Thus, no matter how the monarch of Yuan urged him, He Chunhua simply held his troops in place, anchoring himself in strategic resolve.
Her husband was engaging in passive defiance. Madam Ying worried, "Could the Monarch punish you?"
"The army's drills are inadequate, the provisions insufficient, and we cannot even scrape together enough horses. His Majesty knows all this full well. Besides, I have already made my stance clear: if I am forced to march rashly, I shall resign my seal of office and invite the Monarch to find someone better suited."
Madam Ying's face paled at those words.
He Yue hurriedly consoled her, "Don't be afraid, Mother. The Monarch will never let Father leave."
His expression darkened slightly. "The Yuan court has few capable men left."
"These wormwood sprout dumplings are quite good today." He Chunhua ate heartily, showing no hint of distress. In Shihuan City, wormwood sprouts would never appear on the dining table of a prominent household, but having come from Blackwater City, they were fond of such wild herbs.
"Do not fret, Madam. In every crisis lies opportunity," he said with a smile toward Madam Ying. "If state affairs weren't in dire straits, how would the Monarch ever have resolved to summon me back to the capital? The way I see it, he originally wanted to keep me pinned down in Xiazhou for at least seven or eight years."
Governing an entire province was a goal countless officials strived after, but it was far from his ultimate ambition.
Regional inspectors and governors-general who had remained in their posts for over a decade were commonplace.
There was a faint trace of sarcasm in He Chunhua's words. Madam Ying caught it and glanced outside; seeing that none of the servants were around, she finally felt relieved.
The He family had once been nearly exterminated, leaving He Chunhua as the sole survivor. The late monarch had banished him to the western borderlands and later promoted him to Prefect of Qiansong Commandery precisely to leave this piece on the board for his son.
That way, after the new monarch took the throne, executing corrupt officials would establish authority, while promoting loyal and worthy men would win the hearts of his ministers.
After all, the one who slaughtered He Chunhua's entire family was the late monarch; what did that have to do with the new monarch?
Even if his heart burned with deep resentment, could he hate his country? Could he hate his sovereign?
A mortal could not hate Heaven; a subject could not hate the monarch.
Pity that the current monarch had not followed the late monarch's script, simply leaving He Chunhua unused. Had the traitorous National Preceptor Sun Fuping not gone west to throw his life away, He Chunhua would not even have had the chance to rise toward the east.
He Chunhua knew all too well that, precisely because of the late monarch's past folly, the current monarch did not fully trust him.
He scooped up a couple more mouthfuls of food and asked He Yue, "Yue'er, what news do you have on your end?"
He had secured a post for his son under the Minister of Agriculture. The Ministry of Agriculture managed the nation's grain and commodities; although He Yue held a modest post, he could listen in on plenty of crucial intelligence.
"There is one matter Father should know," He Yue said earnestly. "The Mount Rong Sect has finally agreed to lend us money."
He Chunhua's chopsticks froze, a surge of joy in his heart. "How much?"
"Seven million taels!"
"They are actually willing to lend seven million taels?" He Chunhua was also astounded by the figure. "I thought half that would already be impressive."
"I heard that the royal court sent envoys three times before to borrow funds, only to be rejected every time by the Mount Rong Sect," He Yue said with a smile. "This time, not only did the Mount Rong Sect agree, but they will also sell us two hundred thousand dan of grain at a discount!"
He Chunhua was deeply surprised. "Why has the Mount Rong Sect suddenly turned so generous?"
He had raised grain for armies before; in the past, twenty thousand dan had been enough to feed Zhao Pan's army of fifty thousand for a whole month. Two hundred thousand dan of fair-priced grain was truly exceptionally generous.
The Yuan Kingdom had always relied on imported grain, and with such high demand, prices naturally soared.
For the Yuan Kingdom right now, grain was far more practical than silver—it could alleviate their burning crisis.
"Supposedly, there are conditions attached."
"It would be strange if there weren't," He Chunhua scoffed. "Even your elder brother knows that meat pies don't just fall from the sky for nothing."
