Chapter 306: Avoiding Harm

Since the secret meeting with Li Ruolian, Fang Wen's heart had finally settled. Heaven had eyes—after enduring so long, he finally had reliable external support to lean on. Had it not been so, when his term ended three years hence, he would only leave with a reputation for incompetence, slinking away from Suzhou Prefecture in disgrace, his future prospects utterly bleak.

According to the results of his secret deliberations with Li Ruolian, barring any accidents, within a matter of days the great power of Suzhou Prefecture would be firmly grasped in his hands, and those stumbling blocks would be removed one by one by the Embroidered Uniform Guard. All he needed to do was restore normal order to daily life within Suzhou city as quickly as possible, getting the markets and shops running again in short order. Once all was stable, he would recruit local scholars loyal to himself to fill the vacancies in the six offices, restoring the smooth operation of yamen affairs, and then await the arrival of the deputy officials dispatched by the court.

Though only a few days had passed, for Fang Wen it felt extraordinarily long. He urgently wished to hear word of the Embroidered Uniform Guard's victory, yet no relevant news came from outside. He sent servants out of the yamen to investigate, and received only word that the market closure had begun—but the Embroidered Uniform Guard showed no sign whatsoever of making a move.

Forcing himself to appear calm, Fang Wen suppressed his inner anxiety, paced idly through several courtyards, and then went to the study.

His parents, wife, and children were still in his hometown of Xi'an Prefecture. After taking up his post in Suzhou, he had originally planned to send for his family, but upon recognizing the awkward predicament he faced, he had temporarily abandoned that notion.

"Is the Prefect present? This subordinate has urgent matters to request an audience! I beg the Prefect to permit this subordinate to enter and report in person!"

A familiar voice suddenly came from outside the door. Fang Wen, who had been staring blankly at a book in his hand, snapped back to his senses in an instant: Ren Yuanshan! Why had he suddenly come here? Requesting an audience on urgent matters? Could he be plotting something? No—judging by his usual manner of conduct, even if he wanted to harm me, he wouldn't come personally to the inner residence. What urgent matter could he possibly have?

The Embroidered Uniform Guard has made their move! It must be! Could he have seen through the crux of the matter and sought to use this opportunity to extricate himself? I won't see him! No matter how arrogant you usually are, today you've fallen to the point of begging me! This time, let you taste the methods of the Depots and Guards!

But once the Vice Prefect position fell vacant, the court would dispatch another deputy official. If I then failed to get along with him, what would I do? Even if I ultimately seized power, if two successive deputy officials both found it impossible to work with me, once word reached Lord Sun's ears, no matter how right I was, he would come to despise me!

As thoughts raced through his mind like lightning, Fang Wen straightened his robes, steadied himself, and spoke: "Who is outside the door? Enter and report!"

The door creaked open softly. Fang Wen kept his eyes on the book page while sizing up Ren Yuanshan with his peripheral vision as the man stepped inside. Before he could even ask his next question, Ren Yuanshan flicked his official robe aside, dropped to his knees with a thud, and—back straight, face full of misery—cried out loudly: "Prefect, save me!"

Before the words had even faded, he knocked his head to the floor with a resounding crack.

Though Fang Wen hated Ren Yuanshan to the core, seeing him in such a state still startled him. He hastily set down the book in his hand, rose to his feet, stepped forward a few paces, and gripped Ren Yuanshan's arms, saying: "Vice Prefect, what is the meaning of this! Get up at once! We serve the same court as fellow officials, and by age, you are far my senior—how can you perform such a great ceremony!"

Seeing this, Ren Yuanshan was secretly delighted: There's hope in this! He's still young after all—can't withstand a major crisis!

"Unless the Prefect agrees to save me, this subordinate will not rise no matter what! Even if I must kneel here before the Prefect until I die today, so be it!"

Ren Yuanshan spoke with a tearful voice.

"Vice Prefect, rise first, then we can speak of other matters! If you continue like this, I shall leave immediately!"

