Dear Brother, Your Chest Wrap Has Fallen Off - Chapter 7

The uncle and nephew each had their own thoughts. They walked on the blue bricks back to Chang’an Inn under the gradually setting sun.

Some Qiuci merchants gathered at the door of the inn, arguing noisily about something unknown. Zhao Yong’s wife, Mrs. Cao, was standing at the door with a smile on her face, responding to these people.

Seeing the two men coming back, Mrs. Cao only greeted Jiarou amiably, then turned and went into the inn, leaving the mess to Zhao Yong.

Zhao Yong’s face was filled with embarrassment. Not wanting Jiarou to see this, he simply said to her, “Go in and have a rest first. Uncle will talk to some old friends.”

She nodded, lifted her foot and walked in slowly. The noise started again behind her, alternating between Tocharian and Sogdian, vaguely sounding like “pay back the debt” and “how long will you owe it?”

She paused and wanted to turn back, but thinking of Zhao Yong’s stubborn look, she went inside again.

To her surprise, all six dining tables in the inn’s lobby were filled with people. The server had probably never seen so many people before. He was busy turning around pouring yogurt and serving wine.

Seeing Cui Jiarou enter, a burly Qiuchi man with high eyebrows and deep eyes, standing in front of one of the tables, raised his hand and called out in fluent Great Sheng elegant dialect, “Brother Pan!”

Jiarou’s eyes lit up.

It was Bai Wula, the leader of the Bai family caravan that she had been traveling with. He had indeed brought his men to stay at the inn!

Following Bai Wula’s shout, the other eight or nine burly men also called out enthusiastically, as if they had met their long-lost brothers.

The Bai family caravan belonged to an idle prince called Baiyin from the royal family of Kucha.

Although all the princes had become largely idle since Qiuchi’s paid allegiance to Great Sheng, Prince Baiyin was particularly idle. He had shown no interest in politics since childhood, focusing solely on accumulating wealth. A few years earlier, he had established a trading caravan business connecting Great Sheng with the western kingdoms, which had now expanded to over twenty branches. The majority of the silk and porcelain transported from the Central Plains to Da Shi and India passed through the Bai family’s hands.

Bai Wula, who called Jiarou brother, was the leader of one of the caravans. This time he returned to Qiuci to settle accounts, he accepted Jiarou’s invitation to visit the Chang’an Inn. He had booked five or six guest rooms and arranged for nearly ten of his brothers. They would rest for half a month, allowing the caravan’s wagons to be restocked with goods before setting off again.

Jiarou walked forward and exchanged greetings with everyone, then stayed at the side for a casual chat.

What everyone in the caravan was discussing was Prince Baiyin’s plan to find a tutor for his third son.

When the prince entrusted Bai Wula to travel far to Chang’an, he paid a large sum of money to bring a wise man who was well versed in poetry and literature to Qiuci to properly teach his young son so that his young son would not be laughed at when he traveled to the Central Plains in the future.

This was not a good job.

All nations paid homage to the Great Sheng Dynasty, and due to its tolerance, the Hu people had lived in Chang’an for several generations. Quite a few of them entered the palace to become concubines and entered the court to become officials. However, when people mentioned the nine surnames of the Hu people, they would still show disdain.

If third son Bai was in Chang’an, sincerely looking for a reputable teacher would not be difficult.

But wanting an honorable old sage ride on horseback over snow-capped mountains, down river valleys, across deserts, successfully avoid the horse thieves in Hexi, to finally reach Qiuci after repeated pits, even if the sage can let go of his status, his body might not be able to withstand it.

What’s more, it was said that in the previous three years, five teachers from the Central Plains had been driven away by third son Bai.

Everyone was lamenting, but Cui Jiarou pricked up her ears. “Does the teacher have to be a male? What about a female?”

“Are there still women serving as teachers in the Central Plains? That’s quite rare,” Bai Wula was confused by the question, but soon said, “Of course it has to be a man. It will be more convenient to go in and out with the young master in the future.”

At the entrance of the inn, Zhao Yong finally managed to get the debt collectors to leave after much persuasion. When he arrived at the lobby, he happened to hear Bai Wula introducing Prince Baiyin, “That’s the prince who raises the most flocks of sheep on the grassland…..”

“Is there any black dog in their house?”

“Not a single one. The prince likes white and has two large white dogs. They are very beautiful after their bath.”

Cui Jiarou’s almond-shaped eyes gleamed, “I want to go. This job is mine!”

