Chapter 110 - Liu Si Falls into the Trap

“You’re worse than an animal!” Zhao Dachong roared, his voice thick with contrived outrage.

By now, seven or eight people, men and women, had crowded into the room. In the ensuing chaos, Xin Nachun threw herself into Zhao Dachong’s arms, her sobs desperate, though her eyes remained dry.

“I can’t live anymore!” she cried, her voice a theatrical wail.

Liu Si struggled to his feet, stunned, and made a dash for the door. It was blocked. There was no escape.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Zhao Dachong grabbed him, slapping him repeatedly across the face. “How dare you defile my, Zhao Dachong’s, intended wife! A virgin, no less! You raped a virgin! You may look like a man, but you have the heart of a beast!”

As the commotion reached its peak, the crowd parted. Zhao Haiji had arrived.

“Eighth Uncle,” Zhao Dachong said, his voice dripping with false indignation, “this is the fine guest you invited! He dared to rape your nephew’s wife!”

Xin Nachun sobbed and wailed, “Eighth Uncle, you’ve ruined me. I have no face to live anymore, boo hoo hoo…”

Zhao Haiji feigned surprise, his “Oh!” a masterpiece of feigned shock.

After a moment, he turned to Liu Si. “I treated you as a respectable person, invited you to a banquet, asked you to speak for us, to plead our case. It would have been fine if you had refused, but how could you be so beastly as to rape a commoner’s daughter? In any dynasty, this is a crime against the law! Do you understand?” He glared and shouted, “Men!”

“Here,” a half-grown boy stepped forward.

“Tie him up and take him to the ancestral hall to be handed over to the work team. I want to see how their ‘protecting the territory and pacifying the people’ is actually ‘pacifying the people’!” With that, Zhao Haiji stepped into the inner room, Zhao Dachong following close behind.

Liu Si was bound hand and foot and pushed into the inner room. A swift kick to the back of his knees sent him sprawling to the floor.

“Tell me,” Zhao Haiji said, his voice cold, “what is the punishment for raping a commoner’s daughter?” Zhao Dachong waved a staff menacingly in front of Liu Si’s eyes. “What should be done? By rights, attempting to rape a woman is a capital offense. But since he’s from the work team, we’ll hang him up, give him a good thrashing, and then hand him over to be dealt with! If they don’t deal with him, we’ll send him to the county yamen!”

A cold sweat broke out on Liu Si’s brow. He begged for mercy, pleading that he had been overcome by drink and lust. After a lengthy plea, he was finally spared a beating.

When Zhao Haiji judged the time to be right, he said to Zhao Dachong, “Nephew, you go out first. Eighth Uncle will give you an explanation.”

Zhao Dachong snorted pretentiously and left.

After everyone had departed, Zhao Haiji called for a scribe. “Get paper and a brush, and write down everything he says.”

The scribe, with paper, brush, ink, and inkstone at the ready, began to write on the kang table.

“It is written. Read it to him,” Zhao Haiji commanded.

The scribe read, “I, Liu Si, after a banquet, did break into the home of the commoner Zhao Dachong, where I encountered the commoner’s daughter, Xin Nachun, and did attempt to rape her by force. The woman being unwilling, I did tear her clothes in my attempt. This is true.”

“I didn’t do it on purpose…” Liu Si argued weakly.

“You didn’t intentionally tear a young girl’s clothes?” Zhao Haiji countered. Liu Si was speechless. This was no Hongmen Banquet; it was a carefully laid trap.

“Do you want to settle this privately or publicly?” Zhao Haiji asked.

“Privately! Privately,” Liu Si stammered, knowing full well the implications.

A public settlement would mean being dragged to the ancestral hall, a complete loss of face for him and for his superiors, Du and Dong. His future in the transmigrator group would be utterly destroyed.

“A smart man! Men, untie him!” Zhao Haiji smiled, a triumphant glint in his eye. This Miss Xin was a useful tool indeed. “To settle this privately, you will put your handprint on this confession.”

Liu Si had no choice but to comply. Zhao Haiji folded the paper and tucked it into his sleeve, his expression shifting at once. “Fourth Master Liu, you’ve been frightened,” he said, cupping his hands in a mock salute.

Liu Si said nothing, his mind racing. He understood their scheme all too well.

Zhao Haiji sipped his tea and said slowly, “We’re in the same boat now.” He paused, studying Liu Si’s face, then shouted, “Men!”

Someone brought in a small official’s box with red lacquer and copper-bound corners, the size of a woman’s jewelry box. It was heavy, and had a small lock.

Zhao Haiji produced a key from his sleeve and opened it. “Fourth Master Liu, a small token of my appreciation. Please accept it as a small apology.” He opened the box, and the dim room was filled with a dazzling light.

Inside was a trove of jewelry, gold and silver: hairpins and anklets, a bride’s headdress and a child’s locket. There were pieces of every style, some inlaid with pearls, jadeite, and precious stones. The sight left Liu Si speechless.

