Chapter 10: Three Divisions (typos corrected)
Su Yi covered her face and burst into tears, her heart sore. The life and death ordeal she had experienced along the way had taught her, a young lady in the boudoir, that there were many far-reaching consequences behind the destruction of her family.
After a moment, she wiped her eyes, her eyelids were still red, but her mood suddenly calmed down. She sat up, half-closed her eyes, and drank the minced meat soup in big gulps.
Zhao Xuanxu stood outside the door, watching Wen Yao help the man lie down and then close the door and come out.
Wen Yao handed the empty bowl to the maid beside her and asked Zhao Xuanxu: "When will Su Yi go to Jiutai tomorrow?"
Zhao Xuanxu looked at her: "About noon."
"Okay." Wen Yao seemed to be thinking about something: "I want to see her off, is that okay?"
Gao Shaoshan, standing by, thought Wen Yao was worried someone might ambush Su Yi along the way and was about to say no. According to Tianshui Dynasty rules, at the beginning of each month, the garrison troops stationed in the capital had to fetch their own provisions from the Bian River. Tomorrow morning, he was to lead the Feathered Feather Army to the Bian River wharf to fetch provisions, which would also be a good opportunity to escort Su Yi to Jiutai.
"Okay." Zhao Xuanxu said without hesitation, "Then I'll go with Ayao."
Gao Shaoshan shut his mouth.
Wen Yao raised an eyebrow: "You're not going to court tomorrow?"
"Unless he wants me to kill someone, state affairs have nothing to do with me. If I go, I'll just be standing there doing nothing. If I don't go, no one will care." Zhao Xuanxu smiled slowly, looking at Wen Yao with affection. "I don't like those people either. They're so noisy. If I don't want to go, then I won't go. I might as well accompany Ah Yao to Jiutai to get to know the place."
Wen Yao didn't care whether Zhao Xuanxu went to court or not. Su Yi's constant nagging about someone hunting her reminded Wen Yao of something. So, tonight, after practicing Qigong and breathing exercises, Wen Yao didn't immediately wash up and rest. Instead, he changed into black and stalked to the Yanwang Palace's secret guard quarters.
A secret guard is not a royal guard. His whereabouts are kept secret, and the place where he lives is naturally different from that of others.
Wen Yao arrived at the rockery in the palace garden and gently pressed down a protruding stone. With a barely audible thud, the central rock slowly shifted, revealing a gap half a man's width below. The steps led steeply to a cryptic place, the stone walls smooth on either side, devoid of candlelight.
Wen Yao touched the walls on both sides, then jumped down on his toes, and landed steadily on flat ground after a moment.
None of the scattered secret guards sitting below had expected Wen Yao to suddenly appear. They were all maskless and doing their own things, but when they saw Wen Yao unexpectedly, their eyes widened.
Qianying was the quickest to react. He immediately dropped the book in his hand and knelt on one knee before Wen Yao, calling him "Commander-in-Chief." The others also reacted immediately and followed suit, kneeling down in front of Wen Yao.
Wen Yao walked over to Qianying, grabbed her by the collar, and lifted her up, as if she were pulling a cat out of her reach.
"Okay, kneeling is too troublesome. I'm not your real master, so you don't have to kneel when you see me in the future." Wen Yao said, looking around and taking in the surrounding environment.
Before him was a large stone hall, with bookshelves on the left, desks on the right, and rows of weapon racks at the back. Wen Yao shifted his gaze and saw a pile of dried fruits on the desk in front, with a picture album spread out next to it.
Noticing Wen Yao's gaze, the round-faced boy closest to the desk instantly blushed, stammered a few times, and buried his head again.
When Wen Yao saw him, he felt like laughing.
At least these people don’t have facial paralysis, and their expressions are quite rich when they are not wearing masks.
"Come here." Wen Yao waved to the child who looked the youngest at the scene.
The round-faced boy, blushing, stood up without hesitation. After he reached Wen Yao, he subconsciously knelt down in front of Wen Yao.
Wen Yao sighed and stopped his movements: "Forget it... first take me to see where you sleep."
This request was initially baffling. Fortunately, obedience was ingrained in every secret guard. The young man was taken aback for a moment, then complied, turning and leading the way.
The secret guards lived not far away, so Wen Yao tentatively called it the secret guard dormitory of Prince Yan's Mansion.
The first thing you see is four long, narrow rooms on either side. On the inner side are beds separated by wooden planks. Outside is an open hallway connecting the inside and the outside. Further back is the hot bathing pool, and then the martial arts training ground.
Wen Yao walked around and roughly estimated that there were at least a hundred beds here. Each bed was neatly arranged, without any trace of human presence.
Indeed, a profession like a secret guard, where one takes their life lightly, is a life of uncertainty. Expecting them to be humane and to love life is really asking too much.
Because these were not Wen Yao's secret guards, it would seem very hypocritical to say that life is supreme and everyone is equal in this era. So Wen Yao didn't say anything, but just touched the cup on the bed, and after making sure that the bedding was thick and warm, he turned around and went back to the stone hall.
"Why are there only a few of you?" She glanced at the twenty people present: "Where are the others?"
"Reporting to the Commander," Qianying replied respectfully, "The Prince of Yan's Mansion has a total of 120 secret guards, divided into six groups. Two groups protect the master, three groups patrol the surrounding area, and one group serves as a backup. They rotate out every two hours. The rest of the guards are still on duty in various places in the mansion."
