Uhei Translations

　Over on the side of the official’s residence, the jailer released the man in the cell after receiving the order. The man immediately led the official guards to a hidden mansion in the city, and while rescuing the detained wife and children, he also unearthed a few other people who were involved in the case and did not escape in time. The people were taken back to prison for interrogation, and it took until the next day before they finally opened their mouths.
　　Immediately, a stack of letters and several iron seals of unknown function were also found from Su Xing’s residence. He checked it against the various correspondences one by one, and they were completely consistent with the facts of the cases explained by those accomplices. In the letter dating back the furthest among the stack of letters, contained words which clearly showed that Su Xing had already declared himself a subject to another party (T/N: he acknowledged someone else besides the emperor, and is a traitor). The signature on the letter had the seal of the King of Huainan, which could not be faked.
　　After reading the letter several times, Su Shiyu found that there seemed to be no flaw, but that added to his doubts.
　　It was expected that this murder case would be related to the previous incidents, and now that there are even witnesses and physical evidence, it can be said that it is unequivocal; it could be ascertained that King Huainan was leading everything behind the scenes. But if that was the case, then did that mean that his previous suspicions was just over-thinking, and Tan Jing’s words were not false, that all the facts had actually been set before him all clear and properly?
　　”Yu’er.” A familiar voice suddenly sounded out.
　　Su Shiyu returned to his senses, hesitated for a moment, but still turned around slowly.
　　A dignified woman was standing a few steps away, holding a little girl who was only six or seven years old. She looked straight at Su Shiyu, and then took the little girl, passing through the court filled with official guards searching the yard; and approached him one step at a time.
　　Su Shiyu narrowed his eyes, a faint smile on his face, and respectfully called: “Auntie.”
The woman stopped in front of him without saying a word, and then suddenly raised her hand and was about to fiercely land a slap, yet Su Shiyu’s remained still with his eyelids lowered.
　　But before she touched Su Shiyu, someone abruptly grasped by the wrist. She glared angrily at the blue-clad man who appeared suddenly. “Let go!”
　　Chu Mingyun smiled coldly: “Mrs. Su, you should think clearly about the consequences of insulting an official of the court carrying out the imperial edict.”
The woman’s eyes reddened in that instant and she was so angry her whole body trembled, “You let go of me! Let go!”
　　The little girl next to her didn’t know what had happened, but was frightened by this scene. Her little figure hurriedly tried to hold her (mother) back but failed, and so she changed direction and threw herself in front of Su Shiyu as if trying to protect him, softly pleading, “Mother, don’t hit! Don’t hit Gege!”
　　Su Shiyu hurriedly bent down to hold her, but the woman suddenly flung off Chu Mingyun’s hand as and pulled her back in a single grab, so Su Shiyu’s arms met empty space.
　　”Gege is good, don’t beat Gege ah mother!” She grabbed the lady’s sleeve cuff in a panic, almost crying.
　　Tears welling in the lady’s eyes, she squatted down and hugged her, turning her head to glare at Su Shiyu fiercely, but addressing her words to the daughter in her arms, “Ying’er, have you looked at him clearly? Where do you see anything of him that still resembles your brother (Gege)!”
　　Ying’er looked at blankly, “It is, Brother Shiyu (Shiyu Gege)…”
　　”He is not,” the lady gritted her teeth, “He is the enemy who killed your father, heartless and ungrateful¹!” She abruptly raised her voice, so sternly that everyone in the courtyard could hear clearly, “Su Shiyu! You’ve disowned your six kin², is your heart made of stone! You can even kill your own blood-related uncle, then you may as well kill the both of us too! Anyway, our entire family are now condemned criminals. What are you afraid of, do it!”
　　Su Shiyu said nothing for a long time, sighed very lightly, and turned around and walked into the house.
　　The lady got up and wanted to chase him, but the official guards quickly stopped her, she couldn’t fight them off, and after cursing a few times she fell into a kneel, holding her daughter and weeping mournfully.
　　Chu Mingyun followed in, watching Su Shiyu’s back and slowly pacing closer to him, and smiled: “You need me to hug you?”
　　Su Shiyu glanced sideways at him, “Is Master Chu still half-asleep from a nap?” Chu Mingyun laughed, looked down at the blood stains on the back of his hand, and let a drawn-out sigh: “Why is Master Su burdening himself as such? If you didn’t come over to investigate, and directly let the blame fall on me wouldn’t it be much easier, you’d not only get rid of your rival, you would also be able to preserve your blood relatives, and it wouldn’t have landed you a scolding like this.”
　　”Master Chu’s words are wrong,” Su Shiyu paused his sorting of the letters, with a flat tone but words forceful and eloquent, “So what if they are blood relatives, doing wrong is doing wrong.”
　　Chu Mingyun looked at him with amusement, then after a while shook his head and laughed, “You really are a stone.”

