Before long, Su Tai arrived together with Steward Lin.
Seeing that Steward Lin seemed to have something urgent to report, Cheng Chang had Su Tai wait to the side first and asked, “What is it?”
Steward Lin glanced around, and seeing that everyone present was deeply trusted by the young prince, ventured to ask, “Young Prince, will anyone be coming to stay at Danxing Garden from now on?”
Cheng Chang was taken aback. “What Danxing Garden?”
Not knowing about Cheng Chang’s “amnesia,” Steward Lin simply reminded him, “The garden you specifically had us prepare back before you fell into the water.”
Something from before he fell into the water?
Cheng Chang said, “Take me to see it.”
Danxing Garden was located in an extremely secluded spot. To get there from Fufeng Study, one had to cross a large camphor grove, as if it had been deliberately isolated from the rest of the estate.
The layout inside the garden was also different from the other courtyards.
Since this estate had originally been purchased by the previous young prince to house his beauties, most of the courtyards were fitted out with spring couches and warm chambers, and aside from Cheng Chang’s own Fufeng Study, the courtyard names were similarly themed, like Chuntai Pavilion or Pear Blossom Hall. Only this Danxing Garden, once one pushed the door open and entered, had a stand of bamboo planted to the left, and inside the main room, a writing brush screen and inkstone sat on the desk.
The previous young prince had never had any interest in scholarly pursuits—when had he ever voluntarily touched brush and ink?
Cheng Chang asked Zhang Dahu and Su Tai, “Do either of you know anything about this garden?”
Both Zhang Dahu and Su Tai shook their heads.
Cheng Chang asked Steward Lin again, “You just said someone was going to come stay at this Danxing Garden?”
“Yes, Young Prince. But only a few days after that, you fell into the water, so we never found out who exactly was meant to move in,” Steward Lin said.
Cheng Chang sat down at a stone table in the courtyard.
Only the previous young prince had known who this person meant to stay at Danxing Garden was.
But the previous young prince was long gone—so it seemed this matter had become an unsolvable mystery.
Cheng Chang couldn’t help but recall that the young prince had been murdered precisely because he’d learned some enormous secret.
The courtesan on the pleasure boat along the Qinhuai had once asked him what that secret was, and in the end, he had pointed toward—Zhaixing Tower by the Qinhuai River.
Cheng Chang had always assumed that the reason the young prince had pointed to Zhaixing Tower just before his death was because he knew Yun Xi was there, and that the secret he knew was most likely related to the Marquis of Zhongyong’s unjust fate. Following this thread, he had eventually traced it all the way to Prince Yun.
It was true that the disastrous, costly victory in the northern frontier campaign had been inescapably tied to Prince Yun. But the more crucial reason was Prince Ling’s collusion with the enemy.
Now that Cheng Chang knew the person truly behind the attempts on his life was actually Prince Ling, the secret the young prince had known should have had nothing to do with Prince Yun, but rather with Prince Ling.
But Prince Ling’s collusion with the enemy was such a closely guarded secret—how could the previous young prince, a mere dissolute young master, possibly have known about it?
Even if, due to being cousins, the young prince had happened to overhear some rumor of it, hearing it in passing was one thing—but why would he have taken it to heart?
Ordinarily this line of reasoning would hit a dead end here. But today, having unexpectedly learned about the Fifth Prince, combined with his lingering suspicion about Tian Si and Tian Ze, Cheng Chang thought of another possibility.
Could it be that the person the young prince had pointed to back then wasn’t Yun Xi at all, but rather… the constable Tian Si, who had been hiding beside Yun Xi in plain sight all along?
Sun Haiping had once mentioned that back then the young prince often caused trouble around Jinling, and that Yun Xi, leading her men, had cleaned up after most of his messes. Sun Haiping also knew that every time the young prince visited the pleasure boats, Yun Xi always had people watching him from Zhaixing Tower.
According to what Yun Xi had said today, Tian Si had been with her ever since the day she became a catcher.
So the previous young prince must have known about Tian Si too.
The day the young prince met his end, he wouldn’t have known whose shift it was—so had he pointed to Zhaixing Tower because he thought Tian Si was up there?
