TPATTHU Chapter 55
by VolareGovernor Yang walked out of the prison of the governor’s office, heading straight back to the inner courtyard without looking back. He reached the main room in the yamen where he usually rested, then dismissed the surrounding yamen runners and blew out the dim candlelight.
He looked around the room and noticed moonlight seeping in, so he walked to the window and clapped his hands together.
No light remained.
Having done all this, he breathed a sigh of relief. As soon as he turned around, a solid, forceful gust of wind struck his face.
“Smack!”
Governor Yang was slapped to the ground. The muscles in his face twitched, and waves of pain coursed through him. He immediately knelt on the ground, his eyes fixed on the floor, not daring to look up.
Soon, he saw a pair of noble brocade boots. Embroidered on the boots was an eagle with outstretched wings, its eyes fierce, its talons sharp, seemingly swooping down on its prey, incredibly lifelike.
Governor Yang lowered his head another inch, respectfully saying, “Master.”
“Idiot.”
The voice was deep, revealing no emotion.
Governor Yang said, “This subordinate knows his guilt, please punish me, Master.”
“The death penalty can be waived, but living punishment is unavoidable, though now is not the time.”
The speaker was cloaked, the hood almost completely obscuring his face, revealing only a pair of eyes as sharp as an eagle’s.
“Yes,” Governor Yang hunched his back and continued to report, “Xiao Zhinian fell into the trap set by Master. He was lucky to escape, but he is seriously injured and won’t live long.”
“That brat has some skill. Are you sure you can catch him?”
“Luo City is full of my people, a net that is impossible to escape. Xiao Zhinian cannot escape. Moreover, Shen Zhejiang is in our hands. As long as the news is spread, Xiao Zhinian will surely walk right into our trap.”
The man snorted coldly and said, “It had better be that way. Anyone who obstructs the grand plan will die. You wouldn’t want to repeat your nephew’s mistake, would you?”
Governor Yang trembled: “…This subordinate understands.”
“I want to see him alive, or his corpse. Once the grand plan is complete, you will naturally be well rewarded.”
As soon as the words fell, he disappeared without a trace.
“Respectfully seeing off Master.”
—
Shen Zhejiang was thrown into the deepest cell in the prison, separated from Xiao Zhinian.
It was already late at night, and the desolate moonlight shone through the only iron window in the four walls, silently illuminating the scene.
The darkness only intensified the cold.
Shen Zhejiang lay silently on the tattered straw mat, his thin prison clothes sticking to his skin, marked with numerous whip wounds.
Autumn had arrived in Luo City, and the nights were colder. The chill gradually crept in from all directions, wrapping around him.
The pain showed no sign of diminishing.
“Zhinian, why don’t you say a word to me…”
Where no one was around, vulnerability burst forth.
Heavy eyelids drooped, a curtain of darkness falling.
For some reason, the prison was unusually silent tonight. Even the faint footsteps of the guards patrolling in the distance could be heard clearly. Soon, all rustling sounds ceased, and everything returned to silence.
When all senses were dulled, the thoughts in his mind became exceptionally clear, especially the emotions of sorrow and even despair, as if they were being scrubbed over and over again until they were clean.
First, he thought of Xiao Zhinian.
His whole body was covered in wounds, and he was motionless.
His heart ached again.
“Zhinian…”
The bloody scene became clearer.
The surging, heart-wrenching pain tormented him, almost suffocating him. But as this sorrow receded like a tide, he finally, like a dying man, struggled to grasp a glimmer of rational clarity, a lifeline.
Shen Zhejiang forced himself to calm down.
Calm down!
These two words crashed in his brain—
He suddenly opened his eyes.
Impossible!
No matter how similar the clothes and figure were, even if the faces were identical, there were some things that could not be changed, such as unnoticed accessories, or scars left over time.
Xiao Zhinian had a scratch on his index finger.
He recalled that the person who had been pushed in was hooded, his face unseen, and his leg was broken. But what about his hand?
As long as there was nothing on his hand, he could be sure it was definitely not Xiao Zhinian.
“It’s not him, how could I be mistaken…”
He was almost crying with joy.
