Chapter 4
Yong Yin territory.
Aman River.
Feng Ming reminisced about the battle at Aman River and how people had named him as the Teacher of Warfare. It was also on the Aman River that Lu Dan kidnapped him from Rong Tian, causing Rong Tian to lose the throne, but yet brought smallpox to Dong Fan. Both nations had suffered a huge loss.
Because of these events, listening to the sound of the Aman River flowing beneath him was very difficult for Feng Ming.
Right now, he is sitting on the large luxurious ship of the Xiao Family, sailing along the Aman River, traveling to different nations, a wonderful trip he had never had before.
On the deck of the ship, there’s a small table and a tray of fruits along with hot tea. Feng Ming and the maids were enjoying the view and entertainment. Chiu Yue was a bit upset with Feng Ming, since he didn’t seem to pay attention to her singing. Chiu Lan, who was half sitting on the carpet was knitting a cloak for Feng Ming and told Chiu Yue that Duke Ming must be thinking about His Majesty.
“No, I’m not.” Feng Ming’s handsome face flushed red, he walked towards them, removed his boots and followed Chiu Lan’s way of sitting on the carpet, “I was thinking about how to complete the task that my weird dad has assigned to me.”
“Young Lord, please be careful with your speech.” A voice with a guarded tone that can make anyone jump was suddenly heard beside him.
Feng Ming and Chiu Lan raised their heads in surprise, their eyes met with the stern young face of Luo Yun.
Luo Yun coldly continued, “Master is the number one swordsman in the world and is wellrespected by everyone wherever he goes. Young Lord is the son of Master and also the successor of the Xiao Family’s business, how can you use such a disrespectful tone to talk about the Master?”
Luo Yun was arranged by Luo Ning to be Feng Ming’s bodyguard, therefore, he always has to be with Feng Ming as if glued to him, it’s no different than Rong Hu. Unfortunately, his attitude compared with Rong Hu is thousand times worse.
Unsure of which part of Feng Ming irritates him, all day he would stand there silently with a gloomy face. If he does make a sound, it will be very harsh words.
Because of one word he inadvertently said, Feng Ming got scolded, his bitter face secretly thought, ‘The swordsmanship is not bad, but the words: wellrespected by everyone, needs to be reexamined.‘
But as the son of that man, having a subordinate under the Xiao family admiring Master Xiao in front of him, Feng Ming has to pay special attention to the words he say so he admitted his fault humbly, “You’re right, I was wrong. I’ll correct myself.” Turning to Chiu Lan, Feng Ming had a serious face, “I was just thinking about the request my father made.”
The three maids have been irritated with Luo Yun’s bad attitude for a few days now so they decided to completely ignore his existence. They asked Feng Ming, “What request did your father mention? Have we heard about it before?”
FM: He wants me to open up a safe route of transporting the luminescent sand within a year.”
CY: It’s just creating another water route. The Xiao Family has a shipping business so there must have been a lot of safe water routes already, unless there is something missing? That is a very weird request.”
Chiu Yue deliberately mentioned the word “weird” and sure enough, Luo Yun snorted upon hearing it.
Chiu Xing pretended not to hear Luo Yun and purposely asked, “Is this really a difficult task for the Holy Master Xiao? It’s just finding a safe water route. He is the world’s finest swordsman, wellrespected everywhere, isn’t he?”
CL: No need to worry. Duke Ming is very smart. No matter what task Holy Master Xiao assigns, our Duke Ming will accomplish it. Otherwise, why would Master Xiao give the whole Xiao Family business to Duke Ming? If he already accepted Duke Ming as his son and gave him the nautical map, then he already believes in Duke Ming’s ability.
CY: (nodded) Therefore, all of the Xiao family’s assets from the ship vessels, property, houses, men, are all supervised by Duke Ming. Duke Ming is the best.
CL: Of course.
Speaking of vindictiveness, how could Luo Yun win against the three palace maids who grew up within Xi Lei palace?
Although Luo Yun’s face was ashen, his restraint was quite fearful that he was not angry, still standing upright to the side without looking away.
