A powerful minister of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 420 Self-exposure
Yang Huaimin looked at Song Xuan's anxious face:

"Scholar Song, did I make a boast in front of the Empress Dowager, putting you in a difficult position?"

Song Xuan did not admit it directly, but patiently explained:

“杨太监，此事我也是第一次操办，为此都拿出来了传家宝想要极力促成此事，心里没底啊。”

Yang Huaimin found this statement somewhat unbelievable.

It wasn't seized from Wuyou Cave as rumored.

How could it be your family heirloom, Scholar Song?

Who in the entire capital city of Tokyo didn't know about the Song Dynasty's top scholar's family background?
他家里能有这个琉璃宝贝，早就该被他的赌鬼老父亲给拿走卖了换取赌资。

Even if his father was reluctant to sell his treasure, he had an older brother who was also a gambler.

It's absolutely impossible for it to have remained until now!

Did he obtain it from Cao Shizhong?
I understand, I can comprehend it.

Yang Huaimin understood what he meant.

宋状元也是俗人，他也想往自己口袋里装点钱。

This is right.

If he were truly a saint, Yang Huaimin felt that Song Xuan would never have given him gold leaves in the first place.

Everyone has emotions and desires; only through these can we communicate better.

杨怀敏心里有了底气，一个劲的给宋煊赔礼。

At this moment, Song Xuan's face still bore a worried expression:

“获利五十万，那可太难了，整个东京城一年的商税都没有这个数啊！”

"Eunuch Yang, as you know, I have spent a lot of money to hold this auction. Not to mention the food and supplies for the people and horses, I also have to cover the expenses of Fanlou for three days."

"At that time, all expenses such as tea and water will have to be included in the cost. Most importantly, after making such a big fuss, do you really think Prefect Liu doesn't want to recoup the losses from buying grain?"

If we include the revenue from various monopolies and sales in Tokyo, that would be the bulk of the tax revenue.

Yang Huaimin never expected that there was such a relationship of mutual benefit between them.

倒是自己想差了。

He thought Liu Congde would change his old habits and become selfless.

现在想想，当真是狗改不了吃屎。

They almost trapped the top scholar, Song, inside.

“哎呀，宋状元，勿怪勿怪，倒是我孟浪了。”

有了刘从德参与，无法获利五十万贯，那也太正常了。

Yang Huaimin gently patted his mouth:
"Is a turnover of 500,000 feasible?"

"A turnover of 500,000?"

"Yes, I was careless when I made a boast to the Empress Dowager about Scholar Song and Prefect Liu."

Song Xuan sat down again and began to seriously and carefully consider the matter, finally nodding in approval:

“若是流水五十万贯，兴许我还能冲一冲。”

"But if we want to make a profit, what if no one bids? Wouldn't we lose money?"

"Scholar Song shouldn't be so honest in business," Yang Huaimin chuckled.
"You can hire someone to act as a shill and ask for a higher price to sell it."

“I’ve thought of the method Eunuch Yang mentioned, but if I ask someone to ask for too high a price and the item doesn’t sell, then there’s absolutely no other way.”

Song Xuan tapped his fingers lightly on the table: "Besides, there's no way to hold a second auction, otherwise everyone would know I hired someone."

"That would eliminate any possibility of trying to use this method in the future."

"Oh?" Yang Huaimin asked, somewhat puzzled.
"Could it be that the top scholar of the Song Dynasty will be able to produce some family heirlooms in the future?"

He felt this was a one-off deal, so why was there any follow-up?

"It's not that I'm going to do it, but Prefect Liu has a lot of treasures at home."

Song Xuan picked up his teacup and said:
"Prefect Liu is willing to go to such great lengths to cooperate with me because he wants to make a name for himself so that he can hold some small auctions in Fanlou in the future."

"I see."

Yang Huaimin nodded.

既然是大娘娘的侄儿想要做这个买卖，那他就没话说了。

The main problem is that he can't afford to offend either of the two people in front of him.

At worst, I can just assign a clever person to help out when the time comes.

Song Xuan took a sip of tea; it seemed the hype surrounding this treasure was quite successful.

Many people would assume it could be sold for a high price.

Even before the money arrived, some people started eyeing it, and they still wanted to use Liu Congde as a shield.

