Chapter 9 The Stableman
Rong Si spurred his horse and left.
The neighing and shouting of horses echoed through the valley.
As Yu Wanyin listened to the faint, distant sounds mixed with the cicadas' chirping in the height of summer, her hands and feet grew increasingly cold.
She sat motionless in the carriage for a while until the caravan stopped temporarily at a post station, at which point she finally snapped out of her thoughts.
It was noon when Qingsong brought her the food and called her, "Miss, it's time for lunch."
Upon hearing this, Yu Wanyin asked through the curtain, "Where are we?"
"We've arrived in Jingzhou."
Yu Wanyin breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that they had already left Jiangling.
Qing Song noticed Yu Wanyin's unusual behavior, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing much," Yu Wanyin said softly. "Where is the goose that landed in front of our car just now?"
"They've been put away. Perhaps a hunter from Jiangling stumbled upon them while hunting. But wild geese are truly rare, so Your Majesty ordered them to be put away."
Yu Wanyin lifted the curtain. "Take me to see."
Qing Song agreed and helped Yu Wanyin down.
The wild goose whose wing had been pierced by an arrow was put into a cage by Yu Sheng's men, the arrow still embedded in its body.
Yu Wanyin stepped forward and examined the arrows on its body closely.
It was a short arrow with a sharp tip.
Ordinary people usually use goose or duck feathers for their short arrows, while goose feathers are only used by wealthy people because they are difficult to hunt.
But this short arrow was made of goose feathers, and all the wealthy families in Yingzhou were in the ranks.
If she had only speculated before, she was now even more certain of her thoughts.
Fresh goose feathers were abundant only in his household, except in the homes of the wealthy.
Yu Wanyin's lips were taut.
This terrifying and powerful force could strike a goose above the flock, or even a person within the flock.
He must have realized she was lying to him.
However, he may not yet know her identity.
Otherwise, she would be in dire straits right now.
Footsteps sounded behind her. Yu Sheng looked at her looking at the wild geese. "To encounter such auspicious signs on our journey today is a good omen."
Yu Wanyin was feeling irritated when she heard this, and said with a few sarcastic remarks, "Father always says auspicious omens."
Perhaps in order to curry favor with the current king, these officials told him that everything they saw was an auspicious omen.
This was especially true for Yu Sheng, a civil official.
In other words, there's nothing useful in his mouth.
Yu Sheng didn't take it seriously, assuming that Yu Wanyin agreed with his words, and asked, "I wanted to summon you over yesterday, but I didn't expect you to be unwell. Are you feeling better today?"
"Thank you for your concern, Father. Everything is fine," Yu Wanyin replied calmly.
"That's good," Yu Sheng noticed that she didn't mention why she hadn't asked her to run away with him that day. Indeed, whatever their father did, his children didn't need to question him. "Yaoyao is the most sensible, making your father worry-free."
Yu Wanyin knew her father well.
He would humbly submit when he failed to accomplish what was entrusted to him by the powerful.
But he would not show any disrespect to his children, even if he had done something wrong.
He would ignore everything she accepted and call it being sensible.
Yu Wanyin hates it when people say she's sensible.
If it weren't for him, she wouldn't have gone through all this, making up one lie after another to provoke that thug.
However, this parting is 500 miles away, and perhaps she and Rong Si will never meet again. This is the best outcome.
It would be best if he never knew that she was his enemy's fiancée.
Yu Sheng said some polite words to her, and Yu Heyue happened to walk over. "Sister, would you like to have lunch with Father and Mother? We were all very worried about you while you were gone."
Yu Wanyin politely declined, saying, "It's so hot today, I don't have much of an appetite. You guys go ahead and eat."
After she finished speaking, she returned to her own carriage.
Yu Sheng watched Yu Wanyin's retreating figure and sighed, "Your older sister is good in every way, except that she is too aloof and cold, unlike you who is close to people."
“Being aloof has its advantages,” Yu Heyue said to Yu Sheng, her words charming. “If my elder sister were like me, Father would probably find us sisters too noisy.”
Yu Sheng laughed, "You're such a sly one."
*
The team traveled for half a month before arriving in Shang'an.
The city guards of Shang'an had summoned the city's residents to the long street to welcome the king. The people standing on both sides of the street were still very few, their faces showing no joy. They stared at the officials returning to the capital and whispered among themselves.
King Jiang sat atop his golden phoenix carriage, looking out at the scene through the beaded curtain and jade screen, and was quite displeased.
Upon seeing this, the Imperial Guard Commander put on a stern face, turned his head and gave instructions to the officer beside him, and only then did a few scattered greetings ring out from all around.
