Chapter 2264: The Secrets of Those Years

"They say the world's spiritual energy is recovering, bringing great benefits to humanity, yet the places I've traveled are even more chaotic than before! The people of Shanjin should really go out and see for themselves; then they'd know how fortunate their peaceful lives are now!"

"Believe me, the people of Shanjin know. They once endured a thousand years of turmoil."

Sun Hongye sighed, "To have survived this tumultuous era, and with all my limbs intact, I am truly blessed by the Dragon God."

While he spoke, He Lingchuan took out a glass pot, poured in tea leaves and fresh spring water. He then conveniently cut up the strawberries and red dates from the table, along with pineapple and sweet peaches he seemed to pull from nowhere, and added them all to the pot to brew together.

In the past two months, fruit tea has become very popular in Jucheng.

Fashions in Cangyan's capital change at least every six months. For instance, the plum blossom salted pastries that were immensely popular in January, with long queues everywhere to buy them, were almost completely ignored by April. Everyone's tendency to favor the new and neglect the old is comparable to Lingxu City.

As the tea simmered, He Lingchuan picked up the pot and poured him a cup. "Try this," he said, "it's made with Immortal Tea from Ling Mountain as the base."

Sun Hongye hastily thanked him, raised the cup, and took a small sip.

The flavor was quite unique.

And exceptionally delicious.

"I owe you some credit for getting Blade Port back," He Lingchuan said, taking out an old deed from his robe and spreading it flat on the table. "Can you tell me where you got this?"

This was the agreement forced upon Bailie by Qing Kingdom decades ago, forcibly leasing Blade Port for forty years at a price of three thousand taels per year. It was never returned even after the lease expired, until He Lingchuan assumed the position of Bailie chieftain.

Frankly speaking, this old deed was instrumental in He Lingchuan's ability to easily reclaim Blade Port.

With power, reason becomes the ultimate argument.

And 'reason' requires evidence.

Sun Hongye found this old deed. Before leaving Yuan Kingdom, he secretly asked He Yue to pass it to He Lingchuan.

He also asked Zhu Xiuer to deliver 'Annotations on Jade Flower Anthology' as a codebook, which allowed He Lingchuan to decipher the location of his birth mother's burial site.

He Lingchuan had always been curious about two things: first, where Sun Hongye obtained this old deed; and second, since he knew the deed would be useful to He Lingchuan, it meant he had also figured out He Lingchuan's true parentage.

How did he manage that?

Sun Hongye traced his fingers over the old deed:

"Years ago, when you fell into the Han River and your whereabouts became unknown," Sun Hongye began, "after I received the grim news, I could only serve under your father."

He Lingchuan nodded.

Back then, he was swept away by the Han River, fulfilling the prophecy of "leaving when encountering water." As his strategist, with his master gone, Sun Hongye naturally had to find a new livelihood, and joining He Chunhua was a logical step.

"To be fair, Lord He treated me well," Sun Hongye continued, "and gradually entrusted me with many tasks."

He Lingchuan took a sip of his fruit tea. "He Chunhua, of course, never refuses talent."

He Lingchuan had addressed He Chunhua by his given name, and Sun Hongye noticed this.

He Chunhua was now King Shen; his territory was much larger than the former Yuan Kingdom, and his domain was flourishing, a testament to his diligence and capability.

But He Lingchuan's calm tone when mentioning him led Sun Hongye to infer that there was some discord between the two rulers.

It was rare in the world for both father and son to carve out their own empires and crown themselves kings and emperors.

"Soon after, Lord He reassigned his loyal servant, Uncle Hao, to other duties, and some of Uncle Hao's tasks were transferred to me," Sun Hongye explained. "I was then sent back to Heishui City to continue managing the He family's remaining properties and other affairs there."

When He Chunhua was promoted and transferred away years ago, his entire family hastily moved inland. The foundation he had established in Heishui City over more than a decade couldn't be dealt with all at once, and he couldn't easily abandon it, so he had Uncle Hao manage it gradually.

Besides that, as a frontier gateway, Heishui City saw a large influx of special products from both inside and outside the pass. The He family had been in this lucrative business for years, knowing the ropes well, so it continuously required management.

After Uncle Hao, Sun Hongye took over.

"Everything else was straightforward," Sun Hongye recounted, "but one of the tasks Uncle Hao transferred was very strange. It was to go to White Pagoda Temple and pay an old man for tomb-keeping services, renewing it for another fifteen years. During these fifteen years, if the old man died, his son would have to take over and continue caring for the tomb. When I went to White Pagoda Temple to pay, the old man happened to be visiting relatives in the countryside, so only his son was tending the tomb. The tomb was meticulously maintained, with offerings of plain fruit, weeds pulled, and timely repairs. The only thing was, the name on the tombstone was very unfamiliar."

Lu Xiaoyun.

"Why would Lord He maintain that tomb for decades?" Sun Hongye pondered. "My curiosity was piqued. I offered some money, and the tomb-keeper's son told me everything. He also told me that some locals used to gossip about the relationship between the deceased and Lord He, because twenty years ago, they were both young, and some people had seen Lu Xiaoyun looking heavily pregnant. But as time passed, slowly, no one mentioned it anymore."

"I knew I shouldn't meddle in this matter," he continued, "but while I was managing the He family's properties in the city, I also handled a shop on Youhua Old Street, which turned out to be the grain shop that Lu Xiaoyun and her uncle used to run! At that point, I just couldn't resist."

Damn that curiosity.

He Lingchuan chuckled, "Ha, the entire Youhua Old Street is ancient. And that grain shop still hasn't collapsed?"

"They said it had been renovated several times," Sun Hongye explained, "and logically, there shouldn't have been anything left. I didn't expect to find anything when I went in; I was just looking around. Indeed, after several turns, I didn't see anything useful. Just as I was about to leave, I suddenly spotted dense writing on the paper pasted over the lower-left corner of a semi-loft window!" Sun Hongye paused. "Although it was yellowed, the paper was surprisingly tough; it didn't tear when pulled or disintegrate when wet, clearly superior to the rest. I examined the contents closely and exclaimed, 'Hey, it's the deed to Blade Port!'"

Many shops on Youhua Old Street stored goods on the ground floor, with a semi-loft built above for a bed, allowing someone to live there and keep watch at night.

Most semi-lofts used cloth curtains to conceal the bed, while fancier ones used thin wooden doors covered in paper.

"Lu Xiaoyun must have hidden the deed well back then," Sun Hongye mused, pursing his lips. "Presumably, a later landlord found it during a renovation, didn't think much of it, and just used it as window paper. The contents of the deed also corroborated that Lu Xiaoyun indeed hailed from Bailie in the east, so I carefully pried it off."

"When I returned to Dunyu, Lord He's gaze upon me seemed off," Sun Hongye continued. "Someone must have reported my activities in Heishui City, raising his suspicions. However, the more suspicious he became, the more convinced I was that Lu Xiaoyun was your birth mother."

At that time, to Sun Hongye, He Chunhua clearly had something to hide.

"I always believed you were still alive," Sun Hongye concluded. "So I left the deed with Young Master He Er and 'Annotations on Jade Flower Anthology' with Madame Zhu Xiuer, thinking that if you ever reappeared, these would be useful. Then... then I quickly resigned and left. Lord He didn't make things difficult for me."