“Daren, please reconsider!” After going through a moment of extreme shock, Sha Xiuzhu quickly regained his consciousness and faced Wang Fangxing, “I know nothing of this matter, there must be a misunderstanding here!”
“You ordered them to seal the lid of these chests with wax oil, right?” Lu Yi asked.
“That…that was to prevent these items from moist infiltration.” Sha Xiuzhu still said the same thing.
“Is that it?” Lu Yi chuckled and said quietly, “Yesterday, at midnight, because I wasn’t used to sleeping on the ship, I went to the deck, you may as well guess what I saw…”
Staring at him closely, Sha Xiuzhu became uncomfortable and for a second, he could not speak.
Finally Wang Fangxing understood everything, raised his hand for a slap followed by a vicious kick: “You shameless demonic creature, I was almost killed by you! You dare to touch the general’s birthday gifts, you have a death wish.”
Sha Xiuzhu was born with a fairly tall and muscular body, his skin was rough and very thick; he did not budge receiving these two blows but he glared angrily at Wang Fangxing, his black-face covered in blood due to internal wounds.
“I’m the one who stole it, so what?” He stood up, took out his sword and threw it on the ground, showing no fear, “This is all my own doing, it has nothing to do with anyone else.”
“You…” Wang Fangzing became furious, “You have been following me for more than eight years, I have never mistreated you, why are you doing things like this? Pulling me into water and fire?!” Sha Xiuzhu had high martial skills, he was honest and straightforward, for several years he was trusted to be the commander under Wang Fangxing, now that there was a problem, how could Wang Fangxing have the heart to kill him?
“I know that you’re afraid that I will involve you, standing in front of General Qiu and feeling conflicted when reporting the situation to him. You can cut off my head and give it to the Qiu clan; I have no family, no more to worry about, it’s a good thing to die than to spend the days in vain.” Sha Xiuzhu said again.
After Jinxia heard these words, she secretly gave a thumb up: “This person turned out to be a brave man.”
“You’re a banner-carrying officer, a commander under Wang Fangxin, why do you feel useless?” Lu Yi sat up straight in his round chair, asking with interest.
If these had been regular days, in front of JinYiWei, Sha Xiuzhu would have been careful with his words and actions, but from the start to this moment, he no longer cared about life and death. Without thinking again, he laughed coldly and said: “I am a rude person, do you not understand how complicated and twisted is your judicial system? You should go look at the defense of the border, is the Qiu clan worthy of being called the one of a general? He dared to issue troops, that year General Zeng was like a great god, but because of the Qiu clan, he was killed…”
“General Zeng?” Jinxia tried hard to remember.
YangYue in a small voice reminded her: “Zeng Xian.”
Zeng Xian, whose honorary name was Zhizhong, was from Zhejiang province, Taizhou city, Huangyan District. He was the best scholar in the 8th year of Jiajing’s reign. In the 25th year, he was promoted to be the trilateral military affairs governor of Shanxi. In the 27th year of Jiajing’s reign, Qiu Luan reported Zeng Xian, accusing him of hiding the news of losing the war, embezzling military funds, and bribing the Chief Secretary, Xia Yan. Ten months later, Zeng Xian was sentenced to be beheaded, his wife was exiled 2000 feet away. Even when death leaves no wealth, his final words were ‘Faithfully serving the country.’
“So he stole the birthday gifts to avenge General Zeng, a very loyal person!” Jinxia in a low voice sighed, she was having a good impression of Sha Xiuzhu.
In the room, Lu Yi slightly glanced at the window, continuing to question Sha Xiuzhu: “So you are a Zeng Xian’s follower? The act of robbing the birthday gifts was to avenge Zeng Xian?”
“I’m not someone who only thinks about revenge.” Sha Xiuzhu angrily said: “But because the Qiu clan is afraid of enemies in the same way they fear tigers, they can only harm people and take advantage of it as their success, being a subordinate of such a person, it’s the reason why I feel my life is useless and I’d rather prefer to go to war against the Tatars; even death is better than serving the Qiu clan.”
Wang Fangxing, after hearing this, lowered his eyes, stood still and stopped speaking.
