This made her extremely anxious, so she and Rong Pu collaborated to devise a plan that could capture the entire royal city and its military forces in one decisive strike, hoping for a swift victory.
She silently reviewed the entire plan in her mind, calculating various possible changes, while the person behind her asked: “Are you disgusted with me, thinking that I’m cold-hearted and ruthless?”
“In the face of hatred, no one can play saint for others.” Tie Ci sighed, patted his shoulder, and seeing Xiao Wu enter Rong Pu’s room, she also went downstairs.
The Eagle Master watched her figure disappear around the corner before withdrawing his gaze.
He raised his hand slightly, and the sound of wings flapping came from the sky. A huge bird’s head poked down from under the eaves, affectionately nuzzling his cheek.
The Eagle Master stroked Hai Dongqing’s hard, curved beak with his other hand, murmuring: “I only have you left…”
The courtyards in Xirong were far less elaborate than the deep, sophisticated courtyards of Da Qian. Courtyard walls adjoined each other, and neighbors’ laundry would accidentally end up in one’s own yard. Tian Wu and Xiao Wu passed through the miscellaneous items and entered the inner room, where they heard Xiao Wu discussing matters with Rong Pu and Tie Ci.
“…The maid of Left Minister Zuo Siyan’s favored concubine told me that her mistress has already heard about the auction and is very interested in the Life-Extending Ointment. She will drag Zuo Siyan to attend.”
Rong Pu was slowly grinding something in the stone mortar in front of him, and upon hearing this, he nodded slowly.
The Crown Prince had two capable assistants: his uncle and General Zuo Siyan.
The former helped him control the palace, while the latter helped him slaughter the royal family.
Zuo Siyan was brutal by nature – Princess Kusu Li had been made into a human vessel by him.
Even more coincidentally, that favored concubine of Zuo Siyan was the very one who had initially fled the royal city with the Queen, only to betray her, leading to the Queen’s capture.
She was later rewarded to Zuo Siyan by the Crown Prince.
Xiao Wu was particularly sensitive to scents. When this favored concubine’s maid went out shopping, he told her that the herbs in the sachet she wore at her waist, imitating Da Qian customs, could cause infertility.
The maid was greatly alarmed, half-believing and half-doubting. She invited Xiao Wu to dinner, and based on scents alone, Xiao Wu accurately guessed the dishes and even people he didn’t recognize.
The maid returned to tell the concubine. Since the concubine had recently gained favor and there were many in the general’s mansion who wished her ill, she was paranoid and suspicious. Hearing that this Da Qian merchant had such abilities, she developed thoughts of recruitment.
Of course, Xiao Wu wouldn’t accept her recruitment, but this didn’t prevent him from maintaining good relations with that maid.
The three men – the Crown Prince, the Chief Minister, and Zuo Siyan – all commanded troops. To deal with one, they had to simultaneously deal with the other two to avoid being surrounded. Only by taking down all three at once could they secure the royal city most safely.
Currently, everything was progressing smoothly.
After entering the royal city, the entire plan was devised by Rong Pu and was extremely thorough and detailed. Tian Wu targeted the palace guard commander, Xiao Wu aimed at the Zuo Siyan mansion, and Yang Yixiu, being flexible and adaptable with strong affinity, was responsible for public opinion and psychological warfare. Besides winning over people in the Crown Prince’s maternal uncle’s mansion, Yang Yixiu also intentionally mentioned to various Xirong noble household stewards that he had some knowledge of mystical arts. Looking at the royal city shrouded in dark clouds with chaotic constellations, he feared someone had committed many injustices, angering Heaven, and great disaster might befall the royal city.
Generally, the more backward a place, the more superstitious it becomes. The Xirong people had also heard that Da Qian had many who were skilled in mystical and divinatory arts. They listened with half-belief and half-doubt, involuntarily associating this with the Crown Prince’s fratricidal usurpation. The throne was connected to the Mandate of Heaven – wouldn’t obtaining it through illegitimate means naturally invite divine retribution?
Rumors immediately spread throughout the city. It was said that when the Crown Prince learned of these rumors, he was so furious that he punished several officials and ordered people to investigate everywhere, immediately imprisoning anyone spreading rumors. But preventing people from speaking was harder than controlling floods. The more intense his reaction, the more it seemed like a guilty conscience. Though the people’s mouths were silenced, their inner thoughts became even more active.
