Treason?

"Growing vegetables?" Manna's eyes lit up at the words. "That could work!" She stated candidly, "Students with special skills can receive appropriate accommodations. That makes things much easier." The instructors who had returned from Mount Xuanling were currently facing a minor dilemma. None of them wanted the boy to draw outside attention, yet they still had to drop by from time to time to check on him. Besides building a good relationship with the little snow harrier, they also placed great weight on young Wu's views on the current political climate. What was more, if they were dispatched on an anomaly mission, the boy made for a very capable helper! "Special skills?" Daiqisi hesitated before speaking up. "His true identity... do you know about it?" "I've known for a long time!" Manna answered without a second thought. "Hong Da brought him to Red Pine personally. But does it matter?" "I suppose it really doesn't," Daiqisi replied readily, having clearly thought it through as well. Her real gripe was elsewhere: "I just really hate eating greens!" "Nobody's asking you to grow them! Let's go, let's go." Pulling Daiqisi along, Manna slipped away into the night. Early the next morning, the administrator came by. Looking at the vegetable patch the boy had tidied up, he pondered for a long while before asking, "You plan on keeping this up?" Wu Youren knew what he was really after. "You'll have to wait a few days for the liquor. I was away for quite a while this time and just got back." The administrator hesitated, then said, "Did your liquor come from the barbarians?" "The... barbarians?" The boy's eyes widened in astonishment. Had Hostage Manor expanded its business that far? Thinking back, the Jade Dew Daiqisi had ordered cost fifteen silver dollars for two jin, and the Heavenly Dew the City Guard Bureau's grand knight had treated them to was even more exorbitant. The five-jin jug of "strong liquor" he sold to the administrator cost only two silver dollars, jug included, and could easily fetch five outside. The barbarians were poor to begin with and loved drinking early in the morning; such potent liquor definitely had a market among them. Then again, what did that have to do with him? The boy shook his head flatly. "I really wouldn't know. I'm not a brewer." "The taste is similar," the administrator remarked with apparent nonchalance. "Five silver dollars for two jugs." *He thinks I'm charging too much...* Wu Youren nodded slightly. "Then I'll go inquire." To be honest, his mood soured. If the people at Hostage Manor were really running things that way, it would be difficult to avoid drawing attention. "Don't bother in the winter," the administrator said in a flat tone, though it was clearly a final decision. "If you still want to plant, wait until next spring to see if there's an opportunity." "Uh, all right." The boy blinked, then nodded. "Understood." The administrator stood rooted for a moment longer, seeming as though he wanted to say something more, but in the end, he turned and walked away. A student happened to be approaching from the opposite direction. The two exchanged a glance and brushed past each other. It was Liu Jingming. "Holy crap, you really are back! I heard you made Cynthia cry?" "You... should probably keep your distance from her," Wu Youren replied after some thought. Even now, he could not be certain whether she had ties to Liang's intelligence apparatus. Considering that the aloof Ailin was very likely a swallow, he felt it was best to err on the side of caution. In any case, he had given his warning. Whether the son of the matrilocal son-in-law took it to heart was none of his concern. At the moment, he preferred some casual chat. "Has your left leg still not fully healed?" "It's pretty much healed," Liu Jingming answered with a grin. "Limping like this is on purpose to dodge missions." *A bit of cleverness, and he wastes it all on trivial tricks...* Wu Youren was somewhat speechless. Still, that was the man's own choice. Everyone had their own life, and he had no interest in passing judgment. "Have you still been selling Spring Delight lately?" "Out of stock for half a month already." Liu Jingming looked at him expectantly. "I've been longing for your return!" "It'll probably stay out of stock for a while longer," Wu Youren answered calmly. He intended to phase this business out gradually. He could help the guy through an immediate rough patch, but he couldn't prop him up forever. In particular, several instructors were keeping a close eye on him now, so he had to tread carefully. "I know," Liu Jingming said, taking it in stride. There was a reason for his easygoing attitude: "I heard Tianjing hasn't been peaceful lately?" *If you can come up with your own reasons, all the better!* Wu Youren nodded. "More than just not peaceful. If you ask me, you'd better not even step outside Red Pine's front gates!" "Why do you think I'm faking a limp?" Liu Jingming indicated that his sources of information were by no means poor. He looked left and right, then lowered his voice. "Hostage Manor has already begun selling strong liquor to the surrounding areas." *Even you know!