Chapter 164: The Account-Settling Great Sage Treads Snow Without a Trace and Returns to the Prefecture City
Chapter 164: Chapter 164: The Account-Settling Great Sage Treads Snow Without a Trace and Returns to the Prefecture City
After dismissing his subordinates, Pei Shaoqing summoned Chen Zhongyi to his office. "Aside from the matter with Ouyang Rong," he asked slowly, "have any other major incidents occurred in Tongzhou while I was away?"
"My lord, your reputation is far-reaching. Even without you personally overseeing things, no one has dared to cause trouble in Tongzhou City recently," Chen Zhongyi replied with the utmost respect.
"That just makes Medicine King Valley all the more despicable." Pei Shaoqing snorted coldly and then asked, "Have there been any particularly vicious, unsolved cases in Tongzhou in the past three years?"
Although Chen Zhongyi didn’t understand why Pei Shaoqing was suddenly asking this, he still answered honestly, "My lord, since you ask, the first thing that comes to my mind is the case of the County Government Office’s Silver Vault theft from three years ago."
"Oh?" Pei Shaoqing raised a hand, gesturing for him to elaborate.
Chen Zhongyi explained further, "Three years ago, a master thief appeared in Shu State. In just over a month, this thief stole from five Silver Vaults, including those of the State Mansion and the Tongzhou County Government Office. The losses amounted to several million taels of silver..."
He paused here for a moment. "Of course, the actual amount wasn’t that high. As far as I know, the Tongzhou Silver Vault only lost one hundred thousand taels, but the former County Magistrate reported a loss of three hundred fifty thousand taels. The reported figure was greatly inflated."
"Mm, continue." Pei Shaoqing was not surprised by this sort of creative accounting. ’For all I know, every government office that was robbed is probably thanking that thief.’
Chen Zhongyi continued his story: "To this day, the thief has never been caught. No one even knows if they’re a man or a woman, or what they look like. Because they never leave a single trace at the scene of the crime, the Jianghu gave them the nickname ’Stepping on Snow without a Trace.’
"That major case three years ago was the first time this thief made a name for themself. In recent years, there have been frequent rumors of thefts by this person from all over, but we can’t rule out the possibility that some people staged the thefts themselves to balance their books and frame ’Stepping on Snow without a Trace’."
"Stepping on Snow without a Trace" had become the patron saint of cooking the books.
As long as they weren’t caught, whether they actually continued to steal or not, their "value" would continue to soar. By now, they had "stolen" at least tens of millions of taels of silver.
"What a ’Stepping on Snow without a Trace’," Pei Shaoqing muttered to himself. Then, he changed the subject. "Have someone spread the word that we have a lead on the master thief, ’Stepping on Snow without a Trace,’ and will capture them soon."
"Huh?" Chen Zhongyi was stunned.
Pei Shaoqing gave him a cool glance. "Just do it. I have my own plans."
Chen Zhongyi immediately replied, "As you command!"
......
The morning breeze was gentle, and the chirping of birds was pleasant to the ear.
Pei Shaoqing was preparing to leave for the Prefecture City.
He was standing at the entrance, waiting for Liu Yuheng.
"It took me a little long to change. I’m sorry to have kept you waiting, Young Master." Liu Yuheng hurried out, and after apologizing to Pei Shaoqing, she noticed a servant had only brought General Hei and not her horse. She added, "I’ll go get my horse."
"No need. We’re in a hurry. Aunt Liu, you can ride with me on General Hei," Pei Shaoqing said, shaking his head.
"This..." Liu Yuheng felt troubled. She recalled the awkwardness of the last time they shared a horse; the crease of her buttocks seemed to tingle and itch faintly at the memory. She bit her red lip and said nothing for a moment.
Pei Shaoqing saw her hesitation. He leaped onto the horse’s back, shifted forward, and patted the empty space on the saddle behind him. "Come on up, Aunt Liu."
Seeing that she would be sitting behind Pei Shaoqing this time, Liu Yuheng breathed a sigh of relief. She was also a little grateful for Pei Shaoqing’s thoughtfulness. She immediately tapped her toes to the ground and landed on the horse’s back.
