The sun was setting. In three hours, it would be the third day of May.
Ming Yue calculated the time. If the messenger continued at a fast pace, he would arrive early tomorrow morning at the latest. As of now, there was still no news from Bai Shui. At this time, the sun was setting, gliding past the peak of the mountain. The lights were lit and Ming Yue sat in front of the lamp, fiddling with the wicks in boredom.
When the wick moved, the firelight shook with it. The shadows of two people in the room wavered and collided on the wall.
Su Yunkai was halfway through his book, but the shadow was disturbing his thoughts. He looked up and saw that she seemed very bored. He set the book down and said, “You’ve never been able to sit still. It must be hard for you to stay in the room the whole time.”
Ming Yue said, “Didn’t you say that someone is watching from outside? I am all right. I can’t sit still very often, but once or twice is fine. When I was a child, my grandfather would leave me inside a lot, so I don’t like to stay in small places.”
“I’ll talk to you, then.” Since she had just mentioned her childhood, Su Yunkai casually asked, “I’ve never asked, but how did you get out of the house that day when the dog chased you?”
Thinking of this, Ming Yue said with an embarrassed smile, “I moved a small stool and climbed out of the window. I happened to step on the tail of a yellow dog dozing underneath my windowsill…”
Su Yunkai had been listening seriously, but when he heard that this was the reason, he couldn’t help but laugh. “No wonder it chased you. It’s good that you run quite fast.”
“Yes. It’s even more fortunate that I met you, or I would have gotten bitten.” Thinking of the past, Ming Yue shivered. Although, luckily, she had recovered from the trauma of that chase and wouldn’t go tense every time she saw a dog. Maybe there were more things and more people to be remembered in her heart than just a frightening dog.
Su Yunkai said, “Now that you have become a good coroner and followed your grandfather’s desire to come work at the yamen, do you have any plans for the future?”
“Plans…” Ming Yue thought for a moment. “I will definitely continue serving as a coroner, even when I am eighty years old, just like my grandfather.”
Su Yunkai paused briefly. Afterwards, he smiled. She hadn’t gotten his meaning.
She still had time to get married. But who would it be? Su Yunkai felt like a thorn was in his heart and he couldn’t pull it out. When he was with Ming Yue, he never had to cast around for a topic to make the atmosphere more comfortable. Sitting together in the room, he felt at ease with the knowledge that she was nearby. From time to time, she went outside to get a pot of tea. When she was gone, his eyes would stick to the door for a long time.
He liked Ming Yue.
He also knew that Ming Yue liked him, but he didn’t know whether those feelings were enough to start a discussion about marriage.
He was suddenly a little envious of Qin Fang and Bai Shui’s vigorous honesty, but the situation was different. If he spoke rashly and scared Ming Yue away, what would he do?
He was afraid to go back to the yamen, where they might not have the time to be alone and it would be more difficult for him to know how she felt.
His family was in Jiangzhou and her family was in Nanle County. It wouldn’t be possible for his family to get to meet her, learn her intentions, or invite a matchmaker. What would he do if she had her apprehensions about his identity?
This, he thought, was probably an example of the proverb that those closely involved cannot see clearly. He would wait for Qin Fang to come back and ask him for advice and experience.
Qin Fang didn’t come, but Bai Shui did. She was silent as she jumped inside from the window and called out “my lord,” which suddenly alerted Su Yunkai and scared Ming Yue. Su Yunkai, who had just been deep in thought about Ming Yue, was thoroughly startled. It felt as though someone had just sawed through his thoughts.
He immediately calmed his mind and put his thoughts aside. He realized that there must have been progress from Bai Shui’s end. “You caught him?”
Bai Shui nodded. “His name is Mo Geng. After careful questioning, my lord, I discovered that both Mo Geng and yourself placed high in the imperial examinations. Later, because he offended an official in the capital, he was sent to Yuzhou to be a registrar. In accordance with your orders, I didn’t ask him anything more.”
“No wonder he knows you. Both of you scored well. However, there are so many others who did well too, but you were third place. It’s not strange that you don’t recognize him.”
Su Yunkai’s doubts were also settled. After knowing the name and the official position of this person, it was much easier to do the rest. “Bai Shui, you can go back and continue to watch him. Don’t ask him another question or even reply until I appear. Go back quickly, or he will untie the rope and run away.”
