As if understanding Yang Shoucheng's teachings, Yang Xu nodded, but his spirits remained low. He couldn't help but ask, "Father, is she really that formidable?"
Yang Xu remembered how the village women would sometimes quarrel and fight over a handful of greens or an egg. Those people would fight to the death over a few copper coins, yet Zhan Feiyu, who was half his height, had earned so much silver.
Having lived in seclusion for many years, Yang Shoucheng was not privy to outside information. "If Scholar Gu accepted her as a disciple, she must possess extraordinary qualities."
At noon, the table was laden with dishes. The exquisite presentation made Yang Xu almost suspect that what he had eaten for the past eight years was pig slop.
Watching Zhan Feiyu, whose chopsticks were constantly in motion, he thought, "Who said she wouldn't eat at noon? Are all young girls this untrustworthy?" Yang Xu, a true man of his word, lowered his head and ate quickly. A true man wouldn't bicker with a young girl!
Half an hour later, he saw his father carrying a wooden chest, and He Sheng carrying a similarly large wooden chest.
He Nuan, who was cleaning the empty room, quickly took a thin quilt from the chest to make the bed. Yang Xu, standing at the doorway, was numb. Fortunately, his father had given birth to a son; if it had been a delicate young girl...
However, upon thinking of Zhan Feiyu, who was unlike the robust and rough girls of Stone Village, and her face as white as a peeled egg, Yang Xu felt that being pampered was normal. Boys should be raised to be tough.
In the main hall, the hand stove had been refilled with silver charcoal. Zhan Feiyu drank half a cup of water in one gulp. She had eaten too much braised lamb at noon and felt parched.
At first glance, Zhan Feiyu appeared delicate, no different from the young ladies in the capital's boudoirs. But seeing the way she drank water, Old General Yang couldn't help but smile. "You're like a daughter of a military family this way."
"My teacher is far away in the capital and no one supervises me, so my temperament has become lax," Zhan Feiyu said with a guilty smile.
Servants were fully provided, but Zhan Feiyu was the mistress, and He Nuan attended to her. Therefore, all the formalities were discarded by Zhan Feiyu.
"Those who achieve great things are not bound by trivialities. Since you have chosen to study for the imperial examinations, it will not matter even if you do not adhere to these rules in the future," Old General Yang was a magnanimous person. Moreover, Zhan Feiyu had the means to establish herself and Scholar Gu's support. Who would dare to criticize her adherence to rules in the future?
On the contrary, women in the inner chambers could only rely on their husbands and later their sons, so they dared not overstep in their words or actions.
"Xu'er, come in." Seeing Yang Xu passing by outside, Old General Yang called out. He then looked at Zhan Feiyu and said, "Xu'er has a talent for martial arts, but he dislikes studying."
Old General Yang planned to send Yang Xu to a private school after the New Year. The boy was determined to practice martial arts and was not bright in his studies. He couldn't get along with the village children and was always alone. Old General Yang worried that Yang Xu's excessive ambition might lead to great losses in the future.
Yang Xu, with a stern face, ignored Zhan Feiyu beside him and said, "Grandfather."
"Xiao Yu, you are good at studying. Why don't you teach Xu'er for me?" Old General Yang also ignored Yang Xu's look of rejection, as if he hadn't given up the idea of their children marrying.
Turning his head, he met Zhan Feiyu's dark, round eyes, complemented by her fair, round face. Despite his stern expression, Yang Xu couldn't say anything harsh.
"Before coming to Xiangwu County, I stayed in Huaian Prefecture for half a month..." Zhan Feiyu spoke of the local customs and traditions of Huaian Prefecture.
Yang Xu grew up in Stone Village. The farthest he had been was to Xiangwu County town, which only had two streets with some shops selling daily necessities. It was nowhere near as rich and prosperous as Huaian Prefecture.
Seeing Yang Xu listening intently, Zhan Feiyu got to the point. "Because the Jin family bribed them, I was arrested and thrown into prison without going through the prefectural office, and the jailers locked me up directly."
"You did it on purpose?" Yang Xu remembered that earlier in the courtyard, Chongguang had kicked away the obstructing guard. She was Scholar Gu's disciple. If she had revealed her identity, the jailers would surely not have dared to arrest her.
Zhan Feiyu nodded and drank another half cup of water. "You can guess the reason."
Zhan Feiyu had roughly explained the matter of Liu Hefeng and the Liu family, the imperial merchants.
Yang Xu had been raised by Old General Yang and Yang Shoucheng. Even though the three generations of their family had lived a difficult and rough life, they had taught him what they should. Yang Xu was also intelligent.
After thinking for a moment, Yang Xu frowned and stared at Zhan Feiyu. "You deliberately set a trap for the Liu family, wanting to extort one hundred thousand taels of silver from them!"
