Chapter 78: Jiang Baoyi Arrives in Jinyang (Thanks to Aespa Li Shimin and Bai Tian Qingfan for their support!)

“Cough, cough—fire?”
The sky was just beginning to lighten when Fu Zihou was suddenly startled awake by the acrid smell of smoke. In a rush, he rolled out of bed without a thought for his clothes, flung open the door, and hurried out.

There, in front of the kitchen, Cui Wenjin stood with a sooty face, coughing and helplessly staring at the billowing smoke pouring from within.

Fu Zihou quickly stepped forward, waving his hand to disperse the smoke, holding his breath as he entered the room. He pulled the wood crammed inside the stove out, doing this two or three times until finally the kindling caught and the smoke gradually dissipated.

“I’ve never started a fire before!”

Seeing Fu Zihou’s questioning look, Cui Wenjin gave a sheepish, strained smile and wiped her face, adding yet another patch of color to her already fair countenance.

“I’ll handle it.”

Without a word of reproach, Fu Zihou returned to his room, dressed, and came back to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for them both.

Inside the room, the two of them knelt at the small wooden table, eating in silence.

Because Cui Wenjin had injured someone the day before, Fu Zihou didn’t dare let her stay alone outside. Instead, he let her sleep in the main house while he took the side room.

Watching Cui Wenjin, so uncharacteristically quiet since Cao Yong and the others left last night, Fu Zihou couldn’t help but feel amused. Clearly, she’d realized that without her brother Cui Yu at her side, things felt awkward—she was not used to being alone with him.

In the Sui dynasty, social conventions between men and women were quite open. Cui Wenjin traveling upriver alone to Luoyang in search of a friend was not unusual, nor was it uncommon for married women, unbound by strict ritual prohibitions, to interact freely with men outside their families. It was even accepted that married men and women would sometimes board each other’s boats for visits.

This didn’t mean the Sui dynasty encouraged unrestrained behavior—quite the contrary, women were still encouraged to remain chaste. While contact between married women and other men wasn’t explicitly forbidden, it didn’t mean illicit affairs were tolerated. If a woman was found unfaithful, the punishment was severe.

“Sir!”

Hearing a shout from the courtyard, Fu Zihou got up to see Qiu Dahai and the others waiting.

“Thank you for making the trip. Be careful! If things look bad, return at once,” Fu Zihou instructed.

“Don’t worry, sir!” Qiu Dahai, not one for words, was determined to carry out Fu Zihou’s orders, even at the risk of his life.

“Go on, then.”

Watching them leave, Fu Zihou’s heart pounded a little faster.

“Sir!”

Just as he was about to return to his meal, Cao Yong, Xiong Ruixiang, and Xia Jia arrived in the courtyard.

Thanks to Cui Wenjin’s help, not only Xiong Ruixiang but also Cao Yong and Xia Jia had settled their families and were now determined to follow Fu Zihou without reservation.

Yet, what puzzled the three was that Fu Zihou hadn’t enlisted them as regular soldiers.

“Sir, Captain Hu reports the moat is finished!” Cao Yong announced.

Though the three weren’t formally enlisted, Hu Jingyuan and the other officers all knew they were Fu Zihou’s trusted men.

“Excellent! Let’s go see it!” The news that the moat was completed lifted a great weight from Fu Zihou’s heart.

“I’ll come too.”

Just as Fu Zihou was about to take Cao Yong, Xiong Ruixiang, and Xia Jia outside the city to inspect the moat, Cui Wenjin, sword in hand, declared her intention to join them. Fu Zihou, after a brief hesitation, did not refuse her.

In the east city, Chu Bo watched as townsfolk hurried past him toward the gate. He picked up his pace, and together with Song Jianfeng, squeezed through the crowd outside the city walls.

There, before their eyes, was a broad moat connecting to the Fen River. Chu Bo and Song Jianfeng exchanged glances, their expressions darkening.

That damned Martial Officer had actually managed to dig such a wide moat around Jinyang’s east city.

“Look at that—now everyone has to use the drawbridge! It’s so inconvenient!”

“That’s right! If the bridge isn’t sturdy, or it gets old, who knows who’ll be unlucky enough to fall in!”

