Fan Changyu hadn’t expected Xie Zheng to say such things. It was impossible for her heart not to be moved, but she was also clearly aware that once she agreed, her future life might no longer be under her control. Just as he, as the Marquis of Wu’an, had to bear those responsibilities and carry out those missions, as his marchioness, she would also have to shoulder the burdens behind a first-rank noble lady.
He needed a wife who could walk alongside him as an equal, not someone he had to accommodate at every turn. A sparrow with phoenix feathers attached wouldn’t become a phoenix; only by going through nirvana could it grow true phoenix plumage.
The sound of rain outside the tent seemed to have lessened. The water that had accumulated on the tent’s roof earlier fell from the corners into puddles with a clear “drip-drop” sound, particularly distinct in this moment of silence.
Fan Changyu’s hands, resting on her knees, tightened. She finally raised her head to look at Xie Zheng.
With just one glance, Xie Zheng understood the answer she was about to give. Whether it was pride in his bones or not wanting to hear her verbally reject him, he suddenly said, “No need to answer me.”
At that moment, Xie Qi’s voice came from outside the tent: “Marquis, Master Gongsun is urging you to go over.”
Xie Zheng said “Farewell” and stood up, lifting the tent flap to leave.
After he left, Fan Changyu stared at the gently swaying tent flap for a long while.
Xie Qi had hidden far away after Xie Zheng entered the tent. When he came to relay the message earlier, he found the lamp inside extinguished and his heart skipped a beat, fearing he had ruined something.
But Xie Zheng came out immediately, his expression not looking too good. It didn’t seem to be what Xie Qi had guessed, so he dared not ask anything, only following behind Xie Zheng with bated breath.
Unexpectedly, Xie Zheng suddenly stopped and asked him, “I remember you have a sister?”
Xie Qi didn’t know why his lord suddenly asked about this. His expression darkened as he answered, “Yes.”
Orphaned at a young age, he and his sister were sold to a slave trader. To fetch a good price, the trader usually sold pretty girls to brothels and sent boys to the palace.
Some great clans that trained death soldiers would also select people from slave traders. He was bought by Wei Yan. Out of ten children of the same age, only one could eventually become a dead soldier. Of the rest, those with worse luck died, while the lucky ones who survived became household slaves.
In the final chaotic battle, he was stabbed several times and seemed beyond hope. He should have been wrapped in a straw mat and thrown into the wilderness to feed wolves, but he wanted to live. He clung to life with his untreated wounds until the next day.
At that time, the Marquis was just a young man but had already started working for Wei Yan. However, from objects to servants, he could only pick what Wei Xuan had left over.
Wei Xuan chose the victorious death soldier as his attendant. The Marquis looked through the dark dungeon and didn’t choose those with light injuries who could become household slaves of the Wei family. Instead, he picked him.
The steward said he might not survive, as it was rare for someone with such severe injuries to last a night.
The Marquis said since he was trying so hard to live, wouldn’t it be a pity if he died?
So he was taken out, received treatment from a physician, and when his wounds healed, he became the Marquis’s attendant, given the name Xie Qi.
From that time on, he was loyal only to Xie Zheng. Later, he even killed Wei Xuan’s attendant, who was a former death soldier, for Xie Zheng.
As for his sister, by the time he found her, she had already become a well-known courtesan in a small-town brothel.
Given his current identity, he dared not rashly recognize his sister, fearing that one misstep might put her in danger. After all, he had seen many instances of people being coerced through their family members.
He secretly gave his sister money and pressured the madam, allowing his sister to buy her freedom. She now runs an embroidery shop.
Xie Zheng asked, “When your sister married, there was a wealthy young master who admired her. Why did she still marry a blacksmith?”
This happened after Xie Qi’s sister had bought her freedom. When Xie Qi learned of his sister’s marriage, he didn’t dare to openly attend the wedding feast. He only asked Xie Zheng to leave and secretly went to observe the ceremony.
That wealthy young master was also there that day. He and several close brothers, including Xie Wu, had been watching him from the shadows, thinking that if he dared to cause trouble at the wedding, they would drag him into an alley and beat him up.
Unexpectedly, the wealthy young master just drank himself into a stupor at the feast.
They had mentioned this incident when they returned, and Xie Zheng must have heard about it. Now that he suddenly brought up this matter, Xie Qi was quite puzzled and only said, “As her brother, I think it’s not bad for my sister to marry a blacksmith.”
