Scheming

Before long, the carriage came to a stop at Qinghui Garden in Baoqing Ward. The three stepped down and looked up at the vermilion-lacquered front gates and the two imposing stone lions flanking the entrance. Aunt Qin murmured in an undertone, "Mercy me, a manor like this can't have come cheap!" Huang Tian smiled faintly and led them through the doors. As they walked inside, carved beams, painted rafters, and an abundance of flourishing flowers and trees met their eyes, with delicate fragrances filling the air, leaving Aunt Qin and Heng'er utterly dazzled. After taking a casual stroll around the grounds, Huang Tian said to Aunt Qin, "The estate is large and needs someone to look after it. For now, shoulder this responsibility and recruit some staff to bring a little life into the household." Aunt Qin said with some worry, "This humble servant has never managed anything. I'm afraid I won't be able to handle it." "No matter. Managing a household is just managing people. If anyone doesn't obey, just dismiss them. Hire two or three sharp hands to assist you, and you will be able to manage this manor well enough. If it truly proves too much, there will still be time for you to yield the post to someone better suited." Though Aunt Qin had never received years of proper schooling, she could recognize a fair number of characters, so taking charge of miscellaneous domestic affairs would not be a problem. In any case, as far as Huang Tian was concerned, the most important quality in a person was loyalty—as long as they did not pull sneaky tricks behind his back, everything else was secondary. "As for Heng'er, do you want to learn martial arts or study letters?" Huang Tian asked. "I only want to serve the Fourth Young Master," Heng'er replied in a small voice, lowering her head as her fingers pinched the fabric of her green dress. Huang Tian was momentarily speechless, then chuckled. "Those things don't conflict. Besides, only by learning to read and write can you properly handle household affairs and serve me better. Otherwise, you'll remain an ordinary scullery maid your entire life." "Th-then I'll study letters." "Good," Huang Tian said. "There is a Qingnü Academy in Baoqing Ward where the teachers are all women. Tomorrow, Aunt Qin will go there to invite a governess to our estate to teach you and any future servant girls how to read and write." "Mm-mm!" Heng'er nodded repeatedly, her eyes shining bright and clear. Having settled these matters, Huang Tian sent them off to attend to their tasks. He then went to a hexagonal pavilion in the rear courtyard, where he stood amidst blossoms swaying in the gentle breeze, assuming his stances and practicing his fist techniques to continue tempering his qi and blood. Yet cultivating in peace proved easier said than done. Ever since the news that he had broken through to the eighth rank in a mere twenty days spread beyond the Martial Restraint Guard, a relentless stream of people had been arriving in horse-drawn carriages, delivering cartload after cartload of congratulatory gifts. It truly was cart after cart. At the peak, over a hundred carriages were packed outside the gates, completely choking the street! Fortunately, Aunt Qin had acted quickly and hired over a dozen sturdy servants in half a day; otherwise, they would never have been able to hold back the eager emissaries sent by prominent clans and wealthy merchants. As for these gifts, Huang Tian accepted only those of modest value and returned everything excessively lavish. He was unwilling to incur favors; ordinary gifts served as simple tokens of goodwill, whereas accepting gifts of immense worth would only invite trouble. In any case, backed by Pacification Commissioner Bai of the Martial Restraint Guard, he lacked neither martial cultivation resources nor backing, so taking them would serve no real purpose. Even so, despite rejecting the vast majority, he received gifts worth two thousand taels of silver on the very first day alone! Had he not turned them away, ten times that amount would have been no surprise. To turn back the gift-bearers, Aunt Qin and the others were run ragged all day, panting in exhaustion. Yet tired as they were, their faces beamed with pride, basking in the reflected glory. Across the vast commandery city, which well-informed clan or magnate had not sent gifts and sought an audience with eager desperation? Huang Tian, however, remained largely unbothered. He cultivated in peace, refusing audience to anyone representing those clans and merchants. The next morning, Luo Chan arrived at Qinghui Garden with a broad smile to invite Huang Tian to the banquet at Crane Soaring Tower. Having already agreed beforehand, Huang Tian naturally did not refuse and accompanied him there. More than thirty people attended this banquet. Except for Huang Rui, every ninth-rank martial student from the