杨怀敏又问道：“宋状元给大娘娘安排一个房间，倒是不难吧？”

“安心。”宋煊放下手中的茶杯：

"It's mainly for safety. Members upstairs are allowed to wear masks to play. As long as they don't actively announce their numbers, the others may not know who won the prize."

"I see."

Yang Huaimin felt that this move was the same as the auction at Wuyou Cave.

Could it be that the top scholar Song destroyed a large number of thieves in Wuyou Cave and then turned them into his own?
After all, he had heard that only a few thieves from Wuyou Cave had been sentenced to exile, while the rest were still imprisoned.

This auction was probably suggested by those old friends from Wuyou Cave.

Otherwise, what would Song Zhuangyuan know about auctions?
"Scholar Song is truly full of tricks; I'm sure the Empress will be pleased."

Song Xuan waved his hand, then sighed again:

"I hope this auction will allow me to earn more money; otherwise, holding another 'fish-catching contest' would be too cold and not worth it."

"Song Zhuangyuan is kind-hearted. Even if it's cold, how many people in the capital city would be willing to have fun? Instead, they would complain that the high official has cut off their source of income."

Song Xuan narrowed his eyes slightly:

"Was Eunuch Yang also participating in the fish-catching contest?"

“倒是托家里人帮我买了些，可惜前头赢的，在决赛的时候运气不好，不仅都输进去了，我还搭了些。”

"That's a pity." Song Xuan tapped the table lightly with his hand.

"I'll give this matter careful consideration."

"Yes, yes, Scholar Song should consider this carefully. He must not lose sight of the bigger picture for the sake of a small gain."

Yang Huaimin was not interested in the auction because with the Empress Dowager present, he was unlikely to acquire any treasures.

Song Xuan's lips curled up, but he took a sip of water to suppress it. Sure enough, their gambling spirits were aroused.

Such was the cultural atmosphere of the Song Dynasty, mainly led by literati and officials who all enjoyed pursuing such refined tastes and the feeling associated with it.

Kou Zhun was fond of playing tricks on a daily basis, and when he arrived at the city of Chanzhou, he would gamble in public to appease Emperor Zhenzong of Song.

Not to mention the improvement of the imperial examination system, which filled the whole society with an atmosphere of "competition" and "game".

The economic prosperity of the Northern Song Dynasty gave many people leisure time, and gambling was an even more attractive form of entertainment, in addition to brothels and theaters.

Furthermore, the official stance of both prohibiting and tacitly approving, or even participating in, has further fueled this trend.

Now that Song Xuan has opened a loophole in the capital, these wealthy eunuchs no longer need to be caught red-handed and can indulge in pleasure to their heart's content.

From a personal perspective, Yang Huaimin did not want Song Xuan to end the game.

After all, he wasn't the one wading in the cold river to catch fish; he could just enjoy the game.

像杨怀敏这种身份的，去市井里玩斗鸡之类的游戏，没什么可以往外宣扬的。

But if you participate in the "Slacking Off" contest, you can satisfy your own entertainment and also openly talk about it.

还可以宣扬自己不为钱，就为了支持城外的那群灾民的正当理由。

简直是多赢。

“My lord, a Khitan man who calls himself Yelü Shucheng is looking for you outside.”

Song Xuan raised an eyebrow and said, "Let him in."

"Yes," Qi Lecheng replied.

"Since Scholar Song has guests visiting, I will not disturb you any longer. Farewell."

"Hey." Song Xuan quickly reached out to stop him:
"Eunuch Yang, don't leave. I think this Khitan man is looking for me to find out some information. With Eunuch Yang, a palace person, here, he won't dare to say anything inappropriate."

"I hope Eunuch Yang can do me a favor and stay here to watch the excitement."

"That's no problem."

杨怀敏立即就答应了。

This was a favor offered to him, and he couldn't refuse it. He was curious to see what the Khitan man meant by it.

Yelü Shucheng came with a mission, and was still thinking of a suitable excuse. When he entered and saw that there were still people there, he obediently sat down to the side.

"Liu Liu, this is Eunuch Yang, who serves the Empress Dowager. We were just discussing some matters. Do you have something important to discuss with me?"

"No, Song Twelve, you go ahead with your work."

Yelü Shucheng glanced at the eunuch beside him, but didn't say much.

