The sky was overcast with heavy snow. The wind was so cold it seemed to pierce through one’s very bones.
Qingqiong led Shuangge and the date-red horse Ni Su had bought for him. The entire mountain path was utterly quiet, with sparse, yellowing grass blades bearing a thin layer of accumulated snow.
“Miss Ni, not a single person followed us,” Qingqiong was bundled thickly, with only his eyes and nose exposed. Even so, his entire body was stiff and frozen as he walked very slowly. “Doesn’t this mean that at least some people are willing to believe us?”
“Trust has never been something that can be achieved with just a few words.”
Ni Su wiped the silver spear broken into two pieces with her shawl. “Who am I? To think a few words would make them believe in General Yujie’s innocence—that’s far too naive.”
“Public sentiment is simple and unadorned by nature, but the deliberate manipulation of those with ulterior motives makes it unknowingly become a sharp weapon for killing both body and heart.” Ni Su wrapped up the broken spear, using both ends of the shawl as ties to secure it on her body, then took Shuangge’s reins from Qingqiong. “I simply couldn’t swallow this anger. I wanted to speak these words openly before others.”
That Ni Su could take away Xu Hexue’s belongings today wasn’t because the people of Yongzhou were willing to believe her words, but because of everything Young Master Ni had contributed to Yongzhou city, because she had followed Medical Worker Tian in saving many lives, and even more so because of General Qin Jixun’s tacit permission.
“Then we’ll go to the capital. That Lord Han isn’t just the Yongzhou military supervisor—he’s also His Majesty’s imperial envoy with golden words and jade decree. I heard he’s ordering people to take Tan Guangwen back to Yun Capital to request His Majesty’s judgment!” Qingqiong looked at the ball of fluffy luminescent light in the medicine basket at Ni Su’s side. “At that time, with him as a witness, General Xu and the Jing’an Army’s injustice might finally be cleared…”
As Qingqiong was speaking, he saw a person and horse stopped in the middle of the road ahead. The person wore dark black robes with a precious blade at his waist, his bearing distinguished and imposing.
“Miss Ni, it seems to be that Deputy Commander Zhou…” Qingqiong recognized him.
Hearing this, Ni Su looked up.
There were no good edible stems and leaves on the sparse mountain path. Shuangge licked the accumulated snow on the ground, snorting a few times. Ni Su stroked its mane. “Young Lord Zhou, what are you doing here?”
“Waiting for you.”
“Waiting for me for what?”
Zhou Ting glanced at Qingqiong standing not far behind. The young man looked somewhat peculiar, with pupils of intense black, larger than normal people’s.
“Is Miss Ni returning to the capital?”
He asked.
Ni Su hummed in acknowledgment.
“I’m under Lord Han’s orders to escort the criminal official Tan Guangwen to the capital for trial. Would Miss Ni like to travel with me?” Zhou Ting’s gaze fell on the object wrapped in her shawl and strapped to her back.
“Thank you, Young Lord Zhou.” Ni Su lowered her head and bowed to him. “But there’s no need. Qingqiong is weak in health. We must travel much more slowly. If we traveled with you, I fear we’d delay your journey.”
Hearing this, Zhou Ting fell silent for a moment but said nothing more. He only said, “If that’s the case, Miss Ni, travel safely. We’ll…”
He paused. “See each other again in Yun Capital.”
“Good.”
Ni Su’s lips, now pale, curved slightly. “We’ll part here, Young Lord Zhou.”
Zhou Ting led his horse to the side of the path, watching as Ni Su and Qingqiong mounted their horses. The hooves tread upon the wet mountain path, and soon their figures were swallowed by wind and snow.
After a long while, he finally mounted his horse, spurred it forward, and galloped back to Yongzhou city.
“Ni Su has left?”
Han Qing was temporarily lodged in the prefectural office. Before him sat a charcoal brazier as he extended his hands to warm them by the fire.
“Yes.”
Zhou Ting responded.
“This woman…” Han Qing leaned back against his chair, carefully recalling the words she’d said to him in the corridor today.
“If there comes a day when their names can exist clearly and purely in the world’s written records, please join those who, like you, remember this matter, and stand with me to right this injustice.”
She had knelt prostrate before him in a posture of supplication, yet the words she spoke were deafening.
Whether it was her beating Tan Guangwen or openly saying the four characters “General Yujie” before Clan Elders Qin and Wei, all of it had deeply moved Han Qing’s heart.
“Zhou Ting, do you know what she told me?” Han Qing raised his eyes, gazing at the young man before him. “She said that Young Master Ni was a former member of the Jing’an Army.”
