Chapter 54: The Handle
There was only one carriage on the shore. Sun Wei took Aju in it, while Sima Jun led the rest of the people to ride on horseback.
"Why are the princess' hands so cold?" Aju said in the carriage.
"I was just scared while riding the boat," Sun Wei said. "The waves were so big just now that they almost threw me overboard."
When A'ru got off the boat, she also heard what Sun Wei said to Sima Jun and asked curiously, "Is the princess really afraid of water?"
"Exactly."
"You can't even swim?"
"No." Sun Wei said stiffly.
Aju's eyes widened in disbelief.
"So if I fall into the water in the future, you must save me." Sun Wei said.
Ah Ru was a bit amused and said, "Didn't the princess say that relying on others is ultimately not as good as relying on yourself? Even though I'm a good swimmer, I still make mistakes sometimes. Since the princess can't even swim, why don't you learn it again? Maybe you can cure your fear of water."
Sun Wei's expression froze for a moment.
Although most of what she said just now was lies, she really couldn't swim.
Although she grew up in Lingnan, she was brought up as a lady from a noble family. Which lady would learn to swim?
"I understand." Sun Wei said perfunctorily, "I'll learn it when I return to the palace."
I thought to myself, I hope Sima Jun really believed what I said just now...
This ferry crossing was very close to Jingkou, only about ten miles away. However, Sima Jun and his entourage did not enter the city, but instead stayed at a house on the outskirts of the city.
The yard is not big, but there are quite a few people inside.
Chu Yue came out from inside and bowed to Sun Wei with a smile: "Princess, you are lucky to have had a safe trip."
Seeing him, Sun Wei felt relieved.
"Thanks to the general, everything is fine." She saluted, and then her eyes fell on the young man behind Chu Yue.
"You are polite, Major General."
Xie Xiao hurried forward and bowed: "Princess, I hope you are well."
Sun Wei and his companions had been traveling all day and were exhausted. Chu Yue had already made all the necessary preparations and welcomed Sun Wei and Sima Jun into the hall, where he had food served.
Sima Jun sat at the top, but Chu Yue and Xie Xiao did not sit with him, but sat on the left and right of Sun Wei respectively.
"Princess," Chu Yue said earnestly, "I have a favor to ask of you."
"What is it?"
"Please ask me one more question, Princess."
Sima Jun was eating and glanced at him coldly.
Sun smiled and asked, "What does General Chu want to ask?"
"Ask me about the time," Chu Yue asked. "Tomorrow, the Crown Prince will first inspect the camp, and then have a banquet with the Northern Palace and the ministers. When will the situation be most dangerous?"
After hearing this, Sun Wei put down his chopsticks, counted with his fingers seriously, and muttered something under his breath.
After a while, she said, "I understand. The patrol is auspicious, but the banquet is disastrous."
Chu Yue and Xie Xiao looked at each other with serious expressions.
"As expected." Chu Yue said, "It's exactly as I expected."
"The general is intelligent," Sun Wei said. "So, the general is completely confident?"
"After receiving the princess's advice, I immediately returned to the camp that day and indeed found quite a few suspicious points. I can't say I'm completely certain, but at least I have a rough idea." He then presented a piece of paper to Sun Wei. "This is the list below, all of whom are involved with Wang Pushe."
Sun Wei took a quick glance and saw that all the names listed were those of lieutenant generals from the Northern Palace, but she actually didn't recognize them.
However, she knew very well that someone was missed.
Sun Wei returned the roster to Chu Yue and said, "Just now on the ship, I was looking through the bookshelves in the boathouse and saw a lot of military correspondence."
She ignored Sima Jun's piercing gaze and continued, "I saw a report with a name that belonged to someone from the Northern Palace. It was very ominous, but that name wasn't on the general's list."
"Oh?" Chu Yue and Xie Xiao said almost in unison, "Who is it?"
"Left Assistant General Cui Pan."
