Chapter 89: The Governor Who Wanted to Become Jerky

A brief, fierce slaughter had come to an end.

Behind the county office lay the quarters where Yang Xuan and his companions stayed. The moment Yi Niang returned, she put everyone to work in a flurry.

“Old thief, go stoke the fire and boil water. Old Cao, bring out the wound medicine. Second Brother, Second Brother…”

“Yi Niang.” Wang Lao Er suddenly popped out from nowhere, gnawing on a strip of dried meat.

Smack.

Yi Niang slapped him, and Wang Lao Er immediately rolled his eyes and pretended to be dead.

“You still dare to play dead? Hurry up and buy some meat.”

With a cheer, Wang Lao Er dashed off.

Yang Xuan sat down, and Yi Niang carefully began to undo his official robe.

“It’s all stuck to the flesh with blood.” Yi Niang frowned in distress.

“Use hot water to soak it loose,” Yang Xuan said through clenched teeth.

The clothes were slowly peeled away. When Yi Niang saw the wounds on his shoulder and chest, she suddenly fell silent.

A warm tear dropped onto his shoulder. Yang Xuan froze, then smiled. “It doesn’t hurt that much.”

Yi Niang wiped away her tears. “How old is the young master, and yet he already has to lead a group of men into battle with those horse bandits? This servant’s heart aches.”

Yang Xuan smiled faintly.

Later, Yi Niang carried away a basin of bloody water and returned, saying, “This servant forgot, Young Master. We ought to have a good physician.”

“What about the physicians in the city?” Yang Xuan was thinking about the fight.

Yi Niang muttered, “The one this servant asked about is decent enough for livestock.”

“And for people?”

“Leave it to fate.”

So that was how it was.

Yang Xuan’s thoughts drifted to the capital...

...

The Imperial Academy.

Two students stood beneath a tree speaking. One of them suddenly lifted his eyes. “Hey! Look.”

His companion turned around and saw Zhou Ning.

A tall figure, fair-skinned, with a sanctity that even tortoiseshell spectacles could not conceal.

“It’s Assistant Instructor Zhou.”

“The youngest assistant instructor in the history of our academy, and a woman too.”

“Who knows which lucky man will marry her.”

These murmurs filled Zhou Ning’s ears, yet she remained as cold as ever.

When she reached An Ziyu, An Ziyu greeted her with a broad, beaming smile.

“I have a young relative here, about your age. The child is quite good, excellent at his studies, and plans to take the civil examinations next year. He’s said to have a very good chance. If he passes, he’ll become an official, with a bright future ahead. What do you think?”

Zhou Ning took out her lesson plan.

An Ziyu produced a portrait. “Look at him. I won’t say he has sword-like brows and star-bright eyes, but he is quite handsome, and he would suit you perfectly.”

Zhou Ning opened her lesson plan. “Registrar, please have a look. If there are no problems, I will teach the students like this.”

“Ah!” An Ziyu said in exasperation. “What am I to do with you?”

The lesson plan was approved, and Zhou Ning walked slowly through the academy.

Birdsong rang out, mingling with the voices of scholarly conversation, the ethereal and the noisy existing side by side.

Zhou Ning stood beneath a tree and reached up to adjust her tortoiseshell spectacles. Suddenly, she thought of Yang Xuan.

Many people spoke endlessly of benevolence, righteousness, virtue, and the bearing of a gentleman, yet when they looked at her, their eyes were filled with all manner of desire.

Yang Xuan, though fond of flirtatious words, had clear eyes.

“Assistant Instructor.”

A minor clerk hurried over, panting. “There is a letter for you.”

“For me?”

Zhou Ning had not received a letter in a very long time.

She took it and opened it.

Assistant Instructor, though the written words are before us...

It was... Yang Xuan!

After arriving in the north, there have been many more bird nests in the trees, something not seen in the south. The northern scenery in autumn is rather fine to behold, though some say that by winter everything is bare, and the air becomes grim and desolate.

Is the north truly like that?

Zhou Ning tilted her head slightly, imagining that bleak and forbidding landscape.

Then she lowered her head and continued reading.

Some say Chen Prefecture is a perilous place, vast and sparsely populated, full of foreign tribes and horse bandits. The previous county magistrates all fled, each one faster than the last.

Zhou Ning lifted her gaze, a trace of melancholy entering her eyes.

She had investigated the situation in Chen Prefecture and knew it was a place beyond the reach of law, dangerous beyond measure.

Yang Xuan had gone there with only a few men. What would he do if they encountered horse bandits?

The road ahead is long, filled with unknowns and danger. I, too, have hesitated, and I, too, have once wanted to turn back.

A note of sorrow rose in Zhou Ning’s heart.

“Whenever I waver, I turn back toward the capital, and in that moment I think of you.”

Zhou Ning stood beneath the tree for a long time...

