(1) Racing Day and Night

That day at Yueyue Manor, Tian Xu sat in his study reviewing the latest reports from shops across the country when he saw Han Qian approaching quickly from a distance, a letter that had arrived from the Four Seas Inn in her hand.

Han Qian was the daughter of Han Jian and Wang Qiugui, Han Jin's elder sister, eighteen years old. Since the age of fourteen, she had followed Wang Qiugui in learning to manage the countless affairs of Yueyue Manor, and once Tian Xu had sent Wang Qiugui back to take charge of the Splendid Silk Shop over two years ago, Han Qian had shouldered the responsibility entirely on her own. Bold and highly capable, she handled matters with meticulous order, and Tian Xu's confidence in entrusting her with such responsibility stemmed from knowing her thoroughly, inside and out. She possessed even greater presence than Wang Qiugui had at her age, capable even now of personally inspecting every shop across Daming Prefecture; no shopkeeper's petty tricks ever escaped her watchful eye, forcing every one of them to behave with scrupulous honesty—a clear testament to her sharp discernment. She also personally oversaw Yueyue Manor's charitable work throughout Daming Prefecture—distributing porridge, dispensing medicine, and supporting the local charity houses. Whatever complicated matter landed in her hands, inside the manor or out, she almost never failed to resolve it cleanly. Over these past few years, her performance had proven remarkably solid and dependable, more than earning her the respected title everyone had come to call her: "Steward Han."

In her daily life, Han Qian much preferred men's attire, which let her move about and handle her duties with far greater ease and efficiency, unencumbered by more restrictive clothing. She and her personal guard Yueming were close in age, dressed similarly, and stood at nearly the same height—the two of them looked almost like they'd been cast from the same mold, so much so that people in Daming Prefecture jokingly called them "twin brothers." This never failed to annoy Han Jin, who, as her actual younger brother by blood, often found himself jealous of Yueming as a result, needling him from time to time out of sheer irritation. But Yueming was hardly one to be pushed around either—perhaps from years spent constantly at Han Qian's side, his temperament had come to closely mirror hers; among the seven Yue-disciples, he was without question the most free-spirited and unrestrained of them all. Since Han Qian never objected to his manner, and since he remained scrupulously respectful before the Manor Lord and Yue Heng, no one else dared criticize him for it either—which left Han Jin, in the end, as the unluckiest one caught in the middle. Given the close bond between Yueming and Han Qian, combined with the fact that Yueming had become a disciple before Han Jin and thus outranked him by seniority, Han Jin was obligated to address him respectfully as "Senior Martial Sister"—and to make matters worse, his own martial skill genuinely fell short of Yueming's as well. Faced with this triple defeat on every front, whatever rivalry simmered between the two of them, Han Jin invariably ended up the clear loser every time.

Now, Daming Prefecture served as the political center of Weibo, the seat of the military governor's residence. It had originally been called Weizhou, but Tian Yue had renamed it Daming Prefecture. Yueyue Manor itself sat on a hillside just outside Daming Prefecture, built against the mountains and beside the water, commanding a sweeping view over the entire prefecture below.

"An urgent dispatch from Chang'an, Father's own hand." Han Qian handed the letter over to Tian Xu. Tian Xu took it, unfolded it, and began to read—his brow furrowing almost immediately, his expression darkening. Yueying, standing nearby, noticed something was clearly wrong and quickly leaned in to glance at the letter as well.

"The Jingyuan army has suddenly mutinied, plunging Chang'an into chaos, installing Zhu Ci as emperor. His Majesty has fled the city, the common people caught in the disaster, countless dead and wounded. All of Yueyue Manor's properties there have underground cellars for storing goods and taking shelter, and with our hidden guards protecting them as well, both property and personnel have suffered only minor losses—the Manor Lord need not worry on that account. Every member of General Guo's household has perished except for Fourth Daughter, who arrived at the inn clutching the Manor Lord's private seal and collapsed before the gate; her fever remains dangerously high even now, and Physician Zhou has already been summoned to treat her. Her condition remains critical. Awaiting the Manor Lord's instructions on how best to proceed."

"Back when the Manor Lord gave Fourth Daughter Guo his private seal, it was out of concern that if word ever got out that General Guo had once sheltered you, someone might exploit your identity to frame him for colluding with the Weibo military governor. Yet who could have predicted that before that very fear could ever come to pass, the Jingyuan troops would mutiny first..." Yueying said, brow furrowed as well, after finishing the letter.