　　The case was wrapped up, and Chu Mingyun and Su Shiyu returned to Beijing to return to their duties.
　　Everyone was happy about this, the officials no longer had to cower in fear all day long. The civil servants of the entire court congratulated them, but their gaze when looking at Su Shiyu couldn’t help but become complicated. Even the idle gossip in the teahouses were filled with tongue clicking and sighs, about how the Grand Secretary was really impartial to the point of being cold-blooded.
　　However, Su Shiyu was unmoved by this, handling the case step by step, entering the palace carrying the verdict on the proposed crime, and submitted it to Li Yanzhen for his perusal.
　　After reading the memorial, Li Yanzhen looked at him helplessly, “Beloved Subject Su truly executes his public duties without involving private affairs as usual, and really intends to implicate himself.”
　　”This is how it should be.” Su Shiyu said lightly.
　　”Then We would have suffered a loss akin to one’s limb,” (T/N: This refers to losing his trusted aide if Su Shiyu were to be executed for the family crime.) Li Yanzhen put aside the memorial, “Since Su Xing committed suicide to avoid punishment for his crimes, why drag in his relatives. Besides, those who were ignorant of this have no sin. His family’s widow and orphaned daughters, should just be peacefully settled.”
　　”Your Majesty…”
　　”You just stop arguing with Us like last time,” Li Yanzhen waved his hand, “Time has stood witness to Beloved Subject’s loyalty, and Su Xing’s crime is his alone. We will never doubt you.”
　　Su Shiyu lowered his eyes and did not answer.
　　Li Yanzhen sighed, “Just consider it as repaying the loyalty of your Su family for several generations. So many people have died in the homicide case, the blood in this autumn is already heavy enough, why add to the killing.” Su Shiyu gave a bland smile, and didn’t speak any more, prostrating himself in thanks. He was about to say something, but he inexplicably thought of Su Xing’s words, fell silent for a while, and then suddenly asked, “Does Your Majesty have any questions about this memorial?”
　　”We have always been at ease when Beloved Subject Su handles matters, there is nothing to doubt.”
　　Su Shiyu raised his head and looked at Li Yanzhen’s delicate face, “Then does your Majesty have any thoughts on the king of Huainan?”
　　Li Yanzhen thought for a moment in embarrassment, but shook her head, “Regarding political affairs, I still have to continue troubling you, Beloved Subject. These things are truly hard for Us to decide.” He flipped through the memorial again and couldn’t help wondering, “Why do you not mention anything about King Huainan on here?”
　　The color in Su Shiyu’s eyes slightly darkened, as he stood up, pulled out another memorial from his sleeve and passed it over as per usual, “the minister was about when it comes to the matter.”
　　”The founding emperor (Taizu) bestowed many nobility titles while building the Xia empire, in order to protect the royal family and stabilise the borders, to maintain the peace of the new dynasty. But now a hundred years have passed, and circumstances have changed with the time that has passed. With the king of Huainan as head, the power of the nobility is expanding. Occupying lands over a thousand miles, living in lordly decadence, ganging up to resist imperial orders, they have already formed a threat. It is imperative to whittle .”
　　Li Yanzhen looked at the memorial in his hand, “The Grace Edict?”
　　”Exactly, order the titled princes (vassal kings) to divide their grace (meaning their military might and fiefdom) among their children, the eldest son inherits the title of prince, and the rest of the children get a divided part of the land as members of the gentry. The fiefdoms belong to the same county, and fall under the jurisdiction of their respective counties. It is ‘giving grace’ only in name, but in actuality is weakening the vassals’ political power.”
　　”However, there are provisions in the ancestral precepts that state future generations of descendants (including the emperor since he is Taizu’s descendant) shall not make any changes to the ancestral system…” Li Yanzhen hesitated.
“This subject naturally understands, so this is not wanting to get rid of the vassal kings completely, but to divide their political power, and reduce the threat they pose as much as possible.”
　　”But that is still making changes, and is damaging to their interests, will it really not spark a rebellion?”
　　Su Shiyu hung his head and said: “That’s why this subject didn’t make public the connection between this murder case and the king of Huainan.”
