When Zhou Liu-lang hurried into the government hall, someone was already speaking on Zhao Cheng’s side.
“Inspector, these are all just rumors…”
It was Fang Zhonghe’s voice from inside, which made Zhou Liu-lang stop in his tracks.
“It’s all because that Fan Jianglin was dissatisfied with the compensation. He first came to me asking for more money and silk. It’s not that I was unwilling – I could give them all of my own money if need be – but after all, these are the court’s regulations. If I give it to him, what about the others?”
“So then he spread rumors everywhere? Saying you stole credit and cheated for rewards?”
The voices from within the hall drifted out through the doors and windows. The minor official standing at the entrance glanced at Zhou Liu-lang.
Zhou Liu-lang raised his hand in salute to him. The official hesitated a moment, then stepped inside. Before long, Zhao Cheng’s voice could be heard from within.
“Come in.”
As Zhou Liu-lang entered, Fang Zhonghe bowed and took his leave.
“I will investigate this matter thoroughly. After a war, people’s emotions run high – you must pay attention to calming them. You may go now,” said Inspector Zhao.
Fang Zhonghe answered in assent, gave Zhou Liu-lang a slight nod, and left.
“What is it?” Zhao Cheng looked at him and asked.
After that incident, Zhao Cheng had grown somewhat more cordial toward this younger subordinate.
“It’s about the matter of Linguan Fort,” Zhou Liu-lang said.
Two days earlier, a man named Fan Jianglin had stood before the government hall and loudly denounced Fang Zhonghe for stealing credit and falsely claiming rewards. Although the soldiers and clerks quickly drove him away, the matter didn’t end there. Instead, the rumors spread all the more in private.
They said that back at Linguan Fort, Fang Zhonghe hadn’t wanted to defend it at all and had only been persuaded by a few others. They agreed to hold out for one hour, but less than half an hour in, Fang Zhonghe fled on his own, which broke the soldiers’ morale. In the end, only some twenty-odd men remained to defend the fort to the last, giving their lives in sacrifice.
Now Fang Zhonghe was twisting right and wrong, concealing his own crime of desertion, and stealing the credit of those brave men who died defending the walls. Such a scoundrel, they said – if the court placed its trust in villains like him, it would surely bring grave trouble in the future.
Longgu City was neither too big nor too small, and when gossip of this kind stirred up excitement, it quickly spread throughout the city, sparking endless debate.
Since this was by no means a matter of honor, Zhao Cheng, as Inspector of the Western Route, had no choice but to summon Fang Zhonghe for questioning.
“Fang Zhonghe claims it was that wounded soldier’s dissatisfaction with the compensation that led him to slander maliciously,” Zhao Cheng said.
Such things weren’t unheard of. There were always plenty of roughnecks in the army -cowards in battle who, once the fighting was over, quibbled over merit, bullied the weak, stirred up trouble, and wished for nothing more than chaos.
“Why not summon Fan Jianglin and ask him directly?” Zhou Liu-lang suggested.
Summon that wounded soldier for questioning? For the inspector himself to interrogate him? This wasn’t just casual inquiry – it would signal the government office’s stance.
The moment that soldier was summoned, regardless of the outcome, it would mean the authorities had given credence to the rumors – in other words, that they suspected Fang Zhonghe.
Such a step… not a good idea.
This Zhou Liu-lang might be young, but as the son of an official household, surely he understood such a principle.
Zhao Cheng looked at Zhou Liu-lang for a moment, then smiled. So that was how it was.
“You know him?” he asked.
“Yes,” Zhou Liu-lang replied without concealment.
Zhao Cheng nodded. Just as he thought – most people kept their distance from matters that didn’t concern them, but once it touched them personally, they would step forward. He paced back and forth a few steps.
“You think what he says is true?” he stopped and asked.
“He doesn’t lie,” Zhou Liu-lang answered firmly, standing straight without the slightest hesitation.
Such a blunt answer.
If he doesn’t lie, didn’t that mean Fang Zhonghe was the one lying?
Even if one knew the man, no one usually made such a flat declaration. By convention, the response should be something like, I’m not certain either, so I’d like to trouble my lord to judge the matter carefully. Then Zhao Cheng could weigh it, offer some words of comfort or persuasion, and only after Zhou Liu-lang pressed his request would Zhao Cheng decide whether to grant him that favor…
But faced with Zhou Liu-lang, who refused to follow the usual script, Zhao Cheng found himself at a bit of a loss for words.
“And besides, I believe that in such circumstances, those brothers would never have abandoned the fort. They must have held on until the very last moment,” Zhou Liu-lang continued, his expression grave. The hand hanging at his side clenched unconsciously into a fist.
“Liu-lang,” Zhao Cheng turned again, then stopped to look at him, speaking with heavy earnestness. “On the battlefield, life and death are uncertain. Blades and arrows have no eyes. Anything can happen.”
