Chapter 48: Duke Yu With Feet Off The Ground
Peng Jing turned back to look at the tearful Zhang Min, his face gloomy as he asked: “Is it true?”
Zhang Min didn’t answer, but pointed at Yun Ce and said: “When he killed my father, he shouted ‘Give me the seal’, I heard it crystal clear, it was him who killed my father and took the seal.”
Peng Jing turned to look at Yun Ce and said: “How so?”
Liang Kun organized his words and said: “On the way to Sheyang City, we saw four corpses, this seal came from one of them, based on the remaining clothes, I boldly guess that these four corpses were Zhang Gong Yaliang’s four sons.”
Liang Kun paused here, looking at the displeased Zhang Min and said: “Miss, can you tell us why the noble city lord’s four sons ended up without clothes or food, without a carriage, without guards, miserably eaten by doggies, yet you not only smoothly arrived at Sheyang City, but also live in fine clothes and fine food?”
Yun Ce smiled maliciously: “Probably sneaked away with the carriage and servants in the middle of the night, leaving the four foolish brothers to feed the dogs.
Or, drugged the four brothers unconscious, then killed them, becoming Zhang Gong’s only bloodline, naturally inheriting all of Zhang Gong’s family wealth.”
Zhang Min was about to retort when Peng Jing’s fierce gaze made her swallow the words she was about to say, her eyes tearing up while glaring viciously at Yun Ce.
Feng An chuckled and cupped his hands to Peng Jing: “This is the city lord’s family matter, we juniors shouldn’t get involved, now the seal is returned intact, we’ve settled one worry, so we’ll take our leave.”
Zhang Min shouted: “You’re not allowed to leave!”
1 Peng Jing said nothing, watching as Yun Ce and the other two leisurely left, waiting until their backs disappeared from the post house before looking at Zhang Min: “Niece, you really need to explain properly why you could bring guards and servants to Sheyang City, while your father and brothers’ wives, concubines, and children, not one survived?”
1 Zhang Min screamed: “Uncle, you let the murderer who killed my father go without pursuit, why instead question this little woman like this?”
1 Peng Jing flew into a rage and shouted to the bailiffs standing outside: “Interrogate one by one those who returned from Pingyuan City.”
1 Zhang Min shouted: “How can you do this?”
1 Peng Jing sneered: “That scholar raised two questions, this old man also wants to know the answers.”
1 Yun Ce and the other two left the post house, Feng An frowned: “You killed Zhang Yaliang?”
1 Yun Ce said: “Pingyuan City fell, Zhang Yaliang was the chief culprit, if he didn’t die, the wronged souls in the city wouldn’t rest.”
1 Liang Kun sneered: “This Zhang Min isn’t a good person either, though she’s beautiful, she has a vicious heart, now targeted by Peng Jing, let’s see how she keeps the family wealth she schemed so hard for.”
1 Feng An also seemed indifferent about Yun Ce killing Zhang Yaliang, chuckling lightly on the side: “Evil begets evil retribution…”
1 Yun Ce laughed: “Isn’t the point that I killed Zhang Yaliang, I am the pig demon!”
2 Liang Kun laughed: “You’re not the pig demon.”
2 Yun Ce said: “Fine, in return for your trust in me, today I’ll make chicken legs for you.”
2 “What’s a chicken leg?”
2 “Bird leg!”
2 “Good.”
2 Yun Ce hadn’t noticed before without mentioning chicken, he lived in the city before and rarely saw live chickens, now hearing Feng An and the others seemed to have no concept of chicken, Yun Ce then realized that from Hekou Village onward, he hadn’t seen any chickens.
2 Not only in places where people lived had he not seen chickens, even while wandering the wasteland he hadn’t seen wild chickens, he didn’t know if he could cook those bird legs in a short time today.
2 While buying ingredients at the market, Yun Ce found the prices exorbitantly high and incomprehensible, a bag of beans cost eight green money, and they weren’t even willing to sell much.
2 When he was a minor official before, Yun Ce was very sensitive to prices, especially those related to people’s livelihoods, whenever he had the chance, he would habitually inquire and compare.
2 Today, with wild beans at eight green money, he felt it completely unrealistic, yi tree powder, wild beans, red armor, green leather—these four foods gathered and processed from the wild were the main food sources for wasteland commoners, as for precious foods like wheat, only nobles could afford them.
3 If wild bean prices rose, the other three should also be high, if these prices were still within commoners’ income range, no big problem, could test more until finding the limit of what commoners could bear, set it as a red line, and ensure never to cross it.
3 After asking about the prices of these four grains, Yun Ce realized that their owners were making their last deal…
3 Yun Ce shouldered a bag of wild beans, Feng An a lighter bag of red armor, which was fist-sized, cracked open its hard shell and roasted, made good rations.
