51
When Zhan Zhao returned to Xiaoyou Villa, it was already late at night. The courtyard was warmly lit, and Xuan Yuan Tianyi was not asleep, but sitting by the stone table in the courtyard, seemingly waiting for him. Seeing him return, she got up to greet him, her gaze sweeping over him. Seeing that he was travel-worn but his breathing was steady and his eyes were clear, she felt somewhat relieved.
"I'm back." She said in a flat tone, as if he had just gone out on a routine business trip.
"Yes, you're back." Zhan Zhao walked up to her, took her hand, and felt the warmth from her palm. The fatigue from his many days of travel seemed to vanish instantly. He briefly recounted his trip to Liao, especially the evidence he had obtained and the possibility that Yelü Zongzhen had fled.
Xuanyuan Tianyi listened quietly, and finally said simply, "It's good that everyone is back safe and sound. As for Yelü Zongzhen, Zhenhe and her adoptive father will handle it themselves." She paused, then looked at Zhan Zhao, "Let me take a look at the injury on your arm."
Zhan Zhao did as instructed, rolling up his sleeves to reveal the scabbed wound. Xuan Yuan Tianyi carefully examined it, then reapplied the medicine and bandaged it, his movements gentle and skillful.
"It's just a superficial injury, nothing serious." Zhan Zhao looked at her focused profile, his heart softening.
After tending to his wounds, Xuanyuan Tianyi looked up at him and said, "While you were away, the Eighth Prince's investigation into the Pearl of the East Sea case seems to have made some progress, possibly related to an old palace matter. Judge Bao is under considerable pressure, and if Yelü Zongzhen were to flee at this time, it could cause a major upheaval."
Zhan Zhao's expression hardened, and he nodded: "I understand. We absolutely cannot let him escape back to Liao!" He remembered the clue of the Pearl of the East Sea and the old palace affairs, but at present, capturing Yelü Zongzhen was undoubtedly the top priority.
Just then, the sound of rapid hoofbeats and footsteps came from outside the courtyard. Immediately afterward, Wang Chao's voice rang out from outside: "Guard Zhan! Urgent order from Lord Bao! The Liao envoy Yelü Zongzhen and his entourage quietly left the residence half an hour ago, suspected of absconding! Lord Bao orders you to go to Kaifeng Prefecture immediately to discuss the pursuit!"
They really did run away!
Zhan Zhao and Xuan Yuantian exchanged a glance, both seeing the decisiveness in each other's eyes.
"I'll go right away!" Zhan Zhao replied, then said to Xuan Yuantian, "I need to go to Kaifeng Prefecture immediately."
"Go." Xuan Yuan Tianyi straightened his official robe collar, his tone still calm. "Be careful."
Zhan Zhao gave her a deep look, said nothing more, turned and strode away, his red official robes drawing a firm line in the night.
Inside Kaifeng Prefecture, the lights were on. Bao Zheng's expression was solemn. Gongsun Ce, Bai Yutang, and the commander of the Imperial City Guard were all present.
"Guard Zhan, you've arrived just in time!" Bao Zheng said immediately upon seeing him enter. "Yelü Zongzhen is truly cunning. He used the excuse of being unwell to refuse visitors, but secretly he has managed to escape. His whereabouts are currently unknown, but he must be trying to flee Song territory as soon as possible. The Imperial City Guard has sealed off all the gates of Bianjing and is conducting strict checks, but we fear he may have another secret passage."
Zhan Zhao said in a deep voice, "My lord, Yelü Zongzhen fled in haste, carrying a large number of followers and luggage, making him quite a target. He knows that taking the official road is extremely risky, so he will likely choose a more secluded side road, or break up into smaller groups and leave the city in batches."
“Guard Zhan’s words make sense.” The commander of the Imperial City Guard nodded. “We have increased manpower to patrol the Bian River and all the hidden waterways to prevent them from escaping by boat.”
Bai Yutang rubbed his hands together, eager to get started: "That old bastard, I've been looking for him for ages! This time I'm going to find him no matter what!"
Bao Zheng made a decisive decision: "Guard Zhan, Young Hero Bai, you two will lead an elite team to investigate the secret land routes that Yelü Zongzhen might choose, especially those leading to the northern border! The Imperial City Guard will be responsible for searching by water and within the city! Once you find anything, immediately send a signal and work together to capture him!"
"Yes!" Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang accepted the order, immediately mustered their men, led out fast horses, and rushed out of Kaifeng Prefecture under the cover of night.
Zhan Zhao judged that Yelü Zongzhen was eager to escape and would likely choose a route that, while difficult, would lead quickly to the border. He recalled the area near Yinwu Gorge that he had passed through on his return from Liao, a place with high mountains, dense forests, complex paths, and smuggling routes leading to the Blackwater River, making it an excellent choice for escape.
"To the north of the city!" Zhan Zhao took the lead, speeding his team towards the north of Bianjing. As he rode, he carefully observed the forks in the road and the traces of paths on both sides of the main road.