Bai Shui said with a smile, “He won’t. Qin Fang’s watching. He is usually careless, but he is very reliable with serious matters.”
In two simple sentences, Su Yunkai already understood the story behind her words. He said with a heartwarming smile, “So the two of you have finally talked about it. I see that the result is good.”
Bai Shui’s cheeks were scarlet. She softly agreed and then said, “I will return to the inn now. Be careful, my lord.”
As Su Yunkai watched Bai Shui jump out of the window and leave, he was filled with emotion. They truly were a dynamic couple. The good thing about their straightforward temperaments was that they wouldn’t keep things buried in their hearts.
He could decide so many things, but why couldn’t he be frank about his feelings?
“Ming Yue.” Su Yunkai turned to look at her. Seeing her bright, large eyes, he found that he couldn’t get the words out of his mouth. “Once we return to the yamen, I have something to say to you.”
Ming Yue’s heart suddenly itched. “Why can’t you say it now?”
Su Yunkai said with a smile, “I can say it now, but I’m afraid it’ll distract us later.”
“What are we going to do?”
“We are going to the yamen to solve the gold case.”
As soon as Ming Yue heard this, she immediately put the other matter to the back of her mind. Now that they could finally solve the case, she was happy. She didn’t ask him more because her whole heart was fixated on catching the thief.
The yamen was close to the inn, so it only took half an hour for Su Yunkai and Ming Yue to walk there. As he went downstairs, Su Yunkai felt as if someone was staring at him. It seemed as though someone had noticed they were going to the yamen. A figure quickly flashed by, appearing to be sending information about this sighting.
When they got to yamen, the gate was not closed and the lights were still on inside. Su Yunkai stood at the door for a while. Then, a yamen officer came to ask, “Are you reporting a crime or debating a ruling?”
Su Yunkai took a look at him and directly held up his waist badge. The yamen servant took a look and shock registered on his face. “Wait a moment, my lord.”
A moment later, an official came out and knelt down before Su Yunkai. “I am the prefect of Yuzhou, Lou De. Greetings, Lord Su.”
Su Yunkai looked around and said, “To think that you are still working even though it is so late. It is clear you love the people like your children.”
As he talked, he walked inside and Ming Yue followed behind. Lou De also was close behind. “I didn’t hear about your arrival, my lord. I apologize for not welcoming you earlier. Please forgive me.”
“It’s just a matter of visiting the counties and examining the cases as usual. There is no need to be so polite and there is no need to panic. By the way, we are fatigued after taking such a long journey. We haven’t had dinner yet. Would Lord Lou like to join us at the table?
Ming Yue didn’t understand. According to what Su Yunkai had said, this Lou De had sent someone to follow them from early on. Lou De must have known that they had stayed in the inn for a day, so why did Su Yunkai mention dinner? An hour later, Lou De came back to invite them to a restaurant. The place was full of people wearing various official clothes. Suddenly, Ming Yue understood Su Yunkai’s intentions.
Earlier, he did not say that they had been here for a day, nor did he say that he was investigating cases. Instead, he had asked Lou De to arrange dinner. Lou De, who had received the news long ago, would relax his vigilance under the illusion that Lord Su was a bad official and was taking the opportunity to defraud money. In that case, it would be a good time to flatter Lord Su.
By rough estimate, it could be seen that pretty much all of the officials had been invited.
Ming Yue still didn’t understand. What was the purpose of this?
She was used to seeing Su Yunkai without official airs. Now, she watched as he was approached by people all over the room. Still, he sat there calmly and didn’t drink every cup offered. If he did drink from a cup, it was only a small sip. This reminded her that Su Yunkai was still an official.
After three rounds of wine, a man stood up with a cup in hand. He raised it to Ming Yue instead of Su Yunkai. “At the banquet, you have to have a beautiful woman accompanying you. However, she hasn’t been drinking. How disrespectful.”
The man must’ve been a lightweight. People all over the table could see that her relationship with Su Yunkai ran deep, so they had all avoided talking to her just now. This man had probably gotten drunk, which was why he randomly proposed a toast to her. Lou De’s face changed, but he was sitting too far away to reach the man. The two people sitting next to the man were confused and unable to hold him back.
Su Yunkai sat there without moving, but he glanced lightly over, his eyes cold. He reached for the glass in front of Ming Yue and said indifferently to the drunkard, “I’ll drink with you.”
