Chapter 787: A Fleeting Indulgence

Of the seven Demon Kings, the one who lived the most carefree life was undoubtedly A’Ming.

Especially after the workshop system had been established and stable production began, A’Ming more or less entered the state of a “free man.”

Taste wine.

Taste blood.

Spend every day living the same but never boring, always impeccably elegant cellar-recluse life.

Everyone’s life had threads tying it to something. A career. A relationship. Some other bond.

The other Demon Kings all had those threads.

Only A’Ming did not.

Even now, A’Ming did not believe that failing to kill Nian Yao immediately in that forest west of Zhennan Pass had been some grave sin.

He did not regret it.

Nor did he think there had been anything wrong with holding back in order to preserve Kashir, his blood bag.

Even though that failure had helped trigger an entire war, even though Master had wagered Marquis Pingxi Residence on a strategic gamble for the sake of his own dignity, even though men had already died and more would still die because of it...

A’Ming did not care.

What he cared about... were those wine jars.

Even though Nian Yao had done what he did to enrage Marquis Zheng, and strictly speaking it had nothing to do with A’Ming... so what?

You enraged me.

Why should I care whether that was what you intended?

To Master, the human swine and the wine jars were an intolerable provocation, something that went beyond ordinary killing on a battlefield and even beyond slaughtering prisoners to build a mound of skulls.

To A’Ming... it was desecration.

So A’Ming went.

With the seriousness of a Demon King.

Zheng Fan watched A’Ming disappear ahead, his expression calm.

He had not deliberately tried to provoke him.

There was simply that sort of understanding between them.

The Pixiu pawed the ground several times. It seemed to want to chase after A’Ming too.

Unfortunately, the man on its back had no intention of doing so.

The entire affair might have begun with Grand General Nian’s move, but after things developed to this point, what Zheng Fan needed to face and resolve was no longer so simple.

Killing that old bastard turtle Nian, or capturing him, would not magically end everything.

No matter what happened... life still had to go on.

“Want me to go too?” the Sword Saint asked.

“No need.” Zheng Fan raised one hand. “This isn’t the jianghu, after all.”

The moment he finished speaking...

Marquis Zheng realized the sentence might be misunderstood.

“That isn’t what I meant.”

The Sword Saint did not care.

“I know.”

This was not the jianghu because Nian Yao was no heaven-shaking expert.

When Nian Yao had been Great Chu’s Grand General, the jianghu lay beneath his feet.

Now, stripped of the army protecting him and swept up in a catastrophic defeat... he was not even as troublesome as some down-and-out jianghu master.

At that moment... a large group charged out of Fan City.

Yes.

Charged.

Their battle cries were thunderously hoarse, even more dramatic than the duck in the Sword Saint’s courtyard when the flock of chickens bullied it.

In the end, even Fan Zhengwen and Qu Peiluo seemed embarrassed by the performance of their own men. They had to bark several reprimands before the shouting finally quieted.

That was understandable.

Marquis Pingxi of Great Yan had descended upon Fan City in the posture of a savior.

How could they not be excited?

It was not an act.

Nor were they deliberately putting on some performance.

The emotion came entirely from the heart.

But once they followed their respective leaders to the command banner and stood before the man seated atop the Pixiu... everyone gradually fell silent.

The Sword Saint had once commented that in the eyes of people like them, Marquis Zheng still fell a little short of Tian Wujing.

But to the people below... the difference was merely the difference between the sun and the moon.

Both were impossibly distant.

That was exactly the truth.

“This official pays respects to Marquis Pingxi. May the Marquis enjoy health and fortune!”

“This general pays respects to Marquis Pingxi. May the Marquis enjoy health and fortune!”

Fan Zhengwen and Qu Peiluo saluted properly.

Everyone behind them dropped to their knees.

Marquis Zheng did not dismount.

Nor did he go over to help them up and perform some ritual of winning hearts.

He merely said:

“You’ve worked hard.”

Fan Zhengwen had once been a slave, after all.

He immediately picked up the thread.

“To serve the Marquis, this official would die ten thousand deaths without regret. By Heaven’s blessing, we endured until this day when the Marquis’s divine troops descended from the skies. Before the Marquis, those audacious Chu slaves are nothing but clay chickens and pottery dogs!”

Qu Peiluo was nowhere near as glib.

He simply kept his head lowered and let Fan Zhengwen continue.

“This Marquis is tired. Prefect Fan, I’ll trouble you to make arrangements.”

Fan Zhengwen immediately smiled.