Hearing this, Zhou Ting’s eyes suddenly showed a flash of shock.
“General Qin told me that during the twenty days defending the city, this Young Master Ni contributed immensely. If not for his repeated ingenious strategies, Yongzhou city absolutely couldn’t have held for twenty days before falling into Yelu Zhen’s hands.”
“Yes, when I was here, I also witnessed his methods. General Qin said he possessed the talent of a commander and general.” Zhou Ting answered truthfully.
“What a pity. If we hadn’t encountered reinforcements from Danqiu’s Nanyan tribe along the way, I might have been able to meet him.”
The Zezhou troops couldn’t be used, causing the main army to be locked in stalemate with the Nanyan tribe reinforcements for many days. Fortunately, Zhou Ting arrived in time, allowing Han Qing to find a breakthrough in the Yongzhou situation. He spread news that Yelu Zhen had assassinated Juhan Pass commander Shi Monu and suppressed the Nanyan soldiers under Shi Monu’s command, causing the general leading the Nanyan tribe reinforcements to harbor resentment and unwillingness to help Yelu Zhen succeed, thus leading his troops back the way they came.
“With his death, the Jing’an Army is truly dead and gone.”
Han Qing’s throat tightened.
Zhou Ting remained silent for a long while before finally saying, “Esteemed Envoy, in all this, it’s definitely not just Wu Dai alone who’s involved.”
“This thread is far too smooth.”
Han Qing collected his emotions, his knuckles tapping the armrest. “Wu Dai has already gone mad—how could he still remember anything? If we don’t pin these matters on him alone, on whose head can we pin them? I had you properly handle matters regarding Minister Zhang’s lands in Zezhou, yet you couldn’t stay idle and insisted on getting involved in the Daizhou grain case. Not investigating would have been fine, but upon investigation, you actually discovered that the one who bought official grain from those Daizhou officials back then was none other than Cao Shanli of the Manyu Money House.”
“Counting the days, that Chao Yisong at your side should have already brought Cao Dong to Yun Capital by now, right?”
Cao Shanli was Cao Dong’s father and also the former owner of Manyu Money House. He’d died some years ago. Now the one in charge of Manyu Money House was his eldest son, Cao Dong.
Emperor Zhengyuan issued an edict ordering official certificates of exchange to replace private certificates—the first to be made an example of would be the Cao family’s Manyu Money House of Daizhou. Without any future for private certificates meant the Cao family’s business also had no future.
When Zhou Ting captured Cao Dong in Zezhou, he was being pursued and hunted.
“All my business has collapsed, my entire family’s lives are in danger. Having reached this point, I ask for nothing else. I have something I can exchange with you, my lord. I only ask that you spare the lives of my wife, children, and grandmother.” That day, beneath Zhou Ting’s blade, Cao Dong had shouted hoarsely, “If you can arrange for me to see Minister Meng, I will hand over this item. If you cannot, then no one in this world can protect my family’s lives. In that case, I might as well die cleanly here and now!”
“He insists on seeing Minister Meng before he’ll reveal everything he knows.” Zhou Ting turned back to glance at the falling snow outside the door. “Perhaps… that time is approaching.”
“Then you go as well.”
Han Qing commanded in a light voice.
“Yes.”
Heavy snow in Yongzhou, heavy rain in Yun Capital.
This autumn rain was so intense it fell from dawn until the sky turned completely dark. A group of Night Investigation Bureau attendants, travel-worn and wearing straw raincoats, escorted a horse carriage rapidly forward.
The sound of rain masked many subtle movements, but Chao Yisong, riding on horseback, still sensed something amiss. He suddenly turned his face. In the curtain of rain, several dark shadows leaped across rooftops and eaves.
“Protect the person in the carriage!”
Chao Yisong immediately shouted loudly.
The attendants quickly gathered, surrounding and protecting the carriage in the middle.
Assassins leaped down, swiftly attacking. Blades and swords clashed. Accompanied by the sound of rain falling in clusters, the street lanterns were soaked through. Chao Yisong saw someone land on the carriage roof. He immediately used the momentum to leap up, raising his blade in a horizontal slash and cutting the person down from the carriage.
Rain and blood intermingled and flowed together.
Sharp arrows hidden in darkness came whistling through the air. Chao Yisong and the others retreated to the carriage, hastily using their blades to deflect the arrows. Several attendants couldn’t respond in time and fell to the ground, struck by arrows.
