Chapter 442: A Win-Win Outcome

This town lay more than ten kilometers beyond the checkpoint, yet many traveling merchants still chose to stop here for the night. As a result, it was bustling and lively.

* * *

After crossing the border, Uncle Da and the group of royal guards took their leave of Fushan Yue and hurried toward the capital of the State of Chiyan to report everything that had happened along the way to their ruler.

After four hours, a small party of a little over ten people slowly entered the town.

He Lingchuan had been craning his neck in anticipation. The moment he saw them, he went out to greet them, “Many thanks for your trouble, Lord Marquis!”

The rider at the head of the group was dressed in men’s clothing, wearing a tall cap and a blue robe. A cloth veil covered her face against the dust of travel, but it could not conceal a pair of luminous, water-bright eyes. She leaped down from her horse, then lifted a little girl down as well. Only then did she remove the veil and smile at He Lingchuan, “I was busy getting through the checkpoint while you lot were loafing around here. So, how do you plan to thank me?”

Her eyebrows looked as though they came straight from a masterpiece; her beauty was simply beyond compare. Of course, this was none other than Li Qingge, the lord of Songyang Mansion!

The little girl she set down was Peach.

𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

After passing the checkpoint, the child had woken up.

Fushan Yue also came out at that moment. Peach immediately ran toward him. “Young Master! Young Master!”

“You’re awake?” Fushan Yue saw that Peach’s steps were slightly unsteady, but she was overall fine. He nodded to Li Qingge and said, “Thank you.”

Li Qingge smiled and said, “A simple matter.”

He Lingchuan promptly said, “The food and wine for your whole group, I...” then slapped Fushan Yue on the shoulder, “and this guy will cover it.”

Fushan Yue rolled his eyes on the spot. Fortunately, Uncle Da had left him some traveling money before departing, or he would have been scraping the bottom of his purse yet again.

Everyone returned to the inn together, took a quiet private room on the second floor, and ordered a full table of food and wine. Li Qingge’s subordinates stayed downstairs to settle in for the time being.

The three of them raised their cups to toast Li Qingge in thanks. She did not stand on ceremony, tilting her head back and draining three cups in a row. She then turned her cup upside down at them and asked, “Satisfied?”

He Lingchuan had run into her yesterday in Dagong Town, to his great surprise and delight.

Li Qingge was also heading north to Lingxu City and had immediately agreed to his request.

That was why Peach had not been with their caravan at all earlier at the checkpoint. Li Qingge had been cautious; to avoid the risk of the checkpoint inspection discovering the slave marks on Peach’s hands, she had hidden the girl in her mustard-seed courtyard ahead of time.

He Lingchuan had once seen this mustard-seed courtyard on the road to Dunyu. It was a tiny model courtyard that, when tossed on the ground, would expand back into a real courtyard, complete with towering pines and blooming flowers. It was an indispensable treasure for both home and travel.

If old pines could grow inside it, then Peach could naturally be housed there for a short while as well.

Li Qingge had brought the girl smoothly through the checkpoint without lifting a finger.

That marked Peach’s complete escape from her status as a pariah slave, freeing her forever from a miserable fate.

Sometimes, the chasm that blocks your path is no more than a shallow ditch that someone else can step across without effort.

This was an enormous help to Fushan Yue.

He was a sharp man. His verbal debt was immediately accompanied by a jade token. “I owe you a favor, which I can repay at any time. Bring this jade token to me, and it will be honored.”

Li Qingge smiled and said, “That’s wonderful. It looks like Songyang Mansion has found itself a powerful backer in the State of Chiyan.”

She had already heard from He Lingchuan that the ba before her was very likely the State of Chiyan’s only legitimate heir. That meant the value of this favor would only grow heavier with time.

People of commerce loved nothing more than befriending those in high places.

Second Boss Shi sighed with emotion. “I’d even asked Brother He to introduce me to Songyang Mansion’s branch in Lingxu City. I never imagined I’d meet the mansion lord herself here—what fortune!”

