Wang Gang had never imagined Murong Bo was already plotting rebellion like this! Here in wealthy Jiangnan, he was actually drilling troops on his own estate. Was there something wrong with his head?
Rebellion was no dinner party! This was something that could cost you your head!
Unless people truly had no way left to survive, who would dare join you in something like that?
And Gusu was a land of fish and rice. Scraping together enough to eat was hardly difficult! Only a fool would join you in something that could get his head chopped off!
Now even Xuantong, an outsider, had discovered it with ease! That showed just how sloppily it had been handled! The authorities were probably waiting for him to raise the banner of rebellion so they could swiftly put it down and claim some merit!
"Is what you say true, benefactor?" Xuantong was utterly appalled.
"Yes! He wants to rebel against the authorities!" Wang Gang sighed. "A band of bandits arrived on Lake Tai some time ago, plundering passing boats. Since the area lies between Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the authorities on either side keep passing the buck!"
As Wang Gang spoke, he thought rapidly, putting on an indignant expression. "He spends his days in a foul mood, cursing the bandits at home and condemning the authorities for doing nothing! Later, he even declared that he would train troops himself to wipe out the bandits and show the authorities how it should be done!"
Xuantong breathed a sigh of relief at this and said feelingly, "Master Murong truly is unmatched in chivalry!"
"Master, how can you say that?" Wang Gang protested in astonishment. "The court has its own laws for dealing with bandits. If he objects, he can appeal to a higher authority. Even beating the Drum of Appeals would be better than training troops to suppress bandits himself!"
Looking at Wang Gang in his blue robe, Xuantong could not help chuckling despite himself. He thought, Though this fellow has a sharp tongue and excels at swaying hearts, he is young after all, and inevitably has a touch of the scholar's idealism. He asked, "How long would appealing to a higher authority take? And what of those killed in the meantime?"
"Ah... well..." Wang Gang was left speechless. Finally, he said resentfully, "You people simply don't understand how stringent the law is! This is precisely what it means for wandering heroes to violate prohibitions through martial force! And you even dress it up with fine words about how the greatest heroes serve their country and their people!"
"The greatest heroes serve their country and their people!" Xuantong's eyes lit up. He smacked his lips as though savoring a lingering flavor, then sighed. "Those words alone reveal Master Murong's breadth of mind and spirit."
Seeing that Wang Gang still wanted to argue, he hurriedly added, "This poor monk's journey has not been in vain! Many of my questions have been answered. I shall take my leave!"
"Ah! You're leaving already, Master? There are still many matters of Buddhist teaching I wish to ask you about. Why not stay a few more days?" Wang Gang looked as though he had not yet had his fill.
Hearing this only strengthened Xuantong's resolve to leave, and he firmly declined. Seeing this, Wang Gang could only have a servant prepare a boat. He stood on the bank to see him off, and even after the little boat had gone far away, Xuantong could still see him waving.
"Uncle, when is Father going to suppress the bandits? I want to go too!"
"Who said your father was going to suppress bandits?"
"You just said..."
"I was lying to that monk!"
"Then why did you seem so reluctant to part with him?"
"That was a lie too!"
"Uncle, are you a liar?"
"Remember this: there are two kinds of people in this world whose words you mustn't trust! One is beautiful women, and the other is men as handsome as your uncle!"
"Then which of the things you just said was true?"
"None of them!"
"Ah! Then why did you say so much?"
"What people in this world love most is watching respectable women sell themselves and persuading prostitutes to become respectable. Don't these monks love abstaining from greed, anger, and delusion? I'm going to make him break those precepts!"
With an arm around Murong Fu's shoulders, Wang Gang walked toward Canhe Manor, saying as they went:
"That monk doesn't covet profit, so I used fame to make him greedy. He doesn't grow angry at rudeness, so I made him feel anger through fear. He isn't obsessed with the mortal world, so I made him obsessed with chivalry!"
"But isn't he an eminent monk? How come he still can't let go of greed, anger, and delusion?"
"He's never picked them up, so how can he speak of letting them go?"
