Chapter 643: - Marquis Zheng Has It All Under Control

Ran Min’s grief-stricken cries ignited the fury inside the City Patrol soldiers all at once.

The Yan had spent these past years campaigning in every direction. Looking around the realm, there was almost no opponent they had faced without defeating.

That swelling confidence existed far beyond the common people.

In truth, the place where men looked down on everyone else most fiercely, where the belief that “I am number one beneath Heaven” was strongest, was the army.

Among these rough soldiers.

They had personally seen the Helian and Wenren families, the very cavalry the Jin people had once taken such pride in, smashed into rout by the Zhenbei Army and Jingnan Army.

They had personally seen the helplessness and panic of the Qian when Yan’s spearpoint reached the walls of Shangjing.

They had seen Savages flee for a thousand li, leaving corpses everywhere.

They had stood beside the Wang River and watched Chu men stain the water red like pigs being butchered.

These were arrogant troops.

Back in Yan proper, they might have restrained themselves somewhat.

But this was Yingdu.

A city full of Jin people.

Defeated enemies.

And this Prince Cheng Residence?

A residence that had once cried out for Yan troops to save it from the Savages.

What the hell was it supposed to be?

Crossbows were cocked.

Sabers came free of scabbards.

Two Lieutenant Commanders shouted directly:

“Fuck these bastards! We saw the assassin enter the residence with our own eyes. If they refuse to hand him over, wash Prince Cheng Residence in blood!”

“Wash Prince Cheng Residence in blood!”

“Wash Prince Cheng Residence in blood!”

Zhao Wenhua’s face shifted between green and white.

He had followed Situ Lei for half a lifetime.

He had witnessed Great Cheng at the height of its glory.

He had originally thought that the guards being dragged away and executed a few days earlier had already been the hardest slap this residence could possibly endure.

Who could have imagined that tonight’s scene would truly throw the final scrap of Prince Cheng Residence’s dignity into a cesspit?

They were openly shouting about washing the residence in blood.

Then what did this residence count for now?

What did the Situ family count for?

The irony was almost absurd.

The reason Prince Cheng Residence still retained so much hidden influence and so many followers was, to a great extent, precisely because the Yan treated it as important.

The Yan wanted Prince Cheng Residence intact in order to pacify Yingdu and the Jin lands.

Because the Yan valued it, the residence appeared valuable.

But once the Yan openly took up blades and trampled on its dignity themselves, the forces supporting the residence might not become united through shared hatred.

They might instead begin thinking:

So Prince Cheng Residence is nothing special after all.

And then they would fall apart.

Zhao Wenhua had no choice but to explain.

“Gentlemen, an assassin did indeed enter the residence earlier, but We already drove him away. He is no longer here.”

“Hahahaha! You take us for three-year-old children?”

“Who the hell are you trying to fool?”

By now, servants and household retainers from Prince Cheng Residence had gathered outside as well.

They held sabers and spears.

Many of them were actually competent fighters.

But their spirit was visibly weak.

This was the aftermath of the residence sitting by while its guards were taken away and slaughtered.

A man might be willing to sell his life to you.

But if you kept selling out your own men, who would still want to sell his life for you?

Once hearts scattered, the team became difficult to lead.

The muscles in Zhao Wenhua’s face twitched.

He knew perfectly well that his explanation might make matters worse.

To these soldiers already almost blinded by rage, it sounded like the weakest possible attempt at concealment.

But Zhao Wenhua had been through enough storms to understand something else.

The assassin had only just fled.

The City Patrol soldiers had immediately come roaring to the gate carrying their wounded Commandant.

If Zhao Wenhua still could not see that this was a trap, then the blade that had cut away his manhood all those years ago would truly have been suffered for nothing.

The problem was, he had personally fought the assassin.

So if he simply said, “There was no assassin,” or “This is fabricated nonsense,” that might appear to be the most appropriate response.

But would the person who designed this trap have failed to anticipate that?

The moment he denied everything, some evidence might immediately appear and slap him across the face.

At that point, yellow mud would already be inside his trousers.

Even if it was not shit, everyone would think it was.

“Brothers, kill our way inside! Avenge our sister-in-law!”

“Stop!”

A mounted Xu Wenzu finally arrived.

He was not wearing official robes.