About twenty li outside the city, near the entrance to a mountain path called "Wild Fox Ridge," Zhan Zhao keenly noticed several fresh and messy cart tracks and hoofprints, deviating from the main road and turning onto a small, inconspicuous path overgrown with weeds. The cart tracks were quite deep, as if they had carried heavy objects.
"Something's up!" Zhan Zhao waved for the group to stop, dismounted, and carefully examined the situation. Bai Yutang also came over.
"Judging from these hoofprints and cart tracks, there were quite a few people, and they must have been gone not long ago." Bai Yutang grabbed a handful of soil and rubbed it between his fingers. "They went into the mountains."
Zhan Zhao looked up at the dark Wild Fox Ridge, its mountains stretching endlessly, its forests deep and secluded. "Where does this path lead?"
A scout from the Imperial City Guard, familiar with the terrain, replied, "Sir Zhan, this path winds its way through Wild Fox Ridge and leads to the upper reaches of the Blackwater River to the north. The current there is relatively calm, and there is a smuggling ferry crossing. However, the mountain path is rugged and difficult to traverse, and it is especially dangerous at night."
"This is it!" Zhan Zhao concluded that Yelü Zongzhen and his party must have chosen this dangerous route, attempting to bypass the main checkpoints and smuggle themselves back to China from the upper reaches of the Blackwater River.
"Chase!" Zhan Zhao mounted his horse and, without hesitation, led the charge into the hidden path. Bai Yutang and his elite troops followed closely behind.
The mountain path was indeed extremely rugged, barely wide enough for one horse to pass, with steep cliffs and dense bushes on both sides. The group had to slow down and proceed cautiously. Zhan Zhao ordered his men to extinguish the torches and, relying on the faint moonlight and his exceptional eyesight and intuition, led the way.
After tracking for about an hour, they had penetrated deep into the heart of Wild Fox Ridge. The sounds of human voices and horses could be faintly heard ahead!
"Shh!" Zhan Zhao gestured, and everyone immediately dismounted and crept forward silently.
Rounding a mountain ridge, they saw dozens of people gathered in a relatively flat valley below—it was Yelü Zongzhen and his entourage! They seemed to be taking a short rest, preparing for the journey ahead. Several carriages were parked nearby, and guards vigilantly watched their surroundings.
"It really is here!" Bai Yutang said in a low voice, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
Zhan Zhao carefully observed the enemy's numbers and defenses. Besides Xiao Talan, Yelü Zongzhen was accompanied by seven or eight Khitan warriors who appeared to be highly skilled, along with about thirty or forty guards. In a direct confrontation, their numbers were outnumbered, and the enemy, like cornered beasts, would undoubtedly fight to the death.
"Send a signal to Lord Bao and the Imperial City Guard!" Zhan Zhao whispered to one of his men. The man immediately took out a signal arrow and aimed it at the sky.
However, just as the signal arrow was about to be released, a Khitan warrior seemed to sense something and suddenly looked up in the direction where Zhan Zhao and the others were hiding!
"There's an ambush!" the warrior shouted in Khitan.
Almost simultaneously, Yelü Zongzhen reacted with lightning speed, leaping up and, surrounded by Xiao Talan and several trusted warriors, disregarding the carriage and most of his entourage, fleeing swiftly into the dense forest on the other side of the mountain pass! They clearly had a plan in place; if discovered, they would immediately abandon the carriage to save themselves, traveling light and fleeing at top speed!
"Trying to run!" Seeing the enemy trying to escape, Zhan Zhao immediately ordered, "Send the signal! Chase them!"
Whoosh! The whistling arrow soared into the air and exploded with a sharp whistling sound.
Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang, like two sharp arrows, were the first to pounce down from the mountain ridge, chasing after Yelü Zongzhen! The elite troops of Kaifeng Prefecture and the Imperial City Guard were engaged in fierce fighting with the Liao guards left behind, preventing them from providing support.
Yelü Zongzhen and his companions were all highly skilled fighters. In their desperate escape, they moved with incredible speed, disappearing into the dark, dense forest in the blink of an eye. Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang pursued relentlessly, using their superior lightness skills and adaptability to the mountainous terrain to keep their pursuers firmly in their grasp.
The chase through the forest was extremely dangerous. Yelü Zongzhen and his companions knew the path well, deliberately choosing the most difficult spots, and frequently firing arrows or using hidden weapons to obstruct their path. Zhan Bai and his companion had to both pursue and evade the ambushes, inevitably slowing their progress.
After chasing for about ten miles, they heard the sound of rushing water ahead. A stream, not wide but with a rapid current, blocked their path. Yelü Zongzhen and his companions waded across without hesitation and rushed to the other side.
Just as Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were about to follow, dozens of powerful crossbow bolts suddenly shot out from the forest on the opposite bank! The arrows were dense, covering a large area in front of them!
"Watch out!" Zhan Zhao swung his sword to parry, while Bai Yutang also brandished his folding fan to protect himself. The crossbow bolts were powerful, clearly from a high-powered military crossbow!
In that brief moment of delay, Yelü Zongzhen and his companions had already disappeared into the depths of the dense forest on the opposite bank, and could no longer catch up.
