Ning Chen was about to go in when footsteps sounded behind him.
He turned to look and saw Eunuch Quan coming toward him from a distance with several palace guards.
When he was near, Eunuch Quan said, “Ning Chen, receive the edict!”
Once Ning Chen had knelt, Eunuch Quan unrolled the edict. “By His Majesty’s order: an urgent matter has arisen at the frontier. Ning Chen is to proceed there at once and deal with it. Respect this!”
“Your subject receives the edict!”
Ning Chen took the edict and stood, his hand going into his robe without his thinking about it.
It came up empty.
He had forgotten he had no silver notes left, and the gold beans that remained had all gone to Yudie.
He smiled awkwardly. “Old Quan, I came out in a hurry today and don’t have a copper on me… I’ll make the tea money up to you next time.”
Eunuch Quan said with a smile, “Between us, there’s no need to stand on ceremony!”
“Then lend me some silver. I don’t have a copper on me right now.”
Eunuch Quan: ???
But in the end he fished a silver note out of his sleeve and handed it over, remembering to add, “Mind you pay me back. This household only gets so much in salary every month, and I still have to set something aside for my old age.”
Ning Chen laughed. “Don’t give me that. You’re the favorite at His Majesty’s side. His Majesty could shortchange anyone and it wouldn’t be you… at worst, when you’re old I’ll look after you myself.”
Eunuch Quan was somewhat moved, and then suddenly felt something was off. “Does saying that mean you don’t intend to pay me back?”
Ning Chen gave him a roll of the eyes.
“Young Master Ning, take great care on this journey! This household will go back to the palace now.”
“Safe travels!”
After Eunuch Quan left with his men, Feng Qizheng and the others came running out.
“Ning Chen, you’re going to the frontier again?”
“There’s only half a month till New Year. You’ll likely be spending it at the frontier.”
“What’s happened at the frontier this time? Has the Wu army come across?”
They crowded around Ning Chen, all talking at once.
Ning Chen had been back in the capital barely two days and here he was leaving again.
Ning Chen smiled bitterly. “An imperial command outweighs heaven… Old Gao, Old Chen, Old Feng, the three of you come with me to the frontier!”
Far from objecting, all three looked delighted.
They would miss the New Year, but going to the frontier with Ning Chen might mean picking up some military merit.
Ning Chen then took the three of them to Geng Jing’s room. Pan Yucheng was there too.
Ning Chen went through the whole matter.
Only then did Gao Ziping and the other two understand that the frontier was a front, and the real destination was Xiuzhou.
Ning Chen said, “We have to leave today. With luck we can still be back for New Year.”
“On this trip our identities can’t be exposed. We can only investigate in secret.”
Pan Yucheng said, “I have an idea. You dress as the young gentleman of a great house and we dress as your guards… we’re going to Xiuzhou to visit relatives and friends.”
Ning Chen nodded.
Geng Jing said, “I’ll have new registration papers prepared for you at once. In Xiuzhou you can’t use your real names!”
Registration papers were household registry documents—the equivalent of an identity card.
“All of you think up new names for yourselves.”
Ning Chen thought about it. “I’ll be Wu Wei.”
Wu was his mother’s surname.
Pan Yucheng and the others chose new names too.
Making up new registration papers was familiar ground for the Inspectorate. It took less than an hour.
Once everything was ready, Ning Chen and the others left the Inspectorate.
It was nearly lunchtime by now, which made it a good time for a meal at Chen Chong’s house, and after that they would head straight for Xiuzhou.
On the way they stopped to buy gifts. You could hardly go to a man’s house empty-handed.
But Chen Chong was a shameless creature. Most people would at least make some polite noise about not letting a guest spend money. Not this one. He picked them out himself.
“This silver lock is nice. My son needs a silver lock.”
“These bracelets are nice. My daughter needs a pair of bracelets.”
“This hairpin’s nice too. My wife has never had a hairpin.”
