Chapter 72: Leveraging Influence (I)

Chapter 72: Leveraging Influence (I)

Xiang Zhi Jie's eyes showed genuine confusion, as if he didn't understand what the other man was saying.

After a moment, his confusion gave way to calmness: "Though I don't know why you claim to have a clear conscience, you are indeed similar to me... We're both pretty bold."

He kept every emotion tightly in check, giving nothing away.

Wen Ren Yue bowed respectfully: "This humble one presumes too much."

As he lowered his head, he thought: if Brother Gu weren't Le Wuya—who died four years ago—then his words would indeed be way out of line.

But if his guess was correct, then the Sixth Prince's cunning and depth ran as vast as the heavens and as deep as the sea.

"Rise." The Sixth Prince didn't seem annoyed. "I'm just curious—how dare you talk to me like that?"

"The Magistrate taught me that when you've got no backing, you've got to borrow some leverage."

"Whose leverage are you borrowing?"

Wen Ren Yue answered plainly: "The Magistrate's."

"...Just now, the Sixth Prince asked who I am. To answer: I am the student of Wen Ren Ming Ke, Magistrate of Nanting, and his close friend as well. Other than that, I've got nothing to lean on and nothing to fall back on."

He said this with total sincerity, straight from the heart.

He'd already died once; now with a new identity and a completely different face, only Brother Gu in this whole world knew who he really was.

Wen Ren Yue knew full well that his words and actions right now could be seen as downright audacious.

But Brother Gu was one of a kind—absolutely irreplaceable to him.

Whether prince or general, he wouldn't give an inch.

"When you've got no influence, borrowing some is only natural. The wise borrow strength to move ahead; the shrewd use force to act. As Xunzi said, 'A gentleman is good at using external things to his advantage.'"

Xiang Zhi Jie's voice stayed soft and steady, as measured as his name implied.

"...But you can borrow influence for a while, not for a lifetime. In the end, a man's got to stand on his own two feet. I hope you'll aim high and one day stand shoulder to shoulder with him—together, shielding the people and propping up the court."

Wen Ren Yue paused a moment: "Thank you for the Sixth Prince's encouragement. I'll do my best."

And with that, the calm conversation came to a close.

Xiang Zhi Jie got up and left the courtyard, practicing his Tai Chi sword as usual, to keep himself healthy.

Wen Ren Yue went to the desk, rolled up his sleeves, and started grinding ink, getting ready to write the essay Le Wuya had assigned.

But the Sixth Prince's words kept circling in his mind, echoing deep in his heart.

"In the end, a man's got to stand on his own two feet."

"One day, stand shoulder to shoulder with him."

Yeah—his abilities were lacking, his background was humble. Even knowing how rough officialdom could be, he could barely protect him. He couldn't compare to a prince of noble blood, let alone a general with a stellar military record.

What heights would he have to reach to stand "shoulder to shoulder" with him?

To be worthy of... Brother Gu's company?

His mind wandered, and before he knew it, he'd ground out a whole pool of ink.

Outside the study window, the sword whistled through the air, moving like a dragon in flight.

In Xiang Zhi Jie's mind, another voice lingered: "To answer: I am the student of Wen Ren Ming Ke, Magistrate of Nanting, and his close friend as well."

Ming Zhao could say it so openly, but he himself couldn't.

What was he to Wen Ren Ming Ke?

He couldn't say.

What was he to Le Wuya?

He didn't dare say.

He swung his sword through the air, but couldn't cut through the tangled mess of his thoughts. He sheathed his sword and headed back inside.

...

Just then, Ru Feng pulled up the carriage at the county office gate, drenched in sweat.

Even though it was his first time in Nanting, he didn't need to ask for directions to find the county office.

After all, he wasn't deaf.

Following his master's faint flute tune, he could figure out the direction.

He sighed: Playing the flute this early in the morning, huh.

He's already seen the guy—why's he still pining away?

...

Nanting was a small town, and the word "massacre" was plenty horrifying on its own. Within half a day, the grim news had spread all over town.

When lives were at stake, the authorities didn't have to impose restrictions—people just naturally stayed off the streets.

Before nightfall, most shops had already boarded up.

The usually bustling county of Nanting took on an unusual air of desolation.

Two days later, as dusk fell, everyone on the main street quickened their step, hurrying home.

Le Wuya, meanwhile, was waiting on the last batch of roasted melon seeds to come out of the oven.

