Joy of Life

The rain pattered down, beating a tattoo into the roof of the workshop. It was a sharp contrast to the death-like silence below.

The workers were gathered at the back. The shock and fear on their faces was unhidden, but everyone’s hands had subconsciously began to reach for shovels and wooden boards. No one knew what was going to happen next.

Standing at the front, the treasurers who had organized the strike also had faces full of fear. They watched the imperial envoy sitting on a chair before the door and did not pay any more attention to the dead master Xiao. No one dared look at the tragic scene of the separated body and head beside the furnace. They only stared in fear at Fan Xian’s warm and gentle face. The feet of the crowds unconsciously backed up.

One person stepped back. Ten people stepped back. The crowd stepped back. The sound of the treasurers’ feet stepping back made a rustling sound like thousands of bugs crawling across a desert. However, the workshop was only so big, and a large space at the back had been taken up by the thinly dressed workers. Where could these blue-robbed treasurers back up to?

Fan Xian watched the scene before his eyes and instinctively shook his head. In an even voice he said, “I am not a violent person. Workers, don’t be afraid. The court is only investigating the matter of the treasurers’ corruption and stealing of wages. It has nothing to do with you.”

The workers at the back met each other’s eyes and felt their hearts steady a little, but they did not dare completely trust in this young powerful official. Their hands remained wrapped around the handles of the shovels.

“You...even if you are a court official, how can you kill people for no reason?” A treasurer could no longer endure the oppressive silence and cried out in a sharp voice.

Deputy Ma Jie was standing stupidly behind Fan Xian. He had never expected that Fan Xian would chop off a workshop master’s head without saying anything further. Today’s mess had gotten big. How could they clean this up?

Shocked and angry, he said in a shaky voice, “Imperial envoy, Sir, why...why do this? Everything could be discussed...it’s over...it’s all over.”

In Ma Jie’s heart, the most important things to the palace treasury were these treasurers in front of them. Only these people knew how to maintain the palace treasury. Even if Fan Xian chopped 10 heads today and forced these treasurers to submit, what about the future? If the treasurers worked with resentment, who knew what they would turn the palace treasury into?

Besides, there were still two masters who were striking. If they knew you killed master Xiao of the First Workshop and they roused up the anger of the people, and the strike continued on...my god! If you really killed everybody, who will do the work? Were you counting on those illiterate workers?

Fan Xian did not acknowledge the bewildered deputy next to him. He indicated for Su Wenmao to come over. He then clearly said to everyone in the workshop, “Listen closely to every word!”

The crowd froze.

Su Wenmao removed a few sheaves of paper from his dripping wet robe. He squinted a little and then began to read in a loud voice.

“Today it has been discovered, Xiao Jing, master of the First Workshop of the three large workshops of the palace treasury transport company, has, since the first year of His Majesty’s reign, committed many illegal acts.”

Su Wenmao furrowed his brows and glanced at the rustling and restless treasurers. He then continued, “In the second year and third month of the Qing calendar, Xiao Jing hid the disaster at a bronze mine and took the wages of the dead for five years, for a total of 13,700 liang. In the fourth year, seventh month and ninth day of the Qing calendar, Xia Jing bribed the official registrar of Suzhou to buy a good plot of land of 700 mu at a low price. In the sixth year and first month of the Qing calendar, with Xiao Jing as the leader of the masters of the three workshops, a group of treasurers owed the workers tens of thousands of accumulated wages, caused violence, 14 deaths, over 50 injured...”

A countless number of crimes were read until Su Wenmao’s mouth was feeling a little dry. At the end he said, “These crimes are impossible to forgive. Following Qing law, he was decapitated.”

He then took out the land deeds, Suzhou’s official registrar’s written confession, and other related evidence.

“Don’t ask me again for evidence,” Fan Xian said following the announcement. “I have many witness testimonies and not a small amount of physical evidence. Scoundrels like Xiao Jing could certainly not be kept since I am managing the palace treasury.”

As the workers who were shaking with fear and uneasy heard the imperial envoy discuss the crimes and heard the lines and lines of crimes, they suddenly remembered how tyrannical Xiao Jing usually was. He was harsh and insidious to the workers beneath him. Immediately they felt that the imperial envoy had done right by killing him.

