Grass and mustard reign supreme

Chapter 105 A Turning Point? (Bonus Chapter for JJM Alliance Leader)

He Youzhen stroked his half-white beard and frowned slightly, saying, "Steward Yang, the case of the mountain goods merchant smuggling military weapons is still like being in a fog, with no clue whatsoever."

Now that Third Master and Young Master Yu have left, we can focus on resolving this matter.

I'm thinking, since the incident happened in Canglang Gorge, why don't you and I go and investigate it ourselves?

Perhaps we can find some overlooked clues in those cracks in the rocks and among the grass.

Yang Can's gaze flickered for a moment, then he smiled and said, "What Steward He said is absolutely right."

At this hour, even if we ride as fast as we can, I'm afraid we won't be able to get back before dark.

These days, things are not very peaceful. If you, Steward He, make any mistake, I will not be able to atone for my sins even if I die a hundred times.

"How about this, I'll make the arrangements today, and we'll set off first thing tomorrow morning? What do you think?"

He Youzhen nodded happily and said, "Alright, then let's do as you, Steward Yang, suggest. We'll set off early tomorrow morning."

After He Youzhen left, Yang Can felt a vague sense of unease.

Just now, when Steward He encouraged Third Master Yu to stop the carriage, was it merely out of suspicion, or was he trying to eliminate the possibility of a problem?

Canglang Gorge... Yang Can thought about it carefully and it seemed that he had not left any flaws.

Especially since there was a heavy rain just two days ago, anything that was left has long been washed away.

But for some reason, the thought of He Youzhen's eyes, which seemed to see right through people, still made him uneasy.

After pondering for a while, Yang Can asked Wangcai to call Leopard Head and Kang Zhengyi over. The three of them discussed the matter in the study for more than an hour.

The next day, before dawn, as the first rays of sunlight painted the east with a pale golden hue, Yang Can was already dressed and ready.

When he walked out of the inner courtyard, he only saw He Youzhen with a group of guards, but Li Youcai was nowhere to be seen.

"Steward He!"

Yang Can cupped his hands in greeting and asked in confusion, "Where is Steward Li? Has he not gotten up yet?"

He Youzhen said irritably, "Don't mention him. Li Youcai suddenly had diarrhea last night, so he probably can't come with us."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lai Xi half-supported and half-carried Li Youcai over.

Li Youcai's face was ashen, his back bent like a boiled shrimp, and his voice was barely audible:

"Deacon He... Deacon Yang... I don't know what I ate last night, I'm vomiting and having diarrhea..."

This morning I could barely stand, it was really..."

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly shuddered, his face turning bright red: "Ouch! I can't take it anymore! Quick... Lai Xi, help me to the toilet!"

Li Youcai didn't have time to say anything more. He clenched his buttocks, clutched his lower abdomen tightly, and shuffled away with trembling steps.

He Youzhen and Yang Can exchanged a glance, both giving each other a helpless, bitter smile.

Yang Can said apologetically, "I'm really sorry, could it be that the food in my residence is unclean?"

"Tch! Why don't we see anyone else unwell? Never mind, let's not let this bad luck delay our business, let's go."

Yang Can readily agreed, and he and He Youzhen each led a group of men out of Feng'an Fort.

This time, instead of detouring through Tielinliang, they took the shortcut from Feng'anzhuang directly to Canglangxia.

This was a shortcut, and the road was flat, so the horses ran very fast. By midday, they could already see the two cliffs of Canglang Gorge, which looked as if they had been cut by a knife.

As soon as you enter the canyon, the smell of damp earth hits you.

Indeed, no obvious traces could be seen in the canyon.

He Youzhen walked back and forth in the valley, his withered fingers occasionally brushing against the vines on the cliff face.

He carefully examined the trees for a long time before finding traces of knife cuts and arrow shots on several trees.

Seeing this, Yang Can said, "Steward He, as you can see, there are really no useful clues here."

"Why don't we go back to the village first and then discuss this further?"

He Youzhen ran his fingers over the wild grass that had been crushed and pressed to the ground, then slowly stood up, squinting as he looked into the depths of the canyon.

“Deacon Yang, Third Master Yu said that the people of the Bali tribe and the Tufa tribe have fought each other before.”

However, he did not find the leaders of either side among the corpses.

He Youzhen gestured towards the other side of the canyon: "After what happened, those two leaders should have already gone back, right?"

"Yes, but I wonder what Steward He means?"

"The two sides fought a great battle here, and there must have been corpses left behind. Now those corpses have all disappeared, and they were probably taken away by the Bali tribe."

"good."

He Youzhen looked at Yang Can, his cloudy old eyes filled with solemnity: "The clan leader instructed that the most crucial thing in this case is to find the person who is illegally selling military equipment."

Just a few days ago, Balimo was a guest at your residence, and you treated him with courtesy.