A great net slowly spread across the entire royal city.
Rong Pu listened to their progress reports without any change in expression, carefully picking up a few medicinal herbs and placing them in a tray. Another small tray contained several dark-colored candies wrapped in exquisite plain white paper. He unwrapped a candy and offered it to Tie Ci. Tie Ci reached out to take it, but Rong Pu, like playing hide-and-seek, moved his fingertips and gently pushed the candy into her mouth.
His fingertips held the candy wrapper, but part of it stuck. Just as his fingertips were about to touch Tie Ci’s lips, she suddenly lowered her head, sucking both the candy and wrapper into her mouth. A moment later, she deftly spat out the wrapper and smiled in praise: “This licorice candy is quite refreshing.”
Xiao Wu and the others were amazed.
Yang Yixiu watched Rong Pu with a grin, finding it quite amusing to watch Supervisor Rong tease the Crown Princess daily, and her straightforward reactions were equally interesting.
Obviously, Rong Pu also found it amusing. Without any trace of annoyance, he smiled lightly and returned to working on his medicinal powder.
At this time, in the Xirong palace, a steaming, aromatic plate of braised beef was brought up. After being tested twice for poison by the Crown Prince’s trusted attendants and tasted once personally, it was finally placed before the Crown Prince while still warm.
The Crown Prince picked up his silver chopsticks and began eating this delicacy he never tired of lately.
He dined alone, with no women beside him. He had heard many stories from the Central Plains about emperors and generals ruined by feminine wiles, so he avoided women. Except for his wives and concubines who had followed him for years, he refused all women offered to him.
The cook stood nearby. In the Crown Prince’s court, whenever he ate a dish, the cook who prepared it had to taste it first and wait in the hall. If anything went wrong, they would die on the spot without even a chance to escape.
Even this newly hired cook, who was the younger brother-in-law of his most trusted palace guard commander, was no exception.
A piece of beef dripping with sauce entered his mouth. The tender beef, saturated with broth, burst with layers of flavor in his mouth. The cook served him while quietly laughing: “Your Majesty should eat less – beef is heating in nature, and with no one beside you for relief…”
The Crown Prince also felt that lately, after eating this beef, his strength and energy had increased. With no women around, the long nights were inevitably difficult to endure.
The cook laughed again: “If General Zuo ate this beef, it would surely be put to good use.”
The Crown Prince immediately thought of Zuo Siyan’s particular ailment, and by extension, Zuo Siyan’s new favorite. He somewhat regretted not killing that woman instead of letting Zuo Siyan sleep with her. A woman who could betray her mistress clearly had bad character – keeping her was ultimately a hidden danger. Better to find a way to deal with her.
Thinking this, he said to a nearby official: “Take some of the most beautiful women from those Qiu Wujiu sent last time and send them to Zuo Siyan.”
The official acknowledged and withdrew.
The Crown Prince also rewarded the cook. The cook withdrew joyfully, thinking that the traveling merchant who taught him these skills was indeed reliable. He had taught him not to forcefully recommend food but to offer appropriate advice, which the king would prefer more. Now it seemed this was indeed the case.
At this moment, the traveling merchant Tian Wu, whom he was grateful to in his heart, was carrying some pastries to the palace gate guard house. That gate commander rarely went home, spending most of his time personally stationed in this guard house, responsible for arranging and deploying all personnel.
The time he went was precisely when this commander was making his rounds inside the palace. Since the stern commander treated only this merchant favorably, the other guards resting in the guard house politely let him in.
Tian Wu generously shared the food he brought with everyone: beef and radish soup, beef pot stickers, beef and cabbage pies, and so on. His Tian family had built their fortune on beef, so Tian Wu’s beef dishes were quite good. When Tie Ci heard he had offered his secret recipe, she felt bad and specially taught him how to make pot stickers.
Though Tie Ci wasn’t skilled at cooking, she had a master who was excellent at eating with great variety, placing high demands on his disciples. Pot stickers were one of the methods she had mentioned. Dan Shuang taught Tian Wu once, and the beef pot stickers he made had thin, crispy, golden bottoms that crackled and crumbled at the touch of lips, while the filling inside was plump and juicy, deliciously unparalleled. Even someone like Tie Ci, who had eaten countless delicacies, would praise this food, let alone these guards suffering through the cold while protecting the palace.