杨怀敏对于契丹人来寻宋煊也是有些奇怪。

"If you have important business to attend to, I may leave first."

耶律庶成其实很希望旁人离开，但是他又不好开口，只能摇头：

"I'm just here to ask about some things related to books."

“小事，杨太监稍微等待一下。”

宋煊直接盯着耶律庶成面上带着笑意：“不知道刘六你想要问哪方面的书籍？”

"medicine."

Yelü Shucheng could only go along with Song Xuan's words and talk about it, but he probably had no interest in anything else.

"Medicine?" Song Xuan raised an eyebrow:
"I'm not very clear on that. I only know the Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic and the Difficult Classic. Is a family member sick?"

“Yes.” Yelü Shucheng nodded repeatedly:

"In terms of medicine, our Great Liao still relies on shamans and healers. The effectiveness is questionable. Central Plains medicine is more advanced, so we want to find some prescriptions to treat our family members' illnesses."

“哎，刘六，你不可妄自菲薄。”

Song Xuan had a smile on his face:
"I do have respect for these witch doctors."

"what?"

Not only Yelü Shucheng, but also Yang Huaimin were shocked by Song Xuan's remarks.

Yang Huaimin didn't think the witch doctor had any tricks up his sleeve. On the contrary, he believed that Song Xuan must know that the divine doctor Wang lived in Nanjing, Yingtian Prefecture.

Yelü Shucheng, however, thought Song Xuan was joking. He had seen many witch doctors since childhood, and as someone who had read Han dynasty books, he despised witch doctors.

“你们不要如此看着我，二位可是知道苏武？”

"Of course, I've also heard the story of Su Wu herding sheep."

Yelü Shucheng didn't think that Su Wu, who had lived in the North Sea for nineteen years, could have any connection with witch doctors.

Song Xuan offered an explanation:
"Back then, Su Wu could not bear the humiliation and committed suicide. He was already lifeless, but he was miraculously brought back to life by the witch doctor of the Xiongnu."

He looked at Yelü Shucheng and said:
“Such a dangerous illness would not have been fatal even in my Central Plains, yet Su Wu was saved. I will be the first to disagree with anyone who says that witch doctors are incompetent.”

“要不是这个巫医的手艺，苏武想要在北海活了十九年才艰难返回大汉根本就不可能。”

The two were surprised that Song Xuan would find this angle, but upon careful consideration, they realized it was indeed true.

Yelü Shucheng was already certain that His Majesty had summoned many famous shamans and doctors throughout the country.

In the end, it was a Han Chinese doctor from the Yan-Yun region who suggested trying his luck in the Song Dynasty.

If we could find a folk remedy, that would be excellent.

The implication is that all the doctors in the Liao Dynasty combined were inferior to those in the Song Dynasty, who could genuinely come up with unconventional remedies when dealing with difficult and complicated illnesses.

甭管用处有多大，至少能让你看见点希望。

"What the top scholar Song said makes sense."

Yang Huaimin quickly realized what was going on and immediately exclaimed in admiration, "How could the Khitans have learned the medical books of the Great Song Dynasty?"

Even though Song Zhuangyuan was erudite, aside from mentioning two relatively ancient medical books, he did not reveal any medical books compiled by famous doctors from the Tang Dynasty or by Emperor Taizong.

It's impossible that the top scholar Song was unaware of such a matter.

Yang Huaimin guessed that Song Xuan was deliberately pretending to be stupid to fool the Khitan man in front of him.

"Thank you for the reminder, Scholar Song."

Yelü Shucheng agreed with Song Xuan's suggestion.

再加上陛下那种身份，寻常人怕是根本就不敢给予施救之法。

Needless to say, those witch doctors would never dare to replicate Su Wu's extreme treatment method on the Liao emperor.

However, most of the Khitan nobles liked Song things, which created the impression that the Song people were much better than the Liao people in all aspects except for military preparedness.

Therefore, some Khitan nobles were at ease with this brotherly country, as long as it didn't interfere with their enjoyment of life.

连皇帝都不可避免以使用宋人的商品为荣，上行下效，这种风气弥漫了很多年了。

It is perfectly normal for Yelü Shucheng to be ordered to come to the Song Dynasty to find medical books.

