noveltune Chapter 2 Scheming in the Dark
Chapter 2 Scheming in the Dark
The wind and snow intensified.
The dilapidated wooden gate rattled loudly in the north wind, as if playing a mournful dirge for this desolate bereaved family.
Lu Yan closed the door to the main room, keeping out the swirling snow and the humiliation left behind by Fan Renfu. The temperature inside didn't rise much, but the oppressive feeling finally subsided somewhat as the figure in the fur coat left.
"Brother, why are you stopping me?"
Zhao Changying slammed his wood-chopping knife heavily against the doorframe, the blade carving deep into the wood. His young, rough face was filled with bewilderment and anger. "That guy surnamed Fan is fucking us! We can't possibly pay back those thirty taels of silver. He's trying to force us to our deaths and ruin your academic record!"
Lu Yan did not answer immediately.
He walked to the thin-skinned coffin and carefully brushed away the snow that had fallen on it. His movements were slow and steady, revealing a calmness that Zhao Changying found unfamiliar.
"Changying," Lu Yan turned around, his gaze falling on the trembling boy, "what would you have done if I hadn't stopped you?"
"Charge him and chop him in half with one stroke!" Zhao Changying gritted his teeth and gestured fiercely. "I've trained with those servants. They look strong, but they're actually weak in the lower body. I'm confident I can cut off Fan Renfu's fat head before they even draw their swords!"
"And then?" Lu Yan asked.
"And then..." Zhao Changying paused for a moment, then stubbornly continued, "Then, at worst, I'll pay with my life! Killing one is enough, killing two is a bonus! It's better than being bullied to death like a coward!"
"madness."
Lu Yan coldly uttered two words.
These two words were like a bucket of ice water poured over Zhao Changying's head. His eyes widened as he stared in disbelief at his older brother, with whom he had grown up. The Lu Yan of the past, though educated, was mild-mannered and would only sigh when upset; he had never before had such sharp, piercing eyes.
"Murder is the simplest solution, but it is also the most expensive."
Lu Yan walked up to Zhao Changying and reached out to pull the wood-chopping knife off the door frame. He flicked the blade lightly with his finger, producing a dull hum.
"Fan Renfu is the village head, a prominent gentry member in Ziyang County. If you kill him, the county constables will surround this place within half an hour. You will die, beheaded and your head displayed in public. My family's property will be confiscated, I will be stripped of my official rank and exiled to the army."
Lu Yan stared into Zhao Changying's eyes, his tone calm to the point of cruelty, "Is this what you call 'mutual destruction'? No, this is called 'walking into a trap'. Fan Renfu is dead, but his sons will still come with the IOUs to demand repayment, and they will still take over this house. Your stab was worthless except for venting your anger."
Zhao Changying opened his mouth, his face flushed red, but he couldn't utter a single word in rebuttal. He was a rough man and didn't understand concepts of cost and value, but he understood what Lu Yan meant: killing was useless and would only get him killed.
"Then...what do we do?" The fierce glint in Zhao Changying's eyes faded, replaced by a deep sense of helplessness. He squatted on the ground, burying his head in his hands. "Brother, we have no money. If we can't pay in three days, this house will really be gone. Do we really have to sign that 'contribution contract'? "Or...or we should go find Uncle Tie? He may be poor, but at least he has a few taels for a coffin..."
"No." Lu Yan shook his head. "Uncle Tie's savings were for his daughter's dowry. Besides, money can't solve anything. What Fan Renfu wants isn't thirty taels, it's my life. If I surrender and sign the contract, I'll die even faster."
Lu Yan walked to the old square table, dipped his finger in the cold water in the teacup, and drew a circle on the table.
"What Fan Renfu wants me to shoulder isn't debt, it's a minefield."
"Thunder?" Zhao Changying raised his head in confusion.
"That's something that can kill people." Lu Yan pointed to the water stains on the table. "I just looked at the place names on the contract: Zhao Jiawa and Xigouzi in the south of the city. Do you know what those places are?"
"That's good land, irrigated land."
"That's a military farm." Lu Yan's voice was low, but every word carried immense weight. "It's the 'Imperial Grain Fields' that the founding emperor left for the military households in the garrisons to grow grain."
Lu Yan sat down, leaning slightly forward, as if he were analyzing a fatal flaw in the engineering drawings for his subordinates.
"According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, the encroachment on or sale of military farms is a capital offense. Fan Renfu has swallowed up too many military farms, and he is afraid. This year, Liaodong is not peaceful, and the court is raising funds and supplies everywhere. Once the imperial censors are sent down to survey the land and find that he has encroached on military farms, it will be a crime that leads to the confiscation of his property and the extermination of his entire clan."
