Chapter 069: The Calamity Marries Another

As the two conversed, the hour had already passed midnight. Li Dong, having clashed with Wu Hou Zeng, feared that returning home would place him in their hands and bring unnecessary trouble. Thus, Zhang Xutuo invited him to stay the night at his residence.

The next morning, Li Dong rose early, hastily ate a simple meal, and accompanied Zhang Xutuo to the county office, as the latter needed to report for duty and Li Dong wished to meet the prefect. During roll call, Prefect Ye Jishan noticed a young attendant standing beside Zhang Xutuo, whose appearance was unfamiliar. He surmised privately that this might be a newly assigned attendant for Zhang Xutuo, and let him acquaint himself with the office, refraining from inquiring further about Li Dong’s identity due to the crowd and Zhang Xutuo’s own distinguished status.

An attendant referred to a youthful soldier of the household guard, incapable of technical or strenuous tasks, serving high-ranking officials with chores such as carrying water, leading horses, and other odd jobs. Li Dong, just sixteen, fit this role perfectly.

After roll call and reports, the officials dispersed, leaving only Zhang Xutuo and Li Dong in the office, lingering without departing.

Ye Jishan, seeing them, adopted the lofty manner of an official and said to Li Dong in a haughty tone, “The office is not like your home; you must be attentive and never allow any delays.”

A bit more courteously, he turned to Zhang Xutuo, “Last night when you visited the prefect’s residence, I did not see this person. Is he a new attendant assigned overnight?”

Li Dong felt a surge of displeasure. He could tolerate arrogance directed at himself, but Ye Jishan’s disrespect toward Zhang Xutuo, a man of equal achievement and status, revealed a habitual disregard for others. Clearly, he was used to acting without restraint.

Li Dong feigned indifference, standing coldly in place and offering no response to Ye Jishan’s words.

Seeing Li Dong’s rigid posture, Zhang Xutuo realized he was upset by the cold treatment and quickly bowed, saying, “This is certainly not my attendant, nor do I possess such high status. This young man is—”

Before he could finish, Ye Jishan interrupted harshly, his words laced with threat: “If he’s not your attendant, why bring him to the county office? Do you not realize this is a place of importance? What if there’s a leak?”

Zhang Xutuo’s face grew awkward—not because Li Dong was being berated, but because Ye Jishan continually embarrassed himself before Li Dong, making Zhang Xutuo feel the shame on his behalf.

Receiving such humiliation and coldness, Li Dong’s hope of pleading with Ye Jishan to show leniency toward Qin Qiong and his son was instantly dashed. Angered, he thought to himself that it might be better to join Qin Qiong, Luo Shixin, and others in the Jianghuai region, following Du Fuwei’s lead in living freely and boldly.

He considered leaving at once but remembered that Zhang Xutuo had risked bringing him here. He could not simply abandon him, so he restrained his irritation and replied, “I am from Zhangqiu—”

“Impudent!” Ye Jishan erupted, slamming the table and shouting, “You uncouth rustic, do you not understand the rules? Speak only when spoken to!”

Now the situation was truly troublesome.

Zhang Xutuo wiped the cold sweat from his brow and asserted, “This young man is Li Dong of Zhangqiu—”

“What does it matter, Li Dong or Li Xi, bringing someone here without reason—ah, ah, who is he?...” Ye Jishan was about to unleash his anger when suddenly a familiar name flashed through his mind. Was this not the Li Dong whose portrait the Emperor requested? Could the person before him be that very man?

A sheen of sweat appeared instantly on Ye Jishan’s face. He leaned over the table, half rising, and asked tremulously, “Are you truly Li Dong? Was it you who defeated Zhi Shilang’s army of one hundred thousand at Zhangqiu?”

Witnessing Ye Jishan’s abrupt shift from arrogance to deference, his face changing faster than the flipping of pages, Li Dong recalled what Zhang Xutuo had told him last night—the Emperor’s desire to see his portrait—and resolved to teach Ye Jishan a lesson.

