Old Yu had been dispatched by Lu Zhensheng to turn the Moqi uncle and nephew. Now Old Yu's severed head had been boxed up and delivered to the Lu Residence, while He Lingchuan remained alive and well.
What did that say?
Lu Qing'an covered his face and said weakly, "Didn't I tell you not to make a move against the Yangshan Archipelago during this critical period? You agreed to it, too!"
"I figured that since it wasn't us getting our hands dirty, what was the harm if someone else got rid of He Lingchuan for us?" Lu Zhensheng's face was ashen. "Who could have known that Moqi Song and his nephew—along with their six hundred-plus men and those seemingly formidable bounty hunters from Beijia—would launch a surprise raid on He Lingchuan during a hurricane and still fail?"
He let out a long sigh. "Just how incompetent are they?"
"Moqi Song and his nephew have an illustrious reputation, but neither of us has ever seen them fight." Lu Qing'an felt uneasy. "Could it be that He Lingchuan commands other troops we know nothing about?"
The attendant drew another letter from the cloth bundle.
"Master, there is a letter."
The handwriting on the envelope was clean and elegant, bearing only the words:
*To be opened personally by Lu Zhensheng.*
The attendant spread the stationery across the desk, and father and son leaned in to read.
Only a brief line was written upon it:
*Courtesy demands reciprocity. Please look forward to what follows.*
"What does this mean?" Lu Zhensheng asked his eldest son, his heart pounding. "What do you think he means by this?"
"The Lu Residence must step up its patrols and guard duty. When anyone in our family leaves home, they must bring at least five guards along." Lu Qing'an composed himself. "Don't worry too much either, Father. If that He fellow had the capability, he would have attacked us already instead of using severed heads to intimidate us. I will draft a letter to reprimand him."
Lu Zhensheng paced back and forth several times, then headed for the door.
"Where are you going?"
Lu Zhensheng paused, hesitated, and only then said, "Tend to your duties and mind your safety." With that, he strode off without looking back.
"..." Lu Qing'an could easily guess what his father was off to do, but had no way to stop him. He could only order his subordinates to dispose of the severed heads.
Sure enough, less than an hour later, an attendant came to report:
"A red bird took flight from the master's courtyard."
Lu Qing'an couldn't help rubbing his brow. His old man had lost his nerve after all and written to the second son.
Yet his second brother was far away on the front lines of the western theater; what could he possibly do from there?
He Lingchuan had sent seven scouts' severed heads, bearing an unmistakable warning. Whatever plans Lu Qing'an had originally harbored for the Yangshan Archipelago would now have to be shelved for the time being.
It wasn't that he was faint of heart, but the war against the Ya Kingdom had already drained him of every shred of energy. Bailie had also been devastated by the hurricane and needed time to recover and rebuild, leaving him no vigor to spare for the Yangshan Archipelago.
Better to wait. There would always be opportunities later.
After some thought, he issued a gag order forbidding the servants from speaking outside about the brocade boxes and the severed heads in the Lu Residence.
"Violators will be beaten to death!"
Just then, Registrar Yang from the government office came rushing over in a hurry, asking where the clan patriarch was the moment he saw Lu Qing'an.
Seeing him gasping for breath, Lu Qing'an frowned. "What has happened to cause such a fuss?"
"A letter from the Mou Kingdom... from the National Preceptor!"
"The Mou Kingdom's National Preceptor?" Lu Qing'an was startled. "Which one?"
"National Preceptor Wang!" Registrar Yang pulled out a silver missive. "National Preceptor Wang sent a letter to the government office, designated specifically for the ruler of Bailie."
***
Before long, Assistant Commissioner Zhao of the Maritime Trade Office knocked hurriedly on his superior's office door.
Without waiting for Superintendent Wu to speak, he said in a rush, "The Lu Residence received seven severed heads! In the dead of night, they were placed right inside Lu Zhensheng's quarters and were only discovered at dawn. Word has it they were all spies planted in the Yangshan Archipelago by the Lu father and son!"
Superintendent Wu, who was drinking water, trembled upon hearing this. "Where did you hear this 'word has it'?"