Zhao Yong’s not-so-strong heart twitched, “No, we can’t be herding sheep for others!”

　　-

As the morning light rose in Qiuci city walls, the back door of the “Chang’an Inn” opened. A mule and a donkey carried Zhao Yong and Pan An out of the street respectively, followed the bluestone brick road, all the way out of the west city gate, and disappeared into the boundless green grassland of Qiuci countryside.

Soon after, the server in the inn cleaned the inside and outside and began to prepare to welcome guests.

Just after the hour of Chen, two male guests arrived. [7-9am]

One of them was tall and big, with a red face and a blister on his forehead and chin, which made him look particularly funny.

The other man was even taller than the one in front, dressed in black clothes and black boots, and was extremely handsome. However, his face was expressionless, and he was intimidating without even getting angry, making people afraid to act rashly.

Wang Huaian stood guard outside the inn. Xue Lang walked in, looked around the inn, and asked, “Is Mr. Zhao here?”

The server welcoming the guests had only seen his awe-inspiring figure from afar when the Grand Protector led the black-armored cavalry into the city more than a month ago, but he had never seen his face up close and did not recognize him.

Seeing that he had an extraordinary aura and his words did not sound like those of the inn’s guests, the server thought he was just a tough guy coming to collect debts. He made a few excuses and ran into the backyard in a flash, bringing the proprietress, Mrs. Cao, over.

“Excuse me, Madam, but may I ask if Mr. Zhao is here?” Xue Lang asked politely.

“He’s not at home.” Mrs. Cao had been troubled by the creditors who came to her house to demand repayments for the past few days. She didn’t dare to respond casually and just dealt with them. She waited for Zhao Yong to come back and let him deal with it himself.

“Pan An, eldest son Pan, who came to seek refuge with Lord Zhao yesterday, please ask him to come and have a chat.”

“He’s not here. He’s out looking for work.”

Xue Lang pondered for a few breaths, then patiently asked, “Where is he looking for work? How long has he left?”

Seeing this man from Central Plain continued speaking one sentence after another, with a certain persistence that he would not give up until he achieved his purpose, Mrs. Cao switched to Tocharian, “△○☆□%*&○☆□%…”

Xue Lang, “…..”

He had only been in Qiuci for a month, and although he had already begun learning Qiuci’s common language, the place was densely populated by foreigners, and the diverse and complex languages spoken there made mastering a language in such a short period of time a difficult task.

Since it was a matter concerning Fifth Lady Cui, he could only inquire about it secretly. It was inconvenient for him to bring an interpreter with him, and he was indeed stumped by the foreign language.

“△○☆□%*&○☆□%…..” Seeing that he didn’t respond, Mrs. Cao guessed that he wouldn’t, so she kept mumbling, not stopping for a moment.

Xue Lang no longer insisted, raised his hands and gave a farewell, “Thank you, madam.” Then he turned and left the inn.

The morning sun shone brightly on the streets at mid-morning. The early-rising citizens of Qiuchi were bored, so one played the piano and one danced, starting this peaceful spring day with cheerful music.

He looked at the people coming and going and remembered the small word “Rou” on the bronze bowl.

Where is General Cui’s legitimate daughter actually stranded at? Was she really kidnapped? The only way to find out is to look for Pan An.

Wang Huaian, unaware of Xue Lang’s true intention in coming to look for Pan An, offered a suggestion in a low voice, “Grand Protector, why don’t I take my men and wait here to tie up that brat?”

Xue Lang shook his head slightly.

If Pan An was an ordinary street scoundrel, if they wanted to get something out of him yesterday, they would not have allowed him to go free and wait for today.

But he was a descendant of a loyal and brave man, and he was also incredibly cunning. Both hard and soft did not work on him, making him quite a problem. If he was pushed too far, he’d start talking nonsense, and they’d be even more vulnerable.

They could only stabilize him first and then make long-term plans.

Xue Lang put the matter aside for the moment and continued walking forward, saying, “When will the tutors we’ve found for Prince Baiyin arrive?”

“The two new arrivals this morning have been arranged to rest in the Protectorate, and the last one should be here by this time tomorrow,” Wang Huaian responded. “Don’t worry, Grand Protector, we’ve found three people this time. Even if Prince Bai is picky, he’s guaranteed to choose one. This matter will be foolproof.”

Xue Lang nodded, “Let them rest for a while after everyone arrives. We will set off the day after tomorrow.”

  “Yes.”

