Steam trains in ancient times (1): Unforeseen disaster

With Xiu Xiu’s help, Si Qi entered the world.

The pitch-black vision gradually became clear, and the sounds of noisy conversations in the neighborhood came closer and closer, and finally fell completely into his ears.

“Are you tired, Er Lang?”

Si Qi turned his head and looked at the woman beside him who was looking at him with concern.

Willow-leaf eyebrows, almond-shaped eyes, skin as white as cream, and a face as beautiful as a fairy. But at this moment, her eyebrows were slightly furrowed, hiding a look of worry, with a look of deep affection that made him feel pity.

The instinct left in the original owner’s body made Si Qi subconsciously pretend to be fine. His face was calm, and he said weakly, “I’m not tired. Sister, don’t worry.”

The woman took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat off Si Qi’s forehead. “You have just recovered from a serious illness. If you have any urgent matters, you can do it later.”

Si Qi recalled the original owner’s memory and shook his head slowly: “If I miss this, I don’t know when I can wait again.”

The woman’s eyes became more sorrowful after hearing this. She wanted to persuade him again, but when she thought of her brother’s distress, she sighed silently and said no more.

“Then take a rest at the tea stall. I’ll get you a cup of tea to quench your thirst. It won’t be a problem at this moment.”

Si Qi walked all the way dragging his tired and weak body. At this moment, he was breathing rapidly and his vision was blackening.

Seeing that his physical condition was indeed not good, Si Qi nodded slightly, and sat down at a roadside tea stall with the help of his sister.

Unlike the original owner in the previous world who was full of energy and had endless vitality, the original owner this time was a scholar with a clear mind and a wide range of thinking skills.

His memory was so good that when Si Qi recalled a book he read several worlds ago, he could clearly remember the content of every line of the book.

With such a good brain as an aid, you can get twice the result with half the effort…

Xiu Xiu suddenly issued a warning: [Master!! Si Peihuan is in danger!!]

Si Qi raised his head quickly, and his eyes, which originally seemed a little tired and sleepy, were now as cold as frosty blades, staring straight at the woman not far away.

The woman looked terrified. The tea and cakes she had brought for her brother were all spilled on the ground. A group of servants who appeared out of nowhere surrounded her and shouted at her.

The petite figure kept trying to struggle and dodge amidst the crowd’s obstruction, but was blocked back every time, appearing quite helpless.

Upon seeing this, the people around fled in all directions, and that area was the only empty space in the huge street.

A young man wearing a satin purple shirt, a white jade belt around his waist, and gold-threaded soft boots stood in front of the woman with his hands behind his back.

He had a droopy look on his face and a lewd smile, brushing off the cake crumbs that had stained his body, whether intentionally or by coincidence, and pinched the woman’s fair chin with his fingers, looking at her face wantonly, as if evaluating her. His expression was obscene and his attitude was frivolous.

The woman’s face turned pale, and she loudly begged and resisted something, but the young man grabbed her wrist and dragged her forcefully, trying to take her away.

The servants around him all had happy expressions, smiling, and seemed to be trying to please him.

Si Qi stood up, holding onto the table. Without saying a word, he picked up the stool behind him and threw it over.

The heavy object fell to the ground with a loud noise. The servants looked over here in astonishment, and the young master’s attempt to rob the girl was temporarily interrupted.

Si Qi strode in, his face cold and his tone icy: “Let her go!”

The young master looked away from the stool and glanced at Si Qi with contempt, his chin raised, arrogant and haughty: “This woman soiled my clothes, so she should apologize to me! Since she’s pretty, I don’t want her to do anything. She just needs to drink with me and make me happy! Don’t be so rude and disturb my fun. I’ll let your sister go in the evening or tomorrow morning.”

This was really outrageous.

Si Peihuan’s eyes were filled with tears. She stretched out her hands in fear and tried to grab the hem of her younger brother’s clothes. She kept saying, “I didn’t mean to do that. He just rushed over suddenly…”

Si Qi comforted his sister and ordered the young man again: “Let go!”

After saying that, he slapped the young man’s wrist away, brought his sister over, and hid her behind him.

The young man looked at his hand in astonishment, apparently not expecting that the pale and sickly man could move so skillfully, and he was caught off guard for a moment and was slapped by him.

His expression turned ugly at that moment, and his pair of dark eyes looked at Si Qi viciously, sizing him up.

He was wearing a rough linen shirt and had no ornaments at all, looking like a poor scholar, which was completely different from his noble self.

