CH 67

Zhao Yelan clarified the situation according to what Wang Guisheng had said.

When Magistrate Yin realized that Yan Mingting was having an affair with “Fu Qian,” he sent someone to Beijing to inquire about the man, so this matter spread to the capital.

But by coincidence, Fu Qian had gone out to play with two or three friends, so it couldn’t be verified for the time being.

The interrogation of Magistrate Yin after he was brought to the capital was a serious matter. No one came to ask him about this affair, and he thought that the court knew in advance about Zhao Yelan pretending to be Fu Qian, so he only confessed his own crimes.

In this way, the matter became a mystery, but the rumors had not stopped. After the rumor spread, everyone chewed on it and added vinegar for taste, and when it was spat back out, it no longer resembled the original version.

There were only doubts at first, but later on, everyone began to believe it.

“So, this matter……is it true?” Wang Guisheng asked cautiously.

After listening to this, Yan Mingting fed the medicine to Zhao Yelan’s mouth and said: “Quickly drink the medicine, and then return my innocence.”

“……” Zhao Yelan was forced to finish a large bowl, and felt that it tasted bitter. As soon as he frowned, Yan Mingting placed a small bag of candied fruit in his hand.

Zhao Yelan took the candied fruit and said: “It’s false, I am that Fu Qian.”

“I see. I thought it seemed strange, how could the General let go of you and see Fu Qian instead? Perhaps the rumors stopped after I left Beijing.” After Wang Guisheng received his answer, he grasped the key point and went to take care of things outside with a smile.

Yan Mingting watched him leave and pursed his lips: “Listen to this kid, he seems to like you a lot?”

“Which of your ears heard such a thing?” Zhao Yelan chewed on the candied fruit and reached out a hand to pinch his ear. “I think this ear is useless.”

“Aiyo, ouch, take it easy.” Yan Mingting yelled, and when he heard footsteps outside, he immediately gave him a meaningful look. “Please give me some face, Zhao-daren, please give me some face.”

Zhao Yelan released his grip and regarded Yin Pinglu and Zuo Ran with his usual expression when they walked in: “What is it?”

“My lord, Kuang Sheng rushed over. He said that it’s raining not only in Pi County, but also in several other counties,” Yin Pinglu said happily.

“That’s good.” Zhao Yelan breathed a sigh of relief and asked, “Where is Li Yucheng?”

Li Yucheng had not gone to Zhizhou with them, but had evacuated Huaizhou with the Cheng family and headed for Quzhou.

“A letter came from him just now, saying that he will wait for us in Wancheng.”

Wancheng was in the north of Pi County, and was also a necessary place to stop on the way to Beijing. If he rushed over from Quzhou, it would take a few days’ travel.

“Then we’ll rest here a few days before leaving,” Yan Mingting said. “It won’t be too late to leave after you recover.”

“All right.” Zhao Yelan still wanted to stay and watch the aftermath.

Fortunately, Wang Guisheng was not a man who kept to theory without finding practical solutions. It happened that Yan Mingting had brought many people with him, and with enough help, the city’s infrastructure was quickly restored. Letters were sent to other distant officials so that they could send their people back.

On the day of departure, half the city’s population had returned.

Seeing that Wang Guisheng was handling things steadily and practically, Zhao Yelan felt relieved. The two exchanged political opinions while walking outside the gate.

Yan Minging was a few meters behind with his hands crossed in front of his chest, staring at their backs expressionlessly.

Zuo Ran and Yin Pinglu stood behind him, one on the left and one on the right. Zuo Ran didn’t notice anything wrong at all, and said: “Zhao-daren and this Wang-daren seem to have a good relationship. But Zhao-daren is such a good person that everyone should like him.”

“People who appreciate each other will naturally gravitate toward one another.” After she spoke, Yin Pinglu saw that Yan Mingting’s expression was not quite right and amended, “But my lord and the General are different, they are a match made in heaven.”

Yan Mingting turned his head to give her an appreciative look: “Since you can speak, you should speak a little more.”

Yin Pinglu suppressed a smile and said: “One of you is military and the other is civil. You have mutual respect, and must be with each other till the end.”

