Truthfully, Yu Wenli was in a panic. He no longer knew what his own true feelings were — he swayed back and forth, like a sapling bent by the wind.

To say he didn’t want Yang Jing to rise again would be a lie. But he hadn’t entirely lost his reason either.

With the Ning Army so formidable, with Prince Ning’s power now unstoppable — even escaping from Daxing would be next to impossible. And even if they did escape, could a single corner of Shu Province really hold against the whole realm?

But Yang Jing’s eyes just then had been luminous, and Yu Wenli swallowed every word he had planned to say.

He knew what a painful thing it was, what a humiliating thing, what an unbearable thing. He knew the depth of that refusal to surrender.

“Your Majesty…”

In the end, Yu Wenli only said softly, “If Your Majesty truly wishes to go to Shu Province, this subject will exhaust every means to make it happen.”

That single sentence was enough to calm Yang Jing somewhat. He looked at the old man before him — the one person still willing to give everything for him. Not only his subject, but his father-in-law. If this sudden impulse cost him the only trustworthy person he had left, what would remain?

“I… let me think it through more carefully.”

Yang Jing said, “There’s no need to rush into any arrangements, no need to scramble for a way. We don’t yet know this man’s true origins — it’s better to proceed with caution.”

Yu Wenli exhaled inwardly with relief, and nodded. “This subject will go and question him now — see if there are any inconsistencies in his story.”

Yang Jing’s greatest fear was that this man who had appeared from nowhere was a plant by Li Chi. If he fell for it, it would hand Li Chi a pretext to execute him. Li Chi had refrained from killing him to preserve his own name for benevolence — but if a genuine pretext fell into Li Chi’s hands, killing him or not would have nothing to do with benevolence anymore.

Yu Wenli stepped out of the main building, instructed the household to secure the gates and receive no visitors that day regardless of who came, then entered the side room where Yao Huancheng was being held.

He found Yao Huancheng sitting there, calm and undisturbed.

“You must be Master Yu.”

Yao Huancheng saw Yu Wenli enter and smiled. “Though I’ve never met Master Yu before, a man of such bearing could only be Master Yu.”

Yu Wenli sat across from him. “Save your pleasantries. I’ve come to tell you one thing: if you don’t answer my questions honestly, I will have you killed.”

Yao Huancheng suddenly brought his hands around from behind his back. The ropes binding him — when had he worked them loose?

The shock nearly sent Yu Wenli fleeing on instinct.

Yao Huancheng coiled the ropes and set them to the side. “Master Yu need not be alarmed. I have no intention of harming you, and no intention of leaving. If I had wanted to leave or to act against you, I would never have allowed myself to be bound in the first place.”

He glanced around, noticed a water pitcher on the table, stood, poured himself a cup, and drank.

“I am a close associate of Military Commissioner Pei Qi of Shu Province. And the power behind the Commissioner — Master Yu may not be able to imagine how formidable it truly is.”

Yao Huancheng returned to his seat and spoke in a genuinely earnest tone. “Allow me to give a few examples. Yang Xuanji was cultivated by Commissioner Pei. So was Han Feibao. So was the Marquis of Guanting. And Commissioner Pei himself is merely an envoy of the Eastern Master.”

Yu Wenli bristled. “Stop talking nonsense.”

Yao Huancheng said, “Has Master Yu not yet seen through it? The world is not shaped by the people you see on its surface.”

He read Yu Wenli’s expression before continuing. “Has Master Yu ever heard of the Mountain River Seal?”

Yu Wenli nodded instinctively. “I’ve heard of it.”

Yao Huancheng said, “The Mountain River Seal is merely one of the Eastern Master’s enterprises — and not the greatest. The resources in the Eastern Master’s hands represent the accumulated wealth of the entire Central Plains over a hundred years — all of it held in Shu Province.”

Yu Wenli’s eyes flickered. “Preposterous. No such thing exists — no such person exists.”

Yao Huancheng said, “You may disbelieve it, but you cannot deny it… Master Yu, let me speak plainly.”

“The several Eastern Masters have grown weary. They wish to resolve their own affairs. Once resolved, they intend to withdraw from the game entirely.”

“They have already handed all their wealth, all their people and resources, over to Military Commissioner Pei Qi.”

“Let me share one more piece of information. Barring the unexpected, Han Feibao’s Yong Province Army will stage a feint southward toward Yue Province before turning and cutting back into Shu Province.”

“In addition to Han Feibao, there are at least seven or eight rebel forces converging on Shu Province. All of these men, these soldiers, are willing to take His Majesty as their liege.”

Yao Huancheng smiled. “At a single word from Commissioner Pei Qi, at least five hundred thousand troops can be assembled — to say nothing of immeasurable wealth…”

He paused here, and looked directly at Yu Wenli. “If His Majesty truly reaches Shu Province safely, how could a resurgence be out of reach?”

Yu Wenli said, “Even granting all of that, it may not amount to much. Prince Ning Li Chi is already moving to implement new currency. Once that takes effect, Shu Province will be blockaded — cut off from outside trade, and that cannot last.”

“Ha — ha ha ha ha…”

Yao Huancheng burst into laughter, nearly doubling over.

“Master Yu, you truly underestimate the Eastern Master’s capabilities. He anticipated exactly such a development long ago. The Eastern Master’s wisdom is beyond compare.”

He looked at Yu Wenli. “Master Yu just now overlooked one thing I mentioned… In Shu Province, there is the accumulated wealth of a hundred years.”

“Shu Province’s natural abundance is such that it needs nothing from the outside world. And gold and silver will never lose their value.”

Yao Huancheng said, “So there is no need for outside trade — and no blockade to fear. Shu Province is nothing like Yong Province. Once Yong Province is blockaded, its throat is cut and it becomes helpless. Shu Province cannot be strangled like that. It is the Land of Abundance.”

