The Glory After Rebirth [ɇÇ”Ÿä¹‹Å°Šè£] Chapter 466- 468

Chapter 466: The Abode of the Marquess Huaiwen

The name of Yuwen Feng’s firstborn son was Yuwen Yi. He was a quite bluff boy with a resonant voice, which made him more like a descendant of a general than his father was. Though only five years old, he was the tallest of all children his age. Ling Zhang had seldom seen him. The first time that Ling Zhang had carefully observed this boy to assess his personality was when Yuwen Feng brought him to the banquet that day, and he’d discovered that the boy liked Ling Maomao pretty much. At that time, the boy had also had a group of peers clustering around him, for he was the Marquess Huaiwen’s legal wife’s firstborn son, which was a noble identity.

On this day, when Ling Zhang arrived at Yuwen Feng’s residence, it was this boy that Yuwen Feng brought with him to the front gates to welcome Ling Zhang. Yuwen Yi was sturdy, almost as strong as a calf.

Yuwen Feng’s firstborn son was bluff and stocky, but his second son was much thinner. Also, his second son was very quiet – the complete opposite of his big brother. As regards Yuwen Feng’s two-year-old daughter, Ling Zhang had never seen her. He’d only heard that her mother had been raising her, that she was very like her mother in terms of both looks and personality.

Although Ling Zhang was here to call on Yuwen Feng’s wife, he was a man after all, so after arriving at the abode of the Marquess Huaiwen, he went to see Yuwen Feng after instructing the court physician to feel Yuwen Feng’s wife’s pulse.

“Thank you for being so kind as to come here to call on my wife, Your Highness. Her condition is much more stable now,” said Yuwen Feng. What with the hectic days he’d been having recently, his face, which had become full after a long rest cure, was now sunken again. Apart from the piles of preparatory work for the Spring Festival, the severe understaffing of the Ministry of Rites had also been a contributing factor.

When the Zhou family, the former imperial household, had been brought down, too many officials of the capital city had been incriminated, including a lot of staff members of the Ministry of Rites. To make things worse, the former Minister of Rites had insensibly resigned from office and returned to his hometown. Currently, Yuwen Feng was the only decision-maker in the Ministry of Rites and had to deal with all kinds of matters, which was why he’d been working flat out. Owing to Ling Zhang’s visit, he had to take half a day off and stay at home to entertain Ling Zhang. The very thought of the tons of matters in the Ministry of Rites he had to attend to later gave him headaches.

Ling Zhang was aware that Yuwen Feng was a busy man, so he had no intention to linger for long. In fact, he didn’t have much in common to talk about with Yuwen Feng, for he didn’t know much about Yuwen Feng, and what with the history between them, there were many things that he felt it inappropriate to have an in-depth talk with Yuwen Feng about. After the court physician felt Yuwen Feng’s wife’s pulse and prescribed her some anti-abortifacient medicine, Ling Zhang offered her some words of comfort and reminded her to take care and then rose to his feet, preparing to take his leave.

Yuwen Yi had been standing beside his father all along. Bluff as he was, he had a sense of propriety and had been quiet all this time. At this moment, seeing Ling Zhang was about to leave, he tentatively looked at Ling Zhang, as though having something to say.

Ling Zhang, who noticed, specially asked him, “Is there something you want to say to me?”

Yuwen Feng, with a whiff of admonition in his eyes, looked at his firstborn son and cautioned him to be on his best behavior, but Yuwen Yi, eyes on Ling Zhang, heedless of his father’s warning, asked, “Do you think maybe I could see Maomao, Your Highness?”

Ling Zhang didn’t like it when people referred to him as ‘the empress’. All those officials of the capital city who were worldly-wise had drummed it into their family that they were to address Ling Zhang as ‘Your Highness’ when they met him, that in no circumstances were they to address him as ‘Niangniang’ (a form of address people use to address an empress or an imperial concubine in feudal China). Yuwen Yi looked up at Ling Zhang, an expectant expression in his eyes.

Ling Zhang was somewhat surprised. Judging from the heartfelt anticipation in Yuwen Yi’s eyes, he believed that the boy did want to see Ling Maomao.

But, ‘Maomao’? This kid was clearly younger than Maomao, but he was actually referring to Ling Maomao by his given name.