"The imperial court lacks the power to rein in the regional garrisons, and possesses no real means to win the loyalty of the troops either—so old troubles remain unresolved even as new ones keep emerging. If it isn't Jingyuan forcing the Emperor's hand today, it will be Weibo tomorrow; if not Weibo, then perhaps Ziqing, or Chengde... The garrisons grow ever more ambitious, while His Majesty proves utterly incompetent and blind to it all—and it is always the innocent common people who suffer for it in the end." Tian Xu's heart weighed heavy within him, his expression still clouded with gloom as he refolded the letter and let out a long sigh.

Hearing Tian Xu muttering on like this, Han Qian grew somewhat anxious. The Guo household had been thrown into utter catastrophe overnight, a mere twelve-year-old girl had just endured such a horrific ordeal, her very life now hanging by a thread—and here was Tian Xu, still dwelling on matters of political strategy?

"Little Brother..." Han Qian rolled her eyes, urging Tian Xu along. "Someone's life is at stake here—she came seeking help exactly as promised, carrying your own private seal, and you need to decide quickly what to do about it! Father is still waiting on your reply, too! Enough philosophizing already..."

Among the several dozen people at Yueyue Manor, aside from Yue Heng, Han Qian was probably the only one who dared speak so bluntly and directly to Tian Xu, practically ordering him around. Though her own mother regarded Tian Xu as her own son as well, both her father and mother still maintained proper decorum in how they treated him, observing the natural hierarchy between them; no one else, besides Han Qian and her younger brother, would ever have dared treat Tian Xu quite this casually, as though he were their own little brother. And indeed, having grown up an only child with no siblings of his own, Tian Xu had developed a deep, genuine affection for Han Qian and Han Jin both, having even been nursed alongside Han Jin at Wang Qiugui's breast as an infant. He treasured this bond of kinship deeply, and truly regarded the Han siblings as his own elder sister and brother—which was precisely why he could accept Han Qian speaking to him so bluntly, occasionally putting on airs as the elder sister of the household, without ever taking offense.

"Sister's right..." Tian Xu thought for a moment, then said, "It seems I'll need to go to Chang'an myself, in person."

Han Qian froze for a moment at this, visibly startled.

"With things so chaotic right now, you're going to Chang'an yourself? Never mind Chang'an itself—the entire journey there is likely far from safe."

"Unsafe as it may be, given that several of the garrisons have formed an alliance together, traveling under the banner of the Weibo Tian clan should still work well enough. We'll hang lanterns bearing the Weibo Tian family crest and the Yueyue Manor emblem on both sides at the front of the carriage—anyone with sense won't dare cause trouble, and if someone lacks the sense to leave us be, well, we'll fight if it comes to that; we're not afraid. I expect most will have enough sense not to provoke an ally needlessly at a time like this—hardly a wise move for anyone involved." As Tian Xu spoke, his expression remained perfectly calm, as though the matter concerned someone else entirely rather than himself.

"Take Yueming along too, if it helps." Though Tian Xu appeared to have everything already figured out, Han Qian still couldn't shake her worry over his safety.

"Fourth Daughter Guo's condition is critical, and Uncle Jian's account of the losses to our Chang'an shops was rather too brief to be reassuring—I really ought to go see the actual situation for myself. Daming Prefecture to Chang'an is a thousand li journey; I plan to set out first thing tomorrow morning and travel day and night without stopping, hoping to reach Chang'an as quickly as possible. Besides the five Yue-disciples, we'll need additional hands to rotate guard duty and carriage-driving along the way in shifts—please have messengers sent ahead, Sister, to notify every relay station along the route to Chang'an to have horses and personnel ready in advance, and make sure the personnel chosen have strong martial skills. We'll only stop at each station briefly to eat, change horses, and change personnel—no overnight stays—so as to shorten the travel time to Chang'an as much as possible." Tian Xu continued without hurry. "As for Uncle Jian, please also have messengers sent to inform him without fail that I intend to travel to Chang'an myself. And should Fourth Daughter Guo's condition change unexpectedly at any point, please have Uncle Jian relay word through the relay stations along the route so that news reaches me as quickly as possible."

