Chapter 887: The Return Journey from the Wedding

That relative in the Embroidered Uniform Guard was quite generous, giving them several dozen taels of silver again, and then said there was no rush to visit. If father and son met too often, it would only draw suspicion. It would be better to wait until they received word from him before taking any action.

Waiting in such anxious uncertainty, Fan Zixia's hair turned much whiter. He could not sleep well day after day. News gradually trickled in — something about the Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander leading the elite cavalry from all over South Zhili northward, something about the Duke of Wei, something about the Grand General of Wolf Mountain all dispatching their horsemen.

Hearing this, Fan Zixia grew excited. With so many court forces marching north, how could the mere local bandits of Xuzhou possibly resist? He was truly fortunate to have made a decisive choice; otherwise, his entire family would have been dragged down by that rebel Zhao Jin and his gang.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard relative came by once more, telling Fan Zixia to visit He Family Village again and see if there was a chance to meet his son. He was to tell him to keep a close watch on Zhao Jin. If the bandit mob scattered and fled, and he could capture the rebel leader, then both of them would have rendered great service. If he could not meet him, then he should simply observe the situation in He Family Village.

He had thought that with the situation so urgent, He Family Village would be under strict, forbidding guard, and that father and son would not be able to meet. He never expected everything to be as usual. The two of them even managed to meet, and they talked about these matters. He had assumed the bandits inside He Family Village would be panicking, but to his surprise, they were calm and composed.

After Fan Zixia returned to the city, he spent his days both worried and excited. His worry was that when the bandits were wiped out, his own child might get caught up in it and be accidentally harmed. His excitement was that once the government troops arrived, the Fan family's future wealth and rank were guaranteed. Perhaps even the lofty Prefect himself would have to treat him with respect and courtesy.

However, the subsequent development of the situation greatly defied Fan Zixia's expectations. He had thought the "bandits" would scatter and flee; he never imagined it would be the government troops who scattered. That Embroidered Uniform Guard relative never appeared again either.

Fan Zixia was once again gripped by fear. On one hand, he lamented the injustice of Heaven — how could government troops be frightened off by bandits? On the other hand, he was terrified that his and his son's work as informants would be discovered. If that happened, they would truly die without a burial place.

He lived in such trembling fear for a long time before this worry gradually subsided. When father and son met, Fan Jinbang said that as he had stood there back then, he had only felt a surge of energy filling his chest, feeling afraid of nothing, without the slightest other thought. Reflecting on it afterward, he even wondered if he had been possessed by some demon.

Since the authorities were useless, the Fan family naturally dared not breathe a word of their earlier dealings. They simply treated it as a windfall of several dozen taels and continued to shut their doors and grumble a few complaints. Fan Zixia's resentment was just that. His son Fan Jinbang's resentment, however, grew greater by the day. His mindset had been off from the start, and it was inevitable that he became slack during training and guard duty, and short-tempered when dealing with the other household troops. As a result, when he should have been promoted to Squad Leader based on seniority, or sent somewhere to serve as a deputy company commander of a local militia, his poor performance meant he could only be observed further, with a decision on promotion deferred for another period.

Watching the people around him receive appointments one after another, even those with less seniority and lesser ability than himself getting posts, Fan Jinbang, already full of grievances, grew even angrier. Yet he could only endure it for the time being.

Once a person harbors such thoughts, it becomes even harder to do things well. Although the personal guard unit had no shortage of combat assignments afterward, Fan Jinbang failed to deliver any outstanding performance. However, the Zhao Camp emphasized unity and discipline. Even though he did not want to perform well, under the constraints of military law and the supervision of his superiors, he made no unusual moves either.

When they heard that the Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander who had led the troops north had also surrendered to Zhao Jin, the Fan family was thrown into another great fright. Fan Zixia even fled to Pi Prefecture, not even caring about his son anymore. But when no sign of implication appeared, his suspended heart slowly settled back down.

