Chapter 193: Individual Cases
After interrogating day and night for five or six days, Huang Xianzhou and Mr. Yao finally pieced together the general outline of the case and submitted a summary to Gu Yan. The two men could finally rest and get a good night’s sleep.
The moon rose, casting its clear light, and between the distant masts, the sea shimmered with silver waves.
Mr. Yao brought a small jar of wine and sat down next to Huang Xianzhou.
“When you report to the Young Lord, I’ll pick up a jar of Lotus White. Do you want some?” Mr. Yao asked as he peeled off the seal.
“I do,” Huang Xianzhou said, arranging two stacked bowls.
Mr. Yao poured wine into the bowls, lifted one, took a sip, savored it for a moment, and exhaled, “Good wine!”
Huang Xianzhou gazed at the distant sea, drinking his wine one mouthful at a time.
Mr. Yao also fell silent.
Huang Xianzhou drank one bowl after another, finishing it with a long sigh, “Alas! For decades, I always complained about not having major cases or significant events, about not being able to showcase my talents. Now!”
Huang Xianzhou sighed again. After waiting for a long time and seeing him start drinking again, Mr. Yao couldn’t help but ask, “And now? Continue.”
“How do you feel about this case, now that we’ve interrogated it this far?” Huang Xianzhou looked at Mr. Yao.
“Terrible! Alas, those lives, over a hundred lives, alas!” Mr. Yao also sighed.
“And all that silver, alas.”
The two sighed together.
“In the past, I dreamed of doing great things, of how exhilarating it would be to handle a major case or accomplish something significant!” Huang Xianzhou took a large gulp of wine.
Mr. Yao looked at him sideways. The way he looked, he seemed more frustrated than exhilarated.
“Now, this case, which is rare in decades, perhaps even a century, and we’ve only peeled back the first layer. My heart!” Huang Xianzhou’s words suddenly choked off. After a while, he let out a long sigh, “Physiognomy says one must be strong to bear wealth. Wealth is wealth, but it is also a burden. Handling great matters and major cases is similar; externally, it’s being entrusted with important tasks, and internally, it’s oppression and suffering.”
“Esteemed Master can bear it,” Mr. Yao patted Huang Xianzhou.
“Yes, you and I can both endure it, we can get through it. But right now, I really miss Kunshan County Office,” Huang Xianzhou sighed again.
“Even if we returned to Kunshan County now, with you as the County Magistrate and me as the Strategist, our state of mind wouldn’t return. Let’s move forward. Look at the Young Lord, so calm and composed,” Mr. Yao refilled Huang Xianzhou’s wine.
“He and the Crown Prince are definitely different from us. Alas, forget it, let’s put an end to these sentimental and melancholic words. What do you think the Young Lord will do next?” Huang Xianzhou steered the conversation back to official matters.
“Although the Young Lord is not old, his schemes are profound and his methods are seasoned. I’ve thought about it, but I can’t figure it out,” Mr. Yao shook his head frankly and directly.
“The Young Lord instructed me to prioritize human lives when interrogating the case. That means we must start with the murder cases. Over a hundred lives, I wonder which ones will be chosen to be brought forward,” Huang Xianzhou’s voice dropped very low.
“Ah? Chosen? Are there distinctions between human lives?” Mr. Yao felt even worse.
“Human lives are not distinguished, but the people involved are. Which murder case is brought forward and which is suppressed affects the court situation. Alas, when I was training in the Ministry of Revenue, the phrase I hated hearing the most was ‘consider the court situation when considering the court situation.’ I never thought I would say it myself now,” Huang Xianzhou’s expression was melancholic.
“That phrase, ‘consider the court situation,’ is something only those with a high-level perspective can say. Esteemed Master has advanced and been promoted,” Mr. Yao offered a dry, flattering remark.
Huang Xianzhou glanced at him sideways, sighed, and picked up his bowl to drink.
………………………………
The Prince’s Estate outside Pingjiang City.
In the courtyard where the Crown Prince resided, in the warm pavilion by the water, Gu Yan sipped his tea, waiting for the Crown Prince to finish reading the thick stack of case summaries.
After the Crown Prince finished reading, he was silent for a moment, then placed the summary in front of Gu Yan. “Do you think Father knows about all this?”
“The Emperor has always taught that matters concerning the Maritime Tax Bureau affect many things and are not solely the concern of that bureau. I believe that even if the Emperor doesn’t know the specific details, he can infer the general situation,” Gu Yan replied.
