Chapter 199: The Greatly Treacherous and Evil Person
The washrooms at the Jingzhou government office were exceptionally clean.
They carried the traces of the inn owned by Commander Jiang’s family.
The Page Boy, Jizi, had eaten too much for breakfast and had already made three trips to the government office’s washroom.
He walked out with weak, unsteady footsteps.
He inwardly chided himself, vowing never to eat that much again.
Everything at breakfast had tasted so good, and he couldn’t get enough, but it was a pity his stomach was only so big and couldn’t hold any more.
He felt a bit of admiration for his master; breakfast was so delicious, yet his master only ate just enough and didn’t overindulge.
As expected, he was just a Page Boy, and his master was the master.
At this moment, his master, Censor He, was looking at Commander Jiang before him.
Their eyes met; there was some awkwardness, but not much.
Censor He felt as if he had met a worthy opponent.
This Commander Jiang truly spouted lies without a second thought; he claimed to be a medicine seller, yet he spoke about medicinal herbs with such expertise.
But thinking back, he had once worked as a temporary hand at the Herb Preparation Bureau, so it didn’t seem that strange; it was said his medical skills were quite good, too.
He could be considered a man of many talents.
Looking at his attitude toward his wife and daughter, it was truly as the rumors said: he loved them as his own life.
His nephew, Young Master He Chen, had traveled years ago and written him a letter mentioning this man.
Back then, Young Master He Chen had mentioned this man in his letter, calling him exceptionally talented and brilliant, and expressing great sympathy, feeling that public opinion was a fearful thing.
At the time, Censor He read the letter and thought Young Master He Chen was still too young; just because the other man was good-looking, he was captivated, assumed the other was a good person, and sympathized with him.
In the blink of an eye, several years had passed.
Young Master He Chen had become a top-ranking scholar.
And the Mr. Jiang he had sympathized with had become the Commander Jiang of Jingzhou, holding power above his own.
In this world, perhaps most of the time, things were fair.
If one was truly talented, time could not bury them; those sands and dust only polished them to shine even more brilliantly.
Walking and sitting within this government office, there was a simple, concise style everywhere, reminiscent of the inn.
It wasn’t flashy, but it was very practical and convenient.
At noon, there were simple meals for those working, and places for a midday nap.
There was no need for the weariness of traveling back and forth, and one could get off work a bit earlier.
Everyone had work to do; they were busy, but not chaotic.
From the details, one could see that Commander Jiang held the dominant position in Jingzhou.
Thinking back to those impeachment memorials against him, he suddenly understood why they were so lacking in substance.
Perhaps those memorials impeaching Commander Jiang were submitted with his own tacit permission.
If an official who was a former Rebel had excellent governance, with the common people living in peace and prosperity, and it was all to his credit, it would only make people more anxious.
However, entering Jingzhou, there was truly a sense of a prosperous age; the level of bustle and prosperity was no lower than the capital. People came and went, greeting each other with smiles; young children played, older children studied, and even disabled blind men could take wives and dared to hope for their descendants to attend school.
This was a city full of hope.
And the man before him was the one who had planted that hope.
Censor He had come to find faults; he had looked around carefully outside and had flipped through a large stack of government files.
It was different from the greed and luxury he had imagined.
Inside the government office, administrative affairs were clear, powers and responsibilities were clear, and expenses were very clear. Every expenditure was noted, every income was recorded, and even where things were confiscated from, what bribes were received, and so on, were all clearly recorded.
Where the expenditures were used for construction, every single item was listed.
There were no flowery phrases; it looked very much in the style of a Rebel.
In the minds of the world, Rebels were always uneducated.
But after chatting with Commander Jiang, Censor He discovered that he was actually a scholar, a genuine scholar by background, and he was very literary.
Yet he was very direct in his actions.
On the road, he had actually already studied this man.
Censor He’s opinion differed from others; he did not agree with the content of those memorials and did not believe Commander Jiang was a greedy person who hoarded wealth.
Meeting at the inn this morning, although Commander Jiang’s family was outstanding in appearance, their attire was ordinary and not luxurious. His wife and daughter wore no precious jewelry, and their behavior showed this was their daily habit, not a deliberate disguise.
Observing Commander Jiang’s past experiences.
Censor He still believed him to be a truly treacherous and evil person, devoid of concepts of loyalty and filial piety.
This was also the reason why Censor He had come to Jingzhou personally.
Stepping into Jingzhou, he saw something else.
At the city gate, he saw the local hooligan Wu the Third. He spoke arrogantly, acted crudely, and was slippery. In the capital, he would be a typical street loafer, committing crimes, constantly making small mistakes, and one day finally committing a major offense, either fleeing for his life or spending his life in prison.
