Being an emperor is not something he can do, so he can only rely on his connections.

Zhang Jingwei stepped out of the high threshold, and the cool breeze of the late spring evening blew in his face, bringing with it the faint smell of life in the city, which made him feel like taking a deep breath like a drowning man emerging from the water.

Qian Ming had already been waiting at the steps with his donkey. Seeing his young master's gloomy face, a heavy burden weighing on his brow, he carefully handed the reins to him. Observing his expression, he asked tentatively, "Young Master, just now... there was quite a commotion in there. Did you and Young Master Ma... have an argument?"

Zhang Jingwei climbed onto his horse, his movements tinged with a subtle hint of fatigue. He reined in the restless donkey, his gaze sweeping across the tightly sealed walls of the Ma residence. His voice was low, lacking any emotion. "Fight? What's there to fight about..." He paused, as if ruminating on a bitter frustration. "...What he needs now is peace and quiet. He'll inform the military headquarters of the remaining Ma family businesses and temporarily take over their management."

Upon hearing this, Qian Ming's brows knitted into knots. "Young Master, this... The head manager is in the capital right now, and you're stationed at the Gaoyang County Office. Running back and forth between the two is already exhausting. Add to that the Ma family's business in Yunzhou, and I'm afraid it'll be difficult to take care of the military operations! What if something goes wrong..."

"I know!" Zhang Jingwei interrupted him, his tone tinged with annoyance, which he then suppressed into a sigh. "Junxing, I was going to hand it over to him... but look at him now. He's barely managing his business, let alone catching his breath." He looked toward the end of the long street, where the lights gradually lit up, leading to the bustling North Quarter. "Right now... I'll have to shoulder the responsibility myself. I hope Zhaoxuan can get things done quickly so I can escape."

Qian Ming opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but in the end he just sighed worriedly and nodded silently.

At this moment, Mu Tou, who had been following behind silently, suddenly spoke in a muffled voice with a rare awkwardness in his voice: "Master...that...I...I won't be returning to the mansion tonight..."

Zhang Jingwei and Qian Ming turned to look at him simultaneously. Mu Tou's face, usually honest and even a little fierce, was now flushed red. His eyes were evasive, and his thick fingers were rubbing the corner of his clothes helplessly.

"You're not going back to the mansion?" Zhang Jingwei raised an eyebrow, a little surprised. "Is there no place for you to sleep in the mansion?"

Qian Ming seemed to suddenly remember something. He leaned closer to Zhang Jingwei, lowered his voice, and reminded him with a mischievous smile, "Master, have you forgotten? Didn't Miss Jiuer... arrive in Yunzhou today with the medicine delivery convoy?"

"Oh!" Zhang Jingwei suddenly realized and stretched out his tone. Looking at Mu Tou's embarrassed look, the heavy haze that had accumulated in his heart for days was actually diluted a little by the love of this fool. He couldn't help but curl up a teasing smile at the corner of his mouth, deliberately put on a stern face, and lectured in a pretentious tone: "Wow, good boy! I was wondering why you were so distracted! It turns out that the beauty has an appointment! Okay, okay, it's agreed! You two are about to say goodbye, it's time to be affectionate with each other..." He changed the subject and warned Mu Tou with a bit of playfulness, tapping him with the whip, "But I have to say it in advance! With your brutish physique and Miss Jiu'er's petite body that can fall down with the wind... you kid, take it easy! If you dare to bully others with your strength, I will peel off your skin!"

Mu Tou's face flushed red, the veins on his neck bulged, and he stamped his feet in anxiety, swearing in a rough voice, "Master! Don't worry! I, Mu Tou, swear to heaven! I will never! I will never dare to bully Jiu'er!"

The anxious and embarrassed look, as if he wanted to take out his heart to show his loyalty, made Zhang Jingwei finally burst out laughing. Even Qian Ming beside him couldn't help laughing and his shoulders were shaking.

"Alright, alright!" Zhang Jingwei waved his hand, dispelling the gloom he had been feeling for days. "Look at what you've accomplished! Get out of here! Don't keep the girl waiting anxiously!"

