Chapter Six: Solemn Declaration

  The day after Yang Yu'er's incident, Chen Yingliang had also prepared dry rations for the road and decided to set off for Liaodong the next day.

  Chen Lao San still blocked and didn't want Chen Ying Liang to go to the Liaodong battlefield to take risks, no matter how Chen Ying Liang tried to persuade Chen Lao San, he was stopped with tears until Chen Ying Liang mentioned that the Chai family was planning to settle accounts with him after autumn. Chen Lao San, who truly cared about Chen Ying Liang's well-being, tearfully agreed to let Chen Ying Liang leave and even expressed his willingness to follow Chen Ying Liang to Liaodong.

  Chen Yingliang declined Chen Lao San's kindness, Chen Lao San was too old, going to Liaodong was a thousand miles away, and traveling with Chen Yingliang would not only be of no help but also become a burden to Chen Yingliang. So Chen Yingliang just left ten taels of silver for Chen Lao San to make ends meet, and said that once he settled down, he would immediately think of ways to bring Chen Lao San to his side, or at least send him living expenses. After much persuasion, Chen Lao San finally agreed to stay in Daxing, crying until the sky was dark.

  Out of caution, Chen Yingliang has decided to take revenge on the Chai family and instructed Chen Lao San that if someone from the Chai family comes to ask about his whereabouts, he should tell them that he went to Sichuan to join his grandfather's old comrades to seek development. He also fabricated a place name, a person's name, and a relationship to teach Chen Lao San, who remembered it with tears in his eyes. Chen Lao San also promised Chen Yingliang another request: if he is unable to make ends meet and has to contact Chen Yingliang again, he will sell or rent out the last small house of the Chen family and wait for Chen Yingliang's return.

  When the sky was completely dark, Fang Xuanling brought wine to Chen Yingliang's dilapidated courtyard again, bidding farewell to Chen Yingliang and bringing a handwritten letter of recommendation with promises. The meticulous Fang Xuanling deliberately did not seal the envelope, allowing Chen Yingliang to see the contents of the letter. In the letter, the future great minister Fang Xuanling lavished many praises on Chen Yingliang and earnestly requested his father, the currently prominent Liao Dong Jianjun Fang Yanqian, to make good use of him.

  Historically, whether Fang Xuanling had ever treated others with such esteem, Chen Yingliang truly did not know. However, in a situation where there was no benefit to the other party, he was able to receive such selfless help from the great man Fang Xuanling. The gratitude in Chen Yingliang's heart was difficult to express, and he could only raise his cup of wine brought by Fang Xuanling himself and say: "Brother Qiao Song, a great kindness is not spoken of in thanks. If I have a day when I rise to prominence, this great kindness, I will certainly repay a hundredfold! Borrowing flowers to offer to the Buddha, thank you!"

  "Brother, it's just a small effort, no need to thank me." Fang Xuanling smiled humbly and raised the old Chen family's worn-out wine bowl again, saying: "Come on, brother, let me toast you for this trip to Liaodong, may your journey be smooth sailing and your ambitions soar!"

  "Thanks, brother! Cheers!" Chen Yingliang replied with a smile, and together with Fang Xuanling, they downed the thin wine in their bowls in one gulp, with an air of grandeur.

  After drinking three large bowls with Fang Xuanling, they said some words of mutual care and entrusted Fang Xuanling to take care of Chen Lao San. Chen Yingliang suddenly asked: "Brother, this time Uncle wants to recommend you to Liaodong as an official, but since your wife is pregnant, you can't go. What do you plan to do in the future? With your brother's talent for governing heaven and earth, it would be a pity to stay idle for so long."

  "Take it one step at a time." Fang Xuanling, a carefree person, smiled and replied: "Although I also have some ambitions in my heart, I don't have the opportunity to display them, nor do I have your courage to venture out and take risks. I dare not seek opportunities on the battlefield of gold armor and iron horses. So for now, I plan to observe the situation in the city of Daxing first, wait for the right moment to arise, and then make a decision."

