Comeback (3)

Magistrate Sun's scalp prickled, and he forced himself to play dumb: "The law is the law — the case has been closed. It has always been the rule that a closed case cannot be retried. What sir asks of me is truly difficult"

Le Wuya said nothing. He walked into the pavilion behind him, shook out his robes, and sat down.

He did not need to speak. The innate air of a authority enamated from him.

Magistrate Sun's knees went weak, and it took everything in him not to kneel on the spot.

He lowered his head, and inexplicably recalled the eerie country tales his grandmother had told him as a child.

The sir seemed...possessed.

But he had no time to dwell on that.

Because Wenren Yue cut straight to the heart of the matter: "Magistrate, your hesitation and your reluctance to offend him — might Chen Yuanwai have something incriminating against you?

That stripped away the last pretense.

Now that it had been said aloud, there was no point in playing dumb any longer.

It was true that Sun Ru and Chen Yuanwai were on close terms, but no incriminating evidence — no letters, nothing in writing — had ever changed hands. They drank wine together, talked things over, and matters were settled.

After all, Chen Yuanwai was a man of learning, and he kept the reserve that came with it.

It was Sun Ru, hungry for advancement, who had done all the flattering and fawning.

Magistrate Sun gritted his teeth and replied: "That's not the case..."

Le Wuya said, "Then are you related to him?"

"...Master, please don't joke."

"I'm not joking with you." Le Wuya kept his relaxed manner. "If Magistrate Sun wishes to discuss the law, I am happy to discuss it. Under the laws of this dynasty, whoever frames another is sentenced to the very crime they fabricated."

"In this case, the Chen family sought to conceal their own wrongdoing by falsely accusing someone of treason. The crime of treason carries the penalty of full confiscation of property, exile for accomplices, and beheading for the principal culprit... Ah, but wait — the person they attempted to frame is a scholar. The Holy Emperor today prizes talent above all."

Le Wuya touched his chin: "...Death by a thousand cuts seems quite likely."

He cast a smiling glance at Magistrate Sun, whose face had gone ashen: "It would be a shame if you were connected to them. You will have thrown away your career for nothing."

Magistrate Sun: "Sir, what exactly... do you intend to do?"

Le Wuya stated his purpose plainly: "Those who deserve to die will die; those who deserve exile will be exiled. And the coal mine will certainly not escape."

Le Wuya understood that if he wanted to overturn the verdict against Wenren Yue, loyalty and righteousness alone would not be enough.

What he needed most was help.

If you want help, the most efficient move is to bring over someone who commands many helpers.

For example, Magistrate Sun.

But to win over someone like Magistrate Sun, you cannot appeal to "upholding justice and clearing a grievance." That would offer him nothing personally.

This man believed only in power and profit — so why not simply let him believe that Master Wenren Yue was playing the same game he was?

As it happened, Le Wuya knew that game very well.

At that moment, Sun Ru's inner turmoil was beyond words.

Wenren Yue — when exactly had he set his sights on the Chen family's Xiaofu Coal Mine?

His heart hammered as his mind raced back half a year.

If Master Wenren had been planning for Xiaofu Coal Mine all along...

Then Chang Xiaohu's case, half a year ago, had been the perfect opening — a pretext to seize the coal mine.

Unfortunately, Mister Chen proved resourceful — he had the case ruled an accident and pressured Chang's mother into dropping her suit. With that door closed, Wenren Yue moved things along by letting Scholar Ming continue pressing the Xiaofu Coal Mine matter.

...Yes — Scholar Ming must have been working with the master for some time!

Otherwise, why would Scholar Ming have pursued Chang Xiaohu's case so relentlessly and then retracted his confession so smoothly, right there on the spot?

His persistence had forced Mister Chen to silence him with a false charge of treason — playing right into the county magistrate's hands. The magistrate had feigned indifference, refusing to sign off on the case file, stalling for time until Lord Zhizhou's fury and the looming deadline left him no choice but to comply.

All of it, just to force him to side with him!

Perhaps the man had been playing weak all along, letting every official push him around, while in truth he had been quietly watching — watching him posture and strut, and saying nothing, biding his time for this moment to strike.

