Chapter 57: 55

In the early morning, after Zhao Yelan finished washing up, Li Yucheng came to the room to ask him to have breakfast and gave him several mischievous glances.

“What are you looking at so sneakily?” Zhao Yelan said mildly.

“Where’s Yan Mingting?” Li Yucheng glanced around.

“What are you looking for him for?”

“I’m afraid I’ll see something I shouldn’t see again,” Li Yucheng said, covering his face.

Zhao Yelan gave him a sidelong glance. When Yan Mingting left and returned last night, he didn’t have time to close the door and had caught a glimpse of Li Yucheng’s figure passing by. Before he had time to speak, Yan Mingting had kissed him on the forehead, and he didn’t bother to care what Li Yucheng thought.

“You two……” Li Yucheng organized his words and said cautiously, “Are you together?”

Zhao Yelan replied flatly: “Thanks to the Emperor, everyone knows we are together.”

“Aiya, you know I’m not talking about that sort of ‘together’……” Li Yucheng scratched his head, held up two thumbs, and said, “It’s the heart-to-heart kind……”

Zhao Yelan’s eyes dimmed: “Why are you asking this?”

“I’m just a little curious……” Li Yucheng couldn’t tell what it was like. From the beginning, he felt that the relationship between the two was not simple. They might be friends or confidants, but he didn’t expect it to be the kind of relationship between a husband and a wife.

He inevitably thought of his sister, and looked at Zhao Yelan with a sense of loss: “To be honest, I have actually regarded Yan Mingting as my brother-in-law these days.”

Zhao Yelan’s eyes flashed as he shot him a sharp look, and he swiftly added: “But I also know that he can’t be my real brother-in-law, so I also treat you as my sister!”

“Fuck you.” Zhao Yelan slapped him on the forehead and said sharply, “Let’s go eat.”

Li Yucheng’s eyes kept falling on him during the meal, and Zhao Yelan said flatly: “If you look again, I’ll dig out your eyeballs.”

Averting his eyes immediately, Li Yucheng turned his head and asked in a low voice: “Did you kiss last night?”

Zhao Yelan paused.

“I listened for a long time last night, but I didn’t hear anything. Is Yan Mingting not good…..mm mm mm……” Li Yucheng had a bun stuffed in his mouth, and when he saw Zhao Yelan get up and go upstairs, he immediately followed while eating the bun.

The two had just walked to the second floor when they happened to meet Yin Pinglu opening her door.

Yin Pinglu had changed into clean clothes, but was still dressed as a man. She nodded in greeting, but Li Yucheng thought she was Yan Mingting’s subordinate. After telling Zhao Yelan to go to the Cheng residence, he left.

Zhao Yelan glanced at Yin Pinglu, who had a dark complexion, and said in a whisper: “Your hands are too white.”

Yin Pinglu looked down and her face turned red. She turned and went into the room to continue to smear color on her hands, and then pretended to be delivering a snack as she went to Zhao Yelan’s room.

“Are you really willing to help me investigate the affairs of Magistrate Yin?” Zhao Yelan sat at the table and got straight to the point.

“En.” Yin Pinglu set down the snacks and sat opposite him, neither humble nor overbearing. “He has shown me no kindness. If he really did something to wrong the people and the court, I am willing to bear the infamy and send him to the execution grounds with my own hands.”

“But you are from the Yin family, so you will be implicated. Aren’t you afraid?” Zhao Yelan asked.

Yin Pinglu shook her head: “I’m alive now, but what is the difference from being dead? I worry all the time that I will be captured back, then married to someone I have never met before, and I will only be imprisoned in someone else’s birdcage for the rest of my life. If they are happy, they will give me something to eat. If they are unhappy, they will beat and curse me. There is no self, no freedom.”

Her expression and eyes were soft with the gentleness of Jiangnan women, and her tenderness was like water, but there was a firmness in her eyes that said perhaps this water was not that which lingered in Jiangnan, but the water of the Yellow River that could break through its embankments.

Zhao Yelan examined her, then told her the details of his coming to Jiangnan.

