Two days later as night fell, the Yongfu had already entered Luo Zhou territory. By early tomorrow morning, they would reach the dock.
Only Xiao Erlang and a few others were in the cabin.
Shi Lei lifted a corner of the door curtain, grumbling and complaining, “You lot certainly feel secure, letting that fellow surnamed Yuan enjoy the breeze and cool air outside.”
“What’s there to worry about? The river is so wide—could he really jump into the water?” Zhong An waved his paper fan. In front of others, he still refrained from using it, since his name was written on it, to avoid catching the attention of anyone with ulterior motives.
“You never know. Have you forgotten? That brat Mo Ge is on his side. Don’t these people also have that weird little boat? Once in the water, without making a sound, it whooshes away at incredible speed and disappears. How would we chase after it then?” Shi Lei wasn’t worrying for nothing—he was also extremely curious about that boat.
“That small boat was left in the reed marshes.” Zhong An spoke with certainty.
“How do you know?” Xiao Erlang looked at the faint oil lamp on the low table, his facial expression flickering between light and shadow.
“I secretly asked Old Guan, and that’s what he told me. I reckon among them, only Old Guan still speaks a couple of honest truths. As for the others—” Seeing that Shi Lei seemed about to get angry again, Zhong An omitted the latter half of his sentence. “Besides, if they didn’t leave the boat there, what else could they do? Though it’s called a small boat, it can seat about twenty people. They couldn’t possibly hide it on the Yongfu, right?”
“Did you find out where the boat was built?” Xiao Erlang wouldn’t let personal preferences affect his judgment. That Mo Ge fellow might be devious and cunning, but the foot-pedal boat was truly extraordinary.
“I asked about that too. But Old Guan doesn’t know—he only knows it was purchased by Mo Ge’s employer, so we’d have to ask Mo Ge about it. It’s just that things have gotten so tense between us now, with both sides looking at each other unfavorably, that I find it hard to bring it up.” Zhong An shook his head. His well of ideas had run dry; he couldn’t think of a solution.
“No need to negotiate with him now. Once we’re ashore, arrest them all and charge them with smuggling. Once the torture instruments are applied, we’ll see if they can still be stubborn.” Shi Lei had been suppressed by Mo Zi for too long—every time he opened his mouth, he wanted to arrest and interrogate people.
“Stubborn Stone, enough already!” Zhong An closed his fan and whacked Shi Lei on the head with it. “All day long you want to arrest them. Don’t you think about it—this time we’re carrying out a secret imperial edict. What does secret edict mean? We can’t alarm those old ministers from the late emperor’s time and must secretly escort the person inside. If you arrest and torture people, the slightest carelessness will let word spread, causing a huge uproar. Also, don’t forget that our General Xiao’s family heirloom is still with Mo Ge as collateral. We’ve suffered this indignity, but we must endure it to the end. After we reach shore, as long as he lets us smoothly take our person away, we’ll each hold our leverage, never associate again, and never meet again.”
Shi Lei huffed angrily, grinding his teeth for a long while before spitting, “Lucky for that brat. If I were ruthless and vicious enough, I’d have silenced him with one swift blade stroke.”
“Shi Lei!” Xiao Erlang sternly rebuked him. “You are a war general, not a bandit. Our swords only kill enemies, not common people, even if the other party is a petty scoundrel.”
Shi Lei smacked his lips. “I was just talking.”
“It doesn’t matter if we can’t find out. The nation’s largest shipyards are all established and controlled by the Ministry of Works, while civilian shipyards are few in number, small in scale, and strictly monitored by local government offices. After we return, we can inquire through the Ministry of Works.” To be able to build such a boat, the shipwrights must be quite skilled and should have reputations, whether large or small.
“As expected of you, Xiao Baiyu.” Zhong An thought about it—he was right. “Speaking of which, your surname is Xiao and your courtesy name is Baiyu, so you didn’t really deceive anyone. Why not tell Mo Ge?”
“Whether deceived or not, what is there to discuss with such people?” In his entire life, who had ever told him to scram? The brat was rude; he had nothing to say.