Chao Yisong and the others retreated with nowhere left to go, forming a human wall to protect the carriage.
When the rain of arrows ceased, the assassins drew closer and closer. The leader had a scar below the corner of his eye, his gaze fierce. “Attack!”
Shadows upon shadows surged forward in layers.
Chao Yisong and the others raised their blades to meet them, the two sides becoming locked in combat. The scarred man with the covered face seized his opportunity, using his blade to push aside two attendants. His blood-stained blade flashed, slicing through the bamboo curtain of the carriage.
Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled. The cold light and shadow briefly illuminated the person sitting upright inside—wearing purple official robes, a long-winged hat on his head. He raised his eyes, expressionlessly gazing at the intruder.
The man’s pupils contracted sharply.
In just that instant, the person in the carriage raised his hand, drawing out a long sword. Rippling light and shadow flickered. Before the man could react, the person kicked him away, then swiftly leaped from the carriage. Within just a few moves, he stepped on the man’s blade-wielding hand, bent down, sword edge pressed against his neck, then raised his head. In the dim lamplight, he vaguely made out the outline of a carriage stopped beyond the memorial archway in the distance by the roadside.
Another group of Night Investigation Bureau attendants who had been hiding in the rear rushed forward immediately, first restraining the assassins shooting arrows from above. The two sides faced off directly.
Chao Yisong brought over an umbrella, holding it over the elderly man in purple robes, calling, “Minister Meng.”
Meng Yunxian took the umbrella, lifting his robes to walk forward. After just a few steps, he saw someone ahead part the crowd, also holding an umbrella, wearing bamboo-green robes and a head wrap.
Raindrops beat urgently against the umbrella’s edge.
Meng Yunxian and this person’s eyes met. Almost simultaneously, they raised their hands, ordering everyone behind them to withdraw completely.
“How is it that it’s you, Minister Meng?”
The prolonged deadly silence was first broken by the man, his face bearing a slight smile.
“I was just about to ask—how is it you…” Meng Yunxian stared at him, enunciating each word, “Third Minister Pan.”
The smile in Pan Youfang’s eyes vanished completely. Between the two men, silence fell once more, with only the sound of profuse rain. He sniffed the moist rain air, glancing outside the umbrella’s edge. “I remember that year I passed the imperial examination and achieved the jinshi degree—it also rained this heavily. The rain fell so satisfyingly. Minister Zhang saw me standing dazed in the rain, nearly thinking I’d gone silly with joy. He invited me into his residence and had people prepare ginger tea for me…”
“Shut your mouth!”
Meng Yunxian could bear it no longer and sharply interrupted.
Pan Youfang’s face became expressionless as he stopped speaking.
“What face do you have to mention him?”
A turbid breath surged chaotically through Meng Yunxian’s chest. “Pan Youfang, what face do you still have to mention Zhang Chongzhi! If he knew what you’ve done beneath the Nine Springs, do you think he would regret trusting you so much back then?!”
These words pierced Pan Youfang’s heart like a blade, but he held back again and again, his face appearing calm. “I know—he would definitely regret it.”
“Previously at court, you deliberately mentioned Huang Zongyu to force His Majesty to question me.” Meng Yunxian’s expression was stern and cold. “But you weren’t truly helping me—you were taking the opportunity to have me plant my own people, find the thread leading to Tan Guangwen, and expose Wu Dai. There’s no one more suitable than Wu Dai to provide cover for you, is there?”
Pan Youfang laughed once. “How is he providing cover for me? Minister Meng, do you really think he’s innocent in all this?”
“Minister Meng,”
His smile suddenly vanished as he sighed slowly. “You’ve already met Cao Dong? If he hadn’t interfered, you would never have discovered me. In that case, you and I could still maintain amicable relations.”
He found this regrettable.
Meng Yunxian threw down the sword in his hand. “Pan Youfang, Chongzhi trusted you, valued you. Back then, he and I—we risked everything to send you to Juhan Pass as military supervisor… But you—what have you done? To his best student—what have you done?”
Thunder and lightning tangled across the sky, illuminating the swaying shadows of withered branches. Pan Youfang suddenly said, “Do you think I wanted to?!”
His fingers gripping the umbrella handle tightened, turning white.
“I came from a humble family. I was already thirty-two when I finally had the opportunity to enter officialdom—this opportunity was given by Minister Zhang!” His throat felt rough. “I was grateful to him in my heart. At that time, everyone knew that before others, I called myself a student of Minister Zhang! Even though many people mocked me, asking when Minister Zhang ever had a student like me, laughing at my shamelessness… Yet thanks to Minister Zhang not abandoning me, he let me enter the Eastern Residence to work on the New Policies reforms. I was full of enthusiasm, Minister Meng!”
