Taiheiki

Chapter 232 Bo Ren
"Please ask him to wait in the study in the side courtyard. I'll be there shortly!"

"Here!"

After the servant left, Huang Wan paced back and forth in the room a few times before walking out. When she reached the door, she came back, picked up a ruler and knife from the table, hung it at her waist, and then went out.

In the study in the side courtyard, Kuai An held a scroll of the Book of Han in his hand, but anyone could tell that his mind was not on the book. Hearing footsteps outside, he quickly put the scroll back and put on a smile: "Brother Ziyan, please forgive my rudeness for coming here so abruptly today!"

"Enough!" Huang Wan could see through the fake smile on Kuai An's face, but he suppressed his annoyance and said in a deep voice, "I suppose Marquis Wei has some orders for you?"

"Yes! No, no, no!" Kuai An instinctively agreed, but then realized something was wrong and hurriedly denied it repeatedly: "It was just some official business of mine, and has nothing to do with Marquis Wei!"

"Has nothing to do with Marquis Wei?" Huang Wan glanced at Kuai An suspiciously, but did not press further: "Then what is it?"

Seeing that Huang Wan did not press the matter, Kuai An breathed a sigh of relief: "Brother Ziyan, are Huang Song and Huang Yun people from your household?"

Upon hearing those two names, Huang Wan's heart skipped a beat. She looked at Kuai An, who instinctively lowered his head, avoiding Huang Wan's gaze, looking as if he had something to hide.

“Indeed, they are servants of my household!” Huang Wan sneered. “But these two have broken the law outside, and you have to trouble Brother Kuai to come to my humble abode to investigate?”

"Brother Ziyan, what are you saying!" Kuai An said with an embarrassed dry laugh, "There's no such thing. It's just that the relatives of these two people came to the yamen to file a complaint, saying that they haven't returned home for some time and there's been no news of them. The clerk in charge of the thief's office originally wanted to send them back, but he was afraid that they would spread rumors outside and damage your reputation, Brother Ziyan. So he sent me to your residence to confirm, and I have no other intentions!"

"Brother Kuai, are you mocking me? How can I, Huang, have any reputation left after being reported to the authorities by my own servants?" Huang Wan now understood that someone was definitely pulling strings behind the scenes. Otherwise, given his reputation and the Huang family's power in the area, how could the families of just two servants dare to report him to the authorities? However, he wasn't afraid. With his reputation and status as a renowned scholar, he was practically a paragon of virtue in the late Han Dynasty. Unless it was a heinous crime, killing a servant or two (and not even doing it himself) was nothing to him; at most, he would be fined a little money.

"Not at all, not at all!" Kuai An quickly explained, "It's just a routine procedure, Brother Ziyan, please don't make things difficult for me!"

"These two died a few days ago in a fight in the mansion. Because of the many things that happened, we haven't had time to inform their families yet!" Huang Wan said coldly. "Everyone involved is in the mansion. Brother Kuai, you can go and inquire for yourself. I'll excuse myself from accompanying you!" As soon as he finished speaking, Huang Wan turned and left, leaving Kuai An alone in the study.

"You, Huang Ziyan, you've killed two people and you're still so arrogant!" Kuai An's face turned pale and then red. "Do you think this is still the past, that Jiangling City is still your Huang family's domain? The world has changed; it belongs to Marquis Wei now. Don't blame me for not showing any consideration for our fellow townsmen when you become so arrogant!"

Huang Wan returned to the backyard and lay down on the couch. In his view, this was not a big deal. After all, he hadn't personally ordered the punishment; he had merely angrily flicked his sleeve, and the steward, sensing his superior's intentions, ordered the two servants to be caned, ultimately dying from their injuries. In such matters, who would take the blame and how much money would be spent to appease the family were already established rules. The government's punishment wouldn't touch a hair on his head; at most, he would have to spend some money, and his reputation wouldn't be very good. This was the real reason for Huang Wan's anger.

Huang Wan lay on the couch for a while, but his wife came in from the outer room, looking alarmed: "Master, why are you still lying here? Something bad has happened outside!"

"What do you mean 'good' or 'bad'!" Huang Wan glared angrily at her wife. "Does Kuai An really dare to ransack this place?"

"Oh dear, this is even worse than ransacking the house!" the lady exclaimed, stamping her foot. "That damned Kuai An first gathered all the male and female servants in the house, and then interrogated them about how Huang An and Huang Song died that day. As soon as he asked the question, twelve or thirteen people came out to identify them—"

"What? So many people have come forward to identify us!" Huang Wan could no longer lie down and sat up abruptly. "How could this be? I've always treated my servants well!"

