Chapter 5 – Hiding Silver

Ban Hua got out of the sedan chair and asked the servant who had come to greet her, “Has Shizi come back?”

Sponsored Content

“Xiangjun, Shizi came back half an hour ago,” the servant bowed and answered, “He is studying in his study.”

“Studying?” Ban Hua raised her eyebrows.
Her younger brother usually became dizzy as soon as he entered the study.
If he could actually calm his mind and read a book, it would really be like the sun rising in the west.
“Lets go.
I want to take a look at him.”

As soon as Ban Hua walked to the door of the study, she heard the sound of Ban Heng reading out loud, “Confucius said: Do not worry that others don’t understand themselves.
Only worry that you don’t understand others … “

She pushed the door open and saw him looking smug and serious.
Folding both arms over her chest, she said: “Don’t pretend.
You’re reciting “The Analects of Confucius” while holding “The Book of Rites” in your hand.
You are really amazing.”

“I am studying by the mixing up method.
My eyes read “The Book of Rites” but in my heart I’m reciting “The Analects of Confucius”.
Only this kind of method can help me improve my memory.” Ban Heng lied without blushing or skipping a beat “What would you know about such things being a woman?”

“Huh?” Ban Hua raised an eyebrow.
“What did you just say?”

“I… I didn’t say anything, ah” Ban Heng put down the “Book of Rites” in his hands and moved closer to Ban Hua with an ingratiating smile, “Sister, you know that my brain doesn’t work very well.
I was just speaking nonsense just now.”

Ban Hua ignored him, walked to the bookshelf and pulled out a collection of “Mencius”.
As soon as she opened the book she found that though it had the cover of “Mencius “, on the inside was actually some other random book.
Before she could open it, Ban Heng hurriedly snatched away  the book.

“Sister, my good sister, you can’t read this book.” After grabbing the book, Ban Heng desperately hugged it to his chest.
If he let his sister read this kind of book, his mother would beat him to death.

“I don’t have to read it to know what’s inside.
It’s nothing more than stories about encountering fox immortals in the mountains or a young nobleman and young lady’s mutual promise of marriage.” Ban Hua glanced at the shelf full of books and asked, “How come you’re so well behaved today?”

Ban Heng lowered his head and did not speak.

“Did you get into trouble outside again?” Ban Hua glanced at him suspiciously.
“Or are you short of money?”

“That … it’s not a big deal,” Ban Heng’s eyes looked up at the roof and down at the ground but he dared not look at Ban Hua, “It’s just a little thing.”

“Tell me quickly.
What’s wrong?” Ban Hua sat down on a chair and pointed to the seat next to her.
“Sit down and tell me slowly.”

“Today, when I was coming back after riding, a person suddenly scuttled out from a side lane and my horse accidentally kicked him.” Ban Heng felt that he himself had suffered a grievance.
Clearly, he had ridden the horse very slowly.
Who knew that someone would suddenly emerge from nowhere to scare his horse and then get kicked by the horse?

One must know that this horse was given to him by his grandmother.
It is said that it was a pure-blooded horse given as tribute from beyond the Great Wall.
It had strong legs and he suspected that the one who was kicked by it had been badly injured.

“And then?” Ban Hua frowned.
Although her brother was an idle wastrel, he absolutely would not do things such as releasing his horse in crowded areas and hurting people.

“And then, I was about to take him to see the doctor, but suddenly a few more people rushed out from the side, hauled him off the ground and ran away before I could respond.” Ban Heng touched his not very smart head and asked, “What do you think should be done about this?”