“I was a humble scholar who spent the first half of my life in bitter study. All I thought about was the welfare of the people and the realm. You and Minister Zhang gave me this opportunity and placed great hopes in me. I constantly admonished myself never to disappoint the expectations you two had for me.”
As Pan Youfang spoke, he suddenly laughed again. “But Minister Meng, the methods you and Minister Zhang used to promote the New Policies and reform corrupt officials provoked boundless criticism. I once advised you to proceed gradually, but you said that if you didn’t first create momentum for His Majesty, if you didn’t use thunderous methods to punish corrupt officials, there would be insufficient deterrent power, and you feared all officials would harbor lucky hopes.”
“But how could the imperial clan tolerate this? You and Minister Zhang touched the officials affiliated with them! You touched their interests!” Pan Youfang’s neck veins bulged slightly. “Prince Nankang was His Majesty’s paternal uncle. When he was alive, didn’t he create enough obstacles for you and Minister Zhang? Wu Dai always had interests entangled with Prince Nankang. When they temporarily couldn’t move against you and Minister Zhang under His Majesty’s watch, they set their sights on General Yujie at the border. This military supervisor position of mine was set up at their instigation to His Majesty. To ensure General Yujie would be less constrained, you two exhausted all means to send me to this military supervisor position…”
“Minister Zhang trusted me. You also trusted me. General Yujie, far away at Juhan Pass, also trusted me.”
“But what about me?”
The rain curtain was damp. Pan Youfang seemed somewhat lost. “This half of my life has been completely ruined by Wu Dai.”
“At this point, I’m not afraid to tell you—Du Cong was indeed my man. He was once called Du Sancai. He was originally sent by General Yujie to receive me. I encountered mountain bandits and was saved by Du Sancai. I had an excellent relationship with this person.”
“That year, he was ordered to collect official grain in Daizhou to send to Juhan Pass. He delayed on the road and committed a capital offense. Daizhou had no grain to transport, so he sought my help. I repaid his life-saving grace by covering up this matter for him. But unexpectedly, Wu Dai learned of this and used it as leverage, demanding I make a new choice.”
“At that time, I wasn’t worried about losing my official position. I was just thinking—if I stepped down from the Juhan Pass military supervisor position, then Wu Dai and Prince Nankang would have the opportunity to install their own people. So I secretly dealt with Wu Dai. I thought I’d stall him first.”
“I never interfered with any of General Yujie’s decisions. I didn’t even need him to obtain my approval for anything. This was probably another reason General Yujie trusted me besides being Minister Zhang’s student.” Pan Youfang recalled those days at Juhan Pass. That young general was spirited and ambitious, often inviting him to drink together. “When the Danqiu general Mengto attacked Juhan Pass, he used the lives of the entire Xu clan of Qingya Prefecture as leverage to force General Yujie to defect to Danqiu. General Yujie turned the tables, leading the Jing’an Army to Mount Mushen to lure the enemy, ordering Tan Guangwen and Gerang’s two forces to provide coordinated support. This military order was issued right under my nose, yet I secretly intercepted it.”
“Why did you intercept it?”
“It was Wu Dai.”
“He saw through my intentions. When softening me through hometown connections failed, he lured my father into forcibly occupying people’s fields, falsely accused him of poisoning an official messenger, and used my father’s life as leverage, demanding I first have Tan Guangwen reinforce Jianchi Prefecture before proceeding to Longyan.”
“Time-wise, it was feasible.”
Pan Youfang smiled bitterly. “Under his coercion, unable to bear my father dying because of me, I thought since there was enough time, this wouldn’t be impossible. What if there really was trouble at Jianchi Prefecture—it would also count as relieving an urgent situation. So I had Du Cong go see Tan Guangwen while Gerang remained temporarily at Nianchi, waiting only for Tan Guangwen to come from Jianchi Prefecture before I would send out the General’s order.”
“But that damned Tan Guangwen—”
He gritted his teeth. “He actually got lost on the way to Longyan…”
“Only later did I learn that while Tan Guangwen was lost, the person Wu Dai sent to negotiate with me, posing as my messenger, intercepted the military order I sent to Gerang.”
Gerang at Nianchi knew nothing.
The tragedy at Mount Mushen was brewed—thirty thousand Jing’an Army soldiers and fifty thousand barbarian troops all perished.
