“I’m leaving,” Luo Shenyuan pulled his hand away, seemingly unwilling to say more.
The incident from that day still affected him. It was one thing for others to say those things, but coming from Yining, it felt entirely different. He had already humbled himself so much that day—when had he ever been so humble before? And she hadn’t even listened. Thinking about it now, he felt somewhat angry with her.
Entangling with her further at this moment wasn’t wise; the anger and impulse in his heart hadn’t yet subsided.
Yining, however, wouldn’t let go. She felt she should know about matters concerning her. Looking directly at him, she asked, “Why didn’t you tell me? I’m neither your political enemy nor your opponent…”
Something in her words seemed to touch a nerve. He suddenly said coldly, “Why should I tell you!”
Yining was stunned by his response, feeling as if he was accusing her unfairly. She couldn’t help but feel angry: “If I placed someone by your side to monitor your daily activities, would you be pleased? Luo Shenyuan—I haven’t even lost my temper yet, what are you saying?”
After hearing her words, he paused for a moment, then suddenly gave a cold laugh. His handsome, deep-set features held something very unfamiliar to her, perhaps a kind of aggressiveness or determination.
“Fine, fine. Then I’ll tell you, as long as you dare to listen!” Luo Shenyuan suddenly said.
Yining immediately felt something was off, though she couldn’t pinpoint what. She tried to pull away, but Luo Shenyuan suddenly gripped her hand firmly.
Before Yining could react, she felt the scent of the rainy night rushing toward her, along with the familiar smell of Luo Shenyuan. These scents hit her so strongly that when she felt her lips soften, her entire body was pressed against the table edge. She only had time to see his very thick eyebrows and straight nose bridge. She had seen them for nearly ten years, but never as clearly and unfamiliarly as now.
Luo Shenyuan was much taller than her. As he lowered his head, his hand supported himself on the table edge beside her, completely enveloping Yining beneath him. She suddenly felt a sense of losing control.
Outside, the heavy rain continued to pour, the black curtain of rain silent and empty. It separated the dim, candlelit world of the front hall.
Yining came to her senses and quickly pushed him away with force.
Luo Shenyuan hadn’t been on guard and leaned against the small table after being pushed away. He laughed silently.
Yining was still catching her breath, the shock and instinctive trembling in her heart making her speech unclear: “You… you just…”
“Now you know,” Luo Shenyuan regained his composure and looked at her calmly, saying, “You insisted on knowing. How do you feel now?”
“…Are you serious? This, I really, I just can’t…”
Yining’s lips still held a faint, warm sensation, very unfamiliar. She felt dazed, still finding it too unreal. Was he joking with her?
Hearing this, Luo Shenyuan fell silent again. He said, “You can choose not to take it seriously.”
The people outside had been waiting for him for a long time. He put on his cloak again, turned, and stepped into the rain curtain without even opening an umbrella.
Yining remained in a daze for a long time.
Such a forceful kiss, she couldn’t dismiss it as a joke. But to take it seriously—how could she?
Under the heavy rain, the imperial palace stood with its golden dragon and phoenix tiles, yellow glazed tiles, red walls, and white marble terraces.
Wei Ling climbed the steps one by one. A eunuch standing nearby knelt and said, “Duke, please remove your armor.”
Wei Ling said nothing, unfastening his armor with one hand. With a wave, the heavy iron armor fell onto the tray, splashing raindrops. It was so heavy that the eunuch almost couldn’t hold it.
The doors of Qianqing Palace slowly opened, and Wei Ling walked straight in.
After the palace gates closed, no one knew what happened inside.
Xu Wei and the elderly Grand Secretary Xie, now in his seventies, were drinking tea. It was rare for Grand Secretary Xie to come out. With his seniority, he was considered neutral in the court, and the Emperor also valued him highly. Although he wasn’t part of any faction, he and Xu Wei had been close friends for many years.
Xu Wei personally warmed some wine for Grand Secretary Xie and placed two slices of braised meat on his plate: “Grand Secretary Xie must try this. Their braised meat is best with garlic.”
Grand Secretary Xie, with his long beard, repeatedly pushed away his hand: “Minister Xu, I dare not eat too much! Where’s that young friend of yours—why hasn’t he arrived yet?”
“How would I know about him?” Xu Wei, as a pillar of the purist faction, had always been honest and upright. He didn’t covet wealth or women; this was his only indulgence. He picked up a slice of braised meat with his warmed wine and chewed a clove of garlic—the taste was exquisite. Grand Secretary Xie, being old with a poor sense of smell, didn’t notice anything.
