Chapter 48: Fox Borrowing the Tiger’s Might
It was hot.
The side room in the Yamen had a courtyard that allowed for ventilation, making it cool.
The Yamen Runners liked to cool off, boast, and gamble there.
They were all official staff with established positions, well-off with perks, and walked with their heads held high wherever they went in the county, enjoying great face.
Yamen Runners are like iron, while the masters are like flowing water.
They were all old hands; as for the masters above, the capable ones could control them, the ineffective ones coexisted peacefully, and the weak ones couldn’t control them at all and would even be pushed around.
The current master was quite capable but couldn’t be bothered to manage them; he was obsessed with career advancement, reading, and composing poetry.
The private secretary handled all matters, big and small, in the Yamen.
A group of Yamen Runners had been gambling, but when the private secretary arrived, more than half left.
The remaining Yamen Runners couldn’t gamble anymore, so they wandered around aimlessly.
A Yamen Runner who was quite familiar with Little Jiang from the Herb Preparation Bureau wandered over.
A large shipment of herbs had arrived today, and Jiang Changtian was organizing them. He had to categorize every herb entering the warehouse, then label them with their medicinal properties, origin, harvest year, and so on.
Actually, it wasn’t this tedious at the beginning, but because Jiang Changtian did it this way, their county was praised by the higher-ups when they presented the herbs, and the herb tags Jiang Changtian made were even promoted nationwide.
Jiang Changtian’s status was awkward, but because of this, he managed to keep his position as a temporary worker.
“Little Jiang, still sorting herbs? Your Feng-ge has caused trouble again.” The Yamen Runner Old Liu, who had come over, stood at the doorway and said.
Jiang Changtian’s hand, which was sorting the herbs, paused, and he accidentally knocked over some herbs. As if he were too nervous upon hearing the news, he hurriedly stood up straight and shouted to the person at the door: “Brother Liu, come in and sit, come in and sit. I’ll brew you a cup of cooling tea to relieve the heat.”
“Did my boy get into a scuffle with his group of friends again? It really is endless worry. Brother Liu, you have it good; your Baozhu is already able to handle things on his own in the prison.” Jiang Changtian said as he handed over a cup of tea.
Old Liu walked in boldly and took the tea. It was served in a bamboo tube and had a faint bitter taste, but after drinking it, he truly felt the inner heat dissipate, making him feel much more comfortable.
“My Baozhu isn’t all that; it’s all thanks to his uncle. It’s just that his temperament is relatively steady, and his uncle takes a liking to him.” He boasted about his son.
Old Liu continued: “The private secretary said a guard from the Jiang Mansion has gone missing. They suspect it has something to do with your Feng-ge, so they sent people to arrest Feng-ge. Oh right, the private secretary also said those two Kidnappers don’t have to die. He said a noble person pleaded for them, considering they were buying medicine to save a child’s life, which is pitiful.”
Jiang Changtian poured himself a cup of tea as well. Upon hearing this, he drank very slowly, feeling the bitter cooling tea slowly seep into his throat.
Jiang Changtian revealed a faint smile: “My Feng-ge doesn’t have the capability like your Baozhu; he just messes around on the streets. To make him actually commit a crime—he’s too timid and wouldn’t dare. Perhaps he offended Young Master Jiang’s guard. The guard beat up Feng-ge a few days ago; perhaps he didn’t vent enough anger. When the time comes, I’ll trouble Brother Liu to show some mercy; the child doesn’t know any better.”
“Easy to say, easy to say. This cooling tea is quite good.”
Jiang Changtian took out two prepared packets of herbs and handed them to the Yamen Runner: “The cooling tea is brewed by mixing these two packets of herbs. My spouse picked them personally. Put two parts of the large packet and one part of the small packet; it can relieve heat and help with sleep. Children and the elderly at home can drink it too.”
Old Liu took the herbs and walked away happily.
The long-haired youth in the small room continued to sort the herbs.
He arranged the messy herbs bit by bit, making them neat and tidy. Whatever stuck out, he cut off with a knife. It was very efficient; with a light cut, it was neat.
A little light shone through the small window in the small room.
The small window could see a door, and that door was tightly shut.
The Yamen Runners inquired along the way and soon found Jiang Feng.
They didn’t expect that this wastrel Jiang Feng would actually be at Qingfeng Restaurant.
They, as Yamen Runners with established positions, rarely came here to eat; they only came occasionally when someone treated them.
If it were any other place, the Yamen Runners would have charged over aggressively and tied the person up to make an arrest.
But here, they would inevitably encounter people they couldn’t afford to offend.
The Yamen Runners went upstairs very politely.
Then they saw that Jiang Feng and a group of wastrels were actually drinking with two young masters from the capital.
There was also a table of guards nearby.
