Ask the Way
The Tea Horse Road, which connects to Mahujiang Road via Bating Road, was originally the shortest route into Liangshan and the Tibetan areas.
Previously, because the Nanguang tribe was not under the control of the imperial court, the caravans detoured through Luzhou.
Now that Yuezhou border market has reopened, word has spread among the caravan leaders, and they are all returning to their old ways. As a result, my inn's business is gradually improving.
One afternoon, I counted the money in the jar and realized that I would soon have enough silver to buy a horse.
I clapped my hands and laughed, "I have great news for you! If we work hard for another two months, we'll have our third horse!"
Huai Xu hugged me excitedly: "Godmother, wait a little longer, save up a bit more. Let's buy a mare with a foal, then the inn will have four horses!"
Feng Qiao suggested, "Aunt, let's go to the Luzhou military horse farm to buy them. I heard from a passing caravan leader the day before yesterday that the horse farm has retired military horses that are being sold as civilian horses, and the price is much lower than the official market price."
Huai Xu said happily, "I hope the Prefect can stay in our Nanguang for a while this time, so that the market area of Bating Road will no longer be abandoned, and our inn can earn more money!"
Feng Qiao said, "Lord Wei is young. As long as nothing unexpected happens, he should be able to work in Nanguang for three to five years."
As they were chatting and laughing, a loud, long neighing of a Wumeng horse came from outside the courtyard.
I said to Huai Xu and Feng Qiao, "It's A Dao who's here."
"A-Dao?"
"A-Dao!"
"Aunt Qing! Uncle Lin! Sister Huai Xu! Brother Feng Qiao!" A Dao rushed into the inn and greeted us in broken Mandarin.
I patted his head and said, "A-Dao is really something. He can speak Mandarin in just a few days?"
"My master taught me that. He even gave me a Han name, Shiyu. Aunt Qing, you can call me Shiyu from now on."
Feng Qiao counted on his fingers and said, "March rain, April locust tree, June bell. Aunt, Lord Wei's naming style is quite similar to yours."
I asked with a smile, "Shiyu, where are your parents? Didn't they come with you?"
"The adults were checking the water conditions by the Yuejiang River. I said I wanted to come to the inn to see you, so they told me to come here by myself."
Huai Xu reached out to pull him: "Come on, Shi Yu, let's go up the mountain to catch rabbits!"
Feng Qiao said, "Yes, yes, we'll roast rabbit meat tonight."
As dusk approached, the three who had tried to catch rabbits returned empty-handed, dejectedly asking me what else we could eat for dinner.
I pointed to the flowers and plants in the yard and replied with a smile, "Go and pick some of your Uncle Lin's hollyhock seedlings!"
The three cheered: "Yes!"
"Boss!" Lin Zhong glared at me and chased after me.
The courtyard was thrown into chaos, with leaves and blossoms flying everywhere. I laughed as I walked towards the stable, leaped onto a horse, and spurred it towards the Yuejiang River.
When we reached the vicinity of Fish Mouth Rock, we indeed saw Wei Ji's horses under the shade of the trees. I tied the two horses together and tiptoed up to the top of the rock.
As its name suggests, Fish Mouth Rock resembles a fish mouth, with large rocks weathered and eroded to form a rocky hollow.
Ah, people should be hiding there.
The prefect was lying on the ground with his head resting on his arms, one leg propped up on his bent knee, and a straw stick in his mouth.
I stood atop the rock and leaned down, slowly casting a shadow over his head.
The next moment, Wei Ji jumped up in surprise, looked up and bumped into me. He quickly straightened the wrinkles in his clothes, took my hand and said, "I was impolite, please forgive me, Lady Qing."
I braced myself against the rock face and jumped off.
"careful!"
"Lord Wei, why are you hiding here at Fish Mouth Rock all by yourself?" I dusted off my hands and smiled at him.
