APSIL -Chapter 56 Not Quite Convincing Enough?

From the head table at the village entrance, the narrow lane branching off from the distant official road was clearly visible.

As Zhang Shou watched the long column of troops winding slowly toward the village, he quietly observed the different reactions of those around him.

Zhang Chen, who had only moments ago been boasting that he feared no one, had gone rigid with tension.

Zhang Wu, who had been lamenting that he hadn’t been able to help the previous night, was trembling slightly.

Several others kept pouring cup after cup of wine down their throats, though their expressions remained stiff as boards.

Meanwhile, Zhu Ying looked around with the smug satisfaction befitting the birthday celebrant.

Lu Sanlang, on the other hand, continued eating with great enthusiasm, occasionally offering critiques on the quality of the dishes.

Those two displayed remarkably steady nerves.

Zhang Shou wasn’t sure whether they had arrived at the same conclusion he had. Lacking absolute certainty, he decided to keep his suspicions to himself.

Seeing that Aunt Liu had tactfully helped his slightly tipsy mother, Madam Wu, back into the house to rest, while elsewhere the villagers who had drunk too much were playing drinking games and the attendants of the noble youths had even begun singing, Zhang Shou suddenly had an idea.

He called out, “You there—the one singing! Louder! What’s the point of singing only for yourself? If you’re going to sing, let everyone hear it!”

“That’s right!”

Zhu Ying immediately joined in.

“Sing louder! If you sing well, I’ll reward you with a golden flower!”

The attendant, who had been happily singing until Zhang Shou interrupted him, hesitated at first.

But the moment he heard the famously generous Miss Zhu promise a golden flower as a reward, his eyes lit up.

Without another thought, he immediately raised his voice.

Unfortunately…

He had barely gotten through a few wildly off-key lines before everyone around him could bear it no longer.

Several people rushed over, dragged him down from where he stood, and promptly poured three cups of wine into him until he collapsed drunkenly beside the table.

Seeing this, Zhu Ying angrily slapped the tabletop.

“Next!”

“Someone else sing!”

“Whoever sings well gets a golden flower—I always keep my word!”

Heavy rewards inspired brave men.

At once, another guard who fancied himself blessed with a fine voice leapt onto a stool and launched into a piercing high note.

“The drifting clouds become my shade,
The mournful wind circles around me,
Three solemn vows are written for all to see—”

The moment Zhang Shou heard the opening lines, his scalp went numb.

He had only intended to stir up the atmosphere.

He had never expected this!

Before he could hurriedly tell the man to stop, the guard—whose falsetto imitation of a woman’s voice was surprisingly excellent—continued with the most unfortunate lyrics imaginable.

“Mother-in-law, only when snow falls in June,
When drought lasts for three long years,
Will Dou E’s wronged soul finally be vindicated!”

The entire birthday banquet froze.

Miss Zhu had promised a reward for good singing…

Yet on the noon of the Mid-Autumn Festival…

At the birthday banquet of the birthday girl…

This fool had chosen to sing The Injustice to Dou E, complete with “snow in June.”

Was he cursing someone…

Or asking to be beaten?

Even the imposing officer riding at the front of the approaching cavalry column couldn’t help twitching at the corners of his mouth upon hearing those haunting lyrics.

As fate would have it, his warhorse also seemed unable to endure the dreadful performance.

It suddenly stumbled.

Caught off guard, the burly officer lost his balance and was thrown from the saddle.

Fortunately, he reacted quickly.

Drawing in a sharp breath, he planted one hand on the ground, flipped forward in a graceful somersault, and landed firmly on his feet.

Though he had managed to recover elegantly, when he straightened up proudly, he discovered everyone at the head table staring at him with extremely peculiar expressions.

After a brief daze, he hurriedly resumed the savage, intimidating look he had been trying so hard to maintain.

Although he’d nearly embarrassed himself, the officer quickly mounted his horse again.

With dozens of mounted soldiers following in perfect formation, the force advanced toward the village entrance with overwhelming momentum.

The man still singing Dou E’s Injustice was immediately yanked down and ordered to shut up.

Zhu Hong and the other guards hurried over as well, gathering around the head table with wary expressions.

Although Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying hadn’t warned them in advance, such a display was enough to make anyone uneasy.

But Zhu Ying impatiently slammed her wine cup onto the table.

Then she loudly asked, “Are you officials…”

“…or bandits?”

The leading officer’s face immediately froze into complete bewilderment.

Seeing that expression, Zhang Shou became even more convinced of his earlier guess.

He rose smiling.

“What Miss Zhu means is simple.”

“If you are government troops coming to reinforce us, then please enter the village and share a cup of birthday wine.”

“But if you’re wandering rebels…”

“…I’m afraid you’ll have to excuse us.”

“More than twenty of your kind fell into this tiny Rongshui Village last night.”

“If you don’t believe it…”

“…you’re welcome to try.”

The officer finally managed to restore the fierce expression he imagined a villain should wear.

Speaking in an even stiffer voice, he declared, “I’ve already heard about what happened last night.”

“Although you are all noble sons and daughters from the capital with numerous guards…”

“…claiming you captured those rebels so easily sounds rather exaggerated.”

Before anyone could answer, he raised his voice.

“But before anything else…”

“Hand over those rebel soldiers!”

“On what ba—”

Before Zhang Chen could finish saying “basis,” Lu Sanlang clapped a hand over his mouth and dragged him backward.

Everyone else assumed Lu Sanlang was simply preventing Zhang Chen from provoking a confrontation.

