Chapter 22

Anger

Qi Xiuyuan was a fourth-grade general of Lizhou’s West Camp, the highest in command in this camp.

The West Camp was stationed in Xingzhou Prefecture under Xingyuan Prefecture. Under Xingzhou Prefecture was Shunzheng County, and the army was stationed five miles south of the county. Xingcheng Pass was there, and the mission of the West Camp was to garrison Xingcheng Pass. Because the government office of Xingzhou Prefecture was located in Shunzheng County, there were currently three groups of forces in Xingzhou Prefecture City.

The first was the county office of Shunzheng County, which was located in the east of the county. Secondly, the government office of Xingzhou Prefecture was located in the north of the county. Thirdly, the office of this group of generals was located in the south of the county.

Although Qi Xiuyuan said that he would bring them back to the military camp, there was actually nothing there. Qi Xiuyuan did not want his brother to suffer, so he brought him back to the residence in Shunzheng County first. After making arrangements for his brother and cousin, he called his trusted aide to the study.

The Qis were only a small clan in Lin’an Prefecture. Their father, Qi Feng, was merely a fourth-grade imperial censor, and his rank was the same as Qi Xiuyuan’s. Other than the father and son, there were no other members of the Qi family who served as officials.

Although civil officials were more esteemed than martial arts officials, it was hard to tell who was more important between a fourth-grade general in charge of the military and a fourth-grade imperial censor.

As for Qi Xiuyuan, he was promoted so quickly after his promotion, not only because he had been a guard by the emperor’s side for half a year, but also because his two uncles were both generals. Moreover, he fought fearlessly on the battlefield with no regard for his life, thus accumulating illustrious battle achievements. That was why he was promoted from a sixth-grade lieutenant to a fourth-grade general in merely two years.

His trusted aides knew that Qi Xiuyuan and his father didn’t get along well. It was admirable that he went to the border at the age of 16 and didn’t rely on the Qi family to get to this point. However, the Qi family was a scholarly family and had long had a problem with Qi Xiuyuan joining the army instead of studying. Even though he was already a fourth-grade martial arts official and wasn’t inferior to his father, he was still too embarrassed to mention it.

Qi Xiuyuan’s only connection to that family was his biological younger brother, Qi Haoran.

Unexpectedly, half a month ago, he received news that his younger brother had left after leaving a letter behind. Even his cousin had disappeared.

Qi Xiuyuan was furious. Although his brother was naughty, he knew his limits. Besides, his cousin was a sensible person. He wondered what his father and that woman must have done to force the duo to simply run away like that.

After his anger subsided, worry took over. In this unpeaceful world that they lived in, there were bandits everywhere, and the people were valiant. At only 12 years old, the two of them had never traveled far, and probably did not even know how much a bun cost. Qi Xiuyuan was so anxious that the corners of his mouth were blistering. He could only send his bodyguards to search south.

Other than his uncle, his younger brother could only come to him. Between the two, his younger brother would naturally choose the older brother. Qi Xiuyuan anxiously asked people to search south along the main road, but there was no news.

Yesterday afternoon, he received a report from the scouts in Mingshui County. Only then did he know that the two brats had already run to Xingzhou Prefecture. He hurriedly rode his horse to look for them.

Although Qi Xiuyuan had not seen his brother for two years, they had been writing letters to each other every month. He naturally knew that his brother minded the baby fat on his face the most. Every time he wrote to him, he would complain that his round face made him look even younger, causing his classmates to look down on him.

However, when he saw his younger brother this time, not only did the chubby cheeks disappear, but he also looked much more haggard. If not for the fact that he was concerned about maintaining his dignity as an elder brother, Qi Xiuyuan would have hugged his younger brother and cried.

Now that he had settled his brother down, Qi Xiuyuan no longer suppressed himself. He kept releasing cold air, so cold that Shi Jian and the few trusted aides who came to listen to the orders shrank their necks.

“Send a message to Jiang Ze and tell him not to come back for the time being. Ask him to go to Lin’an and find out why Fourth Young Master and Young Master Zijin ran away from home.” Qi Xiuyuan’s expression was cold. His brother and cousin had to use their travel passes to enter and exit the city. If the Qi family discovered they were missing and chased after them, how could they not find them after following such obvious traces?

