Chapter Forty-Eight: The Matter of the Heart

“What can we do? We’re just a bunch of peasants—when something like this happens, shouldn’t we just hurry up and lay low?”

“Hide? But what about Lord Di? He seems like a decent official to me.”

“Yes, if something happens to Lord Di, will we have anywhere left to appeal our grievances? It took us so long to finally have an official willing to help us...”

“Hmph, listen to yourselves! You’re not children anymore, how can you just take an official’s words at face value?”

“That’s right. I heard Lord Di is newly appointed. When new officials take office, they just talk big to win some praise. Just listen and don’t take it to heart—do you really believe him?”

“Exactly. Lots of officials say one thing and do another when it comes to action. We’ve seen our fair share.”

“What nonsense! If you don’t trust Lord Di, why did you follow along? And eat and drink with us? Was it all for nothing?”

“Hey, why are you insulting people? Who doesn’t love a bit of excitement? Only a fool would pass up free food and drink. It’s not like we have anything better to do in this cold winter—what’s wrong with coming to watch the scene?”

“Alright, enough arguing. Let’s just get out of here quickly. If something happens to the official while we’re here, we’ll all be thrown into jail.”

“Oh, you’re right, thanks for the reminder. Run, run, let’s get out of here. The officials’ business isn’t for ordinary folks like us to meddle in.”

“Wait up, slow down, don’t leave me behind.”

Just like that, most people set down their bowls and ran off clutching their flatbreads. Their stampede left muddy tracks across the snowy ground, sending up flurries of snow that blurred everything around.

But some didn’t run. There were still a dozen or so who stayed behind.

A middle-aged man glanced at the swirling snow and asked the others, “Why aren’t you leaving?”

“I’m not going anywhere. My legs are heavy,” an old man replied.

A young man scratched his temple, shaking his head. “No official has ever spoken to us commoners like that. No official has ever cared about the onlookers, worried whether we were hungry or thirsty, and made sure we had food and drink. I believe Lord Di is trustworthy. I don’t want to run—I want to do something.”

Another followed, “I feel the same. And I have an injustice I want Lord Di to hear. I feel I can trust him.”

The middle-aged man listened, then asked the silent ones, “Are you all hoping to present your cases to Lord Di?”

They nodded, every last one of them, including the old man with heavy legs and the young fellow.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man nodded, “I have a case too.”

“What should we do, then? Just stand here and wait?” someone asked.

“I think this: if something happens to Lord Di, they’ll need witnesses, right? When the authorities come, I’m willing to go and testify.”

“You won’t live to see another day. The owner of the flower house and that other estate are one and the same—it’s the Wu family.”

“So why haven’t you run?”

“What would I run for? My whole family’s gone; I’m the only one left. Life means nothing to me now, so why should I fear the Wu family? If I can help Lord Di—if he truly is a good man—even if I lose my life, I can face my family with peace.”

“We shouldn’t just stand around waiting. If we’re caught, they’ll silence us. Let’s go into the city, wait outside the palace gates.”

“Yes, we need to save ourselves first if we’re to testify for Lord Di.”

“Let’s go, then. Take the small paths so we’re not followed.”

With that, the small group agreed, pairing up and slipping into the woods, making their way toward the capital by hidden paths. As they neared the city walls, they saw a squadron of imperial guards galloping toward the flower house, their momentum fierce and intimidating.

The middle-aged man hurried his companions, whispering, “As expected, the Wu family is in power—these must be palace troops. Let’s hurry, we’ll be safe outside the palace walls.”

Meanwhile, in the flower house, the official who had shouted that Lord Di had been poisoned was being watched closely by his colleagues, who feared he might blurt out something else reckless.

They were all on edge. They wanted to leave, but Lord Song had ordered them to stay. And if they stayed, they feared Wu Jianhui would take revenge on them afterward.

With such worries, a colleague suddenly called out...

They all knew, of course: he’d only shouted because there were still commoners outside.

But what did those lowly people matter to them? They began to think this colleague was a problem.

Each stood in place, lost in their own anxious calculations.

No one knew how much time passed before someone finally broke the silence.

“Yang, who would have thought you actually have a conscience.”

Someone clapped the hapless Yang Jixuan on the shoulder.

Yang Jixuan shrank at the touch, silent, edging closer to the poisonous plant, positioning himself between it and the others.

Someone noticed.

A sneer: “So you really did learn from Lord Song. Yang Jixuan, you should think of yourself, think of your family! If that plant stays, none of us will keep our heads.”

Another retorted, “But if we uproot the plant, our heads will roll all the same.”

“That’s right. Without the plant, there’s no evidence of Lord Di’s poisoning. He’s a fourth-rank official—the emperor will investigate. The commoners outside heard what Yang shouted.”

“Exactly! Because of Yang’s outburst, we can’t even destroy the evidence and run! Oh, Yang, why did you have to learn from Lord Song? Why not learn to be a turtle?”

“Tsk, still too green. Now look, we’re riding a tiger and can’t get off. Let’s wait and see what orders come from above.”

Some argued, some fretted, some fell silent.

Yang Jixuan hung his head and said nothing. Finally, annoyed by their words, he squatted directly over the poisonous plant, making it clear he meant to protect it.

Three others, seeing this, exchanged glances and walked aside to whisper.

“We can’t leave that plant!”

“Before Lord Di came here, did he eat anything else...”

“Yes, some poisons are slow-acting—they could say it just happened to take effect here, right?”

“Exactly. The plant has to go. Our superiors are the Wu family—crossing them would be suicide. Don’t lose sight of our priorities.”

“Right. Without evidence, everything will go the Wu family’s way. That Di Ying, a low-born newcomer—who would speak up for him?”

“Here’s the plan: I’ll distract Yang, you two find a chance to pull up the plant.”

Having agreed, the three slowly, unobtrusively edged closer to Yang Jixuan.