Chapter 255: Emilio

Chapter 255: Emilio

Song Tingzhou was run off his feet. Although it wasn't the provincial or metropolitan exam, matters concerning the imperial examinations had to be handled with utmost rigor.

Besides preparing the examination hall, he also had to arrange lodging for the academic examiner.

The academic examiner, a sixth-rank compiler from the Hanlin Academy, was nominally four ranks below Song Tingzhou. However, as a capital official representing the central authority of the court, he was specially appointed to oversee the imperial examinations in the provinces.

While a prefect held real power in his region, the relationship between the two was not truly that of superior and subordinate. Moreover, Song Tingzhou had to show deference to the academic examiner.

No wonder local officials everywhere were desperate to return to Shengjing—the difference in status was clear at a glance.

In late April, Lingnan saw continuous rainy days. Meng Wan woke up without much appetite and asked Huang Ye to fetch him a bean bun from the kitchen. He set a small stool in the covered corridor of the garden, sat down, and ate his bun while watching the rain.

After a while, Zhu Yan brought A Yan over under an umbrella. A Yan lifted the hem of his long gown, carefully stepped on the bluestone slabs, and ducked under the corridor.

"Dad, what are you doing?" He leaned close to Meng Wan like a little puppy, looking fair, tender, and scrumptious like a little treat.

Meng Wan suddenly felt a wave of paternal love. He squeezed A Yan's chubby little face and said gently, "Dad is watching the rain."

A Yan crouched beside him, a tiny figure, resting his chin on his hands as he stared at the curtain of rain outside. He asked in great confusion, "The rain isn't watching me."

Meng Wan let out a snort of laughter. He found another small stool for A Yan and had him sit down. "Never mind whether it's watching you or not. We watch it for amusement, as long as we're happy."

"Oh." A Yan's eyes locked onto the bean bun in Meng Wan's hand. "Dad, what filling is in your bun? Is it good?"

Meng Wan took a showily big bite right in front of him, chewed slowly, and then said, "Hmm... red bean filling. Soft and fluffy, the beans are nice and sweet. It's delicious!"

A Yan swallowed hard. "That good?"

Meng Wan took another bite. The red beans inside were a bit undercooked; sometimes he bit into a whole bean that wasn't fully soft. Meng Wan accidentally made a bean fall out, and it rolled to his and A Yan's feet.

"Didn't you also have red bean buns for breakfast? Didn't you eat?"

"I did, but this morning's were not good. I only ate a little bit." A Yan gestured with his small hand.

Meng Wan handed him his own bun. "Dad is eating the ones the cook made this morning."

Upon hearing this, A Yan waved his hand in refusal. "Then I don't want it." Even if he wanted to, his belly was full.

Meng Wan tweaked his pudgy belly and said with a smile, "At noon, how about Dad takes you out for something yummy?"

A Yan clapped his little hands. "Great! And we have to bring little brother Tong'er along."

"And where is your elder brother?" Meng Wan asked.

A Yan pointed toward the gate. "After brother finished eating, he went to see Brother A Xun."

"Oh~ Kids grow up so fast," Meng Wan mused.

Meng Wan pulled A Yan up. "Then Dad will take you and Tong'er, and we'll go find him."

Tong'er was swimming in Old Ge's courtyard.

That's right—a three-year-old child. Old Ge had filled a large vat with water in the yard and let Tong'er splash around naked in it. Knowing it was raining, he even put a big lotus leaf over the vat.

If Tong'er hadn't spoken up upon hearing A Yan's voice, Meng Wan wouldn't have found him.

"Master Ge! What are you doing to him?" Meng Wan took off his outer robe and handed it to A Yan to hold, then picked up Tong'er and wrapped him in it.

Old Ge was sitting under the eaves. "It's fine, Wan Geer. His father also trained like this when he was little."

"Huh?" Meng Wan felt Tong'er's ice-cold body and couldn't make sense of it.

He didn't know much about martial arts training, but he couldn't bear it. "Tong'er is too young. Even if he has to train, can't you use warm water? And it's raining outside."

After saying this, Meng Wan carried Tong'er and led A Yan back to Chang Jinhua's courtyard. Tong'er mostly lived with Chang Jinhua, so his spare clothes were there.

"Zhu Yan, tell Jin Cheng and the others to bring two buckets of warm water from the kitchen."

Tong'er grabbed hold of Meng Wan and said haltingly, "Tong'er... not cold."

"Then forget it." Meng Wan called Zhu Yan back.

He really didn't understand how martial artists trained. Having watched TV dramas before, he remembered that protagonists usually underwent harsh ordeals.

He was afraid that giving Tong'er a hot bath might actually harm him, so he simply placed Tong'er on the soft couch in the outer room and used a dry cloth to wipe him down. Zhu Yan found Tong'er's clothes and hurriedly dressed him.