耶律庶成来的主要任务是这个，但相比于医书方面，他临时发现了一个更加重要的任务。

他好不容易参与进来，一旦能够在此事当中立下功勋，可是要比寻找医书要来的更加直接。

After all, even if we find the medical book, it will take a long time, and treating His Majesty according to the prescriptions in the book will take an even longer time.

In particular, no mistakes can be made. If the prescription is wrong, it will be fatal for His Majesty, and also for himself.

这个活纯属收益大但风险也大。

Buying a gyrfalcon would yield the greatest returns with relatively low risk, and the benefits are quite obvious.

Perhaps when His Majesty sees this treasure, he will think it is a blessing from heaven, and his mood will improve, which may alleviate his physical ailments.

耶律庶成咳嗽了一声：“我回去之后会多多搜罗这方面的巫医，但是大宋的医术，全天下都比不过，这是谁都知道的。”

"Hey, Liu Liu, that's not how it works," Yang Huaimin chuckled.
“正所谓天外有天，人外有人，医术这方面，每个人擅长治理的病症不一样。”

"At least my Great Song Dynasty has no means to bring a person back from the brink of death."

"Yes." Song Xuan nodded repeatedly:
"If it's something like a cold, I think the doctors of our Great Song Dynasty are quite skilled in this area. May I ask what illness your relative has?"

Yelü Shucheng didn't hide anything: "I just love to drink water, but when I feel thirsty, I also urinate easily."

"I've never heard of this disease."

Song Xuan shook his head slightly: "It shouldn't be a cold or flu."

Yang Huaimin immediately guessed it was diabetes, something a noblewoman in the palace had suffered from before, but he shook his head.

"I haven't heard of it either."

"There are many famous doctors in Tokyo. Liu Liu, you can go and ask them for advice."

Song Xuan pointed outside:
"If you don't know the location, I'll have my man find you a layman. He'll definitely take you there, and I guarantee he won't lie to you."

Yelü Shucheng knew very well that Song Xuan was urging him to leave, and he didn't know what he wanted to discuss with the people around the Empress Dowager.

Or perhaps the Empress Dowager of the Song Dynasty was also paying attention to the auction.
So Song Xuan didn't have time to pay attention to him?
Yelü Shu, having failed to achieve his goal, did not press the matter further, as he was a Khitan man who valued his reputation.

So he could only force a smile and left, saying he was going to find some idlers.

待到人走后，杨怀敏眯着眼睛道：
“宋状元，他方才说的病症该是消渴症，世上并没有这种病症的根治之法，严重点会眼睛看不见，连脚都会损坏。”

"Fortunately, Eunuch Yang didn't say anything just now, otherwise he would have ruined their hopes and they would have blamed you instead. I admire you."

Hearing Song Xuan's praise, Yang Huaimin laughed heartily.

他在宫中这么多年，靠着就是察言观色，谨言慎行。

Say what needs to be said.

Not a single word that shouldn't be said can be uttered.

“还是不如宋状元所说的苏武例子，一下就把他给诓住了，让他无从反驳，还变相的讥讽他是蛮夷。”

After all, the customs of the Khitans were not much different from those of the Xiongnu.

"Eunuch Yang, you flatter me."

Song Xuan did not refute, but said seriously:

"Su Wu's suicide forced the Xiongnu to use all their means of survival, otherwise they would face accountability from the Han army."

“哦？”杨怀敏有些不理解：“还望宋状元能够解惑。”

"Shouldn't Eunuch Yang know that envoys from the Han Dynasty are the most likely to die?"

Song Xuan's question stumped Yang Huaimin, who wasn't quite sure, so he could only nod.

"The Han Dynasty valued having a legitimate reason for its wars, and most of the Han envoys were sent to force other countries to kill them."

"If they can even manage to have the Empress Dowager sleep with them, what else can't a Han envoy do?"

“啊？”杨怀敏当真没听说过这种事：“他们为何要如此相逼啊？”

"Of course, it's to give the Han Dynasty a legitimate reason to attack. You killed my envoy, so I will destroy your country. The Han envoy's wife, children, and elderly parents will all be rewarded."

"Ah? Such a thing has happened!"

Yang Huaimin felt that he had learned something new.

He felt that only the top scholar in the imperial examinations could know more.