　　”…….What beloved subject has said, We don’t understand.”
　　”This string of murder cases might be a heavy loss to the court, but that doesn’t mean it can’t also become an opportunity, it just depends how you use it. At this time if we directly implicate the king of Huainan and announce his crimes to the public, then to the dominant nobility, it might have meagre effectiveness, and only alert the snake in the grass. We’ve just entered the season of winter, it’s inconvenient to travel by horse or carriage, and the court is currently laden with duties, this puts us at a disadvantage. Moreover the Su Xing case has just been concluded, the other party may unfortunately be put on guard. So why not wait for the year to end, and then the king of Huainan might let down his guard, and then this subject can represent the emperor as the Grand Secretary to monitor and hunt the nobles. (When I go) to the fiefdoms as an ambassador, the nobility are obliged to welcome (me) at the border. At that time we can take the opportunity to arrest the king of Huainan, and bring him back to Chang’an to announce his crimes, and then Your Majesty can use that as an excuse to whittle down the political power of other nobility.”
　　Li Yanzhen deliberated for a moment, then looked at Su Shiyu again, “Then we’ll proceed as Beloved Subject suggests.”
　　The discussion was finished, so Su Shiyu made his greeting and left. When he stepped out of the Imperial study, he lifted his eyes and noticed someone walking this way, with a prettily-powdered face, and light, swaying steps. Based on this impression it was likely the currently-favored First-Rank Concubine Jiang who entered the palace during the recent Imperial Selection (where they pick girls for the harem). They exchanged greetings, and (Su Shiyu) left.
　　But at Su Shiyu’s back, Jiang Yuan paused in her steps, turned her eyes to look at his back silhouette, with an expression obscuring unknown intent, until a palace maid lightly called out in reminder, which she then let out a soft laugh, turned and entered the Imperial Study.
　　
　　As soon as Su Shiyu stepped into the mansion, a blue-clad figure rushed up.
　　”Cousin you’re finally back! I tell you, don’t be sad ah, you……aiy why are you looking at me like that?”
　　Su Shiyu turned his head to confirm that he hadn’t entered the wrong place, then looked at Du Yue, “Why have you suddenly come?”
　　”The thing with Uncle Su Xing……I also heard about it.” Du Yue said firmly, “But you don’t worry, I definitely don’t blame you, that’s Uncle’s own fault, Cousin you also had no choice.”
　　Su Shiyu laughed lightly, and went into the mansion with him, “A few years have passed, and A’Yue has become a lot more sensible.”
　　”I’ve clearly always been very sensible.” Du Yue felt his heart blossom from the praise, then paused, and remembered what he came here for, and quickly changed to a serious tone, “Cousin, how come you don’t look unhappy?”
　　”There’s nothing to be happy or unhappy about, once things have passed then that’s that.” Su Shiyu smiled and glanced at him, “Could it be, you came wanting to see me cry?”
　　Du Yue thought about how Su Shiyu would look while crying, and realised he wasn’t able to imagine it, “Cousin now that you say that I kind of want to see it……”
　　Su Shiyu gave him a look, Du Yue quickly corrected himself, “Ah not that, aren’t I just worrying about you, so I just told Qin Zhao and that one surnamed Chu, that I’ve come to stay for a few days and keep you company here.”
　　Su Shiyu was slightly surprised, “Qin Zhao agreed?”
　　Du Yue’s face suddenly no longer had enthusiasm, “He didn’t ah, don’t know what’s up with him, wouldn’t agree even if he lives or dies.”
　　”And then?”
　　”And then…….and then I quarreled with him bei,” (T/N: this is one of those informal speech sounds)
Du Yue shook his head, “Actually it’s not considered quarreling, he didn’t even speak up, just damn stubborn. So I just directly ran over here, I didn’t even take the clothes I packed Cousin you have spares here right, Su Bai’s is fine too.” (T/N: Yes he said that in one breath)
　　Su Shiyu looked at his flighty gaze, laughing helplessly, and didn’t continue questioning him.
　　Du Yue also stopped talking in silence, hung his head for a long while and sighed heavily.
　　He just didn’t understand why Qin Zhao would have such a big reaction to something this naturally logical, but now after calming down he realised he had also been a bit too much, but if he ran back now that also wouldn’t be right ah, then, then let’s wait a few days before finding an opportunity to apologize, after all what he said at very end was honestly excessive….