Nowadays, it was not a big deal for the second generation of officials to rob women and oppress the people.

If it happens to you, if you endure it, the problem may be resolved as a tragedy for just one or two people, and if you are lucky, there may not even be any loss of life.

If you don’t know how to endure it, report it to the government. Well, the whole family will die.

Are you feeling resentful and want to file a complaint and seek an explanation?

You can go to the king of hell to seek justice for yourself.

The young man looked defiant and waved his hand. A group of servants quickly surrounded them. One of them reached out and grabbed the woman’s arm, scaring her so much that she let out a helpless scream.

She knew how she would be treated if she was taken away now, how people around her would point fingers at her, and she would never be able to hold her head up for the rest of her life.

In a panic, she suddenly saw that her younger brother’s face was colder and gloomier than usual. His originally powerless body now seemed exceptionally tall and majestic, protecting her tightly behind him. A slender pale hand grabbed the servant’s wrist, and with a snap, it broke the joint directly, causing the servant to let out a heart-wrenching howl in pain, which shocked Si Peihuan.

Si Qi forced one person to retreat, took out an article from his arms, and hurriedly stuffed it into Si Peihuan’s hands. His face, which was usually expressionless, was particularly calm at this moment. He looked at the woman’s red eyes from crying and earnestly instructed: “Send this article to Mr. Chu of the Crescent Tea House, and state that it was written by Si Juren¹ who missed the imperial examination due to illness. If he is interested, tell him about my current situation.”

Si Qi’s tone was so calm that it was impossible to refuse: “Go ahead, don’t stop.”

The woman’s almond-shaped eyes widened, tears unconsciously flowing from them. She wanted to stay, but when she heard what her brother said, she nodded heavily with a determined look.

Si Qi pushed her lightly on the back and escorted her out of the encirclement. He picked up a broom from the door of an inn by the roadside, stepped on the top of the broom and broke it off. He took out a wooden stick and held it in his hand, looking at the people in front of him.

The young master looked at the scholar’s frail appearance with a half-smile, glanced at the woman, and didn’t care too much. He said arrogantly and sneered: “Teach this brat a lesson for me, so that he will never meddle in other people’s business again!”

Seeing this, Si Qi’s heart sank slightly, and the vague guess in his mind finally came true.

Sure enough, the purpose of this dispute was not as simple as just lust.

The allegation of raping a woman in the street was just a convenient excuse to prevent the matter from reaching another sensitive level. This trouble was designed to target him from the beginning.

Si Qi was weak and could not hold out for long, let alone subdue the enemy and escape as easily as before.

The stick hit the servants hard in the face, breaking their noses and causing blood to flow. A drop of blood flew out and just brushed the face of the young master who was standing outside watching the excitement with a cold look in his eyes, but the other party didn’t even blink.

Just this reaction showed that the other party was not as arrogant and irrational as he pretended to be. Seeing Si Qi’s eyes that could wake people up from nightmares, he just frowned slightly, pursed his lips, and laughed wantonly after a while, saying loudly: “Break his dog legs for me!”

Si Qi was weak and his vision was blurry. He took a step back in a hurry and was almost hit on the back of the head by a stick. The weapon grazed the flesh next to his ear, causing a burning pain.

He stood on the street, panting and leaning against the stick, surrounded by servants who were beaten and screaming, and the last few servants standing in front of the young master.

“I underestimated you.” After several failed attacks, the young master looked gloomy, his eyes full of malice to chop Si Qi into pieces, and shouted: “A bunch of rubbish! You can’t even take down a scholar! Move faster, or I will chop you alive!”

The servants hurriedly stood up and glared angrily at the weak and skinny scholar.

If the original owner was here, he would have been involved in the dispute by now, his sister would have been kidnapped, and he would have been beaten beyond recognition.

Not to mention taking the article to that person, he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to speak a complete sentence for the next few months.

After another half an incense stick of time, Si Qi’s body became weak and he could no longer hold the long stick. His knees gave way and he fell to the ground.

Xiu Xiu was screaming loudly in his mind. He saw Si Qi being beaten and the little golden beans kept falling down, making a whimpering sound.

Several servants saw the opportunity and rushed over, grabbed Si Qi’s shoulders and pressed him roughly to the ground.

One of them presented him to the young master like a treasure, with an appearance of allowing the young master to torture and abuse him.

The young man sneered and looked at the scholar in front of him. Noticing that the scholar’s eyes were cold and his face was indifferent, without any fear or cowardice, his mood became worse.