Sun Ru's heart pounded as the realization took hold, and he did not even notice Le Wuya's half-smiling gaze upon him.

Sun Ru's mouth went dry and bitter, and sweat soaked through his clothes. His knees finally gave out beneath him, and he sank to the ground before Le Wuya.

Le Wuya accepted the gesture with perfect composure: "Well. This is the most sincere bow Magistrate Sun has given me since we first met."

...He no longer needed to address him as "Lord Magistrate."

Magistrate Sun's mind was already running ahead -- yet he could not quite bring himself to abandon everything he had already put in.

And besides...

He pressed his head to the ground: "I have offended you greatly before. Please give me your guidance... I will admit that I was on friendly terms with Chen Yuanwai. I am worried... now that this man is at his wit's end, me might..."

He trailed off, unwilling to say it plainly, but Le Wuya, long steeped in the ways of officialdom, calmly supplied the unspoken meaning.

Le Wuya raised the arrow before his eyes: "Magistrate Sun, you are overthinking this."

Sun Ru did not dare speak, and listened closely for what came next.

"Right now, you are an official and he is a commoner. When the time comes, you will still be an official and he will be a prisoner. He has no evidence in hand — if he filed a complaint against an official without proof, he would only receive additional punishment."

Sun Ru ventured: "But Chen Yuanwai was born a Juren..."

Le Wuya smiled: "I am from a Juren family as well — why don't I see you showing such deference to me?"

Sun Ru's scalp prickled again, and before he could defend himself, he heard Le Wuya say slowly: "Ah — you are worried that he has connections at court."

Sun Ru: "...Yes."

Le Wuya said:

"You mean it was his connections at court who forced him into having someone killed?"

"Magistrate Sun, you are worrying needlessly. He is not within the court of power, but outside of it. Those old favors are worth little. Fair-weather friends are fine in peacetime, but the moment he commits a crime and falls — those people will be cutting ties with him before he even hits the ground."

At that, Le Wuya paused at just the right moment.

"Besides — even if he has people at court, don't I have people at court?"

Sun Ru raised his head slightly and looked at Le Wuya, searching his expression for any hint.

He had just visited the Chen Mansion and made a few oblique inquiries, which had confirmed that Mister Ji was indeed as the master had described — stubborn in temperament and fond of bamboo.

But an official's personal tastes were no great secret. Perhaps the sir had simply found out from somewhere.

If the sir truly had stronger connections, he would not have been posted to Nanting for so long — a promotion would soon be within reach.

In that case... there might still be room for him to move up as well.

With a flicker of greed, Sun Ru fixed his gaze on Le Wuya.

He needed only this one final reassurance.

Once he had it, he could switch allegiances with a clear conscience.

Le Wuya was silent.

Not because he did not want to answer.

Since waking in Wenren Yue's body, he had been deliberately avoiding thoughts of familiar faces and familiar things.

Those ties and feelings should have died with him.

Though emotions welled up inside him, nothing showed on his face.

That was a skill he had long since mastered.

In Sun Ru's eyes, the grandpa's expression did not seem strange — only slightly softened, as though touched by something far away.

After a long pause, he said quietly: "Magistrate Sun must have made careful inquiries into my background. I did not attend any academy. I was taught at home by a private tutor. So I have only fellow graduates from the same examination, no close schoolmates — and no relatives or friends in official positions."

Magistrate Sun was thick-skinned enough to simply smile and say nothing.

"As it happens, my connection to this person is not a professional one but a personal one — and he is not a civil official, so Deputy Magistrate Sun has been asking around in vain."

Not a civil official — so a military commander?

A suspicion stirred in Magistrate Sun's mind.

So focused was he on scheming for promotion that his knowledge of the dynasty's military commanders was thin.

"This was more than ten years ago. Still young then, he traveled alone to Suzhou and Hangzhou in search of medicine, riding two horses to death trying to save an old friend's life. I happened to have ten fine wild ginsengs at home; he bought them from me, and we have been friends ever since."

Magistrate Sun's mind was still turning through his limited knowledge.

By his reckoning, there were only two military families of any note in this dynasty.

