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墨書 Inktalez
Qin Feng felt that this butler Qin Fu was quite casual in his actions, indicating that their relationship was indeed very good, as he sat right next to him.
However, after living together for over a decade, although there was a master-servant distinction, the bond between them could truly be considered brotherly.
In fact, he wasn't very familiar with the groom Guan Ping, but he thought it would be good to chat about him.
Guan Ping was exceptionally tall; although he looked like a typical horse groom, there was something different about him.
Looking at Qin Fu, who was also smiling, Qin Feng asked, "What kind of person is this groom Guan Ping? He has a robust build and exudes a certain heroic aura."
Qin Fu had a slightly odd expression and replied, "This fellow is very skilled at handling horses! No matter how difficult the terrain, he can manage it quite smoothly. He must have been a groom for many years."
"As for his personality, that's rather strange. Among the servants in the manor, he hardly interacts with anyone. Most of the time during his free hours, he just tends to the horses and does odd jobs, basically keeping to himself with a long face and an air of coldness."
Qin Feng thought of something; such a person seemed like someone who had committed crimes in the past and fled to another place, only doing menial work and avoiding conversation with others out of fear that they might discover his previous wrongdoings—perhaps robbery or even murder.
The more one interacts with others, the more likely past deeds will be revealed, especially when drinking.
He said, "You are my manor's butler, and you actually dared to hire someone like this? Are you out of your mind?"
He had already regarded Guan Ping as a criminal; whether he had killed someone or committed other crimes, such a person should not be kept around.
Once he committed one crime, there would surely be a second time, and his methods could be ruthless, easily leading to bloodshed.
Qin Fu, however, looked shocked and somewhat flustered.
"Master, the groom Guan Ping was personally recruited by you. At that time, Old Zhang in the manor was over fifty years old and his health was declining. He wasn't very agile anymore; there were two instances where he almost fell off while driving you. Eventually, he returned to his hometown to retire. So we needed a groom, and you brought him in."
He couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time; this was something he had done himself. Had he been blind at that time to hire such a groom?
Although Guan Ping seemed honest now, if murderous intent arose, it would be unstoppable; something would definitely go wrong.
He could only accept it and said, "Tell me again about what happened back then; I need to ponder what kind of person this is! Perhaps back then..."
Qin Fu could only recall those events and explained them to his master.
He felt very helpless; after all, these were past events, yet his master couldn't remember anything and kept pressing him for answers—it was truly annoying.
It was about a month ago; winter had set in with extremely cold weather. The chilly winds swept through the streets of Tokyo, making people shiver uncontrollably.
Unfortunately for them, Old Zhang had aged and requested to return home to retire; he really could no longer handle the horses—continuing would lead to accidents.
The manor's horses had also been raised for several years; they were ordinary horses that were now aging and needed replacement with new ones.
My master and I went to the trading market in the northern part of the city intending to buy a new horse and recruit another groom.
The high officials from the court traveled by horse-drawn carriages; walking or riding a donkey would be too embarrassing.
At the trading market, we looked around but found nothing satisfactory; if the horse was too old, it could only last one or two years at most; if it was too slow, it wouldn't be able to travel far without causing issues.
The best horses had already been picked clean; moreover, due to frequent border wars in recent years, there was an even greater demand for good horses—there weren't any decent ones available at all.
Buying inferior horses wouldn't last long either and would still waste money; besides, in recent months government salaries had decreased significantly—just enough for basic living expenses without any room for wasteful spending.
Just as we were about to leave the trading market, I inadvertently glanced across the way and saw an excellent black horse along with a shabby-looking man.
I hadn't noticed them when I arrived but they appeared just as I was leaving—likely they had just come recently.
At that moment my master was extremely pleased! The man wrote down a few words on the ground stating that this horse could be sold for Five Liang of Silver, which was more than half cheaper than at the trading market.
The inferior horses there were priced at eight liang of silver each while good horses cost fifteen liang each—but there were none available without waiting a long time for stock to arrive.
So my master and I approached that man to inquire about buying the horse.
We noticed that the man had numerous bloodstains on him and looked fierce—one could tell at first glance that he wasn't a good person; this horse must have been stolen by him.
We decided my master should buy the horse first before looking for another groom—that way everything would be complete.
As expected, my master bought the horse but asked that man several questions.
Why did he have such severe injuries? Where was his hometown? His clothes were tattered and clearly worn for quite some time.
Although he had a robust build, he appeared somewhat weak—he must have been starving for quite some time.
The man claimed he was from the north; originally he came here with his wife to do some business but got robbed by bandits halfway through—the wife was killed and he sustained many injuries while desperately escaping.
He hadn't eaten in three days and had long run out of money; although he didn't want to sell the horse initially, if he didn't sell it soon he'd really starve to death.
My master felt pity for him and gave him an extra liang of silver since he didn't have much money on him either.
Since he had ridden here on horseback, my master asked if he knew how to handle horses because we needed someone experienced—a groom who could earn some wages.
That man turned out to be Guan Ping. He started practicing riding at eight years old and by ten could handle an entire cart of horses—he would definitely make an excellent groom. Having fallen on hard times himself for three years now, he begged Master Qin to take him in.
He insisted that he was truly a good person whose injuries were inflicted by wicked individuals; he would never engage in any thievery or wrongdoing and promised to work hard!
My master agreed! He indeed managed an entire cart of horses well and worked diligently—more than three people combined—but required food for two.
Qin Feng's mind conjured images of him wearing blood-red clothing stained with blood—a tattered outfit whose origins were unclear.
With just those few words spoken by him—how could they keep him in the manor? After all, they had already purchased a good horse; why bother with his affairs?
Moreover, they had already given him six liang of silver which should suffice for living expenses for some time.
Suddenly feeling angry again as danger loomed over him—he still sensed this person was very dangerous—he said: "Afu, why didn’t you advise me back then? If you had urged me just two more times I definitely wouldn’t have acted this way—I feel that this groom Guan Ping doesn’t seem like a good person."
Qin Fu, however, became quite agitated: "Master! I didn’t just advise you twice—I urged you several times! You simply wouldn’t listen! This is just an ordinary person who has fallen into misfortune—we should help him out! Besides, he's not freeloading off us."
All Qin Feng could do was smile wryly; it truly looked bad—after all it was something he'd done himself—how foolish he'd been to take in someone like this.
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