“The barbarians who were originally supposed to attack Jianchi Prefecture suddenly attacked Yongzhou, which had insufficient forces. All those letters from Prince Qin Rili of Danqiu, all those edicts from the Danqiu king conferring titles on Xu Hexue—they were all Danqiu barbarian tricks! Wu Dai, worried his credulity toward Prince Qin Rili would be exposed, caused thirty thousand Jing’an Army soldiers to die at Mount Mushen. He didn’t even spare Miao Tianning defending Yongzhou.”
The matter hidden in his heart for many years was now completely revealed by Pan Youfang. He stared fixedly at Minister Meng before him, wearing robes with proper dignified bearing. “Originally I could still bear the responsibility, but in this confused muddle, the crime became increasingly monstrous. Then I was bound to their boat like this, becoming birds of a feather with them. Do you know what I did?”
“It was I who had my subordinate Dou Yingzhang rush to Mount Mushen and from that mountain of corpses and sea of blood bring General Yujie back to Yongzhou.” Pan Youfang recalled, “At that time, his eyes had already been slashed by barbarian golden blades and he couldn’t see. I was very glad he couldn’t see. He was unconscious. I feared that when he regained consciousness and underwent punishment, he would say something to Jiang Xianming, so I personally…”
His lips trembled. “I personally administered the muting drug to him.”
“Pan Youfang!”
Meng Yunxian could bear it no longer. His umbrella fell from his hand as he grabbed Pan Youfang by the collar, voice trembling, “How dare you! How dare you treat him that way!”
“If I didn’t treat him that way,” Pan Youfang’s umbrella also fell to the ground. Rain soaked him through, making him more clear-headed. “My entire clan would have died! Minister Meng, things have reached this point. My crime against General Yujie can only be redeemed in the next life. In this life, I cannot turn back.”
“I also once wanted to be a good official, but Wu Dai ruined me.”
Pan Youfang wiped the rainwater from his face. “Minister Meng, I once aspired to serve the people and the realm, but my will wasn’t firm. I couldn’t give up too many things, couldn’t become a sage or saint of the ancients. I’ve accepted my fate. I desperately climbed to this position, yet ultimately can’t avoid being grasshoppers on the same string as Wu Dai. Look—Consort Wu is now pregnant. Even if Wu Dai has gone mad, he won’t die.”
“My candor with you tonight isn’t a criminal official’s confession, but rather stems from my personal feelings toward you and Minister Zhang.” Pan Youfang gazed calmly at Meng Yunxian. “You know His Majesty won’t kill Wu Dai, and it’s also impossible to overturn a treason case from sixteen years ago. Whoever dares reopen this case at this juncture would be opposing the sovereign father.”
“Moreover,”
Pan Youfang tightly gripped Meng Yunxian’s hand. “Minister Meng, were only Wu Dai and I the ones who harmed General Yujie Xu Hexue? When Prince Nankang couldn’t move against you and Minister Zhang, don’t you think he would have wanted to move against Xu Hexue? Who do you think was backing Wu Dai?”
“If not for you and Minister Zhang’s urgency in promoting the New Policies, how would it have provoked the imperial clan’s displeasure and caused endless struggles between the new and old factions… Do you think that among the imperial clan, Wu Dai, myself, and even you and Minister Zhang—which of us can escape responsibility for the crime of killing Xu Hexue?”
These words pierced bone and marrow. Meng Yunxian felt chilled throughout his body. He suddenly released Pan Youfang and kicked him to the ground. “I am guilty—I dare admit it! But what about you, Pan Youfang? Do you dare?!”
“I won’t admit it.”
Pan Youfang’s eyelids reddened as he braced his hands against the rainy ground, speaking calmly. “Minister Meng, sixteen years have passed. Why not let it vanish like smoke and clouds?”
“Xu Hexue is dead. The Jing’an Army is all dead. Even if you do this, it serves no purpose.”
“Think of Minister Zhang, and think of your current situation. You finally managed to return to the capital. The old faction officials at court who once held grudges against you haven’t been appeased yet. If you dare speak out for Xu Hexue at this time, not only will you fail to preserve your position as chief minister, you’ll also implicate your entire family’s lives, and even all officials close to you.”
“Even if I told you everything tonight, in the future, I still won’t admit it.”
Night rain fell profusely, pattering endlessly.
Pan Youfang raised his head. Ice-cold raindrops continuously pelted his face. “I once also wanted to purify this jade realm, but who could have imagined that now, I’m the one who needs to be purified.”
“But can this realm truly be purified?”