Jinzhou Provincial Governor’s Yamen.
Xie er laoye had been sitting idly for an entire day but still hadn’t seen Gu daren.
At first, he had been quite self-assured.
After all, his elder brother was an official at the East Palace and a rising star in court.
Gu Jiu had injured Xie Xian. When he met Gu daren—Gu meifu—humph, he was determined to question how their family raised their daughter.
Not only had she hurt someone, but she also dared to provoke him. This account needed to be settled properly between the two families.
As time passed, from morning to noon, noon to afternoon, and afternoon to evening, Gu daren never appeared. Xie er laoye‘s confidence wavered and turned to panic.
While he had Xie Mao as his elder brother, Gu daren had Pingnan hou as his biological uncle.
Moreover, Gu daren’s father was a veteran general who had some face in front of his majesty himself.
Thinking deeper, Xie er laoye suddenly realised that his bargaining chips were unable to withstand a single blow in front of Gu daren.
The crown prince was only the crown prince—not yet the emperor.
Gu daren could show respect to the Eastern Palace or choose not to; it was entirely up to him.
With this in mind, Master Xie Er understood that Lord Gu’s refusal to appear was a deliberate show of dominance.
Anxiousness overcame him.
Trapped inside the governor’s office all day, news from the outside couldn’t reach him, and he couldn’t leave. What was he to do?
Would he have to surrender and let Gu daren do as he pleased?
Xie er laoye walked to the door and pushed it open.
The yamen officers guarding the door blocked his way.
He put on an imposing expression. “Step aside! Do you know who I am? I am your master’s brother-in-law. Facing me, your daren has to treat me with respect.”
“Xie er laoye, please return to the room. Without daren‘s permission, you are not allowed to take a single step outside,” the officers didn’t care for Xie er laoye and responded firmly, following Gu daren‘s instructions to the letter.
Xie er laoye was indignant. “Impudent! Do you believe that with one word from me, I can ruin you all?”
The officers sneered coldly. “If Xie er laoye disobeys orders, don’t blame us for being impolite.”
“What… what are you going to do?”
Xie er laoye recoiled in fear as the officers drew their swords.
“Please return to your room,” they said coldly.
Terrified, Xie er laoye took several steps back. “You’re lawless! I demand to see Gu Zhili! Gu Zhili, come out! What is the meaning of locking me in here? Aren’t you afraid of my elder brother holding you accountable?”
“Benguan didn’t know that an official the East Palace dares to meddle in provincial affairs. Aren’t you afraid of being held accountable by his majesty?”
Gu Zhili, Gu daren entered the hall leisurely, followed by a group of people, with his steward, Gu Quan, leading the way.
Seeing Gu daren, Xie er laoye hesitated momentarily before becoming enraged again.
Pointing at Gu daren, he demanded, “Gu Zhili, what is the meaning of this? What are you trying to achieve by locking me here?”
Gu daren crossed the doorstep into the hall and seated himself in the central chair, gesturing to Gu Quan.
Gu Quan understood and stepped forward, holding documents in his hands.
“Xie er laoye, Xie jia’s servants were bold enough to steal sacred Buddhist artifacts from Tianmen Temple. You and your son are the masterminds behind this. Xie er laoye, do you know your crime?”
“You… you’re slandering me!” Xie er laoye turned pale.
Gu Quan smirked disdainfully and presented the signed confessions from the servants. “Your
Xie jia servants have already confessed. Xie er laoye, if you dare to continue quibbling, don’t blame my daren for punishing you severely according to law.”
Xie er laoye‘s pupils dilated as he stared at the documents. “This is a frame-up! I’ll go to the capital and petition in the capital!”
Gu daren snorted coldly. “With evidence as clear as this, you still dare shout and cause a scene, disrespecting the law. Come, take Xie er laoye out and give him thirty lashes first.”
“As you command!”
A group of yamen officers rushed in and began dragging Xie er laoye outside.
Terrified, his legs went weak, and his face turned ashen.
“I was wrong! I admit my mistake! Brother-in-law—no, Gu daren, please spare caomin!”
Gu daren raised a hand, and the officers halted but did not release him. His expression was not angry but imposing.
“Xie er laoye, do you truly admit your guilt?”
