“The Divine Doctor doesn’t need to go,” Wu Lingyuan paused, then said hesitantly, “But the county office is in dire straits right now. If the Divine Doctor has time, could he perhaps see a few patients…”
Mo Sigui was silent for a moment, then finally nodded. “I won’t see patients for less than 5,000 taels, and I won’t travel beyond 20 li.”
A hint of a smile appeared in Wu Lingyuan’s clear eyes. He took a paper from his sleeve and handed it to Mo Sigui. “Would the Divine Doctor please take a look and see if these few families are suitable?”
Mo Sigui’s mouth fell open as he looked at the neat yet forceful handwriting on the paper.
It wasn’t just a few families – there were over a dozen! He lived right here in this compound, yet he had no idea when Wu Lingyuan had contacted all these people!
“The Divine Doctor’s reputation precedes him. They wouldn’t dare make you travel back and forth. I plan to prepare some courtyards for them to stay in when they visit,” Wu Lingyuan said respectfully. “What does the Divine Doctor think?”
“Damn it!” Mo Sigui couldn’t help slamming the table. “They’re all emergency cases. Are you trying to work me to death?”
“The capable shoulder more responsibility. Ha ha,” Wu Lingyuan laughed nervously.
Seeing Mo Sigui staring at the paper without speaking, Wu Lingyuan turned to Sui Yunzhu and Li Qingzhi. “An escort agency in Hejian Prefecture recently took on a big job escorting goods to Xijin Prefecture. But they’re short on skilled escorts, so they’re offering high pay for two people…”
Sui Yunzhu’s heart sank. “You’ve already agreed?”
She would have found it easier to accept an assassination mission in Liao. Being an escort was fine if nothing went wrong, but if something happened, they’d be sitting ducks!
“Haha, I thought you two were capable people from the Konghe Army. This little task…” Wu Lingyuan trailed off.
Li Qingzhi couldn’t sit still either. “You already agreed?!”
Wu Lingyuan pressed his lips together and said nothing, his clear gaze slightly apologetic.
“Fine. It’s not that far, and I was thinking of taking a trip to Liao anyway!” Li Qingzhi said.
Sui Yunzhu could only nod in agreement.
Wu Lingyuan breathed a sigh of relief. “Then I’ll send word right away that you’ve agreed.”
“…”
“…”
“Blood Sha…” Wu Lingyuan looked over at him.
Blood Sha immediately said, “I’ll follow Miss An, in life or death.”
Everyone looked at An Jiu.
An Jiu glanced at Blood Sha, then stood up and ran!
Blood Sha’s figure blurred as he chased after her.
“Ah, to think there was such a roguish method!” Mo Sigui blew out a puff of smoke. “What nonsense is this!”
They had all followed An Jiu to Hexi, yet now everyone was being exploited by Wu Lingyuan while she ran away!
Wu Lingyuan hadn’t expected his seemingly stern benefactor to have such a side. Helpless, his gaze fell on Wei Yuzhi, who had been sitting quietly the whole time.
Wei Yuzhi sat with his sleeves gathered, slightly raising his eyes to meet Wu Lingyuan’s gaze with a faint smile. He looked gentle, his gray-brown eyes clear yet somehow unfathomably deep.
Under that calm gaze, Wu Lingyuan felt as if a mountain was pressing down on him. But Wu Lingyuan had always been steady, so he withstood the pressure and said seriously, “Sir, Hexi County lacks a county deputy. Would you be willing to take on the position?”
At these words, even Mo Sigui, who was nearly asleep, couldn’t help but be startled.
Wei Yuzhi smiled, suddenly seeming a bit shy. “I’m afraid I’ll never have the chance to be an official of the Great Song in this lifetime.”
Wu Lingyuan had keen insight. He knew that this seemingly harmless man before him was the most formidable. Asking him to be his deputy was already presumptuous. If the man was unwilling, Wu Lingyuan didn’t dare try to coerce or entice him as he had with Mo Sigui and the others.
Just as Wu Lingyuan was about to give up persuading him, Wei Yuzhi unexpectedly threw him a choice: “I’m willing to be your strategist and help you dominate the court. Are you willing to be a puppet for five years?”
