Saving My Life By Simping For My Empress - chapter 40

Chapter 40: Qin Ji sat by the bedside, slowly fanning the palm leaf fan.

Qin Ji stepped into Gupan Village, and the sight before him was nothing short of horrific.

Corpses were strewn everywhere, and blood was splattered across the ground. The deceased had been killed in various gruesome ways—some had their throats slit, while others had been run through the heart with blades.

In all his life, this was the first time Qin Ji had seen so many dead people, especially those who died such tragic deaths.

“Judging by the state of the victims, there was no struggle before death. It seems the killers possessed absolute power over them,” Chen Xuanwu noted.

“Dahe, do you recognize the villagers of Gupan?” Qin Ji turned to ask.

“Replying to the Master, I frequent Mount Daliu often. I know some people from the nearby villages,” Wang Dahe replied.

Qin Ji: “Then come and identify if these deceased are indeed the villagers of Gupan.”

Wang Dahe complied, turning over the faces of the dead one by one.

“Your Majesty, what should we do with these bodies?” Chen Xuanwen walked over. “If they aren’t encoffined and buried soon, they will start to smell.”

Qin Ji gazed at the fallen villagers and closed his eyes. “Send men back to the county to purchase coffins. Bury them all.”

If these people were killed by the Fake Qin Ji, he would surely tear that man into ten thousand pieces.

“Master, these are Gupan villagers, and more,” Wang Dahe said, kneeling to lift a victim’s head. “This man is from another village; I used to hunt with him.”

Qin Ji’s brow furrowed.

“Mingche, have you noticed anything strange?” Wei Yu suddenly asked.

Qin Ji thought for a moment but couldn’t see it, shaking his head. “What did you find?”

Wei Yu: “Mingche, these victims are all able-bodied young men. There are no women, children, or elderly.”

Qin Ji looked across the square; it was indeed as he said.

“Why only young men? Where did the women and children go?” Qin Ji pressed his fist to his lips, his expression deepening.

“If I’m not mistaken, these men were likely kidnapped to work the mines. As for the women and children… they were likely killed long ago,” Wei Yu suggested.

The Fake Qin Ji couldn’t waste his limited manpower on mining iron ore; he needed laborers. The young men were the primary workforce. Since the county had issued a seal on the mountain, these people were cut off from the outside world. Even if they went missing, no one would know.

“There is another possibility,” Wei Yu added. “The children and elderly were killed, but the women were kept alive.”

Qin Ji knew what that implied—the women were likely taken by the rebels to be used for their carnal desires.

“Chen Xuanwu, pass the order. Using Gupan Village as the center, search for the location of the mining cave. If you find any trace of the rebels, leave them alive for questioning, but they don’t need to be in one piece.”

…

The Governor’s Manor in Huzhou was quite a distance from Huyang County. By the time Governor Wei Jian led his troops to Gupan Village, the sky was pitch black.

Wei Jian was stopped at the village entrance by the Imperial Guards. “Who goes there? State your name!”

“I am the Governor of Huzhou, Wei Jian. I received the Imperial Decree and have led the army to Mount Daliu. Please announce me.” As a fourth-rank official, Wei Jian was trembling, unable to even straighten his back.

He had arrived after the Emperor. Something major had happened in Huyang for the Emperor to come in person. As the Governor, he was responsible; at the very least, he would be charged with professional negligence. His career was likely over.

“Wait here,” the guard said, casting a fierce glance at him before heading into the village.

When the news reached Qin Ji, he sneered. “His legs sure are long—arriving only now.”

“Tell him to crawl in here!” Qin Ji barked.

Wei Jian entered the small, dusty room and collapsed onto his knees. “Subject Wei Jian, Governor of Huzhou, kowtows to Your Majesty. Long live, long live Your Majesty!”

“Why is Governor Wei so panicked? You’ve even forgotten your manners,” Qin Ji said ominously. “Is seeing me that terrifying?”

Qin Ji looked at him with irritation. The man was shaking like a leaf. He questioned why the Governor took so long to arrive despite receiving the decree at noon. Wei Jian could only beg for mercy, sweating through his robes.

“A simple ‘delay’?” Qin Ji raised his voice. “Chen Xuanwen, come and explain things to our Governor.”

