Chapter 62: Storm Clouds Gathering

“How did you come by such a suspicion, my dear?” Luan Yi felt a chill in his heart. He couldn’t fathom how Diao Chan had managed to see through him.

Diao Chan replied with concern, “When we met just now, there was a fleeting trace of worry on your face, Luan Lang. Though you concealed it well, I still caught it. Moreover, you wrote to me before that the west courtyard of the factory was dedicated to jewel crafting, yet now it’s piled high with weapons, clearly turned into a smithy. Such a change is strange indeed. These two things together made me sense that something was amiss.”

Luan Yi reproached himself inwardly. He thought, I’ve lived through two lifetimes, yet even a young maiden can read my heart from my expression—clearly, my composure is still lacking!

Yet he didn’t realize that, being an ardent admirer, Diao Chan paid close attention to his every gesture, which allowed her to discern the subtleties. Had it been anyone else, they’d surely have missed that fleeting display of emotion—at least Cai Yan had noticed nothing at all.

Diao Chan continued, “Could you share your worries with me, Luan Lang? I would gladly help shoulder your burdens.”

Luan Yi replied slowly, “Even if you hadn’t asked, once you and Sister Cai were settled, I would have told you. Truth be told,” he paused, his tone turning grave, “Jinan is not at peace these days.”

At the end of last year and the start of this one, the cult of the Holy Mother flourished throughout Jinan, taking root everywhere and subtly transforming every aspect of life in the nation. This deeply threatened the interests of the sorcerer Yang Mou.

Four months after the cult’s founding, Yang Mou was astonished to discover that the monthly offerings collected by the Witchcraft Sect had fallen by seventy percent. Throughout Jinan, nearly everyone was refusing to pay the monthly incense tax of a hundred coins per household. Even the number of people going to the temples to engage in ritual intercourse with the priestesses—and paying for the privilege—had drastically declined.

At this rate, the Witchcraft Sect would soon be unable to make ends meet, and ruin would inevitably follow.

Desperate, Yang Mou ordered the local temple priests to collect the offerings by force. But then something even more shocking happened.

The people united in open resistance—something that had never happened before. In the past, everyone minded their own business like loose sand; the priests could roam unchecked, extorting incense offerings from whoever they pleased while neighbors dared not protest.

But now, people stood up boldly, brandishing farm tools and confronting the priests, declaring, “Those called by the Holy Mother are all brothers and sisters—we share fortune and adversity alike. We do not ask to be born at the same time, but only to enter the kingdom of heaven together.” Their fearless determination so terrified the priests that they fled in chaos.

Yang Mou was afraid. He knew he had lost control of the situation. In haste, he rushed to the Prince of Jinan’s palace to plead for Zhu Ying’s help.

In audience with Zhu Ying, he explained everything. Zhu Ying realized the gravity of the matter and, burning with anger, immediately summoned Luan Yi to his study in the palace to question him: “Why have you not acted as agreed and spread the Holy Mother cult beyond Licheng County?”

Luan Yi was genuinely aggrieved. He replied, “Uncle Zhu, I have not preached outside the county. The people in other districts converted of their own accord; it had nothing to do with me.”

“Truly?” Zhu Ying was skeptical.

“I am willing to swear before the Holy Mother.” Luan Yi raised three fingers toward the heavens.

“Enough! Spare me your oaths to that so-called Holy Mother.” Zhu Ying, seeing Luan Yi’s sincere expression, seemed convinced and relaxed his tone. “If the believers outside the county really have nothing to do with you, then I need not be polite.”

Luan Yi was startled but knew now was no time to plead. He simply replied, “As you wish,” and quietly withdrew.

The next day, Zhu Ying convened a meeting to order all levels of officials in Jinan to crack down hard on Holy Mother cultists outside Licheng County.

To his surprise, as soon as he announced his decision, more than half the officials present objected.

The truth was, many of these dissenting officials’ wives or concubines had already been drawn into the Holy Mother cult by Luan’s own second group, led by Madame Luan Diao herself. Through their subtle influence, these officials came to understand and appreciate the cult, with quite a few even becoming adherents themselves.

They declared at the meeting, “The Holy Mother’s teachings lead people to virtue, not vice; they are beneficial, not harmful, to Jinan. Rather than suppressing them, we should promote them.”

Hearing this, Zhu Ying was both shocked and furious. For years, he had been the absolute ruler of Jinan, and could no longer recall the last time anyone had defied his will. Yet today, so many officials had the audacity to oppose him to his face!

He realized the power amassed by the Holy Mother cult had grown beyond his control and now threatened his authority in Jinan. Yet, with the cult’s influence so widespread and the officials uniformly against him, he was truly at a loss for how to respond.

Suddenly, he remembered how Sun Ru had repeatedly warned him, “Luan Yi’s ambitions are not small,” and so on. In a daze, even Sun Ru’s habitual phrase—“My lord!”—no longer sounded so irritating.

