"Back then, they paid tribute to the Mou Kingdom just like Bailie. But after the Ya Kingdom was founded, it fought several wars, annexing a few surrounding small states to expand its territory. With its spine stiffened, it stopped paying homage to Mou as a vassal, and repeatedly dispatched troops to teach Bailie a lesson. I heard that late last year, another border conflict broke out between Bailie and Ya. The other side started the trouble, but Bailie ended up paying them a hefty sum in compensation."
"That's extortion." He Lingchuan stroked his chin in thought. With such a vicious neighbor, Bailie truly had rotten luck. "Once there's a first and second time, there will be a third. Now that Ya has tasted blood, Bailie will know no peace."
"The current leader of the Bailie people is Lu Zhensheng. The direct bloodline of the Lu clan died out long ago, and Lu Zhensheng, who hails from a collateral branch, was chosen as clan head."
"Lu Zhensheng apparently negotiated with the Qing Kingdom to take back Blade Harbor, but failed."
"Still, Bailie's territory itself seems to have developed rather well over the past decade or so."
Lu Zhensheng? He Lingchuan raised an eyebrow. This was the cousin-nephew of his original self's mother, Lu Xiaoyun—the very man who had forced her to renounce her succession rights and flee far away to the Yuan Kingdom, and who later achieved his ambition of ascending to the position of clan head.
In other words, the supreme ruler of Bailie's territory.
Six hundred years ago, after the Bailie Kingdom was defeated and its land seized by the Beijia Kingdom, the Lu family led the Bailie people to relocate here to carry on their lives, but never established a kingdom again.
This place was merely the Lu family's domain.
Against the backdrop of steadily declining spiritual energy, very few prominent clans could span six centuries; usually, after a hundred or two hundred years, they faded into mediocrity. The Lu clan was no exception. They had enjoyed a few revivals and flashes of glory, but were ultimately worn down in the long river of time. That they had managed to hold together to this day was no small feat.
In today's world, the Lu family was already an ancient clan.
Unfortunately, being "ancient" did not automatically command respect.
Ding Zuodong spoke up as well. "Lu Zhensheng has two sons. The elder son, Lu Qing'an, is thirty-one and has always stayed within the clan. The second son, Lu Qinglin, is twenty-seven. From childhood, he entered Qianyuan Valley, one of the Mou Kingdom's largest and most ancient Daoist orders, which was originally an ancient immortal sect. Later, Qianyuan Valley recommended Lu Qinglin into the Mou Kingdom's military ranks. He quickly rose to Captain, and recently, it seems he rendered merit in combat on the western front, being conferred the title of General Xu. The Mou Kingdom is brimming with talent and fiercely competitive, so this rate of advancement is truly extraordinary."
"'Xu'?" He Lingchuan rubbed his chin. "That's a fine title. It seems he achieved no small merit, and the Mou Kingdom is intent on promoting him."
Some generals of lesser rank had titles that felt almost like a joke, like General of Tower Ships or General of Infantry, tied strictly to the branch of troops they commanded.
The character *Xu* carried an auspicious connotation of the rising sun; this Lu Qinglin was clearly a capable man. He Lingchuan had heard of Qianyuan Valley. This long-standing Daoist order had exceptionally strict selection criteria and ties running deep into the Great Mou royal court. Wealthy families couldn't buy their way in with money alone.
Qiu Hu also asked, "The western front? Is that fighting against Beijia?"
"I've heard so. Blade Harbor has plenty of merchants coming from the west, and all of them say Beijia has been launching frequent assaults while the Mou Kingdom puts up fierce resistance."
He Lingchuan glanced sidelong at Dong Rui and saw him wink. The meaning was obvious:
*The instigator is right here.*
Had He Lingchuan not unleashed Juju, nearly blasted Zhaixing Tower into the sky, and lit the fuse for the turmoil in Lingxu City, Beijia wouldn't be this furious and unhinged.
When the Son of Heaven flew into a rage, blood flowed enough to float shields. The dignity of a mighty empire could not be slighted.