"So, he desperately needs a poor, uneducated scholar with official rank but no connections to take the fall for him." Lu Yan sneered. "I signed the document, so this land is nominally mine. When the court investigates, Fan Renfu can say that I handed it over to him without his knowledge. In the end, I'll be the one beheaded, while the Fan family will remain at large."
Zhao Changying broke out in a cold sweat. Although he didn't understand the law, he still understood the words "death penalty".
"This...this old dog is too vicious!" Zhao Changying suddenly stood up, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked. "This won't work, that won't work, brother, we've been driven into a dead end!"
"dead end?"
Lu Yan shook his head, his fingers tapping lightly on the table, producing a series of rhythmic soft sounds.
In the time and space he once lived in, in those chaotic war zones, he had seen far more hopeless predicaments. Being detained by warlords, broken financial chains, construction delays... every crisis was an opportunity to reshuffle the cards.
"Changying, remember this: every trap has a flaw."
Lu Yan's eyes gleamed in the dim light. "Since Fan Renfu is so eager to find a scapegoat, it means he has a guilty conscience. The more he presses, the more it shows that the 'Chajuntun' bomb is about to explode."
"Since he's trying to shove a bomb into my arms, I'll help him out." A ruthless smile curled at the corner of Lu Yan's lips. "I'll light the fuse for him."
Zhao Changying looked at Lu Yan and felt a chill run down his spine. He felt that his brother today was more like a god of death than he was, holding a knife in his hand.
"Brother, what do you want me to do?" Zhao Changying took a deep breath and stood up straight. "As long as I can live, I'll do whatever you say."
"I want you to go and catch a tongue." Lu Yan uttered a word that Zhao Changying had never heard before.
"Tongue?"
"The source of the intelligence," Lu Yan explained, "Fan Renfu did this very discreetly. That 'black book' that records the real land data must be very well hidden. But someone in his family must know where it is."
Lu Yan quickly searched through the original owner's memories. About the Fan family's personnel structure, interpersonal relationships... Suddenly, a thin figure appeared in his mind.
Fan Fu.
Fan Renfu had a child with a maidservant after a drunken night of passion in his youth, resulting in Fan Fu's illegitimate son. Because of his lowly birth and the maidservant's early death, Fan Fu's status in the Fan family was even lower than that of a dog. The original owner of this body had once seen Fan Fu being ridden like a horse by the eldest son of the Fan family on the street, beaten black and blue but not daring to utter a sound.
In this era that emphasizes patriarchal lineage and bloodline, this hatred is a more solid leverage than any interest.
"That illegitimate son of the Fan family, Fan Fu," Lu Yan looked at Zhao Changying, "Do you know where he usually lives?"
"I know, it's right next to the stable in the backyard of the Fan family, that's the servants' quarters." Zhao Changying nodded, "I heard that although he's born a young master, he does the work of feeding horses and chopping wood."
"very good."
Lu Yan stood up, walked to the corner of the wall, picked up a dry branch, and drew a simple map of the Fan family's terrain on the ground. This was an impression left by the original owner when he went to the Fan family to deliver gifts when he was a child. At this moment, in Lu Yan's engineer's mind, it was quickly transformed into a "tactical map" with movement lines.
"Changying, you're quite agile, you should be able to scale the wall without any problems, right?"
"The wall of the Fan family's courtyard is only seven feet high. I can climb it with a couple of kicks," Zhao Changying said confidently.
"The snow will be heaviest and the wind will be strongest at midnight tonight." Lu Yan pointed to the location of the stables on the map with a dry twig. "Take me inside. We need to meet this 'Third Young Master' of the Fan family."
"Take you with me?" Zhao Changying exclaimed in surprise. "Brother, you're frail and don't know martial arts. What if we're discovered..."
"I'm going to negotiate, not to fight," Lu Yan interrupted him, his tone leaving no room for argument. "And from today onwards, you're no longer just a reckless brute who can only charge into battle. You're my protector, my eyes and my blade. You need to learn how to bring me along without alerting anyone."
He looked at Zhao Changying, his eyes filled with expectation and sternness. "This is my first test for you. Can you do it?"
Looking into Lu Yan's calm, still eyes, Zhao Changying felt a surge of unprecedented passion welling up inside him. This was no longer the care of an older brother for his younger brother, but more like the trust of a general for his soldier.
He straightened his back and nodded vigorously: "Yes!"
"it is good."
Lu Yan tossed aside the withered branch and dusted off his hands.
"Go and get ready. Sharpen the knife, but remember, tonight this knife is for intimidation, not for drawing blood."
"Once we get Fan Fu to talk and obtain that ledger..."
Lu Yan turned to look at the dark, snowy night outside the door, his voice so deep it seemed to blend into the darkness.
"Three days later, we will show Fan Renfu what it means to 'invite a god but send him away'."