Chapter 54 "The Truth Comes to Light"

At night. Han Yin city official warehouse.
Near the important grain warehouse, there are over a hundred soldiers patrolling with torches.
A soldier senses movement from the side and shouts, "Who goes there?"
这一队人纷纷看过去，只见围墙根下空空如也，又走近一些，依然什么也没有。再检查地上积雪，巡逻者的脚印踩的乱七八糟，根本看不出端倪。
"What are you shouting for?"
Other soldiers scolded one after another. The shouting soldier felt ashamed and could only say, "Maybe I have been freezing for too long and I am too nervous."
Everyone scoffed and turned around one after another, preparing to return to the original patrol route.
殊不知，一墙之隔的院墙内，秦扬和天心正静静地等待他们离开！
原本秦扬计划自己来查探，不过天心执意要一起跟过来，也不好违逆。
After the two arrived in Hanyin, those hidden masters never left. Even now, they still follow, just haven't entered the courtyard yet.
However, Qin Yang is still very worried about Tianxin's safety. At this point, there is no need to be too anxious, just need to be cautious and find the desired answers.
Qin Yang held Tianxin's hand and bent down, slowly moving forward. The soldiers were holding torches, making their positions easily visible in the darkness. But he was not afraid of night operations. As long as he protected Tianxin from being exposed, it was only a matter of time before they reached the warehouse.
趁着两个小队错开的空隙，秦扬和天心快步穿越过去。就这样潜行穿过好几道守卫后，终于来到一座官仓前。
仓门前立着两名官兵，秦扬不敢冒进，便和天心一起迂回到仓库侧面。这里并无供人出入的大门，两丈高的地方开了几个通风口，上面挡着隔栅。
"I'll go up and take a look first."
Qin Yang took two steps back, then rushed forward, stepping on the wall of the warehouse to climb up. He then placed one hand on the edge of the vent and gently moved the grille with the other hand.
还好隔栅并没有钉死，只是拉在通风口里。秦扬轻轻拽动，将其从通风口里拉出，随后又轻盈地跳下来。
通风口三尺见方，常人想要爬上去再钻入仓库非常困难。当然，这对秦扬一人并不难，可带上天心，他就要好好琢磨如何才行。
"Got it! Let's jump together and not stay on that vent. Let's go straight into the warehouse."
Tianxin whispered, "That vent is only slightly wider than a person's shoulder. How can we squeeze in?"
秦扬绕到天心身后，紧紧抱住他的腰肢：“请您闭上眼，身体保持直立，千万不要慌张乱动。”
天心知道此时不是和秦扬计较的时候，便听从他的安排。
秦扬深吸一口气，再度腾空而起，两人如同拔地而起的龙卷风，翻转着飞跃而入。这一跃十分精准，没有剐蹭到通风口四壁半分，干净利索地穿了过去。
At the moment of leaping over the ventilation opening, Qin Yang exerted force on his upper body, turning his originally about-to-fall posture into an astonishing acrobatic pose with his head up and legs down. With his knees slightly curled back, he landed steadily on a pile of grain bags in the warehouse.
Puff!
When stepping on the grain bag, a burst of dust rose up and nearly choked Tianxin.
After both of them stood firm, Qin Yang let go of his embrace of Tianxin.
Tianxin took out a match, removed the cover, and gently blew. Suddenly, neatly stacked bags of grain appeared before their eyes!
秦扬踩了踩脚下，粮袋中的触感传回，应是精麦无疑。
天心也凑上前，看到蹭在地上的粉痕，蹲下来用两只手指捻了一点，放在眼前仔细观察，随后看向秦扬。
"It seems like you have guessed wrong. This year's harvest in Hanyin is bountiful, so Lu Siyuan should be a good official who benefits the local area. The remaining task is to investigate whether he is involved in the collection and embezzlement of funds. If he has no connection, he will only be responsible for negligence. I will dismiss the Hanyin Prefecture and allow him to continue his post here."
Qin Yang silently leaped from one stack of grain bags to another, squatting down and using his fingernail to open a small hole in the bag, revealing some stored content, still high-quality wheat.
“难道真的猜错了？”
秦扬喃喃自语，索性坐在粮袋垛上。
天心又检查了一番，并未发现问题，便回到秦扬所在的粮袋垛下。
"Let's discuss it later, it's stuffy here."
Qin Yang was about to jump down, but suddenly hesitated, as if struck by lightning.
"Sir, what did you say just now?"
Tianxin, unaware of what illness he had contracted, replied, "I feel it's damp and stuffy here. Let's hurry back."
Qin Yang gazed at Tianxin like a shining star and said, "Qin is dry with little rainfall. How can this ventilated warehouse be damp and stuffy?"
Tianxin thought about it and also found it strange, but he didn't understand these natural laws very well. He cautiously asked, "Could it be because of the continuous snowfall?"