"When Wei was passing by, he saw that the shape of this rock was somewhat peculiar, so he came over to take a look."
"Your Excellency, are you troubled by something?" I sat down cross-legged. "Let me guess, is it because of the suspension bridge shared by Bajiaodong and Niumendong?"
Wei Ji exclaimed in surprise, "How did Lady Qing know?"
"Well... it's a long story."
"I would like to hear the details." Wei Ji also sat down cross-legged.
"This suspension bridge was originally built by a governor of the previous dynasty for the mountain people of Bajiao and Niumen to travel."
"Later, due to years of war, the bridge was destroyed. The chieftains of both villages discussed rebuilding it. The chieftain of Bajiao Village wanted the cost of the bridge to be shared equally between the two villages, but the chieftain of Niumen Village believed that Bajiao Village had more people and should share more of the cost."
"The two villages couldn't reach an agreement after a long negotiation. In a fit of anger, the chief of Bajiao Village funded the repair of the bridge, but refused to let the people of Niumen Village cross it. Niumen Village, enraged, destroyed the repaired bridge. From then on, the two villages became sworn enemies."
"Three years ago, the previous prefect, Lord Du, had been working to mediate this matter. However, the prefecture was unable to collect taxes, and the mountain people refused to perform corvée labor. Their request for funds from the Rongzhou government was rejected. After the bridge between the two villages was destroyed, they became even poorer due to the difficulty of traveling."
I turned to look at Wei Ji. "Lord Wei, are you perhaps facing the same predicament as Lord Du?"
Wei Ji nodded: "Exactly."
I asked him, "Does the gentleman know why the two villages of Bajiao and Niumen are in such a hurry to ask you to help them repair the bridge?"
After a moment's thought, Wei Ji replied, "The two villages are located in the tea-growing region. Now that the Yuezhou market has reopened, if there is a bridge, tea trading will be much more convenient."
"Indeed. Lured by profit, even old enemies can join hands. If the Prefect can facilitate this, wouldn't that be a great act of merit for Nanguang?"
Wei Ji bowed to me and said sincerely, "I am not very talented, so please enlighten me, Lady Qing."
"I dare not presume to offer advice, but I can suggest a solution to you, sir. The tea market in the two villages along the Eight Pavilion Road is much more cost-effective than the original route along the lake and river. Why not have them sign a written agreement relinquishing this increased profit, and then use that to borrow money from Rongzhou Prefecture to repair the bridge?"
"As for the manpower to repair the bridge, we can ask the Changning Army for help. Zhou Hong, the deputy commander of the Changning Army, is from Junlian. Before you took office, he was the one who sent soldiers to clear the market area."
Wei Ji's face brightened, and he bowed again, saying, "Thank you for your guidance, Lady Qing. I am new here and unfamiliar with the place. I encountered difficulties twice, but fortunately, Lady Qing helped me."
“Your Excellency, there’s no need for you to be so polite. The reopening of the border market has greatly benefited my small shop. Helping you is helping myself as well.” I stood up and pointed to the boats on the river and the boatmen on the opposite bank. “Your Excellency, look at these people pushing and pulling the boats. Watch them pull the boats over the rapids and listen to the boatmen’s chants. You’ll feel that there is no difficulty in this world that cannot be overcome.”
The Yuejiang River flows swiftly, with verdant mountains rising on both banks.
Wei Ji stared at her for a long time, then said softly, "Sailing by boat or riding a horse is fraught with danger. If one doesn't see it with their own eyes, how can those in the imperial court know the hardships involved?"
"Was sir once an official in the capital?"
"Wei was originally employed by the Ministry of Works."
"Why has the esteemed gentleman come to Nanguang?"
"When my teacher was slandered, Wei Ji tried to defend him but to no avail, so he was exiled here."
I gave a soft "oh," and Wei Ji asked, "Is Feng Qiao of the Qingniangzi Inn from the Feng family of Jizhou, who are renowned for their legal scholarship?"
