Chapter 266: Only Then Did We Not Notice Autumn

Five li south of Ancheng Garrison, the forest thinned and the mountain path widened; at the path's entrance stood an inn (then called a "guest lodging"), the only one within a ten-li radius.

At this moment, the innkeeper stood at the path's entrance, his palms twisted together, face anxious, constantly craning his neck to gaze into the distance.

Soon after, three riders charged up, kicking up dust; the lead rider was a thick-bearded strongman, broad-shouldered and barrel-chested, clad in a bright military robe; the two behind wore civilian military attire, swords at their waists.

The innkeeper hurried forward, his eyes crinkling with a servile smile, taking the lead rider's horse by the reins.

"General, you've finally arrived! Everyone's been waiting for you!"

"Damn it all! What kind of business is this? Tell me! Let me see! Why the hell did you make me come personally? You think it's worth a million?"

The general dismounted with grand swagger; though he spoke of illicit business, his voice was loud, showing no caution.

The innkeeper swore solemnly: "This is truly a big deal! I don't even know the exact amount—they won't discuss it with me, only with you, General."

"Damn it, outsiders are always so troublesome!"

The general cursed as he strode into the inn, needing no guide, heading straight to a private room on the second floor, pushing the door open and entering; the innkeeper ran behind him and shut the door from outside.

Inside, all three men were under thirty: one sat, two stood at attention; the seated man rose, bowed, and invited the general to sit: "General, please."

The general glanced around, tilted his head, and pointed with his thick finger toward the screen:

"Someone's behind there! I can feel it! Come out! Don't hide! Damn it, I came myself—still not showing your face? Playing hard to get?"

A middle-aged man around forty stepped out from behind the screen, dressed entirely as a wealthy merchant, save for the feather fan in his hand, which looked oddly out of place.

The general sized him up, then sat down: "You're the one in charge, aren't you?"

"Sharp eyes, General. Bring tea for the General."

The two standing men immediately went to fetch the tea set.

The general waved his hand:

"Skip the formalities—get to the point! I'm busy every day, no time for all this fuss—"

The man gently waved his feather fan, speaking calmly:

"General, don't rush. This is authentic Wuyang tea, just bought from a Sichuan merchant—cost a thousand or two copper coins, rare and fresh. Why not taste it together? Won't delay the business."

The general was startled: "Damn it, you're drinking spices! Then I've got to try it—see what kind of damn tea's worth this price!"

He suddenly turned his head: "Aren't you a silk merchant? You're not some big family, are you?"

The man straightened his robes and bowed: "Wang Er of Zhijiang, at your service, General."

The general had never heard of the Zhijiang Wang family—probably not even a minor clan—but the way he carried himself suggested he was a local magnate; so he softened his haughty expression slightly and returned the bow.

After the tea set was laid out, the general urged: "Now tell me—how big is this business?"

The man asked: "Can the General handle any size of business?"

The general, sensing doubt in the man's tone, snorted:

"Don't worry! From Ancheng Ridge to Old Crow Mouth, I control it all. Nothing in Ancheng Garrison escapes me! If I nod, you'll pass clean and easy! But when you ship, how many men, which route—all must follow my orders. Once you enter the barbarian lands, if you have connections, sell it yourselves; if not, I can help you find buyers—for a cut of two in ten. Also, the Yongning barbarian route is currently cut off—can't arrange it now... Oh, and I don't handle deals over two million. Not because I can't cover it, but because it's too noisy, too risky..."

The general looked at the man, puzzled: "So how big is this business?"

The man smiled faintly: "A business as big as your head."

As the general froze in surprise, the two men pouring tea suddenly struck!

One snatched his right wrist in a flash, twisting it backward; the other slammed his neck down, forcing his upper body onto the table!

"Damn you, bastard! Daring to touch a tiger's ass! Know who I am?!"

The general roared and struggled, but the two men were brutal—one knee pressed into his lower back, the other's dagger already at his throat!

The man sipped his tea calmly: "You're Fan Da, Garrison Commander of Ancheng Garrison. I know."

General Fan's temples bulged, his bulging eyes nearly popping from their sockets:

"Then let go! One word from me and I'll chop you into bits and feed you to donkeys!!!"

The man set down his teacup and raised his eyes: "Do you know who I am?"

General Fan panted, nostrils flaring: "Aren't you Wang Er?"

The man slowly waved his feather fan: "Wang Er is an alias. My real name is Wang Yi."

"Wang Yi? So what? I don't care if you're one or two! Wait till my troops come—"

"Wang Yi of Langya." The man's fan stopped.

General Fan's voice choked in his throat; he froze, like a wild boar struck by lightning.

"Y-you-you-you... you're not dead?" General Fan's tongue tangled.

Wang Yi smiled: "Lucky. Didn't die. So I came to visit you."

"Visit... visit... visit me?"

General Fan stopped struggling, but his legs trembled like a sieve, making the whole table shake.

"Yes. Didn't you know why I came to Jingzhou?" Wang Yi's tone was astonished.

"D-diplomatic mission?"

"And?"

"I-investigating..." General Fan sweated more.

"Exactly. I'm here for a diplomatic mission and to investigate the case of the Liu family's son being kidnapped by barbarians. But I never said I'd do the mission first, then the investigation."

General Fan gritted his teeth, suddenly agitated:

"But... but that case was already closed! One of my subordinate's squad leaders got drunk and messed up—he already confessed! I just run a small business, nothing to do with me!"

