This place was already more than twenty li from the checkpoint, but many traveling merchants still chose to stop here for a meal and rest, making it bustling and lively.
After crossing the border, Uncle Da and a squad of guards took their leave of Fu Shanyue and hurried off toward the Chiyan Kingdom's capital to report everything that had occurred along the way to the sovereign.
Two shichen later, a party of a dozen or so riders slowly entered the town.
He Lingchuan, who had been eagerly looking out, went out to meet them. "You have worked hard, Marquis!"
The rider in the lead was dressed in men's clothing—a tall cap and a green robe—with a cloth veil covering her face against the dust and wind, yet it could not conceal a pair of wondrous eyes as limpid as water.
She hopped down from horseback, lifted down a young girl, and only then untied her veil, smiling at He Lingchuan. "I was busy clearing the checkpoint while you lounged around here enjoying yourselves! Speak—how do you plan to thank me?"
With features as delicate as a painting and peerless beauty, she was none other than the master of Songyang Mansion, Li Qingge!
The little girl she carried down was Taozi.
After crossing the border, the little girl had awakened.
Fu Shanyue followed him out as well. Taozi immediately ran toward him. "Young Master, Young Master!"
"Awake?" Seeing that her steps were still somewhat unsteady, he nodded to Li Qingge. "Thank you."
Li Qingge smiled. "A trivial matter."
He Lingchuan said at once, "Fine wine and good food for all dozen-plus of your people—I..." He slapped Fu Shanyue's shoulder. "...and he will cover the bill."
Fu Shanyue rolled his eyes immediately. Fortunately Uncle Da had given him travel funds before departing, or he would be strapped for cash again.
They all re-entered the tavern, went up to a quiet private room on the second floor, and ordered a banquet. As for Li Qingge's subordinates, they settled in downstairs for now.
All three toasted Li Qingge in gratitude. She was not pretentious in the least, throwing back three cups to the bottom before turning her cup upside down to show them. "Satisfied now?"
Yesterday, He Lingchuan had run into her in Dagong Town, pleasantly surprised.
Li Qingge was heading north to Lingxu City as well, and promptly agreed to his request.
Thus, when they crossed the checkpoint earlier, Taozi was not in their carriages at all. Li Qingge was prudent; fearing that the base slave mark on Taozi's hands would be discovered during checkpoint inspection, she had hidden her inside the Mustard Seed Courtyard in advance.
He Lingchuan had seen this Mustard Seed Courtyard once before on the journey to Dunyu—a tiny miniature model that would expand into a real courtyard when tossed onto the ground, complete with green pines and fresh flowers, an essential treasure for home and travel.
Since pines could grow inside, Taozi naturally could stay within it for a short time.
Li Qingge effortlessly brought her across the border.
This meant Taozi was freed from the status of a base slave from then on, no longer bound by a tragic fate.
Sometimes an insurmountable chasm to you was nothing more than a tiny ditch to someone else, crossed with a mere stride.
This naturally did Fu Shanyue an immense favor.
He was a clever man as well, and immediately wrote out a blank check along with a jade pendant. "I owe you a favor, redeemable anytime. Bring this jade pendant to find me, and I will honor it."
Li Qingge smiled. "Splendid. Looks like Songyang Mansion has gained a backer in the Chiyan Kingdom."
She had already heard from He Lingchuan that the ba before her was very likely to become the sole legitimate heir of the Chiyan Kingdom. The weight of this favor would grow immensely heavy in the future.
Merchants loved nothing more than befriending people of high status and power.
Second Master Shi marveled, "I even asked Brother He to introduce me to Songyang Mansion's branch in Lingxu City. Who would have thought I would meet the mansion master herself right here! What good fortune!"
Once the two merchants started chatting, they hit it off instantly, conversing with great enthusiasm, and within a mere quarter of an hour they settled two business deals.
Second Master Shi successfully secured two agencies for Songyang Mansion in the Fu Kingdom, beaming with delight.
Meanwhile, Taozi wore a mournful face and said to Fu Shanyue, "Young Master, I think I'm gonna go!"
Fu Shanyue was startled. "Not here! Go handle that in the latrine out back!"
Taozi bared her teeth at him. "My teeth fell out!"
Her front incisors had fallen out, and her upper left canine was gone as well; air whistled when she spoke.
He Lingchuan noticed too and casually remarked, "Isn't it normal for children her age to lose baby teeth?"
"Three all at once?" Fu Shanyue rarely inspected anything so closely, and asked her, "What about your other teeth?"
"Loose. Feels like they're gonna fall out soon too." Taozi wore a pitiful frown. "Young Master, I really think I'm gonna go."
"Who told you that?"
"My granny. Not long after she lost her teeth, she went."
Fu Shanyue spat. "Was she an earth fiend too?"
A child naturally did not understand such things. He Lingchuan took a sip of wine. "Is there some special reason for this?"
"This girl is transforming into an earth fiend child, but she absorbed too much fiend energy for her body to endure, so it is expelling the excess by shedding teeth." Fu Shanyue was not worried at all; on the contrary, he seemed rather intrigued. "Since she woke up, it means there's no major problem."
"What if she hadn't woken up?"
"Then she'd die." Fu Shanyue shrugged. "Or turn into a mindless living corpse that eats people on instinct."
He went out personally to find a waiter and instructed the kitchen to slaughter a live chicken and bring the blood.
What kind of demon could not be found in the Chiyan Kingdom? The tavern had heard even stranger requests from patrons before. The waiter acknowledged the order and hurried off to take care of it.
When the bowl of chicken blood was brought in, steam was still rising from it.
