UCTOOT CH53.1

Shi Shu was practicing calligraphy at his desk.

With a “thud!” at the door, Xie Wuchi walked in.

Beside the censor’s desk was a small table specifically for Shi Shu’s use. The other clerks reviewing case files sat at a lower position. The whole room was unbearably hot, filled with the sound of flipping paper.

Shi Shu used a brush to crookedly write the character for “bastard.” It didn’t look good, so he blotted it out. He touched the medicinal soup next to him; it had long gone cold. Hearing the sound, he looked up. “You’re finally back?”

“I’m back.” Xie Wuchi’s crimson robe was eye-catching. He came closer to look at the characters Shi Shu was writing. The others stole glances at him, and as soon as their gazes met, they quickly hid their faces.

Xie Wuchi simply asked, “Have you found all the cases involving the wealthy households? Which ones are suspicious? Do they need to be retried?”

Duan Xiuwen stood up and said, “The Zhou family has three cases of commoners accusing officials of falsely framing them for occupying land. The Xu family of Dong’an has two murder cases, and there’s also a case of the Chen family’s young master trampling a passerby to death on horseback… These, logically, shouldn’t have been, but in the end, the gentry were all acquitted.”

“Ha. This Qian’an Prefecture is really something the more you investigate. Unjust imprisonment, murder, covering up, accepting bribes… Arrest them for interrogation, go immediately.”

Yao Shuai took a sip of water with the clerks and hurriedly left the Great Min.

“We are all working for His Majesty. It’s a matter of utmost urgency. We’ll be busy for these few days. After this, I’ll reward everyone well.” Xie Wuchi picked up the medicine bowl on the table and drank the soup in one gulp.

Shi Shu followed Xie Wuchi to the main prison.

At the same time, Xie Wuchi also ordered, “Bring Xu Er over to watch from the side.”

The magistrate of Qian’an Prefecture, Tang Maoshi, had seen Xie Wuchi’s thunderous methods these past two days, politely refusing their banquets and entertainment. He had long felt something was amiss. Now, with all sorts of account books being searched, he was so scared that he was wiping sweat profusely from the side.

Shi Shu stood to the side, wanting to see what Xie Wuchi was going to do.

Xie Wuchi sat on the high seat in the hall. The Great Min runners on the left and right called for the court to begin. His expression was grim. Shi Shu tutted in his heart, “Xie Wuchi, how many times did you secretly rehearse this in your heart? You look the part.”

The one brought up was a middle-aged woman with disheveled hair.

In prison, she had clearly been tortured.

Shi Shu’s gaze turned to her, and he saw a pair of bloodshot eyes. The woman said, “My lord, this commoner accuses Master Zhao of Heze County in Qian’an Prefecture. Two months ago, my daughter was picking lotuses in the river when his son saw her and abducted her to his residence. She hasn’t been released for months. When this commoner came to complain, I found out that the young master of the Zhao family had already given my daughter away. Her whereabouts are unknown, and I don’t know if she’s dead or alive. They just sent me away. This commoner went from the county Great Min to the prefectural Great Min, but somehow the Zhao family turned around and said this commoner stole their things and threw me in prison.”

Waves stirred in Shi Shu’s heart. Duan Xiuwen, who was also standing by, sighed.

“The injustices under the heavens, if we were to judge them all, we truly couldn’t finish even if we tried until the end of time.”

The weather was stuffy. Shi Shu wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Is Qian’an Prefecture this dark?”

“It’s not just Qian’an Prefecture that’s dark. Wherever there is power and influence, who isn’t consumed by desire, colluding only for their own pleasure, disregarding the lives of others? Censor Xie’s journey is difficult.”

Shi Shu was startled for a moment. It was as if he saw mountains upon mountains before him, and Xie Wuchi was trekking towards them alone.

As the woman spoke, she couldn’t help but weep.

Xie Wuchi had the clerk beside him record the testimony, his voice calm. “This official is an imperial envoy sent by the emperor to specifically investigate the unjust cases under the heavens. Do not cry, just present your evidence.”

