Chapter 90: A Dramatic Three-Hundred-And-Sixty-Degree Turn!

Li Yuanjing saw through everything, but on his face he wore an earnest, slightly foolish look and said with affected innocence, "Elder Brother, what do you mean by that? I am afraid I do not quite understand."

"These past few days, there really have been a few men keeping watch near Quanzi Village. I thought they were bandits. Could they have something to do with Lord Dong?"

"Hm, well..." Old Good Man Xue rolled his eyes and was instantly thrown for a loss.

Above all, Li Yuanjing's performance was simply too good. For a moment, Xue truly felt sincerity in him and could not see the slightest hint of falsehood.

Most importantly, in the depths of Xue's mind, he had never once looked squarely at that penniless wretch Li Yuanjing, let alone treated him as an opponent.

So he quickly smiled and said, "Brother, this is my fault for not making myself clear. Lord Dong is no bandit, of course."

"Here is the thing..."

"Under Lord Dong's command, there is a turncoat named Biaozi. A few days ago, that beast actually led away more than ten of Lord Dong's prime men and went out to set up his own camp!"

"Lord Dong received word that Biaozi and those ragged fools seemed to be planning something against your Quanzi Village!"

"Brother, you must know, this terrified Lord Dong. He has run an honest business all his life. Though he does not wear the title of 'Great Good Man' as I do, he too has a heart that loves the people as if they were his own children."

"Brother Yuanjing, to be frank, Lord Dong is waiting just outside Quanzi Village right now, and he has prepared generous gifts for you. I wonder whether Brother Yuanjing would grant your elder brother this favor and meet Lord Dong?"

"After all, we are men from the same counties and villages. If we do not draw near to one another, who else would we expect to be close to us?"

"This..." Even though Li Yuanjing had already prepared himself for many possibilities, and had even considered using Xue's words just now to pull off a perfect deception against Lord Dong, he still could not help being surprised.

After all, the corpses of Biaozi and the others had long since been cleaned up by Zhang Kun and the rest, buried in a deep pit so thoroughly that not even an immortal would necessarily find them.

Who would have thought...

This old fool Xue, whether kicked in the head by a donkey or not, had actually made such a move?

Still, Li Yuanjing quickly calmed himself.

There is always something unnatural in any sudden change.

How could a local tyrant like Xue the Great Benefactor, or Lord Dong, possibly act without reason?

Something must have changed that Li Yuanjing did not know about.

He had seen too much of this sort of thing in his later years.

On the surface, they would call you brother, as if ready to live and die with you.

But in the shadows, when it came time to drive a knife into your back, they could be more vicious than anyone else.

They would not stop until you were stabbed so thoroughly that you could never rise again.

Not to mention the entirely hollow, hypocritical sort of relationship Li Yuanjing had with Xue the Great Benefactor.

Still, one does not strike a smiling face, and at this moment Li Yuanjing was indeed curious. He wanted very much to find out why Lord Dong's attitude had undergone such a sweeping reversal in barely a day.

Not to mention, he had even brought gifts...

Only a fool would refuse that.

So he hurriedly smiled and said, "Elder Brother, how can you say such a thing? I have long admired Lord Dong's great reputation. To be able to meet him today is my good fortune, is it not?"

"Haha." Xue the Great Benefactor had truly not expected Li Yuanjing to be so easy to persuade. He had hardly spent any breath at all before Li Yuanjing agreed, and Xue could not help laughing aloud, feeling exceedingly pleased with himself.

He said, "Since Brother Yuanjing is giving your elder brother this face, then I must make sure this matter leaves you satisfied. You wait here a moment while I go tell Lord Dong and personally bring him over."

...

"Brother Xue, how is it? Will that scholar, no, will Lord Li agree to see me?"

Not long after, outside Quanzi Village, Lord Dong, who had once been so overbearing, now seemed to have aged more than a decade overnight. His hair, once only streaked with gray, had nearly turned white in a single night.

He hurriedly forced a flattering smile and asked Xue the Great Benefactor.

Xue clicked his tongue, then sighed with a look of arrogant superiority. "Lord Dong, I really must say this: last time I suffered such a huge loss, and I still did not dare to do anything to our Lord Li. What in the world were you thinking, hm?"

"This..." Lord Dong was bitter to the core.

Who would have thought that a moment of impulse could leave behind such a disaster, a hidden calamity capable of destroying everything?

And more crucially, who could have guessed that that young nobleman had already quietly entered Yicheng County, swiftly taken control of the military forces there, and even sent word that he would soon come personally to visit Li Yuanjing...

At this point, could a little face really matter more than his own life?

He could only bend low and smile ingratiatingly at Xue the Great Benefactor. "What Brother Xue says is most reasonable. I was the one who was muddle-headed, my old bones befuddled, my mind covered in lard, to have believed that ragged fool Biaozi."

"But matters have come to this. I beg Lord Xue, for the sake of our past friendship, to lend this brother a helping hand..."

With a thud, Lord Dong dropped straight to his knees and began bowing furiously to Xue the Great Benefactor.

This undoubtedly gave Xue's vanity immense satisfaction.

Who would have imagined that Lord Dong, that iron tyrant who had stood unfallen for decades in Fengcheng County, would one day kneel before him in such a way?

Though he wanted to savor Lord Dong's kowtowing a little longer, Xue was not stupid. He understood well enough that with such matters, one should stop while ahead.

If he truly became reckless and greedy, a good thing could easily turn bad.