Ling Zhang inwardly lifted his eyebrows, but he wouldn’t in the presence of Yuwen Feng specially ask about it or remind the boy that it was inappropriate for him to address Ling Maomao as such, lest Yuwen Feng get the impression that he deemed the Ling family superior to everybody in this residence.

“By all means. Maomao lives in the Ling Mansion. You may go there to visit him whenever you have the time.”

On hearing this, Yuwen Yi smiled a happy smile and bowed with hands folded in front. “Thank you, Your Highness.”

It struck Ling Zhang that this boy was pretty interesting, that he was more like a child from a family of military officers than a child of Yuwen Feng, the Minister of Rites.

“This brat is fond of play. Please forgive him, Your Highness,” said Yuwen Feng, glancing at his delighted firstborn son.

Ling Zhang said, “It’s okay, Marquess Huaiwen. Kids should have the privilege of socializing without consideration of formality.”

Yuwen Yi liked Ling Maomao, but there was no telling whether or not the two of them would become friends. It wouldn’t be a bad thing if they made friends with each other. Apart from everything else, Yuwen Feng’s unborn baby was to be adopted by Yuwen Tong, which meant it would be his baby as well…

Yuwen Feng gave a smile and then walked Ling Zhang out with Yuwen Yi.

After Ling Zhang’s carriage went far away, Yuwen Feng took Yuwen Yi back inside and asked him, “You like Ling Maomao?”

Yuwen Yi happily inclined his head. “He strikes me as a better playmate than the others. Can I go to the Ling Mansion today, Father?”

Looking at his firstborn son, Yuwen Feng pondered for a moment and then replied, “We need to send a message there first before you visit them. I’ll have someone do that for you in a few moments. You may go after we receive a reply from the Ling Mansion. If…you two hit it off, you may hang out with him more.”

“Thank you, Father!” Yuwen Yi said cheerfully and then went to make preparations, scampering all the way.

Yuwen Feng summoned a servant and instructed him to send a message to the Ling Mansion.

And then he went to check on his wife and asked her, “What did the court physician say?”

The marchioness was well-featured and ample-figured. When she’d married Yuwen Feng, the latter had merely been known as Yuwen Zhi’s firstborn son. The Yuwen family was quite prestigious, so Yuwen Feng’s wife, naturally, was not from some obscure family, but she was not a native of the capital city. The first reason was that the former emperor, though heavily relying on Yuwen Tong to defend the borders, had at the same time had to prevent the Yuwen family from growing too powerful for him to keep under control, so it’d been next to impossible for him to allow Yuwen Feng to marry a daughter of a high-ranking courtier. To avert suspicion, Yuwen Feng, discontented as he’d been, had had no choice but to compromise. The second reason was Yuwen Feng’s mother’s selfishness. She’d believed that if her son married someone from an aristocratic family in the capital city, she would have difficulty having her daughter-in-law who had powerful elders at her back toe the line. In order to make sure she would always be at the top of the pecking order in the house, and to get herself a submissive daughter-in-law, she had convinced Yuwen Zhi to have Yuwen Feng marry a daughter of an official of a provincial city.

As a result, the marchioness’ father was an official of Taizhou, a prefectural Tongpan (an official under assistant governor), to be specific. She was a gentle woman, but her gentleness was different from that of Fu Caiwei. Fu Caiwei was amiable, but at the same time there was some simplicity in her temperament, and she also had a bluff side, while the gentleness of Yuwen Feng’s wife was typical of ladies from big, respectable families. However, she also had something in common with Fu Caiwei, which was that she was similarly open-minded and easy to get along with.

On seeing Yuwen Feng walk inside, she rose to her feet with the help of a handmaid, made towards her husband and responded, “The court physician just gave me some notes of caution about how to ensure a safe and comfortable environment for the baby. The medicine he prescribed me are all mild anti-abortifacient medicine.”

“He didn’t say anything else?” inquired Yuwen Feng.

The marchioness smiled, “No. It would seem he could tell that my pregnancy is not compromised.”

Yuwen Feng gave a nod. By saying that her wife had compromised her pregnancy, he’d actually been making an excuse. A few days before Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang had paid a visit to Yuwen You. In order to keep the balance, they would have to pay a visit to him as well, so he’d send word that her wife had accidentally compromised her pregnancy, in an effort to give the two of them a reason to visit him. Unsurprisingly, Ling Zhang had caught on to it and conveniently come to call on him.

