Chapter 189: The Unfriendly Come, the Friendly Do Not

The winters in the north are notoriously cold. By evening, the roads are deserted, with only sporadic lights shining from the houses in the city. Most people go to bed early after dinner. The snow had just stopped, but the eaves and roads were already covered in white. Two lanterns in front of the magistrate’s office cast light on the snow, adding a touch of warmth to this bleak winter night. A messenger wrapped tightly in leather clothes and a hat stood outside the office, still struggling against the cold, occasionally jumping and stamping his feet.

Finally, he saw a figure emerge inside. Upon recognizing who it was, he was overjoyed and rushed forward, saying respectfully, “Sir, the roads are difficult to navigate after the snowfall. Please be careful! It’s so late—have you eaten already?”

The messenger with the slanted eyes kept talking nonstop, acting like a loyal subordinate—no trace left of his former arrogance. Seeing snowflakes still on his leather coat and his face red from the cold, Zhang Yue smiled and said, “It must be tough for you to wait outside in such cold. I’ll have a pot of hot wine ready for you to warm up later. Where are Lao Peng and the others? Have they checked into an inn?”

“As the magistrate, sir naturally stays at Qingzhou Post House. At first, the magistrates from other counties also stayed there. But then Eunuch Zhang sent word that official duties couldn’t be delayed, so only the magistrate of Le’an was allowed to stay, while the others were sent back. Brother Peng has already arranged a room for us, and I’ve been sent to welcome you.”

The words “thank you” warmed the messenger’s heart, and hearing about the hot wine made him even happier. Having seen Zhang Yue rid the county office of Luo, the deputy magistrate, and Zhao, the clerk, who had held power there for seven or eight years, within just two months, he had been extremely cautious, fearing the magistrate would find his faults. Now he realized this master was actually easy to please. As he spoke, he led the horse over. He had intended to help Zhang Yue mount the horse, but seeing him climb on skillfully, he stuck out his tongue and hurriedly mounted his own horse to follow.

Qingzhou Post House was originally a major post station. Most officials entering and leaving the Denglai region had to pass through here, and the postmaster received a considerable amount of money, grain, firewood, and charcoal each month. With so many people coming and going, even officials were ranked differently in his eyes, requiring varying levels of hospitality. That unlucky magistrate from Le’an had been sent here during the day, and two guards from the Han Royal Family gave him a silver coin to buy medicine for them. After smiling and accepting it, he waited until the two left before figuring out their true intentions.

Seeing the county magistrate in such a disheveled state, it was clear he had fallen into the hands of the King of Shouguang. Although he was brought back by the king’s guards, their contemptuous expressions were obvious. His unlucky days as an official in Le’an were still ahead!

So, he went back inside, found some money at random, and ordered someone to fetch a doctor to prepare medicine, while he hid the silver coins in his money box. By noon, several other county magistrates arrived, and he had to serve them one by one. By evening, when everyone had left, only the subordinate of the Anqiu county magistrate remained, with the magistrate himself nowhere to be seen. After discreetly inquiring, he learned that the magistrate had been taken away by Eunuch Zhang from the Imperial Supervision Bureau to visit the assassinated Han King in Le’an County. Realizing he couldn’t afford to neglect this, he quickly had the servants tidy up the spacious east wing room.

It wasn’t until the hour of Xu that the postmaster finally waited for the late-arriving Zhang Yue. With sharp eyes, he noticed Zhang Yue removing his cloak and taking off his clothes, and glancing at his waist, he immediately realized that this man must be wealthy or noble, far beyond the status of an ordinary county magistrate. Thus, he redoubled his efforts to please him. He sent servants to fetch more firewood and ordered them to hurry up with food and wine in the kitchen. When Zhang Yue smiled and said thank you, the wrinkles on his forehead seemed to ease.

However, just as food and wine had been brought in from both the inner and outer rooms, and the servants were enjoying the abundance, an uninvited guest suddenly rushed in. Ignoring the servants outside, he staggered into the inner room and saw Zhang Yue sitting on the kang, with four plates of hot dishes and a pot of wine on the kang table, Peng Shisan and the postmaster sitting beside him. He immediately sneered.

“My place is cold, with a cold kang, and even the food is lukewarm, with no one around—yet this room is so lively! Truly worthy of Lord Zhang, with everyone coming to flatter you! Today, Lord Zhang showed kindness, and I haven’t even thanked you yet. Fortunately, it’s not too late to do so!”

Seeing a bright red whip mark on the man’s left cheek, Zhang Yue realized it was the county magistrate he had stopped Zhu Zhanqi from whipping earlier that day. But his harsh tone made Zhang Yue slightly displeased. Upon closer inspection, he suddenly found the man somewhat familiar, as if he had seen him before. Then it clicked—he was the sour-faced guy from the previous literary contest!

Still, he didn’t want to engage with this man who had just had bad luck that morning, so he said with a smile, “So it’s Lord Sun. We’re both officials in Qingzhou Prefecture. Even if I hadn’t stepped in back then, someone else would have stood up for justice.”