“Marquis, rest assured. Although this official emptied the family coffers to encourage the soldiers and people in defending the city, I kept the Daze Xiangshe tea aside all along. I know the Marquis favors it.”

Marquis Zheng did not actually love Daze Xiangshe.

He drank tea like a cow chewing peonies and could barely distinguish good from bad.

The one thing about Daze Xiangshe he remembered was that its effect came close to a sleeping pill.

He drank it once and never forgot it.

After that, the name simply remained on his lips.

At root... it was not so different from those socialites pooling money for a luxury photo-op.

But Zheng Fan’s status was high enough now that no one would ever think of it that way.

“Fine. Into the city.”

South of Fan City, Chu troops were still holding desperately with their last scraps of bloody courage even as the army collapsed.

Yan troops were still killing.

Still charging.

North of Fan City, aside from the pursuit of Nian Yao, there were defeated soldiers, surrendered men, and scattered fighting everywhere.

The whole scene was chaos.

But none of that required Marquis Zheng’s attention anymore.

The overall situation was settled.

What remained... was merely the final result.

Calling Grand General Nian an old bastard turtle.

Treating Dugu Mu as one more step in a Pillar-of-State Pokémon collection.

Those things were themselves expressions of contempt.

In other words... they were no longer opponents of equal status in his eyes.

Even the warm head of a Pillar of State was no longer something Zheng Fan felt compelled to go watch.

His threshold had inevitably risen.

Fan City itself was still in chaos.

Scattered soldiers continued fighting in places.

Commoners cried.

Wounded soldiers groaned.

At first, Fan Zhengwen felt somewhat embarrassed.

His house had not even been cleaned before receiving an honored guest.

That was hardly proper hospitality.

Then he glanced at Qu Peiluo beside him and saw the other man remained perfectly calm.

Only then did Fan Zhengwen realize... right.

Marquis Pingxi had not been born into nobility.

Scenes like this were probably old acquaintances to him.

Marquis Zheng did not stop to comfort wounded soldiers lying in the streets.

Nor did he lift some lonely crying child into his arms.

He simply sat on the Pixiu and let the beast carry him forward in silence.

Like a clay idol.

At last... the procession entered Fan Residence.

The outer grounds and the interior had long since lost the refinement of their prosperous days.

Corpses had not even been fully cleared away.

The appearance of a ruined household was visible everywhere.

There was always a contingent of Brocade-Clad personal guards among Marquis Zheng’s mounted escort.

They might currently be wearing armor, but their habits of guarding and securing a residence remained meticulous.

The moment they entered Fan Residence... they rapidly deployed.

Afterward...

Marquis Zheng, Siniang, the Sword Saint, Fan Zhengwen, and Qu Peiluo entered the main hall together.

The instant he stepped inside...

Marquis Zheng saw the ropes hanging from the beams and the scattered lengths of white silk on the floor.

“Heh.”

Zheng Fan laughed once.

Fan Zhengwen immediately bent forward to plead guilty.

“Marquis, the stewards below acted on their own. They deliberately left these things here to demonstrate the Fan Clan’s loyalty to Great Yan.”

Before going out to welcome the Marquis...

Fan Zhengwen had specifically ordered the household staff to clean the place.

“Let’s use another room.”

“Yes, Marquis.”

They passed through the main hall and entered a smaller room inside that was plainer and cleaner.

Marquis Zheng took the chief seat.

Siniang stood at his side.

As usual, the Sword Saint leaned against a pillar with Longyuan in his arms and closed his eyes to rest.

Qu Peiluo and Fan Zhengwen remained standing below.

Neither presumed to sit.

Before long... servants brought tea.

Siniang stepped down, accepted it herself, then handed it to Zheng Fan.

When they were outside the Residence... anything Marquis Zheng ate or drank generally went through that process first.

He lifted the lid.

Brushed the surface of the tea.

The familiar fragrance entered his nose.

He did not drink immediately.

Instead, he held the cup and looked around the room.

“This time, you spent quite a lot of the family foundation, didn’t you?”

“Reporting to the Marquis, there truly isn’t much left.”

“Money and wealth are external things.”

Marquis Zheng sounded almost comforting.

Fan Zhengwen waited.

Waited a little longer.

But Marquis Pingxi never followed that sentence with anything like, “You can slowly earn it back.”

Fan Zhengwen immediately dropped to his knees and kowtowed.

“Marquis, this official is guilty!”

The Fan Clan had once been a merchant house.

Merchants valued profit.

And the Fan Clan was also tied to the imperial family by marriage.

