Chapter 446: with translation of chapter title

The Duan family army rebellion case implicated many; in a short time, when the tree falls, the monkeys scatter, and when the wall collapses, everyone pushes.

Reports from all over accused the Duan family of corruption and lawlessness, harming the people, and the number of such cases kept increasing.

Gu Kang headed the Ministry of Justice, and the documents he received each day piled up like mountains.

Although Gu Kang was full of energy, he eventually couldn't hold on; his head felt like it would split, he threw down the case file before him, and slowly rose to his feet.

The petty official attending Gu Kang was organizing the case files sent from all over the country; seeing the chief official stand, he also hurriedly rose to his feet.

"Sir?"

Gu Kang waved at him, walked to the window; outside it was already deep night, a new moon hung in the ink‑black horizon like a beauty's brow, soaked with longing.

He recalled Mr. Wen's words in his mind: the Qi Sha Gu case is related to the Prince Rui's mansion.

Therefore we can make use of the situation, but must not become too deeply involved.

Initially, Qi Sha Gu was not only the painful defeat of Xiao Yin's troops; what lay hidden behind it was truly terrifying.

Initially, Qi Sha Gu buried not only Xiao Yin's several hundred thousand troops there.

More importantly, the northwestern gate was flung open; beyond Qi Sha Gu lay the fertile plains stretching a thousand li to its south.

Southern Qi has three famous grain‑producing regions; the largest is the Jiangnan area, the land of fish and rice.

The smallest is the Guanzhong plain; within it, the flatland south of Qi Sha Gu at Pingcheng, surrounded by tens of thousands of mu of fertile soil, is also a renowned grain‑producing area of Southern Qi.

It is unlike the borderlands, where other armies hold sway, and unlike Jiangnan, where too many covetous parties make it difficult to manage.

Those tens of thousands of mu of good farmland had all been swallowed by the Duan family; seeing the land‑consolidation affair laid bare, Xiao Yin had initially proposed a nationwide land‑clearance.

This enraged the Duan family, who then schemed to set a deadly trap at Qi Sha Gu.

They aimed to kill Xiao Yin's vigor to stop him from continuing the land clearance, and they allowed the Bei Di cavalry to massacre the Pingcheng populace, making everything leave no living witnesses, and they even annexed Pingcheng, which had become ownerless wasteland due to the war.

For the sake of one family's interests, they actually caused the death of an entire city's people.

Gu Kang's brows knotted tightly; Mr. Wen's meaning was simply to give the common people justice.

Mr. Wen said Southern Qi's greatest malady was land consolidation; this tumor must be excised this time.

As a scholar, one must set one's heart for heaven and earth, and establish one's destiny for life.

But everything must be planned strategically; investigating the Qi Sha Gu case cannot yet mention Qi Sha Gu, cannot give Xiao Yin a chance to overturn his case, we must draw out Pingcheng, draw out…

"Sir! The relatives of Li, the transport official who oversaw grain shipments to Qi Sha Gu back then, have been found; they are already outside the door."

Gu Kang nodded; if we are to carry out a nationwide land clearance, those sordid affairs of Pingcheng must be brought to light.

Back then, Li was a clerk in charge of grain and finance beside the Pingcheng prefect; later, the Bei Di and Xiao Yin‑led Azure Dragon Army fought fiercely around Qi Sha Gu.

Li became the grain‑transport officer and went to Qi Sha Gu; the military rations contained moldy, even poisonous grain, which damaged the Azure Dragon Army's fighting strength.

Later this Li was beheaded, the male members of his family were executed, and all the women were made into military prostitutes—a horrifying sight.

Gu Kang thought he could not reach any Li relatives, but unexpectedly the daughter of Li Guangcheng was still alive.

The people Gu Kang sent out had already found this woman; he hurriedly turned and walked outside.

"Where is the person?"

"Replying to Sir, your subordinate has brought the person to a side room; no one else knows about it."