A Yan looked at Meng Wan with eager eyes. "Dad, are we still going to the street to eat good food?"

Hearing about going out, Tong'er's eyes lit up. "Uncle?"

"Yes, but let's first draw and play in Grandmother's room. I'll take you shopping after noon." Meng Wan was still worried that Tong'er, being so young, might catch a fever from the cold, so he wanted to observe him a bit longer before taking him out.

Despite his young age, Tong'er had stronger hands than A Yan. Meng Wan had originally planned to tie a plain cloth strip dipped in ink for him to play with, but the little one was really into charcoal sticks.

Though it was just random scribbling, he had a lot of fun.

A Yan, on the other hand, used a short wolf-hair brush to paint seriously on paper. When he was focused and not causing trouble, he had a bit of Song Tingzhou's composed presence, even if his side profile still looked soft and childish.

In an era without cameras, Meng Wan sketched a portrait of the two children together. A Yan and Tong'er sat facing each other on the soft couch, sporting the same topknot hairstyle, writing and drawing on the low table.

They had agreed to go out at noon, but by a quarter past noon, both children had already dozed off crookedly on the couch.

Huang Ye tiptoed in and removed the low table. Meng Wan put down his brush, took the wet cloth from Huang Ye, wiped the children's hands, and covered them with the thin quilt from Chang Jinhua's room.

"Master, would you like to eat?" Huang Ye asked softly.

Meng Wan had only eaten a bean bun in the morning and was indeed a bit hungry, but since he had promised the little ones to take them out to eat, he didn't want to ruin it for them.

"Any pastries left in the kitchen? Bring me a plate."

Meng Wan ate a few pieces of pastry, then stayed in Chang Jinhua's room to look over the account books. After noon, A Yan and Tong'er woke up, so he kept his promise and took the two little ones out on the street.

At first, A Yan and Tong'er were running ahead of Meng Wan, with Xue Sheng guarding their side, while Huang Ye accompanied Meng Wan leisurely behind.

Soon, A Yan ran back to him, clutching Meng Wan's sleeve tightly, curiosity in his eyes. "Dad, look over there! There's a person who looks different from us."

Meng Wan looked confused.

"What's different about him?" He wondered if A Yan had seen someone with a physical disability.

Holding A Yan's hand, he walked forward and immediately saw the person A Yan had described.

In short, the man did look different from the people of Yu. He was not very tall, with dark brown skin, black curly hair. Getting closer, Meng Wan could see his sharp features: deep-set eyes, large and bright; a flat nose with wide nostrils; and thick lips.

He wore ordinary coarse clothes and carried a bundle on his back. In broken Mandarin, he was trying to communicate with a vendor selling sticky rice, wanting to buy a meal.

The streets were bustling, and everyone who passed by stared curiously at this strange-looking foreigner.

Meng Wan watched for a moment, then told Xue Sheng to go over and invite the foreigner of unknown nationality into Chang Jinhua's shop, offering him a free meal.

The foreign man was probably running low on money, so despite his doubts, he followed Xue Sheng.

On the street, Meng Wan picked up some snacks for A Yan and Tong'er from a street vendor. His place was very close to Chang Jinhua's new shop, but Chang Jinhua usually worked at the old location.

By the time they reached Chang Jinhua's new shop, the foreign man was already wolfing down a bowl of rice noodles. He must have spent some time in Yu territory, as he handled chopsticks with ease.

The other diners in the shop each held their bowls, slurping noodles while watching the foreigner, as if he were part of the meal.

A Yan hugged Meng Wan's arm. "Father, I want to eat too."

"Alright, let's order then." Meng Wan told Huang Ye to go and order a few bowls of rice noodles, and paid for everything including the foreigner's two bowls.

After the foreign man had finished eating, he saw Xue Sheng and Meng Wan sitting at the same table and thought they were a family. He came over to thank Xue Sheng.

Xue Sheng pointed at Meng Wan. "This is my master. He paid for your rice noodles."

The foreign man gratefully said to Meng Wan, "Thank you, Master!" (Master, with a rising tone.)

"Cough, cough." Meng Wan choked on a bite of noodles. "No need to thank me. My name is Meng Wan. Please sit down and talk with us. If you're in trouble, maybe I can help."

"Really? Thank you, Meng Wan! My name is Emilio." Emilio sat down excitedly next to them.

"You're not from Yu, are you?" Meng Wan pointed at Emilio's curly hair and exotic looks.

"That's right. I came from Luzon. My country heard that in a city very close to us in Yu, sugar is very cheap, so they dispatched us to purchase it." Emilio volunteered his mission without waiting for Meng Wan to ask.