We are still shocked by the ferocity of the Han envoy, who was able to get the Empress Dowager of a country to sleep with him, something that was simply unimaginable in the Song Dynasty.

Yang Huaimin didn't linger. After helping Song Xuan "drive away" the Khitans, he left.

Yelü Shucheng was truly heartbroken, as he had no chance to speak today.

I'm afraid I'll have to come again tomorrow, but if I do it so frequently, won't Song Xuan find something to criticize me for? He's such a clever person.

Instead of finding out the bottom price, they keep asking him to raise the price further.

That would be a huge loss.

Yelü Shucheng's face was full of worry. It was no wonder the Khitans were troubled; the main problem was that this gyrfalcon glass piece had sparked considerable discussion.

Such pure glass artifacts are something no one has ever seen, even in the bustling city of Tokyo.

Its small size is average, nothing particularly surprising.

The main reason is that this treasure is quite large, which makes it extremely rare.

There are people who have declared they want to photograph it and play with it properly.

Many wealthy businessmen and powerful figures are very curious about this thing.

Even if it's a dragon-shaped object, having one in your home wouldn't be considered taboo in the Song Dynasty.

After all, the emperor of the Song Dynasty was the official.

真宗、仁宗时期的风气，整体而言还是颇为宽松的。

Anyway, as long as you have the money to rent a royal sedan chair, you can get married.

Most importantly, if you don't have any armor hidden in your house, then there won't be any problems.

海东青抓天鹅的形状，对于宋人而言，所谓的精神图腾没有，唯一的就是感觉这块琉璃当真是纯净，没有杂质。

What's most surprising is that sometimes, this glass piece emits a rainbow.

It truly felt like a miracle.

Upon hearing this, even those who had already seen it would spend another ten coins to queue up and take another look.

This angle wasn't discovered by just the Khitans.

Moreover, the glass carving is so lifelike and fierce that it is clearly the work of a master craftsman.

Otherwise, it's uncertain whether ordinary craftsmen would dare to work on such a large piece of transparent glass.

There's no one with Song Xuan's resources. Even if he messes it up, he can just make a new piece of glass.

反正沙子能值几个钱？

The most time-consuming part is still manual labor.

现如今许多人的胃口都被吊起来了，纷纷猜测这块纯净琉璃能卖多少钱。

As a result, some people secretly started gambling, just like betting on who would be the top scholar in the imperial examination.

Even if the Song government explicitly forbade it, in reality, it wouldn't be a big problem if it were done.

We'll just turn a blind eye.

Cao Yong went directly to Shi Yuansun and gave him a thorough explanation.

Cao has already found two adjacent VIP rooms. Shi Yuansun will be responsible for bidding up the price. We must not buy them.

Shi Yuansun asked with some surprise, "Minister Cao, that thing is a fine treasure, but it has cracks inside, doesn't it?"

“哪有什么裂痕？”

Cao Li pointed at Shi Yuansun: "So many people went to see it, the whole city of Tokyo should have known about the crack long ago."

"But I heard that the glass treasure can emit rainbow colors, it's really beautiful."

石元孙十分不解的道：
"Minister Cao, why must we let the Khitans sell such a precious treasure? Isn't this just making the Khitans look down on our Great Song for having no one to rely on?"

Shi Yuansun did not believe that Cao Liyong was a coward in the face of the Khitans and would deliberately hand over such a valuable treasure, so he really couldn't understand it.

If we don't get to the bottom of this, we might get carried away and end up arguing with the Khitans.

This is Tokyo, the capital of the Shi family. They can throw money at the Khitans so badly that they won't even recognize their own parents.

They wanted to take the picture, but it was incredibly difficult.

"This is a trap."

"pit?"

Cao Li lowered his voice and said:

“是我女婿给契丹人专门设下的大坑，就等着他们上当，只要这件东西被他们给买回去，将来就等着看好戏吧。”

As soon as Cao mentioned Song Xuan's name, Shi Yuansun immediately agreed.

Although he is now just a lowly steward in charge of the imperial wine, he still has to question Cao Yong's words.

“曹侍中安心，明天夜里，我全都听你的，绝不会出现一丝的差错。”

"Alright, if this succeeds, I will definitely recommend you for credit, and then you won't need to go to the wine cellar anymore."