“It is strange though. From the very beginning, Mo Ge has been at odds with us, yet he gets along so well with the number one corrupt official of Nande.” Zhong An sighed. “I actually quite admired him. If fate had allowed, I wouldn’t have minded befriending him.”
“What do you mean ‘gets along well’? More like ‘birds of a feather.’ Both are greedy for money and extremely cunning, with mouths that could talk the dead back to life—naturally they get along famously. I say they should just become sworn brothers and form a pair of scoundrels in cahoots.” Shi Lei flung the curtain down, too furious to look anymore.
“I’m afraid Mo Ge doesn’t understand his true character and will be used by him again in the future.” The fan stirred up a light breeze as Zhong An closed his eyes in enjoyment.
“Poor judgment of character is bringing it on oneself.” Xiao Erlang swept his robe sleeve, extinguishing the oil lamp, and lay down fully clothed.
Outside the cabin, no one was enjoying the cool air. Only Stinking Fish, wearing Cen Er’s clothes, was leaning against the mast sleeping lazily. Old Guan and Water Snake each performed their duties, while Cen Er kept watch at the stern.
But don’t think Yuan Cheng had escaped. He was right now in the cargo hold below the rear deck of the Yongfu, where Fat Shrimp had just applied external wound medicine to him.
“Husband, conditions on the ship are crude. Though we have ordinary external wound medicine, we’re powerless regarding burns and internal regulation. After going ashore tomorrow, it would be best to have a physician examine you thoroughly.” After Yuan Cheng finished applying the medicine and came out, Mo Zi nodded at Fat Shrimp, who then went up.
Though Yuan Cheng’s hair was still disheveled, it had been tidied somewhat, revealing his ghastly features. The blood-stained prisoner’s clothes had long been changed for clean old robes. The blood from minor external wounds had stopped after two days of medicine application, and his dislocated arms were slowly recovering. However, his coughing had worsened with phlegm-filled sounds, his bones above the waist ached terribly, and the burn on his back was too deep—his skin was blistering and weeping. Without Fat Shrimp’s medicine, it would certainly become infected.
Mo Zi believed his ribs might be fractured, with injury to his lungs as well. Though his external wounds were being treated, if the internal injuries weren’t treated promptly, his life would still be in danger.
“Mo Ge, I thank you for these past few days.” Regardless, Yuan Cheng at least looked much better than two days ago. “It’s just that Yuan is currently not his own master. Whether I can see a physician after going ashore depends on General Xiao’s wishes.”
“Husband need not worry. I will try my best to advocate for husband. Since they were willing to travel a thousand miles to secretly infiltrate Nande and rescue husband, they probably don’t want husband to meet with misfortune before their mission is complete.” These six people led by Xiao Erlang were merely following orders—Mo Zi could see this clearly. Whose orders? Other than the one sitting on the dragon throne, she couldn’t think of anyone else.
“Mo Ge is truly exceptionally intelligent. For now, they won’t want Yuan’s life.” But this journey boded more ill than good—Yuan Cheng understood this in his heart.
“Right now, Da Qiu’s momentum is unstoppable. After breaking through Yuling, will they lower their banners and muffle their drums, or press their advantage? Da Zhou is probably anxiously speculating without getting an answer. Yuling originally bordered three nations. After Da Qiu broke through Yuling, Da Qiu and Nande also became neighboring countries. I imagine the relationship between Da Qiu and Nande is far less tense than with Da Zhou. If the two countries join forces to attack Da Zhou together, even though Da Zhou has strong troops and sturdy horses, it will fall into the fires of war, and the common people will inevitably suffer.” Mo Zi didn’t concern herself with national affairs, but that didn’t mean she knew nothing. “Husband was once a pivotal figure in Nande, even second only to one and above ten thousand. Though you met with misfortune under the new emperor, you should still know everything you need to know, such as Nande’s military deployments, secret entry routes, national strength, national treasury…”
“Mo Ge doesn’t seem like a smuggler, but more like some court’s secret envoy.” Yuan Cheng laughed.