"Hold on tight, Aunt Liu," Pei Shaoqing reminded her. Then he squeezed the horse’s belly with his legs. "Yah!"
General Hei let out a long neigh and broke into a wild gallop, its mane flying in the wind. It was so fast it looked like a black afterimage.
Passersby only felt a gust of wind; before they could see clearly, General Hei had already sped past them.
After leaving the city, General Hei picked up even more speed.
"Ah!" Liu Yuheng cried out as she was nearly thrown from the divine steed. She instinctively threw herself against Pei Shaoqing’s back and wrapped her arms around his waist.
’I never thought I’d get to experience this kind of acceleration on horseback.’
Liu Yuheng could feel her ample chest being pressed against Pei Shaoqing’s back, making her a little shy. But the horse was galloping like the wind, and with nothing else to hold onto, she could only cling tightly to him to keep her balance.
"Young Master, please forgive my rudeness." She pursed her moist, red lips and apologized in a low voice.
With both hands on the reins, Pei Shaoqing replied impassively, "How is this rude? I consider Aunt Liu an elder. It’s perfectly normal for an elder and a junior to be close, especially out of necessity."
Liu Yuheng felt ashamed when she heard this.
’That’s right, the Young Master sees me as an elder, so he doesn’t think anything of me holding onto him like this.’
’But I’m the one who feels guilty about it.’
’Doesn’t that just prove my thoughts are impure?’
’I should just think of him as my own son.’
Liu Yuheng tried to convince herself of this in her heart.
Then she boldly hugged Pei Shaoqing even tighter, pressing her whole body against his back. "You’re right, Young Master. It was I who was being shallow."
But while she could rationalize it mentally, she couldn’t stop her body’s reaction. Her weighty conscience kept pressing and rubbing against Pei Shaoqing’s back. Although Liu Yuheng appeared calm, her body was already burning with heat.
She was just glad that Pei Shaoqing’s back was to her, so he couldn’t see her unusual state. At the same time, she deliberately tried to reduce contact with his back to alleviate her physical reaction.
General Hei reached the Prefecture City in just half a day.
Pei Shaoqing went directly to the Thousand Households to find Lu Dingchuan.
"Greetings, Baron of Pingyang!"
The two Jing’an Guards standing watch at the entrance of the Thousand Households immediately saluted. One of them even ran over to General Hei and crouched down, offering his back as a mounting block.
But Pei Shaoqing didn’t step on him, dismounting easily on his own. He spoke calmly to the man who had acted as a mounting block: "Get up. As one of the Emperor’s Personal Guard, how can you debase yourself like this? In this world, only the Emperor is allowed to step on us. No one else."
He never missed a moment to display his loyalty.
"I was wrong." The Jing’an Guard who had acted as a block was deeply ashamed. After getting up, he stood to the side with his head bowed.
"Aunt Liu, wait for me outside," Pei Shaoqing said to Liu Yuheng, then strode into the Thousand Households.
Lu Dingchuan soon heard the news and came out to greet him. He met Pei Shaoqing in the Martial Arts Arena and laughed from a distance, "Brother Pei, when did you get back?"
"The day before yesterday," Pei Shaoqing replied.
"The day before yesterday?" Lu Dingchuan raised an eyebrow. He said with a broad smile, "Brother Pei, you just got back, and you’re already here to see me. I’m guessing this isn’t just a social call, is it?"
"Brother Lu, you’re truly perceptive. You have to help me this time," Pei Shaoqing said, letting out a breath.
Lu Dingchuan raised a hand in a gesture. "Let’s talk inside."
The two went to the main hall of the Thousand Households. After they sat down, Lu Dingchuan ordered someone to bring tea and asked casually, "Brother Pei, what do you need my help with? Just say it."
His directness wasn’t just due to their personal friendship, or the silver Pei Shaoqing had sent him, or even Pei Shaoqing’s status. The simple fact was that Pei Shaoqing had saved his skin during the recent King Shu rebellion, and for that alone, Lu Dingchuan felt he couldn’t refuse any request.