The woman wiped her tears and said, “This commoner repeatedly came to the Great Min to beat the drum and cry out for justice. Master Zhao, seeing he couldn’t bear the responsibility, secretly sent silver to my home, wanting to settle the matter. This commoner refused. My daughter is only fifteen. During these days in prison, I always think of her…”

Xu Er was brought to the side to listen to the case together. At first, he looked indifferent. Hearing the suffering of others, he even laughed out loud, his face full of smugness, brandishing his arms. But no one paid him any attention, and he gradually stopped laughing.

Xie Wuchi: “Record it. you say he framed you, do you have evidence?”

The woman said, “My husband works for the Zhao family. His bundle was filled with silver, and he was suddenly caught and accused of stealing. They also said I instigated it. But this commoner knows his character. The evidence of the Zhao family trying to bribe me is all kept, under the large stone vat in the cellar vegetable garden, pressed under the gold, silver, and written notes he sent, as well as the clothes my daughter was wearing when she was abducted.”

At this point, the woman was already sobbing uncontrollably.

Shi Shu was greatly shaken and didn’t know what to say. Xie Wuchi checked the roster. “This Zhao family is also on the list of those not harvesting rice. Men, go get the evidence from under the stone vat, and bring that Young Master Zhao over!”

This case was temporarily set aside, and other cases were tried next.

Shi Shu and someone else sent the woman back to her cell, then brought out a new prisoner. Xie Wuchi went to the prison with them.

Shi Shu asked, “Are there really so many unjust cases in this prison?”

Xie Wuchi: “Of course. This is ancient times. Forensic technology is not developed, and it’s a place where the mountains are high and the emperor is far away. It’s a society of personal connections. Who can have connections with officials? Of course, it’s the wealthy gentry.”

“When they first become officials, they are all poor. They rely on the support of the wealthy gentry. If they take from people, they will protect them.”

Shi Shu thought of something. “If it weren’t for you, would this group of people have no chance of having their injustices redressed?”

“Yes.”

“You’re really good.”

Xie Wuchi stepped into the darkness. “I seek justice for them only because I want to find leverage against these wealthy households, nothing more.”

Shi Shu stopped in his tracks. Xie Wuchi entered the prison cell where the bandits were held. It was a large, deep cell. At this time, it held the group of bandits who had tried to kill the imperial envoy at Dabai Gang. They were all bound with chains, one by one having been severely tortured, their bodies covered in blood.

“Have they confessed?”

The jailer said, “Reporting to my lord, none of them have opened their mouths.”

Xie Wuchi smiled. “Good. Bring their wives and children in.”

Duan Xiuwen didn’t understand. “This…”

Before long, Shi Shu saw the people Yao Shuai had brought earlier, dragging their wives and children, being put into the cell. It was instantly as crowded as a hundred rivers flowing into the sea. Xie Wuchi stood out first.

This meeting in the prison, with the sound of wailing, many people reached out to beat their chests, crying out, “You wretched man! You’ve caused such great trouble in just a few days!” There were also children shaking rattles, hugging their father’s legs and swaying back and forth, only to be kicked away by their own fathers who cursed “get lost.” Grandfathers and grandmothers grabbed their sons by the ears and pinched, crying and cursing as they pinched, “Beast, you beast! The whole family has been ruined by you!”

It was the first time Shi Shu had seen such a scene. The sound of crying made his head buzz, and all of this was reflected in his brown pupils.

In Xie Wuchi’s eyes, there was also the glint of swords. “Do you think the hearts of these murdering and plundering bandits are made of iron?”

Shi Shu: “Definitely not.”

Sure enough, no matter how fierce this group of people were, some showed expressions of intolerance, staring at their children’s faces and saying, “You’ve lost weight.” They silently made eye contact with their wives, and a moment later, when their wives cried, their expressions became complicated. “What are you crying for! I’ll take responsibility for my own actions!” There were also those who, when their mothers touched their hair, couldn’t help but weep.

