With this reasoning, even Zhong An had to admit it made sense. He had originally worried that this mission’s exposure would bring endless trouble to Great Zhou. But since Great Zhou had indeed rescued the person and received this gratitude, releasing him was the only way to achieve the best of both worlds while surrounded.
“Bai Yu, forget it.” He urged.
Wei Jia also advised, “Explain it clearly to His Majesty. We haven’t exactly failed to complete this task.”
Amid the tide of defection, Xiao Wei glared fiercely at Yuan Cheng. “Minister Yuan, a word in private.”
Yuan Cheng had been waiting for this. He said to Mo Zi, “Keep things steady for now.”
Mo Zi couldn’t help but be curious about Xiao Wei’s request to speak alone with Yuan Cheng, secretly wondering if she could eavesdrop. Because these two always had a quality of kings never meeting kings—one cold, one fiery, with invisible gunpowder every time.
Of course, she only thought about it. As the ship’s captain, in such circumstances, she had to remain at the bow.
As soon as Xiao Wei entered the large cabin, he asked bluntly, “Does Minister Yuan know the cost of releasing Chu Yu?”
Yuan Cheng raised an ink-dark eyebrow. “Oh? General Xiao’s meaning—I don’t quite understand.”
Xiao Wei laughed coldly. “Minister Yuan is an intelligent person. Why pretend to be foolish? His Majesty sent us to rescue Chu Liu and Chu Yu back to Great Zhou. How much of that was meant as extending a helping hand—you should understand better than I do.”
“His Majesty is gentle and kind-hearted, so naturally it means helping with all our strength.” Yuan Cheng left no opening for criticism.
“Minister Yuan, you and I are now both ministers of the same court and should be thinking of Great Zhou. Keeping Chu Yu under His Majesty’s control would be far more advantageous to our Great Zhou than letting him go free. Daqiu merely controls an incompetent crown prince, yet it makes Yuling completely obedient. Chu Yu is already the last bit of bloodline in the Yuling imperial family. As long as we have him in hand, Great Zhou can reclaim Yuling, and sending troops against Daqiu would have proper justification.” Xiao Wei looked at Yuan Cheng. “I know you may not agree with this, but don’t forget—when Nande abandoned you, regardless of how we opposed it, His Majesty always viewed you differently. As the saying goes: repay kindness with gratitude. Minister Yuan, am I right or not?”
Yuan Cheng took his time, answering thus: “General Xiao’s words—I actually understand them very well. It’s just easier said than done. Yuling’s independence was agreed to by Great Zhou—the imperial edict still exists. Since we were generous once, later generations cannot be petty. Regarding the relationship between Great Zhou and Yuling, I believe that rather than taking advantage of their weakness to become manipulator and puppet, it would be more beneficial in the long run to form an alliance. The world today is divided into four parts. Setting aside Yuling for the moment—Daqiu’s wolfish ambitions are clear to all the world, but their methods are so outrageous they cannot win people’s hearts. Nande is without virtue, the new emperor is weak and incompetent, powerful ministers wield authority, and the common people are immersed in a sea of suffering with no way to escape. Only Great Zhou still maintains the bearing of a mother nation, with one sea still peaceful, making countless Han people long for it. However, if Great Zhou places Chu Yu under house arrest, we lose the people’s hearts. If we covet Yuling, the world will be unstable. In this way, half of Daqiu’s infamy would be borne by Great Zhou instead.”
Xiao Wei’s sharp gaze gradually softened.
“Great Zhou cannot ruin its own reputation—especially under Daqiu’s tyranny, we should be even more magnanimous and benevolent. Only then can the four seas be united and all hearts aligned. At that time, the world will be like taking something from a bag.” Yuan Cheng knew Xiao Wei had understood. “Having Yuling people come to receive him is best. If Yuling people cannot come, Great Zhou should also send people to escort him back. Once Yuling’s restoration enters the confrontation phase, Daqiu will be unable to manage everything, and it will drain their national strength and grain reserves. Whether Great Zhou defends or attacks, the initiative will be in our hands. As for General Xiao’s sincere loyalty to His Majesty and Great Zhou, I deeply respect it.”
