MLIAM Chapter 40
by VolareChapter 40: Interrogating the Mole – It’s All the Illiteracy’s Fault
The next day, Yu Shuli was sleeping soundly in Wei Yan’s arms when a commotion suddenly erupted outside.
Wei Yan nudged Yu Shuli, pulling the drowsy man up. “Wake up, it’s your turn to go out.”
“Huh?” Yu Shuli’s eyes were half-open, still lost in a daze.
Wei Yan helped him put on his clothes, and Yu Shuli passively followed his movements, letting him dress him.
It wasn’t until Wei Yan put on his armor that Yu Shuli realized something was off. “Wait… wasn’t this outer robe in my room?”
“Thirteen brought it over. I saw you were still asleep at the time, so I had him leave it and go.”
“I didn’t notice at all? That’s unlikely, right?” Yu Shuli thought to himself. He was a martial artist; could it be that he was less perceptive than Wei Yan, a civil official?
Wei Yan helped him with water for washing up while explaining, “I lit some calming incense. It’s useless to me since I take so much medicine, but it’s helped you sleep well. This way, you’ll have more energy on the battlefield.”
Since he had put it that way, Yu Shuli could only mutter a couple of complaints and grumble his way out the door.
When he walked outside, the sky was still dimly lit.
Yu Shuli straightened the hair that Wei Yan had just helped him tie up and walked to the center of the crowd.
“What’s going on? What’s all the noise so early in the morning?!”
“General!”
“Little General! Something terrible has happened!”
Yu Shuli frowned. “What’s so terrible?!”
“Last night, someone broke into the Little General’s tent to steal something, and Old Four caught him red-handed!” Commander Mu, seeing Yu Shuli arrive, quickly reported to him.
As expected, that brute Old Four did have some skill.
Yu Shuli knowingly said, “Oh,” and then pretended to be very curious, asking, “Who is it?”
Commander Mu’s expression was strange and hesitant, as if he couldn’t bring himself to say it. “Little General, you mustn’t be too upset when I tell you.”
Yu Shuli raised an eyebrow at him and scanned the surroundings. It was obvious who was missing. “I won’t be upset.”
“It’s Commandant Zhang… Old Four caught him.” Commander Mu sighed. “Who would have thought he’d do something like this! I used to be on good terms with Commandant Zhang, but now he’s become an internal thief! It’s truly sad and lamentable!”
“Sounds like you’re quite disappointed?”
Commander Mu whined, “Little General, he still owes me thirty taels of silver! Will I ever get it back?”
Yu Shuli: …
The person most afraid of their debtor having an accident was indeed the creditor themselves.
However, upon hearing the words “Commandant Zhang,” Yu Shuli breathed a sigh of relief.
Wei Yan had guessed everything correctly.
He even correctly predicted who would catch the mole, everything was interconnected, a display of careful planning and strategy.
Earlier, Wei Yan had deliberately had Yu Shuli prepare a carriage, allowing him to sit comfortably and enjoy himself.
Ding Sheng was of a fickle temperament, and he couldn’t stand seeing these “connection cases.” Once someone provoked him, he would naturally go to Yu Shuli to make trouble.
Yu Shuli had deliberately exaggerated the “Wei Yan acting cool and donating money” incident, saying that anyone with complaints could come to him.
The simple-minded Old Four was already dissatisfied with Wei Yan, and had previously wanted to secretly “discipline” him for Yu Shuli. Hearing Yu Shuli say that, he naturally wouldn’t let the opportunity pass.
Thus, a sentence that everyone else took as a joke led Old Four to appear outside Yu Shuli’s tent in the middle of the night.
Yu Shuli stifled a laugh, listening to Commander Mu’s explanation.
Apparently, Old Four had been conflicted at the time, even hesitating and pacing outside his tent for a long time. In the end, he couldn’t stand “Young Master Wu” and went inside.
As a result, as soon as he entered, he met another familiar face, who was stuffing an account book into his chest.
Old Four: ? Sorry, wrong door.
He went outside to take a look, and realized that this was indeed the Little General’s tent!
Then why was Commandant Zhang here instead of the Little General?!
His long-unused brain frantically pondered, and after a while, he came to a conclusion: Heavens! The mole is right beside me!
Old Four was Yu Shuli’s fourth lieutenant. Old Three had died young, so he kept the name Old Four, and everyone was used to calling him that, so they were too lazy to change it.
Although his martial skills weren’t as good as Ding Sheng’s and Zhong Nian’s, his advantage was his loud voice and amazing strength.
So, with a shout and a twist of his hand, he forcefully pounced forward and broke the wrist of the panicked Commandant Zhang…
It was said that the commotion in the middle of the night was quite loud, and many soldiers got up to watch the fun.
Commandant Zhang cried more miserably than a slaughtered pig, and Old Four kept cursing.
