Chapter 3: The Lotus Treasure Classic

  The sedan chair had just left the Forbidden City when Shi Yingjiao slapped the horizontal bar with a loud "pa pa" sound. The eunuchs in green robes rushed over and, by the moonlight, saw that Shi Yingjiao's face was deathly pale.

  Tonight, Zhu Ping'an and Cao Wu Shang really gave Shi Ying Jue too many surprises and shocks. A humble birth from the Wang Fu family, he was able to recount the intricacies of the court and palace as if they were his own family's affairs. What's even more frightening is that he seems to know about the subtle struggle between himself and Lu Jiude, the eunuch in charge of Fengyang Town. As a result, his carefully planned all-out attack was like hitting a cotton ball, with no room for maneuvering.

  The Imperial Guard has sent several letters urging Shi Yingjue to resolve Zhu Yuqian as soon as possible, and the letter explicitly stated that Emperor Chongzhen would make appropriate adjustments to the officials in charge of each place. Whether Shi Yingjue can leave the imperial mausoleum, a place where birds don't even shit, depends on this time.

  But coincidentally, a Zhu Ping'an jumped out at this critical moment, causing Shi Yingjue to hesitate.

  A lone traveler and a sedan chair stopped quietly beside a ruined site outside the Forbidden City, with the dark shadow of Phoenix Mountain in the distance resembling a monstrous creature lurking sideways, creating an eerie atmosphere that was hard to describe.

  After a while, Shi Yingjiao said in a low voice: "Go and help me with two things. First, that little boy next to Zhu Ping'an is an inner official, you go and investigate his background, see if he has any connections with the palace. Second, investigate Zhu Ping'an's background for me, just a house slave, even if he is now a hundred households, where did he get such insight, find out who is behind him!"

  "Yes!" The eunuch in green replied: "Dry father, what about Zhu Yuqian...?"

  "The eunuchs in the imperial palace and Cao Gonggong from the Department of Ceremonial Affairs are demanding an explanation. Report back to them that within a month, Zhu Youjian will undoubtedly die!"

  ……

  "Master, that's a 2,000-tael silver note. I spent an entire month searching for it..." Cao Wushang looked very wronged.

  Zhu Ping'an hastily covered his mouth and raised an eyebrow, signaling him to calm down for a while.

  Zhu Yuqian didn't think much of it. Shi Yingzhao didn't dwell on the matter of secretly entering the high wall, thanks to Zhu Ping'an's series of knocks and threats. This also made Zhu Yuqian very curious - how did a 15-year-old boy know about these court personnel changes and palace secrets? Moreover, Zhu Ping'an wasn't just stubbornly resisting, but rather was using a combination of soft and hard tactics, grasping the timing and rhythm perfectly, forcing Shi Yingzhao to swallow his anger and retreat.

  "It seems that one still has to read some books after all. At least, it was absolutely right for Mr. Mu to be arranged as his enlightenment teacher back then!" Zhu Yijian couldn't help but think so.

  Although his heart was joyful, Zhu Yi's face remained calm and he waved his hand at Zhu Ping'an, "There's nothing to worry about here, you can rest assured. But outside, don't stick your head out again like tonight. Shi Yingjiao may be an inner official, but in Fengyang, his power is immense, not something a small hundred-household like you can handle. It's best to return to the military camp early and avoid any unnecessary trouble."

  Having finished speaking, he turned around and went back to his room with the support of Zeng's family.

  Zhu Ping'an and others escorted Zhu Yuqian and his wife away, only then did they release the bound Zhang Dagu. Zhang Dagu was a sturdy man, but at this moment he was still in a state of shock. After calming down, he jumped up and cursed loudly, "I'll kill whoever informed on me! If I find out who it was, I'll cut them to pieces!"

  Zhu Ping comforted him for a few words, and Zou Jing sent three people to the door of the courtyard.

  Zhu Ping'an suddenly stopped and pulled down the bundle on Cao Wushang's body, handing it over to the old eunuch Zou Jing, which made Cao Wushang very unwilling.

  "Zou Gong, the package contains some food, medicine and a few pieces of silver. You're taking care of Wang Ye here, it's really hard work. If you need anything, just notify the guards on duty on the 8th, 15th and 22nd of each month, I'll think of a way to send it in." Zhu Ping'an whispered to Zou Jing.

  Zou Jing's eyes turned red, and he made a gesture to pay his respects to Zhu Ping'an. Zhu Ping'an lowered his shoulders and supported Zou Jing's body with his arm.

  "Brother Da Lang, our family has wronged you greatly in the past. It's truly fortunate that you're not holding grudges against us... it's really... really..." Zou Jing's voice was choked with emotion, and he found it hard to continue speaking.

