The bruise at the corner of Xie Zheng’s eye had faded considerably. He reclined on the couch, his eyes slightly lowered, lost in thought. He didn’t even notice when Gong Sun Yi entered the tent. Only after Gong Sun Yi’s teasing remark did he slightly lift his eyelids: “If you’re too free, go to Jin Prefecture to oversee the battle.”
Gong Sun Yi found a place to sit down, poured himself a cup of hot tea, and said while drinking, “How am I free? You sent a letter with Snow Phoenix, and I brought the soldiers from Yan Prefecture, trekking hundreds of miles to Lu City. I work like an ox and a horse, only to get such a cold response from you. It’s truly disheartening!”
Xie Zheng wasn’t in a good mood, making his words even more merciless: “Giving that stupid thing such a name, aren’t you ashamed of being so affected? Since you’ve already worked like an ox and horse, I suppose you won’t need a carriage for the journey back from Lu City to Yan Prefecture. Just walk back.”
Gong Sun Yi was at a loss for words. People always said he had a sharp tongue, but he had never gained any advantage with it when dealing with Xie Zheng.
He couldn’t help but say, “Why are you so angry? If you don’t like Snow Phoenix, just give her to me to raise!”
As he said the last sentence, his fox-like eyes couldn’t help but glance toward the Haedong hawk in the corner of the tent.
For some unknown reason, the Haedong hawk now liked to use a bamboo basket as its nest. The basket was originally used for dirty clothes, but when the hawk saw it, it directly settled in and made it its nest.
Xie Zheng raised his eyes coldly: “Didn’t you hear that it’s your choice of name I dislike?”
Gong Sun Yi was so angry he flung his sleeves and was about to leave: “Xie Jiu Heng, don’t push people too far!”
Xie Zheng let him storm off.
Gong Sun Yi walked to the entrance of the tent but suddenly turned back, sat down again, and said, “I almost fell for your trick. You wanted to provoke me into leaving. Who could have injured you and made you so upset…”
His fox-like eyes narrowed: “I heard that Prince Changxin’s heir went to Qingping County a few days ago. You were defeated by him on the battlefield of Chong Prefecture, and the army says he’s unrivaled in bravery. Could it be that the injury on your face was inflicted by him?”
Xie Zheng let out a cold snort: “You think too highly of him.”
Hearing Xie Zheng’s words, Gong Sun Yi knew it couldn’t possibly be Sui Yuan Qing.
He frowned and said, “It can’t be that you got involved in some love affair and were beaten by a woman…”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he started laughing: “That’s impossible. Not only does Xie Jiu Heng not have such romantic luck, but even if you did, no girl would have that kind of strength.”
Xie Zheng’s expression stiffened slightly, and he spoke impatiently: “Did you come just to tell me these things?”
Seeing his displeased expression, Gong Sun Yi put aside his joking manner and said, “Of course, I have important matters to discuss. When the Yan Prefecture soldiers went to meet with that Zhao merchant to transport grain, they didn’t reveal any flaws. Instead, it was that Zhao merchant who left traces for the Ji Prefecture officials, which allowed He Jingyuan to track down Yan Prefecture.”
“When I ordered people to raid the Zhao family’s secret strongholds, I deliberately leaked information to allow them to relocate in advance. This way, we were able to discover their more deeply hidden strongholds. After a thorough investigation, we indeed found some interesting things.”
He smiled mysteriously, and only when Xie Zheng looked over did he say, “The Zhao family also has connections with Prince Changxin’s side.”
Xie Zheng’s expression remained unchanged: “When Zhao Xun met me, he hinted several times that he was associated with the imperial grandson who supposedly perished in the great fire twelve years ago. It’s not surprising that the people behind Zhao Xun would have dealings with Prince Changxin, given his rebellion.”
When Gong Sun Yi heard the words “imperial grandson,” his expression changed slightly, and he asked Xie Zheng, “What does the Marquis think?”
He addressed him as “Marquis” rather than “you,” indicating he was asking not as a friend, but as a strategist inquiring about Xie Zheng’s future stance.
Xie Zheng said, “After the battle of Chong Prefecture, Wei Yan and I have become irreconcilable enemies.”
Gong Sun Yi pondered for a moment and said, “Prince Changxin is certainly no benevolent figure either. If the imperial grandson truly still lives, I wonder what kind of deal he has struck with Prince Changxin.”
Xie Zheng had one leg half bent, his long hair tied up, his dark eyebrows extending to his temples. His tone was casual yet cold: “If the imperial grandson has connections with Prince Changxin, yet Prince Changxin rebels without using the imperial grandson’s name, either this so-called imperial grandson is just a smokescreen released by Prince Changxin, or… Prince Changxin is too ambitious and, once he gains power, is unwilling to submit to anyone else.”
