Chapter 53: An Atypical Father

The next day.

Early in the morning, Ding Suian followed the address provided by Lin Hansu and arrived at Xingping Ward in the southeast of Central Heaven City.

The Lin family residence was located within the ward.

Lin Dafu put on no airs; after receiving the visiting card, he personally came to the gatehouse to meet Ding Suian.

“Squad Leader Ding, let us set out now.”

“Going right now?”

“You have to report to the Dianqian Division tomorrow, so we must settle things today.”

The two were talking about Ding Suian’s temporary transfer to Lin Dafu’s command.

The conscription order from the Dianqian Division only specified that Ding Suian was to go on the campaign; however, the specific assignment to a local army required Lin Dafu’s maneuvering.

As they left the residence, seeing the servant lead out Ding Suian’s stabled horse and bring his saber, Old Lin couldn’t help but be stunned for a moment.

After a while, he praised awkwardly, “Good horse. Good saber.”

The two went together to Chicken and Pig Alley.

Chicken and Pig Alley was located next to Central Heaven’s East Water Gate; it was a market selling pork, mutton, vegetables, and fruits.

The smell was unpleasant, and the ground was covered in sewage and mud.

Ding Suian didn’t understand why Old Lin had brought him to such a place. Amidst his curiosity, Old Lin stopped in front of a shop within the Pig and Sheep Market.

On the storefront, the words ‘Central Heaven Fish Stall’ were written in paint.

This fish stall occupied a much larger area than other shops and was much cleaner and tidier. Those entering and leaving were all figures dressed in plain clothes but possessing an air of authority.

They were distinctly different from the customers buying vegetables and meat in the distance.

“Commander Lin, this shop…”

“The Princess Consort told me to teach you. Watch closely and learn.”

While speaking, Lin Dafu had already walked into the shop.

The shopkeeper sitting behind the counter wasn’t very warm upon seeing them. Without even moving from his seat, he greeted them indifferently, “Buying fish?”

Despite being the customer, Lin Dafu was more respectful than the shopkeeper. He cupped his hands and said with a smile, “Buying fish.”

“What kind of fish do you want?”

“Carp.”

“How big?”

“Three catties.”

Hearing Lin Dafu report ‘three catties,’ the shopkeeper finally stood up from his seat and gave a faint, condescending smile. “You know the rules, right?”

“I know, I know.”

While answering, Lin Dafu took out an object wrapped in red cloth and placed it on the counter.

The shopkeeper lifted the red cloth and took a look.

Ding Suian, standing to the side, was startled. Wrapped in the red cloth were actually three glittering gold bars.

What kind of carp is this? So expensive!

“Boy, take this to check the purity and weigh it.”

The shopkeeper called over an assistant to take the gold bars and asked, “To which lord’s residence should it be delivered?”

“The Ministry of War, Director of the Selection and Appointment Department.”

“Is the card explaining the matter to be handled written?”

“It’s written.”

Lin Dafu took out another letter without an addressee and thirty taels of silver, handing them over together.

Ding Suian naturally understood now: sending carp meant sending a gift, and ‘three catties’ meant three gold bars!

Was the final thirty taels of silver a service fee?

Just then, the assistant who had gone to the back to verify the gold shouted, “The amount is correct, payment and goods cleared!”

After he shouted, another assistant immediately scooped a large carp out of the pond and called out melodiously, like a song, “Three-catty carp, for the residence of Director Zhang of the Ministry of War’s Selection and Appointment Department.”

The si hour.

Ding Suian and Lin Dafu left Chicken and Pig Alley.

Lin Dafu, who was quite experienced in such matters, enthusiastically explained the whole way, “…If we went to the door ourselves, you wouldn’t even be able to enter Director Zhang’s residence. The fish stall stuffs the gold bars into the fish’s belly and can deliver it to Lord Zhang’s residence today. It saves the trouble of formal visits, and the lords can accept it with peace of mind. If the Princess Consort hadn’t specifically instructed me, I wouldn’t have shown you this path. Many local officials coming to the capital can’t even find a way to give gifts…”

“Commander Lin, doesn’t the imperial court care about such blatant bribery?”

“Look at what you’re saying.” Lin Dafu’s voice lowered slightly. “Who is the imperial court? Besides Your Majesty, it is the many high officials! Do you think the thirty taels of gold sent to Lord Zhang’s residence today will all end up in his own pocket? The lion’s share goes to the various lords in the Ministry of War. Who would cut off their own source of wealth?”

Night, the start of the hai hour.

In the Ding Family’s small courtyard, a single lamp flickered.

Ding Lie sat on a low stool, sewing a pair of knee pads by a light source no bigger than a bean.

Such a large man sitting on a stool less than a foot high looked a bit cramped.

Back arched, waist curled.

He raised his thick fingers, which were holding an embroidery needle, and rubbed them against his scalp. Although his posture was awkward, his needlework was unexpectedly skillful.

