Chapter 724: Knowing One's Guilt

Prince Pingyuan announced the abolition of the bondservant system. Everyone present failed to grasp the meaning. The two presiding ministers, Yu Yunqiu and Ao Shuangqian, exchanged glances, trying to figure out what "abolishing the bondservant system" truly meant.

Would they no longer be called bondservants? What would be a suitable name then? Or perhaps bondservants couldn't be bought and sold freely? Was this new city lord planning to levy additional taxes?

Li Qi, guessing they hadn't understood, had "Three-Headed Qiao Yi" by his side provide a detailed explanation: "All ministers, scholars, and commoners, please hand over the registers of bondservants to His Royal Highness. From today forward, all bondservants shall be granted the status of commoners. They are free to stay or leave as they wish, and no one shall interfere. All matters concerning Xiaocheng will henceforth be handled by Prince Pingyuan. Those with objections may seek a ruling from Prince Pingyuan."

This time, the message was perfectly clear. All the ministers and scholars were dumbfounded.

Even the commoners were terrified. While they also owned bondservants, their numbers were limited; apart from a few wealthy merchants, most commoner households only had three to five bondservants. A scholar's household might have a dozen or more bondservants, and slightly wealthier scholars could own hundreds. As for the ministers, it went without saying. People of Yu Yunqiu and Ao Shuangqian's standing owned countless bondservants. Without them, they couldn't imagine how they would manage their daily lives, nor could they conceive what Xiaocheng would become.

Even more shocked than them was Qiao Yi. Qiao Yi lunged downstairs; Nian Shangyou could barely hold him back. "This is an ancestral law! It cannot be broken! Such words cannot come from my mouth!"

"My lord, just pretend you didn't say it. After all, you didn't really say it!"

"He staged this whole charade, and now it sounds like I said it. Get out of my way!"

Qiao Yi shoved and pushed, and Nian Shangyou could no longer resist. "Alright, my lord, I'll step aside. You may go." Nian Shangyou moved aside. Qiao Yi walked to the first floor, reached for the main door, but then pulled his hand back. He couldn't go out; if he did, everything would be ruined. Even if he went out now, not only would he be unable to clear his name, but there would also be no room for recovery.

Shouts and curses echoed from outside the pavilion. "Bondservants are our private property! Why should we hand them over? Who will compensate us?"

"Xiaodu is the former capital of Great Shang. Why should it be enfeoffed to him? I think the Imperial Cabinet has gone mad!"

"What is he? A native of Puluozhou? People from Puluozhou are born bondservants! What kind of prince is he?"

"If His Majesty were still alive, would he dare to be so brazen?!"

"Everyone, disperse! Coming here today was like listening to frogs croak!"

Qiao Yi stood on the first floor for a moment, then returned to the second floor and said to Nian Shangyou, "It seems they still miss that false king."

Nian Shangyou said resentfully, "This is all Li Qi's fault. His reckless actions have provoked public anger, forcing these people to bring up old grievances."

"No," Qiao Yi said, looking at the main hall where "Three-Headed Qiao Yi" at the entrance showed no flaws. "Just now, many scholars were also cursing along. One scholar dared to mention the false king directly in front of the Grand Secretary of the Imperial Cabinet. This proves that these old grievances weren't just brought up today; they've been simmering in their hearts all along."

Nian Shangyou replied, "Your subordinate believes this is merely temporary indignation..."

Qiao Yi shook his head. "Indignation is true, but it's not temporary. Perhaps this isn't a bad thing."

Nian Shangyou didn't know how to respond. How could this not be a bad thing? Was Lord Qiao confused with anger?

Qiao Yi was not confused; he had calmed down. "I haven't been to Xiaodu for too many years. Someone once told me that Xiaodu and Chaoge were not united in spirit. Now, it seems that was true. This is good. Let them fight Li Qi first. Let me see what Xiaodu is truly made of. No matter who wins, I will ultimately be the one to reel in the net."