　　-

The wide and straight country road extended forward, and at the end of the road, the sweetest Xichuan River in Qiuchi stretched across.

The legendary Prince Baiyin was reported to have built his mansion near the Xichuan River because he loved fishing.

It was still a little cold in the early morning of April. The strong donkey under Cui Jiarou snorted loudly, and Zhao Yong, who was riding the mule beside her, also sighed deeply, breaking the dullness.

“Tell me honestly, you are so anxious to find a job because you think I am financially limited and you are worried that you’ll add to the burden?” Zhao Yong asked.

“Oh? Uncle, why do you think I think you are not financially well-off? Have you always pretended to be rich?” Cui Jiarou waved her paper fan and asked with a smile.

Zhao Yong was left speechless and turned the tables, “Ah Rou, you’ve used up all your money along the way, you’re short on cash?”

Jiarou put away her paper fan and turned her head away: “No, I don’t know how rich I am.”

“Really not?”

  “No!”

The two impoverished guys exchanged witty remarks for a while, but neither could get any information out of the other.

The road under their feet continued forward. On both sides of the road, there was endless green extending all the way to the horizon. Clusters of apricot trees were like flourishing crimson clouds, vying for space on the raised hillsides on both sides of the valley.

The goats, cattle and horses seemed like pearls of various colors scattered on the grass slopes, some white, some black, some yellow, rolling endlessly on the magnificent grassland. The herdsmen lay leisurely beside their tents on the grass slopes, with the cold morning breeze blowing by, and the apricot blossoms raining on their bodies.

After riding for a while, the originally flat grassland was suddenly filled with countless adobe houses. They only had walls but no roofs, and they were closely packed together.

Behind the houses were large tracts of cultivated fields. It’s unknown what crops were planted on them, but some tender sprouts about an inch tall had already sprouted.

Nearly a thousand men were busy building houses and plowing the fields. In the frenzy, they had all taken off their outer robes, leaving only their undergarments and skirts. Even so, their attire still revealed them to be members of the Anxi Army.

“The Anxi Army has begun demarcating land and building houses according to the military farming system,” Zhao Yong said. “This patch of grassland has very solid geology. When General Cui led his troops to Qiuci, he chose this area as the place to station his troops.”

He looked along the line of houses, but saw that both the houses and the farmland came to an abrupt end at an arched stone bridge in the distance.

He let out a “Hey,” feeling strangely proud. “This place was originally the fief of Prince Baiyin. It seems that Protector Xue hasn’t completely subjugated Prince Baiyin yet. Back then, General Cui and his brothers built their houses across the Chang’an Bridge. Standing at the very end, you could see the prince sitting by the river fishing.”

He raised his hand and pointed to a spot. “Your father’s farmhouse used to be right there. It had two rooms. He would stay overnight there when he was not returning to the city. There are two cherry trees planted by the gate. The general said that when the trees grow and bear fruit, he’ll bring you and Madam Cui to Qiuci.”

She looked back and saw there were indeed two very lush trees with new buds where Zhao Yong pointed. She couldn’t recognize what kind of trees they were as they were surrounded by a courtyard, with only the treetops protruding from the wall.

But she didn’t like cherries.

The two men urged the mule and donkey along, and in another quarter of an hour they reached the Xichuan River. The water flowed joyfully, and an arched stone bridge spanned the river. The words “Chang’an Bridge” on the stone pier flashed before their eyes.

After crossing the bridge and walking in less than a cup of tea, they finally saw a huge Qiuci style dome-shaped village, surrounded by vast grasslands and trees.

Not far from the village, beside a tributary of Xichuan River, a Qiuci old man with half white hair and beard was sitting in the warm morning light, fishing leisurely.

Two snow-white, long-haired dogs were frolicking by the river. When they heard movements, they excitedly dashed towards the two people coming over.

“That’s Prince Baiyin,” Zhao Yong turned over and went down, saying to Jiarou, “This is the last time you are hitting the south wall. Once he rejects you, you are not allowed to toss around anymore.”

Cui Jiarou followed, releasing the reins in her hand as a white dog approached. She stepped forward, petted its furry head, and smiled softly, “The final moment has not arrived yet. Uncle, please don’t underestimate people.”

The author has something to say:

Cui Jiarou: “Sorry, the job of being the family’s teacher now belongs to me!”

Xue Lang: “This general is determined to succeed in this matter. I advise you boy, not to try any tricks.”

Cui Jiarou: “I’ll grab it!”