Chapter 507: No Five Thousand, But I've Seen Ten Thousand! [Many Thanks! Bowing Again!]

At exactly the hour of Xu (around 8:00 PM),

Upon the palace walls,

The imperial guards gazed down from their height,

While many places inside and outside Bianjing glowed with lantern light.

In the night, there was little noise pollution,

Yet in the neighborhoods where the brothels and pleasure houses stood at some distance, it was even livelier than during the day, with faint sounds of clamor and calls to customers drifting over.

Not far away,

The shouts of street vendors hawking their wares filled the air incessantly,

And the night breeze occasionally carried the aroma of food from the roadside night markets, making the imperial guards swallow in anticipation.

"Hah~"

From not far beyond the palace city came the shout of a mounted rider.

Moments later,

Two fine horses came to a halt at the palace gate beneath the wall.

One rider held the reins of both horses, while the other dismounted and approached holding an identification token,

With the faint sound of words drifting over: "Master Zhao may enter the inner palace for duty."

In Consort Rong's sleeping quarters,

The little Princess had already been carried away by a female official to another location,

And in the bright yellow candlelight,

The Emperor leaned back in his chair with eyes closed, wearing an expression of pure contentment,

While behind him, Consort Rong, dressed in her daily attire, slowly massaged the acupoints on the Emperor's head.

A high-ranking inner palace official entered with light steps: "Your Majesty, Junior Master Zhao is waiting outside the hall."

Without opening his eyes, the Emperor asked: "What is the matter?"

"Replying to Your Majesty, Junior Master Zhao says that the Fifth Young Master of the Xu family has just recalled the matter he asked about this afternoon."

"Hmph! That reaction is truly 'fast' enough."

"Your Majesty, Junior Master Zhao says that the Fifth Young Master of the Xu family had consumed some wine, and only by chance did he recall the events of that night."

The Emperor pondered for a moment, still with eyes closed: "Mm! I understand; let them both return."

After the inner palace official acknowledged the order, he turned and departed.

"Not old in years, yet his forgetfulness is considerable, hmph!"

Hearing the Emperor's soft muttering,

Consort Rong continued her massage from behind and replied:

"Your Majesty speaks the truth! Is this pressure from your concubine acceptable?"

"Mm, apply slightly more force," the Emperor said.

After Consort Rong increased her pressure slightly as instructed, she continued:

"Your Majesty, speaking of which, this Fifth Young Master of the Xu family, though so young, traveled far to the northwest; whether serving as a frontline scout licking blood from his blade, or leading a dozen men who faced death without flinching to block thousands of enemy troops."

"Not only did he penetrate deep into the enemy nation's capital, but he also confronted the false king of Bai Gao, compelling him to willingly surrender, and finally escorted the captive back to the capital."

"This child of the Xu family still studies for the imperial examinations; according to what Brother Rong Xian said, even while on the battlefield, the Fifth Young Master of the Xu family frequently sent letters back to the capital, asking his academy tutor to correct his work."

"Each and every one of these matters exhausts one's spirit and mind! Therefore, your concubine feels it is no wonder that the Fifth Young Master of the Xu family is somewhat forgetful!"

"When opportunity arises, your concubine will seek permission from Her Majesty the Empress to jointly bestow upon him some fine prescriptions and precious medicines to nourish his spirit."

Consort Rong felt the Emperor's slight nod through her fingertips,

And seeing the smile appear on the Emperor's lips, Consort Rong blinked her eyes.

"Mm, this young lad! You may handle the rewards as you see fit."

"Yes."

The next day,

At exactly the hour of Si (around 10:00 AM),

At the Chai residence,

In the front courtyard,

More than ten well-dressed male and female stewards from the Chai family shops stood in formation outside the main hall, holding account books in their hands.

"Next."

As ZiTeng spoke, a female steward with a solemn expression ducked through the door curtain and emerged from inside the hall.

Immediately after, a middle-aged steward walked toward the main hall.

Upon reaching the end of the line, the emerging female steward was gently tugged by someone: "Why did you come out with such a stern face today? Were you scolded?"

The female steward shook her head: "I was not scolded, but it seemed Miss was in a somewhat bad mood."

"Oh, oh! Then I shall also be serious when I enter the room, to avoid upsetting Miss!"

While the two female stewards were speaking,

They saw Miss Fuyi, the personal maid of Chai Chai Zhengzheng, walking in from outside the courtyard,

And the two hurriedly performed a formal bow: "Greetings, Miss Miss Fuyi."

