IDWBE -Chapter 59 The Second-Generation Pirate

Turning back along the same route, Lin Yi was drenched in sweat by the halfway point and sat under a tree to rest, feeling a sudden pang of melancholy.

It wasn’t that he hated being fat—after all, every bit of flesh on his body had been earned by his own mouth.

It was simply that history felt so painfully repetitive: the end of one boring day was always followed by another equally boring day.

Lavish meals, poetry and wine, romantic adventures—they had nothing to do with him.

As a result, he oscillated between brief bursts of ambition and long stretches of aimless idleness.

The weather was gradually turning cooler, but in the southern lands, “cool” was all it meant.

People from Sanhe had never truly experienced cold.

The streets were still busy, but public order had improved dramatically.

Any well-known ruffians had long since been sent off for labor reform by the guards of the He Mansion.

For the first time, Baiyun City’s merchants realized that doing business could be this easy.

No extortion, no thieves worrying them—though the Prince’s guards were few, each was skilled in scaling walls. A petty thief couldn’t escape their notice.

Liu Duo, the owner of the central street silk and fabric shop, sat with a teacup in hand, watching his assistants greet customers and serve them, then slurped another sip of tea.

In his life, he had never felt so comfortable.

This, he thought, was true business: he only needed to focus on his trade.

Many matters were taken care of for him, including the streets themselves, maintained by the He Mansion.

He imagined that once this road connected all the way to the southern provinces, he could sublet this shop and rebuild another along the new road.

Then, real wealth would flow in from all directions.

Three burly men entered—broad-shouldered and muscular. The leader had a fierce-looking face. In the past, he would have personally greeted them, fearing his assistants might offend such men.

In Sanhe, anyone like this was either a pirate or a salt smuggler: one wrong word, one misstep, and your family could be destroyed. You simply couldn’t provoke them.

Now, he could just hold his teacup, greet them politely but coldly, without even moving his seat.

He glanced toward the street and saw two young men casually walking near a shop across the way. He relaxed again.

Though disguised, he immediately recognized them as guards from the Prince’s mansion.

After all, there were only a few of them, mostly patrolling the streets; if he couldn’t recognize them, his business would be over.

The three men moved through the crowd, so conspicuous and prominent that the guards couldn’t possibly miss them.

A mule pulling a trash cart with boards on all sides appeared, accompanied by the sound of drums.

The garbage collection cart had arrived.

While his assistants greeted customers, he had to personally dump the shop’s trash into the cart.

That was the only real hassle.

The He Mansion had strict rules about trash disposal: improper dumping meant a fine of a copper coin.

Refuse to pay? Then prepare for labor reform.

This was what Xie Zan had described: the compulsory nature of the Prince’s regulations.

Whether you agreed or not, the rules were there, and anyone who violated them would be held accountable.

After dumping the trash, he ran into the three burly men carrying a roll of white coarse cloth from his shop. He watched them leave, then saw two guards from the He Mansion following.

“Spotted three suspicious people?”

Lin Yi asked curiously. “Didn’t you catch them?”

Bao Kui said, “I feared alarming them, so we just had people follow behind.”

The Prince had tasked him and He Jixiang with investigating the messenger, and a month had already passed. Even if the Prince didn’t ask, he still needed to report.

“What makes them suspicious?” Lin Yi asked.

Bao Kui explained, “They are salt smugglers. According to our investigation, they’ve been lingering around the Prince’s mansion these past few days.”

“Lurking around my mansion—what does that prove?”

Lin Yi touched his bald chin, thinking for a moment. “Perhaps they’ve discovered my intimidating presence and want to serve me?”

Bao Kui forced a smile but remained silent.

Answer “yes,” and he would be lying to the Prince.

Answer “no,” and the Prince would likely be displeased.

If the Prince were displeased, he couldn’t punish him—but Hong Ying could skin him alive.

“Your Highness, someone requests an audience!”

Sun Yi ran in, slightly out of breath.

“Who?” Lin Yi’s eyes lit up. “Did they bring money?”

Sun Yi shook his head. “Your Highness, the three are clearly poor men. I considered sending them away, but they insisted on seeing you, claiming it’s important.”

“Important?”

Lin Yi smiled, “Then let them in.”

Better than sitting around doing nothing.

Soon, Sun Yi brought the three burly men into the courtyard.

The moment they appeared, Bao Kui hurried to Lin Yi, “Your Highness, these are the suspicious men I mentioned. But why are they here suddenly?”

“I am the commoner Tian Shiyou, here to pay respects to the Prince!”

The bald leader knelt first, and the other two followed, hitting the stone floor with trembling knees—probably inexperienced and in a hurry.

Lin Yi looked at the man and waved, “Stand and speak. Why have you come to me?”

“I am here to report!”

Tian Shiyou remained kneeling, shouting, “The pirate Du Sanhe has violated the Prince’s regulations, plundering goods at Whitehead Bay!”

“Du Sanhe again?”

Lin Yi frowned. “Whom did they rob?”

“Me!”

Tian Shiyou said angrily, “This was my lifelong savings! I hope the Prince will bring justice!”

“You are a salt trader,” Lin Yi laughed, “Already breaking the law, and yet you dare to see me?”

With Du Sanhe, Lin Yi was helpless. Better to deal with Tian Shiyou first.

Tian Shiyou replied, unafraid, “I heard that in Sanhe, everyone has regulations to follow, and the Prince will not allow Sanhe to harbor lawlessness! I’ve been in Baiyun City for a week, reading your regulations daily—I do not know which rule I violated!”

Lin Yi was momentarily speechless.

Not afraid of ruffians or smugglers—but educated ones? That was troublesome.

Tian Shiyou stretched out his hands, forehead to the ground, “Your Highness, I met you at Fan that day, but I failed to recognize your greatness. I hope for your forgiveness!”

“I met you?” Lin Yi had no recollection.

“That day, I was escorting illegal salt with my brothers and saw your carriage. We withdrew quietly,”

Tian Shiyou continued, “After you passed, we sneaked out. You didn’t punish us, for which I am eternally grateful.”

“So it was you that day.”

Lin Yi suddenly understood.

At that time, they hadn’t met a single living person along the way. Meeting someone capable of speaking, they fled like scared mice.

“Yes,” Tian Shiyou said, “Otherwise, I wouldn’t dare come to you now.”

“Ah,” Lin Yi scratched his head, “This Du Sanhe, I hate him as much as you do, but he’s a pirate king of the seas—appearing and disappearing at will. Even if I wanted to help you, there’s nothing I could do. Sorry, you came for nothing.”

He couldn’t admit that his men had just been caught by Du Sanhe.

“No need for concern, Your Highness.”

Tian Shiyou took the roll of cloth he had been holding, paused when he saw Bao Kui between him and the Prince, stepped back two paces, then slowly spread it on a table, shouting, “Your Highness, this is the route map, drawn by my own hand. With it, you can find Du Sanhe’s lair!”

Lin Yi squinted at the white cloth, seeing chaotic lines and tiny, densely packed characters, overwhelming to the eye.

“This much?”

“Reporting to the Prince!”

Tian Shiyou’s voice rang high, “This map was started by my ancestors, perfected by my father, and polished by me. Across the South Sea, there is none more complete—even Du Sanhe doesn’t have one like this!”

“So your whole family are pirates—you’re a second-generation pirate?”

Lin Yi laughed, “Even a half-baked pirate like Du Sanhe can’t compare to you?”

“You speak plainly, Your Highness!”

Tian Shiyou blushed, “I admire you, truly!”