A Single Tie Of Long Hair Seals A Lifelong Commitment - Chapter 5

Looking around, the only person in the entire Sixteen Guards close to her age was the sweeping maid, Xing Rui, and naturally, they became close quickly. Xing Rui was very quick to adapt to his new identity—a shadow. Based on their shared misery of being disliked, and despite Chen Liangyu’s objections, he happily claimed her as his boss.

After failing to refuse, Chen Liangyu chose to accept. It’s never good to have no usable subordinates; a sweeper is a sweeper. Having someone to run errands is better than nothing.

Chen Liangyu rarely stayed at the Guard Yamen, handing over all major and minor affairs to Gao Guan to handle. If Gao Guan wanted to make things difficult for himself, she would just pretend he didn’t exist outside of official duties. She never intended to be the commander of this Guard in the first place. She thought she would be granted a military rank and return to the Northern Frontier with her elder brother after the New Year, at which point she could legitimately lead troops.

However, the Emperor seemed unwilling to let her return to the north with her brother, so she had no choice but to take on this assignment first and make other plans later.

Gao Guan was used to being flattered by his subordinates, and few ever treated him dismissively. He had a suppressed rage, and the entire Sixteen Guards, inside and out, felt his tension.

But the Emperor was not anxious, which made the eunuchs frantic.

Xing Rui was scratching his head with worry when, finally one day, he mysteriously told Chen Liangyu that he had figured out a good way to ease the internal conflict within the Sixteen Guards, and then…

He defected to the enemy camp.

Xing Rui became incredibly attentive, hovering around Gao Guan three times a day, serving tea, pouring water, massaging his shoulders and back. “Vice Commander Gao.”

“Take the ‘Vice’ off for me!”

“Yes, yes, Commander Gao.”

Gao Guan cleared his throat, resting his crossed feet on the old but spacious desk in front of him, swinging them rhythmically: “Why aren’t you following your little boss? Why are you hanging around in front of me again?”

Xing Rui, being very sharp, quickly picked up the teapot to pour tea: “Commander, what are you saying? Who is the real boss of the Sixteen Guards, don’t we all know it in our hearts? My thought is, that girl doesn’t manage anything anyway, so the Sixteen Guards still listens to you, doesn’t it? Since you have the real power, what’s wrong with letting her have a nominal title? With her here, our Southern Yamen can borrow the Marquis of Xuanping’s prestige. In the past, when Hu Xiang’er and the others went to collect our stipends, the Ministry of Revenue never gave us a good look. But now, those officials in the Ministry of Revenue who used to look down on everyone—who isn’t polite to us? They even paid off all the stipends that were delayed for half a year. Commander, if we get rid of her, and the court sends another difficult person, won’t the good times for the brothers in the Southern Yamen come to an end?”

Gao Guan narrowed his eyes, contemplating. His eyes were already small, and when narrowed, they were just thin slits.

It seemed to make sense, and the reasoning was sound.

In the past, petitioning for stipends was like begging on the street—bowing and smiling to everyone. They would wait outside the Ministry of Revenue yamen for a whole day, with no one even offering tea, the excuse being a deficit in the national treasury, and no funds to allocate. The imperial decree appointing Chen Liangyu as the Commander of the Sixteen Guards arrived that night, and the very next morning, people from the Ministry of Revenue showed up. Their arrogance was gone, replaced by fawning smiles, delivering the silver with both hands.

Had the practice of flattering the powerful and trampling the weak in the officialdom changed? No, it was all out of respect for the Marquis of Xuanping’s Residence.

“Besides, she’s a girl. She’ll be married in a couple of years. Is she going to be running around like this after she gets married? Once she leaves, won’t this Commander position be vacant?”

Xing Rui winked and made a ‘you understand’ expression.

Gao Guan thought this was a brilliant point!

“If you ask me, your work is excellent, and the brothers below see it. On the surface, just show her some respect. It’s only a year or two of waiting. When the time comes, if she says a word in front of His Majesty to recommend you, won’t this Commander title be securely in your pocket, right?”

Gao Guan agreed completely!

He put down his legs from the desk, immediately rewarded Xing Rui with two pots of liquor, and ordered him to return to Chen Liangyu’s side to continue being her shadow, to whisper good things about him, and sing his praises.

Chen Liangyu wandered from the long street to the west street, caught a thief, rescued a raccoon cat stuck in a tree, and even helped Meng Tuhua, the butcher on the west street, catch the pig that had run away from his house.

She sniffed down; her clothes stained with the smell of the pigsty.

It took her a while to believe Xing Rui’s words: the Sixteen Guards was truly a leisurely post.

