171 – Commandery Prince Mu

Qin Mian’s heart almost jumped to his throat. It might be cruel to say this to the children so early, but it was really a problem that two children have to face.

Yuanyuan raised his little face, disapprovingly, “Old Dad, we know we don’t have a mother. We’ve known that since we were one-year-old.”

Qin Mian was so amused that he thought to himself: Son, are you sure you’re sensible when you’re one-year-old?

“So what? Old Dad and Dad are so powerful. Other people can’t have two fathers even if they want! We don’t need a mother. It’s enough to have Old Dad and Dad.” Manman stuck out his small chest with a proud look.

Yuanyuan went to Qin Mian and stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. The small paralyzed face was dyed with a layer of blush, “Dad, don’t worry.”

Manman, unwilling to be outdone, kissed Qin Mian on the other cheek.

Qin Mian was instantly cured by his two sons. He gathered them in his arms and laughed, “Good, as expected of my sons! You remember this: if someone calls you names, you will return it with no swearwords!”

Lei Tie shook his head slightly and didn’t interrupt.

“If someone hits you, hit back without being polite!” Qin Mian looked angry as if his sons had been beaten.

A smile flashed past in Lei Tie’s eyes.

Yuanyuan patted his agitated Dad placatingly and said with a calm manner, “Dad knows what is ‘subdue the enemy without fighting’? Rest assured.”¹

“Fighting is a disgrace to the educated class.” Manman waved his hand and said, “Dad knows what is ‘murder a person with a borrowed knife’? Rest assured.”²

The corner of Qin Mian’s mouth twitched.

Lei Tie patted the two small ones’ shoulders in compliment and held the big one in his arms. “I’ve said it: the sons are very smart.”

Qin Mian was quite at a loss for a reply, but he finally laid down his worry.

Early the next morning, just after the rabbit hour began [5 AM], Qin Mian heard the sound of Lei Tie wearing clothes. He half-opened his eyes in a daze, but his brain still hadn’t woken up. “A-Tie, what…”

Lei Tie leaned over him and gave him a kiss on his lips. “Sleep on. Going to Court today.”

“Oh, take care…” Qin Mian obtusely remembered that Emperor Xiaohui only gave Lei Tie three days off. He hooked the man’s neck and kissed him on the lips. After he wriggled into the quilt, he closed his eyes. His foot was exposed outside the quilt.

Lei Tie put it back into the quilt, finished dressing, and went to the outdoor training ground to practice two sets of boxing. Then, he went back to the washroom to bathe and change clothes, put on his court dress, and went out with his two attendants.

Qin Mian listened to his steps gradually distancing, opened his eyes, lifted the quilt, and got up. After he had washed up, practiced [martial], bathed, and changed clothes, it was already the beginning of the dragon hour [7 AM]. Afterward, he went to the two children’s rooms.

Although the two children were young, they developed good living habits just like their fathers. When Qin Mian arrived, they both had gotten up, dressed, and finished washing up.

Qin Mian watched them finish practicing [martial] with the four study-attendants. After they bathed and put on clean clothes, he had breakfast with them.

By this time, the sky had already brightened.

Considering that the boys were to be raised roughly, Qin Mian only sent them to the carriage. The carriage was allocated by the Imperial Court to the State Defender Duke Establishment according to the regulations. Afterward, it was especially used to transport Yuanyuan and Manman to and from school. When passers-by saw the carriage of the State Defender Duke Establishment, they would step aside and not likely affront it. It was kind of a safeguard for Yuanyuan and Manman.

Henceforth, Lei-Qin Gong and Lei-Qin Shun were responsible for transporting the six children. It was too troublesome to go back and forth in a carriage. Therefore, Yuanyuan and Manman wouldn’t go home at noon. Lei-Qin Gong and Lei-Qin Shun would send them lunch.

After seeing the carriage go away, Qin Mian turned to enter the door. Yesterday, he had written a notice to the Commandery Prince Mu Establishment to explain that he would visit today, and received a reply. When Lei Tie came back from the Court, they were going to go out.

At the beginning of the snake hour [9 AM], Lei Tie came home. He came galloping on a horse with an impressive presence. Qin Mian’s eyes were full of appreciation and praise. Lei Tie still had to go to the army camp to be handed over the general-in-command of the army. After exchanging a few words with Qin Mian, Lei Tie hurriedly rode away with Lei-Qin Zhong and Lei-Qin Hui. In the first part of the horse hour [11 AM], he stepped into the house again and brought back twenty tall and straight soldiers from the barracks. These twenty people were his personal guards henceforth.

Qin Mian told the manservant at the door to go to the kitchen and bring breakfast. Then he grumbled about Emperor Xiaohui, “The time of going to court is too unreasonable. Breakfast is delayed until this time.” Fortunately, Lei Tie didn’t need to eat grains, otherwise, he might write a complaint to the Palace.

Lei Tie said, “Today is mainly about the handover of the army, so it’s a little late.”

Qin Mian opened the wardrobe and picked out clothes for him. “How about you wear white, too?”

“En.” Lei Tie looked at his wife’s white robe and nodded.

Qin Mian chose a white inner garment and a white lined robe with a slanting lapel for him, in which the lapel of the lined robe was light blue and matched with a light blue belt. Lastly, he wrapped a white overcoat for the outermost layer. Within his frosty grandeur, it brought up some kinds of supernatural aura, which intensified his charm.

Aunt Fu soon brought piping hot small steamed meat-filled buns and warm soup.

Qin Mian then asked, “Is it going well in the Court?”

Lei Tie replied, “Everything seems normal.”

Qin Mian slightly frowned. Emperor Xiaohui called Lei Tie back to the Capital so suddenly, but everything in the Court was normal. Alas, he didn’t care too much. Foxes always showed their tails. It was useless to be anxious now.

