Chapter 70: Treacherous Minister

“Your Highness, this old servant is useless. To think I must trouble Your Highness to come and visit me. Cough, cough, cough...

“This old servant is fine. With Teacher Chen here to look after me, Your Highness need not worry.”

Eunuch Zhang lay in bed.

Every few sentences brought another fit of coughing.

He looked like an eggplant struck by frost utterly wilted.

Chen Guangting stood nearby.

When Zheng Fan and the Sixth Prince entered, Chen Guangting happened to be holding a basin with a towel inside.

He had clearly been preparing to wipe down the old eunuch’s body.

“It’s good that Eunuch Zhang is all right.

“You know the situation in my residence.

“Men of talent and unusual ability aren’t exactly lining up to submit calling cards at my gate.

“Without Eunuch Zhang watching over me, I wouldn’t even sleep soundly at night.”

“Your Highness jests.

“To be able to serve Your Highness is a blessing this old servant accumulated over several lifetimes.”

“Teacher Chen, I’ll trouble you to look after Eunuch Zhang.

“We’ll wait until his injuries have recovered enough for travel before returning to the capital.”

“Your Highness speaks too seriously.

“This is this subject’s duty.

“Eunuch Zhang was injured protecting Your Highness, and he was also injured protecting this subject.

“I cannot shirk this responsibility.”

“Mm.”

The Sixth Prince did not linger.

He turned and left the room.

Seeing that the Sixth Prince had not introduced him, Zheng Fan said nothing to the other two either and followed him out.

“Ah, was that the fellow who saved His Highness?” Eunuch Zhang asked.

“Yes. Supposedly he’s a Lieutenant Commander in the Zhenbei Army.”

“Thank heavens for him.

“If anything had happened to His Highness at the hands of that barbarian dog, you and I would both have had no choice but to die in apology.

“Our families might even have been exiled to the frontier.”

“Talk less.

“I’ll wipe you down.

“I know how much you care about cleanliness.”

“Heh.

“My ancestral graves must be belching green smoke.

“To think I’d someday have one of The Great Yan Dynasty’s finest scholarly seeds personally attending me.

“Hehehe.

“This injury was worth it.”

“You’re a man without roots.

“I’m drifting duckweed without roots.

“We’re much the same.”

“Heh.

“That we are.”

...

“Can you still walk?” the Sixth Prince asked Zheng Fan.

“It’s nothing serious.”

Naturally, the wound in Zheng Fan’s abdomen could not have healed so quickly.

After all, A’Ming had never bitten him.

But with excellent wound medicine combined with Zheng Fan’s control over his qi and blood, ordinary walking presented no problem so long as he did not get into another fight.

“Good.

“Then let’s go out and eat.”

“Doesn’t the residence have cooks?” Zheng Fan asked curiously.

“It does.

“But meals in the residence of the Marquis of Zhenbei are supplied collectively.

“Except for the women of the household and the wounded, everyone eats whatever the soldiers eat.

“The food is delivered straight from the army camp’s cooks.

“Now, eating that in public to flatter the hosts is one thing.

“But in private?

“There’s no need to make ourselves suffer.”

“All right.”

The residence of the Marquis of Zhenbei had no walls.

Apart from a few tall structures belonging to the residence itself, the enormous surrounding area consisted almost entirely of single-story buildings and tents.

Rather than a city, it looked more like an enormous military camp.

Outside, however, things were quite lively.

There were even market streets.

The situation strongly resembled those places in later generations where an entire city gradually developed around one large state-owned enterprise.

Soldiers received military pay and needed somewhere to spend it.

Their families needed somewhere to live.

Little by little, the embryonic form of a city naturally emerged.

“Your Highness isn’t bringing more guards?” Zheng Fan asked after they left.

The Sixth Prince had no one beside him except Zheng Fan.

“It’s fine.

“We’re already inside the Marquis’s territory.

“We’ve passed the ceremonial archway.

“No one would truly dare cause trouble here.”

The Sixth Prince clearly had enormous confidence in local security.

In that case, Zheng Fan saw no reason to keep nagging.

At worst, if danger appeared, he could run first.

If the Sixth Prince died, then he died...

The Sixth Prince chose a mutton restaurant.

They ordered two bowls of mutton soup and four flatbreads.

The soup arrived quickly.

As the Sixth Prince tore pieces from his flatbread and tossed them into the broth, he said, “You know, a few months ago, Father Emperor issued several urgent edicts summoning the Marquis to the capital.

“And on the very first day the Marquis entered the capital, he went to Quande Restaurant and ate five whole roast ducks by himself.”

“Was he deliberately demonstrating that he still had a strong appetite and remained hale and hearty?”