Lou De hurriedly mediated the situation. “Let’s drink. My lord holds his liquor well.”
Su Yunkai finished it in one go and then set down his glass. No one dared to toast to Ming Yue again. Ming Yue’s whole heart felt for Su Yunkai. Afraid that he would be drunk, she picked some light-flavored dishes and put them into his bowl, not noticing the interested eyes of people at the table.
“By the way,” Su Yunkai suddenly spoke. “I heard that the Yuzhou registrar participated in the imperial examinations the same year as I did. He also became a candidate and was sent to work here as an official. Why don’t I see him here?”
Lou De paused. He didn’t expect for Su Yunkai to remember Mo Geng, as candidates came from all over the Song Dynasty and there were so many people who took the imperial examinations. This was rare. Mo Geng had clearly said that they had never spoken before. Still, Lou De didn’t feel any doubt, so he said, “He went out to work today and he has not returned.”
As soon as Lou De finished speaking, two more people chimed in to support the story. Su Yunkai glanced at them casually. One of the two was a military chief and the other was a Yuzhou judge. It wasn’t until he stopped asking about Mo Geng that the three of them abruptly halted the topic as well. They would simply follow Su Yunkai’s words, allowing him to direct the discussion.
About an hour later, Su Yunkai ended the banquet on the grounds of physical fatigue. Lou De wanted to send them off with a coach, which Su Yunkai accepted.
When he got on the carriage, Su Yunkai lightly shushed Ming Yue. Aside from his serious demeanor, there was a slight drunkenness. Ming Yue pulled at his sleeve. “Are you drunk?”
The carriage was dark and there was no moonlight outside. Su Yunkai could not see her face clearly; he could only hear her voice. He reached out and touched her face and said, “No.”
He was clearly drunk. Otherwise, why would he become so frivolous? He even pinched her cheeks. Ming Yue grabbed his hand and set it down. A moment later, the hand reached forward and almost touched a place it should not have touched. Ming Yue had to hold his hand for the entire ride. She was unsure how long he would be drunk.
It was already 9 PM when they arrived at the inn. With the manager, the coachman helped move Su Yunkai to his room.
After they left, Ming Yue went outside to fetch water. Before she set the bucket down, Su Yunkai suddenly sat down and bent over to look for shoes to put on. She paused. “You’re sober now?”
There were nearly only two kinds of drunk people. One type was dead drunk and slept until dawn. The other type was like Su Yunkai, who sobered up afterwards. Now that it was almost an hour later, and since he hadn’t drunk that much, Su Yunkai still felt a little dizzy, but he was already sober.
“Mhm.” Su Yunkai looked up to see that she was far away. There was a hint of vigilance in her eyes. He probed, “Earlier…I didn’t do anything strange, right?”
Ming Yue quickly shook her head. If two people knew, that would be more awkward.
Su Yunkai sighed in relief and said, “Let’s go to Bai Shui’s inn.”
“Wait a minute.” Ming Yue hastily blocked him. “If we go, wouldn’t the person sent to watch us see?”
Su Yunkai said with a smile, “No. His purpose was to see when I would go to the yamen. It’s unnecessary now. What’s more, I seem like a corrupt, greedy official who drinks often and doesn’t do his job properly.”
Ming Yue smiled, “You do, except…except when you drank that cup for me.”
Su Yunkai also smiled. “I shouldn’t have taken you there, but the situation was not clear. I was afraid that it would be more dangerous for you to stay alone in the inn.”
Ming Yue bowed her head. “You don’t need to explain. I understand.”
Her lowered head demonstrated her bashfulness. Su Yunkai really wanted to talk to her, but they were on a tight schedule. He checked the hour and saw that they were already running late. “Let’s go find Bai Shui.”
“Mhm.”
Ming Yue left the inn with him. As expected, she didn’t find anyone else staring at them. She couldn’t help but release a little sigh in her heart at his deductive abilities and said, “I don’t understand one thing. Since you knew that the person receiving the goods was an official, why didn’t you just take the name book and identify him directly, instead of letting Shui Shui catch the person first?”
“The person coming to receive the goods may not be the person behind the schemes. Even if Mo Geng, the registrar, is caught, there is no way to know who gave him the orders. If someone had known he was caught and made up excuses for his long absence, then that official must be the one who gave him the orders.”