Jinxia closed her mouth, quietly laughed and whispered in YangYue’s ear: “No wonder there is often good news, it turns out that Qiu Luan, besides eating empty salaries, apparently still harm people and claim services.”
“How did you plan on dealing with these birthday gifts?” Lu Yi asked.
Sha Xiuzhu looked at him, feeling useless in his reply” “Even if I tell you, you won’t believe it.”
Lu Yi, not in a hurry, said: “Believe it or not, it is up to me, there’s nothing wrong with letting us listen.”
“Two months ago, the Tatars invaded the border and looted the people there. The Qiu clan themselves were afraid of death, did not dare to send any soldiers, therefore the Tatars burned several villages, many people had no place to live, they were cold, starved and sick… I was thinking of robbing these items to distribute them to the people, just thinking of our debt to them.”
Lu Yi laughed coldly: “The reason sounds satisfying, just afraid that whoever’s hands these items fall in, after seeing the golds and silvers that they’ve never seen before, most likely they won’t be too willing to give it up.”
“In this life, I just want to live happily, not at all for the sake of wealth.” Sha Xiuzhu became impatient and looked at Lu Yi, who continued to interrogate, “If you want to kill me, then kill me; if you want to torture me, please torture me, don’t beat around the bush.”
All of Qiu Luan’s actions, how could Wang Fangxing not know? It was just because he had been an official for several years, up and down in the sea, the blood for defending the home and the country had already been spilled. He had become immune to seeing refugees who were destitute and displaced, suffering from the cold and hunger and he never imagined that this quiet subordinate in his heart felt such a shame… the same feeling of shame he hadn’t felt in a very long time. Sha Xiuzhu’s words, line after line, began to nail it in his soul.
“He must have an accomplice, I will take him back and interrogate him further. This time, I thank you Lu Jingli for finding these chests, I will definitely report this to the General.” Wang Fangxing purposely kicked Sha Xiuzhu in the leg. “Want to die? It’s not that easy.”
“Wait a minute,” Lu Yi got up, stood in front of Wang Fangxing and slowly said: “Canjiang Daren, sorry to say this but this person cannot be taken away.”
“Why is that?”
Wang Fangxing looked at him, starting to regret involving Lu Yi in this problem. JinYiWei’s involvements were actually troublesome.
Lu Yi laughed coldly, not answering but instead questioning him: “Canjiang Daren, he has just brought up the matter of General Qiu harming people and claiming services, yet you don’t argue, could it be true?”
Wang Fangxing felt cornered, as if he had woken up from a dream and realized he had just given information that had endangered him, so he quickly said: “No, of course it’s not true, this person is saying nonsense.”
Lu Yi nodded his head, cold as ice but with courtesy and said: “This matter cannot be underestimated. As a JinYiWei, my duty is to take him back for questioning in detail. Please understand Canjiang Daren.”
“This is…” Wang Fangxing knew exactly how JinYiWei worked in handling things, he could only step up and say, “Then I’ll call people to move these chests back to the ship…”
“Wait a minute,” Lu Yi said again, “You can’t take these chests either.”
Wang Fangxing was now angry, using his official status, he raised his voice: “Lu Yi, you mustn’t bully people too much.”
Under the window outside, hearing the inside of the room becoming noisy, Jinxia felt very happy, she pulled on YangYue’s sleeve and said in a low voice: “It seems that JinYiWei has more power, he wants to take all the gifts. You say, why did he even call Wang Fangxing here for? Isn’t he purposely trying to upset him?”
YangYue didn’t understand, he gave Jinxia a signal to be quiet, while continuing to listen to the activities in the room.
“A roll of Spring Grass script by Zhang Xu, do you know how much they are being sold in the market?” From the beginning, Lu Yi did not want to argue with Wang Fangxing. He reached out his hand and took the role of manuscript out of the chest, slowly opening it and taking a look for himself.
Wang Fangxing was momentarily speechless: “This…”
“Chen Dajian’s ‘True Grass’ manuscript, Wu Daozi’s ‘Nanyue’s painting’, Lu Yi picked them up and sighed, “There is also the painting of the ‘Autumn Eagle’ by Song Huizong, if I remember correctly, this ‘Autumn Eagle’ painting is an object belonging to the palace.”