She returned to the Southern Yamen, walked into the makeshift side room, changed into a clean robe, and noticed that everyone—whether they had initially been disobedient or were too afraid of Gao Guan’s power to obey—had suddenly become respectful overnight.

She walked to the main hall of the Southern Yamen. Gao Guan was currently fuming, “They dump all their messy problems on us! This case should either be filed by the Yong’an Prefecture or sent to the Ministry of Justice. They find it too tricky and don’t want to offend anyone, so they want us to rush in and take the blame?”

Seeing her arrive, Gao Guan instantly put on a kind face, smiling and personally pouring her tea: “Commander, you’re back? You’ve worked hard, please have some tea.”

“What show are you putting on? Is it poisoned?” Chen Liangyu picked up the teacup and took a sip.

“No, no, not at all! I was very offensive before. We all work together in the Southern Yamen, we’re colleagues. I am your subordinate. Please be the bigger person and don’t hold a grudge. I’ve changed. From now on, I will definitely follow your lead and have no other thoughts.”

His expression of loyalty was utterly bewildering.

“What rotten task have they assigned you now?”

Gao Guan sighed. “Assistant Prefect Zhou, who was transferred from Xuzhou, has a young daughter. A few days ago, the Qiu family’s young master took a liking to her on the street. It’s also Mr. Zhou’s fault for being too clean and frugal—his family didn’t ride in a sedan chair when they went out. Without knowing she was a colleague’s daughter, well, he snatched her and took her to his mansion. The girl is relentless, insisting on filing a complaint against young master Qiu, but the complaint simply cannot be submitted.”

“Which young master Qiu?”

“The son of Mr. Qiu Renshan, the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. His name is Qiu Shiyan.”

With this, Chen Liangyu understood the general situation: the son of a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Personnel had caused trouble by forcibly abducting a civilian woman on the street, and no one dared to take the case. The Ministry of Personnel manages the transfer, promotion, and review of officials. Although the person snatched was an official’s daughter, everyone had a scale in their hearts to weigh offending a sixth-rank Assistant Prefect against offending an Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel who held their career in his hands.

All the departments took turns shifting the responsibility until they finally kicked the matter to the Southern Yamen.

“The girl had no way to appeal for justice, so she laid out a blood letter in front of the Yong’an Prefecture gate and ran into a pillar. Common people value justice the most, and with her running into the pillar like that, the crowd of onlookers immediately started a riot outside the Yong’an Prefecture, forcing them to open the court for trial. The Yong’an Prefecture is stalling and sent its constables to ask the Southern Yamen for assistance in handling the situation. What can we do? The Southern Yamen has no authority to arrest or try cases. Going there would just be mediation,” Gao Guan complained bitterly. “They never think of us for good things, but when it’s time to wade into dirty water, they all want to drag the Southern Yamen down with them to be the scapegoat.”

Chen Liangyu immediately ordered a young soldier to fetch her horse and arranged: “You take men and go first. Just assist the Yong’an Prefecture in stabilizing the crowd. Ensure no civilians are injured. If they try to put the case itself on your shoulders, stall them and wait for me.”

Gao Guan continuously agreed. As Chen Liangyu mounted her horse and rode away, he quickly followed, mobilizing his men toward the Yong’an Prefecture.

Chen Liangyu no longer cared to figure out the unspoken intentions of Emperor Xuanyuan for placing her in the Sixteen Guards. This case involved the power of court officials. If no one applied pressure, the result would surely be to minimize the serious matter, turning the big into small. More vilely, they would clear Qiu Shiyan’s name and dump all the blame on the girl, twisting the facts.

Since the hot potato had been thrown over, she would take it.

Chen Liangyu galloped all the way to her house, dismounted, and headed straight for Chen Yuanqing’s study, silently praying that her father was not home, or at least not in the study.

Chen Linjun seemed to have anticipated her return, blocking the doorway and waiting for her: “Little sister, why the rush?”

“There’s a case at the Yong’an Prefecture that the Southern Yamen needs to assist with. I came back to fetch something.”

“Did you come back to steal Father’s fish token?”

Chen Liangyu rummaged around loudly, “Don’t just stand there, help me look.”

Chen Linjun didn’t move: “This matter involves factions in the court. You may not be able to manage it. The Prefect of Yong’an, Li Yilian, has long been acquainted with Qiu Renshan, the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. If he wants to suppress this Qiu family matter, he has many methods that comply with the law.”

“Whether I can manage it or not, I’ll manage it first. I wouldn’t do anything if I didn’t know about it, but now that I do, how can I allow someone to suffer injustice?”

