Ten years later, at the Biyue Mountain Villa in Yan Mountain, a boy around ten years old sat by a pond, barefoot, splashing the water. Watching the koi scatter in all directions in fright, he laughed joyfully.
"Yan'er! How many times have I told you not to play by the pond? Aren't you being careful?" A woman, around twenty years old, dressed as a maid, appeared behind him.
Hearing his name, the boy quickly picked up his shoes and ran over, defending himself. "Xiuning Jie, I was listening to you, but I saw how happy the fish were, so I couldn't resist playing with them."
Xiuning, the maid, put down the snack she was holding, bent down, and lovingly wiped the boy's feet with the towel in her arms. "I know you want to have fun like the fish, Yan'er, but you need to be careful. If anything happens to you, Master and Madam will be worried. You're their treasure, you know!"
Here's the translation of the passage into English:
Many years ago, Liu Yiqing had followed the advice of the Qingshan Daoist. Not only did he find the body of a male infant, but he also found a real female infant to act as a substitute for Yan Huo. He secretly sent Yan Huo to the remote Biyue Mountain Manor.
This matter was kept very secret. The maidservants and midwives who knew about it were no longer alive. For the sake of the entire family, it was no wonder Liu Yiqing had to be ruthless. At first, even Lin Wan did not know the details of the situation. Later, it was Liu Yiqing, unable to bear his wife's constant mourning for the deceased son, who revealed the whereabouts of Yan Huo. After the wife learned about Yan Huo, she sent Xiu Ning to the mountain manor to take care of her. In the first year or two, Lin Wan often secretly went up the mountain to see Yan Huo, but after Liu Yiqing discovered it, he used his powerful connections to persuade Lin Wan by linking the family's fate to the matter. Lin Wan finally agreed not to go up the mountain anymore.
Liu Yiqing himself would secretly visit the manor once a year when he went to Qingdao Palace to pay his respects to the Qingshan Daoist, but he never spoke to Yan Huo. He would only quickly leave after hearing about Yan Huo's condition from Xiu Ning.
As for the mysterious event of the "dragon and phoenix descending from the sky," that strange scene was witnessed by many citizens. The next day, when people rushed to the escort agency to see the commotion, they were shocked to see that the entire agency, inside and out, was draped in white mourning cloths. People asked, "Who has passed away?" The old housekeeper of the Liu family answered, "It is our recently born fourth young master." Later, even more astonishing, Liu Yiqing appeared and said, "This child is from the heavens, he should have been born in an imperial family, but due to the thunderclap last night, he was frightened and wrongly entered the Liu family. The Liu family is too unfortunate to keep him, so he has now returned to the heavens. Since this child is of heavenly origin, he should not be buried on earth."
Liu Yiqing then set fire to the male infant's body, burning it to ashes without any evidence. People asked, "What about the infant daughter born to your wife?" Liu Yiqing replied, "The little girl is doing well. When she turns eighteen, the Liu family will send her to the palace for the selection of imperial concubines." These words seemed to confirm the saying "Mother of the Nation."
After this event, Liu Yiqing, following Qingshan's advice, slowly began to reduce the business of the escort agency. But years later, the incident faded from public memory, and the imperial court did not respond. The only notable visits came when Yan Huo celebrated her full month, with some officials from Yancheng and the court's old friends, but no serious inquiry followed.
Liu Yiqing felt that the matter had been handled well and thoroughly. Moreover, after the family business was scaled back, the Liu family's collateral relatives had strong objections, with some even suggesting splitting off and establishing a new family branch. To prevent the family business from falling into decline, Liu Yiqing decided to develop the escort agency business once again.
One morning, as the East Gate of Yancheng opened at the hour of Chen, the street was still quiet, with only a few merchants and shops beginning to open. Suddenly, the sound of galloping horses could be heard from the East Gate. A young man, tall and handsome, dressed in white and carrying a red-tassel steel knife, rode a white horse, rushing toward the East Gate street. Behind him followed dozens of similarly dressed young riders, each carrying a square white flag.
The flag had two large golden characters embroidered in the center—**Feng Yuan**. A few onlookers, seeing the horse convoy, quickly moved aside as the group of riders galloped down the street and headed toward the city.
"Who are those people? How dare they ride horses on the street like that? Don't they fear injuring pedestrians?" An old man carrying a basket of yams asked a nearby youth.
The youth chuckled and replied, "You must be a farmer from the mountains, right? Those were the riders from the Feng Yuan Escort Agency."
"Yes, I'm just an old farmer who rarely comes down from the mountain. I've never heard of the Feng Yuan Escort Agency."
The young man looked surprised. "You don't know the Feng Yuan Escort Agency? Let me tell you! This Feng Yuan Escort Agency, backed by the Liu family, is now the number one escort agency in the country! They not only provide protection for common folk, but also for government officials. There are over forty branches of Feng Yuan across the country, each with five to six hundred escorts, martial artists, and guards. Such a large force, even the heroes of the rivers and lakes have to show respect to them."
"Wait... if the Feng Yuan Escort Agency has so many people... that means... they have over twenty thousand people, right?"
"That's not even counting the staff at the headquarters! I heard the headquarters alone has nearly two thousand people, and it's right here in our Yancheng."
"What? The Feng Yuan Escort Agency has so many people, and the imperial court doesn't...?" The old man asked, his voice filled with curiosity.
"The imperial court? Haha! You're not from here, so you don't know. The ancestors of the Liu family, two brothers, fought alongside the first emperor to establish the dynasty. If they hadn't been averse to holding official positions, who knows how many of their descendants would be serving in the court today? Even now, there are still many officials who are close to the Liu family. Not to mention, the golden reputation of the Feng Yuan Escort Agency was established by the late emperor himself! Who in the imperial court would dare trouble the Liu family?"
The old man then asked, "Who was the young man riding the white horse just now?"
"That's Liu Yiqing's eldest son—Liu Zheng. He's considered a top expert in the martial world. His father passed down the Liu family's eighteen blade techniques to him. He's now in charge of the branch in Sichuan Province. He wouldn't return to the main headquarters unless it's for an important escort mission."
"How do you know so much?"
"Me? Who am I? In Yancheng, everyone knows me, Li San!" The youth replied proudly.
"Wait! Don't go! I haven't finished telling you about the Feng Yuan Escort Agency!" But the old man had already walked off.
The Feng Yuan Escort Agency's compound had grown two to three times larger than it was ten years ago. Though it had expanded significantly, it was still bustling with activity. People were constantly coming in and out of the front courtyard.
"It looks like we'll have to hire more teachers. Otherwise, with so many people entrusting their escorts, we won't be able to handle it all," Liu Yiqing said leisurely as he sat in the front hall, watching the busy servants in the courtyard.
Liu Yiqing now rarely went on escorts himself, leaving the common jobs to his subordinates. For official escorts, he would send his sons, Liu Zheng and Liu De, to handle them.