Chapter 37: Han Ming Slips Away

Huo Qubing turned around with a touch of curiosity, puzzled as to what the shopkeeper could possibly have to say to him.

"Shopkeeper, what is it? Pray, speak your mind."

Zhang Bo glanced at Wei Qing and Liu Ju standing beside Huo Qubing. Considering their relationship, he decided to be direct.

"Marquis of Champion, I wonder if Li Gan is still alive."

Zhang Bo asked this because he hoped to save Li Gan. On one hand, Li Gan was a fierce warrior against the Xiongnu; it would be a great pity if he were to die at the hands of Huo Qubing. On the other hand, killing Li Gan remained the only stain on Huo Qubing’s legacy.

Is Li Gan still alive? Huo Qubing looked bewildered, unable to fathom why the shopkeeper would ask such a thing.

"Shopkeeper, what do you mean? Since Li Gan followed me on the campaign against the Xiongnu in the fourth year of Yuanshou and distinguished himself, he was enfeoffed as Marquis of Guannei. Afterward, he even succeeded his father as one of the Nine Ministers, the Minister of the Guards. He is currently at the height of his career. Could it be that, like me, he is destined to die young?"

Zhang Bo was struck speechless. Li Gan did not die young; he was killed by you.

"In fact, Marquis of Champion, Li Gan’s death is inseparable from you."

This time, not only Huo Qubing but even Wei Qing was moved.

"Shopkeeper, why is that?"

"Because Li Gan believed his father died in humiliation because of the Great General, he harbored resentment and wounded the Great General. The Great General did not make the matter public, but when the Marquis of Champion learned of it, he took advantage of the Emperor’s hunt at Ganquan Palace to shoot and kill Li Gan."

Without a doubt, Zhang Bo’s words struck the room like a thunderbolt.

Wei Qing did not take Li Gan’s assault on him to heart. He had already largely deduced why he would choose not to report the incident in the future. On a small scale, assassinating the Great General was a crime of insubordination; on a large scale, it could be seen as acting like a Xiongnu spy—extermination of the three clans would be a light punishment. Furthermore, he truly felt a sense of guilt toward Li Guang.

However, what surprised Wei Qing was that his own nephew, Huo Qubing, had been so reckless as to shoot and kill the son of Li Guang—a man who was, at the time, one of the Nine Ministers.

Huo Qubing, meanwhile, showed no sign of regret.

"Shopkeeper, Li Gan’s death was deserved. First, as a subordinate, he dared to attack the Great General—that alone is an inexcusable crime. Second, our Great Han governs the world through filial piety. Seeing my uncle insulted by Li Gan, as his nephew, I had to step forward, even if it meant being punished by His Majesty."

For Huo Qubing, who grew up lacking paternal affection and was raised in the Wei household, his uncle was a father figure and his idol. Seeing him insulted, he felt he had no choice but to intervene.

"Qubing! Enough of this nonsense!" Wei Qing barked. "Shopkeeper, did His Majesty punish Qubing for this?"

"In fact, His Majesty did not blame the Marquis of Champion, but instead publicly declared that Li Gan had been gored to death by a deer."

Wei Qing’s expression darkened. A seasoned general gored by a deer—who would believe that? It meant that both the deaths of Li Guang and Li Gan were indirectly linked to him. Of course, those were not the main points; since the Li Gan incident had not yet occurred, there was still room to prevent it. He was more concerned about something else.

With that thought, Wei Qing looked with worry at the silent Huo Qubing. It had taken him twenty years to rise from a slave in the Princess of Pingyang’s household to the Great General at the pinnacle of Han military power. His experiences made him far more cautious than his nephew. He knew his nephew’s character well: to put it mildly, he was full of youthful spirit; to put it harshly, he was too sharp and exposed.

Wei Qing understood well that those who are too rigid are easily broken. Despite his own position at the top of the Han hierarchy, he remained cautious, never daring to overstep. Although the Emperor currently favored Huo Qubing, what of the future? When the Emperor grew old, would he still treat Huo Qubing the same way? These were all unknowns.

Zhang Bo’s mention of the Li Gan incident served as a wake-up call. Wei Qing pulled Huo Qubing aside for a long, earnest lecture. Eventually, Huo Qubing hung his head in silence, seemingly persuaded.

"Shopkeeper, thank you for your reminder. You have helped us avoid a tragedy."

"Great General, you are too kind."

After inquiring about other major events in the fifth year of Yuanshou, they bid farewell to Zhang Bo and left the farmhouse. As the Western Han trio reached the entrance, they bumped into someone. Wei Qing and Huo Qubing barely glanced at the newcomer before leaving with their bags. As for Liu Ju, he took several looks before finally following the others at Huo Qubing’s urging.

Watching the trio leave, Zhu Biao paused for a moment, then shook his head and dismissed the thought. He had come for an important matter today. Thanks to the medicine from the shopkeeper, his son Xiongying had recovered after these days of recuperation, and he was here to express his gratitude.

Zhu Biao entered the house, scanned the room, and, seeing no sign of Zhang Bo, began to wander the courtyard. He soon noticed the vegetable patch in the corner. As the Crown Prince of the Great Ming, the son of an emperor who founded a dynasty with nothing but a begging bowl, Zhu Biao was different from most heirs—he truly understood agriculture.

His father had taught him from childhood the importance of the people’s livelihood and the hardship of producing food, even setting aside a plot of land in the palace to teach the princes and grandsons. Influenced by this, Zhu Biao was quite knowledgeable about farming.

"This seems to be a cucumber, but why does it look rounder and fuller than those in the Ming? And what is this round, red object the size of a fist? I have never seen it before. And these long, thin red and green things... I have never seen those either."

Zhu Biao had assumed that even if his agricultural knowledge was limited, identifying these crops would be easy. He soon realized he was wrong; aside from the cucumbers, Chinese cabbage, and muskmelons, he had never seen the others.

Just as Zhu Biao was observing the vegetables, Zhang Bo emerged from the garage and caught sight of him staring at the tomatoes.

Wait! Hadn't Liu Ju and his group just left?

Zhang Bo rushed toward the entrance with lightning speed. Seeing the shopkeeper in a hurry, Zhu Biao stepped aside to let him pass. Zhang Bo ran out, looked left and right, but the Western Han trio was nowhere to be seen.

"They left too fast," Zhang Bo muttered, returning to the farmhouse.

It was a pity that Liu Ju’s group and Zhu Biao had missed each other.