Shi Yuansun was overjoyed. The opportunity he had been waiting for was about to arrive. How could he not be happy?
上次宋煊帮助他查出那些手脚不干净的部下，他们竟然敢偷御酒！

If this matter hadn't been discovered earlier, he would have ended up taking all the blame.

现在又是宋状元安排的，石元孙怎么都想要做好喽。

After all, the top scholar Song wouldn't harm him; he was his lucky star!
Cao Li patted Shi Yuansun on the shoulder:

“你妹夫最近可是给你写信了？”

Shi Yuansun felt a surge of pride whenever he mentioned his brother-in-law, who had been hit by three tails in a row.

“I wrote it down. It’s good that he’s gaining experience in other places. I even told him to learn more from Song Zhuangyuan and try to be transferred back to the capital as soon as possible.”

Although the Shi family was wealthy, their political standing had plummeted.

There's absolutely no way to get his brother-in-law transferred back.

On the contrary, if the Shi family wants to rise again, they still need to rely on Fan Xiang, a civil official.

Otherwise, Shi Yuansun, as the eldest son and grandson, wouldn't have ended up in a position of guarding the imperial wine.

"Hahaha."

Cao Liyong stroked his beard and laughed:

"Their classmates are still young, and you are young too. You will naturally have the opportunity to move up in the future."

"That's wonderful to hear from Attendant Cao."

Cao Liyong lowered his voice again and said:
“你且好好练习武艺，学习你石家流传下来的兵法，兴许过几年西北那边就不太平了。”

"That will be your chance to rebuild your family's fortunes. You must not drift aimlessly and be ignorant."

Shi Yuansun's eyes lit up: "Minister Cao, I will definitely do my best."

"Ah."

After giving his instructions, Cao left immediately.

石元孙也是充满了斗志，原来自己真有机会往上爬呢。

"My brother-in-law is really lucky; at least some of the benefits have reached me."

Shi Yuansun couldn't help but smile.

The fact that he passed the imperial examination three times in a row made countless military families in Tokyo envious.

Song Xuan went home, but met Liu Yishou, who had been waiting for him at the door.

"Brother Dao, what are you doing outside the door?"

“他们不让你进去？”

Song Xuan looked somewhat surprised and waved to the guards, including Ban Feng, to disperse, as he was already home.

After bowing, Ban Feng left, and Wang Bao went up and knocked on the door.

"No no."

Liu waved his single arm repeatedly and hurriedly explained:
"I knew that Shierlang hadn't come back from his shift, so I didn't want to disturb him and waited outside. I just arrived a quarter of an hour ago."

"Oh, you don't have to do that next time."

Song Xuan invited him inside: "You know Jiao Ming and the others."

刘一手抿抿嘴：“其实今日是有事求到十二郎这里，一时间有些不好开口。”

"Brother Dao, do we need to ask for favors given the friendship we've had since childhood?"

宋煊哈哈笑了几声：“只要不是杀人放火之事，能帮我都帮一把。”

刘一手跟着宋煊进了书房，坐在一旁。

Wang Bao went to make tea, then put the teapot inside, and sat in the room reading a storybook.

The main reason is that the weather is getting colder now, and it's not good to stand guard outside.

Liu Yishou pursed his lips, his eyes showing apology: "Actually, I have something I've been hiding from Twelve Lang."

"Brother Dao, let's just keep these old stories to ourselves."

Song Xuan poured him tea, still smiling.
"We haven't seen each other for a long time, and a lot has happened. Of course, there are things we haven't had time to talk about, so it can't be considered as deliberately hiding anything."

Song Xuan's explanation relieved Liu Yishou, and his heart was no longer so heavy.

"I was actually a former member of the Wuyou Cave, but I faked my death and escaped."

"Oh?"

Song Xuan glanced at his severed arm:
“刀哥竟然有如此凶险的遭遇，你是为了生活，又加入无忧洞了？”

"Not bad." Liu Yishou nodded.

"The money you left us couldn't be kept before we even spent it all; it was robbed and people even humiliated us."

"In order to survive, we joined the Worry-Free Cave for protection and also to do things for the cave."

"Brother Dao, what kind of copper coin are you?"

Liu Yishou was surprised that Song Xuan even knew this. It seemed that many people from Wuyou Cave had confessed.

"Xiangfu Tongbao".

