Chapter 239: Thoughts Arise in the Quiet Night—Why Is There No Time to Rest?

“Father was grandfather’s third son—unskilled in both literature and martial arts—but he and mother were very affectionate. After I was born, the doctor declared that mother could no longer bear children, so she treated me as a boy and began teaching me to read and recite at the age of three or four…”
“Grandfather preferred grandsons over granddaughters, so he didn’t like me much. But father said I was his most beloved daughter and secretly taught me the family’s secret formula, the Qian Ding Fang, asking me to memorize it.”
“When news of grandfather’s defeat reached us, it felt like the sky had collapsed. The court took away his titles and ordered our whole family to move to Hainan. I was seriously ill at that time, and the doctor said I would surely die on the journey if we went together. So mother entrusted me to my nurse while dismissing the servants. Unexpectedly, all those servants were registered and given to other meritorious officials…”
“I thought all these things would stay buried with me in my grave, and I would never see my family again. But I never expected to meet someone who knew the Qian Ding Fang in a pharmacy… Later, when the young master took me to Qingzhou for treatment, someone sneaked into the inn to see me. He called me ‘Seventh Sister,’ but I didn’t know which cousin he was…”
A lamp had been lit in the previously dark earroom, and the blue curtain on the bed was still hung high on the hook. The two people on the bed were nestled together, Amber’s head resting gently on Zhang Yue’s shoulder, her face flushed with a delicate red. It wasn’t the burning red from her severe illness before, but rather a calmness after a storm. She recounted those buried memories piece by piece, feeling lighter with each revelation.
“The past is gone. No matter what happened before, you still have a future.”
Zhang Yue gently held Amber’s hand and comforted her again. Seeing tears still on her face but her eyes clear, with all confusion and fear seemingly gone after her confession, he finally relaxed. Yet he pondered how to deal with that troublemaker from the Qiu family.

“My grandfather passed away long ago. All I care about now are my parents. I only hope that young master will have the chance tomorrow to find out something about them for me. I don’t expect to see them; just knowing they’re safe will put my mind at ease. As for my cousin… I just hope he isn’t so foolish as to do something irreversible. The Qiu family’s former glory came from my grandfather. To restore the family’s honor now, we must wash away the shame of defeat. Why can’t he understand? My grandfather was extremely proud. If he were alive and knew what his family members have done, how could he rest in peace…”

Hearing her soft murmurs and seeing her eyes gradually close, Zhang Yue gently moved her onto her back and covered her with a thin blanket. Standing up, he felt pain all over his back. At that moment, the sound of the midnight drum came from outside. Thinking about the tasks waiting for him the next day and the people he needed to send to gather information, he felt an indescribable fatigue overwhelm him. Glancing back at Amber, who was sleeping soundly with even breathing on the bed, he shook his head with a bitter smile.

Her worries were gone, but what about him? They say longing arises in quiet nights, yet it’s interrupted by various troubles. It’s a pity that the things causing him trouble truly ruin the mood.

Early in the morning, Qingzhou was already bustling. Long queues formed at the city gates as people came in and out. Merchants shouted loudly, and the government offices opened to handle daily affairs. The secret dealings also began anew.

“The King of Shouguang accused the King of Han of plotting treason—this was part of our plan. Meng Xian and Sun Liang then accused the King of Han and the King of Shouguang of monopolizing salt fields for personal gain, adding another subplot. Then the emperor, enraged, imprisoned the King of Shouguang and took away the King of Han’s guards—this brought us back to the original plot. But who would have thought that Zhang Jie sent was useless? The King of Han’s palace dragged things out for over half a month. Then there were riots at the palace gate demanding the release of prisoners. Zhang Jie couldn’t reduce the number of guards either. Is my summary correct?”

Although it was daytime, the room in the Jinyiwei battalion headquarters in Qingzhou remained dark, so they had to light two oil lamps. The dim light, combined with the speaker’s gloomy tone, added to the eerie atmosphere. Seeing the person sitting below nod, Mu Ning cleared his throat again.