“Report it.” Ban Hua shelled the nuts on the fruit tray before her and said lazily while eating.
“Anyway, we can’t find that man again and we don’t want to be plotted against by others.
So just report the case to the authorities.
“

“What if they arrest me? “

“Do you have a pig brain?” Ban Hua stared at Ban Heng in a mood of hating iron for not becoming steel, “You must say that today you saw someone who looked like they were being hunted down to be killed and he also crashed into your horse.
Moreover, you were worried that he might have met with some mishap and you wanted to report this case to the officials” Ban Hua gently stroked the blood jade bracelet on her wrist,”Who would dare to touch you then? “

“That’s also true.” Ban Heng thought that anyway he wouldn’t be out of luck until after five years had passed and he was full of confidence.
“What if it wasn’t a kidnapping? “

“You just reported your suspicion as a matter of goodwill, right? “Ban Hua dusted off her hands and stood up,”Are you in charge of his business? Get yourself out of trouble first before worrying about other things.”

“I understand, I will go immediately.” Although Ban Heng’s brain didn’t work too well, he too had his strengths, one of which was that he could act on others’ good ideas.
So now that Ban Hua had said so much, he obediently did as told like a good child.

As night was about to fall, Zhao Dongan, the county magistrate of Beijing, was about to change out of his official gown and go home to dinner when he was interrupted by a bailiff informing him that Jingting Hou Shizi had come to report a case.

As a petty official of the Eighth rank who was responsible for public security in Beijing, Zhao Dongan spent his days between the devil and the deep blue sea because this was beneath the nose of the Emperor and any trivial event could blow up into something major at any time.
In addition, there were many nobles in the capital and even ordinary people may have one or two prominent relatives.
So for the sake of law and order in the capital, he went to a lot of trouble.

When he heard that the son of Jingting Hou had come and that too in order to report a crime, he almost spit out blood.

Sponsored Content

What couldn’t be resolved directly by the grandson of the eldest princess? Even if something really happened, shouldn’t he go to the Lord Mayor to report it instead of coming to him, a lowly eighth-ranked little petty official? Although he felt incomparably suffocated in his heart, County Magistrate Zhao didn’t dare to show even a bit of displeasure on his face.
He put his gown in order and strode out with large steps to welcome him.

 As soon as he walked through the door, he saw a young boy wearing a brocade robe with a jade crown in his hair and an embroidered belt tied around his waist, standing in the yard.
Contrary to expectations, he looked like a handsome and elegant young noble.

It was a pity that it was just in appearance.

“This petty official, Zhao Dongan, is pleased to meet Ban Shizi.”

“Master Zhao is too polite.” Ban Heng saw that Zhao Dongan was not very old, but his hair had already turned mostly white and reached out considerately to support him “I came here today in order to report an incident to you.”

County Magistrate Zhao shuddered.
” May I know what incident Shizi wishes to report? “

“It may be a murder case.”

A… a murder? !

County Magistrate Zhao felt like his heart was crumbling to pieces and his inner voice was saying, “Don’t think that you can talk nonsense just because you’re a Shizi.
A matter involving human life is not trivial at all!”

Ignoring Zhao Dongan ’s crumbling heart, Ban Heng recounted what happened in the afternoon and finally sighed, “When I thought that this person was injured and then taken away by unidentified people, my mind wasn’t at peace.
Therefore I came to report this incident.
I hope County Magistrate Zhao won’t blame me for making a fuss over a small thing.”

What could County Magistrate Zhao say? He could only respectfully send this person off from his office and praise him as a good citizen contributing to the Imperial cause.

“Lord County Magistrate, what should we do about this?” After Ban Heng left, the bailiff looked at Zhao Dongan awkwardly and asked, “Should we investigate this or not?”

“Jingting Hou Shizi personally came to report a crime.
You tell me if we should investigate it or not?” Zhao Dongan sighed, “Not only must this be investigated but it must also be investigated with great fanfare.
And we can’t just investigate this murder case, but it’s even more important to strengthen patrols in order to improve the law and order in Beijing.”

Although the bailiff didn’t clearly understand why so much needed to be done, he still arranged things according to the county officer’s intentions.

Zhao Dongan scratched his grizzled hair in distress, thinking that after tonight, he would have even more white hair on his head.