——“Qin Zhao, what’s the matter with you ah?! Even my mother doesn’t watch over me like this, I can go wherever the hell I like, is that something you can control?”
　　

Chu Mingyun hailed down maidservant in passing, and while looking at Qin Zhao who stood unmoving in the hall, asked: “How long has he been standing there?”
　　The maidservant replied respectfully: “Ever since Medicine master Du left he has not moved, it has likely been four hours already.”
　　Chu Mingyun nodded, and walked over, looking for a while at Qin Zhao who stood wordlessly with his eyes lowered, and said after thinking for a bit: “Shidi, if you don’t eat dinner I’m not waiting for you.”
　　Qin Zhao looked at him expressionlessly, and didn’t say anything.
　　Chu Mingyun laughed with incomprehensible intent, and tilted his head to give him a measuring look, “Ice-block face, what are you standing here for, are you waiting for Du Yue to run back?”
　　Qin Zhao tightened the seam of his lips, clenching his fists.
　　”Ke,” Chu Mingyun let out a low mocking laugh, and the smile on his face was hidden away, saying in a cold voice, “You said you wouldn’t force him, then why aren’t you able to let him go? As long as he doesn’t understand how you feel, then this definitely won’t be the last time.”
　　Qin Zhao’s eyes darkened, and said hoarsely, “Shi…..”
　　Chu Mingyun turned and walked away, “I’m hungry.”
　　”……”
　　Qin Zhao again looked outside the empty gate where there wasn’t a single person, before finally stepping to follow Chu Mingyun.

———–

This author has something to say:
The Grace Edict is based off the laws passed during Hanwu Emperor’s time. The purpose is to weaken the power of the titled princes (different surname kings) and nobility, and stipulate that after the death of the princes, the eldest son will inherit the throne, and the other children will divide part of the land of the kingdom into the princes and princes, each falling under jurisdiction of the respective counties.
Coincidentally, when confirming my information, I found that the background of the Han Dynasty promulgation was related to the rebellion of the king of Huainan during Emperor Wen, and it was the Grand Secretary who later ruled the case of king of Huainan. Perhaps the Grand Secretary and the king of Huainan had a bit of conflict . Reference to Liu Bang’s arrest of Han Xin, who was king at the time, at the border.
Finally, can you guess whether this king of Huainan is the big boss→_→

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(T/N: I’msdj dead. Also, this is a double update.)

1. 狼心狗肺 – literally: “the heart of a wolf and lungs of a dog”

2.六亲不认- to be unfeeling; not spare personal feelings

T/N: Again, this is one of those chapters where you might have to read the footnotes in order to understand the conversation.

