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P.S. – We will be resuming our weekly release schedule from this Thursaday onwards.

Chapter 130 : Imprisonment

Trigger Warning: intention to sexually assault.

“Stop talking rubbish!” The officer in charge was a stranger. He scrutinised Jiang Ruan haughtily, and with a wave of his hand, two bailiffs stepped forward to detain her. At this time, Jiang Quan was not in the fu, and the only one amongst the womenfolk present who could exert authority was Hong Ying. With great awkwardness, Hong Ying glanced at the officer in charge and said, “Daren, this situation has not yet been clearly sorted out.”

“Clearly sorted out?” The officer in charge gaped at Hong Ying with a mystified expression before saying, “Someone has made an accusation that the Jiang family’s eldest di daughter murdered her blood-related grandmother, and there is both personal testimony and material evidence. If there’s anything more to say, she can say it in the prison!” He regarded Jiang Ruan with a smile and said, “Eldest Jiang Miss, pardon me.”

“Daren is taking such great pains over this matter, it is really moving,” Jiang Ruan said with a small smile. “But, where is the official document?”

It was as if the officer in charge knew that Jiang Ruan would ask precisely this. With a complacent smile, he fished an arrest warrant from his robes and waved it before Jiang Ruan’s eyes. White paper, black words, the official seal – without doubt, it was authentic.

“Eldest Jiang Miss, do you see this clearly?”

Jiang Ruan’s eyes lightly flitted across Second Yiniang and Jiang Dan, who were standing to one side, before she said diffidently, “I see it clearly.”

“Then, after you.”

“Miss!” Lian Qiao and Bai Zhi called out in alarm.

Jiang Ruan said, “You stay here.”

Second Yiniang’s eyes lit up in elation for a brief moment; Jiang Dan appeared to have been shocked catatonic by the scene in front of her and was hiding behind Second Yiniang, unable to speak, while Jiang Su Su put on a sorrowful front. Cai Que and Du Juan stood sentinel on each side of Old Jiang Madame’s body, carefully wiping the blood off her lips.

Contrary to what one might expect, the most unperturbed person in the room seemed to be Jiang Ruan. She studied the two bailiffs behind her and said, coolly, “I can walk by myself, there’s no need to be so courteous.”

The news of Jiang Ruan’s murder of Old Jiang Madame and her subsequent arrest by the officers caused a huge upheaval in Jiang fu. In Ruan Ju, Jin Er and Jin San bore sombre expressions. Jin San said, “I will follow Miss Jiang to the prison to watch over her; you look for Master.”

Jin Er nodded and was just about to leave when he saw Lu Zhu running helter-skelter into the courtyard. She looked around in all directions and, seeming somewhat at a loss, called in a small voice, “Jin . . . Er?”

Jin Er paused. He quickly vaulted from the tree to land in front of Lu Zhu. “What is it?”

At this point, Lu Zhu was no longer startled or bothered by Jin Er’s unpredictable entrances and exits. She retrieved a letter from her bosom and handed it to Jin Er, saying, “Miss asks you to give this letter to Xiao Wangye.”

Jin Er stowed the letter securely, nodded, and said, “All right, I understand.”

While he was leaving, Lu Zhu called out again, “Hey.” Jin Er turned his head to see Lu Zhu looking at him before hesitantly saying, “What happened previously is all my fault. This time, Miss has been set up, I beg of you to protect Miss.”

Jin Er was somewhat astounded by this. It was rare for Lu Zhu to speak softly and beseech anyone; on thinking about it, she must really be devoted to Jiang Ruan. As a subordinate himself, he greatly admired loyalty in people. He smiled and said, “I would still protect Miss even if you didn’t tell me to. You should be careful as well.” Having said this, he moved away swiftly without looking back.

When Lu Zhu turned around, Tian Zhu was just coming out of the residence. With a frosty expression on her face, she said, “We will make our move tonight.”

* * *

The news that Jiang Ruan had been arrested by the officers spread like wildfire through the capital in the shortest time possible, and the city was ablaze with chatter. Ever since Hong’an Junzhu had returned to the capital, she had enjoyed unreserved praise, and she also had an elder brother who was like a war god. Thus, all the common people had been extremely fond of her. Who knew that such a situation would suddenly explode out of nowhere; it was really such a shame. Yet there were those who loved to kick people when they were down. Therefore they claimed that they had long foreseen that Jiang Ruan was discontented and that her charming appearance concealed a vicious heart, such that not even her own blood-related grandmother could escape her clutches. She was truly malicious.

