Chapter 170: Question

Translator: Myuu  Editor: Myuu

Sun Bingchen. Male. Age unknown. Estimated to be above sixty years old!

Background: A commoner at birth who became an officer. Forty years later, he was promoted from a county magistrate to a patrol inspector of the empire. His reputation was renowned.

Famous history: During the 37th year of the Qianwu reign, Sun Bingchen was appointed as the prefectural governor of Danyang Prefecture of Lai Province. In the sixth lunar month of the same year, a group of about a hundred Shatu envoys arrogantly and unbridledly passed through Dayang Prefecture with a permit in their possession. On the 11th day of the sixth lunar month, the Shatu envoys entered Danyang City. On the 12th day of the sixth lunar month, there was a wedding in Danyang Prefecture. The bride’s escorts ran into those Shatu envoys who were leaving the city just outside of Danyang City. The Shatu people were laughing and fooling around — they obstructed the escorts, injured the groom and the other escorts, and pulled the bride out from her sedan. They then pulled off her veil and humiliated her through verbal and physical gestures. After the Shatu people left, the bride couldn’t bear the humiliation and committed suicide. The bride and groom’s families entered the city to appeal for justice while beating on a drum, taking the misconduct of those Shatu people to the court. As soon as Sun Bingchen received the news, he immediately brought six hundred armed cavalries on the very same night to chase after those Shatu envoys. After chasing about two hundred li in the night, they finally intercepted those Shatu envoys and managed to take them directly back to Danyang City after a battle.

The arrest of the Shatu envoys shook the world. Clowns and corrupted officials suddenly jumped out to criticize Sun Bingchen for intercepting the foreign envoys. They pointed out that such an act could potentially cause a war to break out between the empire and the Shatu people as it was a serious offense — ‘How could a mere prefectural governor like you dare to act as you please and cause a border war between the two nations? Release them at once!’ Quite a number of sanctimonious b*tches also made their appearances and tried to defend the Shatu people by explaining that the Shatu people had wild and bizarre cultures which differed from the empire, so intercepting a bride’s sedan and her escorts could be a part of the Shatu people’s customs and traditions, or perhaps they were just curious. There was no need to make a fuss, but instead, they believed that they should conduct themselves in an exemplary way and respect the Shatu people’s social customs. The death of the bride was suicide and it was irrelevant to the Shatu people. Therefore, fining them with a few taels of silver would suffice.

In the face of such an overwhelming situation, Sun Bincheng only spoke a few lines. “The people are the nation, and the empire owns millions of ironclad armies. If we can’t even protect a young woman in her wedding dress, then what is the use of those millions of armies? The Shatu people are the ones who started this. If I waited and gave in, that would only encourage them to reach out for a yard after taking an inch and become more brazen. Only by preparing for war can one prevent the war!” To those sanctimonious b*tches, Sun Bingchen’s response was simpler and coarser: “As a prefectural governor of the empire, I shall honor only the laws and decrees of my empire, not the customs and traditions of other tribes. For those who said that we should respect the Shatu people’s bizarre customs, let me ask you a question: If one day, the Shatu people claim that it is their custom to f*ck your mother, will all of you offer your dear mothers to these Shatu people for the sake of conducting yourselves in exemplary ways and respecting their culture?”

On the 15th day of the sixth lunar month, just three days after the arrest of the Shatu envoys, Sun Bingchen held a public trial in Danyang City. The Shatu envoys were convicted of injuring civilians from the prefecture, the harassment of civilian women, putting up resistance during an arrest, and also killing and injuring the prefecture’s soldiers. They were all sentenced to be beheaded and their severed heads were later hung above the entrance of Danyang City.

On the same day Sun Bingchen executed the Shatu envoys, he took off his official hat, robes, and his prefectural governor’s official seal. Then he waited at home for the imperial envoys from the Imperial Capital to denounce him by an imperial decree.

