Chapter 172 – Greed Can Be Endearing
As Yan Bozhang handed over the silver, he issued a chilling warning, “Our deal ends here. Take this silver and leave Juxian Tower immediately. Never mention that you know me to anyone. If I hear you’ve been talking, beware of your tongues.”
Bang! Just then, the tightly shut door of the private room was kicked open.
“What a commanding presence, Steward Yan,” a voice rang out.
Hearing this tone and voice, Yan Bozhang’s heart skipped a beat. He looked up to see two handsome men, one in black and the other in red robes, entering side by side, followed by a red-dressed woman and two guards.
“Such authority in your voice, Steward Yan. I could hear it from the neighboring room,” said Long Yu, as he and Murong Qinjian made their unexpected entrance.
Caught off guard, Yan Bozhang, nervously and quickly knelt on the ground.
“Your humble servant greets General Zhan and Murong Qinjian.”
Long Yu glanced at the silver in the ruffians’ hands and said, “Steward Yan, a government official like you colluding with these thugs?”
“Long Yi, Long Er, take these five men. Throw them into the county jail for interrogation.”
As planned by Yan Xiaosi, the five ruffians acted their part. Seeing Long Yi and Long Er approaching, the eldest, holding the silver, hastily spoke up, “General Zhan, it was all under Steward Yan’s orders.”
Long Yu waved his hand, signaling Long Yi and Long Er to pause.
Yan Xiaosi, standing beside Long Yu, swept her cold gaze over the five ruffians, “Speak up! What did Steward Yan make you do?”
Recognizing Yan Xiaosi’s voice, the five ruffians looked at her, and upon closer inspection, they recognized her. They shivered collectively, realizing who she was.
The eldest spoke tremulously, “Steward Yan has a grudge against a young man and his family living on Big Sister Peak. He hired us to deal with them.”
Hearing this, Yan Bozhang’s face turned deathly pale.
“General Zhan, please don’t believe these ruffians. They are slandering me!”
Yan Xiaosi coldly smiled, snatched the silver from the ruffian’s hand, and presented it to Yan Bozhang. “Slandering you, Steward Yan? Did they slander you into giving them silver? I didn’t realize you were such a generous person.”
Yan Bozhang, too nervous and preoccupied to recognize Yan Xiaosi’s voice initially, now stared at her in shock. “You… you’re Yan Xiaosi?”
Yan Xiaosi pocketed the silver, then reached into her collar and pulled out two steamed buns. “It seems Uncle finally realized it’s me. You must have thought I’d be too beaten up by these ruffians to show up.”
Long Yu silently allowed Yan Xiaosi to pocket Yan Bozhang’s silver. Watching her comical actions, he couldn’t help but smile slightly. This kid’s greed was somehow endearing.
“With evidence and confession in hand, Steward Yan, do you have anything else to say?”
Long Yu’s words echoed from above, filling Yan Bozhang with regret. He cursed inwardly at the unreliability of the five ruffians.
Under the laws of the Great Chu Dynasty, scholars who commit crimes are forbidden from holding official positions. With his age preventing him from taking the imperial examinations again, Yan Bozhang had resigned himself to serving as Yao Jin’s steward, all for the hope that once Yao Jin was promoted to a higher position, he would recommend him as the magistrate of Xize County. If Long Yu were to confirm his guilt now, all his years of enduring humiliation and making sacrifices would be in vain.
“General Zhan, I did not hire these ruffians to target Yan Xiaosi. It must be that Yan Xiaosi offended them, leading to this disaster. Please believe me, General,” Yan Bozhang pleaded.
But his excuses were futile in the face of incontrovertible evidence.
Long Yu, uninterested in Yan Bozhang’s excuses, decided to take matters into his own hands. “To clear any doubts about Steward Yan’s innocence,” he said, pausing briefly before instructing Long Yi and Long Er, “Long Yi, Long Er, take Steward Yan and these five ruffians back to the county court for my personal interrogation.”
Yan Bozhang, stubbornly denying the truth, would soon face Long Yu’s relentless interrogation methods.
“Understood, Master,” Long Yi and Long Er responded.
The five ruffians trembled in fear as Long Yi and Long Er approached them again.
“Wait!” The eldest ruffian suddenly spoke up. “I have another piece of evidence proving it was Steward Yan who instructed us.”
His words reminded Yan Bozhang of something crucial, causing him to tremble more violently, his face paler than before, and his expression filled with despair as he stared at Yan Xiaosi extending her hand towards the ruffian.
“What is it? Hurry up and show it,” Yan Xiaosi demanded.
The ruffian reached into his bosom and pulled out a note, handing it to Yan Xiaosi. It was an IOU from Yan Bozhang to the five ruffians for hiring them.
“This was given to us by Steward Yan,” the eldest ruffian explained nervously. “He said after the job was done, we could use this to claim our payment.”
Yan Xiaosi turned and handed the piece of paper to Long Yu. “General Zhan, please have a look.”
Long Yu took the piece of paper, glanced at it briefly, and clenched it in his hand. “Whether Steward Yan is innocent or not, we can verify it back at the county court by comparing the handwriting on this.”
“Long Er, take Steward Yan away.”
Yan Bozhang, limp and defeated, was dragged out of Juxian Tower like a dead fish by Long Yu.
Long Yi took charge of escorting the five ruffians.
Shortly after, they all returned to the county court. Inside, Yao Jin was intimately engaged with one of his concubines when a servant frantically knocked on the door.
“Sir, sir, something terrible has happened!”
Annoyed at being disturbed, Yao Jin pushed away his concubine, straightened his robe, and went to answer the door.
“What’s all the fuss about? Calm down and speak.”
“Sir, Steward Yan seems to have committed a crime, angering General Zhan,” the servant reported.
Yao Jin’s face tightened with anxiety. “Where are General Zhan and Steward Yan now?”
“In the main hall, sir. General Zhan is waiting for you to handle the case.”
Yao Jin, too anxious to even don his official robe properly, hurried to the main hall.
Upon arriving, he saw Long Yu and Murong Qinjian seated on the judge’s chairs, with a familiar-looking woman in red standing beside Long Yu.
Yan Bozhang and the five men were kneeling on the ground, flanked by the two Dragon Guards.