Xie Wuchi witnessed all of this. “How interesting. When they were bandits, they killed without blinking an eye. How come when it’s their own relatives and children, they know what feelings are, what pain is?”

Shi Shu: “Man is not grass or wood, who can be without feelings.”

Xie Wuchi: “Wrong. Man is selfish. Only when the pain is on oneself does one know what pain is. Even feelings are the same. Only when one falls in love does one know what madness feels like. Between people, only selfishness can differentiate.”

Shi Shu didn’t know what to say and looked at Xie Wuchi from the side.

Xie Wuchi smiled as he stared at the group of people in the cell. His side profile was covered in shadow, the candlelight flickering in his eyes. “Make them cry when they should cry, make them laugh when they should laugh. How wonderful.”

“…”

A chill ran down Shi Shu’s back. “Xie Wuchi, what are you saying?”

Xie Wuchi’s eyelashes lowered. He was quiet for a moment, then raised his hand to have the prison gate opened. “Let them all out.”

The prison cell instantly became empty again, leaving only this group of bandits.

Xie Wuchi walked into the cell and raised his voice. “This official will ask one more time. Who knows the culprit behind this assassination attempt on the imperial envoy? If you don’t know, then say who does. If you still don’t know, then say where Xu Er’s family was sent. Whoever speaks first, their family can live. Those who don’t speak will have their entire family executed.”

Shi Shu looked at Xie Wuchi, whose shadow was elongated. At this moment, he couldn’t be sure if he was just threatening or if he would really kill people.

In any case, the Xie Wuchi standing before him was no longer the monk who performed rituals and chanted sutras in the Sutra Depository of Xiangnan Temple. He truly possessed power, an authority that surpassed everyone else, and he wielded it with ease.

The weather was extremely stuffy, and the prison was unbearably hot.

In the silence, an invisible emotion was brewing.

Shi Shu saw that this group of people were silent at first, looking around. A moment later, someone stammered.

Xie Wuchi looked over. “Speak. Xu Er knew things were not peaceful long ago and sent his whole family away to hide first, letting you all die with him. Don’t you resent it in your hearts?”

“Fuck! Damn it, I don’t care anymore.” A voice, it was the man whose wife had cried earlier and who had tried to reach out to wipe her tears, said, “I sent his family away with Old Dog Three. I took them for the first half of the journey, and he knows the second half.”

“You!” another voice shouted angrily. “Second Brother treated you well? You piece of trash! I knew you were an unreliable, spineless man!”

Xie Wuchi raised his hand, and immediately, jailers apprehended these two and took them to another cell.

“The rest of you, say as much as you know. You can all save your lives.”

There was silence in the crowd for a long while, and finally, people began to speak one after another.

“Before Xu Er became a bandit, he was a tenant farmer of the Chen family village. After his own mother died, it was the master of the Chen family village who gave him a simple coffin and allowed him to be buried in the ancestral field.”

“Xu Er and the Chen family village were always in contact, exchanging incense money and wealth. This Xu Er was the Chen family’s enforcer. If anyone dared to oppose the Chen family, he would come knocking on their door in the middle of the night.”

“Let alone killing people at Dabai Gang, if anyone dared to spit at Master Chen, Xu Er would come to their house in the middle of the night and kill their whole family, even stabbing the chickens and dogs to death.”

“…”

Xie Wuchi’s face grew even darker. “The Chen family, Chen Qing.”

Darkness enveloped them, and a muffled thunder sounded in the sky.

Xie Wuchi turned around. “Let’s go.”

After the interrogation in the prison, Xie Wuchi seemed to have relaxed a bit for a change.

The weather in Qian’an Prefecture was unbearably stuffy. The sky above was a dry white, with muffled thunder hidden within. Dark clouds gathered, and it was constantly in a state of being about to rain but not raining.

Shi Shu, fanning himself, was drowsy and restless. He heard a knock on the door.

Xie Wuchi: “Asleep?”

Shi Shu: “Just fell asleep for a bit. What’s up?”

“Going out?”

