Your Father Isn't Dead Yet?

Zhao Dezhu spoke with fiery passion, but Song Xuan felt his scalp prickle as he listened.

"Wait, Uncle Zhao, I'm only going there to serve as a hundred-household commander. Jiangzhe Prefecture has more than one of those, and there's a thousand-household commander above us.

"I'm going there to be an official, not to fight a war. Isn't this a little over the top?"

Zhao Dezhu shook his head slightly. "Jiangzhe Prefecture is the largest prefecture in Mingzhou, and its wealthiest region, too. It's a major source of tax revenue for the court, which has always attached great importance to it.

"The hundred-household commander who died this time belonged to the Xu Household. Like us, they're one of the hundred and twenty hereditary Black Robe Guard lineages in the Imperial Capital.

"Our lineages hold no noble titles, but our roots run deep in the Black Robe Guard system. We're bound to Great Zhou, and we're among the forces the emperor trusts most.

"For a hundred-household commander from the Xu Household to suddenly die under mysterious circumstances, especially in a sensitive region like Jiangzhe Prefecture that the court watches closely-that's unusual in itself.

"I suspect the Thousand-Household Office in Jiangzhe Prefecture may already have been infiltrated by other forces. That's something the emperor absolutely cannot tolerate.

"You handled your last case beautifully. I imagine the emperor has already taken notice of you. Sending you there probably means he wants you to get to the bottom of what's going on inside."

Song Xuan frowned.

The reason he had taken the Second-Rank Black Robe Guard examination in the first place was for the improved benefits after promotion, so he could slack off at work more comfortably.

Now you're suddenly promoting me and entrusting me with a major responsibility? You've really caught me off guard here.

After work, Song Xuan ignored Lu Xiaoliu's invitation to listen to songs at a pleasure house and went straight home on his own.

In the courtyard, the two matrons from the Jia Mansion were dutifully sweeping the ground. Song Qian sat with her legs crossed, eating grapes as she supervised their younger cousin Lin Daiyu's horse stance practice.

"Skipping work again?" Song Xuan asked casually.

Song Xuan spat out the grape skins in his mouth and said indistinctly, "I checked in this morning. There wasn't anything to do at the office anyway, so I came back to teach Daiyu martial arts. She's too frail. We have to start by toughening up her body."

Song Xuan gave a hum of acknowledgment, unconcerned. Unless their superiors assigned them something specific, Second-Rank Black Robe Guards really did have plenty of free time.

Everyone was slacking off. One more Song Qian hardly made a difference.

He went inside, took off his official uniform, and changed into a white robe. After washing his face in the courtyard, Song Xuan remarked casually, "You've been promoted!"

"Huh?"

Song Qian froze, then hurriedly asked, "How many ranks?"

"One. Deputy hundred-household commander!"

"Oh..." Song Qian immediately lost interest. "A hundred-household commander, and only a deputy at that. Nothing exciting about that. What about you, Brother?"

"I'm a hundred-household commander!"

"Does that mean our monthly salaries are going up again?"

Song Xuan nodded. "By twenty taels."

"Twenty taels each makes forty for the two of us!" Song Qian counted on her fingers. "That's another four thousand eight hundred taels a year, and a hundred and twenty thousand in three years. Brother, in three years we'll be able to buy that Marquis's Residence in the east of the city!"

Lin Daiyu, whose little face had turned red from the strain of holding her horse stance, burst out laughing.

Song Qian huffed. "What are you laughing at? You think my calculations are wrong?"

"Whatever do you mean, Cousin? I thought your calculations were far too accurate. Working in the Black Robe Guard is simply a waste of your talent. You should be at the Ministry of Revenue!"

At that, Song Qian lifted her chin slightly and smiled. "Right? My brother's called me an arithmetic genius since we were little. If you think so too, I really must have talent."

Lin Daiyu pressed her lips together and tried to hold it in, but finally raised a hand to cover her mouth, looking at her cousin Song Xuan with laughter dancing in her eyes.

