Chapter 28

Upon learning that the vermilion-script iron charter had been lost, Hu Xiaotian instantly felt no trace of drowsiness; if this matter remained unresolved, his pleasant days here would soon come to an end. After receiving the order, Hu An immediately readied a horse and set off for the Eastern Capital.

Hu Xiaotian then brought Liang Da Zhuang and a group of household servants to the Jixuan Pavilion again, carefully searching the ruins thoroughly, almost turning over every corner, yet found no trace of the vermilion-script iron charter.

Hu Xiaotian severed the last glimmer of hope in his heart; that afternoon, after bathing and changing clothes, he led Liang Da Zhuang's household servants to the Capital Prefecture, his original intention being to pay a call on Prefect Hong Baiqi, but upon arriving there he learned that due to yesterday's sudden rain, Hong Baiqi had gone to inspect the capital's waterworks; although the registrar and the six departmental officials were present in the office, Hu Xiaotian was not acquainted with them, so he asked a clerk and learned of Murong Feiyan's whereabouts.

From last night until now, Murong Feiyan had not gotten proper rest; after locking up those two flying bandits at the Ministry of Justice's residence and bringing them back, she escorted them to the Capital Prefecture's jail and immediately interrogated them, but the two bandits kept their mouths shut, insisting that they had nothing to do with the theft and arson at the Ministry of Justice's residence. Since the two bandits had already sustained multiple injuries when they were captured, Murong Feiyan did not subject them to torture; seeing that they were badly wounded and fearing they might die from excessive blood loss in the cell, she specially summoned a physician to treat their wounds.

After finishing these matters, Murong Feiyan had originally intended to go home and rest a bit, after all she was not made of iron and nobody could work without sleep or rest. But just as she was preparing to leave the Capital Prefecture, she received a report that someone had arrived from the Ministry of Justice's residence.

Murong Feiyan could only temporarily set aside the thought of going home; she had just taken off her official uniform and put on a Suzhou-embroidered moonlight brocade robe, a crescent-moon phoenix-tail gauze skirt, and her black silken hair was tied up in a horse-fall bun atop her head, which added a young maiden's delicate charm—this hairstyle is quite common nowadays, named for its resemblance to a rider falling from a horse. Combined with her picture-perfect pretty face, she looked all the more lovely and charming.

Hu Xiaotian watched Murong Feiyan walking toward him, and involuntarily blinked; he was used to seeing her valiant, efficient, heroic and spirited appearance, so initially seeing her in female attire was somewhat hard to get used to, but Murong Feiyan's bright eyes, white teeth, and graceful figure were truly captivating, making his heart flutter; faced with such beauty, Hu Xiaotian almost forgot his main purpose for coming.

Seeing Hu Xiaotian's face naturally break into his trademark smile, Murong Feiyan, however, gave him no pleasant expression; her pretty face showed not a trace of a smile, and she said calmly, 'What do you want from me?'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'Captain Murong, I have come especially to inquire about the progress of the case!'

Actually, Murong Feiyan knew his purpose for coming; she glanced him up and down and said, 'It hasn't even been half a day since the incident occurred last night, Master Hu, aren't you being overly anxious?'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'Anyone would be anxious if it happened to them; I hope Captain Murong can understand my difficulties.'

Murong Feiyan said, 'Master Hu, did you lose something valuable?'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'It's nothing important; I just want to quickly find those flying bandits' accomplices, as you know, as long as they remain at large they will threaten my safety, and only then can I set my mind at ease.'

Murong Feiyan said with deep meaning, 'I thought there was nothing in this world that Master Hu would fear.'

Hu Xiaotian smiled and said, 'I don't fear gentlemen, I fear petty people…' After a pause he added, 'Only petty people and women are hard to get along with!' The implication being that women are also difficult to deal with.

Murong Feiyan naturally understood his meaning, and she sighed softly, saying, 'Master Hu, according to what I currently know, they only said that their purpose in sneaking into your manor was to kidnap you and ransom you for money; with your delicate and precious person, you must be worth a considerable sum of silver.'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'My life is worth little; if I were really sold, I might not even fetch as good a price as Captain Murong would.'

Murong Feiyan's pretty face flushed red with anger at his remark: 'You…'

Hu Xiaotian gave a mischievous smile: 'Captain Murong, don't misunderstand—I have no intention of disrespecting you.'

Murong Feiyan bit her cherry lip; facing this scoundrel of a rich idler, she really had no way to deal with him, and she said coldly, 'You'd better go back for now; I will contact you once there are some leads.'

Hu Xiaotian sighed inwardly; it seemed Murong Feiyan had also failed to extract anything from the two flying bandits, and he couldn't help but regret having so casually handed them over to her yesterday—now trying to get them back seemed impossible. Although he knew it was hopeless, he still tried asking, 'Captain Murong, could you arrange for me to see those two flying bandits?'

Murong Feiyan shook her head and firmly refused: 'No! Our Capital Prefecture has its own regulations; they are suspects, and not just anyone can see them at will.'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'Captain Murong, don't forget that I personally handed these two over to you.'

