Chapter 20: The North Wind (10)

Yuan Zhuo’s expression was very calm; he wasn’t worried at all that the Turkic people would act lawlessly and do as they pleased, as Master Bai had said.
“Uncle Yuan, do you not believe me? Just now, I saw Old Wu being forcibly dragged away by a group of Turkic people in an alley behind a corner!”
Seeing that Yuan Zhuo seemed not to believe him, Master Bai grew anxious, his tone filled with resentment. Although he was an elder by one generation and highly respected by the townspeople, that didn’t mean he could ignore Yuan Zhuo’s good intentions.
Realizing Yuan Zhuo had misunderstood, Yuan Zhuo could only force a wry smile. “Younger brother Bai, that’s not what I meant. I’m saying we don’t need to grovel before the Turkic people anymore!”
“What? What are you talking about?”
Master Bai thought he was hearing hallucinations. Covering one ear with his hand, he said, “Say that again. Did you just say we no longer need to grovel before the Turkic people?”
“Yes, that’s what I meant.”
Yuan Zhuo shrugged and nodded slightly in greeting.
“Heavens! What’s going on?”
Master Bai stepped forward quickly and touched Yuan Zhuo’s forehead. Seeing that he wasn’t feverish, he shook his head. “I thought you had heatstroke. You’re fine, aren’t you? Why suddenly go crazy and talk nonsense? I’m not criticizing you, but Uncle Yuan, you can’t just say such things. This is… this is…”
Master Bai made a beheading gesture with his hand and nodded seriously at Yuan Zhuo.
Seeing his overly cautious attitude, Yuan Zhuo found it amusing.
“Come with me.”
With that, Yuan Zhuo turned and headed toward his tea shop.
“Hey, wait for me, Uncle Yuan! Wait! I owe you from my past life!”
Curious now, Master Bai hesitated for a while before following Yuan Zhuo…
Yuan Zhuo’s tea shop wasn’t large, but it was located in a very quiet spot.
Yuan Zhuo climbed three stone steps and, as usual, turned the doorknob three times. Soon, a young apprentice came to open the door.
This was the apprentice he had taken in five years ago, named Lan Sheng. He was an orphan. That winter, Yuan Zhuo found Lan Sheng curled up and barely alive on the street corner. Moved by pity, he took him home.

He fed him rice soup, kept him warm by the fire, and chatted with him. Through such efforts, Yuan Zhuo finally pulled Xiao Lan Sheng back from the brink of death. After that, Yuan Zhuo kept Xiao Lan Sheng in his residence, nurturing him carefully and teaching him to identify various types of tea. After half a year, a bond developed between them, and Yuan Zhuo simply took Lan Sheng as his sole disciple. Though called a disciple, Yuan Zhuo placed all his emotions and hopes on Xiao Lan Sheng. His wife, Dana Shasha, gave birth to a daughter after their marriage; otherwise, they had no sons. Yuan Zhuo loved Dana Shasha deeply and couldn’t bear to take a concubine, so time passed in this way. Thus, Lan Sheng could be considered Yuan Zhuo’s adopted son, and the bond between them was beyond simple words to describe.
“Master, you’re back! Please come in quickly—your wife is waiting for you inside!”
Xiao Lan Sheng was now over seventeen years old and had grown up to look like a little adult. His appearance alone was heartwarming.
“You little rascal, have you done something wrong again trying to please me? Your wife is too kind to hit you, but I’m not that lenient!”
Seeing how endearing Lan Sheng was, Yuan Zhuo had no choice but to lightly tap his nose as a joke.
“Ay, ay! Wife, save me! Master wants to bully me!”
Lan Sheng was quite familiar with Yuan Zhuo and picked up on his tone.
“Enough! There are guests here. Stop talking nonsense!”
Yuan Zhuo shook his head helplessly after tapping Lan Sheng’s forehead in annoyance.
“Oh, oh.”
Only then did Lan Sheng notice Master Bai standing nearby. Rubbing his hands together, he said, “Master Bai is here too! Please come in—I’ll treat you to tea today!”
After a brief pause, he added, “It’ll be paid for out of my wages!”
“Who needs you to pay, you little brat!”
Master Bai, also annoyed by Lan Sheng’s antics, shook his head smilingly and stepped into the hall.
Since Yuan Zhuo had lived in the tea shop before buying a new house, the already small residence was divided into two parts—the front area for selling tea and the back area for living. Passing through five screens serving as a partition, the group entered the back residence.
Master Bai often visited Yuan Zhuo’s home, so he was well-acquainted with the place. Before Dana Shasha could speak, he said, “Sister Yuan, I was forced to come here by Uncle Yuan. You must stand up for me!”
Up to this point, Master Bai still didn’t understand Yuan Zhuo’s intentions and felt slightly uneasy. He planned to use Dana Shasha to keep an eye on Yuan Zhuo.
“Alright, alright! Tell me what tea you want, and I’ll brew it for you!”

