Chapter 43: Thousand-Household Lu is Overjoyed, Swift Horses Carry News of Merit to the Capital (Seeking Monthly Votes)

On the third day of Pei Shaoqing's seclusion, Sun Youliang arrived once again at the prefecture city of Jingguan City to visit Thousand-Household Lu Dingchuan.

"Small Flag Sun, why have you come again? What is the matter this time?" Lu Dingchuan asked, his face full of curiosity.

Sun Youliang, kneeling on one knee, looked up and revealed a brilliant smile, "This subordinate has come to offer congratulations to you, my lord!"

"Oh? What happy event do I have?" Lu Dingchuan raised an eyebrow.

Sun Youliang said loudly: "Just after Thousand-Household Lord promoted Lord Pei to General Flag, he personally slew the Xuan Sect rebel, the Kaiyang Holy Son, three days ago. Does the lord not deserve congratulations for your merit in recognizing and utilizing talent? Should this not be a happy event?"

"What did you say!" Hearing this, Lu Dingchuan stood up abruptly, stared fixedly at Sun Youliang, and said in disbelief: "Pei Shaoqing killed the Kaiyang Holy Son?"

He suspected that either Sun Youliang had spoken incorrectly or he himself had misheard; the Kaiyang Holy Son, one of the seven great Holy Sons of the Xuan Sect, represented something of extraordinary significance.

How could he have gone to Tongzhou?

And how could he have been killed by Pei Shaoqing?

"Lord Pei killed him with his own hands." Sun Youliang placed the parcel he was carrying on the ground and untied it; inside were a wooden box, a jade pendant, and a letter.

"Thousand-Household, the Kaiyang Holy Son's Identity Token and head, as well as Lord Pei's letter, are all here."

Lu Dingchuan did not call for anyone to present them; instead, he strode down himself, first grabbing the jade pendant to examine it closely, then opening the wooden box, staring blankly at the head inside which had a large hole in the center of its forehead.

Only then did he open the letter to read it carefully.

In the letter, Pei Shaoqing claimed that he had an informant in the Xuanhuang Sect's Tongzhou Branch, through whom he learned that the Kaiyang Holy Son had come to Tongzhou to hunt down a traitor who had embezzled a spirit pill.

He had therefore found the traitor first to keep them under surveillance.

Taking advantage of the moment when the Kaiyang Holy Son and the traitor were locked in a fierce battle and both were severely injured, he led the Jing'an Guard to wipe them both out, personally shooting the Kaiyang Holy Son to death; he was now sending the Kaiyang Holy Son's head and his Identity Token.

"Good! Good! Very good!" After reading it, Lu Dingchuan exclaimed repeatedly, his face flushed with excitement, "He is truly worthy of being a descendant of the Weiyuan Marquis, a tiger son of a military family!! I shall immediately write a letter and order someone to rush to the Capital to request a reward for him!"

The head was there, and the token was there; he did not think this matter was fake, as it would not be difficult to verify.

Pei Shaoqing would not dare to commit the crime of deceiving the Emperor.

The reason he was happy was that Sun Youliang was right; Pei Shaoqing was his subordinate, and furthermore, a General Flag he had personally appointed, so the credit would naturally not leave him out.

As for the whereabouts of that spirit pill.

Pei Shaoqing did not mention it in the letter, so he would not bring it up either.

Who would dare to make the son of the Weiyuan Marquis spit out a spirit pill that had already reached his mouth? Those who wanted to do so lacked the strength, and those who had the strength disdained such things.

"This subordinate thanks you on behalf of the General Flag, my lord!" Hearing this, Sun Youliang immediately lowered his head and said.

"Eh, Small Flag Sun, please rise quickly." Lu Dingchuan helped him up and said with a pleasant expression: "It is this official who should thank General Flag Pei. Quickly, tell me the details of the matter; I am extremely curious."

Achieving merit once could be called a coincidence, and achieving merit twice could be called calculation, but achieving merit three times—and major merit at that—was undoubtedly proof of strength.

He now felt more and more that Pei Shaoqing had been deliberately playing the fool in the Capital, and that he was absolutely a person of superior intelligence.

He liked subordinates with backgrounds and strength the most; they could help him achieve merit, help him block disasters, and if one got along well with them, they were also incredible connections.

"Yes." Sun Youliang rose accordingly, then changed the subject: "By the way, my lord, the General Flag also asked me to inquire when the newly appointed Hundred-Household will arrive at his post? If he has not yet departed, this subordinate can return to Tongzhou with him."

