Yi Han realized he had fallen into a trap. His sword, cold as autumn water, flashed brilliantly, its aura like thunder. Pei Yan felt a chill coming towards him, nimbly dodging as the sword edge flew up from his side. With a series of clangs, the two had exchanged several moves in an instant.
Yi Han started with life-or-death moves, aiming to engage Pei Yan in a duel that others couldn’t interfere with, to avoid being surrounded and attacked. Pei Yan understood his intention and kept retreating, trying to maintain distance from Yi Han. However, Yi Han circled Pei Yan, and after over a hundred moves, the two were locked in a stalemate.
An Chen and others stood to the side, knowing they couldn’t intervene. Having followed Pei Yan for a long time, An Chen was experienced in handling situations. He dispersed the Changfeng Guards to guard the four corners of Shuangshui Bridge, preventing Yi Han’s escape.
Yi Han suddenly changed his sword technique, raising a sheet of cold light that seemed like a ghostly lotus blooming in the quiet night, or ripples spreading from a stone thrown into a lake. Pei Yan struggled to defend against this technique, as the gentle sword energy was relentless, causing his stance to waver slightly.
Sensing an opportunity, Yi Han let out a fierce shout. He leaped onto a willow by the bridge, using it as a springboard to take several steps in the air, jumping to the opposite bank. There were still a few Changfeng Guards guarding that side, but his sword energy slashed down from the air like lightning, forcing them to stumble backward. He then bounded onto the rooftops and dashed into the darkness.
Pei Yan let out an angry grunt and followed closely behind Yi Han, leaving An Chen and the others far behind.
Seeing that only Pei Yan had managed to keep up, Yi Han felt slightly relieved. He knew their martial skills were evenly matched, and his defeat at Changfeng Manor two months ago was only due to his disturbed state of mind, not inferior skill. As long as he could shake off the Changfeng Guards’ encirclement and face Pei Yan one-on-one, he wasn’t afraid. However, how to lose Pei Yan’s pursuit was a matter that required careful consideration.
Chaotic horn blasts shattered the night sky. Yi Han knew An Chen and others were mobilizing troops to seal off various areas. He cursed inwardly but maintained his composure, carefully discerning the sounds of troop movements. He moved through the city like a wisp of smoke, drifting east and west, soon reaching the city wall at the southwest corner.
Pei Yan shouted angrily, throwing his long sword at Yi Han as he was about to leap over the city wall. Yi Han’s right foot tapped the wall, propelling him a zhang higher. He held his sword horizontally behind him, and with a “ding” sound, Pei Yan’s thrown sword fell to the ground. Yi Han quickly climbed upward as Pei Yan rushed to catch up. Seeing that Pei Yan had lost his weapon, Yi Han felt more at ease. He jumped down from the city wall and ran towards the outskirts. Hearing Pei Yan still in pursuit, he laughed, “Prime Minister Pei, I’ll visit your mansion another day!”
Pei Yan remained silent, pulling out several daggers from his waist and throwing them continuously. Yi Han dodged left and right. Soon, the two, one fleeing and one chasing, ran into a graveyard.
Suddenly, Pei Yan shouted, “Hall Master Yi, don’t you care about your daughter’s life?!”
Yi Han was startled and stopped in his tracks. He slowly turned around, his gaze as cold as ice, staring at Pei Yan who had caught up. The two faced each other silently. Pei Yan smiled, “Hall Master Yi, I just wanted to invite you over for a chat. Why are you avoiding it so desperately?”
Yi Han laughed coldly, “May I ask, Prime Minister Pei, can you alone detain me?”
Pei Yan shook his head, “No, I can’t.”
“That’s right. I’m leaving today. As for my daughter, if she suffers even the slightest harm, Prime Minister Pei, your family is large and prosperous, with many relatives. I’ll take them one by one to pay tribute to my daughter in the future. It’s not too late,” Yi Han said with a stern face.