Zhou Liu-lang nodded and cupped his fists in salute.
“That is why I beg you, my lord, to summon Fan Jianglin and question him,” he said. “That way, Master Fang’s name may be cleared.”
Zhao Cheng looked at him in silence.
Zhou Liu-lang remained bowing, hands clasped, motionless.
The room sank into stillness.
In truth, if this matter really blew up, it would do him no good either – after all, part of the blame for the failed arrangements before the battle lay with him as well. To let it be smoothed over with everyone pleased and the matter quietly set aside would have been the best possible outcome.
Zhao Cheng looked at the young man before him, still bent in an unmoving bow.
So, they knew each other. And it seemed the connection was not shallow. That would explain why, during the battle, he had been so insistent on sending reinforcements – because of these very men…
Then perhaps what Inspector Zhou had said was not entirely…
Minister Chen…
Very well, shall he gamble once more?
“Fine,” Zhao Cheng nodded. “We’ll ask, then. If this continues to fester, it won’t be good for Master Fang either.”
“Thank you, my lord!”
Zhou Liu-lang bent low, teeth clenched.
Thank you, my lord! Thank you!
When the gate of the house was knocked upon and she saw several soldiers from the government office, Fan Jianglin’s wife grew fearful.
Had they finally angered the authorities? Was he about to be arrested?
“Are you here for me?” Fan Jianglin rose in the courtyard, leaning on his crutch. His expression was calm as he turned to his wife. “Pack up and go to Sigen’s place.”
When they had first decided to make trouble of this matter, the two brothers had quarreled.
“We agreed to share fortune and hardship alike – so why is it that you’re going, but not letting me?” Xu Sigen said. “Back when I was bullied, you weren’t afraid of those officials – you all came forward to stand up for me. And now? Now that Third Brother and the others ended up like this, I’m supposed to cling to my official title and shy away from danger? What use is this so-called rank to me then?”
“That rank of yours is of great use,” Fan Jianglin told him. “I’m nothing more than a common soldier. If I stir up trouble, it will draw the officials’ attention, but it won’t cause too great a storm – the worst they can do is lock me up. But if you cause trouble, it becomes an official making trouble. To the authorities higher up, that is something they absolutely cannot tolerate. I’ll clear the way; you’ll follow up. The whole point is to make noise of this matter.
“And besides – there’s only the two of us brothers left. Our wives are one thing, but if we men are both gone, then what of the little one in Bangchui’s household? If both you and I are ruined… it would only sadden our kin and delight our enemies. So, we must take it slow. Each of us has our part to play.”
Xu Sigen’s eyes grew red as he looked at him.
In the past, it had always been Xu Maoxiu who thought things through, made the arrangements, and decided what to do whenever trouble arose. The brothers had only needed to follow his lead and put in the effort. Now that Xu Maoxiu was gone, it was Fang Jianglin who had stepped forward.
“All right, I understand. I’ll listen to you,” he nodded. “We’ll take it slow.”
The cry of an infant pulled Fan Jianglin out of his thoughts. The soldiers’ faces were stern as they motioned for him to come with them.
“Da-lang!” his wife clutched him, sobbing.
“Who is it that wants me? For what business? If you don’t make it clear, I’m not going,” Fan Jianglin said.
Since the authorities already regarded him as a rogue, he might as well play the rogue to the end.
“Inspector Zhao himself has summoned you for questioning,” the soldier admitted without concealment.
The Inspector himself! Fan Jianglin was startled, then immediately overjoyed.
Xu Sigen too received the news, and he hurried over to personally accompany Fan Jianglin to the Inspector’s hall.
“The Inspector himself is actually taking up the matter,” Fan Jianglin said excitedly. “Now things will be all right…”
“Yes, the Inspector himself is asking questions,” Xu Sigen was equally moved. Though he hadn’t been an official for long – just a minor officer in the Group Pasturage Office – he still knew something of officialdom’s ways.
He understood well enough what it meant for the Inspector to summon them for questioning.
What a surprise! They had never expected it to happen so easily, so quickly!
It must be their fallen brothers’ spirits in heaven watching over them.
Xu Sigen drew a deep breath and helped Fan Jianglin up the steps into the government hall.
As they entered, Zhou Liu-lang was leaving through the side door. He glanced at the two men supporting each other as they made their way inside.
“This is the frostbite salve my sister made for you…”
“…This is the sachet she gave you for the Dragon Boat Festival… to ward off mosquitoes and pests…”
Zhou Liu-lang exhaled heavily, lowering his head. What ‘my sister gave me’ – that wretched girl never once treated me as her brother. It’s only me who ever saw myself as her younger brother.
As for that Xu Maoxiu, he had never once even looked him in the eye. By now, Zhou Liu-lang could hardly even remember what his face looked like.
Zhou Liu-lang let out a long, heavy breath, lifted his foot, and strode away.