"Six days ago, men from Medicine King Valley injured several of my subordinates in Tongzhou City and abducted a man named Ouyang Rong. This man is a crucial lead in the Silver Vault theft case from three years ago. I suspect Medicine King Valley is connected to the case, which is why they were willing to attack the Jing’an Guard to silence him," Pei Shaoqing said with a serious expression.
Lu Dingchuan’s expression changed. "Is this true?"
"It’s true that men from Medicine King Valley injured several of my subordinates, and it’s true they abducted Ouyang Rong," Pei Shaoqing met Lu Dingchuan’s gaze and answered frankly.
Lu Dingchuan narrowed his eyes. "So, you’re saying the part about Ouyang Rong being a lead in the Silver Vault theft is false?"
"Medicine King Valley has powerful connections. I want to teach them a lesson, but simply using the fact that they injured Jing’an Guards as a reason isn’t enough," Pei Shaoqing explained in a low voice.
The Jing’an Guard is the Emperor’s Personal Guard. They have Imperial Authority to act first and report later, but that depends on who they’re dealing with.
If it were a purely Jianghu sect, the mere fact that they dared to attack the Jing’an Guard would be enough for Pei Shaoqing to report to his superiors and have troops dispatched to wipe them off the map.
But dealing with Medicine King Valley was more complicated.
They needed to be charged with a much greater crime.
"Those bastards from Medicine King Valley, daring to show us such disrespect. It’s infuriating." Lu Dingchuan first stated his position. Then he raised his concern. "But, Brother Pei, it’s simple enough to use the Silver Vault case to make trouble for Medicine King Valley, but what about the aftermath? Are you really going to go after ’Stepping on Snow without a Trace’?"
Pei Shaoqing could certainly use this case to make trouble for Medicine King Valley, but afterward, Medicine King Valley could also use the same case to make trouble for him.
"Brother Lu, Ouyang Rong has most likely been killed. This crucial lead has already been destroyed by Medicine King Valley. So, wouldn’t it be perfectly normal for me to fail to catch ’Stepping on Snow without a Trace’?" Pei Shaoqing said with a blank expression.
Realization dawned on Lu Dingchuan. Seeing Pei Shaoqing so certain of Ouyang Rong’s death, he knew their friendship must have run deep, and that making trouble for Medicine King Valley was also a way to avenge him.
’Brother Pei is truly a loyal and righteous man. Of course, I have to help him. Who knows, maybe one day Pei Shaoqing will do the same for me.’
So he agreed, "What do you need me to do, Brother Pei?"
"Simple. I need Brother Lu to temporarily order all the Jing’an Guards in Shu State to be at my disposal to surround Medicine King Valley. You don’t need to show your face personally," Pei Shaoqing said with a slight smile.
Lu Dingchuan nodded. "Alright. I’ll send men to the various Hundred Households immediately to pass on the order."
After the founding of the Great Zhou, for ease of administration, all remote and small counties were abolished, and their populations were relocated to larger neighboring counties. Therefore, every county seat had a large population.
Even a small county like Tongzhou had several hundred thousand people.
Thus, a Jing’an Guard Hundred Households was established in every county. But each state only had one Thousand Households, which meant that each Households Commander was in charge of anywhere from a dozen to several dozen Hundred Households.
The official rank was not high, but the power was immense.
Shu State had 21 counties in total. Including the Jing’an Guards in Jin Guan City, there were about 2,500 men. Even if Pei Shaoqing only mobilized two thousand of them, it would be enough to scare Medicine King Valley to death.
"Thank you, Brother Lu, for your righteous assistance!" He stood up, cupped his fist toward Lu Dingchuan, and bowed deeply with a solemn expression of gratitude.
Lu Dingchuan quickly stood up and returned the gesture. "Brother Pei, if you’re going to be so polite, then I might not help you after all, ha."
"Hahahaha, alright, in that case, I won’t be polite. I have another favor to ask of you, Brother Lu," Pei Shaoqing laughed. ’Since I’m already here, I might as well kill two birds with one stone.’