Chapter 3 Early Frost (Part 2)

  The first snow of autumn was never heavy, and by the second half of the night, it had slowly stopped. The snowflakes on the ground quickly melted into water, which was blown away by the night wind, making it even colder. It blew into the cloaks of the patrolling soldiers, freezing them to the point where they were shivering uncontrollably.

  It's been nearly thirty years since the city of Chang'an has been at peace, and the night curfew is no longer as strict as it was in the early days of the Kaiyuan era. As for the night patrol, most of the time it's just a show. On such a cold autumn night, ordinary people are too lazy to get out of their warm beds and run around on the streets; and those carriages with bright lanterns are usually occupied by powerful officials from Chang'an and Wan counties who can't be controlled, so when the patrolmen hear the sound of horse bells, they mostly choose to avoid them. It's better for themselves not to get into trouble, and it's also better for their superiors not to cause any problems.

  Lei Wanchun rode a pure black horse, slowly walking on the quiet streets of Chang'an City. With the pure silver waist card in his hand, no patrolling soldiers dared to trouble him. This waist card was given by Yang Yuyao, and it is said that whoever holds this card can leave Chang'an even at midnight, and the guarding generals will have to open the city gate obediently. Lei Wanchun did not intentionally try to test it, but he believed it was true. Because he believed that Yang Yuyao had no need to deceive himself, nor would she deceive herself.

  She is a woman made of water. She can be as turbulent and surging as a great river, or as clear and transparent as a gentle stream. If she wants to, she can even transform into a calm and peaceful lake, quietly reflecting your shadow. But if she really hates you, she can also drag you down into the depths at any time, drowning you mercilessly, cutting off your breath.

  Lei Wanchun was not a young man who had never seen a woman. For a long time in his life, he lived a carefree life of "tying horses to high platforms and spending thousands of gold coins to buy smiles". As a wandering knight-errant, he never lacked money, robbing the rich to help the poor, and incidentally providing a living for courtesan women. In those years of youthful arrogance, Lei Wanchun couldn't remember how many women he had gotten drunk with, sharing joys and sorrows. But today, he had to admit that he had never met a woman like Yang Yutao before. A woman who was as fierce as fire, yet gentle as water, made him unwittingly sink into her depths, from then on willing to be forever drunk and unconscious.

  He didn't know why he had this feeling. As the woman's identity and status, shouldn't they be at odds with him? But in fact, the two of them talked a lot tonight, very lively. She seemed to understand which words would make him listen comfortably, those were his taboos. And carefully avoided those reverse scales, like a hot spring soothing his dry chest for a long time.

  Forget it! He shook his head hard, driving Yang Yuyao's enchanting gaze out of his heart. Everything was already over, and tonight's madness wouldn't happen again. When sending him off at the door, she must have understood. Lei Wanchun himself also knew. So for now, the most important thing was to find a suitable excuse for his all-night absence, so as not to be laughed at by Zhang Xun, that bookworm.

  A horse-drawn carriage with a lantern on the front passed by, splashing snow water high from the wheels. Lei Wanchun adjusted his mount to keep a distance from the other party. A horse-drawn carriage that dared to drive at high speed with a lantern in the middle of the night must be carrying a noble person. Except for a few rare individuals, Lei Wanchun generally had no good impression of this type of people.

  However, the owner of the carriage was very impolite. After hastily passing by Le Wan Chun's side, he quickly turned back and chased after him. The coachman in front cleared his throat and shouted in a low voice: "Is that Le Da Xia ahead? Can you please stop for a moment? My master wants to say a few words to you!"

  "It seems I don't know your master!" Lei Wanchun turned back, frowning and responded with a sentence.

  The coachman smiled awkwardly, but didn't get angry. He drove the carriage to quickly catch up with the front, then stretched out his hand to open the door. A man with a middle-aged face and a height like that of a thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy appeared at the door, bowing to Leiwanchun and introducing himself, "I'm Jia Chang, I've long admired the name of General Lei. I didn't expect to meet you here today!"