These two merchants found common ground instantly. They hit it off and talked animatedly, and within barely a quarter of an hour, they had already settled two deals.

Second Boss Shi successfully secured two agency rights for Songyang Mansion in the State of Fu, leaving him beaming with joy.

Meanwhile, Peach wore a worried expression as she tugged at Fushan Yue. “Young Master, I think I’m going to shi—!”[1]

Fushan Yue jumped in alarm. “Not here! Go to the latrine in the back!”

Peach grinned at him. “My teeth are falling out!”

Her front tooth was already gone, and her upper left canine had fallen out as well. She spoke with a whistling lisp.

He Lingchuan had noticed it too and said casually, “Isn’t it normal for kids this age to lose their teeth?”

“Three at once?” Fushan Yue actually leaned in to examine her, then asked, “What about the others?”

“They’re loose too. They feel like they’ll fall out soon.” Peach frowned deeply. “Young Master, I think I’m really going to shi—”

“Who told you that?”

“My grandma. She lost her teeth, and not long after, she shi-ed.”

Fushan Yue spat. “Was she a blightful being as well?”

A child won’t understand something like that.

He Lingchuan took a sip of wine. “Is there really some significance to it?”

“This girl is in the process of transforming into a blightful child. However, she’s absorbed too much baleful qi, and since her body can’t handle it, the excess is being expelled through tooth loss.” Far from worried, Fushan Yue actually sounded rather intrigued. “Still, the fact that she woke up means it’s not a serious problem.”

“And if she hadn’t woken up?”

“She’d die,” Fushan Yue shrugged. “Or turn into a mindless living corpse that only follows instinct and eats people.”

He personally went out to find a waiter and instructed the kitchen to slaughter a live chicken and bring back the blood.

What sort of monsters did not exist in the State of Chiyan? No matter how bizarre a customer’s request, the inn staff had heard it before. The waiter agreed at once and hurried off.

When the bowl of chicken blood was brought in, it was still steaming.

The stench was overwhelming, causing Second Boss Shi to lean away instinctively.

Fushan Yue, however, cut his own arm, circulating his power in secret. Fresh, dark-red blood flowed into the bowl.

Peach watched, blinking rapidly.

Second Boss Shi was startled. “Y-you, what are you doing?”

“It’s rare to encounter a blightful child. I’m running a little experiment. Don’t worry, I won’t kill her.” With that, Fushan Yue told Peach, “Drink it.”

Peach obediently lifted the bowl and gulped it down in one go. Then she smacked her lips, looking oddly unsatisfied.

He Lingchuan watched thoughtfully and asked, “Are you trying to create another ba?”

Is a classic drama trope actually taking place right before my very eyes?

“There’s no harm in trying.”

So he really is...

“It’ll be very good for you,” Fushan Yue said, patting Peach’s head. “Just don’t drink too much in the early stages.”

He Lingchuan asked, “Can all the cursed children from the Twilight Plains become blightful children?”

“I don’t know whether other cursed children truly count,” Fushan Yue replied. “But blightful embryos are extremely rare. Otherwise, even if you threw every cursed child into the ruins of Qianxing City, it would be useless.”

After eating her fill, Peach grew drowsy. Fushan Yue carried her off to a guest room to rest.

Once Second Boss Shi’s enthusiasm for chatting finally subsided, he looked from Li Qingge to He Lingchuan and realized that he had been talking too much and stealing the spotlight. He slapped his forehead and said, “Ah, I’ve had too much to drink, and my head’s spinning. You two enjoy yourselves. I’d better go lie down.”

He took his leave, exiting the private room.

Li Qingge simply sat there smiling at He Lingchuan. She smiled until he grew uncomfortable all over. “Your Lordship, please stop smiling like that. It’s kind of unsettling.”

