Novel Full Wang Dashan’s words sent all others present into deep thought. ‘Yeah. While we’re complaining here, there are some people eager to get a chance to practice this formation. Once we give up, there are plenty of people who can substitute us!’
‘That would be so shameful!’
They were all self-respecting men and none of them was willing to be regarded as a coward.
They found the motivation they needed, and the subdued mood on the drill field finally dissolved. Liu Yi, who was not good at doing this kind of things, secretly gave a gasp of relief as Wang Dashan winked at him.
Ling Zhang, who had been standing in shadows observing them, also sighed with relief.
Yuwen Tong said to him on the side, “That Wang Dashan is pretty good.”
“Fortunately, Elder Brother Wang understood what I meant.”
“If he’s in an army, he won’t be a mere soldier.”
Ling Zhang turned his head side and looked at him. “You have thousands of troops at your command. Surely you wouldn’t poach any security guards of my family, would you?”
Yuwen Tong cracked a smile. “Relax. I wouldn’t. Actually, it is that Liu Yi who interests me somewhat.”
“Elder Brother Liu? Why him?”
“This guy seems to be concealing something.”
“Concealing something?”
“His kung fu should be better than what he displayed.”
Ling Zhang’s brows furrowed. “So you think he has some ulterior motive?”
“He does, but his loyalty should be no problem. He doesn’t seem like a spy or anything like that.”
On hearing this, Ling Zhang was slightly relieved, “I did some research into his background. He’s clean.”
“There’s no hurry. If he is really up to anything, sooner or later he’ll betray himself. I’m telling you this because I want you to keep a weather eye on him.”
Ling Zhang nodded, “I understand.”
The two began to head back. After they returned to the Green Bamboo Mansion, Yuwen Tong asked Ling Zhang, “Did you find anything about that buyer?”
“It was the butler of Jia family who bought Wu Er’niu.”
Ling Zhang gave a sketchy account of what happened in the morning.
“Since the buyer was the butler of Jia family, the mastermind must be Jia Yin. He is Jia Yin’s henchman. Few people saw you enter the city that day, but still, someone spread the news.”
Yuwen Tong nodded. It was unsurprising that Jia Yin made an attempt to find out whether someone had been offering covert assistance to Ling family after he was knocked out and then ditched in a tavern that day. He could just throw dust in their eyes and muddle through.
Considering that Yuwen Tong had just returned and no doubt could use some sleep, Ling Zhang believed that it would be inconsiderate of him if he stayed longer, so he left after saying this.
To prevent Wu Er’niu from divulging any secrets, Ling Zhang locked him up in a woodshed, planning to fire him after this matter was properly handled. By no means should a man like him be allowed to stay in Ling family. Given that what he did on that day counted as atonement for his crime to some extent, Ling Zhang showed mercy on him.
After Ling Zhang left, Yuwen Tong summoned one of his subordinates, “Go and contact Little Liu. Find out how much more time he needs to finish forging the account book.”
“Yes.”
Zhang Liu soon made a reply. The director of Jia family stayed in the Pear Blossom Garden for several consecutive days, so he had made rapid progress in forging the account book. He needed only one more night to finish the job.
After receiving this definite answer, Yuwen Tong soon made a lot of further arrangements. Most guards in the Green Bamboo Mansion were dispatched somewhere. Only two men stayed guarding the mansion.
…
In Jia family.
On being informed that it was Fu Caiwei’s relatives who knocked him out that day, and that those men had already left Tanyang on that very night, Jia Yin angrily smashed his tea bowl to pieces. “They might’ve fled, but Ling family will never get away with it!”
“Ma…Master! A misfortune arose!” Suddenly, a servant ran into the hall yelling, face full of panic.
“What is it that makes you so flustered?” the butler of Jia family hurriedly reprimanded.
“Master, news came in from the Prefecture Yamen saying that… saying that something happened to Young Master when he was being escorted to the destination!” The servant slumped to his knees.