“Nonsense, how could these objects belong to the palace?” Although Wang Fangxing’s voice was loud, his gut began to shrink.
“By investigating this case carefully, it can clear General Qiu’s name.” Lu Yi leaned closer to Wang Fangxing, saying in a low voice: “To my knowledge, last time when General Qiu returned to the capital, he became His Majesty’s favourite and neglected Chief Secretary Daren. Now that the border defense is messed up by the horse market, His Majesty has become unhappy. ‘Birds are good at choosing where to nest and live’, I assume Canjiang Daren can understand these words ”
Although his voice was soft, these words were like thunder in Wang Fangxing’s head, he was unable to speak for a long time. The ‘Chief Secretary Daren’ in Lu Yi’s word was Yan Song, a few years ago he had promoted Qiu Luan, but now he had offended Yan Song. The mess with the border defense was still considered to be a small problem, but His Majesty’s dissatisfaction was just a matter of time. If by the time this problem arrived at the royal court, no one would stand out to be the guarantor, surely the military force would be withdrawn, positions would be revoked and investigation would be held day and night.
Various thoughts were spinning in Wang Fangxing’s head. After a moment, he finally decided and said: “Lu Jingli said very well, this matter is best to be investigated properly, if you need any help, please let me know.”
Outside under the window, Jinxia did not hear Lu Yi’s words because he whispered in Wang Fangxing’s ear, she could only hear him answer him gladly. Feeling curious, she looked for YangYue to find the answer.
YangYue did not answer either, could only shrug his shoulders.
“Thank you, Canjian Daren.” Lu Yi said.
“Then, I’ll take my leave.” Wang Fangxing was about to turn around, looking at Sha Xiuzhu on the other side; however, he couldn’t stand it and turned to Lu Yi: “He has been following me for a long time. This time, despite this problem, he is still one of my bravest men. I’m asking Lu Jingli, with your respect for me, not to use the three third of tortures on him: I would be highly grateful.”
“As long as he is honest, I will not trouble him.” Lu Yi said.
Sha Xiuzhu on the other side, panicked and said: “My men were following my orders, this problem has nothing to do with them, I beg Daren not to bother them.”
Wang Fangxing only looked at him, for a moment did not say anything and took a deep breath, then he immediately walked out of the ship’s cabin.
Lu Yi looked at Sha Xiuzhu coldly, felt himself being mocked through his eyes.
“What are you looking at! I know all about your torturing methods, if you want to hit, just go ahead, don’t talk about sympathy, it makes this old man uncomfortable.” Sha Xiuzhu glared at him, “I’ve already heard all your words, you’re just one of Yan Song’s dogs, nothing special, a ‘xiaobailian’.”
*[Xiaobailian = indicating the men who lives off women, or gay men or another explanation is saying this man is extremely beautiful, TN]
Outside under the window, Jinxia who heard that looked down and laughed quietly. If you thought about his appearance, Lu Yi was indeed handsome, an elegant nobleman’s son, but every day showing the face of a coffin, his behaviours and actions made people resent him.
YangYue after hearing this, shook his head, this brave man was really stupid, scolding Lu Yi meant he was not appreciating his kindness, but Yan Song was also cursed at the same time, did this man have a death wish?
Lu Yi did not look angry, he said lightly: “Actually, last night, I fell asleep very early, until you boarded the ship to search, I was still sleeping soundly.”
Sha Xiuzhu was stunned, his face was full of rage: “You dare to deceive me!…but, how did you know the location of these chests?”
“How I knew, you don’t need to know.” Lu Yi laughed coldly, “These items were hidden in the waterproof compartment, weren’t you the one who thought of it? Say, who else is there?”
“I’m the only one who thought of it.”
After a moment of silence, Jinxia and YangYue, who were outside the ship’s cabin heard a very heartbreaking scream in pain; the two of them were shocked at the same time and involuntarily stood up and looked inside the cabin.
Sha Xiuzhu laid on the floor in pain, his hands grabbing his knees; because of the pain he was making a distorted face. Lu Yi stood calmly, looking at Jinxia and YangYue, as if everything was what he expected.
