The next day, Xiao Wei’s side received some news. His personal attendants discovered that Yuling’s Crown Prince Cui Gang was hosting a peony banquet at his residence. Zhong An said they could use this opportunity to go in and scout the situation.
“A peony banquet?” Mo Zi shook her head upon hearing this. “If this really is the Crown Prince’s idea, then he’s quite comfortable being a hostage.”
Wei Jia snorted. “Rumor has it that Yuling’s Crown Prince indulges in sensual pleasures and cares nothing for the people’s suffering. Seems it’s true. Having become a captive, instead of striving to improve himself, he’s hosting banquets—truly not a shred of integrity.”
“Perhaps Daqiu treats him well,” Yang Qiao said with furrowed brows. “Do we really need to rescue someone like this and bring him back to Great Zhou?”
“If Daqiu can treat him well, Great Zhou can certainly do the same. It’s like raising a pig—I imagine it shouldn’t be difficult.” Mo Zi winked at Yang Qiao.
Wei Jia laughed heartily. “Raising a pig? Well said!”
“Tomorrow, Zhong An, Wei Jia, and I will go. Mo Zi, Yang Qiao—you two will wait here for news.” Xiao Wei had already assigned the tasks.
Mo Zi had no objections, but Yang Qiao was rather displeased. “Why can’t we go? A peony banquet is a flower-viewing event—there will surely be female guests. Gathering information from them might yield unexpected gains.”
Xiao Wei’s face was stern, his expression very serious. “We’re going to survey the residence where the Crown Prince is staying, to facilitate the next rescue operation. There’s no need to speak much with others and risk unnecessary suspicion.”
“We’ve found where the Crown Prince is staying, but we still don’t know where Chu Yu is imprisoned. Gathering information is necessary. I believe this is an opportunity.” Mo Zi stood on Yang Qiao’s side.
Xiao Wei raised an eyebrow. “You’ve already been investigating for several days—do you have any news about Chu Yu?”
Mo Zi shook her head, her gaze lowering slightly. What was he trying to say with this?
“We’ve already been in Daqiu for five days. How much longer do you think we can stay without being discovered? Moreover, Zuo You’s ship will leave in five days. We must complete our mission before then.” Xiao Wei looked at Mo Zi.
“You mean we’re done once we rescue the Crown Prince?” Mo Zi’s smile was cold. “Have you perhaps forgotten that I still need to bring back my younger sister?”
“That’s precisely why you shouldn’t go along. You don’t need to worry about rescuing the Crown Prince—just focus on finding your sister.” He had already excluded Jin Yin from the rescue plan.
“I disagree. In my view, rescuing the Second Prince is far more important than rescuing the Crown Prince.” Mo Zi spoke bluntly. “Of course, I’ll find my own way to deal with my sister’s matter.”
“No one knows where the Second Prince is.” Although he hadn’t gone out to investigate personally due to recovering from his injuries, this group included Great Zhou’s finest scouts. If they couldn’t find anything, there likely wouldn’t be progress in the short term. “Our time is limited. His Majesty’s decree is to bring back at least one person. The Crown Prince’s location is most obvious, and besides, as Yuling’s heir, he’s more legitimate than the Second Prince Chu Yu, who is publicly declared dead.”
“I know where Chu Yu is.” Mo Zi’s words were shocking. “He’s together with my sister. Find my sister, and we find him. And if I can’t bring my sister back, I absolutely won’t leave the capital. If you rescue the Crown Prince and want to leave, leave the ship—otherwise, do as you please.”
“How is your sister together with the Second Prince?” Wei Jia hadn’t yet sensed the tension.
“My sister… is Chu Yu’s wife.” Dou Lu had used this excuse to save Jin Yin’s life, and she had been inwardly displeased about it. But unexpectedly, it was indeed useful.
Everyone was shocked.
“Why didn’t you mention this to His Majesty?” Though Xiao Wei had feelings for Mo Zi, he still wanted to keep public and private matters separate.
