Chapter 70: If I Die, They Won't Survive Either

“Go to Qizhou?”

Yang Xuan’s first reaction was delight; he thought this was an excellent chance to prove himself. What he needed now was merit and experience— the more tasks he accomplished, the more solid his credentials and the greater his achievements.

“There’s been trouble with the Wang family’s iron mine in Qizhou. His Majesty has assigned you to handle it. Do your best, and be quick about it.”

The minor official delivering the order glanced at him, then left.

“Why do I get the feeling he’s pitying me?” Yang Xuan smiled wryly.

The old rogue nodded. “That look is familiar to me.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s... the look you give the dead.” The old rogue had seen more corpses than most, so he knew that look well.

“What about men for the job?” Cao Ying was most concerned about this.

“Greetings, Lord Yang!”

A hundred cavalrymen would be accompanying him, led by Captain Chen Jin.

“We should speak with the Wang family first.”

...

The Wang family.

“The outbreak was sudden. Some people suffered from relentless diarrhea, and soon it spread to most of the two thousand there. The miners are uneasy, and just then, the mine collapsed, trapping over a dozen inside...”

The man reporting this was nervous.

“Have doctors seen the sick?” asked Wang Douxiang.

The Wang family kept a doctor stationed at the mine, though he was mediocre. In this era, all resources gravitated toward those in power; for commoners, having a doctor at all was a blessing.

“Yes, and he said it’s an epidemic.”

“An epidemic...” Wang Douxiang mused. “Other than purchasing supplies and shift changes, the mine has no contact with outsiders. Where could the disease have come from?”

“Second Master,” said an advisor, entering.

“People from the Chunyu family are pressing for iron deliveries.”

“We still have a little left; give it to them,” Wang Douxiang’s face was grim.

With trouble at home, the atmosphere was so tense that even Wang Xian’er noticed.

“I heard there’s an epidemic at the mine,” she said.

“Can’t it be cured?” Wang Xian’er sounded troubled.

A maid ran over. “Young mistress, that young man is here.”

“Yang Xuan?” Wang Xian’er’s eyes lit up. “How is he doing at the Imperial Academy these days?”

The maid replied, “Young mistress, he’s now a county constable.”

“Is that so impressive?” Wang Xian’er wrinkled her nose. “He didn’t even bother to tell me.”

Yang Xuan soon met with Wang Douxiang.

“It’s been a long time. I hear you’ve become a county constable. It reminds me of that brash young man I once met in Yuanzhou,” Wang Douxiang said kindly. “You were impulsive then, straightforward and ignorant of the ways of the world... Now, you’ve grown a great deal, and I’m pleased.”

The advisor sitting nearby was also quite surprised.

“You used to be wild—what a transformation!”

I never wanted to change, Yang Xuan thought, but after learning about my origins, and being pushed toward rebellion by others, what choice did I have but to adapt or die?

Yang Xuan demurred modestly, then said, “I hear trouble has struck the Wang family’s mine, and I’ve been ordered by the court to handle the matter...”

“Oh!” Disappointment was clear in Wang Douxiang’s eyes; it seemed he doubted Yang Xuan’s ability to handle this.

The advisor hid his own surprise behind a sip of wine.

Logically, the Wang family should resolve this on their own, but the court had sent an official—clearly, they wanted to interfere in the Wang family’s internal affairs.

Still, with an outbreak at the mine, the arrangement was unassailable. Moreover, choosing Yang Xuan also took into account the fleeting connection between him and the Wang family.

The advisor outlined the situation in detail.

Yang Xuan listened and asked a few more questions before taking his leave.

“What do you think?” Wang Douxiang asked the advisor after Yang Xuan had gone.

“The new Imperial Consort lacks capable people in her service, so she wants to groom this young constable. No, in my view, she’s using Yang Xuan to draw attention to her own position,” the advisor analyzed incisively.

Wang Douxiang was silent for a long time.

“In the end, it’s an epidemic zone. If she sends him there now, it’s clear she’s using him as a tool,” the advisor continued.