Pei Yan shook his head and clicked his tongue, “It seems Hall Master Yi is indeed a cold-hearted person. No wonder you abandoned Miss Yan back then, causing the death of General Yan and his wife, and ruining Madam Su’s life.”
The night wind was strong, rustling the leaves in the forest. Yi Han remained silent for a moment, then said, “Prime Minister Pei, you can’t possibly detain me today. I’ll say it again: if you harm my daughter, I’ll make sure your entire family pays with their lives!” As he spoke, his sword flashed, cutting off a tree branch.
Pei Yan smiled, “Hall Master Yi, I’m not necessarily trying to take your life or bring you to justice. I just have a question I want to ask you.”
Yi Han met Pei Yan’s gaze, “Please ask, Prime Minister Pei.”
“I want to ask Hall Master Yi, where is Right Minister Jin now?” Pei Yan asked casually.
Yi Han was stunned for a moment, then laughed loudly, “Prime Minister Pei is indeed clever, but you’ve asked too late. I don’t know where Minister Jin is now either.”
Pei Yan snorted lightly, “Your move was indeed vicious. It seems your Second Prince doesn’t want your country to sign a peace treaty with our dynasty, but rather wants to provoke a war to regain military power.”
Seeing that only Pei Yan had followed him, Yi Han wasn’t afraid. He smiled, “If the peace treaty is signed, my prince will have to hand over military power. Of course, he doesn’t want that to happen. So he ordered me to set fire to the embassy, though I’m sorry to have troubled you, Prime Minister Pei.”
Pei Yan seemed extremely annoyed, his face gloomy.
Yi Han saw that Pei Yan’s posture was as straight as a pine tree, knowing he was trying to block all possible escape routes. His mind raced, wanting to distract Pei Yan to find a chance to escape. So he said leisurely, “I did this very secretly. How did Prime Minister Pei know it was all my doing?”
Pei Yan said coldly, “In today’s world, to kidnap a living person from the embassy, leap onto roofs several zhang high, climb over walls to Weicheng Street, and avoid the eyes and ears of the embassy team, the Imperial Guards, and the Guangming Department – only I, Hall Master Yi, and Sect Leader Xiao Wuxia have such skills.”
“Then why did Prime Minister Pei determine it was me, Yi Han, and not Sect Leader Xiao? He also wants to sabotage this treaty.”
Pei Yan’s expression gradually became calm, “You kidnapped the person, but you didn’t set the fire. I carefully reviewed all the records and found that the time between the fire starting and people coming to put it out was extremely short, and there were still Imperial Guards and officers on patrol. You were in a hurry to take Minister Jin away, so you couldn’t have come back to set the fire. There’s only one possibility: someone within the embassy team cooperated with you. As soon as you took the person away, they set the fire. Before that, the embassy team had drunk wine laced with a sleeping drug, which could only have been done by an insider. It seems unlikely for Sect Leader Xiao to manipulate so many Huan people to do his bidding, so I thought of Hall Master Yi’s visit, and you indeed had the motive.”
Yi Han laughed heartily, “Prime Minister Pei is indeed clever. I admire you. So, you set up this plan to lure me out and catch me?”
“That’s right. The rumor about a young woman inquiring about General Yan’s descendants was spread by my order in the capital and surrounding areas. I knew that when you heard this rumor, you would come to the capital to investigate, wanting to know if this young woman was indeed your daughter.”
“Then how did Prime Minister Pei find my daughter?”
“That was a coincidence. I didn’t expect your daughter to appear at this time. I had agreed with Madam Su to help clear her father General Yan’s name. I had her stage a play based on true events to generate sympathy among the people, then petition His Majesty to clear General Yan’s name. I knew you would go find Madam Su, and that you would have to watch this play. I was planning to find a young woman to pretend to be your daughter and recognize you during the performance to draw you out. Unexpectedly, your real daughter appeared in the capital at this time, saving me a lot of effort. She delivered herself to us, so you can’t blame me,” Pei Yan smiled.
