Chapter 95: Let Me See You Again
Xi Antai pursed his lips and swallowed a mouthful of saliva. His lips were already cracked and peeling, with fresh bloodstains barely dried.
His severed arm had not been properly treated at all. Thanks to the relatively cool spring temperature, the wound hadn’t become infested with maggots, but the exposed flesh and tendons were rotting, a sight truly unbearable to behold.
Wei Wanlan winced in sympathy and asked his attendants, “Is there a military doctor in the Governor’s Office? Treat him while I question him; I feel he’s about to collapse.”
Since the military had taken over the Governor’s Office, military doctors were naturally present. At the young emperor’s request, two old military doctors hurried over with their medical kits and paid their respects to Wei Wanlan.
“Rise.”
One of the elderly doctors said, “Your Majesty, please allow me to report. The injured man is extremely weak, and the stone floor is cold. It is inadvisable for him to be on the ground any longer. We beg Your Majesty to allow us to bring a bed so the patient can lie down for treatment.”
The military doctor was cautious; after all, it would be improper for the emperor to stand while a commoner lay down.
But Wei Wanlan didn’t hesitate: “Granted.”
With the Son of Heaven’s word, four soldiers immediately brought a red wooden couch used by the clerks in the Governor’s Office.
The bed was set down.
Before the soldiers could help, the Regent lifted Xi Antai’s large, heavy body and placed him on the couch. He usually loved cleanliness; even when stained with blood on the battlefield, he would always clean himself thoroughly afterward and smell of incense. Yet, this time, he showed no disdain for Xi Antai’s filth, which Wei Wanlan found very strange.
During this time, Xi Antai went from manic to completely submissive, letting the military doctors do as they pleased. Despite his large size, he was quite cooperative, his weary eyes occasionally gazing at the Regent and Wei Wanlan.
Wei Wanlan prioritized his mission:
“No need to get up. Just tell Us from there. Who are these people carried in, and those who died in the cells? What happened to them?”
The military doctors were cleaning Xi Antai’s wound with medicinal liquid. Sweat beaded on Xi Antai’s forehead as he replied hoarsely:
“These are all people who wanted to petition against Yuan Xizai. They suffered different fates, which this commoner heard about in prison.”
Xi Antai paused and added, “Among them is a man named Chen Wu. Judging by his figure, he should be the one to the front left.”
Wei Wanlan looked over. The white cloth covering the body showed almost no rise and fall, indicating how much the man had suffered in prison; he must be extremely emaciated.
“Months ago, Your Majesty implemented the supervisory censor system across the realm. The people of the Eastern Capital eagerly awaited the arrival of the censor.”
“Chen Wu wanted to report to the censor that Yuan Xizai’s servant committed murder. His mother entered the city to sell fresh produce and was killed by a carriage from the Yuan residence. The evil servant refused compensation and beat Chen Wu severely. Chen Wu harbored resentment and waited for the censor to pass by. But he didn’t expect…”
Wei Wanlan raised an eyebrow.
Xi Antai continued, “As soon as Chen Wu started running towards the censor’s sedan chair, before he could even shout ‘Injustice, my Lord,’ he was gagged from behind by yamen runners who had been waiting on both sides of the street, then silently dragged to prison.”
“There are countless private tortures devised by Yuan Xizai in that prison.”
“Depending on the intensity of their desire to report, lighter cases involved threats and intimidation to prevent recurrence. More serious cases involved holding relatives hostage to persuade them to swallow their grievances.”
“For people like this commoner and Chen Wu, who have a blood feud with the traitor Yuan and swear to fight him to the death, the torture was the most intense.”
When he mentioned torture, Wei Wanlan felt a chill run down his spine. Fortunately, he was dressed warmly today, following the adage of “spring muffling and autumn freezing.” He tightened his brocade cloak.
Xi Antai said:
“In the beginning, Chen Wu was tortured with a punishment called ‘Mouse Playing the Zither’.”
“The so-called ‘Mouse Playing the Zither’ involves tying a person’s ten fingers with fine threads and pulling them back in the opposite direction. The torturer would pluck the threads with a plectrum, making a twanging sound like playing music. The victim suffered a fate worse than death, as the ten fingers are connected to the heart.”
Wei Wanlan’s teeth felt soft just listening to it. He frowned, shifting his gaze to Chen Wu with infinite compassion. The military doctor understood and lifted a corner of the white cloth covering Chen Wu to examine his hands.
The old military doctor quickly lowered the cloth, his expression grim. Even having seen countless war wounds on the battlefield, he found the man’s dislocated finger bones shocking.
“Inhumane.”
Wei Wanlan naturally felt a little creeped out too.
Su Jingzhi waved his hand, and the soldiers carried the bodies out of the hall. A breeze blew through, slightly diluting the scent of blood.