Xie Zheng stopped in his tracks and asked, “Why?”
Xie Qi answered, “My sister doesn’t know I’m still alive or that I’ve found her. If she marries a blacksmith and he treats her badly in the future, she can support herself with the embroidery shop and file for divorce easily. If things get messy, she’ll have neighbors to help her. If she had married that wealthy young master, she’d be alone facing an entire clan. If anything were to happen, it would be difficult for her to seek justice against such a large and influential family.”
This was another story of a tofu maker’s daughter, but in this story, she didn’t choose the noble young master.
Xie Zheng seemed lost in thought but said nothing more as he walked towards the central military tent.
The guard at the entrance saw him and quickly called out, “Marquis.”
As Xie Zheng approached, they lifted the curtain. The tent was brightly lit, and Xie Zheng immediately noticed the old man sitting below the main seat. His expression softened slightly, and he called out with some surprise, “Teacher.”
Tao Taifu looked at his prized student and stroked his beard, saying, “I heard you went to pursue the enemy. How did it go?”
He noticed the bruise at the corner of Xie Zheng’s eye, thinking it was an injury from the battlefield. He mused that the angle was indeed tricky.
If a fist could reach the face, had it been a blade, this eye might have been lost. Thinking of it this way, it could be considered fortunate in misfortune.
Gongsun Yin also noticed it. It was the first time he had seen Xie Zheng return from the battlefield with a bruised eye. Somehow, he suddenly thought of the bruise on his face when he saw him earlier in Lu City.
The more he looked, the more similar it seemed. For a moment, Gongsun Yin’s expression was quite peculiar.
Could it be that Fan Changyu had hit him again?
But he had just come down from the battlefield, so it shouldn’t be possible…
Xie Zheng seemed not to notice their scrutinizing gazes. He sat down in the main seat after lifting his robe and said calmly, “I have taken Shi Yue’s head.”
Tao Taifu nodded with satisfaction and asked with pride, “Shi Yue had a fierce general under his command, said to be his brother, called Shi Hu. He was born unusually large and strong. When I was at the foot of the mountain, I saw him engage with the Ji Zhou army. He’s a tough opponent. Did you kill both of them single-handedly?”
Xie Zheng immediately frowned, “I led five hundred elite cavalry, taking a shortcut from the mountain to pursue them. I only intercepted and killed Shi Yue, but didn’t see his brother.”
Gongsun Yin said in surprise, “Vanguard Ge Daqing is one of the fiercest generals under the Marquis, and even he was severely wounded by Shi Hu. If the Marquis didn’t engage Shi Hu in combat, who else in the army could have subdued this bandit?”
In this battle, the vanguard and the left wing suffered heavy casualties. Almost all the officers were too injured to get out of bed, and the military doctors had to go around bandaging them one by one.
Xie Zheng asked, “Doesn’t the battle report mention how many enemies the left-wing killed? How many enemy generals were captured?”
Gongsun Yin handed over the battle report nearby and said, “Neither the vanguard nor the left-wing mentioned killing Shi Hu, but Shi Hu is indeed dead. The Taifu and I thought you had killed him.”
Xie Zheng said, “Shi Hu did not die by my hand.”
Xie Wu, who had just entered with tea, heard this conversation and hesitated before finally speaking up, “Shi Hu was killed by the Madam.”
Upon hearing this, all three men in the tent turned to look at Xie Wu.
Gongsun Yin, unaware that Fan Changyu had secretly joined the battle, was shocked and asked in confusion, “She was on the mountain, how did she kill Shi Hu?”
Xie Wu glanced furtively at Xie Zheng and carefully said, “Madam didn’t know the Marquis’s identity before. Fearing something might happen to the Marquis in battle, she drugged him and mixed him into the left wing. I couldn’t stop Madam and, fearing she might encounter danger, followed her. The generals of the left wing fought with Shi Hu and were all defeated, causing the morale to collapse. When Madam confronted Shi Hu, she had no suitable weapon. After several fierce exchanges, she managed to seize Shi Hu’s war hammer and took his life with three strikes.”
Xie Wu had wanted to tell Xie Zheng about Fan Changyu’s battlefield exploits on the way, fearing he might be angry at her for joining the battle without permission, but he hadn’t found the opportunity.
