Why Does Mr. Xie Favor Me? Chapter 8
byChapter 8: Natural Disasters and Human Malice
Damn it! Another trap!
The rain in Jiangzhou carried a salty, fishy tang. Xiao Jue had spent several days in a ruined temple searching for evidence. When he untied the cylinder from the third messenger pigeon’s leg, the note inside contained only two words: Wu Dong.
His pupils constricted slightly. The Wu clan of Chenliu was a family that kept a low profile in court, yet they controlled thirty percent of the salt transport in the Jianghuai region. They, too, had waded into these murky waters.
Xiao Jue tossed the note into the fire and turned his gaze toward the old clerk huddled in the corner. This man had been Li Su’s recorder years ago and had spent twelve years hiding in this ruined temple, feigning madness.
What did the Wu family take back then? Xiao Jue crouched down and handed over half a piece of hard flatbread.
The old clerk’s clouded eyes rolled as he snatched the bread and wolfed it down, choking until his eyes bulged. Once he caught his breath, he said in a hoarse voice, Salt… the private salt routes north of Danyang. The Wangs provided the land, the Cuis provided the goods, and the Wus provided the ships.
And the evidence?
The old clerk grinned, revealing gums missing their front teeth. Before Lord Li died… he tore the ledger apart. The land deeds went to the Wangs, the salt records went to the Wus, and the ledger of lives… He pointed to his own head. It is right here.
Xiao Jue stared at him. What do you want?
Send my grandson out of Jiangzhou, the old clerk said, a sharp glint in his eyes that held no trace of madness. Send him to Jingzhou to join the army.
I can do that.
One more thing. The clerk lowered his voice. Tell Minister Xie… that widowed Third Lady of the Wu family entered the palace last month. She is now a palace manager serving at Noble Consort Zheng’s side.
Xiao Jue’s spine stiffened. He returned to Danyang that very night.
In the eastern part of Danyang, two households of displaced refugees developed fevers and vomiting. The physician suspected typhoid. By the third day, seventeen people had collapsed around the riverbank land that had just been returned to the refugees. By the fifth day, the death toll exceeded a hundred, and the symptoms turned bizarre. High fevers, coughing up blood, and black spots appearing on the skin.
It is a plague! the old physician wailed, kneeling before the commandery office. It is exactly like the plague that followed the great flood in the third year of the Yonghe era!
When the news reached the relay station, Xie Heng was cross-referencing land deeds. Xiao Jue burst in, his face covered with a cloth mask soaked in medicinal herbs. Minister, the Wang family has blockaded the eastern city. They are not letting anyone in or out.
Who gave them the authority?
A hand-order from the Governor’s office, claiming it is for epidemic prevention, Xiao Jue said urgently. But they have only sealed the refugee area. People are coming and going as usual at the Wang family’s mountain villa.
Xie Heng dropped the land deeds and strode out the door. When his carriage reached the checkpoint in the eastern city, it was indeed blocked by the Wang family’s private soldiers. The leader was a trusted subordinate of Wang Yan, who spoke with a fake smile. Minister Xie, to prevent the plague from spreading, this area allows entry but no exit.
Xiao Jue was incensed and shouted at them, Where are the physicians? Where are the medicinal supplies?
They have been requisitioned from Guangling and will arrive in three days.
In three days, half the people here will likely be dead.
Xie Heng stared at him and said coldly, Step aside.
I am afraid I cannot obey that command.
Xiao Jue’s sword was already pressed against the man’s throat. The surrounding private soldiers drew their blades with a clamor, only to be surrounded in turn by commandery soldiers who appeared suddenly. The Commandery Lieutenant arrived with three hundred men in full armor.
Preventing an epidemic by order of the Governor’s office? The Lieutenant sneered. Where is the Governor’s hand-order? Produce it!
The man’s face turned pale. For a matter that could not see the light of day, there would never be an official written order.
The checkpoint was forced open. When Xie Heng stepped into the disaster zone, the sight before him pinned him to the spot. Among the muddy shacks, people were curled up and groaning everywhere.
A woman held a child who had already gone stiff, staring blankly at the sky. A few elderly people gathered around an empty pot that contained nothing but muddy water. Further away, newly mounded graves stood thick as mushrooms after a rain.
A youth with black spots on his face crawled over and grabbed the hem of Xie Heng’s robe. Master… a drink of water…
Xiao Jue untied his waterskin and handed it over. The youth drank greedily, coughing as soon as he finished. He spat out dark red blood that splattered onto Xie Heng’s hem.
The plague is real, Xie Heng said, crouching down to look at the youth’s unfocused pupils. But for it to spread this quickly… something is wrong.
He rose and walked deep into the cluster of shacks. Behind a relatively dry pile of straw, he discovered several broken ceramic jars with blackish-brown powder remaining at the bottom. Xiao Jue touched a bit of it and sniffed, his expression changing instantly. It is Corpse Rot Powder… a toxin used by the barbarians on battlefields to contaminate water sources!
Before he could finish speaking, a cold arrow whistled through the air. Xiao Jue swung his sword to deflect it. A second and third arrow followed in quick succession, fired from the direction of the Wang family villa.
They want to silence us! the Lieutenant shouted, drawing his saber. Protect the Minister and leave quickly!
No. Xie Heng stood his ground, letting the arrows fly past him. Go check the water source.
Half an hour later, they discovered that the stream upstream of the refugee area had been poisoned. When the culprit was caught, he was attempting to destroy the remaining Corpse Rot Powder.
The man was an outer court manager of the Wang family, and he insisted he had spilled it by accident.
