Xu Cripple, a crippled man who knew how to take care of horses.
Ye Suijin finally remembered this name.
"Call Xu Cripple to see me!"
Xu Cripple was brought to the side hall with anxiety and knelt down: "Greetings, master."
He was old and lame, but knew horses well. He made a living by working as a groom in Ye's Fort after selling himself.
"Stand up and talk." Ye Suijin said.
Xu Cripple's legs and feet were not convenient, he had to prop himself up before he could stand up. Duan Jin helped him up in the past.
After standing still, the female lord of Ye's Fort said, "Old Xu, I'll give you twenty taels of silver to buy the map in your hands."
Xu Cripple almost lost his balance again. He stared and said, "How did you...know..."
Duan Jin slapped him on the back of his head, "How dare you speak like that!"
Xu Cripple quickly apologized, but was still curious, "Master, how did you know I have that thing?"
Ye Suijin said, "I asked around and found out you came to Ye's Fort with two horses when you arrived years ago. Those were military horses and you were a veteran of the Xuanhua Army, right?"
The Xuanhua Army was long gone. Xu Cripple sighed as he thought back.
He was originally in charge of taking care of the army’s horses.
When the news came back that year that the military governor of Xuanhua Army had died and the troops were dispersed, his wife packed up and left with the guards protecting her to her maternal home.
As a woman, she could not take everything with her. By then, the stationed troops had already deserted their camps, it was clear something was about to happen. She left in a great hurry.
Fortunately she left quickly, otherwise the marauding troops would have rushed into the military governor’s mansion afterwards. They took whatever they could take, looted whatever they could loot, some even took maids back as wives.
As for the elderly, weak and disabled like Xu Cripple in the barracks, they could not compete with others. While others ate meat, he could only drink soup and scrounge for scraps.
Because he was unfamiliar with the layout of the mansion, Xu Cripple had wandered into the White Tiger Hall by mistake. The boxes were smashed open by those who went in before him, and they were full of incomprehensible documents strewn all over the floor. Xu Cripple was feeling despondent when he suddenly discovered this map.
As a soldier, how could he not recognize that the map was classified.
After thinking about it, he felt that "classified" was equivalent to "valuable", so he took it with him.
It was only later that he realized this thing was not easy to sell. Ordinary people simply had no need for it, and did not dare to want it either. However valuable it was, he could not find a buyer for it. He could only curse his luck. But he couldn’t bear to throw it away either, so he secretly hid it.
Later when he was almost out of food, he led the last two privately kept military horses and surrendered to Ye’s Fort, where he finally found a place he could spend the rest of his life.
Anyway, Ye Suijin now had the map in her hands! Her mood was indescribably good.
It was like sunshine.
Duan Jin craned his neck curiously from the desk: "Master, is this the map? So many lines, just looking makes me dizzy."
Xu Cripple walked too slowly, so Duan Jin was the one who brought the map back. The map was not a single sheet, but a whole set, packed in a wooden box. It was quite heavy.
"From now on, viewing maps will be prohibited under military order. Violators will be subject to military law." Ye Suijin said.
Duan Jin immediately retracted his neck upon hearing this.
Ye Suijin chuckled, "Come over and take a look."
The teenager grinned happily and went around to the back of the desk to see.
Ye Suijin pointed to the lines and taught him, "These are mountains, roads, villages, rivers... This shows how much the scale has been reduced. Comparing the distance between two places and calculating will give you a rough estimate of the route.”
Duan Jin flipped through it in awe of the intricate details of the map.
"Of course, this map came from the military governor’s office." Ye Suijin said. "It was commissioned by the imperial court in the past."
"The 'imperial court' is so powerful!" Duan Jin marveled.
Ye Suijin glanced at him and said, "The imperial court is the 'country'. It is powerful because it controls the largest territory, the largest army, and collects the most taxes. If you grasp these few things in one place, you become the most powerful one in that place too."
"At least you have to think about how Deng Prefecture and the common people are doing."
"Then you need a strong enough army to protect Deng Prefecture and govern it."
In the past, Duan Jin might have happily listened without deeper thoughts, after all these seemed distant. But after following Ye Suijin out once, killing the rioters, confronting the county magistrate, it was as if a window suddenly opened up for him, freeing his vision and heart from being confined by the high walls of Ye's Fort.
Just imagining it slightly, made his chest undulate.
Ye Suijin liked seeing the bright-eyed and unlimited future look on the teenager.
She smiled and then said solemnly, "Ah Jin, from now on, you'll be by my side hearing and seeing a lot of things."
"Firstly, you must learn wholeheartedly. What I teach you must enter your heart, memorizing is not enough, you have to be able to apply it flexibly."
"Secondly, watch what you say. Anything I don't allow you to say outside, not a single word can be leaked. This applies to everyone, including..."
"Zhao Jingwen."
Duan Jin was nodding vigorously, but was slightly taken aback when he heard the last name.
But Ye Suijin had already lowered her head, "Just remember it."
She flipped through and spread out the maps of Henan, Shan'nan and Huainan circuits, connecting the borders to view together.
