Chapter 152: Feigning compliance

Shuanghu Village, Liu Ju, Zhang Tang, Wei Xiang, Xu Wei and a few others, having deceived Li Xiao's inspection, arrived here.

Upon entering the village, what met their eyes was a scene of heartbreaking poverty and decay. The barrier at the village entrance stood crookedly, haphazardly assembled from rotting wood, and would collapse with a loud crash at the slightest push.

Looking around, the streets were filled with uneven, potholed mud; the puddles from rainy days had not yet dissipated, and the murky wastewater gave off waves of foul stench.

Most of the houses lining the roads were dilapidated beyond repair.

Over half of the mud plaster on the walls had peeled away, exposing uneven earthen bricks beneath, and in some places cracks had already appeared. The thatched roofs were sparse and ragged, blown about by the wind, with many holes letting light through.

Occasionally, broken farm tools lay scattered by the roadside: the hoes had snapped handles and their iron blades were rusted blunt; the rakes were missing teeth, haphazardly tossed aside, ignored by all.

What struck Liu Ju and his companions as most strange was that every household's gate was tightly shut, each gate made of a few rotting planks nailed together, the iron nails rusted, some already fallen off.

And when they turned back, they realized that the villager they had known earlier had disappeared at some point.

Liu Ju frowned, his gaze sweeping the surroundings, and said, 'This village feels eerie, unnervingly quiet.'

Zhang Tang and the others followed him behind, equally suspicious.

Wei Xiang also said, 'Your Majesty, please look at the surrounding fields—most of them lie fallow.'

Liu Ju's expression instantly hardened, his eyes coldly scanning the desolate land around the village.

'Let's go inside and have a look!'

They broke through the barrier and came to a household's gate; Zhang Tang stepped forward and raised his hand to knock.

But there was no response after a long wait; the group peered carefully into the courtyard, evidently there were signs of life—someone was inside—yet for some unknown reason they did not open the door.

Zhang Tang felt anxious, stepped forward, and said, 'Your Majesty, shall I climb over the wall to take a look?'

Liu Ju firmly shook his head, saying, 'No, rashly entering could cause trouble.'

They stood at the gate, their hearts full of doubt.

Afterward they tried knocking on several more gates, but all remained tightly shut.

Wei Xiang whispered his analysis: 'Li Xiao is so arrogant, the villagers want to speak but hold back, and now the village is this strange—there must be some hidden truth.'

Xu Wei also nodded in agreement, saying, 'Perhaps Li Wan and his son are hiding some shameful secret here.'

They lingered at the village entrance until evening.

In some farmhouses, bean‑sized lights had already been lit.

Clearly Liu Ju's guess was correct—this village is inhabited.

Suddenly, a faint wail drifted from deep within the village; the group instantly became alert, Zhang Tang resting his hand on his sword hilt, and said, 'Your Majesty, I'll go check.'

Liu Ju pondered for a moment, then said, 'Let's go together, but be sure to stay careful.'

They proceeded cautiously in the direction of the sound.

All along the way, the houses remained with doors and windows shut, eerily silent.

The wailing came and went intermittently, as if guiding them.

Finally, before a small courtyard at the village's end, they halted their steps.

The sobbing seemed to be coming from inside this courtyard.

Liu Ju knocked again, but still no one answered.

Zhang Tang looked at Liu Ju, his eyes full of question; Liu Ju gave a slight nod.

Zhang Tang lightly leapt over the courtyard wall, then opened the gate, and the group quickly entered the compound.

In the courtyard, an old woman sat on the ground weeping; seeing them enter, she widened her eyes in terror and tried to rise to flee.

Liu Ju hurried forward and spoke softly, 'Elder, don't fear—we mean no harm.'

The old woman trembled as she asked, 'Who are you? What are you doing here?'

'So you are several officials!'

At that moment an old man walked out from the rear house—the very villager they had previously met.