Wei Wanlan felt he could breathe a little easier and asked, “Does Yuan Xizai have other evil deeds?”
“Yes,” Xi Antai said. “Just from what this commoner heard, he had six or seven methods to stop commoners from approaching the censors. He also set up several small teams to track the censors. Whenever a censor was about to arrive at a certain place, he would know in advance and prepare early.”
Wei Wanlan gasped softly.
It was already eye-opening, but Wei Wanlan wanted to ask more, feeling there were more inside stories. He added:
“Tell Us a few more methods.”
Xi Antai: “This commoner once heard the traitor Yuan say that a censor was about to walk into an alley he hadn’t prepared. Worried about commoners reporting, the traitor Yuan simply had his subordinates drive a carriage to block the censor’s sedan chair, trapping the censor inside, unable to move a step.”
Wei Wanlan fell silent.
Xi Antai: “Directly killing people to silence them is countless.”
Words could hardly describe the shock Xi Antai’s words brought to everyone in the Governor’s Office.
Who could have imagined such despair?
The main hall fell into a brief silence. Even the birds on the eaves outside stopped chirping.
Until Xi Antai finished speaking, his voice finally turned into a sigh:
“Actually, the common people know that appointing supervisory censors is out of Your Majesty’s diligence and love for the people. But when censors go deep into the populace, it seems there’s always a barrier between them and the people. This commoner privately thinks that censors sometimes cannot represent the people.”
Then who can represent the voice of the people?
Wei Wanlan frowned slightly.
Actually, he naturally believed most censors were good people. But there were always some big corrupt officials who were one step ahead, fooling the censors, preventing them from reporting the true public sentiment to the court.
So Xi Antai was right.
—It was because the court didn’t get enough information and underestimated the destructive power of treacherous officials like Yuan Xizai.
The court always made decisions based on one-sided intelligence; it would be truly surprising if no accidents happened!
By this time, the military doctors had almost finished treating Xi Antai. Xi Antai, who was covered in blood just now, was now wrapped in bandages, turning from a red man into a white man.
Wei Wanlan simply ordered the soldiers to carry the bed and Xi Antai away to the Luoyang Posthouse to recuperate. Living closer to him would deter any remnants of the treacherous party from seeking revenge on Xi Antai due to the strict security at the posthouse.
He also ordered people to go to Fenggu Village to find Xi Yan, intending to help father and son reunite. These were small matters, details in the aftermath of this major case.
Wei Wanlan returned to the main seat.
Resting his chin on his dragon claw, he wondered how to further advance Mission Two. How could he minimize corruption in Great Wei?
He was actually pondering how to complete his own mission.
But everyone else looked down, thinking the Son of Heaven was very dissatisfied with them. The hall was silent.
Then Wei Wanlan said distressingly: “Previously, We asked the ministers in the Zhongshu Province. We established the supervisory censor system and the three-year major examination system, but wherever there is human assessment, there will be others who can exploit loopholes. We are still thinking about what to do now.”
I want to complete the mission QAQ…
Let me catch a few more corrupt officials!!!
Wei Wanlan’s words stumped everyone; the officials didn’t respond. The officials in Luoyang generally held low positions, so they didn’t dare speak nonsense.
Wei Wanlan didn’t have a hobby of making things difficult for people. If they couldn’t say anything, fine. After all, those who could stand here unscathed and try the case with him were good officials untainted by the mire. He should reward them for their merits in escaping the Luoyang Imperial Villa or surviving.
The Son of Heaven took out his small treasury to give money to Li Jiucheng and other troops who came to the rescue.
The Son of Heaven was rich. A certain Regent King had just allocated a generous portion to the Zichen Palace at the beginning of the year. Wei Wanlan’s pockets were bulging.
From modern times to this transmigrated life, he was rich in both lives. That Big Bad Guy, although bad to him in every way, was not stingy.
As the lanterns were lit, the wind in Luoyang was warm.
So Xu An, Chen Kang, and other generals who had just received rewards came out of the Luoyang Governor’s Office, eagerly following the Regent and the Little Emperor, actively asking to follow, vying to be guards, like a bunch of tails.
“Your Majesty, Your Highness, ever since the traitor Yuan died, commoners have been celebrating on the streets of Luoyang these few days. With so many people, it must be chaotic. We generals beg to accompany Your Majesty and escort you two back to the posthouse!”
“Your Majesty, Your Highness, me too!”
“Us too!”
Saying this, the generals wanted to hold clothes and lift the hem for Wei Wanlan. The fierce generals surrounded the little emperor, making Wei Wanlan look like a kitten accidentally straying into a pack of huskies, his big eyes very confused.
“Uh, actually there’s no need. We want to tour Luoyang incognito.”
“Your Majesty QAQ!”
