[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-stealing-ming":3,"chapter-stealing-ming-stealing-ming-chapter-275":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Stealing Ming",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1220892,1614,"Chapter 275","stealing-ming-chapter-275",275,"\u003Cp>The letter was not very long, and Huang Shi finished reading it in no time. In the letter, Hong Taiji was as courteous as ever, saying that ever since he had heard that the second daughter of the Zhao family was Huang Shi’s betrothed wife, he had been entertaining her with the utmost hospitality, and had arranged for the two sisters to stay in Huang Shi’s old residence in Liaoyang, never daring to stint them in food or clothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After reading the letter over several times, Huang Shi closed it without any change of expression and then handed it to Zhao Manxiong at his side, who hurriedly opened it and began reading it carefully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While Huang Shi had been pacing the room just now, the eldest daughter of the Zhao family had never taken her eyes off him for a moment. Seeing that Huang Shi had finished the letter, she asked urgently, “Grand Commander Huang, are you willing to save my younger sister’s life?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The mournful question left everyone in the hall momentarily speechless. Huang Shi turned his face slightly aside, avoiding Miss Zhao’s gaze. Comforting this girl of only twenty-four should not, by all accounts, have been a very difficult thing, but Huang Shi could not bring himself to say the words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing that Huang Shi merely remained silent, the eldest Miss Zhao suddenly stood up, then threw herself to her knees at Huang Shi’s feet: “Grand Commander Huang, if you would only deign to grant this humble woman a single word or a scrap of writing, my sister would be saved.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sorrowful female voice echoed through the tent. Even Zhao Manxiong could not help letting his gaze stray momentarily from the paper in his hands. That small face, full of grief, was entirely a look of supplication; her eyes were thick with desperate hope, fixed unblinkingly on Huang Shi’s face: “Grand Commander Huang, my brother once served alongside you, and my younger sister…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Miss Zhao’s shoulders trembled, as if she had forcibly swallowed some words back down. She shuffled forward two steps on her knees: “My lord Huang, if you would only open your mouth, my sister could return alive.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The expression on Huang Shi’s face still showed not the slightest change. It was not proper for him to reach out and help a young woman of good family to her feet, so he sidestepped away: “Lady Chen, please rise. I will certainly give this matter careful consideration.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, my lord Huang.” Miss Zhao grabbed a handful of the lower hem of Huang Shi’s military coat. Tears rolled down the young woman’s face: “My lord, even if you no longer want my sister, if you would only first give a slip of paper proving that she is indeed your betrothed wife, she could survive.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi did not struggle, but Miss Zhao gripped the corner of his clothing with redoubled force, both small hands clutching until her knuckles turned white. She did not bother to wipe away the tears streaming across her face, sobbing without pause: “…My lord Huang, just one slip of paper from you would be enough, just one slip of paper would be enough.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silence filled the tent. Hong Antong and Li Yunrui both looked at Huang Shi somewhat at a loss, but after hearing this plea, Zhao Manxiong seemed to lose all interest and lowered his head again to study the letter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My lord Huang, my little sister is only twenty years old. A single word from you can save her life.” Miss Zhao remained kneeling on the ground, pleading, her hand clutching Huang Shi’s lapel gripping tighter and tighter: “My lord Huang, will you truly watch her die without lifting a finger? Are you truly made of stone?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even after these words, Huang Shi remained unmoved. Mentally and physically exhausted, Miss Zhao finally collapsed entirely. She released her hands and went limp at Huang Shi’s feet, beating the ground and weeping: “But my lord Huang, you have saved so many people. The million commoners of Guangning, the tens of thousands of souls at Juehua — over the years, those who owe their lives to my lord Huang are beyond counting. How could you possibly be a man with a heart of stone? How is that possible?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When exactly did our family ever offend you, that you would be so miserly toward us?” Miss Zhao shook her head desperately. She could not fathom the logic of it no matter how she tried, and in the end she simply collapsed on the ground, wailing in utter desolation. The pitiful sound was so heart-rending that everyone present except Huang Shi and Zhao Manxiong felt as if their very bowels were about to snap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a moment, Huang Shi silently waved his hand, signaling Li Yunrui to take Miss Zhao, who had fainted away, out of the tent. Toward the unconscious Miss Zhao, he said softly, “Lady Chen, I have always held your younger sister’s spirit in the highest respect.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sending a letter demanding the Jianzhou slaves release the hostage is absolutely out of the question. There is no room for negotiation whatsoever on this point.