"Very well, since your mind's made up, I'll go arrange it all right away. Since we're traveling day and night without rest, the five Yue-disciples and whoever comes to relieve us from the relay stations will all need to take turns resting inside the carriages—they're all men, though, so Yueming won't be able to go along; it wouldn't be proper for a woman traveling alone among them." Han Qian turned to leave, then suddenly seemed to remember something and turned back to ask Tian Xu, "Should Uncle Heng come along too? With things this chaotic, having him by your side would certainly make things safer."

Tian Xu understood at once the real meaning behind Han Qian's question—after all, when had his adoptive father ever failed to accompany him on any journey, to protect him personally? It was simply that his adoptive father's taciturn, humorless nature made everyone at the manor, high and low alike, tread carefully around him. And given that he also served as martial master to both Han Jin and Yueming, Han Qian practically turned into a mouse cornered by a cat whenever she stood before him, hardly daring to breathe. So naturally, she wanted to avoid having to report to her adoptive father herself, hoping instead to maneuver Tian Xu into being the one to break the news to him—a scheme Tian Xu saw through instantly.

Tian Xu let out a helpless little laugh. "I'll speak with Father myself about it—no need for you to worry over that, Sister."

Hearing this, Han Qian felt an enormous weight lift from her shoulders. Heaven only knew how terrifying it was to speak with Uncle Heng directly—his sheer authority alone was enough to command respect across every corner of the martial world, both righteous and underworld alike. What chance did a delicate young woman like herself, without a shred of combat skill to her name, ever stand against Uncle Heng's overwhelming presence? Even though nothing bad would actually happen simply from reporting to him directly, just standing before Uncle Heng was enough to leave her trembling with nerves inside—so unless absolutely necessary, she had no intention of bringing that particular suffering upon herself.

Satisfied with Tian Xu's answer, Han Qian was just about to head out when she heard Tian Xu speak again. "Also, please ask Uncle Jian to arrange for someone to help handle the burial arrangements for the Guo family—let them finally rest in peace."

"Understood." Han Qian agreed, and continued walking toward the study door, where Yueming, who had been standing watch outside, bowed respectfully to Tian Xu within before following Han Qian off.

The reason Yueming had been stationed outside the study door was that the study was considered a sensitive, restricted space—no one apart from Yue Heng, members of the Han family, and Yueying was permitted to enter without being specifically summoned. However restless Yueming's temperament might be at times, he would never go so far as to break the manor's established rules. As for the relay stations, these were entirely Yueyue Manor's own private property. Since the manor's trading caravans traveled constantly across the country, year after year, each journey involving large numbers of people, goods, horses, and vehicles, finding suitable lodging along the way at every stop would have been thoroughly impractical—so the manor had simply established its own network of relay stations. These served, in ordinary times, as a means of relaying messages, and when needed, provided essential supplies and rest along the road as well—an arrangement that proved instrumental in allowing Yueyue Manor's trading caravans to travel so smoothly and efficiently between destinations across the country.

As it happened, the method of relaying this particular message followed the very same day-and-night, station-to-station relay system that Tian Xu himself would now be using on his journey to Chang'an. To guard against any mishap along the way that might disrupt the delivery, each message was always dispatched with three separate messengers, each carrying an identical copy of the letter, traveling by different routes. At every relay station, each messenger could switch to a fresh horse and, if needed, hand off to a new rider, continuing the relay onward to the next station in turn—functioning much like the empire's own eight-hundred-li urgent courier system used by the military. The only difference was that the imperial court relied on official post stations, while Yueyue Manor relied on its own private relay network. Precisely because so many relay stations had been established across the entire country, this created a remarkably fast and accurate information network—one that had contributed enormously to establishing Yueyue Manor's unrivaled position of commercial dominance.

"Go on ahead and start preparing the travel bags with Yuefeng, Yuehua, Yuehao, and Yuesheng—make sure we bring plenty of wine, water, and dried provisions as well. The weather's turning bitterly cold, and if the drivers especially end up freezing, their hands and feet will grow stiff and clumsy. Wine can help keep the body warm against the cold, so bring more rather than less. I don't drink myself, so make sure to prepare hand warmers and charcoal for me instead. Go take care of it now." Watching Han Qian and Yueming grow smaller in the distance, Tian Xu turned and gave these instructions to Yueying standing behind him.

"I'll go report this to Father right away." Tian Xu rose to his feet as well and made his way out of the study.