Chapter 36: Concerns and Doubts

“Looking for the Fu family, Fu Zihou?”

In the main hall of the Li residence, the matriarch gazed at the young scion of the Cui family, her face filled with perplexity. She then turned to the second son, Li Jingjie, and found him equally astonished.

“How did you become acquainted with Zihou, dear nephew?” Li Jingjie could not help but ask in a low voice. Upon learning that Dou Jiande had arrived with the Cui youth, he had suspected all along that their visit under the pretext of calling on his mother was in fact meant for himself.

After all, it was clear to any discerning onlooker that Dou Jiande’s reputation now far surpassed that of Gao Shida, and he was sure to accomplish great things in the future. Surely, Dou Jiande was eager to gather more talented men to his side.

Yet to hear now that Cui Lvxing was actually seeking Fu Zihou—Li Jingjie was not only surprised but also puzzled. How could Fu Zihou be acquainted with a member of the Cui family? Could it be that even Dou Jiande was here because of Zihou? That seemed impossible!

“My uncle, you may not know—Lvxing and Zihou became acquainted in Huaiyang, where they greatly enjoyed each other’s company. I heard he and his family had come to Tiao County to seek refuge with the Li household. By chance, I too arrived in Tiao County, and upon learning that Lord Dou was visiting the Lis, I accompanied him,” Cui Lvxing explained, exchanging a glance with Dou Jiande before respectfully addressing Li Jingjie.

Li Jingjie was taken aback by this explanation and turned to Dou Jiande.

“Today, I do indeed have important matters to discuss with Brother Jingjie, and wish to consult with him. But seeing how eager Lvxing is to reunite with an old friend, a brief delay means little to me,” Dou Jiande said with a smile, raising his hand.

At this moment, Dou Jiande had no choice but to lie. Due to the lax discipline of Cao Zhan’s confidant Zhang Wu, word had already leaked out two days earlier, alerting Gao Shida that Dou was searching for someone. Thus, before meeting Fu Zihou, Dou had instructed Cui Lvxing to inquire under the pretense of an old friendship, while he himself would use his visit to Li Jingjie as a cover. Once they left the Li residence, they would naturally make a stop at the Gao family as well.

“Oh! No matter, no matter!” Seeing that Dou Jiande had personally stated his visit was for himself, Li Jingjie quickly smiled, returning the bow and indicating there was no rush at all.

After the exchange of courtesies, Li Jingjie stroked his fine beard, his lips curled in a pleased smile. In his heart, it was just as he had thought: Lord Dou had come to the Li residence specifically to consult him, surely seeking advice on some weighty matter.

“So they are old friends. What a pity—the Fu family left Tiao County some time ago…” The Li matriarch smiled helplessly at Cui Lvxing.

“Indeed, a pity,” Li Jingjie echoed, glancing at his mother and then nodding to Cui Lvxing.

Neither he nor his mother doubted Cui Lvxing’s identity, given that Lord Dou himself was present. Yet neither believed what he said. If the families were truly friends, why had the Fus repeatedly instructed that if outsiders inquired at the Li household, no information was to be given about them? The Fus had even specifically mentioned the names Cui Lvxing and Cao Zhan.

“What! They’ve left? Might I ask where Zihou has gone?” Cui Lvxing exclaimed in shock at the matriarch’s words. Beside him, Cao Zhan straightened, watching the Li matriarch with confusion, then glanced at Li Jingjie and Lord Dou.

Half an hour later, outside the gates of the Li residence, Lord Dou’s party, having declined Li Jingjie’s offer to see them off, turned to untie their horses.

“Just now, when the matriarch explained, something seemed strange about her manner,” Cao Zhan observed.

“Do you mean the matriarch was lying? But why would she lie?” Cui Lvxing asked.

“I cannot say, but it seems either her explanation for the Fus’ departure was not truthful, or perhaps the family is still in Tiao County and, for some reason, she refuses to say so,” Cao Zhan replied, both he and Cui Lvxing feeling helpless at the lack of news.

“Is Fu Zihou truly that important?” Yingkai could not help but frown, unable to understand why Cao Zhan and Cui Lvxing insisted repeatedly that Fu Zihou was indispensable to Lord Dou’s cause.

At this, Cui Lvxing and Cao Zhan exchanged a glance.

“Though Lord Dou is now renowned, danger lurks on every side! In Gaoji Marsh, Gao Shida guards against him at every turn. Should Guo Xuan of Zhuo Prefecture lead Sui forces south, Gao Shida will surely seize the chance to strike against Lord Dou. To the north, Hao Xiaode and Wang Bo are both watching hungrily; to the west, there is Zhang Jin; and to the south, Zhen Baodong and Meng Haigong are not to be underestimated…” Cui Lvxing paused, shifting his gaze from Yingkai to Dou Jiande. “If Lord Dou wishes to realize his ambitions, he needs men like Fu Zihou. While I dare not guarantee Zihou’s breadth of learning, I am certain of his keen mind—he is exactly the talent Lord Dou needs for his cause.”

Cui Lvxing raised his hand earnestly toward Dou Jiande. Even Cao Zhan was a little surprised at such a strong endorsement, but recalled the youth’s conduct in Huaiyang.

“I agree with Brother Cui. Though young, Fu Zihou remained unflustered in crisis, his composure truly rare. Back in Huaiyang, among all—whether the Xie family or the Sui officials—none saw through the plot, save Fu Zihou. With a single glance, he unraveled Lu Mingyue’s schemes!” Cao Zhan confirmed, looking at Dou Jiande.

