Chapter 90

Behind the mountain gate of Longxing Temple.

Behind the temple lay a bamboo forest, beside which a stone pool had been dug to channel spring water from the mountain. The babbling stream, accompanied by the chirping of birds in the woods, conveyed an indescribable sense of tranquility and peace.

Deep in the bamboo forest stood a hexagonal pavilion with upturned eaves. Inside the pavilion, there were stone tables and chairs, and on the stone table rested a chessboard made of Kunshan jade.

A man sat by the table, holding a Kunshan jade chess piece, playing against himself.

Suddenly, a bird took flight, soaring straight into the sky, breaking the peace of the bamboo forest. It turned out that someone had hurried over, startling the birds. The man went straight ahead and finally stopped in front of the pavilion.

"Sir, a letter from Diting." The servant presented a letter sealed with wax.

The sound of the Kunshan jade chess piece falling stopped. Liudao looked up, took the letter, and scanned it rapidly.

Before today, Diting had also sent several letters in succession.

The letters reported many things, including successfully abducting Madam Dai in the beginning, her escaping during the grand ceremony, Mingdeng's return, their pursuit to Xiagu Valley along with Third Young Master Xie, the arrival of the Marquis of Wu'an, and his persuasion of the Governor of Xiagu Valley to join forces against the Marquis of Wu'an...

In the previous letter, Diting told him of his intention to persuade the Governor of Xiagu Valley.

But now, Diting said in the letter that he had a bad premonition about the situation and wanted to leave Xiagu Valley. At the same time, the letter also said that he had stopped giving Mingdeng the divine medicine for a quarter, and begged him to be lenient when Mingdeng returned from his mission, considering that Mingdeng had worked hard even if he had no merits.

Reading to the end, ripples appeared in Liudao's eyes, which were usually as deep as an ancient pool.

Mingdeng returning from his mission? Who gave him a mission?

Mingdeng had always been a rather special existence in the cult. He had picked him up personally. At first, he didn't know if he was frightened or what, but for a long time, he was like a mute, unable to speak.

He was only slightly younger than Diting and Baixiang, so he just raised the three of them together.

Mingdeng only took orders from him, Diting, and Baixiang. Baixiang had gone to Sizhou on his orders a while ago to help the third son of Governor Xie of Sizhou ascend to power, and later changed his route to Yongzhou.

Baixiang had Baixiang's mission, and generally wouldn't contact Mingdeng privately midway.

But this possibility couldn't be ruled out...

Tapping his slender fingers lightly on the table twice, Liudao said, "Bring pen, paper, and sealing wax."

The servant waiting at the side moved at the sound and returned with the items shortly after.

Using the chessboard as a desk, Liudao immediately wrote a letter by hand, sealed it himself, and handed it to the servant. "Set off immediately and deliver it to Baixiang at top speed."

The man cupped his hands and received the order.

After the servant left, Liudao picked up a chess piece again. Just as he was about to place it down according to his previous train of thought, he suddenly realized that the situation on the entire chessboard had changed.

His white pieces had unknowingly fallen into a dangerous position.

Liudao's hand fell, and the long chain of Buddhist beads wrapped around his wrist a few times clattered onto the stone table. His hand fell a bit heavily, and the sound was abrupt.

*

More than ten cavalry squads set out from Xiagu Valley, heading in four directions: east, south, west, and north, galloping to various places.

Some cavalry squads' destinations were close to Xiagu Valley, and they arrived in less than a day. They took out a piece of paper from their pockets and found a house hidden in the city according to the specific location on it.

Knock knock.

The unknowing master of the house opened the door and was startled by a group of burly men.

"Who are you? Hey, why are you coming in? What exactly are you going to do?"

Inside, an old man came out upon hearing the sound, but before he could speak, two burly men came over, grabbed him from the left and right, and directly carried him out the door.

The old woman turned pale with fright. "Where are you taking my husband?"

A guard said, "Don't worry, it's just a routine interrogation. If there's nothing unusual, we guarantee to send him back in one piece."

Such a scene occurred in different places soon after.

*

Xiagu Commandery, Qin Residence.

Last night, Dai Li and Qin Yanzhou had a disagreement. Today, before lunch, Qin Shaozong rushed back from the military camp to eat with the mother and son.

The small round table was filled with dishes, both meat and vegetarian, as well as mung bean soup to cool down the summer heat.

The vegetarian dish was the most ordinary cold mixed vegetables, and the meat dishes were Dai Li's favorite steamed fish and boiled river shrimp, plus a plate of roast mutton.

They picked up their chopsticks and began to eat.

Dai Li picked up a river shrimp for her son. "Zhouzhou, I thought about it last night, and joining the army isn't entirely impossible. There are no high schools or universities here. If you want to study at your current age, you can only follow a private tutor. Mr. Nalan is a military advisor and will often stay in the army. If you follow him, you will inevitably come into contact with military affairs."