Chen Xuanwen emerged from the shadows with a paper. “Luo Guangwen, the Magistrate of Huyang, conspired with rebels, embezzled 30,000 taels of relief funds, seized 20,000 acres of farmland, and sealed the mountain. Now, under your very feet, we have found hundreds of corpses of villagers. The women and children are missing.”

“Governor Wei,” Chen Xuanwen said, “your crimes are massive.”

Wei Jian went silent, his head pressed to the floor.

“Are you a mute?” Qin Ji prodded.

“Governor Wei, you are burying yourself,” Wei Yu spoke up coldly.

Wei Jian finally looked up and saw the man beside the Emperor—a strikingly handsome man in green robes with exceptionally bright eyes. Wei Yu’s words struck a chord; the Governor had been in a state of “learned helplessness,” but Wei Yu urged him to take a stand and resolve the problem before facing judgment.

Wei Jian kowtowed again, this time with sincerity. “Your Majesty, I am willing to do my utmost to remedy this. After this is settled, you may dispose of me as you see fit.”

Qin Ji ordered him to coordinate with the Imperial Guards to find the mine before dawn and search the mountain for suspicious persons.

…

After Wei Jian left, Qin Ji slumped onto the table, exhausted. He understood Wei Jian’s “slacker” mentality, but as a high-ranking official, one cannot afford to slack.

“Mingche, rest for a bit, hm?” Wei Yu took his hand and led him to the bed.

“A-Yu, I can’t sleep,” Qin Ji said, eyes full of sorrow. “The thought of so many innocent people dying… my heart hurts.”

“Cleaning up the bureaucracy takes time. We will plan it slowly once we return to the capital,” Wei Yu comforted him, cupping Qin Ji’s face. “I will help you.”

Qin Ji pulled Wei Yu into bed, but instead of sleeping, he picked up a palm leaf fan to fan Wei Yu.

“I’ll coax you to sleep first,” Qin Ji said.

“I’m not that delicate,” Wei Yu smiled.

“There are mosquitoes. These mountain mosquitoes are venomous.” Qin Ji pulled down the rough cloth bed curtains. “Sleep.”

Wei Yu closed his eyes, and soon his breathing became shallow and steady.

“Your Majesty,” Chen Xuanwu whispered from the door. “The mine has been found.”

…

Qin Ji left the room and followed the torches into the night. Wang Dahe had found the entrance by noticing an unnatural growth of vegetation.

Inside the cave, Qin Ji saw fresh carriage tracks. “It seems they transported iron ore very recently.”

The Fake Qin Ji must have known Luo Guangwen was in trouble and moved the ore ahead of time, killing the villagers to silence them.

Deep inside the mine, they found a stone chamber used as a prison.

“Your Majesty… the bodies in here… they are all women,” Wei Jian said grimly. The air was foul with the smell of decomposition.

“Wei Jian, have the men bring them out for a proper burial.” Qin Ji shielded his eyes.

“Your Majesty, look at this.” Chen Xuanwu handed him an iron token found by a soldier.

Qin Ji held it to the torchlight. His hand tightened until veins popped. On the token was a single character written in Simplified Chinese: “霁” (Ji).

Qin Ji’s heart hammered. From the perspective of a “Transmigrator,” this belonged to the Fake Qin Ji. If this world was a book and the Fake Qin Ji was a transmigrator who knew the plot, it explained how he knew the secrets of the State of Wei. The Simplified “霁” was different from the Traditional “霽,” serving as a perfect unique identifier for him.

“This belongs to the rebel leader,” Qin Ji said. He ordered everything in the cave to be packed up.

…

The next morning, Qin Ji and Wei Yu prepared to leave Gupan Village. All the coffins in the county had been bought out and were being moved to the mountain.

“Your Majesty, we searched all night. No other remains were found,” Wei Jian reported. “The rest of the villagers… their bones likely won’t be recovered.”

Qin Ji ordered relief funds to be paid to the surviving relatives.

He showed the iron token to Wei Yu. Seeing the simplified character, Wei Yu understood it belonged to the imposter. “If we follow this line, we might find something.”

Suddenly, Chen Xuanwen appeared with an urgent report from the capital. Qin Ji read it, raised an eyebrow, and handed it to Wei Yu. “It truly is a season of many troubles.”

Wei Yu finished reading, looking dazed. “Has he gone mad?”

Qin Ji shook his head. “Who knows.”