So before long, those guards were absorbed in competing for food, long forgetting where Tian Wu was.
Tian Wu took advantage of this to carry a portion of food into the guard house, and following Tie Ci’s instructions, found the locked cabinet.
Tie Ci had said that since the commander was particularly cautious, even when going out temporarily for rounds, he would definitely lock important things in the cabinet.
Tian Wu took out a thin iron wire and quietly worked at it.
Suddenly someone poked their head in and called: “Old Tian, what are you doing? Come out and eat with us.”
Tian Wu stopped, his large frame blocking the wire, and smiled honestly: “I was afraid the food would get cold outside, so I brought some in for Commander Damu.”
“Then just put it on the table. Don’t touch his things – he’s very particular. He notices if anything is moved even slightly!”
“Understood.”
Click – the lock opened.
Tian Wu was different from those academy students from wealthy families. His family had built their fortune from nothing, and in his early years walking the streets and alleys among common folk, he had learned many small skills.
Inside the cabinet was a box, and inside the box was a stack of wooden pieces – the palace guard personnel arrangements and shift change times for the next few days.
Tian Wu was secretly delighted at the sight.
Indeed, as His Highness had said, few of these Xirong people could read, and even fewer could write. So this definitely wasn’t a handwritten list, but rather name tags made for easy replacement.
The daily guard duty roster was a long wooden board with times carved into it and slots carved behind them. When arranging shifts, they simply had to insert name tags with squad leaders’ names into the slots.
Tian Wu found the arrangement for the third day ahead in order, noting the times and the number of squad leader name tags, thus learning when shifts changed, which time periods had the fewest people, and understanding the weak areas (the key areas didn’t need examination).
Finally, Tian Wu made slight adjustments to those wooden pieces, such as removing one or two name tags from areas loaded with many squad leader names and transferring them to areas with moderate staffing.
This way, the total number of guards would remain unchanged, but the number of guards in key areas would decrease.
Since Xirong people weren’t sensitive to characters, they would be even less sensitive to numbers. Slight increases or decreases on a densely packed list would be unnoticeable unless checked one by one.
And because assignments were random daily, it would be even harder to detect. This was the weakness of random selection that naturally had to be exploited.
After making adjustments, Tian Wu relocked the cabinet and carried the food package back out, saying: “There seemed to be mice inside, so I’ll leave it outside. Everyone help watch it – don’t sneak any bites.”
Everyone was eating with oil dripping from their mouths, laughing and waving to indicate they absolutely wouldn’t. Tian Wu took the opportunity to bid farewell. As he walked out of the guard house, he saw Commander Damu in the distance, returning against the wind and snow.
The timing was perfect.
Tian Wu smiled honestly.
At this time, the Crown Prince’s maternal uncle, Chief Minister Namutu, had set up a banquet and was boasting for the tenth time about the wine his nephew had specially bought for him. Most people took the opportunity to flatter him, but in the court, there were inevitably people and matters that didn’t get along. So that antagonistic person smiled and said: “The Chief Minister has mentioned that wine several times. The Crown Prince bought the wine some time ago – why hasn’t it been delivered yet?”
Namutu’s expression immediately soured.
Someone tried to smooth things over: “Ah, the Crown Prince is busy with affairs – perhaps he forgot for a moment? Or maybe the Crown Prince bought that wine intending to drink it together with the Chief Minister when he visits the palace? This is favor only the Chief Minister enjoys – we shouldn’t overthink it.”
That person laughed: “What are you saying? The Crown Prince would never summon people to the palace for drinks. In my opinion, after talking about this wine for so long without it being delivered, the Crown Prince probably just forgot. I happen to have a brother serving in the palace – I’ll have him remind the Crown Prince. That way it can be bestowed sooner, letting us all see it. How long has it been since we’ve tasted fine wine from Da Qian?”
Xirong people loved alcohol, but their technology in this area was far inferior to Da Qian. Now with internal strife disrupting trade, everyone was somewhat impatiently craving it. Hearing this, they felt their mouths watering, thinking perhaps they could get a share too.
So they all urged Namutu to send someone to ask – you’re the closest uncle and nephew, the Crown Prince’s throne was obtained through your help, so what’s wrong with asking for a jar of wine?
