DIHBSG chapter 24

The matter of Song Jian loudly conspiring with Lin Hechang in the imperial prison was quickly learned by Xiao Yinghuai, so he was hauled off to stand at attention in the imperial study again.

Before he went in, Gong Defu repeatedly reminded him not to speak carelessly, especially not to mention Lin Hechang’s corruption case. The person inside the study had recently flown into a rage because of this matter, and it had practically become a forbidden topic.

Gong Defu meant well. After all those warnings, Song Jian nodded very seriously in agreement.

Unexpectedly, the moment he stepped inside, he was greeted with, “What did you and Lin Hechang talk about in the imperial prison?”

Song Jian blinked. After standing quietly for a moment, he suddenly took two steps forward and said in a cheerful tone, “Your Majesty, let’s talk about something happy instead!”

“I’m asking you a question.”

Song Jian: “…”

See? When the boss wanted to be angry, what could he do?

He twisted his fingers together, looking like an honest elementary school student.

The man’s gaze was deep as he stared at him, waiting for what came next. Song Jian slowly recalled it and quietly said, “I just asked him why he was arrested.”

“And then?”

Song Jian: “He said he was framed, that other people had joined forces to make him take the blame, and they didn’t even discuss it with him.”

Xiao Yinghuai: “So you believed him?”

Song Jian stayed silent.

Xiao Yinghuai looked at him for a while before lightly raising a finger. “Come here.”

Song Jian cautiously shuffled forward a few steps.

Xiao Yinghuai frowned. “?”

“Standing that far away, do you think I’ll eat you?”

So Song Jian shuffled forward another few steps until he was standing before the Emperor.

His eyelashes fluttered a few times as he said, “Your Majesty, may I say it?”

“You’ve said plenty of things you shouldn’t have. Stop pretending to be obedient in front of me.”

“…”

Xiao Yinghuai: “Speak.”

Song Jian carefully chose his words. “This subordinate thinks Lord Lin is a good person.”

“The reason?”

Song Jian: “Instinct.”

Xiao Yinghuai had only heard that cats and dogs had the instinct to judge people. He raised his eyes and sized up the young man standing before him.

Song Jian felt what he had said sounded a bit too abstract, so he gave a few little examples. “When this subordinate went to Lord Lin’s residence to escort… escort Lord Lin away, all the servants in his residence were crying.”

Xiao Yinghuai said, “When the lips are gone, the teeth grow cold. They share fortune and misfortune alike. How do you know they weren’t crying for themselves?”

Song Jian couldn’t really explain it, but he continued, “Lord Lin has had a cold for many days.”

Xiao Yinghuai gave a soft hum.

Song Jian: “This subordinate saw that Lord Lin’s sleeves had come apart at the seams, and the people in his residence all lived simple and frugal lives.”

“Most importantly, Lord Lin didn’t want to drag this subordinate down with him. He even told this subordinate to leave quickly.”

The study fell silent for quite a while.

“That’s all?”

Song Jian: “That’s all.”

“Those are all your standards for distinguishing good people from bad people?”

Song Jian paused, unable to tell what exactly the Emperor before him meant.

Xiao Yinghuai said, “It seems your parents raised you well.”

Song Jian: “…”

This time, he got it. Xiao Yinghuai was mocking him, because he’d used the exact same sarcastic tone on that Semi-Truck Young Master from the Cheng residence.

Those who speak with sarcasm will one day be met with sarcasm themselves.

Song Jian felt a little angry inside, but he didn’t dare say anything.

Just then, a considerable commotion suddenly came from outside the door. Before long, Gong Defu hurried in holding a secret letter.

Gong Defu: “Your Majesty, a letter from Lord Pang.”

This was already the second urgent secret letter in just a few days.

Xiao Yinghuai accepted the envelope, opened it, and read the secret letter from beginning to end.

The imperial study became frighteningly quiet. Song Jian looked over and could only see the paper densely covered in writing, without knowing what it actually said.

After an unknown amount of time, the man finally folded the letter and handed it to Gong Defu.

Gong Defu bowed and went to a corner, burning the letter to ashes.

The scorched smell of burning paper lingered beneath Song Jian’s nose. He looked toward the calm-faced Emperor, and just then, those narrow eyes looked back at him.

Xiao Yinghuai parted his lips, but the person he called was not him.

“Seventeen, Eighteen.”

Two identical figures appeared in perfect unison with a swish.

Xiao Yinghuai: “Go with your Lord Song to the imperial prison and interrogate Lin Hechang.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Song Jian took a moment to react, then his eyes widened in shock. “Huh? I’m interrogating him?”

Xiao Yinghuai calmly replied, “Then should I interrogate him?”

Song Jian panicked. As an outstanding young man raised under the core socialist values, he couldn’t do this kind of thing!

“No, no, no, Your Majesty! I think Lord Lin’s case is really suspicious. How about we take our time? Isn’t using torture right away a little inhumane, Your Majesty?”