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi’s words drew a chorus of agreement. Both Zhao Manxiong and Jin Qiude, who were now participating in the discussion, were men of understanding. If Huang Shi truly did such a thing, it would not only give the enemy another pretext to exploit, but would also earn the contempt of all under Heaven. The label of “valuing lust over righteousness” would be virtually impossible to escape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And even if I did write such a letter, it is unlikely the hostage could actually be retrieved.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi had already conducted an analysis just now. If the Later Jin truly believed the second Miss Zhao was a rare commodity worth hoarding, they would be even less likely to release her. At present, the enemy certainly believed that the second Miss Zhao held little weight in Huang Shi’s heart. Huang Shi’s past conduct — whether at Guangning or at Juehua — had proven that a betrothed wife held virtually no place in his considerations. They were merely attempting to exploit the second Miss Zhao’s identity to stir up some trouble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lady Chen always views problems too superficially — or rather, she has seized upon a life-saving straw and refuses to let go. She has not considered that if I publicly declare her younger sister to be my betrothed wife, the second Miss Zhao will meet an even worse end, because tormenting her would be a way to humiliate me, Huang Shi. For now, while the Jianzhou slaves claim they wish to negotiate peace, perhaps nothing major will happen, but the moment peace talks break down, the second Miss Zhao will certainly be the first sacrificial victim.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My lord is absolutely correct.” Zhao Manxiong and Jin Qiude responded in unison. They also believed that maintaining the current ambiguous situation — neither acknowledging nor denying — was better, and likely more advantageous for the hostage as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Huang Shi’s overall assessment concluded, Jin Qiude spoke first: “It is only that if it were not for that dog-official Yuan, we could drag this matter out. But now, the coordination between that dog-official Yuan and the Jianzhou slaves is truly seamless. I fear we cannot afford to drag it out for very long.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yuan Chonghuan had already begun exploiting the previous incident in which Huang Shi had sent the envoy bound to the capital. Now that the matter of the eldest Miss Zhao had arisen, it went without thinking that Yuan Chonghuan would certainly stir up trouble out of nothing again, putting on a show of righteous indignation to smear Huang Shi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Indeed, better to offend a gentleman than a petty man — the ancients did not deceive us.” Huang Shi sighed. With a man like Yuan Chonghuan pulling at his heels from behind, countering Hong Taiji’s offensives had become extremely taxing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it were merely normal enemy rumors, Huang Shi could originally have extinguished them with ease. But now there was someone harboring malicious intent, adding fuel to the Later Jin’s fire, and that was very troublesome. What gave Huang Shi the greatest headache was that he could not even mount an effective counterattack against Yuan Chonghuan’s memorials, because the other party had always been hoisting the banner of “seeking justice for Huang Shi.” If Huang Shi went after Yuan Chonghuan, before he could even harm his opponent, he would confirm the accusation that he himself was “narrow-minded.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And yet sitting by and doing nothing was also impossible. By now, Huang Shi’s image in the Tianqi Emperor’s mind was already hanging by a thread. Quite a few censors were also constantly comparing Huang Shi to Wu Qi, who had killed his wife to seek a generalship. If Huang Shi simply ignored this, his reputation would suffer greatly, and those past rumors would become all the more credible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This predicament reminded Huang Shi of the trap Zhao Manxiong had set for the Zhao family back then. That marriage proposal had also been a situation where no matter how the opponent chose, there would be no good outcome. Huang Shi drew the analogy with a laugh, then said to Zhao Manxiong, “Fortune turns like the wheel — now, no matter how I handle this, I am jumping into someone else’s pit.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Manxiong shrugged and said in a tone of utter matter-of-factness, “Since one is employing a stratagem, of course one uses this kind of stratagem. That slave chieftain is no easy opponent either. If it were like those roadside storytellers, just picking some obvious double-agent ploy that anyone could see through at a glance, and then burning incense and praying that everyone else is as blind as a fool — that would be an insult to our own discernment, and an insult to the intelligence of all the civil and military officials of the Great Ming.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Originally, there had been another solution, which was to kick the ball into someone else’s court — to report this matter up to the Liaodong Regional Military Commission or the imperial court. That way, no matter how the higher-ups resolved it, no blame could fall on Huang Shi’s head. But Hong Taiji had preemptively blocked this path for Huang Shi as well. In his letter, he had declared that if he did not receive a reply from Huang Shi within a short time, it would mean that Huang Shi did not recognize the second Miss Zhao as his betrothed wife.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, Huang Shi believed this threat was largely a bluff, and even if it were to be acted upon, it could only be a last resort: “The slave chieftain is most likely putting on a show of force. Such a fine means of attack — they would absolutely not be willing to destroy it lightly. But this is also their precaution against all contingencies. If I truly do kick the ball away, they can still pin the label of ‘watching someone die without lifting a finger’ on me, and they will never let me escape so easily.