Chen Chong kept up the commentary as he browsed.
Feng Qizheng finally couldn’t take it and planted a kick on his backside. “How about letting your wife and children come with me instead? Living with you is too miserable. They’ve got nothing.”
To his surprise Chen Chong nodded again and again. “Fine! I’ll keep the wife. You can have the children.”
Feng Qizheng laughed and swore. “Get away from me. You want me raising your children for you? You’d like that.”
“Not for nothing. You’re a man alone in the world, and when you’re old you’ll have nobody. My son is your son. When you’re old I’ll have him keep you and see you buried.”
“But we’d better settle this first. When you die your property goes to my son.”
Feng Qizheng swore. “Get lost! You inhuman thing, you’ve got your eye on my property now… call me Daddy and I’ll leave you everything when I die.”
“Daddy!”
Chen Chong didn’t hesitate for an instant.
“Old Feng, then it’s agreed. When you die your property comes to me… I’d better think of a way to kill you off, in case I go first. How about we put it in writing?”
Feng Qizheng swore. “Get out! One ‘Daddy’ and you want to inherit my property? Here, have it back… Daddy!”
“No need, you keep it, Daddy!”
“No, you’re my Daddy. I’m afraid you’ll kill me off for my property.”
“I won’t, Daddy, rest easy!”
The other customers were dumbfounded, every one of them staring—where had these two blockheads sprung from?
Ning Chen quietly covered his face and edged back a few steps… I don’t know these people.
In the end it was Pan Yucheng who put a stop to the pair of idiots.
Once the gifts were chosen, the whole bill went to Young Master Feng!
On the way to Chen Chong’s house, Pan Yucheng handed Ning Chen a fan. “I picked this up for you while we were there.”
Ning Chen was lost for words. “It’s freezing out. What are you buying me a fan for?”
Pan Yucheng said, “You’re the young gentleman of a great house now. As far as I’ve seen, every young gentleman carries a fan, spring, summer, autumn or winter.”
Ning Chen couldn’t help grumbling. “A pack of posers playing at refinement… who in his right mind carries a fan in the dead of winter?”
“Posers? What crime is that?”
“Never mind, just something I said.” Ning Chen took the fan and couldn’t help grumbling again. “Is investigating a case ever easy? Now I have to learn to act insane on top of it.”
Chen Chong’s house was at the edge of the inner city.
His house had originally been in the outer city; on his salary he could never have afforded a residence in the inner city.
But after the northern campaign, Ning Chen had given him tens of thousands of taels, and with His Majesty’s rewards on top of it he had come up in the world all at once… he had bought a three-courtyard house at the edge of the inner city.
The household could afford servants now too.
Chen Chong had the horses led away, with instructions that they were to be given good feed—they would be riding through the night, so the horses had to eat well.
Then he led everyone inside.
“Papa…”
“Papa…”
They had just come into the inner courtyard when a little girl of eight or nine and a small boy of five or six came running over.
These were Chen Chong’s son and daughter.
The little girl had a small round face, fair and clean, and was very sweet.
The boy had a sturdy round head.
Ning Chen was about to ask the children’s names when a woman came out of the main hall.
Gao Ziping and Feng Qizheng immediately shrank behind Ning Chen.
From the way the two of them reacted, Ning Chen knew this had to be Chen Chong’s wife.
Ning Chen was somewhat surprised.
Going by what Feng Qizheng and the others had said, he had always imagined Chen Chong’s wife would be thick through the shoulders and the waist—the sort you could stick a beard on and call Zhang Fei. (TL Note: Zhang Fei is a warrior of the Three Kingdoms period, proverbial in China for his black beard, enormous build and thunderous temper.)
But seeing her in person, she was nothing like what he had pictured.
Chen Chong’s wife could not be called beautiful—middling looks, skin a little dark, a boldness about the brow, walking with a wind behind her, with something of the free-handed manner of a woman of the jianghu.
(End of Chapter 300)