But the hatred in the eyes of the treasurers grew even stronger. Unsatisfied, someone called out, “Even if you punish him, you still need to open the court and try the case...you trumped up charges to convict him!”

When Deputy Ma Jie, standing behind Fan Xian, heard Su Wenmao read out the crimes, he knew that the imperial envoy was just looking for an excuse. The officials of the palace treasury transport company knew in their hearts of these things that Xiao Jing had done. But, even if he were to be punished by the Qing law, you...you couldn’t just kill him like this!

Ma Jie wanted to remain on good terms with Fan Xian because of his cousin Ren Shao’an. No matter how much be disapproved of Fan Xian’s actions, he forced himself to keep his mouth shut and did not question him.

He didn’t question anything, but there were trusted aides of the Eldest Princess left in the transport company who would definitely not pass up this opportunity. Sinisterly they said, “Sir has acted decisively, but...for corrupt and lawless people like this, is it not better to open the court and try him openly? To have him confess...you wouldn’t have to be so alert at night. Furthermore, Sir gave the treasurers a three-day limit, and these three days have not passed, perhaps...”

The treasurers shook with fear, but they had not given up. Hearing one of the officials speaking on their behalf, they began to daringly start quite a din.

Fan Xian didn’t even turn his head. A sliver of a cold smile rose to the corner of his lips, “I am the commissioner of the Overwatch Council as well as the manager of the palace treasury transport company. The Overwatch Council is responsible for investigating the case, and the transport company, as a special case in Qing law, has the head manager determine the case. Why can I not question him and behead him? Besides, I was not beheading him on these crimes.”

He slightly lowered his head and smiled. “Provoking the workers to cause trouble, striking, disobeying His Majesty’s edict...can I not behead this man who respects neither his father nor his Emperor?”

The Qing law was meticulous. Given something like murder, it was fine to do in secret, but for Fan Xian to kill someone like this in the open, he needed a good reason. If he was only using Xiao Jing’s illegal activities as an excuse to justify his killing of him, then he was giving the officials and treasurers a good opportunity to counter him—for not questioning the case before beheading the criminal. Put it to any yamen, and none would be able to let it pass.

However, Fan Xian did things practically. He clearly had made certain of Xiao Jing’s crime, but he continued to say he was beheaded because he did not respect the Emperor’s edict. Something like the edict was the most unconvincing. As the imperial envoy, he had the power of final interpretation.

The crimes the Overwatch Council had found were also necessary. When the case was brought before the Emperor, these crimes of forced purchases of good land and mistreating the people were enough to remove doubt from future proceedings.

To kill now to establish might, and then later provide the evidence to block the mouths of the leisurely people, this was a plan for the long term.

A person had died in the large workshop of the First Workshop. The workers were filled with expectations for the imperial envoy. The treasurers were terrified church mice. Although the officials had ulterior motives, they did not dare accuse Fan Xian. The situation slightly calmed down.

After another period of time, the strikes in the Second and Third Workshops were also calmed. However, these two were taken care of by General Ye and Dan Da, so it took extra time. These two were not as daring as Fan Xian. They only captured people; they did not kill them.

The treasurers in the other two Workshops were escorted by soldiers to the large workshop. The workers were strictly kept in each of the workshops. With the situation thus, the large workshop appeared to immediately feel a bit crowded after 200 more blue-robed treasurers suddenly spilled in.

With the soldiers’ sharp spears pointing and ows and arrows of the Overwatch Council forcing them, the crowded group did not dare to move an inch.

Watching this scene, the officials that had come in with Fan Xian felt a big surprise. It was not until now that they realized the imperial envoy had long prepared for the situation of the last day of the three-day order and had already made arrangements. Furthermore, he seemed to have guessed earlier that the treasurers would react so intensely.

For now, all the trusted aids of Xinyang were disappointed. It looked like the mess today wouldn’t get any bigger, but at the same time they were highly expectant of Fan Xian again striking down ruthlessly. Hopefully he will offend all of the treasurers. Then we’ll see how he will explain the lowered production and decrease in quality to the Emperor!

