EES - Chapter 18
Chapter 18
Steward Cai, leaning on the backing of Master Cai, had grown accustomed to bullying and intimidating others in Linfang. At first, he had no intention of telling the truth; he wanted to bluff his way through. However, the servant who had been caught at the village entrance lacked that kind of boldness. Threatened and beaten by the yamen runners and guards, he hurriedly spilled everything: "In the tunnel beneath Carpenter Sun's house! We were all ordered by the Master to catch that little girl!"
"A tunnel?"
"Yes, yes! I don't know what the cover of that tunnel was made of, but we only removed it this morning! Who knew there was another door inside..."
Yang Sheng glanced at the servant. "How many of you went down?"
"Seven... seven!"
The group arrived beside the dark door, which had been pried apart into jagged fragments. Yang Sheng saw the black, gaping mouth of the tunnel entrance exhaling a chill. Without much hesitation, he lifted his robes to descend, but was stopped by the Shadow Guard.
"Top Scholar, let us go down first to investigate." The guard with the baby face was tall, yet his features still looked youthful. He spoke with pointed meaning: "Your Majesty cares far more about your safety than you realize, so please take extra care yourself."
Yang Sheng: ?
He had assumed the latter half of the imperial edict was merely perfunctory, something that wouldn't be unique to him but would apply to everyone... Was it actually serious?
This guard was clearly not an ordinary attendant, nor were the other two. Could it be that the palace had so many hands it didn't know where to put them, that they assigned someone specifically to protect him, a mediocre new Top Scholar?
The Top Scholar, whose exterior seemed as aloof as a high mountain, couldn't help but think this.
If An Lin knew what he was thinking right now, she would likely shout out loud: Absolutely not! Of course it's because We only have three precious Gold Cards in total, and Qiancai is the only one among the three whose Martial Strength isn't above 90. If We don't worry about you, who should We worry about!
...Ahem.
In any case, another Shadow Guard jumped into the dark passage first. After a while, the sound of wood being struck echoed from below. Upon receiving the signal, the baby-faced Shadow Guard also jumped down, leaving the third one to remain behind Yang Sheng without moving.
At the end of the tunnel, in a small hidden chamber, poor Little Erya heard the continuous sounds of prying doors outside. She hugged her knees, shrinking behind a waist-high ceramic jar. The coolness of the wall seeped through her thin clothes, making her shiver uncontrollably.
After an unknown amount of time, she heard a 'click' from the fixed part of the sturdy dark door. The muffled voices outside paused, then grew excited, filtering in through the small gap created by the shifted door.
"It finally loosened!"
"Great, there shouldn't be a third door now, right? It's too cold down here, I've had enough..."
"At this hour, I should already be home eating dinner made by my wife!"
"Everyone gather here, pull together, and rip the door off in one go!"
"..."
Little Erya hugged herself tighter, clenching the small ball in her palm. Her body trembled from the cold, but her palm was slick with sticky sweat.
No matter how hard she tried to adapt, she was ultimately just a girl of ten or eleven. Facing despair, she couldn't help but cry softly, covering her mouth to keep the sobs quiet.
But Little Erya did not notice that after the initial movement of the dark door, the servants outside had been silent for quite some time. In the darkness, it seemed as if only her breathing remained.
Suddenly...
"Is this the little girl?"
A young male voice came from above Little Erya's head.
After the words rang out, another voice answered after a short pause.
"There is no second little girl here besides her."
Little Erya's soft crying halted. She stared blankly upward, watching a circular light ignite in the dark chamber. Two figures in black clothing appeared: one crouching atop the jar, looking down at her, and the other standing directly in front of her.
Normally, this scene would have been terrifying, but the person in black peering at her had a face that wasn't particularly frightening. He was smiling, so she didn't instinctively throw the sphere she was gripping.
"You must be the Black Impermanence Grandpa talked about..." Little Erya, tears still on her face, asked with wide eyes.
The baby-faced Shadow Guard cleared his throat, stifling a laugh. "Little girl, Black Impermanence takes lives. We are sent by Your Majesty to save yours."
"Take the person out first." The other Shadow Guard was man of few words but decisive actions. He reached out to lift the girl directly, but upon touching the cold fabric, he quietly withdrew his hand, signaling the baby-faced guard to take the girl out instead. As they carried the girl out of the chamber, the guard swiftly stripped several outer garments from the servants lying sprawled on the ground and tossed them over.
On the Simulator Map, An Lin watched as the two Shadow Guards led the girl out of the tunnel and reunited with Qiancai. After Qiancai ordered the yamen runners to take Steward Cai and those servants into custody, she relaxed, leaning back against the cushions.
It felt like having worked hard to clear a difficult level. At this moment, her Mood Rating skyrocketed, sweeping away even the fatigue from staying up late with Xiuwen to check the results.