"Oh, auspicious and lucky, it means good fortune, it doesn't refer to high-ranking officials."

刘一手点点头：“十二郎说的对，我这条胳膊，便是争夺位置的时候丢掉的。”

“三年前，我们暗中谋划刺杀白虎堂堂主啸风。”

"No success?"

宋煊端起茶喝了一口，眼里露出疑色，没成功他还能活这么久？
Unlikely.

"It was a success, but the result was that Brother Tiger died, I lost an arm, and Yan Xuan was less seriously injured, so he became the leader of the White Tiger Hall and became the new leader, Xiaofeng."

"I see. I was a little confused. You said Yan Xuan went to another place to transport grain, but the grain price has been stable for so many days and he hasn't come back yet."

Song Xuan put down his teacup: "Yan Xuan's hideout in Kaifeng County was raided by accident, and I was the first one to take it down."

"Yes, and for that they were punished inside the cave."

"At that time, he was keeping an eye on you and wanted to take advantage of your unstable position to bring people to the county government office to steal back the gold that belonged to him."

刘一手嘴角含笑：
"Unfortunately, Twelve Lang was extremely vigilant. He could only send someone to secretly keep an eye on the petition box to see if anyone dared to report Wuyou Cave."

"interesting."

Song Xuan gestured for Liu Yishou to continue.

“其实我与他都没有认出你来，还是当初你整修汴河，焦明去给你送饭，我认出他来了，一时间也不敢确定你就是宋温暖。”

"Because we can't believe that you are actually the famous Song Taisui, who won the top three imperial examinations and was a force to be reckoned with in the capital, while we are nothing but rats in the gutter."

"Hey, Brother Dao, why do you have to belittle yourself like that?"

Song Xuan waved his hands repeatedly:

"The fact that you were able to settle down in Tokyo, have a legitimate business, a wife and children, and live a stable life shows that you are quite capable."

"Yes, I traded one of my arms for it."

Liu Yishou glanced at his sleeve and said regretfully:
"Of course, I also owe it to Yan Xuan's care, which allowed me to settle down in Tokyo. It can be said that I have fulfilled my childhood dream."

"Brother Dao, I haven't been following the Wuyou Cave case lately. It's been transferred to Magistrate Zhongli. Could it be that he's arrested Yan Xuan?"

Song Xuan poured him some tea, not understanding why he suddenly brought up the matter of self-exposure.
"Yan Xuan wants to abandon darkness and embrace the light, so he asked me to test Twelfth Brother."

Liu Yishou didn't hide anything: "But given our friendship, even though we haven't seen each other for so many years, I'll just say it directly, there's nothing to test."

Song Xuan put down the teapot in his hand and nodded:
"That means he has already gained some leverage, which is why he has the confidence to let you come."

"You can't fool Twelfth Brother."

Liu Yishou then recounted in detail the details that Yan Xuan had told him.

This directly exposed Zuixianlou, the stronghold of the Qinglong Hall.

However, Song Xuan had already learned the news from the No-Fate Society.

当初想的就是围三缺一的阳某，逼迫他们内乱。

Now, Xiaofeng doesn't want to be a traitor, but he is the deepest traitor hidden in Wuyou Cave.

"What a secret that will keep me going for the rest of my life."

Song Xuan clicked his tongue twice: "Is he perhaps planning to use me to kill Xiaofeng, the suspected target?"

Liu Yishou was stunned for a moment. Before he could finish speaking, Song Xuan had already guessed it.

"The Azure Dragon Hall Master, Cang Lin, suspects that this cave master is a stand-in and doesn't know where the real one is."

"Oh my, they even have a stand-in!"

宋煊站起身来，溜达了两圈，这是他从来都没有想到的。

如今就流行找替身了吗？

"It's just a suspicion, not a certainty. What if Cang Lin is lying too?"

Liu Yishou went even further, revealing: "Back then, it was he who secretly instigated us to kill the previous hall master, Xiaofeng."

Song Xuan didn't want to know about their past grievances, because it was no longer relevant.

However, Liu Yishou lost his arm as a result, so he always brings it up.

"So you've never seen the true face of the Lord of the Worry-Free Cave?"

"Yes, he always wears a mask when he calls people to a meeting. Even seniors like Cang Lin and Bai Zhen have never seen the cave master's true face."

"This is going to be difficult."