Yi Han laughed loudly, his voice shaking the mountains and forests. After laughing, his face turned cold, “Prime Minister Pei, you are indeed ruthless and skilled. But even if you know all this was my doing, what use is it? Today, you can neither detain me nor find Minister Jin. How will you clear your dynasty of the crime of intending to sabotage the peace treaty?!”
Pei Yan smiled, his manner leisurely. In the moonlight, Yi Han could see the smile on his face. That smile seemed to be watching prey struggling in a net, extremely pleased. Yi Han felt something was amiss but couldn’t pinpoint the problem. As he was pondering, Pei Yan suddenly clapped his hands. A stone tomb not far away began to rumble, the tombstone slowly moving. Firelight grew brighter as more than ten people carrying torches walked out of the tomb.
Yi Han’s heart sank as he saw Deputy Envoy Lei Yuan among those people, looking at him with a gloomy face. He realized he had fallen into another of Pei Yan’s traps and cursed inwardly.
Pei Yan’s smile became even more elegant as he slowly walked in front of the group, introducing them one by one, “This is Deputy Envoy Lei. Hall Master Yi, you’re old acquaintances, so there’s no need for me to introduce him.” He then unsealed Lei Yuan’s mute acupoint.
He continued, “This is Mr. Alis, the envoy from the Western Zi Kingdom to our Hua Dynasty; this is Envoy Yue from the Wuliu Kingdom; and this is Envoy Tie from the Tatars.” He unsealed each person’s acupoints one by one, then bowed with clasped hands, “To prevent Hall Master Yi from hearing your voices, I’ve offended you all. However, this matter also concerns whether your countries will be affected by war. It was a necessary measure, and I ask for your understanding. Please be witnesses for our dynasty.”
The three envoys hurriedly said, “Prime Minister Pei is too polite. We will certainly testify to the truth when it comes to light.”
Pei Yan stepped in front of Lei Yuan and smiled, “Deputy Envoy Lei, do you have any questions?”
Lei Yuan looked at Yi Han and said coldly, “Hall Master Yi didn’t burn me to death and left me alive. I should be extremely grateful to the Hall Master.”
Yi Han knew the truth had been revealed and all his efforts were in vain. However, he wasn’t willing to be caught by Pei Yan. He focused his energy on his sword tip, staring at Pei Yan, waiting for the slightest relaxation to break through.
Pei Yan smiled, “I know Hall Master Yi must be very unwilling and puzzled. How did I calculate that you would definitely escape to this place and arrange everything here in advance?”
Yi Han had already figured it out and said coldly, “Prime Minister Pei has a crystal-clear heart and a transparent mind. Whether it was by Shuangshui Bridge or the blockade in the city, all routes were calculated, including the earlier dagger throws, which were meant to force me to this place.”
Pei Yan laughed loudly, “Exactly, Hall Master Yi has understood thoroughly. Let me tell you more, I had long calculated that there must be someone from our dynasty in the city helping you and assisting with the kidnapping. The strict search of all inns in the capital a few days ago was also my order. Only in this way could I force you to contact them and stay in the house they arranged for you. During those two hours you rested earlier, I had already thoroughly investigated the background of that house, who the owner was, and traced it all. I’m afraid by now, my subordinates have already captured this person and forced out Minister Jin’s whereabouts.”
Yi Han felt a chill rising from his feet to his heart. The young Prime Minister of the Hua Dynasty before him was ruthless, meticulous, and had a mind as deep as the sea. He had played with Yi Han like a cat toying with a mouse, truly making one feel cold without wind.
As he was pondering, he heard the sound of footsteps. Dozens of people came running from the foot of the mountain, and the firelight grew brighter. Yi Han saw one of them clearly and his face changed dramatically.