When Lei Tie finished his breakfast, they rode on horses to the Commandery Prince Mu Establishment. Riding a horse was much more comfortable than riding a carriage. The streets in the Capital were spacious enough. Both of them preferred riding a horse. Lei-Qin Le followed with the big carriage they brought from their hometown, which contained gifts for Chen Mufeng.

The fact that Lei Tianren, the former General of the West Order, was appointed the Defender Grand General of the State and the State Defender Duke had spread all over the Capital. And Qin Mian, who was appointed as the First Rank Mandated Lady by the Emperor, had also attracted much attention. The two men were watched by innumerable pairs of eyes as they rode on horsebacks down the street, but they still kept a straight face. They calmly arrived at the Commandery Prince Mu Establishment.

Chen Mufeng was the eldest son to the principal wife of Chen Guangming, the younger brother of Emperor Xiaohui of the same parents. Chen Guangming was granted the title of Imperial Prince Ming by Emperor Xiaohui. Chen Mufeng fully deserved the title of Heir of the Imperial Prince. His status had been very noble. Later, he was granted the title of Commandery Prince by Emperor Xiaohui along with an official residence. It was thus clear that Emperor Xiaohui and Chen Guangming were very close.

This was also the reason why when Mu Chen showed his token of authority to Lei Tie, Lei Tie believed Mu Chen’s power was strong enough. Although he did not see the token wholly back then, he recognized the unique signet of the Imperial Clan.

The middle gate of the Commandery Prince Mu Establishment was wide open. Chen Fu –who knew how long– waited at the entrance. He respectfully invited Qin Mian and Lei Tie into the establishment.

When Chen Mufeng received the news, he welcomed them with a laugh. His eyes swept over Qin Mian, Lei Tie, Lei-Qin Le, and Lei-Qin Zhong. He cupped his hands and said, “Hope that State Defender Duke and Lady of the State Defender Duke are well? Anyway, both of you are the first rank; isn’t it too shabby to take only two attendants while out? There’re many people in the Capital waiting to see you make a fool of yourselves.”

As he said this, he invited Qin Mian and Lei Tie inside.

Chen Mufeng was Qin Mian and Lei Tie’s friend, but also Emperor Xiaohui’s nephew. Qin Mian evaded serious matters and took up trifles, “It’s not like you don’t know that A-Tie and I are used to be casual and not used to travel in great style.”

Lei Tie said, “Thank you for your hospitality. I hope my wife and I won’t cause you any trouble.” Lei Tie was now in command of the army, which included 30000 soldiers in the front army, 30000 soldiers in the middle army, and 30000 soldiers in the rear army. He was the commander-in-chief with the largest number of generals. No matter who he was close to, he might arouse the Emperor’s suspicion, even if Chen Mufeng was the Emperor’s nephew.

Chen Mufeng motioned his servants to step aside and poured tea for them in person. “Won’t be any. His Majesty knows that I’ve known you since I was in Zhaoyang County. No need to be guarded to talk about our old relationship.” He looked at Lei Tie and said with a smile, “Back then, I felt that State Defender Duke was extraordinary, unlike ordinary man, but I didn’t expect that you were the famous General Lei Tianren. Looking back, my father used to tell me stories about Lei Tianren’s three defeats of Western Barbarian, and I could recite them all the time.” Chen Mufeng was four years younger than Lei Tie. Lei Tianren entered the army at the age of 16 and became famous at the age of 17. At that time, Chen Mufeng was only a medium-sized boy.

Lei Tie lightly said, “The past is dead.”

Chen Mufeng only heard that the scar on Lei Tie’s face had something to do with the Imperial Family. Naturally, he changed the topic and raised his teacup. In his words, he joked, “I had no choice but to hide my identity back then. State Defender Duke and Lady of the State Defender Duke, please don’t take offense.”

Qin Mian shook his head and proposed a toast. “Commandery Prince Mu overstated. We haven’t thanked you for sending people to clean up the State Defender Duke Establishment. If it were not for Chen Fu, we would be very busy when we first entered the Capital. Many thanks!”

“It’s not worth mentioning.” Chen Mufeng broke the spell first, “Come on, when there is no outsider, we should call each other by names, otherwise, it sounds really awkward. With you in the Capital… there will be a lot of excitement in the future. You should take care of yourselves, especially Lei Tie. On the drill ground, the blade of the sword is blind. You should be more careful when you conduct the drill.”

Qin Mian’s eyes glinted sharply.

“Thank you for your concern.” Lei Tie made obeisance to Chen Mufeng calmly.

After that, they only talked about some interesting things about other people.

At noon, Qin Mian and Lei Tie had lunch in the Commandery Prince Mu Establishment before they left. In addition to Emperor Xiaohui, there must be other people who knew that Chen Mufeng and they had known each other for a long time. If they left without having lunch, some people might think they were being sneaky. It was better to be poised and open.

They chatted while riding the brown and black horses.

“A-Tie, I remember that the Commandery Prince Mu is four years younger than you. This year, he should be 26. Why do I see that his house is quite empty?”

“He’s like us.”

“Hah?” After Qin Mian was taken aback, he said with a smile, “How did you know? Did you gossip with other people?”

Lei Tie lightly coughed and helplessly glanced at him, “Overheard.”

“What happened?” Qin Mian asked curiously. He pulled the reins and the brown horse was almost close to the black horse.

Lei Tie was not used to gossiping, but when his wife asked, he had to answer. He said in a low voice, “I heard that the reason why he stayed in Zhaoyang County for so long was to avoid a person. As for who it is, I don’t know.”

Qin Mian let go of the matter when his curiosity was satisfied. He didn’t ask any more questions. It was hard for him to ask a gossip about his friends.

Footnotes