For monsters and some humans, these strips of dried meat were delicious little snacks.
The father and son, Uncle Hao, and the steward searched in silence, but still couldn't find anything that caught their eye, so they had to give up.
He Lingchuan lowered his head and sneaked a glance at the necklace around his neck.
There was something strange about the item; it was no longer the original. He had considered again and again whether to offer it up, but a voice deep in his heart kept warning him: Never show it to anyone!
The premonition was so strong that, after much inner turmoil, he decided to follow his instincts.
"Put all this away, and leave those two guards in the Red and White Path's custody. Right, I remember the Red and White Path has a farm in the southern suburbs. It's the slack season now, so there probably isn't anyone near the farm. Lingchuan, you understand?... Good. Go after dinner, and make sure it's done neatly." He Chunhua turned to Uncle Hao. "A-Hao, stay behind."
He Lingchuan accepted the order and left, while Uncle Hao remained where he was.
Only after the eldest son of He Manor had disappeared behind the corridor did He Chunhua say to Uncle Hao, "Tell me everything that happened today, exactly as it happened."
Uncle Hao recounted it all, without adding or taking away a single detail.
After listening, He Chunhua nodded and let him go.
The processing room fell quiet. He Chunhua stared at the leopard carcass on the table, lost in thought for a long while.
Steward Wu waited by his side. Only after two incense sticks had burned down did he remind him, "Master, it's time for dinner."
Governor He gave a soft "Mm." "What do you make of this?"
"The Eldest Young Master seemed reckless, but he handled things rather well," Steward Wu said with a smile. "Those two guards shouldn't have been allowed to run around the city asking questions."
"That little rascal's finally learning to be careful. Looks like his serious injury turned out to be a blessing in disguise." Governor He let out a quiet breath.
"Master, you were concerned that the Eldest Young Master's temperament had suddenly improved. Now you can put your mind at ease."
"Indeed." Governor He sighed. "Come, let's go have dinner."
No matter how much Governor He yearned for his homeland, and no matter how much He Residence resembled the style of the capital, three meals a day still had to bow to reality. They ate much like the locals of Blackwater City.
After all, live off the mountains if you live among mountains, live off the waters if you live by the waters, and live off the land if you live on the land.
He Lingchuan eagerly devoured the half a boiled leg of lamb in front of him. It had been simmered in plain water, with at most a few chunks of ginger and knots of scallion added to remove the gaminess.
The simple cooking brought out the lamb's natural flavor. The meat was already crisp and springy, and dipped in spiced pepper and chili salt, it was so savory it was beyond compare. He Lingchuan wielded the knife himself, slicing off a piece, dipping it, and eating it, sighing with satisfaction.
The chef hired by the prefectural governor's residence only used Big-Horn Sheep less than a year and a half old. These sheep liked wandering the Gobi and often ate medicinal herbs like Dandelion and Scutellaria. That gave their meat a rich aroma unlike that of sheep from elsewhere. It was a specialty of Red Cliff Road.
Seated beside He Chunhua was a beautifully dressed woman. She scooped up some millet porridge, blew on it twice, then sipped it slowly. Her unhurried manner was a stark contrast to He Lingchuan's hearty meat-eating.
This was He Chunhua's first wife and the matriarch of He Manor, Ying Hongchan. She occasionally sampled a piece of lamb, but only after the steward had cut the meat from the bone and arranged it pleasingly on a plate.
She listened to her husband and younger son talk, smiling all the while, and occasionally glanced at He Lingchuan.
All four members of their family were here, together.
He Chunhua was discussing this year's tax revenue in Qiansong Prefecture with his younger son.
Yes, tax revenue. One of the favorite topics among Blackwater City's residents was how Governor He's most capable assistant was neither an experienced accountant nor one of his strategists, but his younger son, He Yue, who was not yet fourteen.
The boy had learned to read at three and could recite three hundred poems by heart at seven. The following year, He Manor sent two accountants to jail: He Yue had been tallying the account books in his spare time, uncovered several old, unresolved discrepancies, and exposed two fat, lazy bloodsuckers.
By the time He Yue was twelve, he had mastered chess, calligraphy, painting, and literature. He'd begun offering suggestions on Governor He's administrative affairs—no, that was wrong. He'd begun devising strategies.
He Chunhua was no hidebound old scholar. His younger son's proposals were well-reasoned and effective, so of course he encouraged him wholeheartedly. The more He Yue did, the more confident he became, until he could even take some of his father's work off his hands.
So this sort of scene was common.
He Lingchuan didn't join their discussion—not even for a single word. He only needed to sit quietly and enjoy the food. After all, that was what his predecessor had done, too.
He simply couldn't get a word in.
The He brothers had both inherited their father's good looks. He Lingchuan had sharp features and was tall and handsome, while He Yue had delicate features and resembled Madam Ying more.
But their qualities were completely different.
He Yue had a photographic memory, while He Lingchuan, the eldest son, was guaranteed to fall asleep within fifteen minutes of opening a book. It worked better than any sleeping draught.
The only thing more aggravating than "someone else's kid" was "my own little brother is a top student."
It was a crushing defeat on every front, with no blind spots.
"All right, enough talking. Eat!" Ying Hongchan interrupted the conversation between the older and younger boy. "If you don't pick up your chopsticks soon, the food will get cold."
In fact, if they didn't pick up their chopsticks soon, He Lingchuan would finish all the food.
He practiced martial arts, and his appetite was more than twice that of an ordinary person.
Seeing Ying Hongchan personally put a piece of crispy river shrimp on He Yue's plate, He Lingchuan wiped his hands with a cloth and said, "Second Brother, send Liu Baobao's merchant house a Passage Token tomorrow. His caravan will be back soon, and they don't want to get held up at Baitong Pass."
"I told you not to call me Second Brother!" He Yue genuinely hated the sound of it. "I was about to tell you that the Liu family's merchant house is two years behind on its road and transport taxes. With late fees, they owe about seven hundred taels. They can't get a Passage Token until they pay it all."
"If that caravan doesn't come back, they won't be able to pay those seven hundred taels." He Lingchuan smiled. "We've known each other for ages. Let them through this once. I'll go keep an eye on things for you then."
He Yue was about to say something more, but He Chunhua spoke first. "It's fine. Issue the document."
He had the final say, so He Yue could only agree reluctantly, then glare at He Lingchuan again.
What was this "just once" business? It had happened ten times over by now. When had the old man ever gone to keep an eye on things himself? He always said he would, then forgot!
And yet their father always took the eldest brother's side.
He Lingchuan lifted his sea-buckthorn juice toward him and grinned.
After one or two times, he'd figured it out: this wasn't lining his own pockets; he was doing his father's work. Governor He was an official, after all, and sometimes it wasn't convenient for him to show his face, so his son would step in for him.
"Come to think of it, Big Brother's expenses really have gone down this past month. You only drew a little over two hundred taels from the household, when it used to take at least nine hundred," He Yue said, rattling off the figures. "But after you were injured, your medical treatment, medicine, and tonics cost more than three hundred taels altogether..."
He Lingchuan's heart skipped a beat. He quickly pretended to be annoyed. "I know, I know. I was stuck in bed for so long that I didn't get the chance, okay? I know I spent too little. I'll try harder next month!"
There really were pitfalls everywhere. He hadn't expected that spending too little would make him even more suspicious.
By a rough estimate, one tael of silver could be exchanged for a thousand coins. Young Master He normally spent nine hundred thousand coins a month!
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