After hearing this, Yin Pinglu frowned and said: “I don’t know Kuang Sheng, as I escaped from Huaizhou a few years ago. As for my father, although he is only interested in profit, he can only think of marriages, and would never dare to do such a bold thing.”

“Because he is soliciting contacts everywhere, perhaps someone will use his name to do things.” 

Yin Pinglu nodded: “For example, my third brother-in-law is a county magistrate. He doesn’t have a good relationship with my third sister, and flirts with women all day long, but he is very close to my father.”

“Tell me about the situations of your brothers-in-law.”

With the help of Yin Pinglu, a person who knew the inside story, a lot of effort was saved in enquiring about information. After one morning, Zhao Yelan had almost mastered the network of Magistrate Yin. If one didn’t check carefully, they would not know that Magistrate Yin was more or less connected to all the officials in this area by virtue of his in-law relationship. And he was obviously not the only one who used this method, as many of them were close relatives. Everyone had the same network and common interests, which would automatically form a situation where officials would shield each other.

It was no wonder that no Jiangnan officials had reported any adverse situations when they went to Beijing to report on their work every year.

Yin Pinglu escaped from Huaizhou and her death, keeping her name anonymous since then, just because she was afraid of being noticed by people in Jiangnan. These officials were colluding and covering for each other, and it was difficult to escape from their reach.

“My lord, how do you plan to deal with it?” Yin Pinglu asked.

“Wait for good news from Yan Mingting.” Zhao Yelan smiled slightly. “Let him open the first incision.”

A few days later, Yan Mingting captured all the leaders of the bandit group and took advantage of the situation to find out that the Jiangnan governor colluded with the bandits to rob some of the disaster money. The news spread like wildfire, shocking the entire Jiangnan area.

“Is the news reliable?” Magistrate Yin asked the messenger in a panic.

“En, the governor is already on his way to the capital!” The servant replied. “Originally, the governor had already arrested these bandits and was about to silence them. Who would have thought that Yan Mingting would suddenly bring people to take over, and deliberately interrogate them over the disaster funds, exposing it……”

“Foolish, ah!” Magistrate Yin slapped the chair heavily. This governor was his eldest son-in-law, who was at the height of his powers all these years. Only six years younger than him, he had taken the position of governor. “Call the others quickly, we need to discuss a solution!”

Not only the Yin Mansion, but many other officials were like ants on a hot pan, beginning to urgently discuss countermeasures.

There was also a lot of discussion about this matter in the inn, and there were voices conversing everywhere.

Zhao Yelan was playing chess with Yin Pinglu leisurely, while Li Yucheng scratched his head and looked at the ledger.

Li Yucheng’s trip was not entirely to accompany Zhao Yelan on business. He listened to Yan Mingting’s suggestion – since he was no good at writing or martial arts, he would rely on his own advantages to do business. Therefore, he came to Jiangnan to discuss business with his uncle, and Li Jinyu naturally supported him. It was rare that he was interested in doing something serious.

“I just saw a few brothers-in-law passing by downstairs, and they all went to the Yin residence,” Yin Pinglu whispered.

“En.”

“It’s really wonderful to use generals as chess pieces to break the game.” Yin Pinglu smiled faintly.

Only Yan Mingting had such power. On the surface, he was going to wipe out the bandits, but caught the governor by surprise. Before anyone could react, he sent him to court with thunderous force, saving interrogation and investigation time in Jiangnan. Others wanted to save themselves but were at their wits end, and it was even more impossible to recruit people from the Yan family army.

“Those bandits in Quzhou should have been taken into custody by the governor long ago, only the two people in Huaizhou didn’t go back to Quzhou to be arrested as planned, and we caught them first by mistake,” Zhao Yelan said.

At this moment, a messenger entered the inn and called: “May I ask who Fu Qian is?”

“It’s me.” Zhao Yelan poked his head out, and the messenger ran upstairs to hand him the letter.

He opened it to have a look, and a wooden hairpin rolled out of it.

“What is this?” Li Yucheng leaned over curiously.

Zhao Yelan pushed his head away, unfolded the letter paper, and read –

Mengting, I carved this wooden hairpin myself. I know you don’t like to use such simple things, but I just miss you. Every time I missed you, I carved a little bit, and it took shape unknowingly. I’ve never made one of these before, don’t be disgusted. At worst, you can decorate it with gold before returning to Beijing.