“Stop searching, it’s here.” Chen Linjun opened his palm, and a bronze fish token lay in his hand. “Control the intensity, know where to stop. Some things don’t need to be said too clearly. They are all old foxes in officialdom. You don’t need to spell out the words; leave some room for their addled brains to figure things out. I hope Father doesn’t kill you when you return. Go.”

Chen Liangyu snatched the fish token from Chen Linjun’s hand, took a few steps, and then stopped: “Big brother, you’re free. Take a trip to the Ministry of Justice.”

Putting pressure on the Yong’an Prefecture alone was not enough. She also had to drag the Ministry of Justice into it. She would pull out everyone who should be involved. No one should think they could shrink back.

By the time Chen Liangyu arrived at the Yong’an Prefecture, Gao Guan had already cooperated with the Prefecture to temporarily suppress the rioting public.

Chen Liangyu walked into the Yong’an Prefecture Yamen. Gao Guan quickly trotted after her, “Qiu Shiyan has been summoned and is in the inner hall. The man I stationed at the back door of the Yong’an Prefecture just reported that a carriage dropped someone off. It should be Qiu Renshan.”

“Well done,” Chen Liangyu strode forward, her fringe fluttering. “Don’t let the people outside start a riot again.”

“Yes.” Gao Guan turned back, holding long spears and sticks with the Yong’an Prefecture constables and the Southern Yamen soldiers, pushing the crowd back with bulging veins: “Step back! Don’t push! Those who advance will all be imprisoned!”

In the Yong’an Prefecture’s inner hall, beneath the ‘Ming Jing Gao Xuan’ (High Mirror Hung) plaque, the girl named Zhou Pei, her facial bloodstains half-dry, had woken up and was kneeling in the hall.

She was petite and had a youthful face, but she forced her frail body to stand up straight.

Next to her sat a fair-faced, oily-haired young man in brocade robes, who should be Qiu Shiyan.

This room was separated from the public court by a wall. It was the inner hall where the Yong’an Prefecture usually handled official business, isolating it from the crowds outside. Chen Liangyu stepped up to the front of the hall. As she walked further back, the yamen runner quickly crossed the water-and-fire rods to block her: “How dare you! Who is trespassing in the Yong’an Prefecture?”

Li Yilian had seen her at the celebration banquet for the Marquis of Xuanping’s triumphant return. He recognized her at a glance and, seeing the fish token on her waist engraved with Chen Yuanqing’s insignia, quickly came forward to greet her: “Does the Marquis have any instructions?”

Chen Liangyu casually rattled the bronze on her waist and said, “Nothing much. I just happened to hear that the Yong’an Prefecture has a case to try today, and they requested men from the Southern Yamen. So, I came to observe and report a memorial on the public sentiment to His Majesty on behalf of my father. As you know, my father has not attended court for a long time. It bothers him to receive the Emperor’s salary without serving. He was injured during the war and it’s inconvenient for him to travel, so as his daughter, I naturally have to work a little harder.”

A slight, almost undetectable sound came from behind the screen on the side of the inner hall.

By the time Chen Liangyu finished speaking, sweat had beaded on Li Yilian’s forehead. It was originally a small matter that shouldn’t have been difficult to handle. How did it end up alarming even the Marquis of Xuanping?

The girl kneeling in the hall stopped her tears, looking at Chen Liangyu with hope. As if an unspoken understanding had been forged between the two, Zhou Pei instantly understood that this person was here to support her.

Qiu Shiyan turned his head to see who the newcomer was. Seeing it was a woman, he scanned her from head to toe.

Chen Liangyu glared fiercely at Qiu Shiyan. It turned out that ‘looking disgusting’ was a concrete expression, not an insult. Qiu Shiyan was not ugly; his features were even considered proper, but his whole being was saturated with the stench of alcohol, lust, and depravity. Just a glance, and Chen Liangyu’s stomach churned, and the food she ate that morning threatened to come up.

It seemed that the saying “looks are determined by the heart” held some truth. Anyone who saw this Qiu Shiyan would have to say: rotten outwardly, rotten inwardly.

“What are you looking at? Close your eyes!” Chen Liangyu snapped.

Qiu Shiyan actually closed his eyes obediently.

Chen Liangyu felt as if she had struck a sword against cotton—neither her anger nor her rage could be released. She walked to the Grand Tutor’s chair placed to the side of the inner hall’s desk, lifted her robe, and sat down: “I will only listen to the trial and will not interfere. Prefecture Magistrate, just deliver a fair judgment.”

She deliberately emphasized the word ‘fair’ and looked toward the screen: “Magistrate Li, both as a man and as an official, one must be respectable. At your age, your clear path to advancement should not be narrowed for the sake of personal favors.”