After filling her stomach in the kitchen, Lin Qingge toured the entire yamen as if inspecting her territory.
Not long after, Hua Jinrong arrived.
"My lord, are you summoning me to celebrate your housewarming in advance?"
"Cuju competition?"
Hua Jinrong paused his fan-wielding hand, then nodded hesitantly, "When it comes to Cuju, I only have a superficial understanding."
"Good that you understand. In seven days, a Cuju tournament will be held in Fengtian Prefecture. Fengtian Prefecture needs a team to participate, so you help me gather the players. My requirements aren't high; just winning the championship will suffice."
Hua Jinrong: ...
"Oh, and later call Zhou Zeli over to help Master Lin Yan with the Cuju tournament arrangements. As for the academy, if you can't manage both, give it a seven-day holiday."
Academies in this era didn't have winter or summer breaks, so a few days of rest was acceptable.
Upon hearing that Fengtian Prefecture had a Cuju hall, for the sake of one hundred taels of gold, or rather, for the honor of Fengtian Prefecture, Lin Qingge was naturally going to take a look.
Led by the omnipresent Hua Jinrong, the two arrived at a Cuju hall named 'Qiyun She'.
"Is anyone here?"
Hua Jinrong craned his neck, peering inside as he called out.
Soon, a doorman greeted them, "You two are...?"
"This is the new Prefect of Fengtian Prefecture, Lord Lin, who wishes to see your proprietor."
"My lord, please come in. I will fetch the proprietor for you right away."
Upon hearing it was the Prefect, the doorman hurried inside to call for him.
Not long after, a tall and burly man emerged from the inner courtyard. "This humble one, Yu Wan, greets my lord."
"Are you the proprietor of this place?"
"Reporting to my lord, the proprietor of Qiyun She is my father. However, as my father is advanced in age, he has temporarily entrusted the management of Qiyun Hall to this humble one."
"Hmph, you speak eloquently. Who knows if you used some means to make your father unable to walk and his health deteriorate?"
"Second brother, you speak so definitively. Could it be that you were the one who tampered with things?"
"Second brother, third brother!"
Two more men emerged from the inner courtyard. Both in build and appearance, they were identical to the Yu Wan who had just spoken.
"You are... triplets?"
Lin Qingge looked at the three men before her, who seemed like copies and pastes, and in her surprise, couldn't help but marvel at their mother's greatness.
"My lord, this is my second brother, Yu Qian, and my third brother, Yu Bai."
"Bai, Qian, Wan? What concise and effortless names."
Yu Wan took a step forward, cupped his fists, and asked, "May I ask if my lord has come regarding the Cuju大会?"
"I did, originally. But now, it's not necessary."
Lin Qingge said, and was about to turn and take her leave.
Seeing this, the youngest, Yu Bai, couldn't help but speak, "My lord, why are you leaving?"
"As the saying goes, brothers united can cut through metal. Yet, you three brothers are like scattered sand. If you are in your current state, picking up any children from the street would likely yield better players than you. Therefore, I shall not disturb you further."
Discord among teammates is a great taboo in team sports, and Lin Qingge did not want to waste time.
"Please, my lord, stay!"
Yu Wan strode forward, blocking the path of Lin Qingge and the other. "My lord, my father repeatedly instructed that if the Prefect were to visit, I must bring you to his bedside. This humble one knows it is against etiquette, but my father is critically ill and truly cannot get out of bed."
"Very well, if you wish to meet, then let us meet."
Lin Qingge and Hua Jinrong were led by Yu Wan to a room in the back courtyard. Upon opening the door, they saw a gaunt old man lying quietly in bed. If not for the slight rise and fall of his chest, one might have thought he had already passed away.
"Father, the Prefect has arrived."
Hearing the voice, the old man slowly opened his eyes, laboriously turned his head, and looked at Lin Qingge, who was in official attire. To save the old man some effort, Lin Qingge took two steps forward while introducing herself, "This subordinate is Lin Jingxing, the newly appointed acting Prefect of Fengtian Prefecture. Yu Wan mentioned that you wished to see me?"
"So it is Lord Lin. This ailing body of mine is unable to perform the proper courtesies. I hope Lord Lin will forgive me."
"It is alright. Please, speak your mind."
"My lord, I have played Cuju my entire life. I inherited this Qiyun She from my father's generation. Then, in my old age, I was blessed with sons, three of them at once. However, I have failed as a father. Although my wife gave birth to three promising Cuju talents, I don't know when it happened that they became irreconcilably at odds with each other. Let alone developing Qiyun She, even making a living has become a problem. I implore my lord to let them participate in this Cuju大会 as an opportunity for them to reconcile."
Lin Qingge listened and, with a touch of exasperation, supported her forehead with her hand, "No, you couldn't educate your sons in over a decade, and now you expect me to, out of the blue? I am equally incapable!"
However, the old man on the bed continued his pitch, seemingly ignoring her. "Lord Lin, this humble one guarantees that you will not find anyone more outstanding or more familiar with Cuju in all of Fengtian Prefecture. They were born for Cuju. Wan'er, lead the esteemed guest out for a moment. This father has something to say to Lord Lin privately."
"Yes." Yu Wan gestured to Hua Jinrong, who was standing at the doorway, and they walked out together.
Immediately after, Lin Qingge watched as the old man fumbled under his pillow with his trembling hand. After searching for a while, he proudly pulled out a small cloth bundle.
"Lord Lin, this humble one taught Cuju his entire life but failed to teach his sons. This humble one is ashamed. However, I once consulted a master who said that the twenty-seventh year of their lives would be a turning point. They just celebrated their twenty-seventh birthday last month, so it is imperative that they participate in this year's Cuju大会!"
...
Although Lin Qingge very much wanted to utter a sentence about "feudal superstition being unreliable," she swallowed the words that were about to escape her lips and did not strike down the dying old man before her.
"Lord Lin, this item was entrusted to this humble one by my former Cuju friend, the renowned Cuju master Chu Wenzhong, known as 'The Great Xia's First Kick.' However, not long after Brother Chu entrusted this item to me, his entire family was tragically murdered. Since it is the memento of a departed friend, it is better to offer it to Lord Lin as a gift than to let it gather dust here."
Hearing the slightly familiar description, Lin Qingge's lips twitched violently. She thought: Is this old man trying to repay kindness with enmity? Or is he trying to threaten me with this item, forcing me to comply? But why is the old man so certain that she would recognize the item?
As Lin Qingge pondered with suspicion, she accepted the cloth bundle. Its slight weight made her somewhat puzzled: Could she have guessed wrong?