In the fragrant steam, he shelled a few leftover seeds from the last batch while asking the man beside him: "...You're sure you saw right?"

His laid-back, carefree manner made it seem like he was just chatting about the quality of the seeds with his buddy.

A burst of white steam was scattered by the evening breeze, revealing Sheng Youde's face and his signature large, red, bulbous nose: "No mistake. It was Tianjin Pawnshop. A man went in with a small bundle tucked in his clothes. Half an hour later, he came out, and the bundle was gone. In summer, clothes are thin—anything added or removed is visible at a glance."

"Are you sure he's not from Nanting?" Le Wuya quickened his shelling pace. "Not some local prodigal who lost his head gambling and secretly pawned his family's valuables?"

Sheng Youde said with certainty: "Rest assured, Magistrate. Anyone in Nanting with a bit of money—us beggars know them all. That man looked unfamiliar, and his walk was unsteady. There's definitely no such person in Nanting."

"Where is he now?"

"That man entered Tianjin Pawnshop at the hour of You, and someone came to report to me right away. That's why I came to find you immediately."

As he said this, Sheng Youde scratched his head and said with an apologetic smile, "This is the first time I'm handling official business for you, Your Honor, so I didn't dare issue any rash orders. I just had someone keep tailing him. Just now, someone reported that the limping man went to the medicine shop in the north of the city to buy herbs again. He seemed to be in a hurry, as if he wanted to leave before the city gates close—"

Le Wuya glanced up at the sky: "He hasn't left the city yet?"

"I don't know, but it should be soon," Sheng Youde replied. "These days, the nearby county towns have all moved up their curfew times."

Le Wuya put down the melon seeds, patted the crumbs off his hands, his long lashes lowered, and started thinking fast.

Seeing Le Wuya standing still, not looking like he was in a rush to head back and round up men, Sheng Youde probed cautiously: "Your Honor, aren't we gonna grab him?"

"You go grab him?" Le Wuya shot him a look. "Right now is the busiest time at the city gate—people rushing in and out. If you spook him, you'll just make it easy for him to take hostages, won't you?"

Sheng Youde's heart fluttered under that glare, and he thought idly, what a pair of big, pretty eyes, darting all over the place.

Le Wuya said, "Have your men tail him to the city gate, but no further—watch your own necks. Note which gate he leaves from, then head straight to the yamen gate and wait. When things kick off inside, find a constable and tell him what you saw today."

Sheng Youde was a little confused: "The yamen... why would it kick off?"

"Because I'm heading back." Le Wuya slapped Sheng Youde on the shoulder and called out loudly, "Boss, I'm not buying anymore! Shut the doors early!"

Hands clasped behind his back, he strode quickly toward the yamen, a whirlwind of thoughts churning in his chest.

Better to grab the wrong guy than let one get away.

Whether or not this guy was the one behind the Xingtai County massacre, for Nanting's safety, he had to haul him in.

Not just fast, but with one decisive blow.

Not just grab the stolen goods at the pawnshop, but also collar the guy pawning them.

Getting both the man and the goods—that was the smartest move.

But the man was tough to nab, and the goods were tough to get.

Le Wuya knew that the man behind Tianjin Pawnshop was... the butcher, Li Asi.

In the Ming Xiangzhao rebellion case, he had played him—pulling one faction, hitting another—and roped him onto his own ship.

Li Asi was a sharp one; he saw right through Le Wuya's intent.

So at the critical moment, he personally took the stand and handed over the evidence, landed a fatal blow on Master Chen, and in the process, took out Master Chen, a rising star in Nanting County.

They hadn't formally met since that incident.

Li Asi, this local power player, was different from Deputy Magistrate Sun.

He had no interest in being an official, only in making money—he wouldn't even take the job of Village Head.

He was also unlike Sheng Youde, who ran a ragtag bunch of beggars; the guys under Li Asi were each tough in their own way—whether it was Li Qing, the boss of Jixiang Fang, or Manager Qian of Huitong Money House—all were heavy hitters, not easy to mess with.

He'd probably also sensed that Le Wuya wanted to teach him a lesson, so lately he'd kept a low profile, even temporarily closing down his shady gambling operations, giving Le Wuya no chance to take him down.

Half a year had flown by in the blink of an eye, and now, when it came to thieves fencing stolen goods, he'd run into him again.

He could simply raid Tianjin Pawnshop the same way he'd raided Jixiang Fang.

But last time, raiding Jixiang Fang had been justified—first, it was a gambling den, so there was cause; second, he'd had a whole night to cook up a letter of accusation.