“Daren, please reconsider!” After going through a moment of extreme shock, Sha Xiuzhu quickly regained his consciousness and faced Wang Fangxing, “I know nothing of this matter, there must be a misunderstanding here!”
“You ordered them to seal the lid of these chests with wax oil, right?” Lu Yi asked.
“That…that was to prevent these items from moist infiltration.” Sha Xiuzhu still said the same thing.
“Is that it?” Lu Yi chuckled and said quietly, “Yesterday, at midnight, because I wasn’t used to sleeping on the ship, I went to the deck, you may as well guess what I saw…”
Staring at him closely, Sha Xiuzhu became uncomfortable and for a second, he could not speak.
Finally Wang Fangxing understood everything, raised his hand for a slap followed by a vicious kick: “You shameless demonic creature, I was almost killed by you! You dare to touch the general’s birthday gifts, you have a death wish.”
Sha Xiuzhu was born with a fairly tall and muscular body, his skin was rough and very thick; he did not budge receiving these two blows but he glared angrily at Wang Fangxing, his black-face covered in blood due to internal wounds.
“I’m the one who stole it, so what?” He stood up, took out his sword and threw it on the ground, showing no fear, “This is all my own doing, it has nothing to do with anyone else.”
“You…” Wang Fangzing became furious, “You have been following me for more than eight years, I have never mistreated you, why are you doing things like this? Pulling me into water and fire?!” Sha Xiuzhu had high martial skills, he was honest and straightforward, for several years he was trusted to be the commander under Wang Fangxing, now that there was a problem, how could Wang Fangxing have the heart to kill him?
“I know that you’re afraid that I will involve you, standing in front of General Qiu and feeling conflicted when reporting the situation to him. You can cut off my head and give it to the Qiu clan; I have no family, no more to worry about, it’s a good thing to die than to spend the days in vain.” Sha Xiuzhu said again.
After Jinxia heard these words, she secretly gave a thumb up: “This person turned out to be a brave man.”
“You’re a banner-carrying officer, a commander under Wang Fangxin, why do you feel useless?” Lu Yi sat up straight in his round chair, asking with interest.
If these had been regular days, in front of JinYiWei, Sha Xiuzhu would have been careful with his words and actions, but from the start to this moment, he no longer cared about life and death. Without thinking again, he laughed coldly and said: “I am a rude person, do you not understand how complicated and twisted is your judicial system? You should go look at the defense of the border, is the Qiu clan worthy of being called the one of a general? He dared to issue troops, that year General Zeng was like a great god, but because of the Qiu clan, he was killed…”
“General Zeng?” Jinxia tried hard to remember.
YangYue in a small voice reminded her: “Zeng Xian.”
Zeng Xian, whose honorary name was Zhizhong, was from Zhejiang province, Taizhou city, Huangyan District. He was the best scholar in the 8th year of Jiajing’s reign. In the 25th year, he was promoted to be the trilateral military affairs governor of Shanxi. In the 27th year of Jiajing’s reign, Qiu Luan reported Zeng Xian, accusing him of hiding the news of losing the war, embezzling military funds, and bribing the Chief Secretary, Xia Yan. Ten months later, Zeng Xian was sentenced to be beheaded, his wife was exiled 2000 feet away. Even when death leaves no wealth, his final words were ‘Faithfully serving the country.’
“So he stole the birthday gifts to avenge General Zeng, a very loyal person!” Jinxia in a low voice sighed, she was having a good impression of Sha Xiuzhu.
In the room, Lu Yi slightly glanced at the window, continuing to question Sha Xiuzhu: “So you are a Zeng Xian’s follower? The act of robbing the birthday gifts was to avenge Zeng Xian?”
“I’m not someone who only thinks about revenge.” Sha Xiuzhu angrily said: “But because the Qiu clan is afraid of enemies in the same way they fear tigers, they can only harm people and take advantage of it as their success, being a subordinate of such a person, it’s the reason why I feel my life is useless and I’d rather prefer to go to war against the Tatars; even death is better than serving the Qiu clan.”
Wang Fangxing, after hearing this, lowered his eyes, stood still and stopped speaking.