After Ding Sheng arrived, he joined the cursing crowd.
After Commander Mu finished speaking, he sighed regretfully. “It’s a pity that Little General you didn’t see it.”
Yu Shuli asked, “Why didn’t you come and call me?”
Commander Mu’s cheeks flushed red. “That… that Young Master Wu came out and said that the General was tired…”
Yu Shuli clicked his tongue. “You believed him when he said that!”
“Well, no…” Commander Mu scratched his head. “After all, Little General, you disappeared late at night, so everyone was worried. I even went to that Young Master Wu’s tent to check, and confirmed that you were asleep, and couldn’t be woken up no matter how hard I tried, so I went back.”
Commander Mu revealed a mischievous smile, and his eyes carefully scrutinized Yu Shuli. “Little General, what did you do last night? How did you get so tired?”
Yu Shuli gritted his teeth. “He drugged me!”
Commander Mu suddenly understood. “Ah…” and then exclaimed, “Oh…” his tone strange and teasing. “General, you’re not the bottom one, are you?”
“Mu Shaoyang!” Yu Shuli angrily kicked him. “Do you even want to get a wife! What kind of dirty thoughts are in your head!”
As if trying to cover something up, Yu Shuli straightened his neck. “Of course I’m the top one!”
Commander Mu giggled, not pursuing the matter in detail, but continued, “Little General is still amazing, you just got out of one marriage, and the next one is already lined up. Can you share some tips? Teach your brothers, don’t be stingy…”
Yu Shuli covered his forehead: Thanks for the invitation… the one who broke off the engagement and this one are the same person.
He had never been so embarrassed… he could only turn to look for Wei Yan’s shadow. “Where is he?”
“He just walked over there, didn’t you see him? He’s with Old Four and Old Zhong, questioning Commandant Zhang.”
Yu Shuli frowned. “When did he walk over there?”
“When you said, ‘You’re the top one…'”
Yu Shuli kicked Commander Mu’s butt again in retaliation. “You’re really something.”
Commander Mu covered his butt, his eyes wide. “Little General, don’t tell me you’ve taken a fancy to me again, I only sell my skills, not my body…”
“Get out.”
*
When Yu Shuli arrived, Commandant Zhang was hanging his head low. Because he was unshaven and pale, he looked particularly dejected, as if his spirit had suffered great damage.
Yu Shuli stood beside Wei Yan and asked, “What’s going on?”
Wei Yan raised his eyebrows at him and hooked his lips into a smile.
Yu Shuli glared at him. “What are you doing, acting lovey-dovey so early in the morning?”
“Little General has quite a temper.” Wei Yan leaned close to Yu Shuli’s ear and whispered, “Is it because you didn’t get to be on top, so you’re unhappy?”
“Bang.”
The “sickly” Prime Minister Wei was fortunate enough to receive the Little General’s third kick of the day.
He chuckled softly, not angry.
Old Four, who had been gloomy and depressed, perked up when he saw Yu Shuli and explained to him in a serious tone, “Little General… the mole… we caught him…”
“Yes, thanks to you.” Yu Shuli glanced at Commandant Zhang, holding his sword against his chin, and lifted his face.
“Zhang Kaixuan, I don’t really understand why it’s you.” Yu Shuli said, “You’ve always been good at socializing, and everyone in the army is on good terms with you. I trust you very much, too. You’re only one step away from being promoted, so why would you be so bewitched as to do something like this?”
Commandant Zhang curled his lips into a sneer. “It’s my incompetence that I was caught. You can kill me if you want, but I have nothing else to say.”
“He hasn’t said anything all night?” Yu Shuli asked Old Four.
Old Four scratched his head. “I don’t have the ability to interrogate him. Young Master Wu came over and offered to help, so I asked him to see if he could pry open his mouth.”
“You don’t look up to Young Master Wu, do you?” Yu Shuli smiled. “Asking him for help?”
Old Four smiled awkwardly, not afraid of admitting his mistake. “It’s just that… there’s really no other way. We can’t delay the trip, and Little General, you were asleep…”
“So it’s my fault?” Yu Shuli turned to Wei Yan. “Do you have a way?”
“Yes.”
“Then hurry up, our trip can’t be delayed. After writing the confession, we have to take him back for punishment.”
Wei Yan nodded, not delaying.
Commandant Zhang had been closing his eyes all along, and only slightly opened them when he heard this. Then he looked up at Wei Yan, and seeing that he wasn’t doing anything, slowly closed them again.
He looked like he was dead to the world.
Wei Yan smiled, pulled over a chair, and the legs scraped against the ground, making a grating sound.
The rhythmic sound of footsteps followed.
Commandant Zhang finally frowned impatiently and opened his eyes, no longer sleeping.
Old Four tugged at Yu Shuli. “Little General, what’s he doing?”
