Chapter 783: Son Is Back

Despite Lord Yuan's persistent urgings, He Chunhua remained steadfast, maintaining strategic composure and refusing to move his troops.

Her husband's inaction was passive defiance, and Madam Ying worried, "Will the Lord punish him?"

"The army is insufficiently trained, food and fodder supplies are inadequate, and there aren't even enough horses. The Lord is aware of all this. Furthermore, I've made it clear that if I were to deploy troops rashly, I would resign my post and ask the Lord to find a more competent person."

Madam Ying's face paled upon hearing this.

He Yue quickly comforted her, "Don't be afraid, Mother. The Lord will surely not let Father leave."

His expression dimmed slightly. "The Yuan court has very few talented people left."

"These mugwort dumplings are good today." He Chunhua ate heartily, showing no sign of worry. Mugwort was not typically served at affluent households in Shihuan City, but coming from Heishui City, they were fond of this wild vegetable.

"Don't worry, my dear. There's opportunity within every crisis," he smiled at Madam Ying. "If national affairs weren't so urgent, how would the Lord have decided to transfer me back to the capital? I reckon he originally intended to keep me in Xiazhou for at least seven or eight more years."

Becoming a provincial governor was a goal many officials tirelessly pursued, but it was far from his ultimate dream.

There were plenty of provincial governors and chief administrators who had served for over a decade.

There was a faint hint of sarcasm in He Chunhua's words. Madam Ying caught it, glanced outside a few times, and only relaxed when she saw the servants were not around.

The He family had been almost entirely executed, leaving only He Chunhua as the sole survivor. The old monarch had banished him to the western frontier and then appointed him as the Prefect of Qiansong County, essentially leaving him as a tool for his son.

This way, after the new monarch ascended the throne, he could establish authority by punishing corrupt officials and win over his subjects by promoting loyal and capable individuals.

After all, it was the old monarch who had executed He Chunhua's entire family; what did it have to do with the new monarch?

Even if his heart harbored deep resentment, could he possibly resent the state or the monarch?

Alas, the current monarch did not follow his predecessor's script, leaving He Chunhua unused. If it weren't for the rebellious Grand Tutor Sun Fuping's unfortunate demise in the west, He Chunhua would not have had the opportunity to return to the capital.

He Chunhua was also well aware that due to the old monarch's momentary folly, the current monarch did not trust him as much.

He took two more bites of rice and asked He Yue, "Yue'er, do you have any news?"

He had secured a position for his son at the Grand Minister of Agriculture's office. The Grand Minister of Agriculture managed national grain and goods, and although He Yue's position was minor, he could gather many important pieces of intelligence.

"There's something Father should know," He Yue said seriously. "The Rongshan Sect has finally agreed to lend money."

He Chunhua paused his chopsticks, his heart gladdened. "How much?"

"Seven million taels!"

"They're actually willing to lend seven million taels?" He Chunhua was astonished by the figure. "I thought half that would be good enough."

"I heard the royal court had sent envoys three times before to borrow money, and each time the Rongshan Sect refused," He Yue chuckled. "This time the Rongshan Sect agreed, and they're also selling us two hundred thousand *shi* of grain at a low price!"

He Chunhua was greatly surprised. "Why has the Rongshan Sect suddenly become so generous?"

He had previously managed grain provisions for the army, and in the past, twenty thousand *shi* of grain was enough to feed Zhao Pan's fifty thousand troops for a month. Two hundred thousand *shi* of affordable grain was indeed very generous.

The Yuan Kingdom had been continuously importing foreign grain, and with such high demand, prices naturally soared.

For the current Yuan Kingdom, grain was more practical than silver and could resolve immediate crises.

"I heard there are conditions."

"It would be strange if there weren't any conditions," He Chunhua scoffed. "Even your brother knows that pie doesn't fall from the sky for free."

He suddenly mentioned his eldest son, and the dining table fell silent.

After a brief silence, He Yue continued, "The envoy from the Rongshan Sect has already arrived in the capital. This afternoon, Minister Wang of the Court of State Ceremonials met with him, and they reportedly had a pleasant conversation and even held a banquet to entertain him."

"Money is easy to borrow, but hard to repay," He Chunhua rubbed his temples. "The Rongshan Sect's generosity must have a reason."

If people can't repay money, they get beaten.

If a state can't repay money, it has to cede territory.

Madam Ying suddenly asked, "If the grain and money arrive, will you deploy the troops, my lord?"

He Chunhua's previous reason for not deploying troops was insufficient provisions. What if the Rongshan Sect's aid filled this gap?

With money comes provisions, and ways to gather horses.

"It's not time yet," He Chunhua's expression darkened. "It's simply not time yet."

The next day was clear, with an enchanting morning glow.

He Chunhua got up and finished his ablutions, and seeing Madam Ying constantly rubbing her eyelids, he asked her, "Did you get sand in your eye?"

Madam Ying mumbled, "Since last night, my left eyelid has been twitching non-stop. I don't know why."

As the two were about to go for breakfast, Steward Wu suddenly rushed in from outside, running and shouting, "Master, good news, wonderful news!"

His voice cracked and became shrill.

This steward had always been composed, and He Chunhua could barely recall a time he had been so flustered.

"What's going on?"

Before the last word, 'on,' could leave his lips, Steward Wu preempted him, "The eldest young master is back!"

He Chunhua and his wife froze, unable to react for a moment.

Madam Ying asked blankly, "What did you say?"

Steward Wu pointed outside, slightly out of breath, "The eldest young master is alive, the eldest young master is back!"

He Yue, who had just reached outside the dining hall, heard this and immediately dashed towards the main entrance.

Before he even reached the entrance, a figure turned into view from beyond the flower corridor.

Before He Yue could clearly see, his vision blurred, and his arm was grabbed. "Second brother, where are you going?"

With handsome features and a majestic demeanor, and a wide smile revealing bright white teeth, who else could it be but He Lingchuan?

"Your handsome and dashing elder brother is back!"

He Yue was overjoyed and hugged him tightly, exclaiming, "Finally, finally! You're finally back!"

He Lingchuan patted him on the head. "Oh, you've grown taller?"

In just six months, He Yue had grown a head taller than before, his face had become more defined, losing a bit of its youthful delicacy and gaining a touch of masculine presence, making him look more like He Chunhua.

"Hey? Why are you crying?" He saw He Yue's eyes were red. "Why are you getting teary-eyed?"

"Brother, you..." He got stronger.

Just now, when He Yue had lunged forward to embrace his brother, he felt as if he had run into a wall, his nose hitting it first. Now, a sharp ache shot straight to the crown of his head. It hurt so much he almost burst into tears.

How could his elder brother's body be so unbelievably hard?

At this moment, He Chunhua and his wife also hurried over, and seeing He Lingchuan, they could hardly believe their eyes.

"Chuan'er..." Madam Ying choked up, clutching her chest with one hand, her eyes red.

He Chunhua strode forward, placing both hands on his eldest son's shoulders and scrutinizing him up and down repeatedly. "Good, good! I knew you weren't dead!"

His gaze was astonishingly bright.

He Lingchuan gazed at him, the smile on his lips widening. "Your son is back—"

He stood in the garden blooming with a hundred flowers, his back to the rising sun in the east.

Perhaps due to the direct sunlight, He Chunhua suddenly found it dazzling at that moment, even his eldest son's smile appeared somewhat blurry.

He tilted his head slightly and heard his eldest son's voice, long and peaceful:

"—Father."