The Fugitive's Wife (6)
I started this, didn't I?
“So, Lady Cao’s tavern has indeed been seized.”
Xiao He nodded with a calm expression. Without hesitation, I nodded back and wrapped both hands around the cup of warm water he had offered me.
“Yes. Not only were all the furnishings inside taken, but they even dug up the emergency funds Lady Cao had hidden beneath the floorboards for young master Liu Fei. They left not even a single rat behind.”
I took a slow breath and sipped the hot water. It eased my mind, if only a little. The anger that had been boiling in my throat subsided slightly.
“Lord Xiao. Is that even legally permissible?”
“That… is rather ambiguous.”
“Ambiguous how?”
“Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible. However, your husband’s current status is not that of a mere criminal, but a fugitive—and the ringleader who orchestrated a mass prison break at that.”
Xiao He laced his fingers together and rested his hands on the desk.
“Seizing assets simply because someone is ‘the concubine of a fugitive’ would lack sufficient justification. But if she is viewed as ‘a suspect who may have colluded with the fugitive and provided escape funds,’ the story changes. In the name of securing evidence for an investigation, the authorities can confiscate virtually anything.”
“That’s completely arbitrary!”
“Indeed. It is an utterly ridiculous stretch. Yet that is the law of Qin. The justification for capturing the great criminal who made thirty prisoners vanish from the county magistrate’s grasp is clearer than anything else.”
“How can this be…”
It was true—this was a barbaric era where a single word from those in power could result in two hundred thousand people being buried alive. To officials, confiscating the property of a powerless, connectionless concubine might be as natural as breathing.
But…
Even so, I could not simply sit back and take it. If Lady Cao had suffered such injustice, it meant that the Lü Trading Company could be seized at any moment as well. I took another sip of the hot water to steady myself, then spoke in a much calmer voice, laying out the plan I had prepared.
“Lord Xiao.”
“Yes, my lady.”
“What if we informed the governor about this matter?”
“The g-governor?”
Xiao He’s eyes widened slightly.
“Yes. The governor of Sishui Commandery.”
The county magistrate governed the county under the commandery governor. As far as I knew, when dealing with serious crimes such as collective punishment, the magistrate was required to report to the higher commandery office and act under the governor’s direction.
Xiao He, who had been looking at me with mild surprise, spoke cautiously.
“That is correct. In principle, for serious crimes involving collective punishment, one must report to the commandery and seek the governor’s judgment.”
“Exactly, so if we strike first—”
“However… that is currently impossible.”
Xiao He cut me off firmly. His voice grew lower and heavier.
“More precisely, it is something we must not do. It would be shooting ourselves in the foot.”
“Shooting ourselves in the foot?”
“Your reasoning is not wrong, my lady. If the governor learns of this, he would certainly distinguish right from wrong according to law and procedure. Lady Cao’s confiscated goods would likely be returned as well. He is a thorough adherent to principle.”
Xiao He’s expression sharpened.
“But if that happens, you will be placed in danger.”
“M-me?”
“Yes. There are two major reasons.”
Xiao He began lightly tapping the desk with his fingers.
“First. The county magistrate does not want the higher-ups to learn that a large-scale prison break occurred in his jurisdiction. It would expose his incompetence. That is why he has mobilized many people to completely block any word from reaching the governor. Every messenger and official courier in Pei County is currently under the magistrate’s surveillance.”
“Blocked, you say…”
The moment I heard that, a realization struck me. I unconsciously bit down hard on my lower lip.
“It would be discovered.”
“Yes. No matter whose help you enlist to send a secret letter, it will be intercepted before it even crosses the commandery border. And if that happens…”
“That pig won’t leave me alone.”
“…Exactly.”
Xiao He did not deny it. He simply continued with a stiff expression.
“Second. If a formal investigation by the governor begins, the blade will also be turned toward you, my lady.”
He let out a short sigh.
