Chapter Forty-Four: The Rebellion in Pangqi

"Master Chen, are you all right?" Lady Xu looked full of guilt, her manner a little uneasy.

"Of course I'm not all right—look, I've bled! You have to take responsibility," Chen Ying replied, half-joking yet half-serious.

"I will, I will! No matter how much the medicine costs, I'll pay for everything!" Lady Xu promised solemnly. "I’d sell my pots and pans if I had to!"

"Enough, I won’t frighten you anymore." Chen Ying smiled. "I’m fine—no need for you to take responsibility. Actually, I came today to talk about investing in your inn."

"Invest? Buy a share?" Lady Xu looked confused.

Seeing her puzzled expression, Chen Ying explained carefully, "Let me put it this way: if your business is worth two thousand strings of cash, and I put in another two thousand, then the business belongs equally to both of us. We each hold fifty percent. After expanding, we split all profits down the middle."

After Chen Ying finished, Lady Xu understood. But she still shook her head firmly, "I’m sorry… I really can’t agree to that."

"Manager Xu, please don’t assume I’m trying to seize your inn."

"You misunderstand me too," Lady Xu hesitated, then spoke slowly. "This inn is all I have as a dowry."

Seeing her determined expression, Chen Ying felt it would be unfair to press her further. After all, if she were to marry again, the inn could not remain a joint venture. Chen Ying sighed inwardly and realized he would have to think of another way.

Lady Xu wanted to say, "If you marry me, the inn will be yours," but as she watched Chen Ying leave with regret on his face, the words caught in her throat. In the end, she let him go.

Having married twice before, Lady Xu was deeply insecure, feeling unworthy of Chen Ying. As she watched his departing figure, tears welled up and fell, filling her with a sorrowful regret that their paths hadn't crossed before her first marriage.

"Master, is your business finished?"

Seeing Chen Ying emerge, Liang Zan hurried over to ask.

"I’ll tell you on the way," Chen Ying said as he climbed into the carriage to sit opposite Liang Zan.

Looking back at Xu’s Inn, Chen Ying’s face was full of regret. "Originally, I wanted to cooperate with Xu’s Inn, using the premises to turn it into a wine house that only serves drinks, welcoming guests from all over. Heroes and wanderers get everything half price. It would barely keep afloat, but it would allow me to gather news from all quarters..."

According to Chen Ying’s plan, he would partner with Lady Xu to renovate the inn and turn it into a wine house, no longer providing lodging. He knew the stir-fry techniques of future generations—even if he wasn’t a great chef, the novelty alone would set him apart in the Tang Dynasty and help him capture the market and grow the business.

Perhaps before long, the place would build a solid reputation and reap great profits. With money, everything becomes easier. He could become a figure like Timely Rain Song Jiang, extending aid to heroes, earning fame, and recruiting capable followers.

But even the best plan is not always easy to implement. Chen Ying’s idea was stillborn, and he had to think of alternatives. Suddenly, his gaze settled on Liang Zan.

Liang Zan noticed Chen Ying’s intent look and asked, "Master, what is it?"

"Weren't you a gang leader in Jingyang?" Chen Ying asked.

Liang Zan looked confused. "What’s a gang leader?"

"Like a knight-errant," Chen Ying explained.

"Well, more or less!" Liang Zan replied proudly. "Brothers used to call me the Madman Who Fears Nothing!"

"Excellent, just what I need!" Chen Ying exclaimed. "Here’s a thousand strings of cash. From now on, you have only one job: spend money!"

"Spend money?"

"Yes, spend freely! Make friends with heroes—treat them to wine, feasts, even if they want women. Just don’t let them gamble. Become friends with them. I want you to become the Little Lord Mengchang of Chang’an within a month!"

Liang Zan cracked his knuckles, excited. "That's easy!"

True to his word, Chen Ying sent Liang Zan back with a chest full of copper coins to Qujiang Tower, Chang’an’s most famous pleasure house, to play the generous benefactor.

Meanwhile, Chen Ying sat in the west wing, chatting idly with Lan’er, when a servant announced that the crown prince had summoned him.

On arriving at the front hall, Chen Ying realized it was actually Li Renfang, the military secretary of the Second Noble House.

The military secretary, fully titled Assistant Military Secretary, was one of the staff officers of the Garrison Office—seventh rank, responsible for military orders and planning. Also called Staff Officer for Arms, his role was similar to that of a modern chief of staff, though with less authority.

"Your humble servant greets Commandant Chen!" Li Renfang saluted respectfully as Chen Ying entered.

"Rise, Staff Officer Li." Chen Ying returned the gesture, then paused in surprise. "Didn’t I request leave today? I have some matters at home—has something urgent happened in camp?"

Li Renfang replied, "Sir, by order of the crown prince, I am to request your return to camp."

"Is there another battle?" Chen Ying frowned.

"Well..." Li Renfang hesitated.

Chen Ying could tell at a glance that Li Renfang was an honest man, not skilled at lying. Waving over the maid, Nan Nan, he took her hand and slowly wrote: one silver ingot. Then he said to her, "Go and serve tea!"

Nan Nan’s eyes flashed with understanding. She nodded and left.

Soon, she returned with two cups of tea. She first presented one to Chen Ying, then handed the other to Li Renfang.

Li Renfang paid little attention, lifting the lid—only to find no tea, but a silver ingot weighing about five taels.

"Is there something wrong with the tea here at the Chen residence?" Chen Ying asked with a faint smile. "Are you dissatisfied, Staff Officer Li?"

"No, not at all," Li Renfang replied, pretending to drink, covering his cup with his sleeve as he quietly slipped the silver into his sleeve.

A knowing smile played on Chen Ying’s lips as he gazed at Li Renfang. "Staff Officer Li, I’m new to the Second Noble House and unfamiliar with many matters. What is the prince’s business this time? If His Highness asks, and I cannot answer, it’s not just my own reputation at stake—I represent our entire house."

Though it was only five taels of silver, for Li Renfang, this was no small sum. Prices in the Tang Dynasty were extremely low—during Emperor Taizong’s reign, a dou of rice cost just five coins, whereas by the Qing, it could be 130 to 280 coins, and in times of flood, over 800. Tang army officers received no salary, but a seventh-rank staff officer like Li Renfang did: seventy-five shi of grain and 350 mu of official land, for an annual income of about 450 shi—equivalent to 22.5 strings of cash. The five taels of silver Chen Ying gave him equaled a quarter of his yearly income—around thirty-five thousand yuan in modern terms.

As the saying goes, you cannot refuse a gift from someone’s hand, nor turn down a meal from their table.

Li Renfang considered for a moment. "I do not know the details, sir. However... the Qiang chieftain Pang Qidi has gathered several thousand followers in rebellion and is heading for Hanchuan, plundering and burning everywhere. Shizhou has sent urgent pleas for help. The crown prince’s summons to you must be to discuss suppressing the rebellion."

Note: The Qiang rebellion led by Pang Qidi began in the eleventh month of the first year of Wude, and was put down by Lady Chongyi in mid-December. For narrative purposes, the timeline here is moved forward. This is not a work of formal history—please do not take it as such.