Chapter 276: Paying Respects to the Lord

Everyone looked toward Zhao Jin. After a moment of deliberation, he spoke: "The Zhao Camp is to remain on full alert and stand by. There's no need to rush clearing out the estate grounds just yet. Little Stone Village is still several li away from us anyway; if something really happens, we'll still have time to prepare."

After saying this, Zhao Jin shook his head and added: "In broad daylight like this, nine times out of ten it's no enemy. Bingfeng, gather all the instructors and everyone who can ride a horse. Go keep watch on the road and report back at once. Everyone else, training is suspended. Form ranks and stand by. Open the equipment storehouses as well."

Everyone rose to their feet. No one's face showed much tension, only confusion and bewilderment.

Zhao Jin, for his part, also donned his armor. Walking into the courtyard, he instinctively covered his mouth and nose with his hand — the dust was simply too thick. As the household guards assembled and readied themselves, they kicked up dust all over the ground.

"Didn't they sprinkle water this morning?" Zhao Jin muttered to himself. Then it suddenly struck him: it had been nearly two months without a single drop of rain. The weather was dry and the earth parched; such swirling dust was entirely normal.

Two months without rain, and this was right at the critical farming season for spring sowing and plowing. In the Jiangbei region of Southern Zhili, apart from fields near rivers that were convenient to irrigate, the rest would likely yield not a single grain. This already counted as a disaster.

No wonder the Mu family's Second Uncle had gone through Zheng Quan to warn him to be wary of refugees. Shandong had suffered severe drought for two consecutive years, Henan for one year, and Southern Zhili had also seen a minor drought last year. Now, with more than two months without rain this year, major trouble was probably looming. Not to mention that Henan, Shandong, and Southern Zhili were three contiguous provinces — the trouble would likely feed into each other...

Just as his thoughts were wandering, a household guard announced in a loud voice: "Master, three riders have come calling from outside. The visitor gives his name as Ruhui."

Zhao Jin was momentarily taken aback, then understood. He muttered a couple of words under his breath and said: "Have that Ruhui go to my place. Tell Chen Sheng and the others to come as well."

Back in the house, before he had even removed his armor, Ruhui was already led in by a household guard. Seeing Ruhui, Zhao Jin was actually a bit startled, because Ruhui's attire was different from before.

A long gown under a loose robe, cowhide riding boots, a jade-buckled belt, and a gauze cap on his head. One could also see the silver circlet binding his hair — though of course his hair couldn't possibly have grown that fast; it was likely a wig.

Although Zhao Jin dressed plainly, because Wang Zhaojing's attire was quite refined, he was no stranger to such things. Ruhui's entire outfit was made of fine materials and exquisite craftsmanship, no worse than what a noble young master like Wang Zhaojing wore. In fact, Ruhui's attire closely resembled Wang Zhaojing's on certain occasions — both were the dress of an aristocratic scion.

It had to be said, this outfit suited Ruhui very well. If not for having known him before, Zhao Jin would have taken Ruhui for some distinguished young gentleman from Jiangnan.

"I pay my respects to Young Master Zhao." Ruhui smiled, cupping his fists and bowing. Even his salutation was no longer the anjali of a monk.

Curious as Zhao Jin was, that was not what he asked first: "Was it you who bought Little Stone Village?"

"Yes!"

"Were those large carts in the city hired by you?"

"Yes!"

"Are you planning to store your goods at Little Stone Village?"

"Yes!"

After this exchange of questions and answers, Zhao Jin, somewhat exasperated, invited Ruhui to sit and complained: "A word in advance about these doings would have been nice. You had us here as if facing a great enemy."

Ruhui was taken aback, then couldn't help laughing. He waved his hand and said: "Young Master Zhao, don't complain. Wasn't it the same when you moved? With so many things, there's never any harm in being careful."

A household guard brought in tea and poured it for Zhao Jin and Ruhui. Zhao Jin, feeling thirsty, drank his in large gulps. Ruhui took a sip, frowned, shook his head, and said: "Young Master Zhao, with such a vast estate, yet you treat yourself so frugally. Why torment yourself so?"

Zhao Jin also shook his head, thinking to himself that if not for the identical appearance, the Ruhui of now and the one from before were practically two different people. The former had been restrained and quiet; the current one was rather too flamboyant.

At this moment, Chen Sheng and the others also arrived. Upon hearing the news about Little Stone Village and the large convoy of carts, each of them didn't know whether to laugh or cry. They all gave a word of acknowledgment and went out to cancel the orders. Shi Manqiang, who had been sent to Little Stone Village, also needed to be called back.

"These few must be Young Master Zhao's brothers and trusted confidants?" Ruhui asked, coming straight to the point.