"Hey! Thank you, young master!" Mu Tou felt as if he had been pardoned. A silly but extremely bright smile instantly appeared on his face. He clasped his fists randomly and no longer cared about leading the donkey. He turned around and headed towards the direction of East City. He stretched out his long legs, swung his arms, and ran away like a bull with its tail on fire. The heavy footsteps sounded like rapid drumbeats on the long bluestone street as dusk deepened.

Qian Ming watched the burly yet silly figure disappear around the corner. He couldn't hold back any longer and burst into laughter, leaning on the saddle until tears came out. "Hahahaha... Master, did you see that? That impatient look! It's like he hasn't seen his wife in eight hundred years! This idiot, all his usual strength is now being put into his feet!"

Zhang Jingwei also shook his head and laughed. Mu Tou's clumsy yet sincere passion, his nerves tense for days, finally softened. He took one last look at the closed, deadly door of the Ma residence, then turned to look in the direction where Mu Tou had disappeared. The dimly lit area seemed to be tinged with a touch of the warmth of everyday life. He gently gave the donkey a squeeze, and the sound of horse hooves echoed again on the empty street, clattering and shattering the heavy twilight.

"Let's go," he said to Qian Ming, who was still smiling, with a rare hint of relief in his voice, "We... should go back."

……

Inside the Marquis's flower hall, the air was slightly dry from the warm stove. Two cups of freshly brewed Hunyuan scented tea sat on the rosewood table, emitting curls of elegant white vapor. Zhang Jingwei's smile hadn't faded yet. He was about to discuss with his father-in-law, Huangfu Changshui, how to make the down payment on the military's recent order for weapons and uniforms when he saw his father-in-law twirling his beard and shoving a document bearing the Ministry of War's bright red seal in front of him.

"Jingwei," Huangfu Changshui's voice was filled with a subtle sense of helplessness, and his eyes avoided his son-in-law's suddenly sharp gaze, "This matter... needs to be slowed down."

Zhang Jingwei's smile froze instantly. He picked up the thin sheets of paper and quickly scanned the cold terms. The more he read, the gloomier his heart sank, a chill running down his spine. He looked up suddenly, his eyes ablaze with anger at being played. "Father-in-law! We signed this contract in black and white! The military equipment and uniforms will be manufactured by the military branch! How...how can you go back on your word?!"

Huangfu Changshui sighed heavily, his fingers tapping irritably on the smooth rosewood tabletop. "Going back on your word? I'd like to! But this is a new ironclad order from the Ministry of War! 'All procurement and manufacturing of military equipment must be supervised by the imperial court and under the command of the Military Supervisory Office. Local garrisons and border military headquarters are not allowed to take over their own authority!' With this red seal on it, what can I do?!"

Zhang Jingwei's voice suddenly rose, with a hoarseness that sounded like someone being pushed to the brink. He slammed the document on the table with a loud bang, making the teacup jump. "Thousands of people in the military bank have prepared pig iron, cotton, linen, tung oil... piles like mountains for this order! Money is spent like water! We rely on this deal to survive! Your words 'slowly' have cost me a lot of money! A new military uniform, after all the layers of exploitation, the profit that falls into the hands of the military bank is as thin as paper! Not to mention the share we have to give to your family! Now..." He pointed at the cold words on the document, his fingers trembling slightly, "How can I fill this hole? You are going to force the military bank to death!"

A flicker of guilt crossed Huangfu Changshui's face, but it was quickly replaced by a deeper sense of helplessness. He lifted his teacup, then set it down impatiently, spilling tea onto his sleeves. "Do you think I'm willing to do this? Who wouldn't want a piece of this fat piece of meat? But now, the imperial court is completely tightening the screws! The Ministry of War will issue it directly, and the military will oversee its production. No one in the localities can get their hands on it! You can't get it, and neither can I! No one else can!"

"No!" Zhang Jingwei stood up suddenly, his chest heaving violently, "Father-in-law! The deed is still there! Let's... let's make another contract! You should talk to the Ministry of War to smooth things over. The hard work of generations of military personnel cannot be wasted like this!" He stared at Huangfu Changshui with the last glimmer of hope in his eyes.

