Spring is mostly heartless (Part 2)
The candlelight inside the tent crackled and popped.
The blood scabs on Jiang Qin's lips gleamed darkly in the firelight.
Just as Zhiwei regained her footing, she saw a man dressed in Siamese attire step forward in brocade boots. The toe of his boot kicked Jiang Qin's knee, causing Jiang Qin to grunt and be forced to kneel even straighter.
"Your Majesty, it is my fault." Jiang Qin bowed and paid his respects.
That man was originally the monarch of the Kingdom of Siam. Didn't the Kingdom of Siam only become a vassal state of the Great Zhao this year? How dare he be so disrespectful to the advisor of the Great Zhao?
A slight change in perception can cause doubt.
But soon, the monarch of the Siamese kingdom spoke.
"You can't even keep an eye on a box of tribute tea, yet you dare call yourself a strategist?" The King of Siam sneered.
Zhiwei then noticed that his knuckles were holding the teacup, which contained only some brown tea dregs.
Zhiwei listened carefully to the conversation inside the tent and learned that the whole trouble was caused by one thing—the "Snow-Topped Jade" tea that had been presented as tribute from Siam and Ying was stolen the day before.
That tea was a rare delicacy specially brought by the King of Siam; the entire nation received only a small piece of the tea cake.
The emperor had promised during talks with the vassal states that he would share this tea with the leaders of various countries at the hunting festival.
Now, six months later, the promised fine tea has been reduced to dregs. The vassal states, led by Siam and Ying, believe that the Great Zhao has slighted them. They have jointly petitioned the relevant personnel, demanding that the tribute tea be retrieved within three days, or the officials in charge of managing the tribute will be punished for "dereliction of duty."
Unfortunately, Jiang Qin was the main official in charge of managing the tribute this time.
According to the rules of Siam, this "crime of dereliction of duty" meant nothing more than stripping someone naked and committing seppuku, which was undoubtedly a death sentence.
Logically, as the leading state of the alliance, Da Zhao should not allow anyone to hold its Achilles' heel. However, having vassal states is better than having none, since the people on the border cannot endure days of continuous warfare.
Zhiwei helped Jiang Qin up and sighed helplessly.
The monarch of Siam had already left, and the emperor on the high throne, looking ashen-faced, entrusted Zhiwei to assist Jiang Tan before also departing. Only the two of them remained, and were instructed to find the lost "Snow-capped Jade" within the remaining two days.
Zhiwei took out an embroidered handkerchief and handed it to Jiang Qin. It was the first time she had seen Jiang Qin in such a disheveled state. Recalling how much Jiang Qin had taken care of her in the past, she couldn't help but feel a little more pity for him.
“The king of Siam is truly extremely rude,” Zhiwei said. “As a vassal state, he is not afraid of the Great Zhao’s future retaliation against Siam.”
Zhiwei kept rambling on, and Jiang Qin's expression also turned somber.
"What vassal state? It's nothing more than a temporary measure due to the country's long drought and lack of food. There's no other way." Jiang Qin wiped the bloodstains from the corner of his mouth. "Siam and Ying have the blood of nomadic tribes from the grasslands flowing through their veins. When their national fortunes are prosperous, they launch large-scale attacks, and when their strength is insufficient, they pretend to seek peace."
"Today they submit to you, tomorrow they want to trample on you. Who knows, the vassal kings led by him are already itching to make a move, just waiting for a pretext to break the alliance."
"After all, for barbarians like them, pursuing profit is the norm," Jiang Qin said with a cold smile as he walked out of the tent.
——
The night wind, carrying the chill of the grassland, seeped into her clothes, and Zhi shrank back as she listened to Jiang Qin analyze the known facts of the case.
“The tea cakes were crushed several months ago and stored in specially made tin cans, which have been sealed in the Ministry of Rites’ warehouse.” Jiang Qin spoke slowly. “Only the Vice Minister of Rites has a key. A few days ago, when the warehouse was opened to inspect the tribute, the tin cans were found to be intact, so they were sent to the camp with the army as per regulations.”
"But when the jar was opened in public at noon, only tea dregs remained inside."
Jiang Qin's eyes darkened: "The warehouse is heavily guarded, there are no pry marks on the door, and the seals on the tin cans have not been broken, which almost eliminates the possibility of theft from the warehouse."