“Caomin admits,” he stammered, now fully aware that the only way out was to yield to first resolve the crisis at hand, then scheme slowly later.
Gu daren snorted. Under the 3-foot wooden ruler, he wasn’t afraid the latter wouldn’t give in. He waved, and the officers let go of Xie er laoye, who collapsed to the ground.
Gu daren sipped his tea without a word.
Gu Quan handed over a stack of documents to Xie er laoye.
“Er laoye, please sign and seal these papers.”
Xie er laoye was initially confused. When he saw the content, he was horrified.
The documents included terms for property confiscation, fines, and legal punishments. A piece of paper nearly took his life.
“Gu daren, you are too ruthless!”
Gu Quan rebuked him sharply. “How dare you, a caomin, insult my master?” He looked at Gu daren from the corner of his eye and continued to scold fiercely. “Confiscating the property of a criminal is what should be. You’re lucky he’s letting you off with travel expenses out of respect for familial ties. If you don’t know what is good for you, harsher punishments await.”
Xie er laoye glared at Gu daren. “Gu daren, aren’t you letting down my sister if you do this? Aren’t you afraid my brother will get involved? how can you justify this?”
Gu daren let out a cold snort. “You father and son have the cheek to conspire against and stab benguan in the back in benguan’s jurisdiction. To not have executed you yet—that’s already giving Xie jia enough face. If you’re dissatisfied, feel free to report this to Xie Mao and let him use whatever means he has. Benguan will take it head-on. An insignificant subordinate of the East Palace—do you think I’m afraid of you?”
“You… you…!” Xie er laoye clenched his teeth and roared. “You are really ruthless, a!”
“Benguan is only giving you a taste of your own medicine. To dare scheme under benguan’s nose, you should have this kind of realisation.”
“I… I… This time, I’ll admit defeat. But once I’m in the capital, I will surely…”
“What will you do?” Gu daren looked at Xie er laoye with disdain. “You, a mere commoner—benguan could crush you as easily as squashing an ant. If not for your excellent elder brother, you and your son’s heads would have rolled long ago for what you’ve done.”
Xie er laoye raised his head to look at Gu daren. “Do you really want to push us to the brink? Don’t forget, my sister has borne you two sons and two daughters.”
“Benguan‘s wife is none of your concern,” Gu daren replied coldly. “Benguan has already warned her to sever all ties with you from now on. If you dare to exploit benguan‘s wife again to seek personal gain, benguan will chop off your hand.”
Seeing no way out, Xie er laoye finally understood—this Gu meifu was a ruthless man. Ruthless to himself and even more ruthless to others. Greedy beyond measure, shameless in his methods. He even used this pretext to try and swallow all of the Xie jia’s assets in Jinzhou.
What a venomous mind, what cruel tactics.
Xie er laoye burst into laughter. “Gu daren, you’ve won. May caomin leave now?”
Gu Quan handed him a pen.
After signing, Gu Quan collected the documents. “Jinzhou is too small for a great Buddha like you. I request Xie er laoye to leave with your people within two days. If you delay, the officers outside will personally escort you.”
Seething with anger, Xie er laoye gnashed his teeth. “Good, good. Very good. I finally understand – both master and servant are a pair of wolves!”
Gu Quan replied solemnly, “I ask Xie er laoye to speak cautiously, or you’ll face charges of slandering your superior as well.”
Xie er laoye choked on his fury, nearly spitting blood. He would forever remember this moment and never dare to forget.
For the first time in over a decade since his brother became a official at the East Palace, Xie er laoye had suffered such a humiliating defeat.
He wasn’t resigned. But in someone else’s territory, so what if he was unresigned?
After glaring at Gu daren, he bowed stiffly. “Farewell!” With that, he turned and left.
T/N:
This is the most screentime that Xie er laoye gets. Although the Xie family is like an unkillable cockroach as the stereotypical cannon fodder, I find no one more annoying in this story than Gu Yue. But both parties diminish in importance as the story proceeds.
It feels like the author used the house-fighting trope as a crutch to get started with the story. The business aspect and the bad-assery begin once they move to the capital.
On a positive note, I have prepared a bank of chapters for this novel – so I plan to release it somewhat consistently. So let me know if you like/dislike something (other than the infrequent posts).
Image credits: Selected Texts and Translation.
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