“I hope it’s a boy,” said Yuwen Feng.

His wife’s face slightly changed and with that she told the handmaids to leave. Then she asked Yuwen Feng, “What do you mean by this, my darling? Are you…”

Yuwen Feng glanced at her and slightly shook his head. “You misunderstood, my dear.”

The marchioness was gentle, thoughtful and also broad-minded. Yuwen Feng had always been very pleased with his wife. Otherwise he wouldn’t have got her pregnant again after having her bear him two sons and a daughter in succession when none of his concubines had ever been pregnant.

“If it’s a boy, we’d both be able to relax, and His Majesty would feel relieved as well. If both yours and Yuwen Qian’s wife’s baby are girls, you two may have to…”

Coming to understand what he meant, his wife stroked her belly and said, “Let’s keep it if it’s a girl. I think His Majesty and His Highness would agree if you talk to them, given how kind they are.”

Yuwen Feng looked at her. “But in the future we’ll still have to–”

“Darling,” his wife interrupted him, “I know what you mean. Actually I don’t have the heart to have our baby adopted, be it a boy or a girl. Still, although I’m ill-educated and haven’t seen much of the world, I know that currently the political situation is not very stable, that His Majesty is unwilling to take concubines. For the sake of the Great Wen, and to…to ensure the security of the Yuwen family, the glory of this house and the future of our sons, we must help His Majesty and His Highness get a couple of sons. Only by making sure their positions are secure would we be able to guarantee a prosperous future for our family and the Yuwen family.”

Astonished, Yuwen Feng gazed fixedly at his wife. Ever since he’d made the decision to foster his unborn baby with Yuwen Tong, he’d been feeling guilty about being so cruel to his wife, and he’d been trying to console her and had never talked about any of these things in detail. It had never crossed his mind that…

“You don’t have to be surprised, darling,” said the marchioness, slowly sitting down. Gently stroking her belly, she continued, “You’ve always wanted to protect me, which is why you treat the other women in this house as though…as though they weren’t there. How could I not know your feelings for me? For your sake, and to ensure a peaceful and smooth life for our children, I’m willing to bear a child for His Majesty and His Highness.”

Yuwen Feng took in a large gulp of air and looked at his wife earnestly. “Thank you, darling. I was being narrow-minded. During our so many years’ marriage, I’ve always been making assumptions about your thoughts with my own ideas. I should’ve known better.”

He’d underestimated his wife. Still, what his wife had said just now had also enlightened him.

“Please don’t say that, darling. Whatever I do, I do it out of my selfish motive. It’s not this unborn baby but you and the other three children of ours who mean the world to me. I would do anything for you. Besides, His Majesty and His Highness are both fairly kind. Otherwise we would’ve been incriminated by the deeds of my parents-in-law and brother-in-law alone.”

She didn’t put it explicitly, but both she and Yuwen Feng were aware that were Yuwen Tong an emperor with a suspicious mind, on no account would either of them have still been alive, and nor would Yuwen Feng have been promoted to a position of responsibility, and nor would Yuwen Tong have decided to adopt their child.

Yuwen Feng’s consciousness of these facts was the very reason why he knew how laudable it was for his wife to have come to understand these things, and how precious her love for this family was.

Chapter 467: Humph, You’ll Have to Kiss Your Dignity Goodbye

After leaving the abode of the Marquess Huaiwen (AKA the Marquess of Moderation), Ling Zhang sitting in his carriage flicked a backward glance at the residence. He hadn’t seen Yuwen Feng’s wife during the visit. The marchioness had always dwelt in deep seclusion and rarely come out. Ling Zhang had merely glimpsed her a couple of times at palace banquets, and his only memory about her was her smile befitting her status at palace banquets.

A few moments before, when he’d been leaving, the court physician had given him a significant look, which had confirmed his suspicion that there was nothing wrong with the marchioness’ pregnancy.

The so-called “compromised her pregnancy” had indeed been a story Yuwen Feng and his wife had made up, one meant to be a reason for him to pay them a visit.

Recalling the process of his visit in the abode of the Marquess Huaiwen, Ling Zhang had some speculations about what Yuwen Feng might be thinking.

