Li Er was very stingy. He kept the bear paws for himself, completely wasting good things. After complaining internally a couple of times, Yun Ye lay back down on the cart and advanced with the large troops. With just one more day’s journey, they would reach Guanzhong, and everyone was in excellent spirits.

Wei Zheng shamelessly climbed onto the cart and sat beside Yun Ye, saying: “Marquis Yun is kindhearted. This old man admires you. I never expected that the ever-scheming Marquis Yun would reveal such a great flaw in this matter. This old man didn’t expect it, do you understand? When you wept bitterly, this old man’s heart was full of sorrow. Others made jokes, but only this old man understood your feelings at that time.”

“It’s good to harbor kind thoughts. You need not learn from this old man to do everything to extremes. There’s no benefit in that. Even if matters can be resolved, it always adds some air of slaughter and reduces some peace. This old man sees himself entering his twilight years. If you and Doctor Sun hadn’t cured this old man’s eyes, I would probably have already retired by now. In the future, we still need you young people to shoulder more responsibilities.”

“No, when I return to Chang’an, I plan to start enjoying myself properly. I’ve worked hard all these years and haven’t lived many good days. Just now, my mind was full of thoughts about how to get those two bear paws from His Majesty’s hands. You can keep playing with the court. This youngster has already become notorious. It’s better for me to live my life as a wealthy gentleman.”

Wei Zheng chuckled and said: “Your wealth and status were earned through potatoes and your own hard work. It’s reasonable for you to enjoy it a bit. However, boy, the court is a muddy pit. You’ve already waded in it for so long—if you want to come out clean, go dream about it. Do you know that when this old man was inspecting Yushan Academy and examining poisons in a cave, I inadvertently discovered some strange things? Very strange—half bore the imperial seal, and the other half bore your Yun family seal. This old man has no authority to open His Majesty’s items, but your family’s couldn’t stump me. The result was that inside were… hehe.”

Yun Ye helplessly opened his eyes and said: “So what if that’s the case? Even if everyone in all of Great Tang discovered it, I wouldn’t worry. Would you go inform on me? Killing a hundred-odd people—what kind of big deal is that? I am a noble of Great Tang. When my wife and daughter are humiliated, how could I let it rest?”

“Naturally, there will be no informing, but those Tubo people probably won’t let it rest, will they? Lu Dongzan has lived in Great Tang for three years and is extremely familiar with Great Tang. I’ve heard that corpses are constantly being carried out of the academy’s labyrinth. Before His Majesty went to Yuezhou, there was even a fire in the labyrinth. His Majesty was furious and ordered a thorough investigation, but there wasn’t a single trace. It seems the Tubo people have believed from start to finish that you did it. Be careful—don’t let the tragedy of Zhang Liang’s family be repeated.”

Wei Zheng was like a crow—it was difficult to hear good news from his mouth. Yun Ye had been thinking that three or four years had passed, and the Tubo people should have forgotten about those dead companions, having heard they weren’t accustomed to remembering things too far in the past.

However, what Wei Zheng said must be taken seriously. If Lu Dongzan dared to cause trouble, this time he must be killed. Leaving future troubles behind was no good. In any case, the emperor had already taken half of the stolen goods—they were all allies. Killing him wouldn’t cause any problems. Li Er wasn’t very concerned about foreign affairs right now.

Having made up his mind, his mood improved. Wei Zheng smiled and said: “Marquis Yun is full of killing intent. Are you planning to cut through the tangled mess swiftly? With your connections, silently disposing of Lu Dongzan would be no problem. But Lu Dongzan is currently living in Zhangsun Wuji’s villa. He is wholeheartedly trying to facilitate the marriage between the Tubo king and a Great Tang princess. If the Tubo people were still living in Xiliu Camp, you could kill them without much future trouble. But living in Zhangsun Wuji’s villa, you probably can’t make your move easily, right? Speak up—this old man will deliberate with you. Young people are impetuous and lack long-term thinking. If something goes wrong, it won’t be good.”

