46. Bored, I Want to See Rivers of Blood (First release, subscriptions requested!!!)

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“Young Master Wang, tell me—do you know that Magistrate Ouyang?”

The old social butterfly, Wang Caozhi, had returned to the viewing platform reserved for the grain merchants. Shopkeeper Li stroked his goatee and voiced the question that was on every merchant’s mind.

“Hm.”

Wang Caozhi neither confirmed nor denied it. He merely lifted his chin slightly.

“There happens to be an elder sister from the Xie family whom I know well staying in Dragon City. Her father is a renowned gentleman of letters, a scholar whose disciples are scattered throughout the realm. Ouyang Lianghan was one of his pupils… So I suppose you could say we know each other. We just arranged to share a meal.”

His tone was casual, as though he were merely making conversation. Yet Shopkeeper Ma, Shopkeeper Li, and the others exchanged glances.

A small-time grain merchant sighed. “As expected of the Wang clan of Langya and the Xie clan of Chen Commandery. You can find connections everywhere along the Jiangnan Circuit. We all do business, but Young Master Wang… Ah, I truly envy you.”

The short young man waved his hands modestly.

But the more modest he appeared, the harder Shopkeeper Li sucked in his breath as he stroked his beard. After pondering for a moment, he asked in a lowered voice, “So the easing of grain prices in Longcheng County this time—could it have something to do with you, Young Master? No wonder you managed to bring grain to Longcheng so quickly. So you were one of the people behind it all.”

Everyone stared at him in astonishment. Even Shopkeeper Ma, whose connections ran deep, turned his head slightly.

Wang Caozhi merely smiled faintly, waved a hand, and continued eating his sweet rice dumpling without offering an explanation.

Though he was a collateral member of his clan and not especially valued within it, he had traveled far and wide from a young age and now managed a major trading house. He had cultivated connections in every direction and gathered friends wherever he went. His success rested precisely on the art of telling no lie, while never telling the whole truth.

The grain merchants on the viewing platform began exchanging toasts and chatting amiably.

Shopkeeper Ma set down his prayer beads and raised his cup with a smile, but then turned his attention back toward the main viewing platform. With a puzzled expression, he asked, “Young Master Wang, what exactly is the relationship between Magistrate Ouyang and that noble lady of the Xie family? They look rather close. Could there be something romantic between them? Otherwise, why would a young lady of the Xie clan come all the way to this impoverished place?”

“How could that be?”

This time Wang Caozhi lost his composure and immediately answered. He seemed to find the notion extremely amusing and gave a laugh.

“My elder sister from the Xie family is a born scholar, famous in both the Wang and Xie clans. She began studying at the academy beside her father at a very young age, so it is perfectly natural that she should be close to her fellow students. How could she possibly marry someone outside the clan? She is a legitimate daughter of the Chen Commandery Xie clan. Forgive me if this sounds presumptuous, but even if the legitimate heir of the family behind you, Shopkeeper Ma, went to ask for her hand, he would not be able to marry her.”

Shopkeeper Ma was not offended. He even nodded.

“That is true. Even His Majesty himself has no way to do anything about those few clans forbidden to intermarry.”

The others abandoned their doubts and resumed discussing the business of selling grain and making money. They might quarrel over other matters, but when it came to profit, they were united as never before.

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Wang Caozhi rose and lifted his cup toward the others.

“Come, let us drink to one another! Grain prices have remained fixed at twenty coins per dou for far too long. Just look at the people outside—they are all living perfectly well. It seems everyone is quite wealthy. Once the Dragon Boat Festival is over, we must raise the price together tomorrow!”

The short young man pointed toward the wealthy households who had paid to reserve viewing platforms outside.

The broad-shouldered Shopkeeper Ma slapped his palm and burst into hearty laughter.

“Well said! Raise it! Raise the damned price! Two thousand shi of grain arrived again this morning, so the price of grain in Longcheng County is ours to decide!”

“Oh? Look!”

As they spoke, Shopkeeper Ma’s eyes suddenly lit up. He seized the cup sloshing with wine, rushed to the railing, and hurled it into the river. Pointing toward the racing dragon boats ahead, he shouted, “The boat I bet on won! Ha ha ha! What an auspicious sign!”

Wang Caozhi, Shopkeeper Li, and the others immediately rose and applauded with smiles.

At that moment, on the banks of Butterfly Creek, the first dragon boat champion of the morning had emerged. Amidst the thunder of gongs and drums, the day’s festive atmosphere reached its climax.

Countless eyes along the banks of Butterfly Creek turned toward the main viewing platform.

The winning boat’s rowers, helmsman, drummer, and gong player climbed onto the platform bare-armed, where the Magistrate of Longcheng County personally congratulated them and presented their prizes.

Yet amid the jubilant clamor filling all four sides of the high platform, Magistrate Ouyang seemed slightly dazed when he rose to welcome the victorious crew. County Assistant Diao, Yan the Sixth Young Master, Xie Lingjiang, who had just returned from the Zhen family, and the others nearby noticed nothing unusual.