  "I haven't been a great hero for many years!" Lei Wanchun's voice was still icy and cold, trying to keep the other person at arm's length. The name Jia Chang was almost a household name in Chang'an City. At the age of 13, he had already gained recognition from the Emperor himself due to his exceptional skill in raising fighting cocks. Later, he was granted an official position and accompanied the Emperor on a tour of Mount Tai. His father, a palace guard, died during the trip, but the Emperor stopped his carriage and held a funeral for Jia's father before continuing with the grand ceremony of ascending Mount Tai. The imperial favor bestowed upon him was so great that even Prime Minister Li Linfu became jealous. As a result, the fighting cock industry quickly became a fad in the Tang Dynasty, from high-ranking officials to ordinary people, everyone was eager to follow in Jia Chang's footsteps. They wished their sons would not study or farm, but become the second Jia Chang, bringing glory to their families.

  As a traditional bookworm, Zhang Zhou was deeply resentful of the person who started this trend of fighting chickens, thinking that His Majesty had no heart for politics and was closely related to the temptation of Jia Chang and Lei Haiqing. Influenced by Zhang Zhou, Lei Wanchun also had no good feelings towards Jia Chang and others. At this moment, he just didn't want to make an enemy for Zhang Zhou, so he could only hold back his annoyance and exchange pleasantries with him.

  "Mr. Lei is really interesting when he talks!" Sensitive to Lei Wanchun's coldness, Jia Chang still smiled all over his face. "Jia certain stopped Mr. Lei, not intentionally offending Mr. Lei. But there is one thing that must be verified with Mr. Lei! If there is any offense, please forgive me."

  "What's going on?" Seeing Jia Chang being polite, Lei Wanchun also didn't want to be too excessive. He jumped down from the horseback and returned a smile to the other party.

  "One of my friends!" Jia Chang also jumped down from the carriage, his movements were surprisingly agile and not matching his appearance at all. "He was recently caught by Wan Nian County. His name is Yuwen Zhi, Lei Daxia should know this person."

  "That's right." Lei Wanchun nodded slightly, took a half step back and cautiously pressed the hilt of his waist knife.

  "I didn't mean any harm!" Jia Chang laughed, raising his hands. "Even if I did have malicious intentions, you wouldn't be my match. I'm indeed friends with him, not the kind of friend who uses each other for benefits. It's just that others all think I'm a fool, so I don't often appear in public with friends, to avoid making them feel awkward."

  "You just didn't fully grow up when you were a teenager." Lei Wanchun felt a bit embarrassed, let go of the knife handle, and smiled apologetically. "I'm used to holding knives, so whenever someone gets close, I instinctively want to defend myself. And now it's midnight..."

  "Haha, indeed I was reckless." Jia Chang laughed heartily, "A person as short as me is either an assassin, a jester, or a beggar. Indeed, it's not suitable to get close to people like that." "In Lei's eyes, at this moment you are just Jia Chang!" Lei Wanchun smiled and responded kindly.

  Jia Chang was almost equally sensitive to coldness and friendliness. He smiled slightly, with a hint of pleasure, saying: "In Jia's eyes, you are always that impulsive and righteous Lei Dashuai. No need for further ado, otherwise Lei Dashuai would definitely think I'm being wordy again. This afternoon, I went to the Wan Nian County government office and met Yuwen Zhi. His situation is quite dire. I know Lei Dashuai and Wang Xiao Houye have also visited him before, so I came to discuss a foolproof plan with you. Originally, I planned to go to Chongren Fang early tomorrow morning to intercept Wang Xiao Houye, but unexpectedly ran into you on the road at midnight!"

  "What's going on? Has Dog Officer used torture on him again?" Lei Wanchun asked in a low, tense voice.

  "It only took one punishment, but the injury is much lighter than the previous two times!" Feeling the anger in Lei Wanchun's words, Jia Chang comforted him in a low voice. "It should be the money left by Wang Xiaohou that took effect. But I don't know how long Wang Xiaohou's face can last."