“Since the master you serve previously mentioned such an incredible possibility, I have no choice but to consider that direction now. The King of Han’s assassination was carried out by him himself, aiming to stir up a father-son bond with the emperor. Unfortunately, things went awry, and increasing guards turned into reducing them. Now, with another incident like this occurring, if it’s the Wang family’s doing, it would follow the same old pattern. But I just can’t figure it out—if the King of Han had such cunning, he would have seized the throne long ago and wouldn’t have been driven to Le’an in such misery. What do you think?”
Seeing the man sitting below still nodding, Mu Ning became furious: “You can only nod! What else can you do? Although Yuan Tou sent you here to help that person, at least give me some advice!”
After a long time with no response, he grew even angrier: “Do you expect me to report to the emperor that the King of Han is colluding with the White Lotus cultists, using them to cause chaos in Shandong while amassing private troops and threatening the court to increase his guards? If I dare report this, the King of Han might be summoned to the capital immediately and imprisoned, but I’d lose my head too! Go back and tell your master that I sent imperial troops to help investigate, but ask him to come up with a good excuse. If I report it directly, I’m just waiting to die!”
Shooing Hu Qi out like a fly, Mu Ning picked up another report on the table and tapped it thoughtfully with his finger. Aside from the King of Han and the White Lotus cult, none of these parties were easy to deal with!
As a civil official, if the White Lotus cult really rose up, Zhang Yue would surely be held accountable. Quelling them was the duty of military officials; civil officials wouldn’t gain any credit. It was a dilemma with no solution. Perhaps even the Duke of Ying, Zhang Fu, and figures like Yang Shiji and Yang Rong, who agreed to send Zhang Yue to Shandong, never imagined the situation would become so complicated.
The only solution was for Zhang Yue to personally capture those White Lotus rebels hiding among the people! Unfortunately, who could have predicted that the cult leader would go straight to the Meng family? He was foolish—Tang Sair’s medical skills couldn’t possibly be learned from books alone; she must have had a master. Why didn’t he carefully select doctors in Qingzhou? If he had known earlier, he would have sent a hundred or so men to ambush around the Meng family’s house—wouldn’t that have allowed him to capture them all at once?
Zhang Yue had previously mentioned that the person he met at Wang Jiazhuang might be Tang Sair, but he had dismissed that intuition. Now that it’s confirmed, it’s too late, and following clues is extremely difficult!

Early in the morning, after having breakfast, Zhang Yue stepped out of the courtyard just as he ran into Hu Qi, who was returning from Mu Ning’s place. After listening carefully, he nodded and gave a few instructions before heading to the neighboring courtyard to visit Liu Da, the carpenter who had just been brought in from Gaoshan Tun. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw a pile of various items scattered about. After asking in detail, he learned that they had been transported there using four large carts the previous day. Most of them were plows and iron tools, along with some wooden parts of various designs, leaving him dazzled.

“Lord Zhang!”

Hearing the call, Zhang Yue looked up and saw Liu Da, leaning on a crutch, limping out of the house. He quickly ordered Liansheng to go help him. Waving his hand to dismiss any formalities, he pointed at the various items in the courtyard and asked, “Didn’t you say that you usually do carpentry work? It seems like everything here is made of iron.”

“These were all made after I saved up money and designed them, then had them crafted in an ironwork shop. My strongest skill is still carpentry, but using just wood for plowing probably won’t work, right? Please take a look—this is a large plow that requires four oxen to pull. It’s best for plowing the heavy clay soil in Shandong. This is a hand-pulled plow, operated by two people, capable of plowing several acres in a day. This is a shoulder plow—someone strong enough can plow at least two acres per day by themselves, and if several people work together, averaging three to four acres per person per day isn’t a problem either…”

Although he had already experienced Liu Da’s eloquence before, he hadn’t seen the actual items at that time. Now, with Liu Da explaining each one, Zhang Yue was amazed and asked, “Has anyone used these plows?”

“These items aren’t easy to make. After all, the ironwork shop needs to create new molds. I paid a high price for these using all my savings. How could those villagers afford such expenses? For example, for the large plow, there are only a few oxen in entire Gaoshan Tun, and since people aren’t united, it’s hard to get them to use it together. As for the hand-pulled and shoulder plows, I had the ironwork shop in Shouguang County help make them. They made a small profit from it, so when I order things there, they only charge me half the price. That’s why I always ask others to have them made there!”

Seeing Liu Da act as if he had gained an advantage from this, Zhang Yue felt angry— the inventor got nothing, while those who processed them made a small profit. And people still thought it was only natural? Thinking about his plan to visit the villages near Yidu to comfort the people that day, and seeing these various farming tools, he suddenly had an idea.

“Can these tools be used nowadays?”

“My lord, these are all things I’ve accumulated over the years. I’ve taken great care of them, so of course they can still be used.”
Receiving an affirmative reply, Zhang Yue paid no attention to anything else. He quickly ordered a few servants to find large carts to load the items onto. Then he said to Liu Da, “I happen to be heading to Zihedian Village today. If you’re still in good health, you can come with me by cart. There are plenty of draft oxen there now, so it’s a good chance to test the effectiveness of your plow, as well as other tools. If it truly proves effective, I’ll report it to the imperial court and recommend you for rewards!”
Liu Da was now disabled. He had come to Qingzhou with Zhang Yue hoping to find a master who would recognize his talents. Yet Zhang Yue immediately mentioned rewards? Overjoyed, he could barely hold onto his walking stick. Stammering, he said, “My lord, though I may be disabled, my body is still strong enough to keep up. I’ll go with you to the countryside! It’s just that there are still a few tools related to the plow that haven’t been tested since they were made. What if something goes wrong…”
Seeing more than a dozen strong servants coming to carry the items, Zhang Yue smiled at Liu Da and said, “There’s no need to worry about problems. How can we know unless we try?”