"Clearance?" Huangfu Changshui gave a wry laugh, his smile filled with self-mockery and desolation. "Jingwei, you think too highly of me! Do you think I, as the commander-in-chief, can cover the sky with one hand? Things are different now!" He pointed at the official document seriously, "Did you see it? 'Each province has a Military Supervisory Office. All military purchases and construction cannot be made without the approval and signature of the Military Supervisory Office. Not an inch of metal can be released from the warehouse, and not a single penny can be spent!' They hold the purse strings and the approval power! And I have a say? Humph, in this Yunzhou, the Military Supervisory Office's badge is now three times more powerful than the seal of a commander like me!"

Zhang Jingwei froze in place, as if struck by lightning. Huangfu Changshui's words were like ice spikes, chipping away at his last shred of hope. His head was buzzing, his chaotic thoughts churning rapidly. He suddenly grasped a key point, and his face turned pale in an instant:

"Wait! Father-in-law...if...if I'm not mistaken..." His voice was trembling with fear, "Does that mean that the general's mansion that was built for you...will also..."

Huangfu Changshui nodded gravely, the last glimmer of light in his eyes extinguished. "That's right. All construction funds and material withdrawals must be approved by the Military Supervisory Office. I'm afraid the construction funds for your General's Mansion... are also in jeopardy."

"To the north——!!!"

A suppressed, almost collapsing roar suddenly erupted from Zhang Jingwei's throat! He felt his vision go dark, a fishy-sweet taste rushed to his throat, and all the strength in his body seemed to be instantly drained away. He stumbled back into his armchair, the backrest creaking. A huge despair, like an icy tide, instantly overwhelmed him. The military order fell through, and the general's palace project payment was still outstanding... Two blows, almost completely shattering everything he had painstakingly built!

The hall was utterly silent, the only sounds being Zhang Jingwei's heavy breathing and the crackling of the fire. Huangfu Changshui watched his face darken in an instant. After a long pause, he offered a suggestion, almost cruelly calm, "Jingwei... things have come to this... if it really can't work out... then disband the army... It's time to make a decisive move before you lose all your capital..."

"Disband?!" Zhang Jingwei jumped up suddenly as if pricked by a needle, his eyes bloodshot. "That's easy to say! Father-in-law! We'll lose some money, but it's just a pain in the ass! As long as we're still officials, we won't be homeless! But what about the shareholders of the military bank?!" His voice was hoarse and full of sorrow. "How many of them have invested in the military bank with the little wealth accumulated by their ancestors for generations, relying on the military bank to support their families and bring honor to their families?! If I, Zhang Jingwei, close down the bank and leave now, how can I face them? How can I face the partners who entrusted their lives to me? I can't do it!"

Huangfu Changshui was stunned by his intense reaction, speechless for a moment. He stared into his son-in-law's eyes, burning with resentment and pain, and finally waved his hand wearily, "Don't disperse? Then how are you going to convince the Military Supervisory Office? Get them to agree and hand this arms order back to your military headquarters? Do you have that kind of tactical ability?"

"Convince...the Military Governor..."

Zhang Jingwei muttered these words, the flame of despair in his eyes suddenly leaping, as if he had suddenly grasped a thorny straw in the bottomless darkness! A sarcastic face, always wearing a mocking sneer, instantly appeared before him—Yuan Liang! That stinky mouth that could make the dead angry and the living angry to death!

An extremely strange sneer, a mixture of madness and cruelty, slowly unfolded at the corner of Zhang Jingwei's mouth, like an undercurrent surging under the ice.

"Persuade? Humph..." He chuckled softly, his laughter filled with a resolute determination. "Father-in-law, you reminded me... I actually have a 'way'."

Huangfu Changshui's heart tightened at his strange smile: "What's the solution?"

Zhang Jingwei slowly stood up, brushing off the nonexistent dust from his official robes. His eyes, sharp as knives, pierced the gloom outside the door. "When I return to Gaoyang... I'll personally select someone and send him to Taiyuan Prefecture! Let's pay a proper 'pay' to the military governor!"

He emphasized the word "visit" with great emphasis, carrying a chilling and eerie meaning.