At the hour of the Rabbit, the fierce winds gradually ceased, and moonlight broke through the dark blue clustered clouds, illuminating the vermillion palace walls. A cold crow was startled into flight by the sudden sound of footsteps. The palace gates slowly opened as the emperor’s imperial palanquin finally returned to the palace city under the escort of Imperial Guards.
News of His Majesty’s assassination attempt at the imperial mausoleum had already spread throughout the palace without being officially announced. Empress Dowager Xia had developed a high fever from wind rash and could not participate in the mausoleum ceremony. She had been anxiously waiting in her sleeping quarters for a long time. Upon hearing that Zhao Yan had finally returned to the palace, she immediately sent her most trusted palace attendant to inquire on her behalf. Only after learning that the emperor had not been injured did she feel relieved. However, regarding the details of this attack, the attendant only said that His Majesty had been frightened and needed rest, and would personally report to the Empress Dowager in a couple of days.
In Jinyang Palace, Zhao Yan, who had always been known for his gentle and amiable nature, appeared restless and anxious for the first time. Even when his most beloved Consort Su personally stewed medicinal supplements and came to visit him, he loudly shouted at her to leave. Eunuch Fu, who had served by his side for a long time, understood immediately like a clear mirror in his heart – His Majesty must be waiting for something very important and did not wish to be disturbed by other matters. He quickly instructed the eunuchs and palace maids to keep their eyes sharp and not to carelessly go in and annoy His Majesty.
Finally, a report came from outside the palace that Imperial Guard Commander Xia Qing had returned to the palace and requested an audience with His Majesty. When Zhao Yan heard this news, he suddenly fell silent, with no response for a long while. Eunuch Fu found this somewhat strange – His Majesty had been restless all evening, obviously waiting for General Xia to return. Now that General Xia had finally come, why was His Majesty no longer eager to summon him?
Having served two dynasties of emperors, Eunuch Fu had long learned not to speak out of turn or meddle in affairs. Therefore, though he was full of confusion, he still knelt there silently, patiently waiting for His Majesty’s response. Zhao Yan stood quietly facing the hall full of palace lanterns for a long time, finally sighing deeply. His voice was somewhat ethereal as he said: “Summon him in.”
Eunuch Fu quickly rose and went out to summon Xia Qing into the palace. A series of hurried footsteps came from outside the hall doors, approaching from far to near until someone fell to their knees with a “thud” below the hall. Zhao Yan took a deep breath and turned around with difficulty, but did not see Xiao Du’s severed head as he had imagined. His complexion instantly changed as he grabbed a nearby cup and hurled it at Xia Qing, saying: “Where is he? Didn’t I say not to come see me without bringing his head!”
Xia Qing neither dodged nor avoided the blow, completely ignoring the blood that flowed from his forehead. With his head lowered, he said: “Your Majesty’s strict orders – how would this subject dare to disobey? It’s just that after this subject tracked down Xiao Du in the dense forest and was about to execute him on the spot, he claimed to have extremely important military intelligence that needed to be personally reported to Your Majesty.”
Zhao Yan couldn’t help but sneer: “General Xia, you’ve been leading troops for quite some time. Based on just Xiao Du’s few words, you dared to disobey military orders?”
Xia Qing’s expression grew serious: “Xiao Du is full of schemes, so this subject naturally dared not believe him easily. But he quickly produced that evidence. After this subject examined it, I felt this matter concerned the safety of the state and dared not make decisions on my own, so I brought both him and the item back together.”
“What is it?” Seeing that his expression didn’t seem fake, Zhao Yan urgently pressed for details.
Xia Qing pulled out a secret letter from his chest and respectfully stood to present it to Zhao Yan. When Zhao Yan opened the letter and looked at it just once, he was greatly shocked. He read it several more times, crumpled the letter into a ball, pondered for a moment, then said in a deep voice: “Bring him up to me!”
So Xiao Du was brought in. His clothes were torn to tatters by tree branches, his complexion frighteningly pale, yet his eyes and eyebrows carried a relaxed smile. Upon seeing Zhao Yan, he was about to lift his robes and kneel, but then made a “hiss” sound and pressed his shoulder wound, saying: “This subject is truly unable to perform proper etiquette. Please forgive me, Your Majesty.”
Zhao Yan cursed silently in his heart, but his expression remained completely amiable as he said: “Chong Jiang was injured saving me – what crime is there in that? Someone, grant Marquis Xuanyuan a seat.”
