Where Immortals Once Walked

Chapter 780: The Client’s Representative

He Chunhua interjected, “Did the Rongshan Sect send you back to renegotiate the terms of the loan?” It would be outrageous if this brat had returned on behalf of his sect to bargain against his own homeland.

“No renegotiation. None at all!” He Lingchuan waved a hand. “Sect Leader Xue said Great Yuan’s offer was acceptable. Rongshan has no intention of raising the price, but the existing collateral must be properly verified. In other words, Sect Leader Xue sent me back to inspect what the Yuan court has put on the table and supervise how the money is used. Only if everything proceeds according to the agreement, honestly and without deception, will the funds be released.”

He Chunhua and He Yue exchanged a glance, both visibly astonished.

Those few short sentences became more substantial the more they considered them, as well as more absurd.

Madame Ying voiced what they were all thinking, “You rotten brat, do you really have that much authority now?”

He Lingchuan looked immensely pleased with himself. “In short, if I don’t give my approval, the money won’t be lent!”

That was the privilege of representing the party holding the strings of the purse. Whoever controlled the money called the shots!

Madame Ying chided him, “Don’t boast too loudly. Someone might abduct you, steal your command token, and withdraw the money themselves.”

“There are still several procedures they’d have to complete before withdrawing anything. What use would the token be if I didn’t appear in person?” He Lingchuan laughed. “Besides, the entire 7 million taels won’t be released at once. At most, I can approve a little over 3 million taels for now. Only after the people I brought finish verifying all the collateral accounts and send their findings back for Sect Leader Xue’s review will the remaining three million or so enter the Yuan treasury.”

In other words, the funds would be released in at least two installments. Without his approval, the Yuan court would never receive the full seven-million-tael loan.

He Lingchuan sounded as though he were merely showing off, but from the corner of his eye, he had been closely watching He Chunhua’s reaction the entire time.

He had spoken with a purpose.

Would the listener hear one as well?

His father listened with exceptional care, though nothing unusual appeared on his face.

“Chuan’er, how do you intend to handle this?” asked He Chunhua. “Will you inspect everything impartially, or devote yourself entirely to Yuan’s interests?”

He Lingchuan returned the question. “What does Father think?”

“Sect Leader Xue must trust you greatly to have entrusted you with this responsibility. If you fail to inspect matters carefully, it will harm your future.”

He Lingchuan’s expression became solemn. “Your son understands.”

Behind closed doors, speaking only among family, He Chunhua naturally had to consider his eldest son’s interests.

“Besides, if you approve the funds carelessly, it may appear that you are acting wholeheartedly for Great Yuan. But if Rongshan later audits the matter and discovers something wrong, relations between both sides will inevitably suffer. Yuan would lose an ally and gain a resentful neighbor instead. That would do more harm than good.” He Chunhua’s voice softened. “Child, dealings between two parties are best founded on honesty and mutual benefit.”

There was nothing wrong with that advice. He Lingchuan nodded. “That is also how I see it.”

He Chunhua gave him a long look. In the past, whenever he said something like this, his eldest son would merely answer, “Your son understands. I’ll take care of it.” He would never have replied that their thoughts happened to align.

He Lingchuan immediately continued, “But the court officials will soon learn that Rongshan’s special envoy is your son. What will you do if His Majesty pressures you?”

Madame Ying complained, “You should have considered that before accepting this assignment.”

The King of Yuan was already dissatisfied with He Chunhua for delaying the southern campaign. If He Chunhua’s son then obstructed this desperately needed loan, would the king not fly into a rage?

He Chunhua waved a hand. “Had Chuan’er not spoken on Yuan’s behalf, the Rongshan Sect would never have intended to grant the loan at all. In this matter, he has rendered merit and committed no fault. His Majesty cannot possibly blame him harshly. Dear, you must understand that the Rongshan Sect is no charitable organization. Our state must pay an appropriate price to obtain this money. And that price...” He paused for a few moments. “If Chuan’er fails to verify everything properly on their behalf, their potential loss will not be merely several million taels, but close to 30 million!”

Madame Ying was startled and instinctively pressed a hand to her chest. “How could it be 30 million taels?”

He Lingchuan merely smiled without answering.

In truth, to someone of Sect Leader Xue’s stature, Fang Canran’s assessment of He Lingchuan had been that they should “win him over at any cost.” In that case, spending 30 million taels to purchase a favor from him was not expensive at all.

Between 30 million taels and He Lingchuan, Sect Leader Xue had chosen the latter without hesitation.

In other words, in the eyes of the Rongshan Sect—and of Spirit Mountain itself—He Lingchuan’s value far exceeded 30 million taels.

He Yue explained, “Our state has borrowed from the Rongshan Sect several times before. The earlier loans already total almost 20 million taels. The collateral demanded by the Rongshan Sect must therefore be worth at least 27 million.”

“Exactly!” He Lingchuan nodded. “I brought two people from the Rongshan Sect who are both skilled in accounting and precise calculations, but we still don’t have enough manpower. Father must know people talented in this field.”

He Chunhua nodded immediately. “I’ll find people for you. Leave it to me.”

He Lingchuan breathed a sigh of relief. “Father is still the most dependable!”

“When we moved to Shihuan, we kept your courtyard reserved for you. It’s at the easternmost end of the estate, and the furnishings were only completed yesterday. You’ve traveled a long way and must be tired. Go settle in first.” Madame Ying smiled. “By the way, didn’t you bring several fellow disciples back with you? We have plenty of guest rooms. Invite them to stay here as well.”

“Mother is still the most thoughtful.” He Lingchuan stood and stretched. “Now that I’ve eaten and drunk my fill, I’ll be off!”

He Yue rose as well. “I have to go to the Ministry of Finance.”

The brothers bid their parents farewell and walked out together.

He Lingchuan felt his father’s eyes follow him until he disappeared around the corner.

The moment the He father and son left each other’s sight, both of their smiles vanished.

Only after they passed through the small garden outside the dining hall did He Yue say, “Brother, you’re finally back. I still feel like I’m dreaming!”

His elder brother had miraculously returned. Even after finishing breakfast, He Yue still felt that happiness had come too suddenly for it to be real.

He Lingchuan patted him on the shoulder. “You’ve had to comfort Father and Mother and remain by their side throughout the past half year. It must have been difficult for you too.”

He Yue sighed emotionally. “When we received news of your death, Mother cried for days, but Father always insisted that you weren’t dead!”

He Lingchuan’s gaze flickered. “Father believed that?”

“Yes. He never explained why, and no one could persuade him otherwise. Even after more than half a year, he still held firmly to that belief. None of us knew where his confidence came from.” He Yue shook his head with a self-deprecating smile. “Now it seems Father was right all along.”

He Lingchuan exhaled softly. “Indeed, it seems some things are destined by forces beyond our understanding.”

He Yue naturally failed to grasp the deeper meaning behind those words. He only felt that the sunlight was brilliant and his spirits wonderfully high.

He Lingchuan then asked about Yuan’s present situation.

Even if the elders of the Rongshan Sect had heard some news, they could not know the details as clearly as He Yue did.

He Yue gave him a concise account, then lowered his voice and said, “I don’t think Father wants to go south and suppress the rebellions yet.”

After half a year apart, his elder brother seemed like an entirely different person.

His words and mannerisms still appeared much the same as before, but that was only the surface. The ease and confidence radiating from his very bones could no longer be concealed.

No, in truth, traces of it had already appeared the previous year.

They simply had not been nearly as obvious as they were now.

Did experiencing war personally make him mature? Or could it be that the upheaval and wandering of the past year forced him to grow?