Chapter 90 We're all family, let's not be like strangers.
Longxing Temple, behind the mountain gate.
Behind the temple is a bamboo grove, beside which is a stone pool dug, fed by spring water from the mountains. The flowing water, along with the birdsong in the forest, creates an indescribable sense of tranquility and peace.
Deep within the bamboo forest, a six-sided, upturned courtyard stands, furnished with a stone table and chairs, and on the stone table is a chessboard crafted from Kunshan jade.
A man sat at a table, playing a game of chess with a Kunshan jade chess piece in his hand.
Suddenly, a bird took flight and soared into the sky, shattering the tranquility of the bamboo grove. It turned out that a person had hurried by and startled the bird. The person walked straight ahead and finally stopped in front of the courtyard.
"Sir, listen to this letter." A servant presented a letter sealed with sealing wax.
The sound of the Kunshan jade chess piece falling stopped. Liudao raised his head, took the letter, and began to read it quickly.
Before today, Diting had sent several letters.
The letter reported many things, including the initial successful abduction of Lady Dai, her escape during the grand ceremony, the return of Mingdeng, their pursuit of her to Xiagu along with Xie San, the arrival of Marquis Wu'an, and his persuasion of the Xiagu governor to join forces against Marquis Wu'an...
In the previous letter, Di Ting told him that he wanted to persuade Prefect Xia Gu.
Now, Di Ting says in his letter that he senses the situation is not good and wants to leave Xia Gu; at the same time, the letter also says that he has stopped Ming Deng's divine medicine for a quarter and asks him to consider that Ming Deng has worked hard even if he has not made any merits, and to be lenient when punishing people after Ming Deng returns from his mission.
As Liudao looked ahead, his eyes, which were usually as deep as an ancient pool, began to ripple.
Did Mingdeng return after completing his mission? Who assigned him the mission?
Mingdeng has always been a rather special figure in the sect. He was someone he picked up by hand. Initially, whether due to being frightened or something else, he was like a mute for a long time and could not speak.
He was only a little smaller than Di Ting and the white elephant, so we simply raised all three together.
Mingdeng only obeys him and Diting Baixiang. Some time ago, Baixiang was ordered by him to go to Sizhou to help Xie Sizhou's third son ascend to the throne, and then changed course to Yongzhou.
White elephants have their own missions and generally won't secretly contact guiding lights midway.
However, this possibility cannot be ruled out...
With his slender fingers tapping lightly twice on the table, Liu Dao said, "Bring paper, pen, sealing wax, and other such items."
The servants who were waiting nearby moved at the sound and returned shortly afterward with the items.
Using the chessboard as a pretext, Liu Dao immediately wrote a letter, sealed it himself, and handed it to his servant, saying, "Set off immediately and deliver it to Bai Xiang at top speed."
The man bowed and accepted the order.
After the attendant left, Rokudo picked up a piece again, and just as he was about to place it according to his previous plan, he was suddenly surprised to find that the situation on the entire chessboard had changed.
His white pieces had unknowingly fallen into a dangerous situation.
Liu Dao lowered his hand, and the long Buddhist prayer beads that had wrapped around his wrist several times tapped "clack" on the stone table. The tap was somewhat heavy, and the sound was abrupt.
*
More than a dozen cavalry squads set off from Xiagu, heading to various destinations in the four directions of east, west, south, and north.
Some cavalry squads were close to Xiagu and arrived in less than a day. They took out papers from their pockets and found a house hidden in the city based on the specific location written on them.
Knock on the door.
The homeowner, unaware of the situation, opened the door and was startled by a group of strong, burly men.
"Who are you? Hey, how did you get in? What do you want?"
Inside, the old man came out upon hearing the noise, but before he could say anything, two burly men came in, flanking him on either side, and dragged him out the door.
The old woman was terrified. "Where are you taking my husband?"
One of the guards said, "Don't worry, it's just a routine check. If there's nothing amiss, we'll make sure to bring him back safe and sound."
Such a scene would soon occur in different places.
*
Xiagu County, Qin Residence.
Last night, Dai Li and Qin Yanzhou had a falling out. Before lunch today, Qin Shaozong rushed back from the military camp and had lunch with the mother and son.
The small round table was laden with food, including meat, vegetables, and refreshing mung bean soup.
The vegetarian dishes were the most ordinary cold salads, while the meat dishes were steamed fish and boiled river shrimp, which Dai Li loved, and there was also a plate of roasted lamb.
Pick up your chopsticks and start eating.
Dai Li picked up a river shrimp for her son, "Zhouzhou, I thought about it last night, and joining the army isn't out of the question. There are no high schools or universities here, and at your age, the only way to study is with a private tutor. Mr. Nalan is a military advisor and often stays in the military. If you follow him, you'll inevitably come into contact with military affairs."