Meanwhile, the object of discussion, Jiang Ruan, was at that moment quietly leaning against the damp and cold walls of the prison, looking down at the dirty straw before her.

In reality, the evidence which Second Yiniang possessed was not enough to convict her. Even though she had Cai Que’s testimony, it would still not be easy to bring her down. Jiang Dan was not someone who was short-sighted, so there must be other twists and turns in store for her.

The officer in charge was named Li Qiang. For the patrol station to have so quickly received the official arrest warrant for Jiang Ruan, it could only have been on the orders of Hu Qian Qiu, the Regional Inspector of the Censorate[1]?. And, this Hu Qian Qiu . . . A sliver of frigid intent flashed across Jiang Ruan’s eyes. Second Yiniang was the shu daughter of the Minister of Appointments. When young, she had had a childhood sweetheart in the form of her older cousin on her mother’s side. This person was none other than Hu daren, Hu Qian Qiu, presently the Regional Inspector of the Censorate. However, at that time, Hu Qian Qiu’s family background did not match up to Second Yiniang’s fu, and the Minister of Appointments wanted to use Second Yiniang to establish good relations with Jiang fu, and so their fated marriage was broken off.

[1] 御史台 yùshǐ tái [Pre-Ming] / 检察院 jiǎn chá yuàn [Post-Ming]) – The Censorate. A branch of the centralized bureaucracy parallelling the Six Ministries under the direct control of the Emperor. They were the Emperor’s eyes and ears and checked the administrators at each level of government to prevent corruption and malfeasance. Generally, they were feared and disliked by the other ministers. Based on the Hucker dictionary, the Regional Inspector in the Ming dynasty had the duty of an investigating censor. He has a once per year assignment to tour all localities in the jurisdiction to observe government activities and audit accounts etc.

Li Qiang was Second Yiniang’s eldest nephew, and Hu Qian Qiu was Second Yiniang’s former lover. Clearly, Jiang Ruan had been imprisoned due to their plotting. Hu Qian Qiu had held his current position for many years, and was firmly ensconced. In truth, he did have some ability, and it was hard to believe he would stick his neck out for Second Yiniang. On thinking about it further, the largesse that Second Yiniang had shown the Jiang fu’s servants over the past few days must have been to ensure that if she failed, she would not go down by herself – she would take all of them with her.

However, no matter how foolish or infatuated Hu Qian Qiu was, he would not do anything that might cost him his job. Therefore, Second Yiniang’s trump card did not lie in the Regional Inspector of the Censorate, rather . . . she smiled slightly. Li Qiang.

The information Lu Zhu received as she asked around was pretty clear – Second Yiniang had recently been selling jewellery and precious stones. Hu Qian Qiu would not need Second Yiniang’s jewellery. On the other hand, Second Yiniang’s nephew, the ignorant and incompetent Li Qiang, had relied on his family to buy the position of a minor official. All day long, this privileged degenerate dallied with prostitutes and enjoyed a licentious lifestyle. It was said that he had lost a huge sum of silver at gambling a few days ago. Among all the people on earth, the gambling addict had the greatest nerve, especially a gambler who had racked up huge losses.

Second Yiniang had promised Li Qiang a large sum of money. What did she want Li Qiang to do?

Night had already fallen, and the prison cell became damper and colder. This cell seemed to have been specially arranged, for there were no prisoners in the surrounding cells. All of them were deserted, except for hers. She was completely alone; even the jailor had disappeared to goodness knows where.

From a distance came the sound of footsteps, and a party of people walked in, led by someone clad in roughspun hemp clothes. On seeing Jiang Ruan, he could not help but give a little start before he narrowed his eyes and said, “Junzhu’s courage is truly great, and cause for admiration.” It was Li Qiang.

Jiang Ruan smiled faintly and said, “Young Master Li flatters too much.” In her previous life she had never been held in any kind of prison, but she had stayed in places much colder and gloomier than this prison, so what was there to be afraid of at present?

Li Qiang’s eyes flashed briefly. “Junzhu actually knows this person, that is truly surprising.”

Jiang Ruan contemplated the people standing behind Li Qiang. There were several of them, and they were all strong, rough-looking men who were surveying her with unbridled lust; at one glance, it was clear what their intent was.

