Chapter Seven: Borrowing Money and Becoming a Deadbeat

The imperial edict, stamped with a bright red seal, was thrust right into his face, and a sudden aura of dominance radiated from him.

"Look! I dare you to look here! See this name?" Feng Jingzhe jabbed at the four large characters: "Beiming Xuan Yue."

"Her, the General Who Guards the West! The one who led eight thousand against a hundred thousand, and now she's my wife! Just tell me—are you scared or not?"

In the end, Steward Wang was only a household servant; someone of his station had never seen a genuine imperial decree. The only reason he’d dared come to collect the debt was simply that this so-called fourth-rank viscount was notoriously unreliable.

But now, faced with the General Who Guards the West and the hero of eight thousand versus a hundred thousand, he was instantly cowed.

"Owed... debt... debts must be repaid... the heav—"

"Enough with the heavens! I never said I wouldn’t repay! The document is written in black and white—there’s still a month left! When my wife returns, we’ll deliver the full amount with interest to your house, satisfied?"

Feng Jingzhe flicked his hand dismissively, no longer bothering to waste words with the old servant. What a joke—his future wife was a general, after all. What were a mere one or two thousand taels of silver?

"Young Master, are you sure it’s alright? This is—"

"What do you mean, 'this is'? I have the emperor’s own marriage decree right here. If anyone still dares to come collecting debts, I’ll just ask—who else dares?"

Feng Jingzhe raised the edict high, watching with an arrogant air as Steward Wang hurried away. Even a yellow mongrel passing on the street didn’t dare raise its head, lest it catch a stray slap for being unlucky.

"And... and me..." came another voice.

There really were fools in this world. Feng Jingzhe, halfway through putting on airs, spun around, grinding his teeth, and found himself looking at a chubby, endearing youth.

"Brother Feng, my father sent me to settle the bill with you. Since the start of the month, you’ve hosted eleven times, and you owe thirty-four taels, five qian, and seven wen for wine. My father also said, if you pay off the debt, you can forget the last seven wen."

The chubby youth was just past twenty, his eyes narrowed to slits, always wearing a cheerful smile. He was dressed in fine brocade with cloud patterns, a diagonal satchel slung over his shoulder, so heavy it pressed a deep dent into his plump belly.

This was Sun Fugui, the simple-minded son of the owner of Food Is Heaven Tavern. Feng Jingzhe recognized him at once.

"Fugui, even you’ve come to laugh at my expense..."

"Brother Feng, I’m not laughing. Like I said, I’m just here to collect the money..."

As he spoke, Sun Fugui, looking like a jovial Maitreya Buddha, pulled out an account book from his satchel, flipped a few pages, and handed it over.

Li Changsheng, upon seeing this, covered his face in despair—he truly couldn’t bear to watch.

"You brat, you’ve been here for a while, haven’t you? Do you know what this is? The emperor’s marriage decree!"

Feng Jingzhe waved the imperial edict wildly in front of him.

"My wife, the General Who Guards the West, the one who led eight thousand against a hundred thousand..."

Sun Fugui listened with perfect politeness, standing straight, his round face smiling with interest. Being stared at by that beaming, chubby face, Feng Jingzhe lost his momentum and gesticulations, suddenly unsure what to say next.

"Uh... Tell your father to give me two more days. Your Brother Feng’s a bit short on cash at the moment..."

"Okay!"

Unexpectedly, Sun Fugui agreed cheerfully, made a quick note in the account book with a charcoal pencil, and turned to leave.

Such easygoing compliance immediately stirred other ideas in the penniless Feng Jingzhe.

"Hey... Fugui, hold on..."

"Brother Feng, what is it? I still have to collect from the next household..."

Feng Jingzhe grinned and slung an arm around Sun Fugui’s ample shoulders.

"Fugui, to be honest, your brother Feng really can’t pay off the debt right now. But, I do have a surefire way to make money—just lacking a bit of capital."

He glanced at the satchel drooping over the fat man’s belly.

"Think about it, your father wants me to pay off the debt as soon as possible, right? So, why not lend me some capital? Once I make this business deal, I’ll have the money to pay off all my debts!"

Sun Fugui tilted his head in thought for three seconds, then nodded in full agreement.

"How much does Brother Feng want to borrow?"

Hearing this, Li Changsheng was so anxious he wanted to rush over and stop them, but was quickly kicked aside by Feng Jingzhe.

"Thirty... no, fifty taels. And I’m not asking for a free loan—one month term, with interest paid every ten days, say, three taels per period. How about that?"

Almost a fifth in interest—this was even more outrageous than loan sharks. Anyone offering such high interest was obviously planning to run off and default. Others might be fooled, but Li Changsheng, knowing his young master, was certain this was exactly his plan.

"Young Master... if Miss finds out, you won’t live to see another day... We can’t cheat... mmph mmph..."

Feng Jingzhe hurried over and clamped a hand over Li Changsheng’s mouth. Meanwhile, Sun Fugui pulled out a handful of broken silver from his satchel, counted out precisely fifty taels, and handed it over.

"Good! Straightforward! Sun Fugui, you’ve got a brother in me from this day on!"

The would-be swindler acted with remarkable integrity, immediately picking out a piece of silver and handing it back.

"Ten days’ interest—take it first, Brother Fugui..."

Sun Fugui happily pocketed the silver, pulled out his notebook, and made another entry on Feng Jingzhe’s page. Not once did he ask for an IOU. After a polite farewell, he turned and left.

"Mmph mmph... Young Master, you’ve gone too far! We can’t even cheat a fool out of his money..."

"Enough whining! Next time, I’ll pick someone smart to swindle. Besides, this isn’t cheating—it’s an emergency loan, got it? Once your future mistress comes back, this little sum will be nothing but a drizzle."

Feng Jingzhe smacked Li Changsheng on the back of the head, then picked out a few pieces of silver and tossed them over.

"Quick, go buy something to eat. Do you want to starve me so you can seize power?"

Pocketing the rest of the silver, Feng Jingzhe swaggered off toward the back hall. Returning to his room, he planned to find some decent clothes to wear, have a good meal, and then take a proper look around Chang'an to see if it was as bustling as the famous capital.

Just then, the bandage on his hand, loosened by all the commotion, came undone. He casually decided to retie it, but as soon as he removed the handkerchief, he was astonished to see the wound at the base of his thumb had miraculously healed.

Yes, completely gone—not even a scar.

Instinctively, Feng Jingzhe rubbed the spot with his other hand, confirming again and again it wasn’t an illusion. His thoughts drifted back to that moment in the primeval rainforest...