"Hmm, this is an important witness; we must absolutely avoid any mishap, otherwise we won't be able to settle the account."

Gu Kang turned and walked out of the office, preparing to meet Li's female relatives.

There are some things he wants to ask face‑to‑face to clarify.

The night was deep and the dew heavy; the attendant hastily grabbed a cloak to drape over Gu Kang and followed him out of the corridor.

After winding through the narrow passage, there stood a row of ordinary‑looking rooms.

Those who didn't know would think it was a thatched hut overgrown with weeds, but inside the furnishings were clean and tidy.

A tall woman in a light‑colored dress, with a black cloak draped over it, had been waiting in the room for a long time.

Hearing footsteps behind her, she quickly turned and removed the hood she wore on her head.

Gu Kang's steps halted there at once, as if in myriad worlds only this person before him remained.

It seemed as if heaven and earth, stars and planets were rapidly receding, and time flowed back to an earlier juncture.

At that time he was still a playboy son of a noble family in Shang Jing, a frequent visitor to the pleasure quarters, the most suave patron of the Pink Pavilion, willing to spend a fortune for a favored courtesan.

This was merely because he was the legitimate son of the Gu Xiangfu of Southern Qi, the premier playboy of Jing Cheng.

This time, Ruoxi was also stunned.

Initially, to gain the support of Gu Jiu Ling and the Prince Rui's mansion, she willingly accepted Gu Jiu Ling's exorbitant payment and helped her set a trap to lure Gu Kang into taking the bait.

She never imagined that Gu Kang would, for her sake, nearly let himself fall into a mire from which he could not extricate himself.

Ruoxi, by her own strength, nearly destroyed Gu Kang.

Later she used the influence of the Prince Rui's mansion to redeem herself from the Pink Pavilion, and she married the scholar Zhang Liang, whom she had long admired, in Yunzhou.

Zhang Liang's scholarly aptitude was mediocre; he merely held a minor post in Yunzhou.

This man was also honest; after going once with others to the Pink Pavilion, he took a liking to Ruoxi.

He did not disdain Ruoxi's former background; besides, his family's poor circumstances prevented him from marrying a daughter of a great household, yet he also looked down on vulgar common women.

This fellow actually had some literary talent; his correspondence with Ruoxi, his poems, songs, and rhapsodies also won her heart.

Thereafter Ruoxi followed Zhang Liang to Yunzhou and settled there in peace.

During her days in Shang Jing she had already amassed a fortune of ten thousand strings of cash; now, living with Zhang Liang, she is well‑off and composed, rarely inquiring about affairs in the capital anymore.

For over a decade she had wanted to avenge her grudge, but in the end she could only lead a mediocre life, since her enemies were too powerful—even the Prince Rui must plot slowly against them.

She did not expect that news of the Duan family's collapse would spread throughout the world, and Ruoxi's heart again stirred with purpose.

Seven years ago her parents and brothers died horribly, her sisters were tortured to death, she escaped death several times—how could this hatred be erased?

Now that the Duan family has fallen, her father's case may well see its injustice redressed.

But Ruoxi never imagined that the person who could help her vindicate her grievance would be Gu Kang.

The last time she left Jing Cheng, she never wanted to look back on her previous life, feeling as if she wanted to tear her present and past apart, alive.

But some things, once imprinted in one's life, are very hard to erase.

At this moment, both stared blankly at each other, yet a door lay between them, separating them by myriad layers of mountains.

Ruoxi opened her mouth and first bowed to Gu Kang, saying: "Sir Gu, peace and safety!"

Gu Kang's hand, hidden in his sleeve, clenched tightly into a fist, trembling slightly.

The color of his eyes had already been tumultuous like overturning rivers and seas, then gradually returned to calm.

He lifted his leg and stepped over the threshold, then lightly said to Ruoxi: "Miss Li, I hope you have been well."