As the Zhao Camp marched south and north, defeating government troops, Fan Zixia gradually grew numb. His original resentment also dissipated considerably. He began to ponder whether he should advise his son Fan Jinbang to work hard in the Zhao Camp. There would always be a day to rise to prominence. Even if he didn't rise, being able to let the family live with such dignity wasn't bad either.

But it was at this moment that the relative came again. This time, the Embroidered Uniform Guard relative looked even more robust and was dressed even more richly. The families in the camp's domain dared not get involved with the underworld or the streets, and even the bailiffs paid them little attention. When a wealthy relative came to visit, only the neighbors looked on with envy. Not many people really took notice. Moreover, the Fan family had many relatives outside, a fact everyone had long recognized, so no one suspected anything.

His Majesty and Eunuch Wei are both preparing to move against this traitor. The higher-ups have finally understood: if the rebel leader is executed, the bandit mob will inevitably scatter. If you are willing to help this time, then there will be a position of Guard Commander in one of Xuzhou's counties for Fan Jinbang. Fan Zixia can also enter the Imperial Academy as a stipend student and have a future career. In addition, there will be one hundred taels of gold for expenses. If you are unwilling to help this time, then the matter from last time will be revealed. You know very well what the outcome will be.

Mentioning the Emperor and Eunuch Wei was shocking enough to shake one's heart. How many times in an ordinary person's life could a conversation bring up those two names? A Guard Commander was a proper military officer, and an Imperial Academy student was equivalent to a Provincial Graduate. If they could truly obtain these, the Fan family would instantly become one of the foremost households in Xuzhou, bringing glory to their ancestors. Fan Zixia's obsession with scholarly honor and official rank had never faded; in fact, he had long been possessed by it. Hearing that such a path was laid out before him, he immediately cast all caution aside and agreed outright. He did not even consider the threat. And speaking of which, those glittering gold ingots were temptation enough — that amount was enough to live on for a lifetime.

At this juncture, Fan Zixia actually understood clearly that he and his son no longer had the choice to refuse. Rather than being exposed and meeting a terrible fate, it was better to gamble on this heaven-shattering wealth and rank.

The Fan family relative did not specify what Fan Jinbang was to do. He only asked Fan Jinbang to tell him when he would be on guard duty at Zhao Jin's residence. At that time, he would simply need to cooperate.

Chen Sheng's wedding was very simple. The elders drank quite merrily, but the younger generation did not drink much. Everyone remained clear-headed, and there were none of the usual wedding hijinks like crashing the bridal chamber. Three days after the wedding, Chen Sheng would bring his bride back to the military camp.

"Lord Jin, this martial tournament may have started from idle chatter, but it has now been stirred up to such a scale, with so many people arriving. Those with ulterior motives will certainly seize this chance to cause trouble. It's just unclear when they will stir. Around this Xuzhou city, even if chaos breaks out to the heavens, as long as the city gates are shut and strict precautions are taken, no disaster will occur. What I fear is someone taking advantage of this crowded moment to act against you, Lord Jin. Although the area around the wedding has been sealed off, I fear the one-in-a-million chance. Lord Jin, your person is now precious beyond measure; you must not be careless in the slightest. It would be best to return to the key stronghold of He Family Village as soon as possible."

These were the words of Ma Chonghao. With the martial tournament bustling to such a degree, given the current situation in Xuzhou, there were bound to be people manipulating things behind the scenes. But the true core of Xuzhou was He Family Village. Even if chaos erupted here in Xuzhou, it would not harm the overall situation. Moreover, once the city gates were closed and each district inside the city was locked down for arrests, no great waves could be stirred up.

The real crux was that with so many people, so mixed together, a sudden, unpreventable ambush was hard to avoid. Zhao Jin and the other core members of the Zhao Camp were here. If anything happened to any one of them, it would be a great calamity for the Zhao Camp.

"You're just afraid we'll cause you trouble, aren't you!" Zhao Jin teased with a laugh.