So Xiao Du boldly sat in the hall and had someone pour him tea, which he drank in one gulp. Zhao Yan was anxious in his heart and asked: “Where did you get this secret letter? Prince Qi… does he really want to rebel?”
Xiao Du unhurriedly set down his cup and said: “This secret letter was personally sent by him to Zheng Long. The letter states very clearly that he wants to join forces with the Xiao family army to rise up together, and after success, they would divide the realm between them. Prince Qi is Your Majesty’s own uncle. His personal handwriting and private seal are both on it. If Your Majesty doesn’t believe it, just have someone verify it.”
Zhao Yan felt his fingers gripping the secret letter grow somewhat cold. Prince Qi was the late emperor’s younger brother who had joined the late emperor in forcing the former crown prince to death. After the late emperor ascended the throne, he enfeoffed Prince Qi to Qingzhou as a vassal king. These years, he had indeed intentionally been reducing the power in Prince Qi’s hands. But he knew Prince Qi was weak and incompetent, without sufficient soldiers to use, and posed no real threat. However, if Prince Qi joined forces with the Xiao family army… He felt a wave of fear and dared not think further.
Xiao Du watched his expression with great interest, then said seriously: “Unfortunately, his wishful thinking was wrong. The Xiao family army has always been loyal to Your Majesty – how could they possibly do such a treasonous thing? So as soon as Zheng Long received this secret letter, he immediately reported it to me. Just now I intended to hand it to Your Majesty, but the situation was too chaotic at the time, and I carelessly forgot to take it out, nearly delaying Your Majesty’s important affairs.”
Zhao Yan coldly watched his righteous and remorseful appearance, his heart itching with hatred. Prince Qi had been compliant for so many years, no matter how much his fiefs were reduced, he only dared to be angry but not speak out. For him to dare take such risks and rebel at this time, Xiao Du must have been manipulating and inciting from behind the scenes. But since he couldn’t catch him in the act, he could only temporarily grit his teeth and swallow this frustration. After thinking, he said again: “Qingzhou where Prince Qi resides is very far from Pingdu Pass. Why would he think to join forces with the Xiao family army to rebel? There must be something suspicious in this.”
Xiao Du made a surprised expression and said: “Does Your Majesty not know? Some time ago, Japanese pirates infiltrated the Hexi region and caused continuous chaos. General Zheng led tens of thousands of Xiao family army soldiers in pursuit all the way to Zhong Commandery, finally completely eliminating the pirates. It just so happened that the prefect of Zhong Commandery fell seriously ill these past few days, and the people in the city were afraid the pirates might return, so they begged the Xiao family army to stay a few more days. General Zheng had no choice but to remain there temporarily with his troops to rest and reorganize.”
Zhao Yan felt a sudden chill throughout his body. The military intelligence reports had indeed mentioned Zheng Long leading troops west to suppress pirates, but he never imagined that Zheng Long would use suppressing pirates as an excuse to station heavy troops in Ping Commandery. That place was the last barrier guarding the Central Plains – beyond it there were no more strategic passes to defend. As long as they occupied Ping Commandery, the Xiao family army could drive straight in and attack the capital at any time.
He was so angry his whole body trembled as he glared fiercely at Xiao Du and said through gritted teeth: “I never expected that you would know the military movements inside and outside the passes better than I do.”
Unexpectedly, Xiao Du replied quite calmly: “Enjoying the ruler’s salary, bearing the ruler’s worries. The marquis manor has been loyal for generations. Though this subject cannot risk life on the battlefield, I think daily about the border situation, wanting to share more of Your Majesty’s concerns.”
Seeing him profit from his schemes yet still act virtuous, Zhao Yan wanted to cut him into a thousand pieces in his heart. But he understood all too clearly that from the moment Xia Qing brought Xiao Du back, this framing plot had already failed. Xiao Du absolutely could not die, and certainly could not die in his imperial palace. If he died, the Xiao family army would have sufficient reason to rebel, and behind them stood the covetous Prince Qi. Not to mention that Murong and Wu kingdoms would certainly take advantage of the chaos, plus the authoritarian Xia clan – the realm would surely fall into great disorder.
At this moment, Xiao Du said again: “It’s just that today, some thieves from who knows where dared to use the Xiao family army’s banner and attempt to frame and slander this subject. Your Majesty surely won’t doubt this subject’s loyalty because of such crude schemes.”
