Chapter 20#
Reunion (IV)#
As Assistant County Magistrate Sun hurriedly ordered the ground to be doused with clean water, Le Wuya sat in the inner hall, warmly introducing Squire Chen to the imperial envoy: “Your Excellency, General Pei, this is Chen Yuanwei, a local celebrity. The Xiaofu Coal Mine is an enterprise he founded with his own hands.”
Seventh Prince sipped his tea and cast a glance at him: Are you planning to borrow our influence again?
Because this man’s demeanor was so reminiscent of that person, every move he made appeared deliberate in the eyes of the Seventh Prince.
Coincidentally, that was exactly what Le Wuya intended.
With a face full of righteousness and simplicity, he answered with a smile:
Of course, why waste something that’s available?
Sixth Prince Xiang Zhijie, however, was quick on the uptake: “Oh, Xiaofu Coal Mine.”
Chen Yuanwei felt as if a red-hot poker had been shoved up his backside; he could only bow and sit on the edge of the lower seat, daring not to move. Hearing this, he quickly replied, “To answer Your Excellency, yes, yes.”
Xiang Zhijie: “I’ve heard that every winter, you release some coal lumps to give to the poor?”
Perhaps because the room was overheated by the charcoal fire, just two brief exchanges had already brought a thin sheen of sweat to Squire Chen’s face: “Yes, yes, I am ashamed, Your Excellency.”
Le Wuya stared intently at Xiang Zhijie’s opening and closing lips, feeling quite gratified.
Xiao Liu’s tongue was much smoother than before.
The first time he met Xiang Zhijie, the prince was being punished for failing to recite his lessons properly.
Naturally, a prince would not be beaten; the unfortunate recipient was his companion, who took ten strikes of the ruler across the palm without daring to say a word, standing aside with reddened hands.
Once the tutor had left, Xiang Zhijie produced a box of medicinal ointment and pressed it into his companion’s hands.
The companion seemed used to it, accepted the ointment, and stepped out of the room to apply it, fearing the smell might bother the prince.
The pristine little dumpling tilted his head slightly and noticed Le Wuya outside the window.
Knowing that spying was a punishable offense, Le Wuya immediately knelt down.
Xiang Zhijie came out holding a hand warmer and asked, “You are… who?”
He deliberately spoke in two-word phrases to avoid stuttering too obviously.
Le Wuya replied, “To answer the Sixth Prince, your subject Le Wuya, third son of General Zhaoyi, recently returned from the border. Today, the Eastern Palace summoned me for an examination of archery and horsemanship, but this morning the Crown Prince was unwell. After the test, I had the honor of taking first place. An attendant led me here and told me to wait. It was out of excessive curiosity that I took a few extra steps, not deliberate spying.”
He finished in one breath, sparing Xiang Zhijie from asking more.
“Big Brother… the Crown Prince, men-mentioned you.”
Xiang Zhijie said nothing more and handed him the hand warmer: “Injury just, healed. Use the warmer, for now. Later, return it.”
Le Wuya was only nineteen, and though he had just suffered a painful blow, he still retained some youthful spirit. He tilted his head slightly, looked at this jade-like little child, and did not refuse, taking the hand warmer and tucking it into his arms.
He had been wronged enough; he wouldn’t wrong himself any further.
After giving the hand warmer, Xiang Zhijie turned and went back to the study.
Because the boy spoke so little, it took Le Wuya a moment to realize that he meant that, knowing Le Wuya would have to kneel while answering, he had simply withdrawn.
Le Wuya rubbed his head, feeling as though a child had shown him kindness.
Out of curiosity, Le Wuya knowingly broke the rules and began to openly spy on him.
As he watched, he discovered something new.
Xiang Zhijie had already replaced the book the tutor had quizzed him on with a thin volume.
That book was the Gan Shi Xing Jing, a treatise on astrology.
Le Wuya had been listening and knew that he wasn’t unable to recite; rather, his stuttering made it sound as if he hadn’t practiced or was unfamiliar.
It seemed that the books the tutor made him memorize were already deeply familiar to him.
This move further confirmed Le Wuya’s guess.
He called softly, “Sixth Prince? Sixth Prince?”
Xiang Zhijie looked up: “Hmm?”
Le Wuya: “Thank you for the hand warmer, Your Highness. I am much warmer now. I presume to teach you a few tricks; perhaps by a fluke, they might cure your affliction.”
Faced with such insolence, Xiang Zhijie nodded with remarkable maturity, though he seemed indifferent.
Le Wuya knew that for this stuttering condition, countless imperial physicians had been summoned and countless medicines consumed, with no sign of improvement.
But that didn’t stop him from offering advice.
“First, go to bed early and rise early, and exercise diligently.”
“Second, practicing singing and talking to yourself in solitude will benefit your recovery.”