“Unlike the county magistrate, the governor is an upright man. However, he is equally rigid. He would undoubtedly conduct a thorough investigation into your trading company. He would discover that you began earning large sums a month before your husband’s escape, and that a portion of that money has since disappeared.”
“That… but…”
I could not continue. Just as Xiao He said, in this era, a single reasonable suspicion was enough to send a criminal’s head flying. If I were beaten with a rod on the governor’s orders, this frail body of Lü Zhi would surely be shattered regardless of my will.
Besides… I really did provide the money.
My fists clenched tightly. My head drooped helplessly. For the first time, the realistic awareness that I was a genuine accomplice hit me to the bone.
Xiao He looked at me with something like pity and continued in a careful voice.
“You must remain cold-headed now, my lady. If you show weakness, the welcoming ceremony we have prepared will also be shaken from its very roots.”
His tone was almost soothing. Yet his voice seemed to echo as if heard over water. A wave of helplessness—knowing there was nothing I could do—began to crash over me.
All because I reincarnated as Lü Zhi…
If I had become Fan Kuai instead, I could have crushed the magistrate’s petty tricks with sheer force. For all his roughness, Fan Kuai was a top-tier warrior in the human realm who could trade five blows with Xiang Yu.
But I was Lü Zhi. A weak woman whose hands could barely lift a single bundle of hemp. In this chaotic world, all I could do was scatter money and pull strings from behind the scenes. And such tricks were utterly powerless before the absolute authority of public power…
Wait a moment.
A flash of insight pierced through my melting resolve. Scatter money and pull strings from behind. Yes—if I couldn’t borrow help from outside, I could simply devour him from within.
I lifted my head and met Xiao He’s eyes directly. Sensing the sudden change in my demeanor, his eyes widened slightly.
“My lady? Have you thought of something?”
“Yes.”
I nodded firmly. The weak self-pity was instantly tossed into the trash, and only cold, calculated situational awareness filled my mind.
That’s right. Snap out of it, you idiot. It’s been ages since you lost your dick—why are you still thinking like a man?
I took a deep breath. Then I drained the still-steaming cup of hot water in one go and looked at Xiao He with the usual calm eyes.
“The plan I have in mind is ‘dispersion.’”
“Dispersion?”
I nodded and picked up the brush from the desk. Dipping it thickly in ink, I began drawing boldly on the empty bamboo slip.
“Right now, the magistrate’s attention is entirely focused on my husband and me. He harbors filthy desires toward me, and he is also desperate to capture Liu Ji quickly to cover up his own incompetence.”
I drew one large circle first and wrote ‘County’ above it.
“Correct.”
“So we will forcibly scatter that concentrated gaze. We will divert the magistrate’s eyes and ears to things other than Liu Ji, leaving him frantic and distracted.”
I added two small dots around the circle. Tap. Tap.
“Diverting the magistrate’s attention…”
Xiao He stroked his beard as he stared at my drawing. A spark of interest began to gleam in his narrowed eyes.
“How exactly do you intend to do this?”
“There are two stages.”
I pointed the brush at the first dot.
“First, we drown him in a ‘swamp of documents.’ This is something only you, Lord Xiao, as the chief administrator, can accomplish.”
“Me?”
“Yes. You oversee all documents in the county, do you not? We will… slightly ‘twist’ those reports.”
I filled the area beside the first dot with tiny specks.
“For example, we will write tax collection reports three times more detailed than usual. Record every single grain of rice and every inch of cloth so that it takes the magistrate an inordinate amount of time to review them.”
Even the almighty county magistrate could not afford to skim official documents that would be sent up to the commandery. If he did and was later criticized by the governor, his path to promotion would be completely blocked.
And the Xiao He I know is the greatest administrator in Chinese history, the man who trained hundreds of thousands of soldiers atop the ruins left by Xiang Yu’s rampage.
If someone like him deliberately began causing chaos, it would be literal hell for the magistrate. In modern terms, it was a DDoS attack using administrative power.