As Fang Wen exerted force with both arms, Ren Yuanshan followed the momentum and slowly stood up, speaking with mournful grief: "In the past, in matters of official business, this subordinate offended you greatly on many occasions. I beg the Prefect, in consideration of our nearly year of working together, to show great mercy and pull this subordinate out of trouble! If the Prefect can help me escape this calamity, I swear here and now: henceforth I shall regard the Prefect as my own reborn parents, follow the Prefect's lead in all things, and never show the slightest disobedience! Should I violate this oath today, may both gods and men strike me down!"

When Ren Yuanshan heard the news that the Embroidered Uniform Guard had gotten involved, he immediately connected it to Fang Wen's sudden feigned illness and withdrawal from public view. Linking the two together, he quickly reached the correct conclusion: Fang Wen had certainly known of the Embroidered Uniform Guard's arrival long ago and had conspired with them in secret. Though he didn't know how Fang Wen had bought this connection with the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the outcome of this matter was already clear—whether it was Huang Zhi, Wang Zuohai, and the other great merchants, or himself, Jiao Yunfeng, and all the others who had participated in plotting the market closure, none of them would get off lightly this time.

Ren Yuanshan had long heard of the Embroidered Uniform Guard's forceful rise. He knew very well that in any case they intervened in, everyone involved would either die or at minimum be flayed alive. In the matter of the market closure, their whole group was deeply mired in it, unable to extricate themselves. This time, even Xu Wenyuan in Nanjing would likely be implicated. All his schemes had come to nothing. The only way to escape was to go to Fang Wen, completely swallow his pride, and beg pitifully, hoping he might be moved and vouch for him before the high-ranking officers of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, pulling him out of the mire. If he fell into the hands of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, losing his post would be the least of it—confiscation of property and loss of life were commonplace.

"Brother Ren, what do you mean by these words? I happened to contract a minor ailment and cannot temporarily attend to affairs, so I am resting here at my residence to recuperate, having handed the great authority of the prefectural yamen to you. Does this not accord perfectly with your wishes? Why do you speak such alarming words? I am truly bewildered!"

Fang Wen returned to his seat, settled himself, and spoke with a playful smile on his face.

Seeing Ren Yuanshan's wretched state, Fang Wen felt as refreshed as if he'd eaten several slices of ice-chilled watermelon in the height of summer: You've got yours today! Where has that ugly face of arrogance and insubordination you showed before me gone?

"It was all because this subordinate's heart was blinded by greed that I committed all manner of offenses against the Prefect in daily affairs! This subordinate is now consumed by regret! I beg the Prefect to be magnanimous and spare me this once! Has the Prefect considered—if this subordinate is dismissed from office, the court will dispatch another official to fill this post. If that man has deep connections and a temperament as muddled as mine, should the Prefect then fall out with him, word would reach the ears of powerful court ministers, greatly harming the Prefect's reputation! The Prefect is not yet thirty—truly a future without limit! If you do not cherish your reputation, it will have far-reaching effects on your official career! If the Prefect can preserve this subordinate this time, from then on Suzhou Prefecture will be the Prefect's world! Though my words carry a hint of intimidation, they are also true in every particular. I beg the Prefect to consider them carefully!"

Ren Yuanshan's words were essentially consistent with what Fang Wen had just been considering, and they were very reasonable. Fang Wen knew in his heart that only by completely controlling all of Suzhou Prefecture would his governance proceed unimpeded, making it easier to achieve notable accomplishments and lay a solid foundation for future promotion.

Just as Fang Wen sank into deep thought, the sound of footsteps came from the courtyard. In a moment, several Embroidered Uniform Guard officers arrived at the door, and one of them called out in a loud voice: "Is Prefect Fang present? The Provost requests Prefect Fang to come to the hall for a meeting!"

Fang Wen was overjoyed at these words. He immediately stood up and replied: "Please report back to the imperial commissioner, this subordinate will change into his official robes and arrive at once!"

Li Ruolian's arrival indicated that the city was now essentially under control. All that remained was how to handle the aftermath.

Ren Yuanshan grabbed Fang Wen's sleeve and pleaded in a low voice: "Prefect! This subordinate's life is now in your hands. I beg the Prefect to save me!"