Chapter 226: A Lively Day in Court

He could hardly wait to see what the saber would become once it was complete.

Catching the strange smile spreading over Li Fubo’s face, He Lingchuan quietly looked away.

Then he let another half kilogram of blood flow out of him. Just when he began to suspect the broken saber actually meant to drain him dry, the tiny pores on the hilt finally filled completely.

It’s finally full.

“Good, good.” Li Fubo exhaled in palpable relief. If a client died in the very first step of saber planting, it would stain both his name as a grandmaster artisan and the reputation of Songyang Mansion. “Hurry and stop the bleeding!”

The medicine ape slipped in and dressed the wound with practiced ease.

With its specially prepared salve, the cut on He Lingchuan’s arm stopped hurting within a dozen breaths.

He shook his head to clear the haze, feeling lightheaded, and quickly swallowed a replenishing pill.

An average body only holds four and a half to five kilograms of blood. Losing two tenths of that amount in one go was bound to leave one dizzy and weak.

The very last bead of blood on the hilt disappeared as well.

Anyone could see that the saber had had its fill. It no longer wanted to drink even a single drop of blood.

“What now?”

“Simple, stab the saber into the gold paste,” said Li Fubo. “At this temperature, a treasured saber can endure it. It won’t scorch the blade’s heart.”

Gripping the hilt, He Lingchuan thrust the broken saber straight into the gold paste.

The inner red glow of the gold play vanished at once, and the bubbles stopped appearing as well.

Instead, faint azure smoke coiled up where broken saber met the gold paste, though there was no burnt smell.

“Good. Very good!” Li Fubo nodded, pleased. “The fracture has fused perfectly with the medium. From this moment on, the furnace stays here in your room. And from this moment on, this gold paste is no longer paste, it’s practically become a mountain of blades.”

From the corner, the rock wolf Lu Xin, who had been watching the show, could not resist commenting, “Then the furnace is the sea of fire, eh?”[1]

“Exactly!” Li Fubo laughed. “Your treasured saber will soon have gone up a mountain of blades and down a sea of fire. After that, its edge will be unstoppable.”

“Is there anything else we need to do?”

“No. The temperature’s already tuned. As long as the treasured saber sits undisturbed, we should see the saber restored in ten days.”

“That’s it?” He Lingchuan blinked. He had thought forging a divine weapon would be an intricate ordeal. “I thought it would take at least months.”

“The Great Dao is simple.” Li Fubo wiped sweat from his brow. He had been suppressing the furnace heat with hand seals the whole time, and it had taken its toll. “Her Lordship and I debated this a dozen times and concluded that shortening the schedule will benefit the blade. Besides, the hardest parts, specifically the melting of the Wu Metal and the formulation of the medium, were all done earlier.” The steps that remained, though critical, were procedural and rarely went awry.

He Lingchuan brought out silver and gold to express his thanks in a way no artisan would refuse.

From today until the completion of the saber, Li Fubo would return once a day to check the furnace temperature and the progress of the sowing.

After he took his leave, He Lingchuan accepted a slice of jade ginseng from the medicine ape, tucked it under his tongue, and collapsed onto the bed.

Blood loss demanded rest.

He slept like a rock, his sleep dreamless and deep.

When he woke up, night had fallen.

The rock wolf was nowhere to be seen. The medicine ape, however, was sitting nearby. The moment he opened his eyes, the ape asked, “Do you have a headache? Are you experiencing any palpitations or shortness of breath?”

He Lingchuan shook his head.

The medicine ape did not use the door. It vaulted out the window.

A moment later, He Yue came in carrying a food box.

“Red-date and pork-liver congee. Eat it while it’s hot.”

“Father’s back too?”

“He is. You slept through dinner. Ling Guang said you needed rest, so we didn’t call you.”

He Lingchuan opened the box. Inside was a large bowl of congee—white rice and millet cooked until every grain had blossomed. The pork liver, red dates, and ginger had all been cut into hair-fine shreds, almost impossible to pick apart.

As he blew on the spoon, he asked, “How did Father’s first public trial at the yamen go?”

“The Li Family petitioned to make it a closed trial, but Father refused them flat out.”

A closed trial would mean no gawking public. With such a great opportunity presented right before him, how could He Chunhua possibly abandon it?

“As expected, the two families brawled with their tongues in court,” He Yue said, still wide-eyed from the spectacle. “There was not a trace of noble manners to them. Li Rong, Old Master Li’s second son, must have thought things through on the way and kept quiet for once. It was the eldest son, Li Zhi, who tried to thunder with righteousness. Father had them produce evidence. All they could say was that the warding magical artifact in the old man’s bedchamber was damaged, suggesting that some evil art must have invaded. The only ones with a serious recent feud against them were the Zhan Family. The Zhan Family exploded at that, rolling up their sleeves to shout back. The roof beams were nearly shaking. I’ve never seen a court session so rowdy, not even in Heishui City.”

He had assisted with public affairs in Heishui and had watched plenty of trials, but none had devolved into such chaos.

“The county magistrate of Dunyu was supposed to preside. He cracked the gavel a dozen times and still couldn’t rein them in. Father took over and had two basins of cold water thrown over them. They quieted down in an instant.”

“As expected of Father,” He Lingchuan chuckled. Throwing water would not quite result in injury, but in weather like this, with snow in the air, it cooled tempers to the bone.

“They wanted to keep cursing, but their teeth were chattering too hard to form words. Attendants brought outer robes to drape over them, and only then did the trial continue, finally much calmer.”