Jia Yin sprang to his feet, his movement so abrupt that it gave him a twinge of dizziness and a brief stagger. “Wha…What did you say?!”
“Something happened to Young Master when he was being escorted to the destination. Lord Tao sent someone here to deliver his request for your presence.”
Jia Yin’s face went ghastly white and with that he immediately hurtled out of the hall.
When Jia Yin arrived at the Prefecture Yamen, he directly ran up to Tao Feng, heedless of due formality. “Lord Tao, what happened to my son?”
Tao Feng looked at him, shaking and sighing, grief visible on his face.
As Jia Yin saw this, his head began to spin and he nearly passed out. “Your Lordship!”
Tao Feng handed Jia Yin an official document marked with “urgent” and said, “Read it yourself.”
Jia Yin snatched the document and started reading it in haste. Eventually, when he finished, he stood transfixed on the spot, his face ashen, his lips dark purple.
“Master? Master!” The butler of Jia family was taken aback.
Jia Yin abruptly spat out a mouthful of blood and with that he closed his eyes and blacked out.
Shocked, the butler was at a loss what to do, “Master… Thi…This… ”
“Lord Tao, please help my master!”
Both resigned and anxious, Tao Feng said, “Alas. How come he spat blood? Someone come here! Quickly! Send for a physician!”
The butler of Jia family gave a gasp of relief, a terribly ominous premonition in his mind. “Lord Tao, exactly what happened to my young master?”
“He suffered from an unaccustomed climate and died.”
“What?!” The butler couldn’t believe what he had just heard. ‘He died of an unaccustomed climate? How come!’
“A post-mortem examination has already been performed there. It was because that hard kick Zhang Chong gave him had seriously wounded his heart and lungs that a mere unaccustomed climate took his life.”
The butler’s face darkened. All of a sudden, he burst into wail. “Young Master… How come you died this way!”
Tao Feng was taken aback by this abrupt reaction of his. Seeing that he was wailing so hard but there were barely any tears on his face, Tao Feng felt very uneasy.
Soon, a physician arrived. After feeling the pulse of Jia Yin, he told them that the sudden stab of grief caused a rise in Jia Yin’s blood pressure, which exceeded the tolerance of his heart and resulted in his shock, that the mouthful of blood he had spat out abated the severity of the condition somewhat, that he would recover after ingesting some tonics.
Before long, Fang shi also hurried over from Jia family. After being told what had happened, she thudded to the ground on the spot and burst into wail.
“My son! My son!”
When the news reached Jia Zhong, Jia Yin had already come around. He was sitting in a chair, breathing feebly.
“How come Ling’er died? I’m absolutely sure those Yamen runners had been decently paid before they departed. How did this happen!”
Tao Feng still handed the official document to him.
The color of Jia Zhong’s face restlessly alternated between dark and pale after he read the document.
“It’s all Zhang Chong’s fault. Instead of saving my son, he gave my son a kick on the chest which eventually led to his death!” Fang shi wailed and cursed while pointing in the direction of the doorway of the Yamen,.
Gasping weakly, Jia Yin also had a mixture of extreme grief and rage on his face.
Jia Zhong made another attempt to defend himself. “Before he left the city, I had had a physician treat him and he was much better.”
Tao Feng cut in, “One cannot recover from heart and lung injuries in merely a few days.”
Jia Zhong’s face went sullen as he heard this.
“Lord Tao, is my nephew’s body still in that town?”
“Yes. Four Yamen runners are guarding him, waiting for you to gather him into a coffin.”
“I suppose Lord Tao wouldn’t mind if I take a post-mortem examiner and a physician there, would you?” Jia Zhong stared at Tao Feng.
Tao Feng gave his consent willingly. “Of course not. After all, Prefecture Yamen is responsible for this to some extent. I can have some men escort you there if you want.”