Gongsun Yin was so shocked by Fan Changyu’s military achievement that he remained silent for a long time, not even thinking to joke about the rare embarrassment of Xie Zheng being drugged.
After a while, he stuttered, “Hunting a black bear, one could say the bear wasn’t smart enough but had brute strength. But Shi Hu… he wasn’t just brute strength. Vanguard Ge Daqing, who dares to hunt tigers and bears and is battle-hardened, couldn’t defeat him. Yet Miss Fan could seize his weapon and take his life with three strikes?”
Gongsun Yin drew a sharp breath and looked at Xie Zheng, “Under heaven, I thought only the Marquis had such courage.”
Xie Zheng leaned back in his chair, frowning silently, lost in thought.
When Tao Taifu heard Xie Wu say that the Madam had killed Shi Hu, he began to wonder. He thought this brat truly didn’t remember his old teacher at all, not even informing him of such a big event as his marriage.
Then hearing Xie Wu say that the Madam didn’t know Xie Zheng’s identity and went to battle in his stead, he became even more confused. Now hearing Gongsun Yin say the woman’s surname was Fan, he thought it couldn’t be such a coincidence – could it be Fan Changyu?
He raised his old eyes to look at Xie Zheng, “When did you get married? You didn’t even send a letter to inform this old man.”
Gongsun Yin had deliberately kept Fan Changyu’s relationship with Xie Zheng from Tao Taifu earlier. Now, despite his surprise, he still smiled at the two, just waiting for Xie Zheng to explain the ins and outs of his marriage to Tao Taifu himself.
However, Xie Zheng said, “It’s a long story. I was in dire straits at the time, and the wedding was simple. We’ll hold another ceremony later, and I’ll invite you, Teacher, to be the marriage witness.”
Tao Taifu knew that Xie Zheng’s marriage might even relate to the reshuffling of various powers in the court. Thinking of what Xie Wu said about that woman killing Shi Hu, he squinted his eyes and asked, “Is she from a military family?”
Xie Zheng was silent for a moment, then said, “No.”
Tao Taifu then said, “In any case, she must be a good child. You should treat her well.”
Xie Zheng thought of Fan Changyu’s words rejecting him, his heart sinking. He only replied with a “Yes.”
Tao Taifu then spoke about the current situation: “With Shi Yue dead, the Prince of Chang Xin is as if he’s lost an arm. The Chong Zhou army at the foot of the mountain – some dead, some fled, some captured and reorganized into the army – you could directly head south to surround Chong Zhou, join forces with He Jingyuan’s troops, and attack the city together. But will the court let you finish this war so quickly?”
The prolonged stalemate in Chong Zhou was partly due to court disputes.
At first, Wei Yan wanted to scheme for him to die on the Chong Zhou battlefield. Now, the court’s military pay and provisions were several months late, clearly indicating that someone didn’t want this war to end quickly.
Weapons, provisions, military pay – these were all money. With ongoing battles at the front, those in the court had a legitimate reason to ask the Ministry of Revenue for funds.
As for how much of these allocated funds reached their intended destination, it depended on whether the corrupt officials at each level still had any conscience.
Both the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue were Wei Yan’s people. Even if the Emperor ordered an audit, it would only show that the money, provisions, and weapons had all been delivered to him. If the rebels still weren’t eradicated despite sufficient funds and supplies, it would be Xie Zheng who was incompetent.
Xie Zheng said mockingly, “Wei Yan wants to cover up the mess Wei Xuan made in the northwest. Now he probably wants me to give up the military merit of destroying the Chong Zhou rebels.”
Tao Taifu’s eyelids drooped slightly as he said, “In my opinion, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”
Gongsun Yin asked in confusion, “What do you mean, Taifu?”
Tao Taifu countered, “In the Da Yin Dynasty, who else has been made a marquis at the age of twenty? The moon wanes when full, and water overflows when full. With your Marquis’s merit in suppressing the rebels, what do you think the Emperor can award him when he returns to the capital? Now the Wei faction is at its peak, and the Emperor naturally hopes he and Wei Yan will fight to the death. When Wei Yan falls, who’s next?”
Gongsun Yin said, “I understand what you’re saying, Taifu, but even if the Marquis wants to retreat now, he’s already entangled in the capital’s situation and can’t back down.”