"Damn it! They got away!" Bai Yutang kicked a tree in anger.
Zhan Zhao sheathed his sword and stood gazing at the dark forest on the opposite bank, his brow furrowed. Yelü Zongzhen was indeed cunning and treacherous. Not only had he prepared a double and a strategy of sacrificing a pawn to save the king, but he had also arranged crossbowmen to meet him along the escape route! Letting him escape this time was tantamount to letting a tiger return to the mountains, with endless troubles to come.
Later, reinforcements arrived, cleared the scene, and captured some of the Liao guards who had failed to escape, but key figures such as Yelü Zongzhen and Xiao Talan had already fled far away.
By the time they returned to Bianjing with the prisoners, it was already broad daylight. Bao Zheng, upon hearing that Yelü Zongzhen had escaped, felt regret but knew it wasn't a fault of his own. "Yelü Zongzhen had been planning this for a long time and must have been fully prepared. It was already quite an achievement to intercept only a portion of his entourage. Guard Zhan, Young Hero Bai, thank you for your hard work."
Although the mastermind was not captured, Yelü Zongzhen's conspiracy was exposed, and he fled in panic. His reputation within the Song Dynasty and even internationally was bound to suffer a great blow, and the Song Dynasty had already gained the upper hand in diplomacy. Bao Zheng immediately went to the palace to report the matter to Emperor Zhao Zhen and prepared to use the evidence in his hands to put pressure on the Liao Dynasty.
Zhan Zhao, however, had his old injuries aggravated during the pursuit, and his internal energy was also depleted, so Bao Zheng forced him to return to his residence to recuperate for several days.
During his recuperation, Zhan Zhao was constantly haunted by the frustration of Yelü Zongzhen's escape. He knew that Yelü Zongzhen was ambitious and colluded with the remnants of Prince An's faction; now that he had returned to Liao, he would not let the matter rest. The situation on the border was likely to become even more tense.
Meanwhile, the case of the Pearl of the East Sea, which the Eighth Prince was investigating, and the "Consort Jing" who seemed to have some mysterious connection with him, also troubled him. He vaguely sensed that the secrets hidden behind these events might be closely related to himself.
Once his injuries had improved slightly, Zhan Zhao volunteered to Bao Zheng to assist the Eighth Prince in investigating the Pearl of the East Sea case. Bao Zheng, knowing his meticulous nature and the possibility that he might uncover clues about the remnants of the Prince of An's faction, agreed.
On this day, Zhan Zhao was ordered to enter the palace to check an archive related to the palace's expenditures from that year. Led by an old eunuch, he passed through the many palace grounds and arrived at the side hall where the old archives were stored.
As Zhan Zhao passed by an abandoned palace garden called "Jing'an Palace," he inadvertently noticed that the palace gate was ajar, and there seemed to be figures moving inside. He became suspicious; this was the former residence of the late emperor's concubines, long abandoned. Who could be inside?
He gestured for the old eunuch to wait, then quietly approached the palace gate and peered through the crack. He saw an elderly eunuch carefully wiping things inside the hall, his movements slow and focused. The furnishings were simple, but the hall was impeccably clean, not at all dilapidated. Most striking was a portrait of a woman in palace attire hanging on the wall of the main hall.
The woman had exquisitely beautiful features, a gentle and serene demeanor, and a faint trace of sorrow on her lips. Her appearance... bore a striking resemblance to Zhan Zhao's mother in his memory! Especially the expression in her eyes and brows, almost identical! What shocked Zhan Zhao even more, as if struck by lightning, was that the woman in the painting wore a jade pendant at her waist! The patterns, the texture, were exactly the same as the jade pendant he had worn since childhood, left to him by his mother!
Jing'an Palace... Consort Jing... Jade Pendant...
The way his mother clutched the jade pendant with reluctance before her death, the Eighth Prince's hesitant words when mentioning Consort Jing, Zhao Zhen's extraordinary trust and protection of him... all the clues came together at this moment, pointing to a truth he had never dared to think of, yet was all too clear!
His mother was Consort Jing, a concubine of the late emperor! He was no ordinary Jiangnan native; the blood of the Zhao Song imperial family flowed in his veins!
The immense impact made it hard for him to breathe. He instinctively gripped the jade pendant on his chest, its icy touch now burning hot. He staggered back a step, leaning against the cold palace wall, his mind a jumbled mess.
The old eunuch seemed to have heard the commotion and turned around warily. Zhan Zhao quickly concealed his presence and quietly retreated from Jing'an Palace.
He didn't know how he finished his official duties or how he left the palace. He walked aimlessly through the streets of Bianjing, the truth about his origins crashing against his mind like a tidal wave.
He suddenly remembered that Xuan Yuan Tianyi seemed to have known the origin of this jade pendant all along. The knowing look in her eyes when she first saw it… she must know the whole story!
Zhan Zhao suddenly raised his head, his eyes regaining their clarity. He needed to verify, to get final confirmation from the person who knew him best and was most likely to know the inside story.
He turned and strode towards Xiaoyou's villa. He needed to know the whole truth, no matter how heavy it might be.
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