Descendants of an Old Friend

The county yamen.

The Revenue Office.

Steward Sun discussed buying and selling convicts with Zhou Yi right in front of the clerks and his fellow officials. Clearly, this was an open secret in Barren City.

Living off the mountain by the mountain, living off the water by the water.

The Barren City yamen lived by selling convicts.

For twelve hundred taels, transported convicts could be declared dead at the mines, given new names, and registered under Barren City household records. After a few years, with a few connections pulled, they could be transferred to another prefecture and completely washed clean into free commoners.

"Old Master Zhou, don't think it expensive. This silver isn't going into our own pockets."

Steward Sun pointed upward. "His Excellency earned his jinshi degree twelve years ago. Do you understand?"

"So he is Chancellor Zhang's disciple!"

Respect appeared on Zhou Yi's face as he said in a low voice, "That year's palace examination was anything but peaceful. Everyone had their eyes on the announcement of the results, and Chancellor Zhang took the opportunity to seize the Minister of War..."

As he spoke, he made a grasping gesture. His gaze swept across the people in the Revenue Office. "Do you know why?"

Steward Sun cupped his hands. "Please enlighten us, sir!"

The clerks of the Revenue Office pricked up their ears. If they remembered such secret affairs of the imperial court, they could bring them up over drinks with colleagues later—top-tier conversation, as exhilarating as holding forth on international politics at a barbecue stall.

"That year, the Duke Who Pacifies the Nation won a great victory on the northern frontier and rode the momentum straight into Great Yong. His prestige was at its height!"

Zhou Yi slowly said, "The Minister of War at the time had originally been a great general from the army. He and the Duke Who Pacifies the Nation had once joined forces to crush the Jiangnan rebel bandits of Cang Huang. One within the court and one without—none in the court could restrain them."

"Chancellor Zhang seized that opportunity, broke the dynasty's usual practice, and appointed a civil official as Minister of War..."

"Gasp!"

Steward Sun no longer doubted that Mister Zhou had come from Shenjing. Respectfully, he said, "Please have a seat, sir. I'll go hurry those lazy bastards handling the paperwork!"

"Thank you for the trouble, Steward."

Zhou Yi's every gesture was courteous and measured. He possessed both elegance and bearing without acting superior, making those around him feel as though bathed in spring breeze.

Before long, he was chatting merrily with the Revenue Office clerks.

He casually shared secrets from Shenjing, such as how a certain high official had supposedly retired to his hometown after running up a tab of tens of thousands of taels at Spring Breeze Pavilion. The girls there had whispered pillow talk into an imperial censor's ear.

After more than a dozen consecutive memorials of impeachment, that official had lost all face and could only beg to retire.

Such things were merely street gossip and could not be taken seriously. How could ordinary people possibly know the real reasons behind an official's retirement? Still, people preferred these spicy tales.

Steward Sun asked in astonishment, "What sort of place is Spring Breeze Pavilion, to be able to persuade an imperial censor to impeach someone?"

"When ordinary people visit Shenjing, they only know the Office of Court Entertainment is a fine place. In truth, that is not so. The Office of Court Entertainment is where only minor officials and petty clerks go. Shenjing's true den that devours gold is Spring Breeze Pavilion..."

The moment Zhou Yi began speaking of that, everyone perked up.

At first, he had merely been chatting with the clerks in the Revenue Office. But after Zhou Yi commented on three or five courtesans, people from the other offices and divisions all gathered around.

There were three places in Shenjing with which Zhou Yi was most familiar.

Home, the Heavenly Prison, and Spring Breeze Pavilion.

Over twenty years spent carousing at Spring Breeze Pavilion, Zhou Yi had held deep exchanges with each of the twenty-odd courtesans selected as its reigning beauties. His critiques were incisive and well-reasoned.

Among a group of men, talking smut was the quickest way to close the distance between them. It had always been so, from ancient times to the present!

Zhou Yi sighed. "Su Xiaoxiao, the reigning beauty selected two years ago, was among the finest of the past decade. Unfortunately, before she could receive her first patron, she caught Duke Wei's eye. He spent silver to buy her into the ducal residence as a concubine."

"A woman of the dust could enter a duke's residence?"

"Duke Wei—that is a towering figure who holds up the heavens!"

"That truly was good fortune!"

"..."

Everyone discussed it heatedly. The earlier reigning beauties had not fared particularly well. Those who withdrew at the height of their fame married merchants as concubines; most, once they grew old and their beauty faded, sank into the ranks of ordinary prostitutes.

