CH 24

Ch24 - Grudge

“What did you say? Not only did that gaggle of bandits fail to take his life, they even lost their own?!” Li Lang leaped to his feet upon hearing Feilian’s words, nearly knocking over the table in front of him. How was it possible? That was a group of thieving, murdering mountain bandits, and they’d been killed by that sickly invalid Liang Feng?

Feilian lowered her head and replied quaveringly, “To answer your question, young master, those bandits were indeed killed by Liang Feng’s serfs. Even the leader got unlucky! I waited nearby for two days and, when they didn’t arrive, learned the news from the bandits who’d escaped.”

“How can it be?! How can it be!!!” Li Lang’s features twisted gruesomely. He roared, “Are you sure you hired the bandits from Daqing Mountain? I thought they never missed their mark?!”

“Lang-er!” Liang Shu reprimanded her panicked son. Because the scheme was secret, there was no one else in the room, but there were servants standing at attention outside. They’d hear them if they got too loud.

She too was just hearing of the plan’s failure, but she kept her calm and said coldly, “Since they’ve failed already, then there’s no point in further discussion. Feilian never revealed her background when she met with those bandits. Even if Liang Feng wants to accuse us, he doesn’t have any proof.”

“But mother, what if he reports it to the county office?” Li Lang’s face was nearly green. He lowered his voice, “Conspiring to murder relatives is a serious crime, we’re still within nine degrees of kinship!”

“Silence!” Liang Shu softly slapped the desk, “You useless fool, even if they open a case, they need human testimony and material evidence. Not to mention that the Liang Family hasn’t had an official in two generations, they don’t even have any connections in the county office. He’d be the one committing the crime of slandering his aunt!”

Her rebuke finally brought Li Lang back to his senses. That’s right, even if the bandits confessed, the county office wouldn’t willingly get involved in such a troublesome affair. His father and brother still counted as officials, impure though they were. At any rate, it was more than what the Liang family had, and that was his older cousin’s greatest weakness. Also, since Liang Feng had rejected Wang Wen’s good intentions at the scholar’s assembly, he didn’t even have a candidacy grade. He couldn’t attain office within the next three years!

Only then did Li Lang slowly sit back down, “That’s right. Liang Feng probably wouldn’t even guess that it was us. There hasn’t been any news in the county, and bandit attacks are rather common nowadays. It’s likely that nothing came of it.”

Liang Shu wanted to gnash her teeth at her youngest son’s muttering and his self-satisfied demeanor. If that sickly invalid had the guts to sabotage him at the assembly and the competence to easily defeat a group of bandits, how couldn’t he figure out that they were the culprits? This was foreshadowing “three years of silence before the reprisal!” There was no way this grudge could be settled peacefully!

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

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“You don’t have any hope of being judged upper-grade, but these aren’t ordinary times. The general’s staff might not be your only option!” Liang Shu snorted coldly, “You may as well go to Ye City first. Right now, the situation in Luoyang has only just stabilized. The Prince of Changsha might control the court for now, but the Prince of Chengdu is not to be ignored. I’m afraid these two will clash sooner or later. Yet, because Luoyang has been ravaged by war for many years now, the Prince of Changsha has few soldiers and fewer officers. Ye City, on the other hand, has hordes of barbarians at their beck and call. It seems that the odds are in the Prince of Chengdu’s favor. The results of the evaluation won’t travel so quickly, so you must take advantage of the chaos and find yourself an opportunity to advance! Didn’t my ancestor climb step by step from an impure official to a position amongst the Nine Ministers? As long as you cast your lot in with the right lord, you’ll need not worry about your future!”

Li Lang’s heart pounded with anticipation at her words. His mother was a rather unusual woman. She’d made him learn the six arts ever since he was young, and her forethought was unusually sharp. Going to Ye City to serve under Sima Ying, the Prince of Chengdu, even as a petty official, really might have potential.

“You’re absolutely right, mother!” Finally, Li Lang clenched his fist and said, “If I can’t eat from five cauldrons while I’m alive, then let me be boiled in them when I die! What do I have to fear from these little evaluation grades!”

Liang Shu smiled at her son’s renewed fighting spirit, “That’s my boy! Don’t worry, I’ll make sure all the arrangements are in order…”

※

“Master, you finally woke up!”

When Liang Feng opened his eyes, he felt like he’d gone back to when he’d just arrived in this world. He saw Lüzhu weeping, her eyes bright red, and her face pale as she sat doggedly by his side.