Song Xuan looked utterly speechless, a far cry from his usual quiet, aloof demeanor. Lin Daiyu found it quite amusing.

"We'll be taking up our posts in Jiangzhe Prefecture, Mingzhou, in a few days! Get ready. We leave first thing the morning after tomorrow!"

"Huh? Jiangzhe Prefecture?"

Song Qian seemed rather reluctant. "We don't know anyone or anything there. Why did they assign us to that place?"

"Oh, a hundred-household commander just died there. I'm filling the vacancy. Otherwise, I wouldn't have gotten the position."

"He must've known you'd earned merit and were due a promotion and a raise, Brother. He certainly picked a good time to die!"

Song Xuan sighed. "He died a little too early. I hadn't planned on going away to serve as an official."

"I see..." Song Qian considered it for a moment. "Then once we get to Jiangzhe Prefecture, I'll dig up his grave!"

"Mhm!" Song Xuan nodded. "We do need to dig it up. There are things we can only confirm that way."

Lin Daiyu listened to her cousins' exchange, dumbfounded. Were those really words a human being would say?

Someone had died and left a position open for them, yet they still weren't satisfied and wanted to dig up his grave? Did everyone in the Black Robe Guard have such bizarre ideas?

Of course, Lin Daiyu wasn't actually concerned about the grave digging at all. She was staring eagerly at Song Xuan, so intently that he began muttering inwardly.

Are girls these days all this bold?

Sure, I'm a little handsome, but even if you want to look, couldn't you be a little more subtle? Being this ardent and uninhibited doesn't suit your Cousin Lin persona!

"Cousin..."

Lin Daiyu called to him softly, then asked with a hint of anticipation, "Could you take me along when you go to Jiangzhe Prefecture?"

Song Xuan shook his head. "We're going on official business, not to tour the mountains and rivers. It wouldn't be appropriate for you to come along!"

Lin Daiyu hurriedly said, "My father serves as an official in the Jiangzhe region. I haven't seen him in years. Could you take me with you?"

"Your father?" Song Xuan stared. "Lin Ruhai?"

Hearing her father's name, Lin Daiyu grew solemn as well. She offered a graceful bow and said, "That is indeed my father's name."

Song Xuan hesitated before asking, "Your father isn't dead yet?"

According to the story of Dream of the Red Chamber, Lin Daiyu's father had died of illness when she was around ten.

Now Lin Daiyu was almost fifteen. Shouldn't her father have been dead for four or five years?

Lin Daiyu's expression changed, and her gaze sharpened. "Cousin, I respect you as an elder brother, but how could you curse my father like that?

"My father sent me a letter just last month. Though he is unwell, he has been receiving treatment from a physician all along. His life is in no danger!"

Realization dawned on Song Xuan.

It seemed he had taken too much for granted. After all, this wasn't simply the world of Dream of the Red Chamber, but a Martial Arts Grand World formed from several wuxia worlds. Lin Daiyu had even become his younger cousin. Her having a living father seemed perfectly normal, too.

Song Xuan wasn't the sort to stubbornly defend himself after saying the wrong thing. He apologized at once. "That was poorly worded. Since you'd been living in the Jia Mansion all this time, I thought your closest family had already passed away."

Seeing tears already misting Lin Daiyu's eyes, he immediately added, "Since you want to go to Jiangzhe Prefecture to see your family, Cousin, just come with us. You and your cousin can keep each other company on the road."

"Thank you, Cousin!"

Her sorrow turned to joy. Their younger cousin wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and gave Song Xuan and Song Qian a sweet smile.

"Then I'll return to the Jia Mansion tonight and let the Old Matriarch know. She's showered me with love all these years. Since I'm leaving, I must have her permission first."

Song Xuan nodded. "Go back to the Jia Mansion, then. We'll pick you up outside first thing the morning after tomorrow!"