One was the Le family — living very quietly in recent years for well-known reasons, though none of them had been implicated alongside that person, which was an extraordinary grace from the emperor.

The other was...

"His surname is Pei." Le Wuya said, unhurried. "Do you know of him?"

"Pei——"

Magistrate Sun drew a sharp breath: "You are speaking of...General Pei Mingqi...Pei Fengyou, garrisoned at Qingyuan County?"

The corner of Le Wuya's mouth twitched: "..."

He had meant to use his close friendship with Little Phoenix as a show of strength.

The sky is vast and the emperor is far — these were names beyond reach. Surely this Sun fellow would never have the audacity to go directly to Little Phoenix and ask if the story were true.

But then...

Where exactly was the garrison named Pei stationed?

Wasn't Qingyuan County right next door to Nanting?!

While Le Wuya silently cursed Pei in his heart, Magistrate Sun found himself more and more convinced the longer he turned it over.

Of course — of course!

Nanting County was not a bad post to begin with. It was not a plum assignment, but it was no hardship either. By rights, it should not have fallen to Wenren Yue, an office buyer with no backing.

Previously, Magistrate Sun had assumed Wenren Yue had been sent to Nanting precisely because he had no connections and no one behind him. But what if it had actually been arranged at General Pei's direction — to place him nearby?

Setting aside everything else, the sir was of the Jing clan and was, by any measure, exceptionally good-looking.

And word was that Pei Fengyou was something of an eccentric. Bright prospects, still quite young, yet he had taken neither wife nor concubine...

Magistrate Sun reined in that unsuitable line of thought in time, felt his anxieties settle, and said respectfully: "Master, I understand now. Whatever your orders are, please speak them."

Le Wuya's swirling thoughts finally subsided.

"Who filed the original report condemning the scholar?"

Magistrate Sun no longer dared to play games, and replied: "It was a local ruffian from this town. He claimed to have overheard something while drinking at a restaurant."

"Is this person still around?"

"The case was not yet fully settled, so I told him to stay in the city and remain available at any time."

Le Wuya considered: "And the person who led Chang Xiaohu into the coal mine, in the Chang Xiaohu case..."

Magistrate Sun answered immediately: "Surname Ge. Goes by Erzi."

Le Wuya: "Is he dead?"

Seeing how naturally he spoke of "dead," Prime Minister Sun felt a guilty chill and said tentatively: "...No."

Le Wuya had fully expected the man to be dead, and his follow-up question was going to be whether Chang Xiaohu had a second cousin. Hearing that Ge Erzi was still alive surprised him: "Why didn't you have him killed to keep his mouth shut?"

Le Wuya had come up through the military, had seen battlefields, and was accustomed to death — he spoke of life and death without any hesitation.

Though Magistrate Sun enjoyed wielding power, he was at heart a civil official.

Le Wuya's flat, matter-of-fact question gave him goosebumps: "...It wasn't worth it. The case had been settled. If the ruffian died suddenly, it would only cause more trouble."

Le Wuya said, "Ah."

Right.

Even Qin Hui had three friends. A man like that, scraping along at the bottom, was probably well-practiced at doing dirty work for others.

If you eliminated every loose end, anyone you tried to hire in the future would not be stupid — they would put their own survival first, and many things would become very hard to manage.

"And he is still in the city?"

Magistrate Sun glanced at the sun, chose his words, and answered: "Yes. After the lawsuit was settled six months ago, he laid low for a few months and crept back when the weather turned cold. That sort — the idle rabble — they always sleep until noon, go out in the afternoon to try their luck at gambling, and in the evening, if they win, they spend it on drink and women; if they lose, they go to bed, or wander about trying to squeeze a few coins out of whatever merchants they know."

It was true that County Prime Minister Sun was crooked and calculating, but when it came to knowing Nanting inside out, no one could match him.

Le Wuya's eyes lit up: "Who runs the gambling dens? Not Chen Yuanwai, surely?"

Magistrate Sun told the truth: "Privately, Chen Yuanwai likes a game of Shuanglu or dominoes, but he still guards his reputation and won't touch something as sordid as a gambling den. ...There are three gambling houses in the city. They all belong to the Li family."

"The Li family?"