Minister Yu Yunqiu flexed his jaw and looked at Ao Shuangqian. Ao Shuangqian lightly tapped his left pincer-hand. Together, the two bowed respectfully to Li Banfeng, then, without a word, exited the Imperial City. Despite their respectful demeanor, they were subtly conveying to Li Banfeng that they still held power in Xiaocheng, and Prince Pingyuan's declaration to abolish the bondservant system was nothing but empty talk.

Once everyone had left, Qiao Yi emerged from the pavilion. Without commenting on the events of the ceremony, he simply bade farewell to Li Banfeng: "The remuneration promised to His Royal Highness has all been fulfilled. It is time for us to return to Chaoge."

Li Banfeng was taken aback. "Is it appropriate to leave in such a hurry?"

Qiao Yi remained expressionless, while Nian Shangyou secretly scoffed to himself. *Now it's not appropriate? You want Lord Qiao to help you stabilize the situation? Why should Lord Qiao help you? Where is your former arrogance now?*

Li Banfeng continued, "I think you should stay a little longer." Qiao Yi remained silent.

Nian Shangyou bowed. "Your Highness, there are many matters in Chaoge awaiting my lord's attention. If we delay for too long, others might spot a weakness, which would be disadvantageous to both of us."

Li Banfeng frowned. "Your departure now would also be very disadvantageous to me. You want to leave before the remuneration is fully paid? There's no such easy deal."

Nian Shangyou was startled. "It's not fully paid?"

Li Banfeng asked, "What do you think? We agreed on twenty new territories, but you've only given me ten pairs of deeds. Where are the remaining ten?"

Nian Shangyou had forgotten about this. "My Lord, could you please give us a little more time? As you must know, something happened at our altar, and it's difficult to gather twenty new territories at once. Please grant us two days; we will certainly deliver all the land plots then."

Li Banfeng was quite generous. "It's not that I can't grant an extension, but first, write an IOU, clearly stating the principal and interest."

Nian Shangyou pursed his lips. "What... interest too?"

Li Banfeng sighed. "For the sake of our past acquaintance, I can waive the interest. I'll just charge a late fee. If not repaid in ten days, an additional pair of deeds will be added."

Nian Shangyou grew anxious. "An additional pair for ten days? That interest is a bit too..."

Qiao Yi said, "No matter. I agree to this. I will write the IOU immediately."

With his lord's agreement, Nian Shangyou naturally had nothing more to say.

Li Banfeng took the IOU and then asked, "I bothered you earlier to arrange the ceremony, but you still haven't told me where those three weapons are."

Nian Shangyou first led Li Banfeng to Jinghe Palace. On the palace floor, he opened a secret door and entered an underground chamber. Inside the chamber was an old-fashioned radio. In outer prefectures, radios were already uncommon. The radios remembered from the past were either palm-sized or brick-sized; only the older generation knew how large floor-standing radios could be. Li Banfeng had seen a floor-standing radio in Old Woman Wu's room; it was larger than professional stage speakers. The overall size of this radio was strikingly similar to Old Woman Wu's. Standing next to it, Li Banfeng was only a head taller than the radio. He twisted the dial, and the radio filled with static. No matter how he adjusted it, he couldn't pick up any programs.

Nian Shangyou explained, "This first-grade weapon was set up by me, but just like the one in Tianyi City, I only set it up; I don't know how to use it. Your Royal Highness will have to take the trouble to study it."

"I'm not afraid of studying it," Li Banfeng said, turning off the radio. "The main thing is, is this truly a first-grade weapon? Don't just give me any random object to trick me."

Qiao Yi said, "Even if Your Highness doesn't trust me, surely you trust the deeds?"

