Chapter 638: Repaying Kindness

The deceased "noble" was a steward from the household of the Prince of Lu's consort's maiden family. Within the Prince of Lu's estate, this steward was nobody important, but in Xinxiang County it was a major incident. Word had it that the Princess Consort of Lu was furious, and her maiden family had even dispatched special personnel to press the matter, so the investigation could only be pursued layer by layer with ever-increasing severity.

The women and children who had been let go were found. A description of their appearances made it clear that Niu Jinbao was responsible. Then, from people close to Niu Jinbao, they learned that he regularly sent silver home and would most likely return to his family, so they simply followed the trail all the way there.

And so the constables from Xinxiang County, Weihui Prefecture, together with the steward from that estate, arrived at Xuzhou Guard. Niu Jinbao had indeed returned home. When he heard his old mother had been arrested, he was left with no choice but to turn himself in.

"... They say the Prince of Lu had sapped his body with wine and women, and the Princess Consort was always seeking tonics for him. Someone mentioned this so-called Great Tonic Paste, and the men in that Daoist temple had already violated several pregnant women..."

Niu Jinbao spoke through gritted teeth. Zhao Jin's expression softened considerably, and the several guards beside him showed looks of admiration.

"What weapon do you use?"

"This humble one can use anything. I've put in the work with spear and staff as well. What I commonly use are a short axe and a butcher's knife. My bare-handed skills aren't bad either." Niu Jinbao said this very naturally, with neither boastfulness nor false modesty.

Zhao Jin pondered for a moment, then spoke: "By my side, you'll face life and death. You won't be able to see your old mother often. If you make a mistake, the punishment will be heavy. Do you understand?"

"I understand. When you work for someone, you follow the rules. As long as the master can settle my mother properly and give this humble one a way to live, then this life is yours, Master Jin." Niu Jinbao said in a muffled voice.

These words improved Zhao Jin's impression of him a little further — he first raised the matter of his mother's care in old age, and only then spoke of his own life and death.

"Wait for now. You'll be given an arrangement." Zhao Jin did not explicitly agree, merely saying this simply.

As he turned to leave, he heard Niu Jinbao's gruff voice behind him: "Only after coming back this time did I realize Xuzhou has changed. Had I known, I'd never have left."

Zhao Jin paid no mind to this lament. As he walked, he thought to himself that Niu Jinbao was indeed suitable. Having fallen out with a princely house, he had no place left to shelter under heaven. With his old mother here, it was tantamount to having a hostage in hand. And as a son of Xuzhou Guard, in a sense, his roots and background were known.

Lost in thought, he arrived at the room where the jailer was. Zhao Zhentang sat facing the jailer, drinking tea and chatting idly. Anyone could see the fawning, ingratiating look plastered all over the jailer's face. Seeing Zhao Jin enter, he hurriedly stood to offer his seat. Realizing the father and son had matters to discuss, he tactfully excused himself, saying he would go brew more tea.

"Father, this man is usable, but beforehand we need to send someone to Henan to check his background, and we need to test his martial skill."

"Since this man is worthwhile, as for his background, you can rest easy — I've already checked!" Zhao Zhentang said, taking the whole matter upon himself.

These words made Zhao Jin pause, then he frowned and shook his head, saying, "Father, on my end, I must ensure absolute certainty. Otherwise, with a man like this following me day in and day out, wouldn't I just be inviting disaster?"

Zhao Zhentang chuckled and said, "You boy think only your own methods work — you think your old man doesn't understand anything? Our constables and the constables from Henan, along with that so-called steward, all drank together, and we got the whole story out of them. This Niu Jinbao really did wash that Daoist temple in blood and is carrying a major case. They also said that in daily life, Niu Jinbao is very loyal and honorable, never bullied the weak, and never did anything that violated heaven and reason. His reputation is quite good. As for his martial skill, back then their whole county thought the crime was committed by a group. They never imagined it was Niu Jinbao alone. Only after matching the weapons did they dare confirm it."

"What if they're all in it together?" Zhao Jin said coolly.

In all matters, one must think toward the most critical and most serious possibilities — only then can absolute certainty be ensured. The Zhao character camp always conducted its affairs this way; it was also Zhao Jin's habit.

Zhao Zhentang gave another derisive laugh and said, "You think your old man's gone senile, that I don't even understand such petty tricks? That Internal Guard unit of yours — I can't order them around. But that Wang Ziyang still has to give me face. He travels Henan and Shanxi year-round and has extensive connections in Henan. I had him send someone to make a trip, inquire up and down, and spend some silver. It's exactly as I said. And now, that broken-down temple of Niu Jinbao's actually has incense offerings. The common folk of Xinxiang go there in secret to pay their respects, saying he rid the region of a great scourge."

After pondering in silence for a moment, Zhao Jin slowly nodded. Wang Ziyang's side was trustworthy; the news he'd gathered back wouldn't be false. Wang Ziyang's wife and children were already settled here in Xuzhou now — presumably, there could be no funny business.

"This is a fine blade, and one you can trust completely. Among those you have — those from the jianghu, those from the sects — plenty possess martial skill and killer instinct, but how many can you truly trust? This Niu Jinbao came from our own guard unit, his natural disposition is good, and he had no prior entanglements with you. He's perfect to take and use. His old mother is hale and hearty, with decades of good life left in her. Keep her close at hand and under watch — that's the most reassuring thing." Zhao Zhentang was speaking plain truth.

This was also a bit of stubbornness in the old man's heart. To say Niu Jinbao was far superior to Nie Hei and the others — not necessarily. To say he was far more reliable — not necessarily either. But to the old man, this was a fellow native of the guard unit. Even if they hadn't known each other before, after mutual inquiries and tracing connections, they could still be considered to know each other's roots and background. Having such a person by his son's side gave him a little more peace of mind than having an outsider.

