Xi Ren waited all day in the side courtyard. As dusk approached, she saw Han Qian return from the command camp accompanied by Kong Xirong and Guo Que, and urgently asked: “Prince Tan couldn’t possibly just demand you hand over military authority for nothing. What compensation did he offer you today?”

Feng Liao held no official position and didn’t want to mingle with the attendant escort like Kong Xirong and Guo Que, waiting half the day in the side courtyard. He too had only come over with Feng Yi when he saw Han Qian return, and said with a laugh: “If I were His Highness, with the new establishment of the Bureau of Military Affairs, I would appoint you as Deputy Commissioner. This would not only eliminate the resentment in your belly, but also silence the mouths of the Xuzhou faction’s officers and soldiers.”

“The personnel selections for the Bureau of Military Affairs and the Political Affairs Hall were already discussed and decided before His Highness arrived in Fanchang,” Han Qian explained to Feng Liao and Feng Yi about the dissolution of the Guangde Army Commissioner’s Office, the temporary assignment of his second uncle Han Daochang to oversee matters in the three counties, and other matters from today’s grand assembly.

“What?” Feng Yi was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, nearly jumping up. Unable to control the complaints in his belly any longer, he said: “Removing you from the position of Guangde Army Commissioner isn’t enough, immediately dissolving the Guangde Army Commissioner’s Office still isn’t enough—they even assigned your second uncle to oversee the settlement of women and children in the three counties. Isn’t this deliberately disgusting? Could it be that Yang Yuanpu is really so naive as to think you’ve restored an intimate and harmonious relationship with your eldest and second uncles?”

“Enough, Feng Yi, don’t say any more.” Seeing Han Qian’s face darken, Feng Liao tried to stop Feng Yi from continuing his complaints.

Feng Yi had changed much and matured considerably over these two years, but his stubborn temperament hadn’t improved much. The more he spoke, the angrier he became, growing increasingly eloquent: “Li Zhigao, Li Changfeng, Zheng Hui, Gao Chengyuan, Chai Jian, Gu Zhilong, Huang Hua and others are all commanders who also serve as Military Commanders. Chen De, as Commander of the Martial Virtue Department responsible for palace guard duties, Zhou Yuan, whom you’ve left eight streets behind, even concurrently oversees engineering. Only you, this Advisory Councilor, sounds impressive but holds no other substantial position—merely assisting Yang Zhitang and Li Pu in the Bureau of Military Affairs. Isn’t this treating you like a beggar? Could it be that among all these assembled worthies, anyone’s achievements truly surpass yours?”

“…” Feng Liao tugged at Feng Yi’s sleeve, telling him to be quiet.

Han Qian let out a long breath, as if to expel the foul air from his chest, then said to Feng Yi: “Enough, don’t complain like this in front of me anymore. If I really took on a pile of responsibilities at this time, how could I return to Xuzhou after the war?”

“That’s also true. Since you’ve already decided to return to Xuzhou, you shouldn’t have too much concern about gains and losses here…” Feng Liao followed Han Qian’s tone.

Even if it was self-deception, they had to maintain this unified front now, otherwise there would likely be far more trouble than just what lay before them. Feng Liao thought he still needed to have a good talk with Feng Yi about keeping his mouth shut even tighter.

Yang Yuanpu taking away Han Qian’s military authority was quite normal—Feng Liao wasn’t surprised by this. But he had once thought Yang Yuanpu would give Han Qian sufficient compensation in other areas.

He hadn’t expected that the youth who years ago had a frail body, pale complexion, and only two or three hangers-on following him could now strike with such ruthless decisiveness. Feng Liao couldn’t help but feel secretly alarmed, thinking that Yang Yuanpu had personally and completely severed what little teacher-student bond remained between him and Han Qian. He had truly resolved to become a solitary figure. Going forward, they should more seriously consider developing their operations in Xuzhou.