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My lord is absolutely correct.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both Zhao Manxiong and Jin Qiude lowered their heads in deep thought. Huang Shi waited a while longer, but neither of them produced any further views or opinions. Huang Shi clapped his hands and issued a clear order: “Very well, that will be all for today. I give you one day to devise countermeasures; we will discuss this again tomorrow. I know time is somewhat pressing, but the hour is late and we have no choice but to proceed thus.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“As you command, my lord.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After dinner, Huang Shi brought a few small trinkets to visit He Dingyuan. By the end of last month, He Dingyuan’s son had already turned one full year old. When Huang Shi arrived at He Dingyuan’s door, he saw his senior general sitting out in the open field with his son cradled in his arms, telling the child something or other.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as Huang Shi pulled out the rattle-drum and a few other items from his coat, the little boy’s eyes went wide and round, and he stretched out his chubby hands to ask for them. Huang Shi bent down and personally placed the toys into the boy’s hands, then sat down beside his father and began chatting about everyday matters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few days earlier, upon catching wind that Huang Shi was going to dock his pay, He Dingyuan had gone that very night to Li Yunrui’s place to offer a humble apology, bearing a birch rod on his back. The next day, Li Yunrui had come to tell Huang Shi that he had already forgiven He Dingyuan — because if he did not forgive him, he would have no way to rest quietly at home, let alone get any sleep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After toppling the “demon king” Li Yunrui, the relationship between Yang Zhiyuan and Lady Xiong also seemed to be returning to normal. Ever since the skies had cleared between the two of them, He Dingyuan had begun to feel genuinely sorry toward Li Yunrui. While chatting with Huang Shi today, He Dingyuan even said that when he got the chance, he would also act as a matchmaker for Li Yunrui, to properly make amends for the mistake he had committed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A match for Li Yunrui is probably impossible to arrange. His reputation has soared on Changsheng Island by now.” As Huang Shi cheerfully played with He Dingyuan’s son, he teased, “I think you’d better hurry up and have a daughter, and then marry her off to Brother Li.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Even if I had a daughter, I wouldn’t marry her to him!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two gradually turned to the day’s events. After Huang Shi had clearly laid out the whole story from beginning to end, He Dingyuan also fell silent. Bored and listless, Huang Shi picked up a handful of small stones and began tossing them one by one at the ducks by the shore, sending them fleeing with loud quacks and startling up splash after splash of water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a long while, He Dingyuan spoke up loudly from behind Huang Shi: “If my lord could save a life by writing one letter, this subordinate believes it would be better to write it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Knowing full well it would be useless…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But one’s conscience would be clear.” Although He Dingyuan was sitting on the ground, his voice was still full and strong: “Otherwise, my lord will surely regret it for the rest of his life. He will look back on this matter again and again, and will doubt the judgment he makes now: ‘That time, if I had just written a few lines, could I have saved a human life?’ My lord, saving one life surpasses building a seven-story pagoda.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi, who was in the middle of tossing pebbles, paused slightly in his motion, then abruptly hurled the entire handful of stones away. A great clamor immediately erupted from the shore: “Hmm, what you say is not wrong. But what if, because of that, I am saddled with a black mark?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“At worst, my lord would be splashed with a bucket of dirty water, but the second Miss Zhao could lose her life. The gravity of the two cannot be mentioned in the same breath. Moreover…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Moreover, even if nothing happens to me today, in the future it will be hard to avoid asking myself: If I had written that slip of paper back then, would it perhaps have been no great matter after all? Is that right?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My lord sees clearly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both Huang Shi and He Dingyuan were silent for a long while. The only sound was He Dingyuan’s son babbling happily in play. The little fellow was already completely immersed in his own world; he could not understand a word the adults were saying anyway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My lord bears the safety of all Liaonan on his shoulders. How to choose is not a matter for a subordinate like me to meddle in. It is only that since my lord asked, this subordinate dares not fail to speak frankly.” He Dingyuan hugged his son closer to his chest. Every day, after finishing his round of troop training duties, he always returned home to enjoy the joys of family with his wife and child, and rarely troubled his mind over official business anymore: “If my lord has doubts that are hard to resolve, he could also go ask Brother Zhao and Brother Jin. Both of them are very good at thinking things through.