After a short break, Chu Mingyun and Su Shiyu set off to the home of Zheng Wan, who was killed first.
　　Zheng Wan, the previous Right Fufeng, has been dead for more than a month, and his body has long been laid to rest in the ground, but everyone in his home was still in mourning clothes, the mourning banner had not been kept away; scented candles and incense lingered in the courtyard. A woman in mourning garb came out to greet them leaning on her maid. She wore a white flower pin¹ slanted in her forelocks, her face was haggard, and her whole body was so pale white that the only colour were her eyes that had reddened from crying.
　　After offering a few words of comfort, they were led directly to the courtyard where the incident occurred. The governor’s office had come to examine the scene before, and had already held a funeral, so most of the objects here were not as they were at the time of the incident. Only the faint bloodstains on the stone slabs of the courtyard that could not be washed away were left, a silent memorial of everything that has happened.
　　After Su Shiyu stood in front of the book case and looked at it for a long time, he picked up a few documents and concentrated on something in contemplation. Chu Mingyun retracted his gaze, but felt that he couldn’t see anything odd in the courtyard, so he turned and walked towards Mrs. Zheng.
　　The look on Zheng Wan’s face as if he did not die a peaceful death² was still vivid in her eyes, and this other courtyard had become a wound to Mrs. Zheng’s heart. She was unwilling to set foot in it again, so she had been waiting for them outside the courtyard the whole time.
　　”Ms. Zheng,” Chu Mingyun asked, “Since it is said that your husband was killed late at night, then what did he stay here for instead of going back to bed to sleep?”
　　”There were still some official documents in the mansion, so Husband brought them back to the study to review.” Madam Zheng replied slowly.
　　”Zheng Wan does this often?”
　　”Not exactly often,” she thought for a while, and said, “If some important documents were just sent to him (before he left his office), Husband is used to taking them home to slowly read.”
　　”So if the murderer is not in your house. The attendant is someone who is familiar with You Fufeng.” A gentle voice sounded behind him, and Su Shiyu walked steadily.
　　Chu Mingyun looked at him and smiled slightly: “Was there something Master Su found?” 
“I didn’t find any useful clues originally,” Su Shiyu said, “but the question Master Chu just asked reminded me.
　　” …Grand Secretary, why do you say that?” Madam Zheng looked at Su Shiyu, the light in her eyes flashed.
　　Su Shiyu smiled faintly, “It’s just my guess, but it should more or less be correct. There are still guards’ bodies in this courtyard, which means that the killer’s skill is not good enough to go completely unnoticed, but no one in the other courtyards were aware anything happened here, even Madam only found out yourself the next morning that Master Zheng was killed, so it seems that the murderer entered this yard directly.”
　　Madam Zheng frowned and looked at him uncomprehendingly, “What Your Honor has said, what does this have to do with the identity of the murderer we were talking about?”
　　Chu Mingyun has already understood, “He means that the other party must know that Zheng Wan has the habit of approving official documents here, and also knows the layout of your mansion, so he could immediately find it here, it won’t be someone unacquainted with your husband.” He paused, turned his head and said to Su Shiyu: “And it has to be someone who knew that Zheng Wan had important documents that night.”
　　Su Shiyu nodded and wanted to speak, so he listened to Mrs. Zheng. The voice trembled and said: “How could it be…”
　　They looked at her in a little surprise.
　　”How…can that be…” Madam Zheng’s fingers twisted her sleeves tightly, unable to accept it, “My husband is kind, and we have never wronged any of the servants in this residence , and all of them have served us for many years. Nobody left after the incident, even the little girl from the accountant’s family came to comfort me…how could they be murderers!”
　　”Madam Zheng…”
　　”If it is someone familiar with us…” Tears have appeared in her eyes and her figure trembled slightly, the maid next to her hurried to hold her up, she hung her head in compassion. Madam Zheng took a deep breath and stared at them, extremely confused, and in a near-interrogating tone asked, “Since they are familiar with us, why would they commit an act so vicious?”
　　Chu Mingyun and Su Shiyu had no words to answer.
　　Madam Zheng then turned her head away, covering her face and weeping silently.
　　
　　Soon after they returned to the residence, Su Xing came over to ask about the state of the investigation. Su Shiyu smiled and simply said that there was still no result. Seeing from Su Xing’s expression that he seemed to still have something to say, he asked, “Is there something else Uncle?”
　　Su Xing glanced behind him, and the official Registrar stepped forward in tacit understanding, saying: “Replying to both Your Honor’s, I caught a person sneaking among the people leaving the city today. I just managed to interrogate it out of him, he admitted he was the one who killed Master Zheng… “
　　Chu Mingyun couldn’t help sneering and said, “There hasn’t been a lead after looking for so long, yet now it only took a short while for you to catch them?”
　　”Perhaps he knew that Your Honors have come, and he couldn’t hold back his guilty conscience anymore.” The book said, “Anyway, do both Your Honored selves want to go take a look?”
　　Su Shiyu looked at him for a moment, and laughed softly, “Alright.”
　　
　　The prison was lit with oil lamps, and the jailers saluted them, moving to stand to the side. The middle-aged man in the cell was dozing off, with slightly bulging temples faintly visible under his disheveled hair. His thick palms laid on either side of his body, and it could be seen that his skill wasn’t shallow, who knows why they were able to catch him.
　　The man was startled by the sound and dazedly opened his eyes. He was shocked awake when he saw the people incoming, his face showing a terrified expression. Before anyone could respond, the man knelt down suddenly, making a loud noise as the iron chains were pulled, and he said to Chu Mingyun in extreme fear: “My lord…my lord spare me!” 

