CH 82: Yang Feng’s Past

The Champion Marquis Han Shi had personally come to visit for the purpose of, surprisingly, hiring Yang Feng. Han Ruzi was stunned for a moment, looking at the eunuch standing at the door, “You wish to invite him to be a strategist in the army?”

The Champion Marquis gave a faint smile, “Strategist is just a colloquial term. There is currently a vacancy for the position of Adjutant of the Northern Army. I have consulted with many people, and everyone recommended Master Yang to me.”

“What does the Adjutant of the Northern Army do?” Han Ruzi asked casually.

“Assist the Grand Marshal in managing the army, managing the roster, military laws, official documents…”

Han Ruzi laughed, “Then you’ve found the wrong person. Yang Feng can’t even manage the accounts of over a hundred people in the manor, how can he manage the miscellaneous affairs of a hundred thousand people in the Northern Army?”

The Champion Marquis also laughed, “You may not be aware, but the Adjutant is the head of the civil officials and clerks in the army. The miscellaneous day-to-day affairs are handled by them, and the most important duty of the Adjutant is to assist the Grand Marshal in managing the army. The position is comparable to that of a hundred fierce generals.”

Han Ruzi sat in his chair and twisted his body, causing his sore legs to ache. He couldn’t help but grit his teeth.

Champion Marquis Han Shi asked with concern, “Are you injured?”

“No, I’m not injured. I practised horse stance for a while in the morning.”

“Haha, do you like martial arts as well? It’s always a bit uncomfortable when you first start practicing. It was the same for me at first. Later, I got a type of cream which has miraculous effects in relieving soreness. Afterwards, I will have someone send some to your manor.”

“You are too kind. I’m just practicing for fun, there’s no need for a cream.”

“Training is for strengthening the body, so even minor pain and injuries should not be overlooked. My cream is not particularly rare or valuable, there is no harm to trying it out.”

“Then… I would be rude to refuse.”

Han Shi put away his smile and asked again, “I know you are reluctant reluctant to let Master Yang go, but shallow waters cannot hold a dragon. It’s a pity for a talent like Master Yang not to venture out and make a career.”

“Yang Feng used to be an attendant in the palace, advising the Emperor. This manor is but shallow waters compared to the palace, but the waters of the Northern Army do not seem much deeper.”

Han Shi laughed loudly. He cupped his fists and said, “Lord Marquis, you are right, I was being rude. If you are unwilling to let him go, I certainly can’t force the issue. I just plead one thing: if you are willing to release the tiger, the Northern Army, though small, is a place the tiger can sharpen its claws and teeth, waiting for the right time for the tiger to roar.”

“Sorry, by ‘tiger’ do you mean Yang Feng?”

Han Shi nodded.

“There’s no need to wait for another day, let’s ask him today.”

Both of them looked at Yang Feng. After all the discussion, they had not yet asked the opinion of the person in question.

Yang Feng bowed, “I am a person guilty of crimes. It was by the grace of the Empress Dowager that she forgave me and assigned me to the Marquis’s Manor as the steward. I shall therefore serve the Marquis with all my heart, and I dare not harbor any wild thoughts. I am not a tiger, but a guard dog.”

The Champion Marquis laughed heartily, “Master Yang is too modest. Alright, I have made my intentions clear. I shall no longer disturb you and shall take my leave.”

The Manor Clerk had asked the Bureau of Imperial Clan Affairs, and was informed that the Weary Marquis did not need to provide a meal. So Han Ruzi did not hold him back. He stood up and said, “I’m sorry that you have come all this way for nothing. I still have a few idle eunuchs here, if you see any you like, I can let you have them right now.”

The Champion Marquis took this as a joke and laughed it off.

Han Ruzi escorted him to the second gate. Steward Yang Feng escorted him to the front gate.

In the study, Han Ruzi sat still, not moving. Zhang Youcai was just about to say something when he was waved away.

He did not need anyone’s advice. He just needed to think on his own.

Yang Feng came back, taking a little longer than expected. Han Ruzi asked, “Did the Champion Marquis speak to you?”

Yang Feng nodded.