Han Qian didn’t want to dwell on negative emotions. No matter what, while in Fanchang City he had to maintain an appearance of being carefree and content. Changing the subject, he asked Feng Liao: “Did you go see Yang Qin during the day?”

“I went to see Yang Qin and chatted about the situation during the twenty-plus days before and after the naval battle at Chizhou,” Feng Liao said. “At Chizhou, the Five-Tusked Army naval forces fought extremely passively. If not for Qitian Lake east of Chizhou City, with its shallow and narrow outlet convenient for the Five-Tusked Army to withdraw into and defend, whether we could have taken Chizhou by now would still be questionable!”

Han Qian had long known that the Five-Tusked Army naval forces were fighting very passively against the Tower Ship Army in their contest for control of the Yangtze River outside Chizhou City. However, Yang Qin’s literary skills were crude, and the two clerks who closely attended him had both unfortunately died in battle. The letters he personally wrote could barely make events clear, but his actual summary of the Chizhou naval battle fell far short of Han Qian’s requirements.

Yang Qin was still in the naval forces and had to remain vigilant against possible surprise attacks by Tower Ship Army vessels from downstream. He couldn’t leave the naval camp at will, so Han Qian had sent Feng Liao to see him.

After Feng Liao met with Yang Qin, he clarified many details of the Chizhou naval battle and the points Han Qian had previously questioned, now explaining them one by one to Han Qian.

“Gao Chengyuan is from the Chongwen Palace Guards. He may have some competence commanding cavalry and infantry in battle, but he’s never had contact with naval warfare before. It’s only because there was no one else among the Left and Right Dragon Sparrow Army generals that Prince Tan could trust more that he was given command of the Five-Tusked Army—he’s not even as good as the self-taught Yang Qin,” Feng Liao said.

“Yang Qin can’t be called self-taught—how could someone who came from my side possibly be self-taught?” Though Han Qian’s expression was gloomy, his words conveyed unquestionable confidence. “But precisely because of this, Yang Qin and Gao Chengyuan probably don’t get along well, do they?”

“How could they possibly get along well?” Feng Liao said. “Yang Qin was assigned to the Five-Tusked Army without even being made a Deputy Commander—how could he have any voice in decisions?”

It was true that Yang Qin came from a water fortress background, but one could only say he was self-taught before the Yang Tan water fortress was destroyed by Zhong Yanhu’s forces. After he led the remnants of Yang Tan’s water fortress to withdraw into Xuzhou, whether participating in the construction of the Wufeng Mountain shipyard, engaging in research on new vessels like fast sailing ships and oared warships, or subsequently establishing and training the Xuzhou naval camp, Yang Qin had directly participated in or been the primary person responsible for all of it.

During the suppression campaign, the Xuzhou naval camp had shouldered considerable combat responsibilities.

Although Yang Qin lacked direct experience organizing and commanding large-scale naval operations, to call him a self-taught naval commander—among all the naval commanders in the Great Chu’s provinces, aside from Yang Jian, there were probably few who could truly measure up.

However, though Yang Qin had been Military Vice Commissioner in Xuzhou, when he led a thousand elite Xuzhou naval soldiers and over ten Xuzhou warships into the Five-Tusked Army to accept Gao Chengyuan’s unified command, he only held the rank of Battalion Commander, with capabilities but no room to display them.

This was clearly also Yueyang’s vigilance regarding Han Qian’s unauthorized seizure of Li Pu’s military authority in Jinling—they didn’t want to see Xuzhou faction officials have another opportunity to hold high positions.

Thinking of this, even the usually forbearing Feng Liao couldn’t help but feel indignant.

If not for Han Qian seizing Li Pu’s military authority and completely reversing the Great Chu’s situation through extremely ingenious calculations, what right would Yang Yuanpu have to strut about and hold court in Fanchang City?

Yet Yang Yuanpu and the various figures around him who could be called the world’s finest ignored Han Qian’s great merit and fixated solely on his unauthorized seizure of military authority. Who could swallow such bitter resentment?