“…………”

As soon as Shi Shu opened the door, he was met with Xie Wuchi’s face. He looked at the time, it was two or three in the morning, and asked, “Where are you going?”

Xie Wuchi: “I want to go to the fields to see how the rice is doing.”

Shi Shu raised his hand and tied up his hair. “Let’s go. How many more days until the harvest? It looks like it’s about to rain.”

Rain, the word hung over their heads like a knife, just like waiting for exam results a few hours before the college entrance exam.

Shi Shu took a few steps and suddenly remembered, “Xie Wuchi, I forgot to show you something. Wait for me.”

Shi Shu scurried back to his room and a moment later took out an empty bowl from a basket. “I followed Lin Yangchun’s instructions and made a bowl of mung bean shaved ice for everyone while prescribing heat-relieving medicine. I’m being merciful and letting you have a taste. How is it?”

Xie Wuchi stopped. “You’re still in contact with them?”

“Is that strange? He often writes to me.”

Xie Wuchi: “Not strange.”

Shi Shu: “Why are you speaking through gritted teeth?”

Xie Wuchi turned around, the corner of his robe lifted by the hot wind. “Let’s go to the fields and see if we have enough time for the harvest.”

A carriage was parked at the gate. The Great Min was silent, everyone was resting. When Xie Wuchi and Shi Shu walked out, Li Fu was still propped up by his chin, dozing off.

Shi Shu wrapped the mung bean shaved ice in a lotus leaf and followed behind with a grin. “Not working hard today? Or did the busy days finally yield some results? Here, have a piece. It’s really good.”

Xie Wuchi: “I’m not eating. We’ve got some results. I threatened the wealthy households with their leverage and got them to harvest all the fields. If they’re dead pigs who aren’t afraid of boiling water, then I’ll just confiscate their homes and seize their land.”

Shi Shu: “Awesome, so awesome!”

A horse was tied at the Great Min gate. Riding a horse at night would disturb the residents. Xie Wuchi took the reins and prepared to walk. He looked down, and Shi Shu’s hand holding the mung bean shaved ice was right in front of him. “Have a bite, Xie Wuchi. Do you have to be so noble?”

Xie Wuchi: “No.”

Shi Shu moved closer to him again, but Xie Wuchi grabbed his wrist. “Put it in your mouth and feed me.”

“…”

Shi Shu stared at him, quickly took several large bites, and threw the lotus leaf away. “Then forget it. I’d rather throw it away than give it to you.”

The two of them walked one after another towards the city gate. They had been too busy these past few days and had rarely spoken or spent time together. Shi Shu had also been busy at the Great Min every day, receiving patients who had fainted from heatstroke, supposedly due to “Xie Wuchi being too harsh” and “not letting people rest.”

The scent of osmanthus floated in the air. Shi Shu broke off a branch and tossed it up and down to play with. This was the first time he and Xie Wuchi had walked the streets since arriving in this Qian’an Prefecture. They had been busy with official duties all along.

There was no one at night, and the weather had also turned cool. Shi Shu, bored from walking, used the osmanthus branch to tickle Xie Wuchi’s face, then rubbed the spinous process on his neck, appearing to have ADHD. Xie Wuchi let him play and didn’t react.

They were still a while from the rice fields at the city gate. Xie Wuchi took off the horse’s saddle. “Let’s go see the fields of the wealthy households. Get on.”

Shi Shu: “Can two people sit on this? The little horse will have it too hard.”

“A pony over two meters tall, a purebred tribute from Hashi, can be ridden for non-long journeys.”

“Alright.” Shi Shu let Xie Wuchi help him climb onto the horse’s back with difficulty. One hand supported his lower back, and he pushed off with a bit of force. “Ah, it’s so high!”

“Can’t get on?” Xie Wuchi moved his hand to Shi Shu’s butt. Shi Shu instantly shot up onto the horse’s back like a lit firecracker.

“Xie Wuchi!!! Where are you touching? Huh?”

A ripple passed through Xie Wuchi’s eyes, no longer so gloomy. Shi Shu held the reins. “It’s too high, I’m a little scared.”