“You’re tough, huh? You’d better be soft, huh?” The young master sneered, “He fought in the street, provoked his superiors, and injured many of my men. I’ll send him to the government jail and see how long he can keep his mouth shut!”

The group roughly carried Si Qi to the government office. The county magistrate had not shown up yet, and the master came running over in a hurry. When he saw his fellow disciple lying in the middle with a limp body and his head hanging as if unconscious, he became anxious.

“Hey, what’s going on?”

Si Qi heard the familiar voice and slowly raised his head. Master and Si Qi looked at each other, and Si Qi looked at him calmly.

The master paused for a moment, then ran over with a flattering smile on his face and said to the young master, “Young Master, I want to ask you, who are you…?”

The purple-robed young man said in a defiant tone, “I am the son of the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. Today, I have captured a thug who committed a crime in the street for your Yamen²! According to the criminal law, how should he be punished?”

The master smiled more eagerly and flatteringly, saying: “So that’s how it is. Young master really has a chivalrous heart! If you want to put him in jail, you need a written indictment and hand it over to the county magistrate for interrogation…”

“Shut up!” The young minister’s face darkened, and he pointed at the master’s forehead and said, “What the young master said is the evidence! Why waste time on those useless pieces of paper? Do you think the young master will lie to you?”

“You are so kind, so kind. How dare I doubt you? That is absolutely not true.” The master’s forehead was sweating, he kept nodding and bowing to beg for mercy, stammering and trying to make excuses. However, the county magistrate hurriedly ran out from behind, and when he saw that the purple-clothed young man looked quite similar to the Minister of Revenue, he immediately laughed before he came to greet him: “Is it the son of the Minister of Revenue? Oh, after meeting you today, you are indeed as brave and extraordinary as the legends say!”

The county magistrate was a seasoned man, and when he saw Si Qi’s miserable appearance, he knew that his chance to please his superior had come.

After hearing the charges that the purple-robed young master had laid on Si Qi, he waved his hand and said with full energy, “So that’s how it is! Such a villain actually appeared in the capital, committing murder in the street, he is so rampant! Someone, come! Take him to jail, I want to give him a thorough trial!”

Seeing this, the master’s heart sank. He had worked here for many years, how could he not know how much suffering ordinary people who offended high-ranking officials and were sent to prison would suffer. To be able to walk out alive and well was a blessing from the ancestors.

Seeing Si Qi being chained by several yamen runners, with no chance of escape, and seeing the county magistrate looking at the minister in a flattering manner, his mouth was full of flattery, the master was so anxious that sweat was pouring down his forehead.

The young master was flattered with a look of delight on his face. He nodded, as if he had accepted the favor from the county magistrate, and said, “This villain has a rampant character and is born with a rebellious nature. I’m afraid it will be difficult to deal with him with ordinary means.”

The county magistrate said righteously, “Young master, don’t worry. Once he is in prison, he will not be able to make excuses. Even the most stubborn person will admit everything after suffering some physical pain and deep pain.”

After saying this, he seemed to recall some past events, and his smile became even more cruel and bloodthirsty. He said to Si Qi: “If you are smart and sensible, you might as well confess earlier. Otherwise, you will be left with some kind of disability and will never be able to pass the imperial examinations in this life.”

Upon hearing this, Si Qi simply sneered.

The young master thought that he was being shameless, so he tore off his face completely and ordered directly: “Don’t delay any longer, take him to the prison and torture him immediately!”

Seeing this, the county magistrate smiled even more earnestly, and looked at Si Qi with a look of happiness in his eyes. He nodded repeatedly and said, “Don’t worry, young master. Such a stubborn and vulgar villain should be taught a lesson.”

After that, he instructed the master: “Write a confession and have him sign it later.”

“……” The master’s face turned pale and he stood there stiffly.

After a long time, under the repeated urging of the county magistrate, he walked to the desk in a daze, picked up the pen, and his eyes were full of pain.

At the same time, the elder sister, who had been running desperately all the way without paying attention to other people’s eyes, finally arrived at the Crescent Tea Building.

Her face was full of tears. She hurried up to the second floor and asked in a tearful voice, “Excuse me, where is the young master of the Chu family? I am the elder sister of Si Juren. I have an important request. I beg you to let me see him.”

A woman’s hoarse voice came from a private room not far away. Several men sitting opposite each other and talking in low voices paused for a moment.

Everyone looked at the young man who was sitting in the main seat and looked intimidating without even getting angry, as if they were waiting for his attitude.

