When Yan Chi still hadn’t caught the culprit, Yan Huai spoke with heavy concern, “Today is the last day. If we cannot apprehend Fu General’s murderer by tomorrow morning, the Third Prince of Western Liang will surely cause trouble with Great Zhou!”
Yan Chi remained impassive, “Your Majesty, rest assured. There will be an answer by tomorrow morning!”
Yan Huai felt somewhat irritated seeing Yan Chi’s demeanor. However, Yan Chi was an unyielding man of principle. At this point, all he could do was repeatedly emphasize the importance – he couldn’t hold a knife to his throat to force him to produce the culprit.
With a helpless wave of his hand, “Of course I trust you. The bottom line is, no matter what, the murderer must be found!”
After Yan Chi acknowledged once more, Yan Huai gestured, “Alright, you may withdraw and attend to your duties!”
Yan Chi bowed and retreated.
Inside the main tent, Yan Che pondered for a moment before speaking, “Father Emperor, shouldn’t we prepare contingency plans? If we truly cannot find the culprit by then, are we going to let Western Liang’s Third Prince take his people back?”
Yan Huai frowned slightly while slowly drumming his fingers on the table, “What else can we do? A Western Liang general has died – we cannot possibly detain their Third Prince in Great Zhou. If this happens, war may be unavoidable.”
Yan Qi raised his chin from the side, “What does it matter if we can’t find the killer? Let that Western Liang Third Prince take Fu General’s remains back. Does Western Liang truly dare to wage war against us? Starting a war may be easy for them, but ending it won’t be! With Uncle Rui Wang watching the northwestern border, Western Liang would have to think twice about mobilizing troops. I dare say Western Liang absolutely won’t dare to rashly start a war!”
Yan Che let out a cold laugh, “King Cheng shouldn’t forget that we also have the Rong enemies at our northwestern border. The Rong has been watching us like a tiger eyeing its prey. Their previous major defeat only made them lay low for a while. If Western Liang attacks, the Rong will surely take advantage of the situation. How will Uncle Rui Wang and the Shuoxi Army handle that?”
Yan Qi raised an eyebrow, “Western Liang attacking? If Western Liang attacked, do you think the Rong would still come after Great Zhou? If I were Western Liang, I’d first attack the easier target – Western Liang would fall in minutes!”
Yan Qi’s perspective caught Yan Che off guard. Though Yan Qi was roguish, he was skilled in debate. Yan Che frowned, “It’s too early for King Cheng to discuss this. The Rong and Great Zhou have longstanding grievances – how do you know if they’ll attack Great Zhou or Western Liang? How can we take such risks?” After a pause, Yan Che continued, “Moreover, regardless of anything else, starting a war would harm both Great Zhou and its people. After last year’s corruption cases, floods in the south, and drought in the north, Great Zhou cannot withstand any more turmoil.”
Just as Yan Qi wanted to retort, Yan Huai slapped the table, “Enough! The Crown Prince is right about this. We indeed cannot risk it. No matter what, we must give Liu Yun an explanation tomorrow. King Cheng’s thinking is too simplistic and rash!”
Though it was just a disagreement rather than a reprimand, having it happen in front of so many people still made Yan Qi’s face flush red and pale alternately. He wasn’t unaware of what Yan Che had said, but could Yan Chi truly find the murderer? If not, when things escalated, how could the Crown Prince, as the hunt’s chief commander, avoid being implicated?
Yan Qi’s lips held a thin smile as he perfunctorily apologized before falling silent.
Meanwhile, after leaving the main tent, Yan Chi headed straight for the council hall. Inside, Bai Feng was waiting with several letters. Seeing Yan Chi appear, he immediately stepped forward, “Master, these letters arrived early this morning.”
Yan Chi nodded and quickly opened the letters after taking his seat.
These letters, mostly sent from the capital’s direction, were densely packed with writing. They contained detailed introductions about the Western Liang and Northern Wei entourages for this visit. Yan Chi carefully read through each letter. When he reached Xu Chang’s information, his brows furrowed. Bai Feng, standing beside him, asked, “Master, how is it?”
Yan Chi concentrated for a moment, “It’s useful—”
A smile spread across Bai Feng’s lips, “That’s excellent! It wasn’t in vain that Master arranged for investigations right after the New Year. Now it’s finally proven useful.”
After the New Year, when Northern Wei’s state letter reached Yan Huai’s hands, Yan Chi issued an order. At that time, Yan Chi naturally hadn’t anticipated that the Northern Wei envoys would encounter trouble. As he currently remained in the capital, he would arrange precautionary investigations for anything related to court matters. This time, his decision to investigate in advance proved incredibly wise!