The imperial envoys came a few days later, but were unable to enter Danyang City because all four entrances were completely obstructed by the several hundred thousand citizens in the city. Upon knowing that the imperial envoys had come, countless citizens in Danyang City spontaneously gathered at the city gates to seal off all the streets, refusing to let the imperial envoys through to carry out the imperial decree.

Naturally, the imperial envoys weren’t able to carry out his mission without meeting Sun Bingchen.

The countenance of the imperial envoys who had come to Danyang City instantly contorted when they were reviled by the several hundred thousand citizens of Danyang City as they were denied entry to the city. Not only that, but they couldn’t buy anything or find a place to stay even though they had money. When places outside Danyang City knew that the imperial envoys had come, all the inns, restaurants, and food stalls were closed for the day. After only staying half a day outside Danyang City, those hungry and exhausted imperial envoys understood that they had to retreat. If Sun Bingchen were to be punished at a time like this, it would immediately cause a mass uprising in Danyang Prefecture, and those who came to carry out this task would probably not make it out alive from Danyang City. In the end, the imperial envoys had no choice but to leave Danyang Prefecture and return to the Imperial Capital with their tails between their legs…

In the end, the Shatu people also tried to cause some trouble at the borders. However, it was futile, so this matter was left unsettled.

From this matter alone, Sun Bingchen earned his renowned reputation as a prefectural governor who was upright and selfless. In the following decades, any foreign envoys who wished to pay tribute at the Imperial Capital would take a detour because no one dared to enter Danyang Prefecture…

At the same time, Sun Bingchen slowly made his way up from being the Prefectural Governor to a Provincial Governor in the following decades through his efforts and contributions. He was later transferred to the Imperial Capital where he served as the Deputy Minister of Imperial Household, and also the Great Scholar of Longyuan Pavilion. This time, he left the Imperial Capital as an imperial envoy and a patrol inspector to patrol the six provinces at the northwestern part of the empire. The moment he arrived at Gan Province, he caught wind of the incident in Pingxi Prefecture, so he took the initiative to go there.

Yan Liqiang walked through courtyards and winding corridors behind the rest while his mind kept recalling the piece of information he had heard from Shen Teng about Lord Sun.

To be honest, Yan Liqiang secretly revered these types of people, and his heart was filled with curiosity because he was about to meet Lord Sun.

After taking two or three turns, Yan Liqiang and the rest were brought to a drawing room entrance in a secluded courtyard.

“Reporting to my Lord, I have brought the three youths from Pingxi City’s martial arts academy here!” The person who brought them to the drawing room outside bowed to the study room and made his announcement.

As soon as he finished speaking, a heroic-looking imperial bodyguard in his thirties came out from the study room. He was dressed in leather armor and had a longsword hanging on his waist. He swept his glance over Yan Liqiang and the other two before nodding. “Follow me!”

Yan Liqiang and the other two exchanged glances, then followed the imperial bodyguard inside the drawing room with Shen Teng walking in front, Shi Dafeng in the middle, and Yan Liqiang behind them.

There was a huge screen at the entrance of the drawing room. On the screen was a depiction of a garden. Peonies of beautiful purples and brilliant reds filled the garden…

Passing through the giant screen and arriving in the drawing room, Yan Liqiang saw a healthy-looking elder dressed in green embroidered official robes. He was sitting upright on the top seat in the drawing room in an imposing manner. He watched the three people come into the drawing room with a dignified expression on his face.

That elderly man’s gaze was gentle like water. However, as soon as Yan Liqiang’s gaze met his, he instantly felt as though his entire body had turned into a sponge which could be instantly seen through from head to toe.

Impressive!

This was the first time Yan Liqiang had ever encountered a person like this. He couldn’t help but feel excited.

“Greetings, Lord Sun!”

Following the instruction given to them by the officer outside, Yan Liqiang and the others respectfully greeted the elderly man as soon as they met him.