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes. But I also wanted to hear your view.” Huang Shi turned around and gently stroked the little He boy’s head once more. The child looked up at Huang Shi, then turned his head to glance at his father, and then lowered his head again to focus intently on fiddling with the toy in his hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next day, Huang Shi again summoned Zhao Manxiong and Jin Qiude to discuss the matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The only plan for now is to place righteousness above family!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without waiting for Huang Shi to ask, Zhao Manxiong mumbled out a sentence in a low voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Nonsense!” Huang Shi burst out cursing before Zhao Manxiong could continue. Zhao Manxiong had racked his brains all night and come up with this rotten idea — he had the nerve to say it out loud. If placing righteousness above family were an option, what did Huang Shi need Zhao Manxiong to think for?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Huang Shi’s lapse in composure lasted only an instant. He raised a hand to express his apology, then drew a breath and slowed his voice: “Placing righteousness above family again. I have already done away with one father-in-law, one elder brother, one primary wife, one betrothed wife, and the entire family of the man who saved my life — and now I must do away with another betrothed wife… Brother Zhao, I, Huang Shi, am a man! Not a beast! I cannot just destroy whoever comes along.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But this matter — we absolutely have no way to manage it, and absolutely must not manage it.” As Zhao Manxiong spoke, he lowered his head, but his mouth still went on: “My lord sees clearly — the moment we intervene in this matter, the future troubles will be endless.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi immediately retorted, “Not intervening also brings endless future troubles.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Manxiong raised his head and argued, “That is still better than intervening. At worst, my lord would go to the capital garrison or the south for a few years, and the matter will become clear with time. According to the established practice of our Great Ming, camp soldiers have always moved with their commanding general. My lord can reorganize the military households of Changsheng Island into two more battalions, and take four battalions with him, including Firefighting and Bedrock. The northern barbarians, southern savages, eastern dwarves, and western foreigners are always rising one after another to cause trouble. With military power in his grasp, why would my lord ever worry about lacking a day to rise again?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi knew Zhao Manxiong was speaking sound reason, but he still could not make up his mind. Seeing this, the latter pressed him anxiously: \"My lord, you absolutely must not get involved in this matter, or I fear you will face the danger of utter ruin and disgrace.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Huang Shi was hesitating, Jin Qiude suddenly called out from the other side: \"My lord, I have a thought that can turn your peril into safety.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh~?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My lord, as I see it, there seems to be no choice but to silence them by killing them!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Killing someone, killing an innocent person, killing an innocent woman, killing an innocent young woman who had once favored Huang Shi. Jin Qiude spoke of this idea as simply as if he were talking about killing a chicken, with no hesitation or agitation whatsoever. He loudly voiced his opinion: \"We might as well say that Lady Chen reached Zhangsheng Island and died of exhaustion, having spoken not a word. We will transport the body back to Juehua and hand it to her brother. As for that letter, we may as well let Lady Chen keep it hidden on her person. After Zhao Yin finds it, if he wants to rack his brains over it, that will be his problem, and none of our concern.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This plan is brilliant,\" Zhao Manxiong rapped the table in admiration before Huang Shi could react. \"My lord, if the Zhao family does not ask us to write a letter, then naturally nothing happens. If they do ask us to write one, then my lord can write it openly and honorably. Whether it succeeds or not, everyone can only praise my lord for understanding the greater good and valuing the larger picture, willing to damage his own reputation for the sake of civil-military harmony.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"As long as my lord approves, I will go at once and handle the matter cleanly and thoroughly.\" Chief of Staff Jin Qiude then produced a document listing the names of everyone who had come into contact with Zhao Da over the past two days, followed by various explanations Jin Qiude had already devised. As for the cause of death and related proofs, he had arranged them even more flawlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This way, Huang Shi could safely kick the ball over to the Liaodong Regional Military Commission. Zhao Manxiong gravely reviewed Jin Qiude's plan once more and also leaned toward Huang Shi, saying: \"My lord, if we proceed in this manner, even if the slave chieftain does harm to the second young lady of the Zhao family, we can push all responsibility away cleanly, because we know nothing at all. It is entirely reasonable that Lady Chen kept the secret letter hidden on her person, and it is even more reasonable that we failed to discover it. No one could say a single word against you, my lord.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the two subordinates finished speaking, they both fixed their bright, intent gazes upon Huang Shi.\u003C\u002Fp>",3690,"2026-06-04T07:54:54.057Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","e8c8b8666b126c7e0ab2396af7a3225c1ce08dea4067d8f32df7ba07ec843540","stealing-ming-chapter-276","stealing-ming-chapter-274",323,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fstealing-ming-cover.jpg"]