"Oh dear, what's with all this talk about being 'thin' or 'thin'? Those servants don't know what's good for them, they're all heartless bastards!" the lady scolded. "They've been raised by two or three generations, and they even dare to report us to our master! It's utterly outrageous!"

"You mean you reported me, Master?" Huang Wan asked in disbelief. "But I didn't say a word that day!"

"Yes, otherwise why would I come to you!" the lady said. "Those lackeys said that although you did not personally order Huang Song and Huang Yun to be beaten to death, as the head of the household, you did not stop the steward from ordering them to be flogged. Moreover, the flogging took place in your courtyard. You clearly heard their screams as they were being beaten, but you did not stop them until they were both bleeding and spitting blood. You did not even call a doctor to treat them. So although you did not kill them, you had the intention to kill them!"

"You dog slave!" Huang Wan could no longer maintain his composure and stamped his foot, cursing, "Someone must have been instigating them behind the scenes, otherwise how would they know to say these things!" He then rushed out. Of course, he knew the severity of this crime. In the end, judging crimes based on motives was the old practice of the Confucian scholars of the Han Dynasty. That is, what you did was not important; what mattered was your motive for doing it and your attitude afterward.

For example, the evaluation of Zhuge Liang in the *Records of the Three Kingdoms*, "Those who confess their crimes and show remorse, even if the crime is serious, shall be released. Those who use sophistry and clever excuses, even if the crime is minor, shall be executed," is an important manifestation of the Confucian legal view at that time. Huang Wan's attempt to evade the charge of murder by claiming he didn't give the order is a typical example of "sophisticated excuses." The aim was not only to kill Huang Wan himself, but also to ruin his reputation—a true act of destroying his spirit! Those servants certainly didn't have such methods; they must have been instructed by someone well-versed in Confucian classics.

Huang Wan rushed to the front yard, only to see Kuai An already leading seventeen or eighteen men, preparing to leave. He hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Brother Xuanping, Brother Xuanping, wait a moment!"

Kuai An stopped and gestured for his men to take the witnesses and the parties involved away first. He smiled and said, "Brother Ziyan, I apologize for disturbing your residence just now. I will come to apologize another day!"

"Master, wait!" Huang Wan grabbed Kuai An's sleeve and pulled him aside. "What are you doing?" "Oh, the people in your household just now had different stories. I was going to take them back to the yamen for questioning!"

"So many people, are we taking them all away?"

“There’s no other way! They are all witnesses! They are either related to the deaths of those two people!” Kuai An said, “We can’t get a clear answer in a short time, and I can’t keep bothering you at your residence, can I? Besides, this case was ordered to be handled by Marquis Wei, how could I dare not do my best?”

"Lord Wei?" Huang Wan immediately understood. He knew there was no point in wasting words with Kuai An here: "I understand. Brother Kuai, please wait for me a moment. I will go and pay my respects to Lord Wei right away!"

"That's perfect!" Kuai An laughed. "Alright, I'll take these people back without questioning them for now, and we'll talk about it tomorrow, how about that?"

"I am deeply grateful for your kindness!" Huang Wan cupped his hands in greeting, then changed his carriage and horses, heading straight for Wei Cong's residence. Upon arriving at the gate, he had someone throw in his name tag, and was immediately led through the second gate. Huang Wan entered, straightened his robes, and bowed, saying, "I, Huang Ziyan, pay my respects to Marquis Wei!"

"Since we're old acquaintances, there's no need for formalities!" Wei Cong casually tossed the charcoal pencil aside, signaling his men to tidy up the drawings on the table. He then gave Huang Wan a cold look: "You've come today, presumably because a case has been solved?"

Huang Wan bowed her head and remained silent. Wei Cong snorted coldly: "Are you dissatisfied? Do you think I don't know what you've been doing behind my back these days? I just think you're unreasonable and going against the will of heaven, so I'm too lazy to bother with you."

“If you wish to kill me, my lord, one stroke would suffice. Why humiliate my reputation like this?” Huang Wan said.

"Insult your reputation? Heh!" Wei Cong laughed. "Although you didn't kill Huang Song and Huang Yun, these two died because of you! Although they were your servants, they were still human beings, and so are you. Even a prince is subject to the same laws as a commoner. Are you, Huang Ziyan, more noble than a prince?"

Huang Wan was speechless after Wei Cong's words. Wei Cong sneered, "You think there are many people in Jingzhou's gentry who have done far worse than you, so why don't you go after them instead of me? Wouldn't that be settling a personal score? You're right, those people have indeed committed many illegal acts, but I am neither the prefect nor the Minister of Justice, nor the governor. It's not my place to punish them! As for you, don't think that your reputation will make me hesitate to act against you. In fact, you are all guilty of a lot of crimes. If I wanted to kill you, I could easily find one or two charges to wipe out your entire clan!"

