Chapter 48 – Fang YingYing

Editor: kllua

Despite the rumors of Feng Huan bringing misfortune upon his fianceés becoming more and more severe, Imperial Concubine Xian did not give up. However, any woman that she found to be a good match would fall seriously ill. Although none of them ended up dead, people had already grown fearful and parents who loved their daughters dearly started avoiding the imperial concubine. In the end, as she found those that were available unsuitable, Feng Huan’s marriage was delayed and he had no match despite almost reaching 20 years of age. While Imperial Concubine Xian was furious and helpless regarding this situation, Feng Huan was delightfully at ease.

Zhuang Zhong, who saw that Feng Huan was happy with such rumors, could not help asking, “With such a reputation, aren’t you worried that the person you like will not marry you in the future?”

“Do you believe in such things too?”

“Just because I do not believe in it does not mean others will share similar thoughts.”

Feng Huan disagreed. “They are simply not fortunate enough to share my glory.”

Since the person in question was unconcerned, Zhuang Zhong felt that there was no further need for him to be worried.

“I will be 20 next month.”

“Congratulations!”

Feng Huan squinted his eyes and asked, “Are you not going to express your sincerity?”

“Is there even such a thing as asking others for gifts? Besides, the day has not arrived yet so there is no need for you to glare at me. I will use this time to think about what to give you.”

It was only after hearing such words that Feng Huan became satisfied. However, he retorted, “If you are just like the others, doing things for the sake of going through the motions, you can anticipate how I will deal with you.”

Zhuang Zhong said helplessly, “Those that you are familiar with are dignitaries and nobles who possess almost everything in this world. How can I find something different?”

Feng Huan swept his eyes over him with profound meaning. “If you cannot find anything, you can just give yourself to me. I will make do with it.”

Zhuang Zhong rolled his eyes, “Should I thank you for being willing to accept this trash?”

“That is not necessary. After all, you have a few charming points.”

Too lazy to reason with him, Zhuang Zhong changed the topic, “That day should be pretty lively right?”

“The emperor will preside over it personally.”

Since Feng Huan has no father or brother, it made sense that Emperor Qian Xing, as his uncle, would preside over it personally. However, such an honor was too heavy and it might result in great waves at that time.

“On that day, I will just send the present and not show up. How about celebrating with you alone later?”

When Feng Huan heard the first sentence, his face sank immediately. It was only when he heard the second part that he relaxed. “On that day, all the top officials and nobles in the capital will attend. Don’t regret it later.”

Zhuang Zhong smiled. “I am not good at communicating with others. Besides, I might as well rely on you as backing instead of pandering to those people.”

“You have good insight!” Feng Huan who heard such words was relieved and he continued, “After the coming of age celebration, I will be leading my troops to settle in YunZhou. Previously, I had asked you which way you would choose, but is it still the same choice now? After all, the war in YunZhou was triggered by the rebellion of King ZhenNan. Although it has been more than ten years, it is still barren, and the situation inside is extremely complex. Knowing this, are you still willing to head there with me?”

“The more complex the terrain is, the better the training and this would make it easier for one to climb higher in the future. Besides, with you protecting me, what could happen? I will listen to your arrangement.” Although there was no way to get revenge for the time being, Zhuang Zhong had wanted to look around, especially since it was the former territory of King ZhenNan. Not only that, Yuan Jue’s death also had something to do with this man and he wanted to probe around for more information.

Feeling extremely satisfied with Zhuang Zhong’s obedience, the corners of Feng Huan’s mouth slightly lifted. “YunZhou is a long way from the capital. By taking a post with me at that time, you will be able to avoid any troubles.”

“But I have not been in the law college for three years as required, and I still have to take the exam.”

“Notwithstanding those few months you are lacking, the skills you possess are already sufficient for you to take on the position. Moreover, you are different from ordinary law students and it is rare for people like you to be willing to condescend to take a post in a remote place so no one would make any carping comments.”

