Chapter 479: Refusing a Face-Giving Gesture (Third Update)

Just as everyone was speculating about the identity and purpose of this group, You Zhenrong had already begun assigning men to tail them. Unexpectedly, these people went straight to Sun Jia's residence. A man, following the protocol for paying a visit, had a calling card delivered inside, and then a scholar of about forty years of age descended from the carriage and was led in by Zhao Jin's guards.

"Your student Shi Ping'ao, serving in General Lu's staff handling clerical documents, pays his respects to Young Master Zhao!" Shi Ping'ao had a large, square face. Perhaps due to his work as a military advisor and private secretary, he lacked the bookish air of an ordinary scholar, his speech and manner steady and crisp.

After Zhao Jin's guards reported the arrival, Shi Ping'ao announced himself and offered a greeting. As he straightened from his bow, a flicker of surprise passed through his eyes—a look Zhao Jin was not surprised by, as it was simply the realization of how young he was.

"Please sit, Mr. Shi. Coming all the way from Wolf Mountain, you must be weary."

"Weary is hardly the word. For every day your student delays on the road, a day's worth of coin and provisions is wasted over there, and sooner or later, that expense will fall upon my general's shoulders. So I've been hurrying along without rest!" Shi Ping'ao's attitude could not be called warm, which was only to be expected.

Zhao Jin smiled. His indifferent composure made Shi Ping'ao furrow his brow. With a dry cough and a cold laugh, Shi Ping'ao said, "Your student must be ill-informed, for I never knew such a fierce, wolf-and-tiger-like host existed in the vital region of the Southern Metropolitan Area. If the imperial court were to learn of it, they would surely view it as a mortal threat to the heart of the empire and would certainly dispatch a major army to suppress and exterminate it. Young Master Zhao, there is an old tale from Xuzhou—have you heard it, I wonder?"

"What old tale?"

"A hundred years ago, during the White Robe bandit uprising, the bandit leaders Liu the Sixth and Liu the Seventh passed through Xuzhou. There was a gentry family here, loyal and devoted to the nation, who organized a militia and rallied the people to resist the bandits. They protected the region and kept the people safe, rendering great service. Yet afterward, due to some minor complications, they failed to disband the militia. They were immediately seized by the authorities and charged with a grave crime. Even though there were ministers at court who pleaded on their behalf, and even after they exhausted their family fortune to pull strings, they were still sentenced to penal exile three thousand li away, banished to a desolate place like Hami Garrison. Young Master Zhao, the wolf-and-tiger-like host under your command far surpasses that of those days. If someone were to report this to the court, I fear the outcome would not be good!" Shi Ping'ao fixed his gaze on Zhao Jin as he spoke.

Zhao Jin had heard this old tale before. His expression remained unchanged as he asked, "Is that all Mr. Shi has come to say?"

Seeing Zhao Jin's unmoved demeanor, Shi Ping'ao gave a cold snort and continued, "My general is a formally appointed high commander of the imperial court, stationed to guard this strategic choke point of the Southern Metropolitan Area. The peace and order of the Southern Metropolitan Area north of the Yangtze is naturally part of my general's official duty. When local strongmen and treacherous villains in the countryside harbor sinister intentions, it is naturally my general's responsibility to report this to the imperial court."

At this point, Shi Ping'ao leaned forward slightly, scrutinizing the changes in Zhao Jin's expression. A moment ago, he had thought the other man was composed; now he suspected Zhao Jin simply hadn't understood. After all, Zhao Jin was just a dull-witted martial brute from the Xuzhou countryside, and young at that. Perhaps his own words had been too profound. Did he need to make his threats more blunt?

Before Shi Ping'ao could speak again in plainer terms, the expression on Zhao Jin's face turned into a smile. Leisurely, he spoke, "Mr. Shi, are you aware that the father of Zhao's sworn brother is a censor of the Office of Scrutiny?"

"Your student is also a man of scholarly circles; how could I not know the unsullied reputation of Master Wangshan? The great eunuchs of the Supervisory Directorates all praise him with one voice!" Shi Ping'ao retorted. An unsullied reputation praised by eunuchs was, in fact, a sullied one. News of Wang Youshan's close association with the inner court eunuchs had already spread throughout the Southern Metropolitan Area. Though he might not yet be branded a member of the eunuch faction, the term "pure stream" no longer applied to him.