Holding the letter, Yan Chi’s eyes flashed with a subtle light, “I couldn’t figure out his motive before, but now I understand. Although Tuoba Hong, as Northern Wei’s Crown Prince, excels in civil administration, he lacks understanding of those around him.”
Though Northern Wei was thousands of li away from Lin’an City, Yan Chi’s orders had been issued three months ago. Therefore, the information in his hands was extremely detailed, even including some content that Tuoba Hong, the Northern Wei Crown Prince, didn’t know about.
Hearing this, Bai Feng felt relieved. Given Yan Chi’s words, he must have everything under control. Yan Chi had promised a three-day deadline, and Bai Feng naturally didn’t want his master to face any criticism over this promise.
“Master, how should we arrange things now?”
Yan Chi shook his head, “Continue with the original plan. Just wait for good news.”
…
…
When Wei Chan emerged from the tent, he again saw Great Zhou guards in the distance. Though they wore Imperial Guard uniforms, Wei Chan could tell they weren’t ordinary Imperial Guards. Regular Imperial Guards would salute when passing ranking officers like the Imperial Guard Vice Commander, but these men completely ignored the military officers among the Imperial Guards.
Wei Chan’s heart raced as he stood outside the tent entrance for a moment before turning to go back inside.
Inside the tent, Xiao Yu wore a troubled expression, with dark circles under his eyes from not sleeping the previous night. Seeing Wei Chan enter, Xiao Yu asked, “Are they still watching?”
Wei Chan nodded. Xiao Yu angrily punched his fist, “Will the Crown Prince ever wake up?! Without the Crown Prince awake to take charge, will we two be taken as scapegoats?!”
Wei Chan smiled bitterly, “We can only seek help from the Princess.”
Xiao Yu sighed, “The Princess cares most about the Crown Prince. Perhaps she also believes we’re the culprits. If so, she might kill us. Brother Xu said only we two heard Ninth Miss’s instructions and also said that day up the mountain, we were the ones carrying the bait. Based on these two points, we have no way to explain ourselves. That Yan Shizi, who knows what other evidence he’s fabricated against us!”
Wei Chan said, “But when we returned that day and discussed the matter, Brother Xu was also there beside us. He can testify for us…”
Xiao Yu shook his head, “He still can’t prove we didn’t go to the pharmacy to kill someone. That night everyone was sleeping deeply, and Brother Xu wasn’t even in the same place as us. Who knows what we might have done?”
Wei Chan nearly burst into tears, “Damn it… We came on this trip hoping to protect the Crown Prince well and earn some merit upon return, but now it seems we might lose our very lives!”
Xiao Yu sat with his head lowered, hands pressed against his knees and clenched into fists. Suddenly, he looked up at Wei Chan, “Either we explain everything clearly to the Fifth Prince and Princess, or we run!”
Wei Chan’s face instantly turned pale, “Explain? Run?”
“People are even saying the Fifth Prince is the murderer! With us here now, how would the Fifth Prince speak up for us? Moreover, we’re the Crown Prince’s men! The Princess… the Princess is no match for Yan Shizi. Running… if we run, wouldn’t that completely make us look like the murderers?!”
Xiao Yu was utterly helpless as he suddenly stood up and said, “Neither explaining nor running works, but should we just wait here to die?!”
Wei Chan’s face was slightly pale, unable to come up with any ideas. Hearing this, Xiao Yu paced anxiously in place, “What if… what if I go talk to Brother Xu?!”
With no other options, Wei Chan could only nod.
When they pulled Xu Chang into the tent, he had already noticed their troubled expressions. After hearing their explanation, Xu Chang said, “It’s worth a try. The Princess hasn’t left her tent. Go talk to the Fifth Prince. Give it a try – if he believes you, at least you’ll have someone protecting you. If he doesn’t believe you, I can’t help.”
Hearing this, Wei Chan and Xiao Yu made up their minds. Seeing their pitiful state, Xu Chang said, “I’ll go scout the way for you. After you speak with the Fifth Prince, I’ll observe his reaction and come tell you.”
Wei Chan and Xiao Yu felt slightly relieved. They collected themselves and headed toward Tuoba Rui’s location.
Tuoba Rui was bored in his tent when Wei Chan and Xiao Yu suddenly arrived. After they explained their purpose, Tuoba Rui’s face showed slight surprise, “They suspect you? For what reason?”
Xiao Yu said, “Because that day up the mountain, we two were carrying bait near the Crown Prince. Though we explained it before, on the night Fu General was killed, only Xu Chang knew the pharmacy was empty, so…”
Xiao Yu and Wei Chan spoke bitterly, also explaining their guess that Yan Chi would likely need two scapegoats. After finishing, Tuoba Rui frowned, “Yan Shizi would do such a thing?”
