Chapter 45: Requesting Permission To Come Back To The Capital To Recuperate From Injuries.

The banquet at Prince Fu Ji’an’s Residence was so lively that it lasted until just before curfew. In the side courtyard, Wen Heyin was sitting on the porch, yawning sleepily. Suddenly, a young servant came into the courtyard and walked over to the Duke of Yan’s carriage.

When Wen Heyin was told that he had to keep waiting, he boredly leaned against the side of the carriage. Then, from his lapel, he took out an oil paper bag, opened it, and took out a cinnamon cake from inside. At that instant, Wen Heyin heard the sound of someone greedily gulping. Wen Heyin turned towards the sound, only to see a thin young man dressed in coarse linen clothes standing next to the next carriage. The young man was looking at the cake that Wen Heyin had in his hands, as if he was extremely hungry.

Upon being noticed, the young man quickly averted his gaze and hunched his shoulders, looking down at the ground.

Wen Heyin approached the young man and offered him the cinnamon cake: “Would you like to eat it? Here, take it.”

“Um, uh, I….” The young man looked somewhat scared, to the point where he fearfully took a step back.

“Just eat it.” Wen Heyin turned the pastry upside-down in his hand. “No need to thank me.”

“Can I….really eat it?” The young man gulped.

“Yes.” Wen Heyin stuffed the pastry into the young man’s hand. The young man repeatedly thanked Wen Heyin, and then hungrily ate the pastry with delight. However, once his hands were raised to eat, there were bruised and old scars on his thin wrist.

“Hmm?” When Wen Heyin noticed it, he asked: “What happened to your wrist?”

“Um….” The young man swallowed the pastry, tugged at his sleeve, and embarrassedly said: “I….made a mistake, so my Young Master beat me….”

“How can your Young Master hit you?!” Wen Heyin was surprised.

Unexpectedly, the one who was even more surprised was the young man: “We are slaves, our statuses are lowly. If our Masters aren’t satisfied with us and our work, it’s natural that they beat us to relieve their anger.”

Wen Heyin muttered: “Why are you using those remarks….?”

The young man weakly said: “Isn’t it always like that? If we put ourselves up for sale in the hands of another, we are no longer free. We are just dogs next to the Master. They look down on us, filled with contempt. From the bottom of their hearts, they all think we’re just some cheap and lowly slaves.”

Wen Heyin: “….”

As soon as the young man finished speaking, his face became alarmed and he pushed Wen Heyin away in a panic: “Go quickly. My Young Master is coming.”

Wen Heyin had no choice but to return to the Duke of Yan’s carriage. With his arms crossed, Wen Heyin looked towards the young man’s Young Master. He had an elegant and noble appearance. He was about 19 years old, looking like the typical Gongzi who does nothing, but plays around all day. The Gongzi walked towards the young man with lowered eyebrows, and the young man hurriedly squatted down. Then, the Gongzi stepped on the young man’s knee and climbed into the carriage. Afterwards the carriage wobbled as it left the Residence.

Wen Heyin’s sharp eyes noticed an odd shape on the ground. When he took a step forward, he saw a money bag with a brocade pattern lying on the ground. Wen Heyin grabbed it, realizing that the Gongzi just now must have dropped it.

Without hesitation, Wen Heyin ran towards the carriage to stop it. However, since he had startled the coachman, the coachman yelled at him: “What are you doing? Do you want to die?!”

“Your Master’s money bag fell out.” Wen Heyin said loudly, sounding neither humble nor arrogant.

Hearing that, the curtain on the small window of the carriage was pulled back, revealing half of the Gongzi’s face: “Come here.”

Wen Heyin stood still, so the servant next to him hurriedly shouted: “Didn’t you hear? My Young Master told you to come closer!”

“Oh.” Wen Heyin then approached the carriage and handed over the bag of money. “You dropped it.”

However, the Gongzi didn’t take it. Instead, he looked Wen Heyin up and down, only to arrogantly ask: “Whose servant are you?”

Wen Heyin: “The son of the Duke of Yan.”

