Rumors in Dingzhou City

"Perhaps an immortal really did help?"

The Assistant Prefect set down the Memorial to the Court in his hand and spoke after a moment's silence.

The Prefect froze for a moment, then gave his colleague a strange look.

"Brother Wenhan, surely you must be joking. We have both studied the books of the sages."

The Assistant Prefect said in a half-joking tone, "Your Excellency, have you heard the rumors going around the city lately?"

"I have so many official documents to deal with every day. How would I have time to listen to such things?" The Prefect shook his head with a wry smile.

"Brother Wenhan, why don't you tell me?"

The Assistant Prefect said, "Rumor has it that an immortal descended to Heyang County."

The wry smile vanished from the Prefect's lips, and anger instantly appeared on his face.

"Heyang County again! What on earth is Zhang Huaimin trying to do? He even dares to fabricate something as absurd as an immortal descending from heaven."

"But the rumor is full of convincing details. I heard that strange phenomena appeared in the heavens on the day the immortal descended: Divine Thunder and Purple Lightning danced wildly, Seven-Colored Auspicious Clouds covered the sky, and a Golden Pillar of Light descended from the heavens. The immortal floated down into Heyang County on that Golden Pillar of Light."

"This is getting more and more preposterous. I imagine only the ignorant and foolish would believe such a rumor. Brother Wenhan, surely you don't believe it?"

The Prefect was so angry he laughed. He asked the question in return, only to find the Assistant Prefect lost in thought, with no telling what was on his mind.

"Hmm? Brother Wenhan?"

The Assistant Prefect came back to his senses and replied, "I... don't believe it."

"Hmph! Zhang Huaimin not only lied about his accomplishments, but also fabricated tales of ghosts and gods. He wants to use me to send his Memorial to the Court and curry favor with His Majesty. It seems he wants to be a treacherous minister, soaring to success and rising straight into the clouds. How could I let him have his way?"

The more the Prefect thought about it, the angrier he became. In his mind, he had already branded County Magistrate Zhang a treacherous, obsequious minister.

"Your Excellency, you won't submit this Memorial to the Court?" the Assistant Prefect asked in surprise.

The Prefect said righteously, "If I submitted such an absurd memorial, wouldn't I make Dingzhou a laughingstock among all the high officials at court?"

"But what if the rumor is true?" the Assistant Prefect asked in return.

At those words, the Prefect looked at the Assistant Prefect as though he had seen a ghost.

"Brother Wenhan, what's gotten into you today? Surely you don't really believe such an utterly absurd rumor?"

"Though I don't believe it, we should at least investigate, shouldn't we? Otherwise, it wouldn't be proper," the Assistant Prefect replied after a moment's silence.

Yet the Prefect's stance was unyielding. "There's no need to investigate. Send the memorial straight back. I'm also going to write a letter and give Zhang Huaimin a severe reprimand."

He was the one who had sent troops to attack Crouching Ox Mountain back then. If, as the memorial claimed, Zhang Huaimin had truly wiped out the bandits there, wouldn't that make him, the Prefect, look incompetent?

The Prefect also kept another matter hidden in his heart. Although the attack on Crouching Ox Mountain had failed, his men had brought back quite a few of the bandits' weapons.

Those sharp blades and powerful bows were certainly not things the likes of bandits could possess. They were standard-issue military weapons.

The bandits on Crouching Ox Mountain had powerful backing.

That was also the main reason he had never launched a second campaign against them after the first one failed.

He had realized that the waters ran deep here. After all, Prince Ning's Residence had been growing more and more restless in recent years.

Otherwise, how could a mere few dozen bandits have run rampant under the nose of a dignified Prefect like him for so many years?

Of course, the Prefect would not speak of these matters to outsiders, much less reveal the truth to the Assistant Prefect at his side.

Although the Assistant Prefect was his subordinate, his background was just as unfathomable.

Leaving everything else aside, his surname alone was enough.

The Assistant Prefect's surname was Xiao, the same as the reigning emperor's.

He could afford to offend neither side. He might as well pretend he knew nothing.

Sometimes, playing the fool was also part of being an official.

Vice Prefect Xiao wanted to persuade him further, but seeing how adamant the Prefect was, he could only give up.

Just as the Prefect was preparing to write a letter angrily rebuking County Magistrate Zhang, however, a panicked voice suddenly came from outside the door.

"Master, something terrible has happened! Something terrible!"

Ink dripped onto the xuan paper. The corner of the Prefect's eye twitched, and he looked up and shouted at the person outside, "What kind of behavior is this, panicking like that? If you have something to say, say it."

"Someone claiming to be a servant from your hometown has come. He said... he said... he said your elder brother and his family came to Dingzhou City to visit you, but when they passed Crouching Ox Mountain in Heyang County, they ran into the bandits there. Your elder brother, sister-in-law, and nephew were all killed. Only your niece was taken up the mountain by the bandits, and no one knows whether she's alive or dead."

As soon as the voice outside fell silent, the expression on the Prefect's face froze, and the brush in his hand fell onto his desk.

"What? My elder brother..."

The Prefect staggered, then collapsed into his chair. He looked as though he had lost his soul, muttering to himself.

"Brother, how could you be so foolish? Why did you go by Crouching Ox Mountain? Why did you go by Crouching Ox Mountain?"

Vice Prefect Xiao hurriedly comforted him. "Your Excellency, please restrain your grief, but the most important thing now is to find a way to confirm whether your niece is safe."

"Yes, Ya'er. She might still be alive."

The Prefect's spirits jolted at those words, and he cried hysterically, "Send troops! Send troops at once! I'm going to wipe out those bandits on Crouching Ox Mountain!"

He didn't care anymore.

Even if those bandits really did have ties to Prince Ning's Residence, he couldn't worry about all that now.

If his elder brother's family hadn't done everything they could to support his studies back then, he could never have passed the Presented Scholar examination and eventually become the head of this prefecture.

His elder brother's kindness to him was as weighty as a mountain. Now his family had met with such a calamity and died tragic deaths within his jurisdiction. If he did not avenge them, he was unworthy of being human.

"Your Excellency, have you forgotten? Didn't Heyang County just send a memorial saying they had wiped out every last bandit on Crouching Ox Mountain? Perhaps they've already rescued your niece from the mountain."

"Yes, yes, yes! Heyang County! Zhang Huaimin!"

The Assistant Prefect's words finally brought the Prefect back to his senses.

"Send someone to Heyang County at once to verify this. We must first confirm whether my niece is safe."

Vice Prefect Xiao immediately volunteered. "Why not leave this matter to me?"

"Brother Wenhan... you?"

The Prefect first gave him a puzzled look. After all, the Assistant Prefect was the second-in-command of Dingzhou City, his position second only to the Prefect's.

Though he was now deeply worried about his niece's safety, there was no reason for the dignified Assistant Prefect of Dingzhou to handle this matter personally.

But soon, the Prefect seemed to think of something and finally nodded his agreement.

"Then, Brother Wenhan, sorry for troubling you to make the trip yourself."

The Assistant Prefect cupped his hands and accepted the order.

He cared nothing for the bandits of Crouching Ox Mountain, nor did he care whether the Prefect's niece was safe. The only thing he was curious about was the rumor of an immortal appearing in Heyang County.

So whether the rumor was true or false, he would go and verify it himself.

He had come to Dingzhou under imperial orders to secretly investigate matters concerning Prince Ning, but he had not expected an unexpected surprise as well.

If the rumors about Heyang County were true, he would do everything he could to invite the immortal to the capital.

For the emperor was too old,

and had grown more and more afraid of death.