Only a white inner garment.

The effect made it look as though he had received the news while already in bed and rushed over without time to dress.

“What are you doing? What kind of disgraceful spectacle is this!”

Xu Wenzu rebuked them loudly.

The Lieutenant Commander who had led the shouting immediately stepped forward and knelt before his horse.

“Prefect, you should know what happened. An assassin came to our Commandant’s home tonight. Our sister-in-law died protecting him. Fortunately, we brothers arrived in time and frightened the assassin away. Then we chased him all the way here, into Prince Cheng Residence. We saw the bastard leap over the residence wall with our own eyes! My lord, every one of us has shed blood for Great Yan. Every one of us has been wounded for Great Yan. Even after joining the City Patrol Office, we drill every three days and have never slacked off. The Commandant tells us all the time that we cannot let our skills rot and we cannot let our blood cool. If His Majesty calls for us one day, then the brothers of the City Patrol Office must put on armor, mount horses, and keep fighting for Great Yan! Even here inside Yingdu, when we investigate cases and arrest people, truthfully, we offend plenty of people. Our Commandant is famous as the Iron-Faced Commandant. He always tells us: We are Yan men. Yan men have to hold up the backbone of Yan. For His Majesty. For the court. We have to hold this territory steady!”

By the time the Lieutenant Commander reached this point, his voice had broken.

This enormous man actually wiped tears from his face.

“The Commandant only offended Prince Cheng Residence because he carried out your orders, my lord. That is why the residence retaliated against him. My lord, you have to give our Commandant justice!”

...

“That man speaks well,” Hero Chen commented.

Zheng Fan glanced at him.

“Yes. Hurry up and learn from him.”

Hero Chen shook his head.

The Sword Saint’s gaze remained fixed on Ran Min below.

“I do not like that man.”

“I understand,” Zheng Fan said. “Truthfully, I do not like him very much either.”

“You like using men like him.”

“That was before, when I did not have much choice. Who would not want every subordinate under him to be a gentleman, both virtuous and talented? Heh. If every man under me were a Hero Chen, I would wake up laughing in my sleep every night.”

Hero Chen frowned slightly.

“Was that praise?”

“Yes.”

“Then why did you put it like that?”

“For emphasis.”

The Sword Saint said:

“I thought this matter would make you value him and bring him under your command.”

“He belongs to Xu Wenzu. How could I poach him?”

Zheng Fan deliberately glanced at the Sword Saint’s expression before continuing:

“Everyone chooses his own path. He wants to gamble once, so let us see what fortune he earns from it. Besides, Fatty Xu is no fool. He knows what kind of blade he is holding.”

“He is a wolfdog full of ambition,” the Sword Saint said.

“Who is calling me?”

At that moment, Gou Moli happened to come up the stairs carrying a plate of pastries.

Zheng Fan took one pastry and put it into his mouth.

“This Marquis already has a wolf king. I have no need for a wolfdog like that.”

A smile immediately spread across Gou Moli’s face.

He was extremely skilled at catching even the smallest details.

First: a wolf king looked very much like a dog, but was not a dog.

That one sentence meant his recent performance had gradually begun winning Marquis Zheng’s approval.

And now, in imitation of the other gentlemen under Zheng Fan, Gou Moli had also begun carefully mixing in the address “Master” among his usual “Marquis” from time to time.

The chain around his neck was loosening.

That meant, in the future, he would gradually receive more opportunities to act independently.

The Sword Saint looked at Gou Moli, then at Zheng Fan.

“Gou Moli is not like him. Gou Moli can trick his own tribesmen into dying. He can make his most loyal subordinates remain behind to cover his retreat. But he would not kill his own woman merely for one so-called opportunity.”

Gou Moli handed the plate of pastries to Hero Chen, who was both hungry and injured.

Then he raised one hand.

“Even if I wanted to kill them, I could not. Li Liangshen and Seventh Uncle would smash my skull open.”

The Sword Saint looked at Zheng Fan again.

“You are the same. You can harden your heart and do many things. You once said Tian Wujing does not care about ‘the people of the world’ and all that. But in truth, you are the one who truly does not care. Sometimes, the way you look at civilian laborers and refugees makes me feel as though you are looking at an ink-wash painting.”

“Oh. A very elegant metaphor.”

