Chapter 782: The Expired Agreement

When one’s own household was in chaos, it was only natural to hope that others would not enjoy peace either.

Whenever a powerful state descended into turmoil, ordinary people eagerly gathered to watch the spectacle.

With both hands clasped behind his back, He Lingchuan straightened his waist, raised his chin, and strode along with all the swagger of a grand lord. “I’ve heard about it, but I have no idea who was responsible.”

Pear blossoms bloomed magnificently throughout the front garden, covering the trees in fragrant snow-white flowers. The two young men passed beneath them, both handsome and graceful as jade trees in the wind.

Beautiful trees and handsome young men—the maids standing some distance were entranced by the sight and found themselves unable to pull their gazes away.

“The boldest rumor circulating throughout Yuan’s court and countryside is that immortals were responsible. A few days ago, I heard State Preceptor Yan mention it as well. He believes the upheaval in Lingxu City was a declaration that the immortals have returned, as well as a declaration of war against Beijia.” He Yue let out a long sigh. “What is happening to the world? Are immortals who vanished several thousand years ago truly going to emerge again and join the commotion?”

The implications of immortals returning to the world were simply too profound.

It was so profound that every state and major power had no choice but to speculate and deliberate.

“Heaven and earth spirit qi has recently begun recovering again. At a time like this, there is nothing particularly strange about any sort of thing appearing or reappearing,” He Lingchuan said leisurely. “Perhaps an upheaval unlike anything seen in centuries or even millennia is about to take place. What we see now may merely be the opening act.”

He Yue sighed and said, “All living beings are pieces on the board. Who knows what kind of world Great Yuan, as well as people like us, will face in the future?”

“It’s fine so long as we don’t become discarded pieces.” He Lingchuan thought for a moment. “But every time spirit qi begins to recover, war soon breaks out throughout the mortal realm. I wonder when that curse will finally be broken.”

“No one knows what Lingxu City has uncovered in its investigation, but it still hasn’t made any public statement.” He Yue continued, “I’ve heard Beijia’s war on the eastern front has been going poorly, and now Lingxu City itself has suffered a massive disaster. You may be right, Big Brother. A great change truly may be coming. Even His Majesty is considering restoring tariffs on Beijia’s chewing tobacco and honey.”

Originally, chewing tobacco and honey exported from Beijia to Yuan were exempt from tariffs. Yuan was even required to assign personnel to escort the merchants entering and leaving the state.

Yuan was already impoverished, yet silver continued flowing outward.

It was like a patient who received no treatment and was instead constantly drained of blood. It would have been strange if the illness did not worsen.

He Lingchuan understood why the King of Yuan hated watching all that gleaming silver leave the state, but— “That wouldn’t be a wise move. Beijia has just suffered two major setbacks and is full of anger with nowhere to vent it. This is hardly the right time to provoke them.”

Beijia’s authority had been challenged. At this moment, it desperately needed a punching bag.

Even if Lingxu City suffered another ten upheavals, Yuan would remain far weaker than Beijia. It would be better not to entertain such petty schemes.

“The court ministers have said the same thing. His Majesty is deeply frustrated.” He Yue suddenly remembered something. “By the way, your former subordinates Ding Zuodong and Shan Youjun are both working for Father now. As for Sun Hongye, he left several days ago.”

“Hm?” He Lingchuan was somewhat surprised. “Why did Sun Hongye leave?”

“He came to serve you. With you gone, he had no desire to remain in the Governor-General’s residence, so he submitted his resignation and departed. Had you arrived a few days earlier, perhaps he wouldn’t have left. The timing was truly unfortunate.”

So Sun Hongye’s gone. He Lingchuan sighed with some emotion.

“Oh, right. Before leaving, Sun Hongye gave me a letter. He asked me to pass it to you in secret and not tell anyone else, in case you ever returned.”

He Lingchuan immediately followed He Yue back to his courtyard. His younger brother searched through the study and found the letter.

“Here. This is it.”

The seal remained intact.

After leaving behind the words, “Come find me for a drink once you’ve settled in,” He Yue departed to attend to his duties.

