Chapter 62: Before Returning to Jinhua

"Return to the capital! We must return to the capital!" The young maid made her decision. Perhaps their entire journey had been a mistake from the very beginning.

"Hong’er, don’t be so stubborn. I know it’s hard for you to accept right away, and you think girls should be reserved. But don’t worry, if you don’t like Brother Shi, I’ll look after you and find you a good husband," said Cao Jinhua, putting on an air of feigned maturity.

"You..." Hong’er felt as if she might cough up blood.

"Ai, a little maid is just a little maid. She knows nothing. Matters between men and women are ordained by heaven. You are my maid. Naturally, whomever I marry, you accompany as part of my dowry. We must rest now, and you should go warm the bed for us in advance. If Brother Shi doesn’t know how, it’s your duty to teach him..." Cao Jinhua slipped into her role quickly, speaking earnestly about the duties of mistress and maid, ignoring the fact that she herself was still a maiden.

Hong’er, struck speechless, marveled at how her own mistress not only adopted her role so swiftly but could be so shameless. It was true, after all, that dowry maids had always been tasked with instructing the new son-in-law in such matters. Especially among noble families, maids were expected not only to teach the groom about conjugal relations but also how to please his bride. During the “practical lessons,” the maid would remain by the bedside to offer reminders, and afterward, she’d conduct a cleansing and inspection to later answer the bride’s mother’s inquiries.

But—heavens! That was supposed to be the maid’s secret instruction, not the lady’s. Where on earth had her mistress learned all this? More importantly, those rituals belonged to the formal wedding night, not now.

"Return to the capital! We must return to the capital!" Hong’er gritted her teeth as her mistress prattled on with ever-increasing shamelessness.

"Ai, look at you getting angry again. Oh, I almost forgot, your monthly visitor just came, didn’t it? No wonder your mood is low. When we get back, I’ll make you some brown sugar tea. Be good!" Cao Jinhua smiled with the playful air of a fox luring a little rabbit.

“...”

Hong’er was at her wit’s end. She did love sweets, but not enough to risk her life for them. She seized her mistress by the shoulders, looking her squarely in the eye. "Miss, I’m warning you, don’t do anything reckless. I won’t agree to this, no matter what!"

"This doesn’t require your agreement. As long as Brother Shi and I agree, that’s enough." Cao Jinhua dismissed her with a wave, her gaze drifting once more to Shen Shi.

By this time, Shen Shi had finished regulating his breath.

There was no denying it—a brush with death was truly the best catalyst for cultivation. Though he had expended a vast amount of inner energy fighting the Khitan warriors, once he returned from the battlefield, Shen Shi immediately kindled the Light of Fate in his Purple Palace, illuminating it and completing the bridge to heaven and earth.

In terms of cultivation, he had successfully laid his foundation, achieving the transformation of essence into energy.

With this transformation, he now possessed the ability to refine essence into qi, allowing him to convert all food and even the ambient energy of heaven and earth into true vital force.

It was a genuine qualitative leap.

"Brother Shen, Magistrate Bao has decided to return to Jinhua. What do you think?" Gongsun Ce asked.

"Yes, it’s time to go back."

Shen Shi had no objection to returning. Guobei County was neither a strategic location nor did it possess vast stockpiles of grain. The Khitan wouldn’t expend much effort here.

He had already observed with his keen spiritual vision; there was no sign of military energy from a large army in the vicinity. The absence of enemy assaults these past days confirmed this was merely a grain-foraging detachment.

With Guobei County spared from war’s devastation, Shen Shi’s thoughts drifted to Jinhua—or rather, to home. The provincial exam had long since ended; surely his father and the others would have returned by now.

"However, before we leave, I hope the rewards for slaying the enemy and the compensations for the fallen will be distributed in full." Shen Shi looked seriously at Gongsun Ce.

"Ah... Magistrate Bao is still negotiating with Magistrate Wang. But with over two hundred enemy heads, that’s over twenty thousand strings of cash in rewards—quite a strain for Guobei County."

"A strain? Heh, don’t tell me the black market proceeds they confiscated aren’t enough to cover it," Shen Shi scoffed.

Soldiers who kill the enemy deserve their reward. Unfortunately, the Song court’s legitimacy was shaky, and it suppressed the military. If Shen Shi didn’t keep a close watch, this matter would likely be swept under the carpet.

"Brother Shen, that’s not the same. The black market takings can’t simply be handed out," Gongsun Ce hurriedly protested.

"Why not? What’s the reason?" Shen Shi asked, puzzled.

After all, it was the black market. Once seized, everyone in Guobei County would benefit. Could it be that Song officials were truly so incorruptible?

Even if Magistrate Wang was a clean official, surely he, too, would desire promotion. Seizing the black market would count as a significant achievement, would it not?

"Brother Shen, you may not know. Just as the authorities were about to confiscate the black market, the abbot of Lanruo Temple arrived in person, declaring that it was not a black market at all but an official, registered market."

"You believe that?" Shen Shi laughed. "The place is so notorious it’s known as the ‘Ghost Market,’ and now he claims it’s an official one? Heh."

Shen Shi’s laughter was his way of implying he saw through it all, a fact not lost on Gongsun Ce. He understood, too, at least in part, the tricks played by Lanruo Temple. After all, his own family’s dealings with them were steeped in society’s underworld, and they weren’t strangers to shady business. But...

"Who would believe it? Yet the abbot presented official documents proving it was indeed an authorized market, and the county yamen has the records on file, verifying their authenticity and legal standing," Gongsun Ce replied helplessly. Lanruo Temple had official permits, issued by the authorities, with copies archived in the county office.

"How did an official market become infamous as a ghost market? Could it be they’re in league with the supernatural?" Shen Shi asked.

"Hiss—Brother Shen, do you mean to move against Lanruo Temple?" Gongsun Ce was startled and quickly tried to dissuade him. "You mustn’t! The influence of Lanruo Temple in Guobei County is immense; any attack on them could spark a popular uprising."

It was not cowardice on Gongsun Ce’s part—Lanruo Temple truly wielded such power. With Khitan forces already deep in Song territory, another uprising would be disastrous.

"Brother Shen, don’t ever assume Lanruo Temple is merely a monastery. They possess considerable assets—landholdings, moneylending, even hosting flower festivals. Their power extends from the common folk to the highest officials. And with their official market license, even Magistrate Bao would be powerless against them."

Gongsun Ce regarded Shen Shi as a friend and did not hesitate to lay bare the collusion between the authorities and the temple. He feared Shen Shi, driven by loyalty and hot blood, might try to confront Lanruo Temple head-on.

The saying “foreign monks chant the best sutras” was never just a jest. Four hundred and eighty temples in the Southern Dynasties—countless rulers had tried to suppress the Buddhist monasteries, but to no avail.

The Song dynasty revered Daoism, raising it to the status of national faith, even to the level of the emperor himself. Yet today, there might be ten thousand Daoist priests, but there were a million monks.

One could well imagine the profound depths of Buddhist influence, and it was little wonder dynasties through the ages had both feared and sought to curb their power.