“If the Imperial Consort doesn’t learn to use those beneath her, she’ll soon be swallowed alive by the women of the palace,” Wang Douxiang said slowly.

He paused, then asked, “So what kind of situation is Yang Xuan walking into?”

A look of regret appeared between the advisor’s brows. “A death trap!”

He looked at Wang Douxiang, sensing the lord had something on his mind.

Perhaps what he was about to say would determine the future relationship between the Wang family and the emperor.

After a long silence, Wang Douxiang said, “Don’t tell Xian’er.”

...

Yiniang remained in Chang’an to gather information and to receive any word that might come from Yang Lue.

Everyone else set out with Yang Xuan.

Before leaving, Yang Xuan paid a visit to the Imperial Academy.

“Zhou Ning?”

Ning Yayun was surprised. “Why do you want her along?”

“There’s an epidemic at the mine.” Without a physician he could trust, Yang Xuan felt he was being sent to his death.

“An epidemic, hmm!” Ning Yayun stroked her zither. “Let Zhou Ning go.”

Her hair was casually pinned up; tortoiseshell glasses shaded her eyes as Zhou Ning entered quietly.

“Yang Xuan is going to the mine on official business. There’s been an epidemic there. Would you be willing to go?” Ning Yayun asked.

Zhou Ning glanced at Yang Xuan, her gaze cold.

I should never have listened to Vermilion Bird and tried to tease her! Yang Xuan regretted it deeply.

Zhou Ning was silent for a moment.

“Very well,” she agreed.

The party assembled and departed.

Three days later.

At the foot of a mountain range, dozens of soldiers blocked the road up the slope.

“How are things on the mountain?” the old rogue asked as their papers were being checked.

The officer shook his head. “No one dares go up. No one is coming down.”

The old rogue shivered and glanced at Yang Xuan.

The soldiers guarding the road looked at them all with admiration.

“To go up there at times like this—truly fearless!”

Yang Xuan felt his scalp tingle under their gaze, but maintained a calm demeanor. “Up the mountain!”

The old rogue whispered, “My lord, that’s not an auspicious phrase.”

“Why not?”

“When someone dies and their body is carried up for burial, that’s also called ‘going up the mountain’.”

“Don’t jinx us!”

Yang Xuan said, “From now on, everyone must be careful. Do not touch bowls or chopsticks at will. Wash hands before meals and after using the latrine. Especially you, old rogue, and you, Lao Er.”

The old rogue muttered, “Back in the day, right after digging up a coffin, I’d eat with the same hand I’d used to rummage through it.”

Wang Lao Er didn’t care either way.

The mountain path was deserted, with only the occasional sound of birds off to the side.

“Halt!”

They were nearly at the mine when a harsh shout came from ahead.

Footsteps scuffed and scattered. A man burst around the corner, with several burly men chasing close behind.

Wham!

Someone hurled a stick and knocked the man to the ground; the others swarmed over him.

A savage beating followed!

Yang Xuan’s eyelid twitched.

“Stop!” he called.

One of the burly men glanced at him. “Keep going!”

Thud, thud, thud!

“Don’t you understand human speech?” Yang Xuan pointed at the burly men. “Hit them!”

Wang Lao Er darted forward, then back again.

“My lord, how hard should I hit them?”

This lad never knew his own strength, so Yang Xuan always gave explicit instructions.

“Until their own mothers wouldn’t recognize them.”

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Soon, several men with faces swollen like pig’s heads were kneeling before Yang Xuan.

“My lord, please sit.” Yiniang, worried Yang Xuan would suffer while traveling, had prepared a small stool—this was the old rogue’s job.

Yang Xuan sat.

“Speak!”

The leader raised his head. “This is the Wang family’s mine!”

“I am an official from the court.” Yang Xuan extended his hand, and the old rogue obligingly passed over the short rod Cao Ying had just procured.

Whack!

Yang Xuan struck the man hard, drawing a miserable howl.

“Talk.”

Yang Xuan raised the rod; the man shielded his face.

Wang Lao Er reached out.

“Hold it, Lao Er!” Yang Xuan quickly stopped him—if that slap landed, the man might lose half his life.