"No, that's not possible. If the snow melted at sunrise, it might have reached this extent. We only feel refreshed and comfortable in the snow outside, and besides, the snow can't get into the warehouse--"
After saying that, Qin Yang suddenly lifted the sack under his feet and moved it aside, reaching out for the sack on the second level.
In the instant he touched the sack, a damp sensation came through his fingertips.
他不动声色地把袋子划开一道大口子，伸出手向里面一抓，又放在鼻前闻了闻，随后跳下粮袋堆。
“大人，请看。”
天心借着火折的光亮，看清了秦扬掌心之物——
是一把泛潮的沙土！
秦扬笑了笑：“看来当初往仓库里运送沙袋时，外边下着大雪，雪花落在袋子上，把里面的沙浸湿成了泥。这粮仓里外边都是精麦，沙袋全都藏在了里面，所以潮气一直不好散去。”
天心捏了些沙土，随后搓掉：“你带我一起上去看看。”
秦扬搂住他的腰，跃上粮袋垛顶。他又随意掀开一袋精面，果不其然，下方还是沙袋。再把之前掀开的第二层袋子搬出来，第三层依旧是沙袋。
秦扬将粮袋恢复好，又带着天心去了随意挑选了不下十个粮垛，所查结果，全部一致——
这仓库里仅有表面放着真正的精粮，里面绝大部分都是沙袋在滥竽充数！
事已至此，秦扬还是多问了一句：“我们要不要去其他仓库看看？”
天心淡淡地说：“不必了，回去。”
"Okay."
秦扬知道，天心此刻内心里恐怕已经怒火滔天，自然不好多说无用之言来触他的霉头，便按照他的指示，以开始进来的方法跃出仓库。
……
Midnight. Guangxuan Building.
In the past, at this time, Qin Yang would have already been resting. But at this moment, he is still sitting in the Tianxin Room, drinking tea at the table.
Ever since Tianxin returned, he hasn't said a word. In the middle, Qin Yang poured hot water into a basin for him to soak his feet. Tianxin, unlike before, silently endured the scalding pain and put his feet in.
And now the truth is revealed. The embezzled loans from the bank, coupled with fraudulent activities, have caused the stored grain and a significant amount of silver to flow to Hualing. And they finally understand why the people consistently lied for the Han Yin government–
无利不起早，老百姓吃着官家的利息，自然不希望汉阴府倒台，哪怕知道官府作假，也发自心底地去为虎作伥。
这座大城势力所至的人，基本都已经绑在了官府掌舵的贼船上！
“汉阴从上到下已经烂透了。我要把这里变成死地，所有参与作假、知情不报者，一律诛杀。”
天心终于甩出这样一句，险些让秦扬把口中茶水喷了出来。
"Absolutely not!"
秦扬放下茶杯：“真要大开杀戒，这里恐怕几十年都恢复不过来。百姓蒙昧，很容易被威逼利诱，不过他们并未做出大逆不道之事。您若只杀那些始作俑者，对百姓警诫教化，便是苍生之福，万民定会感恩戴德，忠于皇家。”
天心不以为然：“你太高估了愚民的境界。这群刁民愚昧无知，又自以为是。神威初年，内乱不止，秦皇曾屠戮一大批逆贼，其中有官有民。而今八年过去，世人仿佛好了伤疤忘了疼，又开始任性妄为、逍遥法外。殊不知，安分守己、尊天敬法，才是生存之本。”
秦扬叹了口气：“乱世之下，用重典也是审时度势后的必要手段。而今秦国国富兵强、人才济济，私以为应以仁义为主，刑律为辅，教化黎民忠君爱国，以德行论高低，这样才可以让信服天下，四海归心。”
天心冷笑一声：“秦国看似已再度崛起，可还是有如此多的隐疾和愚民。若只杀官员，那心怀叵测之徒岂不是会把脏水泼向皇权？畏威不畏德乃人之劣根，所谓教化最初的模样，便是用严刑让愚者不需懂大道理，只要骨子里敬畏律法，不敢越雷池一步即可。秦国比起列国，之所以少有造谣生事、装神弄鬼者，就是因为王法之下，那些宵小全部被斩掉贼头。”
However, Tianxin did not continue to insist on killing all the people of Hanyin, but instead thought, "Of course, what you said makes some sense. Throughout history, wise rulers have loved their people like their own children, and even the current Emperor of Qin does not take pleasure in killing the people. I am worried that these troublemakers may deceive heaven and earth today for their own interests, and tomorrow they may become rebels."
秦扬这才接上话：“是忠是奸，取决于如何管策。若稽查恶首，还利于民，百姓就算再蠢，也会有所觉悟。将罪责都推给皇家的固然该千刀万剐，可将黎民一刀切掉，未免过于粗暴。我们不妨继续查探下去，把三城之地的恶疾连根拔起，到时候再看如何处置最为妥当。”
Tianxin rarely listened seriously to Qin Yang's words, and finally made a decision -
"I will go along with your suggestion for now."