Volume One, Chapter 53: Collaboration

The reason why Zhou Mancang sought out Xue Nian was very simple.

The young scion who had snatched away Zhou Mancang’s sister happened to belong to the Imperial Guard. As the saying goes, everything has its natural predator; no matter how arrogant these men were behind closed doors, they would never dare to cause trouble in front of Xue Nian.

Ever since Xue Nian took command, he cared little about what those men did at home, but as long as they came to the Imperial Guard for duty, they had to abide by the rules he had established.

In the end, Xue Nian helped him rescue his sister and gave him a substantial amount of money to hire a doctor for his bedridden elderly mother. As for that prodigal son, to prevent Zhou Mancang’s family from becoming the target of the young man's powerful family, Xue Nian did not take any direct disciplinary action against him at the time. Instead, he simply watched as the scion quarreled and fought for the affection of a courtesan with another wealthy loafer, letting the man get one of his legs broken in the process.

Of course, Xue Nian had not mentioned these later details to Shen Ran in depth, nor was it possible for him to lay bare all these inner thoughts to Shen Ran. He merely said concisely, "Ever since I learned of the hardships in Zhou Mancang's family, I have frequently sent them silver and money, and promised that if they encountered any difficult problems, they could come to me."

Shen Ran asked, "Then what do you plan to do now?"

Xue Nian replied, "Naturally, I will gather the money and send it to those bandits."

Shen Ran raised an eyebrow and asked, "Do you really intend to pay the ransom?"

People's appetites and desires are always endless. Leaving aside the fact that a hundred taels of gold is not a small sum, if there is a first time and the bandits realize that Zhou Mancang has money, or that someone is willing to pay on his behalf, who is to say that next time it won't be a thousand taels, or ten thousand taels? They might even come to extort a hefty sum whenever they find themselves short of cash.

Xue Nian naturally understood what Shen Ran was thinking. "Those bandits are not fools either; they won't release the hawk without seeing the rabbit. The ones guarding the forest are mere underlings, and only when they see the money will they actually bring the hostages down to negotiate. Besides, the Imperial Guard is stationed around Shengjing after all, so the bandits cannot be of too large a scale. For a small scale, it's better to avoid trouble than to invite it. If the scale were too large, they would fear having the matter reach your doorstep, and would naturally invite a campaign of encirclement and suppression. A hundred taels of gold should be enough to lure out a big fish."

Shen Ran, of course, could also understand Xue Nian's meaning.

Most bandits hid in remote mountains that were easy to defend and hard to attack. Unless they willingly came out, encircling and suppressing them was no easy task. Furthermore, imperial officials were mostly derelict in their duties. As long as the Emperor didn't mind—since it was just some stolen goods and hadn't been taken from the imperial household—who could be bothered to meddle in such idle business? This resulted in quite a few small bands of bandits lingering in the desolate areas outside the city.

Xue Nian lacked military power, but given Shen Ran's status, he could naturally issue an imperial decree to dispatch troops for suppression. However, firstly, such a move would be time-consuming and labor-intensive, by no means achievable overnight. Secondly, if the bandits were pressed too hard, they would certainly be driven to desperation and make Zhou Mancang a ghost beneath their blades.

Not only would this fail to save the man, but it would also end up harming him. It was far better to pay the money first, figure out where the other party was hiding, and then act according to circumstances.

Shen Ran asked, "Yet don't you feel that something is amiss?"

Xue Nian asked, "Such as?"

Shen Ran said, "Those who become bandits are naturally desperate and impoverished people. They should understand Zhou Mancang's family background very well. To demand such a high ransom either means they never intended to let anyone go in the first place, or they are completely unaware of the living conditions of the ordinary people of Da Zhou."

Xue Nian curved his lips with a smile that didn't reach his eyes: "It's as if... 'Why don't they eat minced meat?'"

Shen Ran chuckled: "Xue Ziqi, I am discussing serious matters with you."
"Your minister is also discussing serious matters with Your Majesty."
"As the saying goes, a man of wealth does not sit under a tottering wall."

Xue Nian slightly tilted his head and slowly said, "It is precisely because there is something fishy about this matter that I ask Your Majesty to sit securely on the high terrace and not get involved. Yet Your Majesty always seems unable to trust this minister's utmost loyalty."

Shen Ran calmly replied, "I trust Ziqi's ability, and I believe even more that, no matter when, you will risk your life to ensure I am safe and sound. That is your utmost loyalty to me, isn't it, Ziqi?"