"Rumors are running wild outside, spreading all the way from Qucheng."
Superintendent Wu sat stunned for quite a while before slowly leaning back against his chair, his expression full of frustration at their utter ineptitude. "The Lu family truly is useless."
He had originally counted on the Lu family to hollow out the Yangshan Archipelago or devise some clever scheme to deal with He Lingchuan, which would conveniently avenge him in the process.
Although Bailie was universally acknowledged as the weakest among the surrounding states, strength and weakness were always relative—it depended on who one was compared against.
Bailie's past adversaries had all been states and territories, which was why it appeared weak; against He Lingchuan as an individual, it should have held all the cards and handled him with ease.
How had Bailie suffered defeat yet again?
Superintendent Wu was no fool. For news so specific to spread, it had certainly been leaked by the Yangshan Archipelago itself.
Otherwise, who else would have known those severed heads belonged to Bailie's spies?
No matter how diminished Bailie was, the Lu Residence still had guards and protective arrays. If the Yangshan Archipelago could soundlessly place seven severed heads on Lu Zhensheng's dining table, wouldn't taking the old man's head in the dead of night be just as effortless?
The implied threat in this covert delivery was all too glaring.
Yet from another angle, it proved that the actions of the Lu father and son had truly provoked He Lingchuan's wrath.
The Lu family really were incompetent bunglers. Dealing with someone like He Lingchuan required either striking decisively to eliminate him in one stroke, or never provoking him at all.
Superintendent Wu had chosen the latter, and right now, he felt thoroughly wise for doing so.
After waiting for a long time without receiving any instructions, Assistant Commissioner Zhao had no choice but to ask, "Do you wish to send word to...?"
"What are you thinking?" Superintendent Wu said languidly. "Do you want to trouble Noble Consort Yu with such trivial matters?"
When he had written to the capital last time, Noble Consort Yu hadn't replied at all, just as he had expected.
It hadn't been easy for Her Ladyship to put the matter out of her mind. Why remind her of it again?
Assistant Commissioner Zhao hastily said, "No, no, you are absolutely right!"
Superintendent Wu glanced at him. "What did I say? What was I right about?"
Assistant Commissioner Zhao offered an awkward smile. Just as he was about to withdraw, a petty clerk from the Maritime Trade Office came trotting in, presenting a letter to Superintendent Wu with both hands.
"My Lord, a letter from the capital."
"Oh?" Superintendent Wu set down his cup, took the letter, and waved the clerk away.
Another letter from Noble Consort Yu? Surely she hadn't remembered the *Qingyu* dragged down by the yin hui again, had she?
Superintendent Wu opened the letter himself, pulled out the gold-flecked paper, and read through it. His eyes widened, and his expression turned exceedingly peculiar.
Watching his shifting expression, Assistant Commissioner Zhao felt his heart race with apprehension.
Could Noble Consort Yu be rebuking him again? Superintendent Wu's post truly wasn't an easy seat to occupy.
The letter contained only a few sentences, yet Superintendent Wu read them word by word several times to ensure he grasped their intent. Only then did he clear his throat lightly.
"Starting from now, Island Master He Lingchuan of Yangshan is our honored guest. Henceforth, the Blade Harbor Maritime Trade Office will cooperate closely with the Yangshan Archipelago to achieve mutual prosperity and shared success."
The turnabout was so sharp that Assistant Commissioner Zhao was left utterly bewildered. He asked cautiously, "This... is this letter from Noble Consort Yu?"
For Noble Consort Yu to suddenly issue such an order was as unbelievable as Superintendent Wu gifting him a hundred mu of irrigated farmland for nothing.
"The Mou Kingdom's National Preceptor Wang sent a handwritten letter to Noble Consort Yu." Superintendent Wu wasn't privy to the exact contents either. "Following that, Noble Consort Yu sent this directive to me. You heard it, didn't you? Since Noble Consort Yu has made her demand, that is how we will proceed from now on! We must be resolute and carry it out to the letter—no cutting corners!"
These were orders from above, after all. Whatever his superiors commanded him to do, he would do!
Chapter 1021