Though the war was over, there was still plenty to deal with afterward. Not only did Duan Yan have no time to return to town, Song Wushen and Song Xuemu also went to the county seat with him.
Song Fengsui had wanted to go along, but his father and second uncle had gone there to take charge of the many affairs involved in assuming control of the county. They had left in haste and were rushing to get everything done. He could hardly abandon Little Ji to go with them. Yet taking the child along in the depths of winter, with the wind howling and snow falling, would inevitably make travel inconvenient.
A message soon came from Duan Yan in the county, telling him to wait for now. Once things had been properly settled there, he would personally return to fetch Song Fengsui and Little Ji.
Since everything was safe and peaceful, Song Fengsui was in no hurry to join the commotion. Kang County was bound to be in utter chaos at the moment. He might not be able to help much if he went, and could even end up making matters worse.
With that in mind, he settled down at home.
After Duan Yan led his troops into Kang County and took control of the county office, the first thing he did was send trusted men to take over the city gates and secure every entrance and exit.
Next came the search for the remaining enemy soldiers who refused to submit, as well as the arrangement of care for the wounded. Their manpower was limited, and by the time they had dealt with barely two matters, night was already approaching.
Fortunately, Song Wushen and Song Xuemu brought their most capable men into the city at a gallop before nightfall. With practiced efficiency, they seized control of the treasury, armory, and granaries, while registering and recording the men brought over from their own territory.
Deep into the night, the county office was still brightly lit, with figures moving busily inside.
The following day, notices assuring the people’s safety were posted outside the county office. Commoners were permitted to visit their arrested relatives, calming the people’s fearful hearts.
They also issued a broad invitation to the county’s educated men and local gentry to discuss the arrangements for the aftermath. The officials in charge of the county office naturally had to be replaced. Some positions would be filled by trusted men from the town, but since this was a county seat, their numbers alone were not enough to fill every vacancy. The remaining compliant former officials were retained, while new people were promoted as well. In this way, control over the county office could be established more quickly and securely.
By the fourth or fifth day, order had been restored throughout the city. Shops selling grain, medicine, and other necessities of daily life were urged to reopen.
The newly appointed officials set up a porridge station in the city to distribute food to the people. As for the county’s captured soldiers, those willing to stay were enlisted again, while those who wished to leave were given severance payments. A “Pavilion of Honest Words” was also established outside the county office to collect opinions from the people.
After roughly ten days, under Song Wushen’s reorganization, the county was once again operating in an orderly manner.
Only then did Duan Yan have some free time. He arranged the county soldiers who were willing to remain. Some were left stationed in the county, while others were taken to Yan Town and Chi Mountain. The soldiers from the original units were all split up and reassigned. They could not be allowed to gather in one place, for it would be easy for them to be incited into causing trouble.
He led his troops back to town, and the young couple, who had been separated for nearly half a month, finally saw each other again.
Song Fengsui carefully examined Duan Yan from head to toe. Aside from the dark circles beneath his eyes caused by working day and night, he truly had not “misreported the military situation” or concealed any injuries.
Although Duan Yan had been constantly rushing between the county and the surrounding areas these days, he had been deeply worried about Song Fengsui. After allowing the Young Doctor Song to finish checking him over, he could no longer restrain himself and pulled the man firmly into his arms.
“Have you been sleeping and eating well these days? Has Little Ji been good?”
Song Fengsui rested his chin on Duan Yan’s shoulder and rubbed his cool nose against the man’s warm neck.
“The war was won, so of course I ate and slept well.”
“...Though, in the dead of winter, with the snow falling day after day, sleeping at night was a little cold without the extra stove.”
A smile appeared in Duan Yan’s eyes. “Was Little Stove not warm enough?”
Song Fengsui wrinkled his nose. “Little Stove has been eating more during the day lately, and sleeping more too. But at night, he refuses to sleep and keeps wriggling all over the bed. He may be warm, but he’s exhausting to deal with.”
Duan Yan’s brows twitched. “So he’s been naughty while his old father was away.”
He ruffled Song Fengsui’s hair. “I’ll deal with this little rascal today.”
Song Fengsui laughed. “He slept with me for two nights. Then Mother came over from Yan Town to see him and stayed at the house for seven or eight days, so Little Ji slept with her. Two days ago, Mother said that an aunt from the countryside was celebrating her birthday, so she had to go back for a feast. She had only just left when he started missing her terribly.”
“Although the little fellow is mischievous, I haven’t had to spend too much energy on him during the half month you were gone.”
As he spoke, An Ge’er came into the room carrying hot tea and a plate of bean cakes. He said that Little Ji, who had been sleeping with the wet nurse, had woken up.
Song Fengsui knew how much Duan Yan had missed the child. He rose and went to bring him inside.
The little fellow had only just woken up. The tip of his nose was slightly red. He had kicked off his blankets while sleeping the previous night, and by the time anyone noticed, he had already been cold for a while. He had caught a chill, and his spirits were clearly not as good as usual that morning. He had even sneezed twice in a row.
Little Ji hardly ever cried on ordinary days, but before Duan Yan returned, he had already cried twice. He cried when the wet nurse held him, and he fussed when Mu Linghui held him as well. Only when Song Fengsui carried him did he settle down. He was especially clingy, too. Even when Song Fengsui stayed beside the cradle, he refused to be put down and would only stop fussing when held securely in his arms.