But here, Wu the Third proudly said he was a man of the government office; he had a salary, he didn’t want tips, and he straightened his shoulders that were used to being hunched, looking at people directly without flinching from their gazes.
At the inn, he saw a young girl who crouched down to register his identity. The girl was very pretty; according to what Page Boy Jizi had inquired, that was called the front desk at the inn, and she was also a server who greeted people.
Jizi found out the girl’s surname was Lai, and she had been abducted and sold to Shangqiu Temple. After Commander Jiang destroyed Shangqiu Temple, she went to the Hall for the Old and Young, and now she had come out to work.
She had some beauty, no parents or relatives, and was literate. Outside, she would have been sold to a brothel; because she was literate, she might have even become a small courtesan. Scholars and poets liked women who could read. Otherwise, she would be sold to a wealthy family as a maid, then become a concubine for some master, wasting away in the struggles of the inner courtyard, either living a brilliant life or dying.
But in Jingzhou, Miss Lai was actually an independent person. She could work, establish her own household, and choose to marry. She crouched down to register identities for people; her body was crouched, but her soul was standing.
When guests came and went, she would smile and greet them, equal and not sycophantic.
Not to mention the disabled blind man who actually had work to do.
It was said that massage was very hard work, and the cut he got wasn’t actually high, but he was very satisfied, working hard to hone his skills, thinking that if his skills were more outstanding, he could open a massage shop on a street corner in the future. He currently felt his massage skills weren’t outstanding enough and didn’t dare take the risk of renting a shop, but some friends had already done so.
The blind man said his friend was also blind.
If it were elsewhere, if one were born blind and in a wealthy family, they might be kept, but day after day of difference meant they rarely lived to adulthood because their mental state would suffer, leading to other ailments and early death.
If one became blind later in life, their mental state would also suffer, and it was hard to recover.
Among the common people, those born blind simply couldn’t grow up; they couldn’t be raised. Usually, it was those who became blind later due to accidents, and that was very miserable; they couldn’t even beg for food, and if they did, it would be snatched away by others.
If there was such a place where blind men could take wives, have children, and hope for their children to attend school, then if this place wasn’t a prosperous age, what was?
After looking around, Censor He still felt Commander Jiang was a truly treacherous and evil person.
He held great hatred for Old Madam Jiang, who had raised him, and for his older brother.
He killed without blinking, indifferent to human life.
He had means to hoard wealth and should be very rich.
That three-piece set of toiletries was something that people scrambled for in the capital.
If everyone in the world gave him one copper coin, he would be richer than a nation.
But toward such a Commander Jiang, Censor He surprisingly couldn’t bring himself to hate him.
Commander Jiang had extremely strong execution.
In just a few years, from Ming County where he had stayed to the current Prefecture City of Jingzhou, tremendous changes had taken place.
Commander Jiang had always been striving to become stronger; from the penniless drifter Jiang Changtian to the current Commander Jiang of Jingzhou holding real power, he had always been climbing upward.
And observing his behavior, from the earliest time when Old Madam Jiang said he was unfilial and unbrotherly, to later when Shangqiu Temple framed his daughter for having a bad destiny, he never tried to prove his innocence.
He wouldn’t cut himself open to let others see what he was really like; he sent those masters from Shangqiu Temple directly to hell, letting them discuss destiny in hell and see for themselves what destiny was like.
Censor He felt that this Commander Jiang couldn’t be associated with being a good person from start to finish.
However, as expected, he was worthy of being a member of the He family; he was always very tolerant toward good-looking people.
“Several years ago, my nephew was astonished by Mr. Jiang’s appearance upon meeting him and specifically wrote to me to praise you, saying you were a dragon and phoenix among men, a rarity in this world.”
Jiang Changtian cupped his hands in thanks: “At that time, my family was poor and could not even fill our stomachs. Young Master He Chen provided help in our time of need, gifting us wealth and books; I will never forget it for the rest of my life.”
Censor He waved his hand: “Youth is passionate, it was just a moment of impulse; there is no need to dwell on it.”
He did not find Commander Jiang’s appearance familiar or strange.
Back then, when Meng Shaoxia and Young Master He Chen were still youths, seeing Mr. Jiang’s true face, they were greatly shocked because, in such a rural place, there was actually a person like this. The contrast was great, and the impression was deep, which was why they tried hard to think of who he resembled.
But now, Commander Jiang himself was an official, holding a high position, and his behavior was free and easy.
When you see him, you won’t think of who he resembles; he is simply himself.
Commander Jiang of Jingzhou!
Thank you for reading + listening 🙂 I hope you all liked my translations. If you enjoyed my work, please consider buying me a Ko-Fi 😉
