Niu Jianhu himself didn’t care whether he took up civil or military office. His foot disability meant he held no hope of being enfeoffed as a marquis through military service on horseback. But as a member of the military faction, he had to be sufficiently vigilant about such signs. These days, the civil officials were jubilant—this was a signal that the Emperor intended to move against the meritorious nobles. They spared no effort in offering up some very important grassroots positions from the civil official system to arrange for these scions of noble houses. Very quickly, in just half a month, they cleared out enough positions and then implemented the Emperor’s will in concrete terms.

“Civil office isn’t so bad. Brother, if you reach the position of prefect in Quanzhou, little brother’s fleet can come in handy. Quanzhou itself doesn’t have many special products, and the farmland is barren. The advantage is that it’s by the sea. Brother, when you get to Quanzhou, don’t worry about other matters—just expand the Quanzhou port, expand it, and expand it some more. If you have energy to spare, build more ships, especially large oceangoing vessels. Little brother guarantees the people of Quanzhou can live very well just from this seaport.”

Yun Ye thought for a long time and finally concluded that Li Er was worried that military families would extend generation after generation until they became too powerful to control. While his prestige was still intact, he struck with lightning speed to first fix the positions of those outstanding descendants of military families. By the time the old generals returned victorious, it would be a done deal—too late to change. This time Li Er’s will was very firm and not subject to alteration. If one didn’t want to rebel, this was the only option.

“Xiao Ye, don’t worry about my situation, brother. Ever since my foot was crippled, I’ve been utterly disheartened. I’m already very satisfied with my current outcome—you don’t need to worry too much. It’s just that after I go far away to Quanzhou, I’ll have to rely on you more for family matters. My father and mother are elderly, and your sister-in-law doesn’t know how to manage a household. Please take more care. Have your wife visit more often to give guidance. I don’t want Mother to worry about household affairs anymore.”

Niu Jianhu was an only son. Originally, based on Niu Jinda’s achievements, he need not go far to Quanzhou—he only needed to stay in Chang’an in an official post. That way he could attend to both family and state, the best arrangement. But in the face of cold reality, he had to go with the flow.

Leaving the Niu household, Yun Ye was in a foul mood. Li Er was picking the soft persimmons to squeeze. The closer one was to the imperial family, the more responsibility one had to bear, to set an example. These three words were heavy and helpless. Whether treacherous minister or loyal minister, as long as one bore the character for “minister,” one needed to pay various prices.

The Zhenguan era had no truly treacherous ministers in the real sense. Li Er’s brilliance shone even in broad daylight. Only a few fools would violate the prohibitions he had established. He was a warrior emperor and, from a historical perspective, still belonged to that type of figure who never stopped fighting as long as life continued.

Squatting with Old Qin in the back garden grilling whale meat—the smoked whale meat was very chewy. The surface was roasted crispy by the charcoal fire. Brushed with chili oil and dipped in prepared sauce, it was truly a delicacy of the mortal world.

“Uncle Qin, Huaiyu is going to take up a local post. Aren’t you worried?” Yun Ye grilled a piece of whale meat for Old Qin, brushed it with sauce, and placed it on his plate before asking.

“What’s there to worry about? This old man went to Jinan Prefecture to be a constable when he was young. Real men need to venture around to become capable. What good is staying home for a lifetime? Boy, don’t think too much, don’t do too much. Just watch more and you’ll understand. You’ve got a whole load of your own debts right now. Just handle your own affairs first—don’t meddle in other people’s business. This old man really likes that Runniang girl. The time has come. This old man is preparing to have my second son come to your house on the sixth day of the tenth month to fetch her. What do you think?”

Old Qin didn’t give Yun Ye a chance to discuss other matters, just urged him to hurry up and prepare his sister’s wedding—that was what really mattered. It seemed he wasn’t too opposed to Qin Huaiyu becoming a civil official, even somewhat pleased. That was fine—as long as one was comfortable, anything was acceptable.

“If it’s a date that Yuan Tiangang selected, you don’t need to strictly observe it. Any date you pick yourself would be more appropriate than one he chose. That old Taoist’s reputation is ruined now. Just the other day he read Zhang Liang’s fortune, saying he would soon travel far away with great fortune and prosperity. Who knew that within two days, his family jewels would be ruined by someone? The old Taoist’s words can’t be trusted.”

“Nonsense! Celestial Master Yuan wasn’t wrong at all. Zhang Liang indeed has to travel far—this time to Dongting Lake to train the navy. It certainly counts as a promotion. As for his physical disability, it can’t be brought up publicly. Liu Hongji struck in anger this time. Boy, don’t tell me you came away clean without fanning the flames.”

“Your nephew just entered Chang’an city when this happened. There wasn’t time to do anything! These days, your nephew hasn’t left the house. I haven’t even visited the naval camp on the Ba River. To say it came from your nephew’s instigation is too much. Lord Liu and the others aren’t people a small marquis like me could command.”

Qin Qiong finished the whale meat, wiped his hands, picked up the teapot and took a sip of water, then pointed outside the door, indicating he could leave. All the old generals had this temperament—as soon as the conversation wasn’t congenial, they would immediately chase people away.

He hadn’t even left the garden when he heard Old Qin shout from behind: “Remember, the sixth day of the tenth month! Prepare a generous dowry. I’m not planning to give my second son much money.” He turned back and agreed, then hurriedly left, not wanting to disturb Old Qin from having barbecue with the womenfolk.

