Zhou Gu thought about how his maternal grandfather, at the most critical moment when Su Rong seized power, and during the civil strife in Nanchu when things were least favorable for them, had sent Cui Xingzhi to assist him in Nanchu. He was betting on his grandson, and on the Cui Family.
Now that the bet had been won, would he really let his two younger cousins establish themselves in Nanchu and not come himself? Would he really not come?
That was hard to tell.
With that in mind, Zhou Gu wrote a letter. The next morning, he dispatched someone on a fast horse to deliver it to Mister Cui of the Qinghe Cui Family.
Cui Xingzhi and Ning Ze didn’t dare delay on their journey, traveling day and night. Although Cui Xingzhi was also fatigued, he managed to keep going. Ning Ze, however, struggled to keep up. His martial arts skills, which he himself looked down at, were far inferior to those of Cui Xingzhi. After days and nights of travel, he felt close to collapse upon nearing the royal capital.
Seeing the capital was only one hundred miles away, Cui Xingzhi felt it was acceptable to rest, otherwise, even if they returned a day earlier, they would be too tired to get out of bed. It might be better to rest for a night.
So, he said to Ning Ze, "Brother Ning Ze, let’s find an inn and rest for the night. We’ll set off early tomorrow."
Ning Ze looked pale and weakly responded, "I can still walk."
"Forget it. Let’s rest for one night." Cui Xingzhi dismounted, "We’ve arrived three days earlier than expected, do you want us to collapse after we return to the capital?"
Ning Ze didn’t want that, he weakly dismounted, "Fine, we’ll do as you say."
The two checked into an inn.
The inn was bustling with several tables of guests discussing the princess serving as regent and the difficult issues she had been handling recently. Upon seeing new guests, the waiter quickly welcomed them in, confirmed their lodging needs and swiftly arranged two guest rooms for them.
Cui Xingzhi helped the exhausted Ning Ze up the stairs and instructed the waiter to bring hot water for a bath, as well as meal to their rooms. They decided not to go downstairs for dinner.
The waiter responded promptly and set off to fulfill the requests.
The rooms in the inn were not soundproof, and the discussions from downstairs could be faintly heard.
Ning Ze, weakly sitting and drinking tea at the table, said, "Brother Xingzhi, aren’t you disgusted by me? Why did you book two rooms? One room would have been enough for the two of us. We are wasting money."
Cui Xingzhi shook his head, "Brother Ning, you’re overthinking it. After such a long journey, I thought you should get a good night’s rest. Each of us having a big bed to stretch out on hardly seems like a waste of two taels of silver."
Ning Ze responded with a simple, "oh", "I almost forgot. You’re the legitimate son of the Qinghe Cui Family. I heard your family has certain standards for upbringing. It’s always about the refinement, even when it comes to playing music or enjoying the moon, there must be an incense bath..." He sighed, "I used to care about these things too. I was never this strict, but I enjoyed dew for breakfast and wind for dinner. Now, if someone gave me a pile of straw, I could sleep on it for a night."
Cui Xingzhi laughed.
The waiter quickly brought two tubs for bathing, one tub of water per room.
Cui Xingzhi returned to his room to take a bath. He remembered Ning Ze’s words, and chuckled again. But then he stopped laughing and sighed. He felt a pang of homesickness, wondering whether his maternal grandfather had received his letter, and if anyone would be sent to the great wedding of his cousin.
After the bath, the waiter brought the meal to Ning Ze’s room. Cui Xingzhi joined him in his room for dinner.
Having recovered a bit after his bath, Ning Ze listened to the ongoing discussions from downstairs. The topic seemed to have switched to spring planting and the worry of the common folk about seeds for the season. They wondered if the imperial court would intervene because it simply couldn’t let the people starve without seeds to plant, could it?
Ning Ze looked puzzled, "Are the people lacking seeds?"
"Yes, there was a month when substantial military payment was sent to the frontline twice," Cui Xingzhi answered. "According to Brother Qin Ruo, it was seeds they were collecting, borrowed from many counties and ordinary people. Because there’s no reserve of grain, they have no choice."
Upon hearing this, Ning Ze also seemed worried, "A month’s worth of the army’s fodder and feed, that’s not a small amount."
Cui Xingzhi nodded, "Spring planting and farming also fall under the responsibility of the Ministry of Housing. Our cousin must be very worried about handling these issues now that he has joined the Ministry of Housing."
Ning Ze immediately increased his eating speed, "We should eat quickly, and get some rest as soon as we finish. We’ll set off early tomorrow and try to report to the Ministry of Housing in normal work hours."
He knew that upon their return, he and Cui Xingzhi would first need to help Zhou Gu at the Ministry of Housing and sort out the mound of issues piled up there. Whether they were to stay at the Ministry of Housing or move to another department would be determined later.
Cui Xingzhi nodded in agreement.
The two enjoyed a good night sleep. On the second day, early in the morning, Ning Ze had regained some energy. They rode non-stop the whole way this day. They reached the royal capital by noon.
Ning Ze looked at the city walls of the Nanchu capital, almost burst into tears and said, "Finally, we are here. From now on, this will be our home. I never imagined that I would serve as an official in Nanchu."
Cui Xingzhi had never imagined it either. Although he left his family, he had his cousin and young nephew in this place. Coming to Nanchu was not only his grandfather’s decision, but also his own. He had no regrets about it until now.
From now on, they’ll be laying down roots here, bringing the reputation of the Qinghe Cui family to this land.
Upon entering the capital, Ning Ze asked, "Don’t we have houses gifted by his majesty?"
"Right. We have Ning Residence and Cui Residence, both are in the West City." Cui Xingzhi had received a letter from his young cousin stating that their residences were neighboring and extremely convenient. His cousin had already moved in and had some modifications done as per his old residence.
Historically, the residences located in the capital were configured according to the saying ’East is rich, West is noble, South is poor, North is low’. West City was the noble area, where residences of officials above the rank of fifth were located. The East City housed a small portion of officials ranked below fifth, but the majority were wealthy residences.
"Let’s go check out our residences first, and then report to the Ministry of Housing?" suggested Ning Ze. He felt he wasn’t tired anymore and could go to the Ministry of Housing in the afternoon for a brief visit, to meet Zhou Gu and understand the current situation.
"Alright." Cui Xingzhi wasn’t tired at all.
The two decided to visit their residences first. As expected, the two residences were not far apart, only separated by half a street.
After settling into their residences, they bathed, changed clothes, and had a quick meal. As per their agreement, they met at the street corner and headed to the Ministry of Housing together.
At this time, the officials of the Ministry of Housing were all incredibly busy. Some were buried in official papers, others were rushing around with stacks of documents in their hands. Zhou Gu wasn’t engrossed in documents that day but was busy coordinating work assignments.
Upon their arrival, they saw the flurry of activity at the Ministry of Housing. There was not a single idle person, even the gatekeeper was busy. When the gatekeeper saw them, he momentarily put aside his work, asked their identities and quickly led them to Zhou Gu.
Ning Ze whispered, "Brother Xingzhi, isn’t it a bit inappropriate for us to come at such a time?"
Cui Xingzhi whispered back, "Not necessarily. Even if we come tomorrow, I’m afraid the situation will be the same."
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