What the hell? When did he become close enough with this old fellow to conspire together in murder? The alarm bells in Yun Ye’s mind immediately clanged loudly. He must summon his utmost vigilance.

“No, this youngster plans to fortify his home into a fortress. The whole family will close the doors and live our lives. Even if Lu Dongzan had a thousand times the courage, he wouldn’t dare commit violence at the Yun family estate.” He couldn’t engage with Old Wei’s words. Once he did, he might fall into a pit. Wei Zheng didn’t get along with Zhangsun Wuji—if he himself were used, that would make him a fool.

“Hehe, you don’t trust this old man? Very well. In any case, be careful. This old man feels that Lu Dongzan seems to particularly hate you. It’s probably not just because you killed his people and stole his things—there should be something deeper.”

“His Majesty’s unprecedented support for Bon religion was suggested by this youngster. Lu Dongzan and Songtsen Gampo have long wanted to eliminate Bon religion. To deal with Bon religion, Songtsen Gampo has already married Princess Bhrikuti of Nepal, wanting to introduce Nepal’s Buddhism into Tubo to counter Bon religion. I’ve heard that Indian high monks have already entered Tubo and are spreading the dharma. His Majesty also used to dislike Bon religion’s ignorance. It was this junior who told His Majesty—Great Tang isn’t Tubo’s biological father, so why should we teach them to be clever? The stupider Tubo is, the more beneficial it is to Great Tang. Bon religion likes to burn good things—what an excellent thing this is! Without Great Tang deploying a single soldier, it wastes Tubo’s financial resources. Isn’t such a good thing the best interpretation of subduing the enemy without fighting?”

Wei Zheng raised his thumb in praise, then jumped down from the cart. Standing on the road, he said: “After returning to Chang’an, enjoy yourself properly. The world is at peace, and we can also sleep soundly.”

It seemed he wasn’t the only one planning to live in drunken stupor and dreamy death. Fang Xuanling, who previously never asked about his family affairs, had now also begun to concern himself with his family’s medicinal herb shop. Du Ruhui, wearing informal attire, was no different from a grain merchant steward. In recent years, many new laws had been added, everything now had rules to follow, and governance had also become much easier. He just didn’t know if Li Er would be anxious seeing such scattered sand. This time, eliminating the Bai Qi Si was probably done out of necessity.

Upon reaching Tiger Leaping Gorge, the large troops once again set up camp. Now there was no need to worry about supplies. The local government had sent large quantities of vegetables, pigs, and sheep. Having reached the wealthy Guanzhong region, naturally everything was convenient.

Old Qian had followed along. Upon seeing Yun Ye, he had a good cry. After reporting to Yun Ye about family matters, he went to pay his respects to the old grandmother and Xinyue one by one. Xiao Ya and the others had already swarmed to the carriages Old Qian had brought to look for their things.

Old Zhuang hadn’t come. It was said that the estate had been quite unsettled recently—there had always been thieves stealing at night. They had tried to catch them several times without success. Old Jiang had already started to lose his temper and was preparing to deploy crossbows. Regardless of life or death, he was determined to completely eliminate all the thieves before the master’s family returned.

Xu Jingzong’s eldest son also came to pay respects to Yun Ye, because his marriage to Xiao Dong was also scheduled for this year. After Xiao Ya married, it would be their turn. This had been agreed upon several years ago. The young man Xu Ang was quite handsome like his father, an outstanding talent. Xiao Dong was seeing him for the first time and was extremely delighted.

“Marquis Yun, what do you think of this child of mine? It’s not this old man boasting—at the academy, Ang’er is also a first-rate talent. This year he was just assigned the position of Gentleman of the Heir Apparent. His future prospects are limitless. Therefore, the dowry cannot be light. Miss Xiao Ya is going to be a princess consort—we can’t compare with that. However, it cannot be less than the dowries of the previous two young ladies.” Xu Jingzong knew what kind of person Yun Ye was. Such direct and undignified demands would be considered very impolite by others, but Yun Ye liked it. Speaking clearly face to face was much better than hemming and hawing with veiled hints.