Murong Feiyan retorted, 'And what of it?' Her beautiful eyes were full of contempt and hostility toward Hu Xiaotian; the person is now in her hands, and the decision rests with her.

Hu Xiaotian knew this girl harbored too deep a prejudice against him, so he took a step forward.

The sudden closing of distance gave Murong Feiyan a sense of pressure; she did not want to retreat, but had to make a concession, stepping back slightly and snapping, 'What are you trying to do?'

Hu Xiaotian laughed, 'In broad daylight, inside the Capital Prefecture's government office, with so many officials present, do you think I would dare to do something? Even if I wanted to, I lack the courage to act on it.' In fact, even if he had the courage, he lacked the ability; Murong Feiyan's martial arts would make dealing with him no more than a trivial matter.

As for verbal sparring, Murong Feiyan is no match for Hu Xiaotian; her pretty face, flushed with anger, takes on a rosy hue, which in Hu Xiaotian's eyes is utterly adorable, and he whispered, 'Why don't we make a deal? You let me see those two, and I'll tell you what valuables my family lost.' This Hu Xiaotian, after all, has specifically studied psychology and is quite versed in it; from his several encounters with Murong Feiyan, he has already formed a preliminary psychological assessment of her: she is a career-oriented strong woman, extremely dedicated to her work, upright and unbending, unable to tolerate even a speck of sand in her eyes; to make her concede, one must make her believe it will benefit her case. As long as something is advantageous to her work, she should consider granting convenience.

Murong Feiyan said, 'Master Hu, withholding knowledge is a violation of Dakang law.'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'I came today just to communicate with Captain Murong; unfortunately I am a warm face pressing against a cold backside, Captain Murong only wants to take and not give back—where in the world is there such a cheap deal?'

Murong Feiyan has already been subjected more than once to this fellow's vulgar conduct, yet she still cannot tolerate his manner of speaking; for his harassing remarks she simply pretends not to hear anything, and she said calmly, 'On what grounds should I believe you?'

From that remark Hu Xiaotian already inferred that her heart had somewhat softened, and he said, 'Those two flying bandits were handed over to you by me, and the theft was against my family; you seek to solve the case and earn merit, while I want to quickly recover my family's property—our aims differ but lead to the same end, both of us ultimately wishing to solve the case soon; Captain Murong, why not set aside your prejudices and cooperate properly with me just once?'

Murong Feiyan could not help but admire this fellow's silver tongue, nor could she deny that Hu Xiaotian's words had moved her; after a moment's thought she said, 'I can take you to see them, but your retinue must remain outside.'

No problem!

Murong Feiyan led Hu Xiaotian into the gloomy, sunless jail; Hu Xiaotian was still visiting such a place for the first time, and after a few steps he smelled a stench of decay and foulness assaulting his nostrils, involuntarily frowning—the condition of this cell was indeed rather poor, and the interior light was extremely dim, growing darker the farther one went, necessitating illumination by torches.

Murong Feiyan noticed his expression and said softly, 'Don't do too many bad deeds, or someday you too will be sent here.'

Hu Xiaotian laughed, 'Curse me all you want! I don't seem to have offended you anywhere.'

As they spoke, they arrived at the place where the flying bandits were detained; a physician was treating the two bandits' wounds, this doctor being the resident physician of Yiyuantang, who had yesterday accompanied Yuan Shiqing to treat that elderly man.

When Hu Xiaotian entered the cell, the treatment was nearly finished; the physician rose and said to Murong Feiyan, 'Captain Murong, their injuries are not serious; I have already applied Golden Trauma Medicine to them, and they will recover in a few days, except that this prisoner's throat has been pierced by a bamboo tube, which will affect his eating for these days.' After saying that, he smiled at Hu Xiaotian, evidently recognizing him as well.

Hu Xiaotian asked, 'How is that old man?'

The physician replied, 'We have already applied a poultice to him; his family came yesterday and temporarily lodged him in the inn next to Yiyuantang; my master says that although his injury is not severe, elderly people recover slowly, so he may need two or three months.'

Hu Xiaotian nodded and said, 'Thank you.'

The physician laughed, 'It's all thanks to Master Hu's righteous intervention; my master says Master Hu's technique for treating bone injuries is profound, and we should learn much from him.'

Hu Xiaotian chuckled inwardly; it was merely a simple first-aid measure, hardly worthy of being called profound skill, but then he thought: we live in an era where traditional medicine dominates, modern medicine has yet to take shape, and as for anatomy, physiology, and even the whole Western medical school, to these physicians it is utterly unheard of and unseen; if he had the chance to display the knowledge he possesses, it would surely astonish the world—better yet, he could open a hospital and, relying on his abilities, surely make a fortune. This thought flashed through Hu Xiaotian's mind and then faded; in his previous life he had been overworked to exhaustion, and thus he had grown deeply weary of the medical profession, so unless a sudden circumstance arose, he likely would never again employ his medical skills in this lifetime.

Having been reborn, why should I exhaust myself? Saving the world and helping others has nothing to do with me; I might as well honestly enjoy being an official's second-generation heir, drift through life comfortably, and savor existence—that is the proper path.