How could anyone be willing to pay such a fortune over a single case?
Zhang Gui delivered the silver to the prefectural office that very night.
“My young mistress said that our family has been discourteous in the past and hopes Your Honor will be forgiving. Please do not hold it against our young master.”
“Of course Young Master was in the wrong. But Your Honor has already beaten him, and he has already knelt before you. We beg you to show mercy and let him off this once.”
Ping Peilun had already bathed and changed, and was preparing to retire.
When he heard that someone from the Xue family had arrived, he guessed they had come to stir up trouble. He immediately changed back into his clothes and received Zhang Gui in a side hall.
As Zhang Gui recounted everything from beginning to end, Ping Peilun nearly laughed himself off his seat. If there had not been servants standing nearby, he might actually have fallen over.
The Xue family!
Bringing him money!
To him!
Wasn’t that like putting plaster on your hair? Was something wrong with them?
Ping Peilun rolled the three thin banknotes between his fingers and pretended to ponder.
“Three thousand taels? That seems a little low.”
Zhang Gui nearly fainted right there in the prefectural office.
What an outrageous appetite this Prefect had!
A prefect’s annual salary was only ninety taels. Even with the allowance for clean governance, it came to just nine thousand taels. The Xue family had brought him three thousand taels merely to secure a lenient sentence in one case. That was already more than generous!
Even if the Xue family had not sent any money, would this official truly dare do anything to their young master?
Even beating him ten times as a warning would surely have terrified the Prefect behind closed doors.
Was the nephew of the Commander of the Imperial Guards someone one could casually beat?
Zhang Gui was furious, but remembering Xue Baochai’s instructions, he kept his head bowed and his manner humble.
“Then, Your Honor, how much would you say is appropriate?”
Ping Peilun pretended to consider it, then put on airs. “Young Master Xue is a person of distinction. I think three thousand taels for his life is far too cheap.”
Zhang Gui ground his teeth inwardly. Damn this corrupt official! Why was he putting on such a grand act?
Now he was weighing the value of Young Master Xue’s life. He ought to take a good look at himself and see whether he was even worthy!
Of course Young Master Xue’s life was valuable. But would a fourth rank Prefect really dare kill an imperial merchant registered with the Imperial Household Department over a dispute about buying a person?
Even so, Zhang Gui still had to humble himself.
“You are right, Your Honor. This servant was short sighted and did not understand how high the heavens were. Please name a sum, and I will return to discuss it with our Madam.”
Ping Peilun looked at the servant who was so quick to follow his lead and gave a cold snort.
“Nine thousand taels.”
Zhang Gui drew in a sharp breath. The man was truly asking for the moon!
He had always heard that this Prefect was incorruptible and upright, a harsh official who sought fame rather than profit. Who would have thought he had been waiting for an opportunity like this?
Was he planning to go three years without a payday, then make enough to live on for the next three?
Zhang Gui could not agree to that. Even without thinking, he knew the price would never be accepted. He drew a deep breath and forced a bitter smile.
Before he could beg for some leniency, Ping Peilun lifted his teacup and blew on it leisurely, then added two words as if they meant nothing.
“In gold.”
Zhang Gui could no longer hold back.
“Your Honor, are you making a fool of this servant?”
“Do you know that the girl everyone was fighting over is worth only a few hundred taels?”
“Who in the world would pay nine thousand taels of gold over a case like this? Why not just ask for ten thousand taels of gold?”
Ping Peilun raised his eyebrows, set down his teacup, and smiled.
“You make a good point. Then ten thousand taels of gold it is.”
Zhang Gui was at a loss for words.
“Your Honor, this servant truly came on behalf of our Madam to make peace. Please stop making sport of me. It is getting late. Just name a final amount. The Xue family will certainly not haggle.”
Zhang Gui assumed that Prefect Ping was simply in a foul mood and was using the case to vent his anger.
Three thousand taels might not have been enough, but ten thousand taels of gold was surely just an angry remark.
Ping Peilun said calmly, “I am not making sport of you. Ten thousand taels of gold is the price of a life.”
“What? Do you think your young master’s life is not worth ten thousand taels of gold?”
Zhang Gui smiled ingratiatingly. “Your Honor, aside from the Son of Heaven, whose life could be so precious? I beg you to show mercy…”
Before he could finish, Ping Peilun’s smile suddenly brightened.
“Someone!”
“Find four strong men and have them carry in the chest the old gentleman sent from Weiyang!”
Zhang Gui had no idea what was going on. But seeing the excitement that Ping Peilun could barely conceal, he could only stand meekly to one side and wait to see what sort of fit the Prefect was having.
A short while later, four burly men came in carrying a heavy chest.
Ping Peilun motioned for them to set it down, then turned to Zhang Gui. “Open it and have a look.”
Still confused, Zhang Gui stepped forward and opened the chest. The next instant, his pupils contracted.
Gold!
A chest full of gold!
Dazzled by the sight, Zhang Gui staggered backward. His knees weakened, and he dropped to the floor.
The chest was unusually large. Sitting on the ground, Zhang Gui found that it blocked his view of Ping Peilun, who sat in the seat of honor.
The Prefect’s voice came from behind the chest of gold.
“This chest contains exactly ten thousand taels of gold. As you said, buying your young master’s life does not require so much.”
“Take your silver back. Tell your Madam that when the court convenes tomorrow, she must bring the girl who was being fought over to testify. I will handle the case according to the law and take not a single coin.”
“If the girl is not there tomorrow, your Madam will receive this chest of gold.”