  "I remember that after Li Yuan's uprising, you came to Chang'an and joined forces with him. Your ability to judge people and seize opportunities is not bad." Chen Yingliang thought to himself, "Unfortunately, you only know how to wait for opportunities at home and don't dare go out to find them, so you're destined to be Li Er's deputy."

  After muttering to himself, Chen Yingliang took the opportunity to say to Fang Xuanling: "Brother, I have a word that I want to ask you boldly. If one day in the future you can rise to prominence and establish your own government, would you be interested in coming to my humble abode to show off your skills and fulfill your ambitions?"

  Fang Xuanling almost burst out laughing, thinking to himself that his younger brother was really interesting. He's already considering the staff of his future official residence and wants me to serve in his government, this is a bit too much. With a hidden smile, Fang Xuanling said: "Younger brother, you're thinking too far ahead. The position of main clerk or record keeper that I recommended for you is not just 17 or 18 levels away from leaving the official residence."

  "People without long-term plans must have near worries. It's a great talent like Brother Xiang, it's encounterable but not seekable." Chen Yingliang smiled and replied: "Now I only want to ask Brother for one word, if one day I really can open the government and build the government office, and Brother's official position is still under me, dare to ask Brother to promise, at that time must come to my government office to work."

  "All right, I'll accept your offer today." Fang Xuanling replied with a smile, "If you really have the day to open the government and build the government office, at that time, if you don't despise me for being shallow in learning, I will definitely go under your command to serve."

  "A slap on the palm is a promise." Chen Yingliang made an inch of progress, and simply raised his palm. Fang Xuanling smiled and stretched out his hand to heavily pat Chen Yingliang's palm.

  "A young man with great ambition, recommending you to become an official, I really don't know if it's right or wrong." House Xuanling muttered to himself.

  "It can only be done up to this point." Chen Yingliang also secretly sighed in his heart, "With my current situation, if I ask Fang Xuanling to follow me and recognize me as the leader, he might just slap me with a big ear slap. It can only be a temporary compromise for now, let's talk about it later."

  That night, Chen Yingliang and Fang Xuanling dispersed with joy. The next morning, which was also the fifth day of June in the ninth year of Daye of the Great Sui Dynasty, the gate of Daxing City had just opened, and Chen Yingliang bid farewell to his old friend Chen Lao San, who had been dependent on each other for many years, and set off on the road. Before leaving the city through Anhua Gate, which was closest to him, he took a detour with his horse alone, left the city from Yanping Gate in the west of Daxing, handled some affairs outside the city, and then rode his horse to head towards Tongguan in the east, officially starting his journey away from home.

  …………

  The mansion of Shi Chen, the governor of Julu County, was located in Taipingfang, near the Western Imperial City within Daxingcheng. On this fifth day of the sixth month, Shi Chen, who had once been Chen Yingliang's nominal father-in-law, kept twitching his right eyelid all morning, feeling that something was off, but not knowing what it was. As a result, Shi Chen even took out his frustrations on a maid, slapping her twice for spilling washing water.

  After noon, this feeling of unease grew even stronger. After finishing his shift at the palace, when Chai Shen led a large group of family members back home to enjoy the new thirteenth concubine, many people on the street suddenly pointed and whispered to each other, with expressions that seemed to be trying not to laugh. Chai Shen was completely bewildered, almost thinking he had worn his clothes inside out or accidentally gotten something dirty on his face.

  What left Chancellor Shi even more perplexed was yet to come. As he entered the Taipingfang Street, where the powerful and wealthy resided, he ran into his political rival, Crown Prince Zuo's Left Deputy, Pei Xin. Although Shi wasn't afraid of this greedy and lecherous colleague, who had grand ambitions but lacked talent, he also didn't want to overly offend the powerful Guanlong aristocratic family behind him, the Pei family. So, as usual, he nodded his head in greeting from horseback, preparing to ride past, but what Shi never expected was that Pei Xin, who normally relied on his family's influence to act haughtily, seemed to have eaten something wrong and actually took the initiative to block Shi's horse, engaging him in small talk.