“On top of that, we will ‘generate’ minor incidents. Trivial disputes between neighbors, a theft case involving a single chicken, boundary stone location conflicts… We will package all the miscellaneous tasks that would normally be handled by subordinates as major matters and pile them onto the magistrate’s desk.”
“Under the pretext that they require the magistrate’s noble judgment?”
“Precisely. We will erode his time and energy until he is completely exhausted and has no strength left to chase my husband.”
The corner of Xiao He’s mouth twitched upward slightly. It seemed his mischievous administrative spirit had been ignited.
“Binding the magistrate’s hands and feet with a mountain of paperwork… What an amusing method.”
“Of course, this alone is not enough.”
I continued calmly. The tip of the brush pointed to the second dot.
“Administrative paralysis will only buy time; it cannot stop him completely. That is why I will also take direct action.”
“You as well, my lady?”
“Yes.”
I stared straight into Xiao He’s eyes.
“Starting tomorrow, a new ‘rumor’ will be added to the chatter of the women at the wells, in the markets, and inside the taverns of Pei County.”
“What kind of rumor?”
“Naturally, a very unsavory rumor about the county magistrate.”
I lowered my voice.
“That the magistrate covets the wife of a fugitive. That he has pocketed the confiscated assets for personal use instead of turning them over to the state treasury. That he has been receiving bribes from his subordinates… Such stories will spread on the wind.”
I smiled faintly.
“Of course, I won’t have them shout it outright. What I spread will be nothing more than hints. Rather than concrete evidence, they will be seeds of suspicion that stimulate people’s imagination. The rest, people will fill in themselves through their own fantasies.”
Only then did Xiao He’s eyes flash with understanding.
“I see. Whether the rumor is true or not doesn’t matter.”
“Exactly. The only thing that matters is whether people want to believe it.”
I nodded lightly.
“Everyone already knows the magistrate is a greedy man. That is why his mere existence has already piled the firewood of suspicion in their hearts. All I need to do is toss a single small spark on top—so that the certainty of ‘That pig would absolutely do something like that’ catches fire.”
“Or pour oil on the existing sparks.”
“Yes. Using preexisting prejudice is the most effective form of incitement.”
I set the brush down and continued.
“Lord Xiao. The magistrate desires me. The reason he has not reported my husband’s escape to the governor is undoubtedly influenced by his personal lust to possess me.”
“That… cannot be denied.”
“In other words, all of his harassment is not official business, but personal.”
I pressed my finger firmly against the circle on the bamboo slip.
“In such a situation, if he rashly touches me or oppresses those close to Liu Ji, what will people think? ‘Ah, so the rumor was true.’”
“…!”
“Therefore, even to prove his innocence, he will have no choice but to lie low for the time being. The moment the rumor becomes reality, public sentiment will explode and the news will reach the governor’s ears. A ruler under suspicion loses his power.”
“Indeed… You intend to imprison the magistrate in the jade cage of public opinion.”
Xiao He nodded as if he understood. I quietly set the brush down as well.
Destroy the magistrate’s social credibility. Accumulate discontent among the common people. Isolate him amid excessive workload and malicious rumors until even those who followed him turn their backs.
In short, this was a plan for the magistrate’s ‘social burial.’ To protect myself and my people, I was preparing to destroy one man’s life.
It was an utterly cruel method that the ordinary salaryman I had been in my previous life would never have even considered.
But…
There was no choice. No matter what, I was going to survive. This was the third century BCE—a barbaric era where you had to kill or be killed. To survive, I had to eliminate my enemies. No matter how cruel or dirty the method, I had to ruthlessly cut down anyone who stood in my way.
After all… I am Liu Bang’s wife, Lü Zhi.
I repeated the resolve once more. Feeling a chill settle in one corner of my chest, I looked at Xiao He.
“Understood. We will proceed as you wish, my lady.”
After a short silence, Xiao He seemed to have firmed his decision and nodded. His expression showed that he would follow his lady’s will.
I nodded calmly and spoke without hesitation.
“Then let us begin the operation the moment dawn breaks tomorrow.”
My voice no longer trembled.