"General Cui?" Chu Yue asked, confused. "But as far as I know, General Cui has taken leave to return home because his mother is seriously ill. He is not in Jingkou now."
Asking for leave? Sun Wei's heart skipped a beat.
She only knew the general situation of her past life. As for what everyone was doing when the incident happened, she had no idea.
But there was no way Cui Pan could stay out of it.
If we were to discuss the person who benefited most from this mutiny, besides Wang Han, it would be Cui Pan. He would later become the Northern Governor. How could he not be here at this critical juncture? He must be hiding somewhere.
"Is this news true?" Sun Wei asked again.
"Although I'm not completely sure, I'm about 70 to 80 percent certain. I've definitely never seen General Cui." Chu Yue said, "If not, should I have someone look for him again?"
Sun Wei looked at the sky outside and shook his head.
"No need. It's still dark now, where can I find the general? It's better to rest up and save some energy to collect taxes. We have important matters to attend to tomorrow, so we can't waste time."
Having said that, Chu Yue was worried.
The more he learned after returning, the more he realized Sun Wei's prediction that day wasn't just a lie. Tomorrow, not only his life or death depended on it, but also the fate of Xie Fu and her entire family. The thought of this filled him with anxiety.
"Go to sleep." Sima Jun suddenly put down his chopsticks and stood up. "You've done your best, but it's impossible to know everything. When marching and fighting, there's no such thing as perfect calculations. Just adapt to the situation tomorrow."
Chu Yue wanted to say something, but Sima Jun pulled him up without saying anything and asked the servants to take him back to the house.
Sima Jun turned around to look at Xie Xiao, and seeing that he was motionless, he said, "Young General, why don't you go and rest?"
Xie Xiao's brows were also somewhat solemn. He said, "I can't sleep and want to talk to the princess. Your Highness, please don't pay attention to me."
Sima Jun was about to speak when Sun Wei said, "The Crown Prince is our leader, and he should rest now."
He looked at Sun Wei, and Sun Wei also looked at him and winked at him.
It seemed like they were very familiar with each other, and they even exchanged glances... Sima Jun complained in his heart, but said nothing and turned away.
Only Sun Wei and Xie Xiao were left in the hall.
Sun Wei looked at Xie Xiao with relief and said, "The Young General is finally here. I wonder if he's still afraid?"
Xie Xiao scratched his head. "I was a little timid before I came here, but when I got off the boat and looked at the city walls of Jingkou from afar, I thought of many familiar things from the past, and I felt more at ease."
Sun Wei nodded. "You can't escape. Everything depends on human effort. If you are willing to face it, you have already won three points. Am I right, General?"
"Madam is right." Xie Xiao said, "However, I am still not like the prince and Brother Chu. I have soldiers and generals at my disposal, so I don't know what I can do right now."
Sun Wei asked, "Does the young general know that something is going to happen in the Northern Palace?"
"I know. Brother Chu told me about it. He said he had intercepted a message saying there might be a mutiny at the Jingkou Governor's Office tomorrow, and he wanted to go to the west gate to defend the city. But Brother Chu refused to take me with him, saying that swords have no eyes, and wanted me to stay at the house."
After saying that, Xie Xiao glanced outside the door and lowered his voice: "I plan to follow secretly tomorrow."
Sun Wei pondered for a moment and asked, "How many people know that the young general is returning to Jingkou this time?"
"I came directly to Brother Chu's house today. I didn't go to the camp, nor did I go to the Governor's Mansion in Jingkou. Therefore, no one except those in the house knew about it." Xie Xiao said, "I have remembered everything the princess told me before we parted last time."
"Very good," Sun Wei said. "I originally had a few things to tell the young general. However, I just added one more, so those are insignificant. Young General, you don't have to go to the west gate at dawn. How about coming with me to take care of an urgent matter?"
"What's the matter?" Xie Xiao asked.
"Find General Cui."
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