"I remember around here..." Her fingers slowly slid across the map, and suddenly she exclaimed "Ha", stabbing hard at a certain spot, "I remember it now!"
“Fangcheng. It turned out to be Fangcheng.” She held down that spot, looked up and asked, “Who in the house is from the Xuanhua Army?”
Duan Jin thought about it, “General Xiang?”
"General" was actually a nickname. The man's surname was Xiang, his given name was Da. He was only a ninth-rank Brave and Righteous Captain in the Xuanhua Army.
Later, when the Xuanhua Army garrison rioted and deserted, he was unwilling to become a deserter. He wandered around alone for a while without prospects before seeking refuge in Ye's Fort.
Once when he was drunk he boasted that "if the Xuanhua Army was still around, I could at least make general", so people called him "General Xiang" for fun.
But Ye Suijin suddenly hesitated.
Duan Jin looked up, not understanding what was going on with her.
Ye Suijin released her hand and stared at the two words Fangcheng for a while. She asked Duan Jin, "What if someone more capable than me emerges in Ye's Fort in the future, and people no longer want to listen to me but turn to listen to him instead? Do you think I should be angry?"
She said it with a smile, but Duan Jin was still furious.
"Why shouldn't you be angry? You should be angry for sure!" He said indignantly.
But Ye Suijin murmured, "Not necessarily, depends on what kind of person he is.”
“If it’s someone from our own family, I'll be angry."
One's own family included close relatives like Uncle Ye and Cousin Ye Sanlang, as well as servants like Duan Jin.
If they were clansmen related by blood, they should have supported each other to strengthen the family with one heart.
If they were servants, they had the obligation to be loyal to their master.
"But if it's Mr. Yang and Xiang Da, I should be ashamed." Ye Suijin said. "A good bird chooses a tree to nest in. If they seek another master, it's because I am inferior to others, right?"
She said it with a smile, but Duan Jin was still furious.
"How could you be inferior to anyone. Who in Deng Prefecture doesn't know you, Master. I don't even know of anyone in Deng Prefecture more capable than you." His eyebrows shot up. "Who is this person? Bring him out and let me see."
The teenager was so adorable when he got angry, like a cat puffing up.
Ye Suijin's eyes crinkled into a smile.
"It’s alright.” She said approvingly. “Even if everyone else leaves me, as long as Ah Jin still follows me, I won't be afraid."
Duan Jin puffed out his chest, "I don't care about others. I’ll follow Master for life.”
Ye Suijin said, "Good, go call Xiang Da to come see me."
Duan Jin was about to run off when Ye Suijin called him again, "Think carefully about becoming my sworn brother."
Duan Jin raised his eyebrows, "No need to think about it. I'll be Master's servant for life, and I love being Master's servant."
With that said, he darted off without waiting for Ye Suijin to speak again.
It was getting late, yet Ye Suijin had not returned to the main residence. Zhao Jingwen asked around and was told she was in the study, so he went over to take a look.
On the way there, he bumped into Xiang Da.
Zhao Jingwen stopped and called out, "Brother Xiang."
Xiang Da was very skilled in martial arts. He used to be a military officer and was experienced in military affairs. Now at the Ye Family Fort, he was in charge of overseeing the guards.
As a joke, some called him "General Xiang". Those more familiar called him "Xiang Laoseven". Zhao Jingwen always properly addressed him as "Brother Xiang".
As an in-law, there were quite a few people in the fort who looked down on him. But Xiang Da had always had a decent impression of him.
The two stopped to exchange a few words. Zhao Jingwen asked why he was out so late and what he was discussing with Ye Suijin.
Xiang Da replied, "Oh, nothing much. She was just asking me about some of my old comrades from the Xuanhua Army. We ended up chatting for quite a while."
Zhao Jingwen felt a stir in his heart.
Nowadays, Ye Suijin made no attempt to conceal her ambition. Some of the older people in the fort still held conservative views, but she had stirred up fiery zeal among the younger ones.
Zhao Jingwen was fully supportive of Ye Suijin.
Could she be trying to win over the veterans of the Xuanhua Army?
He walked over to the study, but found two guards stationed at the foot of the stairs. Since when were there guards stationed outside the study?
As he lifted his foot to climb the stairs, the guards stopped him, "Please wait a moment, Sir. Let us announce you first."
Zhao Jingwen was surprised.
The guards told him, "New rules as of this afternoon."
Since these were Ye Suijin's rules, Zhao Jingwen had no objections and cooperated immediately.
Soon the guards came to usher him in.
Inside the study, many candle flames lit up the room brightly. His wife was sitting at her desk, busy writing and drawing something.
In the candlelight, her brows, eyes, nose and lips all looked so beautiful.
Her features were striking and imposing, with a natural aura that made him look up to her. Zhao Jingwen loved this about her.
But she was not the only one in the study.
A man was standing by the desk with his back to the door, grinding ink for her.
The man had a tall and straight figure, with broad shoulders and a slender waist. One glance revealed him to be a young man.
Neither of the two people in the study spoke, yet there was an implicit sense of intimacy.
Who was that?
For a moment, Zhao Jingwen felt not only confusion, but a rising sense of crisis.