Feng Ming felt a bit wary and scolded the girls for talking too much. They finally got back to the topic of transporting the luminescent sand within one year.
CY: Then you haven’t thought of how to do it yet?
FM: So far, I just know that the luminescent sand is produced in Dan Lin and transporting it is not an easy task. Other than that, I don’t know anything else, so how can I think of a good method?
CX: Shouldn’t this be simple? Isn’t the Xiao Family’s fleet of ships very powerful? We can ask Luo Deng, he must know the answer.
After calling for Luo Deng, he came over and told them about the overall story regarding the transportation of the sand from Dan Lin. While spreading the map on the table, he explained to Feng Ming and the others.
LD: The island of Dan Lin has a narrow and long shape. It’s a relative distance from our mainland. If one starts from Bei Qi, Bo Jian, Tong Kingdom or Xi Lei, he can reach Dan Lin. However, the quickest way to Dan Lin is still...
CL: Tong Kingdom? Is it the place we should be heading to now?
CY: Duke Ming hasn’t decided yet, he said we need to see the overall situation first. That reminds me, the night before, Duke Ming was really amazing. You were standing on the bow of the ship, in front of everyone, expanding your chest and saying that this trip is to unite the world as one and not leading oneself into death. It really made everyone excited.
Another faint but audible snicker came from someone. Apparently, it was from Luo Yun.
FM: (feeling embarrassed) You don’t need to recall that night. Try not to interrupt others while they are speaking. Be careful, for Luo Deng might be angry and roll up the map without teaching us.
LD: I wouldn’t dare. The strait that is between Dan Lin and the mainland is called... CY: It’s the Mo Eastern Strait!
Feng Ming stared at Chiu Yue, she smiled tenderly.
CY: Aiya, I know my mistake, I won’t interrupt next time.
LD: Starting from the mainland and traveling along the Mo Eastern Strait, we’ll reach the Dan Lin shore, which is the fastest and most convenient way.
FM: Then, we follow along the Mo Eastern Strait and head forward on this fast and convenient way.
Feng Ming suddenly noticed that Luo Deng didn’t respond, so he asked, “Is there a problem? Oh, I know, could it be that this current ship can’t go past the Mo Eastern Strait?”
LD: (shook his head) If we want to sail across the Mo Eastern Strait, this ship is large enough to do so. In the past, we have started from Xi Lei and Tong Kingdom to reach Dan Lin successfully.
FM: Oh? Successfully? Then why do I need to set up a new water route?
Could it be that this strange Holy Master Xiao finally has a bit of fatherly love, deliberately picking a matter that has been resolved as a condition to becoming a successor, a wonderful compensation for he felt guilty not raising his own child?
LD: Although the ship successfully reached Dan Lin, the problem was spending a large amount of gold to buy a ship full of luminescent sand, which was robbed by pirates. The Mo Eastern Strait is the pirate’s territory. I heard that there are four to five large main pirate groups. Smaller groups of pirates are countless. If we want to use this route to return safely, I’m afraid it’s impossible.
Feng Ming was dumbfounded.
That’s right, he finally came to understand a bit about Xiao Zong. This famous Holy Master is definitely someone who is guiltless.
Pirates!
Chiu Yue uneasily asked, “The pirates would even dare rob from the Xiao Family’s ships?”
LD: The largest power the Xiao Family’s fleet holds are within the inland nations. The pirates, who are born at the sea, live among the sea with roaring the waves every day. They almost inherently know how to take advantage of the vagaries of the sea and send their opponents to their death. The Mo Eastern Strait has reefs, shallow water and changing currents, which they are well aware of. After all, we are mostly inland people. Dealing with navigation and naval battles, how can we compare to them?
CY: Could it be that even though the ship was robbed by pirates, Master Xiao can just easily forget about it?
