Chapter 428: A Steady Stream

Pan Yun skimmed through it at a glance, then read it again from the beginning.

No, there's no beginning or end here—they're still in Qu Le's envelope—but… shouldn't the essence of this letter be on these two pages of mine?

Pan Yun's lips moved slightly; she threw off the covers and quickly pulled on her clothes to find Yin Song.

Yin Song had just finished his martial routine and was turning to go back inside when he saw Pan Yun running out barefoot; he said quickly: "I need to wash up, eat, then head to work."

Pan Yun handed him the letter. "Second Brother, I've got one good piece of news and one bad one—which do you want to hear first?"

Yin Song: …

Less than a week!

Since my little sister came, this past week has been more eventful than the entire year before!

Yin Song forced a grin, his smile cold and hollow. "The bad one."

"Actually, there are two bad pieces of news."

Yin Song stared at her silently.

Pan Yun rushed on: "One bad thing is, my letter theft might be discovered, so I plan to go back right away and return it—if I'm lucky and no one notices, we'll pretend this never happened."

Yin Song: "And the other?"

Pan Yun sighed: "The other is, the wealthy disciple I'd picked out for you ran off—he's petty, I even told him he's unsuited for the Dao, but now he's enrolling at Long Hushan Academy, and since his family's throwing money and resources at him, he's apparently high-ranking already. I might just gain another enemy in the academy."

Yin Song exhaled in relief: "I trust your abilities, little sister—these are trivial matters. So what's the good news?"

Pan Yun: "The Wu Lin Alliance has proposed continuing last year's Quanzhou cooperation model—joining forces with the Zhang Zhang Tian Shi's Mansion to combat the Japanese pirates, eradicate coastal raiders, and collaborate with the imperial navy to strike at the pirates' homeland."

Yin Song stared at her steadily. "So we're going to war? How is that good?"

"Why isn't it?" Pan Yun said. "How long has this poison festered? If we can cut out the rot and heal the wound, the Great Ming's coast has a chance at recovery—and…"

She lowered her voice: "The treasure map scandal is growing bigger—this is the perfect chance to sail out and retrieve the treasure. Isn't that the greatest good fortune?"

Yin Song: "Didn't you say you'd abandon the island treasure after getting Wang Zhen's wealth?"

Pan Yun: "Wang Zhen's money is mosquito flesh next to the pirates' treasure—utterly insignificant."

Yin Song: "…I used to think Master Brother was just lazy when he said Master Sister was fickle and women are fickle. I didn't believe him. But now I think he was right."

Pan Yun's face hardened. "No, Master Brother was wrong. Your original thinking was right—so now you're just too lazy to coddle me?"

Yin Song pinched the bridge of his nose and held out his hand. "Let me see."

Pan Yun immediately placed the two sheets of paper reverently in his palm.

Yin Song glanced at them and frowned. "Why is there no beginning to this letter?"

"Not only no beginning—no end either," Pan Yun said. "The letter had six pages total; I took the two in the middle—no one would notice."

Even if Qu Le suspected someone had entered his room, when checking luggage, he'd likely just glance inside the envelope.

Not everyone is Hu Jing—a Cloaked Guard who'd actually pull the letter out and examine it closely.

Yin Song: "You've got a knack for it—you picked exactly the most crucial part."

The letter's first sentence stated Qu Le's enrollment at Long Hushan Academy; the rest detailed this year's Wu Lin Alliance and Zhang Zhang Tian Shi's Mansion cooperation proposal.

"This must be Lin Mengzhu's letter to Zhang Zhenren," Yin Song folded it back along the creases and handed it to her. "First, last year's pirate raids on coastal villages and looting were truly infuriating; second, treasure stirs hearts—the treasure map scandal is already public. Who doesn't want that treasure?"

Pan Yun's eyes flickered thoughtfully. "So one reason they're willing to cooperate is the treasure map?"

"Mostly," Yin Song emphasized. "The pirates have raided the coast intermittently for years—why never before did they propose such a grand joint effort? Why now?"

Pan Yun asked: "Will the imperial court agree?"

Yin Song's expression turned strange; after a moment's thought, he slowly shook his head. "Unclear."

"If they refuse, the martial world is uncontrollable—more people will sneak out to search for treasure. If they agree, it looks like lifting the maritime ban, and with more ships coming and going, the smuggling vessels will likely be exposed."

Yin Song said: "Though most who rush in are after the treasure, waving the banner of eradicating pirates for country and people will still attract righteous heroes."

"If they find out and dig deep, the smuggling along the southeast coast will be impossible to hide," Yin Song said with a wry smile. "Do you know who's smuggling along the southeast coast?"

Pan Yun: "Who?"

"The gentry and wealthy of the southeast, naval commanders, court nobles—the biggest one? His surname is Zhu~"

Pan Yun looked confused. "I know. So what?"

Yin Song: "You know?"

"Of course I know," Pan Yun said. "Otherwise, how could the maritime ban have lasted this long? Because they think the cake—no, the pie—of maritime trade is only so big. Open it up, and their share shrinks. So they enforce the ban to ensure only they get to divide it."

"So whoever insists on the maritime ban is likely the one currently benefiting."

Yin Song:... Pan Yun said, "During the reign of Emperor Taizu Gao, his sea ban might truly have been because the national treasury was empty, with wars being fought all across the country, leaving no energy to manage maritime defense, and being endlessly harassed by Japanese pirates. But by the reign of Emperor Yongle, our Great Ming navy was already so formidable — what was there to fear from mere Japanese pirates?"

