As soon as Mo Zi said it was acceptable, A Hao and A Yue both knelt down.
“Miss, absolutely not.” A Yue’s expression was stern. “A Hao and I have received Miss’s recognition and grace, and to this day cannot repay it. How could two worthless lives be worth a peerless treasure?”
A Hao never said much, but driven to desperation by Mo Zi’s generosity, said, “We would rather die.”
Mo Zi’s gaze met Yuan Cheng’s—his faint smile comforted her. And the relaxed, carefree expressions Dou Lu and Jin Yin showed also doubled her courage. This kind of permissiveness and trust appeared incomparably precious amid greedy, twisted human nature.
“You two, get up.” Her mind was made up and would not change. “People have no high or low status—life is precious. The person who created these Water Purification Pearls had noble character. I believe he would agree with me doing this.”
Prince Su couldn’t quite control himself, his eyes fixed on the wooden box in Mo Zi’s hands, shining bright. There were truly many hypocrites in the world—clearly not strong enough, yet saying absurd things like people having no high or low status and life being precious. As long as you had money, never mind defeating Great Zhou—you could even buy an army to unify the world. Fine, let the false gentlemen pretend to be magnanimous. For the sake of power, he could pay any price, because he was a dragon born, and the noblest bloodline should naturally sit in the position of power over the realm.
Wang Yang looked coldly at Prince Su, as if knowing his arrogant and conceited thoughts, giving a light reminder: “Don’t celebrate too early. That girl still has a request.” He hadn’t participated in Prince Su’s rebellion, only joining forces with him on the matter of the treasure.
With the treasure about to fall into his hands, Prince Su inevitably relaxed somewhat. “Didn’t she say it was a small request? Could it possibly cost this prince his life?”
Wang Yang said no more. He suddenly realized that although Dou Lu resembled Wanlian in appearance, perhaps the one who truly had Wanlian’s stubborn nature and cleverness was Mo Zi.
“I don’t want anyone’s life. I only want the key Prince Su mentioned.” Seeing Prince Su’s face show suspicious doubt, Mo Zi smiled. “After taking the antidote, time is needed to confirm its effectiveness. If we give you all the Water Purification Pearls and the antidote is fake, wouldn’t we suffer a huge loss? Don’t worry—we’ll set a point in the middle between both sides. One hand delivers the antidote, one hand delivers the pearls. While waiting for the medicine to take effect, I’ll look at the key. I guarantee I won’t move a step and will consciously let you guard me.”
The key was actually in Wang Yang’s hands.
Prince Su asked him what he thought.
“This girl is skilled in craftsmanship. She may want to study how the key is made in order to replicate it.” Wang Yang pondered, then turned to ask Mother Yuan Qiao, “How long does the antidote take to neutralize the poison?”
“Half a shichen.” Mother Yuan Qiao answered.
Prince Su’s mind was now full of inexhaustible treasure. He said urgently, “Only half a shichen—even if she figures it out, can one woman possess her ancestor’s craftsmanship? If it were so easy to replicate, there would be hundreds or thousands of these keys already. Minister Wang, you’re being overly cautious.”
Wang Yang wasn’t in the capital but had long heard Mo Zi’s name. After learning she was Wanlian and Min Wu’s eldest daughter, he had someone investigate her background. She was a child of extreme talent—not only clever and quick-witted, but like her father, her left-handed skill was divine workmanship. However, even if she could replicate the key afterward, it would be too late. The key could be copied, but there were only ten Water Purification Pearls in the world. Only by combining both could the treasure be obtained.
So he said, “I agree to your request. However, I’ll also add one request.”
Mo Zi smiled. “I started this precedent, so I can’t say you’re making trouble, old sir.”
Seeing her so forthright, Wang Yang’s heart stirred again. If she weren’t Min Wu’s child, would he have doted on her? And that man she married, Yuan Zhizhou—from the time he became Nande’s young top scholar, he had admired him. This young couple—if, if the Min surname hadn’t interfered, what a proud grandfather he would have been. They would certainly have become friends despite the age difference.
“After the exchange is complete, you and your people immediately leave the trestle bridge.” In the end, he had softened—he originally hadn’t planned to let these people leave alive.
“Minister Wang!” Prince Su knew his plan and was somewhat surprised.
“A few wet-behind-the-ears youngsters without financial resources can’t hold out for long.” To win the realm, one must have financial sources.
Prince Su greatly respected Wang Yang, and their thinking aligned. “Lady Song, do you agree or not?”
“It seems I don’t have much other choice.” If her guess was correct, Prince Su’s fifty thousand troops wouldn’t remain encamped—they would soon attack Song County.
“A wise move.” This praise from Wang Yang was sincere.
Not far from the cave entrance, Mo Zi, bringing A Hao and A Yue, met Wang Yang face to face. Even with Wang Yang’s attendants pointing swords at her, she wasn’t afraid. She opened the box to show him the Water Purification Pearls.
“I want to verify them one by one.” The milky white jade luster was identical to his memory, but the Water Purification Pearl’s uniqueness lay within, not without.
Mo Zi feared no test by fire. She lightly picked up one pearl and placed it in Wang Yang’s hand. “However, I’m also afraid someone might go back on their word, grab the whole box and run. Trouble you to take out the antidote and key and place them in the middle.”
Wang Yang did as she said.
The key, as Mo Zi had anticipated, was the woodblock print her father had taken. Though she couldn’t touch it yet, her eyes were already busy. Square-shaped, palm-sized. Redwood, with no other materials inlaid. Carved with landscape scenes—the wonder lay in their three-dimensional realism. Even so, it didn’t seem difficult to replicate. However, since it served as a key, could it really be that simple?