"The butcher shop owner — goes by Li Asi. He has quite a bit of money. Used to be one of the wealthiest families in Jincheng, but he always kept a few side ventures going..."

Le Wuya cut to the point: "The Chen and Li families must not be on good terms."

The county magistrate laughed and said nothing.

Le Wuya thought to himself: "So they really aren't."

Anyone else who discovered how tangled the relationships in a small county like Nanting could be would have been pulling their hair out.

Le Wuya, on the other hand, felt himself relax.

Messy?

The messier, the better.

Le Wuya stood up and twirled the unthrown arrow in his hand: "Summon the on-duty officer."

County Prime Minister Sun straightened up at once: "Of course. I'll have whoever sir wishes to bring in fetched immediately."

Le Wuya: "No need. Which gambling house does Ge Erzi usually frequent? I'll go get him myself."

Magistrate Sun swallowed.

At this point, he no longer dared to question the his capabilities to his face, and could only say, half in jest and half in earnest: "Sir, do you not trust me? I give you my word — I will handle this perfectly and not breathe a word to anyone."

Le Wuya smiled faintly.

Magistrate Sun was a smooth operator. While on good terms with Yuan Chen, he had likely kept up his relationship with Li Asi as well.

In truth, if Wenren Yue had not been so dull and scrupulously upright — and had not purchased his position, leaving himself with no prospects — he probably would never have been squeezed out by this county magistrate who was so skilled at "keeping everyone happy."

Magistrate Sun's offer to go himself was likely because he wanted to use his own connections and goodwill to bring Ge Erzi back quietly.

But Le Wuya had something entirely different in mind.

"I'm going to raid the gambling house. It wouldn't be appropriate for Magistrate Sun to be involved."

Magistrate Sun: "..."

Magistrate Sun: "Raid the gambling house???"

His voice jumped noticeably.

Le Wuya was perfectly earnest: "The laws of Dayu clearly state that gambling is illegal. Has Sun County Prime Minister not read the laws of Dayu carefully?"

Magistrate Sun: "..."

Who doesn't know gambling is illegal?

But if it weren't a violation, why would Li Asi have been quietly sealing up his earnings and sending them over to the Yamen all year round?

Magistrate Sun's eyes darted around, but he did not argue: "The gambling house is full of rough characters who don't think twice about violence. Please take care not to get hurt..."

Le Wuya cut him off: "I know how to take care of myself. But Magistrate Sun — while I am gathering men and preparing for the inspection, you won't 'accidentally' run off to tip someone off, will you?"

Magistrate Sun: "..."

Caught out, he could only put on a helpless expression: "Master, why stir something up and make yet another enemy?"

"Me? I'm not stirring anything up." Le Wuya said something that nearly stopped his heart. "This isn't a matter of offending anyone. Someone has reported that he has seditious writings hidden in his house. I'll go in, check it out, clear out the gambling den, and turn a tidy profit. Isn't that perfectly fine?"

Magistrate Sun nearly stumbled and fell.

Where had yet another accusation of seditious writings come from?

Was sir becoming addicted to conjuring treasonous evidence?

He asked, trembling: "Who... reported it?"

Le Wuya smiled: "Why, you did, of course."

As Magistrate Sun's expression instantly changed, Le Wuya said slowly: "Of course, if Magistrate Sun finds that too distasteful, we could have the report attributed to Chen Yuanwai instead. ...What do you think?"

Magistrate Sun was speechless.

He could see it clearly now -- Wenren Yue was as fathomless as the dark and as swift as thunder, yet still capable of reason, still capable of patience, lying low for as long as it took, then striking a single killing blow.

If he did not want to be destroyed by him, it was better to stay well clear of that edge.

It was hard to imagine that this terrifying person had only been here a short while.

Magistrate Sun lowered his head once more: "Please give this subordinate another errand."

Le Wuya agreed: "Very well. Get me Chang Xiaohu."

Magistrate Sun's mind went briefly blank: "But... Chang Xiaohu has been dead for half a year..."

Le Wuya said calmly: "If he's dead, dig him up."

Magistrate Sun recoiled in shock: "The man is already dead..."

Le Wuya said: "Are the bones not still intact?"

