3. Entering the Capital for the First Time

  It was already midnight when Father returned home, and Zhao Xuan saw his mother busy with her work, feeling a little lost in her heart. From now on, she would no longer be able to accompany her parents, and she didn't know when she could return. Thinking of this, Zhao Xuan felt a bit ashamed and lowered her head.

  That night, Zhao Xuan decided not to sleep and accompany the two elders. After all, he was their only son, and they had only had him until now. Thinking of this, Zhao Xuan also began to realize his own unfilial behavior.

  Before long, the night passed and at dawn, an official arrived at Zhao Xuan's house to take him away. "Due to a lack of talent in the Western Factory, we have been ordered by our superiors to bring away any men who are not yet twenty years old. You're called Zhao Xuan, right? Don't worry, the Western Factory won't treat you or your family unfairly. Follow us and there will be many benefits later on."

  "Alright, since I'm not running away, I'll go with you. But can't you wait a bit? I want to say goodbye to my parents. Can't you be flexible about this?" As he spoke, Zhao Xuan handed the official a jug of fine wine that his family had brewed some years ago.

  The official opened the bottle and took a sniff, and the fragrance of fine wine wafted out, making one feel dizzy. Just as he was savoring the aroma, he saw Zhao Xuan still standing in front of him, so he hastily closed the bottle, straightened his face, and adjusted his collar. "Cough cough, speak quickly, you have one minute to talk, finish and leave immediately."

  "All right, all right, sir, just wait a moment." After finishing speaking, Zhao Xuan hurriedly ran to the front of Mr. and Mrs. Zhao.

  "You little scamp, for this one moment, you've cost me a bottle of fine twenty-year-old wine! Alas, never mind, just don't forget to let your old parents live a good life when you become rich and successful in the future!" Old Zhao said with a mix of emotions.

  And beside her, Zhao's mother had already cried uncontrollably, "Son, in the future when I'm not by your side, you must take good care of yourself. If possible, remember to write letters and bring them back home often, so that your father and I can be at peace!"

  "Oh dear, oh dear! Look at me, I'm getting old and starting to forget things. Luckily your mother still remembers, but you must send letters home from time to time!"

  "I understand, Father and Mother. You can rest assured that your son will return in the future to repay the kindness you have shown me." At this moment, Zhao Xuan's eyes also began to flow with tears.

  "You stinky brat, what are you crying for? You're going to serve the country, you should be thinking about that! A man's two lines of tears, one line for his family and one line for his country. Your parents aren't dead yet..." As he spoke, Old Zhao also started crying.

  "That Zhao Xuan, the time is up, let's set off!" The official couldn't help but savor the fine wine that Zhao Xuan had just presented to him a moment ago.

  Having heard this, Zhao Xuan hastily wiped away the tears on his face, "Got it, I'm coming."

  Then he turned around and said to his parents: "Parents, the child is unfilial, leaving." He knelt down on the ground and kowtowed to his parents.

  "Since ancient times, loyalty and filial piety have been hard to achieve together. Go, son!" And so, Father Zhao and Mother Zhao saw Zhao Xuan off into the distance.

  Of course, the Western Factory would naturally give some benefits to their family members. Zhao's couple got a benefit of 20 taels of silver thread.

  And so Zhao Xuan followed those brothers who had come together "on call" on their journey.

  "Eh, big brother, what did you say we're going to the Western Factory for? We're all neither literate nor martially skilled, what use are we?" Zhao Xuan took advantage of the lunch break to chat with the official who had come to 'fetch' him.

  "Who knows, we're just following orders. Let me tell you, once we enter the Western Factory, don't say anything that shouldn't be said, and don't ask any questions that shouldn't be asked. And definitely don't run around all over the place. Otherwise, you won't even know how you died." This official was still grateful for the good wine Zhao Xuan had given him, so he offered these words of advice. The other officials just sat quietly to the side, eating the dry rations their parents had prepared for them.

  "Wow, West Factory is so powerful! Is it full of hidden mechanisms?!" As he said this, Zhao Xuan suddenly remembered the martial arts novels he used to read in private school.

  "Everywhere is not necessarily a trap, but our western factory is full of masters, especially the headquarters. Each and every one of them are top-notch experts who can kill without spilling blood. It's not just hearsay, unfortunately, I have limited talent and can only do some peripheral work like searching for intelligence. Luckily, this time we have a case that allows me to not only drink the wine that is normally forbidden but also get two days of good rest." The officer's words started to become somewhat incoherent, possibly due to intoxication.

  "Hey, by the way, we've been chatting for a while now, but I still don't know what your name is, big brother?" Zhao Xuan said with a smile.

  "My surname is Wang, my name is De, Zhao Xuan, I'm telling you, in the future as long as you serve our great Ming dynasty well, the Western Depot will not treat you unfairly." It seems that Wang De was really drunk, his speech had begun to become somewhat abnormal.

  After a couple of hours, they finally arrived at the capital city under the emperor's feet.

  "Eh, Wang Dage, tell me what our western factory actually does!" Zhao Xuan asked while looking at the small stalls by the road.

  "Alright, let me tell you about the origins of our Western Depot!" At this moment, Wang De's intoxication had passed and he began to recount the origins of the Western Depot to Zhao Xuan.

  "In the 12th year of Chenghua, a treacherous official named Li Zidong was notorious for his "left path" and had many trusted followers in the court. With their help, Li Zidong had the opportunity to enter the inner palace and observe places like Wansui Mountain. Although his true intentions were unclear, it is said that Li Zidong planned to assassinate the emperor and was discovered by a Jin Yiwei officer. As a result, Li Zidong was executed.

  At that time, Emperor Chenghua of Song, who was over 20 years old, learned about this incident and felt that there were dangers everywhere, becoming extremely tense and suspicious. To avoid similar incidents from happening again, he ordered the eunuch Li Ping to select people from the Jin Yiwei to disguise themselves as ordinary citizens and gather information outside the palace.

  This attempt at undercover investigation was unsuccessful, so Emperor Chenghua established the Western Depot with Li Ping as its head, selecting members from the Jin Yiwei. In the 18th year of Chenghua, the emperor learned about Li Ping's evil deeds and abolished the Western Depot. Later, Emperor Wu of Song briefly revived the Western Depot to suppress the remonstrances of his ministers, with the eunuch Gu Daqi, one of the "Eight Tigers", serving as its commander."

  "Wow, I didn't know that our Xichang had such an unknown story!" Zhao Xuan said with a huff. After hearing the origin of this, Zhao Xuan felt like something big was going to happen.

  "Zhao, brother, I'm telling you, it's just because we're close brothers. If it were someone else, I wouldn't be saying this to them!" As he spoke, Wang De also glanced at the others, afraid that the few people under his hand would lose sight of the rest.

  "It's all over, this time I've gotten into big trouble! Before we even arrive at the Western Factory headquarters, I already know things that I shouldn't know. Hopefully, Lord Gu won't find out!" Although he thought this in his heart, Zhao Xuan still hastily agreed with Wang De's words, fearing that if he didn't, Wang De would become unhappy before they even arrived and kill him on the spot.

  "It's not time for us to meet yet, let's go, Zhao brothers, I'll treat you to a couple of drinks. You guys take them out to eat something."

  "Yes!"

  And so, the two groups of people went their separate ways.