“So that I can go, the two of you can’t.”

Gao Ziping and Chen Chong wanted to argue their case, and Pan Yucheng shut it off with one sentence.

The two of them hung their heads, and turned into No-Brains and Never-Happy.

“Uncle Chai, tell the kitchen to make a few extra dishes… We’ll have a drink tonight.”

Uncle Chai nodded. “Yes. This old servant will see to it at once.”

At the table, Chen Chong and Gao Ziping had their unhappiness written all over their faces.

Ning Chen said, smiling, “Could you two stop pulling widows’ faces? We are going out on campaign. Can’t you be a little happier about it?”

The two of them raised their cups, mouths stretched, teeth bared.

Chen Chong said, “I wish you every success.”

Gao Ziping said, “I wish you a triumphant return and a great victory.”

Ning Chen, Pan Yucheng and Feng Qizheng all rolled their eyes.

Those smiles were worse to look at than crying, and a little ghastly. Was this a send-off cup? It felt like drinking the cup before the block. Unlucky, in any case.

Ning Chen could not stand it any longer. “Could you two stop being so unlucky? There is a reason I am leaving you behind. You have a task.”

Gao Ziping’s and Chen Chong’s eyes lit up, and they asked together, “What task?”

“Go to the courtesans’ quarter often and keep Yudie safe for me.”

The two of them: →_→

Ning Chen said, smiling, “I’ll pay the silver for your visits to the courtesans’ quarter.”

“What sort of men do you take us for?” Chen Chong’s face was sullen with anger, and he said furiously, “Set your mind at rest. We will certainly go to the courtesans’ quarter every single day and keep Miss Yudie safe.”

Ning Chen: “…”

Gao Ziping raised a cup, his whole face serious. “I only want to ask one thing… Can we draw the silver in advance?”

The skin of Ning Chen’s face twitched. “Fuck… you two degenerates.”

“Old Pan, give them two hundred taels of silver.”

Pan Yucheng gave him a sidelong look.

Ning Chen said, “Don’t look at me like that… Miss Nanzhi needs protecting too. We split this protection money down the middle.”

The corner of Pan Yucheng’s mouth twitched.

The wine went three rounds and the dishes went five flavors.

Nobody drank much. There was business tomorrow.

The next day, early morning.

Ning Chen came out of his room and was brought up short.

Gu Yichun was kneeling outside his door.

“You… what is this?”

Gu Yichun’s whole face was ashamed. “This servant is useless. He has failed the young master’s trust and did not find the man you wanted.”

A muscle twitched at the corner of Ning Chen’s eye.

“Get up. A wandering physician of the roads, with no fixed place to live — he was never going to be easy to find… It doesn’t matter that you didn’t find him.”

Ning Chen went over and raised Gu Yichun to his feet.

He suspected now that Lin Wen had no elder brother in the school at all.

“When did you get back?”

Gu Yichun said, “About the hour of the Rabbit.”

The corner of Ning Chen’s mouth twitched. That meant Gu Yichun had been kneeling there for nearly four hours.

“It’s all right. Don’t blame yourself. If you didn’t find him, you didn’t find him.”

While Ning Chen was saying it, Uncle Chai came over with breakfast.

There was a dining room, but Ning Chen was the only master in the house and did not bother going to it, so Uncle Chai usually brought breakfast straight to his room.

Eating his breakfast, Ning Chen said, “Uncle Chai, while I’m away the house is in your hands.”

Uncle Chai had been waiting at their side the night before while Ning Chen talked with Pan Yucheng and the others, and knew about the campaign.

“The Fourth Young Master may set his mind at rest. This old servant will look after the house… The Fourth Young Master must be careful out there.”

Uncle Chai’s whole face was worried as he said it.

Ning Chen nodded slightly. “Gu Yichun, I leave the safety of the house to you.”

Gu Yichun nodded hard. “The young master may set his mind at rest.”

“Is the young master going a long way? This servant could arrange a few good fighting men to go with you.”

Ning Chen said, smiling, “No need. I am going out on campaign, to the battlefield.”

“What?”

Gu Yichun was stopped where he stood.

When he had eaten his breakfast, Ning Chen drove straight for the general’s residence.

He was going on campaign, and he had to call on Old General Chen.

It was evening by the time he came out of Old General Chen’s residence.

Ning Chen drove to the Sky River landing.

The imperial guards had it closed off already.

The warships were alongside.

Yuan Long and two thousand musketeers were going aboard in a steady stream.