At this moment, Luo Shenyuan stepped in and cupped his hands to the two officials: “My apologies to both of you, I was delayed on the way.”
“Come, sit down. Add another set of bowls and chopsticks,” Xu Wei called for a servant to bring more tableware, and Luo Shenyuan sat down cross-legged.
Grand Secretary Xie, holding his wine cup, glanced at Luo Shenyuan and said to Xu Wei, “Your student doesn’t look right. Look, his complexion hasn’t changed, but his breathing is a bit irregular. You must have come by sedan chair, right?”
“Grand Secretary Xie is overthinking. I just hurried a bit on the way,” Luo Shenyuan simply said.
Xu Wei then said, “Never mind about him now. Wei Ling has just been summoned into the palace by the Emperor. What do you think is happening inside?”
“The whole court thought he died in battle. I think being alive might be more troublesome than being dead,” Grand Secretary Xie said.
Xu Wei smiled and shook his finger: “Shenyuan, tell Grand Secretary Xie.”
Luo Shenyuan complied, taking a peanut from the plate on the table and placing it in the center. He said, “Not only will Duke Ying Guo not have any trouble this time, but he will also be rewarded by the Emperor. Because he won a victory for the court, pushing the Oirat tribe fifty miles beyond the border. Moreover, he successfully uncovered a spy for the court, a spy who had been deeply embedded in the court for many years, causing immeasurable harm.”
This time, Grand Secretary Xie was puzzled: “Wasn’t his entire army of 30,000 destroyed? How did he win a victory? I saw that even Lu Jiaxue was about to abandon this chess piece.”
Lu Jiaxue was very mature in playing politics. When he received intelligence that Wei Ling’s combined forces of 30,000 from the upper and lower western routes were destroyed at Pingyuan Fort without even reporting to the supervising official, he knew there was no need to save Duke Ying Guo. Protecting him would only displease the Emperor. Lu Jiaxue wouldn’t do something thankless for an unnecessary person.
Later, for some unknown reason, he protected him once again.
Xu Wei then smiled: “Wei Ling was impressive this time. Not to mention Lu Jiaxue, even though we were all fooled by him. There must be a mastermind behind him giving advice. Otherwise, how could Wei Ling, a mere military general, come up with so many strategies? The spy colluded with the Oirat tribe and lured Wei Ling into a trap at Pingyuan Fort. Somehow, he got wind of it and turned the tables, faking the death of 30,000 troops, then disguising them as Oirat soldiers to infiltrate the enemy camp, capturing their leader Ajichi alive.” Xu Wei sighed as he spoke, “This person’s depth of scheming is unfathomable. If there’s a chance, I’d like to meet Wei Ling’s strategist.”
Luo Shenyuan’s hand holding the chopsticks paused, and then he picked up a slice of braised bamboo shoot from the plate.
Grand Secretary Xie laughed heartily: “How did you know there was a spy in the court?”
Xu Wei again gestured to Luo Shenyuan, who put down his chopsticks and said, “Grand Secretary Xie, it’s quite easy to guess. If there wasn’t a spy when Wei Ling fell into the ambush at Pingyuan Fort, he could have directly sought help from the Datong General, and not far away was the Shanxi General and Taiyuan General. It’s clear there was a spy, and we can even deduce that this spy was in Datong. Moreover, Wei Ling’s return to the capital was so cautious that he didn’t even alert the Emperor, indicating that this spy was not only cunning but also had far-reaching influence, possibly able to harm Wei Ling even within the capital.”
Grand Secretary Xie listened with great admiration and said to Xu Wei, “Your student is indeed quick-witted—I have a granddaughter who greatly admires intelligent people. If she knew about him, she’d be quite impressed.”
“He is indeed impressive,” Xu Wei was quite satisfied with his disciple and said to Grand Secretary Xie, “The Vice Minister of Works is retiring in September. We’re planning to recommend him for the position.”
Grand Secretary Xie was again shocked by his old friend: “Wasn’t it said that the Emperor hasn’t yet approved his request for the position of Chief Minister of the Court of Judicial Review? You’re already eyeing the position of Vice Minister of Works—I say, you should be more cautious. How long has he been in officialdom? Ordinary jinshi graduates would still be accumulating experience as Hanlin scholars at this point.”
“Why not?” Xu Wei said, “It’s common practice for officials to recommend the worthy.”
Luo Shenyuan silently listened to the conversation between the two old men, focusing on his food.