More importantly, even though its wealth had been scattered, so long as the Fan Clan remained master of Fan City and this surrounding region... wealth could be gathered again very quickly.

Power and wealth had never truly been separate.

If Marquis Pingxi had added a sentence like, “You can slowly earn it back,” then Fan City in the future would still belong to the Fan Clan.

Since he did not... that meant Marquis Pingxi did not intend for the Fan Clan to continue controlling Fan City.

Why?

Because you were guilty.

Once one reached a certain level... whether you were guilty or not often depended on the judgment of the person above you.

Fan Zhengwen had emptied his family coffers to support the defense and held Fan City.

That was merit.

The problem was that Fan City had been a fortress that should have been able to hold comfortably for several months, perhaps even half a year or a year.

Liang Cheng had personally brought troops over the previous year and helped Fan Zhengwen reorganize the surrounding situation.

Yet when the real blow came... the city held for only eight days.

And beneath the question of guilt or merit lay another issue.

Marquis Pingxi Residence had now decided it could reach its hand directly into Fan City.

The Fan Clan no longer needed to be propped up and used as an intermediary.

“Fan Zhengwen.”

“Your sla... this official is here.”

“This Marquis has always admired your talent for business and your eye for detail. But Fan City is too important. This Marquis does not want to have to rush here in such a panic a second time.”

“Marquis sees clearly. This official came to understand that myself long ago. Before all this happened, I had already made plans. If Fan City survived this time, I intended to take my clansmen into Yan territory and relocate to Yanjing. My wife and child are already there. This official misses them as well.”

Zheng Fan nodded.

“That’s not bad.”

Then Marquis Zheng continued:

“You defended Fan City and coordinated with this Marquis from inside and outside to strike the Chu army. That is merit. This Marquis will submit a memorial requesting rewards for you.”

“Many thanks for the Marquis’s grace. This official is endlessly grateful!”

“Imperial relative” sounded impressive.

That was in other states.

Even true imperial relatives sometimes interfered in politics elsewhere.

But in the State of Yan, the Min Clan, maternal clan of the orthodox new sovereign, had been exterminated years ago.

The Fan Clan’s relationship was another layer removed.

At the same time, the Fan Clan was Chu in origin.

People from foreign states usually found it more difficult to receive real authority in Yan.

Most of the time... they were placed high on a shelf as living memorial arches.

With Marquis Pingxi personally submitting this request for merit, however...

Fan Zhengwen was confident in his own abilities outside military affairs.

Then there was the new Emperor’s vision and temperament.

His road after entering Yanjing... would become much smoother.

He had once been a “local Emperor,” after all.

Once he reached the capital, he did not want to begin again from the bottom as someone’s grandson.

Afterward...

Marquis Zheng’s gaze shifted to Qu Peiluo.

“Before I left on campaign, Liqing was already visibly pregnant.”

This was not boasting.

Not mockery.

Not deliberately touching a sore spot.

Qu Peiluo had not remained hopelessly obsessed with the Princess.

But the road his life and reputation would take from now on... could no longer be separated from that label.

Marquis Zheng knew it too.

Qu Peiluo kowtowed.

“This general congratulates the Marquis on soon receiving a noble son and wishes the Princess safety for both mother and child.”

“Liqing mentioned something to this Marquis. After the child is born, she wants the child to acknowledge you as godfather. This Marquis agreed.”

That was, of course, bullshit.

Marquis Zheng might wander around outside casually becoming other people’s “godfather,” but he was hardly going to distribute the position of godfather to his own child at random.

Put plainly...

Qu Peiluo’s performance this time had genuinely impressed him.

Marquis Zheng had no shortage of top-tier talent.

For civil governance there were the Blind Man, Siniang, and Sun Ying.

For military affairs there were Liang Cheng and Gou Moli.

Historically, a founding Emperor who possessed one great civil minister plus one great general was already extraordinarily fortunate.

Marquis Zheng had several times that fortune.

But one level lower... men capable of standing alone in a region... were much rarer.

At present, Jin Shuke could count as one.

The others either lacked ability or, because of their background and identity, still stood somewhat too far from being genuine “family.”

Qu Peiluo, after all his backward maneuvers and all the tricks fate played on him... had somehow muddled his way into becoming someone Marquis Zheng considered relatively close.

One of his own.

Marquis Zheng had never expected that.

Qu Peiluo himself probably had not either.

“Thank... you, Marquis.”

Making him the child’s godfather meant nothing else.

You want to walk this road?