He had brought up his eldest son out of nowhere, and the dining table immediately fell silent.
After a brief silence, He Yue resumed, "The Mount Rong Sect's envoys have already arrived in the capital. This afternoon, the Director of Reception, Lord Wang, met with them. It was said they had a cordial conversation, and a banquet was held in their honor."
"Money is easy to borrow, but hard to repay." He Chunhua rubbed the space between his brows. "For the Mount Rong Sect to be this generous, there must be a reason."
When a person couldn't pay their debts, they took a beating.
When a country couldn't pay its debts, it had to slice off its own flesh.
Madam Ying suddenly asked, "If both grain and silver arrive, will you deploy the troops, Master?"
He Chunhua's previous excuse for not deploying was a lack of grain and provisions. What if Mount Rong Sect's aid filled that gap?
With money came rations and grain, and ways could be found to scrape together horses.
"It is not yet time." He Chunhua's expression darkened. "It is not yet time."
...
The next day dawned clear, with the morning glow painting the sky in gentle splendor.
He Chunhua finished washing up after rising. Seeing Madam Ying constantly rubbing her eyelid, he asked, "Did sand get into your eye?"
Madam Ying muttered, "Ever since last night, my left eyelid has been twitching nonstop. I don't know what's going on."
Just as the two were heading off to breakfast, Housekeeper Wu suddenly came barging in from outside, shouting as he ran, "Master! Joyful news! A tremendous joy!"
His voice cracked, pitching upward sharply.
This housekeeper had always been steady and composed; He Chunhua could hardly recall a time when he had ever lost his composure like this.
"What is it?"
Before the final word was even fully out, Housekeeper Wu blurted ahead of him, "The Eldest Young Master is back!"
He Chunhua and his wife froze, unable to process it for a moment.
What?
Madam Ying said blankly, "What did you say?"
Housekeeper Wu pointed outside, breathing hard. "The Eldest Young Master is alive! The Eldest Young Master has returned!"
He Yue had just reached the outside of the dining hall; hearing this, he took off sprinting toward the main gate.
Before he even reached the gate, a figure stepped in around the covered flower veranda.
Before He Yue could see clearly, his vision blurred, and his arm was grabbed in a firm grip: "Number Two, where are you rushing off to?"
Handsome features, a commanding presence, and a grin flashing a set of bright white teeth—who else could it be but He Lingchuan?
"Your dashing, handsome big brother is back!"
Wild with joy, He Yue threw his arms around him and cried, "Finally! Finally, you're back!"
He Lingchuan patted the crown of his head. "Yo, you grew taller?"
In just half a year, He Yue had shot up a full head taller. His facial features were more defined, shedding some boyish delicacy to gain a touch of manly resolve, making him look even more like He Chunhua.
"Hey, what are you crying for?" He Lingchuan saw that He Yue's eyes were red. "Why are you acting like a woman?"
"Big Brother, you..." He had bulked up.
When He Yue rushed forward to hug his brother just now, he had felt like he slammed straight into a brick wall—nose-first, no less. A stinging ache was now shooting straight up to the crown of his skull. It hurt! It hurt so much tears nearly burst from his eyes.
How had his elder brother's physique gotten so absurdly hard?
By this time, He Chunhua and Madam Ying had rushed over as well, looking at He Lingchuan in utter disbelief.
"Chuan'er..." Madam Ying choked up, pressing one hand against her chest, her eyes reddening.
He Chunhua strode forward, clamping both hands on his eldest son's shoulders, looking him up and down repeatedly. "Good, good! I knew you weren't dead!"
His eyes shone with astonishing brightness.
He Lingchuan gazed at him, the smile on his lips widening further and further. "Your son has returned—"
He stood in the garden where blossoms bloomed in profusion, his back to the rising sun.
Perhaps because of the direct sunlight, He Chunhua suddenly felt it was glaring, and even his eldest son's smile appeared slightly blurred.
He tilted his head slightly and heard his eldest son's voice, lingering and calm:
"—Father."
Chapter 769