Chapter 89: Each Playing Their Own Tricks

“County Magistrate, what should we do now?”
Wang Xianwei wiped the sweat from his forehead. At this moment, Yang Zhao resembled a defeated rooster—dejected, trembling, unable to speak a word. After a long pause, he stamped his foot and said, “Let’s go back first!”
When Yang Zhao returned to the county yamen, the city gates had already closed. Since they were on official business, they had the gates opened and spent the night there in a hasty manner.
Early the next morning, a messenger rushed over to report that the bandit from Yangzhou was detained in the military camp in the Eastern Inner Garden, while Li Qing’an showed no signs of activity.
At that time, Yang Zhao’s advisor, Linghu Fei, also arrived after hearing the news. As soon as Yang Zhao saw him, he quickly pulled him into a private room.
“Sir, last night…”
Before he could finish, Linghu Fei smiled and said, “County Magistrate Yang, there’s no need to say more. I already know. I just want to ask why you held back your anger.”
Yang Zhao said resentfully, “If it weren’t for the Prince of Qing entrusting me with this task, I would have reported him long ago.”
“That’s exactly the problem. Do you really think the task entrusted to you by the Prince of Qing is as simple as catching a house thief?”
Yang Zhao was stunned. “What do you mean?”
“It’s simple. Last night, Wanian County, Chang’an County, and the Jinyu Guard all received orders from the Prince of Qing, but with different reasons—one for a river bandit, another for a flower thief, and another for a human trafficker. Yet all their targets were people from Yangzhou. Have you thought about why?”
After a brief pause, Yang Zhao said, “Could it be that the Prince of Qing isn’t telling the truth?”
“That’s right! If I’m not mistaken, it’s definitely not just about a theft in some villa in Yangzhou. There must be some hidden reason. The Prince of Qing isn’t being honest with the county magistrate.”
“What could it be then?” Yang Zhao frowned deeply.
Linghu Fei walked a few steps with his hands behind his back and said with a slight smile, “County Magistrate Yang, you come from the position of censor. Don’t you have any clues at all?”
Yang Zhao suddenly realized something. “Ah, I see!”
He quickly said to Linghu Fei, “I heard some time ago that the Transport Commissioner of Jianghuai and the Governor of Yangzhou were accusing each other of secretly releasing salt smugglers. Could it be this matter?”
Linghu Fei asked further, “Do you know the specifics?”
Yang Zhao shook his head. “This matter is highly confidential. Only the Chief Censor and the Prime Minister know the details. I heard about it from Han Wei, a court censor, but he wasn’t very clear either.”
Linghu Fei pondered for a moment before saying, “I think this matter is extraordinary and likely involves the Prince of Qing’s privacy. Li Qing’an taking control of it is, in my opinion, a blessing rather than a curse for County Magistrate Yang.”
Yang Zhao suddenly understood. He quickly asked, “So what should I do now?”

“I thought County Magistrate Yang had two tasks to carry out. First, not to get involved in this matter but to hand it over directly to Prince Qing, letting him handle it himself.”
Yang Zhao nodded. “I’ll go inform Prince Qing right away and have him deal with it. So what’s the second task?”
“The second task is for County Magistrate Yang to achieve some accomplishments as soon as possible, so that the emperor can find an excuse to promote him.”
Yang Zhao frowned. “Such accomplishments don’t just appear out of nowhere; they require the right timing.”
Linghu Fei smiled with narrowed eyes. “County Magistrate, many things depend on human effort.”
……
Inside the military camp in the Eastern Inner Garden, Li Qing’an paced back and forth in the tent with his hands behind his back. In Su Yuankai’s bundle, he found a booklet detailing Prince Qing’s involvement in smuggling salt in Yangzhou—it was a petition prepared by the salt smuggler Du Bosheng to appeal to the imperial court.
Although he had a vague sense that this matter wouldn’t be simple, he hadn’t expected Prince Qing to be involved in smuggling salt in such large quantities. This put him in a difficult position. Though it was Li Linfu who had assigned him this task, he still didn’t want to offend Prince Qing.
At that moment, Li Feishouyu rushed in carrying a blue cloth bundle, smiling and saying, “General, it’s done.”
Li Qing’an was overjoyed and quickly said, “Show it to me right away.”
Li Feishouyu opened the blue cloth bundle, revealing three identical booklets. He smiled and said, “I found a skilled scribe at the Diao family’s printing shop in the Eastern Market. He made two copies that are indistinguishable from the original.”
Li Qing’an spread out the three booklets—indeed, they were all exactly the same. He couldn’t even tell which one was the real Du Bosheng’s petition. “Good! Well done.”
Li Qing’an nodded in approval repeatedly. Then he asked, “Did you pay attention to this scribe?”
“General, rest assured. I stayed by his side the whole time. After the copies were finished, I sent him to his relatives in Fengxiang. He won’t return to Chang’an for a month.”
Seeing how thorough Li Feishouyu was, Li Qing’an patted his shoulder and said with a smile, “Go to the Dali Temple and hand over the prisoner to Minister Ji. From now on, we’ll handle this case officially.”
Li Feishouyu asked, “General, what about these documents? Should we send one as well?”
“No!”
Li Qing’an smiled. “I’ll handle these documents personally. They can’t be made public.”
He put away the booklets and added, “Go now! I have an important guest to meet in a moment.”
Li Feishouyu agreed and took the prisoner away from the Eastern Inner Garden.
……
Not long after Li Feishouyu left, a soldier rushed in to report, “General, Prince Qing’s son has urgent business to see you.”