Huang Wan was deathly pale and speechless. He knew Wei Cong wasn't exaggerating; with those ten thousand troops, it wouldn't be difficult for him to expose his crimes to the authorities and then meticulously examine the laws to exterminate his entire clan. He wasn't afraid of death, but this was the first time he had ever faced someone who could crush him both mentally and physically to dust.

"What does Marquis Wei intend to do with me?"

"That depends on your own reflection!" Wei Cong said. "Here's what we'll do: go back and reflect on your actions in seclusion. Write a letter of self-reflection, make it as profound as possible, and be as introspective as possible! Confucius said, 'Examine yourself three times a day.' If you could follow Confucius's example and reflect on yourself frequently, you certainly wouldn't be in this situation today. Send the completed letter of self-reflection to me, and I will deal with you according to the depth of your reflection! Go back now!"

"Here!" Huang Wan walked out the door with a blank expression. He knew, of course, that the letter of repentance that Wei Cong wanted was no joke. If he wrote it, his reputation for the rest of his life would be ruined. But if he refused, it wouldn't just be him who died; the extermination of his entire clan would be a matter of a single word. He felt as if his legs were filled with lead, incredibly heavy.

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"My lord, do you think Huang Wan will write a letter of repentance?" Lu Ping asked.

"I don't know!" Wei Cong shook his head. "I hope he writes it. The worst-case scenario is that he committed suicide, which would be troublesome. Go to his residence tonight and keep an eye on him!"

"Yes!" Lu Ping replied, "I think you've pushed him too hard this time! Huang Ziyan became famous at a young age and has a illustrious reputation. He's never bowed his head to anyone in his life. If you push him like this, I'm afraid he won't be able to handle it!"

"That's why I sent you to keep an eye on him! He's in the most danger tonight. If he doesn't die tonight, he'll most likely be fine!" Wei Cong said. "I had no choice but to let him cause trouble in Jiangling. Although he can't do anything for the time being, things might change in the long run. Especially after I led my troops away from Jiangling, that's even more true. This man is a banner of the Jingzhou gentry. If I can bring him to my side, that would be best; otherwise, I'd rather destroy him!" By the end, Wei Cong's murderous intent was fully revealed.

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Huang Wan returned home in the evening. Dejected, he went inside, dismissed his wife, sat down at his desk, picked up a brush, dipped it in ink, and hovered it over the paper, unable to write for a long time. He knew, of course, that if he wrote this, his reputation would be ruined, and he would become Wei Cong's lackey, no different from the Kuai brothers. But if he didn't write, Wei Cong could simply continue the investigation, and not only would he die, but the entire Huang family would likely be implicated. Then, what face would he have to meet his ancestors in the afterlife?
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh, "Even ghosts seek food. If that's truly the case, won't the ghosts of the Huang family go hungry?"

Hidden outside the window, Lu Ping felt a pang of sorrow. It turned out that Huang Wan's sigh earlier had a historical basis. During the Spring and Autumn Period, Sima Ziliang, the younger brother of the famous Chu minister Ziwen, had a son named Doujiao. Doujiao was ugly and cried like a wolf. Ziwen, upon seeing the child, deduced that this child would inevitably lead to the destruction of the Ruo'ao clan. Therefore, he demanded that his brother Ziliang kill the child, but Ziliang couldn't bring himself to do it and had to give in. Then Ziwen gathered the clan members and said, "If this child comes to power in the future, you must flee quickly, and perhaps you can avoid disaster!" He also said, "Even ghosts need offerings; if this child comes to power, the Ruo'ao clan will starve in the underworld!"

The Ruo'ao clan originated from a branch of the Chu royal family, serving as prime ministers for generations and producing many renowned officials. However, they were wiped out during the reign of Dou Yuejiao due to a rebellion. Although the King of Chu pardoned some members of the clan, he still ordered them to change their surname, thus ending the Ruo'ao clan. Lu Ping, from a family of high-ranking shamans who had served the King of Chu for generations, was naturally familiar with this history. Hearing Huang Wan's lament outside the window, she couldn't help but think of the Chu prime minister and the Ruo'ao clan from hundreds of years ago, and sighed involuntarily.

"Who's there? Who's outside the window!" Huang Wan heard the voice, stood up, drew her sword and rushed to the window. She pushed it open and found that the night wind had blown through and there was no one there. However, she could see two footprints on the ground by the moonlight, which meant that someone had been standing there watching her.

(End of this chapter)