Chapter 60 – The Kirin

The hundred days of mourning passed in the blink of an eye, and it was time to dismantle the mourning pavilions and white banners in the residence. There were various matters to attend to, and Lady Sheng had just taken over the management of the Duke’s residence, leaving her extremely busy.

On this day, however, the Bai family sent people to take away Lady Bai, the senior matron. They merely mentioned that she was returning to her natal home to recuperate from illness, even taking along the servants assigned to her chambers.

Xu Chun learned about it from Xia Chao: “They took away everything she was accustomed to using in her rooms. Several young matrons from the Bai family came, their faces stern and peculiar. It was as if they were leaving with no intention of returning. What’s strange is that the eldest master didn’t return to see her off.”

Xu Chun said, “It’s the matter of the senior branch. Don’t meddle too much in other people’s affairs.”

Lady Sheng sought out Xu Chun for a conversation: “Your uncle and cousin are going to depart soon. I’ve prepared some gift lists. You should deliver them. These gifts are for your maternal grandfather, aunt, and each of the households. You should personally bring them with Sheng An today. When your uncle sets off, you should also see him off.”

Xu Chun agreed and indeed set out with Sheng An and a servant, pulling a carriage loaded with gifts to his uncle’s lodgings at the Huifeng Building.

On the way, he suddenly encountered the second son of the Han family. He dismounted to pay his respects, but the second son of the Han family looked displeased and barely returned the courtesy.

Xu Chun was somewhat surprised and asked, “Brother-in-law, has Sister’s condition improved? Due to my mourning period, I couldn’t visit. In recent days, Mother’s health hasn’t been good either. Today, the Bai family sent people to take her back home to recover. I wonder if Sister knows about it.”

Han Erlang sneered, and the smell of alcohol wafted over: “Enough already. Hasn’t the second branch benefited enough? Do you still have to come here to show off? Huh?”

Xu Chun was taken aback, feeling somewhat unhappy. His grandmother could be considered Han Erlang’s elder after all. Now that his grandmother had passed away, his sister would also have to observe mourning. How could Han Erlang be so eager to drink during the mourning period? Furthermore, he was being so ostentatious, which was truly disrespectful.

However, Han Erlang saw the expression on his face and became even more annoyed. He sneered, “Don’t pretend to be innocent now that the second branch has gained the upper hand. You’ve placed a son in the senior branch, bullying a widow and her daughter. Now that there’s no one left in the senior branch, are you happy? It’s not necessary to be so smug. They say that what goes around comes around, and fate takes turns. Your grandmother traded her life for your prosperity and wealth. I wonder if your conscience can bear it. Heaven has its own ways of retribution.”

Xu Chun’s face darkened, but Han Erlang swept his sleeves and left, acting arrogantly and rudely.

Xu Chun stood there for a moment, thinking that there was something odd about Han Erlang’s words. He decided to ask his mother when he returned about the grievances between them and the Han family. If they could resolve it, it would be fine, but if not, he would have to be more cautious in the future.

With that thought, he mounted his horse again and headed to the Huifeng Building. However, his uncle had gone out to visit other merchants and only Sheng Changtian remained. Seeing Xu Chun arrive with so many gifts, Sheng Changtian said, “Thank you for the thoughtful consideration, Aunt. I’ll talk to my father when he returns.”

Xu Chun said, “Mm, when are you leaving? I’ll see you off. Ah, it’s rare for you to be back, but unfortunately, I’m still observing mourning and can’t take you out to play. Afterward, you’re going to sea again, right? I don’t know when we’ll meet again.”

Sheng Changtian replied, “No problem. Didn’t you invite Brother Fang to entertain us? These few days, Brother Xing has taken us to visit all the famous places in the capital. You have a good brother who is honest and generous, with a great spirit.”

Xu Chun was taken aback. “Brother Fang? Big Brother Fang Zixing? He actually took you out to play? I didn’t know about it.”

Sheng Changtian paused to recall, then smiled. “That’s right. That day, we went to the racetrack to pick out fine horses. He tamed a wild horse, which was very exciting. We couldn’t help asking the owner of the racetrack if he would sell it. The owner said it had been reserved by him and he was here to collect it. Then he came up to ask if we were the Sheng brothers and said he was a good friend of yours.”

Xu Chun laughed. “Big Brother Fang is indeed a good person, knowledgeable and reliable.”

