Li Yuanxiu strode into the central hall, while Li Yuanjiao followed closely behind. They saw several clan uncles waiting anxiously in the hall, their expressions frantic and their behavior restrained.
They began pleading, "Young Family Head... please forgive my son's recklessness and allow him to return home..."
"Indeed! Young Family Head, I understand that you're managing the household but you must do so with compassion..."
Li Yuanxiu swept his gaze over them and immediately recognized them as the elders of those clan brothers who had been causing trouble in Eastern Mount Yue, allowing their soldiers to commit atrocities and dishonor others. He simply cupped his fist and spoke in a stern voice.
"It's not that I lack compassion, but my clan brothers had indeed gone overboard with their actions. They took pleasure in slaughtering, bullied the married women and their daughters, and reveled in impaling infants on spears... Can you truly excuse such horrible actions?!"
The elders were startled by his words and exchanged glances amongst themselves. Yet none could stammer out a response.
Li Yuanxiu sighed softly and continued, "Establishing a Clan Affairs Courtyard to maintain order among the clan members was the dying wish of our ancestor, and for many years, there has been no change to this decree. Furthermore, news of this incident has reached my granduncle, and he is quite shocked and angered... I would like to help, but I am powerless. If you can persuade my granduncle to overlook this matter, I will release them immediately."
The ancestor Li Yuanxiu mentioned was none other than Li Mutian. The establishment of the Clan Affairs Courtyard had been a directive of Li Mutian before his passing. The mention of Li Tongya also pressured the elders into silence, causing them to withdraw with a resigned sigh.
Watching the elders leave, Li Yuanxiu then smiled and shook his head as he moved toward the rear hall. Li Yuanjiao, following behind, was amazed and praised him.
"I'm impressed by how quickly you managed to silence such a formidable group of elders!"
"It's no big deal," Li Yuanxiu replied as he chuckled softly and quietly said, "After all, in this world... power is respected. Suppressing others with strength is most convenient. Our methods of governance merely leverage the authority of stronger elders. Without power, no amount of talking will help."
The two laughed and entered the rear hall where incense was burning, with wisps of smoke swirling around.
A man clad in leather armor stood respectfully and vigilantly in the center. He cupped his fist to the approaching men and greeted them with a smile, "Tian Zhongqing pays his respects to the two lords."
"Hmm." Li Yuanxiu acknowledged him and walked to the seat at the head of the hall before addressing him directly, "In Huaqian Town that you oversee, there's a man named Ma Haiji, who is a spy for the Yu Family... Are you aware of this?"
"No, I am not!" Tian Zhongqing was taken aback by this revelation, his pupils dilating slightly as he quickly kneeled on the ground, stammering, "I have failed to discern him clearly..."
Li Yuanxiu waved his hand to stop him and sighed before speaking softly, "This is not your fault... I deliberately allowed this person to remain free. Dealing with spies isn't just about killing them; managing them seems much more reassuring than removing them. At crucial moments, they can still be useful to me."
After he had finished speaking, he made a small gesture. Immediately, a clan soldier brought forward a bamboo tube containing a secret message, which he handed to Tian Zhongqing.
"I want the Yu Family to know about the contents of this letter. Among the spies, this person's name is particularly unpleasant and he is the easiest to deceive... so let's use him... this Ma Haiji," Li Yuanxie instructed, letting out a soft chuckle.
Tian Zhongqing nodded repeatedly. Li Yuanxiu went on to explain the plan in great detail, making sure his instructions were as clear as possible.
"Make it look natural... let Ma Haiji believe he had stumbled upon this accidentally."
After carefully listening to his instructions, Tian Zhongqing quietly excused himself. Li Yuanjiao was still sitting casually at the bottom of the steps. Seeing TianZhingqing leave, he then turned to his brother.
"Brother, Yu Mugao is not easy to fool. Whether he believes it or not, Ma Haiji is likely to be discarded by the Yu Family after this... Do you have a plan for handling this?"
Li Yuanxiu nodded and smiled. "When someone comes to our house to spy on us, is there any reason for him to leave unscathed and still live a life of luxury? Once his message gets out, we'll make his life worse than death."
