Chapter 91 The Transaction
The day after the Jingzhao Prefecture took over the case, He Zheng was indeed impeached by the censor.
Of course, by evening, He Ting had him dragged back to the Duke's mansion by the neck. His usually kind and gentle father was waiting in the courtyard with a stick as thick as an arm. As soon as he saw him return, he picked up the stick and was about to beat him.
He Zhengben was already overwhelmed by this mess, and when he got home, another chase ensued.
He Xiao was old and his stamina couldn't match that of the young and vigorous man. After chasing for a while, he stopped, planted the stick on the ground, and pointed at him, cursing: "I told you to go to war, but what you did was keep women in the army and cause this kind of scandal! The He family army has always been known for its strict discipline and loyalty to the emperor and its skill in battle. Now look what you've done, you've ruined its reputation!"
Tao also chimed in, criticizing, "If you want to take care of her, then bring her back to the capital openly and marry her off on a chosen date after the wedding. How can you just run away and abandon her like this?"
He Zheng was extremely annoyed and his temper flared up. "I have a clear separation from her. Apart from the fact that she saved me, we have no other relationship! It's one thing for outsiders to believe what they hear, but even you believe her nonsense?"
“What good is it if we believe you? The important thing is whether others believe you, whether Miss Yu believes you.” He Ting looked at him and said, “If you are innocent and falsely accused, then take her to court, clear your name, and restore the innocence of the He family army.”
“How can this be taken to court? She says I acted immorally while drunk, do you have any evidence? I say I didn’t touch her, what proof do you have?” He Zheng said.
"I went to the Jingzhao Prefecture and complained to those onlookers that I was the one who was tricked into bed after being drugged! Is that respectable? Will anyone believe me?"
The three members of the He family fell silent upon hearing this.
This kind of thing is indeed hard to explain, and even if it were explained, no one would believe it.
"We can't let her keep causing trouble," He Xiao said in a deep voice.
He Zheng said, "I will handle it myself."
…
On the thirteenth day of the first lunar month, Yu Mingshu picked out a letter while sorting official documents. The envelope only had five words on it: "To be opened by Yu Zhanshi personally." She could recognize the handwriting at a glance as He Zheng's.
She intended to throw it aside, but when she turned it over, she saw a strange ball in the corner of the envelope. After examining it closely for a while, she finally realized that it was a scrawled little figure kneeling and begging.
She laughed out loud without warning, hesitated for a moment while holding the envelope, then tore open the seal and unfolded the letter.
His writing was as concise as ever, recounting everything between him and Yunying from their first meeting to their last day, detailed yet not verbose.
For a fleeting moment, she suddenly felt that He Zheng could be an excellent historian.
Three pages of small regular script detailing trivial matters, followed by a page of his apology letter, which also resembled a self-criticism.
After reading the letter, Yu Mingshu put it away. As soon as he left the residence of the Grand Master of Ceremonies, he saw Jinghong squatting in the corner under the porch, having waited for an unknown amount of time.
Jinghong waited with skepticism until he had given up hope, but when he saw her come out, he jumped up in surprise.
"Has Grand Tutor Yu read the letter?"
Instead of answering, Yu Mingshu asked, "Where are the others?"
The "he" in this question naturally refers to He Zheng.
Jinghong did not explain, but instead took her by carriage to Ruyi Inn.
He Zheng waited for a long time on the street outside the door. When he saw the two of them appear, he turned around and entered the inn, heading towards the courtyard where Yun Ying was staying.
Yu Mingshu frowned as she watched his retreating figure. "What does he mean?"
Jinghong explained in a low voice, "My lord invited Miss Yun to have a talk and wanted to clarify things. In order to avoid any further misunderstandings, he asked Chamberlain Yu to be a witness."
Yu Mingshu followed him to the courtyard next to Yunying's. Jinghong pointed to the wall separating the two courtyards, signaling her to keep quiet.
Before long, the voices of a man and a woman could be heard coming from the next room.
“Miss Yun, from the beginning I allowed you to continue living in the county government, then sent you to Youzhou, and later tacitly allowed you to disguise yourself as a man and practice medicine in the army, all out of pity for your difficult life as an orphan.”
"Tell me, where have I wronged you? How have I incurred your kindness that you would travel thousands of miles to Chang'an to ruin my reputation and exact your revenge?"
"If I had known that my momentary compassion would lead to this, I should have had the household registration official verify your background the day we first met, and handled everything according to the rules!"
Inside the room, He Zheng stood with his back to the closed wooden door, five steps away from Yun Ying, and rebuked her behavior in a deep voice.
"You forced me to do this!"
Yunying suddenly stood up, threw the teacup in her hand at his feet, her eyes filled with shame, anger and resentment, "On the fifth day of the first lunar month, when I first came to Chang'an, I asked someone to invite you to the Duke's mansion. If you had been willing to keep the appointment then, why would I have made a scene at the Jingzhao Prefecture? It was you who refused to see me and forced me to make a big fuss!"
"Just because I won't see you, you want to destroy me?" He Zheng laughed angrily. "Listen to yourself, is that reasonable?"
"I saved your life, yet you won't even help me with the smallest favor, and you avoid me like the plague..." Yunying shrieked, "General He, Young Marquis He! Before this, when have I ever harmed you?"
"You set me up and made me drunk and unconscious. Isn't that framing me?"
"I did that so that I could rightfully go back to Chang'an with you!"
He Zheng was genuinely puzzled. "You are from Youzhou, born and raised in Youzhou. What advantages does Chang'an offer that make you so determined to leave your hometown?"
