Doubts

"He asked me how much was ordered. I said the He Manor placed an advance order for three months' worth of meat—eight jin of pork, ten jin of beef, and ten jin of mutton each month. On top of that, their steward wanted to buy some live stock, saying they'd be sent to a country farm for breeding. So I pointed him toward Li Laoliu diagonally across from me, the stall tucked into the corner—" The butcher pointed across the way. "Li raises them himself. The He Manor steward ordered a few different breeds from him. Once that fellow Sun heard that, he bought two jin of mutton and a pair of sheep kidneys for himself and left." It was straightforward indeed. He Lingchuan thanked him and took his leave. No matter where nobles resided, be it the Yuan Kingdom or Beijia, farmland and rural estates were essential assets to acquire. Beyond supplying a master's household year-round, their produce could be sold at market for profit. The He family had moved from Xiazhou to the Yuan capital. Liquidating their northern assets while purchasing new fields and estates near the capital was standard practice for up-and-coming arrivals. Second Steward Zhao was new to the Yuan capital and unfamiliar with the area. Asking Butcher Wang to put him in touch with someone selling breeding pigs and sheep to stock the manor was only natural. Following behind, Shan Youjun asked, "Eldest Young Master, is something amiss?" "No." He Lingchuan stepped out of Cattle and Sheep Manor and looked at the soles of his shoes, which were filthy. "Come on, let's head back for dinner. Don't go repeating what you heard here." Shan Youjun answered at once, "Understood. Not a fourth soul will hear of it." Had Sun Hongye uncovered anything else here? He Lingchuan put the thought aside and returned home for dinner. He Chunhua was already back. Over the meal, his face beamed with delight as he described how intrigued the King of Yuan had been by his proposal. He Yue asked, "Father, do you believe His Majesty will agree?" "Naturally," He Chunhua said with a smile. "The King was greatly pleased. He considers it a fine plan—both economical and a way to secure military funds as quickly as possible." After years of studying him, He Chunhua understood the monarch's temperament. As long as the King believed he was getting a bargain, he made decisions briskly. Even so, one could rarely have it both ways. Whenever people tried to grab every advantage in matters of state, they usually ended up paying a steeper price. That evening, He Lingchuan summoned Qiu Hu to his courtyard and asked, "Have you settled in comfortably?" "Comfortably enough," Qiu Hu replied. "I can get by on fine food and silk robes just as well as I can sleeping on sand and chewing bran. It's just that eating my fill every day with nowhere to go gets rather dull." The other Mount Rong disciples enjoyed roaming the Yuan capital and immersing themselves in the bustling mortal world. He, however, had no interest in that. As for accounting and bookkeeping, he understood even less. What he loved most, and did best, was fighting and killing. He Lingchuan smiled. "Then I have an errand outside for you." Without hesitation, Qiu Hu said, "Name it." *** The following morning, He Lingchuan unexpectedly ran into another old acquaintance: Wu Shaoyi. The man had just returned from out of town. Hearing that the eldest young master of the He family had returned, he hurried over to offer his greetings, taking the chance to collect some medicinal herbs from the steward. He Lingchuan noticed he had thinned down considerably. Once a stout, powerfully built man who could fight Lu Yao to a draw, he was now visibly gaunt, having lost at least a quarter of his weight, with gray frosting his temples. Whenever Wu Shaoyi coughed, an unnatural flush rose in his cheeks. Years ago, he had used a soul-grafting technique to forcefully prolong his life. This was the price he paid for survival. "How is your illness?" "I only had two years left, but Lord He took me to see Great Shaman Zhaomandu," Wu Shaoyi said with a smile. "The Great Shaman prescribed some secret medicine that supposedly can stretch my life by another ten months or so, though the final two months will be agonizing. I came today to collect the herbs Lord He ordered for me." The man's life was on a countdown. Eloquent as He Lingchuan was, he was at a loss for how to comfort him. Wu Shaoyi, by contrast, took it in stride. "I've already made up my mind to simply skip those last two months when the time comes. This life was picked up off the ground. To live three more years is already a blessing from Heaven—what right do I have to complain?" He Lingchuan changed the subject, asking after Zeng Feixiong and the others. It turned out Zeng Feixiong had gone to the grand encampment west of Shihuan City to drill troops for He Chunhua, and Uncle Hao was not in the capital either. As for Wu Shaoyi, he was still slated to accompany He Chunhua south to suppress the rebellion. Indeed, though He Chunhua played hard to get with the King of Yuan, he knew deep down that the task of quelling the rebels would ultimately fall upon his shoulders. Wu Shaoyi was unwell and could not charge into the fray, but he was seasoned in warfare. Not only could he offer counsel, but he understood the mindset of 'rebels' better than most—after all, he had once been a senior general under Holy Master Hong Xiangqian before accepting He Chunhua's amnesty. For that reason, He Chunhua still kept him close at hand. Wu Shaoyi sighed. "Lord He promised that once the fighting in the south is over, he'll let me retire in the capital to live out a couple of quiet, peaceful years." He Lingchuan offered a slight smile. "Whether our days are peaceful is probably not for us to decide." Wu Shaoyi clapped softly at the remark. "Eldest Young Master speaks the absolute truth. Rebellions in the south, Dong Haoming in the northwest... Ah! Who knows when the common folk of the Yuan Kingdom will ever see peace?" "For this southern campaign, I believe my father has the measure of it," He Lingchuan said with a chuckle. "Never say the road ahead has reached a dead end; a turning point can arise in a single thought." His mindset differed from Wu Shaoyi's. The latter was in the twilight of his life and could only drift with the current, but He Lingchuan remained optimistic no matter the circumstance. Anyone who had survived the battle of Mount Xu and escaped Lingxu City alive had earned the right to be optimistic. The two chatted a bit longer about the past before a thought struck He Lingchuan. "By the way, do you know where Sun Hongye went?" "Sun Hongye?" Wu Shaoyi looked bewildered. "He left?" His information was even less up to date than He Lingchuan's. He Lingchuan could only sigh. Wu Shaoyi added, "Eldest Young Master could ask Shan Youjun. He and Sun Hongye get along quite well." "Oh?" He Lingchuan found that curious. "Those two spend time together?" Why hadn't Shan Youjun mentioned it? "They're around the same age, both serve under Lord He, and neither has family or friends nearby, so it's hardly surprising they grew close," Wu Shaoyi recalled. "I seem to remember seeing them drinking together at Songhua Tower in Dunyu not long ago. Shan Youjun even borrowed fifty taels of silver from Sun Hongye." Fifty taels? For a retainer on a fixed stipend, that was no small sum. That Sun Hongye was willing to lend fifty thousand coins to Shan Youjun proved they shared a close bond. He Lingchuan gave a few casual nods and shifted the topic. Just then, a servant announced the arrival of an honored guest from the royal court. Taking the cue, Wu Shaoyi excused himself and took his leave. The soul-snatching mirror immediately piped up, "That brat Shan Youjun clearly claimed he barely knew Sun Hongye! He lied!" Close enough to ask for a loan—ha! Had he even paid that money back? He Lingchuan gave a quiet grunt of acknowledgment. Why had Shan Youjun lied? Was he hiding something to keep from getting burned, or was he tied up in Sun Hongye's disappearance?