“He’s probably trying to annoy him to death.” Yu Shuli said seriously, “Good strategy, you should learn from him! The Censorate has a lot of tricks for mentally torturing people, these are skills that we can’t learn in the military.”
Old Four nodded blankly, openly starting to learn.
“Is someone bullying you in the army?” Wei Yan’s hand didn’t stop the chair, and the grating sound was still in his ears.
Old Four “hissed,” feeling that his bones were going numb, but although he didn’t understand, he didn’t ask.
Commandant Zhang, of course, didn’t answer.
“I heard from Commander Mu that your father recently passed away, and he lent you thirty taels of silver to prepare for the funeral. You held it in a grand manner in your hometown, and your father passed away with dignity.”
A trace of struggle appeared in Commandant Zhang’s eyes, and he suddenly looked up, gritting his teeth, and asked, “What exactly do you want?”
“Do you really have no feelings for the brothers in the army? Do you see them as tools for you to curry favor with the powerful and rise in rank? But you didn’t have to go against your nature. You could have shared the good times and the bad times with your brothers.”
“Chila,” the sound of the chair stopped, but the sound of footsteps “da da da” was still annoying.
Commandant Zhang glared over with red eyes. “What do you know?!”
Wei Yan was unmoved, he continued, “You have a younger sister, and you dote on her very much.”
Commandant Zhang’s face changed drastically, and his bound hands began to struggle, no longer like a dead fish. “Don’t touch her! You’re not allowed to touch her! I’ll take responsibility for what I did!”
Wei Yan chuckled. “Your sister married a local gentry who had a lot of influence, and became his concubine. At first, things were good, but later, the gentry offended the government and was arrested.”
Commandant Zhang slumped down. “You know everything, so why are you asking me?”
“Your sister begged you to save him, so you risked your own life to get him out.”
“So, the other side made a request to you.”
Wei Yan said slowly, word by word, but every word drew blood.
“How… how did you know?” Commandant Zhang seemed to have stopped struggling, and looked at Wei Yan with a bitter smile.
“Thanks to your good reputation, more or less everyone in the army knows something about your family story.”
Commandant Zhang sized up Wei Yan, and pursed his lips. “You don’t look like a simple person. What’s your purpose in getting close to the General?”
“That’s not something you should be worried about.” Wei Yan generously threw the chair in front of Commandant Zhang. “What I want to ask is, who did your brother-in-law offend?”
“If I tell you, what’s the benefit? Can you get him out?”
“Hmm…” Wei Yan pondered for a moment. “If you confess quickly, and I’m in a good mood, I might help you out.”
“You… who are you? Do you have such great ability? I don’t believe it!”
“Tch.” Wei Yan sat in front of him with his legs crossed, patting the back of the chair. “Whether you believe it or not, what’s it to me?”
Commandant Zhang was at a loss for words. He was already full of anger, and when Wei Yan retorted, he didn’t want to say anything.
The atmosphere suddenly became silent.
Wei Yan wasn’t in a hurry, and tapped his knee with his fingers.
After a while.
Commandant Zhang couldn’t hold back and asked, “You… compared to the Deputy Director of the Department of Waterworks, who has the higher rank?”
Wei Yan frowned.
Commandant Zhang had a “just as I thought” expression, and said disappointedly, “I knew it! None of you have this ability.”
“Zhang Kaixuan.” Yu Shuli said speechlessly, “Do you know what my official position is?”
“Prince An?”
“Yes, what else?”
“Also, there’s also General…”
“Do you know what my official rank is?”
Commandant Zhang shook his head. “I’m a farmer, I don’t even know how to read, I don’t understand these things.”
Old Four sighed on the side. “It’s all the fault of illiteracy.” He explained to Zhang Kaixuan, “The Deputy Director of the Department of Waterworks is a sixth-rank official, the Little General is a first-rank official, and he’s a prince with a different surname, that Deputy Director of the Department of Waterworks isn’t even worthy of carrying his shoes!”
Yu Shuli squatted beside him and sighed. “If I had known earlier, you could have come to me, and that Deputy Director of the Department of Waterworks wouldn’t have been able to bully you?”
Commandant Zhang’s eyes widened, and he was dumbfounded. “How could… how could this be… I didn’t know… I didn’t know… I only knew that he was a high-ranking official… we couldn’t afford to offend him… I didn’t dare to involve the Little General… I thought that secretly sending letters and account books wouldn’t be a big deal… I didn’t know that things would get so out of hand…”
He cried, “I didn’t want to…”
Old Four shook his head. “It’s just that the Little General is too approachable on weekdays, which made you mistakenly believe that he doesn’t have a high position.”
Wei Yan got up from the chair and clapped his hands. “Alright, case closed.”
But Zhang Kaixuan suddenly knelt down and threw himself at Yu Shuli. “Little General! Please! Please save my sister! I’ve told you everything! I’m willing to say anything!”