After Ma Jin'an closed his folding fan, the hall fell silent for a long time.
He Minghu did not move. His gaze withdrew from the faces of Zhang Tiezhu and the other two, landing once again on the glazed wolf sculpture.
Just now, after being given a beating by Ma Jin'an, he had forcefully suppressed his greed. But now, staring straight at the radiant and exotic treasure, that greed began to grow wildly like weeds again.
He swallowed hard.
"Lord Ma."
"Mm."
"In your opinion... this kind of divine artifact, can we really not touch it?"
Ma Jin'an glanced at him sideways and said nothing.
He Minghu licked his lips, interlacing his fingers and rubbing them repeatedly. He paced back and forth a couple of steps, his eyes glued to the row of wooden boxes, unable to pull them away.
"But you saw it too." He Minghu lowered his voice and gestured toward Zhang Tiezhu and the other two with his mouth. "Even these three ruthless killers couldn't take their eyes off these things. If we took them to the Heliens..."
He didn't finish his sentence.
Ma Jin'an lightly stroked the ribs of his fan with his fingers, his gaze deep and gloomy.
The sunlight pierced obliquely into the hall through the gaps in the window lattice, falling exactly on the glazed cup. The mottled halos of light reflected on the ceiling, flickering unsteadily, like a ghost.
"If you have something to say, just say it."
He Minghu took a step closer, his voice even lower.
"What I mean is, we'll do this deal for her."
"Just like we agreed before."
Ma Jin'an raised his eyelids.
"She has the source of these exotic treasures, but I also have the sales channel to the Heliens! That stray dog Sarhan is at a dead end in the royal court and desperately needs exotic treasures to sustain his life. As long as he gets the items, why would he care if the seller's surname is Xu or He?"
Ma Jin'an finally smiled.
"General He." He lightly tapped the glazed wolf sculpture with the ribs of his fan. "Your words have finally hit the nail on the head."
He Minghu was taken aback upon hearing this.
Ma Jin'an flicked his sleeves and stood up, pacing to the long table. He stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at the eight wooden boxes for a long time before speaking faintly.
"How many days until Zhenbei City runs out of food?"
He Minghu was silent for a moment: "At most ten days, then we'll be completely out of food."
"Once there's a mutiny in the camp, who will be the first to be eaten alive?"
He Minghu's face darkened. He knew very well that Tie Lanshan was the commander-in-chief, but he only had a few hundred direct troops under his command. If it really came to a mutiny, the ones being roasted on the fire would be him, He Minghu, and Ma Jin'an!
The three thousand border troops were under Ma Jin'an's jurisdiction, and the ones going hungry were all his soldiers!
"So," Ma Jin'an turned around, pointing his folding fan at He Minghu, "this deal isn't a question of whether you want to do it or not, it's a matter of do it or die."
"Therefore, it must be done!"
"Actually, I've wanted to do this for a long time."
He Minghu's Adam's apple bobbed. This old fox!
"But this exotic treasure belongs to her after all, and the Heliens recognize her identity as the Imperial Envoy of Great Qian..."
"Who says the Heliens recognize her?" Ma Jin'an snorted coldly, his face full of sarcasm. "Barbarians only recognize the goods, not the person! That beast Sarhan is already in a desperate situation in the royal court, bitten hard by his uncle, the Right Luli King."
"The Great Khan's birthday banquet is his last bargaining chip to turn the tables. If you put this wolf sculpture in front of him, do you think he'll care if you're an Imperial Envoy from the capital or a butcher from Zhenbei City?"
"As for Xu Qinghuan's end, you just need to spread the word that the Imperial Envoy caught a chill at the north gate, her old illness has flared up, and she is bedridden. The Deputy General's Office, out of camaraderie, will handle the border trade matters on her behalf, with no other distractions."
He Minghu's eyes darted around.
"Then... how should the handover be done?" He Minghu rubbed his palms vigorously. "We can't have you and me personally show up to meet the Heliens at Wild Fox Shoal. If word gets out..."
"Of course not." Ma Jin'an waved his hand and slowly paced to the map of the northern border in the hall, stopping in front of it. "What's the name of the squad leader under your command who manages the rations and fodder?"