Xue Nian: "..."

After a brief silence, Xue Nian slowly let out a laugh. He said, "Of course, as long as this minister has a single breath left, I will surely protect Your Majesty's safety with my life."

"That settles it then."

Shen Ran turned his head to look at him, his expression playful.

"With Ziqi's words, I can naturally rest easy."
"As for the ransom..."
Shen Ran smiled and said, "Naturally, I won't let Ziqi spend his own money. I'll pay it for you."

To prevent alerting the enemy, aside from himself and Shen Ran, Xue Nian brought only six men along. One of them was the servant who had previously delivered the message, and the rest were all personal guards of the General's Estate.

The messenger servant caught sight of Shen Ran at a glance and was instantly stunned: "Young General, we are going to negotiate with bandits after all. Bringing this young gentleman along doesn't seem quite right."

He didn't specify exactly what was wrong with it, but the emotion revealed in his gaze was exceedingly clear.

Excessive good looks always give an impression of frailty; he felt that Shen Ran was nothing more than dead weight.

Shen Ran stood nearby without speaking.

People in this world always loved to judge others by their appearance. Before knowing his identity, quite a few people had mocked his "dragon-like bearing and phoenix-like grace" and looked down upon him.

In the past, he would have grown angry, but by now he had long since stopped taking such things to heart.

Xue Nian reached out and patted the servant's shoulder, saying earnestly, "Wang Yan, how many times has the Young General told you that judging people by their appearance is the most foolish thing of all? Don't let this young gentleman's handsome looks fool you; in truth, even your Young General would have to bow to him in defeat."

Wang Yan opened his mouth in a wide "O" shape and uttered an "Ah," his expression clearly still incredulous, but because it was spoken by Xue Nian himself, he still nodded blankly.

Xue Nian then said indifferently, "Go and apologize to the Seventh Master."

With so many people around, he naturally could no longer call him "Your Majesty," but neither could he address him directly by name. Shen Ran had been the Seventh Imperial Prince back then, and Xue Nian hadn't bothered to invent a fake name for him, simply addressing him directly as "Seventh Master."

However, as soon as these words were spoken, Wang Yan jerked his head up, a flash of astonishment crossing his face.

Although Xue Nian was a Young General, he never put on the airs of one. He mingled effortlessly with the servants and personal guards of the estate, so these men were never constrained around him. They basically spoke their minds and would even occasionally tease and banter with him.

He had never gotten angry at them either.

Let alone make a solemn demand for an apology.

Yet Xue Nian's lack of airs did not mean he lacked majesty, for his status and capability were evident after all.

In terms of status, he was the son of a general.
In terms of ability, he towered above all others, leaving everyone else miles behind in the dust.

Seeing that Xue Nian had spoken, Wang Yan immediately dared not say anything more. Crestfallen, he apologized to Shen Ran:
"Seventh Master, it was all this lowly one's blindness."

Shen Ran smiled and waved his hand, showing no intention of holding it against him at all: "It's just a small matter."

In truth, Shen Ran felt that if he hadn't known what Xue Nian would do in his past life, his demeanor at this moment would still be deeply deceptive. At least someone as unruly and untamable as him could genuinely cast aside his pride and naturally place himself in the position of a "subject."

Presently, the group headed first to Zhou Mancang's home.

along the way, Shen Ran looked at Xue Nian with a half-smile, and in a voice audible only to the two of them, he said, "It is truly rare to see Ziqi being this stern. What is this—are you genuinely standing up for me, or are you afraid I'll lose my temper and start killing people?"

Xue Nian replied, "Your Majesty is an enlightened ruler and naturally will not fault the ignorant. What is there for this minister to fear? But looking down on others is simply wrong, and being wrong requires an apology. Otherwise, if Your Majesty does not punish them today, what happens when they offend some other nobleman in the future? In the end, won't it still fall to this minister to clean up their mess?"

In the past, Shen Ran had always complained that military generals lacked ink in their bellies and spoke too bluntly, often saying things people disliked hearing. Now, suddenly encountering such a unique anomaly as Xue Nian, he finally realized how formidable they could truly be.

The terrifying combat prowess of a military general, paired with the winding, labyrinthine mind of a scholar—no wonder he had been able to snatch life from the jaws of death and repel the enemy forces in his past life.

Xue Nian's words were watertight, and Shen Ran simply smiled it off, pressing the matter no further.