After smiling slightly and nodding, Miss Fuyi walked straight into the main front hall.

Inside the hall,

Seeing Chai Chai Zhengzheng, who sat behind a screen facing the middle-aged steward with a stern expression while reviewing the account books, Miss Fuyi stood to one side.

When ZiTeng escorted the middle-aged steward out of the hall and called for the next person, Miss Fuyi quickly stepped to Chai Chai Zhengzheng's side: "Miss, when your servant went out, she encountered the personal nursemaid specially sent back by Lady."

The brush in Chai Chai Zhengzheng's hand paused mid-stroke; she frowned slightly, looked up, and asked, "Mother, is something the matter?"

Miss Miss Fuyi smiled, nodded, and leaned close to Chai Chai Zhengzheng's ear to whisper.

Afterwards,

Chai Chai Zhengzheng looked at Miss Miss Fuyi with some confusion: "The imperial palace bestowed rewards upon the Xu family this morning? What items were bestowed?"

Miss Miss Fuyi nodded repeatedly: "Yes, Miss! The old nurse said it seemed to be some medicines for nourishing the heart and spirit."

Hearing this, Chai Chai Zhengzheng's eyes filled with contemplation; soon, a slight smile curved the corners of her lips.

When the female steward who had been speaking in the courtyard earlier entered the room, seeing Chai Chai Zhengzheng's expression clearly indicated a good mood, a smile also floated onto the female steward's face.

Time flew swiftly,

it was already the ninth month,

just before the Double Ninth Festival.

In Jiying Lane,

at the Sheng residence,

at the third quarter of the Chen hour (before 8 a. m.),

within Shou'an Hall,

the Old Lady sat on a Luo Han bed, gently stirring the porridge in her bowl with a spoon.

Sheng Hong, who was on leave today, sat on a chair at the lower end of the Luo Han bed; before him stood a table nearly chest-high, so that at first glance, Sheng Hong appeared as though seated in a baby's high chair.

"Hong'er, you are on leave today; will you be on duty tomorrow for the Double Ninth Festival?"

Having just taken a sip of meat porridge and preparing to pick up a piece of pickled radish, Sheng Hong hastily swallowed what was in his mouth, put down his chopsticks, and said, "Mother, your son is also on leave tomorrow; I swapped shifts with a colleague in the eighth month."

The Old Lady smiled: "Good! How have official duties been these past days?"

Sheng Hong bowed from his chair: "Rest assured, Mother! There has not been much business in the yamen these few days; mainly matters concerning the transfer of military officers in Beizhou and Huaizhou within the Hebei West Circuit."

The Old Lady nodded: "Mm! Hong'er, you have been an official for many years; the Ministry of Personnel manages the selection and assessment of those military officers, a matter of great consequence. With the situation in the north uncertain in the future, you must stand upright! Never easily allow others to find fault with you."

"Your son shall keep this firmly in mind!"

After casting a look of approval at Sheng Hong, the Old Lady began to eat her breakfast.

Once the two had finished their meal,

Sheng Hong nodded to Mama Fang, who was clearing away his bowls and chopsticks, then rose and said, "Mother, then your child shall take his leave."

"Wait!" the Old Lady said, picking up a stack of invitation cards from beside the small table on the Luo Han bed.

"Hong'er, these are the cards Zhang Ge'er delivered this morning."

Sheng Hong hastily reached out to take them.

The Old Lady continued: "Nowadays, the Xu family manages the horse trade between the imperial court and the various Mongol tribes; just two days ago, a thousand new horses arrived. Your cousin said he wanted me to go select some horses."

"Now that my body is old, I do not wish to endure that fatigue; you shall go in my stead!"

Sheng Hong looked at the Old Lady with some confusion: "Mother, this... aren't there rather too many cards?"

The Old Lady smiled: "Then tomorrow, Hong'er, you shall invite some colleagues from the court to go together!"

"Yes, Mother!"

On the day of the Double Ninth Festival itself,

at the end of the Chen hour (around 9 a. m.),

west of Bianjing City,

at the polo ground outside Jinming Pool,

just as in previous years, the area was filled with various blooming chrysanthemums;

potted chrysanthemum plants, combined with felt coverings,

enclosed the entire polo ground into several narrow paths,

within which people were already strolling at this moment.

The wooden tower tents beside the field had also been expanded into two stories, just as in previous years.

At this moment,

on the open-air second-floor platform of the Yongchang Hou Fu,

Wu Da Da Niangzi stood there alongside her sister-in-law from her maiden family, watching the two young masters of the Wu family walking below.