…

When Ling Zhang returned to the palace, Yuwen Tong was still in the consultation hall, so he made arrangements for some matters to be dealt with.

At noon, Yuwen Tong returned from the consultation hall, and Ling Zhang told him about his visit to Yuwen Feng.

“His wife’s father is the Taizhou Tongpan (an official under assistant governor). I don’t know much about her, but I do know a thing or two about her father. He’s been in that position for several years. According to related regulations, he should’ve long since been transferred back to this city. However, for some unknown reason, two transfer orders issued by the imperial court eventually ended up being ignored. I did some digging and I have a sneaking suspicion that he secretly did something which made the former emperor change his mind and let him continue to stay in Taizhou.”

After hearing Ling Zhang mention Yuwen Feng’s wife, Yuwen Tong brought up something about her father.

“He made the former emperor change his mind twice?” Ling Zhang was somewhat surprised. The marchioness’ father was merely a Prefectural Tongpan and didn’t wield as much power as a high-ranking official of the capital city did, but he actually had influential contacts in the capital city and had made the emperor change his mind twice? “Does he have some force at his back that is unknown to us, by any chance? Is he…dangerous?”

On top of that, why had he refused to be transferred to the capital city? All Tongpan were officials of the capital city sent to provincial areas, and they were supposed to return to the capital city when their terms ended. If they made achievements during their terms, they without exception would be promoted. Why had he thrown such good opportunities away instead of seizing them?

Ling Zhang, before marrying Yuwen Tong, had done his best to acquaint himself with the background of the officials of every description in this country. The Taizhou Tongpan was a fairly high position, so he still had some recollections of this official, but he didn’t remember reading anything about this person having any particular force at his back.

Yuwen Tong said, “He’s not really dangerous, but he’s pretty visionary and smart. He had the former emperor change his mind by taking advantage of the power struggles between the couple of princes of the Zhou family. His position is neither high nor low, because to the north of Taizhou was Jingzhou. It’s a coastal prefecture, but what with its geographical location, the maritime trade industry there is not as thriving as that of Haizhou. It’s not of great strategical importance, and it doesn’t have any obvious commercial advantages; the Taizhou governor is in charge of prefectural affairs, and the commander of the Taizhou garrison is in charge of military affairs, so the Taizhou Tongpan is a position neither important nor insignificant, and the former emperor had much less trust in him than he did in the Tongpan in more important prefectures. The couple of princes were also not very interested in him. Transferring him back to the capital city would mean that one of the princes’ subordinates in an important position would lose his job. Therefore, after they weighed up the pros and cons, they decided to let him stay there, which made it easier for him to line his pocket. I said he’s smart because he knew how to take advantage of that, and he achieved his ends by have his contacts in the capital city pull strings for him. I deem him visionary because at that time the situation in the capital city was too complicated, and many officials whose ranks were much higher than his were dragged into power struggles; had he returned to the capital city and been assigned to a particular position, he would no doubt have been forced into taking sides. He saw it clearly, which was why he chose not to return.”

After hearing this, Ling Zhang finally came to understand what Yuwen Tong meant – the Taizhou Tongpan was a smart person.

“Yuwen Feng married his daughter because Zheng shi insisted. At that time, the Taizhou Tongpan’s daughter had a reputation for being gentle and kind and honest, and her repulsion spread to the capital city. Zheng shi set great store by her place in the pecking order, and a daughter-in-law from a powerful family was the last thing she wanted, which was why she chose the Taizhou Tongpan’s daughter. After marrying Yuwen Feng, his daughter has indeed been keeping a low profile, and she never fought her mother-in-law for power in the house. She always focuses on serving her husband and raising their children. Never once did she come into conflict with her mother-in-law. Since she’s almost invisible, many people are beginning to forget about her.”

Ling Zhang bobbed his head as he listened, coming to have a general idea of what kind of person the marchioness might be.

“But as far as I could tell, Yuwen Feng’s wife is just as smart as her father is. Firstly, though she always keeps a low profile, she gave birth to two sons and a daughter in succession and is soon going to have her fourth child. It’s almost like Yuwen Feng has eyes only for her. None of his concubines has ever been pregnant. Yuwen Feng is a very strong-minded man. Otherwise he wouldn’t have managed to stay clear-minded when his parents and brother all took leave of their senses. Given that his mind is completely occupied by her, she’s sure as hell a smart person; secondly, in most cases, the saying ‘like father, like son’ makes sense. Children do tend to grow into the likes of their fathers.”