If he were truly marked by a hard man like Lord Dong, how could Xue ever live in peace again?

So he hurriedly helped Lord Dong to his feet with a smile. "Elder Brother, now you're being too formal, aren't you? Though my relationship with that scholar Li is not especially close, there is still some fellowship between us. He will give me some face, at least."

"Elder Brother, hurry and tidy yourself up. We should go see that scholar Li now."

"Ah! Brother Xue's kindness and righteousness, I, Chen Dong, shall never forget for as long as I live..."

Lord Dong quickly knocked his forehead to the ground again.

...

"Chen Dong of Dagu Village offers congratulatory gifts to Lord Li of Quanzi Village!"

"Five fine fat pigs, three fine roe deer, one fine wild boar, twenty fine pheasants, ten fine sheepskins... in addition, five hundred jin of fine white rice, five hundred jin of wheat, and more..."

Not long afterward, when Lord Dong and his party arrived at Li Yuanjing's temporary residence, the master of ceremonies began reading the gift list aloud.

Not only did Yu Niang, Zhang Kun, Chen Chunyan, and the others around them stare dumbfounded, even Li Yuanjing himself was momentarily stunned.

What was Lord Dong doing? Had he stopped caring about his money?

This gift list was no longer a matter of a mere hundred taels; it was likely worth more than one hundred and fifty.

What on earth had happened to make Lord Dong suddenly execute such a sweeping reversal and alter his attitude toward Li Yuanjing as though drifting sideways in a gale?

Yet Li Yuanjing's channels of information were simply too limited, and he knew nothing at all.

Soon enough, the master of ceremonies finished reading the list, and behind him many strong men came forward one by one to deliver the gifts named on it.

This instantly set the onlooking common folk around them ablaze with excitement.

Many had truly never seen a gift procession of such magnitude in all their lives.

Especially since these gifts were being personally delivered by Lord Dong, the famed and formidable local power who had been renowned in these counties and villages for decades, and he was doing so while bending low and speaking with such deference to Li Yuanjing.

Li Yuanjing by now had already calmed down. Ignoring the countless adoring gazes around him as though he were some kind of deity, he smiled and welcomed Lord Dong and Xue the Great Benefactor inside.

"Lord Dong, this is far too kind of you. You truly put this junior to shame."

Hearing Li Yuanjing refer to himself as a "junior," Lord Dong immediately grew anxious. He wanted to speak, yet did not dare, and quickly cast an imploring look toward Xue the Great Benefactor.

Xue understood at once and hurriedly smiled. "Brother Yuanjing, if one goes by age, then your speaking of yourself as a junior to Lord Dong would not be improper. But now it is different, is it not? We are all brothers here."

How could Li Yuanjing fail to understand Xue's meaning?

He quickly cupped his hands and smiled. "Lord Dong, this was my own rashness. Please forgive me. Since you regard me as a brother, then I shall accept you as my elder brother. In the future, I ask that elder brother take good care of this younger brother."

Lord Dong had thought that a young man like Li Yuanjing, having suffered such a grievous loss, would surely be at odds with him and would try to drive him to ruin.

Who could have imagined that Li Yuanjing would be so easy to get along with?

At once, he hated himself all the more for truly having been blinded by lard, of all things, to provoke anyone at all and still come to provoke Li Yuanjing.

But outwardly, he showed none of that. Instead, he quickly began chatting and laughing with Li Yuanjing.

Not long afterward, Chen Chunyan and the others had their kitchen prepare a banquet as well.

Li Yuanjing, Lord Dong, and Xue the Great Benefactor then drank and talked together in the residence, chatting idly about all under heaven and boasting recklessly to their hearts' content.

After three rounds of wine and five courses of food, Xue the Great Benefactor, acting as peacemaker, was just about to say something of the sort men all enjoy hearing.

Then, from outside came Zhang Kun's voice: "Master, urgent news to report..."

The lively atmosphere inside the room immediately fell silent.

The earlier warmth and brotherly familiarity vanished in an instant without a trace.

The corners of Li Yuanjing's mouth could not help but curve faintly upward as he smiled and said, "You two elder brothers carry on drinking here. I will go take a look and be right back."

Xue the Great Benefactor quickly smiled and said, "Very well. Brother Yuanjing, do what you need to do. I will keep our Brother Dong company with another cup."

"All right."

Once Li Yuanjing stepped out, Xue the Great Benefactor and Lord Dong exchanged a glance. Xue could even clearly see the unease in Lord Dong's aged eyes.

He could not help smiling. "Elder Brother, take heart. Even if that young nobleman comes, the sky will not fall. Besides, this scholar Li is a man who understands reason."

Lord Dong forced out a faint smile but said nothing, only gulping down the wine in his cup with force.

Meanwhile, outside, Zhang Kun's joy was simply beyond words. He hurriedly pressed close to Li Yuanjing's ear and said urgently, "Master, wonderful news, wonderful news!"

"The young Lord Murong's sworn brother, that young nobleman from the British Duke's household in the capital, has already arrived in Yicheng County!"

"Right now he is in charge of more than ten thousand troops across Yicheng County, Boshan County, and the counties around our own Fengcheng County, preparing to fight the refugee army."

"And yesterday word came from his residence that he greatly admires your brilliant talent, Master, and he is likely to come visit you within the next few days..."

"Hm?" Li Yuanjing gave a sudden jolt.

At last he understood.

Why Lord Dong had prepared such generous gifts, come personally to visit him, and even sought out a middleman like Xue the Great Benefactor in advance.