Based on the clues so far, the Fifth Prince, Cheng Xu, had lived apart from others as a child, close only to the young Cheng Chang, and Zhou Cai’ying had also said that if there was anyone who could recognize Cheng Xu, it could only be Cheng Chang.
Back then, when the young Cheng Chang had been injured at Pingnan Mountain, it was Cheng Xu who had saved his life.
So much so that the young Cheng Chang had always regarded him as his life-saving benefactor and wanted to repay the debt.
Thinking further about this Danxing Garden—could it be that after the young prince recognized the Fifth Prince and realized he was in danger, he’d prepared this place as a refuge for him?
Turning this over in his mind, Cheng Chang stood up. “Su Tai.”
“This subordinate is here.”
“Go investigate the Tian brothers, Tian Si and Tian Ze, immediately. Whatever information comes up regarding the two of them, report it all to me without exception.”
“Yes.”
———*—
By evening, Yun Luo brought Yun Xi to bid Cheng Chang farewell.
Seeing them ready to leave, Cheng Chang made no attempt to stop them. He asked after A’Jiu’s injuries, then instructed the medicine woman tending to A’Jiu to accompany them back to the Marquis’s mansion.
No sooner had Cheng Chang seen the group off at the gate of Wangshan Retreat than Tian Si arrived.
Though he now served as Yun Xi’s personal guard, he still held the rank of lieutenant, and occasionally, when Yun Xi wasn’t at the Bureau of Military Affairs, he was still needed to help handle certain matters.
He’d already known something had happened on Yun Xi’s end, but with a full day of pressing official business, he’d only been able to hurry to Wangshan Retreat once he was off duty. The moment he saw Yun Xi, he asked anxiously, “A-A’Ting, how—how is A’Jiu? Did you—did you—did you—”
Before he could finish, his eyes fell on Yun Luo, and he froze in place.
Seeing him like this, Yun Xi said with a smile, “Tian Si, this is my brother. Don’t the two of us look quite alike?”
Then she turned to Yun Luo. “Brother, this is Tian Si, the one I told you about.”
Yun Luo gave a slight nod. “Brother Tian.”
Tian Si stood stunned for a long while, looking back and forth between Yun Xi and Yun Luo, as if he could hardly believe it, and finally asked, “Y-Young… Young General, didn’t you… pass away?”
Yun Xi said, “It’s a long story. I’ll explain it all in detail when I have time.”
Tian Si nodded. “All right.” He stepped forward and bowed respectfully to Yun Luo. “Y-Young General.”
The carriages had long been prepared outside the estate—three in total. Yun Xi had originally planned to ride together with A’Jiu, but before she could board, Yun Luo said in a low, heavy voice, “A’Ting, come here.”
Yun Xi fell silent for a moment, then reluctantly dragged her feet over and got into Yun Luo’s carriage.
The two siblings hadn’t seen each other in years, and had already caught up on the way to bring A’Jiu to Wangshan Retreat earlier. Though Yun Luo had sought Yun Xi out once that afternoon, since Wangshan Retreat was Cheng Chang’s territory after all, he hadn’t said much then.
Now that the excitement and joy of reunion had settled, Yun Xi knew Yun Luo had called her over to discuss something serious.
In truth, Yun Xi had grown up in the northern frontier as a child, wild and unruly all day long, hardly the picture of an obedient girl—otherwise, why would she have been clamoring to go to the battlefield at eleven or twelve? But Yun Shuguang felt that no amount of indulgence toward his little girl could ever be too much, so he let her run wild, finding it all endearing.
The one who suffered the headache was Yun Luo.
Yun Shuguang had spent years fighting at the border, so it had largely fallen to Yun Luo to raise Yun Xi as a child.
That’s why, even now, Yun Xi always thought of their father as the kind and gentle one, and her brother as the strictest member of the family.
“Out with it. What’s going on?” As the carriage rattled into motion, Yun Luo sat inside, staring at Yun Xi.
“What’s going on with what?”
“Still playing dumb?” Yun Luo said. “You and that Third Young Master from Prince Cong’s household—what exactly is going on between you two?”
