Chapter 48 The Secret of the Tiger Tally
The two cautiously arrived at the Pei residence, which was eerily quiet; clearly, no one was there anymore. Ye Wanning's heart sank: Pei Zhi, could it be that he...?
Just when she was almost in despair, she suddenly heard a slight noise from behind the Pei residence. Ye Wanning and Hei Feng quietly went over and saw several guards from the Shadow Pavilion hiding behind the artificial hill.
"You're still alive!" Ye Wanning exclaimed in surprise.
The guards at Shadow Pavilion were overjoyed to hear Ye Wanning's voice: "Miss, you're back!"
"Where is Lord Pei?" Ye Wanning asked anxiously.
The guards' faces darkened. "My lord... my lord has been captured by the vassal king and is now in the palace."
Tears streamed down Ye Wanning's face: "How is he? Is he hurt?"
"There shouldn't be any danger to his life. It seems the prince is trying to use you as leverage against us," the guard said.
Ye Wanning took a deep breath and wiped away her tears: "We must rescue Lord Pei."
She discussed the situation with her guards for a while: first, they would find other Shadow Pavilion branches to gather strength, and then try to rescue Pei Zhi. Just then, they suddenly heard footsteps outside. Ye Wanning quickly led her guards to hide and saw several soldiers from the Western Regions escorting a familiar person over—it was Chun Tao!
Ye Wanning's heart leaped into her throat: How could Chun Tao...
She quietly followed behind, and when she saw the soldiers lead Chun Tao into a temple, she exchanged a glance with Hei Feng and decided to go in and take a look. The temple was crowded with captured people, and Ye Wanning saw the old shopkeeper and the children of Ci'an Hall in the crowd, which made her feel a little relieved.
When she had the chance, she quietly approached Chun Tao and asked, "Chun Tao, how are you?"
When Chun Tao saw Ye Wanning, she was so excited she almost cried out, "Miss, you're back!"
"Shh," Ye Wanning told her to be quiet. "What's going on here? Why is the prince arresting so many people?"
“I don’t know either,” Chun Tao shook her head. “They seem to be looking for something, saying it’s the key to the royal treasury!”
The royal treasury! Could it be related to the tiger tally? Just then, Ye Wanning heard a commotion outside. The vassal king led his men in, holding something familiar in his hand—the tiger tally!
Ye Wanning's heart jumped: How could a prince have a tiger tally? Could it have been found in the Pei residence?
Holding the tiger tally, the prince shouted to the people, "Whoever knows the secret of this tiger tally, tell me, and I will release him!"
The people looked at each other, speechless. The vassal king's face darkened: "You won't speak? Then I'll kill someone until someone speaks!"
He drew his knife and pointed it at a child. Ye Wanning's heart leaped into her throat; she was about to step forward when she suddenly heard someone shout, "I know!"
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw the old shopkeeper step forward. Ye Wanning's heart sank: Did the old shopkeeper know the secret of the Tiger Tally?
The old shopkeeper walked forward unsteadily. Ye Wanning broke out in a cold sweat. Taking advantage of the old shopkeeper's inattention, she secretly reached for the silver needles in her sleeve—her fingers touched the cold metal. As soon as the old shopkeeper mentioned anything related to the tiger tally, she would immediately strike and create chaos.
"Your Majesty wishes to know the secret of the Tiger Tally?" The old shopkeeper feigned fear. "This old servant...this old servant does know a tiny bit, but this secret is too important to discuss with you privately."
A greedy glint flashed in the prince's eyes: "Oh? Then come here."
Ye Wanning's heart was pounding in her throat. Chun Tao tugged at her sleeve from behind, her fingertips icy cold—Chun Tao must have broken the ropes during the commotion. The Shadow Pavilion people should be in the temple; why haven't they reacted yet?
The old shopkeeper walked up to the prince and raised his voice, shouting, "This tiger tally isn't a key to any door! It's a magic weapon the late emperor used to suppress evil spirits. Whoever takes it will suffer—like a traitor like you!"
"You're courting death!" the vassal king roared, slashing at the old shopkeeper with his sword. Just then, the back wall of the temple suddenly collapsed with a loud crash, and Pei Zhi led the Shadow Pavilion men in, arrows raining down on the vassal king's guards like locusts.
"Protect the people!" Pei Zhi's voice echoed through the chaotic temple. He spotted Ye Wanning in the crowd at a glance. "Wanning, take the children and go!"
Ye Wanning reacted immediately, grabbing Chun Tao and rushing towards the crying, panicked child. The old shopkeeper also squeezed in, knocking over the oil lamp beside him, and sparks from the brazier splashed onto the curtains, instantly igniting a raging fire.
"Run!" Ye Wanning picked up the trembling little boy and rushed towards the others. "Everyone, run with me!"
Amidst the thick smoke, the people of Yingge and the guards of the prince were all mixed up. Ye Wanning led a group of elderly, weak, women and children out of the temple through the back door. Chun Tao ran and counted as she went, and only breathed a sigh of relief when everyone caught up and she was sure that no child had fallen behind.
The firelight from the temple illuminated half the sky. Faintly, the roars and screams of the feudal lord could be heard from within. Ye Wanning, panting on the hillside, gazed at the firelight and suddenly remembered what the old shopkeeper had just said—that the tiger tally was a "magical instrument to suppress evil spirits." This was absurd, yet it reminded her of a line in her mother's diary: "The tiger tally harbors evil; it must be subdued with a benevolent heart."
"Miss, where are we going now?" Chun Tao's voice was panting and trembling with tears; her arm had been scalded by sparks and had a blister.
“Go to the secret stronghold of Ci'an Hall. There are tunnels there, so it’s safe,” Ye Wanning said.
Pei Zhi's arranged carriage was waiting at the foot of the mountain. Ye Wanning helped the children onto the carriage and stayed behind to wait for Pei Zhi. Not long after, Pei Zhi, covered in blood, arrived with Hei Feng. The vassal king and his guards had been completely wiped out, and the Shadow Pavilion had also suffered heavy losses.
"Before his death, the vassal king said that the envoys from the Western Regions had arrived at the city gates," Pei Zhi's voice was hoarse. "They agreed to exchange the tiger tally for a map of the capital's defenses at noon three days later."
Ye Wanning's heart sank to the bottom. The vassal king was merely the vanguard; the real killing blow was the envoy from the Western Regions. She touched the rubbing of the military tally in her personal sachet, her fingertips icy cold: this battle had only just begun.
“Send the children to the stronghold first,” Ye Wanning said. “I’ll go back to the manor with you to discuss our strategy.”
As soon as the carriage left, Ye Wanning turned back to look at the burning temple. The old manager was not among the fleeing crowd. Ye Wanning understood that this old man, who had guarded Ci'an Hall for ten years, had given them a chance to catch their breath with his own life.
On the morning of the third day, as soon as the city gates of the capital opened, the Western Regions delegation marched into the city in a grand procession. Ye Wanning watched this strange procession from the second floor of a rouge shop: twenty camels carrying boxes covered with black cloth; the guards' waists gleamed with scimitars. The lead camel's sedan chair had bells at its feet, but they remained silent as it moved, clearly tampered with.
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