Pan Yucheng saw the three of them too.

Surprise showed on his face.

He had done as Ning Chen told him: got out of the city of Xiuzhou and ridden hard the whole way back to the capital to ask for the edict.

Once he had His Majesty’s order he mustered troops and made for Xiuzhou at speed.

The whole way he had not dared to lose a moment.

Because every hour late meant more danger for Ning Chen and the others.

He simply had not expected to find Ning Chen here.

He raised a hand and the column slowed.

When he came up, Pan Yucheng swung down and walked over quickly.

“You… here?”

Ning Chen smiled. “Everything in Xiuzhou is settled. We were on our way back to the capital to report.”

Pan Yucheng was astonished. “Settled?”

“We’ll talk inside.”

Ning Chen said it, then looked at the men of the musket battalion and called out cheerfully, “Brothers, you’ve had a hard road. A good New Year to you!”

“A good New Year to General Ning!”

A thousand soldiers shouted it with one voice.

Ning Chen said, “Make camp nearby. The business in Xiuzhou is settled, and tomorrow you all come back to the capital with me.”

“When we get to the capital I’ll go to His Majesty myself and ask a reward for you. Five taels of silver each at the least.”

“It’s New Year today. I’ll have wine sent over to you shortly, but no drinking too much… two taels of wine a man.”

The soldiers were delighted, and roared it out together:

“Thank you, General Ning!”

Ning Chen waved a hand and the column drew back to find open ground and make camp.

Ning Chen and the others went into the post station.

Ning Chen told the station master to send some wine over to the men of the musket battalion.

Then they went to a room.

First, it was New Year today.

Second, the station master did not dare give short measure to men of the Inspectorate.

So a whole tableful of food had been made ready.

Ning Chen and the others ate and talked.

Pan Yucheng could not wait. “Tell me quickly. How did you get out of it?”

Ning Chen smiled and went through it for him.

Pan Yucheng was struck blank. “The immortals’ flower has nothing to do with Prince Duan?”

Ning Chen nodded. “It’s all been looked into. The men behind it were the late Prefect and Governor of Xiuzhou and several magistrates under them… And of course the real hand behind this was Prince Fu and the Empress.”

Pan Yucheng was no fool.

He saw at once that there was something wrong in it.

But since Ning Chen said it had nothing to do with Prince Duan, he said nothing about it.

Prince Duan was a prince of the blood after all, and it was better not to offend him if one could help it.

Ning Chen drew out a ten-thousand-tael note and handed it to Pan Yucheng. “For you.”

That stopped Pan Yucheng for a second.

Ning Chen smiled. “This is money we found in the room of Qiu Mingde, the magistrate of Yangping County. Fifty thousand taels in all, ten thousand each.”

It was in fact more than two hundred thousand… but he could hardly bring all of it out.

With the hundred thousand from Prince Duan on top of it, the journey had not been wasted. The business was settled and he had come away with more than two hundred thousand taels.

Feng Qizheng said, “Chief, if you don’t want it, I’ll take it off your hands.”

Pan Yucheng took the note and glanced at him. “New Year money means a kowtow… One kowtow, a hundred taels.”

Instead Feng Qizheng dropped to his knees with a thump and knocked his head on the floor, counting out loud, one, two, three—

“Chief, I wish you a good New Year!”

Chen Chong said it and went down on his knees too, knocking his head on the floor.

Ning Chen was struck dumb.

These two men had no bottom to them at all.

He looked again and Gao Ziping was itching to join in.

The corner of Pan Yucheng’s mouth twitched. “You two get up off the floor.”

Feng Qizheng and Chen Chong paid no attention at all and went on knocking.

Pan Yucheng ground his back teeth and hauled the two of them up.

Feng Qizheng put out a hand, all smiles. “Chief, that was twenty-seven, two thousand seven hundred taels. Settle up, if you don’t mind.”

Chen Chong put his hand out after him. “I did twenty. Two thousand. Thank you, Chief.”

The corner of Pan Yucheng’s mouth twitched. The ten-thousand-tael note was not warm in his hand yet and nearly half of it was gone in a blink.

If he had not hauled them up, those two would have knocked him into bankruptcy.

Pan Yucheng was full of regret, cursing his own loose tongue. He should have said ten taels a kowtow.

Watching the pain on Pan Yucheng’s face, Ning Chen could not help wanting to laugh.