The gap between the statuses of both parties was poles apart.

“Have a seat, make yourselves comfortable!” The Patrol Inspector gestured to the three of them to take their seats on the chairs in the drawing room with a smile on his face.

It was impossible for them to make themselves comfortable. Even Shi Dafeng, who was always carefree, couldn’t help but feel quite nervous. Shen Teng was so stiff that his back was as straight as a javelin when he was seated.

Perhaps because Yan Liqiang held too many secrets in his heart, he seemed to be particularly cautious in front of the world-famous figure. He sat on his chair and lowered his gaze in silence. He avoided making any eye contact with the Patrol Inspector.

“The moment I arrived in Pingxi City, I heard people talking about the three of you. I heard that you were the ones who released a signal first. I also heard that you were the top three candidates in Qinghe’s Martial Arts County Trial Examination. How extraordinary! You are all indeed young and promising!” The Patrol Inspector stroked his beard as he spoke to them with a smile.

“You are giving us too much credit, Sir. We merely did what were suppose to do. It hasn’t been that long since we joined the martial arts academy. We still have much to learn from our tutors there, so we dare not be complacent with ourselves!” Shen Teng gave him an appropriate and flawless response. He definitely had the potential to become a spokesman.

Prior to coming here, Yan Liqiang and the rest had discussed and agreed among themselves that if the Patrol Inspector spoke to them, both Yan Liqiang and Shi Dafeng would remain silent and they would let Shen Teng carry on the conversation.

“Hm, right. Young people should have confidence, but they also need to be humble. Let me guess, you must be Shen Teng!”

Not expecting the Patrol Inspector to know his name, Shen Teng’s cheeks were instantly tinted with an unusual red. He immediately stood up and bowed to him once again. “Yes, Sir. I am Shen Teng!”

“And you must be Shi Dafeng…” The Patrol Inspector smiled and pointed at Shi Dafeng.

Shi Dafeng took a deep breath, then abruptly stood up. “Yes, Sir. I am Shi Dafeng!”

“Then you should be Yan Liqiang!” The Patrol Inspector’s gaze fell on Yan Liqiang once again.

“Yes, Sir. I am Yan Liqiang!” Yan Liqiang stood up with his gaze still lowered as he mimicked Shen Teng and respectfully bowed to the Patrol Inspector again.

“I’ve heard more than once from others about the incident which transpired that night. Since the three of you had first-hand experience, I would like to hear from you all about the story from that night…”

Upon hearing the Patrol Inspector’s question, Shen Teng cleared his throat and gave him a concise summary of the entire incident from that night. The Patrol Inspector listened while nodding slightly, and he seemed to be listening rather attentively.

“Oh, I see.” The Patrol Inspector’s gaze fell on Yan Liqiang again after he finished listening. “So that means that you were the first one to see through that Shatu man’s disguise?”

“Yes, I just happened to be lucky. The Shatu man’s face was still fresh in my mind so I was luckily able to discover something fishy going on!”

“Is that so? For you to be able to see through someone’s disguise after meeting him only once and even at night when it was dim, it seems like you really have a good memory!” The Patrol Inspector nodded with a smile, then pointed to the screen at the entrance. “I believe you saw the screen at the entrance when you came in. Let me give you a test — how many peonies, fish, bees, and birds are there on the screen?”

Shen Teng and Shi Dafeng were stunned when they heard the Patrol Inspector’s question. Their hearts began to race wildly.

Most people would just take a glance at the screen when they entered. No one could possibly remember all those splendid details on the screen.

The drawing room instantly grew so silent that one could hear a pin drop. Shen Teng and Shi Dafeng suddenly felt their mouths going dry as they oddly became nervous. Both of them tried their hardest to recall, but they only managed to remember some vague details. They couldn’t answer the Patrol Inspector’s question at all.

Everyone’s gaze in the drawing room was directed at Yan Liqiang face…

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