Xiao Yinghuai: “Did I say you should use torture?”

Song Jian: “??”

“If you have a better method to make him reveal something, that would be even better.”

Song Jian was a little dumbfounded.

He sucked in a breath twice. “Your Majesty…”

Before he could finish, Gong Defu lunged over and grabbed him. “Shh—shh shh shh—let’s go, let’s go, Lord Song!”

Song Jian was forcibly dragged away.

After the imperial study became quiet again, Xiao Yinghuai turned his gaze toward Seventeen and Eighteen.

“Protect Lin Hechang until Pang Qing returns. I don’t want to see any performance of ‘committing suicide out of fear of punishment.’”

“Yes.”

Song Jian was unwilling a hundred times over to do this kind of interrogation, but the Emperor’s will could not be defied, so he could only return to the imperial prison.

In the dark, gloomy dungeon, he knocked on the door and softly called, “Lord Lin.”

Lin Hechang had dozed off. Hearing the voice, he raised his head.

He looked once, then lowered his head and closed his eyes again.

Two seconds later, he opened them once more.

“?”

“Lord Song, are my eyes playing tricks on me? Why are there two identical people?”

Song Jian patted Seventeen and Eighteen, one with each hand. “Your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you, they really aren’t. They’re both my brothers.”

Only then did Lin Hechang let out a sigh of relief. “Scared myself.”

Remembering something, he asked, “Why has Lord Song come again?”

Song Jian: “To be honest with Lord Lin, I’ve come this time on a mission.”

He cleared his throat with great solemnity. “By His Majesty’s order, I’ve come to interrogate Lord Lin. Oh right, and my brother too.”

Turning his head, he asked, “Right, Seventeen?”

“…”

“My lord, I’m Eighteen.”

“Oh, s-sorry, sorry.”

Song Jian turned back. “Lord Lin, we’ve known each other for so long now, so we’re friends no matter what. If you have any secrets, tell me honestly. You’ll suffer less that way, don’t you think?”

Lin Hechang was deeply moved after hearing his words and actually lowered his head to think seriously.

A moment later, he said, “Lord Song, we only met yesterday. It has only been eight hours.”

Song Jian fell silent.

“Was it eight hours, Eighteen?”

Seventeen: “…”

Eighteen: “My lord, I’m here. Yes, eight hours.”

Hahaha.

Song Jian scratched his head. He really couldn’t keep up the act anymore.

After thinking for a moment, he had the prison guard open the cell door. He slipped inside himself and said to Seventeen and Eighteen, “Wait for me a while.”

Seventeen and Eighteen were very self-aware. With a flash, they disappeared from where they stood.

Song Jian sat cross-legged on the ground opposite Lin Hechang.

“Lord Lin, could you tell me what exactly happened?”

Several pieces of dried grass were stuck in Lin Hechang’s hair, making him look somewhat haggard.

“Sigh, it’s a long story.”

Song Jian nodded. “Then tell the long story properly. I have time today.”

Lin Hechang first blew his nose into a handkerchief, then shook his head and said, “People’s hearts are too cold.”

Song Jian: “You don’t dare touch them?”

Lin Hechang burst into tears. “Finally, someone who understands me!”

Seeing Lin Hechang crying so miserably, Song Jian quickly searched his robes for a handkerchief. Just as he was about to hand it over, he saw Lin Hechang use the handkerchief already in his hand to wipe the tears from the corners of his eyes.

Hiss…

Reusing it like that—how could that not be considered diligent and thrifty?

Song Jian became even more convinced that Lin Hechang was a good person. After all, he had never seen a corrupt official use one little handkerchief for both blowing his nose and wiping his tears.

Lin Hechang: “The year I was born…”

Song Jian pondered briefly.

So this was what he meant when he said it was a long story.

Lin Hechang had already begun sobbing as he poured out the hardships of all these years. Song Jian said nothing more and listened patiently, occasionally responding to keep him going.

Lin Hechang: “My life is so bitter~”

Song Jian: “Mm~”

After a while, he roughly understood. Lin Hechang’s experiences were very similar to Xu Xian’s. Both came from poor families, and both entered official service through the imperial examinations in the first year of Chengqian. However, Lin Hechang was considerably older than Xu Xian and nowhere near as naturally gifted.

Xu Xian had been the top scholar that year, while Lin Hechang had only ranked eleventh in the second class. He was also slower at dealing with people, so he had made quite a few enemies in official circles.

Lin Hechang: “I’ve never been able to understand it. Tell me, how could they… how could they suddenly… sigh!”

Song Jian comforted him. “It’s alright, Lord Lin. If there are things you can’t figure out, just set them aside for now. Don’t rush. Think about them again after some time…”

Lin Hechang: “Will I understand them after some time?”

Song Jian: “No. After some time, you’ll forget about them.”

Lin Hechang cried even harder.

On the other side, the prison guards on duty had no idea what was going on. One of them whispered, “Did Lord Song start the interrogation?”