After hearing Yuwen Tong’s words, Ling Zhang said, “Do you think it’s possible that our adoption would lead to some trouble?”

This was what concerned Ling Zhang. Now that they’d made up their minds to adopt some children, they should leave all the other matters aside. There was no doubt he’d have to clear the path for it in advance, no matter whether or not he still had misgivings.

Yuwen Tong shook his head. “They’re all smart people. I’m sure they know what the right thing to do is.”

He’d given it some thought before making the decision. Under no circumstances would he put anybody who might make trouble on his list, because he knew very well that Ling Zhang would inevitably have mixed feelings about the matter of adoption for some time. On no account would he let anything go awry during his handling of this matter, for he didn’t want to further burden Ling Zhang with anything. The people whose children he was going to adopt must be sensible enough to know what they were supposed to do and what they were supposed to not do.

“There’s no need to concern yourself with it. If you don’t believe me, you may wait and see,” said Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhang said, “I believe you. It’s just I don’t really know much about them. There’s no harm in taking some precautions.”

Yuwen Tong briefly paused and then gave Ling Zhang’s head a stroke.

Ling Zhang looked at him. “What’s the matter?”

“Eighteen. When I was your age, I was bold and ambitious. You’re much more sophisticated than I was at that time,” replied Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhang gazed at him quietly. Was that a compliment or a sly little dig? Besides, at the age of eighteen, Yuwen Tong had made his name known to many. He stood no comparison whatsoever with Yuwen Tong at that age.

“Were I still a marshal, I would surely have brought you back to the north-west where the sky is high and the land is vast, and where you could go wherever you want as freely as a bird,” added Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhang was faintly amazed for an instant and then caught on to what Yuwen Tong meant.

“Why are you bringing this up? Though we’re not in the north-west, there isn’t anybody in this city who dares do me any harm, is there? I’m the second most powerful individual in this country, and I can do anything I want. I’m much freer than a bird, aren’t I? I like it here pretty much. Do you not like it here? We’ve just got started and you’re going to chicken out?”

Yuwen Tong chuckled, “Do I strike you as that kind of man?”

Ling Zhang gave a little snort. He knew that Yuwen Tong said that because he wanted him to have a better life, but he was also a man, and a man doesn’t lay down the responsibility on his shoulders. He was not weak. Besides, Yuwen Tong had a lot of state affairs to attend to on a daily basis, and nobody without a strong will could endure a workload that heavy. He had a lot less to deal with than Yuwen Tong did. It was totally unnecessary for Yuwen Tong to feel sorry for him…

“If you say anything like that again, I’ll begin to think that you look down upon me.”

Yuwen Tong took two strides forward and hugged Ling Zhang from behind. “Why would I look down on you? I’m just expressing concern for my sweetheart. What’s wrong with that?”

Sweetheart? This was Ling Zhang’s first time hearing Yuwen Tong say this word out loud. His face instantly started burning. “Mind your words. It’s so embarrassing.”

Yuwen Tong twisted his head aside and planted a kiss on Ling Zhang’s cheek. Looking at the scarlet blush over his cheeks, he said in a voice heavy with amusement, “It’s not embarrassing. I address you as such inwardly every day. Why don’t you give it a try?”

As Ling Zhang pictured him calling Yuwen Tong ‘sweetheart’, he involuntarily gave a shudder and with that the flush over his cheeks finally ebbed away. He turned his head around and looked at Yuwen Tong incredulously. “Would you not feel embarrassed if I do that?”

“Why would I feel embarrassed?” Yuwen Tong looked back at him with a quite injured expression on his face. “I’d be beside myself with joy.”

Ling Zhang, “…”

These words rewrote Ling Zhang’s understanding of how shameless Yuwen Tong was. How had this guy been brought up exactly?

“Is everybody in the army as shameless as you are?”

Yuwen Tong chuckled, “Sort of.”

After saying this, he kissed the corner of Ling Zhang’s mouth loudly and then whispered something in Ling Zhang’s ear.

Yuwen Tong saw Ling Zhang’s face quickly blush once again and with that Ling Zhang pushed him away and glared at him, but he immediately drew Ling Zhang back into his embrace, pressed his cheek against Ling Zhang’s neck and then whispered something else in Ling Zhang’s ear. Ling Zhang was abashed to such an extent that he felt an urge to kick Yuwen Tong’s ass.

