52
Starting from the fourth day of the new year, the heavy snow in Ruizhou finally stopped, with only a few scattered flakes drifting down at night — it could be considered a mercy from the heavens. Ruizhou had already suffered from flooding the previous summer, and the autumn harvest had been poor. Even with all efforts made toward disaster relief, there were still commoners who froze to death in the towns and villages under its jurisdiction.
After Duan Linzhou held discussions with the city’s merchants at the Weixiang Lou, the prices of rice and charcoal in Ruizhou stopped rising. The shop assistants spared no effort in assuring the common folk that grain supplies were already on the way and would arrive before long. They explained that such panic-buying and hoarding would only drive up prices. At first, the people didn’t believe it, but with the shopkeepers making earnest guarantees and pointing to the Duan merchant convoy’s departure from the city as evidence, most of the populace was finally pacified.
The Duan merchant convoy made a grand show of leaving the city that day, deliberately creating a spectacle. Word spread quickly among the people, and soon everyone knew that the Duan convoy had braved the risks to transport rice and charcoal for Ruizhou. For a time, Duan Linzhou was deeply appreciated, praised for his noble righteousness and heartfelt concern for the common folk.
Most merchants, driven by profit, were often branded as unscrupulous and disliked by the people. Duan Linzhou, though a merchant himself, had conducted business uprightly for over a decade, fair and honest with both the old and the young. He treated the workers under the Duan family well and gave generously to charity every year. His good name spread far and wide, and his reputation was strong. In the city, those who knew him would respectfully call him Boss Duan or Third Master Duan.
Mu Peixuan recalled what Duan Linzhou had said, that a good reputation was far more valuable than ten thousand strings of wealth.
No wonder the merchants in the city subtly took their cues from Duan Linzhou, even though he had been bedridden with illness for the past few years, few dared to openly target the Duan family.
Duan Linzhou had long anticipated this. That day, as the two of them walked through the streets and saw that the crowds scrambling for rice outside the grain shops had noticeably thinned, they both felt somewhat reassured. Duan Linzhou said, “This is only temporary. Only when the merchant convoy returns from Cangzhou with the grain will the rice prices truly come down.”
Mu Peixuan walked alongside Duan Linzhou and, upon hearing this, nodded and said, “Why don’t I dispatch some garrison troops to go meet them? That way we can avoid any trouble along the way.”
Duan Linzhou chuckled softly, the snowy white fur collar framing his slender jaw. His voice was calm and unhurried as he said, “There’s no need for that just yet. The road from Cangzhou to Ruizhou is still fairly safe for now, and I’ve already arranged for plenty of capable men.” He glanced at Mu Peixuan and added, “Don’t underestimate my people, Xiao Junwang. While they may not match the elite training of your garrison troops, they’re still quite dependable.”
Mu Peixuan’s lips curved into a smile as he looked at the wide road ahead and said, “Boss Duan is a master of foresight.”
Duan Linzhou replied, “Now that’s not something I can accept. I am but a humble merchant, and now a married man at that, I must rely on Xiao Junwang’s protection.”
When Mu Peixuan heard the words “married man,” he suddenly remembered that it had been quite some time since Duan Linzhou had called him “husband.” Ever since that time when he’d told Duan Linzhou that it was “disgusting,” Mu Peixuan would recall the way Duan Linzhou’s face had gone cold, and he couldn’t help but feel that his words had truly been too harsh. A trace of regret rose in his heart.
He drifted into a daze. Sensing something, Duan Linzhou turned his head slightly to look at him and said, “Your Highness?”
Mu Peixuan called out instinctively, “Duan Linzhou.”
Duan Linzhou responded, “En?”
Looking into those smiling eyes, Mu Peixuan fell silent. He pressed his lips together and muttered vaguely, “It’s nothing.”
Just then, a carriage came speeding toward them. The driver was urging it on fast. Mu Peixuan, quick to react, grabbed Duan Linzhou’s hand and pulled him into his arms, shielding him from the rushing carriage.
He frowned and asked, “Are you alright?”
Duan Linzhou glanced at Mu Peixuan’s hand, lowering his eyes with a faint smile, and said, “I’m fine.”
Mu Peixuan stared at Duan Linzhou, unable to help but tighten his grip. His hand slipped into Duan Linzhou’s sleeve, catching his cool, delicate hand. Duan Linzhou was momentarily stunned, and before he could pull his hand back, Mu Peixuan had already tightened his hold, enclosing it in his palm.