Chu Mingyun looked at him, baffled, “Are you talking to me?”
　　”This……this subordinate did not do things well……but……” The man raised his head and quickly glanced at Chu Mingyun, shaking like chaff, “I beg my lord to be magnanimous!”
The jailers suddenly sucked in a breath, unanimously turning to stare at Chu Mingyun.
　　Su Shiyu watched on thoughtfully, but did not speak.
　　Chu Mingyun tilted his head and looked at the man for a moment, then suddenly shook his head and laughed, “You want to drag me down with you yet you didn’t even get your facts straight, there isn’t anyone as ugly as you among my subordinates.”
The man’s words were immediately choked off.
　　Su Xing glanced at Chu Mingyun with a subtle expression, then turned his head and said to Su Shiyu, “Yu’er, you’re not going to ask anything?”
　　Su Shiyu smiled faintly, “Since he is pleading with Master Chu for mercy, then let Master Chu lead the interrogation.”
　　Hearing this the man quickly looked at Su Shiyu, continually pleading: “Grand Secretary, Your Honor! This peasant has committed a grave crime, and I know I’ll be put to death³……but, but that wife and child of mine are innocent after all, I plead Your Honor to save them.”
　　These words held rather deep meaning, Su Shiyu looked at him with serious eyes, only smiling wordlessly.
　　Chu Mingyun glanced at Su Shiyu, and then said to the man again: “Okay, stop yelling. I ask you, it’s been so long since Zheng Wan was killed, you didn’t escape from Fufeng County earlier, why did you show up today instead? “
The man looked straight at Chu Mingyun, distorted his face a little, and said: “I just acted according to orders, since my lord has said this to clear himself of suspicion, how could I explain it clearly.”
　　”Heh,” Chu Mingyun was cold. Said, “You claim to be my subordinate and that you were acting on my orders. Then now you are asserting I’m involved, what manner o’ reporting⁴ to your master is this?”
The man avoided his gaze and lowered his head, “Like my lord said, I I’m just a pawn that you can throw away at will. How can you count as your subordinate. When it’s like this, it’s just a try to see if my wife and child can survive.”
　　”What happened to your wife and child?” He said good-humoredly.
　　”This, I’m afraid my lord would knows more clearly than me…”
　　Chu Mingyun squinted his eyes slightly, and was about to step forward but was suddenly grabbed by someone’s arm. He turned his head to look, and Su Shiyu smiled slightly at him: “Looking at how emotionally unstable he was, we probably won’t be able to ask anything out of him. Interrogation doesn’t need to be rushed, and Master Chu is likely already worn-out today, why not go back to rest for now?”
　　Chu Mingyun frowned and examined Su Shiyu’s expression, then turned his head away and grunted as a perfunctory response.
　　This development was really exciting, after they left the prison cell, the jailers could finally get together and were talking all at once without any hesitation, having an very carefree discussion. Outside the cell, the expressions of the official Registrar and his party were also quite strange.
　　Su Xing couldn’t help pulling Su Shiyu again and whispered: “Yu’er, looking at the situation just now…”
　　Su Shiyu interrupted him rarely, and his tone was still gentle and calm. “Using one-sided words to frame influential officials for a false charge is not uncommon. Besides, there is no evidence that it must be the man who committed the crime. Uncle should not make a conclusion too early.”
　　Chu Mingyun walked alone in front of him and he heard clearly, and he understood even more that the man’s words could be confusing. People can’t make Su Shiyu suspicious of him, not to say how much Su Shiyu trusts him, but Su Shiyu has always believed in his own judgment and will not be easily shaken by outside interference.
　　Chu Mingyun glanced back at him and chuckled without any inflection.
　　
　　Yet the man in prison leaned against the corner again and fell asleep after they had left, and after an uncertain amount of time had passed, he suddenly heard footsteps in his dazed state. As soon as he raised his eyes he saw a white-robed young man come close before turning back, making a gesture to the jailers. The jailers hurriedly nodded and all retreated, leaving only the two of them in the prison.
　　Su Shiyu turned his head and looked at him, “I’ll be bothering you.”
　　”Grand Secretary…”
　　”There’s only the two of us here, so you don’t need to worry about being heard by someone else. If you sincerely want me to help you settle this matter, then you should come clean with the truth.”
The expression in the man’s eyes that were partly obscured by his messy hair flickered slightly, but his words remained unchanged, saying: “Each word of what this peasant said was the truth, I dare not deceive Your Honor!”
　　Su Shiyu nodded, “Looking at this appearance of yours, your skill should not be too bad, how could you be arrested and imprisoned easily ?”
The man felt relieved, so he blurted out in reply, “Your Honor is perceptive. As this peasant said earlier, everything I’ve done is because my wife and children in someone’s grasp, and dared not disobey.” He opened his mouth and explained the process of how the crime was committed, from the orders he received in the city these few days, to the situation where he was arrested leaving the city—- nary a loophole in his explanation.
　　Su Shiyu listened to him quietly, pondered for a moment, and suddenly said: “I’ve heard you mention your wife and children many times, you must be very concerned about them.”