Han Qian pondered for a moment, then said: “I’ll see if there’s an opportunity to have Yang Qin specifically oversee transport and escort of Xuzhou war equipment!”

Besides the Xuzhou faction military officers, Han Qian had no way to directly take ordinary soldiers or even officers and veterans who came from deserters of the Left and Right Dragon Sparrow Armies when he left the Left Guangde Army. But Yang Qin’s forces were direct troops from Xuzhou that Han Qian would take directly back to Xuzhou when leaving Jinling. Naturally, he couldn’t let Gao Chengyuan’s incompetent command cause needless losses.

……

……

Darkness soon fell completely. With nothing else to do, Han Qian had Xi Ren help him light the lanterns in the courtyard. Just then, Zhang Ping came to call.

Han Qian knew why Zhang Ping had come and invited him and his party into the inner residence while having Xi Ren fetch Wang Jun.

Seeing Zhang Ping’s disciples Ji Xiang and Yao Xishui behind him, Han Qian’s expression darkened slightly. Without beating around the bush, he stood in the corridor and directly asked Zhang Ping:

“Administrator Zhang, what does His Highness say about how to handle Miss Wang?”

The matter of Wang Jun was naturally something Han Qian wouldn’t raise at the grand assembly or during the morning audience. Instead, when he went to see Yang Yuanpu at dawn and encountered Zhang Ping, he mentioned it to him, hoping he would bring it up when Yang Yuanpu had free time so Wang Jun’s situation could be decided quickly.

He hadn’t expected a decision so soon.

“His Highness has ordered a courtyard prepared for Miss Wang and her maids to move into. As long as she doesn’t leave the city, her movements won’t be restricted,” Zhang Ping said. “I was afraid people below wouldn’t understand and might slight Miss Wang, so I personally made this trip—coincidentally, there’s a courtyard vacant next to yours, Han Administrator. Miss Wang can move in tomorrow. If Miss Wang needs anything, she can give instructions to Ji Xiang and Xishui.”

“Thank you for your trouble, Administrator Zhang,” Wang Jun bowed in courtesy, quite grateful that Zhang Ping had personally made the trip with her matter in mind. She also bowed to Ji Xiang and Yao Xishui: “Thank you, Administrator An, Clerk Yao…”

Ji Xiang, before entering the palace, had grown up in a poor family surnamed An. He was a disciple Zhang Ping had brought out while serving in the palace’s internal bureaus—one could say he was a disciple cultivated by Wanhong Tower within the palace. Along with An Jixiang, several other young eunuchs had grown up in the Great Chu palace—over the years, An Jixiang had constantly attended Yang Yuanpu at Zhang Ping’s side.

When Zhang Ping and Feng Yi rushed to Jinling as supervising commissioners, An Jixiang had accompanied Zhang Ping. After the capture of Langxi, An Jixiang had represented Zhang Ping in accompanying Yuan Guowei and Han Jun to Yueyang to report.

However, afterward, besides Yuan Guowei returning to Langxi, Han Jun remained at the Grand Consort’s side, while An Jixiang also remained serving at Yang Yuanpu’s side.

In Han Qian’s mind, he obviously wouldn’t assume An Jixiang was Zhang Ping’s trusted subordinate just because he was Zhang Ping’s disciple.

Before overwhelming temptations of power, let alone teacher and student—fathers and sons turning against each other, brothers fighting among themselves were common occurrences.

Wang Jun’s matter was something Han Qian had asked Zhang Ping to handle through Yang Yuanpu. Clearly, even if Yang Yuanpu didn’t want to appear too disagreeable in appearances, he still didn’t particularly trust Zhang Ping, which was why he additionally ordered An Jixiang and Yao Xishui to specifically handle this matter.

Clearly, he, this “teacher,” was the first target Yang Yuanpu wanted to topple right now. Only after he “fell” would Yang Yuanpu go after Li Pu and the Grand Consort one by one.

