After sunset, the sky remained a deep blue for quite a while before being replaced by the night.
On a higher slope, the delegation lit bonfires and set up tents. The women didn’t leave their carriages, sleeping wrapped in thin blankets. Xu Qi An and other high-ranking officials slept in tents, while the lower-ranking guards slept around the bonfires.
Fortunately, in mid-spring, the nights weren’t too cold or hot. The breeze was quite pleasant. However, there were many mosquitoes, particularly fond of these healthy “fat sheep”.
“Slap, slap” sounds constantly rang out as the soldiers cursed and swatted at the insects.
Returning from his patrol, Xu Qi An saw this scene and realized the delegation hadn’t prepared any mosquito-repelling herbs. At most, they had some wound medicine and common antidotes.
As for mosquito-repelling herbs, they hadn’t been that meticulous.
“Why are there so many mosquitoes?” The Deputy Chief of the Court of Judicature and Revision, wearing a white single-layer robe, crawled out of his tent and complained:
“The constant buzzing in my ears, how can one sleep like this?”
Being pampered was a common problem among civil officials. Earlier on the ship, although there was rocking and bumping, these were minor issues that could be endured. The land route was much harsher, with no big beds, no tea tables, and no delicate food, and they had to endure mosquito bites.
Hearing the Deputy Chief’s complaints, the two Censors immediately emerged to agree, looking worried: “It’s unbearable, truly unbearable.”
At this moment, Xu Qi An’s suggestion seemed particularly foolish. If they hadn’t changed to the land route, they’d still be floating on water, with soft large beds to sleep on and private rooms to rest in.
Chu Xianglong, with his bronze skin and iron bones, wasn’t afraid of mosquito bites. He coolly mocked: “Having chosen the land route, we naturally must bear the consequences. We’ve only been traveling for a day; it’s not too late to switch back to the water route now.”
Xu Qi An took out a handful of specially prepared spices and announced loudly: “I have some insect-repelling spices here. Throw a piece into the bonfire, and it will drive away the mosquitoes.”
The soldiers were overjoyed and followed his instructions, taking spices from Xu Qi An and throwing them into the bonfires.
The spices slowly burned in the fierce fire, emitting a slightly pungent, strong fragrance. After a while, there were indeed no more mosquitoes around.
“Haha, the mosquitoes are gone, how comfortable!”
“Now we can sleep peacefully, thanks to Lord Xu.”
Around the bonfires, the soldiers were generous with their praise. Night Watchman Xu’s spices had solved their immediate problem. Without mosquito bites, everyone felt much better.
Happiness starts from these small comforts. If another official were leading, they certainly wouldn’t care about the small troubles of these low-ranking soldiers.
They wouldn’t think about how a bad night’s sleep would lead to fatigue the next day, while still having to travel… This vicious cycle would cause the entire team’s fighting strength to decline.
As the soldiers’ sense of well-being increased, it would also reflect on the leadership, making them more respectful and accepting of their leaders.
For example, when Xu Qi An suggested changing the route to the more arduous land route, the entire team privately grumbled, except for the hundred Imperial Guards who didn’t complain at all.
This was acceptance.
The two Censors and the Deputy Chief asked for a piece of spice, lit it in an incense burner in their tent, and the mosquito-repelling effect was immediate. Indeed, they no longer heard the “buzz buzz” sound.
“Lord Xu even prepared such small items, truly worthy of being a master detective, so thoughtful,” the Censor from the Censorate crawled out of the tent and praised loudly.
In a nearby carriage, the maids smelled the faint fragrance and said happily: “This smells quite nice, let’s go get some to burn and drive away the mosquitoes.”
“What are you talking about? Night Watchman Xu and General Chu are at odds right now, don’t make trouble at this time,” another maid said.
“It shouldn’t be a problem, Night Watchman Xu has a good personality, especially gentle towards us women,” that maid said.
“Hmph… I’m talking about General Chu. We’re people of the Marquis’s mansion, we need to know our place. No matter how good Night Watchman Xu is, we can’t forget our status, understand?”
“Yes, and I heard it was Night Watchman Xu who wanted to change to the land route, that’s why we’re suffering so much, really…”
As soon as these words were spoken, the other maids began to criticize Xu Qi An, saying how much they disliked him.
The Consort, curled up in the corner, sneered disdainfully.
These brainless maids, with vision as short as a toad’s, could only see the mosquitoes flying in front of them.
Although she was also tired and had doubted whether there was real danger on the water route, and had questioned Xu Qi An’s judgment, she firmly supported his decision.
Better to suffer a little hardship than to encounter danger.
…
The Deputy Chief lifted the tent curtain and looked at Xu Qi An sitting with the soldiers, asking, “Lord Xu, how confident are you?”
He was referring to the ambush on the water route, subtly reminding Xu Qi An to consider the bet.
After all, gifts softened the heart, and the Deputy Chief had no personal grudge against Xu Qi An. His dislike mainly stemmed from the Chief Justice of the Court of Judicature and Revision having a major feud with Xu Qi An, and as an official under the Chief Justice, he had to take sides.
How could I be confident? Sending Yang Yan to test the trap was itself a probe… Xu Qi An shook his head slightly without speaking.
A Censor said, “Calculating the time, Jin Gong Yang should have reached Flowing Stone Beach by now. Whether there’s an ambush or not, he should know by now. When will he meet up with us?”
Xu Qi An said, “I’ve left signs along the way, he’ll follow them to find us.”
