Chapter Ten: Trouble at the City Gate

The next day, with hope renewed, the village of the Mo family burst forth with an astonishing vitality. Each person seemed as if invigorated by some magic elixir, brimming with energy. At the break of dawn, every villager was already up and working. Even Zi Yi, usually the laziest of them all, had cleaned every nook and cranny of the Mo residence until it gleamed.

“Not bad!” Mo Dun praised, ruffling Zi Yi’s hair. The inappropriate gesture earned him a roll of her eyes.

“Keep up the good work. I’ll bring you a bolt of silk when I return today,” Mo Dun decided, resolving to reward Zi Yi. With some proper training, this girl might yet prove herself worthy as a maid.

“Thank you, young master!” All her previous resentment forgotten, Zi Yi beamed with delight.

“Ah, still as carefree as ever!” Mo Dun sighed, waving his hand as he leaped onto an ox cart.

With some spare money at last, the Mo family village had immediately hired an ox from a neighboring village to pull their carts, sparing Mo Dun the ordeal of walking fifty miles on foot.

“Let’s go!” Mo Dun declared with high spirits, commanding his modest caravan as if leading a mighty army. Yet with only fifteen water carts, the sight was more comical than grand.

As soon as the convoy reached Chang’an, they beat drums and gongs, hoisting the Mo family village’s banner high.

“The Mo family village is here again!” cried one of yesterday’s shop assistants.

“Could it be they truly possess a secret technique to keep fish alive for long periods?” Those with keen senses immediately grasped the significance.

Had they sold live fish just once, it might have been dismissed as mere gossip. But now, for the second day in a row, the Mo family had returned as promised, bringing another fifteen carts of live fish. Clearly, their secret must be real.

“It truly is the Mo family’s age-old secret!” Citizens of Chang’an exclaimed in awe. More and more people began to believe in the existence of the Mo family’s special technique. Given the family’s renowned reputation since the pre-Qin era, the combination of legend and spectacle set the live fish of Mo family village ablaze with popularity. Even residents from the city’s east and west came to buy.

As a result, all fifteen carts of live fish sold out within half an hour.

On the third day, the commotion only grew. Fifteen carts of live fish arrived, and fifteen carts of grain were hauled back.

On the fourth day, the fleet increased to twenty carts, yet supply still could not meet demand. Twenty carts of grain were brought back.

On the fifth day, the convoy grew to twenty-five carts. When the Mo family’s caravan arrived at the south gate of Chang’an, merchants and travelers waiting outside the gate looked on with envy. The Mo family village’s miracle of wealth had already become the talk of both merchants and city folk after five days of astonishing success.

Some were consumed by envy and jealousy, tinged with frustration—who could blame them, when the Mo family village had the backing of a thousand-year-old Mo family?

“Stop!” called a captain of the city gate, holding out his hand to block the convoy.

“Oh! It’s General Chi Zhiyong. Might I ask what urgent matter has caused you to stop our caravan?” Li Yi frowned, stopping Mo Dun and stepping forward to inquire.

“It’s almost the New Year, and things have been restless in and around Chang’an these past few days. Orders from above require strict inspections of all merchants and travelers to prevent bandits from sneaking into the city,” Chi Zhiyong said sternly.

“Rest assured, General. Our villagers are all descendants of the soldiers who fought to build this empire. The master of our village is a county baron, personally granted his title by His Majesty, to whom we are utterly loyal. There’s not a single disreputable soul among us, let alone a bandit,” Li Yi declared, pointing to Mo Dun.

“We’ll know if there are bandits after we check. Enough talk!” Chi Zhiyong was unmoved, even when Li Yi invoked Mo Dun’s noble title.

“I think your water carts are the perfect hiding place for bandits,” Chi Zhiyong declared loudly.

“General, these are our fish carts! The whole city knows it,” Li Yi protested.

“Fish or men, we’ll soon find out. If there are no bandits, do you think I’d wrong you?” Chi Zhiyong barked.

A sinking feeling swept through the Mo family villagers. Disaster! This gate captain was clearly targeting the Mo family’s secret for keeping fish alive; the talk of inspecting for bandits was just a pretext. Otherwise, why were other merchants and carts left unchecked, while only theirs was singled out?

A commotion broke out among the merchants waiting outside the south gate. These were shrewd people, quick to deduce Chi Zhiyong’s true intent—he meant to uncover the Mo family’s live fish secret.

That’s it—the secret behind the Mo family’s live fish! Chi Zhiyong was risking offending the Mo family, brazenly trying to seize their secret under everyone’s gaze, all for the promise of great rewards and assurances from those who’d made him this offer. He steeled himself—after all, who was a mere declining baron compared to these promises?

“We can’t let him look!” a young man among the Mo villagers shouted in fury.

The live fish secret was the very lifeblood of the Mo family village. If outsiders learned it, their advantage would vanish, and the five thousand villagers would be plunged back into hardship, never again able to face their families with hope.

They would never forget the moment they handed over thirty copper coins’ wages to their families each day—that single instant had filled their lives with hope for the future.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Chi Zhiyong roared, raising his spear. The gate guards all brandished their weapons, pointing them at the villagers.

Chi Zhiyong was secretly elated. His demand to inspect the carts had no real justification, but if the villagers resisted, it would give him the perfect excuse.

“Stop!” A loud voice rang out. The Mo villagers parted to form two lines, and Mo Dun strode forward.

“Who are you?” Chi Zhiyong demanded sharply, though his heart raced—he knew full well who Mo Dun was, having watched the caravan approach for days.

“I am Mo Dun, county baron of the founding of the empire. The Mo family village is my fief, and I am a disciple of the Mo family,” Mo Dun announced proudly.

“It’s him! That Mo family scion!” gasped the crowd at the gate.

“They say the Mo family’s secret for keeping fish alive is in his hands.”

“I heard he made a great vow to transform the Mo family village from poverty into the wealthiest village in the empire.”

The crowd buzzed with speculation, casting mysterious glances at Mo Dun.

“You dare, without cause, to aim your weapons at a founding baron of the empire—who gave you such audacity?” Mo Dun suddenly shouted.

Chi Zhiyong faltered. In this empire, the hierarchy was strict, especially as the founding heroes still wielded immense power; a noble title often meant real authority.

Before Chi Zhiyong could speak, the gate guards quickly lowered their weapons, no longer daring to threaten the Mo family’s party.

Chi Zhiyong was now in a bind. Yet, thinking of the promised rewards and the assurance that the Mo family’s secret must be hidden in the carts, he gritted his teeth and said, “Please forgive me, my lord. I am merely following imperial orders. I must ask you, my lord, to open the water carts.”