  Pei Xin and Chai Shen were chatting, but everything they said was nonsense. The only official business they discussed was something that had already been settled in the palace two days ago. Chai Shen secretly laughed at Pei Xin's poor memory, but then suddenly noticed that Pei Xin's eyes were full of amusement. If he wasn't careful, his eyes would even narrow into a smile, which seemed both strange and mysterious, as if he had just encountered something delightful that couldn't be expressed in words. He was clearly laughing to himself, but unable to make a sound, feeling stifled and uncomfortable, yet also pleased.

  East one hammer and west one mallet chatted for a long time, until Chai Shen himself couldn't take it anymore and proposed to leave. Pei Xin led his entourage to bid farewell and leave, but after the two teams went far away in opposite directions, Chai Shen seemed to hear Pei Xin's inexplicable burst of crazy laughter again. This made Chai Shen unable to help but turn his head to look at the situation, seeing Pei Xin's team fleeing quickly like flying, Chai Shen couldn't help but curse in his belly, "Sick! Took the wrong medicine?"

  Delayed by Pei Xin, Chai Shen returned home to find that his son Chai Shao, who had also been on duty at the imperial palace today, had already arrived and was waiting for him at the gate. After helping Chai Shen down from his horse, before they even entered the house, Chai Shao whispered to Chai Shen: "Father, something seems off. On my way home from the palace, people kept pointing and whispering about me on the road, and they couldn't stop giggling."

  "What? You've encountered this situation too?" Chai Shen was taken aback, then quickly composed himself and asked in a low voice: "Has the matter between us and the Chen family been spread around by someone? Didn't I strictly order the servants and guards in the mansion not to mention this affair again?"

  "It shouldn't be." Chai Shao replied, "Just now, Xiu Ning has already analyzed it. If it was our household's slaves who carelessly let the cat out of the bag, this matter would only slowly spread, and it wouldn't be possible for everyone to know about it all at once, nor could it have spread so quickly."

  "Could it be that Chen fellow spreading the rumor himself?" Chai Shen asked cautiously - this was also what Duke Chai was most worried about.

  "It shouldn't be, right?" Chai Shao was also a bit uncertain and replied: "If that poor kid wanted to spread the news, he would have done it long ago. Why wait so long? Besides, we don't have any written marriage contract with the Chen family, just relying on a jade pendant. Even if that poor kid spreads the news, how many people will believe him?"

  "This is also true." Chai Shen thought carefully and found that it was indeed the case, with Chen Yingliang's current family situation and personal status, wanting to spread the news of the broken engagement quickly and make people believe it, was not an easy thing to do. Moreover, even if Chen Yingliang did so, during the period of spreading the news, he would not be able to avoid the attention of the Chai family in the capital, so Chai Shen quickly rejected this idea again.

  After a moment's thought, Chai Shen ordered: "Send someone out to investigate and see if there are any rumors on the market that are unfavorable to our Chai family. Also, after a while, think of a way to get rid of that poor boy and eliminate future troubles, but remember to keep it confidential."

  "I understand." Chai Shao nodded, and with a ferocious expression, he said: "Don't worry, Father. This time I'll take care of it myself, and settle that poor and arrogant little brat once and for all! He won't have a chance to rise again!"

  "Brother-in-law! Brother-in-law!"

  As they spoke, a fast horse suddenly rushed over from the end of the street, shouting loudly at Chai's father and son from afar, and only stopped beside them before entering the door. Chai Shen and Chai Shao turned their heads to look, but unexpectedly found that the knight on the horse was actually Chai Shao's wife's brother, Li Yuan, the second son of Tang Guo Gong, who was only 15 years old at that time - his full name was Li Shimin.

  "Second Brother, what's wrong? Why so anxious?" Chai Shao asked in surprise.