“You’re overthinking it.

“He’d simply been suffocating on bland food here in the residence.

“Once he finally escaped, he could eat whatever he wanted.

“The first Marquis of Zhenbei left behind far too many rules.”

“Without rules, there can be no order.”

“Stop talking like some stuffy scholar.

“It’s bad enough listening to Chen Guangting lecture me all day. Now I have to hear it from you too?

“Rules or no rules, I don’t know.

“But Quande Restaurant wasn’t even some famous old establishment in the capital.

“It wasn’t particularly well known either.

“It just happened to be close to the northern city gate.

“The Marquis had barely entered the city and was already desperate for meat, so he chose that place.

“Well, now the roast-duck restaurant has exploded in popularity.

“Each duck costs five times what it used to, and they still can’t keep up with demand.”

“That proprietor certainly got lucky,” Zheng Fan said enviously.

The celebrity effect was universal in every era.

A famous person could drink soy milk, eat a fried dough stick, or piss beneath a utility pole, and the place could become a pilgrimage site for fans.

“The owner of that roast-duck restaurant is me.”

Zheng Fan laughed.

“Then it wasn’t merely luck.”

“Of course not.

“I had Eunuch Zhang tip the soldiers at the northern gate beforehand.

“When the Marquis entered the city, they loudly shouted several times that Quande Restaurant’s ducks were fat but not greasy, the most fragrant and delicious in the city, and that after eating one you wouldn’t forget the taste for a month.

“Hehehe.”

“Your Highness is truly talented.”

“It’s only a little merchant’s trick.

“Hardly great talent.”

“A merchant who does well can govern a country too.”

“Heh.

“From antiquity until today, I’ve never seen a great merchant successfully establish a state.”

Hmm.

Maybe not before.

Later generations might be another matter.

“I’m eating.”

“Please, Your Highness.”

Zheng Fan lifted his own large bowl and drank.

The broth was fragrant.

There was probably pepper in it.

The sun was already sinking.

This was precisely when the northern wind began to rise and the temperature dropped.

A few mouthfuls of hot mutton broth warmed his entire body.

After drinking half the bowl, Zheng Fan set it down.

His gaze began sweeping the surroundings.

“Eat your meal.

“Stop frightening yourself by being so vigilant.

“Here, no matter what clan or family you belong to, if you dare start a fight, you’ll suffer consequences you can’t bear.”

The Sixth Prince assumed Zheng Fan was watching the surroundings to protect him.

He was even a little touched.

But Zheng Fan was only searching for signs of Siniang.

He finally asked, “Where are the soldiers from Tiger Head City who escorted the birthday tribute?”

“Probably camped outside.

“What?

“Missing your subordinates?”

“A little.”

“Tsk, tsk.

“You don’t feel secure without soldiers in your hands, do you?”

“Naturally.”

“I truly envy you.

“You can command troops openly and legitimately.

“But if I reveal even the slightest desire to touch military authority, I’ll immediately fall into an abyss from which there is no return!”

“Life without troops under your command does lack confidence.

“Especially for someone in Your Highness’s position.”

“Young man.

“Those words are dangerous.”

“Words from the heart.

“Even a nobody Lieutenant Commander like this subordinate gets looked down upon by the city garrison in tiny Tiger Head City simply because I have no troops in my hands.

“Let alone Your Highness.”

“Hehehe.

“What exactly are you trying to say?

“Is the mutton soup suddenly not tasty enough?

“Are the flatbreads no longer fragrant enough?

“Why can’t they stop that mouth of yours?”

“Since ancient times, political power has grown from the barrel of a gun.”

The Sixth Prince’s lips moved slightly.

He seemed to repeat the words silently to himself.

Then he said, “Clear.

“Incisive.

“Brilliantly put.

“You brat really do have a way with words.

“Unfortunately, the Imperial Guards in the capital are controlled by Second Brother’s people.

“The commandery troops of Tiancheng Commandery are held by Eldest Brother.

“Among the outer forces, the Zhenbei Army stands unrivaled in this age, but the Li Clan guards it as its own forbidden preserve.

“I only managed to leave the capital this time because I begged for an assignment.

“Normally, I’m not even permitted to leave the capital without authorization.

“So tell me— where am I supposed to get soldiers?

“Mm.

“Don’t tell me you mean to rely on yourself?”

“Precisely this subordinate.”

“I say, old brother— could you be even slightly subtle?

“You’ve practically carved the words ‘treacherous minister’ across your forehead.”

“My dear little brother...”

“Stop!

“Enough!

“I was wrong!

“I shouldn’t have given you the opportunity.”

