Chapter Ten: All is Fair in War

The carriage wheels rolled dully and monotonously over the imperial road. Shen Jifeng leaned against Jincha’s legs, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the edge of an account book. A corner of the carriage curtain was lifted by the breeze, revealing the faint outline of Bianjing City in the distance.

"Princess, shall we return to the manor first, or..." Jincha asked softly.

"It is late. Return directly to the manor. Tell Dongyang to investigate Steward Zheng. His social connections, his friends, his hobbies—do not miss a single detail. I must have a report by the end of the亥 hour tonight."

Jincha breathed a sigh of relief. After two days of turmoil, she could finally return home for a good rest.

The Prince of Qi’s manor was located outside the Donghua Gate of the Imperial City. The location itself spoke to the favor the Prince of Qi had once enjoyed. Alas, heaven envies the talented; the Prince and his wife were both murdered during a southern inspection, leaving behind only a son and a daughter. Even the Empress, unable to bear the blow of losing her son, fell into a permanent illness and passed away less than a year later.

Having lost both his son and wife within two years, Emperor Yuanchang’s hair had turned mostly white. Though he remained diligent and benevolent in state affairs, he became deeply melancholy, never regaining the spirited vigor he possessed as the founding emperor.

The carriage pulled slowly to a stop before the vermilion gates of the Prince of Qi’s manor. The stone lions guarding the entrance remained as majestic as ever. The steward, having heard that the Princess had returned, hurried out with nimble steps. As a veteran of the household, he knew that while the young Prince would one day inherit the title, it was the Princess who held the real weight.

Shen Jifeng enjoyed the most peaceful meal she had had in two days and took a refreshing bath, washing away the exhaustion of travel and the weariness of her heart.

As the亥 hour drew to a close, Dongyang returned to report.

One could never know until one investigated, but Steward Zheng’s life was truly spectacular.

Steward Zheng, named Zheng Peiye, was the father-in-law of Guo Han, a registrar in the Ministry of Works. Zheng Peiye held no official rank and originally would not have been eligible to marry into the family of a Ministry official, but he had a capable son who had placed second in the imperial examinations during the early years of the Yuanchang reign. As the saying goes, when one man attains the Tao, his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven; even his sister had married into an official’s family.

The Ministry of Works was never short of construction projects. Zheng Peiye was a man who played all sides, and relying on his connections, he had become quite successful among the various social circles of Bianjing, eventually becoming addicted to gambling.

Hearing this, a flash of inspiration struck Shen Jifeng, and she formed a plan.

Eel was at its most succulent in the fifth month, and the eel buns at the Yipin Restaurant were a famous delicacy in Bianjing; they were always sold out before they were even finished being steamed.

Guo Han loved these eel buns most of all and would eat a whole basket every day after work.

Dongyang, having disguised himself, waited with his men in a secluded corner along the path to the Yipin Restaurant. Guo Han’s mind was filled with thoughts of juicy eel buns until he was grabbed, shoved into a carriage, and gagged with a cloth before he could even scream for help.

The carriage traveled all the way to a potter's field on the outskirts of the city. Dongyang dragged the man out and pulled the gag from his mouth. "Scream all you want. You could scream until your throat tears, and no one would come to save you."

The weather was turning hot in the fifth month, and the potter's field was filled with the stench of decay. Several wild dogs, having tasted human flesh, stared at Guo Han with red eyes, looking as if they might pounce at any moment.

Guo Han, a mere civil official, had never seen such a scene and was so terrified he could barely speak. "Good sir, good sir, spare my life! Let’s talk this over. I have never offended you."

Dongyang sneered and slapped a debt note onto Guo Han’s face. "You haven’t, but your dear relative, Zheng Peiye, owes my master 5,000 taels of gambling debt. My master couldn't find him, so we had to invite you instead."

Guo Han tremblingly opened the note and saw, sure enough, Zheng Peiye’s jagged, dog-scratch-like handwriting.

"Hero, every debt has a debtor, and every grievance has a source. Zheng Peiye owes you the silver; go find him. This has nothing to do with me!"

Dongyang drew a dagger and tapped it gently against Guo Han’s cheek, scaring him so much he dared not even breathe. "Logically, it has nothing to do with you, but who told him to go missing? Besides, who in Bianjing doesn't know that more than half of the money Zheng Peiye earns from construction ends up in your pocket? If I don't look to you, who should I look to?"

As he spoke, Dongyang unsheathed the blade, the cold steel pressed against Guo Han’s sweat-drenched skin. "Isn't that right, Magistrate Guo, Registrar Guo? 5,000 taels shouldn't be much for you, right?"

"I really don't have it!" Guo Han wailed. "I just bought a house; there isn't that much money at home. Hero, go find Zheng Peiye, I know where he is!"

"You aren't trying to trick me, are you?" Dongyang flicked his wrist, cutting off a lock of hair from Guo Han’s temple.

"He’s at the iron mine in Chao County!"

A smell of urine hit the air. Dongyang stepped back half a step in disgust; the man was too timid—he had actually wet his pants.

Chao County was not far; it took less than two hours to ride there and back. Dongyang left men to watch Guo Han and took a subordinate to verify the location. Once the man was found, he remained in Chao County to keep watch, while his subordinate returned to the Princess's manor to report.

In the dead of night, Shen Jifeng led the manor’s elite guards to Chao County.

"Bang!" The door to the work shed was kicked open. Zheng Peiye, seeing the situation, ran faster than a rabbit.

Two guards pinned him to the ground. He struggled and looked up, only to meet Shen Jifeng’s mocking gaze.

"Who are you people? Open your dog eyes and look clearly! How dare you run wild on imperial territory?"

"Where are the craftsmen from the Xijing silver mine?" Dongyang stepped on the back of Zheng Peiye’s neck.

"Are you... the Princess of Chaoyang?" Zheng Peiye’s face turned deathly pale, sweat pouring down his brow.

Shen Jifeng sneered. "Steward Zheng, you have quite a lot of nerve, hiding the craftsmen of my Xijing silver mine. What is your intention?"

Zheng Peiye hurriedly defended himself: "Princess, please see clearly! I was ordered by the Ministry of Works to borrow these craftsmen; I did not act on my own!"

"Is that so?" Shen Jifeng laughed at him for being a pawn who didn't even know it. "What proof do you have?"

"This?" Zheng Peiye’s face changed dramatically; Guo Han had never given him any documentation.

"Someone, take him to the Xijing Prefecture and let Magistrate Huang handle him."

Shen Jifeng successfully brought back thirty-one craftsmen. When the news reached the Ministry of Works, Guo Han was being reprimanded.

"Incompetent! How could you not see through such a simple ruse?" It was Liu Li, a junior official of the Bureau of Provisions, his meticulously groomed goatee twitching with rage.

"It is not that your subordinate is incompetent, but that the Princess is too cunning. I never imagined she would forge Zheng Peiye’s handwriting."

"At the end of the day, it is because you lack integrity. Do not think I don't know the dirty business you and that man surnamed Zheng have been up to. You are not to save him this time; consider it a lesson."

Guo Han nodded repeatedly, saying yes over and over.

After the scolding, Liu Li chased Guo Han out. Having finished acting the part of the superior, it was now his turn to be scolded.

Liu Li stooped and walked into the office of the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works. "Teacher, your student is incompetent. The Princess still found the craftsmen."

"It is of no consequence," Wang Huaxiu, the Vice Minister, took a sip of tea and said slowly, "It was her luck to find them, but having the ability to put them to use is what truly matters."