Although GuoZi Xue no longer exists, Zhuang Zhong still bore its reputation. After all, students from GuoZi Xue would usually have a good future unless they themselves or their family committed a crime. So, for such young lords to head to remote places, there were not many that were willing. This was especially so for YunZhou which was extremely remote and ravaged by the war. Before leaving, King ZhenNan had also emptied its treasury, causing many people with background to prefer to go on with their lives in the capital than be a county magistrate there.

For these two years, Zhuang Zhong has been studying while solving cases. This, coupled with the one-on-one guidance by Sun ChaoYang meant that he had already reached the graduation criteria. However, for Zhuang Zhong to become the head of a county, he did not have any confidence. After all, the county magistrate should not only solve cases, but also be in charge of other matters in the county. As a forensic examiner, he could be considered as a skilled person but he had never been a leader so it was inevitable for him to be terrified.

Feng Huan raised his eyebrows. “You are afraid?”

“A little. I am afraid of not doing well.”

Feng Huan laughed. “On normal days, you do not even frown when touching the disgusting rotten corpses. Now when you are about to be appointed, you actually become timid.”

Zhuang Zhong scratched his head. “Isn’t it because I have no experience? After all, the county magistrate is in charge of a county while I usually only solve cases.”

“Regarding the other matters in the county, I will send competent people to share the workload with you so you just have to learn from them. Besides, this is just a springboard, I will let you focus on the path of criminal punishments in the future.”

After listening to such words from Feng Huan, Zhuang Zhong felt extremely relieved.

“How is it? Aren’t you fortunate to know me?” Feng Huan said and raised his eyebrows.

Zhuang Zhong cupped his hands together and bowed. “Many thanks to Your Highness. If it is something I can do in the future, I am at your disposal!”

Feng Huan smiled meaningfully, “Do remember what you said.”

The next day, Feng Huan ordered someone to hand Zhuang Zhong the relevant county materials so that he could understand it in advance and adapt as soon as possible. The private assistant to be assigned to him in the next few days would also follow him around to cultivate some tacit understanding in advance.

The county Zhuang Zhong was appointed to was Mei county, which was a relatively remote and poor county in YunZhou. Located close to Li country, it had less than a thousand households and was considered a lower-tier county. Besides, the county magistrate being an eighth-grade official post, the local conditions and customs were also quite different from those in the capital. Previously, when King ZhenNan was present, the county flourished and there were more than 2000 households, making it a big county. However, because of the war, there was a sharp decrease in people with many choosing to hide in the wooded mountains and become mountain people. This, coupled with the lacking abilities of the previous county magistrate caused many of those people to rather live a life of hiding as they would be dead once they were caught going down the mountain.

“Mei county?” Sun ChaoYang asked when he came in and saw the file in Zhuang Zhong’s hand.

Despite being found, Zhuang Zhong did not conceal anything. After all, compared to the capital where he needed to be prudent, going to that remote mountainous area would only make people applaud due to the decrease of a competitor.

“Mister also knows this place?”

“I have a friend in Mei county, which is quite impoverished and harsh. Are you going there as an official?” Sun ChaoYang was a little surprised.

“Yes, I would like to gain some experience and toughen myself up.”

Sun ChaoYang stroked his beard and said, “It should be so, but there are many trivial things that come with being a county magistrate. Do not lose your skills because of that as you still have to rely on those skills as an official.”

“This student will remember mister’s teachings.” Zhuang Zhong’s attitude was extremely respectful. Although he was better than Sun ChaoYang in inspections, he was not as good as him in terms of settling cases due to the rich experiences the latter possessed. Moreover, in this world, it was not enough to just know how to solve cases. Knowing how to deal with others could also be considered one of the secrets to success and Sun ChaoYang had never been stingy, teaching him a lot. This had then allowed him to gain fame and gradually made a reputation in the capital.

“The situation there is complicated and I am afraid that there will be people making things difficult for you when you first reach there. So, remember to act appropriately and be careful. I will also write to my good friend and ask him to take care of you. He has some influence in Mei county, you can take my invitation to visit him at that time. Although he is just a squire, do not be too arrogant in front of him. After all, it is impossible for a strong dragon to suppress a local snake.”

“Thank you, mister!” Zhuang Zhong had not expected such a surprise. Even though Feng Huan would be around, he could not rely entirely on the other party’s forces to handle matters, as it was not good for his growth.

