Chapter 6: South of the City (6)

The boy’s face turned deathly pale instantly, his eyes staring blankly into the distance. No, that couldn’t be true. Dezi had always been gentle since childhood and never provoked trouble on his own. He would avoid officials and guards from afar—how could he possibly dare to offend the governor himself? There must be some misunderstanding; he had to find a way to save him.

It wasn’t surprising that Li Kuo was panicked. The governor’s office was not something ordinary people could afford to provoke. Ordinary neighborhood disputes or street fights were handled by the county magistrates of Chang’an and Wannian. Even if cases required careful judgment, it was usually the county magistrates who negotiated with the governor’s office. It was rare for such a situation—where the governor personally issued orders to arrest criminals—to happen to ordinary people. Though the exact reason was unknown, one thing was certain: Dezi must have touched something he shouldn’t have!

Seeing the boy’s terrified expression, Chief Sun also panicked and said urgently, “Forget it. I won’t hide it from you, but you must not tell anyone else. It’s not that I, Uncle Sun, am cowardly—it’s just that this matter involves many people, and even the county magistrate isn’t daring to take it lightly.”

Looking around to ensure no one was nearby, Chief Sun sighed, “Actually, I didn’t accompany the magistrate to Beili to drink any flower wine yesterday at all. Around dusk yesterday, someone from the governor’s office came to inform the magistrate to go discuss matters. Not daring to neglect it, the magistrate quickly changed into his official robes and took me, Old Wang, and a few others to the governor’s office. As soon as we met, the governor read out a list of names, saying these people had committed serious crimes and asking us to keep an eye on those who frequented them and gather evidence promptly. When I heard your brother’s name on that list, I was shocked too. Who would have thought that early this morning, the governor ordered all those on the list to be arrested and tortured severely.”

Seeing that the boy was listening attentively, Chief Sun lowered his voice further and said, “I heard this case involves the Crown Prince. The emperor is furious and has ordered the governor to solve it quickly. And since the governor has always sided with the Right Prime Minister, he probably won’t rest until he ruins the Crown Prince. That’s why he arrested all the suspects—likely preferring to execute a thousand innocents rather than let one escape.”

Hearing this, Li Kuo could no longer contain his doubts. He bowed in the direction of the northeast of Chang’an City and said, “How could Dezi be connected to such an important figure? I’m afraid the governor is overreacting.”

It was no wonder Li Kuo was overthinking things. The crown prince and the right chancellor had always been at odds, and the court naturally split into two factions. Most of the conflicts centered around the power centers of the Tang Dynasty, so someone like Dezi, a minor figure, was likely to be ignored altogether.

Head Constable Sun waved his hand and said with a wry smile, “Who says not? But since the emperor himself is involved in this case, who would dare to handle it carelessly? That would be tantamount to insulting the emperor himself!”

Seeing that Head Constable Sun didn’t seem to know much about the situation either, and worried about his friend’s safety, Li Kuo bowed to him and said, “Thank you, Uncle Sun, for reminding me. I need to find a way to rescue Dezi. I won’t keep you any longer. Please enjoy your meal. I’ll definitely come to thank you in person another day.”

“Go ahead, but be careful. After all, the fewer people involved in this case, the better.”

Knowing his nephew was a man of loyalty and integrity, Head Constable Sun didn’t say much more. With a slight smile, he mainly reminded Li Kuo to take care of himself.

After bidding farewell to Head Constable Sun, Li Kuo couldn’t feel any joy. With his current connections, rescuing Dezi from the jurisdiction of the governor was like dreaming foolishly. But if he did nothing and let fate take its course, Dezi would surely become a victim of this courtly struggle. Caught between two difficult choices, Li Kuo decided to head to Kelong Tea House in Tongji Fang first. One reason was to discuss strategies with Jing Tian, and the other was to see if he could borrow some money from Old Master Du—after all, no one could resist money.

Despite Li Kuo’s quick pace, it was already noon when he arrived in Tongji Fang. From afar, the tea house seemed deserted. Normally, it should have been busy, though not overcrowded, but such emptiness was unexpected. Upon entering, he found that the white curtain marking it as closed hadn’t even been removed. Li Kuo was puzzled, wondering why Old Master Du would deliberately harm his own business.

With many questions in mind, he entered the shop and saw Jing Tian, Liu Zi, and several other brothers sitting around a square table, all looking worried and troubled. Li Kuo cleared his throat gently and said in a soothing tone, “I just returned from the county office. I’m afraid this matter is quite difficult. Dezi was arrested by the governor. With my connections, it won’t be easy to rescue him right away.”

Upon seeing Li Kuo back, the silence in the shop was broken immediately. Du Jing Tian spoke up first, “Brother Qiqi, don’t worry yet. Those officials just want to extort some money. I’ll go borrow some money from Grandpa soon. Once those officials see shiny Kaiyuan coins, they’ll surely release him!”