“Third…” Le Wuya grinned, playing with the tassels on the hand warmer, “As long as you don’t keep indulging it and deliberately stutter, you will get better.”
Xiang Zhijie’s gaze sharpened, fixing on Le Wuya.
Seeing his expression, Le Wuya knew he had guessed correctly and immediately admitted his fault: “Your subject oversteps.”
When he had served at the border, the army was a motley crew with all sorts of people, and he had encountered a few genuine stutterers.
Their articulation, pauses, and finishing sounds all had issues; only one had relatively normal pronunciation, but that was after years of deliberate practice.
For this quiet, taciturn little prince to have no major problems with enunciation or articulation was itself a problem.
Xiang Zhijie stood up, grabbed Le Wuya’s sleeve, and pulled him into the study.
This was the first time Le Wuya saw a childlike nervousness on that composed little face: “Don’t…”
Once again, Le Wuya audaciously interrupted the prince: “All right, your subject will not speak of it.”
Xiang Zhijie let out a slight sigh of relief and was about to say something else when he heard sounds outside, so he fell silent and released his grip on Le Wuya’s sleeve.
The attendant who had led Le Wuya there had gone to find the Seventh Prince. After the tutor finished examining the Seventh Prince’s poetry and prose, they all came together.
The attendant bowed and said softly, “Your Highness the Sixth Prince, Your Highness the Seventh Prince, His Majesty has issued an oral decree: Today’s archery and horsemanship examination; the one who takes first place shall become the archery and horsemanship tutor for both princes. Master Le Wuya hit the red tassel and won the championship. From now on, when the two princes see Master Le, they shall address him as ‘Teacher.’”
Le Wuya blurted out without thinking, “Eunuch Hu’s words are interesting; they sound like the ceremony at a wedding where the bride’s sedan tassel is shot…”
Eunuch Hu was from the Eastern Palace, and master and servant shared a similar temperament—solemn, graceful, yet lifeless and dull.
Ignoring Le Wuya’s nonsense, he said directly, “Master Le, give thanks for the grace.”
Seventh Prince said with a cheerful smile, “Teacher Le!”
Sixth Prince: “Teacher Le. Good.”
Having just had his secret exposed, the Sixth Prince was clearly flustered, and the emphasis fell on the word “good,” making it sound like praise.
…
Le Wuya had always been thick-skinned and particularly good at taking credit. Hearing that the Sixth Prince could now speak normally, he naturally attributed the achievement to himself, his face showing a hint of pride.
Sixth Prince: “Xiaofu Coal Mine has a reputation for benevolence. It must be that Squire Chen never forgets the teachings of the sages, understanding the principle of ‘when you achieve success, share it with the world.’”
At these words, Squire Chen sweated even more profusely.
There was clearly a trap in these words.
But with the imperial envoy blatantly invoking “the teachings of the sages,” Chen, as a juren degree holder, had even less right to argue.
He could only stammer in assent.
Le Wuya grew even more delighted.
Excellent! Not only has he learned to speak well, but he has also learned to be mischievous!
While he was happily listening to the number one imperial envoy speak, he failed to notice the slight downward curl of that same envoy’s lips in chagrin.
… He had stuttered again just now.
Xiang Zhijie steadied himself and added the next sentence: “If the name of Xiaofu Coal Mine is enjoyed by Squire Chen, the ‘Great Philanthropist,’ then what of the sins committed by Xiaofu Coal Mine?”
Squire Chen had been secretly hoping that the imperial envoys, being new arrivals, might still be unclear about the situation. Who would have thought that they would utter the words “Great Philanthropist Chen”?
Squire Chen’s knees went weak, and he slid directly from his chair to kneel on the ground, knocking his head in agony: “Your Excellencies, please hear me out. Your subject has failed to manage his household, failed to enforce strict discipline, spending his days only reciting poetry and practicing calligraphy, cultivating mind and body, utterly unaware of the disgraceful affairs at the mine…”
Squire Chen didn’t know if this excuse would suffice.
Xiaofu Coal Mine was too important to him; those in charge were either relatives or his most trusted servants. Even if he wanted to remove himself from the affair, it was extremely difficult.
Only now did he realize, with deep regret, that he should have cut his losses immediately, packed his valuables, and fled the city overnight to save his life.
He hadn’t been able to cut the flesh quickly, and now he had become the fish on the chopping block. How could he not regret it!
Seventh Prince took over: “Ah, sixth brother, you can’t say that. Squire Chen may have a thousand faults, but there is one thing he did well.”
Squire Chen held his breath, a faint glimmer of hope rising in his heart.
Seventh Prince still had the same appearance as in childhood, with a naturally sweet, pleasant laugh: “He exercised diligently. That way, if by any chance he’s sentenced to exile, at least he won’t die of weakness along the way.”