After the workshop quieted a little, Fan Xian rose from his chair. The pockets of water that had been trapped in his robe spilled onto the floor.

He looked at the treasurers squeezed into a group at the front and saw there was a sense of rebellion in their eyes. Furthermore, the treasurers who had been escorted from the Second and Third Workshops looked even more proud as they didn’t know what had happened.

“Everyone’s here,” he smiled warmly and said. “It rained heavily last night. The workshop’s furnace was extinguished. What about on your sides? Also, why are all the workshop treasurers who are separated by 30, 40 li all by the yamen today? Even if the work had to stop in the workshops because of the rain, you should first go check your own workshops. It’s still so early. Have you already been and then come back again?”

He kept talking without paying attention to the others. The treasurers who had just been led in had the situation explained to them by the treasurers who were there earlier. When they realized what happened, their faces gradually paled.

Fan Xian shook his head and said, “This is good, I have true evidence of your crimes of striking. Now I can go ahead and kill people.”

After master Xiao’s abnormal and clean death had spread by the word of mouth, the treasurers knew the imperial envoy was a ruthless man who killed without batting an eye. Hearing these light words, the treasurers broke into a clamor. Some begged for their lives. Some began to curse. Some swivelled their eyes around as if looking to see if there was some hole in the workshop they could crawl out of. The group gradually spread about, and the situation became slightly chaotic. The military and Overwatch Council on the outside edges still kept a close watch and forced the crowd back in.

Two people squeezed their way out of the treasurers. They weren’t bystanders. They were the master treasurers of the Second and Third Workshops, two of the three strike leaders.

Earlier, these two masters had each in their biggest workshop high-spiritedly ordered the treasurers and workers to go on strike. Their words had flowed like water, a torrent of words that were astonishingly imposing. Although the workers had watched them dispiritedly and listlessly, the hundreds of treasurers had been hugely moved by their words. They thought that with the knowledge in their heads, the court would not dare punish them severely. Of course, these two masters severely ordered that the treasurers were to treat the imperial envoy with all respect. They were protecting the silver in their homes from being taken by the court, not actually rebelling.

Unexpectedly, not long after the strike started, countless soldiers and spies of the Overwatch Council flooded into the workshop. Facing weapons, the words of the two masters immediately lost any power. They obediently raised their hands in submission and escorted to the others. Along the way they were still confident, thinking the people would do things within limits and that there was nothing much the imperial envoy could do.

Unexpectedly, the imperial envoy did not act within the limits. After standing in the group for a while, the two masters realized that master Xiao, who had secretly planned the strike with them, was dead.

The two masters stood outside of the crowd and looked around the workshop. Finally, beside the furnace they found Xiao Jing’s body. That patch of blood and the head stunned them in a flash. The two cried out mournfully, “Sir Xiao...Sir Xiao!”

There were spears all around them, so they were unable to go to the side of the furnace to cry out their grief. They still raised their heads and looked at Fan Xian with extreme hatred. They knew they wouldn’t be able to escape today.

Fan Xian did not look at them. He only tilted his head slightly to listen to Dan Da’s report. Once he knew the Third Workshop was normal, the technicians of the Third Bureau of the Overwatch Council had completely taken over, and no one dared to do anything during the chaos, did he relax a little. A Tiger Guard stationed inside the manor passed by the officials and came to stand beside Fan Xian. He leaned close to his ear and said, “The one in the manor wants to go out for a bit.”

The Third Workshop was important because it was responsible for military technology, boats, and other harmful goods. If secrets from there were leaked, then who knew how many more youths the Qing Kingdom would lose on the battlefield. Fan Xian did not dare take this responsibility. At first, hearing Dan Da’s report made him feel a bit more at peace. After hearing the Tiger Guard’s report, his forehead furrowed again.

Haitang, disguised as a servant to come with him, could fool the officials and many people, but it could not pull the wool over Gao Da’s eagle-like eyes. Although Fan Xian found he had made a big mistake, there was no way to fix it. Fortunately, the Qinian Unit kept watch in secret, and the Tiger Guards did not release any news to the outside. This incident caused his slightly reassured heart to start being suspicious again.