...

“Send orders to every post. Be vigilant, and even more vigilant.”

“It is autumn now. The sky is high, the horses fat, and those horse bandits and foreign tribes, so as to survive the winter, will come out madly to plunder. Whoever loses a city, no need for the capital to act—the old man himself will butcher him!”

The county seat of Lin'an was the seat of Chen Prefecture’s provincial offices.

Every day, common folk would deliberately pass by outside the offices and then stop to listen.

This was one of those times.

More than a dozen townsfolk stood outside, straining to hear.

When they heard the roar from inside, an old man said with certainty, “The governor is full of spirit! No need to worry about this year. Come, let’s go.”

A group of townspeople left cheerfully.

Inside the offices, Governor Liu Qing’s bellowing made the clerks tremble with fear.

Returning to his workroom, Deputy Governor Lu Qiang served him tea and said, “Governor, you should rest a few days as well. Your throat can’t take this.”

Liu Qing drank a mouthful, and his smoke-scorched throat felt somewhat better. He shook his head. “Chen Prefecture is a place beyond the reach of law. Northern Liao has no interest in it; the court has nearly forgotten whether Chen Prefecture is still part of Great Tang; and the local officials are halfhearted as well. Under such circumstances, if I do not roar, people’s hearts will scatter.”

Lu Qiang gave a bitter smile and touched the knife scar on his face. “The capital also does not know what it is thinking. Northern Liao is recovering, and the number of border raids grows more numerous every year. This is clearly a test.”

Liu Qing sat upright and sneered. “Once Great Tang shows a weakness, Northern Liao will invade in force. What does that remind you of?”

“A wolf!”

Lu Qiang said quietly, “I’m afraid this year will be even harder. Especially in Tai'an County—what sort of background that county magistrate has, we still do not know. A young magistrate, plus a band of vicious criminals. Every time I think of it, my eyelid twitches wildly, and I fear the first bad news of the year will come from there.”

“Go ask after it.”

Liu Qing said in a relaxed tone, “I do not think of much else. I’ll just take each day as it comes. When I retire, if Chen Prefecture remains intact, then I will have done right by the emperor and right by Great Tang.”

“Governor!”

Someone was running outside.

Liu Qing roared, “What are you panicking for? The sky hasn’t collapsed, and if it does, I’ll hold it up!”

A clerk rushed in, his face bright with joy.

“Governor, Tai'an County has sent a messenger to report victory.”

Lu Qiang froze. “Bring him in.”

Liu Qing sat straighter and said softly, “If they only killed a few petty thieves and still dare call it a victory report, I’ll deal with him myself.”

The one who entered was Hu Zhang.

“Greetings to the governor, greetings to the deputy governor.”

Liu Qing said impatiently, “Get to the point.”

“Yes.” Hu Zhang shivered. “Two days ago, the horse bandit Deng Hu led a force of more than three hundred riders in a surprise attack on our Tai'an County. The magistrate directed everything with great calm and, in one battle, routed the bandits.”

“Deng Hu?” Lu Qiang jolted. “Tai'an County has only fifty soldiers. How could they have routed the horse bandits?”

Hu Zhang said, “At first the horse bandits surrounded the city, and the situation was dire. The magistrate led a few men down to meet them and was nearly encircled and slain...”

“Foolhardy,” Liu Qing said, narrowing his eyes slightly. “Still, courage commendable. Did those prisoners seize the chance to make trouble?”

“The magistrate was charging at the front, and those prisoners suddenly rushed down as well. Then they formed ranks and defeated the horse bandits.”

Lu Qiang was stunned. “Those damned dog-slaves would rather see the city fall so they could escape. Why would they go?”

He glanced over and saw that Hu Zhang’s eyes were full of pride.

“They said, whoever protects us, we will protect in return.”

The room fell silent.

“The previous county magistrates came to take office halfheartedly. Whenever they met horse bandits or foreign raiders, they would panic into confusion, and some even fled on the spot... who would care about those prisoners?” Lu Qiang said softly. “But this young magistrate moved them with his fervent blood.”

“Good!” Liu Qing’s face glowed. “Someone!”

A clerk came in, and Liu Qing ordered, “Send another thousand jin of dried meat to Tai'an County. Take a message as well—tell Yang Xuan that this is what I said: whatever means he uses, I don’t care, but he must get through this year first. If he gets through it, I’ll invite him to drink. If he doesn’t... I’ll invite him to eat my knife.”

The clerk looked troubled. “Governor, we’ve already given Tai'an County quite a lot. Other places may receive less this year, and the local offices will complain.”

“Tell them this: whoever can make merit, there will be plenty of dried meat.”

The clerk smiled wryly. “I’m afraid there still won’t be enough.”

Liu Qing’s roar once again shook the skies above the prefectural offices.

“If it’s not enough, then I’ll pickle myself!”