After Shen Rujian and the others returned to the inn, they did not go out again. Lü Qingluan was still uneasy at heart and stayed keeping watch on the ground floor the whole time.

This was Jingzhou. Xie Xiu was now the Military Governor of Jingzhou — if he truly wanted to keep them from leaving, it would genuinely be as easy as turning over his hand.

In the afternoon, seven or eight large carriages arrived outside the inn. The coachmen didn’t enter — they simply waited outside the door, drawing frequent curious glances from passersby.

The insignia of the Military Governor’s residence on those carriages was too conspicuous, so the passersby were curious but dared not approach.

Lü Qingluan came out of the inn, and a young man in a plain blue outfit immediately stepped forward and bowed. “Are you Master Lü?”

Lü Qingluan asked, “How do you know me?”

The young man replied politely, “In answer to Master Lü — it is the Military Governor who gave instructions that the first person to come out and ask what was happening would most likely be Master Lü.”

Lü Qingluan gave an inward, rueful smile. Xie Xiu had known he was certainly here, and had known why he hadn’t come to see him.

“What is this?”

Lü Qingluan pointed to those carriages.

The young man answered, “The Military Governor was concerned that your northward journey tomorrow morning would not be safe, and so he has dispatched twelve hundred cavalry to escort you. The troops have not yet arrived. The things in these carriages are gifts from the Military Governor to Dr. Shen and Master Lü.”

Lü Qingluan walked to one of the carriages and pulled open the door to look inside — it was filled with bolts of silk and similar goods.

He walked to the second carriage and opened the door. Inside were boxes stacked one atop another, all sealed with strips of paper. He couldn’t tell what was inside.

“The Military Governor also gave instructions that he himself must set out on the campaign to Jingzhou tomorrow morning early, and therefore cannot personally escort Dr. Shen and Master Lü on your way, and has especially ordered your servant to travel the whole way and ensure that both of you have safely crossed the river before returning.”

The young man produced two identification tokens and handed them to Lü Qingluan. “Master Lü, these are tokens the Military Governor has given to the two of you. If there are those who make trouble for you along the way, these tokens may be of some use.”

Lü Qingluan reached out and took the tokens, looked at them, then tucked them inside his robe.

At a distance of roughly less than a hundred paces from where they stood, on the second-floor terrace of a teahouse, Xie Xiu leaned against the railing, watching — his face carrying a measure of sorrow.

He could see Lü Qingluan, but Elder Brother Lü did not want to meet with him, and so he did not go over.

Xie Xiu knew that Elder Brother Lü did not hate him. Every one of the survivors was unwilling to come and meet with him — and it wasn’t because of hatred, either.

It was that every one of them was unwilling to revisit the memories of that time.

“My lord.”

His trusted aide Luan Tang lowered his voice. “Are you truly not going over to see them one more time?”

Xie Xiu shook his head. “I won’t go. There are many things still unfinished before tomorrow’s campaign.”

Luan Tang advised, “Precisely because tomorrow is the campaign — if you don’t go and see them now, there may truly be no further opportunity.”

Xie Xiu glanced at him. “What do you mean by that?”

Luan Tang gestured for all the personal guards nearby to step away. Everyone left the terrace.

Luan Tang, seeing that everyone had moved off, lifted the hem of his robe and knelt. “My lord, there are in truth several words I have long wanted to say. This campaign to Jingzhou is filled with extreme danger. The Heaven-Ordained King Yang Xuanji harbors misgivings about you in his heart. If battle truly commences, Yang Xuanji is sure to designate you as vanguard general, and when it comes to fighting Prince Wu or Li Xionghu, you will be the one leading the first assault.”

Xie Xiu said, “And what of it?”

Luan Tang said, “If the battle is lost, Yang Xuanji is certain to use this as a pretext to strip you of your military authority. Your family… your family is also displeased with you, and may already have arranged a person to replace you.”

He hadn’t even finished, and Xie Xiu had already interrupted him. “Say directly what you want to say.”

Luan Tang considered for a brief moment before saying, “My lord is in truth unwilling to serve under the Heaven-Ordained King’s banner. Previously, when you engaged the Tianming Army in battle, there were also many within your family who were quite critical of you. And so your servant dares to make so bold a suggestion — I implore my lord to consider defecting to Prince Ning Li Chi.”