Tao Taifu smiled, “Young man-“
Gongsun Yin sensed there was more to Tao Taifu’s words and said, “I’d like to hear your wise opinion, Taifu.”
Tao Taifu said, “To what extent should one retreat? As long as your Marquis isn’t the next one the Emperor wants to bring down after Wei Yan falls.”
Gongsun Yin immediately understood Tao Taifu’s meaning, “You mean, let the Li family fight with Wei Yan first?”
He thought of Li Huai’an, Taifu Li’s grandson who was currently acting as He Jingyuan’s temporary replacement in Ji Zhou. His heart shook as he looked up at Tao Taifu.
Tao Taifu knew what he was thinking and said, “Even without your Marquis, Wei Yan still has the Ministry of War and He Jingyuan. Taifu Li has no military power, which is why he hasn’t dared to confront Wei Yan directly for so many years.”
The Li family’s foray into the northwest was an attempt to gain military power.
As long as Xie Zheng threw out the fat piece of meat that was the merit of suppressing the rebels, both the Li faction and the Wei faction would pounce on it like hyenas fighting over food.
Wei Yan had to fight for it because he had been pushed into a corner. If he didn’t fight, these powers falling into others’ hands would become weapons against him.
Xie Zheng could hold onto the military merit, but winning this war with Wei Yan cutting off all military supplies would drain him. Exchanging this for a token reward from the Emperor and pushing himself to the forefront seemed unwise from any angle.
The Li family wanted military power, but after arriving in the northwest, they remained inactive, as if they had calculated that Xie Zheng would throw out the military merit after weighing the pros and cons.
For Wei Yan to claim this military merit, he could only rely on He Jingyuan. But now Li Huai’an was managing Ji Zhou on He Jingyuan’s behalf, with access to all accounts and files in Ji Zhou. If he could catch even a small mistake, given the young Emperor’s current reliance on the Li family, it wouldn’t be difficult to seize power from He Jingyuan.
Xie Zheng, who had been silent until now, suddenly said, “In that case, it seems the Prince of Chang Xin’s rebellion was specially arranged to deliver military power to the Li family.”
Upon hearing this, both Gongsun Yin and Tao Taifu were shocked.
Tao Taifu said, “The Li family couldn’t have calculated the Prince of Chang Xin’s actions to such an extent.”
Gongsun Yin also said, “I heard that the Princess Consort of Chang Xin also died in the fire at the Eastern Palace back then, and the eldest son of the Prince of Chang Xin was burned so badly he couldn’t be seen in public. The Prince of Chang Xin has been lying low for many years; his resentment towards the court can’t be fake.”
However, Xie Zheng’s eyes changed slightly. The Emperor’s grandson had connections with the Prince of Chang Xin’s household, and Yu Qianqian’s son looked somewhat like the late Emperor. The Crown Prince Chengde had even more resemblance to the late Emperor. When Chang Ning was captured by Sui Yuanqing, she had also seen Yu Bao’er at the Prince of Chang Xin’s residence.
Something was becoming clear. He looked at Gongsun Yin and said, “After we come down from the mountain, send a message back to the capital to secretly investigate the Eastern Palace fire case from back then.”
Gongsun Yin asked in confusion, “Why suddenly investigate the Eastern Palace fire again?”
Xie Zheng’s lips curled slightly, “I suspect the Emperor’s grandson is at the Prince of Chang Xin’s residence.”
These words shocked Gongsun Yin and Tao Taifu even more, but regardless, it was just a guess for now and needed evidence to confirm.
The sound of patrolling soldiers calling out the hour came from outside the tent. Midnight had passed, and Xie Zheng told Tao Taifu and Gongsun Yin to go back and rest.
However, Tao Taifu didn’t get up to leave. Gongsun Yin assumed they had some private words to exchange as teacher and student, so he yawned and returned to his quarters.
Xie Zheng and Tao Taifu’s years of teacher-student relationship meant they could understand each other’s intentions with just a glance. He said, “Teacher, do you have something you want to ask me?”
Tao Taifu said, “With young Gongsun here earlier, I couldn’t ask you too much about your private affairs. This marriage of yours, did you take a wife or a concubine?”
Xie Zheng answered, “A wife.”