Yun Xi lowered her eyes, not daring to look at Yun Luo. “It’s… it’s just that.”
Earlier, when A’Jiu had mentioned that A’Ting and Cheng Chang were close, Yun Luo had assumed they were simply friends. He knew about the previous young prince—a dissolute young master, utterly unlike A’Ting in every way. Little did he know that careless A’Jiu, having followed A’Ting around for an entire year, hadn’t even noticed what was really going on.
Yun Luo’s temper flared. “You’ve actually gotten together with him?”
“Yes…”
Yun Luo held back his anger. “How far has it gone?”
Yun Xi didn’t dare answer, head bowed, slowly turning the moonstone ring on her finger.
The moonstone was lustrous and translucent, clearly no ordinary piece.
Yun Luo glanced at it. “He gave you that?”
After a long moment, Yun Xi finally nodded, saying quietly, “He said it’s the custom in his homeland—when getting engaged, you first give a ring.”
“He fobbed you off with just a ring?!”
Yun Xi quickly added, “But he said that once this current business settles down, he’ll come to the mansion to formally propose. All the proper rites and betrothal gifts—none of it will be skipped, Brother.”
What did he mean by… none of it skipped?
So all these formalities were just for show, for his benefit? Weren’t their feelings supposedly so solid that such worldly customs didn’t matter to them?
Yun Luo said, “Do you even understand the current situation in the palace right now? As a young prince and heir to a princely title, holding this kind of great power in his hands—once we find the Fifth Prince, he may not be willing to simply stand aside and let him ascend the throne. He’s far too clever not to understand his own position perfectly well. He must know that no matter who becomes emperor, they won’t tolerate a prince like him remaining in power. If he wants to secure his own safety, he’s bound to plan an escape route for himself—but no escape route could ever compare to simply becoming emperor himself—”
“I trust him.” Before Yun Luo could finish, Yun Xi cut him off.
Seeing Yun Luo’s expression darken, she inched a bit closer to the carriage curtain and said, “Third Young Master would never harm an innocent person, and he doesn’t care about the throne. If… if one day he’s no longer a prince, I’ll leave Jinling with him. Wherever he goes, I’ll go.”
She paused, then carefully reminded Yun Luo, “When that day comes and Third Young Master comes to the mansion to propose, please, Brother, don’t make things difficult for him anymore.”
“When have I ever made things difficult for him?” Yun Luo said, annoyed.
She hadn’t even married him yet and already her loyalties had shifted entirely to his side.
Yun Xi glanced at him, inching another bit toward the curtain until she was nearly against it. “Today when Third Young Master was talking with you, I could tell the whole time you were on guard against him.”
Yun Luo: “…”
“You can’t treat him like that next time. Whatever else, he’s still Your Highness to you.”
Yun Luo: “…”
“If Third Young Master comes to propose, Brother, you should just say yes. Either way, I won’t marry anyone but him.”
Yun Luo: “…”
Before long, the carriage arrived at the Marquis of Zhongyong’s mansion.
Old Bai and the rest of the household staff, hearing that Yun Luo had returned, had been overjoyed all afternoon and had already gathered the entire household to wait at the gate.
But the carriage sat there for a good while, and Zhao Wu approached it twice to invite them out, yet there was no movement inside at all—even though the siblings had clearly still been talking just moments before.
A moment later, Yun Luo’s angry shout rang out: “You little—”
Yun Xi suddenly lifted the curtain and leapt down from the carriage, ducking behind Bai Xiang and Qin Zhong with lightning speed, calling out urgently, “Uncle Bai, Uncle Qin, save me, Brother’s going to scold me again—”
“Get out of the way!” Yun Luo, seeing Yun Xi dodging left and right behind Qin Zhong and Bai Xiang, hurried to drag her out.
They say a married daughter is like water that’s been poured out—but how many days had it even been, and already she was so devoted to that man?
Bai Xiang and Qin Zhong were equally baffled, both blocking Yun Luo while shielding Yun Xi, urging, “Young General, Young General, my goodness, what’s going on here? You two haven’t seen each other in years—why are you acting just like children again? A’Ting is grown up now, can’t you just talk things over properly…”