“Hmm.” I smiled. “He is the second genius of the Feng family. He is not afraid of anything except studying. At a young age, he ran away from home to seek knowledge on Mount Qingcheng. However, before he even saw a trace of Mount Qingcheng, he was tricked into going to Luzhou by the people of the Celestial Masters Sect.”
"As far as I know, the Celestial Masters sect is an orthodox sect recognized by the imperial court. Could there be another hidden story behind this?"
"That's why I said he was a genius. It wasn't until he was imprisoned by the prefect of Luzhou that he realized he had joined a false religion."
"Xiong Tu, the prefect of Luzhou? He is a capable official who has been stationed in the southwest for many years."
I was taken aback: "How come even you call him Bear Butcher?"
Wei Ji was also taken aback, and cautiously said, "The prefect of Luzhou is named Xiong Tu, courtesy name Botong. He and I passed the imperial examination in the same year. Although his official rank is higher than mine, is it inappropriate for me to address him by his given name?"
I rubbed my temples: "Sure enough, people's names can be wrong, but their nicknames are never wrong. This fellow scholar of yours is skilled in warfare and is feared by the border people. He is known as 'Bear Butcher'."
A hint of embarrassment flashed across Wei Ji's face: "How did Feng Qiao... find his way here?"
"When Prefect Xiong saw that Feng Qiao had really been deceived and was young, he took pity on him and only punished him with forty strokes of the cane. He also told him that there was an inn on Bating Road that should be run by a relative of Feng's family."
"Prefect Xiong has also visited Qingcheng Inn?"
I waved my hand: "He doesn't need to come. You know he has deep roots in the Southwest, controls the Changning Army, and has spies everywhere in the 'Southwest half'."
"That day, Huai Xu went up the mountain to gather firewood and happened to find Feng Qiao, who looked like a beggar, collapsed by the roadside, so he carried him back. After Feng Qiao woke up, he found that the signboard of my inn was written by his seventh uncle, who was removed from the Feng family genealogy, so he started to cling to me."
"I thought this kid would suffer a bit and then return to the Central Plains, but I didn't expect him to be so persistent and still haven't left."
Wei Ji laughed and said, "I'm afraid he'll never leave again."
I laughed and said, "Yes."
Wei Ji then asked, "You said Feng Qiao is the second genius produced by the Feng family, so who was the first?"
I proudly said, "That's my father, Feng Xuan. My father went to Qingcheng Mountain to seek the Dao thirty years earlier than Feng Qiao, and he succeeded. He was a Daoist on the mountain for several years."
"Your father was truly remarkable," Wei Ji exclaimed, then hesitated before adding, "I would like to ask Qing Niangzi a question, but I am very sorry to presume to ask."
"You want to ask about my mother, right?" I looked at him and smiled. "My mother is even more remarkable than my father. She was a herb gatherer from Qingbin Village in the Nanguang tribe. She also wanted to go to Qingcheng Mountain to seek the Dao. After going through many hardships to reach Qingcheng Mountain, she found that their sect did not accept female disciples. My mother was not discouraged, so she brought a Daoist priest home."
Wei Ji laughed and said, "So your whole family loves cultivating Taoism. I wonder if Lady Qing has ever gone to Mount Qingcheng to inquire about Taoism?"
I put my hands behind my back and looked into the distance: "They won't even accept female disciples. I wouldn't deign to inquire about such a path. I was born and raised in Nanguang. The Eight Pavilions Path is my path."
"Qing Niangzi's insights are extraordinary; it is I who am narrow-minded."
"Where is Lord Wei from?"
"Wei Ji was a native of Jiaxing, Xiuzhou."
What are Jiaxing like in all four seasons?
Wei Ji sighed softly, his hands behind his back: "Spring brings misty rain, summer brings tides, autumn brings wild geese in the sky, and winter brings plum blossoms and snow to South Lake."
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