Chapter 49: The Far-Sighted Lu Households Commander, the Pei Father and Son
Chapter 49: Chapter 49: The Far-Sighted Lu Households Commander, the Pei Father and Son
Pei Shaoqing figured Zhou Xiangyang would write to Lu Dingchuan to complain, so he decided to beat him to the punch.
’Lu Dingchuan is certainly closer to Zhou Xiangyang than to me, but I’m a Marquis’s Son! I’m a capable general who’s performed a great service! How could Lu Dingchuan not side with me?’
In the letter, he truthfully recounted the entire incident.
After all, he had shown ample respect by leading his men out of the city to greet him. Zhou Xiangyang was the one who had been disrespectful first.
At the end of the letter, he told Lu Dingchuan that as long as Zhou Xiangyang remained in Tongzhou, the Tongzhou Hundred Households would be under his sole command. Therefore, he requested that Lu Dingchuan send someone else, under whom he would willingly serve.
Sun Youliang made another trip to Jin Guan City.
Lu Dingchuan didn’t see the letter until three days later.
"That bastard!" he cursed, furious.
Before Zhou Xiangyang left, he had explicitly told him who Pei Shaoqing was and instructed him to get along with the man.
He never expected they would have a falling-out the moment he arrived in Tongzhou.
Fortunately, Pei Shaoqing had put him in his place.
’If Zhou Xiangyang had actually managed to throw his weight around, would Pei Shaoqing have started hating me, his backer, as well?’
While they may have once "plucked chrysanthemums under the eastern fence," that was nothing in the face of Pei Shaoqing’s status and great achievements.
Besides, Pei Shaoqing had taken the initiative to lead his men out of the city to greet him.
That had shown him, Lu Dingchuan, more than enough respect.
Instead, it was his own man who was ungrateful.
Lu Dingchuan took a deep breath, set the letter down, and looked at Sun Youliang. "Standard-Bearer Sun, take a message back to Standard-Bearer Pei. It was my poor judgment that led me to send such an idiot to embarrass himself. My sincerest apologies.
Just find a place for Zhou Xiangyang to live in Tongzhou and let him coast. As for the Hundred Households’ affairs, I’ll have to trouble Standard-Bearer Pei to shoulder that responsibility."
Pei Shaoqing had suggested in his letter that he could transfer Zhou Xiangyang and send someone else, but of course, Lu Dingchuan wouldn’t actually do that. He’d be even more foolish than Zhou Xiangyang if he did.
He had already given Zhou Xiangyang his chance.
It was Zhou Xiangyang himself who had failed to seize it.
’Then I’ll just use the power associated with the Hundred Households Commander position in Tongzhou to cultivate a deeper relationship with Pei Shaoqing.’
’While a ’chrysanthemum’ has its value...’
’...a grander vision is far more valuable!’
"Yes, this subordinate will be sure to relay the Lord Households Commander’s words. I’ll take my leave now." Sun Youliang bowed and departed.
No sooner had he left than the messenger Zhou Xiangyang had sent to complain arrived. After Lu Dingchuan read Zhou Xiangyang’s letter, the anger he had just suppressed flared up again.
"Go back and tell Zhou Xiangyang, that useless piece of trash who’s only good for screwing things up, to stay put in Tongzhou and stop provoking Pei Shaoqing," Lu Dingchuan spat, throwing the letter aside.
After his tirade, his tone softened slightly. "Also, tell him that Pei Shaoqing killed the Kaiyang Saint Heir half a month ago and will likely be promoted soon. When that happens, the Tongzhou Hundred Households will return to his control."
There was, after all, some history between them.
Besides, he was worried the fool would stir up more trouble, so he offered these words to placate him.
"Yes, yes, of course! This servant will take the message back to Hundred Households Commander Zhou right away." The attendant from the Zhou Family, now drenched in a cold sweat, nodded and bowed obsequiously before turning to leave.
Three days later, on the ninth of the eighth month, the Zhou Family attendant returned to the new residence Zhou Xiangyang had purchased in Tongzhou.
"What did the Lord Households Commander say?!"
Zhou Xiangyang, who had been holed up for days drowning his sorrows in wine, instantly perked up at the sight of his attendant and rushed over to question him.
"Master!" The attendant wore an expression more pained than if he were crying. "You said the Lord Households Commander would be furious after reading the letter," he said helplessly, "but you didn’t say he’d be furious at *you*! It scared this servant half to death!"
"Furious at me?" Zhou Xiangyang froze.
"Yes!" The attendant sighed and recounted everything. "The Lord Households Commander said you are to stay put in Tongzhou and not provoke Standard-Bearer Pei anymore."
"But..." Zhou Xiangyang’s vision swam, his face a mask of disbelief. He never imagined the Lu Households Commander wouldn’t back him up. ’How could he be so heartless!’
’In the face of Pei Shaoqing’s insubordination, his destruction of my letter of appointment... he still won’t help me!’
Zhou Xiangyang was utterly devastated, his heart shattering.
[BGM: A tragic ballad plays—of a wounded ’chrysanthemum,’ a sore behind, and yellowed underpants. Truly, a tale of heartbreak...]
Seeing the look on his master’s face, the attendant quickly added, "The Lord Households Commander also said that Standard-Bearer Pei killed the Kaiyang Saint Heir half a month ago. He’ll probably be promoted and transferred soon, and then the Tongzhou Hundred Households will be yours."
"What?" Zhou Xiangyang’s face paled in shock.