"Then why did you do that? He hasn't offended you!"
"As a direct heir to orthodox Confucianism, what I hate most is these monks who do no productive work yet urge others to let go of greed, anger, and delusion! This is called turning a man's own methods against him!"
"That's my family's supreme art!"
"Yours is merely a minor path in martial arts. Mine is the grand and glorious Way!"
"Uncle, I want to learn!"
"Bite off too much and you won't be able to chew it! Master your martial arts first. Let me test you! The kidney meridian and the large intestine meridian!"
"I know! One is one of the three hand yin meridians, and the other is one of the three hand yang meridians..."
The waterside lodge.
Li Qingluo had just finished eating. She asked the hideously ugly woman beside her, "Have you investigated? Is anything missing?"
"In answer to you, my lady, only a few account books are missing from the cabinet in Purple Qi from the East!"
"What a thief! He even stole my family's account books!" Li Qingluo slapped the table and rose, sneering through gritted teeth. "Clearly, he has his eye on my fortune!"
The ugly woman hesitated, then finally stammered, "My lady, those... those aren't our household's account books. No one knows where those books came from, and the accounts inside make no sense either!"
"Oh? Then why did he take... steal those books?" Li Qingluo asked in puzzlement. "There were so many martial arts manuals there, and he didn't even look at them!"
Rui'er's eyes turned, and she leaned closer. "I reckon the master wants to make up with you but can't swallow his pride, so he deliberately took some unimportant account books to let you find fault with him and vent your anger!"
"Hmph!" Li Qingluo turned her head aside and asked haughtily, "Where is he?"
"He hasn't returned yet. He probably had something urgent to attend to. I heard he rushed out by boat this morning!"
"Send someone to ask the steward when he'll be back." Seeing laughter at the corners of Rui'er's eyes, she added, "Tell him I'm still waiting for his divorce letter!"
Rui'er laughed. "Then you certainly won't be getting it! If he lost someone like you, Sister, even a heavenly beauty in exchange would feel like a loss!"
"You and your glib tongue! Hurry up and go!" Li Qingluo chided.
Rui'er was just about to leave when Ping'er came rushing in, panting. At the sight of Li Qingluo, she stopped short, her body pitching forward, about to fall.
Fortunately, Rui'er caught her in time and grumbled, "I told you those things were a burden, yet yours had to grow so big. Now you can't even walk properly!"
"I didn't want them to!" Ping'er felt deeply inferior.
"Enough!" Li Qingluo interrupted them and asked Ping'er, "What happened to send you rushing about in such a panic?"
As though only just remembering, Ping'er hurriedly said, "I heard people in the manor saying that something happened to Prince Duan..."
Li Qingluo sprang to her feet and asked anxiously, "What happened to him? What's wrong? Did his injuries fail to heal?"
Ping'er quickly shook her head. "His injuries have healed, but his internal power is gone. It seems his cultivation has dispersed!"
"As long as he's all right!" Li Qingluo breathed a sigh of relief, then asked somewhat nervously, "Where is he now?"
"They said several of his household retainers came and took him away!"
"Good!" Li Qingluo relaxed. With him in Gusu, she had been somewhat worried.
"The master is a gentleman. He wouldn't secretly attack Prince Duan!"
For some reason, Ping'er suddenly blurted this out, tearing through Li Qingluo's veil of shame like a pair of scissors!
She distrusted her own husband, yet worried about her lover instead!
Recalling her loss of composure just now, Li Qingluo felt a surge of shame and irritation. Seeing the others' gazes made her feel even more ashamed, and her humiliation immediately turned to fury. "Out! All of you, get out!"
They left the room. Once the ugly woman had gone far away, Rui'er glanced at the door and sighed, then told Ping'er, "If you like the master, you'd better act quickly!"
"What's wrong?" Ping'er looked utterly bewildered, then suddenly started. Had she said something wrong just now? Was Sister going to sell her?
"Ah, think about it yourself!" Rui'er patted her shoulder and walked straight away.