Li Xiaogong and Li Daozong, the two brothers, were both at the Prince of Heijian’s residence. Li Tai and Li Ke, the two brothers, were also there. Today was Lady Li Xiaogong’s fiftieth birthday. They hadn’t invited outsiders—just their own brothers and nephews closing the doors to eat and drink counted as celebration.

Yun Ye’s timing was perfect—the feast had just begun. Upon entering, he realized he had been impolite and quickly dispatched the steward to prepare generous gifts. A cartload of whale meat really couldn’t be presented.

Old Qian hadn’t even left when the Li family’s main gate slammed shut with a bang. Li Xiaogong’s voice came from afar: “What gifts need preparing? When this old man turns sixty, you can prepare generous gifts then. Since you happened upon us today, just come drink!”

It could only be thus. As a junior, he respectfully paid his respects to the Princess Consort. Not having presentable gifts was somewhat awkward. Just as he was in an embarrassing situation, Li Xiaogong sniffed his nose and suddenly asked: “Boy, did you bring fish meat?”

“Yes, Uncle Li. Your nephew caught a few whales at sea and preserved some whale meat, specially bringing it for you to taste.” Yun Ye said helplessly. This was the problem with whale meat—the fishy smell was very strong.

Li Xiaogong gave a strange cry, threw away the fan in his hand, kicked off his shoes, and ran to the courtyard to look. In an instant, he carried back an enormous lotus leaf package. Using a knife to pick open the thin cord, a large piece of smoke-colored whale meat appeared before everyone. The fishy smell became even stronger. Li Tai covered his nose and said to Yun Ye: “It’s too smelly! Can this thing be eaten?”

The Princess Consort also looked reproachfully at her husband. Only Li Daozong sat calmly, though his eyes also held longing.

Li Xiaogong said to Li Tai and Li Ke: “You two brothers haven’t eaten this thing. Don’t be fooled by its strong fishy smell now—as long as it’s prepared properly, this is the most succulent delicacy, absolutely incomparable to meat like beef, mutton, or pork. This boy is a foodie and definitely knows how to prepare it. Since he didn’t bring a gift today, let him work the kitchen next time and prepare this thing for us to taste.”

Yun Ye smiled and agreed. Although his current status made cooking quite undignified, in front of elders, no one would gossip. Making a meal to honor the old Princess Consort’s birthday wasn’t excessive.

Li Daozong nodded repeatedly and said to the somewhat puzzled Princess Consort: “Sister-in-law may not know—Marquis Yun traveled far with his master in his youth, experiencing all manner of delicacies under heaven. His master happened to be an accomplished person who ate nothing but fine cuisine. So under the accomplished person’s influence, the meals Marquis Yun prepares can truly be called exceptional!”

Yun Ye smiled and continued: “Your nephew didn’t know today was Auntie’s birthday. Coming rashly is already impolite. Please allow your nephew to work the kitchen to make Auntie a bowl of longevity noodles to express my sentiments.”

“What noodles, boy? Just prepare the whale meat!” Li Xiaogong couldn’t wait to eat the fish meat. Li Tai’s curiosity was also piqued—he very much wanted to taste what whale meat was like.

Li Tai, Li Ke, and Yun Ye came to the kitchen together. Yun Ye kneaded dough while the two brothers prepared the charcoal stove according to Yun Ye’s instructions. Since they were already very familiar with this from the academy, the stove was ready in no time.

While peeling garlic cloves, Li Tai suddenly asked Yun Ye: “Brother Ye, do you think preparing five or six large ants is too few?”

“That depends on what you want to do. To make someone suffer a bit, five or six are enough. If you want to gnaw someone down to a skeleton, then all the ants in the entire academy wouldn’t be enough. This kind of desert army ant, though fierce at biting and somewhat poisonous—actually not poison, but a substance called formic acid, very similar to the sulfuric acid Master Sun extracted—a few aren’t enough to pose a threat to a person. I know your thoughts. You’ve been pampered since childhood. Li Yuanxiang is probably the person you hate most. Your eldest brother told me about the dog incident, so I have no good feelings for this kind of person who’s evil to the bone.”

“You know what? I can conflict with him. I’m an outer minister. But you should forget it. I’ve been thinking these past days and realized that using you to contain Li Yuanxiang is foolish. He’s your elder. No matter what he’s done to you, if you retaliate with resentment, you’re in the wrong. Our Great Tang is founded on filial piety. If you do this, you’ll be drowned in an overwhelming tide of criticism. So it’s very inadvisable.”

“I don’t care! If I don’t finish him off, I can’t swallow this hatred. It’s not about a dog—his actions gave me nightmares for a long time. Mother held me while sleeping for two months before I stopped having nightmares. By the way, if you tell anyone about me wetting the bed, don’t blame me for turning hostile.”

“It’s not funny. Bed-wetting isn’t funny at all. Xiao Tai, haven’t you noticed that your nightmares plus bed-wetting have changed your temperament? This is an illness, a serious one.”

“But you just said I can’t move against him, or it will be detrimental to me and cause trouble for Imperial Father. Now the great army is at war abroad, eldest brother is also in the military, and Imperial Father is worried about state affairs. I can’t bear to trouble Imperial Father further.”

Yun Ye smiled and patted Li Tai’s shoulder. Years of education had finally shown its effect. The selfish and self-interested Li Tai from history had disappeared. That absurd talk of “killing sons to pass the throne to brothers” would never again have a chance to come from his mouth. Being able to reduce a bit of darkness from the history books and add a bit of light—Yun Ye was very gratified.