Chapter 54: Pick Them Off One by One

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Village headman Shi Jiuyue was the first person Yang Can had summoned for “tea.”

The reason was a number of irregularities Mr. Li had uncovered in the accounts.

A village headman was the lowest-level administrator in a village. He was mainly responsible for collecting taxes, fulfilling the corvee duties imposed by the authorities, and managing household registers and similar affairs.

Such men were usually middling landowners or prosperous farmers, because only people of that standing possessed the means and prestige to deal with the common folk at the very bottom of society. When necessary, they also had the resources to advance the taxes owed by the households under their charge.

Naturally, they would later collect the money from the farmers with interest.

When the men sent by Yang Can came to take Shi Jiuyue away, he was in the midst of fondling a rather attractive young wife.

She was the bride of a poor farmer who had been utterly unable to repay the taxes Shi Jiuyue had advanced on his behalf the previous year. He had just handed her over in settlement.

With such succulent meat already at his lips, Shi Jiuyue naturally had no reason to rush. He had intended to drink a few cups first, cultivate the proper mood, and then engage in a truly vigorous battle.

Instead, Yang Can’s men came and took him away.

…

“Mr. Li, why has Steward Yang had Headman Shi arrested? Nothing bad is going to happen, is it?”

Xiaotan sat astride Li Damu’s thigh, both arms looped around his neck, and asked in a coquettish, petulant voice.

“Don’t worry. Steward Yang has come all this way—would you have him return empty-handed?”

With a beaming smile, Li Damu pinched the little enchantress’s pert bottom.

He was now “courting women by imperial command,” a tragic hero who had sacrificed his virtue and ventured deep into the tiger’s den for the sake of the investigation.

What did he have to worry about?

Once his psychological burden was lifted, even the young girl in his arms seemed more fragrant than before.

Xiaotan widened her eyes. “You mean Steward Yang must uncover something, so that he can give the Young Madam of the Main Branch an explanation.”

“That’s right. Clever Xiaotan.”

Li Damu chuckled and pressed down on Xiaotan’s shoulder.

Clever as she was, Xiaotan immediately understood what he meant. She cast him a flirtatious glance.

…

“You’re saying Yang Can merely wants to uncover a few cases, so he can give the Main Branch and the Clan Head an explanation?”

Young Master Zhang looked at Xiaotan somewhat nervously.

“Yes. The matter involving Headman Shi was never very serious. Mr. Li said Steward Yang only needs to give his superiors an explanation. That’s all.”

Young Master Zhang heaved a sigh of relief. With the worry lifted from his mind, he smiled and beckoned to Xiaotan.

When Xiaotan obediently nestled into his arms, Young Master Zhang lowered his voice and chuckled. “How did the bookkeeper bully you? Tell me about it.”

Xiaotan was Sangzhi’s personal maid, while Sangzhi was Master Zhang’s concubine.

Yet judging by the scene before them, Xiaotan and Young Master Zhang seemed to share a secret relationship.

If so, it was difficult to say whether Miss Sangzhi and Young Master Zhang had a relationship as well.

Xiaotan knew Young Master Zhang’s peculiar tastes, and so she described the matter to him in vivid detail.

Young Master Zhang immediately grew excited. He pinned Xiaotan down and, following her description, recreated the entire scene himself. Only after he was satisfied did he let her leave.

Shi Jiuyue was merely a minor village headman. Naturally, he could not withstand the brutal interrogation carried out by Yang Can’s men.

He endured for half a day without any reinforcements arriving, but eventually received a hint:

He could confess everything. The matter was not too serious.

So he spilled everything he knew about the irregularities Mr. Li had discovered in the accounts, like beans pouring from a broken bamboo tube.

Of course, he said nothing about matters he should not have known—or, rather, matters that should not have come from his own mouth.

The steward woman handling the interrogation on Yang Can’s side obtained his confession. She no longer made things difficult for him, but neither did she release him.

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The steward woman claimed that the matter was “still awaiting verification” and had him locked in the granary.