  Li Shimin didn't answer, he quickly whipped his horse and rushed to the front of Chai Shao, lowering his voice to ask: "Brother-in-law, does Qian'er have a pre-arranged marriage?"

  "What?" Chai Shao was startled at first, then quickly came to his senses, shook his head and said: "Is there such a thing? Erlang, don't listen to outsiders' nonsense. Your sister Qian'er is still in the boudoir, what engagement by pointing to the belly can be talked about?"

  "Nothing?" Li Shimin was also stunned, and asked in confusion: "Then why did someone post a solemn declaration on the bulletin board outside Yanping Gate, announcing that he had broken off his engagement with Qian'er? It was written so convincingly, with such detail, just like it was true, that half of Daxing City was stirred up."

  "What?! Chai Shao and Chai Shen simultaneously let out a miserable cry like a slaughtered pig, "That poor kid, posted a notice to inform the whole city?"

  "Right!" Li Shimin nodded and said quickly: "My younger brother heard it from the servants at home, saying that Yanping Gate was already in an uproar, with onlookers packed like sardines, my family members wasted their energy to squeeze in and saw it from a distance."

  "Go! To Yanping Gate immediately!" Chai Shen, the Duke of Chai Commandery, didn't hesitate at all. He rushed to his horse that he had just ridden back on and mounted it in a hurry, almost falling off as his foot slipped from the stirrup. His family members came over to support him but were kicked away by Chai Shen. Meanwhile, Chai Shao also quickly got on his horse with a gloomy face and rushed towards Yanping Gate together with Li Shimin and Chai Shen.

  Almost as if flying, they arrived at the outer gate of Daxing Yanping, where the commercial traffic was dense and the crowd was vast. The notice board in that area was indeed crowded with men, women, old and young people who came to watch the excitement, among whom there were quite a few servants wearing uniforms of noble families. Some people even read out the contents of the notice loudly, so that the illiterate common people could know the situation. Laughter burst forth one after another, and the noise of the crowd reached its peak.

  At this scene, Chai Shen and his son, who valued their reputation, turned pale with rage. They quickly dismounted their horses and rushed to the bulletin board to check the situation. However, the area in front of the bulletin board was already packed with people, making it impossible for the Chai family father and son to get close. In their anxiety, Chai Shen and his son resorted to using their whips to clear a path. As a result, those who were whipped became unhappy and asked: "Who are you? What right do you have to hit us?"

  "How dare you, don't you give way?!" A noble family servant suddenly shouted from the crowd, loudly saying: "This is the Duke of Chai, and also the eldest son of the Duke of Chai, daring to block their path, do you want to die?"

  "Is that the Chai family's father?" The beaten commoner suddenly turned from anger to joy, hastily retreated and gave way, with a smile on his face. Other commoners also exclaimed in surprise, retreating one after another, and in the blink of an eye, they cleared a path for the Chai family father and son all the way to the notice board.

  "Oh no, how is it someone from the Yuwen family?" Chi Zhen and Chi Shao both recognized that the person who shouted was a servant of Yuwen Shu, a high-ranking official of the Sui Dynasty. Their hearts sank even more, knowing that this matter would definitely be transmitted to the Yuwen family. But at this point, the Chi father and son couldn't care about so much anymore, they just rushed to the notice board to check the situation. As a result, not looking was better, but after taking a look, the lungs of the Chi father and son almost burst with anger.

  On the bulletin board, there was a very large and brand-new notice with neat handwriting, accompanied by punctuation marks that were rarely seen in this era. The text format was also completely different from ordinary notices of this era. The title was "Solemn Declaration", four big words that the father and son of the Chai family had never seen before.