“I didn’t think it was necessary. His Majesty already wanted to rescue the Crown Prince and Chu Yu, and agreed I could bring back my sister. What relationship Chu Yu has with my sister doesn’t affect this mission.” She feared everyone would overthink things if she mentioned it.
Xiao Wei glared at her, wanting to say she was clearly deceiving the emperor, but he also knew that whether or not she had deceived the emperor, things couldn’t proceed according to the previous plan. But Mo Zi’s earlier words about “leaving the ship” made him very uncomfortable. Until now, even though their relationship had improved, she always drew clear distinctions at critical moments—a practice that was infuriating. He didn’t understand why she couldn’t just ask him for help, coax him a little, use some roundabout tactics. He had feelings for her—even if she were stubborn, his heart would soften.
Zhong An, being the strategist, could see the two were about to butt heads. Waving his fan, he spoke to mediate. “In that case, all three must be rescued. Then let’s simply all enter the Crown Prince’s residence together, then split up. Mo Zi and Miss Yang Qiao can inquire about Chu Yu and—”
“Dou Lu,” Mo Zi said.
“Inquire about Chu Yu and Dou Lu’s whereabouts, while we assess the residence’s security situation.” Zhong An looked at Xiao Wei.
Xiao Wei said nothing. Honestly, Mo Zi’s threat was effective. If she insisted on staying, he wouldn’t just leave on his own either.
After Mo Zi and Yang Qiao left, Zhong An said, “Bai Yu, can’t you yield to Mo Zi a little? Showing her a sour face like that—you still want her to like you? That’s her sister and brother-in-law. Although she only just told us, you should actively express your willingness to help her. Instead, you opened your mouth to question why she didn’t tell His Majesty. You’re… not some green youth anymore—what are you doing? You don’t even know how to please a young lady!” How exasperating!
“Pleasing ordinary young ladies is easy. Send some jewelry or something, and they’re easily coaxed into happiness. But she’s involved in official business, has disagreements with me—if I don’t speak up, I feel bad inside. It’s not that I don’t want to help her. But—look how formidable she is. She doesn’t need our help and can simply cast us aside. I dare assert that she deliberately spoke ambiguously before His Majesty, fundamentally fearing that if the emperor knew, he wouldn’t allow her to come to Daqiu. Rescuing the Crown Prince is false—rescuing her sister and Chu Yu is the priority. The Crown Prince hosting a banquet isn’t hard to find out about, but look—she’s been out early and back late these days, yet doesn’t even know such news. We’re carrying out official duties; she came to handle private business.” He loved her uniqueness, yet was troubled by it because of this. “She doesn’t know how dangerous this is for her. Right now, His Majesty dotes on her, so naturally there’s no problem. But continuing like this, he’ll eventually see her willfulness and recklessness. Accompanying the emperor is like accompanying a tiger—when the time comes, losing one’s head is but a blink of an eye.”
Zhong An listened and said, “I didn’t expect you already understand her so well.”
“I understand her, I like her, so I want to protect her. However, it seems she can’t appreciate it.” But he wasn’t discouraged. His determination wouldn’t change so easily.
“You need to say these things to her—at least she won’t misunderstand you.” Zhong An felt he was practically becoming a matchmaker.
“You saw it yourself—over this matter, can we have a few words calmly?” She disapproved of his methods, yet on the ship he had tried his best to cooperate with her.
“I just hope that when she marries, His Majesty will revoke her official position, otherwise how will they live?” Zhong An believed this was the crux of the problem.
Xiao Wei remained silent.
After seeing Yang Qiao back to her room, Mo Zi went to the Teng residence to find Yuan Cheng and told him about going to the peony banquet tomorrow.
“This is indeed an opportunity.” Yuan Cheng pondered for a long while. “But it could also be another trap by Wu Yan. There are still three days until Qingming Festival. Where have you agreed to meet?”