After hearing Xie Zheng’s speculation, Gong Sun Yi was also shocked and said, “Even if Prince Changxin is unwilling to be subordinate to others, using the imperial grandson’s name to rebel would be more legitimate. When the world is settled, with him holding great power, whether the imperial grandson sits on that dragon throne or not would still be up to him. Looking at it this way, the matter of the imperial grandson does seem like Prince Changxin’s scheme.”
He furrowed his brows tightly: “But Wei Yan’s side also seems to have been investigating the matter of the imperial grandson, and in recent days has arrested quite a few people based on rumors. Even you… reopening the Jin Prefecture case from years ago caused him to harbor murderous intentions towards you. From this perspective, the news that the imperial grandson is still alive doesn’t seem to be false, otherwise, why would Wei Yan be so panicked?”
Xie Zheng pondered Zhao Xun’s words from that day. Zhao Xun had hinted that he was associated with the imperial grandson, yet he knew nothing about the hidden truth of the Jin Prefecture tragedy from seventeen years ago. Even the story of how the imperial grandson survived the fire in the Eastern Palace was just his claim, without any evidence to prove it.
He had found it quite suspicious at the time, which was why he asked for the person behind Zhao Xun to come and talk to him personally. But as the Zhao family’s properties were one by one sealed off by the officials, this matter was also shelved.
He asked, “Before the officials sealed off the Zhao family’s strongholds in Qingping County, did the people you sent discover anything?”
Gong Sun Yi said, “Those strongholds in Qingping County were all temporary, shops and taverns and such, acquired by the Zhao family less than two months ago. There was pitifully little that could be investigated.”
Xie Zheng’s fingers, which had been tapping on the table, paused slightly. “When the Zhao family’s shops were sealed off by the officials, I had only been in Qingping County for a month. These strongholds were not set up for me.”
Gong Sun Yi also felt that this matter was becoming increasingly shrouded in mystery: “Are you saying that a month before your downfall, something must have happened in Qingping County to make the Zhao family set up so many strongholds there?”
What happened in Qingping County a month before his downfall…
Xie Zheng’s eyes flashed. It could only be the death of the Fan couple.
Wei Yan had sent people to kill that couple and had repeatedly dispatched assassins to the Fan house to search for something. People watching Wei Yan’s movements couldn’t have failed to notice such activity.
So… were those Zhao family strongholds set up for the Fan family?
Zhao Xun’s ability to find him wasn’t because he had read his essay and come to pay respects out of admiration, coincidentally discovering it was him. Rather, the Zhao family had been keeping an eye on the Fan family all along, which is why they incidentally discovered his whereabouts.
Something was on the verge of being revealed.
Xie Zheng slowly said, “It seems Wei Yan has also been tricked by Prince Changxin.”
Gong Sun Yi was exceptionally clever. As soon as Xie Zheng said this, he instantly understood the meaning behind his words: “Are you saying that Prince Changxin deliberately leaked information about the imperial grandson and the Jin Prefecture battle from years ago to make Wei Yan lose his composure?”
Xie Zheng voiced his speculation: “The imperial grandson may truly exist, or he may just be a decoy. But Prince Changxin must know some things about what happened back then. Lacking evidence, he deliberately leaked this information to make Wei Yan think he hadn’t cleaned up his tracks thoroughly, causing him to go back and tie up loose ends, thus exposing the evidence.”
Even Gong Sun Yi was momentarily stunned, his brows tightly knitted: “If there isn’t an imperial grandson at all, then that Zhao fellow buying twenty million shi of grain for you was from the beginning meant to provoke Wei Xuan into requisitioning grain, forcing the people of Qingping County to rebel and attack Lu City in coordination with outside forces?”
He stood up and paced back and forth in the military tent: “It’s perfect timing with the Northern Yue starting to attack Jin Prefecture. With those twenty million shi of grain, it won’t be easy for the Northern Yue to take Jin Prefecture. Otherwise, if Jin Prefecture falls, the northwestern gate would be wide open, and the Northern Yue could march straight down. Prince Changxin himself wouldn’t have good days ahead. These twenty million shi of grain can be said to kill three birds with one stone!”
“Wei Yan wants you dead, Prince Changxin guards the grain route of Chong Prefecture, you resist the Northern Yue, and he continues to march his army south. When you’re at the end of your rope, you’ll either starve to death in Jin Prefecture like your father and Crown Prince Chengde did back then, or be forced to ally with Prince Changxin and hand over your military power.”
