Sensing they were almost there, the group accelerated their pace. The desert was soon left behind as they entered a stretch of the outskirts dotted with numerous roadside tea stalls. With dusk fast approaching and all four of them exhausted from the journey, they parked their horses and sat down to drink tea and rest.
Ying Laixian leisurely unwrapped the cloth strips tied around his palms. Bloodstains marred the fabric, and the skin on his palms had indeed been rubbed raw by the reins. Jiang Ni produced her carried-around medicinal ointment and re-bandaged Ying Laixian’s hands, allowing him to finally exhale in relief.
Tan Congye stripped off his outer tunic and tied it around his waist; broad-shouldered and narrow-waisted, he looked striking no matter how he wore his clothes.
The proprietor quickly served cups of herbal tea, recognizing from their attire that they were travelers, and kindly offered a reminder: “Esteemed guests, just a few miles down the road from here, and you’ll be entering Yunchen.”
Ying Laixian thanked him. After resting for a short while, a carriage suddenly appeared on the road. Jiang Ni stepped over to converse briefly with the driver, making it clear that riding horses for the remainder of the journey would no longer be necessary.
“The people by your side move quite efficiently.” Naturally, Tan Congye wouldn’t suspect that this carriage had merely happened to pass by at random.
Once inside the carriage, Ying Laixian had no desire to speak further. The journey thus far had simply been too taxing for his present constitution. Leaning against the window with his eyes closed, he nevertheless replied: “In all things, one must make proper preparations. We’ll be at our destination shortly; City Lord Tan would do well to conserve his energy.”
“Your frail constitution is truly a marvel. You can’t even endure a trivial journey like this?”
Jiang Ni frowned. “My lord has always been in poor health.”
Tan Congye gave a soundless hmph.
Fang Xu drove the carriage from the driver’s seat. After snatching a brief nap, Ying Laixian felt the carriage grind to a halt.
Presumably, they had reached the border and encountered the city guards.
“All travelers must submit to identity verification; we ask the occupants of the carriage to bear with us,” the guard captain announced in a booming voice, adding that cargo inspections would also be required to check for contraband.
Reaching into his robes, Ying Laixian produced a letter, tapped the wooden frame of the carriage window, and passed it outward.
Taking the item, Fang Xu handed it over to the guard captain. The officer frowned slightly, slowly unfolded the letter, and watched his pupils abruptly contract. Turning the missive over in his hands, he scrutinized it repeatedly as if verifying its authenticity.
“Are you done yet?” Fang Xu feigned impatience. “If you delay our lord’s important business, I’m afraid a dozen lives wouldn’t be enough to compensate.”
Flustered, the guard captain realized the item in his hands was genuine and quickly plastered on a flattering smile. “Everything is in order. Please proceed.”
Once the carriage passed through the gates and arrived at its destination a short while later, Tan Congye looked outside. “The four prefectures of Dongcang all fall within the domain of Crown Prince Jiang Yun of Yunchen. Liaozhou is one of them, and a vital transit point connecting Dongcang to the outer realms. You aren’t heading to White Paper Hall after all.”
Ying Laixian smiled. “I never said I was only going to White Paper Hall.”
Suddenly, the crisp, rhythmic clatter of hooves echoed through the city streets. Numbering at least a dozen mounts and sounding sharp and clear, anyone bold enough to act with such impunity in Liaozhou likely belonged to only one person.
Ying Laixian lifted the carriage curtain to look outside, spotting a well-trained troop galloping toward them in an imposing, orderly formation. Though small in number, their momentum was formidable.
“Whoa!”
A low shout rang out from the ranks as a figure clad in vibrant red spurred a horse out from the center of the troop and galloped forward.
The newcomer resembled a bright, clear moon; clad in striking red robes, he cut a heroic, dashing figure with an unmistakable smile gracing his features. Reining in his mount with a single hand, he seemed practically unable to wait to come to a complete halt.
“Whoa!”
“My lord,” Fang Xu muttered, turning his head to see that Ying Laixian had already stepped down from the carriage, followed shortly by Jiang Ni and Tan Congye.