The noble youths and their attendants became as tense as drawn bowstrings.

Had any of them been holding bows at that moment, they probably would have loosed every arrow they had—whether they hit anything or not.

Meanwhile…

The villagers farther back continued drinking, shouting, and playing drinking games as though nothing were happening.

The contrast between the carefree rear tables and the tense atmosphere at the head table couldn’t have been greater.

After a long silence, with Zhang Chen’s interrupted protest being the only reply he’d received, the fierce-looking officer seemed to grow increasingly uncomfortable.

Licking his dry lips, he attempted to sound even harsher.

“I’ll say it one last time.”

“Hand over the rebels.”

“Otherwise…”

“…don’t blame me if I order everyone here destroyed together!”

“There are no prisoners.”

“But we’ve got our lives.”

“If you’ve got the ability…”

“…come and take them!”

Zhu Ying’s sudden shout pushed the tense atmosphere to its absolute limit.

Yet the very next moment—

She burst out laughing.

“I can’t!”

“I can’t do this anymore!”

She turned around, clutching her stomach.

“A-Shou, you keep acting—I can’t hold it together!”

“You can’t keep a straight face, yet you made me go along with this?”

Zhang Shou couldn’t help laughing as well.

After taking a deep breath, he finally managed to put on a serious expression.

Then he coughed lightly.

“Enough.”

“You can stop pretending.”

“Your little act was seen through long ago.”

The officer stood there completely dumbfounded.

Among the soldiers behind him, several lowered their heads, secretly laughing.

Smiling, Zhang Shou calmly revealed the answer.

“First…”

“The lane from the official road is narrow.”

“A carriage and a few horses can pass through without difficulty.”

“But for more than a hundred cavalrymen?”

“It greatly slows your advance.”

“If you truly intended us harm, you wouldn’t waste time squeezing through such a narrow road.”

“The rice has already been harvested.”

“Even if the fields were still full of crops, you would’ve ridden straight across them.”

“Time would matter far more than trampling a few fields.”

“Second…”

“Whether you were rebel accomplices…”

“Or overbearing government troops demanding prisoners…”

“Or, to put it even more bluntly…”

“…people sent to silence witnesses by massacring the entire village…”

“You simply don’t look the part.”

“You’re tall, imposing, disciplined, and upright.”

“You speak methodically.”

“You don’t merely fail to act like a vicious villain…”

“…you simply can’t.”

“That alone was your biggest flaw.”

Naturally…

Most of that explanation was nonsense.

The real reason was much simpler.

Only moments earlier, Zhang Shou had realized he’d been led astray by Hua Qi.

Would Duke Zhao’s trusted confidant truly wait until suspicious troops had already reached the village before discovering them?

Would he then solemnly march out alone to negotiate as though preparing for martyrdom?

Impossible.

The officer didn’t know whether he should feel insulted or complimented.

First he’d been criticized for acting terribly.

Then he’d seemingly been praised.

What exactly was that supposed to mean?

Just then, someone behind him coughed.

“Sigh.”

“I patted my chest and guaranteed it’d work.”

“And yet the performance collapsed halfway through.”

“I suppose we picked the wrong actor.”

With those words, Hua Qi emerged from among the rear ranks dressed as an ordinary soldier.

Ignoring the indignant stares from the noble youths, he smiled warmly.

“Young Master Shou.”

“Besides those flaws…”

“…did you notice anything else?”

Zhang Shou wasn’t surprised to see him.

“I’ve lived in the countryside for years.”

“But even I’ve heard that cavalry are extremely difficult to train.”

“Within the capital region…”

“Aside from the imperial court…”

“…no one could possibly command an elite cavalry force of more than a hundred men.”

“If someone could…”

“…then this wouldn’t be an age of peace.”

“It would be an age of war.”

Hua Qi burst into hearty laughter.

“Not bad.”

“You’re quite skilled at praising the imperial government.”

“Very reasonable.”

But Zhang Shou refused to let Hua Qi steer the conversation elsewhere.

With a faint smile, he asked, “So…”

“Was this little performance your spur-of-the-moment idea…”

“…or were these officers ordered to scare us before they even arrived?”

Even Zhu Ying, who had just turned back around, looked curious.

The noble youths and their attendants—who had only just been thoroughly frightened—were even more eager to hear the answer.

“That was my idea.”

Hua Qi smiled as he admitted it.

Then immediately changed his tune.

“Of course…”

“…that’s impossible.”

After successfully fooling everyone once more, he leisurely explained, “The Grand Secretariat and the ministries decided to send troops to suppress the rebellion.”

“Her Majesty the Empress Dowager specifically ordered Xiong Wei to bring men here first.”

“They were to escort the captured rebels back to the capital…”

“…and, while they were at it…”

“…give all of you a little scare.”

“Her Majesty said…”

“The countryside may be peaceful…”

“…but unlike the capital, it has no city walls.”

“You young masters and young ladies should all learn to be a bit more vigilant.”

“You must learn how to protect yourselves.”

Hearing Hua Qi speak so solemnly, some people felt ashamed.

Others felt embarrassed.

But Zhang Shou couldn’t help feeling suspicious.

He simply didn’t trust this madman.

Falsifying an imperial decree?

Hua Qi… probably… maybe… was perfectly capable of doing something like that.

Then again…

Perhaps the retired Empress Dowager really was so idle that she had come up with such an idea herself.

Still…

Wasn’t she worried she’d scare people to death?