Chapter 353

After seeing the visitors off, Wang Xiujin considered burning more joss paper for his ancestors during the New Year, praying that they would bless him abundantly and thoroughly sweep away this year's bad luck. He absolutely could not be as ill-fated next year as he had been this time; if a few more events like this were to happen, even the strongest mind would eventually collapse.

The Fourth Prince, after dropping by to check on the fifth prince, heard about Wang Xiujin's string of bad luck from his personal attendant as soon as he stepped out of the activity arena. After pondering for a moment, he decided to stop by the Wang family's grain shop before returning to the palace. Whether it was Wang Xiujin, the Li family, or the Wang family, they were all tremendously significant pillars of support for him, bound together with him on the same rope, so it was only natural to grow closer to them.

It was just that the Fourth Prince arrived a bit late. By the time he got there, Wang Xiujin and Li Linshan had already sent the man who attempted arson off to Lord Wang with the help of the estate's servants, and were leisurely strolling back home. The two of them did not take a carriage, choosing to walk instead. Wang Xiujin brought up the fellow from Li Village, opining that the man was very responsible and mentioning that he had already hired him to work in the workshop, where his annual earnings would be higher than farming.

Li Linshan listened without expressing much of an opinion. He knew very well that Wang Xiujin was not expecting any advice from him; he was simply making conversation. Walking and chatting about domestic trifles, they did not feel the cold at all. By the time they reached home, Wang Xiujin had actually worked up a sweat. To avoid catching a cold, he dared not change his clothes immediately upon entering the house. It was fortunate that he hadn't changed yet; before he could even sit down properly, the steward came over to report that the Fourth Prince had arrived.

Wang Xiujin found this rather strange. Hadn't he just met with the Fourth Prince during the day, and hadn't everything that needed to be said already been discussed? Why had he come to the residence? To pay a courtesy call on the old master? Wang Xiujin thought that highly unlikely. If the Fourth Prince wanted to visit the old master, he would definitely not have chosen this time—right after returning from the palace—nor would he have completely failed to mention it during the day.

What was the Fourth Prince here for? Wang Xiujin wondered inwardly, though he showed no sign of it on the surface. Fortunately, he hadn't changed his clothes, so he went out to greet his guest in the exact attire he was wearing. After inviting the Fourth Prince to be seated, Wang Xiujin finally figured out the purpose of the visit: it was regarding the arsonist. Wang Xiujin's lips twitched slightly. Suppressing the complicated emotions stirred by the Fourth Prince's rapid acquisition of intelligence, he indignantly recounted how vile the arsonist's actions were.

"That fellow refuses to talk?" Upon hearing this, the Fourth Prince immediately jumped to conspiracy theories. It was no wonder he was exasperated; because of the recent rebellion, quite a few heads had just rolled, yet the mastermind had still not been caught. As long as this person remained at large, the Emperor could not sleep in peace. As a son, he naturally shared this anxiety, yet he was powerless to ease the burden, which left him feeling extremely anxious. Now that someone had practically delivered themselves to his doorstep, the Fourth Prince naturally wanted to extract a thing or two from the prisoner's mouth. Therefore, without lingering any longer at the General's Residence, he headed straight for the Censorate's prison.

In the wake of the rebellion, the Fourth Prince deemed the prison warden unreliable and had thoroughly investigated the backgrounds of all the wardens, though unfortunately, nothing suspicious turned up. For his own peace of mind, he replaced them all anyway. Inside the Censorate's prison, Lord Wang wore a dark expression as he looked at the man who was completely impervious to reason and refused to utter a single word. Where had all that nerve he displayed before trying to burn down the workshop gone? Why was he shrinking back like a quail now?

"My Lord, this man's body is burning up; I'm afraid he has contracted a cold," the interrogating bailiff reported in a low voice to Lord Wang.