Now let’s speak of business. I have already grasped the evidence of collusion between the governor and the bandits, and I will go to arrest people soon. Wish me the best.

I really want to finish things quickly and come to see you.

“Ah, don’t mess around,” Yin Pinglu said abruptly.

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However, Li Yucheng had already picked up the wooden hairpin under Zhao Yelan’s eyes and looked it over carefully: “What an ugly thing, it’s worth no money at all.”

Zhao Yelan kicked at him and snatched the hairpin back: “Go mind your own business.”

Li Yucheng rubbed his thigh and said aggrievedly: “What’s the matter, don’t you usually only wear gold and silver? I don’t believe you will still wear this garbage hairpin – uh……”

Li Yucheng watched him calmly put on the hairpin, his mouth slowly opening wide: “Are you possessed by a poor wretch?”

“Great extravagance is unacceptable,” Zhao Yelan taught the fool seriously.

Li Yucheng: “I think you’re possessed. What you said……does it have the slightest credibility? Get rid of your expensive outfit first!”

Yin Pinglu lowered her head and smiled, then asked about business: “Do you want to inquire about the situation in the Yin mansion next? But for what reason can you enter? Direct visits will be rejected, right?”

“The Yin family will come to pay respects.” Zhao Yelan pointed to Li Yucheng, who was dazed from reading the accounts, and said in a low voice, “You may not know yet, but this fool’s father is the Prime Minister.”

Yin Pinglu was surprised: “I really wouldn’t have thought it.”

Li Yucheng: “……Hey! Can you keep your voices down? I can hear everything!”

In the evening, the Yin residence sent someone to invite Li Yucheng over. A few days ago, they were ignoring him, but today they remembered his identity as the Prime Minister’s son. It would be the best way to inquire about news from the capital and ask for help.

Li Yucheng was the guest of honor. He had quite the power and prestige, and let it be known that he would take a good brother with him. Zhao Yelan cooperated with his performance without saying a word.

And “Fu Qian” was actually a person invited by the Yin family. After all, he was the son of Dali Siqing, so he should be able to find out some information.

As soon as the two entered the mansion, Magistrate Yin led a group of people to greet them. Yin Pinglu couldn’t follow them on this trip, so she only gave them rough outlines of those people’s characteristics.

Zhao Yelan looked around covertly, and found that the two younger brothers and several sons-in-law of Magistrate Yin had come. The battle array was quite large, ah.

The dining table was much richer than when Yan Mingting was hosted last time. Perhaps it had been to impress Yan Mingting with their frugality, or maybe this was to cater to the dandyish habits of these two people. In short, the food was pretty good, but the people they were eating with ruined the atmosphere.

While eating, one must also pay attention to the mood.

He was sitting at the same table with a large group of crooked melons and split dates,[1] which made Li Yucheng look handsome in comparison, and he really lost his appetite.

“Why does Fu-gongzi not eat? Is it not to your taste?” The man opposite him asked with a smile.

Zhao Yelan lowered his eyes, and Li Yucheng on the side replied: “Oh, he’s just……homesick.”

Zhao Yelan glanced at him, and Li Yucheng smiled.

“It’s normal to be homesick, when does Fu-gongzi plan to return to the capital?” The man said, “Since you came out to play, your family must be worried about you. It’s only that just recently, Fu-daren may be busy and not be able to take care of you, so why not play in Huaizhou for a while?”

Zhao Yelan smiled: “He is busy every day, I am used to it.”

“There are so many cases in Dali Temple?”

“En, not only are there many cases, but they are all serious cases. Almost none who enter Dali Temple come out.” After Zhao Yelan finished speaking lightly, everyone present had a change in expression.

Magistrate Yin stabilized his breathing and said with a smile: “The governor’s case that has been handed over to Dali Temple in the past two days?”

“I don’t know about that. I’m so far away from the capital. How can I know any news that none of you know?”

