Chapter 79

After more than ten days of calm, just before winter’s coldest stretch, Jiang Mingyu’s new house was finally repaired and completed.

Jiang Mingyu, wrapped in a fur coat, held a steaming cup of tea as he stood by the window, gazing outward.

Outside, heavy snowflakes swirled through the air, blanketing heaven and earth in white.

He let out a soft sigh, watching the curling smoke from chimneys, and murmured, “Finally, this unbearable winter has passed. Though repairing the house cost a fortune, it’s lifted one major burden from my heart—worth every silver piece.”

Beside him, the thin Wu Xiao pulled his hands deeper into his sleeves and nodded calmly, “Indeed. The only trouble left now is these foreign bandits. I wonder when the new Commandant will finally arrive. Once he does, our good days in Shangmu won’t be far off.”

He gazed into the distance, a faint glimmer of hope in his eyes.

More than half a month had passed since the military pay dispute, yet the new Commandant still showed no sign of appearing.

With no other choice, Jiang Mingyu ordered Tukesiluo to lead the trained laborers into the city defense camp to train alongside the garrison soldiers.

The results proved Tukesiluo not only possessed formidable martial skill but was also an exceptional trainer.

Each time Jiang Mingyu visited the defense camp, he noticed how these once unruly laborers had gradually taken on the bearing of soldiers—impressing him deeply.

But Li Goudan, bearded and unkempt, saw it differently: “What good does it do if a new Commandant comes?”

“Even with the city defense troops and Tukedai’s laborers, we still have fewer than five hundred men—barely enough to feed the foreign bandits.”

“Are we really hoping the new Commandant is a celestial god descended to single-handedly match a thousand troops?” Li Goudan grumbled.

Wu Xiao nodded gloomily in agreement, “That’s true.”

Li Goudan went on, cursing, “Besides, what if the next Commandant’s even worse than the last? That’d be even more of a mess.”

Jiang Mingyu waved his hand helplessly. “Enough speculation. We’ll just wait and see when he arrives.”

Since the house was finished, Jiang Mingyu was astonished to find himself, a full Imperial Envoy, with nothing at all to do.

With heating problems solved, the townsfolk stayed indoors for winter; the county grew quieter by the day—even thieves and bandits vanished. Jiang Mingyu was utterly bored.

He idled away his days in the county office, even visiting Liu’s residence multiple times, hoping to catch a glimpse of Liu Yifei—but each time, she was absent, and he returned empty-handed.

Since arriving in this ancient world, Jiang Mingyu had rarely seen women, and Liu Yifei, beautiful and captivating, was the first to stir his heart.

Now, with free time on his hands, he couldn’t help but recall her face—her features haunted his mind like a spell.

Just as Jiang Mingyu felt anxious and lost, a messenger from Inspector Jiang Zhe arrived through the snowstorm, bringing him urgent news.

Jiang Mingyu immediately asked, “When will the new Commandant arrive? The city needs reinforcements to stabilize the situation.”

The messenger smiled helplessly. “Lord Jiang, I’ve come only to deliver bad news—the new Commandant won’t be arriving anytime soon.”

Jiang Mingyu froze. “What do you mean?”

The messenger glanced around, confirmed no one was near, then whispered, “Several candidates for Commandant, upon learning they’d be sent to Shangmu—a barren wasteland—refused outright. They’d rather give up officialdom for life than come here.”

“Under duress, the Inspector sent me to inform you, Lord Jiang: please, reluctantly, continue acting as Commandant for now. How long remains uncertain. You’ll have to bear with it a while longer.”

After seeing the messenger off, Jiang Mingyu nearly leapt for joy.

Acting Commandant meant he could now legally recruit soldiers.

Jiang Mingyu thought: This is heaven’s gift—a perfect opportunity!

The next day, he decisively issued orders to recruit soldiers and horses across the entire county, promising generous pay and benefits.

True to form, heavy rewards drew brave men.

Within days of posting the recruitment notices, Jiang Mingyu enlisted nearly two thousand new recruits.

Combined with the existing city defense troops and the trained laborers, he now commanded two thousand five hundred men.

Seeing his chance for vengeance within reach, Tukesiluo trained the new soldiers relentlessly, exhausting them day and night.

At some point, his jet-black, gleaming face earned him the mocking nickname “Black Yama.”