“Shut your mouth already. Why are you being like this? How could you say that? Tha–That’s just…You’re an emperor now! Not a vulgar soldier!”

“There’s nothing to feel shy about in this. We’re both men. What’s the point of being bashful about this?”

Was Yuwen Tong implying that he felt shy as easily as a woman? Ling Zhang was so annoyed he wanted to give Yuwen Tong a hard bite. “You’re the most shameless person I’ve ever met!”

“Okay, okay, don’t be mad. I was just joking. You’re the only one I’ve ever said these words to. If you don’t believe me, ask Yao Yi or any of my bodyguards. I’ve always been a moral and dignified man, and I’ve never said any of these to anybody before. All right…Now, how about you say it back?” While placating him in a low voice, Yuwen Tong, who was quite thick-skinned, required Ling Zhang to say those words back.

Naturally, Ling Zhang could never bring himself to utter those words. What Yuwen Tong had whispered in his ear a moment before were…were too gooey. They’d been not only cloying but also…also…

“Stop dreaming. There’s no way I’m saying any of that. The way I see it, you’re taking leave of your senses. If this comes to the knowledge of the courtiers, you’ll have to kiss your dignity goodbye.”

Chapter 468: Five Years Later

Snow was falling thickly, and the capital city was all abustle and astir with residents celebrating the New Year. Thanks to the provisions made by the imperial court for Cangzhou and Jiangzhou, the situation in the two prefectures was not too bad. People there were waiting for the arrival of the next spring to bring them the opportunities they needed to have a fresh start.

Time zipped by like a fast-running river…

In the following three years, all prefectures of the Great Wen showed growing momentum in a process of rejuvenation. The two prefectures in the south-west, which had always been regarded as hidden peril, had witnessed a radical change of economic and political situation within merely a couple of months, which had marked the beginning of a new era when the overall domestic situation of the Great Wen was stable, and when the imperial court was heaving with men of talent.

After another two years, the Great Wen thoroughly extricated itself from the scarred and battered state it had been in five years before. All people were living in prosperity and contentment, and the imperial court was functioning in a stable and orderly fashion. The Great Wen had recovered from the war and begun to progress towards a bright future sure-footedly.

In the spring of this year.

In the Luohai Kingdom.

A tea stand in a suburb of the capital.

It was early spring and the wind was still chill. Peddlers and menial servants passing by, when feeling tired, would go to the booth to have some rest. A pot of tea didn’t cost much and was the perfect choice for a couple of men willing to share a table.

Not far away from the tea stand was a big tree under which was a large open space where some horse-drawn carriages were parked, and where some large bamboo baskets were placed.

On the two sides of the tea stand were some curtains made of reed, which provided shelter from the wind. The front of the stand was wide open. Inside it were seven or eight neatly positioned tables.

Almost all the customers inside were acquainted with the owner of the tea stand. Some of them were porters traveling along this national road all the year around, and some others were members of small caravans. All of them fell into spirited discussion immediately after taking their seats. A pot of tea and a tray of snack on the table could keep their conversations going for quite a while.

“Lao Zhang, we’d like another pot of tea, and another tray of snack too!”

A customer yelled at the owner of the tea stand, who answered “Right away, Sir!” and then told a strong man who was both his son and his waiter to bring the customer what he’d just ordered.

“Oh, Mr. Wang! Why did you wait until this day to enter the city?” An acquaintance of the customer who’d just yelled walked up to him.

“Oh, Headman Li, come here and take a seat! I made some purchases during a stopover, which is why I’m two days late. Why are you two days late this year as well? I seem to remember you heading west at the end of last year. How’s everything going there?”

The Luohai Kingdom was to the north-east of the other two countries. When saying “west”, Luohai people were normally referring to the areas where the Luohai Kingdom bordered on the Wan Kingdom.

“Not very well. The guy who made an oral contract with me at the beginning of last year came to grief at the end of the year. I heard that it was near the border between our country and the Wan Kingdom that the misfortune happened. He lost both his goods and his life.”

Headman Li dropped his voice to a whisper and made a reply as soon as he sat down. The face of everybody else at the table grew somewhat grave at these words. Mr. Wang asked him, “That’s so sad. It’s been over three years, but such things are still happening there?”