“And your young master’s head!”
“That corrupt official is utterly outrageous!”
After hearing Zhang Gui’s account, Madam Xue was so furious that her heart and liver seemed to ache. Clutching her chest, she panted heavily.
“That damned official! If he dares take a life unjustly, I would rather give up our entire fortune than let him get away with it!”
Seeing how enraged her mother had become, Xue Baochai quickly waved Zhang Gui away, then gently tried to soothe Madam Xue.
“Mother, please calm down. Things have not reached the point of no return.
Why think of a fight to the death already?”
“I doubt Prefect Ping truly intends to take the Elder Brother’s life. He is merely using the case to humiliate us.”
“Anyone who can casually produce ten thousand taels of gold must hardly be short of money. Trying to buy him off with silver was simply pointless.”
Madam Xue wiped her tears and said bitterly, “May that wretched official never receive another promotion in his life!”
Then she looked at Xue Baochai through her tears. “My child, please think of some way out for your mother. I have no idea what to do anymore.”
Xue Baochai pondered for a moment, frowning. “Mother, don’t worry. Let me explain.”
“In this world, people travel a thousand miles to become officials for only a few things: money, power, fame, and women. This official is not short of money, and he certainly cannot lack for women. So what he wants must be fame or power.”
“Fame cannot be built in a day. But we can work on the matter of power.
Surely Prefect Ping has heard of Uncle?”
Madam Xue nodded repeatedly. “That must be it. If he doesn’t need money, he must hope our family will put in a good word for him with your uncle.”
“That damned official! He ought to be the one begging us, yet he turns the case around and humiliates us!”
Xue Baochai advised her, “Mother, when you are under someone else’s roof, you have to bow your head. He is still the official responsible for Yingtian Prefecture. Ordinary people cannot fight the authorities. The proper thing is to bring Elder Brother home first.”
“From what I can see, this Prefect is a man of poor character and has been plotting against the Xue family for some time. A wise person does not stand beneath a crumbling wall. We should avoid him for now.”
“Once Elder Brother comes home, we can use my upcoming selection for the palace as an excuse to leave Yingtian Prefecture and go to the capital to seek Uncle’s help. By then, this corrupt official will be too far away to keep us under his thumb.”
Madam Xue now felt she had someone to rely on. Her mood settled, and she smiled. “My child, what more can I say? We’ll do as you think best.”
Then she added, “It has also been a long time since I saw your aunt. We can visit her while we are in the capital.”
At the mention of Lady Wang, Madam Xue glanced at the gold necklace around Xue Baochai’s neck and touched its golden lock with a smile.
“It’s a good thing to go to the capital. It’s time to settle this golden and jade match. Your aunt’s Baoyu is no ordinary boy. How could such a heaven sent match fall into someone else’s hands?”
Xue Baochai blushed at once. “Mother, what are you saying?”
Embarrassed to hear more, she muttered a few complaints and then left Madam Xue’s room.
When the night breeze touched her face, Xue Baochai’s feelings calmed somewhat. But remembering her mother’s words, she could not help letting her thoughts wander.
The fact that her aunt wished to arrange a marriage between the two families might still be a secret within the Jia household, but it was no secret in the Xue family.
From the day she was born until now, Baochai had never met Baoyu who had been born with a jade in his mouth. But since he had been blessed with such an extraordinary fate, he would surely achieve great things in the future. Her mother often told her that Baoyu was incredibly clever and charming, with such handsome features that no man in the world could compare with him.
Baochai sighed softly. If she had been born a man, she would certainly have made a name for herself. Unfortunately, she had been born a girl, and all her grand ambitions had come to nothing.
She could only hope that this marriage would prove as fortunate as her mother said, and that no unexpected complications or changes would ever come between them.
Thinking of Baoyu brought her thoughts back to her brother’s case. Once Xue Baochai had calmed down, she remembered something and went to study.
When the head of the Xue family was alive, the study had been where he handled the family’s business. After his death, Xue Pan was so unreliable that servants might run into him anywhere except the study. It had therefore become Xue Baochai’s own place.
Baochai entered, ordered a maid to light the lamps, and took a copy of the Jinshen Lu from the shelf.
Her mother had not realized it, but Baochai herself knew perfectly well that her own rashness had nearly brought disaster upon her brother.
She had never paid much attention to Prefect Ping before, assuming he was just another ordinary official, a petty man who was greedy for money and women.
If she had looked through the Jinshen Lu beforehand and learned about Prefect Ping’s background, perhaps she would not have made such a foolish move.
Xue Baochai could deceive Madam Xue, but she could not deceive herself, whose mind was as clear as water and as bright as a mirror.
While the night was deep and no one was around, she hurried to look things up, hoping to avoid another mistake the next day and be better prepared to respond.
The lamplight was dim as a bean. Baochai carefully examined the entries.
Her eyes passed over Ping Peilun’s name without much interest, and she went straight to his family origins.
When she saw the note following his father’s name, she was drenched in cold sweat and stood frozen:
“Mother: Lady Leng, native of Weiyang. In such and such a year and month, she was personally appointed a female scholar by an imperial decree from the Retired Emperor. She is the only daughter of Leng Xin, the Purple Star Secretariat Scholar. Her family currently serves as imperial merchants and oversees purchasing and textile production throughout the Weiyang region.”
She had actually tried to bribe the grandson of the imperial merchant Leng Xin!
Xue Baochai put down Jinshen Lu, her vision of swimming.
She had made a terrible mess of things!