Wang Yang finished his verification and turned to nod at Prince Su. Prince Su was overjoyed and urged, “Quickly give her the antidote.”
Mo Zi took the antidote and handed it to A Hao and A Yue. Seeing their hesitation, she said with amusement, “The Water Purification Pearls have already been given away. Too late for regrets now. Get cured early and leave early. Want to stay here for a collective beheading?”
A Hao and A Yue hurriedly knelt again, kowtowed, received the medicine, and swallowed it.
Mo Zi held the woodblock print in her hands, examining it carefully and thoroughly.
“Old Min acknowledged you two granddaughters and couldn’t stop grinning with joy, could he?” Wang Yang had his attendant pour tea.
In this situation, still able to carry a small teapot with him—this man understood how to enjoy life better than anyone.
“Back then, when he heard his son wanted to marry my daughter Wang Yang, he happily wrote me a letter saying how willing he was to become in-laws with my Wang family. Between the lines, the words sounded nice, but actually for a small craftsman to climb such a connection, of course he was terrified with trepidation. However, the old man at least knew his place—when I objected, he objected too. The fault lay with your father, that shameless fellow who actually dared to elope with Wanlian. Wanlian could originally have been Great Zhou’s Empress, and you and Dou Lu would have been Great Zhou princesses—”
The old master was really long-winded. Mo Zi hadn’t wanted to pay attention, but truly couldn’t bear it and raised her hand. “Old Master Wang, I don’t know if you’re deliberately trying to distract me or find waiting half a shichen boring, but I don’t like talking when I’m working. If you don’t mind looking a bit foolish talking to yourself, continue, but I won’t respond to your words anymore. Moreover, if my mother had married the Emperor, there would be no me and Dou Lu. This is a common-sense error. With your brilliant talents, you couldn’t fail to understand this. Given this, I still hope my parents were together.” Work, work.
Wang Yang was speechless. Being spoken to this way by a junior—if he spoke again, he’d become the fool.
When the half shichen was up, Prince Su shouted from over there, “Minister Wang, time’s up! Quick, quick!”
Mo Zi asked A Yue and A Hao, “Is the poison neutralized?”
The two nodded. Their long-time icy cold complexions now looked healthily flushed.
“I thought you two were naturally cold-faced. This looks much prettier.” As Mo Zi spoke, she placed the woodblock print on a rock. Without slow movements, she retreated backward.
Wang Yang knew she was guarding against him going back on his word. Such agility exceeded his expectations, and his heart stirred again involuntarily. But he also very clearly understood that the rift with these two granddaughters could never be eliminated, just as the relationship between the Wang and Min families could never be repaired. Perhaps when he died, perhaps after another two generations… No time for further thought. He held the box of Water Purification Pearls that had cost most of his life to finally obtain and walked in the opposite direction. People must take responsibility for the decisions they make. He had taught this to Wanlian, so she had died to demonstrate her conviction. He too would remain steadfast until life’s end.
Mo Zi mounted her horse, pulled the reins to turn around, and said to everyone, “Let’s go!”
Immediately, no one hesitated. Shouts arose as they galloped swiftly toward the forest.
While Wang Yang wasn’t paying attention, Prince Su made an eye signal to his trusted aide.
The aide quietly fell behind. After they entered the cave, he turned to summon swift horses, leading a small cavalry unit around the mountain and out of sight.
When Yuan Cheng and Mo Zi left the trestle bridge, scouts came riding urgently to report that Prince Su’s fifty thousand troops had broken through the defense line, entered Song County’s borders, and occupied the trestle bridge. Among them, twenty thousand were marching rapidly in their direction in a forced march, clearly intending to continue the assault.
“Good thing my people withdrew quickly.” Song County was the first station where the two armies clashed. With the disparity in strength between both sides and their main forces unable to prepare in time, Jin Yin and Yuan Cheng had discussed and decided to abandon this place, retreating the defense line to Heng City where troops were gathering.
“The twenty thousand in forced march should have two objectives. First, to kill us. Second, to begin defensive fortifications. Having found the treasure, Prince Su naturally won’t let the Daqiu people take this advantage. He’ll certainly try every means to delay. I believe he can only request to encamp in Song County himself and face off against us at Heng City. He’ll have to add a time limit—say, ten days to half a month—to facilitate moving the treasure away. The Daqiu King is already having a hard time this winter. With someone volunteering to be his vanguard, both depleting our forces and getting rid of fifty thousand freeloaders who aren’t loyal, why not? This way, we’ll have ten days to half a month to do other things.” Yuan Cheng felt the treasure secret had come at just the right time.
“Other things?” Jin Yin had just now shown he didn’t care about the treasure because they needed to present a united front against outsiders. Now that it was all their own people, he turned on them. “With countless gold, silver, and jewels right there, you don’t want them? You want to do other things instead? Even if Mo Zi was soft-hearted and handed over the Water Purification Pearls we worked so hard to collect, we can’t just run away without even fighting for it.”
Mo Zi raised an eyebrow. “Does Young Master Jin mean he’s complaining about me?”
Jin Yin’s phoenix eyes curved as he gave a dry laugh. “Absolutely not. What I mean is, don’t think about other things either. The most important matter is right in front of us. Although our money is countable, it can still support military wages for a year or more. It doesn’t matter that we gave away the Water Purification Pearls—once they move the contents out, we’ll block both sides and snatch it. Saves effort and worry.”
“They won’t find it.” Mo Zi smiled back.
“Won’t find what?” Jin Yin didn’t understand.
“The treasure.” Yuan Cheng answered for Mo Zi.