Even now, recalling those days in Huaiyang, Cao Zhan still felt chills, his heart lingering in awe at the memory of that youth he had met but once outside Kuang City. He too was eager to see the youth again.

“But the matriarch said the Fus have left…” Yingkai, hearing their words, no longer doubted, but could only frown and glance back at the Li residence, recalling the matriarch’s words with some helplessness.

The Li clan of Tiao County was not a force to be offended lightly; unless absolutely necessary, they would not even visit the Li residence for fear of stirring up hostility from those opposed to the Lis. Even Lord Dou had taken his leave quickly, not daring to linger.

“No matter! We can ask Brother Yaxian to look secretly for them in Tiao County,” Dou Jiande said, leading his horse and glancing back at the Li residence.

Hearing such praise for a youth they’d never met, Dou Jiande’s desire to meet Fu Zihou grew ever more intense—he wished he could see him at once. But since the matriarch had said Fu Zihou had already left for Pengcheng to seek his uncle, Dou Jiande could not know if it was true, nor did he want Gao Shida to learn he was searching for the Fus; thus he had refrained from pressing the issue.

For now, he could only turn to Gao Yaxian, asking him to discreetly employ his trusted men to search Tiao County and see if Fu Zihou was still in town. If not, he would have to send people to Pengcheng, though he knew the chances of finding a family in a city beyond his influence were very slim.

His only hope was that Fu Zihou was still within Tiao County.

“Let us leave here and go to the Gao residence to see Brother Yaxian,” Dou Jiande said, then led Yingkai, Cui Lvxing, and Cao Zhan away from the Li residence.

Yingkai, following behind, suddenly remembered Gao Shou and his son and quickly told Dou Jiande that he had heard it was Gao Shou and his son who had gone to the Xie family’s wedding feast. The two served as officials in Luoyang but would return to Tiao County at year’s end, where they would surely mention the wedding to the Gaos. In that case, not only would Gao Shida know, but the whole county might soon learn that all four of them had visited the Li residence that day in search of Fu Zihou.

“We can only hope Brother Yaxian finds him quickly!” Yingkai’s words made Cui Lvxing and Cao Zhan frown, exchanging glances. Dou Jiande sighed, pinning his hopes on Gao Yaxian.

...

Within Tiao County.

“My hairpin!”

Inside the “Goguryeo Curiosities” shop, a young lady in silk stared in horror at the empty wooden branch where her hairpin had been, trembling as if her soul had fled.

“Who was it? Who? Who could it be?” The girl gasped, her eyes wild, glaring at the shop boy like a lioness.

Beside her, a man of about twenty looked surprised as well, never expecting that, during the time his younger sister had been scraping together money, someone would actually pay thirteen thousand coins for a single hairpin.

He had seen the hairpin himself and had to admit the craftsmanship was remarkable. As a rare piece from Goguryeo, it was doubly precious.

“Miss Cui, it was a young man…” the shop boy replied with a wry smile. He had inquired of the woman in charge, and all he knew was that when the youth had first shown interest in the hairpin, he had tried to barter with his sword. The second time, he came with money, but the sword was nowhere to be seen.

Hearing this, Cui Wenjin immediately gripped her sword and hurried out of the shop.

“Sister, wait!” her brother called, quickly following with their servant, determined to ask at the nearest pawnshop if a youth had pawned a sword.

At the southern gate of Tiao County, Fu Zihou, waiting as always for his father, watched the constant flow of townsfolk and merchants.

Unlike before, on the road to Tiao County, whenever he saw fat merchants with beautiful young women on their arms—some with differences in age of twenty or thirty years—he would inwardly scorn those merchants. But lately, whenever he saw such a sight, what he felt most was a quiet pride, for none of those women compared in beauty to Li Cha.

“Zihou! Zihou!” In his boredom, sudden footsteps reached his ears. Turning, he saw his cousin rushing toward him, breathless.

Before Fu Zihou could ask, Fu Zhi blurted out that he had just seen, at the Li residence, the very rebel general and scholar they had once tricked in Kuang City—they had both come to the Lis!

“What? Why would they come to the Li residence?” Fu Zihou frowned, incredulous.

Impossible! He’d met vengeful people before, but never any quite so persistent—and besides, it had all been a trifling matter. Was it really worth coming all this way?

“I saw it with my own eyes!” Fu Zhi panted, having run all the way in fear that he would be too late and Fu Zihou would be discovered by those men.

“Cousin, calm down and tell me exactly what happened,” Fu Zihou urged.

Soon, Fu Zihou learned from his cousin’s breathless account that Cui Lvxing and Cao Zhan had come along with someone called Lord Dou to visit the Li matriarch.

Fu Zihou knew that in Tiao County, only Dou Jiande could be called Lord Dou. Upon hearing this, he relaxed.

“They’re not here for us,” Fu Zihou reassured his cousin.

Seeing his cousin’s confusion, Fu Zihou explained that although he didn’t know why Dou Jiande had suddenly come to the Lis, the presence of Dou Jiande made the appearances of Cui Lvxing and Cao Zhan unsurprising. Cui was a scion of the Cui family; Cao Zhan had been a commander among the rebels in Huaiyang. Something must have happened in Huaiyang to send both men north to Dou Jiande.

It was only natural for Dou Jiande to keep such men of talent and background close. Today’s visit to the Li residence was likely just a courtesy with the two in tow.

“Come, let’s go to the Li residence and ask the matriarch and uncle directly,” Fu Zihou said after a moment’s thought, deciding it safest to go with his cousin and seek the truth from the family elders.