Thinking this, Han Qian couldn’t help but smile coldly to himself, wondering what surprises Yang Yuanpu would discover waiting for him when he moved to deal with his own mother and father-in-law.

Zhang Ping also knew many fine details couldn’t escape Han Qian’s eyes. To dissolve the awkwardness, he sniffed and asked:

“What wine is that? Smells wonderful!”

“That would naturally be my household’s exclusive recipe—Danyan Spring,” Han Qian said with a smile, pointing toward the dining hall. He asked Zhang Ping: “We were just about to eat. Would Administrator Zhang, Administrator An, and Miss Yao stay and drink a few cups?”

“You, ah you—when you were Commissioner in Guangde, you banned brewing and drinking. The very day you shed the Commissioner title, you can’t help but break your vow? Where did you get this wine?” Zhang Ping asked with a laugh.

Though Yang Yuanpu hadn’t directly ordered a ban on alcohol, among the supplies requisitioned from rear cities, there was no alcohol included. Getting fine wine in Fanchang City now was definitely no easy matter.

“Having shed my heavy responsibilities, I can say I’m thoroughly unburdened. With my wits, finding a way to get a few jars of good wine is still manageable,” Han Qian said with a smile.

“Then give me two jugs to take away. I don’t have time to stay here slowly savoring drinks with you,” Zhang Ping said without ceremony. “But Ji Xiang and Xishui can stay and have a couple drinks. If Miss Wang needs anything, she can give them instructions directly.”

Seeing Zhang Ping more clearly hint that An Jixiang’s wings had already hardened, Han Qian just smiled slightly, secretly feeling that Zhang Ping having An Jixiang and Yao Xishui stay might be Yang Yuanpu wanting to see his reaction after the grand assembly.

Han Qian then had Feng Yi wrap two jars of Yangtze Spring in cloth and had the two young eunuchs following behind Zhang Ping carry them away first.

After Zhang Ping left, Han Qian glanced at An Jixiang and Yao Xishui, then said to Wang Jun: “From today on, Miss Wang, you are no longer my prisoner. Join us for a few drinks—consider it celebrating your move tomorrow.”

“Moving from this courtyard to that one, aren’t I still a caged bird? What’s there to celebrate?” Wang Jun’s attending maid complained.

In fact, following Han Qian from Guangde, Han Qian hadn’t kept them under strict guard—they could have escaped at any time. She couldn’t understand why her mistress insisted on following Han Qian to Fanchang to continue being a prisoner.

Wang Jun glared at her maid with beautiful eyes, lowering her head to tell Han Qian: “Then I’ll impose on your hospitality.”

“Administrator An, Miss Yao, please!” Han Qian gestured for An Jixiang and Yao Xishui to proceed toward the dining hall.

“We wouldn’t dare!” An Jixiang didn’t dare presume just because he’d gained a bit of His Highness’s trust, insisting Han Qian go first.

Yao Xishui also dutifully followed behind Han Qian, passing through the covered walkway toward the dining hall. But she secretly observed Han Qian and Wang Jun walking ahead.

Wang Jixiong had died of illness in Xuzhou. Han Qian wouldn’t allow Wang Jixiong to be buried in Xuzhou, so Wang Jun had escorted the coffin to Yueyang to select a burial site. Wang Jun also remained in Yueyang to observe mourning for her father.

At that time, relations between Yueyang and Chuzhou were still harmonious. Later, due to unpleasantness at Jingshan Convent, relations between the two sides deteriorated sharply. Just as Yueyang had designs on detaining her, Wang Jun escaped from Yueyang and hid in the Maoshan area southeast of Jinling to cultivate and rest.

No one would have expected Han Qian to suddenly appear in Jinling, and even less would anyone have imagined that after arriving in Jinling, Han Qian would seize command of the remnant household troops of Taowu from Li Pu, then feint a retreat to Maoshan after raiding Liyang City garrisoned by Chuzhou forces. Thus Wang Jun accidentally fell into Han Qian’s hands.

The whole affair seemed to have many coincidences, but the overall process was entirely without problems.