Song Xuan didn't know how many substitutes this cave master had prepared, but he was certainly quite clever. Could it be just one person thrown out as bait when fishing?

若是真的如了他的愿，那自己理应通过啸风这条线，得知了洞主的住处，兵贵神速的把他个抓了。

In this way, the double dies from Song Xuan's perspective.

Is he trying to clear his name?
Or was he deliberately trying to lie low, waiting for me to be transferred away so he could make a comeback?
Song Xuan couldn't make a judgment for the time being.

"Twelfth Brother, what do you think of this matter?"

How can I see it?

Song Xuan spread his hands and said:
"Brother Dao, this matter is no longer under my jurisdiction. In officialdom, the most taboo thing is to overstep one's bounds."

“Zhong Lijin is so focused on getting the position of Prefect of Kaifeng that he doesn’t care about the Wuyou Cave. I’m busy with disaster relief and river repair right now, how can I have the time or inclination to do that?”

Liu Yishou understood Song Xuan's situation; he had assumed Song Xuan would be happy to receive this news.

至少剿灭无忧洞这个功劳，那还是很响亮的。

Tokyo has existed for so many years, and so has Wuyoudong.

Many county magistrates and prefects were unable to solve the problem, but Song Xuan solved it.

Even if it wasn't under his jurisdiction, Liu Yishou felt that Song Xuan should be tempted.

"Twelfth Brother, do you mean you don't want to get involved?"

"I don't have time to deal with it now; it's not proper or legitimate."

Song Xuan stopped in his tracks:

"Tell Xiaofeng that even if he really wants to join me, he should lie low for the time being and gather more information."

“如今无忧洞高层已经出现信任裂痕，他有什么动作，都会引人注目，无论是苍鳞还是那洞主都会派人跟踪他的。”

"So it's best if you don't have any contact with him recently, so as not to get involved with him."

“Three years ago, you were able to find an opportunity to kill Xiaofeng, the hall master. Three years later, they can find an opportunity to kill Yan Xuan now.”

Upon hearing this analysis, Liu Yishou immediately became flustered.

“十二郎，这可怎么办啊？”

"Yan Xuan has managed this gang for so long, he can't possibly have no trusted confidants at all, can he?"

“有也都被你给抓了。”

"Impossible." Song Xuan waved his hands repeatedly: "I only arrested a few of his people."

刘一手如今也不再过问无忧洞的事，就专心媳妇孩子，还有研究如何能卖出更多的香料去。

"Twelfth Brother, if Yan Xuan really encounters an assassination attempt, how should he defend himself?"

Song Xuan thought for a moment:
"Then we can only let him take more people with him when he goes out, seven, eight or nine or so. With more people, it will be harder for the mole to act. He needs to have at least four people with him."

Liu Yishou nodded, indicating that the equipment was allocated according to their numbers.

“无忧洞什么都有，搞一件轻甲穿在里面，天气凉了，也不至于被人看出来。”

Song Xuan reiterated his instructions:
"I need more information from the higher-ups at Wuyou Cave. Just tell them my stance. As long as they abandon darkness and embrace light, how can I not give them a chance?"

“现在他已经成为怀疑的目标，那最好就真的同我这个官府勾结，才能让他更有底气，其余人查出来后也更加的忌惮。”

Liu Yishou never expected there to be such an explanation, and he quickly nodded to indicate that he had written it down.

It seems that both officialdom and the underworld are very good training grounds for people; they really think things through.

“十二郎，我替严轩谢谢你。”

Liu Yishou bowed respectfully, thanking Song Xuan for still acknowledging them and not turning against them by arresting them all.

"You guys helped me escape back then, so there's no need to thank me now. You're being too polite."

“If I weren’t the magistrate of Kaifeng County, I would really be willing to support Yan Xuan to become the master of Wuyou Cave.”

Song Xuan shook his head and smiled again:

"Unfortunately, this is Tokyo. There are too many people like this, making it difficult to maintain local stability."

"I don't have that much energy to do these things. It's unnecessary. It's better to do more legitimate business."

Because Song Xuan had someone else gathering information among the common people, the Beggars' Gang in Quze cooperated quite well.

Song Xuan didn't want to change the person either, and even wanted to spend more money to increase support for Qu Ze.

(End of this chapter)