Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 260, Am I the Emperor's Brother-in-Law?
"Mr. Yonghuai?"

Xue Pan scratched his head.

Who is the Duke of Yonghuai?

Song Yun, who was standing to the side, was also unaware.

When he left Huaizhou, it was just before Tan Chun's marriage alliance. At that time, Fang Yong was still the Marquis of Huaiyin and had not yet been enfeoffed as a Duke.

Fortunately, Li San usually lived among the common people and often heard storytellers recount Fang Yong's deeds, so he had some understanding of Fang Yong.

Li San ate his meal quickly while recounting Fang Yong's deeds.

"Yonghuai Gong's original name was Fang Yong. Legend has it that he was eight feet tall, had an extraordinary appearance, was the reincarnation of the Tai Sui god, and possessed immense strength, capable of kicking down a large tree with one kick."

However, due to his humble origins, he was repeatedly exploited by corrupt officials and eventually had no choice but to join the bandits in anger. He raised an army in Hongze Lake and his reputation for benevolence and righteousness became unparalleled in the world.

Later, natural disasters and man-made calamities struck the land, and chaos ensued. Yonghuai Gong established the Huaiyin Army, determined to eliminate corrupt officials and wicked bureaucrats and quell the chaos in the world.

Later, he submitted to the imperial court and was granted the title of Duke of Yonghuai.

Several months ago, the nomadic tribes invaded Central China, stormed the capital, and forced His Majesty to flee south. The people were plunged into turmoil, and the nation was on the verge of collapse.

At the critical moment, the Duke of Yonghuai raised the banner of righteousness, led his troops to defend the emperor, and saved the people of the world…

Li San recounted Fang Yong's deeds with some excitement. Because Fang Yong's background and way of doing things were very similar to those of them, the people of the underworld, Li San greatly admired Fang Yong.

The words he spoke were lyrics that Li Ni had commissioned to be embellish in order to win over people in the martial arts world.

Xue Pan, who was standing nearby, felt that the name sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place it.

Upon hearing this, Song Yun, who was standing beside him, snorted coldly and said:
"What Duke Yonghuai? Isn't he just the former bandit from Huaiyin?"

Upon hearing the words "traitor of Huaiyin," Xue Pan froze on the spot.

Li San, on the other side, was furious and cursed:

"What did you say? How could a death row inmate like you know about the noble principles of Lord Yonghuai?"

Song Yun's attitude remained unchanged, and he said with dissatisfaction:
"What righteousness? They are nothing but bandits who have ceded territory and become bandits. They are ignorant of the teachings of the sages, and their subordinates are corrupt and self-serving, thus wasting my talent as a top scholar. Sooner or later, they will surely be defeated and die!"

Li San was furious and said:
"Who do you think you are, with your disheveled appearance and the audacity to call yourself the top scholar? I think you're the top scholar among death row inmates!"

Song Yun glared angrily, and two lice popped out of her hair.

He was about to argue with Li San again when Xue Pan hurriedly pulled him over, picked up the two lice and ate them, asking:

"Brother Song, you told me about your background before. Didn't you say that it was the Marquis of Huaiyin who dismissed you? How come you've become the bandit of Huaiyin now?"

Upon hearing this, Song Yun and Li San exclaimed in unison, "That's the same person!"

Xue Pan was shocked: "What!"

Li San added, "His Majesty was grateful for the achievements of the Huaiyin Army and specially conferred upon General Fang of the Huaiyin Army the title of Marquis of Huaiyin. Later, he was also conferred the title of Duke of Yonghuai!"

Song Yun said, "What merit? It's clearly that the Huaiyin bandit has seized control of the Su and Hui prefectures and forced His Majesty to bestow titles upon him. Once I'm released from prison, I will definitely present His Majesty with a plan to defeat the bandit and eliminate this major threat from Huaiyin!"

Upon hearing this, Xue Pan clapped his hands, tears welling in his eyes, and laughed and cried at the same time, excitedly saying:
"Oh dear, Brother Song, it was just one person! It was just one person! Why didn't you say so sooner!"

Song Yun and Li San looked at Xue Pan with suspicion and asked:
"What's wrong with you?"