However, now was not the time to deal with this problem. The one the Tiger Guard referred to was Haitang. It seemed like this village girl knew something was happening today. He was worried she might use the opportunity to do something.

Fan Xian replied calmly, “She’s not allowed out. Keep an eye on her. Use all means necessary to keep her in the manor today.”

Seven Tiger Guards against Haitang was exactly the standard configuration on the meadow last year, so Fan Xian was not worried. Furthermore, once they met in battle, Haitang would know of his determination and quiet down.

Having finished dealing with his own matters, Fan Xian transferred his gaze anew to the room. “Have these two troublemaking, court-resisting criminals tied up.”

Soldiers had come up much earlier and tied up the two masters. Although the faces of the treasurers were full of fear and hatred, no one dared to help. One reason being the violence machine up front, and another was that these treasurers had become full with the silver they had taken these years and truly had no courage to be fight ruthlessly. The more money someone had, the smaller their daring. Fan Xian saw this clearly.

“Sir Fan!”

The two masters did not resist, and numbly allowed the soldiers to bind their hands. However, the master of the Second Workshop still stared at Fan Xian. “If you want to kill us, then kill us! Just how you will explain yourself to the court in the future?”

“Are you threatening me?” Fan Xian laughed. “Earlier, while on the road here, I once said...if Butcher Zhang is dead, then will we have to eat pork with hair? Without you little treasurers, do you think I won’t be able to manage the palace treasury?”

The master of the Second Workshop gave a wretched laugh. “Is that so? It seems like we have indeed underestimated your determination, but you seem to have also underestimated these unassuming workshops!”

His last words were almost shouted out. It was clear he had lost all hope. Even if he turned into a ghost, he had the fierce desire to see how Fan Xian was going to destroy the palace treasury.

...

...

Fan Xian glanced at Su Wenmao, who removed another case file from his robe. With a serious face he began to call out the names on the paper.

“Third Zhang, Fourth Li, Eighth Wang, Ninth Long...”

As the names were read one by one, the faces of a dozen treasurers immediately paled. They didn’t know if they were about to end up like master Xiao of the First Workshop, with their heads and bodies in two pieces. The legs of the less daring ones shook, and there was a large patch of wetness on their pants.

Su Wenmao glanced at them with disgust. He didn’t understand why the commissioner had to do it like this. He swallowed and said with a dark expression, “You can come out. The imperial envoy has deemed you innocent of all crimes and will send a memorial to the court tomorrow to stand as your guarantor.”

Innocent? And he would write to the court? The named treasurers were immediately stunned. They had originally thought they were in hell. Who knew it was the clear springs and 72 virgins of heaven?

Under the confused and jealous gazes of the treasurers around them, the dozen treasurers walked in a daze out of the crowd. Stopping in front of Fan Xian, the fell to their knees and thanked the imperial envoy, though they did not understand why it was like this.

Fan Xian’s face was full of warmth and smiles. He raised his hands as a gesture for them to rise. In an affected and calm voice he said, “To be able to have the solid evidence for the crimes of the three masters, to know of the many illegal activities that went on in the palace treasury is all due to these men who placed righteousness above family and were loyal to the court. Otherwise, I would have no idea that the palace treasury was like this and would not know that there were people who dared to incite a strike to cause trouble. You all have done well for your country. I will naturally treat you fairly.”

The workshop immediately burst into a clamor. These treasurers were spies. Even the officials behind Fan Xian were dumbfounded. The imperial envoy had only been at the palace treasury less than three day, how could he have already developed such a spy network? The Overwatch Council’s fame for secret agents was indeed true.

Once the other treasurers knew that the dozen colleagues Fan Xian called out had sold them out, they couldn’t help feel sudden anger. Although they did not dare go forward and beat them, they cursed them viciously. Obscenities flew through the air and drilled themselves into the spies’ ears.