Pressured by both antagonism and flattery, Namutu couldn’t withstand it and actually sent someone to ask.
The result was predictable.
When the Crown Prince heard this, he was stunned for a moment and said, “When did I buy wine?” Being a cautious person, he thought about it and sent someone to take some Da Qian fine wine still stored in the treasury, pretending it was purchased, and sent it out of the palace.
However, the people at Namutu’s mansion had waited too long, and with troublemakers among them, the Crown Prince’s words and actions were all revealed.
Namutu’s banquet ended hastily, and that night several stools were kicked to pieces in his mansion.
While Namutu was thunderously furious there, Zuo Siyan’s mansion was also restless.
Candlelight flickered red as the favored concubine tried on the Western brocade fitted dress that Xiao Wu had sent.
The exquisitely tailored brocade wrapped around her curvaceous figure. The woman in the mirror had an alluring and seductive form, and the concubine narrowed her eyes with satisfaction.
The maid was also flattering her, laughing: “Madam is so beautiful – the General will lose his soul when he sees you.”
The concubine smiled, stroking the exquisite, smooth satin, thinking of her flight several months ago when she nearly lost such wealth and luxury, and felt a wave of relief.
Thinking this, she suddenly remembered the Queen.
She remembered the woman who, because she was skilled at acting coquettishly, gradually came to see her as a daughter.
She remembered the woman’s eyes when she was captured, glaring fiercely at her through the blood covering her face, those eyes full of murderous intent.
Her fingers trembled, and she disdainfully curled her lips.
What if she hated her?
Should she have foolishly planned for her old master and died with her instead of planning for herself?
The old king’s entire family was dead, wasn’t it? That woman’s son was severely wounded and fled, reportedly trapped in the desert – sooner or later he’d be dead too.
Her sister was also barely surviving on the edge of the great desert.
And her new husband possessed powerful military forces.
Who could still seek revenge on her?
Let them wail in hell.
However, she had to firmly grasp the General’s heart.
After all, her wealth, luxury, and life all depended on him.
The maid suddenly went out for a while, and when she returned, her expression was panicked.
“Madam, this is terrible! The Crown Prince is going to bestow many new beauties on the General!”
The concubine stood up abruptly, nearly tearing the fitted dress.
Her background was already awkward – after all, she had once belonged to the old king.
Having done that disgraceful thing, she could now only rely on her beauty to keep the General. But the General was lustful by nature – even before her beauty faded, his love might already cool.
Hearing this news now made her even more uneasy.
The maid thought for a moment, then suddenly clapped her hands and smiled: “Madam needn’t panic – I have a good solution.”
She told her about the Da Qian traveling merchant she had befriended, saying that in casual conversation, the merchant had mentioned that among the items in this auction was something that could keep one forever young, make the body emit a strange fragrance that men couldn’t resist, and change one’s constitution to make conception easier.
For a concubine without status, this was as tempting as a throne to a man.
However, this medicine required both man and woman to use it simultaneously, and it had to be prepared according to different constitutions. Once prepared, it would lose effectiveness after three quarters of an hour, so timing was an issue.
Calculating the time, after preparing the medicine and bringing it back to the General’s mansion, then inviting the General to enjoy it together – three quarters of an hour would definitely not be enough.
The only option was to drag the General personally to the auction, bid for it, and use it immediately.
The concubine was still somewhat hesitant, but the maid showed her some small gifts. One was an unremarkable dagger, but it was the sharpest weapon she had ever seen – truly cutting iron like mud. Even the General’s most treasured twin-dragon curved blade couldn’t match this dagger’s sharpness. It was a genuine treasure sword.
Additionally, the maid brought back a box of fragrant powder with a slight medicinal scent. When the maid applied it to her face, it made her skin soft and rosy, instantly making her much more beautiful.
These two items made the concubine believe that this group of Da Qian merchants could indeed produce such legendary treasures.
After all, precious swords worth thousands of gold and rare cosmetic powders unavailable on the market were casually given as gifts to her maid.
Originally, she thought dragging the General out would be too difficult, but at this moment, hearing that beauties were about to enter the mansion, the last straw broke the camel’s back. The concubine gritted her teeth.
She would risk it!
…
On a snow-covered road, a group of people walked with some difficulty.