Picking up a writing brush, Li Yuanxiu and Li Yuanjiao exchanged a glance and smiled. Li Yuanxiu then drew a circle on the fabric sheet.
Li Yuanjiao raised an eyebrow in response and said with a cryptic expression, "Tian Zhongqing and Xu Gongming are both talents that can be utilized... The families have many members and are bound to produce a few formidable characters."
Li Yuanxiu looked down at the circle he had drawn and let out a small sigh.
"Talents that can be utilized are good enough... we don't need someone like An Jingming. Our pond is too shallow to nurture flood dragons."
————
Under the administration of Mount Huaqian, the four towns flourished, with Huaqian Town at the foot of the mountain being the most lively. In recent years, many courtyards had been built, and in the sparse spring rain, people wearing straw raincoats bustled about.
"The official has come to visit... Please inform Brother Zhongqing!"
Ma Haiji waited outside in the courtyard under the spring drizzle for a while until a servant creaked the door open.
"Oh, it's you, Lord Ma!
Please come," the servant said respectfully upon recognizing him at the doorway.
Ma Haiji nodded before walking into the courtyard with his hands behind his back. As he crossed the threshold, he took off his straw raincoat. There was no sign of Tian Zhongqing in the main courtyard and not even an attendant was in sight, leaving the courtyard eerily empty.
He raised an eyebrow and asked, "Where is Lord Zhongqing?"
"The lord received an urgent message early this morning and went out with his men, leaving only me to watch the house. Please wait a moment, I will bring you some tea..." the servant answered, with his head bowed meekly.
Tian Zhongqing was known for his frugality, employing only a few personal servants. Such situations were not uncommon. Ma Haiji nodded at the servant's explanation, who went to prepare the tea hurriedly.
Upon hearing the words 'urgent message', Ma Haiji's interest was piqued. He sat down on a wooden chair, eyeing the bamboo tube on the table that fluttered slightly in the wind. It piqued his own greedy thoughts as he gazed at it.
I wonder if I could get any information from this...
Ten years ago, Ma Haiji had fled to this place from the roads. He was skilled in speech and good at calculations, which earned him a position managing the granary under Tian Zhongqing.
However, he had another identity—his real surname was Yu and he came from one of the Yu Family's branches.
His generation had fallen on hard times, but thanks to his cleverness and a recommendation, he had secured a position as a spy and infiltrated the Li Family.
His gaze lingered on the bamboo tube on the table.
Ma Haiji could hardly contain himself; he had been here for ten years, transmitting only bits and pieces of information, and was never involved in anything significant... so much so that he felt as if he were starting to forget his own surname.
"If this information is important enough, perhaps I could return home in glory, no longer needing to skulk around here..."
Truthfully, life in the Li Family was not harder than in the Yu Family. With the support of hundreds of thousands from Mount Yue, the common folk of the Li Family lived far better than those under the Yu, where although the upper echelons were wealthy, the commoners still starved.
Ma Haiji looked around before quickly approaching the table, squatting to inspect it. The wax seal on the bamboo tube had been broken, and it was empty, its contents most likely already taken away by Tian Zhongqing.
"What a pity..."
Ma Haiji sighed and sat back down before kicking his legs up. His eyes swept across the floor around him and spotted a piece of white cloth caught under the table leg, fluttering gently in the soft spring breeze.
"Hmm?"
His eyes twinkled instantly. Always quick-witted, he quickly realized what the cloth was.
"This must mean that Tian Zhongqing indeed received a very important and urgent message... He must have left the courtyard in such a hurry that he didn't secure the tube properly, and the spring breeze must have blown the message under the table!"
Ma Haiji was delighted. He peeked at it and saw that the ink had smeared across the cloth, leaving only a few legible words. "An Jingming... has broken through to the eighth heavenly layer of the Qi Cultivation Realm..."
"Your tea is here, Lord Ma!"
The call startled Ma Haiji to his core. He plopped back into his chair swiftly and took the offered tea bowl nonchalantly. However, his mind was racing with thoughts and he was eager to leave.
After the servant left, he breathed a sigh of relief and wiped his face, recalling the process and silently praising himself, "My actions were flawless... Time to leave quickly!"