"Hmph. Since he doesn't want to live, there's no need to waste medicine on him either. Pick one of the smallest, most remote corners, lock him up, and let him fend for himself and meet his own fate," Lord Wang said, deciding not to question him further. Rather than wasting time on this fellow, it would be much better to deploy more patrolling bailiffs throughout the city to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

When the Fourth Prince arrived at the Censorate, Lord Wang happened to be walking out. Upon seeing the Fourth Prince, he cupped his hands in a salute. The Fourth Prince waved a hand to dispense with the formalities. Once Lord Wang straightened up, the prince asked, "Lord Wang, how is the interrogation going?"

Lord Wang shook his head. "This fellow is completely impervious; he refuses to speak a word, dead or alive, and has now caught a chill. I have had him locked away in a corner to fend for himself and meet his own fate."

"He won't talk!" The Fourth Prince's expression turned grim as well. Such obstinate silence only made it seem all the more likely that there was a deeper story hidden within. "Since he is courting death, we certainly shouldn't grant him an easy release or a quick relief. Letting him fend for himself is a decent enough outcome." The Fourth Prince did not pick faults with Lord Wang's decision; instead, he inquired whether precautions needed to be stepped up within the capital. With the year coming to an end, he did not wish to see any accidents occur in the capital.

Lord Wang voiced his suggestions, and the Fourth Prince immediately agreed, adding by the way that if manpower was insufficient, he could lend out the security force he had recently assembled to ensure the absolute safety of the capital.

Wang Xiujin and Li Linshan were unaware of the matters discussed between the Fourth Prince and Lord Wang; they only noticed that the number of patrolling bailiffs on the streets had increased. Wang Xiujin was running around so busy his heels were nearly hitting the back of his head, leaving him no time for idle thoughts. It was not until the very end of the year, right before New Year's Eve, that Wang Xiujin suddenly slapped his forehead, realizing he had completely forgotten about the beef and mutton. He hurriedly rushed over to the estate, only to find that the people there had already prepared the meats long ago, leaving Wang Xiujin to awkwardly rub the back of his head.

Having the servants load the beef and mutton onto the carriages, the estate manager brought out this year's ledger and handed it to the master. Wang Xiujin carefully reviewed it; the entries were meticulously recorded. Once the loading was complete, Wang Xiujin returned the ledger to the manager. He was merely glancing through it for the New Year and spot-checking a few pages; the rest would require the accountants to come and reconcile everything. After exchanging a few words with the steward and reminding him to have the New Year gifts for the various workshops prepared in advance, he departed.

"Security has been checked quite strictly in the capital lately!" At the city gates, Wang Xiujin's carriage waited in line to pass through the checkpoint. From a distance, he watched as soldiers meticulously inspected the bundles and belongings of people entering the city. On the other side of the gate, a row of people already stood waiting, seemingly pleading bitterly with the guards.

"It's to prevent anyone from stirring up trouble during the New Year. Absolutely no ironware can be brought into the city without a proper permit, and anything flammable is strictly forbidden as well. Even if someone has a permit, a soldier must escort them all the way to confirm the recipient before leaving," the driving servant explained, thoroughly well-versed in the recent events happening around the capital.

Wang Xiujin nodded. "It ought to be stricter. Not just the capital, but other cities should enforce rigorous inspections as well."

"You think it's good, Master, but the common folk outside the city are having a hard time. Still, in recent years, even the commoners outside the city have saved up a little nest egg and no longer rely entirely on selling firewood to scrape by." The servant nudged the carriage forward a bit and stopped again.

Wang Xiujin did not reply. There can be no rules without standards; people might find it inconvenient at first, but after a long while, they would grow accustomed to it. While waiting for the inspection, Wang Xiujin retreated back into the carriage, cradling a charcoal hand-warmer in his hands and squinting his eyes. After stopping and going for quite a while, a thought crossed his mind. He called out to the servant walking alongside the carriage, instructing him to make a trip back to the estate and send a few sheep to the soldiers guarding the city gates. These men stood outside in the dead of winter for hours on end; even if they wore the thickest clothes, their hands and feet would still freeze and develop sores. There wasn't much he could do, but sending some warm clothes and mutton was certainly not a problem.

The carriage moved in fits and starts at the city gate until it was finally their turn. Upon seeing the insignia of the General's Residence and the Imperial Merchant, the soldier merely glanced inside the carriage compartment and, recognizing the Imperial Merchant, immediately handed the pass back to the servant and waved them through.