Yu Wenli said, “But Shu Province has no mineral deposits…”

“It does.”

Yao Huancheng said, “As far back as twenty years ago, a vast iron ore vein was discovered within Mount Basong in Shu Province. It was simply never reported to the court.”

Yu Wenli’s expression changed drastically.

If that was true, it spoke volumes about the ambitions of these people.

A deposit found twenty years ago, concealed from the court all this time — that alone proved their treasonous intent extended back at least twenty years. And in those days, though the Great Chu was already beset by grave problems, the thirteen provinces were still under court control, and the府兵 — the imperial garrison troops — still numbered well over a million…

And then it struck him.

What a million garrison troops? On the surface they belonged to the court — in reality they answered to the regional military governors.

“Master Yu, I will not leave. You need not fear that I am a plant from Prince Ning Li Chi. I will wait here for His Majesty’s decision. If His Majesty decides to go to Shu Province, I will do everything in my power to help him escape. If His Majesty decides not to go, then I will depart — and until that time, you may keep me under close guard and even re-bind me if it makes you feel safer.”

A thousand thoughts churned through Yu Wenli’s mind, like a great river running wild, impossible to still.

He returned to his own room and sat in silence for a long time, his head swirling — and yet, in a sense, thinking of nothing at all.

He wasn’t sure how long he sat that way. He came back to himself only when he heard someone knock at the door.

He quickly rose, opened the door, and bowed. “Your Majesty.”

“I told you — stop calling me ‘Your Majesty.’ It’s for your safety and mine.”

Yang Jing stepped inside and walked to the chair. “You went to see Yao Huancheng. What did he say?”

Yu Wenli truly wanted to say: *Your Majesty, this man cannot be trusted — heeding him may bring us into mortal peril.*

But he was a loyal subject. He could not lie before his Emperor. He could not bring himself to deceive the man he served — and so he recounted everything Yao Huancheng had said.

Yu Wenli knew perfectly well that once these words were relayed faithfully, the fire in Yang Jing’s heart would be kindled and burn beyond control.

But he said it anyway. And he watched with his own eyes as the light in Yang Jing’s gaze rekindled — catching quickly, blazing.

“I knew it!”

Yang Jing suddenly exclaimed — then immediately caught himself and fell silent.

That single word *zhèn* — the imperial “We” — said everything about what was in his heart.

“I always knew it. Behind Yang Xuanji was a great force pulling the strings. Han Feibao was nothing but a brute from the riverbank. The Marquis of Guanting was nothing but a prancing fool. By what right did they come to seize *my* realm — they were only someone else’s pieces.”

Yu Wenli immediately urged, “Your Majesty, if you truly go to Shu Province, I fear you will only be manipulated by those people as well.”

He couldn’t say outright *Your Majesty, you too would just be a puppet* — but the meaning was close enough.

Yang Jing waved it off. “How could I… how could I be the same as the likes of Han Feibao?”

He paced rapidly around the room. “Shu Province can sustain and refine a million-strong army. Even setting aside the most extreme scenario — even if I never return to contest the Central Plains, even if I simply preserve the Chu dynasty’s succession within Shu Province — that keeps my Yang family’s line unbroken.”

His thinking now was this: his son had already escaped to safety. One more gamble held no great terror.

If there truly was no chance, so be it. But now that a chance had appeared before him, if he let it go, he would spend the rest of his life in misery.

“I’ll go see Yao Huancheng myself.”

Yang Jing turned and strode out the door.

Watching this, Yu Wenli knew: what lay ahead might be one step to life, one step to death.

—

Meanwhile, out on the streets, Li Chi and his company strolled and observed. Though it had been barely twenty days, the air within Daxing was already markedly different from the dead stillness that had prevailed before.

The common people had received grain and seed. They knew that better days were coming, for Prince Ning had announced that the Jiangnan region would have its grain taxes and levies waived for three full years.

“As for Yang Jing…”

Xiahou Zhuo looked at Li Chi. “Perhaps we should send him to Chang’an — find a place for him there… not quite a prison, but…”

Before he could finish, Lantai Yajing added, “Even a prison would be fine. My lord isn’t killing him — but as long as he remains in Daxing, certain people will never give up.”

As they said: never underestimate the loyalty of people in this world.

Li Chi said, “When we establish the capital in Chang’an, we’ll bring him along at that time.”

Xiahou Zhuo said, “The Jiangnan region is where the Yang family’s old roots lie. There are still many there who consider themselves subjects of Chu. Even if we don’t send him to Chang’an, perhaps Jizhou would do.”

Lantai Yajing said, “Jizhou is good — he can’t stir up trouble there.”

Yu Jiuling snorted nearby. “If you ask me, someone who caused that much harm deserves to die ten times over.”

Everyone looked at Yu Jiuling. Thinking he’d said something wrong, Yu Jiuling immediately went quiet.

But Lantai Yajing had caught something in those words — wasn’t Jiuling simply saying what the will of Heaven and the hearts of the people were saying?

He had always been firmly in the camp that insisted Yang Jing must die. That position had never wavered.

In truth, seven or eight out of ten commanders in the Ning Army held the same view — Yang Jing had to die.

Not to kill him was to fail to bring justice to all those destroyed by the Chu dynasty. Setting aside his ancestors’ crimes, had he himself not caused enough deaths?

Yet they also all understood: to kill Yang Jing without any pretext whatsoever would reflect too badly on Prince Ning’s reputation.

“Let’s set this matter aside for now.”

Li Chi said, “I need to think it over more carefully. We’ll call everyone together and discuss it later.”

Just then, they saw Gao Xining walking toward them at some speed — clearly something was the matter.

—