Tukesiluo was furious. He sulked for days and grew even harsher in training.

The poor recruits were left battered, broken, and too drained to even rise from the ground.

Jiang Mingyu watched helplessly, forced to smile bitterly—Tukesiluo’s temper was unchangeable, and no amount of pleading could sway him.

To feed these two thousand five hundred men, Jiang Mingyu sent Li Goudan with a letter to his best student, Zhuge Yu.

In the letter, Jiang Mingyu told Zhuge Yu: whether through pretense or persuasion, he must find a way to open coal sales quickly—so the army had a livelihood.

He also had Li Goudan deliver twenty poems, written in his own hand, to serve as merchandise for attracting buyers.

Two days later, Li Goudan returned to Shangmu, dusty and breathless from travel, his excitement wearing thin Jiang Mingyu’s patience.

Jiang Mingyu couldn’t wait: “Well? Did Zhuge Yu agree to help find buyers?”

Li Goudan exhaled deeply, then drank a cup of hot tea before speaking: “Master Zhuge was extremely pleased with your poems—he was overjoyed after reading them!”

“He said he’ll do everything in his power to find buyers for our coal within the prefecture,” Li Goudan continued. “He paid two hundred thousand taels upfront—revenue from selling your poetry collection.”

Li Goudan frowned. “Lord, why did Master Zhuge give you the money from selling your poems? I don’t understand the connection.”

Jiang Mingyu waved his hand. “Don’t worry about it. Just know the army’s pay is secured.”

Meanwhile, in the Governor’s office of Changzhou, Huang Chaoran paced anxiously inside. Outside, snow fell; inside, his mind churned.

“It’s been half a month—where are Zhang San and Li Si?” Huang Chaoran muttered. “I only asked them to execute one man in Shangmu—how could it take so long?”

His servant ventured, “Perhaps they feared Jiang Mingyu and fled mid-journey.”

Huang Chaoran sneered. “No. I know them well—every one of their family members is under my control. They won’t run.”

“Zhang San and Li Si are smart. If they agreed to kill Jiang Mingyu, they won’t back out—otherwise, they’d cross my line. They’re not foolish enough to invite their own destruction.”

The servant frowned uneasily. “Then… do you think they’ve already been killed by Jiang Mingyu?”

Huang Chaoran sighed. “I suspect that, if nothing went wrong, they’ve already been silenced by Jiang Mingyu. All we can do now is pray they’re dead—otherwise, if Jiang Mingyu discovers our plot, we’re finished.”

The servant whispered, “What should we do now?”

Huang Chaoran sneered. “Send men to Shangmu immediately to investigate Zhang San and Li Si’s fate. If they’re still alive and imprisoned by Jiang Mingyu, eliminate them.”

“Even if they’re already dead, I’ll find another way to kill Jiang Mingyu. The silver spent must be recovered—and Jiang Mingyu must die.” Huang Chaoran’s eyes glinted coldly, his tone absolute.

Huang Chaoran spoke with ruthless finality: “Once I get the silver back, my first act will be to divorce that worthless woman He Hua, then find a new concubine.”

“I must visit the Inspector’s office soon—this matter must be settled quickly.”

The servant nodded. “Master, rest assured—I’ll handle it immediately.”

Five days later, in Shangmu City.

Five days later, Jiang Mingyu was still bored out of his mind, doing nothing all day. He even wished the foreign bandits would appear soon—just to give him something to fight.

But the foreigners remained hidden somewhere, warm and silent. Jiang Mingyu grew restless, with no way to pass the time—he felt he might go mad from boredom.

Finally, at his wit’s end, Jiang Mingyu slammed his hand on the table: “Wu Xiao, let’s visit the Liu residence!”

Wu Xiao didn’t understand his master’s motive but rose quickly to accompany him.

As soon as they sat down at Liu Ximen’s house, Jiang Mingyu noticed Liu Ximen’s expression was off.

He usually smiled warmly, but now his face was clouded with worry, his thick brows knotted together.

Jiang Mingyu sensed immediately that Liu Ximen was in trouble—and needed his help.

Jiang Mingyu asked gently, “Master Liu, you look troubled. Is something wrong? Speak freely—I’ll help you find a solution.”

Liu Ximen sipped his tea in silence, pondering long before letting out a heavy sigh: “It’s… my daughter, Yifei. She’s run into trouble.” He fell back into gloomy silence.