On the surface, a pawnshop was a legitimate business. Raid it by force, and you'd inevitably piss off Li Asi.

Le Wuya was never afraid of offending anyone—at worst, it meant all-out war.

But the bandit problem had come out of nowhere.

To burn bridges with Li Asi without proper preparation wasn't Le Wuya's style.

Besides, the pawnshop had deep waters.

Whenever someone pawned something, the manager and clerks would take advantage of the situation—a perfectly good fur would be recorded as "moth-eaten, rat-chewed, missing panels, short sleeves." Even if the original owner came to redeem it, they could palm off a shoddy piece and insist, "This is how it was when you pawned it—the record proves it."

The owner had no choice but to swallow his anger.

As for the good stuff, they'd keep it for themselves and their families.

So if they closed up tonight, did inventory, and then pulled a switcheroo, by the time they checked the vault tomorrow, it'd be too late.

The jade bracelet and mandarin duck hairpin would likely be swapped for plain silver bracelets and wooden hairpins.

As for the real stuff, who knew which mistress of the pawnshop manager they'd end up on—impossible to trace.

The goods were hard to get, and the man was hard to catch.

If the suspect left through the city gate and veered off the main road, he'd be like a snake slipping into the tall grass—gone without a trace.

The only lead was that he'd bought medicine.

One of Sheng Youde's beggars had noted: he'd limped into the pawnshop, and the money he got went to buy medicine at the pharmacy.

Even though he was lame, since he could go to both the pawnshop and the pharmacy, the medicine probably wasn't for himself.

He'd braved the height of the crisis to come into the city, pawning stuff and buying medicine—someone else must be in urgent need of it.

That meant he had accomplices, and who knew how many.

Nanting had around a hundred local soldiers and twenty constables.

Le Wuya knew that even though these men were loyal and capable, they'd never put in full effort to chase down a criminal.

The reason was simple: this case didn't happen in Nanting County.

Catching the guy wouldn't be a big deal; letting him get away wouldn't be a fault either.

The enemy could be ruthless killers, and their numbers were a mystery.

With that in mind, why would they risk their necks?

He needed to find a way to nab the suspect and uncover the stolen goods before the pawnshop pulled its switcheroo.

The key was to avoid pissing off Li Asi while also getting the soldiers and constables fired up to make the arrest.

...He had to give both sides an offer they couldn't refuse.

And it all had to be done before the city gates shut.

As Le Wuya hurried toward the yamen at a fast clip, he saw Zhi Jie in plain clothes, asking about the price of rice and flour, with Ru Feng beside him.

Before he left, Zhi Jie had gotten the emperor's order for a secret mission; he couldn't just show himself to other officials in Yizhou, so he had to stay in the Nanting yamen, quietly keeping an eye on the murder investigation, to report back to the capital later on.

Seeing Le Wuya rushing over, Zhi Jie had just started to smile when Le Wuya charged straight up to him and, bold as brass, stuck out his hand: "Where's the thing?"

Xiang Zhi Jie: "What?"

Le Wuya: "The thing you lent me to use for the night."

Xiang Zhi Jie raised an eyebrow slightly but asked no further questions, simply untying a pouch from his waist and handing it to Le Wuya.

"Thanks."

Le Wuya acknowledged briefly, casually tucking the pouch into his sash before striding toward the county office (yamen).

Ru Feng asked curiously, "Sixth Master, what was that?"

Xiang Zhi Jie inspected the quality of the rice as he replied, "A dragon pendant."

His tone was so flat that Ru Feng failed to grasp the significance behind those two words.

"Oh, a dragon..."

The last syllable stuck in his throat, nearly choking him as he swallowed it back.

Le Wuya stepped into the yamen and bumped into Sun Ru, who was holding a stack of documents, eagerly waiting for the Sixth Prince to return and review them.

Seeing Le Wuya in a hurry, Deputy Magistrate Sun naturally asked, "Your Honor, what's wrong?"

Le Wuya: "I lost it."

Deputy Magistrate Sun was startled: "Lost what?"

Le Wuya: "The dragon pendant."

Deputy Magistrate Sun remained puzzled: "Dragon... what now?"

Le Wuya hurried past him, speaking crisply: "The dragon pendant bestowed by His Majesty upon the Sixth Prince, passed down for three generations in Dayu—lost in Nanting County."

Deputy Magistrate Sun's grip loosened, and the stack of documents scattered across the ground.