The most dissolute couple in the capital

After bringing He Li back to the Liang Prince's Mansion, Li Chengjing told He Li the whole story that Wang Chengyuan had found out earlier.

He Li pondered for a moment: "So, Miss Su is indeed deeply mired in trouble, all alone and helpless... Her scheming against me was truly out of desperation!"

Lee Seung-kyung: "..."

Cui Qingyi: "..."

Whoever reminded Su Ruolan behind her back was helping her find a good match.

Li Chengjing sighed: "It's not a bad thing for people to have a kind heart, but how many fools do bad things with good intentions? You're not a seven or eight-year-old child anymore. If this matter blows up, affecting your father's reputation, or even being used against you by your political enemies, how will you handle it?"

He Li was probably still somewhat skeptical: "It shouldn't be like that..."

Cui Qingyi said, "It's better to be safe than sorry, Young Master He. You've been spending your money all over the capital, always helping those in need. I'm afraid you've already attracted the attention of all sorts of shady characters. Think back carefully to those poor people you've helped before. How many of them were truly destitute, and how many were just taking advantage of your gullibility to set you up?"

"Your Highness, Your Highness, I know you have a point. It's just... whenever I see those pitiful people on the street, barely clothed and starving, I always feel guilty."

He Li remained silent for a moment before saying, "I was born into a life of luxury, and I have never done anything of merit, yet I enjoy endless comforts. Meanwhile, those common people toil day and night, struggling to survive, yet they can't even afford a hot meal. I simply cannot bear it..."

What merit have I now? I have never engaged in farming or sericulture.

(Note: This is from Bai Juyi's "Watching the Wheat Harvest")

Seeing He Li's appearance, Li Chengjing swallowed back the sarcastic remark that was on the tip of his tongue.

He scratched his hair in frustration and turned his head away.

Cui Qingyi asked, "Young Master He, are you familiar with the stories of 'Zigong redeeming people' and 'Zilu receiving an ox'?"

He Li was taken aback: "The Lüshi Chunqiu says that Zigong redeemed the people of Lu but did not accept compensation from the state treasury, and Confucius rebuked him; Zilu saved a drowning man and accepted a cow as a reward, but Confucius praised him highly..."

"Indeed. Zigong raised the bar for doing good, thus blocking the path for others to do good; Zilu was rewarded, but this encouraged more people to save lives. You are now giving away your wealth everywhere, seemingly generous, but in reality, you are condoning the greed of wicked people who set traps to deceive others. If everyone thinks your money is easy to swindle, those who are truly suffering will be exploited by local thugs who come running when they hear of it. Is this the kind of good you want?"

Cui Qingyi softened her tone: "The princess opening an orphanage is an act of kindness, officials diligently performing their duties is also an act of kindness, and the censor pointing out officials' mistakes and urging them to correct them in time is also an act of kindness. Your widespread generosity can only help a small group of people; but Lord He, as the Prefect of the Capital, is in charge of the city's security—how many people can he protect? If a prime minister could truly bring tangible benefits to the people, tens of thousands would benefit. Doing good deeds doesn't necessarily mean only giving away money."

He Li fell silent...

Cui Qingyi wasn't in a hurry, only saying, "Young Master He's path of kindness still needs time to explore, but Miss Su's matter certainly needs to be resolved in the next few days."

He Li quickly asked, "Please enlighten me, Your Highness."

Cui Qingyi said, "A fake can't become real. Su Lei's fake land deed got through because he bribed the clerk. How could such a low-level trick withstand the strict investigation of the Jingzhao Prefecture? Why not change the pretext and have the Jingzhao Prefecture check the official land deeds door-to-door under the pretext of verifying household registrations and checking for potential problems? Make sure to bring the bribed clerk along on the inspection to lull Su Lei into a false sense of security."

He Li slapped his thigh: "In this way, Su Lei will think there's an inside man present, and he'll be caught completely off guard, producing a fake land deed. When the truth is discovered in public, not only can we easily deal with Su's second uncle, but we can also catch that corrupt clerk red-handed!"

After saying that, he turned around and was about to rush out.

"Come back." Cui Qingyi chuckled and called out to this impetuous and hot-blooded fellow. "For this kind of matter that requires someone to keep things in order, let's ask His Highness Prince Liang, the most enthusiastic member of the imperial family in Chang'an, to step in."

Li Chengjing was not angry at all; on the contrary, he stepped forward quite consciously and said, "What the Princess says is absolutely right!"

-

The next morning, the Jingzhao Prefecture acted as swiftly as lightning.

With the personal "supervision" of His Highness Prince Liang, the Prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture dispatched a capable and shrewd household registration official overnight, along with several yamen runners, to knock on the doors of the neighborhood under the pretext of "verifying the household registration of this ward and strictly investigating potential problems with vagrants."

To make the performance more convincing, the troupe even included Zhang Wu, the clerk who had been bribed with a large sum of money.

Zhang Wu walked at the very back, carrying a stack of household registration books in his hands. His expression was somewhat stiff, but he managed to maintain his composure.

He knew exactly what was going on. Su Lei had given him thirty taels of silver to tamper with the property deed. Now that the authorities were investigating, he just needed to go along as usual and help them cover things up when they got to the Su family.

These household registration inspections were conducted in Chang'an every two or three years, but they were always just a formality. Who would really bother to examine those faded, ancient property deeds?