His teacher’s taste was indeed discerning; the marinade of this braised meat shop was very special. It also suited his palate.
But Yining had never liked braised flavors since childhood; she always thought they had a strange taste.
He must have frightened her earlier. In the heat of the moment, even he… couldn’t control himself for a moment.
Inside Qianqing Palace, the Emperor was furious after hearing Wei Ling’s report: “…This is utterly outrageous! To collude with the Oirat tribe, and even attempt assassination within the capital.”
Wei Ling knelt on the golden brick floor and continued, “Your subject has already had the two deputy commanders imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice’s dungeon. If not for the assassination attempt in the capital, the Ajichi leader wouldn’t have escaped in the chaos. When I requested supplies and military pay, I also submitted a memorial to Grand Supervisor Lu, but this memorial was never delivered. In desperation, I had to resort to this strategy. If Your Majesty wishes to punish me, I will humbly accept your sacred words.”
The Emperor immediately went to help Wei Ling up: “Those are serious words. You’ve accomplished such a great feat, how could I punish you!” He called for a eunuch to come in and immediately drafted an imperial edict, rewarding him with 300 taels of gold, 2,000 taels of silver, 1,000 mu of good farmland, and 100 ingots of paper money.
Duke Ying Guo’s title couldn’t be elevated further, and the Emperor thought for a while, feeling regretful: “Your mother already holds a first-rank title. If you had a wife, we could elevate her title at this time.”
Wei Ling smiled and said, “Your Majesty’s grace towards your subject is already boundless. I have no other requests.”
“You captured Ajichi without even telling me. I almost wronged you!” the Emperor laughed heartily, “The day after tomorrow, I will hold a banquet in the palace. You must bring your family to attend!”
Wei Ling assented and received the imperial edict of rewards on the spot.
The Emperor then said to the eunuch standing nearby, “Later, go invite Lu Jiaxue to my Southern Study.” With that, he returned to the Southern Study with a solemn face.
The matter of the spy could only be narrowed down to a few generals, but who exactly it was still needed careful investigation. The Emperor was certainly very uncomfortable and invited Lu Jiaxue to discuss the matter together.
Wei Ling spent the night in the palace, emerging as the sky was beginning to lighten. The heavy rain had long since stopped.
If not for Luo Shenyuan’s planning behind the scenes, perhaps he would truly have been buried by now.
He saw a familiar sedan chair waiting outside Qianqing Palace.
The Emperor treated Lu Jiaxue extremely well, even granting him the special privilege of riding in a sedan chair within the palace. This was Lu Jiaxue’s sedan chair.
At this moment, the curtain was lifted, and Lu Jiaxue sat quietly in the sedan chair waiting for him.
Wei Ling walked towards him and saw Lu Jiaxue playing with a string of dark prayer beads in his hand. He remembered that these were the same beads Lu Jiaxue had given to Yining, yet they had somehow returned to his hands.
Lu Jiaxue glanced at him and said calmly, “It’s good that you’re back. You should return to your family now.”
Wei Ling stood firm and said, “Grand Supervisor, I risked my life to achieve such a meritorious service for you back then. When I was in trouble, if not for my daughter’s earnest pleas, you wouldn’t have helped, would you? Isn’t this a bit too heartless?”
Lu Jiaxue rose from the sedan chair, clasped his hands behind his back, and looked at the undulating palace buildings. He smiled slowly and said, “You should be thankful for having such a good daughter. Otherwise, you would have faced the fate of losing your title and having your property confiscated. You returned at such a critical moment, timing it perfectly. Someone in the capital must have been sending you information all along, right?” Without waiting for Wei Ling to speak, he continued, “You don’t need to accuse me of being heartless. At that time, saving Duke Ying Guo’s manor was a thankless task, even risking drawing fire upon myself. I wouldn’t have saved anyone else either. You didn’t trust me, and even after returning to the capital, you didn’t show yourself. I won’t ask about it anymore.”
Wei Ling shook his head and said, “It’s not that I don’t trust you, but that you don’t trust me.”
Lu Jiaxue would never truly trust anyone. Years ago, he had killed his brother to seize the title. Over the years, the people around him had changed again and again. Who had ever truly gained his trust?
Hearing this, Lu Jiaxue neither denied nor confirmed it. After a moment, he said, “Wei Ling, go back and enjoy your military achievements.”
With that, he said no more. He adjusted his first-rank military official’s robe and walked up the steps toward Qianqing Palace.