He quickly had Sun Ru summoned for advice.

Sun Ru smiled faintly. “My lord! You are being muddle-headed. To put down the little Holy Mother cult is a trivial matter for you.”

“Teacher, instruct me!” Zhu Ying’s tone was earnest.

“I once advised you to nip the cult in the bud, but you would not listen. Now it seems only decisive force will do.”

“But… all the civil and military officials now side against me.”

“My lord! You are being muddle-headed. You are the very heaven of Jinan. Any official who dares oppose you—dismiss him! Replace him with someone loyal to you, someone who will obey your commands.”

“But…” Zhu Ying’s eyes brightened, then dimmed. He lifted his eyelids and glanced at Sun Ru. “As the ancients said, ‘Without just cause, words lose their force.’ Though I have the right to dismiss officials, I must still report to the capital. And for that, I need some pretext.”

“My lord! You are being muddle-headed!” Sun Ru said smugly, twirling his folding fan. “What’s so hard about that? Who among Jinan’s officials hasn’t taken bribes from Yang Mou and his ilk? If they’ve accepted money, that’s corruption. Even if not, I refuse to believe they’ve held office so long without a single error.”

Zhu Ying suddenly understood.

“As long as you reclaim your authority, what have you to fear from the Holy Mother cult?” Sun Ru paused and added, “After this, you must see Luan Miao and his son’s wolfish ambitions. We treat them well, but they act with hidden malice. They have united the people of Jinan and infiltrated the officials without your knowledge. Had you not discovered this in time, all of Jinan would be theirs, and where would you find a foothold then?”

Zhu Ying was filled with dread and hatred for Luan Yi. “Guards, bind Luan Yi and his father at once!”

“My lord, you are being hasty.” Sun Ru quickly intervened, “Luan Yi’s roots are deep and his bases many. If you try to seize him now and he escapes to the Luan family’s factory or the chapel outside the city, those places are like fortresses, easy to defend and hard to attack. If he raises the cult against you, the situation will spiral out of control. If the capital gets involved—and Luan Yi has allies there—he could expose your actions in Jinan and bring you to ruin.”

“He wouldn’t dare!” Zhu Ying blustered, but his gaze flickered uneasily. He was guilty and afraid. “So what should I do?”

“My lord, do not panic. First, replace the current officials with your own loyalists. Then muster the troops, strike hard at the Holy Mother cult, and finally unleash fury upon Luan Miao and his son. With them dead, you can heap false charges on them—heresy, bribery, whatever you like. If the capital sends inspectors, the dead cannot defend themselves. You will be safe.”

“Excellent! Excellent!” Zhu Ying was overjoyed. “Proceed as you suggest… And by the way, Sun, you have served as county magistrate for many years. It’s time for advancement. Once the magistrate of Dongpingling is dismissed, you shall take his place.”

“Thank you, my lord!”

Let us now turn to Luan Yi.

After leaving the Prince of Jinan’s palace, Luan Yi saw the doormen hurrying off to summon Sun Ru. Who was Sun Ru? Among all of Jinan’s officials, none opposed Luan Yi more fiercely. If Zhu Ying was calling him now, it could only mean he was planning something.

Luan Yi realized that a final reckoning with Zhu Ying was near. He immediately sped back to the county office, hastily packed a few belongings, and escorted his parents from the city, settling them in a newly built country villa.

He then ordered two hundred die-hard Holy Mother cultists to lay down their work and assemble at the chapel. After arming them, he stationed them around the chapel, the factory, and the villa to ensure security.

Three days later, Zhu Ying made his move. The magistrates of the eastern and western districts, closely tied to the Holy Mother cult, were both arrested on charges of corruption and beheaded the following day as a warning to others. Then a sweeping purge unfolded across Jinan, with civil and military officials replaced en masse.

Luan Yi knew that, after these quiet changes, a fierce storm awaited him.

He had to act—he would not sit and wait for slaughter. He compiled all the incriminating evidence he had gathered over the past six months against Zhu Ying, Sun Ru, Yang Mou, and others, and had Luan Fu ride overnight to deliver it to Prince Wang Yun in the capital. Meanwhile, he sent word to the cult’s branches to relocate their bases to the estates of local gentry and powerful clans. Under the guise of shipping goods for the merchants’ guild, he secretly sent weapons and spears to Bible study groups outside the county.

Yet, just as the storm was about to break, Cai Yan and Diao Chan arrived in Jinan. How could Luan Yi not be anxious?

After hearing Luan Yi’s account, Diao Chan comforted him, saying, “Luan Lang, do not fret for us. Sister Cai and I can look after ourselves. Besides, as daughters of high officials, Zhu Ying would not dare lay a hand on us. It is your own situation that is truly perilous.” She paused, then asked, “Do you have a plan?”

“A plan?” Luan Yi gave a cold laugh. “Strike first to gain the upper hand; hesitate and ruin follows. I am not one to await doom.”