Chapter 326: A Sudden Change
By the time of the evening hour, the sky was already dark. A row of lanterns hung along Wu Xiang Old Street, making the entire street appear desolate. In the Xi Lai Inn, the cooks were busy preparing dinner in the kitchen, while Ling Xi was packing things together with Amber in the courtyard. Qiu Hen, who was lively and talkative, had been instructed by Zhang Yue to ask various questions to the inn owner, Chu Yun, while the two workers sweeping the floor occasionally chimed in.
“Boss, I heard that pirate raids are common along the coast of Zhejiang. Have these pirates ever come to Songjiang Prefecture?”
“Pirate raids have been ongoing since the Hongwu era. Although they occur along the coasts from north to south, Zhejiang is hit the hardest, with raids happening every year. Songjiang Prefecture belongs to Jiangsu, so it’s not often targeted by pirates. There was only one incident a few years ago, and fortunately, only dozens of them landed. The military drove them back to sea quickly. It’s the fishing villages by the sea that suffer the most, suffering significant losses.”
“Everyone keeps calling them pirates—are they really Japanese?”
Fan Gouer couldn’t help but interject, “How could they be fake? They all have those ugly shaved heads and speak in gibberish we can’t understand. They must be thieves from Japan. Are you worried about pirates, miss? Don’t worry. As long as I can remember, there’s only been one pirate incident in Songjiang Prefecture. Even if there were more, they wouldn’t come to Songjiang or Shanghai County in such cold weather—after all, the defenses here are very strict! And with no merchants buying cotton cloth these days, what profit could our inns possibly make…”
“You brat! If you keep quiet, no one will think you’re mute!”
Chu Yun had initially thought Fan Gouer was clever, but he became furious after hearing the last sentence. He scolded him harshly and sent him away. Then he apologized to Qiu Hen with a smile, “Miss, don’t worry. There are four military stations along our coastal defenses, with a total of four thousand soldiers. Even if pirates really came, they wouldn’t stand a chance! Please stay here. Jiangnan is a key region for the imperial treasury, so nothing bad will happen.”
“You give quite impressive guarantees. If the guests hear you say that, they’ll surely feel at ease.”
Seeing Zhang Yue enter the hall through the side door, Chu Yun quickly greeted him with a smile, “Young master, if our place weren’t truly safe, would I dare give such guarantees? Thanks to you, two more groups of guests checked in this afternoon—one is made up of merchants traveling from Huaiyang to Ningbo Prefecture, and the other is a generous young master. By the way, have you been going to the Yang family’s place every day these past few days?”
After visiting the Yang family’s residence once, for the next ten-odd days Zhang Yue only took Hu Qi with him. Using the identification badge from the Jinyiwei’s Beizhenfu Department, he went to several military outposts. Since it was Lu Feng who had given him the badge, he wasn’t afraid that anyone would realize his connection to the Jinyiwei. After traveling around extensively, he couldn’t help but feel that although the coastal defense forces of the Ming Dynasty were not entirely incapable of fighting, they still fell far short compared to the troops in the capital that had escorted him south. After all, it was unrealistic to expect elite troops everywhere in an era of peace and prosperity.
In addition, he received a shocking piece of news from the Jinyiwei: a few days earlier, Emperor Yongle, Zhu Di, suddenly issued an order to lift the sea ban in Ningbo, causing a great stir. Although official news hadn’t reached Songjiang yet, private channels must have spread it quickly. It was likely that everyone who needed to know already had, and the necessary measures were probably already in place.
At that moment, he nodded with a smile, sat down at a table beside the counter, and sighed deliberately or not: “How dare I go there every day? Just a few days ago, I made a trip to the Yang family’s mansion at their request to meet the old master Yang. Yet that second young master treated me as if I were his enemy—really without any reason! I heard the old master Yang wants the two brothers to live together in the future, but he insists on separating from him. Why must brothers be so hostile to each other?”
Previously, when he saw the Yang family’s son-in-law come to visit Zhang Yue in person, Chu Yun had already sensed that these people staying at the inn had some background. Hearing this now, he was even more convinced of his guess. After agreeing with him, he glanced around and saw that several workers had gone to clean in the back, so he simply sat down on a stool next to Zhang Yue.
“It’s not me gossiping behind someone’s back, but that second young master Yang is quite ruthless! I heard that when he was in charge of the family’s textile business, several competitors suddenly suffered misfortunes—either their houses burned down or someone died in their families. Although the authorities couldn’t prove his involvement, everyone eventually called him a plague god. Because of this, the old master Yang sent him to manage the family’s properties elsewhere, so he’s often away from home. He also constantly complains that the old master Yang is too conservative, saying the Yang family can’t compare to the Yan family in Ningbo Prefecture in the Jiangnan region. Since you’re new here, it’s better not to get involved in the Yang family’s affairs.”
“That old master of the Yang family in Songjiang Prefecture is truly bold, but his sons are utterly worthless. What’s there to fight over when it comes to family wealth at this point? The court has just lifted the sea ban, so there are plenty of ways to make money—why cling to ancestral property? In my opinion, Old Master Yang isn’t good at disciplining his sons, but he has good taste when choosing sons-in-law. His son-in-law is far better than his two sons! The Fang family from Shandong now has quite a reputation; I hear they want to get involved in the salt trade as well.”