“He tried to escape,” the burly man said, feeling these people were completely unreasonable.

The beaten man said, “People are lying everywhere up there—I was afraid I’d die with them...”

Zhou Ning frowned. “It’s that serious?”

Yang Xuan raised the rod again, and the burly man hurried to explain, “After the epidemic broke out, Wang Song had us seal off the area and gather all the sick together, forbidding them to wander.”

“What about food?” Cao Ying asked.

“There’s still grain in storage.”

With over two thousand people at the mine, there had to be plenty of stores; otherwise, a single snowstorm would spell disaster.

“How many have died?” Yang Xuan asked.

“Fifty so far...”

“Let’s go!”

“Where to?” The old rogue hefted the stool, ready to head down the mountain.

“Up the mountain.”

...

“Hahahaha!”

Wang Song made a grand entrance.

Yang Xuan stared at him coldly until his laughter faded in embarrassment.

“Take me to see the situation.”

Wang Song walked beside him, whispering, “The family wrote to say Lord Yang was coming to handle this. I’m overjoyed...”

“I act with strict impartiality.”

Wang Song: “...”

Cao Ying came up to walk beside him. “Explain yourself.”

“And you are...?”

“Clerk of Wannian County, Cao Ying.”

“Five days ago, after lunch, some people had diarrhea. At first, I thought nothing of it, but soon more and more were affected... I immediately ordered the mine sealed.”

“Why are you and your men unharmed?” Cao Ying asked.

“We don’t mix with the miners.”

The miners and the overseers were two distinct classes, naturally separated.

“I was still dealing with this when the mine suddenly collapsed. Over a dozen who had stayed inside before lunch were trapped. I tried to rescue them, but couldn’t do both jobs at once.”

“What did the doctor say?” Yang Xuan felt the discussion was pointless.

“The doctor said... it’s an epidemic.”

Everyone looked up at the sky.

After half a day of talking, they’d learned nothing.

The miners’ quarters stretched far along the mountain; a small river was nearby, making water collection easy.

As they entered the camp, a foul stench hit them.

Filth and excrement were everywhere!

“Clean it up,” Yang Xuan ordered.

Wang Song hesitated. “There’s no one left!”

“Aren’t you people?”

Over a hundred men stood by, watching. Most were guards; the rest, minor overseers.

Wang Song tried to placate him. “I’ll write to Chang’an for reinforcements.”

Yang Xuan turned. “Did you not hear me?”

Wang Song was bewildered.

“You—take them to clean the camp. Thoroughly.”

“But I—this...”

“I give you half a day.”

Yang Xuan strode out. “If it’s not clean in half a day...”

“...”

“I’ll make sure you die cleanly!”

Wang Song was indignant and confused. “But this is Wang family property!”

“Not since the epidemic began,” Yang Xuan replied, barely holding back his fury. He spun and slapped Wang Song. “Men!”

The accompanying soldiers stepped forward. “At your service, Lord Yang.”

Yang Xuan pointed at the camp. “Do it as the army would. If it’s not done in time, hang him outside the mine as an offering to the gods!”

“Yes, sir!”

In a flash, Wang Song disappeared.

“Hurry! Hurry!” he shouted, kicking and punching the onlookers into action to clean the camp.

Yang Xuan took his people to the entrance of the mine.

A stretch of passageway was blocked by earth and stone.

A child of six or seven knelt there, calling into the darkness, “Father, father...”

“They’re probably all suffocated,” someone said.

“The oxygen in a mine can last a while,” Vermilion Bird noted.

“How much food and water did the trapped men have?” Yang Xuan asked.

“Each had a water-skin, a few dry cakes, and some pickles.”

“Understood.”

Yang Xuan turned. “Find those soldiers at the foot of the mountain. Have them send word to the local authorities: this is Yang Xuan’s order. I need five hundred laborers immediately.”

The old rogue said, “My lord, the local officials may refuse.”

“This is a death trap,” Yang Xuan said solemnly. “Tell them—”

“If I die, none of them will live either!”