“You overstep!”

Xie Xiu’s expression turned somewhat cold. “Do you know what nonsense you are talking?”

Luan Tang said, “My lord, your servant is not speaking nonsense. Looking at the current shape of the realm, although it appears that Yang Xuanji already has a seven-in-ten chance of success, in truth the great tide has not yet been decided. Yang Xuanji is a person of inconstant temperament and narrow heart — even if he does not hold it against you now, once he ascends the throne in the future, he will surely move against you.”

Xie Xiu said, “Are you perhaps a spy sent by Prince Ning Li Chi?”

Luan Tang raised his head. “My lord, you ought not say such a thing. Your servant has followed you since you were at the Left Garrison Guard. That is now ten years.”

Xie Xiu sighed. “I know that. It is only that you have raised this so suddenly that it has put me out of sorts.”

Luan Tang said, “My lord — as to what manner of person Yang Xuanji is, you in truth see it more clearly than I do. Taking the most retreating possible step: suppose Yang Xuanji truly does ascend the throne and truly does not move to suppress you — but given your strength and your achievements, among so many of Yang Xuanji’s meritorious subjects, how far down the list would you even rank?”

He looked into Xie Xiu’s eyes and said, “If you were to defect to Prince Ning at this juncture, it would be different. To lead troops out and strike the Tianming Army on the river’s northern bank in coordination with Prince Ning — merit of that magnitude, and Prince Ning would surely make great use of you. Combined with surrendering the territory of Jingzhou, if Prince Ning were to ascend the throne in the future, the rank of founding duke would not slip past you.”

Xie Xiu suddenly sighed, and waved a hand. “Go down for now. I won’t punish you. Let me have a moment of quiet.”

Luan Tang hastily bowed and withdrew, stepping back out.

Xie Xiu stood there looking toward the inn, and after a long while, as if speaking to himself, he said quietly, “These words ought not to have come from you. If it were my Elder Sister who had said these things to me before, I would have agreed.”

At a point roughly forty or fifty paces from this teahouse, a few people in the shadows were watching, their faces seemingly full of worry.

One of them gave an order to a subordinate: “Return and report to our lord. Say that woman very likely came as a persuader on Prince Ning’s behalf. The Military Governor received her personally and sent lavish gifts — he may already have a mind to defect to Prince Ning.”

Before long, in the residence of Third Rank General Yang Songshi.

After listening to his subordinate’s report, Yang Songshi’s expression changed at once.

He was the man Yang Xuanji had placed at Xie Xiu’s side, for — as Luan Tang had stated — Yang Xuanji did not fully trust Xie Xiu.

The previous battle between the Jingzhou Army and the Tianming Army had been fought with considerable ferocity, and didn’t look at all like Xie Xiu was simply demonstrating his capabilities.

Thankfully Xie Xiu had still surrendered, and the Xie family had also sent word to Yang Xuanji saying that Xie Xiu had only been putting on a show and would henceforth be compliant.

Yet Yang Xuanji still felt this man was unpredictable, not to be lightly trusted.

And so he had arranged for his own distant cousin — of the same Yang imperial lineage, though one that had diverged far from Yang Xuanji’s own — to come here. Over generations, the title of nobility in Yang Songshi’s line had eroded away, and now he himself held only the rank of a marquis.

Yang Songshi rose and paced back and forth in the room, his expression shifting constantly.

He thought: if he now dispatched men to seek instructions from the Heaven-Ordained King, by the time word traveled there and back, far too much time would have been lost.

So he must act quickly and do something — prevent Xie Xiu from leading his troops over to Prince Ning Li Chi’s side.

If Xie Xiu alone defected, it would be one thing. But Jingzhou’s fifteen-wan-strong army — if Xie Xiu were to bring them to Yuzhou, that would be a devastating blow to the Heaven-Ordained King’s grand design.

A subordinate thought of a stratagem and leaned down to whisper to Yang Songshi: “It is still not certain whether Xie Xiu has treacherous intent, and moreover he has already made ready to march out, and will lead troops to Jingzhou at first light tomorrow. One misstep, and we might arouse his anger and cause things to go wrong.”

“Better that the General now send people to invite Xie Xiu here, on the pretext of discussing military affairs for tomorrow’s march. If Xie Xiu dares to come, then there is nothing much to say — the General need only ask Xie Xiu to take the position of vanguard general. If Xie Xiu does not dare to come, then it is probably true that something is wrong.”