Yet troubled times made heroes. An era of war was the fertile ground for ambitious despots and brilliant talents.
Lu Qinglin had seized the opportunity to amass military honors.
"Yet his greatest knack wasn't winning battles, but marrying Xia Lishang, daughter of General Yutian and Grand Guardian of the Crown Prince Xia Pei. Legend has it that the moment Lu Qinglin arrived in the capital, Xia Lishang took a liking to him at first sight." Ding Zuodong smiled. "What circulates most widely outside is the romance between Lu Qinglin and the Xia maiden."
"Xia Pei is currently leading troops on the western front, a heavyweight figure in the royal court."
"The Lu family certainly secured themselves a fine marital ally." He Lingchuan knew immediately that this would likely be an obstacle in reclaiming the Bailie territory in the future.
Back when he investigated the elixir of immortality case in Beijia, following clues led him to Cen Boqing, where the trail went cold. Cen Boqing was nowhere near top-tier power in noble-packed Lingxu City, but because he was married to the eldest daughter of the Minister of Agriculture, no one dared touch him—including the Chiyan Crown Prince, Fu Shanyue, who had come in person.
He Lingchuan had exhausted every trick to dupe Cen Boqing into confessing.
The Lu clan was the same. Lu Zhensheng had secured a reigning general of the Mou Kingdom as an in-law, which made He Lingchuan's plans considerably more difficult.
Imperial kin and high court relations were the hardest to deal with and the trickiest to handle. Given Xia Pei's prestige in the Mou Kingdom, he wasn't far off from that level.
Sure enough, Ding Zuodong nodded. "Indeed. Ever since Lu Qinglin married the Xia family daughter, the Lu family's prestige has risen steadily. Aside from the Ya Kingdom, which doesn't buy it and continues to make armed threats, surrounding powers treat them with far more respect. I've heard rumors outside saying that if Lu Qinglin can earn a few more military merits, he'll become a rising star in Mou's officialdom."
He Lingchuan gave a low murmur of assent.
While this certainly contained exaggerated hype put out by the Lu family themselves, war was indeed the fastest path for a military officer to rise. Especially since Lu Qinglin had secured such a formidable backer, General Yutian would surely be glad to promote his own son-in-law.
Favoring kin from within was the norm, whether in Beijia or Mou.
Tao Ran chimed in, "Oh, right. A year ago, there was an accident at the Bailie people's Niushan Mine. A tunnel collapsed, burying over two hundred people. The injured were fewer, only eighty-odd. I don't know if those casualty figures were exaggerated, but I heard the compensation and settlement for that disaster still haven't been completed to this day."
The crowd let out murmurs of understanding. "That is a serious accident."
"The mine owner must have had to pay a fortune."
Tao Ran continued, "The mine owner is none other than the Lu family. The compensation they offered was eighty taels for the deceased, fifty taels for the severely injured and disabled, and only five to ten taels for minor injuries. The families refused to accept it and gathered to protest several times, packing the local lockups to bursting."
"Only eighty thousand coins for a death?"
The severely disabled were the real trouble, with the rest of their lives ahead of them. Those who worked the mines were mostly the primary breadwinners of their households; now, not only could they no longer provide for their families, but their medical treatment and medicine burned money, turning them into a burden.
No wonder the families were dissatisfied.
The others commented, "The Lu family is stingy. Sitting on fertile lands, with mountains, forests, and mines of their own, yet they're unwilling to part with even twenty or thirty thousand taels."
Ding Zuodong chuckled. "You don't understand. For these prominent clans, money circulates within their estates and industries. If an emergency arises requiring silver and gold, they usually have to rob Peter to pay Paul. They aren't as well-off as they appear on the surface."
Having served as a steward in wealthy households for over a decade, managing everything inside and out, he understood the ins and outs of such matters best.
Tao Ran remained unconvinced. "No matter how tight things were, or how much turnover was needed, a year should have been enough to free up the funds, right?"