Suddenly several people heard the sound of horse hooves. They raised their heads alertly and saw a group approaching from ahead. The several people exchanged glances and immediately arranged themselves in what appeared casual but was actually a well-trained defensive formation.
The opposing cavalry seemed to pause, then continued approaching normally. When they drew near, a rider leaned down, removed his felt hat, revealing a bearded, honest face, and said in the local Xirong dialect, somewhat awkwardly: “Brothers, traveling in this cold weather – aren’t you freezing? Looking at this direction, you’re heading toward Hanli Han Desert, right?”
From Xirong to Da Qian, there were naturally other routes, but most had extremely poor terrain. In comparison, familiar traveled roads were naturally better.
Guerrilla Commander Yu had chosen a remote route toward Hanli Han Desert. He feared Tie Ci would soon cause trouble in Xirong and wanted to return to Yong Ping early – both to quickly separate himself from Tie Ci’s actions and to inform the Marshal about her audacious behavior in Xirong as soon as possible.
He was also a scout by background and responded naturally with a smile: “Yes, going to visit my nephew who lives in Yiye Village on the edge of Hanli Han.”
He pointed to the soldiers behind him, somewhat embarrassedly saying: “It’s called a visit, but actually, it’s winter with nothing to eat and no work. My nephew at least has some land and pastures, so I brought the village boys out to look for work together.”
What he said matched the current situation in Xirong, and the place names were indeed locations they had passed through. The mounted man nodded without suspicion and warmly invited them: “You’ll need to rest when evening comes, right? Come together? We have dry rations and some good liquor.”
Xirong people were hospitable – such behavior wasn’t strange. Hearing about liquor, Guerrilla Commander Yu swallowed saliva. In this weather, having a mouthful of strong liquor to warm the body was indeed a great temptation.
But he also knew the dangers of alcohol and instinctively wanted to refuse, but then he heard those people discussing something about “Yong Ping” and “women” with hearty laughter. His heart stirred, thinking that since leaving, he hadn’t received news from Yong Ping for a long time and didn’t know the current situation.
This group seemed like Xirong merchants heading to Da Qian. There were indeed Xirong people who traded at the border, and many successful merchants, coveting Da Qian’s prosperity, even had properties within Da Qian territory. Guerrilla Commander Yu agreed and followed them to a nearby tent. The group gave the host some food and money to prepare something hot.
The host went to work, and the group began talking loudly. They spoke in Xirong dialect among themselves, so Guerrilla Commander Yu went to chat with them. After stumbling through conversation for a long time with mutual misunderstanding, the Xirong people laughed heartily and offered him liquor. Guerrilla Commander Yu swallowed saliva while refusing. The Xirong people laughed again, and their leader suddenly said: “You’re so careful – afraid we’ll poison you? Really are Da Qian people, so timid.”
Guerrilla Commander Yu was startled, his hand under his robe already gripping the knife handle.
Because this person had suddenly switched to Da Qian language, speaking quite fluently.
Seeing this, that person quickly waved his hands, and all his companions stepped back, saying: “Hey, hey, don’t panic – we don’t plan to do anything. We’re just border merchants. We’ve traveled to Da Qian so much that we can recognize Da Qian people. You speak the local dialect with a bit of a curved-tongue accent. We invited you precisely because we saw you were Da Qian people. Da Qian, brothers.”
He gestured with his fingers, his bearded face full of smiles.
Guerrilla Commander Yu was stunned, then realized that Da Qian and Xirong weren’t at war yet – they were still allied nations.
It was all because the Commander had always been wary of Xirong, calling them “desert jackals who bark at dawn and attack at dusk” – not to be fully trusted.
He then put on a stiff smile, saying he had misunderstood them, and accepted their wine but didn’t drink it immediately.
The others didn’t mind and said to him: “When did you come out? Hurry back. Something big happened at the border!”
Guerrilla Commander Yu’s heart jumped, and he asked what had happened. That man looked incredulous and said: “That Commander Di Yiwei of the Yong Ping forces turned out to be a woman! They say she was treasonous and collaborated with enemies, was captured by the Military Inspector, and is being prepared for transport to the capital. Now the Military Inspector has stripped her clothes and she’s naked, being displayed publicly throughout the Yong Ping front lines!”
Guerrilla Commander Yu: “…!!!”