“Sister, I’ve handled this matter.” Ban Heng rushed into Ban Hua’s courtyard animatedly and felt content and satisfied after drinking two cups of tea.
“The county magistrate praised me to the clouds.
Even I myself blushed in shame when I heard how much he praised me.
“

“Relax, when you are not a Hou Shizi anymore, no one will praise you against your conscience.” Ban Hua reclined on a couch motionless as a maidservant dyed her nails, “There are still people who are willing to praise you, so enjoy it well for now.”

“You are my most intimate sister.” Ban Heng leaned towards Ban Hua, staring at Ban Hua’s hand for a while.
Suddenly he said, “Sister, I found that your hands are very pretty.”

“Well, I feel the same way.
Congratulations.
You’ve lived with me for fifteen years and finally found out this fact.” Ban Hua lifted her chin, “There are a few silver banknotes in that bookcase over there.
You can take them to spend.”

 “Sister, I knew from the start that you are the one who treats me the best in this whole house.” Ban Heng happily found the silver banknotes and stuffed them into his bosom.
“How did you know that I was short of money?”

“When are you not short of money?” Ban Hua’s beautiful eyebrows were slightly raised.
“You can take this silver and go cock fighting and cricket fighting.
However, you can’t step foot into those places where you shouldn’t go.
If you dare to violate this, even before father and mother come to discipline you, I’ll beat you up first.”

Ban Heng remembered that his sister had followed  their grandfather to learn martial arts and immediately vowed unconditionally that he would never go to the red light area or the casinos.

His grandfather, when he was alive, had been the Commander in Chief who had led generals to the battlefield to kill the enemy.
The previous emperor had once boasted that his grandfather was “first among all the generals of the nation”.
Unfortunately, his grandfather had injured his arm on the battlefield and had become unable to go to the frontier again.

It is said that when his grandfather was alive, he had liked his sister very much.
From an early age, he had treated her like the apple of his eye and showered her with gold, jewels and silver money, so that his sister had developed her current character.

One day at the end of September, Ban Huai went out early in the morning and didn’t return to the house until nightfall.
The other three members of the family saw that his clothes were still stained with dirt and that he had a mysterious look on his face.
They were a little curious about what he’d done.

“I buried two pots of silver in our country manor” Ban Huai said softly, “Not even the closest servants know that I went to bury something today.” 

To this, Yin-shi couldn’t help saying: “What’s the use of burying it in the country manor? When the new Emperor confiscates our wealth, can we still go to the country manor? “

Sponsored Content

Ban Huai was taken aback for a moment.
He had thought that the Hou Fu would be confiscated, but had forgotten that the country manor probably would not belong to him after the incident.
Thinking of this, his excitement was completely dragged down that he’d spent the entire day in vain.

However, this inspired Ban Hua.
She could not bury silver in the country manor, but she could still bury it in some sparsely populated forests.
She and Ban Heng would wander around tomorrow to see if they could find a suitable place and in the future, when their house was searched and possessions confiscated, the silver could be dug out from where they hid it.
And if they buried silver in multiple places, even if some were to be discovered by others, there should always be some which were overlooked.

Early the next morning, the elder sister and younger brother of the Ban family left the city with a few guards.
Then, in the name of training her younger brother’s physical strength, Ban Hua asked Ban Heng to carry two bags of sand up the mountain by himself without the help of the guards.

“The martial arts left behind by grandfather can’t be shown to you,” Today, Ban Hua specifically wore a suit of clothing that was convenient to move and ride in and said to the guard behind her, “You go and guard outside.” 

 The guards thought that the Xiangjun wanted to teach the Shizi the secret fighting techniques of the family and so they all discreetly retreated to the periphery.

If they were caught stealing a family’s special techniques, it was indeed a big crime.
They were happy working in the Houfu and didn’t want to bring trouble upon themselves.

“What are you doing still gaping distractedly? Quickly dig!” Ban Hua took out a shovel hidden in the bag and knelt on the ground to dig.

“Sister, my hand is about to break” Ban Heng shook his aching arm with a bitter face, squatting down to dig up the earth and occasionally making furious training sounds to avoid suspicion.

The sister and the brother dug furiously with their hands and feet, but they did not know that someone had come and was watching them from the side.

“What are you doing?”