Li Qing’an smiled and said, “Please invite him in right away!”
A moment later, Li Qiu hurried in, bowing from afar and saying, “General Li, I’m sorry to disturb you so early in the morning.”
“You’re too kind, young prince. Please come in.”
Li Qing’an invited Li Qiu into the tent and ordered the soldiers to bring a cup of tea. Anxiously, Li Qiu asked, “Is the bandit from Yangzhou that General Li captured in the eastern market last night still there?”
Li Qing’an was taken aback. “I sent him to the Dali Temple early this morning. Is this bandit related to Prince Qing?”
“Oh no!” Li Qiu slapped his thigh heavily. He had arrived too late.
“General Li, that bandit has letters and documents from my father!”
“Ah!” Li Qing’an stood up abruptly. “I didn’t know. I’ll send someone to the Dali Temple right away to get that criminal back. Someone, come here!”
Two soldiers immediately entered. “General, please give your orders!”
“No! I’ll go myself. Prepare a horse for me.”
Li Qiu quickly stopped him, saying, “I appreciate General Li’s kindness. Since I’m going to the Dali Temple, I have my own ways. There’s no need for you to trouble yourself.”
After a pause, he asked, “I wonder if the documents the bandit carried were also sent to the Dali Temple?”
“Not yet. I plan to present them directly to the prime minister.”
Li Qing’an took out a coarse cloth-wrapped package from the cabinet and said with a smile, “These are the criminal’s personal belongings.”
He opened the package, revealing some scattered copper coins and a few silver ingots, along with a change of clothes. At first glance, Li Qiu saw a booklet tucked between the clothes. His heart pounded—those items were still there!
Li Qing’an pulled out the booklet and said with a smile, “This is the document. It’s still sealed. I didn’t dare open it myself. I plan to present it to the prime minister.”
“General Li, could I have this document?”
“Well…” Li Qing’an looked troubled. “As you know, young prince, if the criminal confesses but we can’t produce this booklet, I’ll find it hard to justify my actions.”
Li Qiu quickly bowed deeply. “General Li, this matter is of great importance. If you give it to me, my father will remember your kindness and surely reward you generously.”
After pondering for a moment, Li Qing’an sighed and said, “How can I refuse Prince Qing’s request? Here’s what I’ll do: I can delay things a bit. I’ll give you the book, but you must return it to me this afternoon. As long as it looks the same, it’s fine. As for the contents, you decide for yourself.”
Li Qiu was overjoyed. “I’ll definitely return it this afternoon!”

He accepted the document with deep gratitude, only to find it completely sealed, with Du Boseng’s handwritten signature on the seal, indicating that no one had opened it. The prisoner might not even know the contents inside. His tense heart immediately relaxed. He would replace the contents and then have the prison warden execute the prisoner, thus resolving the matter.

He glanced at Li Qing’an, noticing his sincere smile, and nodded inwardly. This Li Qing’an was quite smooth-talking; not bad at all.

……

Li Qing’an’s inspection camp was under the direct command of Li Linfu. In the afternoon, after Li Qiu delivered the documents, he rushed to Daming Palace.

Although Li Longji had moved to Xingqing Palace, the core institutions of the Tang Dynasty, such as the Secretariat and the Chancellery, were still located in Daming Palace. The Secretariat, where Li Qing’an was going, was situated to the right of Xuanzheng Hall. It was a vast building with high steps guarded by the Yulin Army, surrounded by white jade corridors. The interior was dimly lit and imposing. Li Qing’an waited for a while at the bottom of the steps.

A clerk from the Secretariat ran out, “General Li, the Prime Minister wants to see you!”