“No,” Military Advisor Rong Xuan quickly stopped him. “Xiuyuan, Jiang Ze has an official position, and a general can’t enter the capital without an edict. Once he’s discovered, the consequences will be unimaginable. It’s better to call him back. As for what happened in Lin’an, why don’t you ask Fourth Young Master and Young Master Zijin directly? As for why the Qi family didn’t look for them,” Rong Xuan sneered. “Isn’t it obvious? Your stepmother is naturally unwilling to find your brother.”

Qi Xiuyuan frowned. “She’s just my Auntie.”

“Yes, yes, it’s Auntie, not Stepmother.” Rong Xuan readily agreed. “Let’s call Jiang Ze and the others back. Anyway, since we’ve already found them, you can let Jiang Ze teach Fourth Young Master since he wishes to learn martial arts.”

Qi Xiuyuan only pondered for a moment before nodding in agreement. “Then send the order to get Jiang Ze to come back. Jinyu, don’t address them as Fourth Young Master and Young Master Zijin. They’re younger than you. Call them by their names directly. Otherwise, call them Little Fourth and Little Second.”

Rong Xuan, courtesy name Jinyu, was the Military Advisor of the West Camp. He had followed Qi Xiuyuan all the way from Lin’an and was Qi Xiuyuan’s trusted aide.

Qi Haoran was the fourth son in the family, and Qi Xiuyuan was the eldest. The second and third sons in the middle were both born of a concubine. Naturally, now that their biological mother had been promoted, they were now considered born of the first wife.

After talking about private matters, it was time to discuss serious matters. Qi Haoran said, “I heard something in the eatery today. It’s the autumn harvest now, yet the price of rice and noodles in the grain store has increased.”

Qi Xiuyuan’s guard, Mo Xiong, frowned. “Is the harvest awful this year?”

“Impossible.” Rong Xuan said with a frown, “I just patrolled a while ago. The crops in the fields are not bad, and the recent weather has been good. How can the harvest not be good?”

Qi Xiuyuan looked at the adjutant quartermaster, He Ming, who was deep in thought. “What’s their price for the rations we want to buy?”

“1 tael 100 copper coins for one stone of rice. That’s 200 copper coins less than the market price.”

“Zhao Guang agreed?” Qi Xiuyuan asked in a low voice. Zhao Guang was the quartermaster of the West Camp.

“Yes, we can buy it as soon as the local government delivers the salary collected.”

A cold glint flashed across Qi Xiuyuan’s eyes. He snorted and said, “The rice in the grain store costs 1 tael 300 copper coins, but they’re only collecting grains for 420 copper coins.”

Their expressions changed slightly as they looked at each other. “Erm, are we being schemed against?”

Rong Xuan frowned and said, “We have to investigate this matter since we are permanently stationed in Xingzhou Prefecture. If the commoners are forced to a corner, causing them to rebel, we will be the ones suffering.”

“That’s right.” He Ming’s expression was also a little ugly. “Not only do we not get any benefits, we’ll need to take the blame for them.”

Qi Xiuyuan nodded in satisfaction. “I’ll leave this matter to you. Since we have to buy additional military supplies every year, He Ming, why don’t you buy some grains from those villagers during the autumn harvest? There’s no need to lower the price. I believe they’ll be happy to sell them to you at a suitable price.”

He Ming originally wanted to buy a batch of grains at a low price, but seeing that the general was unwilling to hurt the people, he could only nod and say, “General, don’t worry. I will definitely handle this matter well.”

Qi Xiuyuan said, “I remember that Zhao Guang is a direct descendant of the local squire. Jinyu, go and investigate this person. I don’t believe he doesn’t know about this at all.”

Jinyu knew that Qi Xiuyuan could not tolerate Zhao Guang, so he nodded in agreement.

Qi Xiuyuan made some simple arrangements before walking to the backyard.

Meanwhile, Qi Haoran and Fan Zijin slept for more than two hours and woke up hungry.

They rushed back after lunch. It was already dark and they were hungry, so the two of them fumbled to get up and look for food.