With Jin Gong’s speed, following the signs to catch up wouldn’t take long. At the latest by tomorrow morning, at the earliest possibly tonight.
Chu Xianglong and the civil officials fell silent, each lost in thought, waiting for Yang Yan’s arrival.
After half an hour, everyone had fallen asleep, with snores like frog croaks rising and falling.
Xu Qi An didn’t sleep. He took a dry branch and wrote and drew on the ground, pondering how to investigate the case once they reached the Northern Border.
After solving the case, how could he bring the evidence back to the capital without alerting the Marquis of Zhenbei?
The most troublesome aspect of this matter was that he had no way to deal with the Marquis of Zhenbei, but the Marquis could easily do whatever he wanted to him.
It was understandable that the Deputy Chief and others had a passive attitude towards the case. They probably just wanted to go through the motions and then return to the capital to report… A blood massacre of over three thousand li, yet not a single refugee? This wasn’t reasonable… On this journey north, he needed to observe. Rushing headlong into the north would be foolish.
Chu Xianglong’s firm opposition to taking the land route might have had this consideration in mind. He wanted Xu Qi An to arrive directly at the Northern Border, where he would become a puppet at their mercy.
Do you want to investigate privately?
Dream on.
Amidst these thoughts, suddenly, he detected a ripple of qi coming from afar.
Xu Qi An stood up abruptly, his right hand moving faster than his mind, gripping the hilt of his black gold long saber.
On the other side, Chu Xianglong also opened his eyes, his gaze sharp.
The two didn’t exchange glances but looked together towards the south. In the darkness, a figure approached slowly, carrying a silver spear on his back. It was Yang Yan.
Upon seeing him, Xu Qi An and Chu Xianglong revealed their respective tension and anticipation.
The former bent down to pick up a water bag, went to meet him, and said, “Chief, how’s the situation?”
Yang Yan took the water bag, drank it all in one go, and said in a deep voice, “A flood dragon was lying in ambush at Flowing Stone Beach. The ship sank.”
So there was an ambush, truly what you fear comes to pass, is Murphy’s Law universal?… Xu Qi An’s heart sank, the last bit of lucky hope completely gone.
There was an ambush?!
Chu Xianglong gripped his sword hilt tightly, his pupils slightly contracting in the firelight.
“Chief, sit down first. I’ll go call the people from the Three Departments. They should hear about this together to understand the situation,” Xu Qi An invited Yang Yan to sit by the bonfire and handed him a package containing dry rations.
Then, he went into each tent, waking up the Censors, the Deputy Chief, and Captain Chen from the Ministry of Justice.
Captain Chen crawled out of the tent, saw Yang Yan, and without thinking, asked urgently, “Jin Gong Yang, did you encounter an ambush?”
The two Censors and the Deputy Chief stared intently at Yang Yan.
“There was an ambush at Flowing Stone Beach. The ship sank. If we hadn’t changed our route, we would have been completely wiped out today,” Yang Yan said with a grave expression.
So there really was an ambush, truly an ambush… The Deputy Chief’s heart sank to the bottom.
Complete annihilation? The two Censors’ expressions changed slightly, and they suddenly looked at Xu Qi An, bowing and saying, “Thanks to Lord Xu’s alertness in anticipating the ambush, we avoided disaster.”
Captain Chen from the Ministry of Justice looked at Xu Qi An with newfound respect, genuinely convinced by this enemy of his superiors.
“Let’s talk in the tent,” the Deputy Chief suggested.
Xu Qi An nodded and called over Chen Xiao, who had already awakened, instructing him, “Don’t sleep tonight, everyone stay alert and patrol well.”
Having heard the whole process, Chen Xiao understood the seriousness of the situation and nodded gravely, “Rest assured, My Lord.”
Xu Qi An immediately followed the others into the tent.
…
The Consort curled up sleeping in the corner of the carriage, was awakened by the noise of footsteps, the clashing of armor, and discussions.
The maids in the same carriage had already awakened and were gathered at the carriage window, looking out.
“Why such a commotion in the middle of the night? What happened?”
“Weren’t they sleeping well just now? Why are they suddenly out patrolling…”
The Consort’s heart tightened. She lifted the thin blanket, rubbing her eyes while pushing open the carriage door, carefully jumping down from the carriage.
She caught a squad of Imperial Guards preparing to go out on patrol and asked, “What are you doing?”
The soldier at the front looked her over a few times and said, “Jin Gong Yang has returned. They say there was an ambush at Flowing Stone Beach, and the ship sank.”
A soldier behind added, “If it weren’t for Lord Xu changing the route, we’d all be done for today.”
The Consort was shocked, overwhelmed by a strong feeling of fear in hindsight.
There really was an ambush, it was aimed at me… Fortunately, fortunately, he was here, fortunately, he reacted early… She patted her chest, and at this moment, was overcome by a strong sense of security.
The unremarkable Consort took a deep breath and turned back to the carriage.
“You went to ask, didn’t you? What’s going on with them?” the maids immediately inquired.
“There was an ambush on the water route. The ship sank,” the Consort said calmly.
Inside the carriage, exclamations arose, and the maids showed expressions of fear.
“W-why was there an ambush? Why ambush us…”
“Whew… Fortunately, Lord Xu was astute and led us to take the land route early.”
Murmurs arose, and the maids discussed among themselves.
The Consort wrapped herself in the thin blanket, curled up in the corner, hugging her shoulders, shivering slightly.
In the pitch-black night, she felt cold, cold from the depths of her heart.
Who will save me…