Speaking of this, Luo Deng wrinkled his eyebrows, revealing an expression he dare not recall, “The pirates of the Mo Eastern Strait are notoriously cruel. Robbing a ship of luminescent sand is not a problem, but they didn’t even spare a single person. Slaughtering everyone on board. After half a month, when the ship drifted downstream to the coast of Bo Jian did we learn about the news. Ah, that time the scene on the ship was really tragic...” He gritted his teeth before continuing, “After our Master got the news, he was furious. He immediately sent for the largest and sturdiest ship, prepared a variety of food and weapons, and swore that he would kill all of those ruthless pirates.” Reaching to that part, he suddenly stopped.
Everyone who was listening at this point were uptight, “And then, what happened?” Even Chiu Lan took interest in the story and raised her head to listen to Luo Deng.
Although Luo Yun’s expression did not change, his ears perked up, apparently also listening to Luo Deng’s story.
Luo Deng continued in a low voice, “I was waiting at the shore when the ship returned. The number of Xiao subordinates at that time was a total of 170 people; when returning Master was the only one remaining on board. Both the inside and outside of the ship were covered in blood and hundreds of strange markings as if they were violently attacked.”
CY: What really happened on that ship?
LD: After Master left the ship, he never spoke about it so who would dare ask? After that point on, no one mentioned about delivering the luminescent sand.
No need to ask, Xiao Zong’s pride was damaged that day. However, it was his unparalleled swordsmanship that saved his life.
Feng Ming gasped.
His face was a bit pale. Xiao Zong couldn’t accomplish this task, so he gave this task to him?
Anyway, there is only one truth, which is, you can be anyone, but you definitely cannot be the son of a demented person.
LD: The luminescent sand is a precious material to cast sharp weapons. It is a very essential item for every nation. As long as it can be delivered, no matter how expensive the cost, there are people who are willing to buy it. However until now, besides the small handful of two bags, there is no one who has the ability to transport a whole ship back.
At this time, Rong Hu appeared and listened in. In fact, he had heard Xiao Zong mentioning about the luminescent sand.
Xiao Zong requesting Feng Ming to open up a safe route for transporting the sand was something he already knew. Although the journey back is a bit difficult, he still couldn’t imagine that even Xiao Zong had trouble trying.
RH: If the pirates of Mo Eastern Strait are out of control, how did Xiao family’s ship successfully arrived in Dan Lin?
LD: Although the luminescent sand is extremely valuable on the mainland compare to gold, in Dan Lin the sand is abundant. In fact, their whole shore is filled with luminescent sand. But according to regulations, if merchants were to purchase the sand, they need ask Dan Lin department to buy it. Overall, one pound of gold can get you two pounds of sand, of course the pricing is very demanding, but as long as it can be brought back, we can put one pound to pound, double the price of gold to sell and resell it for 19 times more. Our ship is specially manufactured for the sea, not only it is large, but it can also travel at a fast speed. There is rarely any ships that can catch up to us. At the time of departure to Dan Lin, we were carrying one hundred pounds of gold; the speed of the ship was not hindered. The men onboard the ship were intelligent sailors. If they saw a problem, they would increase the speed and escape from the
pirates. However, on the journey back, the one hundred pounds of gold turned into two pounds of extremely heavy sand.
Everyone suddenly realized the issue.
A ship carrying a heavy load would be hard to escape the pursuit of pirates.
Once Luo Deng finished, the deck went silent.
Feng Ming felt miserable, thinking that he should have enjoyed the view instead of talking about opening a route to transport the luminescent sand.
Luo Yun who hadn’t spoken, sneered at this moment and asked, “One year, that time will pass by quickly, does Duke Ming have a solution to this problem?”
To get Feng Ming’s mind off of the whole dodging pirates and finding a new water route task, Chiu Yue diverted everyone’s attention to a harbor and asked Luo Deng what place is it.
Luo Deng tells them that this is the largest harbor in Yong Yin and is called Fen Cheng, where many merchants do their trading and where the Xiao’s usually unload their cargo. Although Fen Cheng can’t be compared to the capital of Yong Yin, it is still very lively.
LD: Without prior news, we will not enter the Tong territory, so right now we have a lot of free time, does everyone want to take a detour at Fen Cheng for a bit?