While Yuan Cheng and Xiao Wei communicated, Mo Zi and Jin Yin had their farewell conversation.
“Why don’t I see my Jiu Jiu coming to see me off?” Jin Yin smiled mischievously again.
“Do you see any female family members besides me? With this kind of formation, dark night and high winds, robbing and seizing people—women would be frightened.” Mo Zi had prepared for him to ask this. “Besides, it’s not like we’re parting in life and death. Why would anyone see you off?”
“Mo Zi, you value your own sister over sworn brothers. So all those nice things you said earlier were to deceive me.” Jin Yin was full of complaints. “Moreover, I’m your brother-in-law. Dou Lu is my wife. You won’t let her leave with me, won’t even let her see me off—this is called forcibly separating lovebirds.”
Mo Zi had never imagined she would one day bear such an accusation. Truly unable to decide whether to laugh or cry, and needing to expose him in front of others anyway, she said, “Extraordinary words spoken in extraordinary times needn’t be taken seriously. Dou Lu has had an especially kind heart since childhood. She knew that if you didn’t pretend to be husband and wife, your life would probably be in danger. Now that the danger has passed, don’t use such excuses anymore to avoid causing misunderstandings.”
Jin Yin looked around, seeing everyone’s suddenly enlightened expressions. He pulled Mo Zi close to his side and lowered his voice. “You don’t think that explaining things clearly will help Dou Lu distance herself, do you?”
Mo Zi smiled, her eyes flashing with menace. “My sworn brotherhood with you is one thing. Dou Lu and you are another matter entirely. Jin Yin, I don’t want my sister to marry you.”
Jin Yin cried out, clutching his heart in pain. “I thought you’d always help me. I never imagined I’d discover today it was all my wishful thinking. Though I never really wanted to marry your sister anyway. She’s ugly and foolish. I was only nice to her because of you. Someone as handsome as me—if I marry, it should at least be to someone pleasing to the eye. Who knew you’d look down on me.”
This person’s aesthetic standards still hadn’t adjusted. Mo Zi shook her head, not arguing with him about Dou Lu’s beauty or ugliness. “Yes, I look down on you. As the Second Prince of Yuling, I look down on the responsibility on your shoulders being too heavy—a long and arduous path. And if restoration succeeds, you’ll be the Yuling Emperor. Then I’d look down on you for not being able to devote yourself wholeheartedly to Dou Lu, with a whole palace full of women. If restoration doesn’t succeed, then there’s even less to consider—you probably won’t even keep your life. Thinking it over, only the cunning merchant Jin Yin would still be a good choice for a brother-in-law.”
Jin Yin laughed sullenly and tapped Mo Zi’s head with his fan. “My San’er overthinks things. Your brother was just joking. If I developed feelings for your sister, I would definitely take her with me—how could I let you say no?” What he had asked was why Dou Lu hadn’t come to see him off.
Mo Zi narrowed her eyes. Had she overthought it? Seeing him speak so calmly, as if he truly showed no signs of being moved, she developed a strange contradictory feeling. What wasn’t good about Dou Lu that made him find her both ugly and foolish?
At this moment, Yuan Cheng and Xiao Wei emerged.
“Is General Xiao willing to let me go now?” Jin Yin tapped his fan handle against his palm.
“General Xiao isn’t unwilling to release you. He simply has various worries and concerns. After all, His Majesty’s intention was to rescue you and bring you back.” Yuan Cheng spoke on Xiao Wei’s behalf.
“Second Highness…” Throughout this voyage, his adaptability and adjustment capabilities had been exercised as never before. “Xiao bears no ill will. The Yuling imperial family now has only Second Highness alone. The situation inside is very uncertain, and the resistance army’s combat power also worries me. Rather than rashly going with them, my original intention was to invite Your Highness to Great Zhou to personally speak with His Majesty. His Majesty would certainly support Your Highness. Since Yuling suffered disaster, Great Zhou has sheltered many Yuling common people—not only opening granaries to provide food, but also building villages and establishing markets for them, even amending the temporary household registration laws. All because we share the same lineage.”