Then this Marquis will help define what that road means.

If Great Yan unified all Xia one day, Qu Peiluo’s reputation would not be bad.

There would still be many battles ahead.

History belonged to the victors.

Even if Yan never unified all Xia, the hat of “Chu traitor” would not sit quite so heavily on his head anymore.

It had already been dyed another color.

After all, popular historical reputation was often decided by idle romantics who adored stories of flowers beneath the moon.

Otherwise there would not be so many people dreaming of returning to the Northern and Southern Dynasties or the Republic era.

Qu Peiluo really was clever.

Somehow... he had genuinely found a road to “wash himself clean.”

“All right. This Marquis is tired. You two go handle your business.”

Qu Peiluo and Fan Zhengwen withdrew together.

Fan Zhengwen did not suggest having the now-grown Golden Hairpins of Fan Residence serve the Marquis while he rested.

Siniang was standing right there.

Marquis Zheng truly was tired.

First he drained the entire cup of Daze Xiangshe in one gulp.

It did not feel like enough.

So he lifted the teapot and drank directly from the spout.

A cow chewing peonies... possessed a particular pleasure of its own.

Something you considered rare and precious... someone else drank like plain boiled water.

The tea took hold quickly.

The moment he finished, heavy drowsiness swept over Marquis Zheng.

He lay down on the bed.

Siniang helped remove his armor and clothes, then tucked the blanket around him.

Recently, he had returned from the capital, gone onto the snowfields, then immediately launched another long-distance raid all the way here.

Compared with earlier days, when one trip outside could be followed by half a year of staying home... he had been going out rather too often during this half year.

Zheng Fan slept extremely comfortably.

When he woke, Siniang was still beside him.

He asked the time.

He had slept a full ten hours.

He sat up on the edge of the bed.

Siniang brought tea.

Along with it came a written report.

Updates had arrived constantly while he slept.

Siniang intercepted them first so no one would disturb the Marquis, then recorded everything herself.

“Cutting the ruler off from outside information” and “the inner palace interfering in government” had always been great taboos.

Inside Marquis Pingxi Residence... they did not count as problems at all.

If Zheng Fan had not been forced into personally commanding armies years ago, and if Old Tian had not repeatedly driven the duck onto the perch until Marquis Zheng genuinely learned how to fight... then in pure laziness, he might have surpassed even the Wanli Emperor.

The first items were battlefield reports.

The Chu army had been defeated.

That was expected.

But the man who killed Dugu Mu, Pillar of State of Great Chu... was a young officer named Chen Xianba.

Marquis Zheng remembered him.

Excellent archery.

Spirited young man.

This time... he had won enormous merit.

Then came the subsequent movements of the battle.

Dugu Nian led the defeated remnants southward.

Liang Cheng originally intended to expand the victory.

Heads were lying there for free.

Why not take them?

But they quickly discovered that a force of Chu Imperial Clan Guards was moving north from the south.

Its numbers were unclear.

Not too many.

Not too few.

It probably was not some elaborate “wait beside the tree stump for a rabbit” trap.

More likely, it was simply there because Grand General Nian commanded most of the Chu Imperial Clan Guards.

With Nian Yao operating near Fan City, naturally he had transferred a force in that direction.

They simply happened to arrive at the right moment.

Precisely because that army appeared when it did, Dugu Nian managed to lead the Dugu Clan remnants away from Yan pursuit.

It also restored some balance of force in the region rather than leaving everything completely tilted toward Yan.

Great Chu... still possessed foundations of its own.

Otherwise, after Old Tian broke Ying Capital years ago, why had he not simply continued into a war of annihilation?

Still... this was no serious problem.

Fan City was in hand.

The household might not have many elites left at home, but the remaining foundation was enough to hold Zhennan Pass.

So the great iron gate back home was shut tight.

Fan City was theirs.

Mount Meng would soon reopen.

On the waterways, if the Chu navy did not want the Yan to cut off its retreat completely, it would have to withdraw soon as well.

The connection between Fan City and Jin territory would therefore be restored quickly.

Then they could try opening the road farther west toward Qishan.

That would restore contact with the State of Liang, which was now a pure vassal of Great Yan, and allow reinforcements to enter through South Gate Pass.

In Marquis Zheng’s military judgment... their position had become comfortably flexible.

They could advance.

They could retreat.

The danger he had imagined before entering Chu, of the gate being shut behind him and his army beaten like dogs trapped inside Chu territory... was no longer realistic.