Leaving Jinghe Palace, they arrived at Wan'an Palace. Underneath the hall, Nian Shangyou opened another secret chamber. Inside, there was a table with an old grandfather clock on it. Nian Shangyou introduced, "Your Highness, this grandfather clock is also a first-grade weapon." Li Banfeng touched the clock, getting a hand full of dust. He opened the clock's pull-out door and retrieved a clock key from beneath the pendulum. Most young people from outer prefectures wouldn't know what this key was for, but Li Banfeng knew it was a winding key for the clock. He inserted the key into the winding hole on the clock face, fully wound it, then pushed the pendulum, and the clock began to tick-tock.

After a long time, the clock showed no changes. Nian Shangyou was about to explain when Li Banfeng waved his hand. "No need to say it. You definitely don't know how this weapon works."

Nian Shangyou offered a modest smile. "Your Highness is perceptive; your subordinate indeed does not know."

With the restriction of the deeds, Li Banfeng wasn't too worried. He figured that if he let the Blood-Stained Pendulum "talk" to this clock in the future, they would probably get along well.

Leaving Wanfu Palace, Li Banfeng asked Nian Shangyou, "Is the third weapon also underground, by any chance?"

Nian Shangyou was stunned. "Your Highness, we have already given you three weapons. One is the Dragon Bone waterwheel, which is in Tianyi City. You've already seen it."

"Nonsense!" Li Banfeng scoffed, lifting his hat brim. "That waterwheel is Tianyi City's property. Since Tianyi City is mine now, how can the waterwheel be pulled out and counted separately?"

Nian Shangyou blinked his fish-like eyes. "But... but that waterwheel truly is a first-grade weapon. It wasn't originally in Tianyi City; I specifically placed it there..."

Qiao Yi cut Nian Shangyou off. There was no reasoning with Li Qi at this point; the more they argued, the more they would lose. However, some things had to be made clear. Qiao Yi said, "Although the two weapons you've seen were in Xiaodu, they were specifically arranged by my two brothers for Your Highness. They cannot be counted as complimentary gifts from Xiaodu."

Li Banfeng said, "You mean they were just moved here? Then why was the old grandfather clock covered in dust?"

Nian Shangyou quickly waved his hand. "Your subordinate truly doesn't know about that. When I placed the clock here, Lord Xie specifically instructed me not to wipe it clean."

Li Banfeng nodded. "I'll take your word for that. So, where is the third weapon?"

Nian Shangyou looked at Qiao Yi. Qiao Yi frowned. "Why are you looking at me? Is there one or not? Answer the Prince quickly!" Nian Shangyou understood; Qiao Yi now just wanted to get out of Xiaocheng as soon as possible.

"Your Highness, please follow me! This weapon is not underground."

Nian Shangyou led Li Banfeng to the Directorate of Ceremonial and entered a room. The room was small, estimated to be about five to six square meters, containing a straw mat, an octagonal table, and two benches. This was a eunuch's room.

Li Banfeng looked at Nian Shangyou and asked, "Where is the first-grade weapon?"

Nian Shangyou pointed to the octagonal table. "Your Highness, behold."

"This table is also a weapon?"

Nian Shangyou bowed. "A first-grade weapon, genuine beyond doubt."

Li Banfeng pressed his ear against the octagonal table, listening for a long time. He could sense some spiritual presence but heard no sound. Crucially, he couldn't imagine how this octagonal table could be used in combat.

With the three first-grade weapons accounted for, Li Banfeng asked Nian Shangyou, "Are there any other first-grade weapons in the Imperial City?"

"None," Nian Shangyou replied, his catfish-like face showing no emotion.

Li Banfeng didn't press further. Nian Shangyou, along with Qiao Yi, boarded a merchant vessel and left Xiaocheng.

Reaching the Imperial Garden, Li Banfeng used his "Connected Chambers of the Bridal Suite" skill to summon his wife. The two sat together on a rockery, enjoying the flowers. Learning that Li Banfeng intended to abolish the bondservant system, his wife expressed concern: "My dear husband, the bondservant system of the Shang Kingdom has endured for countless years. A single decree surely cannot abolish it. Husband, you might be acting too hastily, and I fear the nobles of Xiaocheng will move against you."