Eunuch Quan had come too, and beside him was a bright stroke of red. The Ninth Princess had come along too, past all expectation.

Ning Chen got down from the carriage and walked over, his step still a little uneven.

The wound in his leg was not thoroughly healed and it told a little on his walking.

By the time he reached Lingzhou, though, it should be nearly mended.

A smile came onto Eunuch Quan’s face. “Young Master Ning, His Majesty has sent this eunuch to see you off. His Majesty’s word is…”

Ning Chen rolled his eyes. “I know. Get back alive to see him, is that it?”

Eunuch Quan nodded, smiling.

“This eunuch also wishes Young Master Ning a smooth road.”

“My thanks.”

The Ninth Princess came forward two steps, hesitated, and shyly held out a woven thing something like a Chinese knot.

“This is a charm for safety that I asked for specially. Carry it on you and it will keep everything going smoothly for you.”

Ning Chen took it and bowed. “My thanks to the princess.”

A shy, bright smile came onto the Ninth Princess’s face, and then she turned and took a stone box from Heye’s hands.

“There are sweets in this. Take them and eat them on the road.”

Ning Chen thanked her again. This was a fine thing to have… Last time he had drifted more than ten days on the water and eaten fish for more than ten days, and had felt he was giving off a smell of fish all over and was very nearly turning into one.

“Ning Chen, I wish you every success.”

Ning Chen nodded. “Take care of yourself, Princess. Take care of yourself, Eunuch Quan… The hour is getting on. It is time I was going.”

Ning Chen went aboard the warship.

Eunuch Quan gave the order. “War drums. Up!”

Boom! Boom! Boom!!!

The sound of the war drums rang against the sky.

Ning Chen stood in the stern and waved to Eunuch Quan and the Ninth Princess and the rest.

“Cast off!”

At Ning Chen’s word, ten warships spread their sails and put out.

The figures on the bank grew smaller and smaller until they could not be seen… and only the sound of the war drums came after them from far off.

Ning Chen turned and came onto the deck, and stood leaning on his blade with the blood surging in him.

Set against the mutual cheating of the court, he liked the killing on a battlefield better, with real blades and real spears.

Lingzhou would take five days.

Life aboard was very dull.

In his cabin Ning Chen ate the sweets the Ninth Princess had given him and studied a map of Mangzhou.

The maps of this world were not very fine. They set down only the rough shape of a place.

Mangzhou was high hills and thick forest, and the ground was dangerous.

He was not afraid of the Left Chancellor’s men fighting him with real blades and real spears. What he was afraid of was that the wretch would take his men out of the city and burrow into the mountains, and then it would be hard fighting.

The most important thing now was that the Left Chancellor was on his guard already. If he shut the city gates, how were they to break them open?

The situation in Mangzhou was not clear yet. They could only wait until they arrived and decide by what they found.

After five days adrift on the water, the warships came alongside at last at the Lingzhou landing.

The wounds in Ning Chen’s leg and back were nearly healed.

The Lingzhou landing had been closed off.

Jiang Zhengyang came at the head of the Lingzhou officials, high and low, to meet him.

The two of them were old acquaintances.

Jiang Zhengyang was Prefect of Lingzhou now, and Governor of Lingzhou besides.

The last time Ning Chen came he had cleaned out the whole of the Lingzhou administration, and most of the officials now were new faces.

But every one of them had heard of the great name of Ning the Silver Coat of the Great Xuan, and the eyes they turned on him were curious and afraid at once.

“This official, Jiang Zhengyang, at the head of the officials of Lingzhou, greets General Ning.”

The truth was that His Majesty had given him no title for this campaign.

But he had not taken back the last one either, General of the Northern Expedition.

Only Ning Chen’s generalship was a thin sort of thing. He had no general’s seal at all.

“Lord Jiang, it has been a long time.”

Jiang Zhengyang said, smiling, “General Ning has had a hard road. This official has laid on a dinner. Will General Ning come into the city?”

Ning Chen raised an eyebrow. “There won’t be singing girls to keep me company, the way there were last time?”

“Er… no, there are not. If General Ning would like some, this official can find him a few.”

Ning Chen gave him a look and said, teasing, “I thought Lord Jiang had been promoted and had learned to flatter and fawn like the rest of officialdom, and to live soft and high.”

Jiang Zhengyang shook his head again and again. “I meant to learn it and I couldn’t… And it is only because General Ning is here. For anybody else there would not even be a dinner.”

Ning Chen was surprised into a smile.

(End of Chapter 239)