When Zhuang Zhong came out of the Central Judicial office, a young man who had been waiting at the door for a long time ran over. “Are you the expert in solving cases, Lord Zhuang?”

“I am Zhuang Zhong. Why are you looking for me?”

“My family is involved in an unjust case. Would you be willing to help?”

Ever since Zhuang Zhong had become famous, it was common for him to be intercepted on his way anywhere, so he just asked, “What is the case? Have you been to the Yamen to beat the drums and voice your grievances?”

“This matter is not suitable to be known by outsiders. Would Lord Zhuang be willing to talk with me in detail in the teahouse?”

Zhuang Zhong swept his eyes over the young man. At only 13 or 14 years old, his face was covered in ashes while his clothes were in tatters. Although he was trying to hide it, Zhuang Zhong could see that “he” was a woman disguised as a man.

Not daring to lower his guard for fear of fraud, Zhuang Zhong asked, “Why are you being so secretive when you want to complain about your grievances?”

The young “man” bit his lower lip, dodged his eyes, and replied after a while, “I heard that Lord Zhuang is one of Prince Si Zhao’s people?”

Hearing such words, Zhuang Zhong did not know why he felt troubled. However, he was also surprised as to why Prince Si Zhao was mentioned and became more vigilant. “What are you mentioning him for?”

“Since you are his people, you should relieve his worries! His fiancée is framed, are you going to ignore it?”

Zhuang Zhong asked in surprise, “What do you mean?”

“Lord Zhuang just needs to head to QingFeng Tavern to know what happened. Our young lady wants an answer and hopes that Lord Zhuang will help when taking into account Prince Si Zhao.”

“Who is your lady?”

After looking around and making sure there was no one, the servant girl whispered, “The daughter of the Minister of Rites, Fang YingYing.”

Previously, Feng Huan had found out that Fang Yingying was not dead, but had secretly run away, so Zhuang Zhong was not surprised upon hearing this name. The matters regarding Feng Huan’s two fianceés had also been strange, but their families did not want to investigate deeply and covered it up. Eventually, it was only when Prince Si Zhao found out that it had nothing to do with him that he gave up and bore the reputation of bringing misfortune to his fiancées. Meanwhile, due to the habits of Zhuang Zhong’s profession, he has always wanted to find out what happened. However, was this person in front of him credible?

Seeing that there was no movement from Zhuang Zhong, the servant girl was so anxious that she stamped her feet. “Lord Zhuang, they all say that you are warm-hearted and righteous. Are you not even going to help with such a small matter?”

“How do I know you are Fang YingYing’s servant girl?” This was not Zhuang Zhong being too overly cautious. After all, with the recent unrest in the capital, especially when he was recognized as Marquis WenYuan’s son, had resulted in more people keeping an eye on him. This was also the reason why Feng Huan was so eager to let him leave the capital to become a local official. Now, he was too weak, and coupled with the struggles in court, made it easy for others to pull people like him in as cannon fodder.

When the servant girl was about to say something, she saw someone approaching Zhuang Zhong from behind and stared. “Your-Your Highness…”

Feng Huan ignored her. Looking towards Zhuang Zhong, he asked, “What is the matter?”

“This person said she was Fang YingYing’s servant girl and asked me to find out the truth for her.”

Feng Huan frowned slightly, and the servant girl fell down on her knees. “Pleading Your Highness to bring justice for my young lady.”

As Feng Huan did not respond, the servant girl hurriedly added, “The situation is not what you think and I hope that Your Highness and Lord Zhuang would agree to having a talk. My young lady only wants the truth, otherwise she would not die in peace.”

Feng Huan and Zhuang Zhong’s eyes met. “What do you think?”

With Feng Huan around, Zhuang Zhong was not afraid of fraud as he always had guards following him around. Zhuang Zhong then replied, “I want to see what is going on. After all, she was once your fiancée and they would not be that arrogant and dare to provoke you. Besides, it is also better to find out what is truly going on as such uncertainty will always make people uncomfortable.”

It was after hearing such a reply that Feng Huan responded and asked the servant girl to lead the way.