It was late spring, and many of the granaries stood empty. They made excellent places to hold prisoners.

The vast space, the oppressive surroundings, the solitary figure…

Next, the mill overseer, Wang Goudan, was summoned for “tea.”

Do not underestimate Goudan. As the minor steward in charge of Feng’an Manor’s grain-milling workshop, he wielded considerable power over the ordinary people.

Processing grain required taking a portion as a fee. Sending in large measures and returning small ones was standard practice for him.

Whether he skimmed the finished product or used his “priority rights” to extort and squeeze others depended entirely on how black his heart was.

“Tell him to confess everything. What’s the big deal? It’s not a crime punishable by execution.”

Young Master Zhang sat with one leg crossed over the other and spoke with complete indifference. “When Steward Yang returns to the mountain, this young master will compensate him.”

Goudan had already been unable to hold out much longer. After receiving Young Master Zhang’s message, he confessed readily enough.

Thus Shi Jiuyue gained his first fellow sufferer, and the lonely Jiuyue wept tears of joy.

While Jiuyue and Goudan sat knee to knee, talking through the night in the vast, empty granary, the two stewards and two steward women sent by Suo Chanzhi went into action at the same time, each summoning another person for “tea.”

They were Tenant Chief Shi Yiyue, Shi Jiuyue’s younger brother; Master Craftsman Liang Feng; Canal Head Yao Yu; and Granary Supervisor Zhuang Dehou.

Lai Gulu and Peng Jin found the situation increasingly difficult to bear.

They hurried to find Young Master Zhang.

Young Master Zhang had been fooling around with Sangzhi when they blocked him inside his room. Panicking, he quickly shoved Sangzhi into a cabinet.

She was his father’s concubine. His father might use her to entertain guests, but that did not mean he was permitted to sneak a taste himself.

The moment Peng Jin entered, he sniffed the air. There was something strange about the smell in the room.

“Young Master, I don’t think Steward Yang has any intention of stopping while he’s ahead.”

“That’s right, that’s right. He’s arresting people one after another. He’ll soon have everyone below us in custody.”

Young Master Zhang frowned. “What could possibly be wrong? He hasn’t touched either of you. The minor stewards below us are merely suffering a little. What of it?”

Lai Gulu said anxiously, “Young Master, I’m worried Steward Yang has no intention of stopping! If he keeps this up, whom will he arrest next?”

Peng Jin’s eyebrows twitched, and his expression grew solemn. “It’s only been three days. The Manor Master has been gone for just three days. But…”

His face suddenly brightened. “The Manor Master should be coming back, shouldn’t he?”

Lai Gulu also came to his senses and said delightedly, “That’s right. The Manor Master said he would be gone for two days. He should have returned today… Perhaps he was delayed a little. Then he ought to be back tomorrow at the latest.”

Young Master Zhang saw the delight on their faces and felt deeply displeased.

With his father away, he was the greatest figure in all of Feng’an Manor, free to command the winds and summon the rain, enjoying himself without restraint.

But once his father returned, he would be reduced to his former state—the useless little wretch his father could barely tolerate, whether with a black look or a white one.

Young Master Zhang’s expression turned cold. “Since that is the case, what do you have to worry about? Once my father returns tomorrow, he will naturally take charge of everything.”

“Exactly, exactly.” Lai Gulu and Peng Jin nodded repeatedly. They had been thinking the same thing.

Compared with Young Master Zhang, they had rather more confidence in Master Zhang.

Thus the Manor Steward Lai Gulu and Field Supervisor Peng Jin cupped their hands and took their leave.

Young Master Zhang did not let Miss Sangzhi out of the cabinet. He suddenly decided that the cabinet was quite an interesting place.

So he climbed inside as well.

The cabinet in Young Master Zhang’s room soon began to sway and rattle.

At that very moment, however, Lai Gulu and Peng Jin were stopped at the gate leading out of Feng’an Fort.

