Chapter 36

Sixteenth Master shot Liansheng a look, and Liansheng immediately stepped forward, speaking softly to persuade, "Miss, please accept my condolences and do not grieve too deeply!"

Fu Tingjun rubbed her eyes vigorously, and when she lowered her sleeves, her eyes were slightly red.

Sixteenth Master said, "Since you were headed to Xi'an Prefecture, how did you end up in Lantian County? And how did he get injured?"

Fu Tingjun told Sixteenth Master about their encounter with Fourth Lord Feng. Of course, she concealed the old grudge between Feng Laosi and Zhao Jiuye, the fact that most of Feng Laosi's men had been killed by Zhao Jiuye, and the agreement between Zhao Jiuye and Feng Laosan: "...Ninth Master fainted, and we didn't know the way, nor did we know how to use the handcart. We stumbled along and ended up here. We heard there was a town not far away, so we wanted to find a doctor for Ninth Master, but we didn't have the strength to push him all the way there, so we had no choice but to take shelter in this City God Temple. We never expected..."

Fu Tingjun spoke slowly, pondering the matter as she talked.

The Emperor had been on the throne for thirty-eight years now. It was impossible for an imperial prince to leave the capital, so Sixteenth Master could only be a feudal prince.

She remembered that when she had studied under that old scholar who was over sixty, he had once said that back in the Yuankang era, a feudal prince had raised a rebellion under the banner of "cleansing the court of evil ministers" and had nearly surrounded the capital. Since then, two ironclad rules had been established: feudal princes could not leave their fiefs without imperial decree, and they could not form friendships with high officials. The Emperor's personal guard, the Tengxiang Guard, was responsible for monitoring the feudal princes' affairs in their fiefs. The current Emperor's uncle, the Prince of Shu, who held his fief in Sichuan, had been impeached by the Tengxiang Guard's commander-in-chief for being close friends with Liu Ruihao, the Grand Coordinator of Songfan, and had been stripped of his title and reduced to commoner status.

The prince enfeoffed in Shaanxi was Prince Jian. But from what people said, Prince Jian was already past fifty and had no heirs. In recent years, he had been embroiled in a bitter dispute over the succession. He couldn't be from Prince Jianhui's family... So it had to be another feudal prince... The ones closest to Shaanxi were Prince An in Sichuan to the west and Prince Mu in Huguang to the south!

A chill ran down her spine.

No wonder he had been concealing his whereabouts!

If the Tengxiang Guard found out, the single charge of leaving his fief without permission would be enough to strip him of his title and cost him his life!

In that case, why did Sixteenth Master save them?

The thought flashed through her mind as she heard Sixteenth Master heave a long sigh: "The state of our nation is as it is today—who but you can quell the chaos of war!" His tone was full of melancholy.

This was a poem that Du Gongbu of the previous dynasty had presented to Li Siye, the Tejin of Binzhou, when passing through Binzhou, carrying the meaning of "one whose literary talent can govern the state, and whose martial prowess can quell rebellion."

The people around Sixteenth Master all fell silent and lowered their heads.

But Fu Tingjun's heart stirred.

She remembered that Mid-Autumn Festival when her third and fourth cousins had debated, saying that the Emperor had been seeking the way of immortality in recent years, leaving all court affairs to Shen Shichong, the Grand Secretary. Shen Shichong was narrow-minded, skilled at flattering those above him, and vengeful over the slightest grievance. He appointed only his own cronies and eliminated those who opposed him. In the thirty-fourth year of Xiping, when the Tatars invaded, Su Mu, the commander of the Shaanxi Regional Military Commission, advocated for war while Shen Shichong advocated for peace. Su Mu submitted three memorials in a single day, and the Emperor appointed him General of the Western Expedition, giving him command over the forces of Shaanxi, Datong, and Xuanfu. Later, because Shen Shichong refused to provide supplies when Su Mu ran out of grain, Su Mu was defeated and killed in battle.

She thought of the expression on Sixteenth Master's face when he had been discussing court affairs with that man who looked like a shopkeeper...

Sixteenth Master must have felt both indignation and helplessness toward the affairs of the court.