Commoners whispered among themselves about the carriage that hadn't been searched, and before long, word spread about whose carriage it was. Before they could finish discussing it, they saw an ox-cart approaching, laden with several live sheep, driven by a carter accompanied by two strong men dressed in estate servants' garments.

"Those are servants from the General's Residence! They're wearing the exact same clothes as the servant driving the Imperial Merchant's carriage who just went through!" someone with sharp eyes immediately pointed out. The servant didn't even join the queue; he walked straight over to the guards on the other side and asked who was in charge there. Recognizing him as a man from the General's Residence, a soldier pointed out the commander and casually asked what business they had. The servant immediately proclaimed, "His Majesty knows how difficult it is for you gentlemen guarding the city, so he specifically instructed the Imperial Merchant to prepare these sheep to be slaughtered for mutton soup to nourish your bodies."

Hearing that it was a bestowal from the Emperor, the soldiers were instantly overwhelmed with excitement. They immediately dropped to their knees and performed a grand kowtow in the direction of the imperial palace. Those who didn't know what was happening, upon seeing the commotion, asked those standing nearby after getting back to their feet, and upon hearing the truth, hurriedly followed suit and emulated the gesture. Through word of mouth, both the city guards and the waiting commoners came to know that the Emperor was benevolent and had bestowed several sheep upon the soldiers for nourishment.

"If you ask me, if a fellow truly can't master his books, he might as well go and land a job as a city gate guard. I've heard that these guards are provided with everything from head to toe. Those boot soles have dozens of layers stitched in, lined completely with thick fur on the inside and cowhide on the outside, making them exceptionally warm. And their uniforms are made of wool too! An outfit like that must be worth twenty or thirty taels of silver, and every man is issued three sets."

The listeners drew in sharp breaths. They had never heard of guarding the city gate being such a lucrative gig before. "Still, looking at them, they must be freezing."

"Just think about what month of winter this is! It would be a miracle if they weren't cold. They stand there for hours on end without moving an inch—how could they not be freezing?" the speaker remarked with a look that clearly said, *Are you an idiot?*

"I even heard they get ice delivered in the summer too! Five blocks of ice per person every month, and those blocks aren't small either. If you use them sparingly, five blocks can last over a month."

"Well, that much is true. I have a distant nephew who's a city gate guard, and he actually sent two blocks of ice to my house last summer."

"Really?" "Your distant nephew sent *you* ice?" two people asked in unison.

"Heh, there's a girl in my family, and the two of them were betrothed when they were kids," the man said with a good-natured laugh, straightening his back. He hadn't thought much of this match before and had even considered calling off the childhood engagement to find his daughter a husband who worked in a city workshop. Now that he thought about it, this match wasn't half bad after all.

"Is your nephew around? If he is, put in a good word so we don't have to freeze out here! Can't you pull some strings and sneak the rest of us in through the gate while you're at it?" someone teased.

"Now that wouldn't do." Though tempted by the teasing, the man shook his head in refusal. "The rules for guarding the city are strict; I can't go ruining that lad's future."

The commotion at the city gate had died down a bit when one of the guards came out to check on the queue. As luck would have it, the approaching guard happened to be that man's distant nephew. "Uncle, let me pour you a cup of hot tea. Bear with it a little longer, there are only a few people left in front of you." Moments later, the soldier brought over a cup of tea to warm his uncle's hands. The man took the cup, chuckled good-naturedly to himself, and thought that once the New Year passed, he would finalize the children's wedding. Where else could he ever find such a fine son-in-law?

Deep within the palace, the Emperor heard that the Imperial Merchant was once again using his name to bestow gifts upon people, and could not help but sigh. If only all the civil and military officials in the court could be as reliable as the Imperial Merchant, he wouldn't have to rise earlier than a rooster every day and stay up late into the night reviewing memorials.

Author's Notes:
Emperor: I work myself to the bone like a dog every single day, yet there are still people trying to rebel against me. Where is the justice in this? (TAT)