Chapter 40: You Are Inviting the Execution of Your Entire Clan

"That is utter nonsense!"

Master Zhang, his hair and beard bristling with rage, pointed a finger at Lin Chuan’s nose and cursed, "Even if my son did abduct someone, the law only dictates a caning and detention. How can you claim it is a capital offense? Do you take the Great Qian Code for a child’s game?"

Lin Chuan sneered. He took a blood-stained saber from one of his soldiers and threw it onto the blue-brick floor with a sharp metallic clang.

"Very well, Master Zhang. Since you wish to speak of the law, then listen carefully: your son led thirty private retainers today, all armed with this very type of military-grade weaponry, and openly assaulted the soldiers of my Iron Forest Garrison in Willow Village!"

A wave of commotion erupted in the hall.

Master Zhang’s face changed drastically. "Slander! What private retainers? Those were merely household guards..."

"And what if they were household guards?!" Lin Chuan roared. "Article 324 of the Great Qian Code! Unauthorized possession of military weaponry is punishable by one hundred strokes of the heavy staff and exile three thousand miles away!" He pointed the blade sharply at Zhang Shiren. "And for those who use such arms to assault frontier troops—death!"

The word echoed through the courtroom like a thunderclap. Young Master Zhang collapsed, his body turning limp.

"You, you, you..." Master Zhang’s lips trembled. Suddenly, he pulled a dagger from his sleeve and lunged at Lin Chuan like a crazed tiger. "You little beast! I’ll kill you!"

"Bang!"

Wang Tie-zhu’s tower-like frame slammed into him, sending Master Zhang flying backward until his back hit a pillar with a heavy thud. The dagger clattered to the ground, and Lin Chuan stepped on it.

"Assassinating an imperial official in open court." Lin Chuan stared down at him. "Master Zhang, are you trying to get your entire clan executed?"

Blood seeped from the corner of Master Zhang’s mouth as he struggled to rise. "Lin Chuan! Do not push me too far! Magistrate Qin! Are you just going to watch this brute commit murder in your courtroom?!"

Magistrate Qin cowered in his chair of office, his official cap tilted to one side. "This, this..."

Lin Chuan suddenly turned to the onlookers outside the hall and shouted, "People of Willow Village, you have all seen it! Young Master Zhang brought thirty private soldiers, each armed with military-grade sabers, to attack the men of the Iron Forest Garrison! Is there anyone here who can testify?"

"I saw it!" shouted Widow Wang.

"They even wounded two of the soldiers!" another cried out.

"I saw Young Master Zhang swing his blade at Commander Lin with my own eyes!"

The clamor grew louder, and Master Zhang’s face turned from ashen to deathly pale. He suddenly lunged toward Magistrate Qin’s desk, knelt down with a thud, and gritted his teeth. "Magistrate Qin! My son is young and foolish..."

"Young and foolish?" Lin Chuan sneered. "According to the Great Qian Code, for any case involving frontier troops, a military officer below the fifth rank has the authority to make immediate arrests!" He stared at the magistrate. "Magistrate, do you intend to stand in my way?"

Magistrate Qin waved his hands repeatedly. "No, no..."

"Qin Mingde!" Master Zhang suddenly hissed. "If you let him take my son today..."

"Guards!" Magistrate Qin suddenly slammed his gavel and rose. "Hand Zhang Shiren over to Commander Lin to be taken to the frontier camp!"

At this order, the entire room erupted. Master Zhang looked as if he had been struck by lightning, staggering back several steps.

"Father! Father!" The young master shrieked like a slaughtered pig.

Two bailiffs dragged him out, leaving a wet trail on the floor. Master Zhang suddenly lunged at Lin Chuan again, screaming, "I’ll fight you to the death!" But Wang Tie-zhu pinned his arms behind his back and pressed his face into the cold bricks.

Lin Chuan crouched down and whispered into Master Zhang’s ear, "Don't worry. Your son will be reunited with some old friends in the frontier prison—the spies from the Blood Wolf Tribe are all waiting for him."

Master Zhang trembled violently, fear finally surfacing in his eyes. "It... it was you...!"

Lin Chuan sneered. "Take him away!"

