Chapter 13: Young Master

February in Tanzhou had already ushered in spring, but in the capital, snow was still drifting down.

A month had passed since the Grand Marshal’s eldest son fell into the water. In this month, the officials who needed to be investigated were investigated, and the policies that needed to be implemented were carried out. As the man awoke, the heated discussions inside and outside the capital gradually subsided.

At this time, the imperial court also began to set its sights on the next step: selecting a group of people from the list recommended by the Grand Secretariat to serve as imperial envoys for canal inspection, tasked with traveling north and south to inspect river transport.

He Qu held a bowl of medicine that had been kept warm through layers of insulation, walking under the plum trees dusted with thin snow and up the steps. He arrived at the Bibo Pavilion in the east courtyard of the Grand Marshal’s mansion. After whispering a few words to his two colleagues guarding the door, he freed a hand to push it open and stepped inside on tiptoe.

The room was bright. A slit was left open in the west window, but since it was only just past breakfast time and the east windows were tightly shut, a few lamps had been lit near the Xiang-embroidered screen depicting a flying horse treading on a river. The light just happened to illuminate the person on the daybed under the east window and the dossier he held in his hands.

Silver charcoal burned brightly in front of the bed, warming the two vases of blooming red plum blossoms on the table, filling the air with a warm fragrance. The heat rushed toward He Qu, whose body still carried the chill of the outdoors, instantly causing a mist of moisture to rise around him. He set down the medicine and immediately stepped back: "Young Master, this is the new prescription from Imperial Physician Li, requested by the Grand Marshal. Please drink it while it’s hot."

The man on the bed propped up his upper body, which had been leaning against the pillows, set aside the dossier, glanced at the medicine bowl, and picked it up.

He Qu recalled that the Grand Marshal had visited Bibo Pavilion many times these past few days, yet not once had he been invited inside. Before coming, He Qu had worried that this medicine might also be refused, so he felt a secret sense of relief on the Grand Marshal’s behalf.

He glanced at the words "Tanzhou Water Transport" on the cover of the dossier, then hurriedly took a folded piece of paper from his robes: "I have something to report. This is the initial list of imperial envoys drafted by the Grand Secretariat. When the Grand Marshal sent me to receive Imperial Physician Li earlier, I happened to see it in the study. There are seven candidates in total, and I memorized them."

Shen Qingzhou finished the medicine, He Qu took the bowl, and then handed the list to him.

"There is one more thing..." He Qu lowered his head: "The Grand Marshal has taken charge of the Ministry of War, and a few days ago, he moved your post out of the Ministry of War, saying you would be reassigned."

He stole a glance at the bed, looking rather cautious.

But in the silence of the room, there was only the sound of slender fingers turning the pages of the dossier again.

He Qu raised his head this time, staring at that face, and after a moment said, "Young Master, are you not surprised?"

Shen Qingzhou said calmly, "Go and prepare my winter cloak."

He Qu was stunned: "In this freezing weather, you are going out?"

Shen Qingzhou gazed at the red plum blossoms outside the window, which were as crimson as blood. Beneath the blossoms, a person was walking straight toward the pavilion.

He Qu followed his gaze and couldn't help but be moved. He walked to the door, opened it, and bowed to the person who had just arrived: "Uncle Qin, what matter has troubled you to come here in person?"

Qin Xiao was a guard who had followed Shen Bo since childhood. Later, when Shen Bo went to war, Qin Xiao became a general under his command. Unfortunately, he lost an eye on the battlefield, so he devoted himself to being Shen Bo’s deputy general. Now, he had become the steward of the Grand Marshal’s mansion, concurrently managing Shen Bo’s affairs.

In the Shen family, no one could afford to disrespect Qin Xiao, not even Shen Qingzhou.

After being ushered in by He Qu, Qin Xiao approached Shen Qingzhou. He first glanced at the empty medicine bowl, then at the dossier in his hand, and said, "The transfer order from the Ministry of Personnel has come down. Once you have fully recovered, you may take up the post of Director in the Ministry of Revenue."