The Chishan Army and Chuzhou forces had fought several fierce battles. But no matter what, in this age that still valued scholarly bearing, even if Han Qian’s temperament was perverse and ruthless, as long as he showed the slightest consideration for his father’s reputation, he couldn’t possibly vent his anger on Wang Jun, who had once traveled a thousand miles with her grandfather to Xuzhou to pay condolences. He could only keep her under house arrest as a special “prisoner of war,” not even able to treat her too harshly—he had to keep her well-fed and cared for.

And with Han Qian intending to relinquish military authority, handing Wang Jun over at this time was perfectly natural.

Previously, Gu Zhilong had detained over thirty people with deep ties to Anning Palace and Chuzhou, including Shang Zhongjie, son of Personnel Vice Minister Shang Wensheng who had pledged loyalty to Anning Palace, and handed them to Marquis Xinchang Li Pu. This time Li Pu had also brought these people to Fanchang City.

Now Yueyang had also ordered all provinces to arrest people with deep ties to the Anning Palace and Chuzhou factions.

This wasn’t to launch mass executions. Shen Yang, Zheng Yu and others advocated this mainly thinking they could grasp some leverage to internally undermine Anning Palace and Chuzhou.

Wang Jun’s situation was rather special. On one hand, she was the daughter of Prince Xin Yang Yuanyan’s chief strategist Wang Wenqian, but she was also the granddaughter of renowned minister Wang Jixiong.

Whether Shen Yang, Zheng Yu, Yang Zhitang, or Prince Tan Yang Yuanpu—none wanted to stain their reputations by harming a renowned minister’s descendant. Not to mention harming her—even whether to use Wang Jun as leverage in negotiations with Chuzhou, everyone still had quite different opinions, afraid of gaining the infamy of threatening through women and children.

Han Qian expressed obedience by handing her over. After Yang Yuanpu consulted with Shen Yang for quite a while, they decided to first arrange a courtyard to keep her under house arrest.

This entire matter also appeared completely without problems from any angle.

Yang Yuanpu having An Jixiang and Yao Xishui directly handle this matter was mainly because he worried about Zhang Ping having too much private contact with Han Qian. At the same time, with Yao Xishui returning to Fanchang as a palace lady official, Yang Yuanpu had to assign her some responsibilities.

However, at this moment, walking behind Han Qian and Wang Jun, Yao Xishui always felt an indescribable awkwardness, yet couldn’t identify where this awkward feeling came from. She only thought—such excellent leverage, just because a group of hypocrites cherished their reputations, would it really have no use?

……

……

Conditions in Fanchang City were very simple. When Han Qian dined in the dining hall, he never minded crowding around a table with the guards below. But today’s situation was special. Feng Liao worried the guards couldn’t conceal their emotions, so he arranged for them to eat in the outer courtyard beforehand. A square table was set up in the dining hall.

There were no rules about men and women dining separately.

Not only did Wang Jun and Yao Xishui join the table, Xi Ren also sat beside Han Qian. Then Feng Liao, Feng Yi, and Kong Xirong accompanied An Jixiang to the table, exactly filling one table.

Their lodging in Fanchang City received fruit, vegetables, and meat currently supplied uniformly by the supply battalion. Though conditions were simple, given Han Qian’s status, there would be no shortages. There were bamboo shoots, wild rice stems, cured meat, plus Yangtze white-scaled fish that Feng Liao had brought back from seeing Yang Qin, cut into chunks and braised, and fish head with tofu stewed into milky white soup.

Wang Jun watched Xi Ren holding the wine pot, pouring wine into everyone’s bowls. Looking at the crude pottery bowls and the amber liquid crystal clear within, thinking of the past, she said: “When grandfather was alive, he loved drinking Danyan Spring, often sighing that this wine came to market too late, leaving him only a few good years to drink it. All told, grandfather drank forty or fifty jars before he passed. When I usually accompanied grandfather drinking, other strong liquors left me unmoved, but this wine has quite some character.”

