“Lord Marquis, we’re rough men who don’t understand court matters. You mustn’t fool us. I’m Old Mo, fifty-three years old this year. I don’t have many years left. While I can still move, I’m planning to save up some family property for my children and grandchildren. If what you’re saying is true, I’ll sign up right now. My family has been soldiers eating military rations for generations—we’ve never had anyone become an official. If I can become a proper Imperial Guard Captain to Resist Invaders, my whole family will remember your kindness for a lifetime.”

“What kind of way is that to talk? Would the Lord Marquis deceive a fighting man like you?” Hong Cheng walked over and delivered two swift kicks. The man stood like iron, his form not budging an inch, staring intently at Yun Ye, waiting for his answer.

“Old Mo, listen carefully. I’ll say this again. I’ve already submitted a memorial to His Majesty, proposing to bring this fertile land under state ownership. Since it’s to become state property, we’ll need officials to govern it. The court doesn’t have enough officials—so what do we do? We’ll select them from among you. First, you must be utterly loyal to Great Tang—you can’t become an official today and rebel tomorrow. Second, we Tang people are too few in the Lingnan region. Most inhabitants are natives and barbarian tribes. Ordinary civil officials can’t govern them—we need you to step up. Third, each of you is already over fifty years old and has served Great Tang for many years. Even if I’m seeking some benefits for you, it’s only what you deserve.”

Old Mo immediately jumped up and threw himself on the ground, his head kowtowing with resounding thuds as he loudly declared, “In life I am a person of Great Tang, in death I am a ghost of Great Tang! If I become an official and then rebel, may my entire family die under a hail of arrows!”

In the military, this was already the most vicious oath one could make. Yun Ye helped him up, patting the dust off his knees, and said to him, “Good, then you’re counted in. We’ll wait together for His Majesty’s edict. Once the decree is issued, you’ll follow me to the capital, receive His Majesty’s inspection, then take your families to your posts.”

Old Mo beamed with joy. They knew all too well how difficult it was to obtain an official position in Great Tang. Seeing Old Mo take first place, everyone immediately surged forward to register, each fearing to fall behind the others.

“All of you, go register with Hong Cheng first. I’ll send an official to verify each of your identities one by one. Those from military backgrounds will have priority.” After Yun Ye finished speaking with a smile, he lifted his leg to mount his horse, but who knew the treasures on his person were so numerous and heavy that he couldn’t climb onto the horse. Old Mo chuckled and grabbed Yun Ye by the waist, easily lifting him onto the mount.

The military was long accustomed to seeing high officials like Yun Ye accept benefits. If he didn’t take anything, the soldiers below would actually worry. No one thought it improper—as long as their interests were protected, whoever informed would become a public enemy, facing certain death under any general’s command.

In Great Tang, only Hou Junji and Li Jing had suffered misfortune for taking things, but that was all due to their excessive military achievements. Even when Li Er found out, he merely scolded them and let the matter rest—no one took it seriously.

Li Anlan had been taking things very seriously lately. Her son was clutching a black pearl the size of a chicken egg, throwing it back and forth, which made her quite suspicious. She had just snatched it from her son’s hands when he began wailing loudly, so she had no choice but to irritably return the pearl to him. She didn’t realize that at this age, children were precisely at the stage of being interested in colors.

Embarrassed and annoyed, she picked up the child and pressed her face against him, rubbing vigorously. Her nose was sensitive—besides the slightly stinky milk-baby smell, there was another very familiar scent, one that sometimes appeared in her dreams, lingering and persistent.

She brought her nose close again. This time she was certain—there was indeed a fresh, clean smell, very distinctive, like the scent of new bedding dried in the sunlight. This scent had only ever appeared on one person.

Li Anlan immediately burst into loud sobs. That heartless man had come and didn’t even look at her, sneaking around to see their son but not her. She felt her grievances had nowhere to be expressed. That scent was the smell of something called soap. In all of Great Tang, only Yun Ye had the habit of using this thing. Others found items made from lard disgusting, but he used it tirelessly. The Yun family only used it for washing clothes, but Yun Ye used it for bathing.

Perhaps he was hiding nearby right now, watching her, so Li Anlan cried even more unrestrained.

Little Lingdang didn’t know why the princess was crying, but she also shed tears and cried along. The whole roomful of maids were infected too, each thinking of their own sorrows and crying as well.

Only Young Master Li Rong, lying on the bed playing with the black pearl, laughed with his mouth wide open, giggling gleefully.

Seeing that her crying wasn’t having much effect and that heartless fellow still wouldn’t come out, Li Anlan looked at her happily laughing son and felt her anger surge. Just like his father—heartless! You don’t care when I cry? I don’t believe you won’t care if your son cries! If you have the nerve, just keep hiding.

Young Master Li Rong was playing happily. There were so many people in the room making noise—how could he be left out of such fun? Just as he was about to yell a couple of times to enhance the atmosphere, he felt a sharp pain on his bottom. His shout immediately turned into wailing, truly heart-wrenching crying.