The Gongzi’s eyes moved imperceptibly, and his expression immediately changed. After all, the glory of the Duke of Yan wasn’t something that could be easily ignored. Wouldn’t it be nice if he can use this opportunity to meet Mu Zhiming, the only son of the Duke of Yan?

The Gongzi devised a plan. He took the bag of money, opened it and took out a gold ingot. As he offered the gold ingot to Wen Heyin, he said: “This is for you. If your Young Master asks where the gold came from, tell him that the Yuan Family’s son, Yuan Baode, rewarded you. Your Young Master must know my uncle, the Head of the Prison Department. He’s a close confidant of the Emperor, so lucky to be by the Emperor’s side!”

Wen Heyin replied as if he didn’t care: “Alright.”

“Remember to tell your Young Master that I have rewarded you with gold.” After Yuan Baode emphasized the last bit, he put down the curtain and the carriage continued its journey of leaving King Xian’s Residence.

Wen Heyin put the gold away, turned his head, and left Yuan Baode’s words behind. Instead, what kept resounding in his mind were the words ‘lowly slave’ that the young man had mentioned before.

Wen Heyin gloomily returned to the carriage, only to find Mu Zhiming standing there, lying in wait. Once he saw Wen Heyin coming, Mu Zhiming smiled and asked: “Where did you go?”

“To return something that fell.” Wen Heyin replied.

“Come.” Mu Zhiming dragged Wen Heyin towards the carriage and, with a big smile, took out two things wrapped in a clean silk scarf from his sleeve. After opening one of them, he handed it to Wen Heyin: “Look, I brought you something good.”

Wen Heyin fixed his eyes on it, and said: “Is this….crab cake?”

It was rumored to be filled with hairy crab paste from Chengyang Lake, caught in Autumn of the 10th lunar month, and boiled. It was a snack given to the Emperor by the Imperial Court as a tribute, a delicacy so rare that not everyone can even see it.

“Indeed.” Mu Zhiming smiled wantonly. “I managed to steal two pieces from the banquet. One for you and one for Sister Caiwei.”

Wen Heyin looked at the smiling Mu Zhiming, whose smile always looked as bright as the moon and as cool as the night breeze, then suddenly said: “Young Master, you’re very kind to me.”

Mu Zhiming was puzzled with what Wen Heyin said. Mu Zhiming suddenly averted his eyes and said: “I don’t like you that way.”

Wen Heyin: “…..”

Mu Zhiming laughed out loud, and as he mimicked Wen Heyin’s tone, Mu Zhiming said: “Alas, having an outstanding personality is so frustrating. But I can understand why you would like me. However, in this case, you should pay attention to whether the feelings are being corresponded.”

Wen Heyin: “….Young Master, you certainly do hold onto a grudge, huh? Sigh, how long has it been?”

Mu Zhiming laughed wildly, to the point he almost fell to the ground: “A nobleman always gets his revenge, even if it takes him ten years!”

—

At the beginning of Spring, when the snow and ice had already melted, King Fu Ji’an went to Qiongzhou to deliver disaster relief. His reputation spread far and wide, to the point where even Crown Prince Fu Qi of the Eastern Palace couldn’t compare to him.

In the 6th lunar month, when Spring had turned into Summer, the war between the Northeast border and the Gouji Kingdom had been calm for less than half a year. However, in the Northwest, the Western Rong Tribe sent troops to attack once again. Gu Heyan then led the Rong Yan Army from the Northeast to the Northwest to fight the barbarians. This time, the troops from the Western Rong Tribe couldn’t even set foot in the Great Jin’s territory.

The war was at a stalemate for a year. Since it was difficult to supply food and forage in the winter, the Western Rong Tribe could no longer resist the attacks, so they had to retreat beyond the Great Wall in defeat.

In the warm Spring of the following year, a letter was sent from the Northern border to the Imperial Palace in the Capital.

The sixteen Rong Yan Army Grand Generals collectively requested for a decree. Due to the snow and low temperatures at the Northern border, Commander-in-Chief Gu Heyan’s wounds were difficult to heal, so they begged the Emperor to issue a decree for Gu Heyan to return to the Capital to recover.