Vice Commander Qin’s spirits lifted upon hearing this and he hurriedly approached to give his respects, "Sir, this subordinate still has..."
Shen Fa’s face was expressionless, "Scram!"
The obsequious smile on Vice Commander Qin’s face froze, and he meekly stepped back into the formation, directing the brothers of the Upper Right Division to continue advancing.
Yang Ge, hugging the Cold Moon Treasure Sabre, stood beside the road and nudged Shen Fa with his elbow, "Hey, are you that eager to make me wear small shoes?"
Ignoring him, Shen Fa turned to Wei Heng and bowed with clasped hands, "Eunuch Wei, this journey has inconvenienced you, please trouble yourself to bring back the imperial envoy’s insignia to the capital."
Wei Heng returned the bow, "It’s my duty, I dare not accept a ’thank you’ from Sir Shen!"
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Yang Ge stood aside with a grin and waved his hand, "Next time you come to Lai Lu Ting, come sit at my place, I’ll treat you to a drink!"
Wei Heng, with a full-faced smile, responded, "Then it’s a deal, ah, you can’t pull a fast one on me with watered-down drinks from your establishment!"
Yang Ge raised an eyebrow, "What are you talking about? Our inn’s wine is never watered down!"
"Oh..."
Wei Heng gave a knowing grin, "So it’s water mixed with wine instead, right?"
Yang Ge burst into laughter and gave him a thumbs up, "You know your stuff!"
Wei Heng looked him up and down, he sighed with emotion and lightly patted his shoulder, "There’s a saying, ’Do not concern yourself with the affairs of a post you do not hold.’ From now on, you should observe less of the dirty and broken affairs, let yourself be happier... You need to live a good life, to keep looming over those people’s heads."
Yang Ge casually clasped his hands, "Don’t worry, even if someone begs me to meddle next time, I’ll be too lazy to bother with such trifles!"
Wei Heng smiled, waved his hand, and led the imperial envoy’s insignia procession to depart quietly, embarking on the road back to the capital.
Yang Ge and Shen Fa stood in place, watching as the two groups of troops gradually moved away.
After both groups had vanished from sight, Shen Fa waved his hand to dismiss the accompanying guards.
Yang Ge looked around and said, "How about we go to my place to talk?"
Without a word, Shen Fa drew back his fist and punched Yang Ge in the face.
Yang Ge saw the punch coming.
But he did not dodge.
Shen Fa held nothing back; his punch split Yang Ge’s lip.
Flushed with anger, he roared, "Do you realize how much trouble you’ve caused this time?"
"How much trouble have I caused?"
Yang Ge wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and as his eyes met Shen Fa’s, the wild and defiant look within froze Shen Fa in place once more, "Aren’t I just cleaning up after you?"
Shen Fa was so provoked by his words that he laughed out of anger, lowering his fist, "Should I thank you then?"
In an unwavering mocking tone, still with that fierce look in his eyes, Yang Ge smiled, "Thank me? Are you worthy?"
Furious, Shen Fa exploded, "I know you are right, but this isn’t how things are done. You may feel satisfied, but how should we clean up this mess? Who can clean it up? You or me?"
Yang Ge too became angry, "If you want to be a paperhanger, don’t drag me into it. Headache medicine for the head, foot medicine for the foot. Whose problems can you solve? Who can you save? Weren’t you the one in charge of Jiangzhe? Why is it still such a mess? Or is it that you, Second Master Shen, have also taken their dirty money?"
Shen Fa felt a headache spiraling, "Yes, you have cleared Jiangzhe, but at what cost? The cost is a rift between the sovereign and his ministers, a shockwave through the government! What you’re doing isn’t treating the illness; you’re outright killing the patient!"
Yang Ge also felt an immense headache, "Since when has change not been accompanied by bloodshed? Peace sought through struggle will endure, peace sought through compromise will perish. The common people can hardly survive, and you bastards still think about making them suffer more, pretending it isn’t your fault that people starve, selling their sons and daughters?"
Shen Fa shouted in a fit of rage, "Bullheaded fool, what do you know of the books you’ve read to dare discuss the nation’s fortunes so recklessly!"
Yang Ge laughed at his outburst, bowing with clasped hands, "Alright, I’m the bullheaded fool… No, I’m a kitchen hand now. In the future, your official affairs have nothing to do with me."
"Privately, if you’re still willing to acknowledge our friendship, I welcome you to drink and chat with me. If not, then it doesn’t matter if we go our separate ways."
"I must hurry back to the yamen to prepare meals for the brothers. I won’t disturb Sir Shen with your important matters any longer, I take my leave!"
Having said this, he shouldered the Cold Moon Treasure Sabre and turned to leave.
Shen stood where he was, watching him stride away and opened his mouth, wanting to call after him, but before the words could come out, they turned into a heavy sigh.
In his heart, he didn’t actually think Yang Ge’s approach was wrong.
It was just untimely...