Zhao Yan secretly clenched his fists, struggling to suppress the hatred in his heart while smiling on his face: “Chong Jiang, you and I are as close as brothers – of course I won’t distrust you. Rest assured, I will definitely thoroughly investigate who was behind today’s events and restore your innocence.” He paused and continued: “Your injury is not light. Now that the palace gates are closed, stay in the palace tonight. I’ll have the imperial physicians treat you, and tomorrow I’ll send you back to your manor.”
Xiao Du smiled slightly and said: “Thank you for Your Majesty’s great kindness. I just need to trouble Your Majesty to send someone to notify my family members so they can be at ease.”
Watching Eunuch Fu finally lead Xiao Du away, Xia Qing secretly glanced at Zhao Yan’s livid complexion and said: “Your Majesty, should we summon Prince Qi to the capital and arrest him on charges of treason?”
Zhao Yan sneered: “Wouldn’t doing that be exactly what Xiao Du wants? Would Prince Qi surrender so easily? The muddier this water becomes, the more advantageous it is for him. Pretend you know nothing about this secret letter. Tomorrow you personally escort him back to the marquis manor.”
Xia Qing bowed and accepted the command. Just as he was about to take his leave, Zhao Yan walked to his side and pressed his shoulder meaningfully, saying: “You’re a smart person. You should understand what position you should take.”
Xia Qing immediately said respectfully: “This subject has today entirely thanks to Your Majesty’s grace. I swear that no matter when, I will be loyal to Your Majesty and follow Your Majesty’s will.”
Zhao Yan nodded, then rubbed his forehead and waved his hand in exhaustion: “Good. You may withdraw.”
The next day, just as dawn was breaking, a carriage slowly emerged from within the palace gates. Several soldiers dressed in Imperial Guard uniforms rode horses ahead to clear the way, the leader wearing deep red military dress with white feathers on his helmet, making his red lips and white teeth appear even more striking and heroic. The carriage traveled along the main street and had just driven a short distance when a voice suddenly came from within: “Wait, stop here for a moment.”
Xia Qing quickly reined in his horse and turned around, waving his hand and calling “Stop.” He looked around, somewhat curious in his heart – this street only had some food shops, so why would Xiao Du want to stop here? He saw Xiao Du covering his shoulder as he slowly got down, then entered a shop and came back carrying several packages of meat dumplings. As he passed by Xia Qing, Xia Qing stared at the meat dumplings in his hands and couldn’t help saying: “If the Marquis needed anything, you could have just given an order. Why go buy it yourself?”
Xiao Du smiled slightly and said: “This Yufang Studio’s meat dumplings are the most famous. I promised my wife I would buy some for her to try.”
Xia Qing was stunned. He saw that when Xiao Du mentioned his wife, an incredibly gentle expression appeared on his face that he had never seen before. For a moment, he actually felt he couldn’t understand Xiao Du. He had long known that Xiao Du had married Chancellor Xia’s daughter. Though he had previously heard that Marquis Xuanyuan and his wife were very affectionate, he had only taken it as an act Xiao Du performed for the world to protect his reputation. But could this ruthless character who could calmly maneuver even when in danger and force His Majesty to submit actually have genuine feelings for his enemy’s daughter?
When the carriage stopped in front of the marquis manor, he finally believed his earlier thoughts. He watched Xiao Du tightly embrace the elegant woman in his arms, and all the fierce aura about him was swept away. He only stroked her back and said gently: “I’m sorry for making you wait so long.”
Yuanxi looked heartbroken at the wound on his shoulder, but understood this wasn’t the time to ask about it. She held back her tears and smiled as she shook her head, saying: “It’s good that you’re back. I knew you would definitely return.”
She didn’t tell him how she had fearfully made her way around street after street, finally having no choice but to anxiously knock on the door of the only courtyard she recognized; nor did she tell him how excited she had been when she discovered the pursuers outside had left, how she had run back to the manor only to receive news that he was staying overnight in the palace; and with what feelings she had spent that long night, standing guard at the gate before dawn.
Because between them, she need not speak of these things – he understood it all.
At this moment, Xiao Zhixuan came running with her skirts lifted high. Seeing Xiao Du’s condition, she couldn’t help but shed tears, clutching his arm and sobbing: “Big brother, how did you get hurt!”
At this moment, Xia Qing’s eyes lit up. He bent forward against his horse’s back, lifted his chin with a smile and said: “Changeable young miss, we meet again.”