Yan Mingting was very satisfied. His chin almost pointed up toward the sky, and he turned to look at Zuo Ran.

“It’s my turn?” Zuo Ran hesitated for a long time, and only said, “I wish you a happy marriage for a hundred years, and a baby boy soon.”

Yin Pinglu patted her, and she immediately changed her words, using all the idioms she knew: “I wish you a hundred years of harmony, harmony brings wealth, you will have great fortune in prosperity…..”

Yin Pinglu was unable to hold back, and laughed out loud.

Yan Mingting also raised his voice and laughed: “Good, the simplest language brings the most powerful blessing.”

Zhao Yelan and Wang Guisheng heard their laughter and looked back at them. Wang Guisheng asked curiously: “I never had time to ask, who are these two girls?”

“Subordinates of Yan Mingting,” Zhao Yelan said.

Although they had not been formally appointed, Yan Mingting made the decision to take the two of them back to the capital. Zuo Ran had thought about going to the border at first and joining Zhong Yuehong’s troop. Yin Pinglu could live in the town and find work, and it would not be a problem for the two of them to support themselves.

But Yan Mingting rejected her proposal. The first reason was that the world was peaceful now, and there were no more opportunities on the frontier. Even if she joined now, she could at most only obtain the position of a small soldier. Secondly, Yin Pinglu’s talents would be wasted. The livelihoods that could be found in the capital were much greater than those in the border towns.

After a final discussion, both of them agreed to go to Beijing. Zuo Ran would serve under Yan Mingting’s command, and Yin Pinglu would temporarily serve as Zhao Yelan’s accountant.

Zhao Yelan’s industries continued to grow, and he was about to open up a goods route in Jiangnan. He needed a clever, capable, and trustworthy person at his side, and Yin Pinglu was currently the most suitable candidate.

They would need a place to settle down and live, and residing in the General’s Mansion would only cause gossip, so Zhao Yelan rented a house in the north of the city to them for a low price, with rent only to be paid annually.

“One of them is Magistrate Yin’s daughter?” Wang Guisheng asked in a whisper.

“En.”

“Although she escaped punishment in the Magistrate’s case, won’t bringing her to Beijing at this time arouse suspicion?” Wang Guisheng asked.

“The more frank and open you are, the less people will doubt you. And what is there to be suspicious of? Will they suspect that I, Zhao Yelan, covet her beauty or riches? Is there anything that I lack?”

Wang Guisheng was speechless after being refuted, and smiled helplessly: “What my lord says is true, I was worrying too much.”

Zhao Yelan walked to the carriage, but was pulled aside by Wang Guisheng.

“Zhao-daren, I solemnly apologize to you for my recklessness and ignorance in the past.” Wang Guisheng cupped his hands and bowed to him earnestly. “I read the books of sages in vain and listened to rumors from the outside world, so I regarded you as a treacherous jackal. I used my brush as a weapon to make insinuations and write articles that insulted you. I truly feel ashamed.”

“Let this matter go, ba. I myself can’t even see who I am, and you outsiders are even more blind.” Zhao Yelan said, “You are not the only one who criticized me, but you are the only one whose abilities I admire. I hope you can accomplish something here and realize your ambition.”

“I will do my best not to let Zhao-daren down.”

The two looked at each other and smiled.

Yan Mingting watched from afar and felt that his eyes were about to go blind, so he turned to Zuo Ran and said: “You keep talking.”

Zuo Ran grimaced and continued to search for idioms and verses: “You and my lord are destined to be together forever and live to a ripe old age, always in peace, with many spacious houses, that, that…..”[1]

“That shelter the underprivileged all over the world.” Yin Pinglu pressed her forehead as she interrupted her. “It looks like it’s time for you to catch up on your homework.”

Zuo Ran: Wu wu wu.

After bidding farewell to Wang Guisheng, Zhao Yelan boarded the carriage. Zuo Ran and Yin Pinlu sat in the front to drive, and Yan Mingting rode at the side as they set off toward the city gate.

After driving a certain distance, the carriage suddenly stopped. “What happened?” Zhao Yelan asked.

“Mengting, come out and have a look,” Yan Mingting said.