The man glanced at him, not understanding his intention, and paused for a moment. Then he whispered: “Yes, as long as they’re safe, it doesn’t matter whether I live or die.”
　　”You remind me of a person.” Su Shiyu smiled softly, “You know the previous Minister of Works Tan Jing?” The
　　man shook his head.
　　”He is very similar to you, he only wants to protect his wife, not hesitating to pay any price to do so, and when I interrogated him he also told me lies.” (T/N: He uses present tense for most of this). Su Shiyu seemed as if he didn’t see the man’s expression change suddenly, and continued, “I guess someone else might have promised him something, and after thinking about it, (I realised) the only thing that could be used to control him must be his wife. But in the end Tan Jing was executed according to the law, and in his residence his innocent wife was also tragically poisoned right after. He was still unable to protect his wife in the end.”
　　A tremor ran through the man’s body, and he lowered his head to avoid Su Shiyu’s line of sight, “I don’t understand these things you’re saying, Grand Secretary, Your Honor, how am I like him? This peasant has already truthfully told you the facts of the case. When did I tell you lies? You’ve really overestimated me, how would I have that sort of courage…” 
“There’s one point I’m confused on.” Su Shiyu looked at him quietly, “Since (someone has) already detained your wife and children to threaten you, why would you think that after you die, the other party will still accommodate their safety⁵ on your behalf?” The man froze in cold sweat, and abruptly raised his head to look at him, “Grand Secretary, Your Honor…”
　　”Let’s hope your luck will be better than his.” Su Shiyu gave him a faint smile, then turned to walk out.
　　”Your honor! Your honor!” The man suddenly panicked, and rushed forward as if he wanted to seize him, pulling on the chains until they made a cacophony of jangling noises, his voice seeming to have changed. “Your Honor wait! I beg you, please don’t go. !”
　　Su Shiyu stopped and turned to look at him. The man fell to his knees, his entire face shrouded in dejection.
　　
　　Chu Mingyun was slightly irritated, and it became more obvious after he was insistently set up by that man in prison. After all, he always had a bad temper, playing mind games with Su Shiyu’s and harassing each other was fine, but he really had no patience with other people.
　　And who knew if Su Shiyu was aware that he wasn’t in a great mood, for the two days that followed, Su Shiyu unexpectedly neither went to the cell to interrogate nor did he go to Zheng Wan’s house again, but rather he pulled Chu Mingyun to Fufeng County to help him approve/review most of the official documents that had piled up due to Zheng Wan’s death, and so Chu Mingyun became even more irritated.
　　At night, when Su Shiyu knocked on the door of his room holding a few books, Chu Mingyun leaned on one hand against the door frame and completely fed-up, said: “Master Su, if you are not here to accompany me to sleep⁶, please go back.”
　　Su Shiyu flashed the book in front of his eyes. They were not official documents but books on military strategy, “No need to sleep, I’m afraid there’s going to be an incident tonight, you and I will wait in your room.”