And those traitor treasurers? They had originally loved Sir Fan junior to death. At this moment, they hated Sir Fan junior to death. He was right. They had secretly returned the treasury’s money and secretly said some of the things they had overheard, but...it was nothing like what Sir Fan junior had said. They had only heard about the matter of the strike last night. How would they have had time to report it? As for master Xiao and the other two masters...they had just wanted to be beautiful wallflowers. How would they have the daring to offend the head of the treasurers?

The treasurers the people pointed at met each other’s eyes. They wanted to cry, but found that they had no tears. Even if Fan Xian let them go today, he had pointed out their shameless and traitorous actions in front of everyone. How will they face their 200-something colleagues? How will they live as people?

Third Zhang gazed at Fourth Li. Eighth Wang looked at Ninth Long; they asked each other with sorrowful gazes, “You are also a traitor?”

“Yes, I am also a traitor.”

Fan Xian’s following words shocked the workshop again.

“Hmm...these 13 treasurers have bravely uncovered the malpractice in the palace treasury. They are a credit to the country. I have decided, from today onward, they will be the deputy masters of the three large workshops.” Fan Xian smiled warmly and asked the deputy by his side, “Sir Ma, what do you think of this suggestion?”

Deputy Ma Jie was still figuring out how exactly the palace treasury would be able to produce as normal, so his mood was extremely gloomy. However, hearing these words, he nodded his head in agreeance. From the depths of his heart. he felt a great admiration for Fan Xian—this move was truly brilliant. By clearly showing these treasurers’ traitorous shamelessness, there was no need to worry about them not submitting in the future when they used these men as pawns to control the treasury. This was carving a manmade chasm between the treasurers. If today’s event could be satisfactorily concluded, then it would be difficult for the treasurers to join together again in the future and become a stratum that could stand against the officials.

Suddenly someone began to laugh coldly.

Everyone stared. It was coming from the Second Workshop treasurer who was tied up and kneeling on the ground. They saw him smile coldly and say with sorrow, “What a group of shameless and mean people? Sir Fan, do you think you can depend on these fellows to have the palace treasury running as before? I am not threatening the court, but without what is inside our heads, the palace treasury...will probably not last more than a few days!”

After these words came out, the atmosphere became strange again. Deputy Ma Jie wanted to lean close to Fan Xian to ask for mercy, but he didn’t know how to start.

The officials who were trusted aides of Xinyang also began to speak to Fan Xian. On the surface, they were thinking for the court, but in secret they were encouraging the masters. Everything should be for the sake of the palace treasury production. Killing master Xiao was enough for a punishment for the other party.

How could Fan Xian listen to these words? He only stared at the Second Workshop master and didn’t say anything for a little while.

The master of the Second Workshop could not stand the gaze of those sharp and bright eyes, and he slowly lowered his head.

It was at this moment that Fan Xian said in an angry voice, “You are at death’s door, yet you still dare to threaten the court...treasurer? Rip off your underwear and put it over your head to see whether the thing growing on your neck is a head or an ass!”

With the imperial envoy’s anger, there was not a single sound in the workshop.

Fan Xian swept his gaze across the treasury. He spoke with anger and disdain, “Do you really think you are worth something? Do you still think this palace treasury belongs to the Ye family? Without looking at your own abilities, you call others shameless and mean people, but what about you? Other than corruption, stealing materials to resell, taking the workers’ hard earned wages, forcefully taking other’s wives, what else can you do? Shameless? If you had shame, then we wouldn’t have today’s problem!”

He turned and said to the master of the Second Workshop in great anger, “You’re tough, huh? The palace treasury can’t be without you? Then tell me, why has the glass these years become more and more murky? Why is the liquor so weak it’s about to hatch into a bird?[JW1] Perfume production has stopped for 10 years. Have you found a method to make it?”

“You were once a servant of the Ye family, old man.” Fan Xian bitterly and hatefully cursed at that master, “How could you have fallen to this? I’m so angry!”

Everyone in the workshop paused and remembered that there seemed to have been a rumor that the angry imperial envoy in front of the them was the descendant of the Ye family.

[JW1]”酒怎么淡的快生出个鸟来了”–”weak/light tasting” and “hatch” sound similar in Mandarin.