s hand and gave the group a sweet smile. “Jinzi is my bodyguard now. You all don’t need to keep any of your words from him.”

The three people can’t help but fix their gazes on my hand holding Jinzi’s. Cui Yu and Gao Yushu very casually turned their eyes away, and the son-in-law coughed in embarrassment.

Everyone begins to discuss the main issue. Observing with diligence, I found that each person had a different attitude. Cui Yu is worried about himself. Gao Yushu’s priorities are to defend himself first, and try as much as possible not to lose this right-hand man from the Cui family second. The son-in-law is obviously doing this for his cousin and his “human duck” incident. There’s a few points of disagreement; everyone has their own goals, after all, and they can’t be unbiased.

I recalled the information that I’d previously crammed into my brain: The son-in-law’s surname is Xue. Following the general’s founding of the country, it had skilled horseback archers, an outstanding outward appearance, and its only princess was still there at the age of seventeen. I couldn’t place this well-behaved son-in-law into a position of power, so I simply placed him in charge of fairly high quality royal guards, cavalry, and so on; only about 8,000 of them were appointed three years ago. This imperial army is not one that would be considered a shining example of heroism. It’s almost entirely composed of the children of high-class, land-owning families, eating up government funding and raking in excellent pay despite the fact that it isn’t likely they’ll ever see the battlefield, each and every one of them sporting loud clothes and energetic horses. Quite a few of them had familial backgrounds in military going back generations, so while their individual strength wasn’t weak, they could be said to completely lack martial discipline.

However, these people are a significant political force. Zhang Qinglian and the son-in-law have a good relationship, so he could use him to curb Weiqi’s influence in the capital.

I can see that even though son-in-law Xue is 30-ish years old, he’s been treated like a prince with his life sailing along smoothly and is not at all accustomed to the shadiness of politics. A lot of his thoughts can be seen plainly on his face.

He is very warm towards me, and obviously also unaccustomed to currying favor with others, doing so in a heavy-handed manner. 80% of the time his sights are on me, saying things like “has Qinglian been feeling well these days?” and “Sir Zhang’s tea has gone cold, quickly bring him a fresh cup.” I was starting to suspect that he and Zhang Qinglian might have had an affair, but that’s looking to not be the case. When Lan Guan came to offer tea, he looked faintly repulsed, and generally doesn’t feel at ease here. It seems as if he’s very disgusted with this partaking of homosexuality.

Yeah, this is a lot to chew on.

Gao Yushu says, “Things having reached this point, the first things I’ll have to investigate is the identity of the “human duck”, the officials who accepted bribes, and…” he glances at Cui Yu, “the depth of the Cui family’s interference.”

Nothing is said for a moment.

I care about the first point, Gao Yushu cares about the second point, and Cui Yu cares about the third point. The son-in-law looks at me.

The two old foxes aren’t willing to speak first, so I have to bite the bullet. “Linxi, the Ministry of Justice’s officials are involved in this. You must find them out and deal with them harshly."

Gao Yushu stared a bit, then quickly said, “I’ve learned my lesson, Father Sir.”

“You mustn’t be unfair, or the public will be displeased.”

Gao Yushu agrees. I know that he gets my meaning: find the guilty ones under you and do the job beautifully, with no loopholes left behind.

“Father Sir, do you want to arrange for someone to recognize the corpse?”

This is a gap that cannot be filled. Wouldn’t the case be that the more times I’d try to fill it, the more mouths I’d have to silence? There would still be traces to find.

Furthermore, while I admit that I can’t be considered a good person, it would be best to have as few murders as possible. Others also have a right to live. In all honesty, after I heard Jinzi say that that “human duck”‘s sister had already been dealt with, I had actually felt relieved. Due to my hesitation and struggling on this issue on whether or not to kill witnesses, I know that there’s at least a 40% chance that I’d do it.

Therefore, I have the gods above to thank that this terrible choice is not one I’ll have to confront head-on.

My honor and principles can only go so far in the end, y’know?

“No need. Refugees, for the most part, are already without relatives, and even if they have them, they wouldn’t be able to find them. Oh, I heard when that “human duck” had received the honor of saving Young Master Cui’s life, he knew that Young Master Cui was in danger of death, so he sought out Official Cui’s wife and volunteered to take his place. Though the young miss was appalled and didn’t allow it, the love for her husband along with that man’s persistence won out in the end. She finally had no option but to permit it, handling the purchasing privately. Sir Cui wasn’t made aware of this matter.”

The son-in-law was looking at me in a ridiculous and flabbergasted manner. Gao Yushu sighed grimly, and said, “Such a righteous person! Though he is low-born, he carries the legacy of Nie Zheng and Jing Ke! If it didn’t unfortunately harm national law, his name would be spread to later generations as one of a hero.”

I can’t stand looking at this guy. Even though I’m pretty shameless right now, compared to him…

“Only, sigh, to have legal confrontation with a prestigious family will have the young miss feeling wronged.” It has to go swimmingly. Can’t make a fool of myself. Can’t get caught red-handed.