* Wu Youren sighed. "That's why I don't want to mess with honey anymore. I'd rather not end up only able to go out in broad daylight." "Only able to go out in broad daylight?" The son of the matrilocal son-in-law had never encountered this joke. "Because morning and night, disaster strikes—trouble is bound to find you!" "They do have a method to it... Forget it," Liu Jingming said, shaking his head. Young Wu clearly resented those companions; why bother explaining? What really mattered was that he served as a bridge between both sides, making him irreplaceable in the short term. He had to cherish this position. "His Highness and the captain of the guards have taken notice of you recently." The captain of the guards was the illegitimate son of the Duke of Wei, the sole grand knight among the hostages. "I'm truly honored, then," Wu Youren answered offhandedly. He then asked casually, "By the way, have you ever heard of Chen Quanxu?" "Who?" Liu Jingming was slightly baffled. "Someone from the Martial Academy?" He didn't think for a second that Wu was asking about someone from Hostage Manor. There was simply no one by that name in Hostage Manor—not just among the hostages, but even among the guards and Liang sentries, he basically knew everyone. Wu Youren replied offhandedly, "I heard he used to be at Hostage Manor." "From before? Chen... Quanxu?" Liu Jingming pondered for a moment before asking tentatively, "That guard who ran away?" "Yeah," Wu Youren nodded. "Heard he committed treason." "No such thing. He's dead," Liu Jingming answered without hesitation. "People said he escaped, but he didn't." Wu Youren asked curiously, "Even if a guard ran away, so what? It's not like he was a hostage." "If they didn't investigate strictly, it would make communicating with the outside world far too easy for Hostage Manor," Liu Jingming answered readily. "I heard that when I was drinking with the Liang guards." The hostages and the guards were not locked in irreconcilable enmity; when Wu Youren's predecessor had brewed strong liquor, he had even asked the guards to taste-test it. "The version I heard is different," Wu Youren replied solemnly. "I heard his family's noble title was abolished, and because of that, he..." "Title abolished!" Liu Jingming gasped in shock, cutting him off outright. To noble families, those words were utterly terrifying. "How could... Oh, his surname is Chen?" "What about the surname Chen?" Wu Youren genuinely didn't know. "Nothing. I just seem to recall someone mentioning something once." Liu Jingming knitted his brows and racked his brain for a good while, but ultimately shook his head in uncertainty. "Well, if he's not dead, then he's not dead. Treason... Is he a grand knight now?" The word 'treason' was what the hostages dreaded most, yet ironically, it was everywhere. Whenever the topic came up, they could treat it with vehement fury, yet could just as easily discuss it with nonchalance. Wu Youren shook his head. "No idea. Sounds like you don't actually know anything after all." "It's just what the Liang guards said, and you know what kind of bastards they are," Liu Jingming answered dismissively. "It might not even be true." What he was truly curious about was: "Why are you asking about this guy?" Wu Youren fell silent. Only after a good while did he reply, "Tell me, out of our hundred hostages, how many are actually trustworthy?" "Who could say?" Liu Jingming shook his head, his expression dimming. "Maybe you're suspecting me too. But..." He shot Wu a sideways glance and shook his head. "Given how things are going for you right now, you're far more suspicious than I am." The grandson of a lord was thriving smoothly these days, to the point where even His Highness and the captain of the guards had taken notice. Flourishing was all well and good, but at what cost? "Which is why I'm trying to figure out how traitors think," Wu Youren answered casually, taking no offense at the remark. "I only asked you on a whim anyway, thinking you might know more than me." "Who are you looking down on?" Liu Jingming straightened his face at once. "I'm doing pretty well for myself these days too. I'll ask around for you later." He had not been among the first batch of hostages admitted directly into the Martial Academy, but by relying on Spring Delight and his adaptable methods, he had already surpassed the earlier entrants. "Don't bother!" Wu Youren waved his hand and cut him off flatly. "Inquiring about treason—isn't that just digging your own grave?" "Tsk, you think I don't know how to carry a conversation?" Liu Jingming said with a serious look. "Relax, leave it to me." This was the first time young Wu had taken the initiative to ask for information. He had to handle it splendidly; otherwise, it might very well be the last time! Wu Youren didn't take the bait, asking instead, "Do you know how to grow vegetables?" "Who are you insulting?" Liu Jingming's face fell. *I'm the grandson of a baron! You ask me something like that?* A moment later, his expression flipped, and he forced a grin. "Just kidding, just kidding." The person in front of him was literally growing vegetables. Would he have to be crazy to offend his God of Wealth? "Uh, well, my father's side of the family comes from farming stock. I thought you were mocking me... Childhood trauma, pure reflex, just a stress response!" "Why do you talk so much?" Wu Youren shook his head helplessly. "I only want one answer: can you, or can't you?" "I'm a Jin man!" Liu Jingming rolled his eyes at him. "Eight out of ten know how to farm, and one of the rest is half-decent at it. What do you think?" "Tsk." Wu Youren furrowed his brows, watching him impassively without saying a word. "Yes, yes, yes," Liu Jingming conceded helplessly. "Even if I'm only the half-decent one, I'm definitely better at it than these Liang folks!" "I want to set up a greenhouse to grow vegetables this winter," Wu Youren said. "Do you have any suggestions... Hey?" Liu Jingming remained silent for a full dozen seconds before letting out a soft sigh. "With anomalies running rampant and Tianjing in turmoil, you're farming?" "Then you go take part in it," Wu Youren said calmly. "I think farming is just fine." "Right, right, I think it's great too," Liu Jingming nodded repeatedly. "I'll go think right away about what's suitable to plant in winter." The words had barely left his mouth when the youth's brows furrowed. Turning around, Wu Youren strode into his room and slammed the door shut with a loud bang. Then a voice called out from inside, "Right, I don't have much time to wait for you." *I just don't get it!* On the walk back, Liu Jingming couldn't wrap his head around it. *Is farming really that important?* To Wu Youren, farming wasn't important at all. What mattered was... another wave of experience points was on its way. It was fortunate he had returned to Red Pine; otherwise, this really would have been hard to handle!