Chapter 55

A Sen, suspecting nothing, said, "Ninth Master said that before we had no capital, but now that we do, with our skills, there's no reason we can't make money in legitimate business. He plans to go to Yangzhou and start over." As he spoke, he propped his chin on his elbow and let out a soft sigh. "But now Jiangnan is out of the question!" He looked quite troubled. "I heard Brother Yuanbao say that Jiangnan's scenery is like a painting, completely different from what we have here. The wind is gentle, the rain is fine, the grass and trees revive, flowers bloom in splendor, and fish are cheap..." He looked as if he were about to drool, which made Fu Tingjun burst into laughter. "Has Jin Yuanbao been to Jiangnan?"

"No." A Sen smiled sheepishly. "He, he read about it in books." Feeling that this reason was too flimsy, he emphasized in a louder voice, "Ninth Master said so too—Ninth Master has been to Jiangnan. When Brother Yuanbao was talking about it, Ninth Master was listening nearby and nodded with a smile, so it must be true!"

Fu Tingjun was quite surprised.

Could it be that Ninth Master was from the Southern Metropolitan District?

But his stature didn't seem to fit!

The men and women of Jiangnan were all delicately featured. When she went to Nanjing, upon hearing that she was only ten years old, Madam Yu had taken her hand and looked her over repeatedly, saying, "How is it that you look like you're thirteen or fourteen?"

Yang Yucheng came bustling in to see her. "Miss Fu, Ninth Master has changed his mind..." He looked up and saw A Sen smiling nearby, and playfully gave A Sen a knock on the head. "If I'd known you were coming, I wouldn't have—I still have matters to attend to for Ninth Master!"

Fu Tingjun called him back. "No matter how capable Ninth Master is, even two fists can't fight off four hands. Why not call Zheng San over to discuss it? He used to escort caravans and has encountered many such situations—maybe he'll have some good ideas!"

Yang Yucheng agreed readily. "Then we'll be in your debt, Miss Fu."

"Ninth Master also saved my life," Fu Tingjun said with a smile. "Young Master Yang, saying such things makes us seem like strangers."

Yang Yucheng was by nature a straightforward man, so he laughed and said, "Then I won't stand on ceremony."

Fu Tingjun had A Sen go fetch Zheng San and invited Yang Yucheng to sit down. "Ninth Master hasn't fully recovered from his injuries and is going to fight? Will he be all right?" She sounded quite worried.

"I've followed Ninth Master for all these years, and he has never once failed." Yang Yucheng was full of confidence. "Not just because of Ninth Master's skill, but because he knows how to read the situation and plan with caution. Since Wu Xin is the Commander of the Shaanxi Regional Military Commission, it's likely that the Regional Military Commissioner is also one of Sixteenth Master's men. The moment we send out that name card, we become Sixteenth Master's people. The Prince of Shu was impeached by Shi Wenbin and reduced to commoner status merely for treating the Songpan Regional Inspector as a kindred spirit, yet Sixteenth Master has befriended the Marquis of Yingchuan Meng Shu, the Guangdong Regional Commander Mo Shang, and the Shaanxi Regional Military Commissioner Li Jinru without anyone knowing. This shows he's no simple character. Whether following him will bring fortune or disaster, who can say? For such a major matter, Ninth Master must have deliberated again and again, weighed it over and over—without complete confidence, Ninth Master wouldn't dare act."

Previously, Fu Tingjun had only thought about how to keep Zhao Ling alive. Now, hearing Yang Yucheng's explanation of all the complications involved, she felt rather like she had escaped the wolf's den only to walk into the tiger's cave.

Fu Tingjun remarked with emotion, "I knew before that this Sixteenth Master was no ordinary man. I had thought that you could stay in the army for three to five years, secure some official post, then find a way to build connections with the Military Appointments Bureau and get transferred elsewhere, gradually severing this connection. That's why I came up with this plan of escape. But with Ninth Master and Mo Yi 'shopping around' like this—if we lose, our lives may be forfeit, and if we win, how would Sixteenth Master's people ever let Ninth Master go? Should we fight to a draw? But with fighting, who can say how things will turn out!"