Pan Yun: "When the Taizu Emperor imposed the ban, maybe it was truly because the treasury was empty and wars raged everywhere—he had no energy for coastal defense and was worn down by the pirates. But by Yongle Emperor's time, our Great Ming navy was already so powerful—why fear mere pirates?"

"The real reason for the ban isn't the pirates—it's profit, isn't it?"

"Aren't the imperial clan and nobles now taking the lion's share of smuggling? And the local officials and gentry of the southeast just picking up scraps?"

Yin Song finally snapped back, then said with deep meaning: "Not necessarily. A bunch of fools—they think they're taking the lion's share, but they're not."

Pan Yun's face mirrored his skepticism. "What? No ledgers? If they've got powerful patrons, how can a bunch of gentry cheat them?"

Yin Song: "Patrons? Just talking. What do they actually contribute? The Jiangnan crowd provides money, people, effort—don't they deserve a bigger cut?"

Pan Yun: "Second Brother, let's smash their plates—let the pie fall, so all the people of the realm can grab a bite, and the capable can devour it."

"You've got guts. What if you don't break the plate—and they beat you to death first?"

Pan Yun: "The Emperor himself is interested in the pirates' treasure and sent Cloaked Guards to investigate. Don't you think the Jiangnan crowd, the imperial clan, and the nobles have thoughts on this?"

Yin Song: "You're throwing out bait to catch many fish—but the bait's hollow, just an empty shell. Aren't you afraid those big fish will leap out and bite you to death?"

Pan Yun gave a cold snort and said, "What's there to fear? If it really could lift the sea ban, what's wrong with me laying down enough bait?"

Pan Yun snorted. "Afraid of what? If we truly lift the maritime ban, why not pour on even more bait?"

Yin Song was startled. "You'd really do that?"

Pan Yun: "I know the difference between a full meal and a steady trickle."

【61】 "If the maritime ban is truly lifted and trade reopened, ordinary people along the southeast coast will have a way to survive—no treasure can match that."

Pan Yun grew more and more resolute as she spoke. Even though her heart ached a little, she still said, "Give a man a fish, and the fish will always be eaten up. But teach a man to fish, and that is an inexhaustible source of life."

Yin Song fell silent, looked his little martial sister over carefully, and only after a long while said, "Little martial sister, I misjudged you. Your second martial brother owes you an apology."

"Huh?" Pan Yun was only dazed for a moment before she quickly came back to herself. Putting on a stern face, she said, "I knew it. Second Martial Brother, didn't you think of me as especially bad? You've misunderstood me so deeply — what are you going to give me as compensation?"

Yin Song's face went expressionless once more. He handed the letter back to her. "Just say it straight. Tell me what this 'good news' is — what do you want me to do?"

Pan Yun, seeing he was already grinding his teeth as he spoke, didn't dare to tease him any further. She immediately grinned sheepishly and said, "Second Martial Brother, I heard from First Martial Brother that you write a beautiful hand — you're especially good at imitating people's handwriting. One look and you can copy it, good enough to pass for the real thing!"

Yin Song tilted his chin up slightly, suppressing the delight in his heart. "First Martial Brother really said that?"

Pan Yun nodded vigorously. "First Martial Brother said exactly that."

Yin Song stroked his chin and said, "It's not impossible. Lin Mengzhu's handwriting isn't hard to imitate. Give me two quarter-hours, and I can copy it seven or eight tenths of the way. What letter do you want written, and to whom?"

Pan Yun reminded him, "An invitation~~"

Yin Song: "……You're playing it this big? Didn't you say the Wu Lin Alliance has three blockheads who have a grudge against you, and you want to frame them for it?"

Pan Yun said, "But their names definitely aren't as useful as Lin Mengzhu's and Qu Le's. Still, I've made two preparations. I've also gotten hold of letters from those three blockheads. Take a look."

Yin Song: ……

Pan Yun stuffed all the letters into his hands. "Second Martial Brother, you're an official, you've seen plenty of the world — you must know how an invitation like the Wu Lin Alliance's should be written, right? I'm leaving it all to you."

Yin Song: "……You certainly know how to put people to work. You even want me to write the contents of the invitation from scratch."

Pan Yun: "One shouldn't bother two masters with the same matter."

Pan Yun pushed him toward the room. "Go on, go on. This martial sister of yours will wait on you with brush and ink. What do you want for breakfast? I'll have Tao Yanbai and Miao He prepare it."

Yin Song: "I want youtiao."

Pan Yun immediately turned her head and shouted, "Tao Yanbai, go buy youtiao!"

Yin Song: "I also want Su Ji's lamb soup and lamb baozi."

Pan Yun turned her head again. "Tao Yanbai, Su Ji's lamb soup and lamb baozi!"

The shouting even woke Wang Cong. He opened his door and came out bleary-eyed, then shouted along, "I want youtiao, lamb soup, and lamb baozi too."

Pan Yun opened the door, poked her head out, and shouted loudly, "Yin Qingjun, your master twisted his ankle. Go to the government office and ask for half a quarter-hour's leave for him — just say he'll arrive half a quarter-hour late."

Yin Qingjun, who was in the middle of rinsing his mouth: ……

With a smack, Pan Yun let out an "ow!" and, one hand clutching her head and the other grabbing the book that had slid off it, she changed her tune: "Yin Qingjun, just say your master's little martial sister bonked her head and needs to see a Physician, so he's asking for half a quarter-hour's leave."

Yin Qingjun blew out a mouthful of bubbles and answered, "Oh."

Good night.

(End of chapter)