As creaking footsteps echoed up the stairs, these words, spoken with great confidence, were heard clearly. Zhang Yue looked up and saw a young man in a plum-purple Lu silk jacket leading the way. He held a plain landscape folding fan, his face like the moon in autumn with a smile on his lips, yet exuding an indescribable arrogance. The one who spoke was a slightly overweight middle-aged man behind him, his face full of a friendly smile, but with a hint of arrogance in it.
The young man came down the stairs, sizing Zhang Yue up from head to toe, his gaze soon falling on Qiu Hen beside him. He quickly closed his folding fan and arrogantly nodded at Zhang Yue, “So you’re the one who rented out the small courtyard, forcing us to live in the upstairs room? I heard women talking downstairs just now—turns out it was a beautiful girl, and she even looks quite good… Tsk tsk, how about I give you fifty taels of silver if you hand her over to me?”
Qiu Hen felt both ashamed and angry. Instinctively, she opened her mouth to retort, but seeing the look Zhang Yue gave her and remembering the rules of conduct in public, she forced herself to swallow her words and stood aside, sullenly brooding. As she cursed inwardly at this arrogant guy, she heard a cold voice.
“Since Your Excellency prefers to judge people by money, you must have good eyesight. How about you take a look at how much this robe of mine is worth?”
The young man, coming from a wealthy family and used to looking down on others, sneered at these words. Seeing Zhang Yue’s robe as dull and unremarkable, he laughed scornfully, “It’s just an ordinary piece of clothing—worth at most a dozen guan.”
Before he could finish speaking, the middle-aged fat man stepped forward and examined Zhang Yue’s robe closely. His eyes lit up immediately. “As the saying goes, there’s Gufabric in the north and female hemp in the south. This seems to be top-quality Lanzhou Gufabric? Tsk tsk, sir, this robe must have used an entire bolt of fabric—worth hundreds of guan! Truly magnificent!”
Seeing the young man’s face stiffen, Zhang Yue calmly said, “Even a few hundred or a few thousand pieces of clothing like this are not worth even the little finger of my beloved maid.” At that moment, aside from the middle-aged man who seemed to have heard nothing and continued to speculate about the origin of Zhang Yue’s robe, both the young man and the shop owner Chu Yun were stunned. Qiu Hen, on the other hand, was overjoyed—until she saw Zhang Yue throw her a displeased glance, after which she turned and scurried back. Seeing the tense atmosphere, the middle-aged man quickly cleared his throat. “Young Master Wang was just joking. Please don’t take it to heart, Young Master Zhang.” Being very good at handling people, he smoothly changed the subject after making an apology. “I heard from the shop owner that you came to Songjiang Prefecture on your father’s orders to start a business. It seems you’re well-informed—I only just learned that the imperial ban on sea trade has been lifted, so I rushed here in a hurry. Who would have thought someone else arrived sooner than me! But you’ve been in Songjiang Prefecture for days—aren’t you in a hurry to go to Ningbo?” “Traveling with a beautiful maid must mean you’re enjoying yourself so much in Songjiang that you don’t care about important matters.” For the first time in his life being mocked in this way, the young man, ignoring the middle-aged man’s attempts to defuse the situation, snapped back angrily before tossing his sleeves and heading upstairs. After taking a few steps and seeing that the middle-aged merchant hadn’t followed, he grew furious and asked coldly, “Lao Ma, will you still need me to introduce you to Eunuch Wang once you get to Ningbo?” The middle-aged man had initially thought Zhang Yue seemed to have some connections and wanted to build a relationship for future benefits, but he never expected the young man he’d managed to get close to to act in such a manner. Though angry, he was just a merchant and didn’t dare offend such an important person, so he could only offer Zhang Yue an apologetic smile. Chu Yun, who had run an inn for many years and was used to such situations, remained silent behind the counter. Suddenly, he heard continuous sounds of gongs coming from outside, making his hair stand on end. Ignoring the reactions of the other three people, he rushed out from behind the counter and headed for the door. “The pirates are here! The pirates are here! Lock the doors and windows—everyone, be on guard!”
As the sound of the gongs grew louder, the noise in the quiet night sky became clearer. Hearing this news, Chu Yun immediately felt a chill run down his spine. When he turned around, he saw that both the merchant surnamed Ma and Prince Wang were frozen in shock, while Zhang Yue had already rushed out and stepped onto the street ahead of him.
Glancing faintly, he saw the night watchman holding a torch already running away out of sight, which made Zhang Yue frown. The next moment, he noticed someone else rushing out. Turning back, he saw Hu Qi and the four guards assigned to him by Zhu Zhanji. Under the dim light of the lanterns in front of the inn, he saw that the four guards had solemn expressions on their faces, so he calmly said, “Boss Chu already said that there are few Japanese pirates in Songjiang Prefecture, and there shouldn’t be any at this time of year. Moreover, neither Shanghai County nor Huating County in Songjiang Prefecture has city walls, so if Japanese pirates arrive, they can advance straight in. Fortunately, I’ve been to Baoshan Post, Wusongjiang Post, Nanhuizui Middle Post, and Qingcun Middle Front Post before, and the defenses there are quite solid. Even if Japanese pirates do show up, we should be able to respond in time. In short, there’s no need to panic. You are all highly selected elite soldiers from the prefectural army. First, secure the doors and get ready with firearms, swords, and knives!”