Wei Chan and Xiao Yu nodded repeatedly. Xiao Yu said, “Your Highness, don’t you know Yan Shizi’s reputation? Using us Northern Wei people as scapegoats to resolve this situation is most likely!”
Tuoba Rui stared at them intently for a moment before nodding, “I understand. Go back and wait. If you didn’t do it, I naturally won’t let Yan Shizi wrongly accuse you!”
After all, they were Northern Wei’s people. Hearing these words, Wei Chan and Xiao Yu both felt relieved. They repeatedly knelt and expressed thanks before turning to leave. Outside Tuoba Rui’s quarters, the two exchanged glances and simultaneously relaxed. However, inside the tent, Tuoba Rui had fallen into deep thought. An attendant beside him tentatively asked, “Your Highness, how will you help them?”
Tuoba Rui raised his eyes to look at the attendant and coldly said, “Who said I would help them?”
…
…
Wei Chan and Xiao Yu had felt greatly relieved, but not long after they returned to their tent, Xu Chang entered. Wei Chan and Xiao Yu immediately stood up, “Brother Xu, how is it?”
Xu Chang looked at them, “You went to speak with him?”
The two nodded and repeated exactly what they had said to Tuoba Rui. Xu Chang’s frown deepened as he said, “Just now, I saw the Fifth Prince send his guard to Yan Shizi’s side.”
“Sent guards to find Yan Shizi?”
Wei Chan and Xiao Yu were stunned, not understanding why Tuoba Rui would do this.
Tuoba Rui surely wouldn’t send his guard to explain things to Yan Chi. If explaining the situation, he should go himself to be convincing – would Yan Chi listen to a guard?
But if not explaining, what was the guard sent for?
Wei Chan and Xiao Yu suddenly panicked. If Xu Chang hadn’t mentioned it, they wouldn’t have known that Tuoba Rui’s actions showed no sign of wanting to protect them!
“Brother Xu, what does the Fifth Prince mean by this?!”
Xu Chang’s eyes darkened slightly, “I guess security will be strengthened here soon.”
The color drained from Wei Chan’s face, “So the Fifth Prince went to tell Yan Shizi, to tell him we’ve become suspicious?”
Xu Chang didn’t explicitly confirm but said, “We’ll know when we see what happens later.”
Two incense sticks’ time later, guard posts were set up at the road intersections to the left and right of Wei Chan and Xiao Yu’s camp area, effectively sandwiching their tent in the middle.
Inside the tent, Wei Chan and Xiao Yu were instantly filled with despair. So Tuoba Rui had never believed their words! Xiao Yu angrily said, “We shouldn’t have gone to the Fifth Prince at all! How much better if we had just left directly?!”
Xu Chang had been accompanying the two, “You want to leave?”
Wei Chan and Xiao Yu exchanged glances, then looked at Xu Chang before suddenly kneeling before him!
“Brother Xu! Please give us a chance to live!”
…
…
At nightfall, another guard shift changed at Tuoba Hong’s main camp, with Xu Chang now responsible for the watch.
He had barely begun his duty when the medicine boy came to deliver medicine. Xu Chang watched as Qin Wan took the medicine inside, then emerged moments later with an empty bowl. She instructed the medicine boy, “The next dose will be the last of this prescription. Use cold water and simmer over low heat for half an incense stick’s time. Bring it at exactly the Hai hour.”
The medicine boy nodded and quickly acknowledged. Qin Wan then nodded, “You’ve all worked hard these days, but it won’t be for much longer. If I’m not mistaken, the Crown Prince should wake tomorrow.”
The medicine boy brightened, his tired face suddenly lighting up. As long as they could save Tuoba Hong, not only Qin Wan but even these medicine boys would receive great rewards!
Seeing this, Qin Wan smiled slightly and entered the main tent.
Xu Chang stood guard outside for a while. Seeing the night deepen, he told his fellow guard he was going to Wei Chan and Xiao Yu’s tent. The two were anxiously waiting inside, worried that even Xu Chang wouldn’t help them. Seeing him arrive, they immediately perked up. Xu Chang said, “Check the situation after half of the Xu hour passes, then find a chance to leave. After leaving, head west. Here’s some silver and my token – take them, they might help you avoid some checkpoints.”
Xu Chang’s status was different – he could move freely within the camp. With his token, even if the two were discovered, they could temporarily get past scrutiny. Wei Chan and Xiao Yu were extremely grateful and quickly knelt to kowtow.
Unable to stay long, Xu Chang gave a few more instructions before leaving. Before departing, he said, “Remember, you must leave after half of the Xu hour has passed.” After a pause, he added, “Take care of yourselves.”
Wei Chan and Xiao Yu’s eyes reddened, but before they could say more, Xu Chang had left the tent.