Guard Academy was present, along with several of Luo Chan's relatives and friends. It was a lively, bustling gathering where guests and host enjoyed themselves to the fullest. After the feast, the manager of Crane Soaring Tower seemed to have caught wind of something and offered to waive the bill on behalf of the backer behind the establishment. Luo Chan, however, turned him down. He knew his own reputation did not carry enough weight to warrant a free meal; the manager's gesture was directed entirely at Huang Tian. Luo Chan was unwilling to accept a favor on Huang Tian's behalf and saddle him with obligations. Furthermore, it was just a single banquet, not something he could not afford. There was no need for a complimentary tab. Having paid the bill, the party dispersed in high spirits. Huang Tian returned to Qinghui Garden and devoted himself wholeheartedly to his martial training, occasionally pondering whether he could further enrich and refine the Five Phases Five Forms Cloud Dragon Free Hand. Several more days passed. Just as the qi and blood within Huang Tian neared completion and he stood on the verge of breaking through the three changes of qi and blood, Xia Hong—who had led men to track down Zhang Yu—finally returned to the commandery city. However, his expression was thoroughly foul, and the subordinates following him all wore equally dark scowls. The reason was simple: they had failed completely to capture their man! Not only had they failed to apprehend Zhang Yu, they had not caught so much as a glimpse of his shadow, having run off to the subordinate county towns for nothing and swallowed road dust for over a dozen days. "Those bastards! Their intelligence didn't have a shred of accuracy, yet they had the nerve to swear on their lives and send me out on a wild goose chase!" Xia Hong cursed viciously a few times before walking into the Martial Restraint Guard government office with a stormy face. The moment he stepped inside, however, everyone who came toward him cupped their hands to offer congratulations, leaving him utterly bewildered. At last, he grabbed a fellow Battalion Commander and joked, "Brother Wang, what's going on here? On this trip out, I didn't see so much as Zhang Yu's shadow. Why is everyone congratulating me? You can't all be mocking me, can you?" Battalion Commander Wang looked at him with envious eyes. "You, my friend, have simply had too much good luck! For such a prime seed to fall right under your command—why could I never run into such fortune?" "A prime seed?" Xia Hong blinked. Among those under his command during this period, wasn't there only one person who could fit that description? "You mean Huang Tian?" he asked in puzzlement. "What happened with Huang Tian? I've only been away for a dozen-odd days. What major deed could he have pulled off?" Battalion Commander Wang clicked his tongue and eyed Xia Hong up and down until Xia Hong grew impatient and was on the verge of snapping, whereupon Wang clapped him heavily on the shoulder. "Huang Tian has broken through!" "Broken through?!!" Xia Hong froze on the spot. *I was only gone for ten-odd days. How could he have broken through already? Am I dreaming?!* Battalion Commander Wang sighed with emotion. "His talent is simply terrifying. At least as far as I know, no one in the lower three ranks has ever advanced faster than him. Now, several of us Battalion Commanders are betting on how long it will take him to break through to the seventh rank..." Xia Hong felt as if a colossal gold ingot had crashed down onto his head, leaving him dizzy and lightheaded. "No wonder all of you are congratulating me! With the aptitude Huang Tian has shown, as long as he doesn't die, becoming a Grandmaster is practically guaranteed! Did I truly foster a future Grandmaster with my own hands?!" He threw his head back and laughed boisterously several times, provoking dark lines on Battalion Commander Wang's forehead. "You're laughing far too smugly! This is the government office—don't disturb the Pacification Commissioner!" Only then did Xia Hong rein in his laughter, though the grin tugging at the corners of his mouth proved impossible to suppress. Battalion Commander Wang sighed. "Ah, I truly envy you. You not only recommended Huang Tian into the Guard Academy, but you also decisively gifted him pills, drawing the two of you closer. Someone like me didn't even have time to react before he broke through to the eighth rank! I didn't even get the chance to curry favor!" Hearing this, Xia Hong's eyes darted around. He pulled Battalion Commander Wang into a secluded corner and lowered his voice: "From what I know, Huang Tian's relationship with the people of the Huang Manor is dreadful. His birth mother was driven into severe melancholy by the Huang family and died of illness because of it. If we were to make a move against the Huang Manor..."