Chapitre 256: Chapter 92: A Playful Discussion of Past Causes
The Fang Family's ancestral home is in Dongping, Shandong, known to all Yangcheng people.
"Why? You think that's right because you know about it?" the people, having endured days of various rumors, were not easily persuaded.
The man smiled patiently.
"Right or not, you'll understand once I tell you," he said. "You may know the Fang Family comes from Shandong, but do you know what trade their ancestors were engaged in?"
A quiet crowd suddenly burst into noise.
"Spices!"
"Are you dumb?"
"How could you not know!"
"You're kidding us!"
The middle-aged man chuckled.
"Indeed, everyone knows," he said, smoothing things over himself.
This commotion caught the attention of people from other areas, who all looked over and asked what was going on.
Before anyone could respond, the middle-aged man, seemingly annoyed by the noise, slapped the table and stood up on a stool.
"But do you know where the main supply for the Fang Family's spice trade was?"
This time, without waiting for the crowd's response, he pointed north.
"Henan Hebei Road."
"In the old capital's days, before the northern lands had fallen, the Fang Family's business traveled to the northern lands."
"Latterly, the Jurchen people moved south, Emperor Chengzong personally led the troops but was captured, and there was great chaos in the court. The first emperor ascended the throne and moved south."
The crowd knew this history, but the middle-aged man spoke with such fervor and rapidity that everyone momentarily stopped their clamor.
"What does this have to do with the Fang Family?" someone couldn't help asking.
The middle-aged man smiled meaningfully.
"At the time, as the first emperor moved the capital southward, not only were there Jurchen armies in pursuit, but the courts were also rife with countless spies. The first emperor had no choice but to disguise himself. But."
He paused abruptly here.
The crowd trembled at his sudden stop.
"Still, the spies caught up and trapped him in a rural courtyard. Just then, someone happened to pass by, risking danger to kill the spies and rescue the first emperor."
The middle-aged man paused again, looking around at the crowd.
"And that person was the father of Fang Shouyi, the founder of De Sheng Chang, Fang Decang."
The spectators widened their eyes and then erupted into commotion.
"...As soon as the story's told, as quickly as it happened... Fang Decang stepped forward, kicking down the rogue and carried the first emperor on his back and ran..."
"...It was a fiercely blowing black wind, dark as night..."
"...Fang Decang didn't know whom he had saved, only feeling the person on his back was as heavy as a thousand catties. The body of the emperor, truly a dragon amongst men, naturally different. Fang Decang, a man of loyalty and honesty, thought since he saved someone, he couldn't just abandon him, so he gritted his teeth and ran madly..."
"...Fang Decang looked at the people surrounding him, thinking the rogues hadn't died and were after them again, resigning himself that they couldn't escape, he sighed to the man, 'Brother, it seems we are trapped this time…'"
"...Yet unexpectedly, that man smiled, lifted his hand towards the people rushing at them and they knelt down in awe, shouting long live, Fang Decang almost died from fright right there..."
"...The first emperor said, 'You called me brother, though I can't be your brother, I can grant you anything else you desire...'"
"...Fang Decang bowed and thanked him, but he didn't ask for any favors..."
"...The first emperor, loving his honesty and loyalty, immediately wrote a decree as if he were present, bestowing it to Fang Decang, instructing that should he face any danger in the future, deal with it as you have with mine today, and I shall aid you..."
"...This was where Yu Liang met the first emperor, and now, during the reign of Fang Decang, if one has profound fortune and virtue, why worry about wealth and status coming sooner or later?"
With a snap, the storytelling session concluded and the patrons in the teahouse cheered enthusiastically. Caught up in the story, the waitstaff hurriedly moved around, refilling tea, as some patrons discussed and others continued to question the storyteller.
A customer seated near the railing on the second floor stood up, accompanied closely by four or five guards who cleared the way and protected him. His demeanor and attire attracted considerable attention.
The teahouse, which had been somewhat disorderly following the end of the story, buzzed loudly again.
"Young Master."
"It's Young Master."
"Young Master, is it really true?"
"Young Master, did your great-grandfather really save the first emperor?"
The crowd clamored around him, loudly asking questions.
Fang Chengyu, smiling without a word, proceeded downstairs escorted by his guards.
As he reached the ground floor, even more people gathered around him—it was the first time someone from the Fang Family had made a public appearance in many days.
"Young Master, is it really true?" everyone asked. "Did you really save the first emperor? Just tell us."
Fang Chengyu stopped, smiling as he looked at the crowd.
"Whether it is true or not isn't really important," he said. "It's enough for everyone to know that our imperial decree is genuine, isn't it?"
Everyone present paused, perplexed.
Is it?
"Anyway, the imperial decree is authentic," Fang Chengyu continued, raising his hand in the direction of the capital, clasping it in a fist. "The emperor's vast grace is also real. What else do you need to question about truth or falsehood?"
After saying that, he left straightaway under the guard of his escort, leaving everyone in the teahouse in a dazed state.
Right, what else indeed? Should they question the truth of the Fang Family receiving the imperial decree or whether the emperor's grace bestowed in the imperial decree was genuine?
These truths weren't for them to challenge. Hadn't even the Jinyiwei refrained from inquiring?
Otherwise, how could those storytellers sit here confidently speaking their minds?
These matters must already have been reported to the emperor in the capital.
True or false, it isn't for anyone to declare. The emperor has the final word.
What would the emperor say?
In a gloomy, cramped room in the Imperial City, people were also waiting for news.
The room was dark and narrow; despite the scorching sun outside in June, it remained dim inside, especially when one first entered from outside, hardly making out the person sitting within.
A plump, tender-skinned eunuch entered, squinting for a while before locating the man sitting in the room.
Behind a desk, a young man in a crimson robe, lean as a blade, was intently reading official documents.
"Oh, my dear Lord Lu, this room is too dark. Be careful not to damage your eyes," the eunuch exaggeratedly exclaimed with a beaming smile.
Hearing this, the young man raised his head. The dim room highlighted his porcelain-white complexion and his dark eyes appeared even colder.
"So it's Eunuch Guo," he said.
His voice, unlike his appearance, was rich and somewhat slow.
Just hearing his voice, no one would associate him with the fearsome Thousand-Man Commander of the garrison, Lu Yunqi, a figure feared by officials, a ruthless killer stained with blood.
They would think of him only as a simple, honest soldier.
Indeed, he had started as an honest soldier.
His father, an unremarkable and honest man his whole life, was so unknown that no one even knew his name.
Who would have imagined that someone who had inherited his father's humble position would suddenly leap to become a figure dreaded by both common folk and the court?
Cadeaux
-- Cadeau
reçu État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone