Chapter 154: He Family Manor (Third Update)

Soon everyone discovered that Zhao Jin did things by the book — he wouldn't repeatedly fleece them at random. As long as you paid according to the rules, you'd have peace. Even the followers of the Fragrance Sect gradually relaxed, and the city quickly returned to normal.

However, Zhao Jin's power was confined to the city of Xuzhou. Outside the city walls was an entirely different world, one with its own order, completely untouched by these events.

He Family Manor, sixty li from Xuzhou, was just such a place. The manor lay west of Xuzhou, near the Three Immortals Terrace. It wasn't a village where the He clan lived together, but rather the private estate of He Weiyuan.

He Family Manor spanned nearly a hundred qing of land — a scale that meant little among the landlords of Huaibei, placing it only in the upper-middle tier. But the manor's fields were all top-grade irrigated land, a rarity in the barren soil of Xuzhou.

Those familiar with the Xuzhou region knew that the manor's real moneymaker wasn't these hundred qing of fertile fields, but the market held on its land. He Family Manor sat right on Xuzhou's overland transport hub. Whether traveling from Fengyang Prefecture or Huai'an Prefecture to Yanzhou Prefecture in Shandong or Guide Prefecture in Henan, anyone taking the overland route had to pass the official road beside the manor.

He Family Manor had opened several large shops, buying goods locally for transshipment, along with inns and cart-drivers' lodges where traveling merchants could stay. Over time, merchants from Shandong, Henan, and the local area all traded here, and a market took shape.

Buying and selling in this market and collecting a cut — it was a business that raked in gold daily. The He family was thus regarded as a powerful local magnate.

Achieving this scale was thanks to He Weiyuan's father, Old Master He. Old Master He had passed the provincial examinations and served as county magistrate and department magistrate in several prefectures and counties in eastern Shandong. Though the Three Eastern Prefectures of Shandong were poor and bitter places, that didn't stop the old master from amassing a vast fortune. Upon returning home, he'd shown unique foresight in purchasing this property.

Old Master He knew deeply that wealth and rank were two sides of the same coin — no matter how much money you piled up, without official rank to protect it, it was all an illusion. He hired renowned teachers for his only son, He Weiyuan, to study the classics. He Weiyuan proved himself worthy, earning the licentiate degree in his teens and passing the provincial exam in his twenties. By all rights, the He family's prosperity should have passed down through the generations like this. But in his thirties, He Weiyuan got into trouble — scandalous affairs with several relatives in his own household were leaked by a servant, and the Director of Education for Southern Zhili stripped him of his rank directly.

This infuriated Old Master He so much that he passed away on the spot. The vast estate fell to He Weiyuan. To outsiders, it seemed He Weiyuan would live out his days as a carefree young master of wealth, but those in the know understood that disaster was not far off for him.

Sure enough, within half a year of Old Master He's death, servants fled the He household and reported to the authorities, accusing the family of crimes. Then a gentry member from Xiao County came knocking, saying that if the He family was willing to part with some of their property, these charges could be made to disappear.

This was a classic scheme to seize property — everyone understood it perfectly. The He family themselves had used it more than once in the past. No one thought the He family could escape it, and many were even itching to move, eager to take a bite themselves.

He Weiyuan poured a great deal of silver into it, but the lawsuits simply couldn't be settled. Just as he was about to be pushed to the brink, things suddenly took a turn.

The servant who had accused the He family suddenly recanted, claiming he'd been coerced into falsely denouncing his masters. Then the Xiao County gentry's household was suddenly struck by bandits — his entire family was slaughtered clean. The He family emerged unscathed.

Once might have been chance, but after several people who had designs on the He family died violently one after another, everyone realized something strange was afoot and dared not act recklessly again. Later, He Weiyuan was said to have taken a certain noble of Nanjing as his nominal patron and formed a marriage alliance with a branch of the Yansheng Duke's family in Shandong. With new backers secured, everything stabilized.

Over a decade passed. Most of those who had opposed the He family died under unclear circumstances, and every property the He family wished to swallow fell smoothly into their hands. The young Master He of those days had now become Old Master He, Lord He.

The He family compound was vast, but its location was unremarkable — right next to a mule and horse market, noisy all day, dust swirling, the smell even worse. Yet He Weiyuan, Old Master He, insisted on living there, and no one dared say a word.

With such a large estate, and given He Weiyuan's former love of pleasure, one would expect the inner residence to be magnificently appointed, a den of wine, women, and wealth. But those who had been inside knew that apart from a few young maids attending to He Weiyuan's bedchamber, the rest were all able-bodied young men — and not the typical servants of a great household. Their every movement was crisp and efficient.

The weather was sweltering now, yet beneath the nearly thirty-year-old osmanthus tree in the inner courtyard, it was cool and shaded. He Weiyuan sat beneath the tree, a small side table beside him bearing a pot of warmed yellow wine and two small dishes. He was leisurely drinking alone. Given his past excesses of wine and women, his constitution should have been hollowed out, leaving him frail in old age, but he looked like a robust man in his forties — only his white hair betrayed his years.

He Weiyuan drank and ate, utterly content. The wine and food looked simple, but the wine was a sixteen-year vintage, carefully selected from a top Shaoxing winery and blended with fine new wine. The dishes were dried shrimp from Ningbo and sliced Jinhua ham. Even second-tier households in Jiangnan could not regularly enjoy such luxuries.

