Martial Cultivator

The tea leaves met the hot water and slowly unfurled their curled bodies, releasing a vivid green hue.

As the boiling water churned, it carried the tea leaves with it, letting them rise and sink in the heat. The entire carriage was soon filled with the rich fragrance of tea.

”Tea from Lingnan has always been rare, because this particular kind isn’t suited for artifical cultivation. It only grows deep in the mountains of Lingnan. Even the most seasoned tea pickers might spend an entire day roaming those mountains without coming across a single tea tree. And even if they did, only the tender topmost leaves can be used. After it’s dried, it’s barely enough to make even a fraction of a tael.”

”Add to that the threat of demons in the area, and the market price becomes sky-high. Back in the day, this was imperial tribute tea. During Emperor Taizong’s reign, he tasted it and praised it immensely. On a whim, he asked about its origin. After learning the truth, he ordered it to be removed from the tribute list, thinking this would keep tea pickers from risking their lives. But in reality, once it was no longer a tribute, countless nobles and high officials scrambled to buy it. Now, it’s called ’Thousand Tael Gold,’ illustrating its worth. With such a high value, who would care about a human life?”

The old man glanced up at him and said calmly, “What’s with that look of tragic sorrow?”

The old man looked up, glanced at him, and said calmly, “What are you putting on that look of deep hatred and bitterness for?”

The middle-aged man gave a bitter smile and said, “Ancestor, that young Lord Warden Commander has a fierce reputation. What we’re doing now carries great risk.”

The old man listened to the middle-aged man’s words without rushing to respond. He simply reached out, lifted the iron kettle, and poured a cup of tea. The tea in the bowl was a shade of verdant green; very pleasant to the eye.

“Tea pickers know full well that every trip into the mountains is like hanging their heads from their belts and risking their lives. Yet why do they keep going back again and again?”

The old man cast a leisurely glance at the middle-aged man in front of him. Though he was satisfied with many aspects of this junior in his family, there were still things he was not pleased with.

What displeased him the most was that he was too timid and overly cautious in his actions.

The middle-aged man answered honestly, “For the thousand taels of gold.”

A statement with a double meaning.

The old man nodded in approval. See, aside from being overly careful, this fellow was not bad at all.

“Xunchang, the reason we’re doing this now, first of all, is because we have no choice. Look at the way that young Lord Warden Commander operates. Isn’t it even more frightening than when His Majesty was around?” ”His Majesty merely silenced opposition in court and funneled most of the yearly taxes to the North, but regarding the foreign lands, he still maintained peace.”

”But look at this person now, has anything he’s done recently shown even a hint of wanting peace? In such a short time, he’s provoked the Infatuation Daoist Temple, destroyed two sects. If he keeps going at this rate, just as they say, our Great Liang may well face ruin.”

The old man let out a heavy sigh, raised the tea bowl, took a sip, and smiled as he said, “As for us doing all this, it’s to put pressure on His Highness the Crown Prince, to show our stance to the court, to make the stakes clear. Even if the Crown Prince wants to side with him, I’m afraid he doesn’t have the prestige for it. When the time comes, between Great Liang and this man, the Crown Prince will naturally have to choose. The Crown Prince isn’t a fool, he’ll know what to choose.”

“Besides, do you really think the Crown Prince has no thoughts of his own?” ”You must realize, Chen Chao’s reputation among the people far exceeds his. The commoners know the Lord Warden Commander but not the Crown Prince. Even when His Majesty left, he actually intended to hand the realm over to him. If it were you, could you feel at ease?” ”Xunchang, although you’ve made good progress in martial cultivation these years, don’t only focus on that. Think more about these matters. In the future, when this old man is gone, the entire Shen Family will rest on your shoulders.”

The old man let out another sigh and said softly, “In the end, this old man is doing this for the sake of Great Liang’s future. One emperor like that is enough, what do we need another one for?”

Shen Xunchang glanced at this old ancestor, still full of worry. After all, in the past two years, more than a few prominent and influential families in the Divine Capital had already been wiped out.

First was the Xia Family, found to be in collusion with the foreign lands, and uprooted completely.

Then came the Wei Family, which was even more terrifying. Once considered one of the two most unshakable great houses in all of Great Liang, now it too had vanished without a trace.

As for the other families implicated the night the Wei Family fell, they were not even worth mentioning.

The old man saw the worry in Shen Xunchang’s eyes and shook his head with a smile. “They were secretly collaborating with the outer sects. Once discovered, death was inevitable. But when have we ever had even the slightest dealings with the outer sects?”

Shen Xunchang nodded and said quietly, “What Ancestor says is reasonable.”

The old man nodded and said with a smile, “So even if Chen Chao finds out, he’ll have to endure it. According to the laws of Great Liang, there’s not a single article that could be used to convict us.”

This was the fundamental reason the old man dared to take the lead in this matter.

If there was no risk, then it was easy.

“Come now, let’s head back. I expect our Lord Warden Commander won’t be back some time yet.”

The old man glanced at the teapot, then slowly reached out and poured the remaining half pot of tea onto the stove.

“Brewing tea, if the fire isn’t hot enough, it won’t taste good. But if it’s too hot, there’s no point either.”

......

......

