Chapter 2309 - The Deal

Cai Lan had originally been under house arrest as well, but at daybreak she was taken to the interrogation room. Zheng Ergen had selected two burly "female wardens" specifically to attend to her. Cai Lan came from a humble but respectable family. When she had failed her assassination attempt and first entered the cells, a round of "authority-killing" punishment with the minor plank had nearly knocked her soul from her body—she had felt as though she had descended into hell. This proper interrogation was far worse. Before long, unable to endure the torture, she confessed everything she knew.

Now, seeing Yi Haoran with disheveled hair, tattered clothes, and blood on his cheeks, yet still wearing an expression of righteous composure, she felt both admiration and shame. Breaking free from the female wardens supporting her, she curtsied deeply. "This servant sends her regards."

Yi Haoran stepped aside to avoid receiving the full bow. "Miss Cai, this student is about to depart. We part ways here."

Cai Lan started. "So soon?"

"A step sooner, a step later—what does it matter?" Yi Haoran said calmly. "I only regret that this time I could not take Xie the Thief's head to avenge the officials, civilians, and scholars of the Great Ming who died wrongful deaths! But this student has given his all. Heaven's mandate is what it is and cannot be defied. Farewell." With that, he bowed again, turned, and walked away without looking back.

Watching him flick his sleeves and leave, Cai Lan admired him even more. Two sturdy women seized her wrists and pushed her forward again, locking her in the wing room of the Earth God Temple. She had been "treated well" here for some time before. Revisiting the old haunt as a prisoner once more, gazing at the room and its furnishings, she tasted something peculiar in her heart.

She carefully sat on the plank bed, but the two female wardens showed no mercy, shouting harshly: "You slutty hoof, stand up!"

Cai Lan flinched. Not daring to disobey, she struggled to her feet. Before she could steady herself, she received two solid slaps across the face.

"Kneel!" Before the word had faded, a kick to the back of her knee forced her to the ground.

"You adulteress! Still putting on airs for this old lady? Watch how I sort you out!" the female warden laughed hideously.

Yi Haoran wasn't actually taken to be beheaded—Xie Erren still wanted him preserved for a public trial rally. He had realized that the more he tried to cover up this matter, the more people would perceive it as a lack of confidence. That would only invite siege from those "nitpicking demon kings" in the Senate. Only by remaining calm amid chaos and handling this affair through normal procedures could he demonstrate that his position was stable and his confidence unshaken.

The escorting soldiers brought Yi Haoran to the gate tower of the Great South Gate. Looking down from the tower, hundreds of ships gathered on the river surface. Beyond the grain ships being towed by tugboats, twelve gunboats of the Inland River Fleet cruised the waterway, trailing black smoke and white steam. Volte Army and National Army soldiers stood with gleaming bayonets, a forest of steel atop and below the walls.

Security was tight on the wall. The Great South Gate tower had been destroyed and not yet repaired; a tent had been temporarily erected in its place. Inside sat a desk and chairs. Xie Erren sat upright in the center, personally supervising the grain unloading. His Senator's Flag and the Morning Star Flag hung high overhead—there was no trace of the wretched figure who had narrowly escaped capture during the raid the night before.

Yi Haoran was escorted into the tent and brought before Xie Erren.

Xie Erren finally beheld the man who had nearly destroyed him. He felt an intense curiosity about this person, wanting to see what abilities he possessed to have orchestrated such a calamity. What he saw was a dignified appearance—a typical Great Ming scholar's look with "straight eyes and a proper nose," exactly what was called "official physiognomy." Despite being fettered in cangue and chains, the man walked with dignified bearing, clearly a steady and shrewd individual at first glance. Only his age surprised Xie Erren: his beard and hair were already graying.

He hadn't paid attention to Yi Haoran's age in the confession. Seeing him now, he felt genuine amazement. This semi-elderly man had contained such tremendous energy and passion within him. With neither gold nor silver, nor a foot of weapon, relying solely on his own wits and will, he had stirred up such a storm in Wuzhou and nearly ruined Xie Erren.

The thought actually stirred admiration. This Yi Haoran possessed not only backbone but ability. He was a rare talent.

He signaled his attendants to withdraw and asked, "Are you Yi Haoran?"

"I am," Yi Haoran responded calmly. "And is Your Honor the False Wuzhou Prefect of the True Kuns, Xie Erren?"

"I am Xie Erren." He nodded. "Your courage is considerable, and your abilities are quite impressive."

"I am ashamed." Yi Haoran lifted his eyes to the sky and sighed. "I failed to take your head! To sacrifice to this great land and to the countless common people who died wrongful deaths!"

Xie Erren smiled. "Though you didn't succeed, you turned Wuzhou upside down. It wasn't entirely fruitless. It's just that all this upheaval caused many innocent people to die in vain."

Yi Haoran sneered and said nothing.

"Take Jiang Qiuchan, for instance—the woman you saved back then. Later you used her, had her lurk near me, used her as a contact. Mr. Yi, that move was clever enough. Jiang Qiuchan still doesn't know how she became your accomplice. But whether she knows or not hardly matters..."