’Pei Shaoqing killed the Kaiyang Saint Heir!’
’How had he not heard about this?’
He then recalled that half a month ago, he was still en route to his new post. It was normal that he wouldn’t have known.
Still, the shock was immense.
’That was one of the seven Saint Heirs of the Holy Sect!’
’A contribution like that must have reached the Emperor’s ears directly, right?’
Then, a belated realization sent a cold sweat running down his back.
’Pei Shaoqing had an extraordinary family background and had just performed such a great service, yet I wanted to put him in his place?’
He was now incredibly grateful that he had backed down so quickly.
’With a family like that and a contribution so great, what would stop him from pinning some crime on me and having me killed? Who would question it?’
The news from the Lu Households Commander was a shock, but it also brought a measure of comfort. With a contribution of this magnitude, Pei Shaoqing would certainly be promoted and transferred. He just had to be patient and endure for a while longer.
’The good days are still ahead.’
It was just... his behind was still vaguely aching.
...............
「Great Zhou Northern Border, Longzhou.」
A young general, about twenty-six or twenty-seven, with a powerful, upright build, sun-darkened skin, and a remarkably martial air, dismounted and strode into the Marquis Wei Yuan’s Mansion.
"Heir."
Guards and maids along the path stopped to pay their respects.
This was none other than the Heir of the Marquis of Weiyuan, Pei Shaotang.
Pei Shaotang didn’t acknowledge them, his head held high as he strode forward, the plates of his armor clinking and clanking.
When he reached the study in the rear courtyard, he raised a hand to knock.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
"Enter."
Pei Shaotang pushed the door open and entered. He bowed respectfully, fist clasped in his palm. "Father, you sent for me."
Seated behind the desk was a man in his forties wearing a Python Robe. He had a long beard and a natural air of authority that commanded respect without a hint of anger. This was the Marquis Weiyuan, Pei Shiqing.
"A letter came from Yujin. Read it." Pei Shiqing’s expression was impassive as he casually tossed a letter over.
"A letter from Sister Jin?" Pei Shaotang caught it and unfolded it. His expression darkened as he read, until he finally snapped his head up. "Is Second Brother insane?!"
He didn’t believe for a second that Pei Shaoqing had the ability to kill the Kaiyang Saint Heir. His first reaction was that his bastard brother was deceiving the Emperor.
"That unfilial son! I saved his life, but it seems he won’t be satisfied until he gets the entire Pei Family executed!" Pei Shiqing was seething, his teeth clenched. "Believe me, there’s a whole faction in the Imperial Court with memorandums already drafted to impeach me. They’re just waiting for proof that unfilial whelp of mine has deceived the Emperor so they can accuse me of failing to raise my son properly."
An accusation of failing to raise one’s son could be a minor or major offense. But when the son in question is accused of deceiving the Emperor, the matter can be blown up to catastrophic proportions.
The Emperor is old, yet the Crown Prince has not been named.
As a marquis with tangible power, he had many eyes on him in the Imperial Court and the palace. He had no choice but to tread as if on thin ice.
But that unfilial son, Pei Shaoqing, was always causing some huge mess for him, as if he were afraid his father might live too long!
"Second Brother is a fool! I never thought he would become even more... more outrageous after leaving the Capital City!" Pei Shaotang was dizzy with anger. He took several deep breaths to calm himself. "Father, what should we do now?"
"His Majesty knows what a scoundrel that unfilial son is. Besides, he’s still counting on me to crush the Northern Barbarians and expand our borders before he passes on. He won’t punish the Pei Family over this," Pei Shiqing said, shaking his head wearily.
But then he sighed. "My fear is that once the Northern Barbarians are defeated, all of this will become an old debt to be collected."
If the Emperor were ten years younger, he wouldn’t be worried. But the Emperor is old, and he has to be.
"So that is why you’ve always allowed the Northern Barbarians a chance to recover, to keep them from being completely wiped out. To avoid the hounds being boiled for stew once the hares are all hunted," Pei Shaotang said, his face full of admiration.
Pei Shiqing’s face was clouded with melancholy. "His Majesty surely suspects as much. That’s why I’m now even more afraid that if he gets his hands on irrefutable proof of that unfilial son’s crime, he’ll use it as leverage to force me into a decisive battle with the Northern Barbarians."
He, for one, no longer cared whether that unfilial son lived or died.
But if the Emperor were to press the issue and he still refused to commit his troops, he would likely be suspected of disloyalty. The position of the Marquis Wei Yuan’s Mansion would become even more precarious.
"Father..." Pei Shaotang’s face filled with worry.
Pei Shiqing cut him off. "The Angel is probably almost in Tongzhou by now. All I can do for now is submit a memorandum, asking His Majesty to punish me for my failure to discipline my son.
As for everything else, we’ll take it one step at a time. The worst-case scenario is that I lead the troops north, annihilate the barbarians, and then retire from the Imperial Court, relinquish my military authority, and live out my days as a wealthy country gentleman."
"Second Brother is truly too much!" Pei Shaotang couldn’t stop himself from slamming a fist into a nearby pillar.
Pei Shiqing’s tone was icy. "After this, I will have his name struck from the family records and have him expelled from the Marquis’s Mansion. The Pei Family’s humble temple is too small for such a great Buddha. I’d rather not be jinxed into oblivion by him."
Before, he had at least let Pei Shaoqing keep the "tiger skin" of his family name.
This time, he was truly leaving him to fend for himself.