　　Chu Mingyun raised his eyebrows slightly, retracted his hand and put him into the room, “What incident? “
　　”I don’t know the specifics of exactly what will happen.” Su Shiyu put the things on the table, “but I have already told my uncle to leave Fufeng County to investigate elsewhere, so if they don’t make a move tonight, they will have no other chance.”
　　”They?” Chu Mingyun sat down opposite him, “You know something?”
　　”It’s just a guess,” Su Shiyu smiled, “Organized crime always requires someone to dispatch. In these past two days, I’ve compared the time and place where the five officials met their demise in sequence, and I realised that if the mastermind is here, this timing will align perfectly.”
　　”So you plan to use the both of us as bait?”
　　Su Shiyu looked up at him, his eyes reflected as black as ink in the candlelight, and even cracked somewhat of a joke: “Don’t tell me Master Chu is afraid?” His gentle voice was slightly lilted at its end, and seemed to hide a careless sense of humour, which was really nice to listen to.
　　This manner of his made Chu Mingyun slightly stunned, which quickly changed to smile as his lips hooked upwards, and said, “Didn’t you come running to my room because you’re scared?”
　　Su Shiyu shook his head and chuckled, “I came here so that it would be more convenient to do things, Master Chu has taken it the wrong way.” 
“Why force yourself to explain,” Chu Mingyun said with a wide smile, “With such thin skin⁷, is it so difficult to frankly tell me that you want my protection?”
　　Su Shiyu looked at him wordlessly for a moment, and suddenly said: “Right, I wanted to ask you one thing earlier.”
　　”En?”
　　”Master Chu’s skin is so thick, don’t you feel hot?” Su Shiyu asked him solemnly.
　　”…” Chu Mingyun replied solemnly, “You touch it and see for yourself?”
　　Su Shiyu silently picked up a military book and handed it over, terminating the conversation.
　　Chu Mingyun glanced down at the title of the book, “Already read this, swap me another.”

(T/N: Honestly, Shiyu has so much patience, Chu-chu is so vulgar in his flirting any lesser man would have stabbed/slapped him by now. Translating instead of sleeping, give me energy by commenting)

1.白簪花 – I can’t exactly confirm this but judging from the contextual clues this is probably that fabric flower worn in the hairstyles of mourning women, although I believe this should only be for members of the imperial family.

2. 死不瞑目 – this is usually taken as the equivalent of ‘rolling over in one’s grave’ but the text says Mdm Zheng vividly remembers the look of it, so it has perhaps been used in its literal meaning, which is ‘to not close one’s eyes even in death’, i.e. he died unpeacefully so his eyes were open.

3. 自知当死 – literally ‘I already take myself as a dead person’.

4. 回事儿 – ‘回事’ is an archaic term for reporting to one’s master, but adding the ‘er’ character to the end makes it sound informal on CMY’s tongue so I translated it to ‘manner o’ reporting’.

5. 安置 – refers to settling someone down i.e. finding a house for them and making sure they have a way to live like the way Chu Mingyun settled Chen Siheng.

6. 陪睡 – I translated it literally, but it actually means to trade sexual favours for benefits.

7. To say one is thin-skinned means that they are easily embarrassed.