“Si Juren…”

The indifferent voice sounded slowly, and the man seemed to remember something. After a moment, he said, “Please let her in.”

As soon as the words fell, the person guarding the door turned around and left, coming in front of Si Peihuan.

Si Peihuan stood in the hall, her cheeks slightly pink, beads of sweat slowly dripping down her forehead, her eyes that looked as if she was crying and looking gentle and compassionate were extremely charming.

Perhaps because of her anxiety, Si Peihuan was breathing rapidly, her breath was as clear as orchid, her clothes were soaked with sweat and stuck to her skin, her chest rose and fell, attracting many people’s attention, making people feel eager and hot in their hearts.

Seeing someone approaching her, Si Peihuan looked at the other person with a sad look, as if asking for help. After confirming the other person’s identity, she followed him directly, without paying any attention to the rules of gender separation, and walked into the private room anxiously.

The door was closed, blocking the view of outsiders. She quickly scanned the situation in the room, knelt down, saluted, introduced herself, and with the permission of the handsome man in the lead, handed the article she was holding tightly in her hand to the guard beside her, who then passed it to the man.

The man took it, spread it out and looked at it calmly.

Time passed unknowingly, and Si Peihuan felt that the days were long. She stared at the man’s expression until his face suddenly changed. The speed at which he browsed the articles gradually increased, and finally he even showed some concern with his expression!

Si Peihuan’s heart, which was almost trembling with tension, finally relaxed a little. Seeing that the man wanted to read the article again after finishing it, she begged: “Sir, my little brother is in danger right now, and I’m afraid his life is in danger! Please, for the sake of this article, save my little brother’s life! I am so grateful, and I will serve you like a slave, and I will never be able to repay you! Please save my little brother!”

As she spoke,she knelt on the ground, kowtowed and begged desperately.

The man slowly put down the article in his hand, looked at the woman who kept kowtow for a few seconds, and asked her: “What’s the situation? Tell me in detail.”

Si Peihuan quickly raised her head from the ground and hurriedly told the whole story from beginning to end, and said nervously: “…This is what happened. He suffered an unprovoked disaster just to save me. Please, sir, please!”

Si Peihuan’s appearance was indeed unquestionably beautiful. The young master took a look at her appearance, then at the article in his hand, and stood up and said, “If that’s the case, then let’s go.”

Si Peihuan cried with joy and quickly took them to the scene of the incident.

In the damp and cold prison, Si Qi’s hands were trapped by chains and he was pushed into the cell.

The shackles were heavy, dragging down his already burdened body and making it even more tired.

He stood at the cell door, and was greeted by a foul, bloody, and pungent smell. The entire torture room was filled with black torture instruments placed or hung, and even a lot of remnants of flesh and blood could be seen on them.

The blood residue on it had already turned black, and one could imagine that the young master would be eager to use it on him later.

Surrounded by stern-faced jailers who were watching him and making sure he couldn’t escape, the noble young man walked over surrounded by the crowd, a gloating smile on his face, and he was particularly enjoying the pleasure of having victory in his grasp.

He had someone press Si Qi down on the chair, with his hands and feet tightly bound with chains. He looked around at the torture instruments with interest, picked up a bloodstained steel needle, and gently slid the tip of the needle across the sharp teeth of the torture instrument below, saying in amazement, shaking his head: “I have seen a lot, but I have never seen so many torture instruments. I have to use them one by one later. Otherwise, wouldn’t it be unworthy of your pride?

I just don’t know how much torture your delicate skin can withstand. Don’t die too quickly. I don’t have the hobby of torturing corpses…”

He looked at the jailer standing beside him, who immediately introduced it to the young master with a smile: “You might as well try this. It pulls open the eyelids and stabs the eyeball, just like piercing a white egg. Even the toughest man would cry and wail if he saw this. Not only is it easy, but it doesn’t bleed much and won’t stain your clothes.”

“Oh~” The young master didn’t say anything, picked up a strange-looking torture device that looked like a clamp, and said with a smile: “What is that?”

“The finger-picking flower is specially used for those thieves who steal things. When you press the mechanism, your finger will snap off, and a flower shape will be left on the broken part. It’s very interesting.”

The young master’s eyes lit up and he said with a smile, “This is great. A writer should cherish his hands the most. Without fingers, how can he write articles?”

The jailer smiled and said, “But before that, you can use a steel needle to poke into the gaps between his nails and pry off his nails one by one.”

“Well, that sounds interesting~” The young man turned around and asked about the confession letter. Immediately, someone quickly handed over a list of crimes with the ink not yet completely dried.