Yunying smiled sadly, "General He, you are also from Youzhou. Your father, mother, and elder brother are all from Youzhou. Tell me, among your family of Youzhou people, who would want to go back to live a hard life guarding the border? You were only in Sangyang City for a year, yet you longed to return to Chang'an day and night."
He Zheng retorted, "That's because I was born and raised in Chang'an."
"Do you know what kind of life the people of Youzhou are living?" Yunying stared intently into his eyes.
“Every year from summer to autumn, when the fields are bountiful, it is the time when the northern barbarians attack and plunder. They steal grain, cloth, and women and young men. Whether you are a peasant woman or a county official's wife, once captured by the barbarians, you can only be enslaved or treated worse than livestock! When the people of the border towns suffer such calamity, what has the court done?”
"Liang Feng allowed them to enter the city and loot, and afterwards claimed to have driven out the Yan people to claim credit with the court. For more than ten years, the people have suffered unspeakably, while he, the general who defended the city, has achieved great military exploits!"
“My father served in Youzhou for more than ten years and was in charge of Sangyang for three years. He was loyal to the court and devoted to the people. What did he get in return? His entire family was slaughtered and his body was never found.”
“I hate Youzhou, I hate Sangyang. This place is too remote, so far away that even the nobles in Chang'an cannot hear our cries of sorrow. Every morning when I wake up in Sangyang, I remember the scene of the Yan people storming into the county government and slaughtering my entire Yun family. The streets were covered in blood, the courtyards were full of dead souls, and the ground was littered with withered bones... I do not want to live in such a turbulent place for even a moment longer!”
He Zheng listened to her venting her anger and resentment, remaining silent for a long time.
In this matter, he, a pampered playboy from Chang'an, had no right to advise her to love her hometown.
So he stopped arguing about whether Yunying should stay in her hometown and changed the subject, "You were able to come to Chang'an without my help. Not only did you come, but you also have maids serving you, guards protecting you, living in a private courtyard in an inn, and enjoying fine clothes and delicacies. Miss Yun, what exactly do you want from me by making this fuss and forcing me to come to the inn to see you?"
Yunying suppressed her surging resentment, calmed herself down, and smiled without answering his question.
She has achieved her goal.
He Zheng stared at her cunning eyes and suddenly said, "It was the King of Qin who sent you to ruin my marriage with Ming Shu."
This is a statement, not a question.
Upon hearing this, Yunying's smile faded abruptly, and a moment of panic flashed in her eyes.
She hadn't expected He Zheng to react so quickly and guess so accurately.
He Zheng then questioned, "What conditions did the King of Qin promise you?"
Yunying avoided eye contact. "I don't understand what you're talking about, Lord Marquis."
"They say gossip is a fearsome thing. After this incident, Miss Yun is now a prominent figure in Chang'an. She'll inevitably face criticism when she goes out on the street. Do you really think you can stay in the capital safely?"
He Zheng's tone gradually softened, and his words carried a hint of seduction, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
"Actually, you just want to leave Youzhou and live in a more stable and prosperous place. This place doesn't necessarily have to be Chang'an."
“If you are willing to make a deal with the King of Qin, you might as well listen to my terms.” He Zheng said generously, “You can choose any prefecture in the entire Daliang, except for Chang’an. I will arrange your household registration and identity, and help you settle down and build a home.”
"Furthermore, I am willing to pay a thousand strings of cash to repay the young lady for saving my life."
Yunying was stunned by the conditions he casually offered.
Yu Mingshu, who was sitting just a wall away, was also stunned.
A thousand strings of cash, plus a house and a home—has He Zheng gone mad? Does he have so much money he doesn't know what to do with it?
Seeing that she was about to start cursing and couldn't suppress her emotions, Jinghong quickly stopped her and kept giving her meaningful looks, asking her to calm down.
Inside the room, Yunying was stunned by the number one thousand strings of cash, and it took her a long time to come back to her senses. She was still in disbelief.
"Are you serious?"
"Do I look like I'm joking with you?"
What does a thousand strings of cash mean? It's an enormous sum that ordinary people could never reach in their entire lives.
The condition offered by the person who brought her to the capital was merely to ensure her survival in Chang'an; there was no promise that she could live a wealthy life in the capital.
Yunying made a decision quickly, her eyes gleaming with shrewdness.
She knew very well that He Zheng's offer of such generous terms was not solely for the gratitude he had shown for curing her poison and saving her from injury. So, she changed her previous sharp tone, which had been venting her emotions, and asked in a gentle voice, "What does the Marquis need me to do?"
He Zheng didn't beat around the bush and stated his demands directly: "I need the details and evidence of how the King of Qin found you, brought you to the capital, and instructed you to file a complaint with the government."
Yunying neither responded nor refused. She immediately turned around and went into the inner room to rummage through the chests and cabinets, and then took out a travel document and a transaction contract.
“I have never met the King of Qin you mentioned. The person I dealt with was Fu Chongyang, the Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review. This is the document he gave me, which has the official red seal on it.”
What she didn't say was: As for how to implicate the King of Qin, that depends on the whistleblower's abilities.
The King of Qin would naturally not personally intervene in such a matter, which did not surprise He Zheng. He reached out to take the evidence, but Yun Ying suddenly withdrew it.
"I've made up my mind. I want to go to Jiangnan, where it is prosperous and peaceful, and free from the ravages of war."
“Sure,” He Zheng readily agreed.
When will you deliver what you promised me?
"I will arrange for a carriage to pick you up from the inn before dark."
Yun Ying waved the evidence in her hand, put it into her pocket, and said, "Cash on delivery."
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