He Lingchuan took a sip of congee and then asked, “Did Father sentence the Li Family?”

“Of course. They stormed the residence of the Zhan Family without proof and were caught in the act by the whole city, and by the brand-new governor-general at that. They had no way of escaping punishment. Beyond full compensation for all damages to the Zhan Family, Father is detaining the ringleaders. By the laws of the state, those who incite private vendettas and assemble crowds for brawling can face up to five years in prison. If anyone dies, additional charges apply.”

He Yue knew that his older brother was not quite fond of official speak, so he translated it into plain speech.

He Lingchuan asked, amused, “Was it Li Zhi or Li Rong?”

Whoever first called up the private army was the principal offender.

“Neither will admit it, and no one else in the Li Family would dare point fingers on the spot,” He Yue said with a shrug. “So Father ordered both detained for separate interrogation. The Li Family blew their top at once.”

“I didn’t expect Li Zhi to be this foolish. He actually demanded to know ‘by what right’ and even brought up Minister Li’s name. Father scolded him for insolence toward an official and warned he’d have him slapped in the face there and then if he kept it up. I saw the constables already holding the slapping boards. That shut him up.”

The people do not fight the officials, least of all in the middle of court.

“Does the Old Li have only these two sons in Dunyu?” He Lingchuan snorted. “What a pair of boars. The difficulty just dropped several levels.”

He Yue answered, “He has a third son, but he left home over twenty years ago.”

“Oh, right, the wife-snatching fiasco.” He Lingchuan snapped his fingers. “If both of these two end up locked up, the Li Family will have no head. Heh, a local snake without a head, they’re practically useless then. That makes things easier for us.”

He Yue shook his head. “Father lifted the knife high and laid it down gently. He must have his reasons. He said that in consideration of the Li Family’s recent bereavement, he’s willing to release one of the two for funeral arrangements, provided they pay one hundred fifty thousand taels of silver as bond. If the suspect doesn’t flee Dunyu and commits no further crimes within two months, the money will be returned. Otherwise, it becomes a fine and goes to the treasury.”

Slurping down the last mouthfuls, He Lingchuan gave a big thumbs-up. “Hoh, I bet that left them speechless.”

“It did. Father was even considerate enough to send them home to discuss it and report back within three days,” He Yue said, smiling. “As for the three hundred private soldiers of the Li Family, since they acted on orders and no one in the Zhan Family died, Father sentenced each to ten strikes of the cane[2]. A handful who beat people especially viciously, or took the chance to steal from the Zhan Family, got ten more. Oh, and if there’s any additional collateral damage discovered at the Zhan Residence, the yamen will pursue further penalties. The yamen’s yard could only hold ten convicts at a time, so the three hundred private soldiers were caned in thirty rotations. They were still swinging the boards at nightfall. The bystanders were stunned. I heard some saying that they’d never seen a spectacle like three hundred backsides being beaten.”

“So those strokes landed on the private soldiers’ rear ends?” He Lingchuan clapped, grinning. “Though I guess it really landed on the Li Family’s face.”

If He Chunhua meant to establish his authority on day one, he would inevitably shave a few layers off the Li Family’s prestige.

“They won’t have a peaceful three days ahead. Li Zhi and Li Rong will fight over who gets bail, so they won’t have time to trip us up. Once it’s decided who goes back and who stays behind bars, the one who returns will rush to consolidate his power at home, and they then won’t have the time or effort to spare to oppose us.”

Li Zhao had died suddenly and left no will. The sons were always going to contend for the position of family head; three days later, one of them would be sitting in a cell. Would the rest of the Li Family not then be ripe for the taking?

In such a situation, how could external grudges compete with internal strife?

“What about the Zhan Family?”

“Quite satisfied, and grateful to Father. They hurried home to tally their losses.” He Yue’s smile faded. “The other two of the four great families, the Shu and Xie families, sent people to observe the session but made no statement. I expect they’ll shut their doors tonight and hold long councils.”

The new Governor-General of Xia Province had barely warmed his seat, yet he had already held a public trial that involved the Li Family.

On the surface, he was upholding justice for the Zhan Family. In truth, he had just slapped the Li Family twice in front of the city. More importantly, he had laid his cards on the table.

He had basically said, “I’m here. Make way. From now on, recognize who’s in charge.”

“We’ve seen Father’s methods,” He Lingchuan said, unconcerned. “He turned Qiansong Commandery, a place where life was cheaper than grass, into a place that ran like clockwork.”

“That commandery didn’t have old guards like Dunyu,” He Yue cautioned. He always erred on the side of overestimating the foe. “Half of Xia Province’s money, grain, and manpower flows through these four great families’ hands. Taking it from them won’t be easy. The Li Family is only stunned because Father hit them so hard and fast. When they come to, they’ll resist, and they’ll rally the others. That’s always been their way. We’ve got hard fights ahead, and not necessarily ones with blades out in the open. Besides Minister Li, the four families have seven other office-holders at court. A single letter, and the royal capital could see petition after petition. I’m worried the higher-ups will censure Father.”

He Lingchuan immediately countered, “Didn’t Father say that before leaving the capital, he had a long audience with the King, and that His Majesty told him to go all-out in Xia Province, with no need to worry about anything else?”

1. There’s a common idiom in Chinese that goes, 刀山火海. This is usually translated as a mountain of swords/blades and a sea of flames, which typically refers to severe trials or dangerous places. ☜

2. This is judicial caning, which still happens in some places today. ☜