Less than the time of one cup of tea passed, and Meng Qi had already obtained the list.
——Tsk, King Wu’s men were quite numerous, but there was no leader, a mixed lot.
Huang Yang wore a bitter face, as if mourning a parent.
“Alright, no need to pretend.” Meng Qi memorized the list. With a rub of his hands, the paper turned into powder.
Dusting off his sleeves, Meng Qi casually said: “Among the people on this list, those who matter were all far away in Qiantang County. Perhaps they were even opponents of Attendant Huang. If they died, you would only be delighted.”
Huang Yang instinctively wanted to refute, then realized and forced a laugh without speaking further.
Meng Qi glanced at him, feeling even more satisfied.
Meanwhile, Mo Li found it strange and used sound transmission to ask Meng Qi how he saw through it.
“This list was long and mixed. Whether they were people from Ning Tai or Qiantang County, their duties were all similar. Also, look at these positions. Most were minor posts of rank eight or nine, and some titles were very odd. Their offices didn’t need so many assistants……It must be Jianghu people. King Wu recruited many such people, and it wouldn’t do to not give them official ranks.”
Meng Qi suddenly paused. Seeing the confusion in Mo Li’s eyes, he awkwardly gave the conclusion directly: “This Attendant Huang avoided the important and focused on the trivial. Most on the list were unimportant people. Those who were truly important naturally wouldn’t be those Jianghu people who just got nominal ranks and pay. If you haven’t mingled in officialdom, you wouldn’t understand the trick inside.”
It was not surprising that Huang Yang, relying on his identities in both Jianghu and officialdom, would use such a method to cope.
“Since we both know who we are, let’s not feign ignorance.” Meng Qi picked up a paperweight from the desk and toyed with it.
Indeed, Attendant Huang not only wore fine clothes but also used top-quality items.
On the desk, inside the ancient-style bamboo brush holder, each brush might cost dozens or even hundreds of taels of silver. There was a Chengni inkstone with naturally formed carvings, fragrant pine soot ink, a stack of top-quality Xuan paper, and even small items like brush washers and paperweights were exquisitely elegant.
Collecting all these must have taken considerable effort. Especially the Chengni inkstone, whose craftsmanship had gradually been lost due to frequent wars, and pine soot ink, scarce for the past hundred years since old pines were felled nearly to extinction. Yet here they both were, and they were top-notch quality. Nor did they seem like ancient inkstones or ancient ink that would be extraordinarily expensive.
One must know that if items like these had any age, their owners would not easily take them out for use, but rather pass them down as family heirlooms.
Apart from these items, Huang Yang’s room had no gold or jade objects, no antiques, not even large vases from famous kilns. The walls were empty, with no calligraphy or paintings hung. Presumably, all the valuables were on this desk and in his wardrobe. As for clothes, it was understandable, since people judged by attire. But yamen runners or ordinary Jianghu people wouldn’t know the value of the items on this desk.
For instance, this piece of black jade paperweight.
It looked unremarkable, but upon picking it up one felt it was quite heavy. For a paperweight, it seemed too heavy.
Meng Qi did not miss Huang Yang’s sudden nervousness, though Huang quickly concealed it.
“Doctor, look at this. A fish-shaped paperweight was quite rare.”
“……”
Frankly, if Meng Qi had not pointed it out, Mo Li would not have recognized it as a fish.
Although it was black jade, if examined closely, one could see scale-like patterns and wave-like textures, but this carving was too primitive, much like jade pendants from the Warring States period.
At that time, jade-carved dragon patterns sometimes looked like pigs. What was wrong with a fish that looked like a pig?
Seeing Mo Li’s disapproving expression, Meng Qi laughed even more heartily.
Huang Yang’s forehead broke out in more cold sweat. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to say: “My information was not as agile as Feng Xing Pavilion’s, yet I knew of Master Meng’s great name. News of you two coming to Jiangnan was spread secretly a few days ago. Huang was just a small figure and naturally knows to adapt.”
His words held deeper meaning, but Meng Qi refused to pick up on it, not following the path Huang Yang paved.
“You jest. This old man has not interfered in worldly matters for many years. What great name could there be?”
Huang Yang’s expression twisted upon hearing this. He probably wanted to hold up a mirror to Meng Qi’s face so he could see himself before calling himself an old man.
Mo Li coughed lightly.
“Enough. Since you’re not willing to provide a proper list, tell us something useful.” While playing with the paperweight, Meng Qi said: “For instance, who was the counselor King Wu relied upon most? Who could speak with weight before King Wu? If King Wu’s ears were soft, he couldn’t accomplish great deeds without several people to make decisions for him, and he would not have such big ambitions.”
Hearing Meng Qi speak about King Wu so familiarly, Huang Yang’s expression grew more complicated.