“How much money did Second Yiniang give you?” Jiang Ruan asked all of a sudden.

Li Qiang did not expect this question from her. He eyed Jiang Ruan warily before breaking into a smile and saying, “There’s no harm in telling Junzhu. Thirty thousand taels of silver.”

Jiang Ruan nodded. Thirty thousand taels of silver . . . When Jiang Li got married, her entire dowry was not more than fifty thousand taels of silver, yet Second Yiniang was still able to provide such a huge sum of money. She must have sold off all her property and everything she owned – just to buy Jiang Ruan’s life? Second Yiniang’s mind was really too simple.

Noticing Jiang Ruan’s ambiguous half smile, Li Qiang’s expression tightened and he asked, “Does Junzhu have something she wants to say?”

“This junzhu’s life is only valued at a trifling few thousand taels of silver?” Jiang Ruan said indifferently, “Isn’t that too pitiful?”

“What does Junzhu mean?” Li Qiang narrowed his eyes.

“I will buy out this deal for a hundred thousand taels of silver,” said Jiang Ruan.

Li Qiang was startled by this offer, as were the people behind him. The rumours were really true, that Jiang Ruan was very generous when taking action. Surely she had obtained many good things by being with Empress Dowager Yi De. It would be a lie to say that he was not tempted. Li Qiang had run up a huge debt just a few days prior, and it was with great difficulty that he had gotten involved in this scheme of Second Yiniang’s. Although he knew it was dangerous, he also knew that not repaying his debt was a sure route to death. Now that Jiang Ruan had offered him a sum of hundred thousand, how could he not turn it over in his mind? Different emotions flitted across his face, and he seemed to be on the cusp of changing his tune, when a burly man next to him coughed lightly out of the blue.

The unexpected sound roused Li Qiang. With some resentment, he glared at Jiang Ruan and laughed cruelly before he said, “Junzhu is truly intelligent. However, this person is not greedy, and this person does not dare to involve himself in Junzhu’s scheme.”

If it were any other ordinary person, an about-face like this would be nothing of concern. Moreover, Li Qiang had no real affection for his aunt, Second Yiniang. However, Jiang Ruan was the Hong’an Junzhu, and he was very deep in debt this time round. Thus, he did not dare to act rashly. What if, when Jiang Ruan was safe and sound after the end of the matter, she decided to look for him again to settle accounts? The imperial family would definitely not pardon him. With such a possibility, in the end, only dead men would tell no tales.

Li Qiang clapped his hands and walked forward slowly. He said, “Tonight, I fear I will have to offend Junzhu.” He stuck the flaming torch in his hand into the mouth of a stone beast on the wall. In the light of the flames, Jiang Ruan sat serenely in her prison cell, while her garments seemed to give off a fiery glow. She appeared refined and charming, with an unexpectedly icy indifference.

粉彩女俑 | Art Blart

A Han Dynasty Stone Beast

Li Qiang swallowed several times. He knew that this junzhu was a natural beauty, but seeing her at close quarters today was even more arousing.

Jiang Ruan asked, lightly, “Young Master Li intends to kill me so your secrets will be safe?”

“Early tomorrow morning, the common people of the capital will hear the news that the imprisoned Junzhu, dreading punishment, has killed herself,’ Li Qiang laughed coarsely as he said. “However, before that happens, Junzhu can still enjoy herself.”

Kill her and pass it off as suicide – did Li Qiang think that the people of the capital were fools? She already considered Second Yiniang and Jiang Li to be brainless, but she had not thought that the entire family was the same. However, she also knew that Second Yiniang’s hatred for her must be bone-deep in order to come up with such a method for tormenting her. Not only did Second Yiniang plan to have her lose her innocence before death, she also wanted to destroy her reputation.

Noticing that Jiang Ruan’s expression had shown no degree of change, Li Qiang felt his desire growing even more. With a wave of his hand, the cell door was opened, and a group of burly men gathered around. Li Qiang smiled and said, “Hong’an Junzhu, we will all feel good.”

Jiang Ruan restrained herself from showing any emotion. She had yet to activate the mechanism of her Blood Moon bracelet when a ‘peng’ was heard. Light glinting off a dagger and blossoms of blood burst forth at the same time. Before her eyes, several men collapsed in an instant, and only Li Qiang was left standing.

