After reaching an agreement before the statue of Sharess, the goddess of nobility, Ye Wei'an and Lady Selina were at peace, for the time being.
The following few days were quite peaceful at Firefall Fortress.
Ye Wei'an settled into a regular routine.
Every morning after breakfast, he would show up at Baron Harandir's bedroom right on time and cast [Lesser Restoration] on him once, helping his cheap father feel a little better.
For the rest of the day, Ye Wei'an stayed in the family library, studying the legacy left behind by his ancestor, Aslan Xiaxing.
In truth, Aslan's spellbook wasn't of much help to a Sorcerer.
But Ye Wei'an found another pleasant surprise among the inheritance.
According to the family tree, the Xiaxing Family hadn't produced any spellcasters before.
That changed in the generation of Aslan's grandfather, when his grandfather's younger brother married a Harpell Sorcerer born to commoners.
According to Aslan's recollections, it was under this grandmother's influence that he first set out on the path of magic.
The notes this Sorcerer left behind contained many insights into awakening magical power and resonating with one's bloodline.
Compared with Aslan's legacy, his great-grandmother's notes were of much greater help to Ye Wei'an.
For example, he had gleaned many techniques from them for projecting magic over greater distances.
When he got bored of reading, he would sometimes wander over to the training yard or stables with a tankard of ale, watch the training, and chat with Cain and the soldiers. His down-to-earth manner won him the genuine respect of many of them.
As for the transfer of money and supplies from Lady Selina, Ye Wei'an entrusted the entire task to Lina.
The head maid was the first person Ye Wei'an poached from Xiaxing House after reaching an agreement.
Compared with the still-naive Ailian, Lina, who was four years older than Ye Wei'an, seemed remarkably composed and experienced.
As a former head maid, she was well versed in this kind of logistical management and quickly settled into the role of "administrative steward."
On her first evening in the job, Lina went to Ye Wei'an's room to report on the day's work.
"As for the funds, Lady Selina claimed she needed to gather the money and asked us to wait a couple of days, so today we only took delivery of the goods. We received 1,200 pounds of rye, 300 strips of smoked meat, and 50 sets of light chainmail."
At that, the maid's voice took on a hint of coldness.
"However, the financial officer under Lady Selina seems to think you don't know the business. He tried to mix old, moldy grain into that shipment of rye. And while we were inspecting the chainmail, he deliberately tried to pass off several defective pieces with rusty, broken links."
Ye Wei'an looked at her. "What did you plan to do?"
"I rejected the entire shipment on the spot and had the guards seal off the warehouse." Lina had reacted even more decisively than Ye Wei'an expected. "The steward tried to use the lady's name to pressure me, but I shut him down. He's now locked in a side room, awaiting punishment."
"Well done, Lina. Putting you in this position was probably the wisest decision I've made in the past few days." Ye Wei'an nodded with satisfaction.
"Go tell Cain to take some men and drag that steward out into the courtyard. Give him twenty lashes in front of everyone, then send him back to Lady Selina. Tell her I don't want this happening again. From now on, if anyone tries something like this, don't ask me first. Handle it the same way."
"Yes, young master." Lina gave a slight curtsy, then turned to the next page of the inventory. "There's another practical problem. If the transfers continue to go smoothly, the total amount of supplies we'll need to take, given your current assets, will far exceed your expected transport capacity. We have far too few wagons."
Ye Wei'an pondered for a moment, then pulled over a scrap of paper and quickly wrote a note.
"Go find someone to deliver this to Thorn, the head of the Timber Guild in Firefall Town." Ye Wei'an pushed the note toward her. "You can place whatever orders you need with him. He'll arrange all the wagons we need at the lowest possible discount."
Lina took the note and couldn't help remarking, "Four years apart, and you've made quite a few connections, young master. Those greedy merchants don't hand out discounts easily."
"I have Lady Selina and 'Gray Crow' to thank for the opportunity." Ye Wei'an laughed wryly. "If they hadn't been up to all those schemes, I wouldn't have had the chance to meet these people."
With the report over, Lina neatly organized the account books.
"You've worked hard these past few days, Lina." Ye Wei'an praised her sincerely. "You've done even better than I expected. Choosing you really was the right decision."
"It's my duty, young master." Lina gave a slight curtsy. "Besides, I wouldn't want my new employer to go hungry while he's out pioneering."
Lina didn't leave right away. Instead, she stepped closer and gently straightened Ye Wei'an's slightly rumpled collar.
"Young master, now that we've finished discussing business, it's big sister Lina's turn." Her voice softened, no longer as stiff and formal as before. "You've been staying up far too late these past few days, sorting through the books in the family library. If you wear yourself out before you even become a Pioneer Lord, Ailian will cry, and I'll be... worried about you, too."
"I understand, big sister Lina." Ye Wei'an enjoyed the girl's concern.
"That's good." Lina resumed her dignified posture.
She stepped back and gave a proper maid's curtsy. "Then please get some rest early, young master. I should get to bed, too. There are 2,000 pounds of oats waiting for me to inspect first thing tomorrow morning. For the sake of your grand plans, Lina will keep your wealth safe."
And so, thanks to Lina's efforts, Ye Wei'an's supplies for his expedition began accumulating in an orderly fashion.
Even as he dealt with these mundane matters, Ye Wei'an didn't forget the warriors who had died in the bandit attack.
He personally visited the homes of the three soldiers and placed their compensation in the hands of their grieving families.
The gesture caused a great stir among the soldiers in the territory.
These days, it was common for lords to treat soldiers as expendable. It was rare to find an officer like Ye Wei'an, who was not only capable but also cared about them.
At the same time, news of Ye Wei'an's deeds spread through Firefall Territory like wildfire, carried by the soldiers who had benefited from his kindness.
At first, it was just the soldiers at Firefall Fortress, bragging loudly during their shift changes about how the young bastard heir had used Spellfire to burn the vile bandits to death and how he'd led them to catch the mastermind in just a day and a night.
Before long, the townspeople added stories of Ye Wei'an arresting gang members and punishing bullies in Firefall Town to the growing rumor mill.
Now the whole territory was abuzz with talk:
The eldest son of the Summerstar Family, who had been sent to Suzar for years, had returned after completing his studies.
He had not only become the master of a powerful Wizard, but was also a rare noble who was willing to lower his eyes to look upon the common folk.
So many townspeople had received his kindness that stories of him "subduing bandits single-handedly" and "publicly rebuking a greedy steward" passed from mouth to mouth, gathering layers of embellishment until they took on a legendary quality.
In the eyes of the lower-class farmers, long accustomed to harsh exploitation, Ye Wei'an's deeds had taken on a saintly glow. His reputation in the countryside quickly soared to the heights of adoration.
At that time, the most common sight in the countryside of Firefall Territory was a few farmers resting together in the fields, smoking cheap tobacco and daydreaming:
"If Lord Ye Wei'an could take over the territory, we'd probably pay thirty percent less in taxes this year, wouldn't we?"
"Thirty percent? I think it could be as much as half! Haven't you heard? The gold coins he gave the families of the dead guards were enough to keep us farming for ten years!"
After indulging in their daydreams, the farmers would usually end with a long, regretful sigh: "What a shame... The goddess Sharess cares more about pure bloodlines than ability or character. In the end, the title has to go to the second young master."
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