Having just pinched her son’s bottom, Li Anlan immediately regretted it. She quickly picked him up to comfort him, but who would have thought the child would cry even louder, tears streaming down heartbrokenly—far more upset than she had been just moments ago.

Li Anlan was just about to open her garment to nurse the child and soothe him when an arm reached over and took the child from her embrace.

Madam He, hearing the young master’s wailing cry, felt her heart shatter. She rushed through the door only to discover the Lord Marquis in the room holding the young master. The little one was crying with tears and snot flowing together, aggrieved as he rubbed his face against his father’s, smearing it all over the Marquis’s face.

Li Anlan shooed all the other maids out, then sat in a chair waving her handkerchief, watching the flustered Yun Ye. As for little Lingdang, she had long since frozen in shock.

“Oh my, I thought Marquis Yun truly had a heart of stone. Little Lingdang and I cried ourselves to death while you treated it like we were singing. Your own son only cried twice and you couldn’t bear it anymore. Tsk tsk tsk, what a loving father you are.”

Yun Ye had no mind to deal with that crazy woman. He placed his son on his lap to see where he was uncomfortable, finally finding a red mark on his bottom. Needless to say, that woman had pinched him.

With a dark expression, he scolded, “What madness possessed you? Look how you’ve pinched the child—his bottom is all red.”

“Our crying was useless. Only your son’s crying could make you, this heartless man, come out. What choice did I have? What if you quietly finished your business and quietly slipped away again? Little Lingdang even calls for her Brother Yun in her dreams—such heartbreak! Didn’t you hear? For your heart to be so cruel is truly rare.”

Little Lingdang’s face instantly turned into a red cloth. She covered her face with her sleeve and fled quickly. Li Anlan then pointed at Madam He and said, “Out.”

Madam He reluctantly looked at the constantly sniffling young master, but still went out, thoughtfully closing the door behind her…

The young master cried himself tired. Li Anlan took the child and, right in front of Yun Ye, opened her garment and fed her nipple into the child’s little mouth, gently patting to lull him to sleep.

Yun Ye used his handkerchief to wipe the snot and tears from his face, then sat there watching Li Anlan nurse their son. Her breasts were much fuller than before, and her milk was abundant. The little fellow was too greedy, sucking too vigorously, causing milk to overflow from the corners of his mouth. Li Anlan gently wiped it away with her handkerchief, then wiped the flower-cat-like little face as well. She knew Yun Ye was watching and made no attempt to conceal herself. Instead, she thrust out her full bosom, feeling very proud—she had nourished a sturdy child.

The little fellow finally stopped suckling and fell asleep with his head tilted. Li Anlan rose and placed the child in the cradle, gently rocking it. Wiping away a tear, she quietly asked Yun Ye, “How long have you been here?”

“Not long, only about ten days. Oh, that gold ingot on the table—I brought it.”

“Then it’s twelve days. These past days, have you been in the manor the whole time? Just standing to the side watching us live our lives? I wondered why your household servants, whose eyes usually sit atop their heads, suddenly became so agreeable—giving me whatever I wanted. Turns out you saw the child and this was my reward. How about it? I’ve raised your flesh and blood rather well, haven’t I?”

“Very good. You’re very good, the child is very good, Lingdang is good too. Now I can rest easy. My narrow escape through the jungle to see you all wasn’t in vain. Very good—you haven’t disappointed me. This is my greatest reward from this journey. Just now, watching you nurse the child, I thought of many things, many memories, and couldn’t help but feel confident about the future. What you want, I will give you. This land will ultimately be grasped in your hands. You’ve given so much—you should receive your due. If nothing unexpected happened, all the troublesome figures on your territory should have died by now. Feng Ang should be coming too. He needs to give me an explanation.”

“The storms and turmoil in the city these past days—you orchestrated all of it? No wonder I felt something was off, yet couldn’t find anything disadvantageous to me. Since you’ve taken action, I’m sure the child and I will live peacefully and steadily. The child has a better fate than I do—he has a father who cherishes and loves him. Whenever the child suffers even the slightest grievance, his father appears to drive away all the villains. Brother, I only have this one child. Please don’t take him from me, all right?”

Li Anlan’s single address of “brother” instantly shattered Yun Ye’s hard exterior. This woman finally understood what she truly wanted—this was tremendous progress.

“The child is yours by birth, so naturally he needs to stay with you. He only needs to know he has a father who, though far away, has never loved him any less. When he grows up, he’ll need to follow me to learn many things that only Yun family members can learn. When he reaches fifteen, he’ll be sent over, or I’ll come to get him. Whether he becomes accomplished or not, he’s still my son. What he deserves, he won’t lack a single thing.”

Li Anlan raised her head, tears flowing unstoppably, yet the smile on her face grew ever more radiant. Embracing Yun Ye, she murmured, “The man I chose can’t be wrong. The man I chose has never been wrong. This is what a man is—so this is what men are like. Heavens, what have I missed?”

“Guard your heart well. Don’t reveal too much ambition. Lingnan is too conspicuous—too prosperous here. To arrange a good life for you and the child, I’ve already released a demon. Now many have died…”

Li Anlan didn’t let him finish speaking. She sealed Yun Ye’s mouth with her own lips…