 

 

Chapter 5 – Hiding Silver

Ban Hua got out of the sedan chair and asked the servant who had come to greet her, “Has Shizi come back?”

“Xiangjun, Shizi came back half an hour ago,” the servant bowed and answered, “He is studying in his study.”

“Studying?” Ban Hua raised her eyebrows.
Her younger brother usually became dizzy as soon as he entered the study.
If he could actually calm his mind and read a book, it would really be like the sun rising in the west.
“Lets go.
I want to take a look at him.”

As soon as Ban Hua walked to the door of the study, she heard the sound of Ban Heng reading out loud, “Confucius said: Do not worry that others don’t understand themselves.
Only worry that you don’t understand others … “

She pushed the door open and saw him looking smug and serious.
Folding both arms over her chest, she said: “Don’t pretend.
You’re reciting “The Analects of Confucius” while holding “The Book of Rites” in your hand.
You are really amazing.”

“I am studying by the mixing up method.
My eyes read “The Book of Rites” but in my heart I’m reciting “The Analects of Confucius”.
Only this kind of method can help me improve my memory.” Ban Heng lied without blushing or skipping a beat “What would you know about such things being a woman?”

“Huh?” Ban Hua raised an eyebrow.
“What did you just say?”

“I… I didn’t say anything, ah” Ban Heng put down the “Book of Rites” in his hands and moved closer to Ban Hua with an ingratiating smile, “Sister, you know that my brain doesn’t work very well.
I was just speaking nonsense just now.”

Ban Hua ignored him, walked to the bookshelf and pulled out a collection of “Mencius”.
As soon as she opened the book she found that though it had the cover of “Mencius “, on the inside was actually some other random book.
Before she could open it, Ban Heng hurriedly snatched away  the book.

“Sister, my good sister, you can’t read this book.” After grabbing the book, Ban Heng desperately hugged it to his chest.
If he let his sister read this kind of book, his mother would beat him to death.

“I don’t have to read it to know what’s inside.
It’s nothing more than stories about encountering fox immortals in the mountains or a young nobleman and young lady’s mutual promise of marriage.” Ban Hua glanced at the shelf full of books and asked, “How come you’re so well behaved today?”

Ban Heng lowered his head and did not speak.

“Did you get into trouble outside again?” Ban Hua glanced at him suspiciously.
“Or are you short of money?”

“That … it’s not a big deal,” Ban Heng’s eyes looked up at the roof and down at the ground but he dared not look at Ban Hua, “It’s just a little thing.”

“Tell me quickly.
What’s wrong?” Ban Hua sat down on a chair and pointed to the seat next to her.
“Sit down and tell me slowly.”

Sponsored Content

“Today, when I was coming back after riding, a person suddenly scuttled out from a side lane and my horse accidentally kicked him.” Ban Heng felt that he himself had suffered a grievance.
Clearly, he had ridden the horse very slowly.
Who knew that someone would suddenly emerge from nowhere to scare his horse and then get kicked by the horse?

One must know that this horse was given to him by his grandmother.
It is said that it was a pure-blooded horse given as tribute from beyond the Great Wall.
It had strong legs and he suspected that the one who was kicked by it had been badly injured.

“And then?” Ban Hua frowned.
Although her brother was an idle wastrel, he absolutely would not do things such as releasing his horse in crowded areas and hurting people.

“And then, I was about to take him to see the doctor, but suddenly a few more people rushed out from the side, hauled him off the ground and ran away before I could respond.” Ban Heng touched his not very smart head and asked, “What do you think should be done about this?”