Yang Songshi asked, “And if he does not dare to come, what then?”

His subordinate said, “If he does not dare to come, the General should immediately dispatch men to the main camp and order the army not to move. Then deploy your personally loyal troops to surround the Military Governor’s residence, seize Xie Xiu and the others, and escort them to present before the Heaven-Ordained King.”

Yang Songshi hesitated, truly at a loss. This was genuinely difficult to manage.

Of these fifteen-wan troops, only twenty thousand were under his command. How was he to ensure it would go smoothly?

His subordinate said, “The sooner the better. Delay, and if Xie Xiu makes his own arrangements, it will be even harder to act.”

Yang Songshi then nodded. “Go now to the camp outside the city and move my troops into the city.”

Then he gave orders to another man: “Go and invite the Military Governor to come to my residence to discuss military affairs.”

His people immediately went off in different directions to make arrangements, and Yang Songshi waited in his residence for news.

It was only about a quarter of an hour after he had sent his people out that someone came rushing in from outside: “General — the Military Governor has arrived.”

Yang Songshi was startled. This — how could this be? The man he sent to invite him probably hadn’t even gotten there yet, and yet the man himself had shown up of his own accord.

A subordinate advised: “My lord, this matter is suspicious. Better to have our residence troops at the ready. Since he has come to the door himself, you can make a test of him — if you sense he has already harbored treacherous intent, he can be seized right here in the residence.”

Yang Songshi nodded. “Go and have all the troops in the residence move to take up concealed positions around the reception hall.”

He straightened his clothes, then jogged toward the main gate to go out and receive the guest.

At the main gate, Yang Songshi saw that Xie Xiu was already standing outside the door, and hastily bowed. “My lord, forgive this humble one — I did not know you would come by so suddenly, and have not gone out to welcome you properly…”

Xie Xiu laughed heartily and took Yang Songshi’s arm to support him. “I was just passing nearby. I gave no advance notice — it is I who have been presumptuous.”

Yang Songshi said, “Please come inside, my lord. Tea has already been prepared.”

“No need to go in.”

Xie Xiu took Yang Songshi’s hand. “I am going to inspect the main camp and see whether tomorrow’s march has any gaps in its preparations. In addition, on reflection, it would be better for you to serve as vanguard general — the arrangement before had some flaws. Come with me to the main camp, and I will announce the appointment publicly there.”

Yang Songshi was somewhat taken aback in his heart, and also somewhat relieved.

It seemed this Xie Xiu did not in fact have such great courage as to revolt after all.

He quickly responded, and turned to tell his men to bring his horse around. Xie Xiu said, “Just ride my horse. Why go to such trouble.”

Xie Xiu waved a hand. “Give my horse to General Yang. Get me any horse at all.”

Yang Songshi was taken aback.

But without further ado, he was taken by the arm by Xie Xiu right up to the warhorse, and Xie Xiu even personally helped him up into the saddle.

With a shout of command, Xie Xiu and the others charged out at once toward the city gate. Yang Songshi’s heart filled inexplicably with unease, and he began to feel that something was not quite right.

Fortunately, he could see that Xie Xiu had brought only seven or eight men — it didn’t look like he was about to make a move.

Once past the city gate, Xie Xiu raised his hand and gave a sharp whistle. That warhorse suddenly reared up on its hind legs, and in an instant Yang Songshi was thrown from the saddle.

Xie Xiu called out in apparent alarm, “Careful!”

And as if unable to restrain his horse, it happened that its hooves, as they came down, trod directly over Yang Songshi where he lay fallen — and this single blow caved in Yang Songshi’s chest.

Xie Xiu reined in his warhorse, turned back to look, and Yang Songshi was already spilling blood from his mouth.

At the same time, within the Military Governor’s residence, a large body of troops surged into motion and surrounded Yang Songshi’s residence.

Xie Xiu jumped down from the warhorse, walked over to Yang Songshi, and slowly crouched down, looking at that agonized face. With a gentle sigh, he said quietly, “In your estimation, which is greater — the number of people you had watching me, or the number of people I had watching you?”

Terror immediately appeared in Yang Songshi’s eyes.

Xie Xiu rose. “I was still somewhat undecided before. So I must thank you after all.”