“Yeah, of course they are. Such things would never stop happening unless the relations between our country and the Wan Kingdom thaw. You guys are not going to believe this – last winter, apart from the guy who had an oral contract with me, a couple of others also fell victim in succession. Some of them were from the Wan Kingdom, and the others were our fellow countrymen. Everybody in the border city is in panic. These days a caravan have to gather at least fifty men before they dare head for the Wan Kingdom. Some caravans would do everything they could to seek help from the Jiahe Chamber of Commerce, pleading with them for permission to go with their caravans, because they’d be risking death if they travel on their own. Rumor has it that caravans of the Wan Kingdom are faced with the same situation. A lot of people failed to purchase the goods they needed in the border city, and their journeys were wasted. I negotiated with the Jiahe Chamber of Commerce and some large caravans for quite some time before they agreed to sell me a tiny part of their goods. Alas, if the two countries continue to be on such bad terms this year, I think the number of people going to the border city would drop by at least seventy percent.”

Headman Li appeared quite despondent while talking. The others, naturally, felt sorry for him and offered him some words of comfort.

“Headman Li, you have some men at your service as well. Wouldn’t it be a much better choice for you to go south with us this year after selling this batch of goods than it is to go west?”

“Tell me about it. The south is in peace, and there are not such risks involved. You won’t have to worry about wasting your journey.”

After the others finished consoling Headman Li, Mr. Wang inquired of him, “Lao Li, did the authorities of the border city not say anything? I mean, those people lost both their goods and their lives.”

The others also quieted down, looking at Headman Li.

“They said that it was some bandits who robbed and murdered those people, but nobody knows whether or not that’s the truth. However…” Headman Li lowered his voice and continued, “Many people in the border city heard through the grapevine that it was the armies of the two countries who did those things, that the army of the Wan Kingdom started it, and then our army acted in retaliation. Last winter was extremely cold, and the Wan Kingdom was greatly affected. Our country had been at loggerheads with the Wan Kingdom since that incident three years ago; in order to spend the winter more comfortably, they hooked their claws into those caravans crossing the borders.”

“That’s outrageous!” bawled Mr. Wang. “Those bastards of the Wan Kingdom are going too far!”

Mr. Wang’s abruptly raised voice arrested the attention of other customers, all of whom looked in his direction. The owner of the tea stand poked his head around the stove and glanced at him.

Headman Li hastily pressed his hand over Mr. Wang’s shoulder. “Shh. Don’t be so loud. You’re scaring people.”

But after hearing their words, other customers soon started discussing topics about the Wan Kingdom as well, and all their tones were disgruntled.

Three years before, a dozen members of the garrison stationed in the border city, after getting drunk, had killed a Luohai envoy sent to the Wan Kingdom and dumped his body at the city gates, which the Luohai Kingdom had seen as an unbearable humiliation, and which at that time had caused quite a stink. For a time the Luohai Kingdom had been on the verge of waging a war against the Wan Kingdom. Still, though it had eventually shown restraint, there had been fierce clashes between the two countries. The Luohai Kingdom had demanded the Wan Kingdom execute the principal in the crime, but as the prime culprit had been the son of the commander of the border city garrison, the Wan Kingdom had rejected the demand. The reason was that the then commander of the border city garrison had been none other than the father of the queen consort of the Wan Kingdom, and the one who’d got drunk and created a disturbance which had led to the envoy’s death had been the queen consort’s brother, Chen Feng, who’d also been the one that had been defeated by Yuwen Tong outside Shengzhou before fleeing helter-skelter back to the capital city of the Wan Kingdom.

As the Wan Kingdom refused to bring the culprit to justice, the Luohai Kingdom was very discontented. Although the monarch of the Wan Kingdom had had the dozen of soldiers who had “aided and abetted” the crime executed and also paid compensation to the Luohai Kingdom, there was still indignation among Luohai people. Ever since that incident, cities near the border had been witnessing frictions from time to time. At the end of the year before last, there had been a skirmish during which both sides suffered casualties. Tension had been building up, and frictions had been getting increasingly frequent. Also, the two peoples had been quite disgruntled at each other in the past three years. It could be said that they conducted personal vendetta against each other.