Zhao Yelan opened the curtain suspiciously and saw the people on both sides of the road who were gazing at his carriage.

“Respectfully sending off Zhao-daren and General Yan!”

“Zhao-daren, walk slowly and pay attention to safety on the road.”

“When will my lord and the General return to Huaizhou and our Pi County, ah?”

“All the soldiers are welcome to come to Pi County again, we will definitely prepare good wine and food to entertain you!”

“ — Happy journeys!”

Not many people had come back to the city, but they all came out to see them off at this time. The speed of the group slowed down a lot, and everyone followed them all the way to the city gate.

Yan Mingting told everyone to send them off from here, and after waving goodbye to them, he got into the carriage and put a jar of wine on the table, saying with a smile: “This is the Thousand-Home wine that everyone gave you.”

After Zhao Yelan watched the figures of those people drifting away, he looked back and asked in confusion: “Thousand-Home wine?”

“Yes, they didn’t have much left at home, so they thought of this method. Everyone scooped up a spoonful of wine from their home, gathered this jar of wine, and presented it to their most admired Zhao-daren,” Yan Mingting said.

Zhao Yelan stared at the novel earthen jar.

“Smell it, is it fragrant?” Yan Mingting opened the lid and handed it to him.

Zhao Yelan sniffed carefully for a moment: “Fragrant.”

“Do you want to have a taste?”

“No.” Zhao Yelan really didn’t want to get drunk and bring himself shame, so he put the wine away. “Since it’s such a good thing, it should be preserved.”

“Right, right, Zhao-daren is right.” Yan Mingting saw through him but didn’t reveal the truth.

The boundary of Pi County was between Huaizhou and Zhizhou. There was an official road going north here, and its next destination was Wancheng.

Three days later, the team arrived in Wangcheng at last. With a wave of Zhao Yelan’s hand, he directly booked the largest inn in the city so that the soldiers could stay comfortably for a few days. This group of people had experienced the most difficult part of the journey.

Zhao Yelan went back to his room to rest and change his clothes. Then he found Yin Pinglu and asked her what to eat and drink in Wancheng.

“There are several special snacks in Wancheng, shiba[2] dumplings, linglong bean buns, glutinous rice cakes, and sweet bean cakes.”

“Is there anything special about these shiba dumplings?” Zhao Yelan asked curiously.

“Shiba dumplings, as the name suggests, are dumplings made with eighteen different ingredients.”

“Eighteen kinds?” Yan Mingting asked from the side. “I’ve only eaten dumplings with three kinds of ingredients, but none with eighteen kinds. Will so many ingredients not ruin the taste?”

“Thus, it is a test of the cook’s skill. It is necessary to chop carefully in order to preserve the freshness and taste of the ingredients,” Yin Pinglu said.

Yan Mingting couldn’t wait to sample it, so he looked at Zhao Yelan enthusiastically: “Shall we try it?”

“Let’s go.”

These few people set off immediately and asked around for the best place in the lower city to eat shiba dumplings, then walked toward the east side.

A group of people passed by them at this time, and the leader stopped abruptly, turned around, and chased after them with a fan: “Zhao-xiong! Zhao-xiong, Zhao Yelan, it’s me!”

They turned to see that it was Li Yucheng, then turned back around immediately and continued walking forward.

“I thought it would take a while for you guys to arrive, but I didn’t expect it to be so soon.” After speaking, Li Yucheng found that no one was paying attention to him, and continued to chatter non-stop. “Where are you going? Were you looking for me? Ei, it’s a coincidence that we could meet each other on the street, isn’t it heaven-sent fate?”

Still, no one paid attention to him. Li Yucheng stopped walking, and seeing them continuing forward quickly, he didn’t notice their intentions at all, so he could only send away his few followers and jog to catch up until they stopped in front of a shop.

Li Yucheng wiped away his sweat and asked: “What are you here to buy?”

“Ten servings of shiba dumplings,” Zhao Yelan said.

“Ten servings?” Li Yucheng counted the number of people present. Including Gao Tan and the girls, there were only six people in total. “Can you finish eating ten servings?”

“One for each of us.” Zhao Yelan pointed to Yan Mingting. “He’ll have five.”