Li Banfeng shook his head. "The nobles are not the main concern."

Hearing this, his wife became even more worried: "Husband, please don't underestimate them. The ministers and scholars have operated in Xiaocheng for countless years, deeply entrenched. They possess hundreds, even thousands, of means at their disposal. You must be extremely careful."

"I'm not underestimating them; I know they are difficult to deal with," Li Banfeng said. After a moment of thought, he summoned twelve shadows. These twelve shadows were all of the Earthly Branches lineage. They possessed talents for concealment in dwellings, making them difficult to detect.

Li Banfeng instructed, "Banfeng Zi to Banfeng Shen, each of you patrol one district. If you encounter any bondservants who wish to leave their masters, bring them to the Imperial City. I will arrange their settlement first. Banfeng You, Banfeng Xu, and Banfeng Hai, the first, second, and third districts cover vast areas, so you should provide more support. If any anomalies occur in other places, you must also respond promptly."

With the Earthly Branches shadows dispatched, Li Banfeng then sent out the Heavenly Stems shadows: "Familiarize yourselves with the Imperial City as quickly as possible, clarify all mechanisms and secret passages, devise defensive strategies, and prepare for a fierce battle."

After the Heavenly Stems shadows were also dispatched, Li Banfeng and his wife began to study the uses of the three first-grade weapons together.

Minister Yu Yunqiu returned home and drank several cups of wine in silence. His son, Yu Daoquan, boiled wine nearby and offered a few comforting words: "Father, do not be troubled. How can the baseless words of a Puluo inferior race be taken seriously?"

Yu Yunqiu glanced at Yu Daoquan, initially intending to ignore him. He had over thirty sons, and Yu Daoquan was not born of his main wife, so Yu Yunqiu usually paid little attention to him. But with such a major event happening today, only Yu Daoquan dared to bring it up proactively. Perhaps he could actually accomplish something. Yu Yunqiu pondered for a moment, then instructed Yu Daoquan with a couple of sentences: "Your father hasn't taken Li Qi's words seriously, but I fear that someone else might."

Yu Daoquan said, "Are you talking about the Ao family? Are you worried they will defect to Li Qi?"

Yu Yunqiu shook his head with a bitter smile. "Your insight is still insufficient. Ao Shuangqian and I have contended our entire lives. While I disdain his character, I have never disdained his fighting spirit. He would not possibly defect to Li Qi, but within our own household, someone might truly believe Li Qi's words."

With that, Yu Daoquan understood. "Father, your son will immediately gather people and properly handle matters within the household first."

Yu Yunqiu owned over three thousand bondservants; some served as servants in his mansion, some tilled the fields, and some worked in shops. The servants in the mansion naturally dared not act rashly. The bondservants working in the fields were too far from the city and hadn't yet heard the news about the abolition of the bondservant system. Only the bondservants working in the shops had begun to entertain some ideas. Yu Yunqiu operated a porcelain shop in the Triple City. In the evening, the shopkeeper closed for the day, and the regular workers went home to rest. Only the bondservants were required to live in the porcelain shop, with the main door locked by an iron chain, preventing them from leaving the premises. There were a total of thirty-eight bondservants in the shop, all squeezed into a single shed to sleep. Around the hour of Chou (1 AM - 3 AM), a bondservant named Bei quietly woke up and nudged another bondservant next to him.

This bondservant was named Shun. He had been awake all along, waiting for Bei to call him. The two walked towards the shed's exit. Gong, a bondservant sleeping near the exit, suddenly sat up. "Where are you two going?" Among this group of bondservants, Gong was the oldest and most senior; all the bondservants feared him.

Shun quickly explained, "We're going to pee together."

"Isn't there a commode?" Gong stretched out a leg and pointed to the bucket in the corner. "That huge bucket isn't enough for you to pee in?"

Bei replied, "We're not just peeing; we also want to relieve ourselves, so we don't want to stink up the place for you."

Gong stared at the two for a moment. "Relieving yourselves together too? What a coincidence!"

