Seeing the old madam carrying a string of bananas with such difficulty, Yun Ye wanted to take them from her but was refused. Adjusting the bamboo basket on her back, the old madam said to Yun Ye with a smile, “It’s no problem. This old body is used to doing these tasks. Your status is different now, so you shouldn’t touch these rough tasks anymore. The Hou family has received much kindness from you. From now on, you just go ahead freely and don’t worry about us. For the Hou family to stand up again, eating bitterness is necessary.”
“Your aunt knows you’re coming today and specially killed a chicken for you. It’s been stewing about long enough now. We’ll eat when we get back.”
Yun Ye did not insist further. Self-reliance was the old madam’s only remaining pride, and he did not want to destroy it. So along the way, he chatted and laughed with the old madam as they entered the village.
Meng Na was holding a large bowl eating her meal. When she saw Yun Ye arrive, she cheered, put down her bowl, and rushed over. Her hands fumbled around in Yun Ye’s sleeves as she urged repeatedly, “Did you bring it? Did you bring it? Where is it?” At least she still remembered that a man’s chest could not be fumbled around in. She withdrew her hands from the sleeves and looked at Yun Ye.
“What you wanted is all in the cart behind, not on my person. Could my person hold a millstone? You’re deliberately taking advantage of me.” Yun Ye said indignantly.
Madam Hou laughed very happily. Even Yun Ye had such moments of helplessness—truly extraordinary. Seeing Madam Hou laugh strangely, Yun Ye explained, “Ever since Meng Na saw water mills in Chang’an, she’s been determined to install one in the stockade. She said the stockade is full of women, and pounding rice and grinding rice paste are too exhausting tasks. She wrote me a letter asking me to bring one back from Chang’an for her. Only this nephew of yours would do this. If it were someone else who heard this request, they’d be angered to death. There are stonemasons in Yongzhou, yet she wants me to bring a stone mill back from Chang’an—who knows how many oxen and horses would be worked to death.”
Meng Na had no time to pay attention to Yun Ye. Jumping like a child, she went to the cart train. She had long wanted a stone mill. Those Han people were truly clever—without lifting a finger themselves, they could grind wheat into pure white flour.
“This thing actually doesn’t have much use here. The people here all eat rice, very rarely eat noodles. Before you came, they had never eaten noodles. You also taught them to eat rice noodles. But this is also good. With the stone mill, they can grind dried bananas into powder and add it to rice noodles—the taste is very good.”
Madam Hou now had none of the appearance of a noblewoman from years past. She was completely like a small farming household. A woman who could quickly transform her own values could live well no matter what.
“Jie’er has married. The recent letter sent over said his wife is already pregnant, and she’s been sent back too. This is very good. This old body thought he was still thinking about Xiao Wu and refusing to marry. Now it’s good—with a child, he can focus on arranging the Soul Pacifying City with peace of mind.”
“When you return this time, take Feng Niang back with you. We cannot return to the capital, but Feng Niang can. Have Feng Niang stay at Yushan for her confinement. The Hou family still has some unfinished business in the capital. You look after things and have Feng Niang settle everything, then bring the capital and assets to Yongzhou. Since the Hou family has already been exiled to Lingnan and even upon pardon cannot return to their hometown, there’s no need to keep any family property in Chang’an anymore. From now on, we’ll settle down in Lingnan. It’s just your Uncle Hou’s grave that we hope you’ll look after more.”
Speaking of this, tears glistened in Madam Hou’s eyes. She wiped her eyes and called for Feng Niang to quickly bring out the chicken.
Yun Ye glanced at Feng Niang. At first sight, she was a very capable woman. Her appearance could not be called beautiful—comely at most. She did not lack in etiquette. Her background should at least be from a scholarly family. Her lower abdomen had not yet shown signs of pregnancy. Traveling long distances at this time was very dangerous.
Yun Ye voiced his concerns to the old madam. The old madam said with a smile, “The Hou family is not so delicate. Following you, she won’t suffer on the road either. I’ll have an aunt accompany her back. They’ll take good care of her along the way.”
“Fetching this money and property is not for the Hou family. You’ve also seen that many household guards and retainers who followed the Hou family here are living very hard lives. The Hou family brought this upon themselves, but what fault do they have? This old body wants to do some business to help them out. Without capital, one cannot do business. If others went, those uncles and brothers wouldn’t feel at ease. Only if Feng Niang goes will it work.”
Yun Ye nodded. At the Hou residence, he ate a pot of chicken, watched the craftsmen install the water mill on the small river, and went to add a bundle of pine wood for the deceased elder. The old man now resided in a mountain cave, wrapped tightly in hemp cloth. Hearing that Yun Ye wanted to see the elder, two women immediately went into the cave, carried the elder out for Yun Ye to see, and took the pine wood that Yun Ye had personally gathered, lit it, and smoked the elder with pine smoke once. Yun Ye discovered it was the same process as making smoked meat.
After smoking the elder, Yun Ye took Feng Niang and an aunt back to Yongzhou. The Hou family was doing well. This way, upon returning to Chang’an, he would have an explanation for Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, and Niu Jinda.
Since the Great Emperor was repaired, it had not stopped patrolling at sea. Now, to make those merchants feel at ease, they could only let them continuously see the magnificent form of the Great Emperor.