Jinxia closed her mouth, quietly laughed and whispered in YangYue’s ear: “No wonder there is often good news, it turns out that Qiu Luan, besides eating empty salaries, apparently still harm people and claim services.”
“How did you plan on dealing with these birthday gifts?” Lu Yi asked.
Sha Xiuzhu looked at him, feeling useless in his reply” “Even if I tell you, you won’t believe it.”
Lu Yi, not in a hurry, said: “Believe it or not, it is up to me, there’s nothing wrong with letting us listen.”
“Two months ago, the Tatars invaded the border and looted the people there. The Qiu clan themselves were afraid of death, did not dare to send any soldiers, therefore the Tatars burned several villages, many people had no place to live, they were cold, starved and sick… I was thinking of robbing these items to distribute them to the people, just thinking of our debt to them.”
Lu Yi laughed coldly: “The reason sounds satisfying, just afraid that whoever’s hands these items fall in, after seeing the golds and silvers that they’ve never seen before, most likely they won’t be too willing to give it up.”
“In this life, I just want to live happily, not at all for the sake of wealth.” Sha Xiuzhu became impatient and looked at Lu Yi, who continued to interrogate, “If you want to kill me, then kill me; if you want to torture me, please torture me, don’t beat around the bush.”
All of Qiu Luan’s actions, how could Wang Fangxing not know? It was just because he had been an official for several years, up and down in the sea, the blood for defending the home and the country had already been spilled. He had become immune to seeing refugees who were destitute and displaced, suffering from the cold and hunger and he never imagined that this quiet subordinate in his heart felt such a shame… the same feeling of shame he hadn’t felt in a very long time. Sha Xiuzhu’s words, line after line, began to nail it in his soul.
“He must have an accomplice, I will take him back and interrogate him further. This time, I thank you Lu Jingli for finding these chests, I will definitely report this to the General.” Wang Fangxing purposely kicked Sha Xiuzhu in the leg. “Want to die? It’s not that easy.”
“Wait a minute,” Lu Yi got up, stood in front of Wang Fangxing and slowly said: “Canjiang Daren, sorry to say this but this person cannot be taken away.”
“Why is that?”
Wang Fangxing looked at him, starting to regret involving Lu Yi in this problem. JinYiWei’s involvements were actually troublesome.
Lu Yi laughed coldly, not answering but instead questioning him: “Canjiang Daren, he has just brought up the matter of General Qiu harming people and claiming services, yet you don’t argue, could it be true?”
Wang Fangxing felt cornered, as if he had woken up from a dream and realized he had just given information that had endangered him, so he quickly said: “No, of course it’s not true, this person is saying nonsense.”
Lu Yi nodded his head, cold as ice but with courtesy and said: “This matter cannot be underestimated. As a JinYiWei, my duty is to take him back for questioning in detail. Please understand Canjiang Daren.”
“This is…” Wang Fangxing knew exactly how JinYiWei worked in handling things, he could only step up and say, “Then I’ll call people to move these chests back to the ship…”
“Wait a minute,” Lu Yi said again, “You can’t take these chests either.”
Wang Fangxing was now angry, using his official status, he raised his voice: “Lu Yi, you mustn’t bully people too much.”
Under the window outside, hearing the inside of the room becoming noisy, Jinxia felt very happy, she pulled on YangYue’s sleeve and said in a low voice: “It seems that JinYiWei has more power, he wants to take all the gifts. You say, why did he even call Wang Fangxing here for? Isn’t he purposely trying to upset him?”
YangYue didn’t understand, he gave Jinxia a signal to be quiet, while continuing to listen to the activities in the room.
“A roll of Spring Grass script by Zhang Xu, do you know how much they are being sold in the market?” From the beginning, Lu Yi did not want to argue with Wang Fangxing. He reached out his hand and took the role of manuscript out of the chest, slowly opening it and taking a look for himself.
Wang Fangxing was momentarily speechless: “This…”
“Chen Dajian’s ‘True Grass’ manuscript, Wu Daozi’s ‘Nanyue’s painting’, Lu Yi picked them up and sighed, “There is also the painting of the ‘Autumn Eagle’ by Song Huizong, if I remember correctly, this ‘Autumn Eagle’ painting is an object belonging to the palace.”