Now that he has offended the Bald Tribe, he certainly wouldn't dare offend our Yu Clan again, lest he find himself caught in a pincer movement.

Yang Can asked in confusion, "Please forgive my ignorance, but I really don't understand what Steward He means by these words."

He Youzhen chuckled and said, "What I mean is, you can send someone to the Bali tribe."

"Balimo will definitely give you face; we must bring back the corpses of those mountain merchants."

He Youzhen said leisurely, "Sometimes, even the dead can talk."

Yang Can understood, nodded, and called Leopard Head over: "Da Kuan, take some men to the Bali tribe immediately and find out the whereabouts of the mountain goods merchant's corpse from that day."

If they've already buried them, dig them out and bring them back without missing a single one. Steward He and I will wait for you here.

Upon hearing this, Leopard Head's face instantly fell.

At this time of year, a corpse left out for so many days should be stinking to high heaven!

Even if you wrap it in horsehide, the stench still won't be stopped!
But he dared not disobey the order, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and agree.

Leopard Head gathered his men and borrowed three or four more from He Youzhen's guards.

After all, there were nearly twenty mountain goods merchants. If there were fewer people, they wouldn't be able to bring them all back by carrying one on horseback.

A group of more than twenty riders then sped off into the depths of the canyon.

He Youzhen clapped his hands, his smile lines deepening: "Let's wait for news. Come on, let's go sit over there so we don't get tired of standing."

Yang Can quickly agreed and followed He Youzhen to the rock. He watched as He Youzhen lifted his robe and sat down, and then Yang Can sat down on the rock next to him.

However, the unease in Yang Can's heart only intensified, quietly tightening around his heart like vines.

He Youzhen looked at Yang Can and smiled slightly, saying, "Steward Yang, since I have nothing to do, I have some speculations. Why don't I tell you and see if they are reasonable?"

Yang Can felt a slight chill and quickly bowed, saying, "Please speak freely, Steward He."

He Youzhen reached out and untied the blue cloth wine pouch hanging from his waist, uncorked it, and took a swig. He handed the pouch to Yang Can, the opening still carrying the sweet aroma of rice wine.

Yang Can didn't have the habit of kissing men indirectly, so she politely declined, saying, "Thank you, Steward He, but I'm not thirsty."

He Youzhen didn't force her. He took back the wine bag, snapped the stopper back into place, and gently tapped the bag with his knuckles.

"The story begins at Tielinliang. When that group of mountain goods merchants passed through there, they happened to run into the Kang family's caravan."

However, the Kang family caravan, by some strange twist of fate, discovered that the mountain goods were actually armor.

As a result, the mountain goods merchants had no choice but to kill them to silence them.

Because ordinary mountain goods might not be scrutinized by the Yu family, but selling military equipment was an option...

That's something that puts the Yu family in a very dangerous position; they absolutely cannot tolerate it.

Yang Can lowered his eyes and pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded: "Steward He's deduction is reasonable."

He Youzhen smiled and said, "So, you led the troops from Feng'an Village and chased after them, and you got your revenge."

As for the armor, a set of armor could be worth three good horses at official prices, and more than five horses at private prices—that was a huge fortune.

Deacon Yang, you have just taken office and, in order to gain the trust of the clan leader, you have included all of Master Zhang's hidden fields and households into the public accounts.

This will make your finances even tighter.

Then, a huge fortune falls from the sky. And so, you're tempted!

As the last word fell, He Youzhen's eyes suddenly sharpened, like a hawk staring at its prey, locking onto Yang Can's face.

Yang Can remained completely calm, his back ramrod straight, meeting the scrutinizing gaze without even a tremor in his eyelashes.

He Youzhen suddenly laughed, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes crinkling together: "You're quite composed."

If I had wronged you, you should at least have frowned and said a few words in rebuttal. Why didn't you even show the slightest anger?

Yang Can took a slow breath, his chest rising and falling very lightly, his voice as steady as a still pond.

"Steward He, what you're saying is of great importance, and I dare not lose my temper. But I wonder, do you have any solid evidence to back up your words?"

He Youzhen placed the wine flask on a large rock beside him and said calmly, "If the Kang family caravan hadn't discovered the armor, those mountain merchants wouldn't have needed to kill people to cover their tracks, right?"

"Reasonable."

“That caravan was heading to Tianshui City. Given their normal pace, it’s normal to not hear from them for three to five days. Feng’an Village won’t immediately become suspicious, right?”

"Correct."

"But you chased after them that very day. This means that someone from the Kang family caravan must have escaped and returned to report, right?"

"Yes."

"In this way, you and Kang Quzhang not only know the cause of the caravan's deaths, but also find out the details of the mountain goods merchants. Does that make sense?"

"Pass."

He Youzhen leaned forward slightly: "You chased them all the way to Canglang Gorge, killed the mountain goods merchant, and avenged yourselves."