Danasha seemed to really like this title given to her by Yuan’s wife; a smile bloomed on her cheeks instantly.
“I still prefer the tea bricks made in Jiannan. You know!”
They say a sweet tongue brings food—this saying certainly applied to Master Bai.
“Alright, wait a moment!”
Perhaps because no customers had visited the shop for a long time, Danasha was quite restless. Now that she saw Master Bai coming with her husband, this “Madam Yuan” was overjoyed.
“She’s just like that—don’t mind her,” Yuan Zhuo said, looking a bit embarrassed as he gave Master Bai a forced smile.
“How could I? I can see how kind Madam Yuan is to me. In this city of Suiye, I can count on one hand the people as warm-hearted as you two!”
Hearing Yuan Zhuo say this, Master Bai immediately waved his hand to reassure him: “If you ask me, in this western part of Suiye, any Tang person who isn’t respectful to you two is nothing but an animal—a real beast!”
“Well…”
Yuan Zhuo didn’t know what to reply after hearing Master Bai speak like that.
“Here it is! Top-quality tea from Jiannan. Come on, Young Master Bai, give it a try!”
Having lived with Yuan Zhuo for over a decade, Yuan’s wife had fully assimilated into a Tang person. If one didn’t look closely at her brown-colored eyes, it would be hard to tell her true identity!
“You giving it to me is enough!”
Master Bai didn’t dare let Danasha serve him tea; he quickly reached out with both hands to take it.
“Hehe, only you know how to talk sweetly.”
Pleased by Master Bai’s words, Yuan’s wife waved her hand smilingly.
“Nasha, I have important matters to discuss with Young Master Bai. You and Lansheng go to the outer room and check all the accounts first!”
Yuan Zhuo coughed lightly at the right moment, interrupting their “chat.” “Mm!”
Danasha nodded slightly and turned to leave. At first, she couldn’t understand her husband’s habit, but after getting more exposure to Tang culture, she came to understand it.
When only he and Master Bai were left in the room, Yuan Zhuo cleared his throat and spoke in a low voice, “Old Bai, I’m going to tell you something—you must never mention it to anyone outside!”
Seeing that Yuan Zhuo had finally gotten to the point, Master Bai was overjoyed. He patted his chest and said, “Uncle Yuan, go ahead and tell me. Don’t you know my character? I keep my mouth shut—like it’s coated in glue. No matter how they try to get me to talk, I won’t reveal a single word!”
“Enough, stop promising me like that. I’ll just tell you.”
Yuan Zhuo glanced around to ensure no one was outside, then whispered, “This city of Suiye is about to change!”
“What!”

Master Bai was drinking the Jian Nan Chun tea prepared by Sister Yuan when, in surprise, he spat it out.
“Slow down, slow down!”
Yuan Zhuo hurried over and patted Master Bai’s back, saying as he did, “Look at you, such poor tolerance—yet you still claimed to keep it a secret from me.”
“No, Uncle Yuan, what were you just saying?”
Master Bai waved his hand at Yuan Zhuo and propped himself up, saying, “You said something about Shuiye City about to change?”
“Mm, the Tang army has arrived. The good days for the Turkic people here are coming to an end!”
Yuan Zhuo nodded, a faint smile on his lips.
“I certainly know that. But there are only about ten thousand Tang soldiers, while there are six or seven thousand Turkic people in this city alone. How can the Tang forces take it by force?”
Master Bai had thought it was some important matter, but upon realizing it was just this, his enthusiasm immediately cooled down.
“By force, they certainly can’t take it. But what if someone inside the city acts as an insider?”
Yuan Zhuo said to Master Bai with a teasing tone, “Younger brother Bai, you’re in the silk business. You see, a fine piece of silk looks perfect on the outside, but if a cut is made inside, no matter how beautiful it was, it becomes worthless trash.”
“This… this…”
Master Bai hadn’t expected his casual remark to reveal such a secret and didn’t know what to do.
“Good deeds bring good rewards, and evil deeds bring evil retribution. It’s not that they aren’t rewarded; it’s just that the time hasn’t come yet.”
Yuan Zhuo sighed and said, “Younger brother Bai, the Turkic people have oppressed us for years, isn’t it because our Tang forces haven’t taken control of the Shuiye River Valley? Now that the Tang army has reached Shuiye City, as a Tang person, what should we do?”
Master Bai’s mind was in chaos. He cautiously asked, “Ah, Uncle Yuan, you surely don’t… you surely don’t…”
“Yes!”
Yuan Zhuo nodded. “Shuiye City is under martial law; Tang people can’t enter, but that doesn’t mean the Turkic people can’t. Tufuhan Tak has long coveted Shuiye City. If so many people slip in and set fire to it, then tell me, will the Turkic people go to put out the fire or gather on the city walls to resist the Tang army?”
At this point, Yuan Zhuo took a deep breath and patted Master Bai’s trembling shoulder, saying, “You should hurry home, pack your belongings, and move your family westward. Once the war breaks out, Tufuhan Tak won’t be able to tell who’s good and who’s evil!”