Chapter 14: Chapter 12: The Master’s Change of Heart
’I must be overthinking things.’
Li Yaozu rubbed the bridge of his nose and sat down on a stool by the dining table.
He figured he was just scaring himself.
From the day Wei Tu was sold to the Li Family until now, the family had never done him wrong. Wei Tu wouldn’t take such a desperate risk over a small matter.
—After all, the matter of forcing Xinghua to submit hadn’t even happened yet. On the way to the Prefecture City, he had only briefly mentioned having Wei Tu become Li Xingye’s Attendant.
No matter how vivid one’s imagination, it wouldn’t leap to that conclusion.
’It must just be a coincidence.’
Li Yaozu repeated the word "probably" in his mind, trying to console himself.
But his heart wouldn’t quiet down. He recalled how Wei Tu had straightened his back and looked him directly in the eye as he left. That was not the gaze a Servant should have, nor the bearing of someone grateful for kindness.
"I’m going out for a bit." Li Yaozu decided to go for a walk to clear his head.
After informing Mrs. Li Tong, he lifted the hem of his long robe and strode out of the main hall.
Following the corridor, he passed through the courtyard and the Moon Sect gate, arriving at the outer residence. He stopped under the eaves and glanced at the stables.
The half-grown black horse snorted as it ate the last finger-width layer of fodder in its trough.
Near the bluestone by the wall, a pile of chopped hay was stacked—enough for about ten days.
Li Yaozu approached the stables and stood on his toes to inspect their cleanliness. Seeing that it was tidy, with no sign of the horse’s droppings or urine from the previous night, his anxious heart finally settled. A hint of admiration appeared in his eyes.
’I really was overthinking it. Brother Wei is a good lad,’ Li Yaozu mused.
Returning to the inner residence, he passed the kitchen and once again smelled the aroma of meat and vegetables drifting from the open window. Another weight seemed to lift from his shoulders. With his right hand clasped behind his back, his steps became a little lighter.
"Bring me a brush and paper," Li Yaozu ordered the maid beside Mrs. Li Tong, settling back onto the stool he had sat on earlier.
"Master, a brush and paper... Are you writing something?" Mrs. Li Tong asked, puzzled. Li Yaozu was not a scholar who composed poetry on a whim, and he rarely picked up a brush during mealtime.
"I have an old friend in Sanyuan Town who passed the Military Examination. Since Brother Wei wants to take the Military Examination, we might as well do a good deed and help him all the way."
Li Yaozu explained.
"Master, are you suffering from some delusion? Have you gone mad?" Mrs. Li Tong was astonished. Earlier, when they were discussing the redemption silver in the inner hall, it was she who had done Wei Tu a favor by reducing his fee by several taels.
—If the redemption silver was too high, the other wealthy wives would gossip at their gatherings that the Li Family was low-class and money-grubbing.
Just then, Chunlan returned from the inner hall with paper, an ink stick, a brush, and an inkstone, and began to grind the ink for Li Yaozu.
"Delusion?" Li Yaozu paused, his hand poised over the paper. His expression soured slightly as he frowned and muttered, "Women... so shortsighted."
Ignoring Mrs. Li Tong, Li Yaozu began to write, following the faint blue vertical lines on the stationery.
When he finished, he took out his personal seal and stamped the letter with its red ink.
’If what I saw was genuine, this letter will be a good deed. If it was false, and his thoughts run deep, then this can also avert a disaster.’
Li Yaozu studied the letter, stroking his goatee, his eyes glinting with cunning.
The favor of a recommendation was as weighty as a mountain. If Wei Tu were to repay this kindness with malice, he wouldn’t even have the chance to become a Mixed Blademan.
Blademen valued loyalty above all else.
"Go, deliver this to Brother Wei," Li Yaozu said, placing the letter into an envelope and handing it to the maid beside him.
...
Soon, Wei Tu, who was packing his belongings in the main room, received another letter written by his master, Li Yaozu.
This envelope, like the one that had held his deed of sale and letter of proof, was unsealed. Wei Tu could easily see the contents inside.
’Mr. Shan—Shan Ji—of Sanyuan Town? He wants me to go there as a long-term worker and learn some martial arts from Mr. Shan to prepare for next year’s Military Examination?’
After reading the letter, Wei Tu’s reaction was much like Mrs. Li Tong’s. He felt as if the sun had risen in the west.
Had Li Yaozu had a change of heart?
This letter might have seemed like just a letter, but the request was being made to a Military Examination Master. The social capital required was by no means small.
Favors required reciprocation.
There was no such thing as only taking without giving anything in return.
’Sanyuan Town isn’t far from the County Town, only a day’s journey on foot.’
’Now that I’ve bought my freedom, Li Yaozu has no reason to deliberately set a trap for me. This is most likely genuine.’
Wei Tu hesitated for a short while before finally making up his mind. He decided to follow the letter’s instructions: go to Shan Ji’s home in Sanyuan Town to work as a long-term laborer and, while he was there, ask this Military Examination Elder for some advice on the exam.
It was only midsummer now. There were still more than six months until the Military Examination next February.
He had deviated from his original plan and bought his freedom early. This meant that for the remaining half a year, he would very likely earn nothing and have to live off his savings until they were gone.
During the slack farming season, the County Town was never short of men from the countryside looking for work.
Even if one offered to work for just room and board, with no wages, such jobs were hard to find.
Otherwise, Xinghua wouldn’t have had such a strong reaction when she heard Wei Tu wanted to buy his freedom.
The real difficulty wasn’t buying one’s freedom; it was that servants often had no way to survive afterward.
"Thank the Bodhisattvas, thank the Bodhisattvas..."
That evening, after seeing Li Yaozu’s handwritten letter, Xinghua beamed. She knelt in a corner, faced the direction of the County Town’s Chenghuang Temple, and kowtowed three times.
For the first half of the day, she had been on pins and needles, worried that an enraged Li Yaozu would have Wei Tu beaten with clubs and thrown out of the Li Mansion.
Or that Wei Tu would rebel against the Li Family, causing the Government Office constables to search the city all night for an escaped slave.
However.
The Bodhisattvas had protected them.
Now that the day was over, not only had her husband, Wei Tu, successfully bought back his deed of sale, but he had also received a "recommendation letter" from Master Li Yaozu. How could she not be overjoyed?
"I’ll pack your clothes and food right now, Brother Wei. After you finish your business at the County Yamen tomorrow, you should set off for Sanyuan Town early..." After giving her thanks to all the gods and buddhas in Heaven, Xinghua found no time to rest. She immediately began packing clothes, money, and provisions for Wei Tu’s journey.
"The wheat harvest is in less than half a month. Without me in the County Town..." Wei Tu sighed.
Working as a long-term laborer at Mr. Shan’s home, he would surely be busy during the harvest. He wouldn’t have time to return to the County Town to reap the wheat.
And Xinghua was a woman who had to prepare meals for the Li Mansion during the day. Even if she were free at night, it was too dangerous to go outside the city.
"How can you not see what’s important here? Even if all three mu of grain were to rot in the fields, it wouldn’t be as important as your future," Xinghua said, her face tight with displeasure. She looked just like a nagging wife in the middle of an argument.
"Even if I can’t harvest the wheat myself, I can just hire other tenant farmers to do it. It will just cost a little more money."
Xinghua added.
Her words completely dispelled Wei Tu’s worries. He nodded, agreeing to the decision to set out for Sanyuan Town the next day.
