Mo Sang – CH 244

Chapter 244. No Idea

Li Sangrou and the others followed Ye Anping, hurrying towards Longbiao City. Occasionally, during moments of leisure, Ye Anping would chat with Li Sangrou about the Yang family of Laodong. Halfway through the journey, Li Sangrou had a general understanding of the Yang family in Longbiao City.

The ancestors of Laodong were not actually native to Jiuxi Shidong. Yang Yong’s great-grandfather had passed the imperial examinations and was appointed to an official post in Jiuxi Shidong as his first official.

Yang Yong’s great-grandfather moved his entire family to his post, but after arriving, he was promoted one term after another, but never transferred to another post. He submitted countless petitions requesting transfers, all to no avail. Being from a poor family, his petitions were useless, and he had no other recourse.

Finally, after six consecutive terms totaling nearly thirty years, Yang Yong’s great-grandfather died in office.

After his death, the court greatly honored him and bestowed the honor upon Yang Yong’s great-grandfather, allowing him to inherit his great-grandfather’s official position.

When Yang Yong’s great-grandfather succeeded to the throne as the second ruler, the country was in chaos, and the Yang family transformed from court officials into one of the local tyrants of Jiuxi Shidong.

Both Yang Yong’s great-grandfather and grandfather were educated from a young age, relying on the legacy of their ancestors to maintain their position. By the time of Yang Yong’s father, he had hired a martial arts teacher, allowing him to study and practice martial arts simultaneously.

From Yang Yong’s father onwards, the Yang family began to accumulate power and expand outwards. By the time of Yang Yong, Jiuxi Shidong, bordering Sichuan to the west and Tanzhou to the east and extending north to Shimen, were all areas under the Yang family’s influence.

Yang Yong was a man of both literary and martial talents, highly skilled in martial arts, and physically robust, living to over ninety years old before passing away peacefully.

During these ninety years, Yang Yong married five wives and fathered nine sons.

Concubine Wu was Yang Yong’s last wife, bearing only one son, the Ninth Son, who was the one who most resembled Yang Yong and was the most capable of succeeding him as the head of the old village. From the time his ninth son was around ten years old, Yang Yong had taken him under his wing, meticulously instructing and teaching him. By the time Yang Yong passed away, he had already relinquished control of the affairs of the Jiuxi Shidong for a year or two, handing over all matters to his ninth son.

Of Yang Yong’s other eight sons—seven, except for one who died young—each took charge of a cave from adulthood. The remaining three caves were personally managed by the ninth son. These three caves, surrounding Longbiao City, were the wealthiest and most powerful among the Jiuxi Shidong.

The ninth son, this second-generation chieftain, was over fifty years old. He had one wife and one concubine; his concubine, Lady Wang, had died young.

His wife, Lady Tian, ​​bore him three sons and one daughter, while his concubine, Lady Wang, bore him one son and two daughters. Of his four sons, his third son, Yang Zhian, and his second and third daughters were born to his concubine, Lady Wang.

Currently, all four sons were in Longbiao City, while the three daughters had been taken to the Ye family in Anqing Prefecture by Ye Anping.

Yang Zhili, the eldest son of the Yang family chieftain, was married to a woman surnamed Shi. They had a son and a daughter; the son was four years old, and the daughter was only a few months old.

The Shi family, originally the second most powerful force in the Jiuxi Shidong after the Yang family, was among the first to submit to Yang Yong.

Now, the Shi family father and sons were the most trusted henchmen of the Yang family chieftain. Lady Shi’s eldest and second-eldest brothers were leading troops stationed in Xiangxiang, less than a hundred li from Changsha City.

Yang Zhili and his wife, Lady Shi, were childhood sweethearts. Lady Shi and Yang Zhili’s three younger sisters grew up together and had a very close relationship, especially with the eldest sister, Nanxing, whose bond was closer than that of sisters.

The second son, Yang Zhiping, just got married last year.

Chieftain Yang deeply respected his mother, Concubine Wu, and always consulted her on important matters before making decisions. This was also Yang Yong’s dying wish.

……………………

When Li Sangrou and her companions arrived at Longbiao City after a long journey, outside Yuzhang City, the grand finale of the essay competition at Tengwang Pavilion was approaching its hundred-day mark.

A month before the grand finale, Governor Luo had sent out invitations to instructors, scholars with official titles, and renowned Confucian scholars from all over Hongzhou to come to Yuzhang City to jointly evaluate the works of talented individuals.

Two or three days prior, the Commander’s office had a high platform erected beside the connecting corridor.

On the day after the hundred-day mark, the top three winners of the tenth ten-day mini-competition were announced first, followed by Governor Luo announcing the top three winners of the grand finale.

The three articles had already been transcribed according to the number of people present that day. Governor Luo announced them on the stage, while servants handed them to the instructors, scholars, and talented individuals below.