"Uncle Qin!" He Qu stepped forward in shock. "The Young Master is the son of a military family; he has practiced martial arts and trained troops since childhood. Before the Grand Marshal returned, he was a dignified Commander of the Garrison. Even if the Grand Marshal now heads the Ministry of War and the Young Master’s position needs to avoid a conflict of interest between father and son, he is still the noble heir to the Duke of Ying! The Grand Marshal’s only son!

"The Grand Marshal has bestowed honors upon his descendants; it is only right for the Young Master to be transferred to another military office as a military official. How could he be sent to the Ministry of Revenue? How would that put the Young Master’s lifelong learning to any use?"

Qin Xiao listened to him finish, then looked at Shen Qingzhou: "The Grand Marshal asked me repeatedly if the Young Master had thought it through. A Director in the Ministry of Revenue is only a fourth-rank official. According to the Emperor’s wishes, he originally intended for the Young Master to serve under Commander Huo of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Commander Huo is the Emperor’s confidant; this move was a sign of trust in the Shen family and a cultivation of the Young Master."

Hearing this, He Qu suddenly realized: "Young Master, was this your own idea?!"

Shen Qingzhou closed the dossier: "The Ministry of Revenue is fine."

"Young Master!" He Qu was so anxious he was twitching his eyes, wanting to say something but held back because Qin Xiao was present.

Qin Xiao acted as if he didn't see it and continued: "Today, the Grand Secretariat is convening a meeting of the relevant canal transport offices to finalize the list of imperial envoys. Both the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue are required to participate.

"Although you are on sick leave and have not yet taken office, the Grand Secretariat has requested your presence, likely as a gesture of respect.

"The Grand Marshal sent me to ask if your health can withstand it?"

Shen Qingzhou nodded: "I can." He then turned to He Qu: "Where are my clothes?"

He Qu snapped out of his daze and immediately entered the inner room with a complex expression.

The snow melted, and the water dripped along the glazed tiles, forming a crystalline curtain of water under the eaves.

Qin Xiao walked steadily to the front courtyard and, looking up, saw Shen Bo standing quietly, stroking his beard beside a stone wall carved with pines and cranes.

The second young master of the mansion, Shen Zhui, stood slightly behind him, occasionally peering toward the inner gate. He was dressed in dark blue brocade robes, his waist cinched with a jade belt, a long sword hanging at his side. He held the hilt, head held high and chest out, looking exceptionally martial.

"Grand Marshal, the Young Master is coming." Qin Xiao arrived before Shen Bo, who looked even more imposing than Shen Zhui, and bowed to report.

"Young Master" was the title used for Shen Qingzhou since childhood. Even though Shen Bo was now titled Grand Marshal and Duke of Ying, and Shen Qingzhou was officially the heir, everyone in the mansion still addressed him that way.

Shen Bo, who had been lost in thought, flickered his gaze toward the inner gate. His eyes, which had been as still as a deep pool, suddenly became piercingly bright.

Shen Qingzhou stepped over the threshold and swept his gaze across the courtyard. His eyes landed on Shen Zhui’s face for a moment, then he withdrew them and tilted his head toward He Qu.

He Qu nodded, then tremblingly summoned the thick-felt carriage from the steps and served him as he boarded. The carriage then started, moving neither fast nor slow as it exited the gate.

From beginning to end, the son did not greet the father.

"Father!" Shen Zhui said, filled with righteous indignation.

"Let’s go." Shen Bo turned calmly, only releasing the trace of desolation in his eyes the moment he stepped into his sedan chair.

Shen Zhui chased after Shen Qingzhou’s carriage for a few steps, watching it head straight for the main street from the threshold. He snorted heavily, turned back, and grabbed the side of Shen Bo’s sedan chair: "Father, don't be angry. It’s not worth ruining your health over."

As the carriage left the alley where the Shen mansion was located, He Qu looked at Shen Qingzhou in the carriage, then looked at him again.

But Shen Qingzhou’s eyes were lightly closed, and he had no intention of paying attention to anyone.

Just as He Qu dismissed the thought of starting a conversation, Shen Qingzhou said, "From the capital to Tanzhou, how many days does it take by water?"