Ever since some itinerant traders had been robbed and murdered last winter, trade between the two countries had been maintained by large caravans only. Small caravans had had to either team up with each other or switched to other routes.

“The Wan Kingdom’s cavalry is quite powerful, so over the past two years they’ve not only made an enemy of our country but also taken provocative actions towards the Great Wen. When I was in the border city, I heard that the Wan Kingdom was putting out feelers once again,” breathed Headman Li to the others at the table. “You guys are right. I’ve also been thinking maybe I should give up the western route for the time being and switch to the south instead.”

The owner of the tea stand was still slaving over the stove, appearing not to have heard any words of the conversations between his customers who were so engaged in their discussion they seemed to be almost unaffected by the icy wind blowing in from outside. The stand owner loudly gave his son a prod, telling him to hurry up and serve the customers the tea and snack they’d just ordered.

At this time, a sudden commotion was heard outside.

The clatter of horses’ hoofs accompanied by yells and cracks of whips issued from the national road in the distance. It was a group of horsemen. There seemed to be a dozen of them.

The group of horsemen traveled very fast. They galloped over from the distance like the wind and generated strong airflow mixed with dust and sand when passing the tea stand. Those horsemen’s faces were all cold and sullen. They flicked a glance at the tea stand but showed no inclination whatsoever to pause, heading straight for the capital.

Headman Li cast them a look and knitted his brows, appraising the group of horsemen receding into the distance. “Did you see that? Those horsemen…”

“What about them?” someone asked.

“They seem to be from the Wan Kingdom. Only Wan people have cloth wrapped around their hands when riding. Also, their horses look very much like Wan horses, and they appear quite ferocious – all Wan soldiers do, don’t they?” replied Headman Li.

His words immediately sent a ripple of indignation through the customers in the tea stand. The thickset waiter bellowed, “What business could these Wan bastards possibly have in our country?!”

“Shut up! You think you’re the only one capable of yelling or something? It is not for you to make comments on this kind of stuff. You hear me? Now go and serve the tea!” the stand owner reached out a hand and hit his sturdy son hard on the head.

After being dressed down by the stand owner, the brawny man didn’t dare utter another word. With an injured look on his face, he gave his father a dirty look and then spun around to do what he was supposed to do.

The stand owner’s words served as a note of caution for the customers, all of whom restrained themselves somewhat. Mr. Wang observed, “You’re as discreet as always, Lao Zhang.”

“Alas, you flatter me, Mr. Wang,” said the stand owner immediately, his face creasing into a smile. “As you all know, my son is all brawn and no brain, and he’s always making a fuss about things that don’t concern him. If I don’t teach him a lesson from time to time, this tea stand of mine would sooner or later be turned upside down by him. Ha-ha, I’m sorry to have disturbed you, Mr. Wang. You may continue. My son is a ne’er-do-well. There’s no need to bother with him.”

Mr. Wang gave a smile and said no more, but the next moment he twisted his head around and told the others at the table in a low voice, “This man is as careful with his words as always.”

Headman Li tossed the stand owner a glance and then said in a voice just as low, “This tea stand of his is pretty profitable, for there are a lot of people passing by on a daily basis. He’s been here for five years and the business is quite steady. The reason we prefer to come here to have some rest is that this place is quiet, isn’t it? The stand owner always minds his own business and never does anything that might get any of his customers into trouble.

Pity he has a brainless son, whose sturdy build isn’t much good. Even his daughter-in-law thinks little of his son, and she would probably abandon him were this tea stand not lucrative.”

As the conversation went on, they gradually switched to the topic of the stand owner, who had been running this tea stand for five years, and almost all his regulars were well acquainted with him and the situation his family was in.

The stand owner was still bustling behind the stove, his son still occupied with the tasks of serving tea and snack, sweeping the floor and cleaning the tables. He didn’t seem to have heard a single word of his customers’ and was focusing on making tea and preparing steamed snack. He was in his forties and his appearance was typical of sincere and kindly people. He did strike others as a man of absolute honesty.

However, in the blink of an eye, he quietly disappeared behind the stove and sneaked into a corner beside the piles of firewood behind the tea stand. Before long, he set free a bird which flew up, detoured around the tea stand, entered the capital of the Luohai Kingdom and eventually landed on the turf of the Jiahe Chamber of Commerce.