Mu Peixuan spoke without thinking, “Duan Linzhou, I’ll be good to you from now on.”
Duan Linzhou lifted his gaze and looked at Mu Peixuan. The young man’s expression was serious, his dark eyes fixed on him without wavering, which made Duan Linzhou feel a little embarrassed. He cleared his throat and said, “Xiao Junwang, we’re on a public street.”
Mu Peixuan responded with a simple, “Oh.”
“And what of it?”
Duan Linzhou sighed in amusement and smiled helplessly. “Your Highness—”
Mu Peixuan had already turned away, holding his hand and stepping forward with determination. “What of it?”
Duan Linzhou sighed and joked, “Your Highness is so enthusiastic, but I’m afraid I’m unable to return the favor…”
Mu Peixuan glanced at him and said, “Boss Duan, we’re on a public street.”
Duan Linzhou blinked, momentarily speechless.
Meanwhile, in the capital, the case involving King Duan’s rebellion had far-reaching consequences. Liangdu issued three urgent imperial edicts toward the northwest, and one of those edicts ordered Qin Fengyuan to enter the capital. Just when everyone believed that Qin Fengyuan would not come to the capital, he unexpectedly left Ganzhou with only a small group of his personal guards and headed toward Liangdu, accompanied by the people from the Jinyiwei.
When the news reached Ruizhou, Duan Linzhou was surprised. “Marquis Yongping really just left like that?”
Mu Peixuan nodded and said, “My elder brother once said that Qin Fengyuan and King Duan were quite close.”
Just how deep was their relationship, for the mighty King of the Northwest to knowingly walk into a trap yet still dare to go alone?
Duan Linzhou couldn’t help but sigh, feeling a sense of melancholy.
However, no matter what, the case involving King Duan felt too distant from Ruizhou. The changes and turmoil were captured in just a few brief lines on paper, barely hinting at the conspiracy, the intricacies, and the bloodshed beneath it all.
On this particular day, before the Duan family’s merchant ships had even arrived in Ruizhou, a few riders made their way directly to Marquis Annan Mansion in Wen’an Courtyard. It was close to dusk, and the setting sun painted the sky a bloody red. When Duan Linzhou heard from his servant that a member of the Duan family had come to see him, and noticed the servant’s uneasy expression, his heart sank. The servant quickly draped a heavy cloak over him, but before he could hand him the sleeve warmer, Duan Linzhou had already hurriedly stepped outside. “Young Master, please be careful—”
Duan Linzhou had barely taken a few steps when he saw several figures standing outside the courtyard. They were disheveled, their cotton robes stained with blood. Among them was a man who appeared to be in his thirties. Upon seeing Duan Linzhou, he collapsed to his knees with a loud thud, crying out, “Boss!”
Before he could say anything more, tears had already started to fall. He gasped out, “Fengzhou has rebelled…”
Duan Linzhou’s expression changed in an instant. “What did you say?”
“The people of Fengzhou have rebelled,” the man continued, his voice trembling. “They stormed the prefectural government, killed the officials inside, and decapitated the magistrate of Fengzhou. They hung his head at the city gates. The governor and assistant governor fled. Boss, Fengzhou is in chaos, it’s completely fallen apart!”
“They didn’t just kill the officials. They also broke into the wealthy merchants’ shops inside the city, looting and setting fires. All of our shops in Fengzhou have been plundered…”
Duan Linzhou’s face grew even darker as the severity of the situation sank in.
53
No one had expected a rebellion to break out in Fengzhou.
The stewards in charge of Fengzhou had fled all the way back, barely surviving the journey. Even as they faced Duan Linzhou now, they could still see the magistrate’s severed head hanging at the gate, the sky over the prefectural government lit red by fire, and the whole city of Fengzhou plunged into chaos, filled with screams and cries.
Duan Linzhou still didn’t know the full extent of what had happened in Fengzhou. There were many things he wanted to ask, but seeing the fear and desperation in their eyes and the bloodstained, miserable state they were in, he held his questions back. Instead, he stepped forward and helped the kneeling men up one by one.
“So long as you’re alive, that’s what matters.”
“Boss…” One of the stewards choked out through tears, “Xian San’er from the shop… he’s dead…”
Duan Linzhou paused. He had met that boy once during a visit to Fengzhou. He had bright eyes, with two sharp little canine teeth and a clever manner, full of ambition to one day follow Duan Linzhou in the merchant trade. Duan Linzhou’s fingers clenched slightly. After a moment, he said softly, “I understand. Leave it to me.”