In fact, Magistrate Yin wanted to know if he would be interrogated in Dali Temple and the Ministry of Criminal Justice, or if people would be sent to Jiangnan for a thorough investigation. However, seeing that he didn’t know what he was asking, he had no choice but to turn his target to Li Yucheng again. After drinking several cups of wine with him, he patted him on the shoulder earnestly: “Nephew, I’m ashamed to say it, but if it weren’t for my daughter’s age difference, we might have become in-laws too. There is something I have to tell you. Although the governor is married to my eldest daughter, they seldom interact with one another. We didn’t even know that he had done such a stupid thing, ah! You see, can you ask your father to help speak for us?”

Li Yucheng glanced at Zhao Yelan, following his instructions and saying perfunctorily: “It is useless for you to tell me about this. Since you have nothing to do with it, just wait until the truth is found out.”

The others were taking turns to show favor and talk, when someone shouted outside: “General Yan is here!”

Everyone was startled, and they looked over at the gate together to see Yan Mingting stride through it. He went straight to the lobby and came to them in a hurry.

Zhao Yelan was also a little surprised, and watched him intently.

“General, you are back so soon?” Magistrate Yin was taken aback, and quickly asked someone to add a stool.

“Don’t bother, I’ll just squeeze in.” Yan Mingting inserted a foot between Zhao Yelan and Li Yucheng and then sat down.

Li Yucheng’s body tilted and he fell to the side. Then, under everyone’s mocking gazes, he stood up and made a pretense at composure: “Let’s add a stool, I have a big butt.”

Everyone laughed, and only Magistrate Yin wore a strange look as he glanced between the two of them, becoming more and more sure that they were secret cut-sleeves!

Fortunately, he had already sent someone to the capital to inquire about Fu Qian on the night of the Ghost Festival and would have answers soon. Then he would have a handle on Yan Mingting, and may be able to escape.

“General Yan, are you here late at night for something important?” Someone asked.

“I heard that you guys were having a banquet, and just came to have a quick meal since I was hungry. You don’t mind, do you?” Yan Mingting said with a smile.

“Don’t mind, of course we don’t mind. It is our honor that the general is willing to show his face.”

Because of Yan Mingting’s visit, this group of people no longer dared to openly discuss the governor, but just secretly observed his expression. They found that the other party was smiling all the time, and didn’t know if this was beneficial or unfavorable to them.

Ever since Yan Mingting had caught a glimpse of the wooden hairpin he made on Zhao Yelan’s head, the corners of his mouth had not lowered.

Magistrate Yin accidentally knocked his chopsticks to the ground and he bent down to pick them up, only to find that Yan Mingting was secretly holding the hand of the person next to him under the table.

Magistrate Yin: “ ! ”

The case was settled, the two really were having a clandestine affair!

It couldn’t be forgotten that Yan Mingting was the one who received an Imperial decree and married Zhao Yelan!

And who was Zhao Yelan? Even if they had never met before, he had heard about him. If Zhao Yelan knew about this, could Yan Mingting still have a good life?

He thought for a while, and when he raised his head again, a smile finally appeared on his face.

“I want to……hiccup, go back.” Li Yucheng lay on the table, obviously drunk.

Magistrate Yin was asking someone to escort them back, but at this moment, the servant at the door suddenly rushed in: “My lord! Someone is here!”

Magistrate Yin rebuked: “Why are you in a panic and afraid of meeting guests? Who is here?”

“The Imperial envoy from the capital, Zhao Yelan. Zhao-daren!”

Everyone was taken aback, including Yan Mingting and Li Yucheng.

The others walked to the gate in surprise, but the two looked at Zhao Yelan in unison.

Zhao Yelan signaled for them not to act rashly, and the two withdrew their gazes. After a moment, Yan Mingting walked out behind him and whispered something into his ear. Zhao Yelan nodded.

There was a sound of footsteps outside, and the hearts of the others were on edge.

Magistrate Yin didn’t know why, but he looked back and saw Yan Mingting standing behind “Fu Qian,” whispering something and even brushing his hair back.

He got a toothache when he saw this. He had never witnessed such a blatant affair. The wife of the main house has just arrived at the door, and you are still here flirting? I will expose you!

[1] Crooked melons and split dates (歪瓜裂枣) are ugly/repulsive people or things. ⮐

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