"So, the thieves can only make their move while escorting the tribute?" Zhiwei picked up where Jiang Qin left off. "Are there any suspects within a general range?"
Jiang Qin nodded: "As soon as this happened, I ordered all relevant personnel to be isolated. However, the King of Siam was arrogant and insisted on demanding an explanation first. I had no choice but to punish myself first, which delayed the progress of the investigation."
Zhiwei glanced at Jiang Qin's swollen face and thought of the dust on Zhu Liji's clothes.
She didn't beat around the bush and asked Jiang Qin directly why he had summoned her.
She's not good at solving cases, unless there's a specific step in the process that requires her assistance.
Jiang Qin unfolded a package of oil paper, inside which was the handful of tea dregs that had caused such a huge disaster.
The leaves were broken and scorched, mixed with years of stale ash from the warehouse, lacking the elegant and lingering fragrance that a famous tea should have, instead exuding a dullness like rotten wood.
"Can you smell it?" Jiang Qin picked up a small piece of tea leaves and brought it close to the tea dregs.
Zhiwei bent down to sniff carefully, her brows furrowing slightly: "There seems to be a very faint sour smell, like the beginning of fruit rotting."
Zhiwei squatted down and carefully examined the tea dregs. Suddenly, her gaze was drawn to a few pale yellow crystals among them.
Zhiwei picked out a small, pale yellow crystal, smaller than a millet grain, embedded in the crevices of a tea stem, and held it to her nose to sniff it, her brows furrowed.
"I summoned you here to identify this substance," Jiang Qin said. "I have already consulted the imperial physicians who accompanied us, and this substance is neither medicine nor poison, so we cannot determine its composition at this time."
“It’s normal that we can’t find out.” Zhiwei interrupted Jiang Qin. The more she looked at this thing, the more familiar it seemed, like something she had seen, smelled, and tasted in the kitchen in her previous life.
Amid Jiang Qin's surprised expression, she put the granule into her mouth and savored it carefully.
It's a strong, frown-inducing sour taste.
Zhiwei's tongue was almost numb from the stimulation.
"This is... citric acid?" Zhiwei was startled, never expecting to encounter it here.
"Citrate? What is that?" Jiang Qin looked blank.
"Are there any lemon trees nearby?" Zhiwei asked.
Jiang Qin was taken aback: "There is a tea garden not far away, next to the place where the tributes are stored, and there are also a few lemon tea trees planted on the side."
"Among the suspects under investigation, are any of them the owners of this tea plantation?"
"Probably," Jiang Qin recalled. "This year, there were an extremely large number of tribute items brought out of the warehouse, and we had to borrow people from the tea plantation during the transportation process."
Jiang Qin said, "I remember there was a young man named A Qing who was in charge of taking care of the lemon trees."
Upon hearing this, Zhiwei closed the oil paper package, stood up, and said, "Take me to him."
——
The night was deep, and the wind on the grassland whipped up sand that stung my face.
Zhiwei followed Jiang Tan through the tents and headed straight for the small courtyard next to the tea garden.
The courtyard gate was locked. As the soldier pried the lock, he suddenly said, "Aqing entered the palace last year. I heard that her family was poor and she was castrated in order to pay for her mother's medical treatment. She is usually quiet and only focuses on taking care of the tea trees."
As they were talking, the door clicked open, and the courtyard was filled with a damp, musty smell.
The light in the main room was on. Zhiwei pushed open the door and saw a person squatting in front of the table. She shuddered when she heard the noise.
It was Aqing.
At the age of fifteen or sixteen, he was as thin as an autumn blade of grass. His faded coarse clothes hung loosely on his body, and his face was deathly pale. Only his eyes were swollen like walnuts, filled with bloodshot veins of fear.
Aqing clutched a rag tightly in her hand. Several fresh red marks crisscrossed the back of her hand, and pale yellow scabs had formed where the skin had rolled back, which were particularly glaring in the dim light of the oil lamp.
"Who let you in!" Aqing suddenly looked up, her hands behind her back.
"How dare you!" a soldier shouted, "How dare you be so disrespectful to our esteemed guests!"
Upon hearing this, Aqing shuddered and fell to the ground, bowing her head and kneeling in worship.