The troop accompanying the red-clad youth lined up in a neat row while he remained mounted in the center. Catching sight of the figures emerging from the carriage, he immediately vaulted out of the saddle, strode directly toward Ying Laixian, and dropped abruptly onto one knee right before him, startling Fang Xu into lunging forward defensively.
The entire assembly was struck dumb with shock!
“Your Highness,” Ying Laixian stepped forward to help him up. “It has been a long time.”
Jiang Yun’s eyes gleamed brightly. “I feared Teacher was unwilling to come to Dongcang.”
“You wrote personally to invite me, how could I refuse?” Ying Laixian glanced over at the disciplined troop. “My coming here is to resolve your troubles.”
“Then I must ask Teacher to accompany me back to the residence first.”
Jiang Yun, mounted his horse to lead the way and clear a path for the carriage, while his guards maintained their formation alongside. Inside the carriage, a heavy silence settled over the occupants, with no one breaking the quiet.
Ying Laixian had no intention of offering explanations, and naturally, no one dared to pry.
Before long, the carriage ground to a halt.
“Teacher, we have arrived,” Jiang Yun announced, escorting the group into an estate. “Teacher and your companions have traveled far; please make yourselves comfortable here. Everything has been arranged.”
“There’s no need,” Ying Laixian said softly. “My time is limited. Let’s discuss your situation first.”
Jiang Yun, paused momentarily before breaking into a smile. “Then I invite Teacher inside to speak.”
With the two of them departing, only three people remained in the courtyard. Fang Xu tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword; even though Tan Congye wore a mask, Fang Xu could tell the man’s expression was far from pleasant.
“Senior, care for some tea?” Fang Xu offered proactively.
Casting a fierce, glacial glare in his direction, Tan Congye replied in a deep, razor-sharp voice: “Three years ago, on the birthday of Emperor Nan’an of Yunhu, Crown Prince Jiang Yun was dispatched to present gifts on behalf of the realm. No doubt that was when your lord first crossed paths with him. Rumor has it this prince is fiercely proud in his youth, possessing remarkable accomplishments in both swordsmanship and scholarship. What divine capability does your esteemed lord possess to make him bow his head in such deference?”
“Our lord is exceptionally learned,” Jiang Ni stated. “Old Master Wei imparted his lifelong mastery directly to the lord, allowing him to understand the affairs of the entire world without ever needing to travel its length.”
“Jiang Yun is twenty-two this year; three years ago at nineteen, he was at the peak of his arrogance, while your lord was merely sixteen. What do you suppose could drive a crown prince to such subservience?”
Imperial statecraft, this was the only plausible explanation.
Yet aside from Tan Congye, neither Jiang Ni nor Fang Xu dared utter a single word of speculation.
“What kind of person is your lord?” Tan Congye asked abruptly.
Hesitating for a moment, Fang Xu exchanged a glance with Jiang Ni. “Our lord is an exceptionally gentle person, decisive, rational, and a true gentleman of the world.”
“A gentleman? Wei Heng taught him that a sharp blade isn’t meant for self-defense; that alone proves he was never meant to be a simple gentleman.”
Accustomed to dealing with all sorts of eccentric figures, Fang Xu had once judged people strictly by the binary of good and evil before following Ying Laixian, but that worldview had long since changed. “Senior is mistaken. Last year on the lord’s birthday, the gift Old Master Wei presented was not a short blade.”
“Oh? What was it?”
“A jade-faced folding fan,” Fang Xu replied, his eyes shining with profound reverence. “A gentleman as pure as jade, with a heart of pristine benevolence. Old Master Wei harbors the loftiest expectations for our lord.”
Yet the focal point of Tan Congye’s attention lay elsewhere: “He actually remembered it wrong. Why didn’t you correct him?”
Jiang Ni took over the response: “We need only fulfill the tasks assigned by the lord and protect his safety. We never pry into other matters.”
Tan Congye stared fixedly at the tightly sealed chamber doors. He refused to believe Ying Laixian had simply misremembered by accident, yet the youth’s delivery had possessed an absolute, unshakeable conviction, entirely devoid of falsehood. What on earth was this person plotting?
