Futile Devices Scans

Qin City had long been praised as the City of Peach Blossoms, and this was precisely the season when the blossoms were in bloom.

Tao Mo lifted a corner of the carriage curtain and quietly watched the peach trees appearing at intervals along the roadside. Spring seemed to be spreading silently through the tiny buds on every branch.

Following Adviser Jin’s directions, Hao Guozi stopped the carriage before an inconspicuous little inn.

The carriage rocked twice as Hao Guozi and Adviser Jin climbed down from the front. Tao Mo was still hesitating over whether to wake Gu She when Gu She sat up on his own.

“We have arrived,” Tao Mo said, merely for the sake of saying something.

Gu She nodded faintly, rose, and stepped out of the carriage.

Tao Mo was about to follow when Adviser Jin blocked him. As he walked inside, he said to Hao Guozi, “Leave the carriage here. I will return shortly.”

Hao Guozi looked completely bewildered.

The road before the inn was narrow. With their two horses and carriage blocking it, passersby could hardly get through. Gu Xiaojia and Old Tao therefore had no choice but to lead the horses to the inn’s stable first. By the time they returned, Adviser Jin happened to emerge carrying a plate of steamed buns. He handed them to Tao Mo and jumped back onto the carriage.

Old Tao caught hold of him. “You are leaving already?”

“There are many rules at the prefectural yamen,” Adviser Jin said. “We are already considered late. Strictly speaking, even though the meeting was set for the afternoon, we should have arrived this morning.”

Gu Xiaojia snorted coldly. “What airs.”

“That is why it is called the prefectural yamen,” Adviser Jin said. Seeing that no one else intended to leave, he added, “It is not appropriate for too many people to accompany him when meeting the prefect. If word spread, it would give others something to criticize. I will accompany Master alone.” In truth, Tao Mo should have visited his superior by himself. Bringing too many people would seem like posturing or putting on airs. But Tao Mo could neither read nor properly navigate the ways of officialdom. Sending him in alone would likely lead to trouble.

Old Tao understood this as well. Without revealing anything, he clasped Adviser Jin’s hand and said, “In that case, I leave everything to Adviser Jin.”

Adviser Jin felt a heavy packet being slipped into his sleeve and smiled knowingly. “Rest assured.”

As the carriage prepared to leave, Tao Mo looked reluctantly toward Gu She.

Gu She’s lips curved slightly.

Tao Mo’s heart immediately settled.

The visit lasted three full hours.

As the sun gradually moved west and the sky slowly darkened, Old Tao’s expression became increasingly grim.

“Go take a look outside the prefectural yamen,” Gu She suddenly said.

Gu Xiaojia had long since grown restless. The moment he received the order, he darted toward the stable.

Old Tao glanced at Gu She.

Gu She stared expressionlessly at the untouched cup of tea before him.

“You did not need to come,” Old Tao said.

“Not needing to come, not wanting to come, and not coming are three different things,” Gu She replied.

Old Tao said, “My young master possesses neither wealth nor literary talent. I cannot imagine why Young Master Gu would lower himself to associate with him.”

“Then why do you remain at his side?” Gu She asked.

“Master Tao once showed me kindness.”

“Is that all?” Gu She asked blandly. There were countless ways to repay a debt of gratitude, yet Old Tao had chosen the most difficult and demanding one.

“At the very least, the Tao family showed me kindness. Remaining beside Young Master is both reasonable and justified. Young Master Gu’s intentions, however, are impossible to fathom.”

“Are they?” Gu She clearly had no intention of explaining.

Old Tao lightly pressed his fingers against his knee as countless thoughts raced through his mind. At last, he gritted his teeth and said quietly, “Does Young Master Gu know that my young master actually… prefers men?”

Gu She turned his head and raised his eyes slightly. His gaze was clear as spring water, yet revealed not the slightest emotion. “Oh?”

“…”

Old Tao nearly choked with frustration.

He had originally decided that if Gu She learned of Tao Mo’s preference for men and still did not despise him, Old Tao would no longer interfere with their association. If one day they truly returned each other’s feelings, it might even count as a fine romance… perhaps? If Gu She began avoiding Tao Mo after learning the truth, that would naturally be best. It would save them from becoming hopelessly entangled in the future.

But what exactly did that calm, emotionless “Oh?” mean? Was Gu She inwardly overwhelmed but restraining himself? Or was his heart utterly still because the matter had nothing to do with him?

Old Tao became so preoccupied with Gu She’s reaction that he temporarily set aside his concern over Tao Mo’s delayed return.

Roughly half an hour later, Gu Xiaojia returned, his cheeks red from the cold as he rubbed his hands together.

“Where is Young Master?” Old Tao looked behind him.

Gu Xiaojia dropped into a chair, poured himself a cup of hot tea, and drank it in one breath to warm himself before saying, “He still has not come out. Hao Guozi is waiting there.”

Old Tao’s heart lurched.