Zhao Jin ignored the sarcasm in Shi Ping'ao's words and simply continued, "A high commander of the imperial court, with over a thousand soldiers under his command, vanishes without a trace. An investigation reveals that this high commander, for the sake of silver, lent his troops to a wealthy merchant to command. Shocking to the ear, beyond all reason. Yet, by coincidence, both witness testimony and physical evidence are complete. A censor submits a memorial, and the grandees of the inner court and outer court deem the matter of grave importance. Daring not to be negligent, they hastily bring it to the Son of Heaven's attention and urgently press the relevant authorities to investigate and prosecute. Tell me, what do you suppose would happen next?"

Shi Ping'ao's face had already turned extremely ugly. Zhao Jin continued, speaking as if to himself, "Today, for the sake of money, he can lend troops to a wealthy merchant. Tomorrow, perhaps he will lend troops to someone plotting rebellion. How can such a man still be entrusted to guard a region? How can he still serve as a high commander of the imperial court? This man will be thrown into prison and tried for his crimes. Nine chances out of ten, it will end with beheading, confiscation of property, and extermination of his clan. Who promoted him? Who is his backer? Are those people implicated? Tsk, tsk, who knows how vast a case this will drag in."

After he finished, Zhao Jin looked at Shi Ping'ao with a smile. The advisor to the Vice General sprang to his feet and stumbled back several steps, his face now deathly pale. He stared at Zhao Jin, his expression a mixture of shock and utter disbelief.

"Who exactly taught you to say these things?"

"A mere martial man—how could he know so many old tales, how could he understand the great political affairs of the court? Who taught you... It must be that old man Wangshan, isn't that right!"

Shi Ping'ao had completely lost his composure and poise, pointing at Zhao Jin and questioning him relentlessly. It was not so much that Zhao Jin's words were shocking, but rather that a martial man of valor like Zhao Jin, and so young at that, could possess such a systematic understanding of court politics, could so clearly discern the stakes and state them so plainly. Shi Ping'ao was utterly astonished, fixating on these minor details in his questioning.

Zhao Jin's face darkened. He slammed his hand heavily on the table, making Shi Ping'ao recoil two steps in fright. Coldly, Zhao Jin said, "Both your witness testimony and physical evidence are in my grasp. The moment they are released, utter calamity will befall you. Giving you a chance to negotiate was already a generous, face-giving gesture. Yet you actually tried to bluff and deceive me. You truly refuse a face-giving gesture. There is nothing more to discuss! Get out!"

Shi Ping'ao's body trembled again, but his feet did not move. His complexion shifted between ashen and pale, his predicament and embarrassment reaching an extreme. Zhao Jin, still seated, picked up his teacup. Seeing that Shi Ping'ao still hadn't moved, he raised his hand and flung the tea at him, drenching the Vice General's private secretary's face. He shouted again, "Get out!"

The commotion inside the room had grown loud, and immediately, guards and household servants pushed the door open to peer in. Only after witnessing this scene did they withdraw. To have others see him in such a wretched state—Shi Ping'ao at that moment wished only to find a crack in the ground to crawl into, feeling so ashamed and mortified he could die.

Zhao Jin, still seated, refilled his teacup himself. Taking a sip, he said, "Must Zhao call for men to throw you out?"

A man of such status actually pouring his own tea—how utterly vulgar. This thought, oddly, was the first to flash through Shi Ping'ao's mind.

A dignified advisor to a high commander, and a scholar with an official degree at that, to be so humiliated by a country martial man—tea splashed on his person, directly ordered to leave. Such treatment would be hard for anyone to swallow, let alone for Shi Ping'ao, who had been so arrogantly overbearing moments before and was now being put in his place. He was truly so ashamed he had nowhere to hide his face.

The room fell silent for a moment, though it did not take long. Zhao Jin took a sip of tea and set the cup down. Shi Ping'ao's complexion had actually already returned to normal. He wiped the tea from his face with his sleeve, then bowed deeply in a grand salutation. Humble and polite, he said, "Earlier, your student did not know the immensity of heaven and earth and spoke arrogant and ignorant words. I hope Young Master Zhao, in your great magnanimity, will not take offense."