He took it and took a look. The more he looked at it, the happier he smiled. He praised, “Not bad, you are sensible.” He threw the confession in front of Si Qi and said with a smile, “Sign it.”

Si Qi took a look at the false accusations and ignored them. He directly asked the son of the Ministry of Revenue, “Who were the ones that sent you to cause trouble for me?”

The domineering smile on the young master’s face paused slightly, and his pretentiously arrogant eyes suddenly became very cold. He looked at Si Qi, as if he was surprised that this humble ant, after suffering such a great injustice, was not filled with grief and resentment in his heart, and even had the energy to analyze the situation behind it.

Moreover, he said “the ones”

The Ministry of Revenue walked up to him with a smile, patted Si Qi on the face, and said casually, “Little thing, what do you know?”

Si Qi: “Aren’t you curious about why the people behind you want to target me? Are you so willing to be someone’s pawn and be used as a knife? If you are held accountable later, you will be the scapegoat.”

The face of the young master of the Ministry of Revenue darkened slightly. He slammed the finger-picking flower heavily on the table. His deep eyes seemed to see through the scholar in front of him, wondering whether he was confident or just bluffing.

After a few seconds of silence, he sneered and said, “Do you think you are worthy of bringing bad luck to me? You are just a poor scholar with some talent and are valued by some people, so what? Even if you die, I can solve it by drinking three cups of wine.”

He looked at Si Qi and said word by word: “You, to me, are nothing!”

Si Qi’s attitude was even more disdainful than his. He chuckled and said firmly, “You are panicking.”

The noble young master hated the fact that Si Qi was so cold and arrogant from beginning to end, as if there was nothing in the world that he could not bear the eye of. No matter how bad the situation was, he never changed his expression. Why?

He waved his hand, and someone grabbed Si Qi’s hand with ink and forced it onto the confession.

Si Qi clenched his hands tightly and no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t pry them apart.

So several people surrounded him and tortured him. Xiu Xiu was so angry that he screamed and said he would take Si Qi away from this world. Before Si Qi could say anything to Xiu Xiu, the master suddenly ran over without stopping, his eyes wide open, and rushed to the door of the torture room and shouted loudly: “Stop it–!!”

After a few yamen runners made a move, the young master roared in displeasure: “Don’t worry about him! I’m going to torture him! I’m going to kill this bastard here today!”

The master came in quickly and shouted, “Stop! Stop!”

“Who do you think you are? How dare you go against me!” The young master raised his arm and slapped the master’s left face. 

The master did not dare to resist or hide. He could only hold his head with his hands and endure the violence. He said anxiously: “Someone came to ask the officials to let him leave. The county magistrate ordered me to come here!!”

The young man paused and looked quickly at Si Qi, his eyes full of suspicion.

What was going on? Was it really like what Si Qi just said…

Otherwise, how could the county magistrate have the courage to release the person at the risk of offending him? !

Si Qi breathed a sigh of relief. After delaying for half a day, he finally caught up.

The master yelled at several prison guards to untie him. Si Qi’s wrist was untied, and he rubbed his red skin which was stinging with pain, and was carefully helped up by the master.

The nobleman couldn’t accept it. He grabbed the master by the collar and asked him, “Who is trying to steal my person? Who is it?”

The master seemed to want to laugh secretly, the corners of his mouth moved, but he suppressed his emotions and looked at him helplessly, “It’s…”

Si Qi straightened his clothes and walked slowly, his demeanor still intact. He glanced at him with his usual contemptuous eyes and sneered, “It’s His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.”

His…royal…Highness…the Crown Prince

The young master’s face turned pale, his body swayed, and he subconsciously loosened his hand that was holding his master’s collar.

He had planned everything, but he never expected that he would suffer the consequences here.

Si Qi walked up to him and patted his face very hard, making a slapping sound, but he dared not move.

Si Qi took a half step closer, leaned close to his ear, and said to him: “I am an ant? Huh? Clearing yourself with three cups of wine? Haha…”

Si Qi stood up, looked at him, and said with a smile: “His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is outside, you should quickly take out some wine and drink with him. Let’s see…”

“Will he have three drinks with you?”

Notes

1. Juren was a rank achieved by people who passed the provincial examination in the imperial examination system of imperial China. It was a rank higher than the shengyuan rank, but lower than the jinshi rank, which was the highest degree. ↩︎
2. Yamen, the name of ancient Chinese judgment and law enforcement agencies. There is also a local magistrate who will live there. ↩︎