New ships in the shipyard were being supervised in construction. Yun Ye handed this task to Liu Renyuan. He was naturally fond of the sea and ships. With him there, there were no worries. Yun Ye could not understand the ships he built—strange and peculiar. Never mind him. The command of the Lingnan naval forces was destined to be his. How he wanted to equip his subordinates was his own business. Yun Ye did not want to interfere.
Xiao Wu’s urgent letter had arrived three days ago. He had long been mentally prepared to take office at the Northern Court Protectorate. Having presided over the Ministry of War for so long, what didn’t he understand? The Empire now only had Anxi and the Northern Court in troubled times. Sending Academy people to investigate the mystery of Loulan indicated that among the people taking office in Anxi or the Northern Court, there must be a direct member of the Academy. Choosing and selecting, besides himself, there was no one else. Hong Cheng did not have this qualification. Moreover, this person had already been ruined. In Chang’an’s ten zhang of soft crimson, his grand ambitions had long been worn down to nothing. With his current physique, even mounting a horse was problematic.
Yun Ye wanted to return to Longyou to look around, wanted to return to that wilderness to look around. This had been a dream for so many years. In the beginning, he feared others would discover his secret. Now it didn’t matter. Even if he went there, no one would inquire further. Li Dayin should be the last batch of people investigating his origins. After all these years, Li Er’s patience should also be worn down.
When Li Anlan woke for the third time, she found Yun Ye’s eyes still wide open looking at the top of the bed canopy. She propped up her upper body, lay on Yun Ye’s chest, and asked, “What are you thinking about again? You’re not allowed to think about those three in Chang’an. Now that you’re in Yongzhou, you’re only allowed to think about me alone.”
The sultry heat of Yongzhou made Yun Ye even more vexed. He patted Li Anlan’s pretty face, then dressed and sat up. Fumbling in the dark, he sat on a flower stool looking for water to drink. Li Anlan also put on clothes and brightened the candle, looking at Yun Ye with concern. She was very clear about her husband’s habit. This appearance was not the first time either. It seemed there was always something that he could not let go of.
“I’m fine. I just can’t sleep because of the heat. After drinking some water to feel better, it’ll be fine. You go sleep quickly. Don’t mind me. This is an old problem. When I think of the days in Longyou before, I can’t sleep.”
Li Anlan held Yun Ye’s hand and said, “If your heart is troubled, speak it out. This concubine will listen. Having someone help share the burden is always a good thing. You need not shoulder all matters alone.”
“Speak? How to speak? I myself can’t think clearly how to tell you. I’ve had a very long dream, or rather, I’m having a very long dream. I can’t distinguish between dream and reality. It’s like there are two of me in this world—one living in reality, one living in a dream. So I don’t dare close my eyes. Even when tired, I don’t dare close my eyes.”
“Living until now, I’ve betrayed too much, lost too much. But correspondingly, I’ve also gained much. Therefore, I very much want to go to Longyou again, to go once more to Anxi or the Northern Court. I must determine that I’m not living in a dream before I can find the meaning of existence. Baiyujing, Baiyujing—I must solve this mystery. I always feel it seems related to me.”
Li Anlan said to Yun Ye strangely, “You originally came from Baiyujing. How is it you have no memory of a place where you lived for a long time?”
“It’s precisely because the memory is too clear that I can’t distinguish which is real and which is false. Do you still remember the circumstances of our first meeting? Your appearance completely caused me to lose my way.”
After Yun Ye finished saying these words, seeing Li Anlan looking at him with bewildered eyes, he patted his cheeks and said, “Sleep. I’m still in a daze. Don’t let me drive you mad too.”
After saying this, he scooped up Li Anlan in one motion and returned to the bed canopy amid her struggling.
Li Rong very much wanted to know whether he was really his father’s son. He did not want to hear Father and Mother’s explanations. A Li surname had completely confused this child. He had specially gone to ask the He family’s eldest madam who had held him since childhood—how could one prove that Father and Mother were husband and wife?
Poor Madam He could not by any means say that the marquis and the princess had engaged in illicit intercourse. Vaguely, she told Li Rong that a man and woman sleeping together were definitely husband and wife.
Thus, just as dawn broke, Li Rong came to pay his respects to his parents. Before his parents were ready, he pushed open the door and entered. After seeing clearly his parents wrapped up tightly lying on the bed, he went out with complete satisfaction. He really was his parents’ child after all. That governess had said that the union of yin and yang was a great ceremony of human ethics, and afterward roots and sprouts emerged. It seemed he was that root and sprout. There was another root and sprout, which was his younger sister Yun Lu. He always felt Father was biased. Sister could have the Yun surname—why must he have the Li surname?
After getting dressed, Li Anlan severely lectured Li Rong, telling him that he had grown up and could no longer rashly run into his parents’ room. Yun Ye, on the other hand, was quite indifferent about it.
The happy family life did not last him long. When the sky was full of wild geese flying back from the north, the imperial envoy also arrived. Yun Ye was promoted to General Huaihua, Grand Protector of the Northern Court Protectorate. From Yiwu in the east to the Caspian Sea in the west, north to the line from the Irtysh River to Lake Balkhash, south to the Tianshan Mountains—this entire territory was under Yun Ye’s governance. The protectorate administration was in Tingzhou.
Liu Renyuan was promoted to General Zhongwu, Commander of the Lingnan Naval Forces, enfeoffed as Viscount of Yangshan County, in charge of South Sea affairs.