When the flushed and excited helmsmen came before him, the faint irregularity in Ouyang Rong’s expression vanished.

“You have worked hard, brave men.”

With a bright smile, he placed floral wreaths and colored plaques around each of their necks in turn, then turned to face the crowd below.

The people of Longcheng, the competing dragon boats, and the local gentry and wealthy merchants fell somewhat quieter, waiting for the county magistrate’s customary speech.

On the long street not far away, the figure of a rider suddenly appeared, galloping toward them at full speed.

At first, only a few people on the outskirts noticed. But when the focus of the entire gathering—Magistrate Ouyang Rong—silently stopped speaking and turned his head toward the approaching rider, most of those present noticed the disturbance as well.

The bustling crowd parted to form a path. The rider galloped through, the hoarse cry of the horseman ringing across the entire scene.

“Urgent dispatch from Jiangzhou! Urgent dispatch from Jiangzhou! The Magistrate of Longcheng County is to receive it!”

The crowd immediately broke into discussion, but County Assistant Diao’s thunderous command of “Silence!” quickly restored order.

Liu Ziwen and Liu Zi’an exchanged worried frowns. On another viewing platform, Wang Caozhi, Shopkeeper Ma, Shopkeeper Li, and the others watched with curiosity.

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Everyone saw the exhausted rider rein in his horse before the main viewing platform by the ferry crossing. The courier dismounted, stumbled, then dragged one leg as he limped up the platform to deliver the message.

The young county magistrate drew his brows together slightly. He first glanced back at the attendants and officials behind him, then stepped forward and verified the courier’s identity while the man gasped for breath. Only after that did he accept the urgent document. Under the eyes of the entire crowd, he opened it and lowered his gaze to read in silence.

Countless eyes rested upon the calm face of Magistrate Ouyang. He did not speak at once, and the atmosphere gradually grew tense.

Everyone knew that documents sent by urgent relay over several hundred li generally concerned grave and unfavorable matters requiring swift notification of the local authorities. Ordinary affairs could be conveyed at a more leisurely pace.

The last time a similar document had arrived, it had concerned the corruption case involving the Charity Relief Granary.

At the thought, many in the crowd developed an ominous feeling. Had some natural disaster or human calamity occurred somewhere? Or had war broken out?

Some of the local gentry and landowners grew anxious as well. They were the ones most vulnerable to changes in local policy.

The itinerant grain merchants, Wang Caozhi and the others, had no such worries. An official document from Jiangzhou would generally have little effect on merchants as mobile as themselves, and it certainly could not restrict their freedom of movement. Most of them watched with the attitude of spectators hoping for some new business opportunity.

Yet no one expected that the young county magistrate, standing tall on the platform as he read the document, would suddenly smile with ease. He lifted his head, smiled, and shook it at the crowd, then waved reassuringly at the tense officials and subordinates behind him.

“Don’t worry. It is nothing serious, and it has nothing to do with any of you.” His tone was light. “Everyone, continue celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival. Keep the music playing and the dancing going.”

The weight pressing on the hearts of many in Longcheng suddenly eased. The silent crowd returned to its boisterous cheer, while the visiting merchants such as Wang Caozhi were left somewhat disappointed. After all, there would be no spectacle to enjoy now… How dull. They had been hoping to see blood flow like a river.

“However, my colleagues and I will have to get back to work. Sigh, just when we finally had a holiday for the Dragon Boat Festival, another official document arrives and gives us overtime…”

The young magistrate lowered his head and folded the paper back along its original creases before putting it away. Then, as though remembering something, he looked up and asked casually, “By the way, since everyone is here, are there any friends in the audience who have large quantities of grain stored in this county? Please come to the county office and have a cup of tea with us so we can register it. Don’t worry, it is nothing serious. The Inspector, Lord Shen, merely suspects that the grain stolen from the Charity Relief Granary may still be somewhere within Jiangzhou. After petitioning the court, he has ordered that, effective immediately, all large stores of grain in every county of Jiangzhou may not leave the region without authorization. Their origins must first be investigated and confirmed clean by the local authorities, after which they may be transported away with an official travel document…”

When he finished, the noise throughout the venue diminished only slightly before returning to normal. It truly was a minor matter. Most people paid it no attention, and many had not even understood what he had said. They dispersed as they pleased.

On one viewing platform, however, Wang Caozhi, Shopkeeper Ma, Shopkeeper Li, and the other grain merchants, who had been preparing to leave for their team outing, stood frozen. They even wondered whether they had heard incorrectly and successively let out several bewildered exclamations.

Only when the young magistrate’s gaze swept across the crowd and “happened” to stop exclusively on their platform did they react. From their vantage point, the young magistrate seemed to bare his teeth in a smile, his expression utterly sincere.

Wang Caozhi and the others immediately shuddered.

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End of chapter.