“I’ll write a secret memorial to Father. This summary…” The Crown Prince paused, then looked down at the summary. “It’s written a bit messily, so I won’t show it to Father.”
“It is indeed written a bit messily, and the case isn’t fully clarified yet,” Gu Yan looked at the Crown Prince.
“How long do you think this will take?” The Crown Prince was silent for a moment, then sat opposite Gu Yan and asked.
“Thoroughly investigating these murder cases will take about another half a month. Tracing the flow of tax silver over these years will take one and a half to two months; these are relatively easy.
“However, by now, someone in the Capital City should have received the letters sent from Pingjiang Prefecture. We have searched the Jiangnan Silk Guild and the Maritime Tax Bureau. We don’t know what those people in the Capital City will do or what methods they will employ, but they certainly won’t stand idly by.
“What will happen in the Capital City and what will happen in Jiangnan are the real challenges we will face,” Gu Yan said in a low voice.
“Prime Minister Pang has always advocated for a conciliatory approach rather than military action towards foreign powers. The tax silver collected by the Maritime Tax Bureau is for military expenses in the north and cannot be misappropriated; this is a strict national policy. While Prime Minister Pang cannot object to revitalizing the Maritime Tax Bureau, if it leads to the decline of the Jiangnan Weaving Workshop…”
The Crown Prince’s words trailed off, and after a moment, he sighed.
“My idea is to start with the murder cases, especially these cases of murdered Inspection Office officials. Let’s release them first to see the reaction,” Gu Yan said, looking down.
“Mm,” the Crown Prince pondered for a moment and nodded.
………………………………
Li Xiaonan returned from Guo Lane. Before she was a stone’s throw from her new home, she was stopped by Shi Gun’s servant, who invited Li Xiaonan into another carriage. They didn’t travel far before stopping.
Li Xiaonan got out of the carriage. A few steps away was a gangplank extending to a seemingly very simple large ship.
Gu Yan was sitting in the cabin, looking at a blueprint spread out on the table. Hearing the movement, he didn’t look up and beckoned with his finger.
Li Xiaonan walked to the table and peered at the blueprint.
“Can you tell what this is?” Gu Yan pointed at the drawing with his finger.
“Whose house is it? It looks quite like ours,” Li Xiaonan said, looking at the meticulously drawn architectural sketch.
“This is your house!” Gu Yan snorted dismissively.
“Did you have someone draw it recently? What are you drawing this for?” Li Xiaonan reached out and turned the sketch to face her directly, examining it closely.
“Take a look at your new house,” Gu Yan gestured for Shi Gun to take the blueprint away.
“Are you this idle lately?” Li Xiaonan watched Shi Gun take away the blueprint and serve tea and pastries.
“Not idle, very busy,” Gu Yan pushed a dish with a mochi on it towards Li Xiaonan.
“I’m very busy too,” Li Xiaonan picked up the small mochi and tasted it carefully.
“I’m setting off early tomorrow morning to accompany the Crown Prince on his southern inspection tour. If you need anything, have A Wu go to the villa to find Wan Jing. If you want to read or anything, just have A Wu take you there.”
Gu Yan watched Li Xiaonan finish the mochi and placed a cup of tea in front of her.
“Also, when you have some free time, go to Linhai Town and have a chat with Huang Xianzhou. I see he’s been worried lately. He doesn’t talk to me, so you can ask him for me. Remember to be observant,” Gu Yan continued to instruct.
“Okay, ask him why he’s worried? What are you concerned about?” Li Xiaonan asked.
“The Maritime Tax Bureau cases are all in his hands,” Gu Yan didn’t answer directly.
Li Xiaonan said “Oh,” and “Then I’ll go tomorrow.”
“Your new house is quite nice. Have A Wu and Wang Yuting move in with you,” Gu Yan added.
Li Xiaonan glanced sideways at Gu Yan and said nothing.
“That tea house needs to start making money and settling accounts next month. If A Wu and the others continue to live there, the monthly rent, food, and fodder costs will be collected at full price, which will definitely be much more expensive than living in your house,” Gu Yan bowed slightly and looked at Li Xiaonan earnestly.
Li Xiaonan glared at Gu Yan speechlessly.
“I need to go back. If there’s anything important from Huang Xianzhou that you think needs attention, write a letter to Wan Jing. If there’s nothing, wait for me to return,” Gu Yan added, then gestured for Li Xiaonan to leave.
Li Xiaonan responded with a snort instead of an agreement, stood up, and walked out.
