Just like the last coal mine case, Wen Wan didn’t appear directly as Miss Song, but disguised herself as Song Wei’s little follower.
Song Wei was a Hanlin Official and also served as an Imperial Tutor, reading books and expounding on the classics to the Emperor every few days. Therefore, even when going out to handle cases, he couldn’t neglect his reading.
He needed to read, so he had to bring books, and to bring books, he needed an Attendant Student to help carry the book basket.
Wen Wan’s duty was to help the lord carry a small book basket. Inside the basket were brushes, ink, and books.
It was really just for show, so she wouldn’t be overburdened; Song Wei didn’t bring many books.
At daybreak, the sun erged through the clouds, casting golden light over the lush, vibrant early sumr landscape.
It was a bright sunny day.
When the two parties t at the West City Gate, Su Xiang’s hawk-like eyes glanced at Wen Wan, "Is he all you’re bringing?"
Song Wei smiled faintly, "This official has no guards in the governnt, so I fear we must rely on the Pri Minister for safety on this journey."
The implication was that any mishap along the way would be due to inadequate protection from the Pri Minister’s people.
Su Xiang snorted softly and got into the carriage with a sweep of his sleeve.
Song Wei chuckled, turned his head to Wen Wan, and said, "Let’s go!"
Once in the carriage, Wen Wan put down the book basket and finally relaxed.
Song Wei asked her, "Are you afraid?"
Wen Wan looked up at the man, her delicate brows slightly raised, "Shouldn’t it be you, my lord, who should be afraid?"
Song Wei took her hand and rubbed it in his palm a couple of tis, lowering his gaze.
Wen Wan, feeling the warmth in his palm, suddenly asked, "If we avenge my elder brother and sister-in-law this ti, will it resolve your heart’s knot?"
He only replied with six words: "The dead cannot be brought back to life."
Wen Wan couldn’t see any emotion on his face, but she felt sure that when he said this, his heart was like being cut by a knife.
There was a mont of silence in the carriage. Wen Wan slowly withdrew her hand, picked up the book basket, and took out a storybook from the bottom layer. As she flipped through it, she said, "This little story here is quite exciting. Shall I tell you a story, my lord?"
Seeing her earnestly take on the role of a book-boy made Song Wei involuntarily laugh. He nodded, "Alright."
Wen Wan opened to the little story she had recently read and began to tell it earnestly.
While telling the story, her eyes focused intently on the book. Song Wei’s gentle gaze fell on her fair and delicate profile, and the corners of his mouth once again lifted into a smile.
After finishing the story, Wen Wan noticed the man’s gaze. Her cheeks felt a little hot. She snapped the storybook shut with a soft clap, cleared her throat, and asked, "Have you finished listening?"
Song Wei softly mm-hd in agreent.
Wen Wan said, "Then I want to test you. What was the eventual outco for the scholar in the story?"
Song Wei: "..."
It was rare to see him at a loss before her, and Wen Wan huffed lightly, "Not paying attention while listening to the story. What were you thinking?"
Song Wei countered, "Your story had a scholar?"
"How could it not? I clearly told a story about a scholar and a rich family’s young lady."
Feeling guilty, she closed the storybook as she spoke, not wanting him to find out.
Song Wei leisurely took the storybook from Wen Wan’s hand, accurately turned to the page where she had been telling the story, and opened it in front of her.
The story was not about a scholar and a rich heiress, but a hunter nad Fan Hu. His biological father was killed on the way to sell firewood. Seeking revenge, he killed the murderer and then turned himself in. The local governnt didn’t know how to sentence him, so the case was escalated up to the Emperor.
Traditionally, a murderer pays with his life, a principle long established. Yet, throughout history, from the Imperial Family down to ordinary households, filial piety has been extolled.
Fan Hu’s vengeance for his father was an act of filial piety. If executed under the "life for a life" principle, it would surely dishearten dutiful sons everywhere. But if not executed, he was undeniably a murderer.
The Emperor found this case particularly vexing.
The storybook did not provide a final outco.
The awkwardness of having her lie exposed didn’t last long. Wen Wan looked at Song Wei, "If this case were yours to judge, how would you rule?"
Song Wei pondered for a mont, "When a life for a life conflicts with filial piety being supre, the death penalty might be avoided, but not lesser punishnt."
Wen Wan suddenly thought of sothing, "Then if it were the kin of the mining disaster victims avenging by killing Lu Yanqing and Cheng Fei, would it also be lesser punishnt?"
Song Wei sat more upright, adopting the solemn deanor of teaching, "A nation has its laws, and a family has its rules. If we do not punish and instead implicitly allow ’filial acts’ to justify killings for revenge, then chaos would ensue among the populace."
Wen Wan asked again, "When my elder brother and sister-in-law died back then, did you ever think about personally killing those bandits?"
Song Wei was silent. Of course, he had thought about it; not only had he thought about it, but he also went there himself. He just didn’t expect He Yui to appear halfway, and because he was unprepared, he got stabbed by her. The injury wasn’t too severe, but it was on his soft waist and abdon. At the ti, the blood kept flowing, and he had to seek dical attention promptly.