"There's no helping it," Yang Yucheng said. "That Mo Yi looks down on everyone—he takes us for common ruffians, thinking we should cling to him just because he offers a smile. Otherwise, why wouldn't he recruit us openly? Why use this tactic instead? If we went along with his wishes and obediently reported to the Shaanxi Regional Military Commission, we probably wouldn't have a good time of it either. This fight is inevitable—and not only must we fight, we must fight hard, fight so hard that they remember it, so hard that whenever they see Ninth Master, they'll have to think twice." His expression turned cold as he spoke. "A docile horse gets ridden; a kind person gets bullied."

It seemed Yang Yucheng had his own bitter experiences!

"It's all my fault for coming up with reckless ideas!" Fu Tingjun looked ashamed. "But if I advised Ninth Master to submit to Sixteenth Master, there'd be no way to resolve this crisis. When all is said and done, I blame myself for choosing the City God Temple as our refuge—that's what brought all these troubles." Then she shifted her tone, and her words rang with resolve. "But since things have come to this, what use is regret? The only thing to do is find a way to make amends!"

Yang Yucheng was momentarily taken aback by her words.

He had not expected Miss Fu to be so strong in the face of adversity, and couldn't help but look at her with admiration. "How could this possibly be Miss Fu's fault!" These were his true feelings. If not for Miss Fu's suggestion, Ninth Master would certainly not have revealed anything to him. He had thought Ninth Master was at his wit's end and had planned to quietly hide near Xisheng Inn to provide backup for Ninth Master... which would surely have made things worse. "If not for you, we would have rushed in blindly and might have ruined Ninth Master's important plans." He then comforted her, "Ninth Master often says, fortune brings misfortune, misfortune breeds fortune; the way of heaven is unpredictable. No matter when, one must never give up. As long as you persevere and get past that hurdle, the road ahead will surely be smooth. For now, His Majesty is in good health. Even if Sixteenth Master has some scheme, it won't come to pass overnight. Perhaps by then, as Miss Fu said, we'll have been transferred to another garrison."

As the two were talking, A Sen entered leading Zheng San, carrying tea.

Yang Yucheng believed in trusting those he employed and employing only those he trusted, so he told Zheng San the whole story in detail: "You used to escort goods for a living, so you must know a thing or two about protection. Given Ninth Master's situation, do you have any good ideas?"

Zheng San was deeply shocked.

He had thought Zhao Ling had gotten himself into big trouble, but never imagined it would involve a feudal prince and two regional commanders. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead. After a long while, he calmed down and thought carefully: "Xisheng Inn has courtyards adjoining courtyards, with only narrow passageways connecting them—no open spaces. The more people they send, the harder it will be for them to maneuver. As long as we set up a good defense on the rooftops and in the courtyards, we should be able to hold out until dawn."

"That's what I was thinking too," Yang Yucheng said. "I plan to set up some grappling hooks on the rooftops and in the courtyards. Do you have any better ideas?"

Zheng San was about to speak when he heard Miss Fu call out loudly, "Wait, wait."

Both men turned to look at her.

Her eyes sparkled. "Ninth Master and Mo Yi haven't fallen out yet, have they?"

Yang Yucheng was puzzled.

"If that's the case, why don't we pretend we don't know anything either!" Miss Fu said with a smile, looking at the two men. "If someone attacks, we'll take a gong to the middle of the street and beat it loudly while shouting. I don't believe the patrol office of the Provincial Administration Commission would ignore that!"

Yang Yucheng clapped his hands. "Excellent plan, excellent plan!" He laughed heartily. "This time we'll make sure Mo Yi trips over his own scheme!" Then he stood up. "I'll report this to Ninth Master."

Zheng San chuckled foolishly from the side.

Miss Fu reminded Yang Yucheng, "Tell Ninth Master one more thing—no matter what, he must not fall out with Mo Yi. Who knows, he might even need to borrow Mo Yi's influence to resolve this crisis!"