“It should be at my father and brother’s grave, relocated five li outside the late emperor’s mausoleum in the peach grove. Dou Lu will naturally need to sweep the graves, and she couldn’t possibly go sweep Wu Yan family’s graves.”
“Still ‘father and brother’?” Yuan Cheng already knew Mo Zi’s biological father was Min Wulang.
“I’m used to saying it. Regardless, I think they at least weren’t the murderers who harmed my parents, otherwise the two earrings wouldn’t have remained in my and Dou Lu’s possession all along. Not taking them indicates they didn’t know the earrings’ importance, and perhaps weren’t even connected to the fire. The adoptive father’s Song surname doesn’t seem false. The most likely scenario is that they were fellow townspeople who coincidentally found us sisters. Perhaps they were poor at that time, so he still had some conscience. Have I told you? My adoptive father was an extremely mediocre and incompetent person—neither backbone nor courage, always submissive. He once said that the luckiest thing in his life was having me as a daughter. Although he probably only said this to make me work hard and achieve merit for him, I think he wasn’t irredeemably bad. Especially when I learned he wasn’t my biological father, I felt much more at ease.” Otherwise, she might have fallen into even worse hands. Who knows?
Yuan Cheng reached out and gently smoothed her hair. “Do you know? I love this about you most—your gaze so strong, yet your heart actually simple and kind. It was the same when you saved me. Although you said things about making me jump into the water myself, I never felt you would abandon me. Tomorrow, be careful in everything. Teng Guo has already mobilized many inside contacts, yet still can’t find any news about Jin Yin and Dou Lu. I think we cannot underestimate Wu Yan.”
“If Wu Yan were so easy to deal with, I wouldn’t have let him deceive me so thoroughly.” Mo Zi looked earnestly at Yuan Cheng. “Until now, among all the people I know, probably only you can match him. I don’t know what method he’ll use to capture me. I’ve lost to him before, so I’m very afraid. What Xiao Wei said about leaving after rescuing the Crown Prince is actually a wise move.”
“Mo Zi.” Yuan Cheng called her name gently. “Even if just this once, rely on me completely—would that be all right?”
Mo Zi bit her lip and smiled. “After you came, my brain stopped working. I wanted to bother you with every tiny little thing—I don’t know how I made it this far on the journey.” Habits were frightening.
“Coming all this way, and then hearing you describe Wu Yan as so formidable—it actually arouses my competitive spirit. If we lose to him this time, I’m afraid there’s no need to expend effort helping Jin Yin restore his kingdom in the future, and it would save us the trouble.” A sharp gleam flashed through Yuan Cheng’s dark eyes.
He summoned Teng Guo and Huayi.
“Teng Guo, notify all your contacts—stop investigating Jin Yin and Dou Lu’s whereabouts.”
“Sir, why is this?” Teng Guo asked in surprise.
“Jin Yin’s people haven’t contacted us until now. Something has definitely changed, most likely discovered by Wu Yan. I want you to investigate where Wu Yan’s younger brother Wu Yanle has been recently, and track the Consort Xiang’s movements.” Yuan Cheng hadn’t told Mo Zi that Qian Liang, Bai Liang, and Yi Liang—Uncle Yi and the others—were originally protecting Jin Yin, but after he came to the capital, he couldn’t find their safety signals.
However, Mo Zi now knew.
Teng Guo hurried off to handle it.
“Huayi, take your people and look around—see if there are any supreme masters in the capital.” To detain Jin Yin’s several Liang members, even Wu Yan’s shadow guards might not be able to do it, so there must be outside assistance.
Huayi also left.
“Luo Yi, Zheng Yi.” Yuan Cheng called out.
Two people in black robes appeared above and below.
Yuan Cheng walked outside. “Prepare the carriage. Don’t alert anyone—Mo Zi and I are going out.”
Mo Zi quietly followed behind.
This man’s most deeply hidden power was being revealed to her one by one.