Madam Ying followed suit.
Then came He Lingchuan's turn.
Standing before them, He Chunhua spoke in a heavy, somber tone. "Kowtow to your great-grandfather."
"Kowtow to your grandfather."
"Kowtow to your grandmother."
"Kowtow to your second granduncle."
...
He Lingchuan also kowtowed thirty-six times, feeling slightly dizzy when he rose. The final resounding kowtow was to his Ninth Uncle—He Chunhua's younger brother, who was only six years old when he was cut in two at the waist and his body cast into the public square.
Out of the one hundred and twenty-seven souls of the He clan's main branch, from an eighty-year-old elder down to a six-year-old child, not one had been spared—save for He Chunhua, who alone escaped with his life.
Next was He Yue.
As the two brothers brushed past each other, He Lingchuan silently mouthed to him, "Take it easy!"
Even with skin as tough and hardy as his own, He Lingchuan's forehead was swollen and red after the kowtows. He Yue was delicate and tender-skinned; in previous years after the ancestral rites, the housekeeper always had to apply ointment to his wounds.
He Yue looked back, his face devoid of expression.
When he dropped to his knees, the thuds of his kowtows were no softer than He Lingchuan's.
He Chunhua watched him, yet his gaze was unfocused, his mind seemingly drifting elsewhere.
Looking at his father, He Lingchuan felt there was a vacant ferocity in that blank expression.
No matter how genial and composed this man appeared on the outside, the hatred and resentment deep within his heart had never faded in the slightest.
After finishing his thirty-six kowtows, He Yue remained crouched for a good while to catch his breath before standing up to offer incense.
Sure enough, blood trickled down his forehead once more.
"Good. The He family has weathered a great catastrophe, and it is time we embrace our chance for rebirth." He Chunhua drew a long breath. "What did I teach you in the past? To clear our He family's name and restore our clan's glory—"
The He brothers exchanged a glance and chorused, "We shall not shrink from ten thousand deaths, though our bodies be broken and our bones ground to dust!"
The person who framed the He family back then was already dead, yet the kin of the He family had still perished bearing the guilt of 'accomplices.' Because of the royal house's pride and dignity, this profound injustice remained unredressed to this day.
For these twenty years, He Chunhua had brooded over it, never daring to forget.
"Good, good boys!" Emotion flooded his face, and he even closed his eyes slightly, a faint glint of tears seeming to shimmer at the corners. "You must remember and fulfill the oath you swore today!"
Naturally, the brothers replied, "Yes."
Lao Mo, the housekeeper, had already prepared ointment and swiftly tended to He Yue's external injury.
Once the incense burned down, the family burned joss paper.
The first ancestral sacrifice held in a foreign land was now drawing to a close. He Lingchuan reminded himself to strictly watch his words and deeds today—no laughing out loud, no drinking wine, and no going out in search of amusement.
Yet He Chunhua seemed to have dispelled all his sullen frustration during the ceremony; the oppressive gloom around him had vanished. Patting both brothers on the shoulder, he said gently, "All right, you must be hungry, aren't you? Time to eat."
On the day of the ancestral sacrifice, they ate vegetarian food.
Even so, the atmosphere at the dining table had softened. Madam Ying was saying to her two sons, "I'll have the tailor come to the house tomorrow to take your measurements. Each of you will have at least three sets of new clothes made." Both sons had grown taller, and their old clothes no longer fit. "Also, in another ten-odd days, it will be the Shangsi Festival on the third day of the third month. A temple fair will be held in the west of the city, and all the young men and women will attend."
Both brothers gave an "oh" in acknowledgment.
After eating a few mouthfuls, He Chunhua set down his chopsticks and drew out two letters, laying them side by side on the table. "Both of these are letters from Minister Li. The first arrived five days ago, and the second reached us this morning. Yue'er has already seen them. Chuan'er, take a look."
The Li clan's great backer had finally written to the new Chief Administrator of Xiazhou.
