The Great Tang's King of Provisions

Chapter 50: Du Ziten, Magistrate of Chang’an

“That young master just now gave it to us. If you don’t believe me, I’ll go find it for you.” As she spoke, Xue Yingying glanced around but saw no sign of Li Xuanba. She hurriedly looked back and forth a few times before saying in frustration, “That young master has already left, but that money was indeed a tip he gave to my brother and me.” “Hahahaha! You have no eyewitnesses, but I have physical evidence!” Seeing that Xue Yingying had searched for quite some time without finding anyone, Lu Tancai smugly jingled the ten taels of patterned silver in his hand and shouted to the Jinwu Guard patrol officer who was walking toward them, “General, I’m accusing these two of theft at the West Market. Here is the physical evidence of their theft.” As he spoke, Lu Tancai handed the ten taels of patterned silver to the Jinwu Guard squad leader, who was leading ten soldiers. Xue Yingying’s beautiful eyes widened as she glared angrily at Lu Tancai. “General! We didn’t steal anything—he’s making false accusations!” The squad leader of the Jinwu Guard sized up the siblings, Xue Fangui and Xue Yingying, then glanced at Lu Tancai. With a stern, expressionless face, he asked, “Does either side have any witnesses or physical evidence?” “Yes! I have physical evidence—these ten taels of embossed silver were handed to me by this brother and sister,” Lu Tancai said, looking smugly at Xue Yingying as his almond-shaped eyes scanned her from head to toe. “I—I—the young gentleman who gave us the money has left,” Xue Yingying said, growing somewhat flustered at the appearance of the patrolling Jinwu Guards. Then, as if remembering something, she pointed at the onlookers and said, “But they can testify—they saw it.” “No, no, no! We were just watching the street performers—we didn’t see a thing.” “We didn’t hear a thing. You’ll have to sort this out yourselves.” At Xue Yingying’s gesture, the onlookers who had just been praising Li Xuanba scattered in all directions, as if afraid of getting caught up in the affair. Although Lu Tancai was a man of poor character—one might even say he had sores on his feet and pus oozing from his head—they were just miserable, impoverished commoners who dared not offend this spoiled young master! “You’ll come with me to the Chang’an County Magistrate’s Office!” Seeing the situation, the squad leader of the Jinwu Guard furrowed his brow, cast a pitying glance at Xue Fangui and Xue Yingying, waved his weapon, and led Xue Yingying and her two companions toward the Chang’an County Magistrate’s Office. However, contrary to Lu Tancai’s expectations, he did not tuck the ten liang of stamped silver into his own pocket; instead, he simply held it out in his hand as he walked straight toward the Chang’an County Magistrate’s Office. “Oh no! This is terrible. With no witnesses or physical evidence to support the Xue siblings, and given that ‘Greedy Lu’ is the son of a government official, they’ll probably never get out of this.” “Hmph! That’s easy for you to say—why didn’t you stand up for the Xue siblings just now?” “Stand up for them? Sue the authorities? Wouldn’t that make our lives even harder from now on? Would we even be able to set foot in Chang’an again?” Amid the onlookers’ murmurs, they watched the Xue siblings walk away with pity in their eyes, shook their heads, and walked off with sighs. Only after the crowd had dispersed did Li Xuanba and Cheng Huai Mo, who had been hiding in the distance, step into view. “Your Highness, why didn’t you step in just now?” Cheng Huai Mo looked at the expressionless Li Xuanba in confusion. As far as he knew, Li Xuanba dared to stand up even for those beggar children—let alone the fact that the ten taels of silver had been given to the siblings by Li Xuanba himself. Why, then, had he dragged him away to hide? Li Xuanba glared coldly at Lu Tancai and his men, who were still staggering ahead. His words were laced with such murderous intent that they sent a chill down one’s spine. “Step in right away? If I’d done that, at most I’d have killed one spoiled young master and four henchmen—how could that possibly give this Prince the satisfaction I crave?” No sooner had he finished his murderous words than Li Xuanba patted “Chasing Wind Ten Thousand Miles Cloud,” instructing it to follow the Jinwu