He valued his life and was ambitious. Since trickery and cunning were useless, to survive he could only tell the truth. Huang Yang did not know that Meng Qi would not kill him. His mind was full of thoughts about Qiu Si, whose life or death remained unknown. The shadow Qiu Si cast over him for so many years was too great. Now Qiu Si himself had failed, and Huang Yang could not muster even a shred of resistance.
After all, Qiu Si had a dozen attendants, each with martial skill as high as his own. Even then, they failed to escape. What lucky thought could he have?
“Within King Wu’s domain, there were three main forces, but they rarely fought among themselves. Since King Wu’s lineage was not prosperous, there was nothing much to fight over, so they set their sights outside……”
Huang Yang rattled off King Wu’s important ministers, including the famed and powerful lineages of Wu.
Mo Li listened carefully for a while and found the entangled relationships and scheming among these aristocratic families truly headache-inducing. Yet Wu’s territory had one very obvious characteristic: compared to seizing power, they were more interested in making money.
Although power was important, if one was careless, one could lose one’s entire family’s life.
Qiantang County had too many ways to make money. When the speed of gaining wealth by seizing farmland could not compare to running workshops and maritime trade, when workshops always lacked manpower, the common people became as sought after as farmland.
Wu Land was very xenophobic. No matter how many opportunities to make money appeared, they would not share them with outsiders. Foreign merchants were squeezed out.
“……They wished Jiangnan would fall into chaos. It would be best if the Qi Dynasty and King Jing went to war, and if King Ning and King Jing fought to the death, so that the slightly well-off common folk and wealthy households would flee to Wu Land. They had money to buy goods, and even if their family fortunes declined, they could at least read, write, and count. Illiterate farmers were not in demand……One must be clever and able to do work. Women were even more valued than men because they did not drink excessively and make trouble. They could do all kinds of embroidery without making many mistakes, and they rarely damaged expensive, delicate goods due to clumsiness. Especially since King Wu sent troops to attack the mountain tribes the previous year and established many new highland tea gardens lacking tea-picking women.”
The more Meng Qi listened, the brighter his eyes shone, and an obvious smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.
Compared to the aristocratic families’ plan to take advantage of chaos by seizing population, he was more interested in the current situation of Wu Land that Huang Yang described.
It was already quite remarkable that these noble families could temporarily forsake annexing farmland.
——Thinking carefully, this was unique to Wu Land. Many rivers and lakes scattered the fertile fields, making it impossible to form large, continuous tracts of farmland. Apart from good fields, there were only small hills. Even mountains were few, and it was impossible to open new land. Wu Land could produce silk, hemp, and salt. Their weaving skills were excellent. Even ordinary wealthy households were accustomed to opening shops and doing business rather than thinking about just buying land to become a local tyrant.
“So you people wanted to provoke King Ning to raise troops?” Meng Qi felt much better and looked at Huang Yang a bit more favorably.
Huang Yang choked, avoiding the main point, saying: “Plans could not keep up with changes. The Holy Lotus Sect repeatedly reached into Jiangnan, but King Jing had Xiliang people entrenched on his side, and on King Ning’s side was Feng Xing Pavilion. On Wu’s side, they attracted many Jianghu people, foiling the Holy Lotus Sect’s attempts. Yet once the Heavenly Bestowed King colluded with the Holy Lotus Sect, the Yizhou situation grew urgent, and Mister Qiu seemed to have secretly contacted the Heavenly Bestowed King. The people on Wu’s side grew anxious.”
They only wanted to sit back and reap the fisherman’s profit; they did not truly want a great chaos to break out in the world.
The Holy Lotus Sect flaunted and deceived people, forcibly involving common folk in rebellion. Was this not snatching population from Wu Land?
“There was a piece of news you might not know yet. King Jing was assassinated.”
Meng Qi stared at Huang Yang as he spoke. The latter shuddered and blurted out, “Was it done by people sent by the Heavenly Bestowed King?”
“Besides him, there would be no one else.” Meng Qi said playfully, “You were a clever man too, so take care of yourself.”
After he finished speaking, he gave Mo Li a signal. The two of them silently leapt out through the window and disappeared in an instant.
Huang Yang opened his mouth, wanting to call out, but then forcibly held back.
He realized that he could no longer remain in Ning Tai; he must leave.
Going to Qiantang County was the only option, whether to plan for the future or to avoid danger, since the Heavenly Bestowed King’s army would very likely sweep through Jiangnan like locusts. Lacking silver and grain, the chaotic troops would certainly not be content just plundering Jingzhou.
***
As soon as Meng Qi left Huang Yang’s courtyard and passed the first rooftop ridge, he suddenly stopped. Like a hawk swooping down from the sky, he swiftly dragged out a man in black from the darkness with lightning speed.