Bei answered, "We ate something bad tonight; both of us feel unwell."

Gong sneered. "You won't have to eat tomorrow. You won't feel unwell after going hungry for a day."

Bei and Shun dared not say more. They lowered their heads and quickly left the shed, heading towards the outhouse. The two brothers had planned to climb out of the porcelain shop tonight, escape to outside the city, and hide in a forest. If the city lord kept his word, they would return to work; if not, they would live as savages in the forest.

Near the outhouse, Bei and Shun dragged out two stones from a pile of clay. They had originally hidden three stones in the pile, but one was nowhere to be found. The inner district walls were high, and the bondservants still wore iron yokes. Two stacked stones weren't enough to climb over the wall.

Shun whispered, "How about we give up tonight and figure something out tomorrow night?"

Bei shook his head. "No, by tomorrow night, the city lord's words might no longer count. By then, we won't even be able to get out of the city gate."

Shun lowered his head. "I'm afraid we won't get out of the city gate tonight either. This city lord is just spouting big words. If we get caught after going out, we'll lose our lives. At least now we're still alive!"

Bei looked at the distant shed and rattled the iron yoke on his body. "Is this considered living? Being whipped from dawn till dusk, working harder than livestock, eating worse than livestock, and dying in that shed when you can't work anymore? Is this how we're supposed to live our entire lives? I heard that some bondservants who escaped into the forests built their own houses, tilled their own land, earned their own food, and even married wives. *That* is what living truly means."

"Those are just rumors. Who can still see bondservants who fled into the mountains? Nobody knows if those stories are true or false. I also heard that any bondservant who leaves the city dies outside."

"We'll only know if it's true by trying. The day before yesterday, Xiao Mo spilled a bowl of soup for the young master and was beaten to death. You know about that, right? That wasn't fake, was it? No matter how bad our lives become, it has to be better than this, right?"

At Bei's words, Shun also made up his mind. "Alright, wait here for me. I'll go look for stones."

"Hurry back!"

Shun left, and Bei waited by the wall. After a while, he suddenly saw someone approaching with a torch. Bei was terrified and tried to crawl into the outhouse, but it was too late. A guard approached, raised his long spear, and pierced Bei's body, pinning him to the ground. Behind the guard stood Yu Daoquan. Behind Yu Daoquan stood Gong, the oldest bondservant in the porcelain shop.

Gong said to Yu Daoquan, "Young Master, I could tell at a glance these two lads had intentions. Saying they were going to relieve themselves together in the middle of the night, it turns out they were trying to escape."

Bei denied it, struggling on the ground. "We weren't trying to run away! We just needed to relieve ourselves!"

"Nonsense!" Gong roared, pointing to the stones at the base of the wall. "Where did these stones come from? Do you think I couldn't see through your little scheme? Are you missing a stone? I kept it for you! You ungrateful wretches, did your master ever deny you food or drink? You listen to the devilish words of that Puluo lowlife and dare to betray your master? Are you even human? Where is Shun? Where did he go?"

Bei yelled, "We really weren't trying to run away! Shun has already gone back to the shed!" He shouted so loudly for Shun to hear. Shun hadn't gone back to the shed; he was hiding behind the kiln. Hearing Bei's shout, Shun quickly ran towards the shed.

Yu Daoquan held a knife and made two cuts on Bei's face. "Li Qi says a random word, and you actually take it seriously? You are alive today because our family granted you your life. What use is there in keeping an ungrateful beast like you?"

"Young Master, I've been wronged! Wronged!" Bei pleaded.

Yu Daoquan ordered, "Beat him to death with clubs."

Shun fled back to the shed, curled up, and dared not move. He could hear Bei's wails, each one painfully clear. Bei's corpse was hung in front of the porcelain shop. Banfeng Zi happened to pass by, staying close to the wall, observing the situation.

