If You Don't Want Others to Know, Don't Do It Yourself

"What's going on? Who is it?"

"Old Liu is back? Why is there such a commotion?"

Hearing the gate open, Qiu Yan's aunt by marriage, sister-in-law, and maternal aunt Liu-shi all came out from the house, only to be frightened stiff by the scene in the courtyard.

"Y-You... who are you people?"

There were seven or eight men standing in the courtyard. Not all of them were big and burly, but they all had the air of hoodlums, sneering coldly with an intimidating presence. More importantly, the man at their head was a soldier in uniform.

Liu-shi and the other two were ordinary women. Seeing soldiers force their way through the gate, they immediately panicked.

"Gentlemen..." Qiu Yan's aunt by marriage gathered her courage and stepped forward to ask.

"Cut the crap! Where's Qiu Yan? Tell him to get out here and see me!"

Before the soldier could speak, one of the men shouted, making Liu-shi and the others jump in fright. Their faces went pale, and Qiu Yan's sister-in-law even began to tremble.

"Threatening women and children—what kind of conduct is that? If word gets out, people will laugh at you. Then again, people like you probably aren't afraid of disgrace. You're long used to it."

At that moment, a man's voice came from behind Liu-shi and the others, followed by the sound of footsteps.

"Wang Qiao'er, you've grown quite a bit bolder this time."

His voice was neither loud nor soft, but when it reached the ears of the men in the courtyard, an inexplicable chill ran through their hearts, as though mice had seen a cat.

Suppressing his unease, the shouting man turned toward the voice and saw Qiu Yan's somewhat slender yet upright figure.

"It's you!" Wang Qiao'er instinctively took a step back. Then he caught himself, forced up his courage, and sneered. "Young Master Qiu, we meet again. But this time, I, Wang Qiao'er, won't be fooled by your words again."

The man speaking was Wang Qiao'er. A few days ago, Qiu Yan had cowed him with words and sent him fleeing in panic. Yet today, he had returned with several other ruffians and had even brought along a soldier surnamed Li who guarded the city gate.

Qiu Yan ignored the clamoring Wang Qiao'er. With his back to him, he gently reassured his aunt by marriage and the others.

"What is this about? Are they here for you? Did you provoke them?" Liu-shi asked quietly.

"Yes, Yan'er, what are we to do? Your uncle and the others aren't here. If something happens..." Terror filled his aunt by marriage's face.

Qiu Yan smiled. "It's nothing. They're merely petty men. Petty men are base, forget righteousness when they see advantage, and are good at trimming their sails to the wind. They cannot accomplish anything. It is a good thing they came today. Leave them to me."

Left standing to one side, Wang Qiao'er saw that Qiu Yan did not take him and his companions seriously at all, and that his words were full of contempt. Rage Fire surged in his chest. Relying on their greater numbers, he stepped forward, ready to lash out.

But before he could speak, a sinister voice came from beside him—

"Young Master Qiu, what a poisonous tongue you have. I wonder, in your eyes, do I count as a petty man as well?"

The speaker was the soldier surnamed Li. He took a step forward, smiling faintly. "That day, you deceived me, Li, claiming to be a scholar returning from travels. I failed to investigate and let you into the city. Only yesterday did I learn that you were no scholar at all. You do not even possess the xiucai degree—you are clearly a refugee who fled from the south! Tell me, should the crime of deception be punished?"

"Of course it should!" Wang Qiao'er chimed in. "If it isn't punished, is there any law left? How are good citizens like us supposed to swallow this insult?"

"That's right! Arrest him!"

"He even dared deceive Master Li? This is outrageous!"

"Liu Huai and Liu Yue have both been thrown out of the Pan Household. What does this poor scholar have left to rely on?"

"This is the perfect time to beat a dog that has fallen into the water!"

"'Good citizens,' what fine words. And what thick skin you have. Wang Qiao'er, your skill at turning black into white is truly remarkable," Qiu Yan said as he turned around and looked directly at Wang Qiao'er and the others. "May I ask what crime Qiu has committed? Could it be that in our Great Rui, even fleeing adversity has become a crime? Since when has the Ancestral Emperor's Granary Relief Edict changed?"

Fleeing adversity was naturally not a crime, but every dynasty had been deeply wary of refugee populations, lest they spark civil unrest.