As for whether there was any double-crossing among the Xianbei people... I will leave that aside for now.

But those armors will surely fall into your hands.

"Oh?"

Yang Can finally reacted, raising an eyebrow slightly with a hint of inquiry: "The reason?"

He Youzhen said, "If you saw the Xianbei people killing mountain merchants as soon as you entered the canyon, and then turned around and left, then the two armor pieces that were later handed over to the clan leader must have fallen from the sky."
Are the things that both sides value most scattered throughout the canyon like stones?

Yang Can sighed softly and said with a wry smile, "I never thought that even though I thought I had done everything perfectly, I still left so many loopholes." "Loopholes are inevitable, especially when it comes to money."

He Youzhen said smugly, "At first, you may have really just wanted to take revenge. After all, you had just become the head of the manor, and if you didn't do something, it would be difficult to win people's hearts."

But when you saw those armors, you were tempted. Because you lacked not only prestige, but also money.

Yang Can smiled wryly: "That's right, I am indeed short of money."

He Youzhen said, "So, you made up a story about the Xianbei people eating each other."

Or perhaps someone is indeed double-crossing you; in any case, you are the one who ultimately benefits.

In short, you shifted the blame, or you fabricated a lie.

And you hid these armors.

Yang Can looked up into the depths of the canyon, his voice as calm as the wind: "And then?"

"And then? And then comes something you didn't expect."

He Youzhen sneered, "You didn't expect that the buyer of this batch of armor would be the Bald Tribe."

You never expected that they would dare to bring people from the Bali tribe to your door.

Now you panicked, worried that the stolen goods would be exposed before you could even sell them.

By then, no matter how vast the world is, there will be nowhere for you to hide.

So you resold them to Young Master Yu.

Of course, there's another possibility: you were originally from Dailai City.

Yang Can smiled, clapped his hands, and said, "Great! Anything else?"

He Youzhen said leisurely, "The place where you hid your armor was originally near Canglang Gorge."

Because there are so many suits of armor, if they were transported back to Feng'an Fort, with so many people watching, it would be difficult to keep the secret.

Therefore, if Young Master Yu wants to pick up the goods, he can only do so in person.

But he didn't expect that our Third Master, who was eager to make a name for himself, would actually come after him.

Having no other choice, Young Master Yu could only feign compliance with Third Master while making excuses to return to Feng'an Fort.

Because he needs you as an accomplice to help him get through this hurdle.

Thus, the scene of "thieves breaking into the fortress" that happened the night before last came about.

These thieves don't steal your treasure, they don't steal your valuables, but they've fallen in love with your carriage at first sight.

Upon hearing this, Yang Can finally couldn't help but laugh out loud: "What Steward He said is truly witty."

He Youzhen sneered, "Taking advantage of this commotion, Young Master Yu can move the truck to the backyard of the inn."

Then, under cover of night, you can switch out the armor without anyone noticing.

Poor Third Master Yu stopped the carriage for inspection the next day, only to be met with a disheveled and embarrassed state.

Yang Can chuckled and said, "It's a waste of talent for Steward He not to be a constable investigating cases."

He Youzhen said disdainfully, "I am a steward of the Yu family, how could I do such a lowly job in the marketplace?"

He snorted coldly and said, "Now, can you answer my question?"

"What exactly does Steward He want to know?"

"Two questions."

He Youzhen held up two fingers. "First, did the Xianbei people actually double-cross each other in Canglang Gorge?"
Secondly, did you already pledge allegiance to Young Master Yu of Dailai City, or are you merely trying to get rid of that batch of armor?

Yang Can lowered his eyes and remained silent for a long time before slowly saying, "What Deacon He said is ultimately just your speculation. If I deny it..."

"Of course you can deny it."

He Youzhen smiled with a sense of certainty: "But I can tell the clan leader all these speculations in detail."

Tell me, does the lord believe me or you?

He leaned forward and said, "Besides, do you think I'm just guessing?"

Yang Can's expression finally changed: "What do you mean?"

He Youzhen said calmly, "Do you think Li Youcai really has an upset stomach? He's just staying behind on my orders."

Judging by the time, he should be searching your residence right now. And you shouldn't have had time to move that armor yet, right?

Yang Can's expression finally changed.

Seeing Yang Can's ashen face, He Youzhen's smile deepened, and the wrinkles around his eyes smoothed out, like a dried chrysanthemum.

"It seems I was right, that batch of armor is currently in your residence."

With a hint of cat-and-mouse humor, He Youzhen said, "Now, you should answer my question, right?"
I'm naturally curious, and if I can't resolve my doubts, I can't sleep soundly at night.

Yang Can's Adam's apple bobbed, and his eyes darted quickly to the left and right.