He had never seen such finery in his life. His hands began to tremble. “I can’t accept this,” he stammered, “it’s too valuable…”

“Don’t be ungrateful,” Zhao Haiji’s face hardened.

Liu Si had no choice but to accept.

“You can keep the things with the widow Zhou,” Zhao Haiji said with a smile. “Don’t worry, my men will take good care of her. She’s moving up in the world.”

Seeing Liu Si’s dazed expression, he added, “You don’t have to be afraid. Since Fourth Master Liu is so loyal to us, we are not ungrateful people.”

“Yes, yes,” Liu Si finally managed to say.

Zhao Haiji leaned closer and whispered, “If you do something for us… The work team has been whispering about something these days. What is it? You tell us everything. There will be more benefits for you in the future. I give you my word!”

Liu Si, trapped and defeated, had no choice but to agree. “Since you gentlemen have taken such good care of me, I am at your service.”

“Alright,” Zhao Haiji said, “you go back first. If there’s anything in the future, we’ll send a message to you at the widow Zhou’s house.”

A few days later, the plan seemed to be proceeding smoothly. Although Old Man Mei remained listless, he would reveal something when pressed. From him, Zhao Dachong learned that the two female officials were dissatisfied with the current situation and often quarreled. The red-haired monk was nothing special, just “preaching” all day and teaching everyone to sing.

Zhao Haiji secretly met with Liu Si at the widow Zhou’s house. From him, he gleaned more important news.

“The Australians’ bandit suppression is expanding,” Liu Si said, dropping a bombshell after he had eaten and drunk his fill. “The troops are all moving towards Danzhou.”

Zhao Haiji’s interest was piqued. “So, this area is about to quiet down?”

“Yes,” Liu Si glanced outside and lowered his voice. “The higher-ups are not satisfied with the work of the two women and are going to send a man to take over.”

“Yes, yes,” Zhao Haiji listened carefully. “What’s this man like?”

“I’m not sure,” Liu Si said. “The female official surnamed Du has been in a foul mood every night for the past few days, arguing with the one surnamed Dong. They’re at odds, probably because of this.”

This matched the information from Old Man Mei, and Zhao Haiji was convinced.

“…These few days, the guards are packing their luggage. The new captain will probably arrive in a few days. We’ll have to send a few people to escort the two women back. It’s a real hassle.”

Zhao Haiji’s eyelids twitched. This was it. If they were sending the two women back, they would certainly not let them travel alone. They would send an escort. This was a golden opportunity—the ancestral hall would be short-handed.

“How many people are going?”

“About six or seven,” Liu Si said, seeing the glint in his eye. “What? Are you—”

“It’s nothing, it’s nothing!” Zhao Haiji said quickly. He had to discuss this with Zhao Dachong immediately. This was an opportunity that could not be missed.

That night, Zhao Dachong and Zhao Haiji discussed the matter. They decided that Zhao Dachong would go to find Zhao Haixie and Xin Nari himself to discuss the matter and bring the troops back.

“It is indeed a good opportunity! But for this to succeed, we still need Liu Si to put in some effort,” Xin Nari said, nodding after hearing the news brought by Zhao Dachong, who had rushed over during the night.

“How so?” Zhao Dachong asked.

“The gunpowder!” Xin Nari said. “Even if five or six of them leave, there will still be more than a dozen. If they start shooting, we’ll still be in trouble.” Zhao Haixie, having been tormented by the transmigrator army, had a direct understanding of the power of their firearms.

“Let Liu Si cooperate from the inside. I just don’t know if this kid has the guts!”

“We have a handle on him, are you afraid he won’t do it?” Zhao Haixie said.

“It’s useless,” Xin Nari shook his head. “Liu Si is only afraid of a piece of paper. It’s fine if you ask him to pass on a message, but if you ask him to do something that will get him beheaded, he won’t do it. He’ll sell us out in a heartbeat!”

“Then what should we do?” Zhao Dachong became anxious.

“Under a great reward, there must be a brave man!” Xin Nari waved his hand. “How much money and property is there still in the village that we can use?”

“We still have to give him money?” Zhao Dachong almost shouted. “We already gave him a box of jewelry last time!” He was reluctant to part with the money for his own reasons. Zhao Haiqing had been Dang Namen’s “general manager,” in charge of the gang’s money, grain, and supplies. After the mountain stronghold was broken, the bulk of their savings was gone, but a great deal of property was still hidden in Daolu Village. Although this property was not under Zhao Dachong’s control, he had long known the hiding place and the specific amount from his father. He regarded this wealth as his own capital and had been keeping this secret, unwilling to part with it easily. Although Zhao Dachong was arrogant, he was not stupid. Xin Nari now had men and connections in the greenwood. If he wanted to be the leader of the gang, or at least a major leader, he had to hold on to this wealth.

Xin Nari knew his plan all along. But right now, the gang was destitute, and only Zhao Dachong still had some property. He had to try his best to persuade him.