"Quite right, which means there must be something wrong with the Lu family's accounts," Ding Zuodong mused. "The Bailie settlement is the Lu family's fief. They surely want to manage it well and earn a good reputation."
No lord wanted their fief impoverished, with the populace full of grievances.
Did the Lu family have some unavoidable predicament? "Could it be that the fighting against Ya took too great a toll? Didn't they pay a large indemnity after being defeated late last year?"
Paying indemnities after losing a war was the standard international practice.
Ya had also latched onto Bailie, coming to shake it down whenever they were short on cash, treating once-wealthy Bailie like a money tree.
Hearing this, He Lingchuan immediately said, "We have plenty of time; no need to rush. I'm granting you all a long break, plus an extra half-month's pay, so you can enjoy yourselves in Blade Harbor and the Bailie territory for ten days or so."
"Lord, you are generous!" Hearing that the boss was giving paid leave, everyone cheered. Having endured two months at sea, tossed around by wind and waves, though none of them were fragile, who wouldn't rejoice at an unexpected holiday with good food and fun?
"Don't celebrate too quickly. You know what you're supposed to be doing, right?"
"We know, we know—heading to the pleasure houses to gather a bit of intelligence!" Tao Ran said with solemn gravity. "How can you catch the tiger cub without entering the tiger's den!"
Everyone clapped and roared with laughter.
He Lingchuan promptly handed out their pay, then waved a hand. "All of you, scram!"
Once the Mount Rong men had left with their arms around each other's shoulders, He Lingchuan called Ding Zuodong over.
"It wasn't easy for you to come with me. You're not like those bachelors who have nothing to worry about." He Lingchuan took out fifty taels of silver and pressed it into his hand. "Take your wife to buy some clothes and dine at a few fine restaurants to cheer her up."
Ding Zuodong's decision to travel east had caused a major rift in his family. His children and grandchildren refused to come, so Ding Zuodong could only bring his wife south to Baisha Bay.
The cabin planks were thin; He Lingchuan had even heard the couple quarreling, his wife weeping bitterly and cursing him for abandoning their home and children.
When people clung to their homeland, it was usually out of attachment to loved ones and social ties. He Lingchuan understood his state of mind.
"That woman..." Ding Zuodong recalled his wife's grim face when getting off the ship; the master must have noticed.
Alas, how embarrassing. The master truly possessed keen attention to detail.
He initially meant to decline, but swallowed his words as they reached his lips. "Sigh, I've caused trouble for the master."
"It's only human nature." He Lingchuan paid it no mind and patted his shoulder. "Go on."
Tao Ran, waiting to the side, stepped forward once Ding Zuodong left. "Young Master, what task do you have for me?"
He had noticed He Lingchuan give him a look earlier, so he had stayed behind intentionally.
He Lingchuan gave a silent nod. The lad indeed had a keen eye for nuances.
Qiu Hu was fierce and tough, while Tao Ran was clever, streetwise, and knew how to measure his steps.
"Head into the Bailie territory and see if you can infiltrate the Lu residence," He Lingchuan instructed. "Relying solely on rumors gathered outside isn't enough."
By the time news traveled beyond the manor walls, it was often distorted and exaggerated. A clan's true strife was usually concealed at its core.
In the past, outsiders had viewed the He family father and son as living in perfect harmony. Only He Chunhua and He Lingchuan knew it was all surface agreement and divergent intentions.
"Understood." Tao Ran was about to leave when he suddenly turned around. "Could I trouble your apothecary to prepare a dose of medicine for me?"
Lingguang, who was nibbling on melon nearby, looked up upon hearing this. "Where does it hurt?"
He Lingchuan chuckled. "He wants medicine meant to harm someone without being lethal. Just brew it for him."
Tao Ran said admiringly, "Young Master is brilliant!" He had seen through his scheme in an instant.
With all matters arranged, He Lingchuan left the inn to take a walk by the sea and catch the evening breeze.
Chapter 869