“No clue. It’s the first time I’ve ever heard someone cry that miserably.”

The two exchanged glances and both shivered.

That entire night, Song Jian failed to ask a single important question because Lin Hechang became so overwhelmed by memories of the past that he cried himself unconscious.

So for the second time, Song Jian was summoned before the Emperor early the next morning.

He had already prepared himself to be scolded, but the man only asked, “Did you find anything out?”

Song Jian had originally wanted to say no, but the boss had unexpectedly given him a rare pleasant look, so he racked his brains for a while.

“Yes!”

Xiao Yinghuai raised an eyebrow, seemingly surprised.

Song Jian: “That box of sour fruit Lord Lin gave before was resold by Lord Li from the Ministry of Revenue! He bought up all the fruit in the capital, then went around persuading every official to give it away as gifts, and finally sold it back at a high price! A middleman! Making a profit off the price difference!”

Xiao Yinghuai: “…”

Heh.

He looked away and perfunctorily replied, “Mm. Anything else?”

Song Jian: “Lord Lin paid more than everyone else for that box of fruit. He got ripped off.”

“The son of Minister Cheng once set dogs on Lord Lin.”

“This subordinate also saw him bullying people in the street before.”

…

In this one session, Song Jian reported people with complete satisfaction.

Xiao Yinghuai: “Finished?”

Song Jian’s cheeks were flushed red with excitement as he raised both arms and shouted, “Finished!”

“Then get out.”

Song Jian froze.

“QnQ.”

Xiao Yinghuai: “?”

Song Jian: “Your Majesty, do you think the things this subordinate said are useless?”

“Wah~”

For a moment, Xiao Yinghuai had no answer. After a long pause, he finally said, “When did I ever say they were useless?”

Song Jian immediately broke into a smile again.

Xiao Yinghuai was speechless.

“You may leave.”

Song Jian happily walked out. “Goodbye, Your Majesty~”

After taking only a few steps, he caught sight of a figure from the corner of his eye. It was Long Xiao.

Long Xiao swiftly entered the imperial study. Song Jian slowed his steps and vaguely heard the report from inside, though he only caught a few keywords:

Tracking, Changning, account book.

After that, he went to the imperial prison again. After a night’s rest, Lin Hechang’s mood had clearly stabilized. He was holding a bowl of noodles and noisily slurping them.

Leaning against the cell door, Song Jian smiled. “Morning, Lord Lin.”

Lin Hechang: “Slurp~~~ Morning, Lord Song.”

Song Jian opened the door, went inside, and obediently sat down cross-legged again.

Lin Hechang probably also felt that losing his composure the previous night had been inappropriate. Before Song Jian could even ask, he began talking on his own about what had happened recently.

“For nearly half a month, Changning has been hit by nonstop heavy rain. The day before yesterday, an urgent report came saying the embankments on both sides of the Ning River had collapsed. The strange thing is this: the construction of the Ning River embankments has always been a major project. Every year, the court allocates tens of thousands of taels of silver to Changning. Although the recent rainfall has indeed been heavy, those embankments should never have collapsed.”

As Song Jian listened, he frowned.

Then he suddenly fell silent and pulled something out of his robes.

“Lord Lin… Changning… are these the two characters?”

Lin Hechang: “?”

The next second, he let out the same piercing scream as Gong Defu.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhh—”

“Where did this Changning Deputy Prefect’s token come from?!”

Song Jian jumped in fright. “I picked it up on the street! Picked it up from someone’s hand!”

Lin Hechang had shouted so excitedly that he choked on his noodles. He coughed violently several times, then pinched the philtrum beneath his nose and collapsed limply onto the dry straw.

Holy crap! Again?!

Song Jian rushed over. “Lord Lin! Lord Lin, what’s wrong?”

Hearing the commotion, Seventeen and Eighteen thought Lin Hechang had been assassinated and immediately dashed inside.

Instead, they only saw Lin Hechang weakly cry out, “The Changning Deputy Prefect’s token… appearing in the capital… Lord Yi is in danger!!”

Seeing that Lin Hechang was about to faint, Song Jian shouted anxiously, “Don’t faint!”

That shout forcibly kept Lin Hechang conscious.

Song Jian: “I think I may have seen Lord Yi!”

Lin Hechang recovered 40%.

Song Jian jumped to his feet and headed outside without another word. “I have something to do. You two protect Lord Lin!”

He rushed out of the imperial prison at top speed, then pulled a whistle out of his robes.

Chang Ying had given it to him.

As he ran, Song Jian put it to his lips and blew hard.

Not long afterward, a nimble figure flashed onto the nearby rooftop.

Chang Ying: “Sweet potato, sweet potato, this is Potato.”

Song Jian: “Potato, potato, this is Yam.”

Chang Ying: “Where are we going, my lord?”

Song Jian leaped down from above and pulled the Deputy Prefect’s token from his robes.

“To find someone.”

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