“Doesn’t that mean you could drink one or two jars of Danyan Spring without trouble?” Feng Yi asked with interest.

“How could one waste wine so? After two or three pots when the wine takes effect, one should stop,” Wang Jun said with a slight smile.

“You drink two or three pots before feeling the effects, but Feng Yi would be rolling under the table unconscious after two or three pots,” Han Qian said with a laugh.

“Perhaps Wang Jun is bluffing—today I’ll definitely drink a full three pots with her no matter what,” Feng Yi said defiantly.

Yao Xishui saw the wine pot Xi Ren held was small—three pots equaling one jin. With other wines, she could drink three to five pots without problem, but the issue was that Danyan Spring was truly a strong liquor that gave one a burning, scratching sensation in the heart and gut. She thought if Wang Jun only felt the effects after two or three pots, she must naturally have low sensitivity to alcohol.

Watching Xi Ren come over with the pot to pour wine, Yao Xishui hesitated but didn’t reach out to stop her. She wanted to see whether Han Qian was truly unbothered or if everything was an act for others to see.

“Add three stools at the table corner—you three sit down and have a drink too. Where I’ve been remiss in the past, Han Qian apologizes to you here,” Han Qian invited Wang Jun’s two personal maids and Yao Xishui’s attending maid to sit down and drink as well.

Yao Xishui could naturally tell that Wang Jun’s two personal maids had decent martial skills. These two had previously been under stricter house arrest restrictions, but if Han Qian wasn’t afraid, she had nothing to worry about. She just gave the maid behind her, Ye Feiying, a glance, telling her to sit normally at the table corner and have a couple drinks as a gesture.

She didn’t believe Han Qian could detect any clues from Ye Feiying. Who could imagine that skinny tomboy from years ago had become so fresh and lovely after four or five years, and had even trained such agile skills through hard practice?

People of this age hadn’t yet developed the habit of sipping wine slowly. Even though Yao Xishui remained vigilant in her heart, after three rounds of drinks, she still felt drunkenness surging rather fiercely. Not daring to stay and make a fool of herself, she took her leave with the equally tipsy An Jixiang.

Watching Han Qian’s face suddenly turn ice-cold after An Jixiang and Yao Xishui left, with her two maids also drunk, Wang Jun couldn’t help asking: “The Third Prince treats you so—is your heart very disappointed?”

Wang Jun had also learned from Yao Xishui and An Jixiang’s conversation at the table about Yang Yuanpu’s various arrangements for Han Qian, but she ultimately couldn’t guess what Han Qian’s reaction would be, and couldn’t help but ask this question.

“From beginning to end I’ve said I only came to fulfill my late father’s dying wish. I had no other expectations, so naturally there’s no so-called disappointment,” Han Qian said expressionlessly.

Wang Jun stood to take her leave. Seeing her two maids already supporting each other as they went out, with Feng Liao and Feng Yi also walking into the courtyard, her teeth white as salt slightly biting her lips, she looked at Han Qian and asked: “There’s actually one thing I’ve never understood—why did Emperor Tianyou first transfer your father to Jinling as Metropolitan Governor?”

“I’ll say it again—I only came to Jinling to fulfill my father’s dying wish,” Han Qian answered irrelevantly, also seeming completely uninterested in Wang Jun’s question.

However, Xi Ren, who was clearing leftover wine nearby, heard this and trembled, unable to imagine that Wang Jun could also see this point.

“Then I’ll take my leave.” Wang Jun knew Han Qian would ultimately never open his heart to her. She lowered her head and walked outside.

Although she guessed that from the moment Han Qian learned of the Jinling Massacre and returned to Xuzhou to observe mourning, he had already completely lost faith in the so-called Great Chu Emperor, how could Han Qian possibly have no unwillingness in his heart after investing so much effort in Yang Yuanpu, step by step supporting him to the moment of ruling over all, truly reaching the point where teacher-student bonds were severed?