Chiu Xing and Chiu Yue urged Feng Ming to make a stop at Fen Cheng. Feng Ming frowned, looking over at Rong Hu, “Can we really go?”
Under the close supervision of the two factions of bodyguards, the luxurious and comfortable ship became an impenetrable cage. The three palace maids, Chiu Lan, Chiu Yue and Chiu Xing, along with the three guards, Luo Yun, Luo Deng and Rong Hu, they were like six tall plasters stuck together, not leaving his side. In addition, ten more guards surrounded each side, with a total of twenty strong bodyguards around him. An impressive steel wall that brought Feng Ming to tears – those who saw him from the outside wouldn’t understand. They would probably think that he is too arrogant and despotic; that he had offended so many people and that many assassins are constantly trying to kill him. Therefore, he needs all these people to protect his little life. A very pathetic situation indeed ~
As for night time, Rong Hu and Luo Yun would stay beside his bed and look after him.
The feeling of being watched while sleeping made Feng Ming very uncomfortable at night. He repeatedly issued a protest, but Rong Hu said, “His Majesty reminded us that even when Duke Ming takes a bath, we are to look after him every second. At present, I have loosen up the order
quite a lot. If Duke Ming continues to have an opinion about it, I can only retreat to the strict orders that were handed down by His Majesty and follow it accordingly.”
After saying that, Feng Ming didn’t dare to protest anymore. So now, whenever he wakes up in the middle of the night and if it isn’t Rong Hu’s face that he sees, then it will be Luo Yun’s cold expression, complex eyes and a poker face staring back at him.
Feng Ming looked at Rong Hu piteously.
Rong Hu was amused by his expression and chuckled, “You can stop by and enjoy Fen Cheng, but the guards will follow closely behind and Duke Ming must ensure to not cause trouble along the way.”
“Of course, of course.” Chiu Yue nodded in behalf of Duke Ming, “Also, Duke Ming will ensure that he will not be left behind, he won’t secretly leave out of our sight and will follow the rules.”
Feng Ming pinched Chiu Yue’s face for teasing him, but that helped him take his mind off of the luminescent sand task.
As everyone nodded their heads in agreement, Feng Ming and the rest turned to look at Luo Yun.
This person would usually oppose to everything Feng Ming says so it would be natural for him to interfere with this.
Luo Yun stood to one side, seeing how everyone’s eyes were upon him, he asked coldly, “What?”
“That...” Feng Ming swallowed his saliva and carefully asked, “Should I be able to take a stroll in Fen Cheng? You see, Luo Deng said that there’s no problem with the schedule and this harbor is also one of the main transshipment point of the Xiao’s.”
Feng Ming doesn’t know why but although Luo Yun is much younger than him, he emits a cold aura that no one would dare to look down upon.
The first time he met, he felt that Luo Yun’s father, Luo Ning, had an aura that was even more cold than his, but for these past days, if Feng Ming carefully examined him, he felt Luo Yun had exactly the same energy.
The outside appearance can be described as cold, but in other words, it’s an extremely unspeakable chilliness down to the bones.
Besides Feng Ming, the three palace maids are not in support of his coldness. They all feel that Luo Yun is bullying others and doesn’t understand the meaning of hierarchy.
Luo Yun glanced at Feng Ming and seemingly didn’t want to create eye contact, so he casually looked past him and answered, “You are free to go wherever you want, Young Lord. We as subordinates, don’t have the qualifications to interfere.”
Feng Ming was overjoyed.
If it was Luo Yun’s dad, then that Luo Ning would be angrily grumbling about it all day.
Taking advantage that Luo Ning is on a different ship and doesn’t have a say in this, everyone quickly went to prepare to disembark.
Luo Deng rolled up the maps and sent a command to his men to raise the banners in the helm and bow of the ship. It is to notify the ships with cargo to also prepare to disembark at the dock.
Feng Ming was dragged inside by Chiu Yue and Chiu Xing to change into a different outfit. When he went outside, he saw Chiu Lan was still stitching his cloak. Chiu Lan wanted to finish it up, but Chiu Yue told her to finish it after they come back from touring around Fen Cheng.