The stench of blood was so thick that Second Master Shi could not help leaning away.
Fu Shanyue cut a slit on his own arm, channeled his inner strength, and dark red blood flowed into the bowl.
Taozi blinked as she watched.
Second Master Shi was taken aback. "Y-You... what are you doing?"
"It is rare to come across an earth fiend child, so I am running an experiment. Don't worry, it won't kill her." With that, Fu Shanyue said to Taozi, "Drink it."
Taozi obediently picked it up, gulped it down until it was empty, and then licked her lips as though wanting more.
He Lingchuan looked thoughtful. "Are you trying to create another ba?" That was a common trope in stories and plays, but could it really happen here?
"No harm in trying."
So it really was that...
"It will do you a lot of good." Fu Shanyue patted Taozi's head. "Just don't drink too much in the beginning."
He Lingchuan asked him, "Can all the witch children on the Twilight Plains turn into earth fiend children?"
"I don't know if the other witch children are genuine, but raw earth fiend seedlings are exceptionally rare. Otherwise, tossing all the witch children into the ruins of Thousand Stars City would be utterly useless."
After eating her fill, Taozi grew drowsy. Fu Shanyue carried her off to a guest room to rest.
Once Second Master Shi's excitement from chatting faded, he looked at Li Qingge and then at He Lingchuan, realizing he had talked too much and overstepped his bounds. He hastily slapped his forehead. "Oh my, I have had too much wine and feel a bit dizzy. Please take your time eating and drinking, both of you. I need to lie down in my room for a while."
With that, he took his leave of Li Qingge and slipped out of the private room.
Li Qingge sat looking at He Lingchuan with a smile, smiling until he felt entirely uncomfortable. "Marquis, please don't smile like that. It's rather chilling."
Only then did Li Qingge rein in her smile, letting out a long sigh. "You have no idea how happy I was to see you yesterday."
With a great beauty saying this right to his face, He Lingchuan quickly rubbed his cheek. "I always knew I was universally adored."
Just then a waiter passed by, so he called the man over to clear away the extra tableware, wipe down the table, and bring more wine and dishes.
Li Qingge watched his actions quietly, her eyes shimmering.
Was this boy truly so oblivious to romance?
"When the terrible news reached Dunyu that you were swept away by the flood, I could hardly believe it. I even thought my physiognomy had failed me, and I mourned this fine blade." Li Qingge pointed at Fusheng at He Lingchuan's waist, speaking softly. "I heard Madam Ying wept for two straight days."
He Lingchuan's smile faded.
When he was home, Madam Ying had nagged and nitpicked him constantly, but she still harbored genuine affection for her eldest son.
"How are my father and He Yue?"
"Still very busy, especially your father, weighed down by endless affairs of state, with no time to grieve in solitude. By the way, guests have been flocking to your manor like clouds to offer condolences." Li Qingge smiled. "I sent a condolence letter and gifts too. You'll have to pay me back later!"
"Yes, absolutely." He Lingchuan coughed lightly. "How is Xiazhou... Dunyu doing?"
His meeting with Li Qingge yesterday had been very brief, as she had travel arrangements to keep.
"Fine," Li Qingge said. "Actually, the whole of Xiazhou is doing fine. When I left, Dunyu was celebrating the harvest festival, firecrackers going off everywhere, and the ground was covered in red paper. The harvest in southern Xiazhou was quite good this year."
"Huh?" He Lingchuan was baffled. "Zhao Pan was defeated, yet Xiazhou is unharmed?"
Li Qingge blinked. "Who told you Zhao Pan was defeated?"
He Lingchuan grew even more puzzled. "I went to the Jeweled Tree Kingdom and heard officials there mention Nian Zanli's great victory at the Han River, which worried me ever since. If Nian Zanli won, didn't that mean Zhao Pan on the opposing side lost?"
"Oh? The Beijia Kingdom thinks Nian Zanli won?" Li Qingge stopped smiling and spoke word by word. "Then the bizarre thing about this battle is that General Zhao Pan and your esteemed father also sent a Han River victory dispatch to Great Yuan's capital!"
"Sent a victory dispatch?" He Lingchuan blurted out. "Nian Zanli drowned thirty thousand of Zhao Pan's troops, how could General Zhao send a victory dispatch?"
"The losses were heavy, but General Zhao accomplished the mission His Majesty assigned him!" Li Qingge raised her wrist and personally poured him a cup of wine. "Repelling the enemy to the north. So His Majesty's commendation should have already been issued by now, right?"
"Repelling the enemy to the north?" He Lingchuan recalled what those two officials in the Jeweled Tree Kingdom had said; indeed, they seemed never to have mentioned whether Nian Zanli's army continued marching south. "The Xunzhou forces didn't push south?"
"No, nor could they." Li Qingge shook her head. "Zhao Pan's army lost thirty thousand men, but the Xunzhou troops weren't much better off. More than half were swallowed by the flood as well, and Nian Zanli himself fell ill. It is said that as soon as the waters receded, your father and General Zhao rallied their forces to pursue them for dozens of li before daring to submit a victory report."
"After that battle, the Xunzhou forces lacked the strength to push south, so they guarded the Han River for two months. Because our army constantly harassed and contested them, and the Han River flooded frequently, making supply difficult, they ultimately retreated back to the northern bank."
"So the battle line has been pushed right back to where it was before the Battle of Han River?" He Lingchuan muttered. "In other words, aside from over sixty thousand casualties on both sides, the border hasn't shifted an inch?"
Hearing such an outcome, for a moment he did not know what to say.
Chapter 434