Xu Ang was quite ashamed of his father’s lion-mouthed behavior. His face flushed red, he lowered his head and retreated to the side without speaking. Yun Ye laughed heartily and said: “Tingfeng, you need not be embarrassed. Your father and I have been close friends for many years. Speaking like this is how family should talk. Your father has been as pure as water at the academy these years and presumably hasn’t accumulated much family wealth. If he doesn’t extort me at this time, who else would he extort? Go on—Xiao Dong and the others are in the rear tent. Although your marriage was arranged early, this is the first time you’re meeting. Go on—the Yun family doesn’t have so many rules.”

Xiao Ya, Xiao Nan, Xiao Xi, and Xiao Bei had long wanted to see what their brother-in-law looked like. Especially Xiao Ya, who dragged Xu Ang along to embarrass Xiao Dong, but was thumped by Xinyue without good humor.

Xu Jingzong was extremely pleased. He treated tea as wine and drained three cups in succession, laughing as he said: “I’m truly going back to the academy. Do you still remember the ‘Records of Zhenguan’ you submitted? His Majesty has entrusted this compilation task to me, along with ‘Wude’—both have been given to me. So I used the excuse that the Secretary of the Secretariat position has extremely numerous trivial matters and I feared I would be unable to handle the responsibility, requesting to continue serving as Academy Administrator at Yushan Academy. His Majesty has already agreed, so this old man has returned.”

“This is a good thing. I also plan to draw a few years of empty pay from the Lingnan Navy. The court’s internal strife is too severe right now, and His Majesty’s thoughts are also difficult to fathom. Hiding away for a few peaceful years is good. Once these two books are completed, you should at least get your title of nobility. Otherwise, having prominent official positions but still having to bow to those junior officials would be too unseemly.”

Not having a noble title was Xu Jingzong’s sore spot. These years, the emperor had kept the granting of noble titles very tight. In five years’ time, not a single title of marquis or above had been advanced, though quite a few dukes and marquises had fallen from grace. Noble titles were now extremely valuable. Otherwise, with Hong Cheng’s lowly birth, no great clan would have formed marriage alliances with him. His eldest daughter had been tricked away by Gou Zi, and his remaining two daughters had reportedly both married into wealthy families. Gou Zi had also been troubled these days, but because he had the merit of protecting Prince Wei, obtaining a military position like colonel was still no problem, since Li Tai himself could grant titles.

“To be honest with Marquis Yun, this old man has had bad luck. When I initially followed His Majesty in his potential residence, my achievements were not illustrious, and I missed the great enfeoffment at enthronement. Subsequently, trying to advance even an inch has been even more difficult. Fortunately, I’ve accumulated some reputation at the academy. This old man also believes that as long as these two matters are handled well, a reward of a baron’s title should be possible. It’s been too hard to endure. You came from good birth and have auspicious signs backing you—how would you know about Li Guang’s difficulty in being enfeoffed?”

About to return to Chang’an soon, everyone was making preparations. Lacquer craftsmen were repairing the gold lacquer on various colored ceremonial carriages and insignia. The Yun family’s insignia was about to grow moldy. Xinyue absolutely wouldn’t give others the chance to touch these things. She personally led Xiao Ya, using brushes dipped in gold lacquer to carefully repair them bit by bit. Xiao Dong and the others had dubious origins—the old grandmother and Xinyue wouldn’t allow them to touch anything. It was fine for her husband to acknowledge these younger sisters, and fine to give them dowries, but as for status—they shouldn’t dream of acquiring even half a bit of it.

In the old grandmother’s heart, in this family, aside from Yun Ye, only Daya and Xiao Ya were her actual grandchildren. The rest didn’t count.