Anyone in Wu Lingyuan’s position would be displeased to hear such words, but the temptation of dominating the court was too great – it was just one step away from usurping the throne.
Everyone thought Wu Lingyuan would say he’d consider it, but to their surprise, he laughed openly and said, “If you truly have the ability, why not follow you?”
Though the conversation seemed playful, both men were completely serious.
“Tsk tsk, you two find a quiet place for your power play. I’m leaving,” Mo Sigui stood up and sauntered out.
Sui Yunzhu and Li Qingzhi followed suit.
Only the two of them remained, sitting across from each other.
Wu Lingyuan said, “I don’t yet know your full name, sir.”
“Wei Yuzhi.”
Wu Lingyuan was slightly shocked. “The Second Master of Miaomiao Mountain Villa!”
He didn’t know the inner workings of Miaomiao Mountain Villa, but Wei Yuzhi was renowned for his wisdom. Living in the diverse Jiangkou region, Wu Lingyuan had heard of him. But he didn’t know exactly what Wei Yuzhi had done to earn his reputation.
The years of blindness had given Wu Lingyuan an open-minded nature. He could accept that if someone was more capable than him, there was nothing wrong with being a minor county official. But he was puzzled. “With your abilities, sir, passing the imperial examinations and becoming an official wouldn’t be difficult. Why insist on lowering yourself to be my strategist?”
“I left the monastic life. Moreover, I don’t have much time left to live. If I wait to pass through layers of selection, I may not have time to accomplish anything before I leave this world.” Wei Yuzhi had been thinking a lot lately. When he saw Wu Lingyuan, he felt it was an opportunity sent by heaven. Perhaps there was an invisible hand guiding his path forward.
Wu Lingyuan sighed inwardly. “I don’t seek to dominate the court. I only wish to do something for the Great Song.”
“No. That is my condition for being your strategist,” Wei Yuzhi said, his tone gentle but firm. “I can help you do anything you cannot or dare not do, but you must stand at the peak of power and clear away the centuries of corruption in the Great Song, fearing nothing, not even imperial power.”
Seeing Wu Lingyuan’s shocked expression, he continued, “The so-called ‘puppet’ was just a test. I’m willing to be at your disposal, as long as you swear before me to fulfill the conditions I’ve stated.”
“Seize power?!” Wu Lingyuan’s throat went dry. He had never considered such a crazy idea, only wanting to do something for the country and the people.
Wei Yuzhi’s lips curved slightly. “If the emperor is weak and foolish, deceive him and wield power behind the throne. If the emperor is strong and capable, serve him loyally, regardless of one’s reputation in this life or the next.”
If the emperor was incompetent like previous ones, they would manipulate him and wield power behind the scenes. If the emperor was capable, they could devote themselves to him, willing to do anything to rectify the government and eliminate abuses, not caring about their reputation.
But Wu Lingyuan had always wanted to be a loyal official…
Wei Yuzhi had already seen through his thoughts. “This world is not the plaything of any one person. The emperor bears the heavy responsibility of the mandate of heaven. If he cannot bring prosperity to the realm, why should we aspiring men serve him like dogs and horses!”
“You speak truly, sir,” Wu Lingyuan said. His original intention wasn’t to slavishly serve the emperor either, but influenced by the concept of “loyalty to the monarch,” he hadn’t developed such bold ideas as Wei Yuzhi’s.
Wei Yuzhi’s expression remained unchanged. “Since we’ve come this far, I’m not afraid to be completely honest with you. I previously worked for Liao.”
“Why?” Wu Lingyuan instinctively felt he must have had compelling reasons.
Wei Yuzhi was silent for a moment, then briefly explained his background. “My family had been loyal officials for generations, yet they were unjustly executed. So I wanted to destroy this corruption with my own hands. Recently, though, I’ve realized there are other ways to achieve my goals. It’s just that destruction is more satisfying than change, so I instinctively chose that path first.”
Most people, faced with the unjust extermination of their family, would think of seeking justice and revenge. However, Wèi Yǔzhī had long seen through the decay beneath the flourishing façade of the Song Dynasty. The path to redress was hopeless; his family wasn’t destroyed by a single person but by the entire corrupt system.
Now that he had killed the mastermind behind the case, he had come to understand many things.