“Report it.” Ban Hua shelled the nuts on the fruit tray before her and said lazily while eating.
“Anyway, we can’t find that man again and we don’t want to be plotted against by others.
So just report the case to the authorities.
“

“What if they arrest me? “

“Do you have a pig brain?” Ban Hua stared at Ban Heng in a mood of hating iron for not becoming steel, “You must say that today you saw someone who looked like they were being hunted down to be killed and he also crashed into your horse.
Moreover, you were worried that he might have met with some mishap and you wanted to report this case to the officials” Ban Hua gently stroked the blood jade bracelet on her wrist,”Who would dare to touch you then? “

“That’s also true.” Ban Heng thought that anyway he wouldn’t be out of luck until after five years had passed and he was full of confidence.
“What if it wasn’t a kidnapping? “

“You just reported your suspicion as a matter of goodwill, right? “Ban Hua dusted off her hands and stood up,”Are you in charge of his business? Get yourself out of trouble first before worrying about other things.”

“I understand, I will go immediately.” Although Ban Heng’s brain didn’t work too well, he too had his strengths, one of which was that he could act on others’ good ideas.
So now that Ban Hua had said so much, he obediently did as told like a good child.

As night was about to fall, Zhao Dongan, the county magistrate of Beijing, was about to change out of his official gown and go home to dinner when he was interrupted by a bailiff informing him that Jingting Hou Shizi had come to report a case.

As a petty official of the Eighth rank who was responsible for public security in Beijing, Zhao Dongan spent his days between the devil and the deep blue sea because this was beneath the nose of the Emperor and any trivial event could blow up into something major at any time.
In addition, there were many nobles in the capital and even ordinary people may have one or two prominent relatives.
So for the sake of law and order in the capital, he went to a lot of trouble.

When he heard that the son of Jingting Hou had come and that too in order to report a crime, he almost spit out blood.

What couldn’t be resolved directly by the grandson of the eldest princess? Even if something really happened, shouldn’t he go to the Lord Mayor to report it instead of coming to him, a lowly eighth-ranked little petty official? Although he felt incomparably suffocated in his heart, County Magistrate Zhao didn’t dare to show even a bit of displeasure on his face.
He put his gown in order and strode out with large steps to welcome him.

 As soon as he walked through the door, he saw a young boy wearing a brocade robe with a jade crown in his hair and an embroidered belt tied around his waist, standing in the yard.
Contrary to expectations, he looked like a handsome and elegant young noble.

It was a pity that it was just in appearance.

“This petty official, Zhao Dongan, is pleased to meet Ban Shizi.”

“Master Zhao is too polite.” Ban Heng saw that Zhao Dongan was not very old, but his hair had already turned mostly white and reached out considerately to support him “I came here today in order to report an incident to you.”

County Magistrate Zhao shuddered.
” May I know what incident Shizi wishes to report? “

“It may be a murder case.”

A… a murder? !

County Magistrate Zhao felt like his heart was crumbling to pieces and his inner voice was saying, “Don’t think that you can talk nonsense just because you’re a Shizi.
A matter involving human life is not trivial at all!”

Ignoring Zhao Dongan ’s crumbling heart, Ban Heng recounted what happened in the afternoon and finally sighed, “When I thought that this person was injured and then taken away by unidentified people, my mind wasn’t at peace.
Therefore I came to report this incident.
I hope County Magistrate Zhao won’t blame me for making a fuss over a small thing.”

What could County Magistrate Zhao say? He could only respectfully send this person off from his office and praise him as a good citizen contributing to the Imperial cause.

“Lord County Magistrate, what should we do about this?” After Ban Heng left, the bailiff looked at Zhao Dongan awkwardly and asked, “Should we investigate this or not?”

“Jingting Hou Shizi personally came to report a crime.
You tell me if we should investigate it or not?” Zhao Dongan sighed, “Not only must this be investigated but it must also be investigated with great fanfare.
And we can’t just investigate this murder case, but it’s even more important to strengthen patrols in order to improve the law and order in Beijing.”

Although the bailiff didn’t clearly understand why so much needed to be done, he still arranged things according to the county officer’s intentions.

Sponsored Content

Zhao Dongan scratched his grizzled hair in distress, thinking that after tonight, he would have even more white hair on his head.