  Zhu Ping'an smiled slightly, "What are you talking about, Lord Zou? You and Steward Yao are both trusted attendants of the Prince and Princess. It's thanks to your help and care that they've been able to hold on until now. Steward Yao has already passed away, so for the sake of the Prince and Princess, you must take good care of yourself, Lord Zou!"

  Zou Jing was so grateful that she couldn't stop thanking Zhu Ping'an, pulling his hands and expressing her gratitude repeatedly.

  Cao Wushang's face was originally somewhat disdainful, but upon hearing the three words "Yao Gonggong", his eyes also dimmed involuntarily.

  ……

  On August 14th, before dawn broke, Zhu Ping'an had already jumped out of bed, washed up, and suddenly remembered something. He kicked open the door to Huo Toujun's kitchen, grabbed a few steamed buns from the steamer basket, and ran out of the camp like the wind.

  At the foot of Fenghuang Mountain, not far from the Imperial City, was originally the most prosperous area in Fengyang. However, since the bandit raids in Chongzhen 8th year, this place has become a barren land. Not far away, a solitary grave appeared on the flat ground amidst the trees.

  A figure in a green robe, Cao Wujin, held a sharp sword in his hand and moved back and forth on the empty ground in front of the tomb. The sword energy was all over the place, but his body was strange and elusive. As the sun rose above the horizon, its clear rays reflected off the blade, casting various colors, and his long robe fluttered, like a spirit emerging from the dust.

  Zhu Ping'an sat down beside the tombstone with a thud, the tombstone had been swept clean, the weeds on the mound had also been cleared, and on the offering table were half a roasted chicken and several steamed buns, three incense sticks in the censer wafted up smoke.

  Zhu Ping'an pulled out a small jug of inferior wine from his bosom, slowly pouring it onto the edge of the altar, still muttering to himself: "Elder Yao, I and Wushang have come to see you. Tomorrow is August 15th, please also indulge in some delicacies, this roasted chicken was squeezed out from between my teeth by Wushang!"

  Perhaps having heard Zhu Ping'an's "grievance", Cao Wu Shang retracted his sword, walked over with a dark face and sat down on the tombstone with a thud, ignoring Zhu Ping'an.

  Zhu Ping'an chuckled twice, "Wu Shang, your kung fu is really impressive, can you teach me?"

  "Cao Wu Shang's voice was icy cold. 'Alright, but in order to cultivate the divine technique, you must first castrate yourself with a knife. Can you do it?'"

  Zhu Ping almost choked to death on a bun in his mouth, "What the hell did Old Yao teach you, the Brocade Treasure Book?!"

  Cao Wu Shang was greatly surprised, "How did you know? However, the skill that my adoptive father taught me is not called Qihua Bao Dian, but rather Lianhua Bao Dian!"

  "What's more, there really is such a thing!" Zhu Ping'an suddenly roared towards the sky, "You scoundrel of a heaven, you might as well just give me a game over and be done with it!"

  After roaring for a while, Cao Wujian's face softened, and Zhu Ping'an said with a thick face: "Wu Jian, what's the point of saying anything between us brothers? It's just those two thousand taels of silver. Is it worth it? You haven't come to the military camp for three days in a row."

  As soon as he heard this, Cao Wushang's face turned black again. "It's easy for you to say that, young master! I spent two days and nights searching through the ruins, and finally found a warehouse of a merchant's store. After appraising the goods, I sold them to the gambling den and got these 2,000 taels of silver. And then you just handed it over to Shi Yingjue!"

  Zhu Ping'an chuckled, "Don't worry, the skills and unconventional methods that Master Yao gave you will definitely come in handy. I've calculated it with my fingers, and beneath the ruins of Fengyang City are all treasures! Think about it, the bandits only stayed in Fengyang for three days, and although they killed all the wealthy families, those families didn't have time to carefully search for their accumulated treasures over the past two hundred years. So, these things are destined to be left for us brothers. Once we find all the treasures and exchange them for gold and silver, we'll recruit soldiers and buy horses, and see who dares to show off in front of me again!"

  Cao Wu Shang shook his head, "Young master, you're really something. You've got money but instead of enjoying yourself, you're always thinking about making swords and armor for the Wei family's brothers. I just can't understand what you're thinking!"

  Zhu Ping'an let out a sigh and didn't speak again. What else could he say? Should he tell Cao Wu Shang that in just a few years, the Ming dynasty would change hands and all the people of the world would become slaves to the Manchu rulers?

  Just as he let out a sigh, the sound of horseshoes echoed from afar, and a man on horseback approached from a distance. "General Baihu, Commander Duan has an invitation for you!"