After suffering so many grievances under He Chunhua, it would have been strange if the Li clan hadn't wept and complained to Minister Li. He Lingchuan knew that one reason his father had held back from acting with a completely free hand in Dunyu was that he was somewhat wary of Minister Li's reaction.
After all, the man held high rank and great power, possessing direct influence over the sovereign.
Just from He Chunhua's relaxed expression, He Lingchuan could tell Minister Li's attitude couldn't be bad.
The first letter from Minister Li sprawled across several hundred words. Its general gist was that the younger generations of the Li clan were mediocre and foolish to pick a fight with the Zhan clan without evidence, and that Governor-General He had done well to discipline them on his behalf—
However, Li Zhao had only recently passed away, and his kin were so overwhelmed with grief that their improper speech and conduct led them into serious blunders; was that not somewhat excusable?
Afterward, Minister Li had conferred with the various ministries during court deliberations and raised a total of twenty thousand dan of grain and fodder to be transported to the northern border.
He Chunhua added, "By my calculations, these military supplies will reach Dunyu in two days at most. They will halt here briefly for rest and reorganization before being dispatched to the front."
"Such cautious wording," He Lingchuan remarked, flicking the letter paper deliberately. "I thought Minister Li would use his position to lean on you and order Dad to release Li Yu."
"Does he dare?" He Chunhua sneered. "A distant grandee cannot overrule the man on the spot. Xiazhou is my domain now, and it is also one of the two major fronts under the closest scrutiny of the royal court. If he dared use his influence to bully me right now, I could forward his letter straight to the capital for His Majesty's perusal. That is why he has to be polite and pleasant instead, making sure not to leave any leverage in my hands."
Rather than saying Xiazhou was in the spotlight, it was more accurate to say that the province was a quagmire, and the court was already frazzled by fighting a war on two fronts. If He Chunhua were to drop his duties and quit, nobody else could even clean up the mess.
Would Minister Li dare thump his chest and guarantee that any replacement he recommended for Xiazhou could do a better job than He Chunhua?
Thus, at a time like this, He Chunhua did not fear him.
He Yue chimed in, "The western front is also starving for supplies. General Ke has pleaded for grain all the way to the capital. For Minister Li to pool and allocate twenty thousand dan of grain to the northern front at this moment is a gesture of goodwill to Father, hoping Father will show leniency."
He Lingchuan scoffed. "Old fox. So he can scrounge up grain after all." Rations were the lifeblood of soldiers. "Twenty thousand dan of grain is enough to feed Zhao Pan's army for a month."
This gift could hardly be considered meager, yet what rankled was that He Chunhua would ultimately have to send it onward to the north anyway.
"By the time it arrives here, it won't be twenty thousand dan anymore," He Chunhua said with a shake of his head. "No matter. It is a good thing all the same."
He Lingchuan picked up the second letter, read through it, and could barely suppress a laugh.
"Minister Li only sent this after news of our two great victories reached the capital, didn't he?" Calculating by time, it matched up perfectly. This Minister Li truly possessed remarkably flexible posture.
A faint smile touched He Chunhua's eyes. "Indeed."
The tone of Minister Li's second letter was far more enthusiastic than the first. He began by congratulating the new chief administrator on his maiden victory in office, encouraged him to keep up the good work, and then took the moral high ground, demanding that he severely punish those lawbreaking, unfilial descendants of the Li clan without sparing any face for him.
The finishing touch was saved for the very end: Minister Li expressed immense gratification, claiming that after the traitor Sun Fuping was executed, he had recommended the meritorious He Chunhua to the monarch for promotion to Chief Administrator of Xiazhou—which, as it now appeared, was a deed that brought great blessing to the people of Great Yuan.
"With a single stroke, he claimed the credit for himself," He Lingchuan said with an "oh." "Dad, so he was the one who recommended you?"
"It wasn't that simple; he merely played a part in it," He Chunhua shook his head. "Claiming others' credit as their own is their customary routine."
He Lingchuan felt a flicker of interest. It sounded as though his father was very clear on the situation back then—did he have connections in court?
