Chapter 141
The difference between the two prices was too great. The man frowned.
Of course he wanted to be able to redeem the Dragon Spear someday. But the price for a redeemable pawn was far too low to buy enough food for the soldiers’ journey back to the capital.
“I’ll sell it outright. Offer a little more.” Xie Shoujun tightened his grip on the tasseled spear. In the end, a spear was only an object. His soldiers’ lives mattered more.
“Well…” The shopkeeper looked troubled. “That’s already a very high price. Ask around if you like. We’ve always dealt honestly with our customers. Besides, I only offered that much because you said this tasseled spear had taken Xiongnu heads. As to whether this black spear really has…”
He left the rest unsaid.
Xie Shoujun understood his meaning. If the spear had never actually taken a Xiongnu head, it wouldn’t be worth that price.
“One hundred and twenty taels.” Xie Shoujun held the Black Dragon Tasseled Spear down on the counter. Seeing that the shopkeeper wanted it, he raised the price by another forty taels. “This spear has taken at least a hundred Xiongnu heads.”
“Now you’re joking, sir.” The shopkeeper laughed. “Only a general who’s spent years on the frontier could take a hundred Xiongnu heads. You look more like a man of the martial world. If you said a hundred bandit heads, I might believe you!”
“How about this? Since you sincerely want to sell, ninety-five taels. I can’t go any higher.” The shopkeeper glanced at the Black Dragon Tasseled Spear. Come to think of it, he had a feeling this weapon had quite a history. There were plenty of martial artists in the north, and plenty of extraordinary weapons, too. He could tell at a glance that this spear was no ordinary thing. He kept thinking it must be one of the celebrated weapons he had heard of…
Which one was it?
He racked his brains, letting nothing show on his face as he continued bargaining with Xie Shoujun.
They finally settled on ninety-eight taels. Feigning pain at the expense, the shopkeeper said, “Very well. I’ll give you what you ask.”
Xie Shoujun breathed an inward sigh of relief.
He had been afraid the pawnbroker might suddenly change his mind. This was already the pawnshop with the best reputation that his inquiries had turned up.
While the shopkeeper wrote out the pawn ticket, Xie Shoujun stroked the Dragon Spear one last time, as though caressing a lover who had stayed with him for years. His eyes held more reluctance and sorrow than he could express.
The previous frontier general had given it to him before dying, entrusting him with the hope that he would drive back the Xiongnu in his lifetime and restore a peaceful frontier to Jian’an.
Now he was pawning it away… So be it. He could only hope no enemy ever invaded the frontier again, and that there would never be another occasion to take it up.
“Sign and leave your fingerprint here, sir.”
The pawn ticket and ink pad were placed before him. Xie Shoujun picked up the brush and took a deep breath before solemnly lowering it to the paper.
“Have you truly thought this through, Your Highness?”
An unfamiliar voice suddenly came from the pawnshop doorway.
Xie Shoujun looked up. A man in white stepped inside. His snowy fur coat had grown a little gray and travel-worn, but it did nothing to diminish his striking good looks or his air of distinguished, effortless charm.
“You are…?” Xie Shoujun studied the newcomer. He didn’t know him.
“Shen Yuan, newly appointed Vice Minister of Justice and Inspector of Liaozhou.”
Shen Yuan bowed slightly and showed his identification token, then approached the counter and pushed the pawn ticket back toward the shopkeeper. With a faint smile, he said, “This is the extraordinary weapon of our Eldest Prince, the Black Dragon Spear that has taken countless Xiongnu heads and tasted so much Xiongnu blood. Yet here, it’s worth less than a hundred taels. I wonder, shopkeeper, are you short on honesty, or simply a poor judge of what you’re looking at?”
The shopkeeper’s mouth fell open. His startled, doubtful gaze landed on the Black Dragon Tasseled Spear.
No wonder he had felt the weapon was exceptional, and its owner so remarkably distinguished. To think he was the Eldest Prince himself –
The people of the north lived reasonably close to the frontier, and the shopkeeper had naturally heard the stories. The Eldest Prince had spent years guarding the border. His Black Dragon Spear had killed countless formidable enemy commanders, and was his most treasured possession!