He Lingchuan opened the envelope and found a sheet of yellow paper and a brief letter inside.

He unfolded the yellow sheet first.

To his surprise, it was a lease agreement with numerous clauses. Its general contents were as follows:

The State of Qing would lease Blade’s Edge Harbor and the surrounding territory from the Bailie people for forty years, paying an annual rent of three thousand taels of silver. During the lease period, the State of Qing would possess the right to develop and renovate Blade’s Edge Harbor, collect rent there, and conduct other commercial activities for profit.

The beginning and ending dates were written beneath, along with the signatures and seals of both parties.

He Lingchuan checked the agreement’s expiration date.

Mm, it expired seven years ago.

In other words, this agreement had existed for nearly fifty years. The paper seemed to have undergone some special treatment; it had not deteriorated at all and remained surprisingly firm and crisp.

After reading it, He Lingchuan was completely baffled.

Why did Sun Hongye specifically leave me an expired agreement?

Thinking carefully, he vaguely remembered hearing about one of the parties that had signed it—the State of Qing—during his travels through Beijia.

Hm, students from Lingxu Imperial Academy seemed to have mentioned the State of Qing while drinking. It’s located east of the State of Mou, but they mentioned it only in passing and offered no further details.

Still puzzled, he unfolded Sun Hongye’s letter.

The handwriting was indeed Sun Hongye’s, but the message was extremely brief:

Young Master, I hope this letter finds you well.

Everything below consisted of strange groups of numbers, such as 3-7-1 and 9-6-3.

He Lingchuan counted them.

There were five groups in total.

The Soul-Stealing Mirror tucked inside his robes clicked its tongue. “Sun Hongye actually decided to play at codes with you?”

After experiencing the missing-messenger case, and especially after seeing how Xi Yunhe had left clues for He Lingchuan, it could now consider itself a mirror of some experience. It understood that combinations of numbers like these were very likely a cipher that required a corresponding codebook to decipher.

The lease agreement could not possibly serve as the key. It was far too short.

“But there has to be some basis for decoding it. What use is a letter with no beginning or end?”

He Lingchuan carefully memorized the groups of numbers, then put away both the letter and the agreement.

“Xi Yunhe also stored the code and the key separately. They couldn’t be kept together.” He pondered aloud, “That means Sun Hongye believed this matter was extremely serious and feared the letter might be intercepted.”

He set the mystery aside for now and went to find Qiu Hu and the others, intending to see whether Steward Wu had settled them properly.

Apart from each possessing their own specialties, the dozen or so Rongshan disciples all had experience in military campaigns. Their martial skill, cultivation, and practical experience were all excellent.

Elder Dao had indeed dealt with him honestly. Every person he had assigned was an elite.

Ordinarily, Rongshan disciples accompanying a special envoy could stay at the post station, which served as the official residence for foreign diplomatic personnel.

However, since Madame Ying had invited them into the He Residence, they saw no reason to refuse.

Qiu Hu, though, had one small request.

He had been appointed He Lingchuan’s personal guard. He insisted on living in the same area as the special envoy so he could remain close enough to protect him.

Steward Wu had not anticipated such a demand and was momentarily taken aback. “The eldest young master is inside his own home. He is perfectly safe here.”

“That is only what you believe.” Qiu Hu’s expression remained rigidly serious. “The special envoy holds a distinguished status and bears an important responsibility. My duty requires me to remain close!”

He Lingchuan happened to stroll over just in time to hear this. He waved a hand. “What’s the problem? Qiu Hu can stay in the lower courtyard attached to mine. It’s settled.”

Since he had spoken, Steward Wu could only agree.

* * *

After their sons walked out together, Madame Ying gazed at their tall, upright backs, her heart overflowing with pride.

Both of her sons were outstanding talents among men. Among all the great families in the Yuan capital, how many young masters could compare to hers? And among all the noblewomen in the capital, how many enjoyed better fortune than she did?

When she turned around, however, she found her husband wearing a grave expression as he stared blankly into the garden.

She could not help but snap, “What is it now? Your son returned from the dead, yet you’re still wearing that long face? Are you putting on airs even in front of me?”