3 Liang Kun shouldered a bag of yi tree powder, none of the three felt like talking, the main street still bustled as if nothing happened, but they couldn’t help casting gazes toward the dark alleys outside the trees, feeling the people’s gazes there burning hot enough to ignite firewood.
3 “The masters should provide food for slaves, right?”
3 Yun Ce cautiously asked Feng An.
3 Feng An looked up at the sky and said faintly: “Guess why they’re called slaves?”
3 Liang Kun sneered: “When the masters need them to work, they get a bowl of food, when not needed, they find food themselves.”
3 “They’re tools at least, aren’t they?”
3 “When there are too many tools, they’re not that important.”
4 Yun Ce put the wild beans from his shoulder onto Liang Kun’s, and said to Feng An: “I’ll go check the alley side.”
4 With that, he slipped into the trees, walked a dozen steps, and entered another world.
4 Under the same sky, the other side of the trees had bright sunshine, dry air, wide and clean streets, but after passing through the trees, the sky here seemed grayish, no help for it, with no rain and too many people and livestock walking, dust flew thick, couldn’t see far.
4 People’s clothes here were either dark gray-black or light gray-white, faces dark and sallow, limbs thin and long, even naturally beauty-loving women here looked disheveled and dirty, no trace of beauty, young girls too.
4 Yun Ce saw a two- or three-year-old bare-bottomed little girl with a bulging stomach, sitting on a roadside dirt pile eating soil, he picked her up, pretending to take her away, but no one asked.
4 He pulled out a handful of green money, and many people crowded around, each claiming to be the little girl’s parents.
4 Yun Ce scattered the money in his hand casually, then brought the little girl back to the main road.
4 Feng An and Liang Kun had long walked out of sight, Yun Ce under the crowd’s monster-gazing eyes brought the little girl back to the guesthouse.
4 Along the way, he was very grateful for Yun Linchuan the old thief’s harsh education, letting him remain composed after seeing this human hell.
4 According to the old thief, poor people are a treasure, before he didn’t understand, now he did—as long as you give those poor people a bite to eat, they’ll do anything you ask, if not willing, then not poor enough.
5 Poor people’s courage is great, and they’re daring to risk life, often they wish to die early and reincarnate, hoping for a less bitter life next time.
5 While Yun Ce was doing his investigation, E Ji had washed the little girl clean, she was a child with clear features, just big-bellied, probably from eating soil.
5 E Ji fed the little girl some yi tree powder paste, in less than ten minutes she started severe diarrhea that couldn’t be stopped, her little belly visibly deflated, when the big belly was completely gone, the small cloth bag held only a skinny skeletal little frame, her bones very fine, many places only chopstick-thick.
5 This child was fine even with the big belly from eating soil, but after half a bowl of yi tree powder paste, her life flame extinguished immediately.
5 Without the slightest hesitation, as if she was born, lived, just waiting for this bite of paste.
5 The group stared at the tiny corpse in the small cloth bag, unable to feel happy at all, even with Yun Ce cooking four large bird legs till the meat aroma overflowed, it couldn’t bring a smile to their faces.
5 “Today while waiting for you outside the guesthouse, I saw Pei Chuan.” E Ji said softly.
5 Yun Ce abruptly turned to look at E Ji: “Did you see Miss Hong?”
5 “Didn’t see her, but I think since Pei Chuan appeared in Sheyang City, Miss Hong should be here too.”
5 Feng An and Liang Kun didn’t understand who Pei Chuan and Miss Hong were, the two still immersed in the tragic scene that just happened to the little girl.
6 Yun Ce wrapped the small cloth bag tight, then bound it securely with cloth strips, so when buried underground, she could be a bit warmer.
6 Then, Yun Ce started wolfing down the food.
6 Between bites, Yun Ce suddenly asked: “Who is the richest in Sheyang City?”
6 Feng An paused his chopsticks, said flatly: “In Sheyang City, Duke Yu is the richest.”
6 “How rich?”
6 “It’s said Duke Yu was born rich, from his first cries, his feet never touched soil.”
6 “Floor tiles are soil too.”
6 “Right, floor tiles are soil, so he never even touched floor tiles, a dirt bumpkin like you wouldn’t know, there’s something called a blanket in the world.”
6 “What about going out?”
6 “Has carriage, has palanquin, feet step on brocade silk, blankets, even stairs have beauty ladders.”
7 “What’s a beauty ladder?”
7 “I don’t know, heard Duke Yu’s feet are crystalline like beautiful jade, veins like dragon tattoos, the world’s most beautiful feet.”
7 Hearing Feng An say this, Yun Ce felt yearning, swallowed his last bite, then said to E Ji: “Tonight, I want to go see.”