Zhao Jin nodded, and Ruhui added with a smile: "I must ask Young Master Zhao to have everyone wait and return shortly. I have something to say."

Today was truly out of the ordinary. Before long, Chen Sheng and the others returned. Before taking his seat, Chen Sheng shot Zhao Jin a meaningful glance. Zhao Jin could guess the meaning of that look: the Zhao Camp's alert had certainly not been lifted. Caution came first.

"Gentlemen, my surname is Cao. I can't quite recall my given name, so I'll just use my Dharma name as both name and courtesy name — call me Cao Ruhui." Seeing that everyone was more or less assembled, Ruhui stood and cupped his fists in salute, then spoke these peculiar words.

The group exchanged glances, none understanding Ruhui's intent. After sitting down, Cao Ruhui continued on his own: "Probably the day after tomorrow, Ruzheng will become the abbot of Cloud Mountain Temple. Zhenzhi will re-enter the monastic order and assist Ruzheng."

Hearing this, everyone was first stunned, then greatly alarmed. Zhao Jin immediately asked: "Then what will you do?"

"Today I have returned to lay life. Henceforth, I am Cao Ruhui." Ruhui said calmly.

Zhao Jin's brow furrowed. The Zhao Camp had fought bitterly in several engagements, suffering nearly a hundred dead and wounded, all to install Ruhui as the abbot of Cloud Mountain Temple. According to the original plan, if they could use this to control the temple, that would naturally be best. If control proved impossible, they still intended to squeeze a huge fortune out of Cloud Mountain Temple.

Yet the premise of all this was Ruhui serving as abbot. Without him there, although they could still achieve their aims through force, Cloud Mountain Temple had not yet collapsed and scattered. The target was too large, too conspicuous, and could easily bring trouble.

Zhao Jin's gaze turned somewhat cold. He asked flatly: "Your great vengeance is achieved, and you have ascended to your father's position. This is a life's joy, a wish fulfilled. Why make such a decision?"

"Young Master Zhao, a temple abbot is an ordained monk, utterly unconnected to worldly kin and family. This matter of father-to-son succession — don't you find it peculiar?" Ruhui asked with a smile.

"It sounds peculiar at first hearing, but I've seen plenty of it!" Zhao Jin replied curtly. Ruhui's face still wore a faint smile as he said gently: "Gentlemen, in those years, my intention was to pursue scholarly advancement. I had already obtained the rank of Xiucai and was even betrothed to the daughter of a gentry family in Pizhou. Cloud Mountain Temple had grown large, silver was not lacking, and connections were familiar. The hurdle of the provincial examinations was not too difficult either. Had I continued down that path, my future would surely have been boundless, bringing glory to my ancestors."

Had he been able to pass the provincial exam and become a Juren, he would immediately have become a local power. For someone like Ruhui, backed by the connections and financial resources of Cloud Mountain Temple, his rise would certainly have been extraordinary. Had he been able to go a step further and become a Jinshi, his life would have been a smooth, open road.

"... As everyone knows what happened, my father died suddenly. To protect the old associates from before, I had no choice but to become a monk. The prospects of the civil examinations need not be mentioned; the woman I was betrothed to also remarried another..." Ruhui's voice was pleasant, and his narration had a rhythm to it. Everyone in the room listened intently.

"... Actually, I had also come to terms with it. If I couldn't avenge him, then I'd let my heart die, spend my life as this guest prefect, or roll up a sum of silver and go enjoy myself in Jiangnan. If I could avenge him, then was the abbotship of Cloud Mountain Temple any worse than being the Prefect of Xuzhou? And so, all these years, my resolve was firm..." The monk Ruhui's voice had grown low.

This Cao Ruhui, who had earlier disdained the tea as unpalatable, now picked up the tea bowl of his own accord and took a sip, a look of bewilderment appearing on his face.

"Young Master Zhao's methods were swift as thunder. What I had found difficult for ten, twenty years, Young Master Zhao settled in a matter of hours. I too donned a purple robe and became the abbot. Gentlemen, do not underestimate this position of abbot. Yuanxin was a beast who defiled young girls, yet had he indulged normally, who knows how many women would have willingly served him. As for food, clothing, and daily necessities, that goes without saying — whatever Yangzhou, Suzhou, and Hangzhou had, I would not lack. Yet these days, my heart has felt utterly empty. I thought to myself: I have avenged my father, I have taken this seat — what am I being so pretentious about?" At this point, Ruhui slowly shook his head.