Zhan Feiyu nodded, not denying her cunning. "Intervene when there is an opportunity, seize its vital part, and advance gradually."
"Thirty-Six Stratagems: Turning the Tables on the Host," Yang Xu was familiar with military strategy. As soon as Zhan Feiyu spoke, he knew.
"Those who are driven by others are slaves; those who are respected are hosts; those who cannot establish themselves are temporary guests; those who can establish themselves are long-term guests; guests who cannot manage affairs for a long time are lowly guests; those who can manage affairs can gradually grasp the key positions and become the host."
Zhan Feiyu continued, looking at the contemplative Yang Xu. "The silver is with the Liu family, so they are the hosts. If I demand the silver, the Liu family will surely delay indefinitely. By getting myself arrested, I seize a handle on the Liu family, thus turning the tables on them."
Yang Xu glanced at the smiling Zhan Feiyu. "Are all scholars this despicable?" But then he thought that her imprisonment was just the Liu family's seventh branch bullying others, and she was merely turning their plan to her advantage.
"You were worried that the prefect of Huaian would help the Liu family, so this method could also be used to pressure Prefect Chu," Yang Xu recalled his grandfather shooting two birds with one arrow when he was young. Her move was similar.
Zhan Feiyu nodded, raised her left wrist, and pulled up her sleeve, revealing her lotus-root-like arm. Her fair skin made the scar on her wrist clearly visible.
"I thought I had planned everything perfectly, but I was just being arrogant and became a turtle in a jar," Zhan Feiyu did not hide anything and recounted how a group of black-clad assassins had surrounded the prison that night.
Yang Xu looked at Zhan Feiyu in shock. Even Old General Yang's expression changed. Although Zhan Feiyu did not describe it in detail, the people around her were all masters. If she could still get injured under their protection, it was enough to know how dangerous that day was.
"A Nuan and the others covered me as I broke through the encirclement. I escaped under the cover of night. I thought if I just found a place to hide for an hour or two, I would be safe by dawn. But they actually brought hunting dogs that were skilled at tracking."
Ordinary guard dogs were fierce, let alone specially trained hunting dogs. They could even fight wolves. Looking at the delicate Zhan Feiyu, Yang Xu couldn't help but ask how she escaped under such dangerous circumstances. After Zhan Feiyu finished telling how Deng Zhiwu had helped her righteously, and how she was finally rescued by Yin Wuyan, Yang Xu listened as if hearing a story, his mouth slightly agape. He was no longer holding a stern expression.
Old General Yang put down his teacup. "Little girl, you don't need to hide it. Since the hunting dogs could bite you, it means the enemies who assassinated you were very close."
If Deng Zhiwu had appeared in time, the little girl would not have been bitten by the hunting dogs. If she couldn't avoid the hunting dogs, she certainly couldn't avoid the enemies who kept them. For an assassin, killing someone was a matter of moments.
"Old ginger is spicier!"
Zhan Feiyu did not expect Old General Yang to deduce so much from her account. She glanced at Yang Xu. Seeing that Old General Yang did not stop her, she could only say, "They underestimated me because I am a young girl. While he was inspecting the hunting dog's corpse, I used the dagger I carried to sneak attack him."
"You killed someone?" Yang Xu's eyes widened in shock. He had practiced martial arts with his father and had only hunted rabbits and pheasants on the mountain.
No matter how many times he had heard his grandfather and father talk about battles, it was not as shocking as Zhan Feiyu's words. Wasn't she a scholar?
Even hearing about the smell of manure made her feel disgusted and unable to eat. Although she ate just as much as he did at noon, Yang Xu still couldn't imagine that Zhan Feiyu had actually killed someone.
"The courtyard is large. Xiao Yu, you and Xu'er can spar a few moves," Old General Yang glossed over the topic of killing and laughed heartily. "Xu'er, remember to restrain your strength."
Compared to Yang Xu's talent in martial arts, Zhan Feiyu's skills were merely decorative, for strengthening the body. However, she had practiced military boxing and learned Sanda in her previous life, so Zhan Feiyu's tricky moves were hard to guard against.
A quarter of an hour later, Yang Xu, having been provoked, forgot Old General Yang's instructions and swung a punch towards Zhan Feiyu's face.
Unable to dodge, Zhan Feiyu stopped defending and looked at Yang Xu with innocent eyes.
The fist stopped precariously near Zhan Feiyu's nose bridge. Yang Xu subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief. Last year, his punch had drawn blood from Da Niu, the most annoying boy in the village. Looking at Zhan Feiyu's fair, round face, he thought she would surely cry if this punch landed...
The moment Yang Xu was distracted, Zhan Feiyu grabbed his wrist, stepped forward, and spun around.
With a bang! Not only Old Master Yang standing at the entrance of the main hall but also Yang Shoucheng, who was watching from the corridor, was stunned. Then they looked at Yang Xu, who was lying on the ground in a daze, with sympathy.