“Maybe those of us in the east city with carriages should just move outside the walls. Why risk our necks getting in and out of the city?”

Listening to the complaints of the scions of noble families, Chu Bo and Song Jianfeng’s faces grew even gloomier. Unlike these young aristocrats, they wished nothing more than for that Martial Officer to leave the east city for good.

Soon, however, a subordinate hurried over and whispered in their ears. Their expressions brightened, and with a glance at each other, they quickly slipped away.

Meanwhile, atop the east city wall, Cui Wenjin gripped her sword, gazing at the moat with indifference. She really couldn’t understand why Fu Zihou had gone to such lengths for this project, only to become a laughingstock.

“See? No one appreciates what you’ve done! And yet, you still worry about repairing the east city for them!”

Hearing the mocking words of the well-dressed noble youths outside the city, Cui Wenjin narrowed her eyes, her grip tightening on the sword. She memorized their faces—she’d break their legs if she ever saw them in Qinghe Commandery.

“Some deeds, whether done or not, make all the difference. Look at the common folk—they’re delighted,” Fu Zihou said quietly.

Unlike the idle gentry, he saw the happiness on the faces of the ordinary people.

“In these troubled times, they have nothing to rely on. Hearing of bandits elsewhere fills them with dread. This moat will let them rest a little easier.”

Fu Zihou was satisfied with the width of the moat. Even just filling it in would cost rebels precious time, and with a gap between moat and wall, using large siege engines against the new barrier would not be easy.

“But when you’re cursed, not one of them stands up for you!” Cui Wenjin retorted, casting him a sidelong glance. She felt that Fu Zihou’s kindness was wasted—so many commoners in the city, and yet not one refuted the gentry’s scorn. Were they all deaf?

“Let the heart be clear,” Fu Zihou said with a gentle smile, unbothered.

“Come, in a few days you’ll return to Qinghe. Let’s visit the west city while I still have my freedom—I’ll show you the market and have you bring some goods back for me.”

Since Cui Wenjin would soon leave Jinyang, Fu Zihou felt obliged as a host to take her to the bustling west city and also send some gifts for her to deliver to his family.

“At least you know you’ve caused trouble this time!” Cui Wenjin shot him a look, then hurried after him as he descended the wall.

“But don’t worry! You’ve done a great favor for the Cui clan of Qinghe—we won’t ever…”

Jinyang, west city.

A carriage rolled to a halt in front of the Eagle Command headquarters. From within stepped a middle-aged man dressed in the stately robes of a Sui official.

The guards on duty, seeing his credentials, quickly led him inside.

In the council room, Pan Changwen greeted Jiang Baoyi with a warm smile.

“Master Jiang! It’s been years!”

Both Pan Changwen and Jiang Baoyi had served as assistant ministers in the Sui court, and though it had been a long time, they were not strangers.

“General Pan,” Jiang Baoyi replied with a courteous gesture and a faint smile.

He felt neither particular fondness nor dislike for Pan Changwen; theirs was the polite camaraderie of colleagues. Were it not for the emperor’s command, he would not have come to Jinyang.

“What brings you to Jinyang today, Master Jiang?” Pan Changwen asked with curiosity.

In the council chamber, Wen Dayou, standing with Zhao Wenke, Zhang Pinggao, and Xu Shixu, grew apprehensive upon hearing that Jiang Baoyi had come on account of Fu Zihou. He began to consider how best to speak in Fu Zihou’s favor.

At that moment, a soldier hurried into the chamber.

“Report! General! News from the Jingxing Pass—a band of over a thousand bandits has appeared to the north!”

Wen Dayou breathed a sigh of relief—the timely arrival of these bandits would give him a chance to plead Fu Zihou’s case before Jiang Baoyi. He resolved to seek a private audience with Jiang Baoyi once the bandits were dealt with.

“Relay my orders: assemble all Eagle Command cavalry!”

Pan Changwen’s eyes darkened at the news, but he smiled faintly at Jiang Baoyi. “Just a band of refugees. These past years, such bands have caused much trouble everywhere.”

Jiang Baoyi nodded, unconcerned, and gestured for Pan Changwen to deal with the matter while he waited in Jinyang. Once it was resolved, they would turn their attention to Fu Zihou.