He steadied his voice and continued, “Go with Duan Jiu for now and get settled. Did you bring your families out with you?”
The men all nodded firmly. In their flight from disaster, of course they had fled with their entire households in tow.
Duan Linzhou patted their shoulders gently and said, “Go back for now. Wash up, eat something warm, and get some rest.”
The stewards, though still shaken, seemed a little steadier. Duan Linzhou glanced at Liu Guang, who nodded and stepped forward to guide the men away. As Duan Linzhou watched their retreating figures, a heavy weight settled in his chest.
Natural disaster. Civil unrest. He could almost smell the thick stench of blood drifting from Fengzhou, heavy and metallic. His organs seemed to twist, the qi in his chest surging violently. He clamped his lips shut but couldn’t hold back a harsh, racking cough.
His coughing grew violent, shaking his whole body. Suddenly, a hand gently touched his back, soothing in its motion. “Duan Linzhou.”
Duan Linzhou lifted his head and met a pair of eyes filled with concern, it was Mu Peixuan’s. At some point, he had arrived and now stood beside him, brow furrowed, steadying Duan Linzhou with a firm hand.
A sickly flush had risen to Duan Linzhou’s cheeks. He forced down the taste of blood rising to his mouth, suppressing it with all his strength before murmuring, “…I’m fine.”
“I’m fine,” Duan Linzhou repeated, his gaze fixed on Mu Peixuan. “There was an uprising in Fengzhou.”
Mu Peixuan’s expression remained composed as he replied, “I know.”
As he supported Duan Linzhou toward the bedroom, he continued, “The report just came in. It happened two nights ago, around the third watch. A large group of people, their arms wrapped in coarse hemp, stormed the residences of the prefect, the assistant prefect, and several other officials.”
“The governor of Fengzhou fled with the assistant governor in the middle of the night. The magistrate tried to suppress the uprising, but the local garrison turned on him—” As the two stepped over the threshold, Mu Peixuan helped Duan Linzhou onto the bed and handed him a cup of hot water.
“Fengzhou was never wealthy to begin with, and the officials there were corrupt, extorting the people. When disaster struck, they made no effort to provide relief,” Mu Peixuan said, his tone hard and cold. “It was only a matter of time before chaos broke out.”
Duan Linzhou held the warm cup in his hands without speaking.
Mu Peixuan’s voice softened slightly as he said in a low tone, “Their leader is called Liu Ziyi, originally an ordinary commoner from Changliu County under Fengzhou’s jurisdiction. He studied for a couple of years, then went to the prefectural city to make a living.”
“They call themselves a rebel army, claiming the imperial court is corrupt and the officials are tyrannical,” Mu Peixuan continued. “In just two short days, their numbers have already swelled to five thousand.”
Duan Linzhou said, “If they call themselves a rebel army, then why are they slaughtering innocent civilians?”
Mu Peixuan replied, “The disaster in Fengzhou is severe. Local merchants took advantage of the chaos, inflating prices without restraint. The people suffered deeply and harbored intense resentment. Once a blade is in their hands and blood is spilled, they no longer distinguish between the guilty and the innocent.”
Duan Linzhou’s brows knit tightly. Seeing the gloom between his brows, Mu Peixuan said, “Fengzhou is in utter chaos now. It’s best for the Duan clan’s shops to shut down for a while.”
Duan Linzhou nodded and asked, “Since there’s a rebellion, will the court send troops to suppress it?”
“Naturally,” Mu Peixuan replied. “But I believe this rebellion is somewhat unusual.”
Duan Linzhou raised an eyebrow. “How so?”
Mu Peixuan said, “How could a mere Liu Ziyi manage to incite the garrison to turn against their own? And it happened so suddenly as well, as if it had been planned all along.” With a natural sharpness when it came to military affairs, Mu Peixuan’s expression revealed a level of composure beyond his years, with a hint of edge. He continued, “Liu Ziyi is just an ordinary commoner. It’s easy to persuade the desperate people to follow him in rebellion, but the commander of Fengzhou’s garrison, whom I’ve met, is no less skilled than Li Yue in martial arts. How could he willingly follow Liu Ziyi?”
Duan Linzhou seemed deep in thought and said, “They seek profit—” He shook his head before continuing, “The rebel army has nothing, mostly just ordinary people, but if they seek fame…” Duan Linzhou couldn’t convince himself. After all, it’s a rebellion, how could there be fame in that?