  Duan Xinyan, Commander of the High Wall Garrison, is already fifty years old this year, with sparse and white hair. He was born into the Tang Wangfu family generals, and it was due to Zhu Yujian's father Zhu Qizhen's promotion that he was able to take root in Fengyang. Before Zhu Yujian was deposed, he entrusted Zhu Ping'an to Duan Xinyan, arranging for him to be a hundred households in the High Wall Garrison.

  Although he was timid and afraid of trouble, he still had a conscience. This year, he took care of Zhu Ping'an meticulously.

  Duan Xinyan stood at the edge of the high-walled campus, looking out at the empty grounds where a lone formation of three hundred men stood. This was the three hundred military households under Zhu Ping'an's command.

  Fengyang military households, up to now and the various guards in the world are the same, have become a mere empty shell. The military household system passed down by Emperor Taizu is already an empty shell. To say that the Fengyang Guard, the officers make a living by eating empty rations, the land of the military households has been annexed by wealthy merchants and large families, leaving no way to make a living, and they fled one after another. The original 5,000-strong High Wall Guard now actually only has about 1,000 soldiers.

  The two remaining thousand households have become figureheads, except for the monthly routine meetings, they basically don't show up. Coincidentally, these two people are also sons of local wealthy families in Fengyang, and Duan Xinyue can't afford to offend any of them. As for the lower-ranking hundred households, there are only five left at most.

  In sharp contrast to this was the hundred households under Zhu Ping'an's jurisdiction. When Zhu first arrived, there was nothing distinctive about this hundred households, with barely less than five hundred people left, but in just one month, Zhu had already selected three hundred robust men from among them.

  It's not just that, but also unknown where he got the silver from, and with one person's power, he wrapped up the eating and drinking of these hundreds of people, making them all devoted to him like an iron bucket. In fact, the military household's thoughts are simple, as long as their family has food to eat, they are willing to risk their lives to fight. Duan Xinyue suspected that it was Tang Wangfu's private silver given to him, after all, the silver is his own, and he advised several times without seeing any reaction from him, so he just let him be.

  It was actually Zhu Ping'an's training of his 300 men that was getting more and more impressive. Every morning, they would run around the empty Fengyang Guard barracks for a dozen or so laps, then divide into small teams to start what was called formation training. At first, it attracted a swarm of onlookers from all over the Fengyang Guard, and in everyone's eyes, this was as entertaining as a monkey show.

  As time went on, fewer people came to watch, but Duan Xiyue felt that it was not as simple as it seemed. A team of 300 people, neither too many nor too few, in less than two months, a group of military dependents and mud-legged soldiers actually figured out the direction, lined up in rows, with unified commands, like an arm making gestures, and they looked exactly like elite soldiers. There was also the assassination training that had started just a few months ago, one person with one long spear, 300 people taking action, spears like a forest, the momentum was overwhelming, even Duan Xiyue, an old veteran, couldn't help but feel his heart tremble.

  Looking from afar at Zhu Ping'an and Cao Wu Shang rushing over like flying, Duan Xi Nian suddenly felt exceptionally relieved. As the trusted house general of the Tang King's mansion, Zhu Ping'an's identity was crystal clear. Originally thinking that these two young masters, one being the Tang King's illegitimate son and the other a small eunuch in the king's mansion, would bring unknown troubles when placed under his care.

  It was unexpected that these two people would manage the hundred households under their hands so vividly, and now in Fengyang City, the Ministry of War, the Governor's Mansion, the Military Guard and other places all know that they have a capable army under their command, making Duan Xinye also proud.

  As soon as he thought of the one imprisoned within the high walls, Duan Xiyue's mood immediately became heavy again.

  "Duan Xinyue asked Zhu Pingan, 'I heard something unexpected happened that night?'"

  Zhu Ping'an saluted and walked up to Duan Xiyue, "The master's words, for the time being, there won't be any trouble. However, to be cautious, the matter with Shi Yingjiao still needs to be resolved as soon as possible!"

  Duan Xinyue sucked in a breath of cool air, what status is Shi Yingjiao, and Zhu Ping'an actually dared to say that he would deal with him, is he really from the Wang Fu, doesn't he know the difference between heaven and earth?!

  Duan Xinyan's face turned stern, "Don't spout nonsense. In two days, the Governor will summon us. Lu Daren has a good reputation and is willing to help others, so let's ask him to mediate instead. Prioritize stability above all!"

  Zhu Ping'an was about to retort when a red-shirted messenger rushed in from the side of the school field, "General Duan's orders, Governor Lu urgently summons you!"

  "What's going on?" Duan Xinyue raised an eyebrow.

  "Just received an urgent report from the scout, the bandits have arrived with a strong wind, with 20,000 troops, and are now on the line of Lai'an, their military strength is pointing directly at Fengyang!"