In the firelight, Yan Shuangqiao’s hair was slightly disheveled, and her breath was slightly rapid. She was being held by several Changfeng Guards, tears glistening in her eyes as she looked at Yi Han.
Yi Han felt a pain in his heart, but he had already seen through the Prime Minister before him. He knew that even if he surrendered, Pei Yan would never let him and his daughter go. Realizing this, he shouted fiercely, “Pei Yan, if you dare harm my daughter, I’ll make your relatives pay tenfold!”
He bit his tongue and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. His sword moved like a dragon, the sword light even more brilliant than before. Pei Yan’s face changed slightly, and a cold light suddenly flashed in his hand. A short blade stirred up a fierce wind, followed by a tremendous boom. Everyone at the scene swayed and covered their ears. They heard Yi Han let out a great shout like rolling thunder. When they opened their eyes again, Yi Han had disappeared, while Pei Yan stood in place, pale-faced, with one hand on his chest and a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth.
Seeing the Changfeng Guards about to give chase, Pei Yan shouted, “No need to chase!”
As the commotion settled, the Changfeng Guards went to arrange for the various envoys to return to the city. Pei Yan took several people and escorted Yan Shuangqiao back to the “Shao Mansion” in Xingzi Lane.
Looking at Jiang Ci, who had been knocked unconscious by the sleeping incense on the bed, Pei Yan remained silent for a moment. He turned to Yan Shuangqiao and said, “This junior sister of yours is still of some use to me. If you don’t want her or your aunt to be harmed, you’ll have to follow my arrangements.”
Yan Shuangqiao had been called out of the room by “Young Master Shao” at the Hour of Yin (3-5 AM), witnessing Jiang Ci being drugged in her sleep and then being restrained and taken out of the Shao Mansion by the Changfeng Guards. Seeing Pei Yan pursue Yi Han, she suddenly realized that everything had been within this Prime Minister’s calculations. She looked at the soundly sleeping Jiang Ci on the bed, her gaze gradually softening. Finally, she sighed and said, “I will follow your orders. But I’m curious, how did you arrange all this?”
Pei Yan’s gaze moved away from Jiang Ci, and he said flatly, “When you went to pay respects at your grandfather’s grave, my people started following you. Later, when you entered the city asking about Jiang Ci’s whereabouts, my subordinates reported back. I then had someone pretend to be the Second Young Master Shao to injure you and secretly control you.”
“So, you guessed I was Yi Han’s daughter?” Yan Shuangqiao recalled her interactions with “Shao Jizong” over the past few days, feeling a hidden pain in her heart.
“I was only suspicious. An Chen had heard Jiang Ci talking to herself, saying she wanted to return to Deng Family Village. After Ming Fei probed and found out you were Jiang Ci’s senior sister, I sent pigeon messages, dispatching people across the country to search for Deng Family Village. We found people in Yangzhou who knew Jiang Ci and you and also found your mother’s grave. Based on the name Yan Shurou engraved on the tombstone, I confirmed you were Yi Han’s daughter.”
“So, you took Xiao Ci to the opera on purpose to arrange our meeting, just to confirm that I am her senior sister, that is, the daughter of Yan Shurou, and then to find a way to have us taken to Lan Yue Tower to listen to the play, to lure Yi Han out?”
“That’s right,” Pei Yan said with a smile. “You’re a clever person, so there’s no need for me to elaborate. I haven’t decided exactly what I want you to do yet, but I will arrange a good place for you.”
Yan Shuangqiao sighed bitterly. Pei Yan continued with a smile, “If you don’t want anything to happen to your junior sister, please write a letter to ensure she stays safe in my residence.”
Watching as the Long Wind Guards led Yan Shuangqiao away, Pei Yan slowly sat down by the bed. He gazed at Jiang Ci’s slightly flushed cheeks and serene sleeping face, placed his hand over his chest, coughed a few times, and gently pulled up the blanket that had slipped off her. He then strode out of the room.