Hearing this speech, Mo Zi blinked. So Xiao Wei could also speak in official platitudes quite well.
Jin Yin replied with official platitudes of his own. “General Xiao speaks most correctly. Great Zhou has always helped the Yuling people, which Chu Yu has seen with his own eyes and heard with his own ears. Your rescue this time, Chu Yu remembers in his heart. However, with Yuling’s living beings suffering and the common people in deep water and scorching fire, Chu Yu can no longer stand by idly. I want to hurry back to contend with Daqiu to the end and restore my Yuling’s splendid rivers and mountains. For this, I’ve disrupted General Xiao’s operations and failed to live up to the Zhou Emperor’s good intentions—Chu Yu feels deep regret. However, I believe it won’t be long before you and I can meet again, clasp hands in joy, and drink until dawn.”
Jin Yin, along with Yi Liang and the others, descended to Chen Sheng’s boat. Chen Sheng went through another round of fervent acknowledgment of his master, then called out to Mo Zi, “Young lady once made things convenient for Chen Sheng. Today, rescuing His Highness Yu from the Daqiu people’s hands, Chen Sheng is immeasurably grateful. I wish to teach you a method that will allow you to safely cross the river.”
“Please speak, General Chen.” Perhaps it would be more thorough than her own method.
“I see your ship is seventy percent similar to a Daqiu warship I just sank. I have captured weapons and armor here, and even the signals, waterway maps, and patrol ship routes are all crystal clear. You might as well disguise yourself as a patrol warship and take advantage of the dark night’s poor visibility to slip through.” When Chen Sheng first caught sight of Mo Zi’s ship, he had genuinely thought it was a Daqiu ship, which was why he had this idea.
Mo Zi’s eyes brightened. “That’s a good idea! I was also planning to slip through, but could only wait for gaps when patrol ships were staggered, letting them think we were their own people, then quickly pass across the river. With General Chen’s assistance, it won’t be purely relying on luck.”
Chen Sheng waved his torch. “Your method is too risky, young lady. At the end of this river is a water fortress. To enter the river, you must pass inspection. Without a sailing permit issued by Daqiu, not only can you not pass, but you’ll arouse suspicion. The only method is to impersonate a patrol ship. The water fortresses along the river form a connected line. The guards don’t necessarily know all the soldiers from every fortress, and recently new warships have been continually joining.”
Wei Jia muttered, “Always so calculating, always looking so fully prepared—who knew there were times of trying your luck?”
Mo Zi heard this perfectly and turned back with a smile. “I’m not confident about everything. More often, I take one step and look at the next. When I encounter urgent situations, I urgently deal with them. So don’t think I’m too capable.”
Chen Sheng not only gave Mo Zi the captured items but also sent people to paint the name of the warship he’d destroyed on the hull—Chi—and waited for Mo Zi to hang the wolf flag and water fortress banner. Seeing it look quite convincing, he ordered the return voyage. To return to Yuling, they had to go through Fengzhou. But Chen Sheng had been able to sneak into Daqiu territory because he reportedly had an extremely dangerous but extremely secret waterway. As long as they patiently hid through this period, with good weather and favorable winds, getting out would be no problem.
The firelight extinguished, the smoke dispersed, the sound of rowing oars replaced by the rhythmic sound of flowing water, and the boat carrying Jin Yin disappeared into the tributary.
Mo Zi had no time to be sentimental about the parting. After assigning tasks to Chou Yu and the others, before long she felt the water speed become urgent—they were nearing the end of the river, the entrance to the great river.
“Yuan Cheng.” She unconsciously sought support.
“I’m here.” He too had changed into a Daqiu soldier’s soft armor and wore a helmet, concealing his refined appearance.
Beneath the stars and moon, five Daqiu warships stood in a row on the other side of the river, their sharply curved bows coldly gleaming with a cold light.