But… who could have imagined the Eldest Prince would come here and pawn his Black Dragon Spear?!
Looking at the pawn ticket that had been pushed back, the shopkeeper was filled with regret and the pain of a lost bargain. If this really was the Eldest Prince’s Black Dragon Spear, he could resell it for ten times the price. If only he had bought it for one hundred and twenty taels when he had the chance!
Then he wouldn’t be here with the ticket returned, unsure whether he would get to buy it at all!
“You’re pawning the Black Dragon Spear to buy army provisions, aren’t you, Your Highness?” Shen Yuan turned to Xie Shoujun.
After a moment’s silence, Xie Shoujun nodded.
“You needn’t worry about provisions.” Shen Yuan picked up the Black Dragon Spear and placed it back in Xie Shoujun’s hands. “Luckily, I arrived in time. Had this spear turned up in Liaozhou, it would certainly have caused trouble.”
Xie Shoujun took it, puzzled. “Why do you say that?”
Shen Yuan smiled without elaborating. “This may not be the place to discuss it. You’ll understand once we reach Liaozhou. For now, please come back to the army with me. There’s an important matter we must discuss.”
Xie Shoujun glanced at the pawn ticket on the counter and hesitated. The shopkeeper, quick to read the situation, hurriedly said, “Don’t worry, Your Highness. If you return, our offer will still stand.”
Only then did Xie Shoujun put away the Black Dragon Spear with an easy mind and follow Shen Yuan out of the pawnshop.
On the way, Shen Yuan explained why he had come. “The Second Prince sent me to request your assistance with the Ice Sculpture Festival in Liaozhou. He has already written to His Majesty and should receive a reply within days. If you lead your army there to assist him, he will naturally provide the soldiers with food, clothing, and everything they need.”
“You mean my second brother sent you?”
Xie Shoujun was momentarily stunned, a tangle of feelings rising within him.
His soldiers were, without question, as dear to him as his own life. The Black Dragon Spear embodied the wishes of the men who had died on the frontier. He could part with neither.
His second brother had already saved so many of his men with gunpowder. Now he had saved him once again, and even allowed him to keep the Black Dragon Spear…
How could Xie Shoujun not be grateful? How could he not be moved?
But… “He’s always been in poor health. Why has he come to such a bitterly cold place?”
Xie Shoujun’s brows drew tightly together, his handsome, steady face full of worry and disapproval.
The north was far too cold. How could Father send his second brother to work in Liaozhou, especially during a snow disaster of a severity seen only once in a hundred years? If he caught a chill, how much would that frail body of his have to suffer?
Shen Yuan, who had set it all in motion, rubbed his nose in a rare show of guilt.
“The Second Prince is compassionate. He pities the impoverished people of the north and wishes to find a way forward for them, which is why he came to Liaozhou in person,” he said unhurriedly. Whenever he mentioned Xie Chengze, his expression softened without his noticing. “Besides, he isn’t nearly as frail as you imagine, Your Highness. He simply enjoys being lazy.”
Shen Yuan’s tone was so easy and familiar, and seemed to hold another sort of feeling as well. Even Xie Shoujun, who was not particularly attuned to such things, couldn’t help giving him a closer look.
This man seemed quite close to his second brother.
Had he been the one keeping his second brother company all these years while Xie Shoujun was away?
An inexplicable feeling stirred in his heart. He was glad Xie Chengze had a friend in the capital to keep him from being lonely, yet also a little jealous that he hadn’t been the one at his side for the past ten years.
The boy had always had such a sweet tongue. Since childhood, he had loved trailing after him, calling him Big Brother. After he left, had the boy started calling someone else his brother?
Still… he wanted to see him more and more.
Did he still love to smile? Did he still like sweets? Had his ugly childhood handwriting become presentable? Most of all… had he, too, been missing the brother so far away on the frontier?