After the last campaign against Chu, the Blind Man had once said that the strategic relationship between Yan and Chu... no.

Between eastern Jin and Chu... resembled a replay of the late Ming and Later Jin.

Compared with Chu, eastern Jin clearly lagged behind in foundation, population, and total military strength.

But it was “poor and ferocious.”

Or perhaps... lean and hard.

It was true that the Ming ultimately fell to Li Zicheng.

But before that, Later Jin armies repeatedly crossed the Great Wall to raid the interior.

They had ridden horses beneath the capital more than once.

Eastern Jin did not possess the accumulated strength to launch a true war of annihilation.

But on smaller battlefields... it held enough of an advantage.

Just like now.

If his brother-in-law wanted to destroy him... he first had to mobilize Chu armies from every direction and create an overwhelming numerical superiority.

Otherwise Marquis Zheng could simply defeat them in detail.

And once his brother-in-law exhausted himself assembling such an army...

Zheng Fan could always refuse battle and go home.

Leave his brother-in-law with nothing.

At the very bottom of the report... was one final piece of news.

Two wounded cavalrymen had returned.

They belonged to the force pursuing Nian Yao.

They had caught up to him, fought briefly, and been wounded.

A’Ming had ordered them back to report.

“Nian Yao has been caught up with. Then there shouldn’t be much of a problem,” Zheng Fan said.

Because this time...

A’Ming was serious.

“Then this servant should congratulate Master.” Siniang smiled.

“If Nian Yao is gone, that brother-in-law of mine will genuinely have almost no one left to use. The only strategic concern is that after we shave another layer off Chu this time, Qian and Chu may completely turn into a Sun-Liu alliance. They’ll both understand that alone, neither has any chance left.”

Zheng Fan shook his head.

“Whatever. That’s Little Sixth’s headache.”

Siniang suddenly remembered something.

“Master, that Eighth Prince of Chu has been making noise constantly, asking to see you.”

“Where is he?”

“Locked inside Fan Residence. It counts as a relative’s house, after all.”

“Heh. Fine. Make me some egg fried rice. I’ll have him as the side dish.”

“Yes, Master.”

Marquis Zheng washed up.

Then entered the front hall.

Siniang had already brought the egg fried rice.

The side dish was only pickled vegetables.

Fan Residence had difficulty producing anything refined right now.

Marquis Zheng sat at the table.

The young Eighth Prince was dragged in by Brocade-Clad guards.

The brat was surprisingly straightforward.

Before a guard could even kick the back of his knee... he dropped to his knees on his own and cried:

“Brother-in-law, I’m hungry! They only gave me water. They didn’t give me anything to eat!”

“Heh-heh.”

Even Marquis Zheng was amused.

He picked up a small bowl of pickles and spooned some of his fried rice into it.

“Eat with me.”

“Thank you, Brother-in-law. Thank you! Brother-in-law really does care about me.”

Eighth Prince immediately got up and sat opposite Zheng Fan.

He did not even bother with chopsticks.

He began grabbing rice with his fingers and stuffing it into his mouth.

He really did seem starving.

Siniang brought more.

She also handed him chopsticks.

Marquis Zheng stopped after two bowls.

He had slept enough, and although it was dark outside now, this meal felt more like breakfast to him.

Two bowls of egg fried rice were plenty.

Eighth Prince, meanwhile... kept shoveling food into himself.

At first, he probably had genuinely been hungry.

Afterward, he seemed to be stuffing all the anxiety and discomfort of his present predicament into the act of eating.

At last... he finished.

Then burped.

“Full?”

“Brother-in-law, I’m full.”

“Then go back for now.” Marquis Zheng added, “I’ll have them call you again at the next meal.”

“Thank you, Brother-in-law. Oh, right, Brother-in-law. Have you caught Nian Yao yet?”

“Soon.”

“Brother-in-law is mighty. My sister really has good taste.”

“Go on.”

“Wait, Brother-in-law. Before Nian Yao ran, he told me some things he wanted passed on to Imperial Brother. I can tell you too.”

“Would that be appropriate?”

“We’re family, aren’t we? If we’re family, why bother separating what’s appropriate from what isn’t?”

“Fine. Go ahead.”

“Nian Yao said the reason Brother-in-law was able to drive straight in this time was because Imperial Brother has spent the last several years too aggressively weakening the noble clans, leaving Great Chu hollowed out internally...”

He had only spoken halfway through the sentence... when a personal guard rushed in from outside.

“Reporting to the Marquis! Mr. A’Ming has returned!”

[End of Chapter 787]