Meanwhile, Shen Nian—whom Qi Junmu was thinking of—let out a violent sneeze in Wanggu Valley. Cheng Jin looked at him worriedly and said in a low voice, "Marquis, are you all right?"
Ruan Jiqing, standing nearby, wore a full smile. "Marquis Shen must take care of his health! His Majesty has said that if the bones are truly found in this valley as you claimed, then you will have rendered a great service, and His Majesty will reward you handsomely."
His tone carried more than a hint of envy. He knew exactly what rewards Qi Junmu had prepared—and they were treasures.
Eight fist-sized luminous pearls alone, each stored in a sandalwood box. He had coveted those for a long time, always believing that stingy Emperor would never give them to anyone, even if they gathered dust.
Yet Shen Nian kept piling up merits, one after another, and the gold and silver rewards grew greater each time. Ruan Jiqing was green with envy.
But Shen Nian—the object of so much envy—felt nothing but a desire to curse. When Ruan Jiqing had arrived with his men that morning, he'd been baffled.
He had submitted a memorial to the Emperor, saying that the North Mountain Imperial Guard's training was lax, that fine wine was hidden in the mountain, and that officers and men drank and celebrated together without discipline. The training drills were riddled with flaws—utterly defenseless.
As a result, Ruan Jiqing led his men in a fierce, murderous rush to the scene, declaring that the Emperor had already received his memorial and had thrown Wang Yi into the imperial jail. He said they were only waiting to dig up the corpse from Wanggu Valley to convict Wang Yi of his crimes.
From Ruan Jiqing's account, this was the story of Marquis Zhenbei, Shen Nian.
It was said that a brothel girl named Xiang'er had suddenly fallen ill and died. She had never been a celebrated courtesan in the capital, so naturally, no one spoke of her after her death.
Then one day, Shen Nian was stopped by one of Xiang'er's lovestruck admirers, who had run out of options. The man said he wanted to bring a charge against Wang Yi—carousing and drinking during the official mourning period, and furthermore, causing a death.
The admirer had seen with his own eyes that day when Xiang'er was taken away. He had been deeply suspicious at the time—who would dare to do such a thing during the official mourning period? Naturally, Wang Yi would not have used his real identity to hire a prostitute, so the man followed and watched as she was brought to the commander's camp at North Mountain.
He was Xiang'er's admirer, so of course he felt both heartache and pity for the girl. From the lewd laughter of the men along the way, he caught the word "General" and realized that it was Wang Yi who had summoned Xiang'er. He dared not make a sound and could only slink back, thinking he would quickly save up silver to take Xiang'er away from this place of trouble.
After all, seeking pleasure during the official mourning period—if word got out, it would mean execution.
But the very next day, word came that Xiang'er had died of illness. The madam of the brothel simply said she had contracted syphilis and that her body had been tossed into a mass grave.
Wang Yi and the madam were perfectly innocent, as pure as white lotus flowers.
Yet this lovestruck man knew that the truth was far from that. In the days since the new Emperor's ascension, he had been tormented day and night, longing to seek justice for Xiang'er.
But most of the officials in the capital he could reach were worthless. After Shen Nian returned to the capital, the man thought of Marquis Zhenbei's reputation on the border. Gritting his teeth, he sought Shen Nian out and told him the whole story of the injustice.
Naturally, Marquis Zhenbei was not inclined to believe such tales at first. However, acting on the principle of seeking justice for the people, he took the opportunity of his patrol inspection at North Mountain to drink with Wang Yi and, during their cups, coaxed out the location where Xiang'er had been buried.
To prevent any leak, he submitted an official memorial to the Emperor to make his accusation openly, while also sending a separate secret memorial in private.
The Emperor was furious upon learning of this and immediately ordered Ruan Jiqing to bring the imperial decree to support Marquis Zhenbei in digging up the corpse.
The story was quite dramatic and extraordinary. If Shen Nian were not the protagonist in the middle of it, he would have applauded.
Now he could only keep a blank face as he directed the imperial guards Ruan Jiqing had brought to dig for the grave in Wanggu Valley. Fortunately, Wang Yi had been quite detailed when he confessed the matter back then—the bones were buried in a place shaped like a pig.
Of course, this location was also something Shen Nian had learned from Wang Yi.
The pig-shaped area in Wanggu Valley was quite large. Shen Nian had seen many corpses and had buried quite a few with his own hands. He studied the traces on the ground, quickly spotted the difference, and ordered the men to start digging at the pig's rear end.
That dig took half a shichen (1 hour).
Shen Nian was lost in thought when he was suddenly jolted by someone shouting up ahead: "We've found it!"
Ruan Jiqing was overjoyed. This great achievement belonged to Shen Nian, but tagging along, he could at least get a few scraps of the reward. He smiled at Shen Nian and said, "His Majesty was right—the Marquis truly never disappoints him."
Shen Nian let out a dry laugh and stepped forward to direct the men to carefully unearth the bones.
The North Mountain Imperial Guards, who had already been unsettled by Wang Yi's arrest, were now shocked to see that bones really had been dug up in Wanggu Valley.
Shen Nian had already ordered the capture of Wang Yi's personal guards and his left and right adjutants. Now, faced with the evidence, those men confessed immediately, stripping Wang Yi of even the clothes on his back—leaving him with nothing, not even his undergarments.
The matter was settled smoothly. Ruan Jiqing was delighted, and the imperial guards accompanying Shen Nian—men like Wang Jun and Hu Ze—were also pleased.
Cheng Jin, however, was somewhat troubled and worried. He knew Shen Nian was a man who couldn't stomach many things, but since returning to the capital, Shen Nian's methods had been far too blunt, and he had placed too much trust in the Emperor.
This matter involved a high-ranking court official. If the Emperor ultimately decided not to pursue it, how would Shen Nian handle that?
And more importantly, was it not too conspicuous to offend the court officials so openly? In Cheng Jin's memory, Shen Nian had never truly been a showy person.
Cheng Jin had always trusted Shen Nian, knowing he was measured in his actions. But Shen Nian's current state was clearly not right—it reminded him of those people they had encountered on the northern border who believed in the White Lotus Holy Mother.
It was almost as if he had been possessed.
Shen Nian could tell what Cheng Jin was thinking with just one glance.
Shen Nian muttered expressionlessly in a low voice: "Of course I trust His Majesty. One shouldn't overthink things—thinking is useless anyway." Could he afford not to trust the Emperor? After all, the Emperor had even scripted the protagonist's story for him.
Cheng Jin felt that Shen Nian's words carried a strange, bitter resentment and was inwardly helpless. If Shen Nian didn't want to do these things, he could have just said no. But he went ahead and did them anyway, and now he was sulking about it—wasn't that a bit unreasonable?
---
Now that Shen Nian and Ruan Jiqing had actually dug up real human bones, coupled with the testimony of the North Mountain Imperial Guards, Wang Yi's crimes were inescapable: drinking and seeking pleasure during the official mourning period, followed by murder.
Shen Nian naturally had to return to the palace with Ruan Jiqing to report to the Emperor. Before leaving, he temporarily promoted Wang Yi's deputy general, Xun Bai, and instructed him to calm the men. He hinted, both openly and subtly, that the Emperor would only pursue Wang Yi—the rest of them would not only be safe, but might even have better prospects coming their way.
Xun Bai caught Shen Nian's meaning and felt both fearful and excited.
Wang Yi had committed a crime—he was certainly done as North Mountain Commander. That meant Xun Bai himself had a chance.
Having dangled a carrot in front of Xun Bai, Shen Nian left the imperial guards he had brought to assist him, then mounted his horse and left North Mountain.
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