Yang Yucheng nodded repeatedly, clasped his fists in salute to Miss Fu, and left with Zheng San for Xisheng Inn.

Zhao Ling smiled and shook his head upon hearing this. "Since we want them to see clearly, there's no need to set traps. As for taking a brass gong to the street and beating it while shouting 'Thieves!'—that's not a bad idea. As for falling out with them, let Miss Fu rest assured—I know what I'm doing." With that, he drew the sword Yang Yucheng had brought.

The blade gleamed with an autumn-water coldness that dazzled the eyes.

"This is a fine sword. Where did you get it?" Zhao Ling asked Yang Yucheng.

Yang Yucheng laughed. "I ran into Tang Daishan and his daughter on Baoqing Street. They're also taking refuge in Xi'an Prefecture. When they heard I needed a sword for an important matter, Miss Tang lent me this one."

Zhao Ling nodded, and Zheng San watched as he casually flicked the sword, producing nine blossoms of sword flowers.

Zheng San's heart tightened, and his gaze toward Zhao Ling gained a measure of newfound respect.

"Thank Chief Tang for me," Zhao Ling said. "It's best to keep such connections to a minimum in the future."

"Understood," Yang Yucheng said quickly. "It's just that I couldn't find a good weapon in time, so I didn't decline..."

Zhao Ling said nothing more.

...

Mo Yi asked Chen Liu, "What did that Zheng San come for?"

"He said that with the Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, Zhao Ling's aunt has invited him to spend the festival with her."

Mo Yi sneered. "Don't let them use that as an excuse to slip away."

Chen Liu seemed about to speak but held back, bowed his head in acknowledgment, and turned to leave.

Xiao Wu stood in the middle of the courtyard and saw Chen Liu come out. He lowered his voice and asked, "How did it go?"

"Zhao Ling might go to his aunt's place for the Mid-Autumn Festival. Master Mo said not to let him slip away." Chen Liu's tone carried a hint of helplessness.

"Then let's finish this matter quickly," Xiao Wu said, looking toward Zhao Ling's room. "So we can enjoy the Mid-Autumn Festival too."

Chen Liu nodded, but a sense of foreboding weighed on his heart. Still, since Magistrate Tao had also agreed with General Mo's opinion, he could only tread carefully to ensure nothing went wrong.

...

Fu Tingjun held up the mooncake mold carved from elm wood in the shape of the Eighteen Arhats and examined it for a long while. She sighed with admiration: "I thought the set of Eighteen Arhats molds treasured in my family was already rare, but I never expected to find one for sale on Baoqing Street in Xi'an Prefecture, and it's in no way inferior to ours. This proves the ancients were right—reading ten thousand books is not as valuable as traveling ten thousand miles. The saying does not deceive me."

"This is quite a stroke of luck—such fine items aren't usually seen on a daily basis." Madam Lyu chuckled, her kindly face growing even softer. "My husband guessed that Miss Fu would take a liking to it, so he bought it."

"Mm!" Fu Tingjun was somewhat reluctant to let it go. "I really like it."

Zheng Sanniang, who had brought over the tea, laughed at this and said, "This mold must have been quite expensive!"

"Not at all, not at all!" Madam Lyu evaded the question and changed the subject. "It's rare for Ninth Master to spend the Mid-Autumn Festival in Xi'an Prefecture. How about we use this mold to make mooncakes this year?"

"That sounds wonderful!" Fu Tingjun knew that the Lyu couple were very attentive to her, so she didn't press further about how much effort or money the mold had cost them. She smiled and asked, "What ingredients do we have at home? What fillings are popular for mooncakes in Xi'an Prefecture?"

"Just the assorted, nut, and rock sugar fillings," Madam Lyu replied with a smile. "Whatever filling you'd like, Miss, just say the word, and I'll have someone go and procure the ingredients."

Fu Tingjun pondered for a moment and said, "I've heard that in the Jiangnan region, they favor crisp mooncakes—the kind with a flaky outer crust like a pastry, filled with rock sugar and melon seeds. How about we try making those?"