A faint smile appeared on Zhao Jin's face. He nodded and said, "Let's take him on for now. He is quite a capable hand."

Hearing his son say this, Zhao Zhentang's face immediately broke into a beaming smile.

By now, the jailer had returned carrying the teapot. Zhao Zhentang smiled and said, "Old Wu, my son will be taking that man away. You prepare a corpse for the other side and say he died suddenly. Remember to slash up the face. If those fellows from Henan don't know what's good for them, come find me again."

To take a serious criminal like this out of the prison, and even prepare a corpse as a substitute — anywhere else, this would be a capital crime. Yet here, it was spoken of so lightly. The smile on the jailer's face didn't diminish in the slightest. He simply nodded hurriedly in agreement and said, "Easily done, easily done. I'll have someone handle it right away. Please wait just a moment, good sirs."

"Uncle Wu, young Wu is doing well at the salt market. People inside and out all praise him. He's due for a promotion this year," Zhao Jin said with a smile.

Hearing this, Jailer Wu smiled so broadly his eyes disappeared entirely. Nodding repeatedly, he said, "Master Jin's promotion — all thanks to Master Jin's promotion."

The various yamen and government offices throughout Xuzhou, along with the Three Guards of Xuzhou — the sons of these places often had no path through the imperial examinations. Unwilling to simply inherit their fathers' positions, and wanting to advance and accomplish something, nearly all of them had been absorbed into the various systems of the Zhao character camp. With this layer of connection, they too had become part of the Zhao character camp's community of shared interests, and naturally put their hearts into their work.

Not long after these words were spoken, Niu Jinbao had already been released. He had been sitting and kneeling the entire time before. Only when he stood up did one realize that this man was even taller than Chen Sheng. With that thick, stout build, such strength and lethal capacity were only natural.

So towering and brawny, with his short hair and short beard, he appeared all the more fierce and savage. When he came out, his face was still full of bewilderment, and he kept asking the jailer leading the way, "I'm just out like that?"

The jailer grinned and said nothing in reply. However, his approach made the guards around Zhao Jin a bit tense. Zhao Zhentang, for his part, stuck his head out for a look and then called back, "Remember to find a big one, and shave off all the hair and beard."

Niu Jinbao had not suffered any hardship in jail and walked with vigor. After he came over, before Zhao Jin's personal soldiers could step forward to stop him, he had already knelt down and said in a rough voice, "Master Jin, this humble one's life is yours. Before that, I beg Master Jin to let this humble one see his mother."

Before Zhao Jin could speak, Zhao Zhentang had already stepped out and said with a smile, "Your mother has already been brought into the city and settled in a residence. The area around it is all people from our guard unit. There are also people to tend to her and look after her. When you go out, change your clothes first — don't go frightening the people outside."

Hearing that he could see his mother, Niu Jinbao's expression relaxed even further. He followed a personal guard down to get busy. After he left, the Zhao father and son exited the prison together. Once the jailer who had seen them off had gone back, Zhao Jin asked in a low voice, "We aren't afraid, of course, but we shouldn't cause too much trouble for these people in the yamen. After all, we'll need to use them often in the future."

"You don't need to worry about that. If it were a matter involving our own prefecture or county in South Zhili, it might be a bit tricky. But some county in Henan — what does that count for? Our family doesn't interfere; the higher-ups and lower-downs do them favors as a convenience. But since we've spoken, they amount to nothing. Ignore them!" Zhao Zhentang said in a big, sweeping manner.

Zhao Jin smiled. This sort of thing was the unwritten rule within the yamen. If it were local, in one's own native place, one might still have to care, since they could reach you. But a case from several hundred li away, in another province — Xuzhou, from top to bottom, could indeed ignore it. As for the matter of the princely house, Zhao Jin couldn't even be bothered to mention it. Even if the Prince of Lu was the full younger brother of the reigning Wanli Emperor, there was no need to worry. A Ming dynasty princely king could act like a tyrant within his own fief, but beyond its borders, he had no recourse whatsoever. The civil officials would instinctively resist.

As for whether those constables and the steward would make trouble — Zhao Jin wasn't worried about that either. In the territory of Xuzhou, if they lacked such basic sense, then they could forget about going back.

Zhao Zhentang had long since arranged everything for Niu Jinbao's mother. The residence was the kind only wealthy and noble families would live in, and there were dedicated servants inside to attend to her. It was truly a life of comfort. Only, Niu Jinbao's mother was not entirely satisfied, saying she would rather live back at the guard unit, among the fellow villagers she knew.

To this, Zhao Zhentang also agreed readily. He directly bought the residence, and there were people there to look after her as well. Once the storm over this matter had blown over, if the old lady wished to return, she could go back, and there would be a carriage to escort her.

By now, the managing chiliarch of the Thousand-Household Station in question had long been terrified into silence. The moment he heard the Zhao family had intervened in this matter, the man was so frightened he nearly collapsed. Not daring to approach the Zhao family, nor daring to seek out any of the commandants, he rode straight to Dangshan. There, he kowtowed and pleaded with Dong Jike, who was serving as a Defense Commander, begging this elder to help mediate and make peace. He would pay any sum, he said, and only begged to keep his life. Zhao Zhentang, for his part, did not make things too difficult for him. He merely made that chiliarch promise to look after Niu Jinbao's mother properly from then on.

The managing chiliarch naturally agreed to everything profusely, all but treating Niu Jinbao's mother as his own grandmother to be enshrined. How would he dare cause any offense?

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