"You can trust my father to be correct. Although he may act a bit slowly, everything is meticulously planned without any oversights. As for me, I act on impulse and do whatever makes me happy, knowing that my father and elder brother will cover for me," Zhu Changle revealed about herself with remarkable self-awareness. "However, trusting me isn't a mistake either. I never let my own people suffer. So, the question is, are you one of us?"
"I am," Tang Ming answered firmly and without hesitation.
This pleased Zhu Changle, and she nodded happily. "If you're one of us, then everything can be discussed. If you want to go back, I can send you right away."
"I dream of going back, but I can't return like this."
A story was coming, and Zhu Changle perked up her ears, holding her wine cup.
"My original surname is Zhou, and my name is Mintang. My father passed away when I was four. My mother was weak-willed and easily manipulated by others. I secretly sent a message to my maternal grandfather, who came personally to take us back home. After that, I began learning medicine from him. When I was fourteen, my grandfather said I had an exceptional talent for medicine and shouldn't waste it. He sent me to Benevolent Heart Hall in Xinshui County to apprentice under Doctor Qiu, a renowned physician. Doctor Qiu initially had no intention of taking on another disciple but made an exception due to my talent. From then on, I followed my master, rarely able to return home more than once a year, relying on letters to keep in touch."
Tang Ming looked up at the ceiling. "Two years ago, the person who usually delivered my letters suddenly came to tell me that my grandfather was critically ill. Without much thought, I immediately packed my things and returned home. However, instead of seeing my dying grandfather, I met the head of the Zhou family, whom I should call uncle. He said that if I obeyed their orders, my mother and grandfather could live well. If I didn't, the three of us would continue to be a family in the underworld. Of course, I didn't believe it at first, naively thinking that as a member of the Zhou family, they wouldn't dare treat me like this. They showed me through their actions that they absolutely dared."
Tang Ming smiled bitterly. "They drugged my mother and brought her bound before me, then gave me the power to decide whether she would live or die, be violated or live peacefully. Miss Zhu, do you think I had a choice?"
Zhu Changle rested her chin on her hand without answering. The question was redundant – if it were her, she would have thrown anyone who touched her mother into the sea to feed the fish.
Tang Ming clearly didn't need an answer from her and continued, "I had no choice but to submit and follow their arrangement to enter Yunbei as their spy. They didn't care how I did it; their only requirement was that I must establish a firm foothold in Yunbei and relay information about the place to them, especially keeping an eye on Luo Ding. At first, I didn't understand why they chose me, but later it became clear. Firstly, my grandfather wasn't a native of Gu'an. In his youth, he worked at a medical hall and later married the only daughter of that family, settling down in Gu'an without any family connections, making him easy to control. Secondly, I'm a Zhou family member, so in outsiders' eyes, regardless of how close we actually are, I'm still part of the Zhou family. If I were exposed, I could never clear my name, and even if I told Luo Ding I was coerced, he wouldn't believe me. Thirdly, Yunbei is extremely hostile towards people from Gu'an, but I left for Xinshui when I was fourteen, and my accent had long since changed. With deliberate concealment, there's not a trace of Gu'an accent left, making it easier for locals to trust me and allow me to stay."
By this time, Zhu Changle was hugging a wine jar, taking occasional sips with great contentment.
Following this train of thought, she asked, "Did they bring you back and go to such lengths to have you stay in Yunbei as a spy because something changed in Yunbei, or why?"
"Luo Ding has dealings with Gu'an, I'm certain of that. As for why they want me to watch him, I understand it's because their operatives in Yunbei were somehow uprooted, and they suspect Luo Ding did it. So they went to great lengths to get me in to keep an eye on him. Choosing me was probably also because I'm a Zhou – they think family is more trustworthy."
Tang Ming snorted derisively, "It's ridiculous. They threaten me with my grandfather's and mother's lives, yet still think I'm more trustworthy than outsiders because I'm a Zhou."
"Does Luo Ding know about your existence?"
"He must have suspected me, given the suspicious timing of my arrival. But I don't go anywhere except to practice medicine. I'm not sure if he still suspects me now, at least he hasn't tried to test me or given me any trouble."
Zhu Changle made a mental note to tell her brother about this later. She took a sip of wine and asked, "What information have you passed to the Zhou family? And how do you send messages back?"
"Yunbei has a market every ten days, and someone comes into the city to find me then. Over these two years, I have sent some information back, but the only truly useful piece was telling them that Luo Ding has dealings with the bandits."
Zhu Changle sat up straight, "Is it true?"
"Yes, I saw it with my own eyes."
"Dealings with Gu'an, and dealings with the bandits too." Zhu Changle murmured, "How does this not make him look like a bad person again?"
Qiuli's lips curled up in a smile. Her opinion had changed several times already, and it was bound to change again.
"From what I've seen in these two years, because the bandits don't come ashore, Yunbei only has to face the water bandits, and the casualties aren't severe. According to Wu Jun, compared to the worst times, this is nothing."
Zhu Changle couldn't sit still anymore. She stood up, hugging the wine jar and pacing around the table. Facing two enemies, paying a price to deal with one group first under disadvantageous circumstances – although it's still a loss, it preserved the people. People are the foundation of everything. Luo Ding's approach was correct!
He is a good person.
Zhu Changle nodded firmly, agreeing with this point. She walked to Qiuli's side, saw his empty cup, and without thinking, filled it up. Then she hugged the wine jar and continued pacing, deep in thought.
Qiuli calmly picked up his cup and sipped slowly. Tang Ming swallowed hard twice, suppressing the reminder that had reached his lips. His eyes darted between the two until he met Qiuli's warning gaze, and he looked up at the ceiling.
Well, he had enough troubles of his own without worrying about others.
"Has the Zhou family given you any instructions?"
"They've asked me several times if Yunbei has produced anything new, if Luo Ding has shown any unusual behavior, and if Yunbei is training troops. I told them Yunbei hasn't produced anything new, there's nothing unusual, and they are training troops, about two hundred men."
"What's the truth?"
Tang Ming answered promptly, without concealing anything, "There's something strange about Yunbei's salt. I'm a doctor, and I'm naturally sensitive to tastes. The purity of the salt varies, which means there's room for improvement in salt production. But Luo Ding is keeping it under wraps. I don't know why he's hiding it, but I'm willing to help him keep it from Gu'an. Also, Yunbei is definitely training more than two hundred troops, though I don't know the exact number. What I do know is that their training is very different from what Gu'an thinks. I often go to the mountains to gather herbs, and I've seen bamboo forests disappearing one after another. I've also seen discarded long and short arrows and spears, but when they fight enemies, I've only seen them use spears and ordinary swords."
Zhu Changle walked up to Tang Ming with a strange smile, "You've kept some big secrets."
"They threaten me with my family. If they're not benevolent, I'm not obligated to be righteous."
"Well done!" Zhu Changle gave him a thumbs up, then turned around looking for a cup to pour him some wine.
Qiuli poured a cup of cold tea, "It's not time for celebration drinks yet."
Zhu Changle remembered Tang Ming's words and nodded repeatedly, taking the water over to him, "Then let's use water instead of wine."