Zhan Feiyu, who had resorted to trickery, looked at the indignant Yang Xu. "All warfare is based on deception."
"You!" Yang Xu glared at Zhan Feiyu, who was making light of the situation, filled with rage. He should have landed that punch!
Tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, Zhan Feiyu maintained her smiling, mischievous demeanor. "The last person who underestimated me is now headless."
Yang Xu suddenly remembered Zhan Feiyu's peril in Huaian Prefecture. The owner of the hunting dog had been killed because he had underestimated her. His previous anger vanished instantly.
A moment later, Zhan Feiyu returned to her room to read, while Yang Xu, with his head down, entered Old General Yang's bedroom.
"The Thirty-Six Stratagems also include the 'honey trap'," Old General Yang said, casting a meaningful glance at Yang Shoucheng, who was sitting by the window.
The Yang family was upright and honorable, but they could not withstand the scoundrels and shameless villains in the army. It was his own oversight back then, otherwise, how could the Yang family have been accused of colluding with the enemy and treason?
"Grandfather, I..." Yang Xu, who could recite the Thirty-Six Stratagems fluently at the age of five, lowered his head in shame. He shouldn't have let his guard down just because she was a young girl.
"Using copper as a mirror, one can correct one's attire; using history as a mirror, one can understand the rise and fall of dynasties; using people as a mirror, one can understand one's gains and losses," Old General Yang's voice was low. His tiger-like eyes, imbued with the wisdom of years, held anticipation and admonition for his grandson. "You dislike studying. Do you want to become a brute in the future? Even if you go to the battlefield, how many enemies can you kill?"
"A general plans strategies within his command center and wins victories a thousand miles away. Xu'er, if you want to lead troops in battle, you must not only win but also ensure that your comrades leave the battlefield alive, that parents with white hair do not lose their sons, that wives do not lose their husbands, and that crying infants do not lose their fathers. Xu'er, this is the responsibility on your shoulders. It is a long and arduous journey!"
Yang Xu looked at the earnestly instructing Old General Yang, lost in thought. He had originally thought that restoring the glory of the General's Mansion only required practicing martial arts. He was not afraid of hardship or fatigue. Yang Xu even thought that in ten years, he would go to the border, starting as a small soldier.
But he had never thought that he would have to bear the lives of so many people. Even if his martial arts were superb, he could not protect so many comrades on the battlefield.
Yang Shoucheng gently stroked Yang Xu's head. His usually stern and upright face showed a rare hint of gentleness. "You are still young; you can learn slowly."
...
In the morning, getting out of the warm quilt, Zhan Feiyu suddenly wished she could build a similar heated brick bed in the small courtyard in Shangsi County. If the firewood was lit at night, it would be warm all night.
"Miss." He Nuan had gotten up two quarters of an hour ago. Hearing the movement, she pushed open the door and walked in, putting down the bucket of hot water. "It's freezing outside. How about we skip practicing martial arts today?"
"It's that cold?" Zhan Feiyu glanced at the dark window outside. "Alright then, I'll just do some exercises in the room."
Old General Yang was old and slept lightly. He noticed when He Nuan got up. Similarly, Yang Shoucheng, as a martial artist, was also vigilant. However, neither father nor son expected Yang Xu to wake up as well.
After listening to the sounds, Yang Xu scrambled out of bed. "Father, I heard her voice?"
"Three watches of lamp light, five watches of cock crow; it is the time for a man to study. Xiao Yu, this little triple champion, is truly deserving of the title," Old General Yang couldn't help but sigh. Scholars were not noble merely for studying; the hardships they endured were unknown to outsiders.
So early? Yang Xu also woke up early for martial arts, but never before dawn, especially thinking of how Zhan Feiyu, who was so afraid of the cold, always held a hand stove.
"Did she go to bed past midnight last night?" Yang Xu's emotions had been fluctuating greatly that day, and he had thought a lot, sleeping late. He vaguely remembered hearing movements next door. She went to bed past midnight and got up at the Mao hour. Are scholars this hardworking?
"Father, I'm up too." Stimulated, Yang Xu threw off the quilt and was about to get up.
Yang Shoucheng raised his hand and pressed him back down. "Get up later. Martial arts cannot be accomplished in a day. When needed..."
... "Did she go to bed past midnight last night?" Yang Xu's emotions had been fluctuating greatly that day, and he had thought a lot, sleeping late. He vaguely remembered hearing movements next door. She went to bed past midnight and got up at the Mao hour. Are scholars this hardworking?
"Father, I'm up too." Stimulated, Yang Xu threw off the quilt and was about to get up.
Yang Shoucheng raised his hand and pressed him back down. "Get up later. Martial arts cannot be accomplished in a day. When needed..."
...