"Oh, shifts." Wen Yao didn't care about it and nodded: "Then I'll take over your shifts today."
The secret guards looked up and looked at Wen Yao in silence and confusion.
Wen Yao clapped her hands and pulled a palm-sized iron box from her bosom. She glanced around, zeroed in on a sturdy stone pillar, and without hesitation, flipped the switch. Instantly, the transparent rope, carried by the sharp hook, shot out with such force that it instantly became firmly anchored in the opposite stone wall.
Wen Yao stuck the box in the gap of the opposite stone wall, felt the strength of the rope, and nodded with satisfaction.
"Okay, it's getting late, let's fight quickly and don't waste time. Don't come one by one, come together." Wen Yao said, untied the Xingyi Sword and put it aside under the surprised gaze of everyone, then jumped up and stepped steadily on the thin rope that was no thicker than a hair.
Wen Yao beckoned the crowd in front of him: "Come."
The secret guards looked at each other, and no one moved.
In the end, it was Qianying who spoke first: "Commander, what are you doing?"
"The last time I entered Prince Yan's Mansion, I wasn't your leader. I was holding a sword, but I still managed to get to your master." Wen Yao wasn't being sarcastic. She was speaking the truth, sincere and honest: "There are so many of you, but no one noticed me. There are so many people in this world who hate your master. It's not enough to expect to stay by his side with this level of effort."
She snapped her fingers, and her inner energy instantly ignited a stick of incense in the distant incense burner: "Come together, if you can defeat me within one stick of incense, I will bring you gifts when I come back here next time."
After a moment of silence, Qianying was still the first to take action.
He frowned, and with the dagger in his sleeve, he attacked Wen Yao. The tip of the dagger was hideous, and the barbed grooves on it made it clear at a glance that it was a deadly weapon.
"Not bad." Wen Yao spun his shoe, dodging the blow sideways while simultaneously striking back. The angle was unusual and the speed was incredibly fast, barely glancing past Qianying's chest before descending to strike him in the stomach.
Qianying felt pain and fell backward rapidly, stagnating in mid-air. Her slender waist twisted a circle before she got back on the rope.
"It's just that the force was a little off." Wen Yao was standing on the thin rope when he spoke, as if he was walking on flat ground. The rope did not sink and the whole person seemed to have no weight at all.
The secret guards on the side watched the former and current leaders fighting, their hearts full of admiration and shock.
There is such an amazing skill in this world.
Qianying barely raised her hand to block Wen Yao's attack, but left her open and was hit in the left chest by Wen Yao. She staggered a few steps while holding her heart and fell off the thin rope.
Wen Yao put his hands behind his back and said two resounding words: "Come again."
Qianying's kung fu was among the best among the secret guards, but he failed. The final result of the others attacking together was that when the incense stick burned out, Wen Yao was still standing firmly on the rope.
After all, the secret guards were personally selected and trained by Yan Cang. This was their first time suffering such a crushing defeat, and they were a little distraught for a while.
"Alright, alright, you all have some talent." Wen Yao looked at the group of people, took out a porcelain bottle from his arms and threw it to Qianying: "Here, take it. This medicine is very good, just rub the wound and it will heal tomorrow. You must remember the movements I taught you today."
After saying this, Wen Yao left the secret guard dormitory feeling refreshed.
No one came to kill Su Yi tonight, it seems that the other party is quite patient. The next day, after Wen Yao finished breakfast, he looked up and saw Su Yi coming with Gao Shaoshan, carrying a package.
Wen Yao asked her, "How do you feel today?"
Su Yi's complexion improved a lot, and she nodded: "Thank you, sir, I have no problem, I can go."
She was no longer as anxious as she was yesterday, and now looked calm and composed.
Because Su Yi couldn't ride a horse, two carriages were parked at the gate of Prince Yan's Mansion. Su Yi's carriage followed behind Wen Yao and Zhao Xuanxu's carriages, surrounded by feathered guards, and the group marched along Dongxing Street towards the Bian River.
There was an old bridge beside the Bian River, and beside it were many government offices. The Sansi (Three Departments) was also here, but it was a bit out of the way, and it was deserted from the entrance of the alley.
When Wen Yao walked into the alley, he first smelled an inexplicable fragrance. The smell was very heavy, like pine resin.
Wen Yao touched his nose, a little puzzled: "Why are they lighting incense here too?" Everyone was like Lou Chengyi.
As soon as she finished speaking, the dark door in front was opened.
"Your Excellency may not know that the methods used in the Jiutai trial are sometimes too direct, which inevitably makes them bloody and unsightly. We need to use some incense seals to cover up the smell so that it can be tolerated by the public."
Wen Yao looked at the person who was walking towards them while talking.
He was a tall, thin man with sunken eye sockets, but his complexion was rosy and he looked energetic. He led his men to pay respectful respects to Zhao Xuanxu, then looked at Wen Yao.
"This must be Lord Wen, right?" He bowed to Wen Yao, "I've long heard of your great name."
Wen Yao didn't know what name he had that could be praised by others: "Who are you?"
"My surname is Ban, and my given name is Chang." Ban Chang chuckled twice. "What do you think of this incense, sir? If you don't like the smell, I'll ask someone to change it. But it has to be a strong fragrance. A lighter one won't cover the stench of corpses."
As soon as he said this, Su Yi finally couldn't help but take a deep breath. Her originally pale face became even paler, and she took a step back towards Wen Yao.
What a direct reason.
Wen Yao laughed dryly twice: "No, no... This is fine."
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