The two brothers played off each other, and to Squire Chen, each word hit like a thunderbolt.
Just as his heart felt like it was being fried in oil, a soldier requested an audience.
He strode into the hall with heavy steps and announced in a clear voice, “Your subordinates pay respects to the two imperial envoys. Reporting to General Pei: In the southern part of the city, several escaped servants were caught. Upon investigation, they all belong to Chen Yuanwei’s household. The leader is the steward, who claimed that a family member had fallen seriously ill and they needed to rush back to their hometown. However, they had neither family letters nor certificates to prove it, and they were carrying a large amount of gold, silver, and valuables—highly suspicious. I have detained them, awaiting the envoys’ and the Nanting County Magistrate’s judgment.”
Pei Mingqi responded with a tepid “Hmm” and looked at Le Wuya.
This was the first time he had openly looked at Le Wuya since entering.
Not counting the dozen or so stealthy glances.
Assistant County Magistrate Sun stood aside, taking in the entire scene, and understood everything in his heart.
He only regretted that for the past six months he had been blind—these eyes were better off being used to blow his nose.
“Oh my.” Le Wuya was very generous, “Thank you, General Pei. Your subordinate was inconsiderate.”
Seventh Prince took over: “County Magistrate, you are too modest. Last night, although you did not impose a curfew, you secretly ordered the city gates to be locked an hour earlier. If we were not here, you would have made arrests overnight, wouldn’t you?”
“Your subordinate could only help himself, but with the envoys’ assistance, it is like receiving heaven’s aid.”
After flattering them, Le Wuya turned to Pei Mingqi: “Besides, who doesn’t know of General Pei’s reputation for being skilled in defense?”
… Skilled in defense …
A familiar voice from the past whispered in his ear: “You defend, I attack; I take the outside, you take the inside—truly a perfect match, a destined pair.”
Pei Mingqi met Le Wuya’s gaze, stared for a long moment, then averted his eyes and said, “I have one more question to ask.”
Sixth Prince: “General Pei, please speak.”
Pei Mingqi: “The Jing clan is rich in copper and iron. To smelt them, they can never do without coal.”
This single sentence cut directly to the heart of the matter.
Squire Chen’s face instantly turned deathly pale.
He frantically kowtowed, losing control of his force; he didn’t even care that blood began to ooze from his forehead on the ground: “Your subject swears by his life and property—there is absolutely no such thing! Absolutely not! How would your subject dare to collude with foreign tribes and commit treason!”
Sixth Prince said slowly, “But just now, Squire Chen said you knew very little about the mine’s affairs. So how can you now guarantee it so firmly?”
Le Wuya covered his mouth with his fan, laughing.
Seventh Prince looked at him keenly: “Why is County Magistrate Wenren laughing?”
“Forgive your subject’s impropriety.” Le Wuya leaned forward slightly and said in a tone of reminder, “Squire Chen, you already used your life and property to falsely accuse Ming Xiucai of rebellion. Perhaps you should find something else to swear on?”
Sixth Prince couldn’t help but laugh, imitating him with a soft chuckle.
“Innocence or guilt will be clear once we investigate.” Seventh Prince said in an extremely light tone, seeking Sixth Prince’s opinion, “Confiscate the property?”
Sixth Prince: “Confiscate it.”
With just a few words, Squire Chen’s juren protective layer was utterly shattered.
At a signal from Assistant Magistrate Sun, several yamen runners immediately acted and dragged him out.
As the silk-clad Squire Chen was pulled stiffly out of the county office gate, he happened to pass a team of runners leading a batch of just-identified sold miners.
According to the magistrate’s instructions, they were to be settled first, fed well for a few days, and once the sick had recovered their strength, arrangements would be made for them to return home in groups.
In the depth of winter, they wore tattered padded jackets with exposed cotton wadding, walking full of hope toward their temporary lodging.
Seeing Squire Chen dragged out of the office, they craned their necks to see which noble had fallen on hard times.
It was only several days later, when they heard from newcomers that Squire Chen’s entire family had been thrown into prison.
After they finally understood the connection between Squire Chen and Xiaofu Coal Mine, they were both regretful and furious, slapping their thighs, deeply hating that they hadn’t rushed up to beat that evil man, Squire Chen, to vent their anger.
The person bringing them food was a young man with a bandage wrapped around his forehead, a tigerish look about him, dressed cleanly. Hearing the miners’ string of curses, he felt greatly pleased.
His name was Hua Rong, the little beggar who had been toyed with by the Chen household servants and had nearly died that day.
The Hu brothers were right; this young man was strong and vigorous—a bowl of rice gruel was enough to revive him.