"Sister, looking at it today, there seem to be rather few young masters in our polo ground? Your two nephews truly stand out within it!"

"By the way, why haven't we seen Liang Liu Lang? Nor have those young masters from the prominent ducal and marquis families arrived?"

Hearing her sister-in-law's words, Wu Da Da Niangzi smiled and said, "Liang Liu Lang and they will arrive a little later!"

Then Wu Da Da Niangzi's eyes brightened: "Sister, please wait a moment; I shall go downstairs to welcome Lady Rong and Miss Rong Feiyan."

"No need, I shall go with you!" Liang Han's aunt said with a smile.

On the way downstairs,

Liang Han's aunt glanced around, then spoke in a low voice: "Sister, do you think there is any possibility between my two sons and that Miss Rong?"

Wu Da Da Niangzi shook her head: "Sister, perhaps a few years ago it might have been possible! But nowadays, with Noble Consort Rong having given birth to a Princess, just look at Miss Rong Feiyan's appearance!"

"Even the young masters of ordinary ducal and marquis families might not meet with Noble Consort Rong's approval!"

Walking alongside and listening to Wu Da Da Niangzi's words, Liang Han's aunt watched Rong Rong Feiyan approaching and said, "Alas! How has this Miss Rong Feiyan grown? Once dressed up, she is far too beautiful."

Then, in a voice only the two of them could hear, she added, "I find that in some aspects, Miss Rong Feiyan surpasses even Noble Consort Rong."

Wu Da Da Niangzi nodded: "That is so! At this age, Noble Consort Rong was still living among the common folk! Whereas Miss Rong Feiyan, since she was old enough to understand things, has had an elder sister who is a favored consort; raised in such Jin Zunyu luxury, how could they be the same!"

As they drew nearer,

the two ceased speaking.

"Oh my, Da Da Niangzi, Miss Rong Feiyan, you have finally arrived! Please come upstairs!"

Seeing the enthusiastic Wu Da Da Niangzi, Rong Rong Feiyan bowed with her maid.

Lady Fu Lady Fu Changhou smoothly took Wu Da Da Niangzi's arm, glanced at the courtyard filled with blooming chrysanthemums, and said, "Da Da Niangzi, have the young masters from the Qi, Gu, Xu, and other marquis and duke families all arrived?"

"Go up and take a look yourself; I'll tell you then."

Afterwards, everyone chatted and laughed as they ascended together to the second-floor platform.

Upon reaching the high vantage point, Lady Fu Lady Fu Changhou said, "Oh, looking at it, there seem to be few young masters from the capital; I initially thought Yan'er was just talking nonsense."

Wu Da Da Niangzi smiled, glanced at Rong Rong Feiyan, pinched her handkerchief, pointed northward, and said, "At Maotuo Ridge, twelve li northwest of the city, over a thousand horses arrived two days ago; those few close friends have all gone to see the horses."

"They will only come over around exactly Si hour."

Hearing Wu Da Da Niangzi's words, everyone on the second floor nodded repeatedly.

Northwest of Bianjing City,

twelve li away,

at Maotuo Ridge,

during past Double Ninth Festivals,

this place was always one of the preferred locations for Bianjing citizens to ascend heights and gather,

the reason being that while water surrounded it on three sides, nearby there were also dozens of sandy mounds of varying heights, lush with grass and trees,

the tallest mound standing over ten zhang high (about thirty meters).

This perfectly matched the Double Ninth custom of ascending heights.

This year, besides many Bianjing officials and commoners who had left the city to ascend heights near Maotuo Ridge,

there were also over a thousand newly arrived horses penned between the mounds.

The reason they were called newly arrived was that Maotuo Ridge was originally where the Bianjing Imperial Army raised military horses.

Those military horses already had their respective riders,

but this batch of newly arrived horses did not.

"Rumble, rumble..."

Herds of horses were driven by horse officials, galloping through the valleys between the mounds,

On one mound,

Sheng Hong, Kang Kang Haifeng, Liu Liu Fuming, and several others sitting in armchairs saw this scene and all rose from their seats.

"Dong Rong, go ask how many horses these are!"

Hearing Sheng Hong's order, Dong Rong hurriedly agreed, then ran down the mound toward the bottom.

Before long,

Dong Rong ran back up, panting heavily, cupped his fists, and said, "Master, the horse official says this herd totals over two hundred! If any catch your eye, just tell him, and he will rope them up for you."

Liu Liu Fuming, standing nearby, stared fixedly at the horse herd below and said, "Only two hundred? Then if there were ten thousand, what a sight that would be!"