She also thought of how, along the road, when she had seen the fleeing women and children, she had felt the urge to help them even though she could barely save herself. How much more so for Sixteenth Master, a feudal prince, who must have been even more grieved, distressed, and outraged than she was to see the people of his family's realm living in such misery. It was not hard to guess why Sixteenth Master had chosen to rescue them.

Fu Tingjun felt somewhat reassured.

A soft groan reached her ears, followed by Zhao Jiuye's muddled voice: "Miss Fu..."

Ninth Master had woken up!

A hundred emotions surged through her heart. Fu Tingjun no longer cared about feudal princes or anything else. She rose and rushed to Zhao Jiuye's side: "I'm here! I'm here!"

Zhao Jiuye's face was as pale as paper.

He struggled to open his eyes.

"It's me, it's me!" Fu Tingjun crouched down beside him.

He followed the sound and stared at her, his gaze somewhat dazed. After a moment, a faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips: "It's not that we're both dead, is it?"

"No, no," Fu Tingjun replied, and for some reason, her heart ached and tears streamed down her face. "It was this Sixteenth Master and his stewards who saved us!" Then she quietly told him what had happened.

Zhao Jiuye struggled to rise and bow to Sixteenth Master and the others.

"No need for such formality." Sixteenth Master gestured for Liansheng to stop him, then walked over with a smile. "I didn't expect you to wake up so quickly. It shows you have excellent martial arts foundations. Who did you learn your kung fu from?" He seemed quite interested.

Zhao Jiuye still sat up.

Beads of sweat the size of beans emerged from his forehead.

"A few clumsy moves from my family's teachings," he said with a smile. "Nothing worth mentioning!"

"Calling that kind of skill 'dabbling'?" Sixteenth Master chuckled. "You're being too modest!" Then he asked, "What's your name?"

Fu Tingjun's face instantly turned pale.

In her haste to cover things up, she had forgotten that if Zhao Jiuye woke up and Sixteenth Master questioned him, the two of them hadn't coordinated their stories beforehand—wouldn't they give themselves away?

Zhao Jiuye thought Fu Tingjun was simply tired and gave her a reassuring look, then said, "I wouldn't dare presume! This humble one is Zhao Ling!"

So this fellow's name is Zhao Ling!

Fu Tingjun grew even more anxious.

"Zhao Ling!" Sixteenth Master savored the name. "'Firm and unyielding, never to be subdued!' A fine name. How old are you, and do you have a courtesy name?"

"I never entered formal studies," Zhao Jiuye said, "so I have no courtesy name!" He deftly sidestepped the question of his age.

Just then, Fu Tingjun urgently needed to coordinate their story with Zhao Jiuye. She quickly took out her handkerchief and handed it to him: "Do wipe your sweat!" Taking the opportunity to whisper a few hurried words in his ear.

When Zhao Jiuye heard the words "fiancé," he was momentarily stunned before coming back to his senses. But before he could react, Sixteenth Master had already asked, "Can you read?"

There was a hint of expectation in his eyes.

In a flash of insight, Fu Tingjun suddenly understood.

Sixteenth Master had seen Zhao Jiuye's martial skill and wanted to recruit him.

Just like the Fu family—when they encountered someone skilled in business, they would always find a way to bring them into the household as a steward.

But life for princes these days wasn't easy; if he truly threw in his lot with them, it might not be a good thing.

She needed to find a way to warn Zhao Jiuye.

Zhao Jiuye smiled. "In my early years, I learned to read characters following my mother."

If a mother could teach her child to read, she must have been a lady from a distinguished family—clearly the family fortunes had declined.

Sixteenth Master's eyes lit up at this. "What do you do for a living now?"

Zhao Jiuye said, "My family originally had a few mu of farmland. Once the disaster years pass, I'll go back and tend to those fields."

"With skill like yours, it would be a pity," Sixteenth Master said with a smile.

"Martial arts were originally practiced for fitness," Zhao Jiuye replied with a smile. "What's there to pity!"

Sixteenth Master's expression grew even more amiable at this.