Mo Li was startled and saw that the man in black had a thin frame but was extremely skilled in lightness arts.
Suddenly ambushed, the black-clad person tried three consecutive escape movements to break free of Meng Qi’s grip. Unfortunately, while agile in footwork, they lacked inner strength and resembled a sparrow caught by a falcon.
Meng Qi said nothing. At this moment, the sky was already bright, and staying long on the patrol yamen’s rooftop was not wise. He and Mo Li, one after the other, moved swiftly to a secluded alley in the eastern part of the city. Only then did he heavily toss the person onto the ground.
The black-clad person rolled on the spot, pitifully shrinking against the wall, eyes darting around, trying to find an escape route.
Mo Li frowned slightly. He smelled that faint mixture of pharmacy sachet and osmanthus hair oil.
“It was her.”
It was the woman who squatted on the rooftop last night and then followed after that Mountain Startling Tiger, who wanted to solve the murder case.
Meng Qi noticed that when Mo Li spoke, the woman’s eyes under the black veil revealed shock and confusion.
“You, you all…”
The woman’s voice sounded faint and yet clear and pleasant.
Her eyes wandered back and forth. At first, Mo Li thought she wanted to run away, but by the time her eyelids twitched so much they nearly cramped, he sensed something was off.
Meng Qi wore a half-smile.
In ordinary eyes, though the woman covered herself tightly, that pair of limpid eyes was indeed enchanting. As they drifted, her eyelashes dropped slightly, revealing a gentle and charming demeanor. Unfortunately, casting flirtatious glances at a dragon vein was futile, as it was as if the dragon vein were blind.
Whether she revealed only a pair of eyes, or half her face…as long as the whole face was not shown, it made no difference to the dragon vein’s eyes.
The woman was straightforward. She directly tore off her face covering and spoke softly, “This humble one was called Li Kong’er. I had no intention of offending you two seniors. I wonder what instructions you might have?”
“Li Kong’er?” Mo Li grew suspicious. He had not forgotten the master thief Li Kong’er he met in Yongzhou. How did another one appear here?
Meng Qi laughed outright: “You people worked hard to maintain the reputation of ‘the world’s number one master thief.’”
Disciples of the same generation carried the name Li Kong’er as they traveled the Jianghu, their footprints scattered from north to south.
The woman bit her lip and said, “Huang Yang of the patrol yamen possessed a double-fish black jade pendant from the Warring States period. If you two seniors also wanted it, this humble one would certainly give up.”
Mo Li frowned. A black jade double-fish pendant? He could not even recognize it was a fish, all right?
Meng Qi mercilessly exposed her: “If you wanted to steal Attendant Huang’s item, why not do so when he was away from home? Didn’t you see everyone gathered at the ice cellar’s entrance last night? Even if you were reluctant to leave the excitement, why did you then chase after Constable Jin’s group, and only when the owner of the black jade pendant returned did you attempt to steal it?”
The woman stared at him in horror, unable to patch her lie.
“No, I…this humble one…”
Her gaze began to wander again. She looked pitiful, tears welling in her eyes on her palm-sized face.
Seeing the two before her as lifeless as corpses, showing no reaction at all, Li Kong’er knew things were bad. She quickly lowered her head and argued, “Actually, this humble one knew some news about the Thunderbolt Hall and wanted to sell it to Huang Yang. King Wu’s people were always generous.”
Just after she spoke those words, a thunderous boom suddenly sounded in her ears.
It was as if a primeval beast had burst forth from underground, dust rolling, the ground shaking, and nothing could be heard clearly amidst the din.
Li Kong’er, unlucky, rolled over, her forehead nearly striking the green bricks of the alley wall.
“What happened?” Mo Li steadied himself, his expression drastically changing.
Meng Qi, who leapt onto the rooftop a step earlier, looked even grimmer than Mo Li. Part of the distant city wall had collapsed.
Ning Tai City was huge, and its walls were tall, built following the pattern of Taijing by King Ning. Logically, it would never collapse easily. Now it not only collapsed, but also affected three nearby wards. Many houses were crushed, forming a stretch of ruins, and the cries and screams were endless.
Mo Li had seen the tragic aftermath of an earthquake in Qiuling County, but what happened now counted as a man-made disaster.
Li Kong’er’s face turned deathly pale. She got up and tried to run, but Meng Qi, filled with killing intent, blocked her way.
She fell with a thud, trembling and saying, “I didn’t know, I didn’t know they would act so quickly, no, no…I only saw the people of Thunderbolt Hall sneaking around by the city wall when I was stealing things before.”
The dust gradually settled. Looking from afar, about twenty zhang of Ning Tai’s city wall were destroyed. It would not be repaired in ten days or half a month.
Author’s note:
——Proverb: Casting flirtatious glances at the dragon vein——All in vain