Ding Suian had seen this scene countless times.

When he was a child, whenever he woke up in the middle of the night, he often saw his father curled up before the oil lamp, sewing and mending. However, back then, Old Ding’s needlework was far from as proficient as it was now. He often pricked his hands with the needle, and the clothes he made either lacked buttons or hemstitching, sometimes with one sleeve longer than the other.

But they were comfortable to wear, and Ding Suian had worn them since he was young.

By the lamp, Ding Lie finished the last stitch, tied a knot, leaned forward to bite off the thread with his teeth, and tossed it away.

“Here, try them on.”

Ding Suian took them and put them on immediately. “They fit perfectly.”

Ding Lie watched his son silently for a few breaths, then suddenly said, “Son, you were doing well at the Prince’s Mansion. Why did the Dianqian Division conscript you?”

Ding Suian pondered for a breath and smiled. “I don’t know either.”

This matter was too long, too deep, and too terrifying to explain. His father had always been cautious and timid; telling him the truth would likely scare him.

Hearing his son say this, Old Ding didn’t ask further, only saying, “Lanyang Prefecture hasn’t been peaceful lately either. I heard from my comrades today that the Tiandao Palace in Lanyang Prefecture was destroyed by heavenly thunder, and many people from the State Religion died.”

“Yeah, it was a huge commotion. I don’t know what kind of atrocious things the Lanyang State Religion did to be struck by lightning.”

“Sigh, it’s good that you’re leaving then. Such a big event might end up involving the innocent. But going with the army to Southern Zhao isn’t a good job either. If you can avoid going, then don’t go.”

“Look at what you’re saying. We’ve already received the conscription order from the Dianqian Division. If I don’t go, are the two of us going to become fugitives?”

“Then, if you encounter battle, be careful. Don’t listen to the empty promises of military merit and rewards from your superiors and charge forward foolishly. Be smart. If the battle is going well, just hide in the back and shout along; if the battle is going poorly, save your life first. If you can’t escape, just lie on the ground and play dead…”

Old Ding rambled on, imparting life-saving skills, making Ding Suian unable to help laughing. “Dad, this southern expedition is a sure thing. So many people are breaking their necks trying to join the army. Don’t you hope I’ll achieve merit and establish a career to bring honor to our family?”

“What career and merit, what bringing honor to the family? It’s all vanity. Living well, marrying a wife, and having a big fat son—that is the Righteous Path.”

“Dad, if you really want to hold a child, I’ll find you a job as a wet nurse so you can hold them to your heart’s content.”

“You little brat! Does your father even have milk?”

Seeing his son joking around on purpose, Ding Lie sighed. “Son, I hope you marry and have children not because I want you to carry on our family line. I want you to find a young lady who loves and respects you, have a baby, and experience the joy of being a husband and a father. I still remember when you were just born and I held you in my arms—oh, my heart just melted. I have never been that happy in my entire life.”

Ding Lie gestured the length of a baby. “Back then, you were such a wrinkled little ball of flesh. Who would have thought you’d grow into what you are now? Ever since I had you, I’ve been happy every day. Son, compared to you, so-called lifelong fame or eternal hegemony aren’t worth a single hair on your head.”

People say that between father and son, no matter how excellent the son is, it’s hard to get praise from the father; even if they sit together for half a day, they might not have anything to talk about.

But Old Ding was exactly not that kind of typical father.

He didn’t care for fatherly dignity; he loved to praise, ramble, express himself, and say many mushy things. It was as if he feared Ding Suian wouldn’t know how much he, as a father, adored his son.

This was an atypical father.

The two of them chatted until the deep of the zi hour before going to their rooms to sleep.

That night, who knows how Old Ding slept, but Ding Suian certainly didn’t sleep well.

The next day, at the height of the mao hour.

It was still dark. After Ding Suian got up, he saw a bowl of boiled red-skinned eggs sitting quietly on the stove.

Ding Suian packed the eggs and shouted toward the bedroom next door, “Old Ding, I’m leaving.”

“Oh.”

Perhaps unaccustomed to farewells, Old Ding responded with a muffled voice from inside the room and did not come out.

Ding Suian stood silently outside the door for a moment, cupped his hands, bent his waist, and made a deep bow.

Then he stood up, tied his bundle to his body, and strode out of the courtyard gate.

In late January, the imperial court mobilized the Vermilion Bird and Black Tortoise armies, along with the Qiaodao Local Army and the Capital Prefecture Local Army.

They gathered for training at the drill grounds south of the City.

Twenty days later, the local armies from various regions arrived one after another, and the grain, fodder, and supplies were properly prepared.

On the twelfth day of the second month, the Second Imperial Grandson listed the crimes of Southern Zhao before the Three Sages Palace in the north of the City, announcing them to Heaven and Earth.

At the height of the si hour that day.

The army set out, their swords pointed at Southern Zhao.