“Haha, husband gives me too much credit. I’m just talking casually.” This person’s spirit of finding joy in suffering had always impressed Mo Zi.
“Yuan was only joking.” Yuan Cheng coughed lightly, rested for a moment, then continued, “Don’t forget, Mo Ge, that Yuan has an irreconcilable blood feud with the Wu surname of Da Zhou. Even if I abandon Nande, I will never grovel and beg before the Da Zhou Emperor. Death is merely a matter of sooner or later.”
“Husband is wrong.” Mo Zi disagreed.
“Please speak, Mo Ge.” Yuan Cheng humbly sought instruction.
“Even ants try to preserve their lives. Husband once said your grandfather and father suffered injustice and wrong. Now that you have the chance to meet the Da Zhou Emperor, why not fight with all your strength? To admit defeat before even engaging in battle—I reckon husband’s title as the number one corrupt official is mostly empty. If you could vindicate the Yuan clan and clear their wrongful charges, what would it matter to grovel and beg? Since Nande has abandoned you, whom do you still need to be loyal to? Of course, you should be loyal to yourself.” Mo Zi had traveled through time and space. When she got a bit excited, her words became shocking and unconventional.
Yuan Cheng didn’t respond. His eyelids were swollen into two small mounds—whether he blinked or not was hard to tell, so she couldn’t be certain whether he was looking down in deep thought, nor whether he could take her words to heart.
After a long while, he reached into his robe and pulled out two water-purifying pearls, placing them on the table. “Mo Ge, this is the payment Yuan promised.”
Mo Zi knew the previous topic had concluded. Being tactful, she collected the pearls into her own hand and replied, “Thank you for husband’s generosity.”
“No need for courtesy. To those who keep their word, Yuan also keeps his word. Everything Mo Ge has done for Yuan, Yuan is immensely grateful for and could never deceive you. I present these twin pearls. After going ashore tomorrow, we’ll part ways, but I hope we’ll meet again someday.” Yuan Cheng tremblingly stood up, wanting to go up to the deck.
Mo Zi stepped forward to support him, disregarding the impropriety between men and women.
Yuan Cheng didn’t avoid it either—to avoid it would be unnatural.
“Husband, may I ask you one more question?” Mo Zi was extremely curious about Yuan Cheng as a person.
“Mo Ge, feel free to speak. Yuan has never spoken freely with anyone, but today, I can make an exception.” Yuan Cheng took a step forward.
“Nande officials are corrupt, from high to low, from great to small—there are almost none with clean sleeves. When husband fell into misfortune, why didn’t you use silver to smooth things over and suffer so much?” The number one corrupt official should know to leave himself an escape route, right?
“My family property was completely confiscated. Pearl and Jade Records was my last remaining shop—I had no remaining resources to smooth things over.” Yuan Cheng turned his face to look at Mo Zi. The board overhead had been pushed open, and a strand of moonlight illuminated his black hair like snow.
“Does Mo Ge know who Nande’s greatest corrupt official is?” he asked again.
Isn’t it you? Mo Zi thought about it but didn’t say it, only shook her head to indicate she didn’t know.
“It’s Nande’s old emperor who died not long ago.” Yuan Cheng laughed hoarsely again. No longer requiring Mo Zi’s support, he climbed up the wooden ladder and left.
Mo Zi considered herself not stupid. When dying, she encountered Qiu Sanniang, who was shrewd enough, yet she managed to catch her breath and change a lifetime death contract into a living indenture contract. When her neck was at the knife’s edge, she encountered Xiao Erlang, who was ruthless and cold enough, yet she got the silver and collateral, preparing to change her face and disguise herself to infiltrate his household. This person Yuan Cheng—she couldn’t understand him. Perhaps the older the ginger, the spicier it is. He had risen to first rank in the officialdom, while she was just a small soldier shipwright in modern shipbuilding technology—after all, she lacked practical operational experience.
Her hand unconsciously tightened. The cool touch of the water-purifying pearls stirred not half a trace of greed in her.