After stepping off the ship, Feng Ming enjoyed the scenery for a bit before a middleaged man suddenly came running towards them. Before he could reach Feng Ming, he was stopped by Xiao’s bodyguards. Luo Deng told them to let him through and explained to Feng Ming that this man here is the city official of Fen Cheng pier. He is in charge of taxation along with inspection of the shipments.
LD: The Xiaos are his long time customer and have yielded a large amount of money to the Yong Yin royalties. He knew that Young Lord was here so he would surely greet you with hospitality.
FM: How does he know who we are?
LD: Young Lord, please take a look at our banners on the ship. Even a blind person will know that the Young Lord of Xiao will be present on the ship. Also, I’m considered as a manager of the Xiao’s fleet, so the person who I accompany should be no other than the Young Lord of Xiao, right?
RH: The news of Duke Ming traveling around to inspect the Xiao Family shipping business is known worldwide, not knowing is not an option. If they can’t guess half of it, then they must be fools.
While saying a few words, the middleaged man appeared in front of them. He greeted Feng Ming respectfully and introduced himself as Tai Can.
Luo Deng tells Tai Can, “Our Young Lord here doesn’t like to be caged in so he wanted to take a tour of Fen Cheng for a bit.”
TC: Allow me to lead the way as a guide during your visit here in Fen Cheng. Right now it’s spring, Fen Cheng has a unique flower in bloom, called “Youzi or Wandering” flower. It’s very fragrant and the scent is everywhere, therefore, this city is called Fen Cheng.
Feng Ming accepted Tai Can’s offer and then asked Luo Deng if they have any horse carriages on the ship, since he wanted to tour around the place.
LD: Why would we have that ready on the ship? Every large ports like this, the Xiao Family has a horse carriage and lodging prepared and easily available. All of these, I have ordered my men to prepare beforehand, however, the timing was quite sudden so at the moment we only have six carriages available. It seems that the Young Lord will have to ride the same carriage as us.
Feng Ming knew that the Xiao Family had a huge amount of money, but he never thought that their transportation system was more efficient than the royalties. When Rong Tian travels, he can only supply the items within Xi Lei, once outside of Xi Lei, it’s not very convenient.
There was a faint scoff coming from behind.
Without looking back, everyone knew it was Luo Yun.
The city of Fen Cheng was near the city port and with a quarter of an hour, the carriage arrived in front of the gates.
Inside the carriage, Feng Ming could smell the fragrance of the flowers.
CY: This type of flower, if used for wine, it will be very fragrant.
CX: You are definitely an alcoholic, is the wine bug itching in your stomach? CY: I’m not an alcoholic, I’m just curious.
Tai Can explained to them that people who come to Fen Cheng usually test their Wandering wine, since it can only be produced in Fen Cheng. If they pass by without drinking it, it would be a pity.
Feng Ming was very curious about the name “Wandering” and asked Tai Can about it. Tai Can led them to a small hut to experience the wine first while he explained about the origin.
Everyone noticed that the place didn’t seem like a high end restaurant and were suspicious, but Tai Can told them that in order to taste authentic wine, this is the right place to experience it.
After the wine was tested for poison and appeared nontoxic, Feng Ming and the maids took a taste of it, while Rong Hu and Luo Yun refused, stating that if an assassin were to come by, they need to be on high alert.
Tai Can asked them if they could taste a bit of tears in the wine and they all agreed. Feng Ming really enjoyed the taste of the wine, that he wanted to buy a few to have Rong Tian enjoy it. However, Tai Can told Feng Ming that he can’t carry the wine outside the city of Fen Cheng. If he does, the wine will become sour and nondrinkable.
He then explained about the origin of the wine. According to legends, there was a woman named Mrs. Li. She was a young widow, who planted flowers for a living and brought up a child named “Youzi.” When Youzi was 16 years old, it was the beginning of spring, and he decided to leave the city to make a living. After bidding farewell to his mother, he never returned. Mrs. Li waited for her son’s return every day. But she eventually died within her garden of flowers and at her resting place, a Youzi tree grew.