"Everyone used to say that Yuanxin's faction was greedy and base, but at least the temple's properties were expanded and grew large. Now this current faction advocates austere practice, yet in just these few days, look how much they've stuffed into their own pockets. When this poor monk spoke a word or two about it, they actually argued with righteous conviction, saying how hard they'd toiled all these years..." Ruhui was already referring to himself as 'this poor monk,' smiling bitterly as he spoke.

Zhao Jin and the companions beside him exchanged glances. Everyone shook their heads slightly, not understanding why Ruhui was saying so much.

"... One of them went truly too far. I ordered the Disciplinary Hall to punish him and then expel him. He actually cursed me loudly, saying that someone as heartless as me would sooner or later meet the same fate as my father... These words sent a chill through this poor monk. I realized that in this position, there are only two paths to walk: one is my father's path, the other is Yuanxin's path. Yet both are dead ends..." At this, Ruhui slapped his thigh heavily with his hand.

The room fell silent for a moment. The monk Ruhui — no, Cao Ruhui — revealed a smile on his face and said leisurely: "I no longer wish to do this. Yet neither do I wish to leave these benefits to those bookworms and fools. So I took out everything that should be taken."

"You must have made a great fortune." Zhao Jin said with a smile. Cloud Mountain Temple was a mountain of gold and a sea of silver. What the Zhao Camp had plundered from Xue Xiaozong alone was enough to leave one dumbstruck, let alone Cloud Mountain Temple itself.

Cao Ruhui said with a smile: "Far more than a great fortune. When I first began, I was stunned speechless. In just a few generations, they had actually amassed so much. However, of this great fortune, I will not take a single coin."

At these words, the room fell utterly silent. Everyone looked at one another, each wondering if they had misheard. When they had stormed Cloud Mountain Temple, Yuanxin, while begging for his life, had mentioned several figures. Not to mention the temple's properties across the Xuzhou region — everyone could guess at the overt and covert income, and it was surely an astonishing, staggering sum. When Ruhui said he had taken this fortune out, envy had naturally stirred in everyone's hearts. But to say he would take not a single coin — that was incomprehensible. This Ruhui hardly seemed like someone indifferent to fame and fortune.

Ruhui rose from his seat, walked to the center of the room, adjusted his gauze cap with considerable solemnity, then knelt down reverently and declared: "I wish to present all these goods and wealth to Young Master Zhao, and thereby beg entry into Young Master Zhao's service. I am willing to toil and run errands at your command. I beseech Young Master Zhao to grant this."

He spoke with the utmost gravity. When he finished, he performed a grand ceremonial prostration.

The room remained silent. There were too many twists in his words; it was hard to adjust all at once. Only now did everyone understand: all that talk, all that groundwork, had been for the sake of joining the Zhao Camp.

Once again, everyone looked toward Zhao Jin. Pride and delight showed on their faces — even the composed Chen Sheng was no exception. Such an active offer of allegiance from the other party signified the strength of their own power, signified recognition from others. Having grasped this point, the core members of the Zhao Camp were all thoroughly pleased.

Everyone had heard plenty of storytellers' tales and similar stories. In such a scene of pledging fealty, the person being entreated was supposed to hurry over and help the supplicant up, with both sides exchanging a few words of mutual regard.

"What exactly have you brought?" Zhao Jin instead asked this thoroughly atmosphere-ruining question.

Ruhui, kneeling on the ground, was taken aback. He looked up and said: "Empty words are not to be spoken rashly. I must wait until the goods arrive to explain item by item. What I can produce now are merely some title deeds."

Ruhui drew out a dozen or so sheets of paper from his bosom and laid them out before him, then explained: "A portion of Cloud Mountain Temple's fields are held under the temple's own name. These are so-called public fields; dealing with them is cumbersome and involves many complications. Another portion of the fields, though purchased by the temple, were bought under false names. As long as the contracts are in hand, the fields are in hand. What I have brought this time are precisely these. The six properties on top are all in the vicinity of the Three Immortals Terrace."

Liu Yong glanced at Zhao Jin, then stepped forward and picked up the contracts. After flipping through a few pages, his face immediately filled with delighted surprise as he said: "Big Brother, these are the very estates..."

The other companions' faces also lit up with joy. Around the He Family Estate, there were several Cloud Mountain Temple manors. Although they posed no real threat, they could not simply be ignored. Coercing obedience by force was one thing, but obtaining them legitimately and rightfully was another matter entirely. With the law on their side, the people in those estates would willingly change masters.

Zhao Jin waved his hand, leaned forward, a smile on his face, but the smile seemed somewhat cold. He opened his mouth and asked, "You just said quite a lot — it sounded impassioned, but think about it carefully and it's too fake. Talented scholars and beautiful ladies, heroes finding kindred spirits — that's the stuff of storytellers' tales and opera scripts. Did you think that we, being young, would get all fired up after hearing you speak like that and play along with your act?"