Jia Zhong failed to detect anything in Tao Feng’s reaction, his heart sinking deeper.
‘Was it really because that kick of Zhang Chong hurt my nephew’s heart and lungs that he died?’ he wondered.
“Elder brother, sister-in-law, would you like to go there with me?” Jia Zhong asked Jia Yin and Mrs. Jia.
Jia Yin tottered to his feet, intending to express his willingness to go with Jia Zhong. However, seeing the state of his elder brother, Jia Zhong was too concerned for him to let him join the journey.
“Elder brother, you’ve just spat out blood. Maybe it’s best if you just stay at home to recover. Sister-in-law, please take good care of my elder brother. I’ll see that this matter is properly handled.”
On hearing this, Mrs. Jia burst into tears again.
Shortly after, Jia Zhong took some men and left Tanyang. Jia Yin and Mrs. Jia returned home.
News of Jia Yuanling’s death soon rippled through the whole Tanyang.
Ling Zhang had just finished dinner with his family and Yuwen Tong and all of them were sitting in the side hall when a servant came in and reported this to them.
He flicked a quick glance at Ling Zhaowen, who then unnoticeably nodded at him.
Ling Zhang slightly lowered his eyes, concealing the cold look in them.
“Jia Yuanling’s death will intensify the contradictions between your family and Jia family. Make sure you’re well-prepared when that happens,” Yuwen Tong told Ling Zhang after they walked out of the side hall.
“I know,” replied Ling Zhang. He had anticipated this some time ago.
However, what Ling Zhang failed to anticipate was that the next day, Jia Yin stormed towards the Prefecture Encampment.
“What happened?” Confused, Ling Zhang went to Ling Zhaowen.
“An official document was delivered here. The post-mortem examiner Jia Zhong took there examined the body and concluded that the root cause of Jia Yuanling’s death was the heart and lung injuries resulted from that kick Zhang Chong had given him,” Ling Zhaowen explained.
The puzzlement of Ling Zhang deepened as he heard this. “But… Wasn’t it our people who…”
Ling Zhaowen raised his hand and stopped Ling Zhang from continuing. Then he observed, “His internal injuries were so severe that even the slightest amount of unclean food could have taken his life. That escorted journey had been quite an ordeal for him. There’s no way that those Yamen runners could have rendered him adequate care. There are numerous precedents for tortured prisoners losing their lives during escorted journeys, and the case of Jia Yuanling has just become one of them.”
Ling Zhang instantly understood. His uncle had once told him that many prisoners would die during escorted journeys due to tough travel conditions.
In other words, there was no need whatsoever for them to go to any trouble in order to have Jia Yuanling killed. As long as those Yamen runners failed to take good care of him, either an unaccustomed climate or a mere cold would be more than enough to have Jia Yuanling meet the end of his life. And under no circumstances would Yamen runners sensitively tend to prisoners on an escorted journey. In fact, a prisoner should feel lucky if Yamen runners gave him or her a bowl of rice.
Ling Zhang still remembered what kind of food he was offered when he was in jail in his last life. Rice? No. All he got was spoiled, rotten food, which was even worse than pig feed.
Clean water? Also unavailable. The very thought of what he had once drunk disgusted Ling Zhang.
“Now, apart from us, Zhang Chong has also become a mortal enemy of Jia family. It’s just that Jia Yin and Fang shi might make impulsive moves, but Jia Zhong won’t, because he’s more rational than them. But unfortunate for them, Jia Zhong is not in the city for the moment. As long as someone adds a tiny little bit of fuel to the flames of Jia Yin’s rage, he will no doubt go to the encampment to settle the score with Zhang Chong,” Ling Zhaowen continued.
Ling Zhang was secretly startled. ‘Is uncle saying that he planted someone in Jia family who incited Jia Yin to go to the Prefecture Encampment to settle a score with Zhang Chong?’
“Jia family planted moles in my house. It seems only fair that I planted some of my men in his house in return.”