Governor Luo, with a long face, announced the three articles, holding them up in front of his face with two fingers, glancing at them with disdain for a moment before releasing them, letting the papers listing the titles and authors flutter down to the ground.

“This is the Tengwang Pavilion!” Governor Luo pointed to the Tengwang Pavilion construction site not far away.

“This is a fortune!” Governor Luo pointed again to the pile of silver ingots on a tray beside the stage.

“Alas, these are the kinds of articles.” Governor Luo pointed to the three articles held by the people below the stage. “Gentlemen, take a good look, examine them carefully, and savor them slowly. How well are these articles written? Are they sufficient to represent the outstanding people and beautiful scenery of Hongzhou?

Gentlemen, come on, who thinks these three articles are sufficient to represent Hongzhou? Raise your hand so I can see them.” Governor Luo pointed from one side to the other.

The audience fell silent.

“If this were the kind of article that was inscribed when the Tengwang Pavilion was renovated, and the stone inscription was carved, even though I’m not exactly a native of Hongzhou, I have, after all, governed this Hongzhou, this land of outstanding people and beautiful scenery!

I can’t bear the shame.”

Governor Luo’s face was ashen. After a moment of silence, he continued, “And if in another hundred days, the articles are still like this, alas!” Governor Luo sighed deeply. “Hongzhou’s talent is like this; its literary talent is like this, so this is all we can do.

But this is the Tengwang Pavilion; it deserves the best articles.

If no good articles are submitted in a hundred days, then we will solicit articles from across the land. After all, the article that made Tengwang Pavilion famous throughout the world—the lines ‘Outstanding people and a blessed land’ and ‘Autumn waters blend seamlessly with the sky’—was not written by someone from Hongzhou.”

After speaking, Governor Luo, with his hands behind his back and a heavy heart, stepped off the stage and walked away.

……………………

Li Sangrou and Ye Anping’s group traveled day and night, arriving at the outskirts of Longbiao City around the end of the month.

Ye Anping knocked on the door of an inn outside the city. After everyone settled in, Ye Anping and Li Sangrou discussed in hushed tones, “Tomorrow morning, I’ll first go see Elder Yang and Concubine Wu to tell them about your visit and see what they say. If we do see them, they’ll definitely grant us an audience. After that, we’ll see how things go.”

“Hmm,” Li Sangrou nodded, gesturing towards the inn. “Here?”

Ye Anping understood Li Sangrou’s meaning and lowered his eyes, saying, “The barbarians are very different from us. For the past hundred years, they’ve regarded Elder Yang as a god. Not only in and around Longbiao City, but throughout the Jiuxi Shidong, everyone shares the same surname, Yang.”

“Hmm,” Li Sangrou hummed in agreement.

“Don’t worry, the Ye family has connections in Jiuxi Shidong. With the Old Chieftain’s and Concubine Wu’s influence, they can still protect the safety of the Boss and everyone else,” Ye Anping added.

“Hmm,” Li Sangrou responded vaguely.

The next morning, Ye Anping entered Longbiao City to meet with the Old Chieftain Yang and Concubine Wu.

Li Sangrou leisurely ate breakfast, then, accompanied by Da Chang and Hei Ma, and with Meng Yanqing in tow, they walked around the inn for a long time, admiring the distant green mountains and the wide confluence of the two rivers on the wooden dock outside the inn.

“If we go into the city later, don’t follow us,” Li Sangrou said softly, glancing at Meng Yanqing.

“Hmm?” Meng Yanqing looked at Li Sangrou.

“If you hear any commotion in the city, either evacuate the inn and find a safe place to hide, or kill everyone in the inn, guard the inn, and wait for chaos in the city before storming in. The specifics are up to you,” Li Sangrou continued.

“What does the Boss mean?” Meng Yanqing subconsciously glanced around.

“We can talk if we can, but if we can’t reach an agreement, we’ll kill everyone in the Yang family,” Li Sangrou said calmly.

Meng Yanqing slowly took a breath and replied softly, “Yes.”

“You all go back first. I’ll just take a walk. Hei Ma, follow me.” Li Sangrou took a few steps back, disembarked from the dock, and strolled towards a vegetable field that stretched to the riverbank.

Beside the vegetable field, an old woman was leaning forward, watching a woman in the middle of the field planting small pieces of ginger.

Li Sangrou gestured for Hei Ma not to follow too closely, walked over, and stood about ten steps away from the old woman, also peering into the field to watch the woman planting ginger. The old woman watched intently, pointing with her cane as she planted a patch here, a patch there. Li Sangrou watched with her hands behind her back, completely absorbed.

After about fifteen minutes, the woman in the field had finished planting a patch. The old woman, leaning on her cane, looked it over several times, nodded in satisfaction, and then smiled at Li Sangrou, saying, “Are you from out of town, Young Lady?”

“Yes, I greet you, Madam,” Li Sangrou replied with a deep bow.