The gates of the vast courtyard were tightly shut. He Weiyuan drank alone, eyes narrowed as he gazed at the osmanthus tree — whether lost in thought or looking at something, no one could tell.

"Master, a relative from the city has arrived." A low announcement came from outside the courtyard gate.

He Weiyuan opened his eyes, picked up a small bell from the table, and shook it. At the sound, the courtyard gate opened, and two middle-aged men walked in, deeply apprehensive.

As the two middle-aged men entered, two able-bodied He family retainers wearing sabers followed them in, closed the gate from inside, and stood waiting before it.

Had Zhao Jin been present, he would certainly have recognized these two middle-aged men as two of the many evangelists of the Fragrance Sect — one was the deputy manager of a rice shop, the other an itinerant physician.

The two men stopped about three paces from He Weiyuan, then knelt together and kowtowed, saying, "We pay our respects to the Assembly Master."

"We are all brothers in the teaching — why such formality?" He Weiyuan said offhandedly, yet he made no gesture of courtesy, remaining reclined in his chair, merely opening his eyes.

The two evangelists kneeling on the ground did not rise. Still kneeling, they said, "Assembly Master, three days ago we went to see that Zhao Jin and submitted to him in person. These past few days all has been well. Zhao Jin has done nothing further to the congregation."

He Weiyuan nodded and said coolly, "This young man is decisive and ruthless in his methods, but he doesn't act with a truly black heart. You needn't worry too much."

At these words, the two kneeling men exchanged a glance. The itinerant physician said hesitantly, "Assembly Master, the vengeance for brother Li Yang... should we..."

"A fool like that — dead is dead. Why bother with him?" He Weiyuan said coldly.

"Assembly Master, everyone in the city is furious but dares not speak, waiting for you, Elder, to take charge..." The words were only half out when He Weiyuan straightened up.

"Furious but dares not speak? Why weren't you furious but silent in Mu Wusheng's day? Now that you want to reach out and grab money, suddenly you're furious?" He Weiyuan's voice rose sharply.

At his raised voice, the two kneeling men immediately prostrated themselves in terror. The two able-bodied men by the gate instantly put their hands on their saber hilts, ready to advance. He Weiyuan frowned and waved them off, and the two halted.

"I am loath to constrain you too tightly, but that is not license for you to run wild! These past months, every one of you evangelists has skimmed plenty — how can you still be unsatisfied!" His voice grew even sterner, and the two evangelists kneeling on the ground began to tremble.

He Weiyuan slapped the armrest and continued, "So long as you pay your full tribute, I don't care how much you keep. But you were stupid enough to provoke a local tyrant like the Zhao family — courting death yourselves, and what's more, you exposed the traces of every evangelist in the city. And then you still want me to go out and avenge you? Have you been kicked in the head by a donkey!"

The deputy manager of the grain shop said shakily, "Assembly Master, the brothers of the teaching in other places feast on meat and drink fine wine, while we've suffered hardship for six or seven years. We finally have you, Elder, here to take charge, and now this villain obstructs us. The hearts of our Xuzhou congregation are filled with stifled grievance. If things go on like this, I fear the people's hearts will scatter."

He Weiyuan gave a cold laugh and said, "People's hearts? If you don't touch Zhao Jin, can you not rake in money? Yu Bo, you haven't just been raking in money — I hear you've bedded a few young wives as well. Gao Daning, how did those two young lads by your side come to be there? Do you really think no one understands? To put it plainly, you were too impatient. You thought that with our congregation's numbers, you could use the Zhao family to make an example, and then you'd have free rein in Xuzhou. There are plenty of people we can't afford to offend. Do you truly believe that out of a million congregants, a million will step forward for you?"

His voice dropped low again, but the two men on the ground were nearly prostrate, their bodies trembling without cease. Just then, the courtyard gate was rapped again. The gatekeeping retainer exchanged a few low words, then directly opened the gate. A middle-aged man in a blue robe poked his head in and exchanged a glance with He Weiyuan, who sat beneath the tree.

"Don't come to me unless it's important. If anyone with intent is watching, nothing will stay hidden." He Weiyuan spoke impatiently. The two men hurriedly kowtowed and took their leave.

Just as the two rose to go, He Weiyuan's icy voice came from behind: "Don't speak of what shouldn't be spoken. Don't do what shouldn't be done. You know the consequences yourselves."

The two evangelists, terrified, hastily turned back and knelt again before daring to rise and leave. As they passed the blue-robed middle-aged man, neither dared be remiss; they bowed and murmured, "Mr. Zhou."

The blue-robed middle-aged man glanced at the two with disdain, merely nodding, then strode up to He Weiyuan and saluted. Seeing this man approach, a smile surfaced on He Weiyuan's face. He gestured to the two retainers at the gate, and they departed, pulling the gate shut behind them.

"Xuezhi, you've come." He Weiyuan greeted him with a smile.

The blue-robed middle-aged man clasped his fists and bowed, then said, "Master, the other side has sent word: the grain will be delivered the night after tomorrow. They ask if our family's wine is ready. This humble one has already replied that everything is prepared and awaiting the exchange."