When Dai Li said this, she didn't try to hide it from Qin Shaozong, who was standing beside her. Let him listen if he wants; he's unlikely to understand everything anyway.
Qin Yanzhou was taken aback, not expecting his mother to change her tune so quickly.
His gaze couldn't help but shift to the side, quickly glancing at someone with an ordinary expression. The latter had his eyes downcast, picking up a piece of roasted mutton with his jade chopsticks, and was concentrating on eating the meat, as if he hadn't heard what his mother had just said.
Qin Yanzhou looked away. "Thank you, Mom."
Dai Li smiled and said, "No need to thank me, we're family."
Qin Shaozong, who was engrossed in eating mutton, suddenly blurted out, "So, Madam also knows that family members shouldn't speak like outsiders. When did you learn that?"
Dai Li's eyelids twitched, knowing he was referring to the "thank you" she had said to him in the carriage the day before. She pretended not to understand, saying, "The immortal appeared to me in a dream last night, and I learned it on the spot."
"Now that you're using it so skillfully, it seems you've learned it." Seeing that she had almost finished eating one side of the steamed fish, Qin Shaozong picked up the fish with his chopsticks, intending to flip it over.
As a result, the fish bones became somewhat soft and mushy during steaming, and when it was flipped over, the latter half broke off.
Qin Shaozong was holding half a fish with his chopsticks and couldn't pay attention to the other half. Just then, another pair of jade chopsticks reached out and flipped the fallen fish tail over. After flipping it over, they also took away a large piece of fish meat from the tail.
The fish, dipped in sauce, was incredibly fresh and juicy. Dai Li's eyes narrowed in satisfaction as soon as she took a bite. Suddenly, she noticed the man beside her watching her.
His gaze was fixed, unwavering, and seemed to carry something heavy within it.
Dai Li glanced at him briefly before looking away, thinking to herself that this man could be quite inexplicable at times. However, she quickly put that aside and brought up another matter, "Qin Changgeng, could you have someone make an iron pot? I want to use an iron pot to cook in the future."
Iron was extremely precious in this era, mostly used for weapons, and the government strictly controlled its production. Production determined everything, and since iron production had not yet increased, iron pots were destined not to become as common as earthenware pots in ordinary households.
Without an iron wok, you can't stir-fry.
Life has to go on, so we have to be good to ourselves and Zhouzhou.
"Alright, I'll have it delivered tomorrow." Qin Shaozong readily agreed, then asked, "In Peach Blossom Spring, where Madam used to live, did every household use iron pots?"
Qin Yanzhou, who had been engrossed in his meal, paused slightly.
Dai Li nodded in agreement.
Qin Shaozong only asked this one question and didn't ask anything else.
After the meal, Qin Shaozong left the main courtyard and went to his study.
Everyone else was in the study except for Bai Jianping and Qiao Wangfei, who were still in the military camp.
Qin Shaozong selected a person, "Mo Yanyun, you lead a team to escort Xie San back to Sizhou."
Mo Yanyun first bowed and accepted the order, then asked, "My lord, why spare this man's life?"
Xie Yuanxiu, together with the Qinglian Sect, plotted against Madam Dai first, and then mobilized troops to besiege the city, all in an attempt to take Lord Junhou's life. Given Lord Junhou's modus operandi, he shouldn't have been let off the hook.
"The tendons in his hands have all been severed. Even if they are reattached, he will be a cripple."
Qin Shaozong sneered, "And do you really think that if he returns to Sizhou, he can command everyone's obedience like before? Just based on what he did to his two elder brothers in order to rise to power, it's enough for the latter to skin him alive and tear him apart."
Power struggles are always chillingly ruthless; they can turn brothers against each other and cause even the closest relationships to fall into the trap of power struggles, never to return to their original purity.
Qin Shaozong: "Sending him back is just to gain a good reputation."
Kuang Ye gleaned other information from his superior's words: "My lord, are you not planning to march on Sizhou? Why is that? Xie Sizhou has just died, and Sizhou is currently in a period of chaos due to the power transition. In addition, Xie San took the initiative to attack first, so we have every reason to raise an army on Sizhou."
Feng Feng nodded repeatedly.
That makes sense.
Qin Shaozong said, "If I had taken Yanzhou by myself, that would be fine. But it was allied with Qingzhou. The previous debts haven't been settled yet, and now we're adding more debts. The debts will just keep piling up. It's hard to guarantee that Nangong Xiong won't be tempted by the lure of profit and secretly collude with other states to play the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind."
The group fell silent.
That's true. We need time to digest Yanzhou. If we immediately try to eat Sizhou, we might choke.
"We need not linger in Xiagu. We shall depart for Bairi City the day after tomorrow." Qin Shaozong opened the official register of Xiagu. "This Prefectural Assistant surnamed Ding is usable. Promote him to the position of Prefect and let him temporarily manage the entire Xiagu Prefecture in place of Gao You."