Jiang Yun had long since ordered his attendants to brew fresh hot tea. Seated inside the room, though Liaozhou’s proximity to the border made the climate relatively warm, Ying Laixian had just emerged from the desert, and the sudden transition left him feeling refreshingly cool.
“What is the matter that Your Highness found inconvenient to mention within the letter?”
Lowering his gaze in deep contemplation, Jiang Yun seemed to be weighing whether or not to lay the full truth bare before Ying Laixian.
Sensing his hesitation, Ying Laixian cut through the dilemma: “If Your Highness will not speak of it, allow me. The Emperor of Yunchen appears to be gravely ill, yet news of his condition has been completely suppressed by General Zhao Qiuqing. You wish to return to Yueju to probe the reality of the situation, but General Zhao will naturally deny you any such opportunity, especially since the outside world remains entirely ignorant of the emperor’s declining health. If you depart Dongcang without authorization, the charges laid against you will range from dereliction of duty at best to treason and usurpation at worst.”
Realizing all his carefully guarded anxieties had been laid completely bare, Jiang Yun渺 abandoned all attempts at concealment. He didn’t bother wondering how Ying Laixian had acquired such intelligence, that was no longer a concern; he needed only to follow the other’s guidance, for that was invariably the optimal path.
“Teacher is truly omniscient. At present, no one possesses the power to keep Zhao Qiuqing in check, and I fear heading to Yueju now would mean walking straight into his trap.”
“That is naturally within his calculations. Since he assumes Your Highness can find no valid pretext to leave, then simply stop searching for one.”
Confused, Jiang Yun, knew that as the ruler of Dongcang, the pretexts permitting him to depart were exceedingly rare. Yet now, he was being told to dispense with excuses altogether?
Ying Laixian asked, “How many troops does Your Highness command at present?”
“Fifty thousand, stationed across the four prefectures of Dongcang,” Jiang Yun answered. “Outsiders remain entirely unaware; I can only rely on Teacher’s assistance regarding this matter.”
Accepting the ledger handed over by Jiang Yun, Ying Laixian scanned the detailed accounts documenting the military expenditures accumulated over the years.
“Should Your Highness return to Yueju now, you must inevitably pass through Muzhou, territory already firmly under Zhao Qiuqing’s control. Naturally, you cannot travel with an army.”
As Crown Prince, Jiang Yun was well-versed in such realities, yet with his imperial father suspected of dying and himself, the legitimate heir, exiled to the frontier, failing to return to Yueju in time would ultimately leave him cornered and vulnerable to usurpers.
“At worst, I will lead my troops and slaughter my way in! Even if I die, I won’t let Zhao Qiuqing’s scheme succeed!”
Far too impulsive, Ying Laixian understood all too well that Jiang Yun possessed a recklessly hotheaded streak. Though the prince had undergone rigorous tempering and could perceive complex disputes clearly, his volatile temperament and self-centered tendencies meant he had ultimately been relegated to the remote borders of Liaozhou.
“Your troops cannot be deployed just yet,” Ying Laixian stated with absolute calm. “Your Highness, I taught you long ago: when chaos arises, abandon rigid rules. This is not yet the moment for a decisive clash with him. If you lose your composure now, you will never find a way to recover.”
The reality check finally grounded Jiang Yun, making him realize how reckless his impulse had been. He understood the principles, but the supreme authority of the Jiang family house falling into the hands of an outsider for over a decade filled him with a bitter humiliation that drove him to the brink of madness whenever anything concerning Zhao Qiuqing arose.
“Teacher is entirely correct; I was far too narrow-minded. By the look of it, Teacher must already have a countermeasure in mind?”
Setting his teacup down, Ying Laixian replied calmly, “The matter is not difficult. Your Highness need only travel with your trusted confidants. Remember to conceal your tracks, though not too strictly. As for the rest, you need not worry.”
Though doubt lingered in Jiang Yun’s expression, he bowed formally and accepted the instruction: “I trust in Teacher’s capability. If only Teacher could remain in Dongcang permanently.”
Ying Laixian offered a faint smile. “If time permits, I will certainly visit again in the future.”