Chapter 52, The Fifty-Second Journey Home
I reported some good news in the morning, and then something strange happened in the afternoon.
This time, it wasn't a servant who brought the news, but the official in purple robes, who scrambled into the study of the Xia residence.
Xia Kuan stopped the guards who wanted to pull the official away to teach him a lesson, and said unhurriedly, "What you need to report should be more important than the rules."
The official was filled with terror, not because of the so-called rules, but because of what he had to report. He gripped the sandalwood table leg and said in a trembling voice, "Qin Sihai has returned alive and has entered the palace."
Xia Kuan couldn't believe his ears. He stepped forward, grabbed the man's collar, and said, "What?"
The man couldn't believe it when he saw Qin Sihai on the street, but even if he couldn't believe it, Qin Sihai was still a living person. After all, Qin Sihai had discovered that their three families were involved in the smuggling of snuff bottles, so he found a pretext to kill him. But if he returned unharmed, their plan would be exposed to the emperor.
The official in purple robes said with a sob in his voice, "Qin Sihai... Qin Sihai really came back alive, and he was with someone else. I don't know who that person is, so I hurriedly came to ask you for advice, sir."
Xia Kuan, as expected of someone who had seen it all, calmed down after a moment of panic and said indifferently, "Winter is coming. Take down the old curtains in the mansion and send them to the Empress Dowager."
Inside the Wu Kingdom's palace, Emperor Ji Heng scrutinized the man before him for the umpteenth time.
Even after seeing it countless times, the emperor was still somewhat skeptical about the fact that the young man before him was Fan Qi.
He was very young when Fan Qi went to war, and he vaguely remembered Fan Qi's appearance, which was indeed exactly the same as the person in front of him. But twenty years had passed, how could he still look the same as when he went to war?
The emperor had already ordered people to invite several retired officials to come and reunite with him. He tentatively said, "General Fan must miss his family. I have already sent someone to invite him."
Fan Qi is an orphan with no relatives.
Fan Qi smiled and said, "I have no parents, no sisters or brothers."
The emperor then said, "I was confused. I heard that the general had a close relationship with the former Grand Tutor. He is a little hard of hearing now, so the general will have to speak louder in a moment."
This private matter was something the emperor learned of when he overheard Fan Qi arguing with the former Grand Tutor; it was not something that was common knowledge.
Fan Qi nodded. "I have a deep friendship with Lord Gu Guanshan. I wonder if Lord Gu is still alive?"
"Lord Gu... has passed away."
Fan Qi didn't say anything. If Zuo Qinghou hadn't given him the blood of the Wu clan, he would probably be a pile of dust by now.
Before long, the former Grand Tutor and a few old ministers walked shakily into the hall. When the former Grand Tutor saw Fan Qi, he was startled and pointed at him, unable to utter a complete sentence.
Fan Qi replied, "Grand Tutor Yang, how have you been?"
That arrogant tone was exactly like Fan Qi's. Grand Tutor Yang leaned closer, looking at his still-youthful face, and retorted with displeasure, "You monster!"
Fan Qi didn't argue, but said loudly, "It's been years since we last met. I wonder if the Grand Tutor's legs still hurt. Has the bell pepper plant in your bedroom borne fruit yet?" Fan Qi suddenly leaned closer, pretending to whisper in Grand Tutor Yang's ear, but her voice was loud enough for everyone present to hear, "Have you married your sister-in-law who is proficient in all the arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting?"
These were all private matters. Grand Tutor Yang's face instantly flushed red. He gripped his cane and slammed it hard on the ground. "Rude! Fan Qi, you're still so...unrestrained!"
Such casual and rude behavior in official circles is unprecedented in Wu, except for Fan Qi. The other senior officials who were not familiar with Fan Qi, fearing that Fan Qi would expose their own scandals, quickly bowed.
There was only one person, tears welling in his cloudy eyes. He threw away his cane and tried to kneel on one knee. Fan Qi immediately supported him and said, "I'm back."
The man pushed Fan Qi's hand away, insisted on kneeling and giving a military salute, and said, "Former Major General Fei Hu of the Liangzhou Army pays his respects to General Fan."
Fan Qi helped him up, patted him on the shoulder, and solemnly said, "I'm back alive."
The emperor finally believed that it was Fan Qi who had returned, the young and vigorous Fan Qi, and that their stolen empire could be regained! Overjoyed, he exclaimed, "Now that the general has returned, issue my decree to hold a welcoming banquet for him!"
As the two emerged from the main hall, Fan Qi glanced at Qin Sihai, subtly distancing herself from the eunuch leading the way, and whispered to Qin Sihai, "You've improved quite a bit in the years we've been apart."
This is not a compliment. After not seeing each other for more than 20 years, how can Qin Sihai say that he has no connection with Fan Qi, let alone what he has experienced during the years he has been missing?
You can't survive without making progress. Qin Sihai thought to himself, but said respectfully, "Of course, I've fallen into too many pits, and I've learned from my mistakes."
The eunuch respectfully invited them to stay in the outer palace of the royal residence, explaining that the general's mansion had been in disrepair for many years and would likely take some time to repair. He added that the emperor simply wanted to see if the general was capable enough to deserve such a place.
Fan Qi was not angry, and Qin Sihai was also exceptionally calm. They didn't have much to begin with, and after being missing for many years, they were still accepted by the emperor. At least they could start over.