“Nonsense, how could these objects belong to the palace?” Although Wang Fangxing’s voice was loud, his gut began to shrink.
“By investigating this case carefully, it can clear General Qiu’s name.” Lu Yi leaned closer to Wang Fangxing, saying in a low voice: “To my knowledge, last time when General Qiu returned to the capital, he became His Majesty’s favourite and neglected Chief Secretary Daren. Now that the border defense is messed up by the horse market, His Majesty has become unhappy. ‘Birds are good at choosing where to nest and live’, I assume Canjiang Daren can understand these words ”
Although his voice was soft, these words were like thunder in Wang Fangxing’s head, he was unable to speak for a long time. The ‘Chief Secretary Daren’ in Lu Yi’s word was Yan Song, a few years ago he had promoted Qiu Luan, but now he had offended Yan Song. The mess with the border defense was still considered to be a small problem, but His Majesty’s dissatisfaction was just a matter of time. If by the time this problem arrived at the royal court, no one would stand out to be the guarantor, surely the military force would be withdrawn, positions would be revoked and investigation would be held day and night.
Various thoughts were spinning in Wang Fangxing’s head. After a moment, he finally decided and said: “Lu Jingli said very well, this matter is best to be investigated properly, if you need any help, please let me know.”
Outside under the window, Jinxia did not hear Lu Yi’s words because he whispered in Wang Fangxing’s ear, she could only hear him answer him gladly. Feeling curious, she looked for YangYue to find the answer.
YangYue did not answer either, could only shrug his shoulders.
“Thank you, Canjian Daren.” Lu Yi said.
“Then, I’ll take my leave.” Wang Fangxing was about to turn around, looking at Sha Xiuzhu on the other side; however, he couldn’t stand it and turned to Lu Yi: “He has been following me for a long time. This time, despite this problem, he is still one of my bravest men. I’m asking Lu Jingli, with your respect for me, not to use the three third of tortures on him: I would be highly grateful.”
“As long as he is honest, I will not trouble him.” Lu Yi said.
Sha Xiuzhu on the other side, panicked and said: “My men were following my orders, this problem has nothing to do with them, I beg Daren not to bother them.”
Wang Fangxing only looked at him, for a moment did not say anything and took a deep breath, then he immediately walked out of the ship’s cabin.
Lu Yi looked at Sha Xiuzhu coldly, felt himself being mocked through his eyes.
“What are you looking at! I know all about your torturing methods, if you want to hit, just go ahead, don’t talk about sympathy, it makes this old man uncomfortable.” Sha Xiuzhu glared at him, “I’ve already heard all your words, you’re just one of Yan Song’s dogs, nothing special, a ‘xiaobailian’.”
*[Xiaobailian = indicating the men who lives off women, or gay men or another explanation is saying this man is extremely beautiful, TN]
Outside under the window, Jinxia who heard that looked down and laughed quietly. If you thought about his appearance, Lu Yi was indeed handsome, an elegant nobleman’s son, but every day showing the face of a coffin, his behaviours and actions made people resent him.
YangYue after hearing this, shook his head, this brave man was really stupid, scolding Lu Yi meant he was not appreciating his kindness, but Yan Song was also cursed at the same time, did this man have a death wish?
Lu Yi did not look angry, he said lightly: “Actually, last night, I fell asleep very early, until you boarded the ship to search, I was still sleeping soundly.”
Sha Xiuzhu was stunned, his face was full of rage: “You dare to deceive me!…but, how did you know the location of these chests?”
“How I knew, you don’t need to know.” Lu Yi laughed coldly, “These items were hidden in the waterproof compartment, weren’t you the one who thought of it? Say, who else is there?”
“I’m the only one who thought of it.”
After a moment of silence, Jinxia and YangYue, who were outside the ship’s cabin heard a very heartbreaking scream in pain; the two of them were shocked at the same time and involuntarily stood up and looked inside the cabin.
Sha Xiuzhu laid on the floor in pain, his hands grabbing his knees; because of the pain he was making a distorted face. Lu Yi stood calmly, looking at Jinxia and YangYue, as if everything was what he expected.