Zhiwei, with his sharp eyes, noticed an unhealed scratch on the web of his hand when Aqing bowed.
"What happened to his hand?" Zhiwei's gaze was fixed on his wound. "Could it be that he was scratched by a branch while working?"
Aqing recoiled as if electrocuted, hiding her hand behind her back, her lips trembling: "This servant...this servant is clumsy...today, while picking fruit, I...I accidentally cut myself with the fruit-picking knife..."
"Did you pick lemons?" Zhiwei ignored Aqing and took a step closer.
Aqing's face turned even paler, her teeth chattered, and she couldn't utter a single word, only shaking her head desperately.
Zhiwei stopped pressing for answers, her gaze sweeping over the small, humble room like a searchlight.
The bedding on the narrow kang (heated brick bed) was messy and smelled sour.
There was a tattered rattan trunk tucked into the foot of the kang (a heated brick bed). She suddenly flung open the lid.
A strong, nauseating stench of mold and decay suddenly burst forth!
At the bottom of the box were piles of coarse, half-eaten dry rations. Some were covered in a ghastly green or grayish-white mold, with tangled fuzz resembling pieces of rotting flesh.
Zhiwei rummaged through the box and indeed found a small jar containing granules that were exactly the same as those in the tin jar containing "Snow-Topped Emerald".
Seeing this, Jiang Qin shouted sternly, "How dare you!"
"You deceived the heavens and stole the tribute; do you know that this is a capital offense punishable by death!"
Jiang Qin's voice was firm and resolute. A Qing collapsed to the ground with a "plop," trembling all over, tears and snot streaming down her face.
"Please spare me, my lord! Please spare me, my lord! This servant... this servant has no other choice!" Ah Qing's withered fingers spasmed as she dug into the cracks between the bricks on the ground. "That... that tribute tea, it... it was spoiled to begin with!"
Zhiwei and Jiang Tan were both shocked.
"During the routine inspection before storage, the servant accidentally dropped the tin can on the ground, and the mouth of the tin can was bumped, causing some moldy tea leaves to spill out."
Ah Qing's eyes were unfocused, as if she had returned to that moment of despair: "This servant is terrified! Although not many tea leaves were spoiled, they were still tribute tea. If they became moldy, the person in charge of transportation would be the first to lose their head! But this servant only helped someone move some things, how did I incur such a huge crime!"
"I hurried to find the eunuch in charge, Zhao, but he only glanced at me before pinching my nose and cursing me."
Aqing raised her tearful eyes, filled with unfathomable fear: "Eunuch Zhao said that once it's in my hands, it's my responsibility. The tea was spoiled because I accidentally dropped it, so I have to take the blame myself."
"He also asked me if I remembered the dry well next to the tea garden, where Xiao Dezi was buried the winter before last. His bones must have rotted by now. He said that Xiao Dezi was just like me, always telling the truth."
Aqing was lying face down on the ground, her feet completely bare.
"Eunuch Zhao advised me that the tribute items were as numerous as mountains, but it was just a small jar of tea. The nobles might have already forgotten about it, or perhaps it was just a tiny bit of tea that was spoiled. It might not matter at all. The tongue can't tell whether the tea is good or bad."
"If we pretend it didn't happen or not, maybe nothing will happen. But if we report it, we'll inevitably get a beating, and we might even lose our lives."
Aqing suddenly grabbed Zhiwei's skirt, her knuckles protruding: "So this servant dared not say, could only, could only steal tea, thinking... thinking of adding some strong lemon granules, perhaps to cover up the musty smell."
"But an accident happened. I didn't control the amount well and added too much. The tea tasted sour and was completely ruined!"
“We’re going to die either way.” Ah Qing’s throat bobbed, his eyes widened, and he made a hoarse sound like a broken bellows. “I thought, why not make a big scene! Let’s just steal all the tea leaves. That way, even if it’s a disaster, it will be a disaster for a group of people. It’s better than me taking the blame all by myself.”
"In this way, when I reach the Yellow Springs, Eunuch Zhao and those who withheld my food and oppressed me will be able to keep me company."
"After all, one is alone in life, and one can't become a wandering ghost in death!" Aqing suddenly roared. He was like a spineless limp rag doll, straightening up and collapsing onto the cold floor tiles, leaving only suppressed sobs.
A biting wind swept across the desolate grassland.
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