“Sister, I’ve handled this matter.” Ban Heng rushed into Ban Hua’s courtyard animatedly and felt content and satisfied after drinking two cups of tea.
“The county magistrate praised me to the clouds.
Even I myself blushed in shame when I heard how much he praised me.
“

“Relax, when you are not a Hou Shizi anymore, no one will praise you against your conscience.” Ban Hua reclined on a couch motionless as a maidservant dyed her nails, “There are still people who are willing to praise you, so enjoy it well for now.”

“You are my most intimate sister.” Ban Heng leaned towards Ban Hua, staring at Ban Hua’s hand for a while.
Suddenly he said, “Sister, I found that your hands are very pretty.”

“Well, I feel the same way.
Congratulations.
You’ve lived with me for fifteen years and finally found out this fact.” Ban Hua lifted her chin, “There are a few silver banknotes in that bookcase over there.
You can take them to spend.”

 “Sister, I knew from the start that you are the one who treats me the best in this whole house.” Ban Heng happily found the silver banknotes and stuffed them into his bosom.
“How did you know that I was short of money?”

“When are you not short of money?” Ban Hua’s beautiful eyebrows were slightly raised.
“You can take this silver and go cock fighting and cricket fighting.
However, you can’t step foot into those places where you shouldn’t go.
If you dare to violate this, even before father and mother come to discipline you, I’ll beat you up first.”

Ban Heng remembered that his sister had followed  their grandfather to learn martial arts and immediately vowed unconditionally that he would never go to the red light area or the casinos.

His grandfather, when he was alive, had been the Commander in Chief who had led generals to the battlefield to kill the enemy.
The previous emperor had once boasted that his grandfather was “first among all the generals of the nation”.
Unfortunately, his grandfather had injured his arm on the battlefield and had become unable to go to the frontier again.

It is said that when his grandfather was alive, he had liked his sister very much.
From an early age, he had treated her like the apple of his eye and showered her with gold, jewels and silver money, so that his sister had developed her current character.

One day at the end of September, Ban Huai went out early in the morning and didn’t return to the house until nightfall.
The other three members of the family saw that his clothes were still stained with dirt and that he had a mysterious look on his face.
They were a little curious about what he’d done.

“I buried two pots of silver in our country manor” Ban Huai said softly, “Not even the closest servants know that I went to bury something today.” 

To this, Yin-shi couldn’t help saying: “What’s the use of burying it in the country manor? When the new Emperor confiscates our wealth, can we still go to the country manor? “

Ban Huai was taken aback for a moment.
He had thought that the Hou Fu would be confiscated, but had forgotten that the country manor probably would not belong to him after the incident.
Thinking of this, his excitement was completely dragged down that he’d spent the entire day in vain.

However, this inspired Ban Hua.
She could not bury silver in the country manor, but she could still bury it in some sparsely populated forests.
She and Ban Heng would wander around tomorrow to see if they could find a suitable place and in the future, when their house was searched and possessions confiscated, the silver could be dug out from where they hid it.
And if they buried silver in multiple places, even if some were to be discovered by others, there should always be some which were overlooked.

Early the next morning, the elder sister and younger brother of the Ban family left the city with a few guards.
Then, in the name of training her younger brother’s physical strength, Ban Hua asked Ban Heng to carry two bags of sand up the mountain by himself without the help of the guards.

“The martial arts left behind by grandfather can’t be shown to you,” Today, Ban Hua specifically wore a suit of clothing that was convenient to move and ride in and said to the guard behind her, “You go and guard outside.” 

 The guards thought that the Xiangjun wanted to teach the Shizi the secret fighting techniques of the family and so they all discreetly retreated to the periphery.

If they were caught stealing a family’s special techniques, it was indeed a big crime.
They were happy working in the Houfu and didn’t want to bring trouble upon themselves.

“What are you doing still gaping distractedly? Quickly dig!” Ban Hua took out a shovel hidden in the bag and knelt on the ground to dig.

“Sister, my hand is about to break” Ban Heng shook his aching arm with a bitter face, squatting down to dig up the earth and occasionally making furious training sounds to avoid suspicion.

The sister and the brother dug furiously with their hands and feet, but they did not know that someone had come and was watching them from the side.

“What are you doing?”