Only then did Li Qingge rein in her smile and let out a long sigh. “You have no idea how happy I was when I saw you yesterday.”

Faced with such words from a great beauty, He Lingchuan reflexively touched his own face. “I’ve always thought I was universally lovable.”

A waiter happened to pass by. He called the man over to clear away the extra dishes, tidy the table, and add more food and wine.

Li Qingge watched him quietly, her gaze flickering.

Is this boy truly this oblivious?

“When the news of you being swept away by the flood reached Dunyu, I could hardly believe it. I even thought I’d made a mistake in reading faces, and I regretted that treasured saber.” She pointed to Fleeting Life at his waist and said softly, “I heard Madame Ying cried for two days straight.”

He Lingchuan’s smile faded.

At home, Madame Ying was always finding fault with him, yet she truly did care for her eldest son.

“What about my father? And He Yue?”

“They’re still extremely busy, your father especially. He barely even has time to grieve in private. Oh, and your home has been packed with visitors, all there to offer condolences.” Li Qingge then said with a smile, “I sent a condolence note and a comfort gift as well. You’ll have to pay me back later!”

“Of course, of course.” He Lingchuan cleared his throat. “How is Xia Province... how is Dunyu doing?”

Their meeting yesterday had been very brief, since she had other arrangements.

“Pretty well,” Li Qingge replied. “In fact, all of Xia Province is doing fine. When I left, Dunyu was celebrating the Harvest Festival[2]. The sound of firecrackers was everywhere, and the ground was covered in red paper. The southern region of Xia Province had a fairly good harvest this year.”

“Huh?” He Lingchuan was puzzled. “General Zhao Pan suffered defeat, yet Xia Province is unharmed?”

Li Qingge blinked. “Who told you Zhao Pan was defeated?”

That only deepened He Lingchuan’s confusion. “I went to the State of Baoshu and heard officials there mention that Nian Zanli won a great victory at the Han River. After that, I was deeply worried. If Nian Zanli won, doesn’t that mean Zhao Pan lost?”

“Oh? So Beijia believes Nian Zanli won?” Li Qingge’s smile vanished. She spoke slowly, word by word, “Then the strange thing about this battle is that General Zhao Pan and your father both sent a victory report to the capital of Great Yuan as well, reporting a Han River victory.”

“They reported victory?” He Lingchuan exclaimed. “Nian Zanli flooded Zhao Pan’s army and drowned thirty thousand men. How could General Zhao be the one submitting a victory report?”

“The losses were indeed heavy, but General Zhao fulfilled the king’s orders.” Li Qingge personally poured him a cup of wine. “He stopped the enemy at the northern line. So the royal rewards should already have been issued, right?”

“Stopped at the north?” He Lingchuan recalled what the two Baoshu officials had said. It seemed that they really had not mentioned Nian Zanli’s army pushing south. “So the Xun Province forces didn’t advance south?”

“They couldn’t,” Li Qingge shook her head. “Zhao Pan lost thirty thousand men, but the Xun Province army didn’t fare much better. More than half of them were also swallowed by the flood, and Nian Zanli himself fell ill. It’s said that as soon as the waters receded, your father and General Zhao gathered their troops and counterattacked, chasing the Xun Province army for dozens of kilometers. Only then did they dare submit a victory report.”

“After that battle, the Xun Province forces had no strength to move south. They held the Han River for two months. Because our troops kept harassing them and fighting for control, and because the Han River flooded frequently and supplies were difficult, they eventually withdrew back to the northern bank.”

“So the front lines were pushed back to where they were before the Han River battle?” He Lingchuan murmured. “In other words, aside from over sixty thousand dead on both sides, the borders didn’t change at all?”

Faced with such an outcome, he genuinely did not know what to say.

1. The original text here is literally “少主我可能要SHI了!” Honestly, I think the author just felt like using “shi” out of nowhere, and obviously, it’s just a cut-off version of shit. ☜

2. See note. ☜