"You are all wrong. Su Xiaoxiao had the worst fate of them all!"

Zhou Yi changed tack, leaving everyone's hearts itching with curiosity. He slowly took a sip of tea. "That duke was also a man afraid of his wife. Not long after Su Xiaoxiao entered the residence, she somehow fell into a well and died."

"Alas..."

"What a pity, what a pity!"

"The finest of the past decade, yet we never had the chance to see her!"

"Heaven envies a beautiful woman!"

"I said it already—how could a mere whore have such good fortune?"

No one condemned the duchess who had killed her. They even scorned Su Xiaoxiao for getting what she deserved. A prostitute trying to climb up to the gates of a ducal household—she had brought calamity upon herself and could not live through it.

Duke Wei, a lecherous man fond of women, instead won everyone's favor because he feared his wife.

Even a grand duke feared his wife. I fear mine too. Doesn't that make me the same as a duke?

Such was the way of the world. No one had the power to change it.

As they spoke, a burst of footsteps sounded. A bailiff entered with seven convicts in prison uniforms.

The mines were more than ten li from Barren City, and their identities had to be located and verified. The round trip took at least four or five hours. As dusk approached, the bailiffs handling the matter finally brought them back.

More than a hundred members of the Wei family had been exiled. After over twenty years, only seven remained, barely clinging to life.

Zhou Yi's gaze swept over the convicts' faces before he asked the oldest-looking man, "Are you descendants of Hero Wei?"

"Reporting to my benefactor, this lowly one is Wei Jun, the third son of my father, Wei Chang."

Wei Jun had already heard from the bailiffs along the way that this gentleman was an old friend of the Wei family. He had come to Barren City this time to spend silver and save their lives.

After rescuing Li Hong, Zhou Yi had changed the appearance he wore in the Heavenly Prison. He now looked forty-five, somewhat weathered with age.

He had deliberately handled matters in this appearance, revealing that he had once received a favor from Wei Chang. That would neatly explain the origin of his inner cultivation. Even if others learned of it, it would not cause much trouble. On the contrary, they would admire Zhou Yi for repaying kindness.

Zhou Yi asked, "Hero Wei once showed me kindness. Today, I have come to repay it. Think carefully: do you wish to return to your old home, or remain on the northern frontier?"

"Benefactor, we discussed it along the road. We will not return to Yu Province. We will remain on the northern frontier and make a living here."

Wei Jun replied, "After several more decades, we will return to burn incense and pay respects to our ancestors."

Only twenty-odd years had passed since Wei Chang's case. The old lands of Yu Province still held many enemies of the Wei family. Even if they changed their names, should someone recognize and report them, the court would send people to verify their identities.

"Good."

Zhou Yi agreed and drew a stack of banknotes from his sleeve. "I must trouble Steward Sun again. I saw many vacant houses in Barren City. Could one be bought for the Wei family to live in?"

"You must be joking, sir. Why buy some deserted and broken house? Just pick one at random and have it transferred into their name."

Steward Sun took the banknotes—no fewer than fifteen or sixteen of them—and beamed. "If the Wei family is willing to remain in the city, they can all be arranged to work in the Revenue Office. Their usual duty will be guarding the granaries. In any case, they will never lack food or drink."

Seeing Zhou Yi look over, Wei Jun hurriedly agreed. "Many thanks, benefactor! Many thanks, Steward Sun!"

The Wei family was endlessly grateful to Zhou Yi. Only after their household had been shattered and their family exterminated did they learn the truth of friendship. Back then, the Wei family had enjoyed no small reputation in Yu Province, and the Flying Rainbow Swordsman had friends far and wide. Yet when disaster struck, not a single person extended a helping hand.

The martial world was filled mostly with friends of wine and meat. The occasional hero or two became stories spread far and wide in tale books. One must never assume everyone was like that.

"Old Sun, the Constable Division is short of men. Why not come serve with us? Patrolling the mines is much more carefree."

"The Military Office needs people too. Guarding the city gates brings plenty of extra profit."

"How could that compare to my Rites Office? We do not even need to answer roll call every day. After all, there is not a single scholar in this city!"

"..."

The stewards of the three divisions and six offices all spoke up. First, they saw that Zhou Yi's background was extraordinary; second, they did it for silver's sake.

Zhou Yi cupped his hands and said with a smile.

"Many thanks, everyone. Please look after the Wei family in the future. Once we reach Shenjing, I cannot promise the reigning beauties of Spring Breeze Pavilion, but anything else can be arranged as you please!"

At once, laughter erupted everywhere.