There was no shortage of food in the Divine Capital. Many shops had already been around for over a hundred years and were well-known throughout the city. One of them was the honey date shop that Zhu Xia used to love; that was one of the better-known ones.

But there were always some shops that, even after a hundred years, did not attract many customers. Not quite deserted, but certainly not bustling either.

One such shop sat on a long street near the eastern gate of the Divine Capital. Its flavor was unique and impossible for outsiders to replicate, making it the only one of its kind in the city. But precisely because of its distinct taste, not many could get used to it. Business was lukewarm - steady but never booming. Still, with a core group of loyal patrons, it managed to stay afloat. The shopkeeper did not mind much and enjoyed the peace and quiet.

However, things changed a few years ago after he had a daughter. The shopkeeper began to feel a bit troubled, often chatting with neighbors nearby, saying that if it had been a son, then fine, whether or not he could find a wife would just be a matter of fate. But since it was a daughter, then no matter what, he would have to prepare a decent dowry. Otherwise, when she married into another family, would she not be looked down upon?

But looking at how business was going, who knew when he would be able to save up for a proper dowry?

Every time this came up, the shopkeeper would sigh endlessly, prompting rounds of consolation from the neighbors.

Things like “every child has their own fate” had been said over and over again.

Today was yet another slow day with barely any customers. Seeing there was nothing to do, the shopkeeper dozed off at the counter. He had just fallen into a sound sleep when the sound of someone knocking on the counter startled him awake.

Half-dazed, he opened his eyes and saw a young man in black sitting in the shop with a little girl around four or five years old.

The shopkeeper lazily got to his feet, picked up a pot of cheap tea, and brought it over, pouring a cup for each of them. When he glanced at the little girl, he could not help but feel a touch of joy, though what he thought of was his own daughter.

The young man with the saber looked at the shopkeeper and smiled. “Business isn’t good?”

The shopkeeper gave a bitter smile. “The food here, most folks don’t like it. Doesn’t suit their taste.”

The young man nodded, not surprised. But just as the shopkeeper was about to ask what they wanted to eat, the man took a token from his waist and placed it on the table.

There were two words on it: ’Hundred Streams.’

The shopkeeper took a closer look and immediately straightened his expression. “This subordinate greets Lord Warden Commander.”

He had heard about this new master of the Hundred Streams Pavilion for some time, but today was his first time meeting him in person.

“This official received word on the road, but it was vague. Tell me in detail about the Shen Family.” Chen Chao spoke slowly.

Back when he had rushed from the Myriad Heaven Palace back to the Divine Capital, it was because of a message that left him no choice but to return. Otherwise, he likely would have already reached Ying Prefecture by now.

The shopkeeper nodded. “This subordinate has already investigated thoroughly. The Shen Family led this matter, involving several other families. Altogether, more than thirty officials from court were connected. There was no sign of collusion with the foreign lands. Their aim was to pressure His Highness the Crown Prince to repeal the policy of collecting over half the annual taxes. The other aim was to strip Your Excellency of your position, to block you from ever taking part in court affairs again.”

“The imperial court intends to carry out waterworks in Yellow Dragon Prefecture, but when the Ministry of Revenue calculated the funds, it came up short. The Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue have been quarreling for over a month now. The Ministry of Works is only sending craftsmen, the actual oversight and construction are being handled by the Shen Family.”

Chen Chao rubbed his brows and sighed. “As expected.”

“Among these officials, how many are genuinely acting in Great Liang’s interest, and how many are just driven by selfish motives?”

The shopkeeper smiled and said, “After discussion among us subordinates, we’ve already separated those people out.”

Chen Chao gave the shopkeeper a look of approval and said with a smile, “Well done.”

Whether there were remonstrating or straightforward officials in court did not matter much. What was most dangerous was a court full of officials, both high and low, who did not dare to speak the truth, who were unwilling to speak the truth.

In that case, the entire court, from top to bottom, would be nothing but a mess.

So those who spoke the truth, keeping them around did no harm.

But this group of people, too straightforward in thought, too blunt in speech, were easily used by others as knives.

Just like now.

The shopkeeper said softly, “After confirming everything, we didn’t make any moves. We’ve been waiting for Your Excellency’s decision.”

Chen Chao did not answer this question. Instead, the little girl next to him, after taking a few sips of tea, stuck out her tongue with a look of disdain.

The shopkeeper did not know her relationship with Chen Chao, so he said nothing.

Chen Chao suddenly asked curiously, “I heard you had a daughter a few years back?”

The shopkeeper’s eyes widened, and he frantically shook his head. “Your Excellency, my daughter is still young, she can’t stand up to harm!”

Chen Chao’s expression turned a bit ugly. Did he have lecher written on his face?

He had meant it as a joke, but now Chen Chao could not say anything else and found himself a little awkward.

”It was this subordinate who misspoke...”

The shopkeeper was a little uneasy too. Everything else was fine, he could even accept dying right now, but if it involved harming his own daughter, that was something he could never do, let alone watch happen.

Chen Chao said, “They want personal gain, have private motives, but haven’t colluded with the foreign lands and hold no evidence against them. That really is a headache.”

The shopkeeper was taken aback, then quickly said, “Rest assured, Your Excellency, they definitely have problems!”

Whether there were problems or not, Chen Chao was the one who decided!

Chen Chao nodded. This fellow was not stupid; he had promise.