“Did you make inquiries?” Gu She asked.

“How could I not?” Gu Xiaojia said. “Hao Guozi and I both slipped money to the gatekeeper. He said they are still inside.”

Old Tao abruptly rose and said in a deep voice, “I will go take a look.”

Gu She and Gu Xiaojia both knew that his martial arts were formidable, so neither tried to stop him.

Not long after Old Tao left the inn, the rapid clatter of carriage wheels sounded outside.

Gu She and Gu Xiaojia looked out simultaneously. Before the carriage had even come to a complete stop, Hao Guozi stumbled inside, followed by an equally hurried Adviser Jin.

“This is terrible, terrible…” Hao Guozi rushed to the table and said to Gu She, “Young Master has been detained!”

Gu She frowned and looked toward Adviser Jin.

With only that single glance, Adviser Jin felt a bone-deep chill race up his spine.

When Old Tao returned after circling the prefectural yamen and finding nothing, he saw Adviser Jin, Hao Guozi, and Gu She seated at the same table, their expressions ashen.

“What happened?” Old Tao had weathered many storms. Seeing their faces, his anxious heart instead grew calm.

Adviser Jin’s gaze flickered slightly. “Master has been detained by the prefect.”

Old Tao’s expression turned cold. “Why?”

“Embezzlement and abuse of the law, as well as dereliction of duty,” Adviser Jin said.

“Absurd!” Old Tao slammed a palm onto the table.

Adviser Jin lowered his head. “This… this is actually my fault.”

Old Tao looked at him suspiciously. “What does it have to do with you?”

“Some time ago, several holes appeared in the roof of the county yamen, did they not?” Adviser Jin said. “I allocated a sum of money to Mu Chun for the repairs.”

Old Tao frowned. “And?”

Adviser Jin smiled bitterly. “Repairs to the county yamen require the prefect’s approval. The money I gave Mu Chun was actually the money Cui Jiong had presented to Master as a gift.”

Old Tao’s expression immediately turned ugly. That was equivalent to accepting a bribe.

“In truth, this sort of thing is hardly serious,” Adviser Jin said. “Nearly every county magistrate has encountered it; only the stated purpose differs. Of all the sums handled by past magistrates, Master’s was the smallest, and the explanation for it was also the most defensible. Unfortunately, the prefect caught him precisely on this point.”

Gu She asked, “That accounts for embezzlement and abuse of the law. What about dereliction of duty?”

“Did Master not previously encounter two murder cases?” Adviser Jin said.

“You mean Miss Tong and Cai Fengyuan?” Old Tao asked.

“Exactly. According to the laws of our dynasty, the county magistrate must be present when the coroner examines a corpse. By coincidence, Master was absent during both autopsies. But what county magistrate actually accompanies the coroner during examinations? I once served two magistrates who attended a single autopsy. The second time, they refused to go no matter what.”

Old Tao said heavily, “Very few people knew about those two matters. How did word reach the prefect?”

“I fear someone filed a complaint,” Adviser Jin said.

“Who?” Old Tao’s gaze sharpened.

Adviser Jin was an old hand. Even if the name had already reached his lips, he would never say it aloud. He therefore laughed vaguely. “That will require careful investigation.”

Gu Xiaojia said, “Both accusations are trivial enough to be ignored. At most, they could be used to reprimand him. How could they justify detaining him?”

“Someone intends to make a case out of them,” Gu She said.

“I believe the same,” Adviser Jin said. “Master is a county magistrate, after all. Even the prefect has no authority to detain him arbitrarily! Even if Master committed an offense, the prefect should first report it to the imperial court and allow the Ministry of Personnel to deal with him.”

“Could it really be… Huang Guangde?” Hao Guozi asked. Almost every time something went wrong, he pointed the finger at Huang Guangde, and the man rarely disappointed him.

Old Tao looked toward Adviser Jin. “In Adviser Jin’s opinion, what should we do now?”

“The enemy is hidden while we are exposed. We should not alert them prematurely,” Adviser Jin said. “It is already late today. Tomorrow morning, I will first approach several aides close to the prefect and make inquiries. Then we can decide our next move.”

Old Tao’s gaze flickered. He sighed. “That is all we can do.”

Gu She could not help looking at him again.

At the second watch of the night, Old Tao slipped out of the inn dressed in black night clothes.

The boundless darkness was like a cloak of invisibility draped around him.

He strode across the rooftops toward the prison where the prefectural yamen confined its offenders.

A dim oil lamp burned inside the prison.

Old Tao’s fingers moved like lightning. He swiftly struck the guards’ acupoints and entered the prison as though walking through an empty place.

It was already late, and most of the prisoners had fallen asleep. Old Tao searched each cell through the bars until he reached the final one. Perhaps in consideration of Tao Mo’s status as an official appointed by the imperial court, he had been confined alone.

Tao Mo had never slept deeply after being locked in this place. The moment Old Tao appeared outside the cell, he woke.

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