Mu Peixuan said, “This is also the part I can’t figure out.”
Duan Linzhou ran his fingers over the teacup in his hand and murmured, “What I’m worried about isn’t just Fengzhou.”
Mu Peixuan looked at Duan Linzhou, and the two spoke in unison, “Longzhou.”
Fengzhou had been devastated by disaster, and Longzhou was equally suffering from the heavy snow. Once the rebellion in Fengzhou occurred, it was hard to guarantee that others in Longzhou wouldn’t follow suit.
As the two had expected, the rebellion in Fengzhou grew in momentum and scale so quickly that it shocked everyone. There was almost no resistance within Fengzhou; local officials were either dead, had fled, or had defected to the rebel forces.
With Fengzhou in chaos, soon after, the magistrate of Xinshui County in Longzhou, which bordered Fengzhou, was beheaded and displayed for all to see. The people rose in revolt, and before long, rebellions broke out everywhere. Panic spread throughout the land.
The shops in Fengzhou were shut down, and Duan Linzhou sent a message to Longzhou, instructing the manager there to assess the situation and prioritize survival. The manager in Fengzhou acted quickly; in the chaos, aside from the unfortunate death of Xian San, who was killed by the rebel forces while trying to return home, the others were mostly unharmed. However, the goods in the store and the silver in the cash boxes were all looted clean.
Fortunately, the manager had acted prudently, hiding most of the money in wooden boxes and bricking them into the corner of a wall. When he mentioned this, he felt deeply ashamed, but Duan Linzhou didn’t mind. After all, nothing was more important than human lives.
The rebellion in Fengzhou cast a shadow over the entire region, as if a dark cloud hovered over Ruizhou. Though there was a distance of a thousand miles between Ruizhou and Fengzhou, the city had already been placed under martial law, and the rural counties were patrolled by militias.
Mu Peixuan became busy as well, with his rest days over. He spent his days running between the garrison and Marquis Annan Mansion.
At this time, Duan’s merchant convoy returned from Cangzhou.
The fleet arrived first. On that day, Duan Linzhou personally went to the dock to welcome them. Several large ships flew the Duan family’s black-and-gold flags, their satin banners fluttering and rolling in the wind. Under the winter gloom, the flags glimmered with brilliance.
Duan Linzhou stood at the edge of the dock, the wind sweeping his thick cloak, which only made his thin, frail figure appear even more fragile.
“Boss!” As the ship docked, a tall man named Lu Chongxing quickly stepped off the boat. He was about thirty years old, with a handsome face, though a scar running down his cheek added a touch of fierceness to his appearance. “Lu Chong has not failed the mission!”
Duan Linzhou also smiled, saying, “Second Brother Lu, you’ve worked hard on the journey.”
“It’s no trouble,” Lu Chong grinned, showing a set of white teeth. “Why did you personally come to greet us? The wind is strong at the dock. What if it blows—”
Duan Linzhou smiled and said, “It’s no problem.” He walked past Lu Chong, looking at the sacks being unloaded from the ship onto the dock, each one packed to the brim. “How much grain did you bring back?”
Lu Chong made a gesture with his hand to indicate the amount. Duan Linzhou, surprised, exclaimed, “So much?”
Lu Chong chuckled and said, “But the price of grain has gone up by three coins per shi compared to usual.”
“Those bastards,” he continued, “At first they acted all high and mighty, saying they didn’t have any grain to sell us. They were just trying to drive up the price and make a quick profit off us.”
The three coins were within Duan Linzhou’s expectations. He smiled and said, “You’ve all worked hard.”
Lu Chong said, “The grain and charcoal were divided into two shipments. One batch is being shipped by boat to return to Ruizhou for urgent use, and the other batch is still on the way.”
Duan Linzhou smiled slightly and said, “Second Brother has thought of everything. I’ve already arranged a banquet. Once the cargo is unloaded, we’ll have a reception to welcome everyone and dust off the journey.”
Lu Chong responded cheerfully, raising his voice, “Did you all hear that? The Boss is personally hosting a reception for us! Brothers, let’s be quick and unload the goods!”
The strong men unloading the cargo happily replied in unison.
Duan Linzhou watched the bustling dock, with the clear river reflecting the shimmering light, the water sparkling in the golden hue. He finally let out a deep breath, feeling a sense of relief.
The author has something to say:
The entire story is a fictional creation.