“What a clever young girl. What is your surname, Young Lady?” Concubine Wu asked with a smile, turning to another patch of land as she watched the woman continue planting ginger.

“No need for formalities; my surname is Li, Li Sangrou,” Li Sangrou replied, following Concubine Wu as she turned to look at another patch of land.

“Li Sangrou,” Concubine Wu repeated slowly, word by word, her brows slightly furrowed, “That Sangrou?”

“Yes,” Li Sangrou answered with a smile.

“There’s a General Sang in Northern Qi, also a woman,” Old Concubine Wu said, sizing up Li Sangrou.

“That’s me,” Li Sangrou said, bowing slightly.

“Oh, where’s your crossbow?”

“I rarely carry a crossbow; it’s too heavy and too conspicuous,” Li Sangrou laughed.

“Indeed,” Old Concubine Wu said with a smile, gesturing with her cane to the women in the field to plant some ginger. “I didn’t expect the Ye family boy to bring General Sang.”

“He probably doesn’t know anything about General Sang,” Li Sangrou said, taking a few steps away from Old Concubine Wu and looking at the women planting ginger in the field. “The Ye family focuses on business; Master Ye, this merchant, is just a merchant.”

“There’s no such thing as a simple matter of ‘one’ and ‘two.’ If he were really just a merchant, why would he bring you along?” Old Concubine Wu’s tone was casual. “How does he know you? I mean, the Ye family boy.”

Li Sangrou tilted her head, thought for a moment, and asked. “Outside, there’s a kind of restaurant that also does assassination work. Have you heard of it, Old Madam?”

“Hmm,” Old Concubine Wu nodded affirmatively.

“When I first arrived in Jianle City, I thought about taking on some work at the restaurant, like being an assassin or something. The restaurant said I was too close to the government and refused to hire me.

“Master Ye also came to the restaurant, but his job violated their taboo. After hearing what Master Ye said, I didn’t plan to take it either. But later, by a twist of fate, I ended up fulfilling his wish.” Li Sangrou smiled.

Old Concubine Wu turned to look at Li Sangrou. “How did the Emperor of Great Qi die?”

“I didn’t kill him,” Li Sangrou said with a shrug. “I didn’t have the guts. It’s a long story.”

“You found Zuo Rou-niang?” Old Concubine Wu leaned on her cane, looking at the woman planting ginger in the field.

“Yes,” Li Sangrou hummed in agreement.

After a moment, seeing that Li Sangrou didn’t continue, Old Concubine Wu glanced at her sideways. “Tell me,” she said.

“The late Emperor, before he sought to marry Empress Zhang from the Zhang family, had a concubine, the later Worthy Consort Shen, who was six or seven months pregnant. This child was forcibly aborted.

Later, perhaps to make amends, or perhaps for other reasons, a year before his ascension to the throne, the late Emperor, while touring various regions, searched for six respectable young women who resembled Worthy Consort Shen. Rou-niang was one of them.

Later, the Second Prince was born.”

“Pah!” Old Concubine Wu spat. “Was the Second Prince Rou-niang’s son?”

“I don’t know. Probably not. Rou-niang is brave and resourceful, while the Second Prince is naive and cowardly,” Li Sangrou replied casually.

“You’re quite capable of investigating this.” Old Concubine Wu turned slightly, carefully scrutinizing Li Sangrou.

“Everything done leaves a trace. It can always be found,” Li Sangrou sighed.

“What brings you here?” Old Concubine Wu looked her over, then turned her gaze back to Zhong Jiang.

“Nothing. Since Master Ye asked me to come, I couldn’t refuse.”

“Master Ye’s plan is for me to persuade you and Elder Yang not to help Changsha City but to remain neutral or to surrender to Northern Qi. He believes that helping Changsha City is a dead end for you.

Master Ye is a merchant, extremely successful in business, but when it comes to matters like this, he becomes completely confused.

Jiuxi Shidong, stretching north to Shimen, south to the Southern Barbarians, east to Tanzhou, and west to Sichuan, with its strong army and abundant provisions—in such a vast area, neither the Southern Liang nor the Northern Qi could possibly be unaware of it. They must have clashed countless times already.

The Northern Qi have sent more than ten or eight envoys, have they not?

I came here because Master Ye asked; it wouldn’t be right not to.” Li Sangrou finished speaking directly, then sighed.

Old Concubine Wu glanced at Li Sangrou, paused for a moment, then sighed as well. “The Ye family boy means well.

Last time, I asked him to take Nanxing and the other two away, and he asked me, ‘Old Madam, since you think it’s a dead end, why are you still going down that deadly path?'”

Old Concubine Wu laughed as she spoke, “That silly boy. You came here knowing full well that the odds were against you.”

“I don’t think things are going badly. I didn’t plan to do anything. You’ve known the Ye family for over a hundred years, and you watched the Ye family’s son grow up. This trip will just be a bit tiring, that’s all.” Li Sangrou squatted down, picked up a piece of ginger, and smelled it.