Accident? Xie Heng looked at the manager. Corpse Rot Powder comes from the Northern Frontier and is worth its weight in gold. Where would a mere manager like you get it?
The manager remained silent.
At that moment, a rider arrived on a fast horse, delivering a decree from Noble Consort Zheng: Deeply concerned to hear of the plague in Danyang. Have petitioned for the Imperial Academy of Medicine to send aid. Furthermore, His Majesty pities the suffering of the people and has specially granted a fifty percent tax reduction for Danyang this year. The condition is that the locality must be at peace.
The locality must be at peace. Those five words weighed as heavy as a thousand jin.
Peace meant no longer investigating the source of the plague. Peace meant accepting the Wang family’s “kindness” in epidemic prevention. Peace meant letting this disaster that had killed over a hundred people be finalized as a natural catastrophe.
Xiao Jue trembled with rage. They are using the lives of the common people as bargaining chips!
More than that, Xie Heng said, folding the letter. If the plague truly spreads, tens of thousands of citizens in Danyang could suffer. By then, it won’t just be refugees dying, but also the scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants—including the hundreds of Xie clansmen in Danyang.
He remembered the family letter he had received this morning. Seven junior members of the Xie branch in Danyang had gone to the eastern city to distribute porridge before the outbreak.
They were all hostages.
That night, Xie Heng went to the Wang family villa.
Wang Yan was personally brewing tea, his movements practiced and skillful. Minister Xie need not look at me that way. The plague is a natural disaster; no one could have foreseen it.
Is Corpse Rot Powder also a natural disaster?
That was the unauthorized act of a servant, who has already been punished according to family law. Wang Yan offered the tea. The priority now is epidemic prevention. The Wang family is willing to provide money and medicine, only asking that the Minister does not let rumors mislead the public.
Xie Heng did not take the tea. What do you want?
It is simple, Wang Yan smiled. Those five hundred qing of land in the eastern city—the refugees who were returned there need to be re-registered under the jurisdiction of the Wang family’s charity house. From now on, they will be the Wang family’s tenant farmers, no longer registered subjects of the imperial court.
Impossible.
Then the plague will not stop. Wang Yan set down the teapot. Does the Minister know that if Corpse Rot Powder is mixed into well water, it can spread through the entire city in three days? And seventy percent of the wells in Danyang are under the names of the Wang, Cui, and Xie families.
He leaned in closer, his voice as soft as a snake’s hiss. That century-old well in the Xie ancestral hall was found to contain plague toxins yesterday. Fortunately, it was discovered early and sealed. But next time, we might not be so lucky.
Xie Heng’s hand pressed against the table, his knuckles turning white.
One more small matter. Wang Yan took a scroll from his sleeve. This is the new Epidemic Prevention Regulations drafted by the Yangzhou Governor’s office. According to this, a ten-mile radius around the infected zone must be blockaded for three months, during which time provisions will be managed by the local gentry. Which is to say…
He spread the document and pointed to a specific clause. The lives of those thousand refugees in the eastern city will be held in the Wang family’s hands for the next three months.
The candle flickered. The room was filled with the scent of expensive agarwood, yet it could not mask the stench of rotting corpses.
Xie Heng slowly rose. If I agree, how can you guarantee the plague will stop spreading?
The antidote will be sent tonight, Wang Yan also stood up. But the Minister must provide a written pledge that the Yonghe case ends here, and the Danyang land settlement concludes with its current results.
He paused. Furthermore, the Minister must personally enter the palace to report to His Majesty, stating that the Danyang plague has been brought under control entirely due to the Wang family’s full efforts in rescue. And you must request a plaque for the head of the Wang family, Wang Yu, praising his benevolence and charity.
Committing murder and arson, yet demanding a golden belt of honor.
Xiao Jue, listening outside the door, felt his eyes nearly burst with rage. His hand gripped his sword hilt, wanting nothing more than to charge inside.
Fine, Xie Heng said.
His voice was very soft, like a sigh.
Beaming, Wang Yan laid out paper and ground the ink. When Xie Heng lifted the brush, the tip dipped repeatedly into the inkstone. Ink droplets fell, staining the snow-white xuan paper.
He wrote very slowly, one character at a time. When he reached “Your servant, Xie Heng, respectfully submits,” the brush tip suddenly trembled, dragging a jagged, ugly stroke on the final horizontal line of the character “Heng.”
It was like the final struggle of a man before he was forced to his knees.
Once the document was signed, Wang Yan tucked it away with satisfaction. The door opened, and an old butler brought in a bowl of medicine. Here is the antidote. Within twelve hours of ingestion, the toxins will be neutralized.
Xie Heng looked at the pitch-black liquid. I want to see the refugees take the medicine with my own eyes.
Naturally. Wang Yan raised a hand. After you.
When they stepped out of the villa, the night wind was piercingly cold. Xie Heng looked up at the sky. There were no stars or moon tonight, only heavy dark clouds pressing down on Danyang.
Xiao Jue followed behind him, his voice choked. Minister, we…
Go deliver the medicine, Xie Heng stepped forward. Then, you will personally escort these refugees out of Danyang and settle them in Jiangzhou.
And what about you?
I will return to Guzang to plead for punishment.
As Xie Heng spoke, he suddenly began to cough violently. He coughed so hard he had to lean against the wall for support, his shoulder blades protruding sharply beneath his robes.
Xiao Jue hurried to support him, touching his ice-cold hand.
I am fine. Xie Heng straightened up and gazed into the dark night, whispering, I fear this was an idea from the one in the palace.