Guard squad leader and his men forward. “I’ll see just how the Magistrate of Chang’an County adjudicates this case. Hmph! I, Li Xuanba, protect the poor common folk who yearn for the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty—not these spoiled rich kids who fleece the people of their blood and sweat!” Watching Li Xuanba’s cold, receding figure, Cheng Huai Mo shuddered, as if he could sense the blood-red aura of murderous intent emanating from Li Xuanba—an aura even more intense than that of his own father. “We’re doomed! It seems the Prince of Tang is about to unleash a bloodbath! I hope that magistrate of Chang’an County has the sense to know his place and stick to his duties as a magistrate! Otherwise… oh dear!” After muttering to himself, Cheng Huai Mo quickly kicked his heels and, mounted on his horse, set off in pursuit of Li Xuanba. At that moment, in the Chang’an County Magistrate’s Office, Magistrate Du Ziten sat steadily on a wooden stool beneath the inscription “Justice Hangs Like a Bright Mirror.” Eighteen constables armed with water-and-fire staffs stood in formation on either side of him, while curious onlookers gathered outside the door. “Mighty! Majestic!” After the bailiffs’ deep, resonant shout, Du Ziten frowned as he looked at the people before him. On his relatively handsome face, his narrow, elongated eyes darted back and forth—first glancing at Lu Tancai, then at the ten taels of embossed silver that the squad leader of the Jinwu Guard had placed on the official desk. “I’ve never seen silver of such high purity in my life. It’s even better than official silver. If I could only figure out how it’s made, I’d be set for life!” Thinking of the wealth and glory that awaited him, Du Ziten became utterly greedy, his eyes widening to the shape of square holes. After a long moment, having listened to both sides present their conflicting accounts, Du Ziten cleared his throat twice and fixed his gaze squarely on Xue Yingying. “Xue Yingying, you say this was a gift from a wealthy young gentleman, but where is this person now?” Before Xue Yingying could answer, Xue Fangui stepped forward. Xue Fangui bowed slightly to Du Ziten and, suppressing his anger, said, “Your Honor, after that young master gave this silver to my sister and me, he vanished without a trace. But please believe us, Your Honor—we are both poor, hard-working commoners who would never dare to steal. This silver was truly given to us by that wealthy young master!” Noticing Du Ziten’s greedy gaze, Xue Fangui inwardly realized it was all over. He feared that not only would he and his sister be framed for theft this time, but they might never see the light of day again. “Hmph! Magistrate Du was clearly asking your sister—why are you jumping in to defend her? Aren’t you two just trying to coordinate your stories because you have something to hide?” Lu Tancai immediately dismissed Xue Fangui’s words as an attempt to coordinate their stories. He cast a glance at the delicate and lovely Xue Yingying with his almond-shaped eyes, then raised a hand toward Du Ziten in a half-hearted gesture of respect. “Magistrate Du, I have this physical evidence right here, and they have no witnesses. Just hand down your verdict! However, shouldn’t I take this silver? After all, I’m the one who collected it.” Lu Tancai was now filled with regret; in his moment of lust, he’d forgotten to check the silver’s purity. Now, upon closer inspection, he realized the silver’s purity was far superior to that of official silver. If they were to trace the origin of this silver and, by chance, discover a rich silver mine or a superior method of silver refining, then his Lu family would truly strike it rich. “Well, Young Master Lu, these ten taels of silver are evidence. Since they’re evidence, they must be confiscated—I’m afraid I can’t give them to you.” Seeing the equally greedy look in Lu Tancai’s eyes, Du Ziten hesitated for a moment but steeled himself to speak. Of course, Du Ziten also feared Lu Tancai’s father, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, but he had his own backers as well. If he turned in this silver, it would certainly count as a major achievement—and the official’s stool he was sitting on might just be shifted a bit. Although he was the magistrate of Jing County, alas! In Chang’an, being a county magistrate was no easy task!