"No..." Magistrate Sun said with difficulty, "Chang Xiaohu's mother, Aunt Su, is still alive."

She was the one who had suffered through all of this, and she had only swallowed her grievance after being pressured and coaxed from all sides. If she saw her son's body being exhumed for no apparent reason and taken away again, it would be a miracle if she didn't go mad.

Le Wuya looked at him with an expression of puzzlement: "Deputy Magistrate Sun seems confused. What was it you said just now?"

...What?

"You said, 'The case has been closed, and it has always been the rule that a closed case cannot be retried.'" Le Wuya mimicked his earlier tone. "The Chang Xiaohu case is going to be reopened — I need a proper pretext for that. If Aunt Su doesn't come forward as the plaintiff, who will?"

Magistrate Sun: "..."

His hair stood on end.

How far ahead was this man already thinking?

...When Aunt Su was being questioned, Wenren Yue had looked after her with great care, speaking to her gently throughout. He had clearly treated her with genuine concern. In the end, she had withdrawn the case only because she had been left with no other choice.

At the time, Wenren Yue had also pressed her repeatedly to confirm she truly wished to withdraw the suit. He had seemed every bit the conscientious and compassionate parent official.

So when it came to exhuming the body, Aunt Su would never suspect it had been the his idea. She would only think... that he had decided it himself.

Magistrate Sun gritted his teeth.

What a plan. Wenren Yue had done all the good — and he would not bear a single drop of the blame.

But he could not refuse. There was no way to refuse.

The sir did not want to be splashed with this dirty water, so he had no choice but to take it himself.

And besides...

Sure enough, the very next moment, he heard Le Wuya's unhurried voice: "Magistrate Sun, this is our first time working together. If it goes well, the road ahead will be bright for both of us."

Magistrate Sun rose to his feet with effort: "...Yes. I will go and make preparations."

"Have the body dug up and taken to the Yizhuang ice room for temporary storage." Le Wuya reminded him. "And keep it quiet."

Magistrate Sun had been swallowing his indignation for too long, and at those words, a surge of aggrieved outrage rose in his chest.

What he was about to lead men to do was the shameful business of digging up graves. If he didn't keep it secret and then reward and appease them afterward, he feared no constable would be willing to go with him!

In that case, he, the magistrate, would have to personally dig up someone else's grave with a shovel -- that would be a disgrace to his reputation!

He murmured his assent, turned, and walked out of the pavilion.

Without realizing it, Magistrate Sun was drenched in sweat again.

He was wiping his face with his sleeve and walking away when a faint whoosh of air came from behind him.

With a clean thud, the arrow in Le Wuya's hand never even grazed the rim of the pot — it flew straight into the center.

"...Also, would Deputy Magistrate Sun be so kind as to prepare a bow and horse for me? A light bow will do — five-draw strength is enough."

...

At Sihailou, the finest restaurant in Nanting County, the Sixth Prince and the Seventh Prince sat in casual clothing, looking like a pair of elegant young men from aristocratic families, gazing down over the dusty yellow streets below.

A guard stood beside each of them. Though dressed in plain coarse cloth, both men carried themselves with the bearing of seasoned warriors, and no one dared draw near.

The clatter of hooves sounded at the far end of the street.

The Seventh Prince glanced back, his expression brightening with curiosity: "Sixth Brother — someone is coming."

The Sixth Prince had been quiet ever since the news reached him that morning.

His silence was not unusual though, so no one thought much of it.

The Sixth Prince looked in the direction of the sound.

Once he looked, he could not look away.

The official at the head of the procession rode in purple robes shot through with plain silver. Seen from above, only the lower half of his face was clearly visible, yet the proud, unrestrained air that emanated from his very core was impossible to ignore.

The Seventh Prince had also gone still, leaning motionless against the railing.

He opened his mouth: "...Sixth Brother."

The Sixth Prince lifted his teacup: "Yes."

Though the two of them had never seen eye to eye in temperament, born of the same mother as they were, there was always an infuriating current of understanding between them.

In this moment, they were thinking the same thing:

The sharp, cunning glint at the brow of that little county magistrate — it was rather like that person.

But he had never looked quite like this before. So untethered. So free.