However, this wave of adversity within Yuanning Prefecture only involved several villages and was not large in number. According to the Great Rui Code, the local government was responsible for providing relief. Not only could it not punish them, it also had to open the Ever-Normal Granary and Broad Beneficence Granary to distribute grain.

Establish Charity Granaries throughout the realm, in preparation for calamity and disaster.

This was a rule established by Great Rui's founding emperor, an ancestral law. In terms from Qiu Yan's previous life, this decree was social welfare.

"Stop spouting that empty nonsense! What sort of man was the founding emperor? Is he someone a poor scholar without even a degree like you can talk about?"

Hearing Qiu Yan bring up the law, both Wang Qiao'er's ruffians and the soldier leading them felt a pang of guilt. In this world, the Divine Path flourished. The law was maintained not merely through tacit agreement among men. Once an imperial dynasty was established, gods and ghosts imposed restraint. From common folk below to nobles at court above, all held a measure of fear.

Hearing Qiu Yan mention the founding emperor's decree, Wang Qiao'er and the others had come with the intention of causing trouble, yet they still hurried to change the subject, afraid of startling the spirit of the Ancestral Dragon.

"Fine, we won't talk about the law. Let's talk about something else." Qiu Yan readily went along with it, glancing at the soldier in the lead. "Li Bo, have you stored away those twenty taels of silver at home safely? And how are the repairs on that little courtyard in Zheng Family Village north of the city coming along?"

"Y-You... what did you say? How did you know?" The leading soldier's face changed drastically. He began to shake, even forgetting to ask how Qiu Yan knew his name.

Those twenty taels of silver had been extorted during one of his shifts guarding the gate. Greedy, he had not reported it and had pocketed it himself. If his superiors found out, they would certainly demand a share, and he would not escape being made to wear small shoes afterward.

But that was still manageable. The real problem was the courtyard in Zheng Family Village. It had been built for a widow in the village. Li Bo had been carrying on with her for a long time. If it was exposed, never mind morality or the law—his fierce wife at home alone would be enough to make him suffer. Once she made a scene, there would be no peace.

Ignoring Li Bo's changed expression, Qiu Yan glanced at Wang Qiao'er. "Before the New Year, the Cai Household south of the city lost an ox. Do you know where it went? And some days ago, the Liu Household north of the city was robbed of jewelry and ornaments. Wang Qiao'er, do you know any clues about the thief?"

"Y-You..." This time, it was Wang Qiao'er's turn to shake.

He had happened upon the Cai Household's lost ox and, unable to resist indulging his appetite, had slaughtered it. If word got out, prison would be waiting for him at once. In this farming society, privately slaughtering cattle was no small crime, much less a prime working ox!

As for the jewelry stolen from the Liu Household, Wang Qiao'er had not committed the theft himself, but the thief had come to him to sell the stolen goods. Investigated properly, that too was a crime.

With both crimes punished together, he would likely be tattooed and exiled.

Qiu Yan paid no attention to the terrified Wang Qiao'er. Instead, he looked toward the other ruffians beside him and began speaking. He actually called out each of their names one by one, then said something to every single one of them. Every face changed color, and all of them revealed panicked, flustered expressions.

By the end, the soldier Li Bo narrowed his eyes and stared fixedly at Qiu Yan, a vicious look appearing on his face as though he had made some decision.

But Qiu Yan suddenly shot him a glance. A glint flashed in his eyes, and Li Bo's head began to roar as if he had suffered a heavy blow. His body swayed, and he nearly fell. Yet the sensation vanished immediately, as though it had been an illusion.

When he came back to his senses, he found that Qiu Yan had taken a stack of papers from his robes and distributed them among the crowd. Li Bo accepted one without thinking. After one glance, his face changed drastically.

"The current situation is enough to drive you to desperate measures. But do you really think Qiu came without making any preparations? Your crimes and the evidence of them have all been written into several copies, and arrangements have already been made. If you try to silence me or deny it, it will be useless. Instead, you will add the crime of plotting to take a life. You will not escape execution by strangulation or beheading."

When Qiu Yan said this, he seemed utterly unconcerned for his own life. Yet Wang Qiao'er and the others looked even worse. Li Bo also put away his murderous intent, fear filling his eyes. He looked at Qiu Yan uncertainly and asked in a low voice, "How did you learn of these things?"

"If you don't want others to know, don't do it yourself."

As Qiu Yan spoke, he raised a hand and pointed upward.

P.S. Thank you, brother Kambos, for the reward! I had some matters to attend to today, so there will only be one update.