Li Qing’an quickly climbed the steps and entered this highest administrative body of the Tang Dynasty. The Secretariat’s main hall was spacious and lofty, with a central axis running through it. On either side were various departments of the Secretariat, such as the clerks’ room, the vice ministers’ room, the document repository, and the imperial edicts storage. Right in the middle was the famous “Zhongshu Menxia,” where the prime ministers met to decide on military and state affairs, with five additional rooms—those for officials, affairs, military, household, and rites—located behind it.

Li Linfu’s office was on the left. Of course, he didn’t have just one office; as Minister of Personnel, he had another office there. He even had symbolic offices in places like the Anxi Protectorate in Kucha and the Shuofang Military Governor’s office.

The clerk went in to announce his arrival and came back after a while, saying, “General Li, the Prime Minister wants to see you.”

Li Qing’an entered Li Linfu’s office, which consisted of two rooms: an outer room and an inner room. The outer room was the document room, filled with piles of scrolls and documents. Four or five clerks were busy working behind them. In another corner, five Secretariat clerks were meeting to draft imperial edicts. Upon seeing Li Qing’an enter, they smiled and nodded at him. The inner room was Li Linfu’s actual office, with two side rooms next to it—one a meeting room and the other Li Linfu’s resting room. Sometimes, when he worked all night and couldn’t return home, he would sleep in the office.

It was afternoon, half an hour left before the next court session, yet Li Linfu was extremely busy. With the New Year approaching, the court would have several days off, after which a large number of tasks would pile up—visits from foreign nations, imperial examinations, military examinations, spring plowing, financial affairs, and many other complicated matters. Therefore, it was necessary to handle them in advance before the holidays.

Li Qing’an stepped forward two paces, knelt halfway, and saluted militarily, saying, “Inspector Li Qing’an presents himself to the Prime Minister.”

Li Linfu was reviewing the plans for the military examinations. Seeing Li Qing’an enter, he put down his pen and laughed, “Qilang, I was just thinking of you—here you are.”

“Does the Prime Minister need me for something?”

Li Linfu pointed to the memorial in his hand and said with a smile, “After the New Year, military examinations will be held immediately. These exams test archery and horseback shooting—usually, shooting three stones with a foot bow or two stones with a horseback bow is considered passing. Yet you can draw a seven-stone bow. You’re clearly the best candidate for this. I was wondering why you don’t take part in the military examinations to gain fame and honor.”

“I arrived in the capital in a hurry and haven’t had time to consider this.”

Li Linfu smiled and said, “I was just mentioning it. You’re already a lieutenant general, so taking the military examinations doesn’t make much sense. That’s usually a path for soldiers in the Central Plains to advance. They don’t have the chance to earn merits through battles like you do; they can only become officials through these exams.”

After saying that, Li Linfu put down the memorial and asked, “I heard you sent the criminal to the Dali Temple early this morning?”

“I came here to report this matter to the Prime Minister.”

“Good! Let’s discuss it in my meeting room.”

Li Qing’an followed Li Linfu into the meeting room. Li Linfu sat down on a couch and waved his hand, saying, “Go ahead and tell me.”

Li Qing’an then recounted in detail everything that had happened over the past two days. Finally, he took out a copy of the document and handed it to Li Linfu, saying, “I rushed to prepare a copy, which was given to the son of Prince Qing. This is the original, presented specially to the Prime Minister.”

Li Linfu smiled, took the document, flipped through a few pages, then put it down and asked, “Are you afraid of offending Prince Qing?”

“Yes, I don’t want to offend Prince Qing.”

“But if I show this document to Prince Qing, won’t you be exposed right away?”

Li Linfu stared at Li Qing’an with a slightly cold gaze, waiting for his answer.

“I believe the Prime Minister won’t give it to Prince Qing.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m not Yang Shenjin.”

A smile slowly appeared on Li Linfu’s lips. His smile grew broader, and eventually he burst into laughter. “Good! Well said. If you have a clear conscience, why hide it?”

Li Linfu stood up and gave him a firm pat on the shoulder. “Qilang, your openness and honesty truly comfort me. You handled this matter very well.”

“But, your subordinate has offended County Magistrate Yang.”
“He!” Li Linfu sneered. “That man only cares about profit. As long as you satisfy his interests, no matter how deep your feud may be, he’ll forget it all.”
“I understand. Then regarding this matter…”
Li Linfu waved his hand with a smile. “Let’s put this matter on hold for now. Go back and rest well. The New Year is coming in a few days. Remember to come to my residence on New Year’s Eve for some wine.”
“I will definitely be there. I take my leave now.”
“Go.”
Li Qingan slowly withdrew, leaving Li Linfu alone in the meeting room. He opened the petition again and smiled faintly. Walking over to the incense burner in the corner, he tossed the petition in. Moments later, it caught fire and burned brighter, the blazing flames lighting up Li Linfu’s large nose.