His "revenge action" was thus terminated.
Song Wei thought, if He Yui hadn’t shown up back then, he might have found the bandits’ lair and possibly fought them out of anger.
Wen Wan put away the storybook and gently pressed her fingers on the spot of his waist and abdon where he’d been injured. In a soft voice, she said, "Husband, actually back in Ningzhou, Mother-in-law told everything. This scar of yours wasn’t from an accidental injury."
Song Wei didn’t speak; he just gazed at her fixedly. In his narrow eyes was an endless depth.
"I know you can’t let go of your brother and sister-in-law’s death and have been wanting to avenge them for over ten years," Wen Wan raised her head, looking at him at eye level, "I told you this story because I don’t want you to act impulsively when you see the murderer."
Recalling the man’s response, she felt comforted and smiled, "Fortunately, you are still the husband I know, calm and self-possessed, not easily acting rashly."
Song Wei asked, "Did you go through all the trouble of hiding the storybook in the book basket just to tell this story?"
"Of course not!"
Wen Wan’s ears turned red, her eyes averted, eager to explain, "I just thought the ti in the carriage was too boring, so I brought the storybook to pass the ti."
Song Wei knocked on her head, laughter in his eyes, "The master hasn’t allowed it, and yet you, a little Attendant Student, dared to hide private belongings. What should your punishnt be?"
Wen Wan covered her aching head, muttering, "Even the teachers in the school never punished like this."
After speaking, she threatened him again, "So what if I’m an Attendant Student? At a critical mont, don’t adults still rely on to save their lives?"
As she spoke, she leaned her head over, "Go on, rub it quickly, or I won’t be your lucky charm anymore. I wonder who you’ll turn to during your misfortune."
The laughter in Song Wei’s eyes deepened, and he reached out to gently rub her head.
The comfortable pressure made Wen Wan a bit sleepy, and in the end, she simply fell asleep in his arms.
——
To eliminate the bandits, Emperor Guangxi assigned Su Xiang three thousand elite soldiers, arriving at the first post station by dusk.
While having dinner, Su Xiang and Song Wei shared a table.
As the dishes were served, Wen Wan tily took out a silver needle to poke into several plates, confirming there was no poison before putting it away.
Su Xiang’s face darkened, glaring at Song Wei, "What, are you afraid that I would poison you?"
Song Wei replied, "I just entered the governnt and offended too many people. When traveling, it’s not uncommon for soone to poison my food. As for whether it would be you, Pri Minister, I wouldn’t know."
Su Xiang: "..." He suddenly regretted not having soone put in a poison undetectable by a silver needle earlier to kill this little bastard!
Song Wei completely disregarded Su Xiang’s look and continued to eat on his own.
Wen Wan stayed beside them, only following them back to the room after the two dignitaries got up.
Song Wei had the post station send additional food.
With Su Xiang not present, Wen Wan didn’t have to pretend, eating half a bowl of rice and drinking half a bowl of soup.
After clearing the dishes, seeing Song Wei sitting at the desk looking at the map of the Black Wind Mountain area, she asked him, "Do you have a specific plan for eliminating the bandits?"
Song Wei nodded, "I do have so ideas of my own, but I guess Su Xiang definitely wouldn’t listen to ."
"What if he fails to eliminate the bandits?"
After all, Su Xiang is a civil servant. If he didn’t want to earn rits to pardon his cris, how could the Emperor have possibly sent him here?
"Don’t worry!" Song Wei said, "Even if it’s not for earning rits to pardon his cris, with present, Su Xiang will find a way to exterminate these mountain bandits for his own pride."
Su Xiang obviously doesn’t know how to eliminate bandits, so he brought two advisors with him for strategic planning. Song Wei was happy to enjoy leisure; by that ti, not only would his great revenge be fulfilled, but he could also share the credit for eliminating the bandits with Su Xiang.
Su Xiang obviously didn’t want the credit he had earned to fall into Song Wei’s hands in vain, but he couldn’t kill Song Wei directly.
After all, they were out to solve a case together. If Song Wei died, even a fool would suspect him.
So Su Xiang decided to blow so confusing smoke into Song Wei’s and his book boy’s room, making them sleep soundly for a day and night. As long as they couldn’t catch up with the main troop or reach Ningzhou to eliminate the bandits, no matter how great the rit, it would have nothing to do with Song Wei.
In the latter half of the night, indeed, soone blew confusing smoke into Song Wei’s room, with quite a large dose.
However, because it was dark, the person blowing the confusing smoke didn’t realize that the mound on the bed was just pillows placed under the quilt.
Thinking about losing Song Wei, Su Xiang felt invigorated. He set off with the three thousand elite soldiers before dawn, reaching the Ten-mile Pavilion by daylight. Su Xiang ordered a stop to rest and opened the carriage curtain to find two people sitting in the pavilion.
Song Wei flashed a slight smile on his handso face, greeting the person inside the carriage, "Pri Minister, would you like to co over for a bun?"
Su Xiang: "..."
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