“I…” Liang Feng tried to say something, but the stabbing pain in his throat cut off his words.

Someone at his side handed him a teacup. His gaze moved upwards along that arm and only just realized that there was a person standing next to Lüzhu. High nose bridge, deep-set eyes, a handsome appearance, and a pair of blue-gray irises. That was Yiyan, the Jie slave he’d just bought. Everything suddenly came rushing back into his head, including his miserable state last night when the withdrawal symptoms started up. Liang Feng swallowed, finding that he wasn’t able to speak at all. All he could do was lean back and sip the warm water he’d been handed.

He drank most of the cup in a single breath, finally feeling somewhat refreshed. Lüzhu was already pleading, “Master, why don’t you send someone after Physician Jiang? Last night your symptoms were just too severe, there must be something wrong.”

“Physician Jiang has likely already returned to Tongdi. The road is long; it’d take too much time. And he’s already said that I can only rely on myself while the pill spasm acts up. I’m afraid he doesn’t have any better methods.” Only now was Liang Feng fully awake.

If Physician Jiang could do anything about it, he’d have already left a prescription or a dose of medicine. But he hadn’t. He’d only told him to endure it on his own. It seemed there weren’t any placebos around in this era. If he wanted to push through, he had to rely on willpower.

“But last night you had such a horrible reaction…” Lüzhu was seemingly still unwilling to give up on the idea.

Liang Feng hurriedly looked away from the weepy servant girl, pretending to look out the window to check the sky, then said to Yiyan, “Why are you still here? You’re not going to attend training this morning?”

“I’ll stay by your side, my lord!” Yiyan replied instantly. At a time like this, how could he abandon his lord?

“Unacceptable!” Liang Feng shook his head, “My illness isn’t likely to flare up very frequently, there’s nothing you can do here. But the training can’t stop. As soon as it’s interrupted halfway, it’ll be hard to raise morale again!”

“But, my lord….”

Yiyan wanted to say something more, but Liang Feng waved him off weakly, “There’s more than a single pair of eyes watching the militia’s every move. Even if it’s just for the sake of the estate, you can’t stop halfway!”

Not expecting that Liang Feng would say such words, Yiyan paused. Suddenly, his killing intent leaked, “Do you mean that old bastard Tian Chang?”

“You’re thinking of killing him off again? I’ve told you before, private soldiers can’t stick their hands into the estate’s affairs.” Liang Feng’s tone grew severe, “Tian Chang will know that I’ve fallen ill, but the militia must continue to train as usual. Truth and lies, false fronts and diversions; that is what will cause him to waver and lure him to action. When the time comes, no matter how I deal with him, I’ll have just cause. On the contrary, if I rashly kill a senior retainer of the estate, what will others think? Brute force is never the best option, you must remember this clearly!”

Yiyan pressed his lips, and a moment later, responded, “I understand.”

This young rascal was stubborn to the bone. Liang Feng exhaustedly nodded, “Go then, and forge my militia first. In regards to Tian Chang, I have my own plans.”

Yiyan took a glance at his wan complexion and nodded silently. Just as he was about to salute and take his leave, Liang Feng suddenly remembered something. He coughed, “Yiyan, yesterday I seem to have… uh, is your shoulder okay?”

“It’s fine.” Yiyan abruptly lowered his head and replied abashedly, “It was I who overstepped my bounds….”

He was the one who’d been bitten, and likely injured, yet he was the one apologizing. Liang Feng was slightly speechless. He shook his head and smiled, “If that’s what you call overstepping your bonds, then I really don’t object to it. Still, you must treat your wound. Take care not to get any dirt in it. For the next few days, come back for night duty once you finish training. In case the pill spasm acts up again, I can take another bite.”

Liang Feng’s words were jocular, but Yiyan’s head sank even lower. He randomly made a sound of assent and quickly fled the room. The amusement at seeing that youngster lose his composure improved Liang Feng’s mood quite a bit. He leaned back on the pillow and said to Lüzhu, “I won’t be seeing any guests for a while. You can send away the servants in the inner courtyard. Just leave one or two trustworthy ones.”

Lüzhu puzzledly answered in the affirmative, then handed him a bowl, “Master, it’s time for medicine.”

His fingers still trembling, Liang Feng effortfully brought the bowl of pitch-black liquid to his lips and drank it down in one draft. He exhaled lightly and returned the bowl to Lüzhu. Now, all that remained to be seen was how Tian Chang would act….