The one making such an exclamation was not only Lord Liu, who had taken office at the Dali Temple in the same year as Sheng Hong,

but also Sheng Changbai/Feng, Gu Gu Tingye, Qi Heng, and other classmates standing beside Xu Xu Zaijing on a mound six or seven zhang high in the distance, along with Liang Han, Qiao Jiu Lang, and others.

Zhang Zhang stood on Xu Xu Zaijing's other side and spoke up: "Little Five, I heard Big Brother commands over five thousand cavalry in the Northwest? During the great battle outside Keyi Gate that day, did you see five thousand cavalry deployed?"

Hearing this,

the several people around all turned to look at Xu Xu Zaijing, after all, among everyone present, only Xu Xu Zaijing had been to the battlefield.

Xu Xu Zaijing, seeing everyone's expressions, shook his head regretfully and said, "Brother, everyone, I haven't seen it! At that time, I was hiding in the mountains."

Liang Han, standing nearby, shook his head: "Jing-ge'er, you were hiding? Then were the enemy forces at Bai Gao mice or something?"

At these words, everyone on the mound burst into laughter.

Xu Xu Zaijing also smiled and said, "I haven't seen five thousand cavalry deployed, but I have seen around ten thousand cavalry deployed!"

Seeing the mix of confusion and delight on the faces of those around him,

Xu Xu Zaijing explained: "That day, General Cao Lao led over ten thousand elite cavalry of the Western Army, crossed the Yellow River pontoon bridge to accept surrender outside Xingqing Prefecture; I was among them."

"Jing-ge'er, quickly tell us, what was the scene like?"

Liang Han, standing nearby, urged anxiously.

Xu Xu Zaijing looked at the horse herd in the valley below the slope, thought for a moment with a nostalgic expression, then looked toward Bianjing and said, "How many li is it from here to Bianjing?"

Qiao Jiu Lang said, "About twelve or thirteen li."

The other several people nodded.

Xu Xu Zaijing said, "That force of over ten thousand cavalry, boundless and endless, arranged four or five riders abreast, could stretch directly from here all the way to the entrance of Ansu Gate."

"Ah? How magnificent that must have been!"

Gu Gu Tingye gazed toward Bianjing, looking at the scenery along the route, and spoke with eyes full of imagination.

【Uncle Long's movie 'Legend'; the scene from 31 minutes 44 seconds to 54 seconds in this film roughly depicts the scale of eight hundred cavalry, one man per horse.】

Actually, they often had opportunities in Bianjing to see Imperial Army cavalry deployed, just like that time Xu Xu Zaijing and Gu Gu Tingye were chased and shot at by Zhang Zhang Shipan.

But, that was mostly on the scale of a hundred-plus cavalry.

To see cavalry on the scale of several thousand, one mostly still had to go to the battlefield.

"Let's go, head down and see if there are any good horses in this herd!"

Hearing Xu Xu Zaijing's words, the several people on the mound all followed Xu Xu Zaijing's footsteps, walking down toward the base of the mound.

Bu Wei, following Brother Qingyun, said to Alan and Xunshu nearby: "Two elder brothers, you must definitely help your younger brother assess them when the time comes!"

Alan and Xunshu smiled and nodded.

While Xu Xu Zaijing and the others were looking at the horses,

inside Bianjing City,

Constable Li Li Mubai watched the villain disappear into the crowded masses near the temple, spat hatefully, and cursed: "Damn bird fellow, really knows how to pick a spot!"

Today is the Double Ninth Festival; the city is filled with vegetarian gatherings and Dharma talks by Gao Seng,

There are far more common folk near the temples than on ordinary days.

Several Yamen Runners nearby leaned forward, propping their hands on their knees and panting heavily, one of them asking, "Head Li, what should we do?"

Before Li Li Mubai could answer, another said, "That villain stinks terribly!"

Li Li Mubai looked around and said, "Do you fellows still remember those thieves from the Worry-Free Caves (the major sewers of Bianjing) that Han Han Wulang of the Xu family slaughtered during the heavy snowfall that year?"

The Yamen Runners exchanged glances: "We remember! Come to think of it, Head Li, that fleeing scoundrel does indeed resemble those slaughtered thieves!"

"Let's go back to the yamen and fetch some hunting dogs before returning!"

"Head Li, that's a good plan!"

Then the few of them continued walking forward,

"Head Li, what happened in the Worry-Free Caves to force all these 'rats' out?"

(End of Chapter)