Chapter 24: Settling the Matter!

Chief Li walked all the way to a bend in the road before finally letting out a long breath. Luckily, he had noticed earlier that Gu Cheng seemed to recognize him, so he had kept his guard up and followed at a distance. These scholars, he thought, truly have devious minds!

Li Yun’s identity could not withstand any scrutiny. In fact, neither Li Yun nor Li Zhao—either “person”—could bear to be investigated, for the truth was that neither of them had a real identity at all. He didn’t even have a household registration. This meant that if anyone tried to look into his background, as long as they had some connections, they would quickly discover that he had no official status and was, in essence, a ghost on paper.

Li Yun had ventured into Qingyang at great personal risk precisely to resolve this issue. Although Qingyang was only a county-level government, for them it would be a simple matter to handle his registration. The reason Chief Li needed a legitimate identity in the Great Zhou was that, without one, his movements would be limited to the vicinity of Cangshan—he could even be trapped in the mountain stronghold for life. With an identity, however, the world was open to him.

Now, the Gu family uncle and nephew were about to investigate him. If they pulled some strings, they would find that Li Yun’s household registration was newly filed in Qingyang, but if they dug any further, they would discover that no such person had existed before. In such cases, the Gu family had no authority to continue the investigation, but even this much was enough to cast serious doubt on Li Yun’s background and could be used as leverage. If they reported it up the chain, the provincial authorities—or even the imperial court—might send someone to root out the truth. Li Yun’s entire history would be exposed.

After thinking it through carefully, Li Yun poked his head out and glanced at the two men, then drew back again. He pondered a while longer, then left with his hands behind his back. After wandering through half of Qingyang County, he quietly slipped back into the county office and found Magistrate Xue, who was busy with paperwork in his study.

Once inside, Li Yun sat down and looked at Xue Song. After some hesitation, he explained the matter in broad strokes. When he finished, he looked at the magistrate with resignation. “Master Xue, I should never have stayed in Qingyang. See now, trouble has come. I can still walk away without a care, but if the Gu family pursues this, they’ll have something to hold over you.”

Magistrate Xue looked at Li Yun in confusion. “Weren’t you from Taiyuan? You don’t have an identity there?”

Li Yun had already prepared his answer. He coughed and lowered his voice. “Master Xue, I grew up in a village. As a youth, I went to Taiyuan, but I never had a household registration.”

Only now did Magistrate Xue finally sense something was amiss. He frowned slightly. “What did you do for a living in Taiyuan?”

Chief Li coughed again before replying, “I made my living wandering the north, living by my wits, and when I stayed at inns or entered the city, I used a false name.”

Magistrate Xue gave Li Yun a searching look. After a long pause, he spoke slowly. “So, how do you plan to handle this?”

Li Yun replied, “Now that you’ve given me an identity, my registration is in Qingyang. If they want to investigate, they’ll have to start in the county household office. The key is to keep a tight grip on the records here, and not let them succeed easily. But you can’t guard against thieves forever. To resolve this once and for all, the matter must end with the Gu family uncle and nephew. Master Xue, please send someone to deliver a message for me to the Li family manor at the foot of Cangshan.”

“This matter…” Magistrate Xue began.

Li Yun patted his chest with a show of loyalty. “I’ll settle it for you, Master Xue.”

It was no small affair. If it came to light, Xue Song could lose his post at best or face exile at worst; his children might even be implicated. And as Li Yun had said, he himself could simply walk away without consequence, but Xue Song would not be able to escape.

The county magistrate sat in his seat, head bowed in deep thought for a long time before finally looking up at Li Yun. “Will there be no slip-ups?”

Li Yun’s expression was calm. “Right now, you have no choice but to trust me. The only other option is for you to have me arrested and put out a public notice declaring that you, the county magistrate, were deceived by a mountain bandit. In that case, your family might remain unharmed, but you would certainly lose your office.”

Xue Song’s eyes flickered. In truth, he had considered just that. After much deliberation, weighing the pros and cons, Magistrate Xue finally sighed and said, “Very well. As it happens, I was planning to have someone new take over the household office soon. As for the Gu family…”

He looked at Li Yun and said slowly, “That will be your task.”

Li Yun smiled. “Rest assured, I’ll take care of it.”

With that, Chief Li cupped his hands and, as he reached the door, turned back to ask, “If I’m absent from Qingyang these next few days, it means I’ve gone to Cangshan to pursue the bandits.”

Magistrate Xue was lost in thought, but upon hearing this, he put down his brush and waved him off. “Understood, understood.”

After Li Yun left, the magistrate still felt uneasy. He went to the household office and had the clerks bring him the stack of documents that included Li Yun’s recently created registration. The record showed: Li Zhao, ancestral home Qingyang, formerly resident in Taiyuan, returned to Qingyang in the third year of Xiande during early summer, righteously killed bandits on the road, and was appointed as the head constable of Qingyang…

A document lay before him. Without betraying any emotion, Magistrate Xue ordered that the entire stack of records be moved to his study under the pretext of reviewing paperwork. Once there, he locked the doors and began searching through the pile one by one.

After nearly half an hour, he finally found a suitable record: a Li family’s household registration with all the necessary information. “Surname Li, deceased, two sons lost in childhood…”

“This one will do.”

He set it aside for later use and continued searching. Whenever he found a document that could fit Li Yun’s situation, he put it in a pile. In this way, the county magistrate of Qingyang spent the entire afternoon forging a flawless identity for Li Yun!

Great-grandfather, grandfather, father, place of residence—everything was in order. Even if an official from the Household Department came to investigate, there would be no flaws to find.

Not until late at night, as he filled in the final detail, did Magistrate Xue finally breathe a sigh of relief. Lady Xue brought him a bowl of hot soup, scolding gently, “At your age, what could possibly keep you up so late?”

He glanced at the documents on the table and, after a long silence, sighed deeply. “Covering up a lie…”

…

Early the next morning, Chief Constable Li found his “subordinates” near the county office—about twenty constables, whose main job was to arrest people. After a few brief words of instruction, he singled out a familiar face, Chen Da, and waved him over.

Chen Da kept his head slightly bowed and wore a broad grin. “Chief, what can I do for you?”

“Gu Zhang and Gu Cheng, uncle and nephew, had a big argument with our county magistrate yesterday. Those two are still in Qingyang. Take two men and keep an eye on them. If they prepare to leave town, report to me at once.”

Chen Da blinked. “Chief, why does the magistrate want them watched?”

“They’ve offended the magistrate, so naturally we want to see if they break any laws while they’re in our county!” Chief Li gave a casual excuse, then grew stern. “Whatever the reason, let me know immediately if they try to leave. Understood?”

Chen Da nodded, thumping his chest. “Don’t worry, Chief. I know this town like the back of my hand. I’ll keep them under close watch.”

Only then did Chief Li nod in satisfaction, patting Chen Da’s shoulder with a smile. “Good work, and when I’m no longer in Qingyang in a few years’ time, this chief constable’s position will be yours.”

Chen Da was overjoyed at these words, thumping his chest even harder. “Don’t worry, sir, I’ll make sure it’s done!”