Tao Taifu was slightly stunned, then said, “You’re already twenty-one this year. Ordinary men at your age would already have children running around, yet you were still alone. It’s good that you can now marry according to your wishes, but I see your face is gloomy. Why is that?”
Xie Zheng had delayed marriage because he was from the Xie family but was raised by Wei Yan.
Although the Xie family was a centuries-old great clan, the larger the family, the more idle people it bred. By his father’s generation, the entire Xie family was already in decline. In their branch, only his father bore the backbone of the Xie family, while the collateral branches had no descendants capable of great responsibilities.
The greatest fear of a great clan was having no worthy successors. So when his father died in battle and his mother followed in death, and he was taken away by Wei Yan, the collateral relatives didn’t dare to speak up.
In some ways, Xie Zheng being taken by Wei Yan was a good thing. If he had stayed with the Xie family, he would likely have been raised to be useless.
Although Wei Yan treated him harshly, for the sake of his father’s prestige in the military and his old subordinates, he spared no effort in nurturing him, making him the sharpest blade in the entire Da Yin Dynasty.
When ordinary men reach marriageable age, female elders in the family would help arrange matches with suitable girls from families of equal status. But Xie Zheng was raised in the Wei family. Wei Yan didn’t arrange a marriage for him, and the Xie family didn’t dare to bypass Wei Yan to directly arrange a marriage for him.
There were attempts at improper matches, trying to push some cousin or distantly related daughter towards him. This self-demeaning behavior not only earned Wei Xuan’s mockery of Xie Zheng for a long time but even made Wei Yan somewhat despise the Xie clan.
Later, when Xie Zheng went to the military, the matter of marriage was further postponed.
By the time he had established his merit and reputation, his marriage had become an alliance between two clans, rather than simply marrying an individual.
The Qing Liu faction didn’t dare to marry their daughters to him. As for Wei Yan’s faction, Wei Yan was wary of him gaining support from his wife’s family and becoming harder to control, so naturally, his subordinates didn’t dare to offend Wei Yan. Neutral officials were even less willing to get involved in this muddy water.
As his status rose, arranging his marriage became even more difficult.
Xie Zheng informed Tao Taifu about his situation with Fan Changyu: “She saved me when I was at my lowest point. I had to conceal my identity from her. Now that she knows everything, she’s concerned about my status and has no desire to marry into a noble family.”
After hearing this, Tao Taifu praised, “She seems to be a clear-headed woman.”
Xie Zheng knelt before Tao Taifu, lifting his robe, and said, “Student wishes to ask a favor from the Teacher.”
Tao Taifu looked at him with narrowed eyes, “Is it related to that woman?”
Xie Zheng answered, “Yes.”
Tao Taifu said, “If she’s unwilling to marry you, what can an old man like me do?”
Xie Zheng raised his head, “Student humbly requests Teacher to adopt her as your goddaughter.”
Tao Taifu immediately understood Xie Zheng’s intention: “You want to give her a prestigious family background? To silence the gossip?”
Xie Zheng remained silent, which was as good as confirmation.
Tao Taifu changed the subject, asking, “What if that young lady still refuses and only wants to live an ordinary life?”
The young man kneeling on the ground pressed his lips tightly together. After a while, he said, “I will pave all the roads for her. If she’s willing to walk with me, I won’t let her stumble even once. If she still refuses, I’ll consider our fate to have ended here.”
Tao Taifu sighed, “Get up. It just so happens that this old man has no children. Adopting a goddaughter will give me something to look forward to in my latter years. But you must also help your teacher with something.”
Xie Zheng said, “Please tell me, Teacher.”
Tao Taifu, thinking of Fan Changyu, said, “Do you have any promising young men under your command? This teacher met a young divorced lady on the road and promised an elder to find her a good husband.”
Tao Taifu paused here, then added, “He must be honest and kind-hearted, with an open mind. The young lady has been divorced, so the young man must not mind this. She’s sincere and straightforward; I’m afraid she might be easily taken advantage of if she meets someone cunning. The military rank doesn’t need to be too high; she doesn’t understand the ways of noble ladies.”
Xie Zheng found these characteristics somewhat familiar, but remembering that Tao Taifu said the young lady was divorced and that he was asked by her elder to find her a husband, he didn’t think it could be Fan Changyu. After all, how could Fan Changyu know an elder acquainted with Tao Taifu? So he didn’t think further about Fan Changyu and agreed to everything.