The main door had already been kicked in. On the black robe of the young man a golden qilin glinted as it rode the fire and the roaring wind, like it was about to spring out of the brocaded cloth. Xiao Shao walked in and said, coldly, “You’re courting death.”

When Li Qiang realised who he was, his entire body shuddered abruptly and he immediately felt an immense despair. Second Yiniang had never mentioned that Jiang Ruan and Great Jin’s Jinying Wang had any kind of special relationship. Deadly frightened, the lower part of his body became damp, and a foul stench suddenly filled the entire prison cell. At once, Li Qiang sank to his knees and begged for mercy, gasping, “Wangye, please be magnani[2] . . .” Before he could finish speaking, his throat had been slashed, blood spurted out, and he toppled over without further ceremony.

[2] 高抬贵手 (gao tai gui shou) – this is the phrase he was trying to utter, which means ‘please be magnanimous/ generous’. He only got as far as 高抬.

Devoid of expression, Xiao Shao put away his dagger and strode forward.

Hidden in a dark corner, Jin San noiselessly retreated and left. Her master did not wait for her to take action, but had set out to rescue Jiang Ruan personally. It would not be convenient for her to remain.

Jiang Ruan’s emotions quietened down after a momentary astonishment. She had considered that Xiao Shao might come after he had read the contents of her letter, but she never expected that he would be so fast. Remaining calm and collected, she put down her left hand, which had been covering the Blood Moon bracelet, and said, “I will have to trouble you to clean up this mess later.”

Xiao Shao nodded and pulled open the cell door to walk in. He frowned on noting the thoroughly damp and dark environment of the cell and asked, “Is the matter you spoke of in the letter true?”

“It’s true.” Jiang Ruan said, “I should not have used it at this time, but . . . let it be. It’s also good to settle it earlier.”

The contents of the letter should actually be used in future. She had no idea that Second Yiniang would be this stupid, thus forcing her to bring it out earlier. However, doing this would inadvertently alert the enemy. In the end, they would just have to watch and see what happened in future.

Xiao Shao pursed his lips as his eyes turned cold for a split second. He said, “They intended to kill you to silence you.” Not only that, they wanted to ruin her innocence before her death. Although he knew that Jin Er and Jin San were by her side to protect her, when he heard of this situation, he could not help but worry and rushed over. When he recalled the scene just moments earlier, his entire body was overtaken by a sense of icy hostility.

Jiang Ruan was unaware that Xiao Shao’s Jinyi Guard had already sussed out the whole sequence of events. She simply explained, “Second Yiniang was instigated by Fourth Sister to come up with this method of dealing with me. We have no need to fear the Minister of Appointments; the person who will give us trouble is the Regional Inspector of the Censorate.” Hu Qian Qiu had been sitting in his position for many years and had arranged everything there, by bribery or otherwise, to his satisfaction. In addition, the Emperor was very fond of this right-hand man[3]. In her previous life, from what she could perceive of the Jiang family’s affairs, this Hu Qian Qiu had never been in contact with them. As a matter of fact, Hu Qian Qiu was in Fifth Prince’s faction and had nothing to do with Xuan Li. Who knew that he would be such an affectionate person, willing to take such risks for the sake of Second Yiniang.

[3] 肱骨之臣 (gong gu zhi chen) – 肱骨 = humerus, the bone between the elbow and the shoulder. Thus, a minister who is considered important to the Emperor, whom he relies on.

“Let me deal with this,” Xiao Shao said. “There’s no need to worry.”

A little sluggish, Jiang Ruan looked at Xiao Shao. Xiao Shao was peering intently back at her with undisguised concern in his eyes. She said, “All right.”

He could sense that Jiang Ruan’s attitude was gradually changing, from the initial alienating gulf between them to this slowly-developing trust; perhaps Jiang Ruan herself had not yet discovered this detail. Xiao Shao felt his mood lift for some unknown reason. He surveyed the surroundings before saying, “Tonight . . . just hold on. I’ll bring you out tomorrow.”

Jiang Ruan muttered softly, “You take care, too.”

Xiao Shao’s eyes lit up briefly with a smile. He thought for a moment, then crouched down in front of her. He fished out a very small object that resembled a whistle from his robes, and said, “The Jinyi Guards are concealed everywhere. If there is danger, you can use this whistle, and the Jinyi Guards nearby will come.”