Especially when they wrapped the bundled-up girl and left Xiaoliu Village, with the first ray of sunlight just beginning to pierce through the clouds from the dim horizon, it looked almost like a CG cutscene.
Those Shadow Guards seemed quite decent, knowing to drape some clothes over the girl to warm her. An Lin rarely interacted directly with the Shadow Guards; previously, she had thought they were all cold-blooded killers who swung their blades without hesitation, like in dramas, except for the occasional male or female second lead who fell in love with the protagonists.
It seemed her family's Shadow Guards were completely normal people with empathy.
"Now comes handling Master Cai and the man who sold his niece, plus rectifying the Linfang brokerage houses. Qiancai should understand my intentions..." An Lin yawned, seeing shadows moving outside her bedchamber. She stuffed the memorial under her pillow and prepared to attend today's Morning Court.
It would be best if Xiuwen did not find out she was staying up all night, or rather, pulling an all-nighter. Otherwise, he would definitely urge her to take better care of her health. But sometimes one just couldn't help it; before long, one found oneself pulling an all-nighter. Every time Xiuwen advised her, An Lin said, "Next time for sure, next time for sure." When she promised, she truly intended not to stay up late again.
But as everyone knows, when someone says "next time for sure," it often means "next time might not happen." Once one stays up late once, there will be countless times. An Lin could only say, next time for sure.
The focus of today's Morning Court was the report from the Bureau of Livestock on this year's animal breeding numbers.
An Lin roused herself to listen as the Bureau of Livestock reported the figures line by line. Comparing the number of poultry and livestock to the population of all commoners in Xuan, and comparing the number of horses to the number of soldiers, she clearly saw that the achievements of the Bureau of Livestock played almost no role for such a vast nation.
"How many breeding bulls, sheep, pigs, horses, and chickens does the Bureau of Livestock retain?" An Lin asked after the report finished.
"In reply to Your Majesty, one hundred thousand of each," replied the official.
"Next year, raise the retained breeding stock for each type of poultry and livestock to one million. During breeding, keep the original breeding grounds, the great-grandparent generation stock, and the parent generation stock. From each batch of retained stock, select those with the fastest reproduction rates and highest yields to obtain improved livestock breeds." An Lin considered for a moment before issuing orders. "Too many chickens and horses died of illness this February and March. Did the Bureau of Livestock lack veterinarians, or fail to implement prevention measures? Starting this year, increase the number of veterinarians at each pasture. The Director of the Bureau of Livestock will report on the Bureau's status four times a month to me."
The officials of the Bureau of Livestock listened in stunned silence, then hastily said, "Your Majesty, we do not have that many grasslands or pastures!"
"We know," An Lin said, her expression unchanged. "Therefore, we will sell or lease the retained stock, excluding the improved seeds, to the common people and merchants with sufficient conditions. After this morning court, the Ministers and the Bureau of Agriculture will remain behind. We have some items regarding tax adjustments to discuss with you."
To encourage the widespread raising of livestock and poultry by commoners, An Lin's first step was to reduce or halve certain taxes related to animal husbandry.
However, the state treasury was probably unable to sustain it.
Regarding this, An Lin already had a plan. If Xuan failed to find stable, lucrative revenue streams before next February, she would inevitably have to 'borrow' money from certain powerful clans. Since that money was ill-gotten anyway, An Lin felt no guilt in 'borrowing' it.
The civil and military officials bowed their heads, one by one submitting memorials reporting on their departments' affairs, completely unaware that the Emperor, who appeared solemn above, was plotting bandit-like schemes in her heart.
After the court session ended, An Lin went ahead to the deliberation room. While waiting for the ministers to arrive, she pulled out a memorial to continue tracking the situation in Linfang County. Swiping across the map, she saw the county office crowded with dense ant-like figures. Little Erya's uncle, who wanted to sell her, and a fat magnate whose flesh stretched his silk robes tight without a single wrinkle, were being held in the middle of the public hall, still shouting their innocence. Outside the county office, circles of gossiping commoners surrounded the area.
Her prized Top Scholar was also present in the hall. Calm in demeanor and upright in posture, he listed the evidence item by item, refuting the two men's pleas of innocence until Master Cai collapsed powerlessly onto the hall floor.
After a brief silence, the commoners outside jumped up, clapping and cheering. Some even threw rotten eggs and vegetable leaves they had conveniently grabbed at Master Cai. It was evident that this person had indeed done nothing good in Linfang, bullying and exploiting the locals.
When sentencing, the County Magistrate cautiously and quietly asked Yang Sheng if His Majesty had any instructions.
Yang Sheng spoke calmly, "His Majesty's meaning is: Equal Guilt for Buyer and Seller."
The County Magistrate understood, striking the judge's block. "Guards, imprison Sun and Cai. Confiscate their assets. Await execution after autumn. Sun Er's wife is an accomplice to Sun and Cai. Go immediately to Xiaoliu Village to arrest her!"
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