"What’s that? That damned eunuch still hasn’t left?"
Yang Ge had just finished practicing the Eighteen Lingshuang Sabres, bare-chested in the courtyard.
As Fang Ke arrived, Yang Ge was hurriedly getting dressed, and a few words from Fang Ke left him perplexed, thinking, ’Does it really take more than two months to make a token appearance?’
Fang Ke was pacing back and forth like an ant on a hot pan, "Sir, a serious problem has arisen..."
Yang Ge softly chided, "What’s the rush? The sky isn’t falling. Speak properly; what exactly is going on?"
Fang Ke scratched his head aggressively, trying to keep his explanation short and to the point, "The imperial envoy came to Lu Ting County to investigate the three major grain merchants hoarding grain, creating scarcity, and driving up prices. The news has spread, and countless righteous Jianghu folk from all the provinces are currently rallying their friends and heading our way. The vanguard will arrive soon with at least a hundred and eighty people, and according to reports, at least another five to six hundred are on their way..."
After hearing this, Yang Ge too scratched his head, "What does the imperial envoy’s investigation have to do with those Jianghu people?"
Fang Ke stared at Yang Ge, "Don’t you have any idea in your own mind?"
Yang Ge was suddenly enlightened and exclaimed, "Zhang Mazi?"
Fang Ke bowed with a poker-face, "I’ve yet to congratulate you, Sir. Without stepping out of Lu Ting, you’ve already made a resounding name for yourself in the Jianghu - the name ’Timely Rain’ Zhang Mazi is now known to everyone, hot as fire!"
"What? What are you saying? Timely Rain?"
Yang Ge suddenly widened his eyes... The ’Timely Rain’ is actually me?
He immediately exclaimed in anger, "Who the hell came up with that nickname? Is it acceptable to call that?"
He was panicking, but Fang Ke just laughed, "Sir should know, a nickname isn’t valid just because you give it to yourself; it only counts when the people of Jianghu unanimously recognize it... Unfortunately for you, your name ’Timely Rain’ has been unanimously recognized by the Jianghu folks!"
Yang Ge felt a sense of urgency, pacing two circles on the spot while clenching his fist.
But he quickly came to terms with it, sneered, and said, "Timely Rain is Zhang Mazi; what does it have to do with me, Yang Ge, the Store Manager of Yuelai Inn?"
Fang Ke dumbfoundedly raised a thumbs up, "It has to be you!"
Yang Ge, "Cut the crap. You’re worried about those Jianghu folks causing trouble for that dead eunuch, aren’t you?"
Fang Ke, "Isn’t that inevitable? When there are many people, mouths and hands get messy. With so many Jianghu folks gathered, if just one person with a screw loose messes with that Wang, our heads might as well hit the ground!"
Yang Ge thought he made sense and suddenly felt overwhelmed, "But really, what on earth is that dead eunuch dawdling in Lu Ting for? It’s been over two months. Haven’t the investigations been concluded and the report sent back to the capital yet?"
Fang Ke, "How would I know? Anyway, he hasn’t done any real work these past two months; he’s just been busy drinking, feasting, and taking money from those officials every day. The money he’s collected in these two months is more than we could earn in several lifetimes. If I were him, I wouldn’t want to leave either!"
Listening to his account, Yang Ge pondered and then asked, "Do you genuinely not know or are you pretending not to know? Has he truly done nothing official these past two months? If he hasn’t been working, what about his subordinates?"
Fang Ke knew what he was getting at. After a slight hesitation, he replied honestly, "To tell the truth, I’ve also thought about that, wondering if Wang the eunuch might be feigning public works for a secret project. But I genuinely haven’t discovered him doing any substantial work... certainly not the people who came with him into the city!"
Yang Ge pondered for a moment before asking, "How have the three major grain merchants reacted?"
Fang Ke answered, "At first, they acted normally. We sent money to Wang as required, and they continued to make money elsewhere as usual. But over the past month... I’ve heard that grain prices in other places have begun to fall too!"
A smile appeared on Yang Ge’s face, "That’s good news! It seems this Wang the eunuch has accomplished something after all!"
Fang Ke was less optimistic, "Sir, it doesn’t really make much difference now. The grain prices have been rising since last July and August, cleaning out the people’s grain reserves. They started cutting deep just around the start of winter. It’s been over three months now, in winter. Those who had to sell their houses and land have already done so, those who had to sell their children have also sold them, and those who were going to starve have already starved..."