Fan Qi still had doubts about Qin Sihai's sudden appearance. Zhu Huantang had told him that he had been missing for a long time. How could he just happen to appear on the road back to Wu Kingdom? Why didn't he investigate the Xia family's framing of him?
Fan Qi called out to Qin Sihai, who was about to leave: "It's been a long time. We've grown distant as master and disciple. Let's have a good chat today."
"Yes, Master." Qin Sihai was as obedient as before, seemingly still the most sensible disciple. However, there was always something standing between them, making Fan Qi uneasy.
After carefully considering his words, Fan Qi looked at his apprentice's long, mountain-like eyebrows and suddenly said, "You know Zuo Qinghou."
It's not a question, it's an affirmative statement.
Qin Sihai raised his eyes slightly, then lowered them and nodded, saying, "She saved me."
"You know who she is, right?" Fan Qi's tone became much sterner, her hand gripping the celadon teacup tightly, causing even the tea leaves inside to tremble slightly.
Qin Sihai nodded again, but his face showed no anger or disgust, only calmness. After a moment of silence, he said, "Master, rest assured, I am a Wu citizen, and I know very well what I should do."
The apprentice before me is too tactful; he's been humble and polite since childhood, showing no ambition, and is used to following the rules. But the more someone is like that, the more dangerous they are. I wonder what he'll be like when he doesn't want to follow the rules.
As his master, he should have stopped there and not said more, but now that Zuo Qinghou was standing between them, his more than twenty years of imprisonment forced him to speak. He stared intently at Qin Sihai and said, "She is good at winning people's hearts. Don't be fooled by her."
For some unknown reason, Qin Sihai suddenly chuckled, then nodded and said, "She has already deceived me."
The words stuck in his throat. Fan Qi seemed to see his former self reflected in his apprentice's face. But he refused to admit it. He patted Qin Sihai on the shoulder and said nothing.
Qin Sihai asked, "Master, what are your plans for her?"
Zuo Qinghou did indeed disappear; he was taken to the State of Wu by Fan Qi.
Fan Qi's face turned slightly cold as he said, "She imprisoned me for over twenty years and killed my wife. I have my own ways of dealing with that."
Qin Sihai had just come out of Fan Qi's palace and hadn't even reached his residence when he was blocked by a eunuch who was leading the way.
He knew that eunuch well, but times had changed, and he was somewhat dazed.
The young eunuch bowed respectfully and said, "Lord Qin."
"I dare not, I currently hold no official position," Qin Sihai said respectfully.
Seeing that Qin Sihai was unharmed and his temperament had not changed, the eunuch breathed a slight sigh of relief and said, "The master wishes to see you. Please come with me."
On the other side, the old curtains had already been sent to the palace. As soon as the Empress Dowager saw the curtains, she understood the Xia family's intentions. She ordered that the old curtains be converted into cash and distributed to the military families.
Now that the war has just ended, the work of providing relief and compensation to the soldiers is a huge undertaking. If it is done well, the emperor will remember who contributed.
The Empress also donated some old things. The head palace maid beside the Empress said, "Why doesn't Your Majesty just donate money? Maybe that will make those concubines who donate useless things lose the Empress Dowager's favor."
The Empress Dowager was frugal, and the harem followed suit. However, there was one thing they didn't understand: the Empress Dowager's frugality stemmed from distributing the old things used by princes and nobles to those below her—in short, it was driven by a sense of superiority and satisfaction. But if they were to give her money directly, the Empress Dowager would certainly refuse.
The Empress smiled and said, "Spread the word that what I donated is worth three hundred taels of silver, and what the Consort donated is worth two hundred and sixty taels of silver. Let's see if any fools will take the bait."
The head palace maid seemed to understand but not quite, and began to do so.
As expected, the Empress Dowager gave a very harsh look to the concubines who donated money directly.
The Empress Dowager was a member of the Liu family. She casually mentioned the Xia family's donation to the Emperor, mainly mentioning her own family and the several concubines that the Xia family had placed in the family.
The Empress Dowager was the emperor's birth mother. Even though the emperor was tired of hearing about these powerful and entrenched maternal relatives, he dared not disobey her and could only say, "Yes, Your Majesty, I will follow your teachings."
The Empress was also there paying her respects. Seeing the mother and son talking intimately, she took her leave, thinking about how the Emperor had clearly been displeased yet pretended to be respectful, and smiled happily. Fortunately, the old hag didn't like her and didn't mention the Qiu family, thus escaping unscathed.
Although the three powerful families were closely connected, each family still wanted to live better than the others. Unfortunately, the Empress Dowager was foolish; she couldn't see the Emperor's ambition and continued to extract gifts from him for her own family. The Empress paused for a while before asking, "What about Consort Su?"
"The Empress Dowager was very satisfied with the donated items."
Consort Su was sent by the princess, and in recent years she has enjoyed the emperor's favor, even giving birth to a daughter. Importantly, Consort Su is neither ambitious nor competitive, making her a formidable and difficult character to control. Furthermore, although the princess and the emperor are not siblings, the princess lost her mother at a young age and was raised by the older emperor. These two siblings are essentially one, and one possesses no powerful connections whatsoever, making them a source of considerable unease.
Lost in thought, the flowers in her hands were broken by the Empress. When the Empress came to her senses, she sneered. How could the glory and benefits of her Qiu family be shared with a mere concubine?
The Empress broke off the most vibrant flower and said, "Find someone, preferably someone without power or influence, and have them send it in under someone else's name."
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