"Let's go to Cuiyun Tower for a drink first." Wei Tu was the first to break the silence.
He glanced at Wei Fei and said, "I've always owed you, Second Brother, a meal and never found the time to make it up. Today's our day off, and we were just paid our salaries not long ago..."
Wei Tu would have been lying if he said he did not care whether Fu Zhizhou chose to honor their pact. Having one more helper in Shannan Dao's officialdom was always better than fighting alone.
But compared with Wei Fei, Wei Tu was confident that he could distinguish himself in the next provincial examination and become a Martial Graduate.
By then, even without Fu Zhizhou's help, he would be able to escape the suppression of Prefect He's faction in Qing Feng Prefecture and rise above the rest.
Even without Fu Zhizhou, his most promising "Fourth Brother," to help him, he still had Wei Fei, his good friend from the same county. The two of them could weather the storm together.
"Good, Third Brother." Hearing Wei Tu's words, Wei Fei's disappointment faded by more than half.
He smiled, changed into plain clothes, and headed toward Cuiyun Tower with Wei Tu.
During their two months as officials at the Auxiliary Army Office, Wei Tu, as the military commissioner who "rewarded merit and punished crime," had not spent much time with the soldiers below him, nor had he formed deep bonds with them.
Wei Fei, however, was different. As the Auxiliary Army's Battalion Instructor, he was responsible for martial drills and training formations, spending all day mixed in with the soldiers. In all of Qingshan County, there were few who did not know a man like Wei Fei.
Upon arriving at Cuiyun Tower.
Wei Tu spared no expense, spending seven qian of silver on a fine feast to thank Wei Fei for his generosity in accompanying him to Jian Liang's home with gifts last time.
The table was laden with meat dishes: scallion-braised sea cucumber, soy-braised pork knuckle, Four Joy Meatballs, stir-fried kidneys, and more besides.
There were also seasonal cold dishes and fresh fruits.
At the same time, Wei Tu spent another two qian of silver to have the Cuiyun Tower proprietor draw a pot of fine Peach Blossom Brew.
Seeing Wei Tu being so generous and forthright, Wei Fei's opinion of him immediately rose another notch. He felt he had not made a mistake in becoming sworn brothers with Wei Tu.
After three rounds of wine and five flavors of dishes.
Wei Fei's face flushed red as he slurred, "Even if I, Wei, stopped recognizing Eldest Brother Kou Liang and Fourth Brother Fu Zhizhou, I'd still recognize you, Third Brother..."
With that, he threw an arm around Wei Tu's shoulders and fell heavily asleep on the dining table.
Hearing this, Wei Tu shook his head. After removing Wei Fei's arm from around him, he too succumbed to the wine and fell asleep beside Wei Fei.
He understood that Fu Zhizhou's success and fame had instead drawn him and Wei Fei closer together. Having suffered hardship together... made it easier for them to huddle together for warmth.
Time flowed on.
In the blink of an eye.
It was Year 25 of Qing'an.
That New Year's Day, Wei Tu took Xinghua to Martial Graduate Dan's home to pay New Year calls, rather than returning to Wei Family Village in Changming Township.
Over the more than half-year Wei Tu had served as an official, the Wei Family Village clan chief had repeatedly sent young men from the village to find him, hoping Wei Tu would acknowledge his ancestry and return to Changming Township to worship his ancestors.
But Wei Tu refused every time.
Several years ago, when he had left Wei Family Village, Wei Tu had still harbored resentment over how neither he nor Xinghua had been allowed to enter the ancestral hall. But after coming this far, he had gradually let it go.
However.
Letting it go was one thing.
Wei Tu was no fool with money to burn. He knew perfectly well why the Wei Family Village clan chief wanted him to return to the clan: the man had taken a fancy to his status as a military official and wanted the villagers of Wei Family Village to come bask in his reflected glory.
Of course, Wei Tu had not been heartless toward his biological father, Wei Bao. He sent Wei Bao a letter, intending to have him move in with him and spend his remaining years in comfort.
The impoverished common folk of this era had never possessed much room to choose.
Wei Tu understood that.