The fierce generals shed tears.
Su Jingzhi’s subordinates were very different from Su Jingzhi himself. As enthusiastic as these rough men were, the Regent was just as cold.
Especially when the Regent gazed at the generals surrounding the little emperor, his face was even colder, as if covered in frost, chilling people to the bone for no reason: “The siege of the Imperial Villa has been lifted. There is no need for a large army to be stationed in Luoyang. You all retreat to your respective garrisons.”
“Yes!” The generals didn’t dare to be cheeky with the Regent and obeyed the order.
This was kicking people out after using them. Wei Wanlan’s ears twitched. He felt the Big Bad Guy was petty, definitely jealous that he was liked by his subordinates. The Big Bad Guy felt his status was threatened; this was a common problem for powerful officials consolidating power.
So the crowd disappeared in an instant.
On the long street, the road back to the posthouse became a journey for the Regent and Wei Wanlan together.
Luoyang’s markets were not as clearly defined as Chang’an’s; its areas were blurred. The Mianhua Pavilion they visited earlier was Luoyang’s red-light district, located in the busiest part of the city.
But there were other lively places in the city. Even leaving the entertainment area, one could still see wine shops with rich aromas on both sides of the street, tea houses with lively noises spilling out of windows, and vendors with flags hanging along the street.
In short, wherever one went, there was the hustle and bustle of human life.
Wei Wanlan walked and stopped, his gaze lingering on the stalls making clay figurines, blowing sugar figures, painting sugar paintings, and making snacks.
The ancients’ craftsmanship was quite exquisite. The colorful clay figurines on the stalls could easily become beautiful exhibits in a modern glass window.
Unfortunately, he didn’t bring any silver.
The money he awarded to the soldiers was a check issued by the Son of Heaven. Ordinary people in the market naturally couldn’t cash it. Wei Wanlan wanted to borrow money from the Big Bad Guy to buy knick-knacks, just a few copper coins would do. He would pay it back, neither owing nor reneging.
Su Jingzhi used a voice so cold that Wei Wanlan felt disdained:
“Buy at most five toys. This Prince can’t carry more.”
“You’ll even carry them!?” Wei Wanlan was pleasantly surprised.
As a result, Su Jingzhi’s expression became even more disdainful. So much so that Wei Wanlan covered his face and didn’t dare look at him anymore, turning around happily to choose lanterns at the lantern stall.
He bought cylindrical, spherical, square, and hexagonal lanterns… The frames were mostly hollowed out, with tassels hanging from the corners, swaying with each step. Five lanterns used up the toy quota.
Su Jingzhi paid. The stall owner smiled so much his eyes disappeared.
Wei Wanlan carried one lantern.
The Regent held four lanterns in his hand.
Four lights and one light complemented each other on the long street of Luoyang.
Suddenly, Wei Wanlan shone the lantern on the Regent.
Wei Wanlan got carried away playing. He just wanted to test the brightness of the spherical lantern, but when he lifted it, the warm apricot light illuminated the Big Bad Regent’s extremely handsome brows and eyes. Wei Wanlan was stunned. For the first time, he was amazed by the face because he observed it too seriously.
But he heard the Regent ask: “What are you doing?”
Wei Wanlan stuck out his tongue slightly: “Nothing.” Perfunctory words came out of his mouth: “Shine the lantern, live a long life.”
This was a nonsensical rhyme he made up.
But four lanterns shone on his face simultaneously.
Those lanterns of different shapes he hand-picked all illuminated him with soft and non-glaring light, making Wei Wanlan feel a warmth for no reason.
Su Jingzhi was too tall.
Illuminated by the lanterns he carried, he looked up and met the other’s eyes, which became brighter due to the fill light.
They were silent in this mutual gaze.
But Wei Wanlan clearly felt that when Su Jingzhi half-lowered his thin eyelids, he wanted to say something to him.
A trace of inexplicable tears appeared in Wei Wanlan’s eyes. He wanted to cry because of this guess, and felt ridiculous because of the dislocation and absurdity of this guess.
He actually thought Su Jingzhi wanted to tell him:
“Little Wan. Let me see you again.”
But clearly, Su Jingzhi didn’t speak at all. He just quietly held the lantern, gazing at him with half-lowered eyes.
This silent tenderness, and the brows slightly resembling the person who shared trials and tribulations along the way, made the Big Villain overlap a bit with Fu Jun in his memory.
Wei Wanlan’s heart trembled.
When the Regent looked at him from certain angles, he looked very much like Fu Jun.
Fu Jun, who suffered from eye disease due to poisoning.
Fu Jun, who sealed himself in the Hanyuan Hall to save him.
But opposite him was the Big Bad Guy, the Big Bad Guy with headaches.
So… where is Fu Jun now?
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