Xue Pan cried and laughed maniacally:
"You don't know this, back then..." It is said that Feng Tai started an uprising in Jinling. The rebel army quickly occupied Jinling. The Xue family, because of their great wealth, was the primary target of the attack, and the entire family was captured.

Most of the Xue clan members were executed on the spot. Only Xue Pan and Xue Ke survived because their sister was extremely beautiful and was taken as a concubine by Feng Tai. They were then forced to serve in the rebel army.

Later, due to setbacks in the war, Feng Tai gave Baochai and Baoqin to Fang Yong, hoping that Fang Yong would send troops to help.

At that time, Fang Yong had just established the Huaiyin Army, which was basically known as the Huaiyin Bandits. Therefore, the news that Xue Pan and Xue Ke received was that their sister had been given to the Huaiyin Bandits.

Xue Pan wept bitterly. His sister had been given to the river bandits, which was practically a death sentence. Even if she had survived, she would have been subjected to humiliation and her life would have been worse than death.

Later, Feng Tai was defeated, and his men scattered and fled.

Xue Pan and Xue Ke got separated, and Xue Pan carried his aunt Xue for thousands of miles, begging along the way, to the capital to find his relatives.

Trekking through mountains and rivers, my steps are desolate;
Braving wind, rain, cold, and frost, he stands alone, facing the elements.

Wolves, insects, tigers, and leopards—danger is hard to hide.
A bandit blocked the road, and my life hung in the balance.

After going through countless hardships, they finally arrived in the capital, only to be arrested and imprisoned by the guards at the gate.

Xue Pan fell backward to the ground, laughing and crying at the same time, and said regretfully:

"If I had known this would happen, why would I have come all the way to the capital? I could have gone directly to Huaizhou. Why would I have suffered such a great injustice and caused my mother's fate to remain unknown to this day!"

Song Yun had only just learned that Xue Pan had such a connection, and a pang of jealousy rose in his heart. He couldn't help but interrupt, saying:
"Don't be anxious. I've heard that Fang Yong is a lecherous man with countless wives and concubines. I wonder what's become of Brother Xue's sister. She might have been tortured to death by that scoundrel."

Upon hearing this, Xue Pan's spirits, which had just lifted slightly, immediately sank again.

Upon seeing this, Li San cursed Song Yun:
"Bah, you despicable man, how can you not be happy for others? Brother Xue, don't worry, although Lord Yonghuai is lustful, he is by no means a cruel person. When I have the opportunity to go out, I will definitely find out the truth for you!"

Upon hearing this, Xue Pan shook his head and put his arm around Song Yun's waist, saying:
"Thank you for your kindness, brother. Unfortunately, it's extremely difficult to get out of this death row! Besides, Brother Song is just being himself and has no ill intentions. Please don't take offense."

Upon hearing this, Song Yun pursed his lips, grasped Xue Pan's hand, and said nothing more.

Li San felt pain in his eyes, as if the injury from the lime sprinkled yesterday had not yet healed.

Shaking his head, Li San resisted the urge to pay attention to the strange things and said:

"Getting out from here isn't difficult!" he said, glancing at the small window at the top.

“I have the ability to shrink my bones, so I can squeeze through there. However, these shackles are too tight. I originally had an iron skewer hidden in my mouth, which could open these shackles. But the person who tortured me yesterday was very experienced and pried open my mouth and took the iron skewer away. Do you have any hard and slender items that can replace the iron skewer?”

What hard, thin object can replace a metal skewer?
Xue Pan and Song Yun pondered for a moment, then their eyes lit up at the same time, and they lay down on the ground to search carefully.

After a short while, Xue Pan said:
"found it!"

As he spoke, he picked up a white object from the ground, less than an inch long, and handed it to Li San.

Li San caught the object. Because the shackles were too tight and his fingers had limited range of motion, he put the object in his mouth and then bent down to unlock the shackles.

Li San held the object in his mouth and felt that it was warm and smooth, yet extremely hard. Its material was neither like jade nor copper or iron.

"What is this?"

Li San asked while biting it with his mouth.

(End of this chapter)