After giving a series of instructions, Qin Shaozong concluded by saying, "Feng Feng, have someone forge an iron pot and deliver it before noon tomorrow."
Feng Feng, who was called upon, was initially on high alert, but instead he was asked to forge a pot. He agreed first, and then asked, "My lord, what is the use of this iron pot?"
"Madam said she wants to use an iron wok for cooking from now on," Qin Shaozong said.
The group of people were all slightly taken aback.
Stir-frying in an iron wok?
It was unheard of, and rather extravagant. But since it was said by Madam Dai, there must be a reason for it.
Feng Feng's thoughts wandered, "Could cooking in an iron pot be beneficial to health?"
The others laughed at his absurdity.
Qin Shaozong did not deny it.
After they finished laughing, Qin Shaozong started to shoo them away, saying, "Go do what you're supposed to do, don't stand here."
The crowd filed out.
After they left, Qin Shaozong took out paper and pen from the table and wrote a letter in one go.
After sealing the letter with sealing wax, he summoned his personal guards outside and ordered, "Send the letter to Yan San at full speed and tell him to make sure this matter is handled properly."
The guard bowed and said, "Yes, sir."
Qin Shaozong watched the guards' retreating figures, his brown eyes growing darker.
He was the one who personally helped Yan Shi rise to prominence. He trusted no one but Yan San in this matter.
A swift horse set off from Xia Valley, traveling day and night towards Ying County in the north. By the time Yan San received this secret letter, several days had already passed.
"Commander Yan, a letter from the Lord." The guard presented the letter and also relayed Qin Shaozong's oral instruction: "The Lord instructs you to handle this matter properly."
Before the letter was even opened, an additional oral instruction was added. Yan San frowned, knowing that what was written in the letter must be something very important.
He removed the sealing wax and took out the letter.
The letter contained few words, yet it caused Yan San's pupils to constrict slightly, and a look of horror to appear in his eyes.
He was stunned for a moment before he came to his senses.
The guard was still at the door. Yan San said to him, "I have read the letter. Go back and tell the Marquis that I will handle this matter with utmost care. Tell him to rest assured. Go now, and close the door when you leave."
The guards were ordered to leave.
Only Yan San remained in the room. He took out a piece of mulberry paper, ground ink, and then wrote down names one by one on the paper.
Wei Congmu, Wei Conglin, Wei Congsen.
The Wei family's direct line, the "Cong" generation, had only three male members in that generation. And these three were all the brothers of the Marquis's deceased wife.
Yan San's gaze swept over the three of them.
The eldest son, Wei Congmu, is currently the Chief Administrator of Yuyang County; the second son, Wei Conglin, joined the army and served as a Commandant; the third son, Wei Congsen, holds no official position.
Yan San tapped his fingers rapidly on the table, his pen hovering between the second and third sons. His mind raced through their personalities, past experiences, wives' family backgrounds, their status in the Wei family, and how much their parents valued them.
A drop of black ink fell between "Wei Conglin" and "Wei Congsen".
Yan San looked at the stained paper, then with a final stroke of his pen, circled a name along with the ink stain. He then wrote lines of smaller characters below the name.
These words connect to form an invisible net, silently approaching those who are completely unaware.
After a long while, Yan San put down his pen. He examined the paper three times to ensure it was clear and correct before lighting an oil lamp and burning the paper himself.
"Summon Yan Qingsheng here," Yan San said to the guards outside.
The latter accepted the order.
Soon, a young man dressed in an indigo robe arrived at the door of the study.
Yan Qingsheng was in his early twenties and looked somewhat like Yan San, but he had a pair of dimples on his face, making his smile quite endearing. "Uncle, what brings you here to me?"
"I have to go out for a while, and my return date is uncertain. I'm leaving Yingjun in your hands," Yan San said succinctly.
Yan Qingsheng's expression changed slightly. "Uncle, you're leaving Ying County to me? How can that be? Recently, spies from all sides have returned. Without you in charge, I'm afraid I won't be able to handle it."
Yan San calmly said, "The foundation has been laid, so everything can proceed as before. Qing Sheng, you should learn to be independent. I can't take care of everything for you forever. The Marquis won't rely on someone who panics in the face of trouble and has no opinions of his own."
Yan Qingsheng took a deep breath. "Nephew understands. I will guard Ying County well while you are away. But Uncle, what is so important that you have to go in person?"
Yan San only mentioned the important matters and did not say anything else.
He looked down at the ashes on the table, thinking to himself that the situation that the Marquis's mansion had maintained for more than ten years was about to be broken after this incident.
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Author's Note: Guess what Lao Qin is up to? [glasses]
I need some nutrient solution [milk tea]
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