When saying these words, Dai Li didn't avoid Qin Shaozong, who was beside her. He could listen if he wanted to; anyway, he couldn't possibly understand everything.

Qin Yanzhou was slightly startled, not expecting his mother to change her tune so quickly.

His gaze couldn't help but shift to the side, quickly glancing at a certain person with a normal expression, who lowered his eyes, picked up a piece of roast mutton with jade chopsticks, and was focused on eating the meat, as if he hadn't heard his mother's words just now.

Qin Yanzhou withdrew his gaze. "Thank you, Mom."

Dai Li smiled. "Why thank me? We're a family."

Qin Shaozong, who was eating mutton with his head down, suddenly blurted out, "So Madam also knows that families don't speak two languages. 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 yesterday. She played dumb. "A great immortal came to me in a dream last night, and I learned it on the spot."

"Now that Madam uses it with ease, it seems you've learned it." Seeing that she had eaten almost one side of the steamed fish, Qin Shaozong raised his chopsticks to pick up the fish body, intending to flip it over.

As a result, the fish bones were steamed a bit soft and rotten. Halfway through the flip, the back half broke off.

Qin Shaozong held half of the fish in his chopsticks, unable to attend to the other half. Just then, another pair of jade chopsticks reached over, flipped the fallen fish tail over as well, and after flipping it, conveniently picked away a large piece of fish meat from the fish tail.

The fish meat dipped in sauce was delicious and juicy. As soon as it entered Dai Li's mouth, she narrowed her eyes in satisfaction. Suddenly, she noticed the man beside her looking at her.

Steadily, without blinking, his gaze seemed to be mixed with something heavy.

Dai Li only glanced at him and then looked away, thinking to herself that this person was sometimes truly baffling. But soon, she put this to the back of her mind and brought up another matter. "Qin Changgeng, can you have someone forge an iron wok? I want to use an iron wok to stir-fry dishes in the future."

In this era, iron was very precious and mostly used for weapons. The government also strictly controlled iron. Production determined everything. The production of iron had not yet gone up, which destined iron woks not to fly into ordinary people's homes like pottery cauldrons.

Without an iron wok, there could be no stir-frying.

Life had to go on no matter what, and she had to treat herself and Zhouzhou better.

"Alright, I'll have someone deliver it tomorrow," Qin Shaozong readily agreed, and then asked, "Did every household in the Peach Blossom Spring where Madam lived before use an iron wok?"

Qin Yanzhou, who had been eating with his head down, paused slightly.

Dai Li nodded and said yes.

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 the study.

In the study, besides Bai Jianping and Qiao Wangfei, who were still in the military camp, everyone else was present.

Qin Shaozong called out a name. "Mo Yanyun, lead a team to escort Third Young Master Xie back to Sizhou."

Mo Yanyun first cupped his hands to accept the order, and only after taking the task did he ask: "My Lord, why keep this man alive?"

Xie Yuanxiu, along with the Green Lotus Sect, previously plotted against Madam Dai, and later mobilized troops to besiege the city, attempting to take the Lord's life. Based on the Lord's usual way of doing things, it stands to reason he should not let him off.

"The tendons in both his hands have been completely severed. Even if they are reattached in the future, he will be nothing but a cripple."

Qin Shaozong sneered, "And do you think that when he returns to Sizhou, he can really command everyone's obedience like before? Just based on what he did to his two older brothers for the sake of rising to power, it is enough for the latter to skin him alive and tear him apart."

Power struggles have always been chillingly ruthless. They can cause family members to turn against each other and siblings to kill one another. No matter how good a relationship is, once the words power struggle are involved, it can never return to its pure beginnings.

Qin Shaozong: "Sending him back is nothing more than earning a good reputation."

Kuang Ye heard other information from his superior's words. "My Lord, you do not plan to march on Sizhou? Why is this? The Governor of Sizhou has just died of illness, and Sizhou is currently in a chaotic period of power transition. Coupled with Third Young Master Xie taking the initiative to invade earlier, we have every reason to raise an army against Sizhou."

Feng Feng also nodded repeatedly.

That was indeed the logic.

Qin Shaozong, however, said, "If I had taken Yanzhou on my own, that would be one thing. But we allied with Qingzhou. The old debts have not been settled yet, and adding new ones will only make them snowball. It is hard to guarantee that Nangong Xiong will not have malicious intentions under the lure of heavy profits, secretly teaming up with other provinces to play the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind."

The few men were momentarily speechless.

True, swallowing Yanzhou required time to digest. Trying to immediately swallow Sizhou right after might cause them to choke.

"There is no need to stay long in Xiagu. We will set off to return to Bairi City the day after tomorrow." Qin Shaozong flipped open the booklet of Xiagu's officials. "This Deputy Governor surnamed Ding is usable. Promote him to the position of Governor, and have him temporarily manage the entire Xiagu Commandery in place of Gao You."