Fu Tingjun watched, worry gnawing at her heart. Just as she was thinking of a way to interrupt their conversation, someone announced from outside the hall doors: "Brother Mo, Brother Tao has arrived!"

The burly man with the fierce face immediately whispered a few words in Sixteenth Master's ear.

Sixteenth Master thought for a moment, then walked toward the hall entrance with the fierce-faced man. The man dressed like a shopkeeper and Liansheng followed as well, while the tall, powerfully built man first gave Zhao Jiuye a thumbs-up and whispered "A true man," before following after them.

Fu Tingjun breathed a sigh of relief and quickly told Zhao Jiuye what she had discovered. "...This Sixteenth Master left his fief without permission and has so many skilled guards around him—clearly he's not one to stay put. It's best we don't get entangled with him. Sixteenth Master's medicine is very good. In a moment, we'll find a way to get him to leave us some medicine. Once A Sen returns, we'll move to Linchun town. Those bandits have been wiped out, so we should have at least a couple days of peace. We won't need to hire a doctor either—we'll have A Sen make a trip to Xi'an Prefecture to find that Yucheng and Yuanbao, and have them escort you to Xi'an Prefecture..." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sixteenth Master and his party approaching, so she quickly sat up straight and shifted the topic as smoothly as wind passing over water. "Sixteenth Master is a good man. When we ask him for some medicine, he certainly won't refuse..." Then she let out a soft "ouch" and abruptly stopped talking, standing up as if embarrassed at having her little scheme discovered by the very person involved.

Sixteenth Master took no offense. "I still have matters to attend to and must leave tonight. But since fate has brought us together, there are a few words I'd like to say to you." His expression was quite solemn.

Fu Tingjun's heart tightened.

"The great war is raging in the northwest, and the Tatars invade every year—this is a time when men are needed." Sixteenth Master chose his words carefully. "With skill like yours, why not go to the northwest and join the army? Build achievements that will last for generations, bring glory to your family name, and live up to the martial arts passed down through your family!"

She was quite surprised. She had thought Sixteenth Master was trying to recruit Zhao Jiuye... but instead he was urging Zhao Jiuye to join the military.

Zhao Jiuye stared at Sixteenth Master in astonishment, thought for a moment, then said, "I've never considered such a thing before. Sixteenth Master, allow me to think it over carefully!" He neither agreed nor refused.

Sixteenth Master, however, found his answer honest and plain. He glanced at Liansheng.

Liansheng took out a large red gilt-edged name card from his bundle and handed it to Zhao Jiuye.

Sixteenth Master said, "I know Wu Xin, the clerk of the Shaanxi Regional Military Commission. If you wish to join the army, take my name card and he will arrange things for you. If you'd rather not, then keep the card as a memento." With that, he pointed to the fierce-looking man with a face full of hard flesh. "His name is Mo Yi, one of my stewards. Since you're not in a condition to move about easily, I'll leave him here to assist you. The medicine pills and such have also been given to him. Rest assured, follow him to Linchun Town to recover." Having said this, without waiting for Zhao Jiuye or Fu Tingjun to respond, he turned and headed out of the hall.

"Sixteenth Master, words cannot express our gratitude for your great kindness!" Zhao Jiuye called out loudly to his retreating figure.

Sixteenth Master glanced back with a smile, then turned and left the great hall.

From outside came the neighing of horses, followed by the sound of hoofbeats like a sudden storm, growing fainter and fainter.

The summer night returned to silence.

Mo Yi, the man with the fierce face, smiled at Zhao Jiuye and said, "I see you have a small cart. How about I push you, and we make our way to Linchun Town tonight? Staying in this place piled with corpses—to be honest, I'm not afraid, but I do find it a bit revolting."

When he smiled, the hard flesh on his face quivered, making him look even more ferocious. It would have been better if he hadn't smiled at all.

"Let's wait a while!" Fu Tingjun didn't want to stay here a moment longer, but A Sen hadn't returned yet. "We have another companion who went to Linchun Town to find a doctor..."

Before she could finish speaking, A Sen rushed in: "Ninth Master, Miss Fu..."

His voice carried a sob, and when he saw the corpses filling the hall, he stood there dumbfounded.