Sheng Changtian agreed. “Isn’t that right? He took us to choose several horses and taught us how to judge horses. Then he treated us to dinner. He volunteered to be our host since you were observing mourning, wanting to show us around. In these few days, we’ve visited every corner of the capital, even the musket and cannon camp. He used his connections to take us there privately. Wow! It really broadened our horizons! Ordinary people can’t see such things!”

Xu Chun was moved, realizing it must have been Jiuge’s instructions to specially entertain his two cousins. He was also curious. Was Big Brother Fang so well-connected? Jiuge and Mr. Shen had both complained that Big Brother Fang was too rigid and rule-bound… But Xu Chun found Big Brother Fang to be hospitable and generous, a genuinely good person. He decided to prepare a gift for Big Brother Fang to thank him for his hospitality.

After chatting with Sheng Changtian some more and having lunch, Xu Chun bid farewell and left. Returning to the Duke’s residence, he had been cooped up in the house for several months and was suffocating. Adding the unpleasant remarks made by Han Erlang earlier, he wasn’t in a good mood. So, he decided to ride his horse along the main road leading to the city gate to clear his head.

The city gate was now almost fully repaired. As he rode his horse, he noticed a large shop on the main road near the city gate, called the City Gate General Store. He was curious and went over to take a look, finding that it sold daily sundries at very cheap prices.

There were a steady stream of customers buying items, all holding copper-headed bamboo tokens in their hands to exchange them. Surprised, he asked a shop assistant, “What are these? Can they be exchanged for goods?”

The shop assistant smiled and said, “Are you from out of town, sir? This is the official City Gate General Store set up by the government. Those working on the city wall repairs can earn those bamboo tokens based on the hours they work, and then they can directly buy sundries here with the tokens, which is 70% cheaper than paying with money!”

Xu Chun felt a jolt in his heart but then chuckled at himself. This practice was common in many port businesses in Minzhou, where workers could exchange tokens earned from moving cargo for goods directly from the merchants. There were plenty of smart people in the world, especially in the capital.

He saw more and more people coming, all wearing straw shoes, short jackets, and thick cloth pads on their shoulders, typical of laborers. It seemed that this business was doing well, and the city wall appeared to be almost finished.

He got back on his horse and continued riding, wondering whether he should find an opportunity to meet Jiuge… Perhaps it would be amusing to tell Jiuge about this. However, he was still mourning and had just finished the mourning period. Would Jiuge, being so righteous, think he was being disrespectful if he sought him out now? Thinking about the sweet and intimate moments they spent together at the Baxi villa, he couldn’t help but feel captivated and flushed.

As he pondered, he rode his horse to the vicinity of the Jingzhao Prefecture Office. He saw officers carrying long staves clearing the way and issuing orders for people to step aside, indicating that a dignitary was about to leave. It must be the Jingzhao Prefect, right?

Curious, he dismounted and stood by the roadside to watch the commotion. He saw the gates of the Jingzhao Prefecture Office wide open, and a group of people emerged, all dressed in black robes embroidered with kirin patterns. They wore gauze hats and boots and had swords at their waists. Servants led horses to them, and they formed two rows, about twenty to thirty men on horseback. These men were tall and sturdy and exuded an intimidating aura.

Then, two civil officials escorted a military officer out. The officer had sword-like eyebrows and a square face, with eyes that flashed like lightning and exuded a heroic aura. Surprisingly, it was Fang Zixing. He wore a bright red robe with flying cloud kirin patterns, a black-faced red-bottom cloak, and a gauze hat. His face was cold and stern, and he walked straight out without looking around, without any hesitation. Immediately, a subordinate led a horse over to him.

Behind him were two officials, one dressed in a vermilion robe of a third-rank official, whom Xu Chun recognized as the Jingzhao Prefect Jiang Xian. The other, wearing a green robe of a seventh-rank official, was unknown to Xu Chun, likely a subordinate of the Jingzhao Prefecture. Both civil officials had smiles on their faces and bowed to see them off, but Fang Zixing only gave a faint bow in return before mounting his horse and riding forward. The team of guards dressed in black kirin robes followed closely behind, galloping away.

Watching Fang Zixing ride off, Xu Chun recalled his amiable demeanor in front of him and Jiuge, almost doubting if he had mistaken someone else. Back at the Baxi villa, Fang Zixing had even demonstrated how to shoot birds, his posture graceful and demeanor approachable.

But Fang Zixing, dressed in that eye-catching flying cloud kirin robe, Xu Chun knew, was the uniform of a first-rank military official.

A thought slowly surfaced in his mind: Who exactly was Jiuge, capable of having a first-rank military official serve by his side and obey his orders amidst his busy official duties, even to entertain his two cousins who held no official positions?