A moment later, warmth pressed against his back. Shi Shu was originally terrified of the bumps, but after leaning against something, he immediately calmed down.

“Giddy-up—” Urging the horse, they trotted towards the distance. Shi Shu went up and down, and at the same time felt strange. “Why is this position…”

He had just finished speaking when a soft kiss was planted on the back of his neck.

Shi Shu took a deep breath. “Brother! Is this your wife that you’re kissing?!”

Xie Wuchi’s kiss moved to his ear and he kissed him again. He reined in the horse from the front, his wrist measuring his waist. “Your waist is so narrow.”

Shi Shu: “Whose waist is narrow?”

Under the moonlight, Shi Shu couldn’t help but turn back to look at him, at the boy’s fair and handsome face. Who knew that turning his head, he would bump into his jaw. A large hand suddenly pressed on the back of his head, and his vision went black.

“Hey! Don’t!”

His lips were wet and cool, a sticky lick and then they were released. Shi Shu’s eyes widened. He looked at Xie Wuchi for at least three seconds, then turned his head with a complicated feeling. “So scary, he can even kiss me like this. Do you have magnets on your lips…”

Damn it, he had to leave.

This lecher.

Shi Shu turned his head, and the joy of riding a horse made him forget about it in an instant. The hot night wind filled his sleeves, his hair blowing back. His mood couldn’t help but become expansive. Shi Shu couldn’t resist. “Xie Wuchi, faster.”

The horse was urged on faster, its four strong hooves treading on the sand.

Shi Shu couldn’t stand the bumps. “Slow, slow, slow—”

The horse’s speed slowed down. Shi Shu exclaimed, “Holy cow, this is more exciting than a roller coaster!”

Xie Wuchi looked at Shi Shu’s eyes. On his extremely handsome face was a pair of clear brown eyes, without any impurities.

“…” Xie Wuchi seemed to let out a soft laugh.

After passing through the woods, a large expanse of golden rice fields came into view. The dew on the awns reflected the crystal moonlight. The dry scent of ripening rice faintly floated in the air.

As soon as the horse stopped, Shi Shu jumped down. He twisted his ankle but nothing happened. He took off his shoes and jumped into the field to touch the full ears of rice. “It’s fully ripe, all of it. Why hasn’t it been harvested yet?”

Xie Wuchi tied up the horse and walked over.

Under the moonlight, Shi Shu’s back was slender and elegant. The boy’s bones were tall and slender, the back of his neck fair. His whole being exuded a vibrant sense of athleticism and healthy beauty.

Xie Wuchi also looked at the boundless, unharvested rice fields.

Each stalk of rice was the result of someone’s hard work for half a year, yet it still remained in the fields. And above, muffled thunder rumbled, the storm seeming to draw closer.

Shi Shu stood in the field and lifted up a stalk of rice soaked in water. He suddenly cried out and fell down, hunched over. “Ahhhhhhhhh! It hurts so much! What is it!”

Xie Wuchi strode closer. “What’s wrong?”

“It bit me! Something bit me!”

Xie Wuchi lifted his leg. A crab was hanging from his toe. He quickly removed the crab, and beads of blood quickly formed.

“Why is it a crab?” Shi Shu cried out.

Xie Wuchi thought for a moment before saying, “Naughty.”

Shi Shu hugged his foot. “It hurts! It hurts so much! What naughty, this crab’s pinch is super painful. If you don’t believe me, let it pinch you once.”

“Come here.”

A nearby ditch gurgled with flowing water. Xie Wuchi led him to the side of the ditch. The clear water reflected the moonlight. Shi Shu stepped into the water and washed the mud off his foot. The wound was revealed; the skin had indeed been broken by the pinch.

Shi Shu held up one foot, laughing through the pain after a while. “No, who knew there were crabs in the field?”

Xie Wuchi: “Silly.”

“…”

That one word made Shi Shu’s skin crawl. “What are you doing? Why are you talking like that? It sounds weird.”