King Jiang was even more furious and was about to lash out when the people who were bowing in front of him seemed to have seen something. They all rose in fear and scattered and fled.
The royal procession was also scattered by the refugees and had to stop.
The Imperial Guard Commander shouted several times but couldn't stop the people. Only after the fleeing civilians dispersed did a person struggling and crawling appear in front of the official road!
The man had no hands, and the front of his sleeves were covered in dried blood. He looked disheveled and struggled to crawl toward them.
It was like a demon from hell struggling to escape, sending chills down one's spine.
King Jiang's anger instantly turned to terror. "Guards!"
The soldiers in the front row turned pale with fright and took a few steps back, gripping their spears.
One of the Imperial Guards kicked someone, shouting, "The King is calling you, go over there!"
Several soldiers were forced to step forward.
They had no choice but to step forward and drive them away, shouting, "Who dares to startle the emperor! Don't they have a death wish!"
The soldier who had been speaking suddenly stopped, and when he saw the face clearly, he shouted, "Your Majesty! This is Commandant Qi!"
King Jiang listened to their report with great trepidation.
He remembered that this was the son of Qi Zhong, whom they had mentioned before, who had been kidnapped by bandits.
Oh dear, what was he back then? Turns out he was a remnant of a traitor.
King Jiang raised his hand, intending to signal them to drag him away, but just as his not-so-bright mind was about to relax, he suddenly remembered something.
Before they set off, the severed hand was thrown in front of them by the bandits, and as soon as they entered the capital, the owner of the severed hand was also thrown in front of them by the same bandits.
What's frightening isn't the severed hand or the person, nor is it the bandits' blatant disdain and defiance.
What's terrifying is that the bandit followed them the whole way!
They even reached the capital faster than them on foot, and no one noticed!
His scalp tingled instantly, and cold sweat broke out all over his body!
"Bandits?" King Jiang murmured, his face turning deathly pale as he looked around as if he were already under the watchful eyes of bandits. Everything he had previously taken for granted had now become the source of his fear. "They're here...they've entered the capital...bandits! Protect the Emperor!"
The royal procession was thrown into utter chaos.
The procession of officials and their families was still waiting outside the city gate.
Yu Wanyin took a nap until noon, and when she opened her eyes, the line hadn't moved an inch.
She couldn't help herself any longer and lifted the curtain to ask, "What's going on up ahead?"
It was unbearably hot outside, so people were choosing shady spots to wait to enter the city.
Qing Song was also drenched in sweat. She heard the message relayed from the person in front of her, and after going around in circles, the message returned as, "I heard there are assassins."
"An assassin?" Yu Wanyin gently tightened her fingers. "That certainly can't be rushed."
Qing Song turned to look at Yu Wanyin. Her skin was as smooth and fair as ice, with a cool and refreshing glow, making her look like the perfect remedy for cooling off in the summer.
She couldn't resist touching and hugging it, or even taking a bite to cool off.
Qing Song realized what she was thinking and quickly turned around, her cheeks becoming even redder.
Yu Wanyin looked at her and said, "Do you want to come in? It's cooler inside. You look like you're going to get heatstroke."
Qingsong, being a servant, should have refused, but after hesitating for a while, she followed Yu Wanyin into the carriage.
She was a little reserved. "Aren't you hot, young lady?"
Yu Wanyin replied, "It's alright."
She looked up and met Qing Song's eyes with envy, and explained, "Don't envy me. I'm weak, so my body is prone to feeling cold. There's nothing good about that."
Qing Song awkwardly comforted Yu Wanyin, "If you take good care of yourself in the future, you will definitely recover."
Yu Wanyin smiled but remained silent.
It's been over a decade and I still haven't been able to raise it back.
Their procession did not begin its march until the afternoon.
It was clear that something serious had happened; even Yu Sheng had been summoned to the palace.
King Jiang paced back and forth in front of his throne, so anxious that he overturned the memorial beside him. "This bandit has been following us all the way, how come no one noticed!"
"waste!"
"What use are you to me!"
The assembled officials bowed in unison, saying, "Your Majesty, please forgive us."
"Forgive me?" King Jiang seemed to have heard a joke. "If the bandits are not wiped out within ten days, I will cut off your heads!"
Everyone readily accepted the order and went down, complaining bitterly.
Unfortunately, Chu Yu was not present at the moment, so the task of suppressing the bandits fell to the Imperial Guard Commandant.