"You run a small business, then make your subordinate confess; someone else runs a big business, and you move your garrison troops aside. You moved the troops to deal with Yongning barbarians, but another barbarian tribe slipped in—"

"N-n-n-n-n..."

General Fan frantically denied, shaking his head violently.

"No? No what? Didn't expect it? Or didn't make your subordinate confess? Or no one told you to move the troops? If no one told you, then you moved them yourself. General Fan, you withdrew your garrison and invited barbarians in—bold indeed!"

Wang Yi's expression showed deep admiration.

"No no no!"

General Fan denied wildly—now not just his head, but his whole body shook!

Wang Yi tapped the top of General Fan's head with his fan and sharply ordered:

"Is it true or not? Damn it, give me a straight answer!"

A round fan landed on the carved table.

Lady Yue put down the fan, rose to greet her weary husband, helped him change out of his official robes, then took a silk handkerchief soaked in mint water from a maid and wiped the back of his neck.

When all was done, Yue Zhan took a sip of cool tea and sighed, shaking his head at his wife.

Lady Yue murmured: "Still haven't found him..."

"If he's still not found by now, it's basically certain..." Yue Zhan's eyes darkened, then he said: "Call Gao Er back."

Lady Yue thought a moment, then said:

"Since he's already gone, let him stay longer—first, to honor his friendship, second, to avoid future regret."

Yue Zhan nodded, then hesitated: "But Jingzhou will be under martial law—delaying further will make the return journey difficult."

Lady Yue frowned: "Martial law? When?"

"I don't know. The military command has sent word, but no official decree yet."

Lady Yue fell silent.

"What's wrong, wife?"

Lady Yue rose, paced a few steps, then turned:

"Jingzhou will fall into chaos."

Yue Zhan was startled: "How so?"

"Why is Jingzhou imposing martial law?" Lady Yue asked.

"The envoy's party was attacked—martial law is normal. Last time Liu Cheng was kidnapped, we had martial law too."

"Last time was different—it happened deep in Jingzhou's interior. This time, beyond the Han border."

Yue Zhan paused: "... Barbarians assassinating an envoy is equivalent to declaring war. Martial law is to guard against barbarian attacks."

"Then why wasn't martial law imposed the moment news of the ambush reached us? Why wait until now?" Lady Yue asked again.

"This... perhaps new information arrived?"

"And what was the barbarians' goal in ambushing the envoy? Robbery? Only madmen rob like that. Provoking war? Then after killing the envoy, they should have attacked immediately—why retreat?"

"I've discussed this with several colleagues. Yongning and Wenyang barbarians have long been at war; though temporarily at peace, their hatred runs deep. Yongning fears the court will negotiate with Wenyang, especially fears a peace treaty—so they risked ambushing the envoy to block it. They planned a secret killing, then slipped away quietly. But they didn't expect the Yongning governor to stumble upon them—suffered heavy losses and angered the Celestial Court. Their own fault."

Lady Yue gazed out the window, her gaze deep, and softly recited:

"Thunder rumbles in distant valleys, muffled—yet at the time, we felt no autumn."

Yue Zhan slammed his hand on the table in admiration: "Brilliant line!" Then he hissed: "Your meaning is..."

Lady Yue turned her gaze back:

"Husband, shouldn't we prepare for the worst?"

"Good. How?"

"Recall everyone—gather all our retainers and carts to Jiangling. No—half to Jiangling, half to..."

Lady Yue hesitated.

Yue Zhan said: "What about Yanwei Island?"

Lady Yue nodded: "It's a strategic point, closest to Jiangling. But if trouble comes, Yanwei Island will be fiercely contested—we're too few to hold it. What do you think of Green Forest Mountain? There's a villa there for shelter, and if things turn dire, we can retreat into the deep mountains. But Green Forest Mountain is farther than Yanwei Island—I don't know which to choose. Let you decide."

"Closer is better, but if we can't hold it, going there is pointless. Green Forest Mountain it is!"

Yue Zhan made his decision!

He added thoughtfully: "Since chaos may come, better call Gao Er back."

"The new victory in Yongning has boosted military prestige. Zhang Jue defeated Qiu Feier and then crushed the Yongning barbarians—he's a man of substance. If any real upheaval occurs, Jiangling may not be much safer than Yongning—"

Yue Zhan declared firmly: "It won't come to that. Jiangling is the provincial capital; in terms of city defenses, troop strength, and grain supplies, it leads all of Jing. Though we prepare for contingencies, barbarians generally cannot reach Jiangling—and even if they did, they couldn't breach the walls. Jiangling is still safe." His voice was utterly confident.

Lady Yue spoke softly: "My lord is right. But our Gao Er went to Yongning with the Yu family's young master; if he returns alone, it might seem improper. Moreover, as a senior provincial official, countless eyes are upon you. Recall your personal guards as precaution—but recall your son, who is fulfilling loyalty and righteousness by his friend's side, and others will surely twist and spread rumors. Gao Er himself may not wish it. You could write a letter, asking Zhang Jue to look after him—he will surely do his best. But whether to recall Gao Er or not, I cannot decide. It remains your choice, my lord."

"Then... let him stay in Yongning for now!"

Yue Zhan struck the final decision again!

Sigh—though the lady is clever, she cannot make up her mind; it still falls to me...