There was silence in the study for a while, and it was Han Ruzi who broke the silence first, “Does the Champion Marquis see through my thoughts?”

“No, he did not. You are doing well.”

Han Ruzi sighed. Only in front of Yang Feng did he not have to hide his dangerous and laughable ambition, “But you still wish to go.”

“If you need me to stay, I won’t go.”

Han Ruzi showed a smile, “What do I need you to do now? The Champion Marquis was right, you are a tiger, born to roar and fight in the mountains, but here you can only catch mice.”

Yang Feng walked to the desk, “We need to have a frank discussion.”

Han Ruzi nodded, looking at the eunuch across from him, he couldn’t help but laugh, “It’s really strange, I’ve known you for less than a year, yet I’ve come to see you as an indispensable support. That’s not the way it’s supposed to be, is it?”

“The Emperor is the support of everyone, but he himself can’t rely on anyone,” said Yang Feng, still considering the young man as the future emperor.

“Do you really believe in me?” This was Han Ruzi’s biggest doubt. Even he himself didn’t believe there was a possibility of becoming the emperor.

Yang Feng pulled a stool from the side and sat down, “Are you still interested in my past?”

Han Ruzi nodded.

Yang Feng used to be a scholar, born into an official’s family. Unfortunately, his father died early and his family fell into decline, leaving him and his mother nowhere to turn. “My mother was a very proud person—she couldn’t stand the slightest disrespect from relatives. My father understood my mother’s temperament, so before he died, he wrote a letter entrusting us to a stranger.”

“A stranger?” Han Ruzi was confused.

“There are people in this world who help others in their time of need, without asking for anything in return. They are known as chivalrous heroes in the pugilist world. My father happened to know of such a hero.”

“You’ve told me that one cannot be so selfish as to think that others are not selfish.”

“Yes, chivalrous heroes also have their own selfish desires. They want reputation. I have classified these types of people as such: those with the purest reputation are the chivalrous heroes. Those who seek good reputation to use it as a tool to gain benefits and power are no longer chivalrous heroes, they are generous magnates. Those who behave even worse than them are just strongmen. They have a reputation, but it is a bad one, not a good one.”

Han Ruzi thought for a while, ” Marquis Junyang would be considered a generous magnate.”

“He used to be a chivalrous hero, but unfortunately his will was not firm and he became a generous magnate. In a few years, if he does not die, he might become a notorious strongman.”

“Your father had a good eye to entrust you and your mother to a chivalrous hero. This chivalrous hero must be very famous?”

“He was very famous, but you wouldn’t have heard of him. Anyway, this great hero was much more steadfast than Hua Bin. He supported my mother and me for ten years, and what he was the same on the first day as the last, without any change in attitude. Although there were no luxurious clothes and food, we had no worries about our meals and accommodation.”

“This hero was a good man.” Han Ruzi inexplicably thought of the eunuch Liu Jie who was in prison. If there were more such officials in the court, perhaps he wouldn’t have been forced to abdicate.

“A chivalrous hero isn’t necessarily a good person; they have their own set of rules. Those who cannot understand these rules won’t receive any help, and might even get into trouble with them. My father understood the rules, and the letter he wrote was quite splendid, worthy of being passed down through the ages and gaining fame.”

Yang Feng pondered for a moment, then shook his head with a smile, without reciting the content of the letter, “I’ve digressed. Later, that hero ran into some trouble and was ordered to be executed by the Martial Emperor.”

“What? He was executed just for some trouble? Was he among the heroes mentioned by Marquis Junyang?”

“This hero had killed people. To him, this was a minor issue, but his enemies would not let him go, and it happened that the Martial Emperor was unhappy with the power of these heroes of the pugilist world. So, he was made an example of. The Martial Emperor didn’t distinguish between heroes and strongmen, he just targeted the most famous ones.”

“The Martial Emperor… why did he do this?”

“He had a reason. There were too many local heroes, some of whom had become too powerful, to the point where even the local government offices didn’t dare to provoke them. The fugitives pursued by the court could be safe as long as they took refuge under the heroes. If this continued, the imperial court would only be an empty shell.”