Li Kuo couldn’t help but laugh at her witty words. He stepped forward, gently tickled the little girl’s nose, and joked, “Alright, alright. When the time comes, I’ll definitely reward our Ah Tian. Well, how about I write you a copy of Wang Youjun’s Lanting Xu?”
Du Jingtian tilted his head and thought for a moment before laughing loudly in agreement.
Chen Xiaoliu, however, wasn’t in the mood to joke. He said seriously, “I’m afraid just giving money won’t solve the problem. Didn’t Seventh Brother say it was a warrant issued personally by the governor of Jingzhao? Who has ever seen a prisoner without connections manage to get out of Yongzhou Prison unscathed?”
“Yes, yes. Dezi has been taken to the governor’s office. What should we do?”
A teenager around fifteen or sixteen years old beside Chen Xiaoliu spoke anxiously, clearly having a good relationship with Feng Deen usually.
“What if we go to his cousin? I heard his cousin works in the Department of Agricultural Development.”
“Pfft, with that low-ranking position of his cousin, he can’t even wear a green robe—how much weight can his words carry?”
“Well, then what should we do? We can’t just watch Dezi suffer in prison.”
Everyone was still young, and it was natural for them to lose their composure in such a crisis. With everyone talking at once, the situation became chaotic.
“Everyone, please listen to me.”
Li Kuo pressed his hand downward to signal silence. When everyone stopped talking, he continued, “Dezi’s situation came suddenly, but we can’t panic. I think we should take two approaches: Jingtian and Xiaoliu can go ask Uncle Du for a loan, while I and Yanji will visit Vice Minister Zhang. If we can get his handwritten recommendation, Dezi’s release won’t be impossible.”
Everyone turned their attention to Zhang Yanji. This handsome young man indeed had a striking appearance—broad eyebrows, bright eyes, and a fair complexion. His tall stature and dignified bearing were further emphasized by his white brocade robe with cloud patterns. Indeed, how had no one thought of this earlier? In terms of their fathers’ official ranks, which of these young men could compare to Zhang Yanji? But he always regarded himself as superior and only got along well with Seventh Brother, maintaining only superficial relationships with the rest. After being ignored for so long, the others gradually lost interest, barely exchanging polite greetings.
Feeling a bit uneasy under everyone’s gazes, Zhang Yanji bowed and said, “This isn’t difficult. Although my father isn’t as powerful as Prime Minister Li, with his many students, he should be able to write a recommendation to save face for a junior. I’ll go back to the mansion with Brother Kuo later to inform my father. I believe the governor of Jingzhao, out of respect for our shared background as fellow scholars, will at least give my father some consideration.”

Seeing him constantly bragging about his family’s connections, everyone couldn’t help but feel disgust, and any remaining goodwill they might have had for him vanished completely. Noticing the scornful or jealous looks directed at Zhang Yanji, Li Kuo naturally couldn’t stand by idly.

Coughing lightly, he waved his hand and said, “If this succeeds, Yanji will deserve great credit. Let’s start preparing now—after all, the sooner we rescue Dezi, the less suffering he’ll endure.”

Hearing this, the other youths felt they had little to do and were somewhat disappointed. But since the Seventh Young Master had given such instructions, they saw no reason to disappoint him.

Seeing that everyone seemed to understand his intentions, Li Kuo felt a bit relieved. Yet, with everyone’s good will, he didn’t want to let them down. With a slight smile, he declared loudly, “You shouldn’t stay idle either. Use your own connections to talk to Dezi’s usual acquaintances. We don’t expect them to testify, just a few useful pieces of information. Though the results may not be as immediate as previous tasks, the advantage lies in thoroughness. Please put in extra effort—Li thanks you all.”

With just a few instructions, he assigned tasks to everyone, earning great admiration for his competence. Hao Yihao and Hao Yize, the brothers from Hao’s Silk Shop, stepped forward first and said, “We’ll go back to the shop right away and instruct our employees. With so many of us, we should be able to gather some useful information soon.”

Su Jinghong, the eldest son of Su’s Rice Shop, also pledged confidently, “Seventh Young Master, just wait and see. With our family’s network—ranging from restaurants to tea stalls—whenever rice is involved, I can find out something.”

The other youths also said they would use their own shop’s connections to investigate Dezi’s whereabouts. Everyone was eager and enthusiastic.

Seeing such cooperation, Li Kuo quickly bowed and said, “I’m troubling you all, but please keep a low profile. Don’t neglect your own businesses, or I’ll be ashamed.”

Everyone quickly assured him they wouldn’t, asking Brother Kuo to rest easy.

Amidst the joy and harmony, suddenly a man’s loud voice came from outside, “What’s this nonsense? Since ancient times, restaurants have welcomed guests from all directions. How can they reject guests at the door? I, Gao, want to see who has taken over Lan Yue Lou and is drinking alone, ignoring all his friends in the world!”

Note 1: Green robe. In the Tang Dynasty, official robes had designated colors—green robes were worn by civil officials below the sixth rank.