It must be his personal token. Before Jiang Ruan could say anything, Xiao Shao had already stood up and ordered the Jinyi Guard to take away the corpses and clean up the mess. Jiang Ruan tucked the whistle into her sleeve, lowered her eyes, and fell into deep contemplation.

* * *

The General fu.

Zhao Guang found out about Jiang Ruan’s situation after leaving the court, and was a hair’s breadth away from grabbing some men and charging into the prison. It was with great difficulty that everyone managed to talk him out of it. Li-shi was so worried that she cried. Wiping away her tears, she said, “Ruan’er is a good girl, how could she be locked up in prison? What nonsense to say she murdered Old Jiang Madame, I don’t believe it, she must have been set up.”

All the men of the Zhao family were incredibly brave, while the women born to the Zhao family were beautiful and delicate. When Li-shi teared up, Zhao Guang panicked. Zhao Yuan Ping exhorted, “Mother, don’t worry, Third Brother has already gone to the prison to see what’s going on.”

“That Jiang family, even on pain of death we should have brought Ruan’er and Xin Zhi back here,” Li-shi said, full of regret. “That family is evil, a pack of ravenous wolves, no, how can my heart be at ease if Ruan’er stays any longer in that fu?”

Zhao Yulong whispered, “It also depends on whether she is willing to come back here.”

“Yulong,” Zhao Yuan Ping said to his son while staring at him in warning, causing him to fall silent. Regarding his biaomei, Zhao Yulong had long had the impression that her affection for the Zhao family was gossamer thin. Seeing his grandfather and grandmother as well as the entire household in distress over her situation- Zhao Yulong pursed his lips.

Zhao Feizhou asked Zhao Yuan Ping, “Second Uncle, when will Ruan Meimei be released?”

Zhao Guang also stared at Zhao Yuan Ping, who said helplessly, “First we have to ascertain what actually happened. With Third brother at the prison, he should be able to arrange things. However, it is quite strange that the Regional Inspector of the Censorate issued the arrest warrant so quickly.” He rubbed his chin and said, while deep in thought, “Father, you should visit the palace and seek an audience with the Emperor. For the sake of our family, the Emperor will not move against Jiang Ruan for the time being. Eldest Brother and I will meet with this Regional Inspector. Eldest nephew, select some men from among the bodyguards and take them with you to the gate of Jiang fu to make some inquiries. That this should happen to Ruan’er without reason means that she must have offended someone. Mother and Sister-in-law, wait in the fu for news. Then, if there are any problems, we can work out a response.”

Once everything had been organized in this manner, the General fu resumed its tranquility.

* * *

Xiao Shao walked out of the prison door, leaving several secret guards behind to deal with the corpses in the cell. He had just descended the stairs when he stopped suddenly, his eyes shining like cold stars.

Footsteps sounded from his left, and Zhao Yuan Feng came into view, critically assessing Xiao Shao as he walked. Mockingly, he said, “Xiao Wangye moves extremely quickly.”

Xiao Shao shot him a glance and continued moving forwards. Zhao Yuan Feng stretched out his arm to stop him. Although he was Xiao Shao’s senior, in the face of this youth who had commanded a few hundred thousand Jinyi Guards from a young age, he felt he was standing before a compelling force. Displeased with Xiao Shao’s attitude, and being one who acted like he was a law unto himself, he said plainly, “Xiao Wangye is too close to Ruan’er.”

Xiao Shao halted. “What can you do?”

Zhao Yuan Feng was stunned and almost fainted from anger at Xiao Shao’s rude words. Whatever the circumstance, he was still the Zhao family’s Third Young Master, and the dignified, respectable young military officer of high rank. That Xiao Shao would speak to him thus painted him as being terribly incompetent.

Xiao Shao retrieved a letter from his robes and tossed it to Zhao Yuan Feng. Zhao Yuan Feng caught it and, while simmering at Xiao Shao’s rudeness, rapidly skimmed through the letter. His expression changed, and he asked, “You want to give this letter . . .”

“Give it to the Censorate.” Xiao Shao said coolly, “Hu Qian Qiu has a hidden agenda, and he does not need to be the Censorate’s Regional Inspector any more.”

“Xiao Wangye, the Censorate might reshuffle the cards this time,” Zhao Yuan Feng said tentatively. “I’m afraid . . . it might not be that easy.”

“It’s the right time for a purge.” Xiao Shao replied calmly, but Zhao Yuan Feng felt a wave of cold sweep over him for no reason, such that his entire body shivered.