Xie Wuchi took out a handkerchief, tore a strip, and bent down to hold Shi Shu’s foot with one hand, wrapping the injured toe. Shi Shu was uncomfortable. “I can do it myself, you don’t need to wrap it.”

“Alright, put on your shoes and don’t run into the field again.”

“Oh.”

It was late at night and no one was around. Xie Wuchi helped Shi Shu onto the horse again and led the horse forward. The chirping of cicadas and croaking of frogs, the fragrance of rice flowers promising a good year. Under the moonlight, two figures walked side by side, slowly moving through the silent villages.

Shi Shu’s legs clasped the horse’s belly. Seeing a trace of melancholy in Xie Wuchi’s brow, he asked, “Will you succeed this time?”

Xie Wuchi: “I’m gambling. I still don’t know what the outcome will be.”

“What will happen if you win the gamble?”

“If I win the gamble, I won’t have to gamble anymore. My name will be known throughout the land, and great scholars will debate on my behalf.”

Shi Shu smelled the scent of beans and hay from the horse’s mane and asked while sitting, “If you win…”

In an instant, thinking of the growing gap between him and Xie Wuchi, Shi Shu didn’t want to think too much about it. His stomach suddenly felt hungry. “I’m so hungry.”

At this time, neither of them knew how far they had walked. Xie Wuchi knew in his heart. They stopped in a jungle, a vast expanse of grass, with a river gurgling by the side.

“Let’s catch a few crabs and roast them.”

Shi Shu: “Really?”

After moving some small stones, they really could catch crabs. Shi Shu caught one first, roasted it black on a small branch, broke open the shell, and took a bite. “Delicious. Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. Truly a rare delicacy in the world. Xie Wuchi, you should try it.”

Xie Wuchi didn’t eat. Shi Shu stuffed it into his mouth. In the midst of their playful fight, his legs ended up on Xie Wuchi’s legs. He managed to stuff a small piece of the blackened thing into his mouth. “Is it delicious?”

“I want to puke.”

“Then why did you suggest roasting crabs?”

Shi Shu quickly threw everything away. The fire pit emitted a small amount of smoke and dust.

His legs were still spread over Xie Wuchi’s. His knees rested on the withered leaves. As he was about to get up, his wrist was suddenly pulled, and he lost his balance and fell onto him. A solid collision.

Shi Shu cursed as he got up. “Xie Wuchi, you’re at it again.”

Before he could finish, his waist was hugged. Shi Shu couldn’t move, and something gently bumped between his legs.

“Holy cow, you!” Shi Shu reached out to cover his mouth. “Don’t talk first. I know what you want to say.”

But Shi Shu couldn’t get up, so he could only make eye contact with Xie Wuchi. “Did you just bump me?”

Xie Wuchi: “Mm.”

“Impossible, no way. Our relationship stops at most at making out. Anything further is absolutely not okay—don’t talk. You sound weird when you talk.”

Xie Wuchi didn’t speak. His right elbow supported the ground, bearing both his and Shi Shu’s weight.

Seeing that he was behaving, Shi Shu said, “This is normal, you know? It’s not normal to want to sleep with a friend. Looking at me is useless. I know I’m handsome.”

Shi Shu released his hand, patted his shoulder, and said with a smile, “You have to cherish yourself, don’t mess around with people.”

Xie Wuchi’s dark eyes looked at him. After a moment, he said, “The starry sky is beautiful.”

Shi Shu: “Where?”

“Lie down.”

Shi Shu’s wrist was pulled. His vision turned upside down, and his back lay on a soft pile of grass. In his vision was the dark sky, adorned with a bright white moon and twinkling stars, a milky-white galaxy curving across it.

Shi Shu: “It is indeed beautiful.”

Shi Shu lay there for a while, blinked, and didn’t know when, but Xie Wuchi had straddled him, his crotch right in front of him. Shi Shu was stunned for only a second, then his hair stood on end from the man’s oppressive presence. “Xie Wuchi! You’re at it again!!!!!!”