Seeing his appearance, He Youzhen couldn't help but chuckle: "Your men have all gone to the Bali tribe with Leopard Head. Right now, this Canglang Gorge is full of my men."

The guards around him had already formed a circle, their hands on their sword hilts, their eyes fixed on Yang Can.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, falling on the guards' scabbards and giving them a cold, menacing look.

Upon seeing this, Yang Can fell silent.

He Youzhen chuckled and said, "Well? Can Deacon Yang clear up my doubts now?"

Yang Can sighed and slowly said, "There are no Xianbei people who would double-cross each other. I killed the people, and I also took the goods."

"Oh?"

He Youzhen raised an eyebrow and pressed on, "Then what about your deal with Young Master Yu? Have you already sided with the Second Young Master Yu of Dailai City?"

Yang Can slowly shook his head: "No. At first, I also thought about handing the armor over to the clan leader."

But then I thought, even though the lord of the clan could reward me, he couldn't protect me completely.

I concealed my armor not for money, but simply to avoid this calamity.

"What happened next?"

"Later I found out that quite a few people knew about this, and if I didn't get rid of this batch of goods sooner or later, the news would be exposed."

Only if someone takes over and diverts the attention of everyone looking for this shipment from my Feng'an Fort can I be safe.

Upon hearing this, He Youzhen couldn't help but show a hint of admiration and laughed, "Good lad! So, it was your doing that Third Master was keeping an eye on Young Master Yu."

Yang Can readily nodded: "Not bad."

He Youzhen narrowed his eyes: "So, you didn't pledge allegiance to Dailai City, but only wanted to shift the blame eastward."

"Steward He is wise."

“Hehehe…” He Youzhen laughed: “So, you’re not that loyal to the clan leader after all.”

Yang Can smiled wryly and said, "I still want to take advantage of the shade of the patriarch's tree."

But, it's human nature to seek advantage and avoid trouble; isn't that wrong?

"No, of course not, hahaha, I admire you very much!"

"He's smart, decisive, and knows how to protect himself." He Youzhen patted Yang Can on the shoulder and laughed.

His seating arrangement was carefully chosen, subtly a precaution against Yang Can's potential outburst.

But at this moment, He Youzhen's wariness of Yang Can actually weakened.

He Youzhen said, "Since that's the case, Yang Can, are you willing to surrender to me and serve me?"

Yang Can was stunned, his eyes full of doubt: "I... submit to you? Aren't you one of the clan leader's men?"

“Yes, of course I am. But…”

He Youzhen smiled slyly: "I am the most trusted foreign affairs steward of the clan leader, but I am also the biggest mountain goods merchant in the Yu clan area!"

This time, Yang Can didn't need to pretend anymore; he was genuinely stunned.

He Youzhen's face showed a hint of resentment: "I have served the Yu family for decades and started to take charge of the Yu family's business more than ten years ago."

Only then did I secretly engage in some business. However, although I deal in mountain goods, I am discerning about the advantages and disadvantages; I will not do anything that threatens the Yu family.

Alas, the 'lovestruck woman and unfaithful man'! In order to deal with Dailai City, the clan leader actually transferred the trade route to the Suo family. What am I supposed to do?
So I'm putting these armors, which I refused to sell even when the Bald Tribe offered a high price, on sale now.

Before the Suo family completely takes over the Yu family's business, I want to earn a little more money for my funeral.

Yang Can felt like he was hearing a fairy tale; he never expected that he would eventually hear such a secret.

He Youzhen said, "If you join forces with Dailai City, I will not trust you."

If you remain blindly loyal to the lord, I, too, will not dare to employ you.

But since you're like me, why don't you work for me?

He Youzhen tempted, "For more than ten years, I have been in charge of the Yu family's business, with trade routes connecting the north and south, and goods flowing freely. Naturally, I have built up my own network of connections."

You have the advantage of being in charge of Feng'an, and I have years of business connections. As long as you submit to me, I guarantee you will make a lot of money.

Don't worry, whether you are loyal to the clan leader or the second master of Dailai City, I don't care and I won't restrict you.

"I only want to make money, not fight for power."

Yang Can hesitated and said, "Steward He, have you forgotten that the Suo family has already taken over the Yu family's trade routes?"

Will there still be room for you to show your skills in the future?

"That's why I don't want to kill you, but rather to recruit you into my group."

He Youzhen said, "Didn't you bring Madam Suo into your caravan?"

We can use the Su family's name to make our own money! We can use the Yu family's name to pursue our own interests.

"How did you know about this, Steward He? Did Zhang Yunyi tell you?" Yang Can immediately asked astutely.

He Youzhen smiled noncommittally, already certain that Yang Can would submit to him.

"Yang Can, if you agree, we'll go back to Feng'an Fort now. If you kill Li Youcai, that will be your pledge of allegiance to me!"
"How about I help you get rich from now on?"

(End of this chapter)