Chapter 50: Late-Night Conversation at the Zhao Residence

Under the cover of night, Zhao Lian was dallying intimately with a concubine.

Several dogs within the courtyard barked furiously. Zhao Lian sprang to his feet at once, grabbed his outer robe, and instructed the concubine, "Take the child down to the cellar!"

Hastily throwing on his robe, he reached for a sword hanging from the weapon rack on the outer wall of the bedchamber. As he stepped out the door, he saw his eldest son, Zhao Jian, carrying a torch coming out of the inner courtyard, while his second son, Zhao Yuan, was stringing a heavy crossbow in the yard.

Zhao Jian handed the torch to Zhao Yuan, took the heavy crossbow, and quickly climbed onto the low courtyard wall, peering out to observe the distance where horsemen were approaching with torches.

Amidst his observation, Zhao Lian joined him. "I heard that Li Yue's troops are marching north. Could these be mutinous soldiers?"

"I don't know," Zhao Jian replied.

Just as he spoke, the five other households of the same clan outside the low wall were also awakened by the barking dogs, gathering together with the old and the young. Zhao Yuan opened the gate to let these neighbors in.

The women and children headed inward, while the men, regardless of age or frailty, carried bows or rusted iron spears, assisting Zhao Yuan in moving wooden blocks to barricade the entrance.

By the time Zhao Lian finished observing, the neighbor women who had entered the main compound had already settled the children and emerged alongside the Zhao family women, all carrying light crossbows and flexible bows.

Living at the foot of Mount Jishi, the inexplicable nocturnal barking of dogs was their warning signal to assemble. Turning these five neighboring households into a retinue was now just a step away for the Zhao family.

When the Zhao family women came out, they also brought out five sets of half-body armor—two of which had been crafted by layering and sewing leather together themselves, appearing quite crude—and distributed them to the able-bodied men of the neighbors.

The three father and son members of the Zhao family all wore worn-out *liangdang* armor. Seeing a single horseman separate from the group and approach with a torch, Zhao Lian relaxed slightly. "Riding with a torch means their malice isn't deep."

Zhao Yuan also pointed toward Mount Jishi behind them, "Father, there are no warning beacons in the mountains; these are not the bandits of Mount Jishi."

Further into the mountains, there were two more village communities inhabited by people of complex backgrounds. When encountering people from the depths of Mount Jishi, they would light small warning beacons; in return, the Zhao family would also provide them with some assistance.

As they discussed, the approaching horseman drew within seven or eight paces of the main gate and shouted, "Grandfather!"

"Why is it Ah Hu?" Zhao Jian asked in astonishment, then questioned, "Brother-in-law, why have you come here at this late hour?"

"There are major events in Jiangyi, and the Seventh Young Master sent word! I had to come!"

Pei Hu stepped forward another two steps and raised his voice toward the pitch-black wall, "It's good news, brother, open the gate quickly. Third Aunt is also here."

Only after confirming it was Pei Hu did more torches get lit inside the courtyard.

Zhao Jian raised his torch to observe again and said, "Father went to change his clothes, but why is Third Aunt here too? Could something disastrous have happened in Jiangyi?"

Li Yue commanding his troops to march north unsettled not only the Zhao family, but every household nearby whose sons had volunteered for the Huben troops.

"It's hard to explain in a few words, but it's great news." Pei Hu dismounted and shoved a stack of letters through the crack in the gate.

Zhao Yuan took the letters through the gate, turned, and strode back into the house, where he found Zhao Lian changing his attire.

Zhao Yuan began to read by the lamplight. Though his literacy was rudimentary and he could barely recognize a few characters, he could not read smoothly.

***

At this moment, Madam Pei emerged from the cellar and was tying the sash for Zhao Lian. "Husband, why would Third Sister-in-law suddenly come here? Could it be that the Seventh Young Master and Ah Ji have stirred up trouble?"

"How could I possibly know?" Zhao Lian reached out, took the silk letter from his second son, and widened his eyes. "This... How can this be possible!"

Madam Pei stepped forward to look, though she could only recognize a handful of characters.

Zhao Lian leaned close to the oil lamp to carefully scrutinize the handwriting. "Uncle?"

"Father?"

"It is my uncle... Ah Ji has met my uncle..."

The flash of joy on his face vanished almost immediately. Pei Xiu's letter primarily detailed Zhao Feng's intention to have Ah Ji adopted into the ancestral lineage, and also outlined the general situation of Zhao Feng's branch of the family.

Zhao Lian felt nothing for the four nephews who had died following the emperor whom he had never met and only heard of, but the news of his three paternal cousins' deaths was somewhat difficult for him to accept.

After reading Pei Xiu's handwritten letter, he finally concluded that his son-in-law Pei Hu was trustworthy. He said to his second son nearby, who wore an expression of avid curiosity, "Go quickly and open the gate, and slaughter that big rooster."

"Yes!" Zhao Yuan turned and left. Seeing him dismiss the second son, Madam Pei asked, "What about Ah Ji?"

"Uncle wants to adopt Ah Ji as his heir, and Ah Ji even asked the Seventh Young Master to have me refuse it for him in the letter!"

Adoption was a major clan affair. Not daring to send a verbal message, Pei Xiu had simply sold out Zhao Ji.