Le Wuya was pleased to see him alive, asked about his name and background, learned he came from an honest family, and promptly assigned him the task of delivering meals and running errands, giving him a way to earn his keep.
Little Hua Rong smiled, asking everyone, “Would anyone like another bowl of rice?”
The crowd roared in unison, “Yes!”
…
But these were matters for later.
After seeing Squire Chen off, the two imperial envoys indeed quizzed him on the county’s population, farmland, taxes, and so on.
Le Wuya had an extraordinary memory, and with Wenren Yue having helped him guess the topics the night before, he answered fluently without any hesitation.
When the official business was finished, and after they had thoroughly reviewed the case files related to Ming Xiangzhao, they prepared to depart.
Carrying the emperor’s mandate, they could not linger long in Nanting.
The Seventh Prince seemed to find it tedious and boring; using the excuse of changing clothes, he rose and stepped outside.
“As for the remaining matters, General Pei will handle them with you,” the Sixth Prince said formally. “Afterward, send a letter to inform me, and I will report back to His Majesty.”
Le Wuya: “… Do I not need to go through the prefectural and provincial offices and write a memorial?”
The Sixth Prince directly pulled a sheet of gilt-edged paper from his sleeve: “This is the address of my residence.”
Le Wuya vaguely sensed something was off, but the paper was right before him, and he couldn’t refuse: “Very well, your subject will follow the envoy’s instructions.”
After the Seventh Prince returned, the two were ready to leave the county.
According to protocol, Le Wuya should have escorted the envoys all the way to their lodging before taking leave, but the Sixth Prince said, “The road is icy and slippery, and County Magistrate Wenren has important matters to attend to. Let us dispense with these formalities.”
The imperial envoy spoke with the authority of the emperor; his words were law.
Thus, Le Wuya was spared that trip, seeing them only to the county office gate.
Just before boarding the carriage, the Seventh Prince turned around and placed something in Le Wuya’s hand.
Le Wuya: “Your Excellency, what is this…”
“An imperial envoy’s written order, granting you the authority to act as you see fit.” The Seventh Prince’s face bore a sweet dimple. “Without this, if you want to investigate thoroughly, there will always be obstacles, won’t there?”
Le Wuya gazed intently at the dimple on his cheek.
Back then, when he learned he was to become the riding and archery tutor for the Sixth and Seventh Princes, he had met the Seventh Prince first, not the Sixth.
When Eunuch Hu led him into the Deyue Pavilion where the princes studied, he happened to run into the Seventh Prince in the corridor.
He bowed respectfully: “Your subject Le Wuya, pays respects to the Seventh Prince.”
The Seventh Prince, dressed resplendently in brocade, smiled before speaking: “How did you know I am the Seventh Prince?”
Le Wuya gestured lightly beside his own cheek: “To answer the Seventh Prince, someone once instructed me that the one who loves to talk and laugh, and has a dimple on his cheek, is the Seventh Prince.”
The Seventh Prince deliberately put on a stern face: “What if I don’t smile? If I don’t smile, can you still recognize me?”
At that time, Le Wuya’s heart was quite desolate, and it manifested as a complete fearlessness of death.
He replied, “Seventh Prince, all people in this world are unique, no two are alike. There is no need to distinguish them by force. For example, if you don’t like to smile, you don’t have to. Even if you don’t smile, I can still recognize you.”
The Seventh Prince stared at him for a long time before bursting into a radiant smile: “Those are your words. I will remember them.”
The Seventh Prince was neither foolish nor naive; he had long seen whom this lively little county magistrate resembled.
But Le Wuya was Le Wuya, unique in the world.
He detested seeing the shadow of another person in someone—that was nothing but self-entertainment and self-deception.
A mere county magistrate, only a little like him—what comparison could there be?
This man had a bright future ahead; by leaving him this written order, he was paving a path. One day, when Le Wuya wished to rise high and recalled the benefit of this order, he would naturally come seeking his favor.
Watching the envoy’s carriage gradually disappear into the distance, Le Wuya asked Assistant Magistrate Sun softly, “Assistant Magistrate, did you distribute the sugar cakes I brought to everyone?”
Assistant Magistrate Sun: “Those are yours, my lord. I’ve kept them for you.”
Le Wuya glared at him: “Even if I were a pig reborn, I couldn’t finish that many. Distribute them—consider it General Pei’s treat for everyone’s breakfast.”
As Le Wuya turned around, he found Pei Mingqi standing right behind him, staring at him directly.
Le Wuya forced a smile: “Aren’t you leaving?”
Pei Mingqi said bluntly, “I have something to discuss with you.”
Pei Mingqi whisked Le Wuya away like a gust of wind, leaving only Assistant Magistrate Sun standing there, utterly stunned, his mouth gaping but speechless:
Can such matters really be conducted without privacy?