"Not to mention far-off places, just look at Lu Ting. If it weren’t for you taking a stand for the neighbors, people might have started to starve to death around last December, right?"
"If they were allowed to keep the grain prices high indefinitely, can you imagine what Lu Ting would look like now?"
"Didn’t you say that Lu Ting was at least a gateway to the capital and a strategic stronghold?"
"They were cutting even deeper in Hebei, Henan, Huainan, Jiangnan, and other places."
"I’ve heard that in Huainan, people began fleeing in droves before the new year. They conspired with the local militia to trap the starving people in Huainan..."
The smile gradually disappeared from Yang Ge’s face, and he let out a long sigh, "So, the three major grain merchants are just covering their tracks now, aren’t they?"
Fang Ke nodded, "From my humble perspective... yes!"
Yang Ge twisted his mouth and then asked, "What do those people from Jianghu plan to do when they come to Lu Ting?"
Fang Ke exclaimed in shock, "You’re really planning to let them into the city?"
Yang Ge looked at him. "If we don’t let them into the city, they won’t be able to get in? What, are you afraid that if the eunuch dies at their hands, it’ll bring trouble on you, so you plan to go to the city gate to die first and not give them the chance to implicate you?"
So true!
The harsh reality of this world!
He had just been calling him ’Wang’ a moment ago.
And now he’s cursing two dead eunuchs in one breath!
Fang Ke was totally convinced by his immediate superior. "But we can’t just watch those brutes enter the city and stab the eunuch to death. His death is a minor issue, but it could bring big trouble for our brothers!"
Yang Ge waved his hand nonchalantly. "Why the rush? The eunuch still has eight hundred imperial guards, doesn’t he? It’s not so easy for someone to stab him to death. Besides, right now, the ones who least want something to happen to the eunuch are probably not us, right?"
Fang Ke was taken aback, then he suddenly realized. "You mean..."
Yang Ge said, "Have you forgotten the old stories from Jian Ning you told me before?"
"When the imperial envoy dies, all fifth-ranked officials in Jiangnan get executed, and the Weaving Bureau’s families are decimated down to the third generation!"
"You and I, my brother, we have nothing to lose, nothing but our lives!"
"Those three big grain merchants, they’ve got wives and children aplenty—they die by their family trees!"
"They’re not afraid, so what are you afraid of!"
Fang Ke suddenly saw the light. "I understand now, I’ll go and..."
Yang Ge stopped him. "Come back!"
Fang Ke quickly returned. "Is there anything else you’d like to instruct, sir?"
Yang Ge picked up the Shadow Blade and went back to the center of the courtyard, adopting the starting position of the Frost Blade. "I welcome those Jianghu people who come to Lu Ting to file complaints and seek justice."
"But no one can use the pretext of seeking justice to bully the common people and cause unruly behavior in Lu Ting!"
"Here’s what you’ll do at the city gate: set a rule that all those who practice martial arts must set aside personal grievances after entering the city. Anyone who rashly draws a weapon will be dealt with severely—killers will die, attackers will be punished, bullies will be whipped, and robbers will be fined. We will enforce this strictly and impartially. Do not say we didn’t warn you!"
These few sentences,
made Fang Ke’s skin crawl.
He saluted with his fists wholeheartedly. "Lu Ting is blessed to have you, sir!"
Without looking back, Yang Ge replied, "Lu Ting being able to accept me is my own good fortune..."
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Fang Ke smiled, saluted Yang Ge with his fist again, and then turned and left quickly.
Yang Ge, meticulous as always, went through the eighteen movements of the Frost Blade once more before finally ending his daytime training.
He took his blade inside and soon came back out neatly dressed, holding a dog leash, and shouted at the door, "Huang! Huang! Time to go out..."
Huang scurried from the backyard, tongue lolling, looking at Yang Ge with a grin.
Yang Ge waved the dog leash at him and laughed, "Let’s go, to your Liu’s house!"
Those Jianghu folks, each one a fat sheep.
If he didn’t take the chance to fleece them, he wouldn’t be doing justice to the wages Liu the Shopkeeper paid him!
And it was time for the copper pots of Yuelai Inn, long in storage, to make a comeback in Jianghu...