Of course. His father's social and political maneuvering had always been outstanding, never to be underestimated.
"How does Father intend to sentence the brothers Li Zhi and Li Yu?"
"Sentence them strictly as the law dictates," He Chunhua replied calmly. "It seems Little Six Li has already forged a connection with Minister Li."
Li Zhao's two sons were practically ruined. Minister Li was likely thinking of cutting off a gangrenous limb to survive—casting aside these two pathetic eyesores who only knew how to bicker among themselves, and later grooming Li Shuang from the third generation to take charge of the Li clan.
From a broader perspective, this was far better for the Li clan.
"The military supplies sent by the court brook no delay; they must be transported to the northern front as soon as possible," He Chunhua said to his eldest son. "Chuan'er, come along with me on this journey."
He Lingchuan was surprised. "Dad is escorting the grain in person?"
"Yes. I also want to use this opportunity to inspect the conditions of the people in Xiazhou and meet with General Zhao Pan." Xiazhou was Zhao Pan's rear support and supply line; as the new chief administrator, he needed to meet Zhao Pan face-to-face as soon as possible to ensure smooth coordination. "Besides, Zhao Qinghe told me that Xunzhou's roaming cavalry is still roving around central Xiazhou. Perhaps this will give us an opportunity to blood the troops."
After the meal, everyone returned to their rooms to rest, while He Chunhua went into his study.
Lao Mo brought a man to see him. "Master, someone has arrived from the capital." With that, he stepped outside to keep watch, pulling the study door shut behind him.
The visitor was windblown and travel-worn, looking more like an old farmer than a courier. From his robes he produced a letter and a brocade pouch, presenting them with both hands. "Today is the He clan's memorial day. My master ordered me to reach Dunyu before the day was through, to convey his regards."
"You have had a hard journey." He Chunhua took the letter, broke the wax seal, and opened it to read.
The signature at the foot of the letter read:
Yan Lixin.
He Chunhua skimmed through it. The somber tension on his face eased slightly, breaking into a faint smile. "From the look of it, the position of National Preceptor is already in Mr. Yan's bag."
Earlier, the Marquis of Songyang had conversed at length with him regarding the battle for the vacant post of National Preceptor left behind by Sun Fuping's death. Who could have imagined that this Chief Administrator He had already aligned himself with one of the candidates?
The trip to Shihuan had not been in vain.
Politics was the greatest gamble of all; as long as one chose the right side, the dividends lasted a lifetime.
"My master extends his deepest gratitude for your staunch support."
***
Hong Chenglüe knew that with three bailiffs dead in his home, he would soon become a wanted fugitive. Therefore, when departing, he did not dare poke his head out the carriage window for fear of being recognized. After all, the town had a small population, and the neighbors all knew one another.
He didn't know what arrangements Wu Qing and his men had made, or perhaps the corpses in his courtyard simply had not been discovered yet, but the carriage convoy rolled smoothly out of Bailu Town without being inspected once along the way.
Heading farther north, fewer and fewer travelers and horses were on the main road.
After traveling another four li, an open-air watering shed appeared by the roadside.
Such sheds were usually erected beside wells or streams, where travelers could drink hot water—or sometimes hot tea—and weary horses could drink from troughs, all for a fee, of course.
Aside from the attendant pouring water, there were currently only three people at the watering shed. Just as Wu Qing's convoy arrived, they mounted their horses and rode off.
Hong Chenglüe actually urged him, "Fill the waterskins quickly. We need to catch up to those three ahead."
Wu Qing nodded, stepped down to fill two waterskins with hot water, and urged the driver onward, keeping pace at a steady, leisurely distance behind the three riders.
After another two li, there was no one else on the road.
Hong Chenglüe untied a spare horse, mounted it, and galloped in pursuit.
The three were just discussing the pursuit of wandering fugitives when they heard the rapid clatter of hooves behind them and turned around. The leader among them was none other than the patrol officer who had executed the grain-stealing boy in town earlier, surnamed Chen.
Chapter 253