The interior was simply furnished, except for the border map spread out on the table, which revealed something unusual.
Shangguan Qingchen casually closed the map, a wisp of Canaan incense wafting from his sleeve as he swept it away: "A late-night visit, is there something important you need?"
Gu Zhixing stood by the window, the moonlight casting his tall figure on the ground.
He cut to the chase: "I'm not good at social maneuvering, so I'll just ask directly. Is something wrong that's not appropriate for Shen Jintang to know?"
“Shen Jintang?” Shangguan Qingchen paused slightly as he poured tea, then realized, “Oh, Xie Zhaoran.”
When he looked up, a cold star seemed to gleam in his eyes. "The young master is indeed perceptive. He is worthy of being someone who has been in charge of the Dali Temple."
The sound of tea being poured into a white porcelain cup is crisp and pleasant.
Shangguan Qingchen pushed the teacup toward Gu Zhixing, her wrist, visible through her sleeve, showing her distinct knuckles: "This is this year's newly tribute Mengding Ganlu, Your Highness, please try it?"
Gu Zhixing did not accept the tea.
His gaze fell on the closed map, and he suddenly said, "Three hundred miles north of Qingzhou is Hulao Pass. Recently, the garrison commander has been frequently changed. Lord Shangguan, are you really here just to deliver medicine?"
The candlelight inside the room suddenly popped and flickered.
Shangguan Qingchen lowered his eyes and chuckled softly, his slender fingers tracing the edge of the teacup: "Since the young master has already guessed, why ask any more questions?"
When he looked up, his gaze was sharp as a blade. "Some things are safer if you don't know them."
The two men faced each other across the table, the air seeming to freeze.
Gu Zhixing suddenly reached out and pressed down on a corner of the map, his well-defined fingers landing precisely on a pass in the northern border: "Three days ago, a caravan came from Youzhou and said they saw smoke signals."
Shangguan Qingchen's pupils contracted slightly.
“Though I have left the court, my eyes are not blind.” Gu Zhixing’s voice was low. “The Northern Barbarians are making moves, there is factional strife in the court, and the thirteen prefectures are watching and waiting—Lord Shangguan should be in the safest place, Yangzhou, yet he has risked coming here…” He tapped his finger on the map. “What is it all for?”
The hooting of an owl came from outside the window.
Shangguan Qingchen suddenly chuckled, and slowly straightened his sleeves: "Young Master Gu has truly impressed me." He got up and opened the window, and the night breeze carrying dew rushed in. "However, some games of chess cannot be entered simply by seeing them clearly."
Gu Zhixing also stood up, his dark robes gleaming with subtle patterns in the candlelight.
He was half an inch taller than Shangguan Qingchen, and his slightly downward gaze carried a natural sense of oppression: "I am not a pawn."
His voice wasn't loud, but every word was as firm as iron: "Shen Jintang wouldn't be either."
Their eyes met, and their gazes seemed to resonate like the sound of metal striking stone.
After a while, Shangguan Qingchen suddenly took out a white jade token from his sleeve and placed it on the table: "Three days later, at Mao hour, Qingzhou Post Station."
A faint smile curved his lips. "If Your Highness truly wishes to protect the flower, why not come and see what a real storm is brewing?"
Gu Zhixing glanced at the two characters "钦察" (Qincha) on the token, and his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
He suddenly reached out, not to take the token, but to grab Shangguan Qingchen's wrist—that seemingly casual grip actually seized a vital acupoint.
Shangguan Qingchen did not struggle; instead, he leaned forward, almost breathing in Gu Zhixing's ear: "What, does the young master want to settle things with me now?"
His voice was as soft as a sigh, "It's a pity, we both know that right now, the person we should be most wary of... is not each other."
The sound of the night watchman's clapper came from under the eaves.
Gu Zhixing released his grip and pushed the token back: "I will go."
As he turned, his black cloak billowed in a sharp arc, "But if she's in danger because of you..."
"I will not let you go."
The echo faded away with the sound of the door closing.
Shangguan Qingchen stood alone, rubbing the red mark on his wrist, and suddenly chuckled: "Interesting."
The flickering candlelight on the table cast a long, long shadow of his solitary figure.
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