The noise in the courtroom gradually faded. Streaks of sunset light slanted through the window lattices, casting long shadows on the brick floor. The bailiffs gathered their staves, and the villagers left in small groups, whispering among themselves. The entire county office fell into an eerie silence. Master Zhang slumped on the steps, his robes covered in dust. He stared fixedly in the direction Lin Chuan had departed, the fear in his eyes slowly being replaced by venomous hatred.

"Brother Zhang..." Magistrate Qin began hesitantly.

Master Zhang snapped back to reality and grabbed the magistrate’s sleeve. "It is Lin Chuan! The poisoning of the grain wagons must have been his doing! He wants to destroy my entire family!"

The secretary, who had been standing to the side, stepped forward. "Master, the most urgent matter is to save the young master. Right now, only the intervention of Assistant Commander Zhang of the Prefectural Army can help..."

A sharp light ignited in Master Zhang’s eyes. "Prepare the horses! We go to the Prefectural Army camp!"

Magistrate Qin watched Master Zhang’s stumbling figure and shivered. The secretary leaned in and whispered, "My lord, should we also consider our own options?"

"Prepare my sedan chair!" Magistrate Qin gritted his teeth. "I am going to pay a visit to the Prefect!"

The sunset was like blood. One chair and one horse, one heading east and one heading west, hurried away in different directions.

...

Lin Chuan had Zhang Shiren sent to the frontier camp and rode back to Willow Village alone. Under the old locust tree at the entrance of the village, Yun Niang was still standing there.

"A-Chuan..." When she saw him dismount, her eyes reddened instantly.

Lin Chuan tossed the reins aside and strode up to her. Under the moonlight, Yun Niang’s pale face was still marked with tear tracks, her slender fingers clutching the hem of her clothes.

"It’s over," Lin Chuan said softly. He reached out to wipe her tears but stopped in mid-air, eventually letting his hand rest gently on her shoulder.

Yun Niang suddenly threw herself into his arms, her frail shoulders trembling. "I... I was so terrified..."

Lin Chuan stiffened for a moment, then carefully wrapped his arms around her. "I am here," he said in a low voice. "From this day forward, no one will be able to touch a hair on your head."

Yun Niang looked up, the moonlight shattering into crystalline specks in her eyes. "Young Master Zhang, he..."

"He will not live past three days," Lin Chuan said calmly, as if discussing a trivial matter.

Yun Niang shuddered. "A-Chuan..." She started to speak but hesitated.

Lin Chuan took her cold hand. "Don't worry. It is not I who will kill him; it is he who broke the rules of the frontier army."

Feeling the warmth in his palm, Yun Niang exhaled and nodded gently.

"Are you hungry?" Lin Chuan asked softly. "I will make some noodles for you..."

As the words left his lips, he paused, struck by how familiar they sounded.

"Hmm?" Yun Niang tilted her head. "You know how to cook noodles? Or should I make them for you?"

"Good, good, we shall both eat..." Lin Chuan chuckled, taking her hand and walking toward the village. "Let’s go home and eat."

Without needing to be called, his black horse followed them step by step. Yun Niang walked beside him, then whispered suddenly, "I want to go with you."

"Hmm?" Lin Chuan stopped.

"It... it was what Mother said..." Yun Niang’s voice grew softer. "If I go with you, she will be at ease, and Father... Father will be at peace in the afterlife..."

Under the moonlight, Lin Chuan saw the lustrous sheen on her bowed neck. He suddenly laughed. "That is wonderful."

Yun Niang’s ears turned bright red, but she gathered the courage to look up. "It... it really was what Mother said..."

"Yes, if you say so, then it is so," Lin Chuan nodded.

"Truly, I... I am not lying!" Yun Niang rushed to explain.

The night breeze carried the scent of distant rice fields, mingled with the faint, clean fragrance of soap from her skin. Lin Chuan gazed into her moist eyes and said softly, "Very well. Come back with me tonight."

"Ah!" Yun Niang’s face burned, and she stood there, at a loss. "But... but..."

Lin Chuan leaned down to her ear, his warm breath brushing against her flushed earlobe.

"Do not be afraid. I will not touch you." His voice carried a hint of a smile. "There are only a few days left; I can wait..."