When Gong Sun Yi sat down again, his long eyebrows were tightly knitted: “What a thorough and vicious plan indeed!”
Xie Zheng’s expression, however, seemed somewhat casual, as if he didn’t take the dead end Gong Sun Yi described to heart: “I thought you would advise me to ally with Prince Changxin.”
Gong Sun Yi’s face didn’t look too good: “Don’t take me for one of those good-for-nothings. Let’s not even mention that you’re Wei Yan’s nephew by marriage. Just the fact that you command a large army means that even if you went to submit to Prince Changxin, he wouldn’t dare to use you. In this world, no one can sleep soundly with a sharp sword hanging over their head.”
He was the sharpest blade in this world, unrivaled in his edge.
Wei Yan had once, under pressure from circumstances, unexpectedly forged him, but upon hearing even the slightest rumors, he had decided to break him.
If someone as powerful as Wei Yan was so wary of him, how could Prince Changxin dare to wield this blade?
If Xie Zheng were to rebel, it was uncertain whether he or Prince Changxin would end up in control. Prince Changxin was an extremely shrewd person, how could he keep such a big hidden danger by his side?
However, Xie Zheng’s words gave Gong Sun Yi an idea. His fox-like eyes narrowed: “Does the Marquis want this world?”
Xie Zheng sneered: “I want the truth about the Jin Prefecture battle seventeen years ago.”
These words made Gong Sun Yi laugh: “Now that’s the Xie Jiu Heng I know.”
Gong Sun Yi straightened his robe and took his leave. When he reached the entrance of the tent, he couldn’t help but turn back and say, “I’m still quite curious, who exactly beat you up?”
He had no other injuries on his body, only his face was beaten to such a state, which was quite perplexing.
When Xie Zheng’s ice-cold gaze swept over, Gong Sun Yi quickly lifted the tent flap and left.
Xie Zheng closed his eyes. Those emotions he had been deliberately ignoring surged up again, inexplicably, due to Gong Sun Yi’s few words.
Perhaps because he had not tasted many setbacks in this life, besides bitterness, he inexplicably felt a sense of unwillingness.
Let alone the noble ladies of the entire capital, even if it were a princess, as long as he wanted, he could marry her. But that woman alone treated him with disdain as if he were a weed by the roadside.
His chest felt stuffy, with a hint of annoyance.
At this moment, the tent flap was lifted by someone. Xie Zheng raised his eyes impatiently, it was Gong Sun Yi returning, carrying a large bundle in his hand that looked somewhat familiar.
Meeting his unfriendly gaze, Gong Sun Yi shrugged and said, “A colonel from the Ji Prefecture military camp brought this. He said a carpenter cured his rheumatism with a few medicinal plasters. Feeling indebted to that carpenter, he’s helping the carpenter find his niece’s husband. As it happens, the carpenter’s niece’s husband is named Yan Zheng. Among the thousand men I requested from He Jingyuan, only you used the alias Yan Zheng. I figured this must be for you.”
As he spoke, he couldn’t hide the teasing in his fox-like eyes: “Niece’s husband? So you’re married?”
When Xie Zheng saw the bundle, he was slightly stunned for a moment, then his lips pressed together, his expression looking somewhat cold: “Put it in the back tent.”
Hearing this, Gong Sun Yi’s fox-like eyes widened, looking somewhat foolish: “Wait, you’re married?”
Xie Zheng pressed his lips tightly together and didn’t speak.
Married, but it was fake.
Seeing this, Gong Sun Yi frowned, suddenly seeming to realize something, and looked at Xie Zheng in disbelief: “You’re not planning to abandon her, are you?”
His gaze fell on Xie Zheng’s face, feeling his guess was becoming more and more likely: “Don’t tell me the injury on your face is because you wronged the girl and her family beat you up?”
Xie Zheng’s face darkened: “Shut up.”
He was the one who had been discarded like an old shoe.
But Gong Sun Yi started to speak up for Fan Changyu, looking at Xie Zheng with deep concern: “Jiu Heng, ah Jiu Heng, I never thought you’d be this kind of person…”
Xie Zheng impatiently lifted his eyelids, “Are you going to leave on your own, or do I need to have someone throw you out?”
Gong Sun Yi frowned and said seriously, “Jiu Heng, even if her status is too lowly to be your main wife, she still followed you when you were at your lowest point. You could at least bring her back and give her a concubine position. How can you be so heartless…”
Xie Zheng was silent for a long time before saying, “She’s unwilling to follow me.”
Gong Sun Yi’s expression instantly became as strange as it could be.