“If not Li Dong, would I be Li Xi? I am nothing but a simple country lad, dull and ignorant, unable to speak without permission, unfamiliar with the many rules of the county office—how shameful, truly shameful!” Li Dong deliberately bowed deeply, his face tinged with mockery as he replied coldly.

Hearing Li Dong’s words, Ye Jishan realized his grave mistake and hurriedly stepped out from behind the desk, bowing low to Li Dong with a broad smile, fearful of provoking further displeasure. “I failed to recognize treasure before me; please, forgive my oversight with your magnanimity!”

Li Dong feigned surprise and retorted, “Prefect, I do not quite understand your words. I am but an obscure villager from Zhangqiu, while you are the esteemed prefect of Qi County. What is there to forgive?”

Suppressing his anger, Ye Jishan forced a smile and replied, “Ignorance is no crime; it’s all been a misunderstanding, truly just a misunderstanding!”

He turned reproachfully to Zhang Xutuo, “You too are at fault—if Li Dong was here, why not inform me sooner? Now look at this mess!”

Li Dong saw through the attempt to divert the conversation and quickly followed, “I forbade him from telling you. I have matters to report to the prefect!”

Knowing Li Dong still harbored resentment, Ye Jishan continued to smile, “Your concerns are mine. Whatever you ask, I will see it done!”

Hearing this, Li Dong felt somewhat appeased and asked, “Everything will be arranged as I wish?”

“All things, not a word of falsehood within this office!” Ye Jishan assured him.

“Good, then I want you to spare the Qin family’s smithy—Qin Ai and his kin. All matters should be erased, with no mention of revenge ever again.” Li Dong pressed him, refusing to let go.

“Of course, it’s all settled! Dong’e is over a thousand li from Licheng—who could move so swiftly as to commit such deeds in one night? It’s all a misunderstanding, hahahaha!” Ye Jishan, thinking Li Dong would demand something outrageous, was relieved to find it was merely for the sake of a blacksmith and quickly agreed.

With mischief bubbling within, Li Dong thought to shift blame for the burning of the Qin family’s smithy—done while forging a sword for him—onto the Wu Hou, who could no longer defend themselves. He laughed and asked, “Your men sent to apprehend them set fire to the smithy. What do you make of that?”

“The smithy burned? Then build another, build another! I’ll have them find workers—if they can’t, what business do they have burning the place? These servants deserve punishment!” Ye Jishan feigned anger, secretly thinking: as long as Li Dong is appeased and the Emperor’s wishes fulfilled, there will be time to settle with him later.

“Indeed, you are correct. In handling this matter, our thoughts align perfectly. I’ve already taken care of it for you—all of them have been killed…” Li Dong finished speaking and stared at him intently, watching for any unusual reaction, to see if Ye Jishan was being insincere or merely placating him for now, intending to settle accounts later.

“Ah!” Ye Jishan exclaimed, troubled and unable to speak for a long moment. “Killed… that was… but over twenty people… their families won’t agree…”

Li Dong glanced at Zhang Xutuo, signaling him to respond.

Zhang Xutuo, both shocked and admiring of Li Dong’s boldness, recognized that only someone so unfamiliar with rules could dare to mock Ye Jishan in this way. He quickly bowed and replied, “Those Wu Hou can be reported to the court as fallen soldiers in the battle of Zhangqiu, with their families properly compensated. As long as the compensation is satisfactory, they will not cause much stir.”

“Excellent, excellent!” Ye Jishan collapsed into his seat, speechless for a while. Looking from Li Dong to Zhang Xutuo, he realized the two had carefully planned their move before coming to confront him. Otherwise, how could they have devised such seamless, flawless strategy in an instant?

He cursed inwardly: What a Li Dong, what a Zhang Xutuo! Just wait and see!

Thanks to the readers: Long Wind, Eternal Flame for their generous support, and to Idol Rain for unwavering encouragement. With your support, the road ahead is never lonely!