A Clash of Gods - Chapter 73
Chapter 73 A Loan Agreement
Yang Ning wasn’t anxious to speak, while Dou Lianzhong laughed. “My Lord, you really have sharp eyes. You can distinguish right from wrong at a glance.” Then he stared at Yang Ning with a sneer. “What else would you say?”
Yang Ning asked calmly, “What do you want me to say? Did Lord Mo make the final judgment?”
“Didn’t you hear? Lord Mo said it’s made of low-quality glaze.” Dou Lianzhong swelled out his chest. “That’s it. I don’t know what judgment you want.”
“Lord Mo just said it is not valuable judging from the material.” Yang Ning was neither conceited nor rash. “But he didn’t say that this colored glaze horse is not a treasure. Since you know a lot about antiques and ancient paintings, you should know that some paper and ink are ordinary, but the paintings are invaluable. The real treasure is not up to its material.”
Dou Lianzhong still wanted to argue, but Governor Mo had a smile in his eyes, saying, “Qi Ning is right. Only judging from the material, it is not valuable, but I didn’t say that this horse is not a treasure.”
Dou Lianzhong was in confusion.
“Qi Ning, you said this is your family heirloom?” Governor Mo asked, “How come?”
Yang Ning replied unhurriedly, “My Lord, this colored glaze horse was a gift to my grandfather given by the late emperor. There are images of six stars of the Sagittarius and seven stars of the Big Dipper on it, and it can show the life and death. If the horse is in good condition, it can even shine at night.”
Governor Mo was stunned. “It was given by the late emperor?”
Yang Ning answered, “Right. It had been kept carefully in my mansion for dozens of years, and I just took it out today, but it was…” He glared at Dou Lianzhong furiously. “But Dou Lianzhong damaged my family heirloom and wanted to find an excuse to avoid paying for it. My Lord, please uphold justice.”
Governor Mo nodded slightly. Dou Lianzhong saw that and stated in a hurry, “My Lord, he said it was given by the late emperor, so you think it’s true? Who knows if he brought up the late emperor to tell a lie? The late emperor has passed away. A dead person can’t…”
Governor Mo shouted, “Shut up! Dou Lianzhong, how dare you desecrate the late emperor? What punishment do you think you deserve?”
Dou Lianzhong had been in his anxiety. After being rebuked by Governor Mo, he was scared and came back to earth, explaining hurriedly, “My Lord, I… I didn’t mean that.”
“Do you know that I can punish you for your crime only because of your last words?” Governor Mo looked gloomily. “It’s the Capital Bureau here, but you desecrate the late emperor in front of me. What is your intention?”
Dou Lianzhong blushed in anxiety. “My Lord, I didn’t mean to desecrate the late emperor. I just want to say…if it was given by the late emperor, it should have been recorded. We will know if this colored glaze horse was given by the late emperor after we check the files.”
At the moment, the clerk raised his head and asked Governor Mo, “My Lord, should his words be…”
Hearing that, Dou Lianzhong paled and uttered at once, “My Lord, I…!” He knew that if his words were recorded in the file, the consequence would be unthinkable. He was used to bullying others because of his family background. Today he came to the Capital Bureau, and he was cautious in the beginning, but when he found that Governor Mo’s emotions changed because of the words “given by the late emperor”, he was afraid that the governor would be partial to Yang Ning as a result, so he said something anxiously before thinking twice, but that was a taboo.
Dou Lianzhong regretted, but Yang Ning asked Governor Mo respectfully, “My Lord, you are hearing a case. Will every word that we say be recorded?”
“You don’t need to remind,” Governor Mo responded indifferently and then told the clerk. “You have been working as a clerk for so many years. Don’t you know the rules? Is it necessary to ask such a question?”
The clerk answered hurriedly, “I am sorry.” Then he stopped talking and wrote every word down.
Dou Lianzhong looked ghastly pale, with cold sweat on his forehead, knowing that he made an unforgivable mistake. This matter could be something insignificant and could be a big deal.
If somebody else handled this case, Dou Lianzhong could ask his father to offer a bribe and it was easy to revise a file in private, but he faced Governor Mo who was famous as Upright Mo. What was killing him more was that Yang Ning had heard him say that.
Governor Mo expressed, “What Dou Lianzhong said made sense. The imperial court has recorded everything given by the emperor. The National Treasury has the records of the royal possessions, and if it is from the Ministry of Revenue, the ministry would have records.” He stroked his beard. “Dou Lianzhong’s father is the Minister of Revenue. If this colored glaze horse was from the Ministry of Revenue, we can check in the ministry. Otherwise, we can check in the National Treasury of the imperial palace.”
Dou Lianzhong replied instantly, “Right, that’s it. My Lord, I have sent somebody to the Ministry of Revenue to check the record about this colored glaze horse.”
Yang Ning finally realized that Zhao Xin had left alone must because Dou Lianzhong sent him to the Ministry of Revenue.
Governor Mo frowned. “Dou Lianzhong, I think you don’t have an official position.”
Dou Lianzhong was astonished and didn’t understand what Governor Mo meant.
Governor Mo stated impassively, “Since you don’t have an official position, how can you send somebody to check the records in the Ministry of Revenue? Even your father, the Minister of Revenue needs to go through formalities if he wants to read the files. I don’t know how you can send somebody to check easily. As for this case, if I need to check the files, I should ask the Ministry of Revenue or the National Treasury to transfer the files for investigation on behalf of the Capital Bureau. You seem to be too anxious.”
