Flower Stealing Master

Chapter 1026: Taking Advantage of the Situation

Song Qingshu swaggered into Yuqing Temple, watching his soldiers wreak havoc on the entire temple. He couldn’t help but sigh: No wonder so many people say a man can’t be without power for a day. ‘These dogs relying on their master’s influence… ugh, having someone else do these trivial matters certainly saves a lot of trouble.’

“May I ask what brings you here so late, sir?” A middle-aged, plump Taoist priest led a group of Taoists out, his eyelids twitching as he glanced at the Manchu soldiers kicking down the doors.

“You are the abbot of Yuqing Temple?” Song Qingshu glanced at him sideways. 

On the surface, the man appeared amiable and plump, but the occasional flash of sharpness in his eyes revealed him to be a true expert.

“Indeed, I am Ma Zhen, the abbot of Yuqing Temple.” The plump Taoist priest bowed. 

“Ma Zhen?” Song Qingshu frowned. The name sounded somewhat familiar, but he couldn’t quite place where he’d heard it before.

“It’s like this,” Song Qingshu said, “not long ago, Governor Wu Zhirong of Yangzhou was kidnapped from his home. I received a tip that someone saw a suspicious person sneaking into your Yuqing Temple, so I’ve come to investigate.” 

As the saying goes, every action needs a justification; Song Qingshu needed a plausible reason to intimidate others.

“A suspicious person?” Ma Zhen hurriedly waved his hands. “Absolutely not! Our Yuqing Temple regularly sends many Taoist priests to patrol the area; we would never allow a suspicious person to sneak in.”

Song Qingshu snorted coldly: “You say there isn’t one, and then you think you can? I’ll investigate thoroughly before making a judgment.” With that, he strode inside. 

“Wait!” Master Ma Zhen raised his hand to block his way. “I’ve been the abbot of this temple in Yangzhou for over a decade. Forgive my poor eyesight, but I don’t know your official position, sir. Can you search this temple for any official documents issued by the Governor’s Office?”

“How dare you! This is Tang Kuo Bian, the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat and Grand Marshal of the Jin Dynasty. It was Prime Minister Suo Etu who personally requested his assistance. How dare you, a mere abbot, make such a fuss!” Before Song Qingshu could reply, a squad leader from Suo Etu’s assigned troops stepped forward to reprimand him.

“Grand Marshal of the Jin Dynasty?” Master Ma Zhen was secretly alarmed. He hesitated for a moment, and taking the chance Song Qingshu and his men barged in.

Seeing that they were heading towards the courtyard where the temple’s distinguished guests were staying, Ma Zhen inwardly groaned and hurriedly gave chase.

Arriving at a courtyard, Song Qingshu saw his soldiers blocking the entrance and asked, “What’s going on?”

“Reporting to the Marshal, we’ve searched all the other parts of Yuqing Temple, but this courtyard hasn’t been checked yet. However, these people are blocking the entrance and refusing to let us in,” a Qing soldier replied.

Song Qingshu glanced around and noticed that although the number of men guarding the courtyard entrance was small, they were all incredibly fierce, clearly skilled fighters. No wonder these Qing soldiers had suffered losses.

“Outrageous! How dare they obstruct the imperial court’s investigation? They must be accomplices of the criminals! Bring them all back and interrogate them thoroughly!” Song Qingshu, who had been waiting for an opportunity, was now delighted, not angry, and seized the chance.

‘Hmph, I’ll lock you all in jail first, and see how you manage to collude with Li Kexiu then.’ The simplest and most effective method would have been to kill them all, but firstly, Song Qingshu wasn’t a cold-blooded man; secondly, they were, after all, envoys from the Southern Song Dynasty, and as Han Chinese, he felt a certain affinity towards them.

Song Qingshu’s personal guards, having received the order, were about to rush forward when a cold shout suddenly came from inside: “Wait!”

Soon, a group of people filed out. The leader was a lean man with a meticulously trimmed goatee that added to his air of authority. Beside him were two familiar faces—Lu Guanying and Cheng Yaojia, whom he had released earlier.

Upon seeing Song Qingshu’s appearance, Cheng Yaojia’s mouth gaped slightly, clearly showing her astonishment; Lu Guanying, however, instinctively glared at his wife. In his view, the Southern Song envoys were operating both openly and covertly, and Lord Han’s lodging here was extremely secretive—no outsider could possibly know. The fact that the Jurchens had found them so quickly must have been due to something his wife had told him.

Song Qingshu smiled slightly at Cheng Yaojia, causing her to blush and lower her head. 

Lu Guanying, seeing this, was consumed by jealousy.

Song Qingshu, however, had no time to concern himself with the young couple’s conflict. Instead, his attention was focused on the two people flanking the leader.

The man on the left was dressed as a middle-aged scholar, with an ordinary appearance, but he possessed an air of scholarly refinement. He was undoubtedly Lu You, the great Southern Song Dynasty poet whom he had long admired.

However, Song Qingshu’s attention was more drawn to the other man. A burly man with a thick beard stood with his sword at his side. Although he appeared languid, a subtle sword aura emanated from him.

‘A top-tier master! A master swordsman!’ Song Qingshu quickly made his judgment. However, what puzzled him was that although he had never seen this man before, he felt a strange sense of familiarity.

One of his men whispered something in the goatee’s ear. Upon hearing that Song Qingshu was actually the Grand Marshal of the Jin army, a glint flashed in the goatee’s eyes. He then stepped forward, cupped his hands, and smiled, “Grand Marshal, this is just a misunderstanding. We are merely merchants traveling through Yangzhou, stopping by the Yuqing Temple. We have absolutely no connection to the bandits who kidnapped the Yangzhou Governor.”

Song Qingshu’s expression changed slightly. This man clearly didn’t know martial arts, yet he exuded an aura of authority, obviously the arrogance cultivated from years of high office. It seemed this envoy was no ordinary person.

“Merchants?” Song Qingshu smiled noncommittally. “What’s your name?”

“My surname is Han, and my given name is Jiefu,” the goatee replied neither humbly nor arrogantly. Although he didn’t use his real name, he used his courtesy name. After all, this wasn’t the Southern Song Dynasty; unless someone knew him very well, they wouldn’t know his identity.

“Han Jiefu?” Song Qingshu muttered to himself several times, then suddenly flew into a rage. “Han Jiefu, calling me brother-in-law? What audacity! How dare you take advantage of me! Guards, slap him!” (G: Jiefu sounds similar to brother-in-law.)

The man with the goatee looked displeased. 

Lu You, standing nearby, quickly stepped forward and retorted, “You corrupt official, you’re ignorant and incompetent, yet you try to frame an innocent man. The term ‘jie fu’ comes from Ren Fang of the Southern Liang Dynasty, from Memorial Accusing Liu Zheng: ‘I have heard that Ma Yuan, when serving his sister-in-law, would not enter without his cap properly worn; and that when a coffin was carried, it was halted if the family had no proper heir. Thus the righteous man, the jie fu, upon hearing of such conduct, is inspired to act—an exemplary tale praised for a thousand years, foremost among moral models.’”

Because of the humiliation of the Jingkang Incident, and being a staunch advocate of war, Lu You showed no kindness upon hearing that he was a Jurchen.

This remark caused the Southern Song group to burst into laughter, their faces filled with sarcasm. 

The Manchu soldiers, however, wanted to laugh but dared not, struggling to suppress their laughter. 

Song Qingshu had come deliberately to cause trouble, and seeing this, he seized the opportunity to say, “Well, how dare you insult this official! Guards, seize them all!”