Meng Wan smiled warmly. "What a coincidence. I happen to know the owner of a sugar workshop. That's the sugar seller you need."

"That's wonderful! I asked around and found out I was on the wrong path. Can you take me there?" Emilio asked excitedly.

"Of course, I can take you there now." Meng Wan agreed readily, then immediately told Xue Sheng to take A Yan and Tong'er home and hitch up the carriage and come back to pick them up.

After Xue Sheng left, Emilio asked curiously, "Are we taking a carriage? Is the sugar workshop far away?"

Meng Wan was surprisingly enthusiastic. "Yes, it's not too close. I'll send a carriage to take you there soon."

Emilio opened his big dark eyes wide, looking naive. "But I have a few companions outside. They're waiting for me in another alley for me to bring back food. Can we bring them along?"

"Of course." Meng Wan didn't hesitate at all and agreed immediately.

His words were agreeable, but he sat without budging in the shop without moving. Seeing this, Emilio had no choice but to wait until Xue Sheng arrived before going to find his companions.

"They're waiting for me over here."

After Xue Sheng drove the carriage over, Meng Wan and Huang Ye didn't get on immediately. Emilio led them toward a remote alley.

"How many companions do you have? This place seems empty." Meng Wan walked slowly, half a step behind Huang Ye, standing between him and Xue Sheng.

By now they had entered an alley—the westernmost part of Xi Wu Prefecture, originally the back gate of the Qin family mansion.

The entire alley only had the Qin residence, which covered a large area. After the Qin family fell from grace, the mansion couldn't be sold quickly and was acquired cheaply by a real estate agency.

Superstitious merchants didn't dare buy the Qin mansion, and ordinary people couldn't afford it, so it had been sitting idle. Fortunately, during the New Year, some traveling merchants rented it, so the agency didn't lose money.

It was not yet the season for producing canned lychees, so the area near the Qin mansion was desolate, without even a sign of life.

After they entered the alley, Emilio stopped talking and walked straight to the far end.

Suddenly, seven or eight figures jumped down from the back wall of the Qin residence, all masked, but their exposed skin was the same color as Emilio's.

Meng Wan stared into Emilio's eyes. "What do you mean by this? Who are these people?"

Emilio's originally honest face broke into a sly grin. "Pretty one, didn't anyone teach you not to trust strangers easily?"

Meng Wan let Xue Sheng shield him, resting his chin on his hand thoughtfully. "No one ever taught me that, because I'm the one who usually says that to others."

As his words fell, more than a dozen burly men suddenly burst out from the carriage behind them. The leader, tall and handsome, raised his knife and asked Meng Wan, "Master, should we kill them all or tie them up?"

It was none other than Na Tuo, who had brought men from the relay station to help.

Before Emilio could finish his threat, his men were already surrounded, and each of them was armed with a knife!

Hearing Na Tuo talk about killing people, Emilio burst into tears instantly. He figured these men were desperados, and immediately his knees buckled, and he knelt on the ground.

"Master!" (Master, with a rising tone.)

"Look at me~ Aren't I handsome~..."

That evening, when Song Tingzhou came home, Meng Wan was still laughing as he recounted the day's events.

"They tried to trick you?" Song Tingzhou got into bed in his sleepwear.

Meng Wan scooted further into the bed to make room for him. "It wasn't really a trick on me, though."

Luzon had indeed sent Emilio and his men to buy sugar, but not as a legitimate business—they wanted to steal their sugar-making methods.

As a minor official from Luzon, Emilio had been framed by his enemies and forced into exile. In addition to him, there were two other officials of lower rank traveling with him, plus eight guards who were with him during the day.

But this guy was cunning. When he left Luzon, he brought all his assets with him, reluctantly leaving behind his beautiful new wife. He figured that if he succeeded in learning the sugar-making formula in Yu, he would go back; if not, he would stay in Yu.

During his first year in Yu, he had a harrowing time at sea before finally landing at Lei Zhou Prefecture by boat.

Lei Zhou Prefecture was even more barren than He Shan County had been back then. The local people could barely survive. Emilio's heart dropped the moment he got off the boat. There wasn't even a proper inn to be found because of the sparse population, and the language barrier made everything hopeless.

After many hardships, he and his companions finally found lodging in the home of a "kind" local villager.

The result was clear: they had been tricked. The next morning, their money and luggage were gone, and the villagers beat them out of the village.

They had no money but at least everyone was alive. After great difficulty, they reached Qin Zhou, only to encounter local unrest. The Yu army was in fierce battles with other countries, and bandits fled in all directions, grabbing whatever they could on their way out. Not only were Emilio and his men robbed of their last coins, but two of the accompanying officials also lost their lives.

So Emilio "went dark."