At present, Ma Chonghao was essentially in charge of matters here in Xuzhou. For such a complex and chaotic large-scale event, no one had more experience than him.

If someone else had been asked such a question, they would surely have been flustered. But Ma Chonghao was an old hand at handling such things. He simply replied with a smile, "With Lord Jin and all the other lords present here, you naturally overawe the petty criminals and can be of great help. How could it be called causing trouble?"

Everyone laughed and let the matter pass. However, Ma Chonghao still continued to offer his counsel, saying, "I would also ask the Second Master and Third Master to persuade the two Elder Masters. Although the defenses of Xuzhou city are sufficiently strict, it is still not comparable to He Family Village. Moreover, the city is large, and there will inevitably be places one cannot fully cover. If any mishap were to occur, it would be a great disaster no matter which side it befell."

To these words from Ma Chonghao, Zhao Jin merely smiled and asked in return, "Are you optimistic about Xuzhou?"

"This subordinate is naturally optimistic about Xuzhou. Otherwise, I would not have come here, but would have long since gone elsewhere to live a life of leisure." Such dialogue was, in truth, a familiar refrain by now.

"I will not let your optimism be in vain," Zhao Jin said with a smile. Ma Chonghao hurriedly bowed in salute.

Zhao Jin, however, continued, "Originally, I wanted to say: apply all your skills well here in Xuzhou, and I will certainly not treat you poorly. But those words would surely sound dull to you, so I had no choice but to trade a Chan riddle with you instead."

Hearing this, Ma Chonghao could not help but laugh aloud, and then bowed deeply. This time, the gesture was far more solemn and sincere.

The regard for Ma Chonghao was not only reflected in words. After the wedding, Zhao Jin did not linger in Xuzhou city but led his party back to He Family Village. It was still safest there.

No matter how busy one was with practical affairs and camp duties, in such a time of peace and quiet, with a joyous new marriage, one had to stay at home for a few days and pay respects to the elders of both families. Chen Sheng had to remain in the city and could not return with everyone else.

Dong Bingfeng and Zhou Xuezhi in Qingjiangpu, Shi Manqiang on the eastern shore of Luoma Lake, Lei Cai in Linqing Prefecture — all these people who should have come to attend the wedding merely sent envoys to offer congratulations and deliver gifts. Ji Xiang, who had accompanied Zhao Jin to the wedding, was full of undisguised envy. Liu Yong had rushed back to He Family Village that very night and could not join everyone on the return journey.

Seeing one's friend get married, and at this age, envy was perfectly normal. Yet Wang Zhaojing wore a gloomy expression the entire way back.

"Yesterday at the wedding banquet, you seemed fine. Why are you like this today? Has something happened?" Zhao Jin could not help but ask.

At Zhao Jin's inquiry, Wang Zhaojing first paused, stunned, then shook his head with a bitter smile and replied, "Your younger brother is fine. It's just that thinking of Second Brother's marriage stirred some feelings."

Zhao Jin recalled the previous day's wedding banquet. Wang Zhaojing had indeed seemed preoccupied even then. Wang Zhaojing continued, "Second Brother is a man of few words, but he has a grand vision in his heart. His every action is for the sake of our greater cause. Your younger brother here simply has too many things he cannot see past."

Seeing them chatting, Ji Xiang had already ridden his horse over. Once he heard this kind of talk, he merely curled his lip, turned his horse around, and returned to the main column.

"He is him, and you are you. If you were him, you wouldn't have so many entanglements in your heart," Zhao Jin said with a laugh. As he spoke, he recalled that Wang Zhaojing had been constantly writing letters to the outside during this period, all addressed to his fellow scholars from the same examination cohort. In the past, Wang Zhaojing had not been in much contact with them. He wondered why his attitude had changed.

One update today. Thank you to "Yuan Heng Li Zhen" from Chuangshi and "Zhong Wang Tang Mao" from Qidian for your tips. Thank you all for your subscriptions and monthly tickets.