Zheng Fan’s expression remained calm.

Inside, the words struck him.

Because the Sword Saint’s judgment was accurate.

“But you will not deliberately sacrifice the people you care about. That is why Tian Wujing was willing to leave his son here for you to raise. And that is why I am willing to stand here.”

“I am honored.”

Zheng Fan stepped back half a pace and performed a Western bow.

Gou Moli interrupted:

“I say, Sword Saint, the play is still going on downstairs. Could we wait until the curtain falls before discussing our impressions?”

“Ai.”

The Sword Saint sighed.

“I was merely moved to say it.”

Gou Moli pursed his lips.

“That is also why I envy you.”

“Heh.”

The Sword Saint laughed.

In truth, no one upstairs genuinely cared about the death of Lady Liu in Ran Min’s arms.

No.

The City Patrol soldiers cared.

But this group upstairs, who were quite literally “watching a play,” found it difficult to feel any genuine empathy for the death of a woman they had never met.

Even Hero Chen, the one among them most inclined toward compassion, could not truly grieve for a complete stranger under these circumstances.

Ignoring the dead woman while instead discussing what kind of man her husband was was itself a kind of affectation.

Gou Moli dared think that.

He did not dare say it aloud.

Lately, he had noticed something strange about the way the Sword Saint occasionally looked at him.

So he had deliberately reduced the number of times he appeared alone before the man.

That bastard seemed to want to kill him.

Still, Gou Moli walked over to the railing and watched the scene below.

Then he sighed.

“How should I put it? Just as Master said before, men change with circumstances. That Commandant on the stretcher may very well have been famous among his old neighbors for being warmhearted and eager to help people before he joined the army.”

Zheng Fan put the last bite of pastry in his mouth.

Then he wiped his fingers on Gou Moli’s dogskin hat.

“Thinking of your old self?”

Gou Moli smiled.

“Master, were you not the same? The old Master probably would have disdained playing this sort of scheme behind the scenes.”

What had the old Marquis Zheng’s style been?

A few hundred cavalry?

Fine.

Ride south into Qian.

Fifteen hundred cavalry?

Even better.

Ride south into Qian again.

Fast.

Fierce.

No hesitation.

“Because now I have discovered I can achieve the same result at much lower cost.”

Then Zheng Fan added:

“But I still enjoy the process.”

...

“My lord, please give us justice!”

“My lord, please give us justice!”

All at once, every City Patrol soldier knelt.

Each placed the edge of his own saber against his throat.

A remonstrance unto death.

Xu Wenzu sat on horseback.

Like the horse beneath him, he suddenly looked caught between advancing and retreating.

Meanwhile, as the uproar outside Prince Cheng Residence continued spreading, people from more and more yamen arrived.

No one dared interfere.

At the same time, innumerable hidden gazes appeared around the edges of the scene.

Clearly, half the powerful people in Yingdu had once again been alarmed.

Silently, a consensus began forming in their minds.

The Situ family might have abandoned its imperial title and become Prince Cheng Residence, but until now its dignity and honor had at least seemed inviolable.

Yet if its face could be slapped again and again, then eventually the residence would become cheaper.

Less valuable.

One civil official under Xu Wenzu came over and asked quietly:

“My lord, should we call troops from the camps outside the city?”

Normally, only when the city situation had gone completely out of control, or when the City Patrol Office could no longer manage things, would outside troops be summoned in.

The problem tonight was that the City Patrol Office itself was causing the disturbance.

Only a proper army from beyond the walls could suppress it.

Xu Wenzu immediately raised his horsewhip and lashed the official.

Crack!

“Ah!”

“You muddleheaded bastard! Look at who is kneeling on the ground! Those are soldiers of Great Yan. That is Great Yan’s City Patrol Office. And you actually want me to summon troops to suppress our own men? Idiot!”

The City Patrol soldiers kneeling nearby heard this and quietly relaxed.

At that moment, Zhao Wenhua called from the steps:

“Prefect, We believe tonight’s affair is a misunderstanding. Someone designed this conspiracy.”

“A conspiracy?”

Ran Min spoke from the stretcher.

“Eunuch Zhao, what exactly do you mean by that? That I, Ran Min, personally killed my beloved wife simply to frame Prince Cheng Residence? That I, Ran Min, used the life of the woman I loved merely to weave a conspiracy against you?”