After giving a series of orders, Qin Shaozong finally said, "Feng Feng, have someone cast an iron pot and deliver it before noon tomorrow."

Feng Feng, who was called out, initially braced himself for a serious task, but the result was just him being asked to cast a pot. He agreed first, then asked, "My Lord, what is the use of this iron pot?"

"Madam said she wants to use an iron pot to stir-fry dishes from now on," Qin Shaozong said.

The men were all slightly stunned.

Stir-frying with an iron pot?

Unheard of, and a bit extravagant. But since it was Madam Dai who said it, she must have her reasons.

Feng Feng's thoughts could not help but wander. "Could it be that cooking with an iron pot is beneficial to the body?"

The others laughed at his absurdity.

Qin Shaozong was noncommittal.

After they finished laughing, Qin Shaozong began to shoo them away. "Go do what you need to do, do not just stand here."

The crowd filed out.

After they left, Qin Shaozong took out paper and brush from the side of the desk and wrote a letter in one breath.

After sealing it with wax, he called in his personal guard from outside and ordered, "Ride with all haste, deliver this letter to Yan San, and tell him to make sure this matter is handled properly."

The guard cupped his hands: "Yes."

Qin Shaozong watched the guard's back, his brown eyes darkening.

The Yan family was something he had personally propped up. For this matter, he could not trust anyone but Yan San.

A fast horse set out from Xiagu, traveling day and night to the Ying Commandery in the north. By the time Yan San received this secret letter, several days had passed.

"Commandant Yan, a letter from the Lord." The guard presented the letter and relayed Qin Shaozong's oral message. "The Lord commands you to ensure this matter is handled properly."

Before the letter was even opened, an oral message was added. Yan San furrowed his brows, knowing that what was written in this letter must be a matter of utmost importance.

He broke the wax seal and took out the letter.

There were not many words on the letter, but they made Yan San's pupils shrink slightly, and shock surged in his eyes.

He froze for a moment before recovering.

The guard was still at the door, and Yan San said to him, "I have read the letter. Go back and tell the Lord that I will definitely handle this matter with the utmost caution, and ask him to rest assured. Go now, and close the door on your way out."

The guard received the order and left.

Only Yan San was left in the room. He took out a piece of mulberry paper, ground some ink, and then picked up a brush to write down names one by one.

Wei Congmu, Wei Conglin, Wei Congsen.

The direct Cong generation of the Wei family only had three male descendants. And these three were all brothers of the Lord's late wife.

Yan San's gaze roamed among the three.

The eldest, Wei Congmu, was the current Chief Clerk of Yuyang Commandery; the second, Wei Conglin, was in the military, serving as a Section Commandant; the third, Wei Congsen, held no official position.

Yan San's fingers tapped quickly on the desk a few times, the tip of his brush hovering between the second and third brothers. His mind quickly flashed through their personalities, past experiences, their wives' family backgrounds, as well as their status within the Wei family and how much they were valued by their parents.

A drop of black ink fell between Wei Conglin and Wei Congsen.

Yan San looked at the stained paper, and finally with a stroke of his brush, he circled a name along with that ink mark. He then immediately wrote lines of small characters below this name.

These words connected together, forming an invisible large net, silently approaching an unaware person.

After a long time, Yan San stopped writing. He read this paper a full three times to ensure it was smooth and flawless, and only then did he light the oil lamp and personally burn the paper.

"Have Yan Qingsheng come over," Yan San said to the guard outside.

The latter took the order.

Soon, a young man in an indigo robe arrived at the door of the study.

Yan Qingsheng was in his early twenties, with facial features somewhat similar to Yan San's, but he had a pair of dimples on his face, making him quite endearing when he smiled. "Uncle, what orders do you have for your nephew?"

"I need to go out for a trip, the date of return is undecided. Ying Commandery is left to you," Yan San said concisely.

Yan Qingsheng's expression changed slightly. "Uncle, leave Ying Commandery to me? How can that work? Recently, spies from all sides have been making a comeback. Without you holding down the fort, I am afraid I will not be able to handle it."

Yan San said calmly, "The foundation has already been laid, just keep everything as usual. Qingsheng, you must learn to be independent. I cannot manage everything for you forever. The Lord will not heavily rely on someone who panics when faced with trouble and lacks their own judgment."

Yan Qingsheng took a deep breath. "Nephew understands. During the time you are away, I will guard Ying Commandery well. But Uncle, what matter is so urgent that it requires you to go personally?"

Yan San only said it was an important matter and said nothing else.

He lowered his eyes to look at the ashes on the table, thinking to himself that after this matter, the situation in the Lord's mansion that had been maintained for over ten years was going to be broken.