As soon as Chu Yu returned, the Imperial Guard Commander went to the Prime Minister's residence to complain, "Prime Minister, tell me, you clearly mentioned to the Prince before we set off that we should suppress the bandits, but he didn't listen. Now that we've been targeted by bandits, he's blaming us. What kind of nonsense is this?"
Upon hearing this, Chu Yu remained completely unconcerned, saying, "The king has given the order, so just do it."
He was writing something with his pen: "There are so many people who can't succeed, can he really kill them all? There are wolves in front and tigers behind, unless he doesn't want to be king anymore."
Upon hearing this, the Imperial Guard Commander nodded and said, "That makes sense."
He chatted with Chu Yu about other things, and seeing that Chu Yu was busy, he got up and went back to prepare to catch the bandits.
Chu Yu was merely going through the motions.
He usually only gives the damned guy one chance; don't ask him for help the first time.
He would not concern himself with this matter again after that.
Besides, the current situation regarding bandits is no longer important.
The important thing is that the Northern Chi are about to raise an army.
It was faster than he had imagined.
Chu Yu was writing an official document outlining the plan to relocate the capital. Shang'an was fraught with constraints, and this was the day he had been waiting for.
On the way to move the capital, he had the opportunity to sideline that fool King Jiang and command the army.
He arranged a secret passage for his new wife to avoid the turmoil, but since it was a secret passage, he only trusted his own grooms and bodyguards to escort her.
During this period, they need to be dispatched to explore and deploy resources.
Unfortunately, it just so happened that he was getting married, and the wedding procession at the mansion would require a lot of manpower.
Chu Yu wrote down a list of guards and grooms to be transferred out, and handed it to his attendants. He also approved a batch of treasury silver, saying, "For the wedding and the occasional grooms and servants in the mansion, you can temporarily pick a few new ones to use. Anyway, they won't be needed for more than a few days."
Wu Zhou and Chao Yue received the transfer order and went out to check the list of grooms and assassins on the order as soon as they stepped out the door.
The task of selecting new slaves was assigned to Steward Xu.
Manager Xu is a bit old and not very shrewd, but fortunately he is honest and kind.
He was perfectly suited to choose the servants he needed for the time being.
After hearing the gist of the story, Steward Xu knew that this was a big job, since it concerned the Prime Minister's wedding, so he had to choose the right person carefully.
He quickly wiped the dirt off his hands, took the silver, and carefully planned how many maids, male servants, old women, and grooms he would need. The next day, he went to the brokerage firm.
Perhaps because the royal family had just returned and caused a disturbance, many people dared not go out on the streets, and the brokerage business was very sluggish.
As soon as the slave trader saw Manager Xu arrive, he immediately greeted him warmly, "What brings you here?"
"Helping the Prime Minister choose people?" the broker called to Steward Xu. "Come over here and take a look. There are a few new ones here. What kind of people does the Prime Minister want?"
Steward Xu explained, "The Prime Minister needs people for his wedding; they need to be reliable and hardworking."
"For the Prime Minister's wedding, we must choose carefully. These are all honest men from poor families. Once we give them indentures, they will definitely work for the Prime Minister's mansion."
Manager Xu picked them one by one.
Since it's a joyous occasion, we don't want anyone with a pointed mouth, monkey cheeks, a bitter or treacherous look—these are all considered unlucky.
He selected a group of servants who were dignified and imposing in appearance before finally assigning them to the stable boys.
In the brokerage, grooms stood in rows for people to choose from; they were thin and looked like they couldn't even hold a horse.
Manager Xu picked out two, but couldn't find a suitable one. He shook his head repeatedly, "Don't you have any decent grooms?"
The slave trader exclaimed, "Those who sell themselves into servitude, how can they possibly have enough to eat? But they do know how to ride horses."
Steward Xu waved his hand, "Forget it, this Ning Que..."
Before Steward Xu could finish speaking, his peripheral vision caught sight of something, and he suddenly stopped. He looked at the man outside tending to the horses and remarked, "This one is quite good-looking."
Rong Si, chewing on a foxtail grass, looked over at the sound, his straw hat brim slightly raised, revealing a hard and deep jawline.
The slave trader immediately grabbed Manager Xu, saying, "This isn't one of our people. He doesn't sell himself. We hired him to help us transport goods."
Manager Xu knew that there was nothing in this world that money couldn't solve.
He stepped forward. "Young master, are you looking for work? The price is negotiable."
Rong Si chewed on a blade of grass. "What kind of job?"
"The Prime Minister is getting married."
Rong Si heard a name that interested him, stared at him for a moment, and then suddenly smiled, "Okay."
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