“You...”

If Ran Min alone had been attacked, Zhao Wenhua would have been more than eighty percent certain it was some self-inflicted injury ploy.

But once a woman’s death was added to the matter, even Zhao Wenhua found certain accusations difficult to say aloud.

In fact, he himself began to doubt.

Was some other faction deliberately splashing filth onto Prince Cheng Residence and redirecting disaster toward it?

“Commandant Ran, do not grieve yourself into collapse. Rest assured. This official is here. I will give you justice. You came to Prince Cheng Residence last time precisely because you were carrying out this official’s business. No matter how tonight’s affair truly happened, this official has already become part of its cause. I will not stand by and ignore it.”

“Many thanks, my lord. Ran Min kowtows on behalf of his wife, Lady Liu, and thanks my lord for your grace!”

“Mm.”

Xu Wenzu turned toward the main gate of Prince Cheng Residence.

No matter what, the residence had to be entered tonight.

It had to be searched.

What he wanted was for Prince Cheng Residence to lose every shred of dignity and authority, so the forces behind it would lose faith and drift away.

Originally, the affair would not have gone this smoothly.

A Commandant being badly wounded in an assassination was serious, but still not quite enough to support everything Xu Wenzu wanted to do.

Fortunately...

Xu Wenzu could not stop himself from glancing out of the corner of his eye toward the stretcher.

Not long ago, he had told Zheng Fan that this Ran Min resembled the old Commandant Zheng, the old Garrison Commander Zheng.

Now, he felt the two men were completely different people.

However many similarities they possessed, there was something fundamentally different between them.

If one day enough profit lay on the table, Ran Min would probably kill himself without hesitation to obtain it.

Zheng Fan, on the other hand, would most likely curse him furiously.

“Damn fatty. Damn pig. You cost this daddy so much.”

And then turn around and leave.

Still, Xu Wenzu was in urgent need of capable men.

Ran Min was an excellent blade.

An exceptionally useful blade.

And Xu Wenzu was willing to wield him.

“Eunuch Zhao, no matter what, tonight you must allow...”

“May I trouble Prefect Xu to invite Marquis Pingxi here to preside over the situation?”

Prince Cheng, Situ Yu, emerged from within.

But he stopped at the threshold and did not cross it.

He even deliberately wore a faint smile while rubbing the sole of his boot against the threshold.

The meaning was obvious:

Look carefully.

I have not left the residence.

“My lord, this little Prince believes that under circumstances like these, Marquis Pingxi should be invited to take charge.”

Xu Wenzu looked at Prince Cheng.

“But Marquis Pingxi is extremely protective of his own people.”

It was a reminder.

A warning.

And also, in a certain sense, rather funny.

Because the very man Situ Yu wanted to invite to “take charge” was the person who had arranged the entire performance.

Yet very quickly, Xu Wenzu realized something.

His own appearance here and Zheng Fan’s appearance here would not mean the same thing.

The nature of the affair, and the impression it created, would change completely.

...

Up in the restaurant, the Sword Saint, whose cultivation made his hearing extraordinary, said:

“That little Prince wants them to summon you to take charge.”

“Ha. Good thing I prepared for that long ago.”

“Prepared?”

The Sword Saint frowned slightly.

“Prepared?”

Hero Chen widened his eyes.

He clearly did not believe it.

...

Marquis Zheng truly had made preparations.

In the past, he had disliked schemes and conspiracies partly because there had been little room to use them.

And partly because charging straight ahead often worked better anyway.

That did not mean Marquis Zheng was incapable of playing such games.

Nor did it mean he did not think carefully.

Looking three steps ahead while taking one was part of Zheng Fan’s professional instinct.

While Xu Wenzu was still considering what to do, a personal guard in a Flying Fish Robe squeezed through the surrounding crowd and saluted him.

“My lord, my Marquis heard noise outside and sent this subordinate to see what happened.”

Situ Yu immediately said:

“Quickly invite Marquis Pingxi here.”

The young Prince stood in torchlight.

His eyes seemed to shine.

His decisiveness in this moment not only surprised Xu Wenzu slightly, it even made Zhao Wenhua feel, for the briefest instant, as though he were seeing a trace of his old master’s bearing.