“And for that the Martial Emperor indiscriminately executed people?”

“Heh, the Emperor is high above, how could he distinguish right from wrong among the people? Moreover, this so-called right and wrong are subject to change. Marquis Junyang was once a famous hero in the world. But when he sensed danger, didn’t he also abandon his heroics for power? The Martial Emperor did kill people, but the results did not meet his expectations. He thought he could kill one to warn a hundred, or just kill them all if necessary. But there were always those who were not afraid of death. One batch of heroes would fall, and another would rise, even more numerous.”

Han Ruzi still had many questions. He held them back and asked, “Were you also involved in this at that time, Lord Yang?”

“Mm, I chose to get involved because I had to repay kindness and take revenge.”

At that time, Yang Feng had no power or influence. Unable to save the hero, he brought his old mother to the Capital, mingling among the powerful and wealthy. Using the Martial Emperor’s anger towards the heroes, he managed to annihilate the family that had caused the hero to be imprisoned and executed.

By this time, Yang Feng couldn’t extricate himself from the grudges between the heroes and the court. He served as the pawn of the court, which naturally also attracted the revenge of the heroes. Fortunately, he wasn’t particularly important out of all the Martial Emperor’s agents— indeed, he didn’t even have the privilege to meet the Martial Emperor in person. So he did not get caught in the brunt of the backlash, only its aftershocks.

But even the aftershocks resulted in significant blows to Yang Feng. He lost his official position, lost his reputation, his mother passed away in poverty without a word of complaint, his wife mysteriously died, leaving behind an infant son, his house was often on fire, there were always people following him like assassins on the street… Yang Feng had no choice but to hide and even seek help from the heroes he had offended.

Unfortunately, he sought help from the wrong person, or perhaps he misunderstood the rules of the pugilist world, or perhaps the person was unwilling to forgive his transgressions against the pugilist world. Strange things kept happening, and Yang Feng felt danger was at his side. Even when he left the Capital and hid in the countryside, danger still followed him.

Years later, Yang Feng finally woke up to the fact that he had not offended a hero, but a gang hiding in the shadows.

Han Ruzi was increasingly astonished as he listened, “You mean to say that the heroes of the pugilist world have formed a large gang?”

“The heroes are not a gang, but there is a gang hiding among them. I had been looking for clues, but first I needed to disappear, to evade their eyes and ears.”

Yang Feng entrusted his only son to others, changed his name and identity, and after undergoing castration, he managed to enter the manor of the then Prince Donghai, subsequently Graceful Emperor, as a eunuch. Finally, the strange occurrences around him stopped. Yang Feng silently hid and observed. He believed that such a powerful gang would inevitably leave traces.

“All along, I had focusing on heroes from all over the country. It was only after the rebellion of Prince Qi that I realized I had been looking in the wrong direction: the heroes are like pearls, connected by a thin thread. I only saw the pearls and thought the largest one was the leader. In fact, the hidden thread is the key, and many heroes were being used without realizing it.”

“Are you seeking revenge?”

“Revenge? Of course, I want revenge, but that’s just part of the reason.” Yang Feng stared at the Weary Marquis. He had only told the truth to two people, one was the deceased Thoughtful Emperor, and the other was the young man before him, “I can’t stand being manipulated. I want a head-on fight, to cut off that thread. Even if I die, I will have no regrets.”

Han Ruzi finally understood, Yang Feng was a madman, Luo Huan-zhang and Chunyu Xiao were all madmen. Marquis Junyang, who used his reputation to save his life, was the normal one.

But if he wanted to retake the throne in nearly impossible circumstances, he had to first find supporters among these madmen.

“If you’re willing to sincerely help me, I can help you as well,” Han Ruzi said.

“How can you help me?” Yang Feng asked coldly.

“If there really is a mysterious gang in this world as you said, Chunyu Xiao must be one of them.”

“Mm, very likely.”

“They wish for the empire to fall into chaos, right?”

“Mm.”

“So, wouldn’t a deposed emperor be very useful to them?”

Yang Feng remained silent.