Yi Haoran's heart tightened. "What do you intend to do?"

"Do? Act according to the law, naturally." Xie Erren spoke leisurely. "Though she doesn't count as a principal offender, serving as a liaison in the middle makes her a key criminal in this case. According to the law, she should be hanged..."

As Xie Erren spoke, he glanced sideways at Yi Haoran. He had learned from the confessions and from Zhao Fengtian's accounts that Yi Haoran was a man of rigid righteousness. This could be leveraged.

"What a pity. This Jiang Qiuchan truly has a bitter fate. Her husband was killed by government soldiers, leaving behind a widow and orphan to survive under the thumb of a harsh brother and sister-in-law. She finally found work that allowed her to settle down and live happily, only to be used by you. Now not only is her life forfeit, but she leaves behind Qi Liheng—a young child who will become an orphan everyone can bully! By the way, he's also your student."

Yi Haoran felt the weight of guilt. Though he believed "great undertakings don't fret over small formalities," he did feel culpable toward both Cai Lan and Jiang Qiuchan. If Cai Lan's involvement could at least claim the rationality of "sacrificing herself to avenge her husband," Jiang Qiuchan had been entirely manipulated by him. He had known perfectly well that once matters came to light, Jiang Qiuchan couldn't escape the thieves' pursuit, and it might even implicate her family. As for Qi Liheng, his heart ached even more—the boy was a scholar in the making, intelligent and sensible.

In the past, he hadn't wanted to dwell on such thoughts. But now Xie Erren was pointing it out to his face, leaving him speechless.

"Speaking of Jiang Qiuchan, we must also mention the entire Luo Yangming household. You probably think Luo Yangming deserves death a thousand times over for joining us. But what about his family? Old Manager Li, Ding Atao, Wen Yun... and Ah Chun. These people treated you like family. When you were arrested last night, Madam Ding even asked Luo Yangming to plead for you overnight. You did well—you dragged them all cleanly into the water."

This struck even closer to home. During the days Yi Haoran had lurked in the rice shop under a false name, the Luo family had treated him as kin, letting him experience the family warmth he had lost for many years. To say he had no feelings for them would be a lie.

"What will you do to them?" Yi Haoran asked.

"The Luo Yangming family's crimes don't warrant death. Besides, he has the merit of running errands for us. It will likely be lenient treatment—exile to overseas barbarian lands. Whether they survive depends on their fortune."

"What exactly do you want?" Yi Haoran was a clever man. He knew perfectly well Xie Erren wasn't saying all this merely to mock him.

"Mr. Yi is indeed a clever man." Xie Erren nodded. "You know I am a Senator—what you call a True Kun."

"Correct."

"Since you exhausted yourself trying to capture or behead me, you naturally understand that a Senator's status is incomparably exalted."

Yi Haoran spat on the ground. "I suppose so!"

"So, as long as I am willing to show mercy with a stroke of my pen, none of these things need happen. Jiang Qiuchan can live, her son won't become an orphan, and the Luo family won't be exiled..."

"Stop putting on airs and playing games. Speak plainly—what exactly do you want me to do?" Yi Haoran sneered. "But if you're asking me to do anything disloyal or unfilial, that's wishful thinking!"

"The matter is simple. I want you to cooperate with us..."

Xie Erren knew that even if he killed Yi Haoran and Cai Lan, comparing their confessions would still reveal holes and vulnerabilities. To further minimize his culpability, the best approach was to have Yi Haoran change his confession in ways that further alleviated Xie's responsibility.

But changing the confession alone wasn't sufficient. Xie Erren planned to have him repeat this altered confession personally at the public trial rally. That would not only expand its reach but also establish "ironclad evidence." Executing Yi Haoran after the rally would leave "dead men telling no tales."

Naturally, this couldn't be hidden from the Senate—Senators had various channels for obtaining the truth. But truth didn't equal evidence. Now these pieces of evidence were solid. As long as he adhered to the principle of procedural justice at the hearing, he would very likely pass muster.

Hearing Xie Erren's explanation, Yi Haoran understood everything as clearly as if a snow cave had been illuminated. This True Kun was desperate to wash away his responsibility. He sneered inwardly. It seemed this True Kun was merely mediocre after all. When faced with real trouble, he wasn't much better than the corrupt officials of the Great Ming!

"Cooperating isn't hard—I'm going to die anyway," Yi Haoran said. "But why should I trust your words? You're the local emperor of Wuzhou now, turning your hand to make clouds and overturning it to make rain. If you go back on your word afterward, can I return as a ghost to settle accounts with you?"

"Mr. Yi is indeed a clever man." Xie Erren nodded with feigned admiration. "First, I swear on the honor of a Senator..."

Yi Haoran gave a cold laugh.

Xie Erren continued, "Second, I will handle the issues of Jiang Qiuchan and the entire Luo Yangming family first. I will save you for the final public trial. You will see the results of the handling and know I haven't gone back on my word. Since ancient times, a case is not judged twice. Can you trust that?"

Yi Haoran nodded. "That I can trust. But there is one more person I must ask about: What do you intend to do with Cai Lan?"

(End of Chapter)