Chapter 787: The Son Returns

Her husband was passively resisting orders, and Lady Ying worried: "Will the Monarch punish you?"

"The army is not well-trained, the supply of grain and fodder is insufficient, and even the number of horses is not enough—the Monarch knows all of this. Besides, I have already stated my position: if I am forced to send out troops rashly, I will hang up my seal and leave, and ask the Monarch to find someone more capable."

Lady Ying's face changed upon hearing this.

He Yue hurriedly comforted her: "Mother, do not be afraid. The Monarch will certainly not let Father leave."

His expression dimmed slightly: "The Yuan Court does not have many talents left."

"These wormwood dumplings are not bad today." He Chunhua ate with great relish, showing no signs of sorrow. Wormwood was not something that appeared on the tables of wealthy families in Shi Huan City, but coming from Heishuicheng, they liked this kind of wild vegetable.

"My lady, do not worry. Crisis, crisis—there is opportunity within the crisis." He smiled at Lady Ying. "If the national situation were not critical, why would the Monarch be determined to transfer me back to the capital? I think he originally wanted to keep me pinned down in Xiazhou for at least seven or eight years."

Being the head of a province is a goal many officials strive for, but it was far from his ultimate dream.

There were plenty of inspectors and superintendents who had been in office for more than ten years.

There was a faint sarcasm in He Chunhua's words. Lady Ying heard it, peeked outside a few times, and found that the servants were not around, which put her at ease.

The He family had been almost completely wiped out, leaving only He Chunhua as the sole survivor. The old Monarch sent him to the western frontier and appointed him as the Prefect of Qiansong just to keep him for his son.

This way, after the new Monarch ascended the throne, he could establish his authority by using corrupt officials as sacrifices, and win the hearts of his subjects by promoting loyal and virtuous ones.

After all, it was the old Monarch who killed He Chunhua's whole family; what did that have to do with the new Monarch? Even if his heart was full of resentment, could he hate the country? Could he hate the Monarch?

People cannot hate the heavens, and the people cannot hate the Monarch.

It's a pity that the current Monarch did not follow the script of the former Monarch and just left He Chunhua unused. If it weren't for the rebellious State Preceptor Sun Fuping going to the west to offer his head, He Chunhua wouldn't have had the chance to rise in the east.

He Chunhua also knew very well that because of the old Monarch's momentary confusion, the current Monarch did not trust him that much.

He shoveled two more mouthfuls of rice and asked He Yue: "Yue'er, what news do you have there?"

He had found a job for his son at the Ministry of Agriculture. The Minister of Agriculture managed the country's grain and goods, and although He Yue's position was low, he could gather a lot of important information.

"There is one thing Father should know." He Yue said seriously. "The Rongshan Sect has finally agreed to lend us money."

He Chunhua's chopsticks stopped, and he was happy in his heart: "How much?"

"Seven million taels!"

"They are actually willing to lend seven million taels?" He Chunhua was also shocked by this number. "I thought half of that would be good."

"I heard that the Yuan Court sent envoys to borrow money three times before, and all were rejected by the Rongshan Sect." He Yue smiled. "This time, the Rongshan Sect agreed, and they also want to sell us two hundred thousand shi of grain at a low price!"

He Chunhua was very surprised: "Why did the Rongshan Sect suddenly become so generous?"

He had raised grain for the army before; in the past, twenty thousand shi of grain was enough for Zhao Pan's fifty-thousand-man army to eat for a month. Two hundred thousand shi of grain at a fair price was truly very generous.

The Yuan Kingdom had been importing grain, and since the demand was high, the price naturally rose with the tide.

For the current Yuan Kingdom, grain was more practical than silver and could solve their urgent needs.

"It is said that there are conditions."

"It would be strange if there weren't." He Chunhua scoffed. "Even your brother knows that pies don't fall from the sky."

He suddenly mentioned his eldest son, and the dining table fell silent.

After a brief silence, He Yue continued: "The Rongshan Sect's envoy has already arrived in the capital. This afternoon, the Minister of Ceremonies, Lord Wang, met with them. It is said that they talked happily and even held a banquet to entertain them."

"Money is easy to borrow, but hard to pay back." He Chunhua rubbed his brow. "The Rongshan Sect is so generous, there must be a reason."

If a person cannot pay back the money, they have to take a beating.

If a country cannot pay back the money, it has to cut off its own flesh.

Lady Ying suddenly asked: "If the grain and money arrive, will you send out troops, Master?"

Previously, He Chunhua's reason for not sending out troops was the lack of grain and fodder. What if the Rongshan Sect's support filled this gap? With money, there would be grain and fodder, and they could find ways to gather horses.

"It is not yet time." He Chunhua's face darkened. "It is not yet time."

The next day was sunny, with beautiful morning clouds.

He Chunhua got up and finished washing, and seeing Lady Ying rubbing her eyelids, he asked her: "Did sand get into your eyes?"

Lady Ying muttered: "Since last night, my left eyelid has been twitching non-stop, and I don't know why."

The two were just about to eat breakfast when Steward Wu suddenly rushed in from outside, shouting as he ran: "Master, good news, tremendous good news!"

His voice cracked, and his pitch went high.

This steward had always been steady, and He Chunhua could hardly remember a time when he was so uncomposed.

"What happened?"

Before the last word "happened" could even leave his mouth, Steward Wu had already preempted him: "The Eldest Young Master is back!"

He Chunhua and his wife were stunned, unable to react for a moment.

What? Lady Ying asked blankly: "What did you say?"

Steward Wu pointed outside, panting slightly: "The Eldest Young Master is alive, the Eldest Young Master is back!"

He Yue happened to be walking outside the dining hall, and upon hearing this, he took off running toward the main gate.

Before he even reached the gate, a figure turned in from outside the flower corridor.

Before He Yue could see clearly, his vision blurred, and his arm was grabbed by someone: "Second brother, where are you going?"

Handsome features, high-spirited, with a mouthful of white teeth when he smiled—who else could it be but He Lingchuan?

"Your handsome and dashing big brother is back!"

He Yue was overjoyed, hugging him tightly and shouting: "Finally, finally! You finally came back!"

He Lingchuan patted his head: "Yo, you've grown taller?"

In just these six months, He Yue had grown a head taller than before, his face had more contours, losing a bit of delicacy and gaining a trace of masculine spirit, looking more like He Chunhua.

"Hey? Why are you crying?" He saw He Yue's eyes were red. "Why are you acting like a woman?"

"Big brother, you..." You've gotten stronger.

Just now, He Yue had pounced on his brother and hugged him, feeling as if he had crashed into a wall, and his nose had hit it first. Now, a sour sensation was attacking his head, it hurt! It hurt so much he almost burst into tears.

How could his big brother's physique be so ridiculously hard? At this moment, He Chunhua and his wife also rushed over, unable to believe their eyes when they saw He Lingchuan.

"Chuan'er..." Lady Ying choked up, one hand covering her chest, her eyes also reddening.

He Chunhua strode forward, pressing both hands on his eldest son's shoulders, looking him up and down incessantly: "Good, good! I knew you weren't dead!"

His gaze was startlingly bright.

He Lingchuan stared at him, the smile on his lips widening: "Your son is back—"

He stood in the garden where hundreds of flowers were blooming, his back to the rising morning sun.

Perhaps because of the direct sunlight, He Chunhua felt a sudden glare, and even his eldest son's smile looked a bit blurry.

He tilted his head and heard his eldest son's voice, long and peaceful: "—Father."

(End of chapter)