Li Yucheng was dumbfounded, saying: “It’s a good thing you’re wealthy, ordinary people couldn’t afford him, ah.”

Zhao Yelan suppressed a smile, but Yan Mingting proudly hooked Zhao Yelan’s shoulder: “I have someone to spend money on me, are you jealous, ah?”

Li Yucheng wasn’t jealous at first, but after hearing what he said, hey, he was really jealous.

Who wouldn’t want a walking purse, ah! And such an unparalleled purse it was!

“Zhao-xiong, how about you and me join forces to become the richest men in the country!” Li Yucheng said.

“Are you tired of living, kid?” Yan Mingting rolled up his sleeves in preparation to beat someone up. Li Yucheng was so frightened that he turned around and fled, accidentally bumping into someone and sending them both to the ground.

“Who is walking with their eyes closed, ah? Do you know who I am?” Li Yucheng shouted with bared teeth.

“Fuck your grandma, which grandson is this?” The other party rubbed his bottom as he stood up.

The two stared at each other. When two enemies met, their eyes blazed with hatred.

“Hey! You Fu Qian, you came here to seek death, see if I don’t kill you!” Li Yucheng rushed forward at once.

“Bah, I really ran into a leper on the street, today I’ll fight with you to the death!”

In the blink of an eye, the two were scuffling on the street.

Zhao Yelan and the others looked over and couldn’t help but frown. Yan Mingting stepped forward to separate the two, holding them in each hand like weak chickens as he said: “What’s with this noise, don’t make fools of yourselves here, fight someplace where no one else is around.”

When Fu Qian looked up at him, it was as if he had been struck by lightning: “Yan, Yanyanyan Mingting?!”

“What?”

Fu Qian looked nearby, and when he saw Zhao Yelan, his legs almost went limp in fright.

As soon as Yan Mingting let go, Fu Qian collapsed on the ground, staring at Zhao Yelan in horror.

“What’s wrong with him?” Yan Mingting asked, walking to Zhao Yelan’s side.

Li Yucheng also came over. He remembered that in the capital, Fu Qian was as frightened as a quail upon seeing Zhao Yelan, not daring to make a sound, but it was not as serious as today.

“He seems to be very afraid of you, do you know why?” Li Yucheng asked.

Zhao Yelan waved his fan and raised his eyebrows: “He once accidentally saw me interrogating a prisoner.”

“Then you’re certainly very impressive.” Li Yucheng gave him a sincere thumbs-up. “His father is the Minister of Dali Temple, and he’s not even this scared of him.”

With a pale face, Fu Qian looked between Yan Mingting and Zhao Yelan, then stood up in embarrassment and stepped forward to say: “Zhao-daren, listen to my explanation!”

Everyone looked at him in incomprehension.

“I never had an affair with General Yan! I don’t know where the rumors came from!” Fu Qian said tremblingly, “I’ve been away from home, and I didn’t know there was such a rumor until I received a letter from my family a while ago!”

Before Zhao Yelan could speak, he continued: “You have to believe me, no matter how tall and mighty General Yan is, how incomparably handsome, dignified in appearance, valiant and formidable, radiant and striking……”

Zhao Yelan narrowed his eyes slightly.

Yin Pinglu reminded Zuo Ran from the side: “Remember, these are all idioms.”

Zuo Ran: “Okay, okay.”

Fu Qian praised Yan Mingting unceasingly, until his speech changed suddenly: “But I don’t like men!”

Zhao Yelan heard the shopkeeper announce that the dumplings were ready. Just as he turned around to take them, Fu Qian tugged on his arm and the dumplings fell to the ground.

He glanced down, then raised his head to look at Fu Qian.

“Zhao-daren, you really have to trust me! Someone must be framing me, coveting my good reputation! Using the name of the most beautiful man in the capital to bluff and deceive, maybe he deliberately seduced General Yan! You must catch this man and punish him!” Fu Qian said emotionally.

Zhao Yelan looked toward Yan Mingting: “Hit him.”

[1] This is from Du Fu’s poem, “Song of Thatched Houses Broken by the Autumn Wind.” ⮐

[2] Shiba (十八) means eighteen. ⮐