Chapter 345: Floating Clouds Obscure the Sun

That's right.

He remembered it clearly—

From the very beginning, someone had told him the answer.

All the mistakes stemmed from a letter sent by the young man surnamed Xuan.

"That day, I was making my usual rounds collecting mail when Xuan the young man specially stopped me at the government office, gave me two cash as a subsidy, and said he had affairs that day and couldn't conveniently go to Cang Cheng, so I must be sure to bring the letters back to the post station early."

Wang Lao Ba burst into tears, recounting word by word:

"If I had listened to him, it would have been fine; back then...... if I had listened to him, it would have been fine."

"But I didn't; that day I received silver money, seeing that rain was coming, if I turned back then I'd still have to go out again, so I thought I'd collect the remaining letters from everywhere and hand them to the courier......"

His wailing, like a pig being slaughtered, made people's eardrums ache.

Du Shanü frowned, listening closely, and gradually managed to make sense of his words—

At first the matter was simple, but the problem lay here: the other party was greedy.

Wang Lao Ba knew full well that rain was coming; after taking the silver and promising to return early, he still ran about, making a circuit of officials' homes, and by the time he got back, noticeable raindrops were already falling.

That day had been bright sunshine; who could have imagined that the weather would suddenly turn foul?

Thus Wang Lao Ba had neither umbrella nor raincoat; he could only clutch the few letters he'd gathered in his arms and rush desperately to the post station......

Actually, there were two more little mishaps here——

One, the post station at this time was an official post station; it normally did not handle private letters from commoners, only official correspondence of government officials, and all its ordinary expenses were funded by the government.

But when commoners wanted to send a letter, they had to rely on civilian couriers to carry it, a method that loses letters more often.

Thus officials would slip a few private letters into official documents and send them out together, skimming a bit of government graft.

This is also why Wang Lao Ba long refused to return to the post station, instead going door‑to‑door looking for people to extract graft from.

By rights, there are two ways to collect mail: one is for people to bring letters to the post station to send out; the other is for couriers to go door‑to‑door.

The first way involves nothing noteworthy—people come and go, and under the watchful eyes of colleagues, there's little room for mischief.

But the second way...... is the couriers' long‑term reliable source of graft.

Couriers' salaries are low, so they are eager to go door‑to‑door to collect mail, and can meanwhile ask officials' families whether they have any other letters to send along.

Those families are well‑off, know it's not strictly proper, but if they really have a letter they'll pay a bit of silver for the convenience of sending it.

Wang Lao Ba constantly thought of the graft, so he naturally wasn't willing to turn back easily—that's one reason.

And the second reason is that Xuan Feixing, for some unknown reason, seemed rather rushed; although he frank‑paid the silver to send the letter, he didn't take it to the post station but handed it to a courier he met, making it a private letter.

Thus, the version Du Shanü heard became that Wang Lao Ba first refused to turn back, and then Xuan Feixing failed to deliver the letter to the post station......

Each step was a small matter, but when they piled together and then encountered a 'heavenly disaster,' they produced great consequences.

"That day, after hastily finishing my round, the rain had already been falling for a while; when I passed West Market Bridgehead, I could barely see, and a misstep sent me straight off the bridge——!!!"

Wang Lao Ba continued to weep, snot and tears streaming:

"I'm fine myself, but when I climbed up, many letters had already drifted away with the water; I barely managed to fish out a few, most of which were just covers and scraps......"

"Your Highness! Your Highness! I truly didn't mean to! If I had known that road would make me fall, I wouldn't have taken it no matter what!"

Within the study, wails rose and fell; everyone had their eyes on their noses, noses on their hearts.

Only Chen Weifang remained composed; he lifted his teacup, drank half, then set it down, producing a faint, furtive click like porcelain cracking.

Du Shanü was vexed by the piercing wails before her; her habitual rubbing of the brow paused, and when she lifted her head her face was already a sheet of cold frost.

"Since you already know you caused a major mistake, why didn't you report it then, and still have the gall to hold onto several months' worth of letters?!"

Such audacity is truly out of the ordinary.

Du Shanü instinctively didn't want to believe it, but she also knew reality often out‑does storybooks in absurdity.

Sure enough, the next instant Wang Lao Ba let out an earth‑shattering wail:

"Your Highness—I admit my guilt, I admit my guilt—I accept it all——"

"I ought to have reported this to all concerned earlier, but I, I at the time had taken money!"

"Those letters floated far away in the water that day; silver money is so heavy—how could it not have sunk?"

"If I reported it, I fear not only would my job as a courier be lost, but the money would certainly have to be returned! I alone took one string of cash from Young Master Xuan, and at home I have my second‑old mother Zhang with her mouth open waiting for food—how could I return that money?"

"Your Highness, Your Highness, I truly have no recourse! If you don't believe me, send anyone to investigate; aside from the very first letter, I haven't dared touch any of the others I've accumulated, and they're still pressed under my bed——"

The wails fell to the ground, each cry deafening.

Du Shanü, truly vexed, gestured and ordered:

"Take this person to the bridgeside, the post station, and his home to identify, ascertain the situation at the time, then check his home for any abnormalities, and see how all the lost letters during this period have been handled."

At once someone responded in unison, stepped forward, quick‑eyed and quick‑handed, clapped a hand over Wang Lao Ba's mouth, and with one on each side lifted him and walked him out.

Chen Weifang felt a flicker of approval, yet his face remained unchanged as he said:

"Others should also go along to observe."

"Today you get a lesson; from now on, remember to know the law and observe propriety, do not overstep... otherwise, even if the Wise Lord doesn't say anything, I will certainly punish you."

That final remark practically scared everyone into a cold sweat.

In the post station, several people looked up then quickly lowered their eyes, answering in agreement.

Those glances, Chen Weifang is very familiar with, for he had privately met them before......

Back then, his instructions and escape routes for everyone were actually the same.

It's just that Wang Lao Ba's character is somewhat lacking; he was the first to show signs.

Looking at Wang Lao Ba's earlier attempt to shift blame, it's unclear whether the Wise Lord has grown suspicious.

If today someone else were being inspected, perhaps they'd perform better?

Chen Weifang sighed inwardly; Du Shanü couldn't hear these, merely hating herself for not being able to inspect on the spot:

"I just feel something's off, but I can't put my finger on it......"

"If I could go see it right then, that would be great; it's a pity I'm dragging a burden, I get out of breath after just a few steps."

"People come in a bustling throng, and depart in a noisy crowd."

"The hall had long since returned to silence; Chen Weifang couldn't hold back and whispered a complaint:"

""What burden? You speak that way about the child; once Rui'er finds out, she'll surely be heartbroken.""

"Du Shanü couldn't be bothered with all that, and simply said:"

""...... It's fine, the child is still young and doesn't understand yet. From now on, we just won't say these things in front of the child.""

""By the way, Afang, what do you think of what Wang Lao Ba said today...... how much of it is true?""

"?? Actually it hasn't been exposed yet; it's just that Afang's 'reward pool' is endlessly stacking......"

"? Afang, a poisonous snake coiled beneath the throne."