  "Do you have a better way?" At the first meeting, Lei Wanchun did not dare to say that he had been thinking of ways to force Yang Guozhong to take action, so he had to consult Jia Chang's solution first.

  "No." Jia Chang shook his head lightly, "That County Magistrate was originally familiar with me, but this time, no matter what good terms I offered, he refused to let Zi Da off the hook. It must be that Wang Kuo, the Imperial Censor of Jingzhao, is keeping a tight watch, and must find a breakthrough on Zi Da's body. In this way, Zi Da is equivalent to being sandwiched between the two great powers of Li Xiang and Yang Xiang, and can be silenced by either side at any time!"

  "This corrupt official!" Lei Wanchun's fist clenched again, but a wave of powerlessness suddenly surged through his heart. If he didn't have Zhang Xun to consider, he could now sneak into the home of the County Magistrate of Wannian and threaten him with a knife, forcing him not to bully people too much. But now everyone in the world knew that Lei Wanchun was Zhang Xun's confidant, and if he got into trouble, not only would he be in trouble, but also Zhang Xun would be dragged down with him.

  "So, I'd like to ask for Lai Da Xia's help!" Jia Chang forced a smile on his face, "What we lack most now is time. I can ask people for favors everywhere, but I couldn't guarantee that Zi Da won't be killed in the prison. Inside the yamen, even drinking water, eating porridge, sleeping, or just smiling casually could be fatal. They have at least a hundred ways to make Zi Da die silently, without leaving any marks on his body."

  Lei Wanchun, who had just visited the county yamen's great prison a few days ago, was very clear about this. So he didn't think much more and nodded his head, answering in a low voice: "Speak, as long as Lei can do it."

  "The Magistrate of Wan Nian is a jinshi and cannot personally go to the prison to kill someone. Therefore, no matter which side wants to get rid of Zida, they must go through the following people." Jia Chang looked around cautiously and explained in a low voice, "The head of the prison Li Lao Shi, the prison bully Zhang San Zhu, and County Constable Xue Rong Guang. The first two are just doing things for money and don't have any strong backing. But County Constable Xue Rong Guang is from the household of the Metropolitan Governor Wang Kui and completely follows his orders."

  "Hmm!" Lei Wanchun nodded slightly. The Qin brothers gave Wang Xuan a "Huguan Fu" yesterday, which detailed the relationships between various forces in the capital and their main figures. Xue Rongguang's name was in an inconspicuous corner, with few words, but he still had some impression of it now.

  Jia Chang took another half step forward, lowering his voice even further. "So, if Lord Lei can make County Magistrate Xue fall ill for ten days or half a month without him noticing, perhaps Zi Da will be safer in the great prison. With this time of ten days or half a month, Jia Mou may not be able to get Zi Da out of danger, but at least he can think of a way to make others dare not kill him easily!"

  This time, Lei Wanchun was not on guard against him. He even had a few points of respect for him. Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong made their moves, and the officials in the capital who were not related to either side's forces all avoided them. Even the Hu Guogong Mansion decided to stand by and watch. But Jia Chang was just a jester, yet at this time he could stand up for his friend. Just based on this sense of justice, he was more worthy of respect than those so-called noble families.

  "How about it, can you help me with this, Lai Dashuai?" Seeing Lai Wanchun hesitating without speaking, Jia Chang raised his face and asked anxiously.

  "Lei will try his best!" Lei Wanchun bowed and solemnly promised.

  "I'll be counting on you. After this matter is over, if Lord Lei has time, please come to my residence for a cup of wine. By the side of Qujiang Pool, every autumn end, many water birds flying south can be seen. It's very lively."

  "Lei will definitely go!" Lei Wanchun did not want to refuse and smiled in agreement.

  "Then Jia will await Brother Lei's arrival at any time!" Jia Chang clasped his fists and turned to walk towards the horse carriage. Under the bright lamplight, his back appeared as tall and straight as the trees on both sides of the road.