The personal guard raised a token in both hands.

“My lord, my Marquis gave instructions beforehand. All affairs in Yingdu should naturally be handled by you, my lord. My Marquis will not overstep his authority. If there is anything you require, please summon troops into Yingdu first!”

“...” Situ Yu.

Xu Wenzu was overjoyed.

He immediately took the token, then turned toward Situ Yu.

“Your Highness, tonight’s matter must be settled quickly. This official does not believe Prince Cheng Residence would harbor filth and shelter criminals. Nor do I believe Your Highness would send assassins to attack an official of the Great Yan court. This official believes Your Highness may have been somewhat confused before, but that in your heart, you remain loyal to Great Yan and loyal to His Majesty. So please order your servants to stand aside. Let the City Patrol Office enter the residence and conduct a search. That way, the matter can be properly concluded. Furthermore, the City Patrol soldiers said earlier that the assassin entered Prince Cheng Residence. Eunuch Zhao himself also admitted that he fought the assassin. For the residence’s safety, especially now that there are no registered guards inside, it is even more important that the men enter and inspect the grounds properly. Your Highness and the Queen Mother must be protected.”

Zhao Wenhua immediately cupped his hands.

“My lord, the assassin has already been driven away by this servant and left the residence...”

“How can the safety of Your Highness and the Queen Mother possibly be treated as a small matter? Who knows whether the assassin has accomplices? Who knows whether some other criminal escaped notice and is still hiding inside Prince Cheng Residence, waiting to threaten the household? This official is Prefect of Yingdu. Protecting His Highness and the Queen Mother is this official’s duty. Tonight, no matter what anyone says, no matter how great a responsibility this official must bear, for the safety of His Highness and the Queen Mother, this official will spare no cost!”

Then Xu Wenzu turned toward the enormous group of kneeling City Patrol soldiers.

“Remember this. After entering the residence, you are permitted only to search. You are not to disturb the women of the household. Anyone who disobeys will be beheaded!”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

The armored City Patrol soldiers immediately rose and rushed into Prince Cheng Residence with sabers in hand.

The servants and household retainers could not stop them.

Even Zhao Wenhua, after the muscles in his face twitched several times, could only stand protectively before Situ Yu.

He did not interfere.

The matter had already become irreversible.

And Prince Cheng Residence was the weaker side, something the Yan could squeeze however they wished.

Perhaps the only comfort tonight was that the young Prince seemed to have matured considerably after everything that had happened.

As for the residence’s dignity...

Ai.

Forget it.

Xu Wenzu sat on his horse and instinctively stroked the animal’s mane.

The horse began foaming at the mouth.

The matter was settled.

Once tonight’s slap landed, he could begin thinking about where the next slap should fall.

Slapping Prince Cheng Residence meant slapping the spirit out of Yingdu’s powerful families.

Once the residence was beaten flat, handling those so-called dignitaries would become much easier.

Then, without warning, a shout of surprise came from inside the residence.

One City Patrol soldier came running out.

He rushed through the gate, down the steps, and dropped to his knees before Xu Wenzu, his face full of excitement and fury.

“Report, my lord! In the well in the front courtyard, we found the body of an assassin who had been silenced. He is dressed in black night clothes!”

“Hiss...”

Xu Wenzu froze.

Motherfucker.

Little Brother Zheng.

You really arranged everything this thoroughly?

...

Upstairs, the Sword Saint looked at Zheng Fan in confusion.

“This was also your arrangement?”

“Ah?”

Marquis Zheng maintained an expression of calm control and gave the faintest nod.

“Mm.”

This sort of inexplicable, heaven-sent cooperation had happened often enough that Marquis Zheng was almost accustomed to it.

He even had a faint feeling that all the bad luck he had accumulated on battlefields over the years was somehow being paid back here.

“Master’s calculations are divine. This subordinate admires you!”

Gou Moli immediately delivered the first round of flattery.

There was no helping it.

The other two beside him were blocks of wood.

If he did not flatter Master, the atmosphere would go cold.

Marquis Zheng lightly pressed one hand downward.

Then he put on his old fan-chart expression: three parts calm detachment, three parts absolute confidence, three parts unconcern, and one final part faint smile.

“A small matter. A small scene.”

[End of Chapter 643]