In this world the ranks are strictly kept, and an inferior kowtowing to a superior is the most ordinary thing there is.

“I’ll change the note for smaller ones when we get back to the capital, and pay you then.”

Feng Qizheng grinned. “Chief, I have small notes here. I can make change.”

Chen Chong said straight after him, “So have I.”

The two of them had been to the courtesans’ quarter and broken their notes up.

Pan Yucheng ground his back teeth and handed the note over, and Feng Qizheng and Chen Chong put their heads together and gave him five thousand three hundred taels back.

Ning Chen shook his head, laughing in spite of himself, and raised his cup. “We can’t get back to the capital for the New Year. But as long as the brothers are together, wherever we are is home.”

“Come on, all of us together—drink!”

Since there was no need to hurry back to the capital, the New Year having been missed anyway.

It was the sixth of the month by the time Ning Chen and his party reached the capital.

The men of the musket battalion reported to the Ministry of War and went back to barracks.

Ning Chen told Pan Yucheng and the others to go home first. He went into the palace alone to see the emperor.

The imperial study.

The Xuan Emperor was reading.

Because it was the New Year there was no court until the fifteenth, and the Xuan Emperor had a rare stretch of leisure… otherwise most of his time went on memorials.

Just then a young eunuch came in softly and knelt. “Your Majesty, Ning the Silver Coat asks to be received.”

The Xuan Emperor gave a start, took his eyes off the book at once and looked at the young eunuch. “Who did you say? Ning Chen?”

“Yes.”

The Xuan Emperor was greatly pleased. “This emperor has had him on his mind… The boy is back at last. Bring him in, quickly.”

The young eunuch withdrew.

In no time there were footsteps, and Ning Chen came in and bowed. “Your subject greets Your Majesty.”

“No ceremony.”

The Xuan Emperor looked at Ning Chen with pity in his eyes. “You’ve lost a lot of weight.”

No kidding. Who wouldn’t lose weight eating rabbit every day? The stuff is full of protein but the fat content is far too low. It comes nowhere near covering what the body burns… Eat it long enough and it will starve a man to death.

“It was a hard road out there, no doubt. Not even in the capital for the New Year.”

Ning Chen was entirely serious. “Your subject thanks Your Majesty for his concern. If it eases Your Majesty’s burdens, a little hardship is nothing.”

The corner of the Xuan Emperor’s mouth went up. “And how did the immortals’ flower business turn out?”

Ning Chen said, “Your subject has looked into it… Three counties of Xiuzhou were indeed growing the immortals’ flower, and the men behind it were the late Prefect and Governor of Xiuzhou, along with the magistrates of the three counties.”

“And the real hand behind this was Prince Fu and the Empress.”

Ning Chen took out the charge sheets. “Qiu Mingde, the magistrate of Yangping County, and the rest have all confessed. These are their charge sheets. Will Your Majesty look them over.”

Eunuch Quan came down, took the charge sheets from Ning Chen’s hand and presented them to the Xuan Emperor.

The Xuan Emperor opened one at random, read a while and nodded, satisfied.

The charge sheets did not say that Qiu Mingde and the rest were dead. They said they were in custody.

In a while Prince Duan would submit a memorial… saying that Qiu Mingde and the others, knowing a death sentence was beyond escaping, had killed themselves in prison.

Ning Chen had gone over these three charge sheets carefully and found no flaw in them… Prince Duan was plainly a careful man, or else he had done this kind of thing a good many times.

The Xuan Emperor set the charge sheets down. They would go to the Ministry of Justice later for verification.

The Xuan Emperor looked at Ning Chen, satisfied, and in high good humor… because the business had nothing to do with Prince Duan.

When Ning Chen had wanted to go and investigate Xiuzhou and had refused Prince Duan’s help again and again… he had truly been afraid Prince Duan was in it too.

“Ning Chen, you have had a hard time of it.”

“You took Mangzhou and recovered the frontier, and this emperor had not even had time to reward you before you went hurrying off to Xiuzhou and did great service again… When the fifteenth is over and the court opens, this emperor has a surprise for you.”

Ning Chen looked curious. “What surprise?”

He knew perfectly well. His Majesty was going to make him a marquis.

The Xuan Emperor smiled. “You’ll know when the time comes… Say it aloud and it isn’t a surprise.”

(End of Chapter 319)