"Coincidentally, he just set off this morning." Lu Dingchuan knew what Pei Shaoqing was worried about and said with a laugh: "Tell General Flag Pei not to worry; Hundred-Household Zhou has a gentle temperament and is best at being accommodating to colleagues; he is easy to get along with.

But having said that, since General Flag Pei has achieved such great merit this time, the Emperor will surely bestow a heavy reward; perhaps he will be promoted any day now and won't be with Hundred-Household Zhou for many days."

At this moment, the Zhou Xiangyang whom Lu Dingchuan described as having a gentle temperament and being easy to get along with was in a carriage heading toward Tongzhou.

The weather was sweltering; he used a handkerchief to constantly wipe away his sweat, lifted the curtain, saw a tavern in the distance, and immediately said: "It's hot as death. We shall rest at the tavern ahead and continue our journey at night. Chase away all those mud-legged peasants and clear some space for this master."

"My lord, traveling like this, I fear we won't arrive for ten days or half a month," a follower reminded him.

Having set off for less than half a day, Zhou Xiangyang had already delayed quite a bit of time along the way due to all sorts of strange reasons, such as the carriage bumping and the food not being to his liking.

If they switched to traveling at night, what would that be like?

"I am not in a hurry, so why are you?" Zhou Xiangyang glared and scolded: "Why haven't you slapped yourself yet?"

"Yes, this lowly one knows his crime, knows his crime." The follower hurriedly slapped his own face with a mournful expression.

Zhou Xiangyang snorted coldly and lowered the curtain.

A gentle temperament? Easy to get along with?

That depends on who it is.

Zhou Xiangyang was, of course, gentle in front of Lu Dingchuan.

But he was not like that in front of others.

…………………………

That same day, Lu Dingchuan wrote a letter and ordered someone to rush with it, along with Pei Shaoqing's letter, the Kaiyang Holy Son's head, and his Identity Token, to the Capital at top speed.

The person reporting the merit galloped through the night, not even resting at post stations, changing horses and leaving immediately, arriving at the Jing'an Guard Northern Suppressing Faction office in the Capital at the end of the seventh month, eight days later.

The structure of the Jing'an Guard was similar to the Embroidered Uniform Guard, but it did not have a Commander's office; the Northern and Southern Factions only had Suppressing Commissioners, who were directly responsible to the Emperor.

Therefore, the Northern Suppressing Faction office was the highest leading institution of the Great Zhou's Northern Suppressing Jing'an Guard; the Suppressing Commissioner was of the fourth rank, and although the rank was not high, the power was immense.

At this moment, Suppressing Commissioner Wei Yue was handling official business.

He was forty-three years old, in the prime of his life, with a long beard, elegant and refined, just like a graceful gentleman.

A subordinate walked in quickly and reported in a resonant voice: "My lord, an urgent report from the Shuzhou Thousand-Household Office!"

"Transmit it," Wei Yue said in a calm tone.

A moment later, a Jing'an Guard carrying a pack hurried in; as soon as he entered the door, his legs bent.

He slid forward on his knees and bowed his head to the ground, "Small Flag Yan Xinkun of the Shuzhou Thousand-Household Office pays respects to the Suppressing Commissioner!"

"What is the matter?" Wei Yue asked nonchalantly.

Yan Xinkun nimbly took a letter from his bosom and presented it with both hands, "This is Lord Lu's personal letter."

A guard on duty in the office immediately stepped forward to take the envelope, checked it to ensure it was correct, and handed it to Wei Yue.

Wei Yue unfolded the letter paper in a leisurely manner.

After reading it, his expression suddenly became serious; he raised his head and asked in a deep voice: "Where are the token and the head?"

"Replying to the lord, they are here!" Yan Xinkun took the parcel off his shoulder and held it respectfully in his hands.

The guard stepped forward again to present the parcel.

Wei Yue opened the parcel, first checking that the head and the token were correct, then reading Pei Shaoqing's handwritten letter.

He then frowned and stood there in deep thought, silent.

It was he who had arranged for Pei Shaoqing to enter the Jing'an Guard.

He naturally knew of his reputation in the Capital and exactly what he was capable of, yet ever since he went to Tongzhou, it was as if he had become a different person, with everything about it reeking of suspicion.

Of course, he did not believe Pei Shaoqing would dare to deceive the Emperor.

It was just that how this merit was obtained was likely a different story, and it certainly was not by Pei Shaoqing's own ability.

After a long while, he said, "You are to stay in the Town-Pacification Division and not move about; I shall enter the palace now to see the Emperor."

"This subordinate obeys!" Yan Xinkun replied with his head bowed.

Meanwhile, County Magistrate Wang's report letter had also been delivered to the headquarters of the Xuanhuang Sect after passing through layers of transfers.

(End of chapter)