“Your Highness, a soldier who doesn’t want to become a general isn’t a good soldier.

“And a minister who doesn’t want to become a treacherous minister isn’t a good minister.”

“Where do you get all these aphorisms?”

“Inspiration strikes.”

“Enough.

“Proprietor, the bill.”

“Uh...

Your Highness, this subordinate didn’t bring any money.”

After waking from his injury, Zheng Fan had been lying in bed.

Even the clothes he wore now had been given to him by the Sixth Prince.

When would he have had the opportunity to put money in them?

Unexpectedly, the Sixth Prince pulled out his own purse.

“Don’t panic.

“I always bring money when I go out.”

Watching the Sixth Prince’s practiced motion as he paid, Zheng Fan suddenly felt a little sorry for the poor kid.

After settling the bill, the Sixth Prince apparently had no intention of returning to the Marquis’s residence.

Instead, he continued strolling the streets with Zheng Fan.

They wandered here.

They wandered there.

Until eventually, they wandered to the entrance of a clandestine brothel.

Red curtains hung on both sides of the doorway.

This was a northern custom.

It was much like those tiny “hair salons” on certain streets in later generations that did not contain so much as a pair of scissors.

“This...

Your Highness.”

“What?

“It’s not often I get to visit the north.

“And Chen Guangting is busy caring for Eunuch Zhang, so he isn’t following me.

“Can’t I go sample some wild game?”

“This subordinate was under the impression that Your Highness did not lack women.”

“Women?

“No, I don’t lack those.

“But what man isn’t fickle?

“Besides, behind these red curtains they have plenty of exotic goods.

“Women from the Western Regions.

“Women from even farther west.

“Tsk, tsk.

“Those figures.

“Those bodies.”

“This subordinate admires Your Highness.”

“Hmm?

“What do you admire about me?”

“Your Highness’s spirit of bold exploration and willingness to challenge yourself.”

“That flattery came out of nowhere.

“It’s far below the standard of the things you were saying earlier.”

“Your Highness, not everyone possesses this kind of courage.”

“Pfft...

“Hahahahaha!”

The Sixth Prince doubled over laughing.

“I say, Treacherous Minister...”

“...”

Zheng Fan stared at him.

“Oh, no.

“Sorry.

“Zheng Fan.

“I like being around you.

“I like having you here to talk with.

“Why don’t you return to the capital with me?

“Stay in my residence.

“Every day, your only responsibility will be keeping me company and chatting with me.”

“Wouldn’t that be inconvenient?”

“Nothing inconvenient about it.

“I can even have Eunuch Zhang accept you as a disciple.

“Plenty of people envy his Qi Refiner techniques.”

“Your Highness, that sort of joke really shouldn’t be made.”

“Fine.

“If you don’t want to take the knife, then come inside with me.

“The two of us brothers can go boldly explore together!”

“Your Highness, this subordinate is still wounded.”

“It’s fine.

“Let her stay on top.”

With that, the Sixth Prince dragged Zheng Fan into the clandestine brothel.

The interior was cramped.

A narrow corridor barely wide enough for two people ran through the middle.

On both sides were small compartments screened by red curtains.

You could lift a curtain and see the woman sitting on a rug inside.

Some would throw flirtatious glances at you.

Others would deliberately put on an elegant and dignified air.

Whatever their method, they tried every trick imaginable to make you choose them.

That was also why red curtains had become synonymous with this line of business.

In Zheng Fan’s opinion, the arrangement was remarkably ahead of its time.

People in this era certainly knew how to have fun.

It rather reminded him of Tobita Shinchi.

“Heh.

“I’ve chosen mine.

“I’m going in first.”

Zheng Fan turned his head.

Sitting behind the curtain was a blonde, blue-eyed woman.

That tank... was not an ordinary tank.

Even among Western women, she had to count as exceptionally tall and powerfully built.

Zheng Fan continued walking farther inside.

Truthfully, he really had no such urge.

After all, Siniang usually helped him speed things along.

In the past, Zheng Fan had thought modern writers were unbearably pretentious when they described a woman’s hands as soft as tender shoots.

But only after personally experiencing it did he realize the ancients had not deceived him!

Suddenly, a fragrant breeze rushed into Zheng Fan’s arms.

A voluptuous foreign woman wrapped both arms around his waist.

That scent in an instant, Zheng Fan identified who she was!

“Master, come play with this servant.

“This servant promises to take very, very good care of you.

“Come play, Master.”

Zheng Fan merely gave a cold snort.

He shoved the foreign woman out of his arms.

Then said icily, “Get lost.

“I already have a woman I like.”

(End of Chapter)