At the beginning of every spring, every year, the Youzi flowers would bloom and the fragrance would linger for miles as if Mrs. Li is calling for her son to come back.
Tai Can stopped; the lively and cheerful atmosphere suddenly became silent.
Luo Deng sighed, “I’ve come to Fen Cheng many times and every time I listen to that story, it still seems like the first time and I’m still saddened by it. Especially in early spring, the scent of the Wandering flowers is simply heartbreaking.”
No one knew what Luo Yun was thinking, but his face was bleak.
TC: They said that the Youzi tree appeared because of Mrs. Li. She wholeheartedly wanted to wait for Youzi to return. The Wandering flowers are her thoughts and the Wandering wine is her tears. Therefore, anything of the Youzi, once they are removed from the city of Fen Cheng, it will immediately wither and the wine will become sour.
While thinking about the story, Feng Ming recalled about himself being an orphan, not gaining the parental love from Xiao Zong or Lady Yao Ye and perhaps the closest parental love he received was from Empress Dowager. However, Empress Dowager had been angry with him about the Grace’s Order, so Feng Ming felt guilty about it.
At this moment, Feng Ming continued to drink and then muttered a line regarding motherly love for her child and how it is hard for a child to repay the kindness, etc...
After muttering the poem, a loud clapping sound was heard. Feng Ming turned around and noticed that the person who applauded was not one of his people, but a man standing outside the hut. Seeing that Feng Ming was staring at him, he let down his hands and smiled, “My name is Mu Sa, I coincidentally passed by and heard Young Master recite a short poem with deep affection, which I’m amazed, therefore, I could not help but praise you by my applause. I deserve death for frightening you.”
This man wore a plain blue robe, completely spotless without dirt; there was also a paper fan placed within his belt. His black eyes were refined and serene; it was evident that he was not a
simple commoner upon seeing him. His speech was gentle and eloquent, giving his audience a good impression.
Upon seeing such a figure, Feng Ming was very happy, and laughed, “I feel ashamed, I was just drinking and casually said a few words. Brother Mu is too kind, how about coming inside and drinking a few cups with me.”
Before he finished, Rong Hu and Luo Yun gave out a warning sound almost simultaneously, their meaning was both clear and simple. Due to a matter of safety, they requested that he shouldn’t come in contact with strangers.
Mu Sa was about to nod in agreement, but hearing the two men at the table expressing their thoughts, he immediately knew he was not welcomed. This person was exceptionally smart; facing Feng Ming, he declined, “I have other things to attend to, I can only thank you, Young Master for your kind thoughts. If we are destined to meet, then perhaps we will meet again in the future. Can I ask for your name?”
“Ah? My name is Feng Ming.”
After hearing Feng Ming’s reply, he didn’t have a change in expression or attitude, he faintly smiled, “So it’s Xi Lei Duke Ming, Young Lord of Xiao, your name is like lightning beside one’s ear. It’s unfortunate that we don’t have prior affinity. If in the future, Duke Ming does come to Bei Qi and has free time, you can come visit me at my place.” He politely bowed, turned around and then left.
Feng Ming quickly shouted, “Hey, you still haven’t said where your home is!”
Blankly watching the new acquaintance disappear, Feng Ming sighed and felt a bit sad that he didn’t get to know that person a bit more, but he couldn’t blame Rong Hu and Luo Yun.
He began drinking some more and that’s when Tai Can went and told Feng Ming about his true intentions in bringing Feng Ming to this place and telling him about the Wandering flowers and wine.
Tai Can begged Feng Ming to help him in saving his brotherinlaw. Apparently, his brotherinlaw owns the wine business and was captured, leaving behind his pregnant wife and elderly mother. Although Tai Can is an official in Fen Cheng, he doesn’t have the means to save his brotherinlaw and wishes Feng Ming to lend a helping hand.
Feng Ming tells Tai Can to calm down and explain everything clearly. However, before he could explain everything, something unexpected happened.
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