"Zhao Si."
"The same Zhao Si who lost three hundred taels of silver at the Xuanfu casino last year?"
"Exactly." He Minghu nodded. "I settled the debt for him. The lives of his whole family are in my hands."
A smile touched the corners of Ma Jin'an's mouth.
"Then order Zhao Si to take men to Wild Fox Shoal with the glaze and strong liquor to hand over to Sarhan. The cattle, sheep, rations, and fodder—not a single grain of rice or a single sheep's hair can be missing. Bring it all back."
He Minghu frowned deeply: "But that fellow Zhao Si has a loose tongue..."
"Dead men don't need to keep secrets," Ma Jin'an interrupted coldly.
He Minghu froze.
Ma Jin'an turned around, his gaze icy.
"Once the cattle and sheep cross the boundary river, Zhao Si will be of no further use."
Having said this much, even a boor like He Minghu understood. He stared at Ma Jin'an's face for a long while.
"...Alright."
Ma Jin'an nodded and continued speaking unhurriedly.
"After Zhao Si dies, you will only have one official story to tell, which is... a corrupt official emerged under the Deputy General's Office. Squad leader Zhao Si, driven by greed, secretly stole the goods confiscated by the Imperial Envoy and privately traded with the Heliens at Wild Fox Shoal."
"Violating military law, executed on the spot."
"All stolen money and goods recovered and handed over to the military office."
He Minghu was stunned for two seconds, then suddenly slapped his thigh.
"Brilliant!"
A flush appeared on his face as he rubbed his large, fan-like hands, pacing back and forth a few steps.
"Once the cattle, sheep, rations, and fodder enter the military office camp, they become border military supplies! My rightful military supplies—why should I spit them out and give them back to Xu Qinghuan?!"
"Not only will you not give them back," Ma Jin'an sat back leisurely in the grand armchair, lightly fanning himself, looking every bit the master strategist, "you've cracked a major smuggling case for the imperial court and recovered stolen goods meant for the enemy! General He, this is an extraordinary merit."
He Minghu stopped in his tracks.
Their eyes met in mid-air.
He Minghu threw his head back and laughed loudly, his rough, hoarse laughter swirling around the hall.
Ma Jin'an did not laugh. He quietly held his teacup, waiting for He Minghu's laughter to subside before slowly adding a sentence.
He Minghu rubbed his hands, his voice filled with suppressed delight.
"It will be a piece of cake!"
Ma Jin'an walked to the door, paused his steps, and turned half his body back.
"General He."
"After Zhao Si's matter is settled, the only ones who know about it will be you, me, and Zhang Tiezhu's trio. As for the other eyes and ears present."
Ma Jin'an didn't finish.
But He Minghu had already understood.
"Understood."
Ma Jin'an turned and walked out the door.
The sunlight in the courtyard was muddied by the wind and sand. The armored soldiers of the Deputy General's Office were standing guard in formation under the eaves, the shadows of their long spears dragging crookedly on the yellow earth.
...
The light inside the tent was dim, with only a sheep-fat lamp in the corner emitting murky yellow smoke.
Sarhan was bound tightly with hemp rope, tied six times from his chest to his ankles to a chair made of Populus euphratica wood, unable to move.
His attendant Agula was tied to the other side, his head drooping limply, his fate unknown.
The heavy tent flap was suddenly lifted a sliver by the night wind.
A pair of official black boots quietly stepped into the tent. By the dim lamplight, a dark cloud pattern on the side of the boots faintly appeared.
The newcomer walked up to the sheep-fat lamp and stopped. Sarhan struggled desperately against his ropes.
The figure slowly crouched down, bringing his gaze level with Sarhan.
A dagger, gleaming with a cold light, was pressed against Sarhan's kneecap with a measured weight.
"Sarhan."
"In this game of chess orchestrated by the Great Qian's imperial envoy, you are but a useless pawn..."
The sharp tip of the blade traced a slow, deliberate circle against his kneecap.
"Rest easy now. I shall wade through these muddy waters in your stead."
