Ma Cai smiled but hesitated to say anything further.
"If you help me this time, I'll tell you about it. If not, I won't share it for no reason," he thought.
After a brief pause, Chen Mo decided, "You two go get the silver, and I'll go talk to Master He about this."
He was intrigued by what Ma Cai had hinted at. Given Ma Cai's family connections, he figured the "good thing" would not be something trivial.
Ma Cai quickly reached into his clothing and pulled out a heavy, gray-black cloth bag, which clearly contained a lot of copper coins.
Chen Mo took the cloth bag, grabbed the chicken wrapped in lotus leaves, and stood up to head toward He Maguan's barracks.
Ma Cai and Ding Bao followed him closely behind.
Inside He Maguan's Barracks
He Maguan's quarters were spacious compared to most of the other soldiers'. He sat reclining on a chair, intermittently puffing on a pipe.
When he saw Chen Mo entering with the chicken, He Maguan narrowed his eyes and chuckled.
"Ah, what's this? You're treating me to chicken today?"
"No, this chicken was bought by Ding Bao and Ma Cai to show their respect for you," Chen Mo explained. He set the chicken down on the table and wiped it clean with a rag.
He Maguan's face immediately darkened. He looked out the door and muttered, "If someone is being nice to you for no reason, it's either because they're a traitor or a thief."
Chen Mo raised an eyebrow. He had already guessed the truth to some extent.
"Do you know that they've been selling horse manure behind your back?"
He Maguan scoffed and casually tore off a chicken leg, still eyeing the door. "If they think they can hide something like that from me for a month or two, they're dreaming."
He Maguan had been in the army for decades and knew all the ins and outs of his men. He'd been suspicious for a while and had been watching to see if Chen Mo would expose the truth when he found out.
If all three of them had been keeping secrets, he would have had no choice but to replace them all. But since only Ma Cai and Ding Bao were involved, he could still overlook it for now.
Outside, Ma Cai and Ding Bao stood there, looking as pale as ghosts, their bodies trembling. Hearing the exchange, they felt a huge weight lift off their shoulders.
"Luckily we decided to come clean and report it," Ma Cai muttered under his breath. "Otherwise, we might've been in serious trouble."
Chen Mo, seeing the tension in the air, quickly reassured He Maguan, "Don't be too angry. They've realized their mistake. All the money they earned is here."
He Maguan grabbed the bag, weighed it in his hand, and his anger softened a bit. His main frustration wasn't the selling of manure, but rather that they hadn't shared the profits with him.
"Neither of them did it with bad intentions. Don't let it get to your health," Chen Mo continued, trying to ease the tension.
"Come in!" He Maguan's voice was gruff as he shouted toward the door.
Ma Cai and Ding Bao entered, their heads hung low in shame. They were too afraid to look He Maguan in the eye.
"Since Chen Mo is vouching for you today, I'll let it go this time," He Maguan declared, his voice still stern but less angry than before.
He didn't want to make a big scene—after all, if people found out about this in his stable, it would be a huge embarrassment.
"I appreciate it, Master He!" both men said quickly, their voices trembling with gratitude.
Although He Maguan was upset, what really irked him was that Ding Bao, who had been serving him for over two years, had kept the secret along with Ma Cai. That was the real betrayal. He glared at Ding Bao, but didn't say anything more.
"You two better keep yourselves in line from now on, and don't do anything foolish again!" He Maguan scolded them in a low voice.
Ma Cai and Ding Bao nodded quickly, too frightened to argue.
"If something like this happens again, I'll take half of what you make, and the other half will be split between the three of you," He Maguan added gruffly.
Ding Bao's face lit up. He had feared that the whole thing would be shut down and that they'd never make money from it again. But now that He Maguan was still allowing them to continue, there was hope, even if they'd be sharing the profits with him.
He Maguan waved them off. "That's enough. Go on."
Ma Cai and Ding Bao hurriedly made their way out, breathing sighs of relief.
After the Incident
Chen Mo, about to leave as well, was stopped by He Maguan.
"Keep a closer eye on Ma Cai from now on, especially him. Don't let him cause any more trouble. His family has some connections, and he might be transferred soon. We still need to feed the horses here together," He Maguan said more calmly.
"I understand," Chen Mo replied. He knew that even if Ma Cai had family connections, he wouldn't be staying in the camp for too long. That thought didn't bother him much.
He Maguan handed him a hundred copper coins from the bag. "Take the chicken back and enjoy it. You keep the money for yourself."
Chen Mo hesitated for a moment but then accepted the money and the chicken, putting them in his pocket before heading back.
Back in the Camp
When Chen Mo returned, he found Ma Cai lying on his bed, the foul smell of manure still lingering on his clothes. Chen Mo had long grown used to the stench of the stable, but Ma Cai, despite being used to it, had a weary look on his face.
"Brother Mo's back!" Ma Cai exclaimed as he sat up.
"Master He also asked you to bring back this chicken," Chen Mo replied, placing it on the table. The sight of the chicken made Ma Cai's mouth water.
"Let's eat together. You've been talking about some good news. What's this about?" Chen Mo said, pulling off a chicken wing and offering it to Ma Cai.
Ma Cai leaned in, speaking quietly, "Do you know General Sun Shouren?"
Chen Mo shook his head. He had only just arrived and hadn't had much time to learn the inner workings of the military camp.
Ma Cai lowered his voice further. "In a month or two, General Sun is coming to recruit personal soldiers from our camp."
Chen Mo raised an eyebrow. "Is that true? I've never heard of a general recruiting soldiers directly from the barracks."
Ma Cai's eyes were serious. "You might not know this, but General Sun won a big victory some time ago. However, too many of his soldiers were killed. So, His Majesty ordered him to return to Xingyuan Prefecture to train new troops."
"And since General Sun is from Xingyuan Prefecture, he's going to recruit his personal soldiers from here."
Chen Mo was skeptical. Recruiting soldiers directly from a camp wasn't common practice, especially for someone as important as a general. "How did you learn about this? This sounds like military news—shouldn't it be a secret?"
Ma Cai leaned closer and whispered, "A distant cousin of mine married one of General Sun's personal soldiers. A few weeks ago, the court sent her a pension, and that's how my family found out. Don't tell anyone."
Ma Cai had his own reasons for sharing this with Chen Mo. Although it seemed like just a piece of gossip, Ma Cai had noticed that Chen Mo was different from the others—he could read and write, something rare among the soldiers. He thought that if Chen Mo was selected as a royal guard, the two of them could work together.
Even if Chen Mo didn't make the cut, his literacy would still make him stand out, improving his future prospects. It was a win-win.
Chen Mo remembered the promise he had made to Zhao Yu and felt the weight of his obligations. If he could become a personal soldier, his status and treatment would improve, and that might bring him closer to his goal of redeeming her.
End