Shen Zhejiang turned his head, curled up into a ball, hugged his arms, and tears slid uncontrollably down his face, disappearing into the straw mat.
“Thank goodness, it’s not Zhinian… As long as it’s not Zhinian, that’s all that matters…”
He clutched his heart and murmured.
The night wind soughs, crisis lurks everywhere.
Knowing you are out of danger, my heart is at ease.
—
The dimly lit cellar contained dozens of round, stout wine jars, their mouths sealed with red paper, yet unable to contain the overflowing aroma of wine.
If one sniffed carefully, one would inevitably smell a trace of blood mixed in with the rich fragrance of the wine.
“Ugh… Er!”
A muffled sound of pain, desperately suppressed, echoed in the corner of the cellar.
Xiao Zhinian leaned against the wall, panting, his face as pale as paper. His palm lay limply on the ground, a sharp arrow stained with blood lying within.
He had been set up.
He had taken the yamen runners with Zhao Xiaosi’s portrait to look for the person in Luo City, and got a clue that someone had seen Zhao Xiaosi outside the city, so he had followed the trail, but he didn’t expect to be ambushed by a rain of arrows.
Being hit by three arrows was not the main problem. The key was that the yamen runners had turned against him. Yang Shihui, and the men in black, those people were all in the same gang!
He had been so foolish as to believe their words, he had never imagined that Yang Shihui would dare to be so audacious!
Xiao Zhinian rested for a while, pulled out the last arrow from his abdomen, sprinkled the wound with medicinal powder, tore off a piece of his clothes, and bandaged it to stop the bleeding.
Fortunately, Shen Zhejiang had told him to bring the medicine bottle before leaving, otherwise he would have been in even deeper trouble.
“Shen Zhejiang…”
How was he now?
As soon as Xiao Zhinian thought of this, he heard a long, heavy creaking sound as the door was pushed open.
He quickly lowered himself further, hiding in the shadows behind the wine jars, holding his breath, waiting for an opportunity to act.
Two servants entered, each carrying a lantern and holding a wine pot.
“The master often uses Daughter Red to entertain Governor Yang, this time is no exception. Quickly fill two pots and take them over, the master is waiting.”
“What’s the rush? I’m looking, aren’t I?”
Even injured, it would be a piece of cake for Xiao Zhinian to silently dispose of these two weaklings.
But it was clear that for now, he should avoid making a move if possible. If he had to…
The light from the lanterns swept past the red paper labels stuck on the sides of the rows of wine jars, reflected in Xiao Zhinian’s eyes, gradually enlarging from small points as the footsteps drew closer.
Xiao Zhinian expressionlessly stroked the sharp arrowhead, narrowing his eyes slightly, silently reciting in his mind that he would kill the servant in one move when he got three steps closer.
Two steps.
One…
“Hey! Are you a pig brain! Why are you walking over there? Those are all for the master to drink himself, come over here! Right here!”
“Look at my memory! Hey, Brother Zhou still has a good memory, no wonder the master values you so much, entrusting the entire wine cellar to your management!”
The light dimmed.
Xiao Zhinian imperceptibly relaxed his tense back.
The servant called “Brother Zhou” cursed, “You’re always flattering, I don’t know what you’re getting out of it. Fortunately, you’re following me, you’ll definitely get a share of the good stuff. Come, have a taste, Daughter Red is so fragrant!”
The servant scooped up some wine and drank it heartily, saying comfortably, “Indeed it is good wine! Speaking of which, the mansion was burned down some time ago, and many valuables were burned, and the young master went missing, didn’t the master have a mournful face every day? Why is he so happy now, holding a banquet and inviting Governor Yang as a guest?”
The two of them chatted while filling the wine.
Brother Zhou said, “Who told you that?”
The other one said, “How could I not know what’s going on in our mansion?”
“Your information isn’t accurate,” even though he knew there was no one around, Brother Zhou still covered his mouth and lowered his voice, “Let me tell you secretly, the mansion that caught fire was empty, there was nothing in it, and the young master didn’t disappear either.”
“What?!”