“Fortunately, when Young Master Cui was receiving that person’s aid, there was a thing or two he didn’t know about.” Fabricate evidence, find a few domestics to forge proof.

Cui Yu agreed with a nod, but was yet puzzled and concerned. He sighed, “That lowlife is such an unfilial child, repulsive and with no discipline, to stir up this day’s great trouble! If he died I wouldn’t feel sorry, but it would break the Cui family line. What face would he have in front of all of his ancestors in the underworld?!"

It’s still necessary to preserve the wastrel’s life, after all. Ah, for the world to pity the worried minds of parents is not incomprehensible. [3]

"Sir Cui, now that your precious relative has escaped, the authorities are bound to put out a warrant for his arrest. Though you would gladly give up your family in the name of justice, Sir, his whereabouts are yet unknown. General Shao will return from his successful campaign in a few days. After getting such a huge victory, the court will be required to command the country to issue amnesty. When that time comes, your relative’s sentence of a beheading will be reduced to being beaten with a rod, tattooed on the face, and sent into exile. [4] General Shao will return from his successful campaign in a few days. After getting such a huge victory, the court will be required to command the country to issue amnesty. When that time comes, your relative’s sentence of a beheading will be reduced to being beaten with a rod, tattooed on the face, and sent into exile. You should then try to take into consideration how to address others.”

Cui Yu was jubilant upon hearing this. “I will count on you, Sir.”

I speak resolutely, “Sir Cui, Qinglian here will do nothing less than my all. Whether I succeed or fail is up to the will of the Heavens.”

Cui Yu, “For Sir’s favor, the miscreant’s family is already full of gratitude that will never be repaid."

Thus, everyone exchanged some very nauseatingly polite pleasantries, and the atmosphere clearly became relaxed. I took advantage of the down-time to sneak a peek at Jinzi. This guy is awfully good at diluting his own presence. I don’t know if he was already good at it when he was in his former cushy life, or was forced to grow up after Zhang Qinglian hurt him.

Feeling my stomach sink, I got up, said my goodbyes, and left with Jinzi. We hadn’t even reached the door when I saw a tall and slim body leaning against the doorway, looking at us with a demonically beautiful face imbued with a false smile.

My scalp went numb upon seeing this guy, as he always gave me a sense of extreme danger. Also, frankly speaking, his behavior is so overtly wild and crass that it clashes badly with Lan Guan’s delicate, feminizing establishment.

This kind of person could actually be a male prostitute? I feel yet again that that’s unthinkable.

“Sir, you haven’t come for many days now, and today you only came with great difficulty but never walked through my door. Ah, it breaks Qingyun’s heart so very much!” He used a leisurely, long-drawn drawl. Even if such words are always said by prostitutes to their patrons, coming from his mouth they’re abnormally erotic, and… sardonic.

I’m very embarrassed that he’s acting like this in front of Jinzi.

Yuan Qingyun’s completely vulgar gaze studied my face agonizingly slowly, then slid to Yao Jinzi.

In that moment, I felt the atmosphere tense up. Yuan Qingyun’s posture is still languidly leaning on the doorway and he still has that not-smile on his face, but I can almost feel his muscles discreetly tightening, his pupils contracting not unlike a cat’s would. And Jinzi, though I can’t see behind me, seems to be giving off a fierce and oppressive aura.

Could this be the legendary killing intent?

Are they… getting jealous over me?

Nah, that’s just wishful thinking. Jinzi definitely wouldn’t be, at least.

The two stood off for a short while, then the killing intent dissipated. Yuan Qingyun relaxed, but within the depths of Jinzi’s eyes and smile was a hint of… disdain.

I grab Jinzi’s hand, giving Yuan Qingyun a small smile. “It would be better for Qingyun to make more money while he’s young as opposed to waiting around for me, so as not to have to rely on his swiftly waning looks in the future.”

……

His face goes dark.

Oh, I don’t know what’s happened to me. Why act like a little child and say such a foolhardy quip?

I’m actually the one who’s no good.

Returning to the mansion, Hong Feng reported that the Shao family’s eldest young master, and the 2nd-rank noble Lord Yuwen [5], have been waiting for me in the lobby for quite some time.

Ah, has trouble finally arrived?

I have never longed for my modern era more than in this moment, to wake up grumbling that I was paid too little for too many social interactions and then driving to work.

[1] Little regard was given towards the gender of the actors when playing characters in traditional Chinese operas, so men playing female characters and women playing male characters were common. Modern plays in traditional style still do this.

[2] Cui Yu calls him shixiong – no, not that wuxia term 师兄, but 世兄, meaning a non-blood related male of a younger generation.

[3] A reference to a poem written by Empress Dowager Cixi to her own mother (可怜天下父母心).

[4] A traditional punishment in ancient China was to put a permanent tattoo on a criminal's face, usually with a character that described their crime.

[5] Good god, I sure hope I got his title right. It was nine characters (二等诚信伯宇文爵爷). Nine!!! Who needs that many?!

[-] I've been translating "daren" as "sir", so "fuqin-daren" becomes Father Sir.