Anrenfang was small, with only about thirty households in total. The household registration official, Chen, proceeded unhurriedly, sitting in each household for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, flipping through the household registers, examining the property deeds, and occasionally asking a few questions.

How many people are in your family?

"Is this house inherited property or purchased?"

"Why is the date on the contract half a month different from the date recorded in our office? Oh, the official seal was just changed then, so there's bound to be some error. It's alright, it's alright."

Zhang Wu stood by seven or eight households and gradually relaxed.

It was just a formality after all.

The group slowly moved to the middle of the alley, in front of a house with a small courtyard.

The Su family.

Su Lei was already waiting in the yard.

Yesterday, he was furious because those random "passersby" had ruined his plans. But then he thought that they were probably just idle urchins from some neighborhood, trying to meddle in other people's business. Su Ruolan, that little brat, couldn't cause any trouble. She was just an orphan girl without a father, her sickly mother couldn't even get out of bed, and the only boy in the family was only seven years old. What kind of trouble could she possibly cause?

This morning, upon hearing that the officials from the Jingzhao Prefecture were checking household registrations door-to-door, he was not only unafraid, but his spirits lifted.

He paid a high price to have someone forge that property deed.

Su Lei straightened his clothes and came out to greet them, his face beaming with smiles: "Thank you for your hard work, officers! Please come in, please come in, the tea is ready."

The household registration official, Chen, politely cupped his hands in greeting: "Master Su, there's no need to be so polite. It's just routine business. Please have us take out your household registration documents and property deeds for review."

"Sure, sure!"

Su Lei turned around and shouted into the house, and his wife immediately came out carrying a wooden box.

The box was opened, and inside lay a yellowed land deed, folded neatly.

Su Lei proudly unfolded it and spread it on the table: "Look, this is the ancestral home under my late brother's name. My brother passed away a few years ago, so this property naturally belongs to me, Su Lei. There is the red seal of the government office on it, and it is clearly written in black and white."

The registrar, Chen, grunted in acknowledgment, bent down, picked up the land deed, and examined it carefully against the light.

After looking at it for a while, the household registration officer suddenly exclaimed, "Eh!"

"What's wrong?" Su Lei asked with a smile, his tone carrying a hint of barely perceptible tension.

The registrar, Chen, did not answer immediately. Instead, he took out a copper seal from his pocket, placed it next to the land deed, and compared the two.

Then he straightened up, his expression changing from easygoing to serious and businesslike.

"Master Su, the official seal on your land deed differs from the existing seals in our Jingzhao Prefecture in several places."

Su Lei's smile froze: "The marks are different...it could also be due to uneven force."

The registrar, Chen, pointed to the red seal on the land deed with his fingertip: "Different seals can be explained, but this seal is a new version issued last March, while the date on your land deed is August of the year before last. The old official seal was used in August of the year before last, and the old '府' character had a square opening, not a round one. How do you explain that?"

Zhang Wu's face turned pale instantly. He hadn't started working there yet in August of the year before last and didn't understand the intricacies of the situation.

Su Lei's eyes widened, and he subconsciously glanced in Zhang Wu's direction.

This glance was caught red-handed by Chen, the household registration officer.

"Guards!" Chen, the registrar, suddenly turned cold. "Seal this land deed and ask Master Su to return to the yamen to explain the origin of this document."

Two constables stepped forward, and Su Lei's legs went weak, almost causing him to fall to the ground.

"Wait! Wait! Sir! This, this must be a mistake! This land deed came legitimately from the government office..."

He was halfway through his sentence when he suddenly realized the problem: if he implicated Zhang Wu, the charge of forgery would be confirmed.

But he didn't say how to explain the flaws in the land deed in front of him, where the seal came from, or how to defend himself.

"I...I..." Su Lei's lips trembled.

Zhang Wu, standing in the back row, was in an even worse situation. His mind was buzzing, and he didn't know what to do.

The registrar, Chen, turned around and said leisurely, "Zhang Wu, come and take a look. Doesn't the official seal on this land deed look like it was made using a mold?"

The immense pressure overwhelmed Zhang Wu, and he knelt down on the ground with a thud.

"My lord, spare me! My lord, spare me! Su Lei gave me thirty taels of silver and asked me to stamp it! I was confused for a moment, so confused!"

Su Lei's eyes widened: "You—!"

Zhang Wu, no longer caring about him, prostrated himself on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly: "I confess everything! I confess everything! That deed was fake. The Su family's old house and shops were left to his daughter by Brother Su, and had nothing to do with Su Lei! Su Lei forced me to make the fake deed, saying he would give me another fifty taels after it was done. I was bewitched and agreed!"

After listening expressionlessly, the household registration officer waved his hand and said, "Take them all away."

The constables stepped forward and lifted Su Lei up from both sides.

Su Lei struggled for a moment, then suddenly yelled, "Why! That's my Su family's house! My brother is dead, and his family can't keep this house! I—"

When he was carried out of the hospital, a crowd of neighbors had already gathered in the alley to watch the spectacle. Some clapped and cheered, while others whispered among themselves.

Su Ruolan stood behind her own courtyard gate, watching everything through the crack in the door.

Only after Su Lei was put into the prison van did she slowly loosen her grip and let out a long breath.