  "I, Chen Yingliang, grandson of Chen Wandi, former governor of Xuchang County, am a native of Daxing, and reside at Qing Shi Street, Da Tong Fang, South City, Daxing. I hereby make the following solemn declaration:

  1. I have voluntarily cancelled my engagement with Chai Qian, daughter of Chai Jun, Duke of Julu and Right Inner Rate of the current dynasty. This is not because Duke Chai looks down on poverty and loves wealth, but rather because I am willing to acknowledge the marriage agreement made between Duke Chai's father-in-law and my grandfather. However, I have chosen to cancel the engagement with Chai Qian, who was betrothed to me as a child, and allow her to marry another man. I will not go back on this decision!"

  Secondly, Chai Shao, the son of the Chai family, came to my door and broke off the engagement. He forced me to hang myself but failed, and then beat me up afterwards. It was all out of love for his sister, not because he was bullying or oppressing a poor person. I understand this point very well, so I will never hold it against him. Please, Chai Shao, put your mind at ease.

  Thirdly, the father and son of Cheshire are planning to kill me after the storm has passed in order to save face, but this is just a rumor. I believe that the father and son of Cheshire would never be so ruthless and cruel.

  The truth of the above information, I am willing to take legal responsibility. For more details, please consult my neighbors, who will surely provide a satisfactory answer. I also welcome all artists to include my story in their books, and adapt it into plays, operas, or dance dramas for cultural exchange and dissemination. I will not charge any copyright fees nor pursue any copyright liability. This is hereby declared by Chen Yingliang, the former future son-in-law of Zhū Jiàngōng.

  "Scoundrel! Rascal! I'll have your dog's life----!"

  Roaring, Chi Sheng's eyes were bloodshot, his lips and whole body trembling. He stretched out his hand to tear down the poster, but unfortunately Chen Yingliang had deliberately stuck it on with a strong adhesive, so it was firmly attached to the bulletin board. Chi Sheng tried several times in vain, then drew his sword and began to fiercely chop at the bulletin board. Similarly, Chi Shao's eyes were also bloodshot as he drew his sword and chopped away without hesitation. The surrounding crowd of soldiers and civilians burst into thunderous laughter.

  "This Chen Yingliang, he's really ruthless! Even if the Duke of Qi was in the wrong, you didn't have to make things turn out like this, did you?" This was the first impression that Chen Yingliang left on Li Shimin.

  "Ying Liangxian, you're really ruthless!" The crowd's Fang Xuanling smiled wryly and reminisced: "However, the dots and circles you added to the text were quite ingenious, making it easier to read."

  "Take this bulletin board and smash it to pieces, burn it to ashes, not a single piece is allowed to remain!" This was Chai Shen's roar before he fainted, "And bring that rabbit son to me, I want to chop him up with my own hands!"

  By the way, although Chai's family servants burned the bulletin board to ashes, what made Chai's father and son furious was that on the same night, the seven city gates of Daxing Outer City were all posted with copies of Chen Yingliang's solemn statement! As for who ordered the original text to be copied and posted on the bulletin boards of the seven city gates of Daxing Outer City, Chai's father and son couldn't find out no matter how they investigated. At the same time, the current Crown Prince Zuo Nei Fu Pei Xin Pei could swear to heaven that although he very much wanted to get rid of the word "deputy", he was not willing to use such despicable means.

  It doesn't matter who is the one who kicked them when they were down, what's important is that the already notorious reputation of the Chai family has now reached a boiling point. The commotion was so great that even the father and son, Duke Chai and Shao, had to take consecutive days off work - they didn't dare enter the imperial city for fear of their colleagues' strange looks. At the same time, after inquiring from Old Man Chen, it was learned that Chen Yingliang had gone to Sichuan, so Duke Chai sent out a large number of private soldiers and guards, led by Shao himself, to pursue and kill him along various roads into Sichuan, saying that no matter what, they would capture the unworthy son-in-law Chen Yingliang who had tarnished their family's reputation and chop him into mincemeat!

  Also, accordingly, one of the parties involved, Chen Yingliang, also rose to fame because of this matter, rising to the point where his fiancée, Chai Qian, who had never met him before, gritted her teeth and said, "You scoundrel! Wait till I catch you, I'll cut you to pieces with a knife!!"