He did not resent Wei Bao for selling him to the Li Family back then, nor for urging him to leave quickly when he returned home to visit relatives...
The former had been so he could survive the famine years, while the latter had been so he would not suffer humiliation within Wei Family Village.
Had Wei Bao not secretly stuffed him with more than one tael of silver during that visit home, his redemption might well have been delayed for quite some time.
And that... more than one tael of silver had nearly been all of Wei Bao's worldly possessions.
Yet what Wei Tu had not expected was that his biological father, Wei Bao, would make a decision entirely opposite to that of the Wei Family Village clan chief—
Not only did he refuse to cling to Wei Tu, this "powerful and influential man," he instead took the initiative to draw a line between himself and his eldest son.
Wei Bao sent word that he had sons under his roof and did not need Wei Tu to support him. He told Wei Tu and Xinghua to live their own lives well, and said that sending a few holiday gifts each year would be enough.
Seeing this.
Wei Tu could only let the matter rest.
He chose to respect Wei Bao's wishes, sending him holiday gifts, clothing, food, and daily necessities every year.
—After becoming a "military commissioner," his finances could be considered comfortable, but he still needed to repay Cai Xia... Xinghua's Redemption Silver and the money for buying the small courtyard together were no small sum.
With his means, supporting one Wei Bao was manageable. But supporting two younger brothers as well would be more than he could bear.
Half-grown boys could eat their fathers into ruin.
Therefore.
Since he could not return to Wei Family Village to visit relatives, Wei Tu could only take Xinghua to Martial Graduate Dan's home to pay New Year calls.
A master was like a father.
When he left Changming Township last year, Martial Graduate Dan had claimed that the Green Dappled Horse worth a hundred taels was merely lent to Wei Tu, but there was little difference between that and a gift.
Even after Wei Tu had finished the martial examination, Martial Graduate Dan had never once asked for it back.
"This time, the youngest daughter didn't come. She's probably still upset about what happened last year..."
Madam Shan Min sat in the sitting room. Looking at Dan Yangong, Wei Tu, and Xinghua before her, she quietly sighed.
Though she was somewhat disgusted by Dan Fang's "greed for money," without Dan Fang chirping and chattering, making a racket by her side, she always felt as though something was missing.
Moreover, since Dan Fang had not come, she naturally had not brought the only grandson she and Martial Graduate Dan had under their knees—Dan Yi Wu.
"Yangong, if it really won't work, then take a concubine. Your wife has never borne a child; this can't go on..."
Madam Shan Min turned her gaze toward Dan Yangong, who stood at the side with his hands folded, and frowned.
Back in the Prefectural City, she had held her tongue out of consideration for Dan Yangong's wife. But here in Sanyuan Township, there was no need for such restraint.
"Mother, this matter..." Dan Yangong's face showed hesitation.
"Listen to your mother. In a few days, I'll find you a suitable family in Sanyuan Township and arrange a match for you." Madam Shan Min's words were decisive as iron.
Hearing this, Dan Yangong sighed. He could not bring himself to argue any further and silently chose to accept it.
Having no heirs was also why he could not hold his head high before Dan Fang.
"Brother Wei, when should we have a son too..." Seeing this, Xinghua's heart stirred. She pinched Wei Tu's wrist beside her and asked softly.
Wei Tu raised a brow at her words. "Wait a few more years. We'll talk about this in a few years. We're not in a hurry."
Over the past half-year, he had spoken with Martial Graduate Dan about Innate Realm Martial Masters. From him, he had learned more about their miraculous abilities.
Besides possessing secret methods for interrogating a person's spirit, Innate Realm Martial Masters could also help unborn fetuses "alter the sinews and cleanse the marrow."
Fetuses conditioned in this way by an Innate Realm Martial Master would be born with Martial Way Spiritual Roots far surpassing those of ordinary people, advancing a thousand miles in a single day in their cultivation of the Martial Way.
If possible, Wei Tu intended to wait until he had become an Innate Realm Martial Master before considering the matter of heirs.
—He could not possibly let his white-haired self send off a black-haired child.
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