Yu Daoquan sent for his father, Yu Yunqiu, who quickly arrived and listened as Yu Daoquan recounted the events. Yu Yunqiu nodded repeatedly. "This was well done. You should be rewarded. Tomorrow, choose a shop in the Triple City, and I will hand it over for you to manage."

Yu Daoquan quickly thanked him, then added, "Bondservant Gong made significant contributions this time. I request Father to grant him some rewards."

Gong lay prostrate nearby, not daring to breathe loudly. Yu Yunqiu glanced at Bondservant Gong. "Under normal circumstances, there would be a reward. But now, Li Qi is using the bondservants as a pretext, so a public reward is not appropriate. Let's temporarily record this merit." At merely the words "temporarily record this merit," Bondservant Gong was moved to tears, sobbing uncontrollably and repeatedly kowtowing on the ground.

Yu Yunqiu then ordered, "First, hang this corpse at the porcelain shop for a day, then send it around to all other shops for display, so the bondservants can see what happens to people like this." Yu Daoquan acknowledged the order.

Yu Yunqiu added, "I estimate there's more than just this one bondservant who wanted to escape." Yu Daoquan immediately understood. "Father, I will go check other places."

Yu Yunqiu returned to the Eighth City to rest. Yu Daoquan continued to inspect various shops with his men. The Yu family had many businesses in the Triple City. As he approached a silk shop, he suddenly saw several men approaching. These men were hunched, with long beards, and walked with a hop, looking somewhat like prawns. Seeing they carried weapons, it was unclear whose guards they were. Were they from the Ao family? Yu Daoquan was about to step forward and greet them, but as he caught the scent of these guards, he found it strange. They didn't have the Ao family's characteristic prawn-like odor; instead, there was a uniquely sweet fragrance of melon.

"Gentlemen, are you..."

Before he could finish, one of the guards swung an iron rod, hitting Yu Daoquan's leg. *Crack!* Yu Daoquan's leg was broken, and he immediately collapsed to his knees.

"You..." Yu Daoquan cried out in pain. Several guards around him rushed forward and engaged in a fight with the "melon-men." Both sides were evenly matched. Banfeng Yi said, "For such a trivial matter, you insist on using these 'melon-men'? They're completely useless."

Li Banfeng replied, "You're useful; you go."

Banfeng Yi actually went. He circled through the crowd, and all of Yu Daoquan's guards were knocked down.

"Lock them up!" Banfeng Yi ordered. The melon-men locked up Yu Daoquan and his guards and escorted them to the Imperial City.

That evening, passersby on the street saw Yu Daoquan being arrested and quickly informed the Yu family. Upon hearing the news, Yu Yunqiu immediately went to the Imperial City to demand his son's release. The Imperial City gates were tightly shut, and Li Banfeng refused to see him. Yu Yunqiu considered forcing his way in, but he was unsure of Li Qi's true strength. He didn't even know the origin of the "prawn-men" from the previous night. Having no other choice, he went to the Imperial City again the next day and waited for Li Qi at the entrance.

Around noon, Li Qi emerged, and Yu Daoquan was brought out as well. Ministers and scholars were all summoned and gathered in front of the Imperial City gates. The battered Yu Daoquan and a dozen or so guards were all forced to their knees on the ground. Yu Yunqiu wanted to step forward and argue, but Li Banfeng gave him a look. That single glance sent a shiver down Yu Yunqiu's spine, rendering him speechless for a moment.

Li Banfeng asked Yu Daoquan, "You treated human lives like grass; do you admit your guilt?"

Yu Daoquan shouted, "Bondservants are my private property! I have the right to dispose of them as I see fit!"

Li Banfeng said, "Yesterday I stated that the bondservant system has been abolished. You openly defied my order; do you admit your guilt?"

Yu Daoquan continued to shout, "I am innocent! Which family in Xiaocheng doesn't own bondservants? By what right do you convict me?"

"So, you do not plead guilty," Li Banfeng nodded slightly, then pronounced the sentence: "Beaten to death with a staff, and his corpse exposed for three days."