Dou Lianzhong suddenly realized that he made the second fatal mistake.
Dou Kui was the Minster of Revenue, but Dou Lianzhong was not an official and didn’t have the right to mind the business in the Ministry of Revenue. He sent somebody to the ministry to check files, which meant that he took the Ministry of Revenue as his home. If the news spread and the political opponents knew it, they could frustrate Dou Kui because of this matter.
The muscle on Dou Lianzhong’s face twitched, and he was in a daze.
The clerk didn’t say anything this time but wrote the words on the record.
Yang Ning thought Governor Mo was really upright and just. Now even before Dou Lianzhong made the family heirloom’s matter clear, he had said something wrong and been caught by Governor Mo twice, and if the two mistakes were investigated seriously, they could be big cases.
Dou Lianzhong tried to explain, but Zhao Wushang who was kept silent suddenly expressed, “I am Zhao Wushang, and I have something to tell you, My Lord!”
Governor Mo ordered, “Go ahead.”
Zhao Wushang responded unhurriedly, “The crushed family heirloom was given to the old marquis by the late emperor. My Lord, do you know why the Marquis of Honor got this title?”
Governor Mo answered, “That year, the late emperor started a war to suppress the bandits. The old Marquis of Honor was a powerful general led by the late emperor. When they suppressed the bandits in Jingnan, the war was in a stalemate, and the rear services were in short supply, so the generals and soldiers had no enough food and clothes. In winter, it was very cold that year, and many soldiers froze to death. The late emperor shared happiness and sufferings with soldiers all the time. It was said that the late emperor wore thin clothes and fell ill in the army.” He paused for a while and then continued, “The old Marquis of Honor put all his clothes on the late emperor and went to the mountains with nothing on to look for medicinal materials for him. As a result, the late emperor took a turn for the better and was out of danger, but the old Marquis of Honor almost froze to death.”
Zhao Wushang stated, “Exactly. The emperor is so kind. Later the late emperor gave the title Marquis of Honor to him to cherish the memory of their friendship.”
Governor Mo saluted. “The old marquis is admirable for his loyalty. He is always a good example of officials.”
“So my Lord, you also know that the late emperor fought north and south to take cities and seize territory, ever victorious.” Zhao Wushang’s voice was peaceful. “It was inevitable that he gained a lot of rare treasures. The late emperor gave them to the meritorious subordinates. Not only the old Marquis of Honor, but also the four marquises must have kept the treasures given by the late emperor in their mansions.”
Governor Mo nodded slightly but didn’t speak.
Zhao Wushang continued slowly, “The treasures given by him at that time were not recorded. Can I say that if you can’t find the treasure’s record in the Ministry of Revenue or the National Treasury, then the colored glaze horse rewarded by the late emperor was obtained by the old marquis with dishonesty?”
Governor Mo furrowed his brows and asked, “Do you mean that the colored glaze horse was given when the old marquis followed the late emperor to battle?”
Zhao Wushang replied, “Right. And when this treasure was rewarded, the old Marquis of Martial Arts was also present.”
Dou Lianzhong almost spat blood.
The old Marquis of Honor, the old Marquis of Martial Arts and the late emperor had died many years ago. Would they be taken out of their graves to testify?
But Dou Lianzhong didn’t dare to say anything. He had made mistakes repeatedly, so he was afraid that if he spoke, he would get himself into trouble.
Governor Mo declared, “Since it’s a treasure rewarded by the late emperor, of course it’s priceless.” Then he turned to Dou Lianzhong, asking seriously, “Dou Lianzhong, you have damaged a treasure given by the late emperor. What else will you say?”
Dou Lianzhong opened his mouth and questioned hesitantly in the end, “How, how can they prove that it was given by the late emperor?”
“How can he mention the late emperor to tell a lie?” Governor Mo sneered. “Anybody who does something evil in the name of the late emperor and desecrates him should be killed.”
Dou Lianzhong trembled and lowered his head. “Then, then what should I do?” He feared that the governor would leave the case about the colored glaze horse behind and blame him for what he had said. In that case, it would be much more troublesome than the matter about the colored glaze horse.
Governor Mo asked in a deep voice, “Qi Ning, the colored glaze horse was damaged and can’t be repaired. How do you want Dou Lianzhong to pay for it?”
Yang Ning responded respectfully, “My Lord, the colored glaze horse was the family heirloom of the Marquis of Honor, but it is not the most important. What matters most is that it was rewarded by the late emperor. Something given by the late emperor is certainly invaluable. I don’t dare to claim compensation in the form of gold or silver as it will desecrate the treasure given by the late emperor, and my grandmother still doesn’t know this matter. I have to inform her first and then decide how to deal with the compensation. My Lord, I hope you can uphold justice and tell Dou Lianzhong to give me a loan agreement.”
“A loan agreement?”
Yang Ning answered, “Yes. Tell Dou Lianzhong to admit to having damaged my family heirloom. As long as we prove it under your supervision, it will be much easier to handle it in the future.”
Governor Mo pondered for a while and then asked, “Dou Lianzhong, Qi Ning asked you to write a loan agreement. What do you think?” He looked indifferent and stared at Dou Lianzhong.