Song Fengsui knew that the child was uncomfortable from catching a chill, so he patiently held and soothed him. Little Ji was a solid, plump child. He was not especially heavy, but carrying him for an hour or two still left Song Fengsui’s arms sore and stiff.
Fortunately, after noon, the little fellow was given a small amount of a cold-relieving medicinal broth and drank some goat’s milk. He finally fell asleep, allowing Song Fengsui to relax his arms.
Duan Yan had wanted to take him, but Song Fengsui was afraid that the child, having not seen his father in so long, might not recognize him. Since he was already feeling ill, he might cry when Duan Yan held him, and crying would only make his condition worse. So Song Fengsui told him to wait a little while longer.
After Duan Yan had held him for a while, once the child had grown accustomed to his face, he could take him properly.
Little Ji’s round, bright eyes were still hazy with sleep. His soft head rested limply against Song Fengsui’s chest, and he blinked slowly a few times. He was quiet and peaceful. It seemed the medicinal broth he had taken before sleeping was beginning to work, and he was feeling a little better.
In his drowsy state, the little fellow suddenly noticed a tall figure standing in front of his little father. His head lifted slightly, and his dark, grape-like eyes brightened. He turned toward Duan Yan and began making soft sounds.
“Ah-goo, ah, goo...”
“Oh, look at that. His memory is still quite good.”
Song Fengsui was rather surprised. He bounced the chubby little bundle in his arms and smiled.
“He still remembers his father. I was afraid he might fuss.”
Duan Yan quickly reached out and took Little Ji from him, planting a hearty kiss on the child’s fleshy cheek.
“What a good boy.”
The two of them held the little fellow and laughed and played with him in the room for quite some time. Only afterward did Song Fengsui ask about the situation in Kang County.
“Father acted swiftly and decisively. The situation has already been stabilized. The remaining details can be dealt with gradually. It won’t be possible to put everything in order within ten days or half a month, but now that the county has been taken, there is plenty of time to carry out the reforms.”
Song Fengsui asked, “What was done with the former county magistrate?”
Duan Yan said, “That fellow is a coward. When Chishan was attacked this time, he was scared witless. He had been willing to surrender, but the county magistrate refused. Several officials started arguing, and he watched with his own eyes as the head of the military office stabbed the county magistrate to death. He fainted on the spot. Later, while the wounded soldiers were being settled in, the doctor happened to examine him as well. He only woke after being given some medicine.”
“The man was scared out of his wits and has been muttering incoherently ever since. Whether he’s truly gone mad or is only pretending, he clearly no longer has the energy to manage the county. He was a timid, shrinking sort to begin with. From what we’ve heard, all the affairs of the county after the fighting have been handled by the late Zou Liang.”
Song Fengsui had heard long ago that the county magistrate was a spineless coward. When the war first broke out, there had been rumors that he was about to be transferred elsewhere. But he had barely set out when he heard that some officials had been slain by the rebel troops on their way to take up their posts. He had immediately been frightened into turning back and hiding in the county seat.
Since he had surrendered, there was no harm in sparing his life, so long as he caused no trouble afterward.
Duan Yan gently patted the Little Ji in his arms, then raised his head and looked around the room. “We originally meant to keep to one corner of the world and live in peace, but somehow we’ve ended up where we are today. Now that we’ve taken the county seat, we have to manage it properly. If we’re going to bring the whole county under control, we’ll have to station ourselves there.”
“Gou San'er has already arranged for people to clean up the county magistrate’s residence. Whether we move before or after the New Year is up to you.”
Hearing this, Song Fengsui followed Duan Yan’s gaze and looked around the room as well.
Over the past two or three years, they had claimed to be settled in one small place, but they had moved homes more than once.
At first, they had lived in a dilapidated storehouse in the village. Later, they moved to the estate, then to a residence in Yan Town. Before long, they had come here to reorganize Chishan. Once they moved into this house, they had practically stayed here ever since, and Song Fengsui had hardly returned to Yan Town.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go back. It had simply happened that he conceived Little Ji soon after arriving here. Since pregnancy brought frequent discomfort, he had been very careful and had rarely traveled far or endured the strain of long journeys.
And now, in barely more than a year, they were about to move again.
Song Fengsui could not say that he was reluctant. Wherever the people he loved were, that was home. Still, he felt somewhat wistful.
Leaning against Duan Yan’s chest, he suddenly felt that these past few years had lasted longer than all the ten-odd years before them combined. “It’s hard to find stability while wandering through a time of chaos. I wonder how much longer we’ll have to live like this.”
The world was in turmoil, and he knew that the life they had now was already an extraordinary blessing. Without Duan Yan, they would never have found this small haven amid the chaos. All these minor changes of residence were nothing worth mentioning, but he no longer wanted to watch Duan Yan go off to war while he stayed behind, wracked with worry.
When he had been young, he too had feared neither life nor death. But ever since Little Ji came into their lives, he had realized that he was no longer filled with the same reckless courage as before, no longer able to face everything without fear. The more happiness one had, the more vulnerabilities one gained.
Who could truly say whether that was a good thing or a bad one?
Duan Yan gently stroked Song Fengsui’s back. So much had happened in these brief three years, and they had endured so many brushes with death. After all they had been through, it was only natural for a person to grow tired at times.
He silently calculated the passage of time in his heart. Three years—more than half had already passed. Of the five years of war and disaster, they had made it through to the latter half together. The hardest days were behind them.
“Sui Sui, there will certainly come a day when peace returns to the realm. We won’t have to wait much longer.”