Sun Lianggan gazed at the bright room, thinking of how even in his own place he had no servant to respond to him—no matter how loudly he called, no one came. His frustration and resentment could no longer be suppressed. Seeing Zhang Yue still wearing that cheerful expression, he grew even angrier: “Are you, Lord Zhang, trying to make a joke? Those people fled at the sight of Prince Shouguang like mice before a cat—who would stand up for me? The first few who came to pull me away only pretended to help; the moment they saw the whip, they fled faster than anyone! Even you, Lord Zhang, didn’t step in until after I had taken several blows—wasn’t that also laughing at me?”

At that, he suddenly stepped forward and said in a sarcastic tone, “I don’t have the good fortune of having a distinguished relative like you, so it’s natural for Prince Shouguang to beat me at will. That’s why the Crown Prince of Han ignored me after I was beaten but showed great concern for you! Lord Zhang, I will remember your kindness forever and repay it generously someday!”

With that, he snorted coldly and turned to leave. Just as he reached the door, a furious shout came from behind him.

“Stop right there!” After hearing such nonsense, Peng Shisan felt disgusted and angry. He kicked himself back to the ground. “So you’re saying my lord helped you by mistake? I thought scholars at least understood reason. Who would have thought there’s someone like you who can’t tell right from wrong? I guess my lord helped the wrong person—he should have just stood by and let Prince Shouguang do as he pleased!”

Sun Lianggan spun around, glaring fiercely at Peng Shisan, then laughed dryly twice. “Good, good! Truly, the master has his servant—this is indeed the way of the wealthy. Anyway, I’ve learned my lesson today. I definitely won’t ask Lord Zhang for help again!”

“Thank you, Lord Sun, for the reminder. From now on, I won’t interfere in your affairs! Goodbye—no need to see you off!”

With a gloomy expression, he replied. Watching Sun Lianggan snort and stagger out, Zhang Yue also felt greatly disappointed. Peng Shisan sat back down angrily, downed his small wine cup in one gulp, and then buried his face in his food. The postmaster, feeling awkward, tried to lighten the mood with a few jokes. Seeing Zhang Yue’s lack of interest, he had no choice but to find an excuse to leave.

He went to the outer room to drink with the servants. Seeing that everyone was filled with indignation after such an ordeal, he quietly inquired about what had happened earlier. Once he learned the whole story, he joined in cursing along with them.

One must always make comparisons in life. He didn’t know what distinguished relatives Zhang Yue had at home, but what he saw was that Zhang Yue spoke humbly with a smile on his face and treated him politely, unlike that harsh and cruel Le’an county magistrate, who hadn’t said a kind word even when he first took the doctor there. He heard that if it hadn’t been for Lord Zhang inside preventing it, the enraged King of Shouguang might have beaten the man to death. Yet this man still harbored resentment—how could there be such a person who couldn’t distinguish right from wrong in the world!

Furious, he left the room. The postmaster immediately summoned a few laborers and instructed them to prepare the west wing, ready to send everyone away early the next morning. Glancing back at the brightly lit east wing, he ordered that they be served carefully without any neglect before returning to his own room. Opening his money box and touching the silver ingot worth at least ten taels, he couldn’t help humming a tune—taking money from such people was only natural!

The next day, Zhang Yue got up early. After dressing, he prepared to take everyone back to Anqiu first. Although he had taken on a highly sensitive task from Zhang Qian, he still needed to make arrangements at the yamen and deal with matters related to his family’s spirit animal, the amber. Most importantly, he was in urgent need of more people—those reliable attendants chosen by his grandmother and the servants assigned by Zhang Fu, plus a few more. So when Peng Shisan said last night that he had borrowed people from the military headquarters and they were temporarily staying in a rented house in Qingzhou Prefecture, he was naturally delighted.

The postmaster drove Sun Lianggan away early in the morning and then personally led out Zhang Yue’s tall, shiny black horse. The other horses, having rested overnight, also looked energetic, clearly well-fed and cleaned. When they reached the door, he was surprised to see dozens of people standing in the wind, all dressed in blue with waist knives. Before he could ask anything, Zhang Yue stepped forward.

The leader stepped forward three steps, bowed slightly in front of Zhang Yue, and said in a low voice, “I am Lu Wan, a hundredth officer of the Wu Xiang Left Guard, tasked by Lord Zhang to protect him!”

Zhang Qian had spoken yesterday, and now they were already waiting at the post station’s entrance this morning. Zhang Yue was truly amazed by this swift action and quickly stepped forward to help the hundredth officer up. In terms of rank, a hundredth officer was of the sixth rank, far more prestigious than him as a seventh-rank civil official, not to mention that they were part of the imperial guard. After some pleasantries, he mounted his horse first, followed by the twenty guards, with the laborers coming last.

The postmaster guessed in his heart that such a young county magistrate could have such guards—surely they must belong to some noble family! Although everyone had tied straw to the horse hooves in advance and chosen a main road, the slippery snow made the journey take more than half an hour longer than coming. As Zhang Yue, covered in dust, entered the county yamen, Lian Hu rushed up like a gust of wind and blurted out something that shocked him greatly. “Young master, something bad has happened—Miss HuPerl… Miss HuPerl has suddenly fallen ill!”