CHAPTER 48: CHAPTER 47: THE MIDDLE WAY

That night, Zhu Yu didn’t eat anything and went to bed early, but she didn’t sleep well. The next morning, before she got up, she saw a particularly tall silhouette standing outside the door.

She hurriedly got up, dressed neatly, and opened the door. Standing at the entrance was indeed Fu Lu.

Fu Lu was holding a food case in his hand. Seeing Zhu Yu open the door, he quickly said, "Chief Historian, did I disturb you?

The lord said that since you didn’t eat last night before resting, he instructed the Li Family cook this morning to prepare a variety of dishes for you to choose from.

Rest assured, I supervised the cooking, and since the cook wants to avoid any trouble from Li Wencai, he’s eager to showcase his best skills to please us. There’s nothing to worry about, just enjoy the meal!"

"Quickly bring it in," Zhu Yu hurriedly stepped aside from the entrance. "How long have you been standing outside? Actually, you could have just knocked or left the food at the door. You’ve been running around outside for days; it must be exhausting."

"It’s not tiring! I’m a rough man, capable of wielding an eighty-pound stone lock with such force it leaves an illusion shadow. This food case is nothing." Fu Lu grinned foolishly. "You didn’t eat last night before resting. Though the lord didn’t say it, I know he’s worried you might be hungry, so please don’t be polite with me. Just eat, and tell me which ones you like, and I’ll have the cook make those again tomorrow!"

Zhu Yu thanked him and returned to the table. The food case was indeed packed with a variety of foods. Zhu Yu’s appetite had somewhat improved from the previous night. Though she wasn’t quite hungry, she’d skipped a meal already, and for the sake of her health, she wasn’t going to keep her stomach empty.

After breakfast, Fu Lu had just taken away the food case when Lu Qing arrived.

As soon as he entered, he saw the throwing jar placed aside, walked directly over, set the jar in the middle of the room, and grabbed a handful of bamboo arrows. He turned to Zhu Yu and waved them: "I’ve seen you playing this with great enthusiasm the other day. I’m curious about your accuracy.

We have nothing today. How about we have a match?"

Zhu Yu gladly accepted, taking the bamboo arrows from his hand. Standing three feet away, she pinched a bamboo arrow between her fingertips, raised it up and aimed carefully, adjusting her force before throwing it.

The bamboo arrow drew an arc in the air and landed on the ground a step away from the jar.

Lu Qing chuckled lightly, standing behind Zhu Yu, casually tossing one over her head.

"Thunk—"

The bamboo arrow landed squarely in the jar.

"Chief Historian, just now you made a throw of ’Not Enough’," his voice came down from above Zhu Yu’s head with a faint smile.

Zhu Yu pursed her lips, picked up another arrow, aimed more carefully, adjusted her force, and threw it after a few trial runs.

The bamboo arrow’s arc just skimmed over the mouth of the jar and with a plop landed two feet beyond it.

Lu Qing this time flatly took a bamboo arrow from her hand, warmed from Zhu Yu’s grip.

Once again, he casually threw it—"Thunk!" The arrow landed in the jar.

"Then that throw of Chief Historian can be termed ’Overcompensation’." He said.

If Zhu Yu didn’t catch the drift in Lu Qing’s words by now, her mind would indeed be in vain.

"Why don’t we sit down and talk directly?" She sighed, putting the remaining arrows on the table. "I have no chance of winning this contest at all. It’s better to lay it all out clearly, so you don’t have to throw an arrow just to say something."

Lu Qing laughed, not hiding his intentions in coming over. He sat by the table, poured himself some tea, and said, "Last night, you felt uneasy because I had those two shopkeepers whipped to death, didn’t you?"

"I wouldn’t say it was inappropriate." Zhu Yu shook her head, also sitting down. She wasn’t one to confuse right and wrong and end up sympathizing with a group of villains. "Those shopkeepers ran businesses for Li Wencai, gathering wealth for him. Over the years, who knows how much government granary food they’ve stolen? They might even know better than Li Wencai himself.

Violating the law knowingly is a crime multiplied, and stealing public food is absolutely a capital crime. Those two being whipped to death isn’t unjust."

She paused in silence, pursing her lips. "But as I see it, even if they committed a capital crime, the proper process should involve a trial at the government office, an official sentencing, and then execution in due course.

Just having caught them and immediately killing them in front of everyone—after all, it concerns human life, and being so hasty might not leave a good impact?"

"I had those two whipped to death precisely for the ’impact’ you mentioned," Lu Qing explained honestly. "Qingshui County lies less than a hundred miles from the Capital, yet Li Wencai pulled off a ’blind spot under the lamp,’ oppressing people here.

If you were a citizen of Qingshui County, what would you think?"

"I fear I’d think there’s no law in the land anymore." Zhu Yu answered truthfully.

"Exactly." Lu Qing poured water from the teapot into his own cup. As the cup filled, he didn’t stop pouring, and the water soon overflowed. "Public resentment is like this tea. How much can a small Qingshui County hold? If it can’t hold, it overflows. Where it overflows from, how much overflows, and whether it will destroy something else and become uncontrollable, none of us can predict.

With Li Wencai holding Qingshui County in his grip, and seemingly being shielded by the Magistrate, how much trust do you think the people of Qingshui County have in government officials?

If I only took those people away, people would think it’s just going through the motions. In no time, they’d be back unharmed because people tend to believe what they see with their own eyes.

For the citizens of Qingshui County, the obvious fact is the four big words—officials shielding each other."

Those four words Lu Qing articulated clearly, tapping the table with each word, showing an expression of concern not usually seen: "So, I must let them see that the officials this time, are different.

Li Wencai is a ranked government official. Even with the gravest crimes, his life and death should be decided by the Holy Emperor. If I acted against him directly, it would be too severe.

And, though the small clerks in the grain shops involved in the private selling of government grain couldn’t escape guilt, publicly beating two of them to death on the street might seem like raising the blade high and putting it down softly, insufficient to assure the citizens of Qingshui County that the court genuinely intends to handle the likes of Li Wencai, and too weak in force.

This time, as I parade through the streets with all I’ve done, besides investigating Li Wencai and his accomplices, I’m also aiming to reassure the citizens of Qingshui County.

Qingshui County, whether from Congzhou or proximity to the Capital, is like a throat. If we can’t remove this thorn lodged in the throat this time, the repercussions will be endless.

Publicly whipping two shopkeepers who deserve death, both of whom are usually arrogant and domineering, gives the citizens a sense of retribution, making them more willing to trust the government. And leaving the main culprit for the Holy Emperor to judge is my duty as an official.

The one who plays the throwing jar does not let it go too far nor fall short, thus reaching the middle.

This is my way of compromise."