The villager approached them, hesitated for a long time, then slowly said, 'Sirs, no matter where you come from, please leave quickly—this village has long been under the control of Li Wan and his son, who are engaged in shameful deeds; if they discover you have come, we will all suffer…'

Just then, a noisy clamor of footsteps and shouts suddenly came from outside, as if someone was heading this way.

Liu Ju and his companions' faces changed; the villager, even more frightened, blew out the oil lamp and curled up in a corner.

'Turn the village upside down—leave no corner unsearched!'

Li Xiao's arrogant, overbearing voice came from afar, accompanied by a clatter of disorderly horse hooves.

He was seen riding a tall, large horse, charging recklessly into the village; behind him followed a gang of servants as fierce as wolves and tigers, waving clubs and indiscriminately pounding the walls of roadside houses, producing harsh, grating noises.

'Get out, all of you!'

Li Xiao bellowed at the top of his lungs, 'If you dare harbor outsiders, I'll tear down your houses and exile everyone to the frontier!'

He glared ferociously around, and for each household he passed, he ordered his servants to smash the gate.

If there was no reply, the servants would kick open the rickety gate, rush in, ransack the place, and toss the household's belongings all over the floor.

A young villager could not hold back and stepped forward, whispering, 'Master Li, why must you torment us poor folk…'

Before he could finish, Li Xiao lashed out with a whip, striking the villager's face and leaving a bloody streak.

'When I act, it's not your place, you lowly wretch, to butt in!'

He snarled, 'If today we don't find those few suspicious persons, the whole village will have no peace!'

The villagers watched in terror, angry but unable to speak, forced to silently endure Li Xiao's atrocities.

Seeing Li Xiao's outrages, Liu Ju could no longer contain the anger in his heart; he lifted his foot, about to stride outside.

Zhang Tang, seeing this, hastily reached out to stop him, anxiously saying, 'Your Majesty, absolutely not! Li Xiao is vicious by nature; going out now would be far too dangerous.'

Wei Xiang also chimed in from the side, 'Your Majesty, we should think of another way; rushing out now might bring disaster.'

Liu Ju's gaze was firm; he gently shook his head and said, 'As the Son of Heaven, seeing the people suffer such oppression, how could I stand idly by?'

Having spoken, he took the lead and strode out of the house.

Li Xiao was directing his servants in wanton destruction when he suddenly saw Liu Ju and the others emerge; he blinked slightly, then a sneer curled his lips as he said, 'Hmph, you lot actually came out on your own—how so, are you afraid of being found by this young master and losing face?'

Liu Ju gave Li Xiao a cold glance, his gaze sweeping over the ruined houses and frightened villagers around, and he said in a deep voice: "Your conduct, young master, is truly against heavenly principle."

He recalled his experiences before and after arriving here; this village suffered severe land annexation, the people endured great hardship, surely there must be a hidden hand behind it.

It was probably the doing of Li Wan and his son, but for now he had no intention of revealing his identity; instead, he wanted to ferret out the mastermind behind the scenes.

Thus Liu Ju gave a meaningful look, and Xu Wei understood at once, stepping forward to confront Li Xiao.

"Vice Minister of Works Xu Wei, I don't know why Young Master Li has sought you out at night; what business do you have?"

Seeing Xu Wei, Li Xiao blinked slightly, a complex expression flitted across his face.

He soon engaged in evasive pleasantries with Xu Wei.

"Sir Xu, why have you also come to this remote place?"

Li Xiao put on a false smile, his tone instantly becoming obsequious.

"Young Master Li, your actions in this village are truly excessive. We few are merely passing by, hoping to borrow lodging for the night, yet you have made a huge fuss—what justification is there?"

Li Xiao's eyes darted, and he hurriedly said: "It's all a misunderstanding, just a misunderstanding. Since you are friends of Master Xu, there's naturally no problem. Please feel free to stay in the village; let me know if you need anything."

After saying that, he readily agreed, bringing his attendants away swaggeringly.