Zhao Lian's face showed anger. His uncle was already so desolate and isolated, yet Zhao Ji was actually thinking of refusing—this was no longer simple disobedience and unfilial behavior.

"My husband's uncle?"

"It is the current court Gentleman of the Household, Lord Yuanming."

Zhao Lian stepped back and sat down on the low couch, clutching the silk letter and sinking into deep thought. "I don't understand. How could Uncle take a fancy to Ah Ji?"

Madam Pei frowned slightly. "Ah Ji is also grown; he's not suitable for adoption."

In her clan, adoptions always selected young children. Who ever chose someone of Zhao Ji's age?

"Uncle is advanced in years, my three brothers died in the chaos of war, and his four nephews died defending the Son of Heaven. If he adopts a young child, how can he pass down the family enterprise?"

Zhao Lian still found it somewhat difficult to accept this sudden change; he did not want to be dragged into a larger crisis.

He constantly suspected that his uncle wanted to use Ah Ji, yet he dared not refuse.

On the other hand, Madam Pei adapted very quickly to this sudden change. She desperately wanted to say something, but felt it inappropriate, so she simply sat down beside him.

At that moment, his son-in-law Pei Hu strode in, cupping his hands in salute. "Grandfather, Mother."

"Why did Ah Hu come at this hour of the night?"

Zhao Lian motioned for Pei Hu to take a seat, then looked at his wife. "Go boil some hot soup, have A-Lan and A-Xi tidy up the rooms, and you go welcome Third Sister-in-law."

Pei Hu watched Madam Pei depart before sitting beside Zhao Lian, lowering his voice with excitement. "Grandfather, the Seventh Young Master and Ah Ji wiped out and captured over four hundred Xiongnu, and even breached the Hou family estate. Today at noon, Ah Ji shot and killed Li Yue with a single arrow!"

***

"Grandfather?"

Seeing Zhao Lian sit there in a daze, unable to recover his wits for a long time, Pei Hu waited until Zhao Lian took a deep breath before asking, "Why didn't the Seventh Young Master mention this in the letter?"

"He was afraid of being intercepted by Han Xian," Pei Hu whispered.

"The one who brought the news is my cousin. He witnessed with his own eyes Ah Ji killing men like cutting down wheat, and I heard he killed over fifty people altogether! Even I wouldn't have believed it, but he swore an oath that it is by no means false."

It was only then that Zhao Yuan walked to the doorway, completely unconvinced. "Ah Hu, isn't this a bit... I don't believe Ah Ji could kill that many people."

Pei Hu yanked him close and continued in a low voice, "Why would I lie to you? He also killed a Xiongnu prince and sent his head to Gongqiu Axing. My brother said Ah Ji fighting the enemy was like a ghost or a god, and he could even draw a bow and hit an archery target at one hundred and twenty-five paces! If not for the bow's weak draw, he might have been able to hit one hundred and fifty paces!"

"I don't believe it. At most, Ah Ji shoots birds and beasts at seventy paces; how could he shoot a hundred paces?" Zhao Yuan chuckled. They had fought just a short while ago—didn't he know Zhao Ji's capabilities?

Only when he chuckled and noticed Zhao Lian's gloomy gaze did Zhao Yuan immediately收敛 (retract) his smile. "Father?"

"Fisticuffs in a brawl and slaughter in a battle array are two entirely different things. Later when Third Aunt and the others arrive, keep your mouth shut."

Zhao Lian only felt a sudden dryness in his mouth and looked solemnly at Pei Hu. "Ah Hu, you aren't joking?"

"I wouldn't dare in the slightest. Grandfather, you don't know—my brother already regards Ah Ji like a divine being, and even urged me to head north together."

Pei Hu also reined in his emotions slightly, asking with confusion, "I knew Ah Ji was brave and robust, but I haven't seen him in a long time, yet he's become so ferocious. Grandfather, could it be...?"

As he spoke, he pointed toward Mount Jishi. The Mount Jishi bandits were, after all, the remnant soldiers from Niu Fu's defeat back then.

"This rascal... I knew he wouldn't stay quietly in the wilderness!"

Zhao Lian clenched his fist and struck his thigh, filled with extreme annoyance. "He and the Seventh Young Master killed Li Yue—how can Han Xian and the others let this rest?"

He didn't think Li Yue and his ilk were particularly hard to kill; the hard part was wiping them all out in one fell swoop.

After all these years, Zhao Lian was no longer the straightforward youth he once was; he disliked such crude methods.

Bowing temporarily, hosting a banquet, and gathering these people together—was that really so hard?

If he had been just a little more ruthless back then, he wouldn't have ended up wandering Hedong and living under someone else's roof; who knows, he might have already entered official service and attained a post in the commandery or county.

He also guessed that Pei Xiu's mother had come here specifically to escape disaster.

"Grandfather, do not fret. My brother said the Seventh Young Master and the others are going to rally the righteous men around them, and in a few days they will obey the imperial decree to march south and protect the Son of Heaven. Han Xian is right there in Nanxiang—how can he escape?"

Pei Hu persuaded him, adding, "My younger brother was persuaded by my cousin and will also head north to Jiangyi early tomorrow morning."

In any case, there was no way he himself would join the military; his younger brother, Pei Bao, was unmarried and unencumbered, making it just the right time to go carve out a career and establish a background.