Ming Yue understood now why he wanted to do this. If it was her, she wouldn’t have thought it through so carefully. That day, when she saw the suspect under the pagoda tree, she would’ve gone to arrest him directly. But this was Yuzhou. With so much gold, there must be a lot of people involved. If the officials protected each other, they might have successfully concealed everyone’s involvement.
Thinking of this, she instantly understood. “At the banquet, there were three people who covered for him!”
Su Yunkai smiled. “Indeed.”
“But we have no direct evidence.”
“Aren’t we on the way to get the evidence now?”
Ming Yue laughed. “The person who is still being held by Shui Shui?”
“Yes. Mo Geng, the Yuzhou registrar.”
Mo Geng was still tied up. He didn’t know the man who had tied him. That person he treated him well, giving him food and water, but not letting him go. At first, he had thought the man was a bandit, but later, he started to feel otherwise. He was currently begging the person to let him use the restroom, when, suddenly, two figures filled the doorway.
Bai Shui looked up, having been vigilantly sticking close to the door. Hearing the words “it’s me” coming from outside, she immediately opened the door.
The man answering the door appeared to be acting quite respectfully. Mo Geng, who was struggling in his bonds, knew in a glance that the person outside was the real leader. His eyes went wide as he looked carefully and nearly exclaimed, “Su Yunkai!”
Su Yunkai looked at him indifferently and said with a smile, “So you really do know me.”
Mo Geng shut up.
Su Yunkai sat before him and said, “When you saw me under the pagoda tree that day, did you turn around and leave?”
Mo Geng said with a smile, “Under what pagoda tree? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Su Yunkai smiled lightly, his voice full of mockery. “Oh? You don’t know about the gold that was supposed to be delivered by the first day of May? What are you doing here trying to get the chest, then?”
Mo Geng opened his mouth, noticed the indifferent appearance of Bai Shui, and suddenly understood. “You are working together.”
Bai Shui said coldly, “I am a constable of the yamen.”
Mo Geng realized that he had fallen into a trap. In fact, the trap was embedded in the escort agency. That meant that the trap had already been set up outside Yuzhou, lying in wait for them to take the bait.
Su Yunkai said contentedly, “I know that you are not the leader. You only played a small role, but I will give you an opportunity to counteract your deeds. If you can testify against them, the crime will be reduced for you.”
Mo Geng’s eyes sparkled and he thought a little. He said, “The gold is my payment for taking advantage of my position to collude with salt merchants. It has nothing to do with other people.”
Su Yunkai paused. “Salt merchants?”
Mo Geng saw his reaction and suddenly realized that Su Yunkai did not know where the money came from. He regretted talking too much.
“No wonder one trip could transport two hundred taels of gold.” Su Yunkai sneered, “Mo Geng, was this corruption and bribery really irrelevant to Yuzhou’s prefect, military governor, and judge?”
Mo Geng was shocked. He originally thought that Su Yunkai was just using common interrogation tricks in prison. However, all three people mentioned by Su Yunkai were indeed accomplices in the corruption case. If Su Yunkai had said that he had guessed it, Mo Geng would not have believed him.
Seeing his astonished expression, Su Yunkai was even more sure that the four were birds of a feather. His face was suddenly cold and his tone heavy, both of which pressed forcefully onto Mo Geng’s conscience. “You were a successful examination candidate. I was third place that year. We became officials at the same time. You can count this as fate. For this reason, I chose to give you a path to survive. I didn’t expect that you would disregard it. It’s no matter. I’ve collected eighty to ninety percent of all criminal evidence. I don’t care about the lack of one eyewitness.”
With that, he stood, appearing to leave the room and startling Mo Feng into exclaiming, “Please wait!”
Su Yunkai didn’t turn around and his tone was still indifferent. “Talk.”
Mo Geng grit his teeth and said in a trembling voice, “I have three account books in my hand. I can testify against them. Please give me a chance “
Su Yunkai agreed and Mo Geng started to reveal where the account books were. After the information was revealed, Bai Shui immediately headed out without any instruction from Su Yunkai.
Bai Shui returned before dawn. Additionally, the messenger finally arrived in Yuzhou early in the morning. As soon as he got off his horse, he was caught by Bai Shui, who had been lying in ambush at Lou De’s door. This added another piece of criminal evidence to Lou De’s charges of corruption and bribery.
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A Hint of Spring 