Before everyone’s eyes, they were roughly seized and carried away by Little Qingmei and her men.

Yang Can had first cut off the fuel beneath the boiling pot, then lured the tiger away from the mountain.

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Next came the gradual erosion of the branches and the application of pressure at every step.

The arrests of Lai Gulu and Peng Jin brought matters to a climax.

Each time a steward was taken away over the past few days, a storm had swept through Feng’an Manor.

The psychological pressure on the stewards, great and small, grew heavier and heavier, while the awe the people of Feng’an Manor felt toward Zhang Yunyi steadily weakened.

At this point, Zhang Yunyi’s supreme authority in Feng’an Manor collapsed with a thunderous roar.

For years, Master Zhang had been a god in the hearts of Feng’an Manor’s people.

Now a new god had arrived.

When the new god and the old god finally clashed, which one would possess greater divine power?

The people of Feng’an Manor were not yet certain.

So when Yang Can’s proclamations were posted throughout the manor, they continued to watch and wait.

There were five notices in all: one at each of the four entrances to the manor, and the last at the gate of Feng’an Fort.

In them, Yang Can listed the various unlawful acts committed by the stewards and encouraged the people of Feng’an Manor to report them or bring forward their own grievances.

Once an accusation was verified, Steward Yang would provide compensation on behalf of the Yu family.

That promise of “gain” was deeply tempting, but the people still wanted to wait a little longer, to see whether Master Zhang would descend from Phoenix Mountain.

They had lived here for generations. If Steward Yang failed to defeat Master Zhang and simply patted himself on the backside and left, what would become of them?

At a time like this, they needed someone to take the lead.

That person appeared. His name was Lin Yan, a distant relative of Leopard-Head Cheng Dakuan.

Cheng Dakuan took him to see Zhang Yunyi, who was being held in a hunter’s hut. Only then did Lin Yan find the courage to make a report.

In village communities, conflicts between ordinary people were common.

Your wall might be half a foot higher than mine, or my field ridge might encroach three inches upon yours—either was enough to beat someone’s brains to mush.

Such disputes were always a matter of one side insisting it was right while the other claimed the same. Sometimes they even involved matters of feng shui, making them extraordinarily difficult to settle.

In the past, when Master Zhang’s people handled such affairs, they did so with simple brutality.

Either both sides received an equal beating, or the side that offered benefits was given extensive protection.

Thus, although public resentment ran deep, Master Zhang had always managed to cover it with one hand.

But when Lin Yan brought his complaint, Yang Can’s men untangled the whole matter and issued an exceedingly impartial judgment.

The Lin family received compensation, while Master Zhang’s presence remained nowhere to be seen.

Before long, people in the village began saying that Master Zhang had been detained on Phoenix Mountain.

Naturally, this rumor had been deliberately spread by Yang Can through the family of Leopard-Head Cheng.

And it spread not only quickly, but with increasing plausibility.

Soon, more and more people could no longer hold themselves back.

They still did not dare to accuse Master Zhang directly, but surely there was no harm in reporting the stewards, large and small, who had already been arrested.

Thus, after Lin Yan set an example, Yang Can’s single proclamation struck the hive, and complainants began arriving in an endless stream.

Fortunately, Yang Can did not require written petitions. Considering that nearly one hundred percent of these villagers were illiterate, he even allowed them to give their statements orally.

This exhausted Little Qingmei.

Since literate people were scarce, she also had to receive the complaining farmers and record their testimonies.

The villagers were poor at expressing themselves. They often rambled in circles for half a day without ever reaching the point.

Qingmei had no choice but to interrupt them again and again, dragging their digressions back from a distance of eight hundred miles.

After a full day of such work, Little Qingmei’s hands were aching and her mouth was parched. Her pen never stopped moving, and she did not even have time to drink water.

Yet in the process, the unrivaled prestige Zhang Yunyi had enjoyed in Feng’an Manor was being pried away, brick by brick.

The tower that had suppressed Feng’an Manor for so many years was on the verge of collapse.

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