Ruhui's face showed some surprise. Chen Sheng and the others' faces darkened. Just then, Shi Manqiang was hurrying back from Little Stone Village. Entering the room, he still didn't know what had happened.

"Were you expecting me to jump to my feet at once, hurry over and help you up, and even say, 'Sir, what wisdom do you have to teach me?'" Zhao Jin's words were teasing, but the smile was already gone from his face. "We are all martial men. We only recognize what's real with blade and spear. Speak the truth!"

Everyone could more or less guess what awaited Ruhui if he did not speak the truth. Yet Ruhui, kneeling there, showed no sign of fear. He simply raised his head and looked at Zhao Jin before him, studying him from left to right as if he had never known this person. After looking for a moment like this, a smile spread across Ruhui's face. Kneeling there, he cupped his hands and said, "Young Master Zhao, so young yet possessing such astute judgment — this alone makes you worthy of my allegiance and service. Though, speaking this way, Young Master Zhao will surely think I am speaking in riddles."

"What nerve he has…" Shi Manqiang muttered quietly from the side, finding himself a seat and sitting down.

"Young Master Zhao began merely by fooling around with everyone here in the west of the city. The first time he killed was likely Ruhan's six underlings. The second time he killed was likely those dozen or so desperate bandits in the alley south of the city. The third time was likely in the snowfields near Gao Family Village. The fourth time was the great battle against this temple's own monk-soldiers. From small to great, from nothing to something, from weak to strong — in so short a time, Young Master Zhao, barehanded, has achieved all this. Such talent and boldness of spirit are rare even in Xu Province, a place that has produced no shortage of heroes. Is this not worthy of allegiance?" Ruhui spoke with ease and assurance.

Chen Sheng, Dong Bingfeng, Shi Manqiang, Ji Xiang, Liu Yong, seated in the room — and even Zhao Jin himself — all unconsciously straightened their backs, their faces filled with pride. Although there had been a few covert night raids and assassinations the other party did not know about, hearing the tale of their own deeds and merits recounted so eloquently made every one of them feel proud, feel a sense of glory. These truly were great accomplishments achieved in a short span of days. Thinking of it oneself was one feeling; being praised by another was a different feeling entirely.

After Ruhui finished saying this, the smile on his face turned mocking, and his tone became teasing as well: "Judging by Young Master Zhao's way of doing things, even if Cloud Mountain Temple doesn't deliver these assets now, Young Master Zhao would still come and take them later. Better to do them a favor now."

Zhao Jin was taken aback. He looked at the companions beside him, then burst into loud laughter. His companions couldn't help laughing either. Ever since the Zhao Camp's prestige had grown great, no one had truly dared to speak like this. This monk Ruhui was truly amusing.

"Young Master Zhao's subordinates are all crack troops, their martial spirit soaring high. In matters of finance and commerce, you have the means to turn stone into gold. Yet when it comes to devising strategies and handling social engagements, there is no one to do it. I have no great stratagems, but having served as guest prefect for so many years, I do have some experience and insight. I am willing to offer my service to Young Master Zhao," Ruhui said, striking while the iron was hot.

Zhao Jin rose to his feet, walked over and helped Ruhui up, saying with a smile, "With talent like yours, I'm afraid you'd be wasted here."

"Now it might be a waste; later, perhaps, it will be me reaching beyond my station," Ruhui's wit was also remarkable.

Zhao Jin laughed again. After laughing, he said, "Then let's do this together. And don't say you have no stratagems — you'll have to put in effort in devising plans and strategies too."

Hearing these words, Ruhui's expression turned solemn. He knelt again with reverence and said, "Since that is so, Ruhui pays respects to my lord!"

With that, he heavily kowtowed three times. Zhao Jin, however, reached out and pulled the man up again, saying in a clear voice, "We deal in substance here; let's not bother with empty formalities. 'My lord' and such are what they call people in storytellers' tales. At our current scale, calling me that would make us a laughingstock. Calling me Master will do."

"I feel that addressing you as Employer is more fitting. What does my lord think?" Ruhui, however, persisted a little here.

"As you like!" Zhao Jin was indifferent to this.

With this matter settled, Zhao Jin smiled and said to his companions, "Tonight we must eat something good and drink a few cups of wine, to welcome Ruhui — no, to welcome Mister Cao!"

Hearing the word "Mister," Ruhui's body trembled. Then he nodded with a smile. After the exchange just now, everyone had a rather good impression of this Ruhui, and they all smiled and greeted him in turn.

"Employer, there's no rush to drink. Counting the travel time along the way, the convoy should arrive after dark," Ruhui said with a smile.