IDWBE -Chapter 48 Changes

Lin Yi was no country bumpkin. In the internet age, what kind of videos hadn’t he seen?

But Wang Qingbang’s skill—this was the first time he had ever witnessed something like it.

Since when could pigeons cling to someone like little lapdogs?

A few pigeons that failed to grab a spot even started fighting among themselves!

Lin Yi applauded sincerely. “Old Master Wang is truly a master.”

Wang Qingbang pursed his lips and gave a soft whistle. The pigeons fluttered and scattered at once.

He dusted off his sleeves and said with a smile, “A trivial trick, not worth mentioning. Just a hobby that distracts from greater ambitions.”

“Please don’t be modest, Old Master Wang,” Lin Yi said. “Impressive is impressive. I genuinely admire you.”

Wang Qingbang smiled. “In scheming I’m not as good as Qi Yong; in intellect I can’t compare to Xie Zan; in courage I’m inferior to Chen Desheng. Though pigeons are a small matter, they require great dedication. I’ve never spent much time on poetry or essays—my whole life’s effort has gone into raising pigeons. When it comes to pigeon lore, if I claim second place, I doubt anyone in this world would dare claim first.”

Lin Yi laughed. “Old Master Wang, can you take on a disciple?”

“Your Highness, I understand what you mean. With these old bones of mine, who knows how many years I can still keep at it?”

Wang Qingbang smiled. “I’ve always hoped to pass on what little knowledge I have. If Your Highness has no objection, I would like to bring my disciple here.”

“You have a disciple?”

Lin Yi was delighted.

If this old man were to suddenly pass away one day, his pigeons would be left untended. Having a successor was ideal.

Wang Qingbang smiled. “My disciple was mainly interested in learning my martial skills. Unfortunately, his talent in martial arts is limited—at best he’ll reach the fourth rank in this lifetime. His true strength lies in raising birds and animals, though young people are often arrogant and unwilling to admit it. But rest assured, Your Highness—I will persuade him with both reason and emotion.”

Lin Yi nodded. “That would be excellent. By the way, when will the pigeons be able to deliver letters to Ankang City?”

Wang Qingbang opened a pigeon cage and beckoned inside. A pigeon obediently hopped into his palm, pecking affectionately at his hand.

The intimacy made Lin Yi envious.

If not for his lack of patience, he truly would have wanted to learn pigeon-keeping from him.

Wang Qingbang removed a slip of paper from the pigeon’s leg and handed it to Lin Yi. “This pigeon was likely newly purchased by Your Highness and hasn’t stayed long at the Prince’s residence. Three were released, but only this one returned today. Since Your Highness was not yet awake, I did not rush to deliver it.”

Lin Yi carefully unfolded the tiny note. Because of its size, it contained only a dozen crooked characters. The gist was that the letter had been received. It was signed by Guo Zhao, the gardener of the Prince’s residence.

“Good, very good.”

Lin Yi was overjoyed. This meant that even without a courier station, communication with Ankang City had been restored.

He immediately returned to his study and wrote a reply.

Without even folding it, he handed it to Wang Qingbang.

“Numbers?”

Wang Qingbang had not deliberately peeked, but he couldn’t help noticing that aside from the single character “Ning,” the rest of the page was entirely numbers.

Out of curiosity, he had once attended a few of Mingyue’s arithmetic lessons at the school and even learned to perform three-digit and higher calculations on paper without using an abacus.

But that numbers could be used to write letters—that had never occurred to him.

“Tie it to the pigeon and send it to the Prince’s residence.”

Lin Yi was confident that as long as Guo Zhao wasn’t a complete fool, he would deliver the letter to his younger sister, Lin Ning.

Lin Ning had been educated by him since childhood. They had played this little trick countless times.

They used a fixed book as a codebook. Each number in the letter represented a specific page and character in the book. When decoded and pieced together, the full message would appear.

Though simple and not entirely rigorous, it was more than sufficient for secrecy in this era.

That evening, Wang Qingbang brought in a tall, thin young man with bruises on his face and a listless expression.

“Kneel before His Highness at once!”

After scolding him, Wang Qingbang turned to Lin Yi. “Your Highness, this is my unworthy disciple, Fang Bin. A rustic fellow with no manners. I beg Your Highness’s forgiveness.”

“Long live Prince He!”

The young man thudded three times against the floor in kowtows.

“Rise, no need to be so formal,”

Lin Yi pointed to a chair opposite him. “Sit. Bring tea.”

“No need, Your Highness,”

Wang Qingbang pulled Fang Bin back before he could sit and smiled. “If Your Highness approves, I will take him to the backyard.”

Lin Yi nodded and watched the master and disciple leave the room.

The West River continued to flow ceaselessly through the night.

Baiyun City was still Baiyun City—dusty and dilapidated.

Yet since Prince He had arrived, the local residents felt a change they could neither fully describe nor clearly articulate.

Women could now walk the streets without fear. If they encountered ill-intentioned men, they could shout for help. As long as someone was nearby, there would surely be someone willing to step forward.

According to the Prince’s decree, anyone who captured a molester would receive fifty copper coins.

Under heavy reward, brave men would surely emerge. Even ordinarily timid men would risk themselves for those fifty coins.

For Lin Yi, it was a profitable deal. These lecherous men were nothing more than free labor to him.

What he hadn’t expected, however, was the emergence of “entrapment.”

Some clever individuals even had their sisters deliberately stroll along the streets while they and their sworn brothers lay in wait.

Each capture meant fifty copper coins!

Street brawls in Baiyun City also grew increasingly rare.

Whoever struck first was doomed. If the other person simply lay down on the ground, you were finished—certain to be dragged off by the Prince’s guards for “labor reform.”

Even the arrogant eldest son of the Wang family was no exception, let alone ordinary citizens.

And labor reform was no longer what it used to be.

At the beginning, the meals had been decent and filling. Some people had almost wanted to go voluntarily.

Now, it was said they were given thin porridge three times a day—not enough to fill the stomach.

Carelessness could earn you a whipping.

Even if you survived, you’d return emaciated beyond recognition.

“Your Highness—”

Hong Ying led in a tall, dark-skinned middle-aged man.

“This commoner Wang Cheng kowtows before Prince He. Long live Your Highness!”

The man slammed his head against the ground as if venting frustration, clearly unwilling.

“Who is this?”

Lin Yi asked, yawning.

“I am the father of that wretch Wang Xing,”

Wang Cheng banged his head twice more. “Please, Your Highness, do not hold a grudge against a petty man. Spare him this once.”

“For beating someone in the street,” Lin Yi made no move to let the richest man in Sanhe rise and continued yawning, “he seems to have taken my words as mere wind past his ears.”