They had seen those young masters’ guards yesterday; they all wore armor.
It was the guards who had captured the Kidnapper and surrendered them.
The Yamen Runners were very envious.
Although they were official Yamen Runners and quite imposing in the county, compared to the young masters’ guards from the capital, they were just country bumpkins.
In their entire lives, they had never worn armor, let alone rode fine horses or wielded spears and swords…
These things were not meant for them.
Rusty knives and thick wooden sticks were enough.
Anyway, when conducting official business in the county, who would dare to resist?
Seeing the fine wine and food before them, with cups and chopsticks clinking, the usually high-and-mighty Yamen Runners said politely today: “Jiang Feng, please come with us.”
The group of young wastrels was startled at first; they naturally felt afraid whenever they saw Yamen Runners.
“What did my Feng-ge do that he has to go to the Yamen?” Gouzi asked.
Jiang Feng also asked in surprise: “Is it about the matter with those two Kidnappers yesterday?”
The Yamen Runners were usually righteous when making arrests, but in front of those two young nobles dressed in luxurious clothing, they inexplicably felt a bit short of breath.
“A guard from the Jiang Mansion has been missing for a few days. It is said that before he went missing, he had a conflict with you, so we need to take you back to the Yamen for questioning.” The Yamen Runner who spoke was a bit embarrassed because he was one of the Yamen Runners who had encountered Jiang Feng getting beaten on the street that day and had received ten taels as compensation.
That day, Jiang Feng had been surrounded and beaten by Young Master Jiang’s servant and guards. The guards had even used weapons. Jiang Feng was covered in blood and almost beaten to death; the guards only stopped when they saw them.
Hearing this, Jiang Feng gently touched the wound on his forehead.
It had healed quite well, but there was still a large patch.
He had looked at himself in a water basin. Father was very skilled; he had treated the wound so it didn’t look ugly, and from a distance, it even looked like a flower.
But when touched, it was still uneven.
It didn’t hurt anymore, but sometimes it would itch, an itch that seemed to seep out from the skull.
“He went missing, so you have to arrest my Feng-ge and bring him to the Yamen, just because he almost beat Feng-ge to death?” Mantou, who had a wound on his face, asked with an expression of confusion.
It was like that, but saying it this way, it always felt like something was wrong.
“I know you Yamen Runner brothers are just following orders. It’s fine. My whereabouts these past few days can be verified. I believe you won’t wrong a good person.” Jiang Feng said to the Yamen Runners.
“Apologies, it’s just routine procedure.” The Yamen Runners prepared to put shackles on him.
Jiang Feng turned back and apologized to the two young masters: “I’ve disturbed your elegant mood, brothers. If I can come out in one piece, I hope to have the opportunity to finish this meal with you.”
“Wait.” Meng Shaoxia stood up to stop them.
He believed in the youth before him. When encountering the Kidnapper, even when he was so furious, he had still shown mercy and had not killed. Such a person would not recklessly seek revenge.
“Let’s go together. While we’re at it, let’s see how your master judges cases. I am Meng Shaoxia of the Meng Family from the capital; coincidentally, the Nine Gates Commandant is my uncle.”
“I am Young Master He Chen of the He Family from Qingzhou; I am also curious about how your master judges cases. Coincidentally, the ordinary Censor He is my uncle.”
“Hiss!~~”
The group of wastrels stared at Young Master He Chen with burning eyes, full of admiration.
Because they had heard the storyteller’s tales about how Censor He had impeached the treacherous prime minister.
With just the lips of a scholar, a single sentence could cause a whole family and their nine generations to vanish into dust.
The Yamen Runners’ scalps also went numb.
Jiang Feng was curious in his heart: What kind of official is the Nine Gates Commandant? And what kind of official is a Censor?
Hearing these two young masters mention these two relatives, the Yamen Runners immediately bowed their waists.
They didn’t even put shackles on him anymore.
They politely invited him to leave.
Jiang Feng felt this experience was very magical.
He had tasted the flavor of power. Although this power was incredibly distant and had no connection to him, he had truly felt it.
So, this was how intimidating power was—like a god; just mentioning it could make people feel awe.
Jiang Feng was surrounded by the Yamen Runners as he went to the Yamen.
Along the way, the wastrels were not afraid at all; they followed swaggeringly. From being like rats crossing the street, they went to being high-spirited and vigorous, as if Feng-ge was not being taken in for questioning, but rather being invited as a guest.
Standing tall before the Yamen was the plaque: “Bright Mirror Hanging High.”
In the reflection of that high-hanging plaque, Jiang Feng saw the various states of his group.
The proud sons of heaven, the down-and-out youth, giggling and laughing, restless and anxious, the petty man getting his way, fox borrowing the tiger’s might, fox borrowing the tiger’s might!
