Chapter 101 Return (Revised)
The entire eastern Huainan region was drenched in rain, a torrential downpour that had lasted for days. The dry riverbed gurgled with water, and the sturdy hooves of horses stomped across the muddy bank, sending a trail of muddy spots flying. An urgent, 800-li-long dispatch was sent from the northern border directly to the capital of Tianshui, Bianliang.
The northern land is desolate, its people's speech crude. Tianshui's envoys had already agreed on an annual payment with Northern Liao before their departure. Unexpectedly, at the farewell banquet for the Tianshui envoys' departure, Northern Liao suddenly changed its terms. At the palace banquet, several Northern Liao princes, in front of a packed audience of ministers and officials, declared that they had heard Tianshui was unfairly sending Princess Jinyun to the Western Dynasty for marriage, and demanded that Tianshui also send two princesses to Northern Liao.
Their attitude was dissolute, their words frivolous. A princess, a daughter of a royal family, was reduced to a mere piece of meat on a sticky board, to be picked over and plundered by these barbarians. The contempt and insult were self-evident. After reading the letter in the Lama Temple, the emperor, despite his unwavering faith and his regard for all but himself, was so enraged that he spat blood. The palace servants and eunuchs cried out in unison, and the imperial physician rushed to the scene.
Thunder roared, and gurgling rain gushed out from the mouth of the bronze dragon on the stairs, continuously washing the smooth and bright ground of the palace.
Song Mingde's bright red dragon robe stood out against the dark surroundings of the palace, his pale face icy and unpredictable. His sleeves fluttered as he walked forward with the swift, swift stride of a dragon and a tiger, a stream of people following him. The two guards in front of him, despite being soaked themselves, hurried behind him, holding an umbrella for him.
At the bend, beside a rockery, Su Yi, dressed in a pale blue gauze dress, held tightly the hand of a boy, perhaps five or six years old. Her expression was equally stern as she waited on the path leading to the emperor's chambers. She, a concubine who had raised a prince, had traveled without anyone else, only Hong Shu and a young eunuch.
A sharp-eyed soldier spotted her from afar through the rain, leaning over and whispering something to Song Mingde. Song Mingde paused, his gaze piercing Su Yi like a knife. The next moment, he turned and headed toward the rockery. The soldiers behind him dispersed, surrounding a large area.
As Song Mingde approached, Su Yi remained calm and composed. The boy she led, though young, clearly possessed a temperament beyond his years. It was a rainy night, and he was facing the feared Governor Song. He remained silent, neither crying nor making a fuss. He simply grasped Su Yi's hand, his dark eyes fixed on Song Mingde.
Song Mingde looked at the mother and son who were so connected, and sneered in his heart.
He twirled the jade ring on his thumb and stood before Su Yi, neither bowing nor saluting. He simply lowered his eyes and looked at her, saying, "What are you doing standing here, Concubine Su? It's a rainy night and the wind is strong. You'd better return to the palace and rest early."
"His Majesty has been unconscious for a long time, and Prince Yong has moved into the Eastern Palace. The Empress has assigned all the staff from the harem to the Eastern Palace and His Majesty's care, and this palace is no exception." Su Yi didn't care about the factory supervisor's arrogance and said slowly, "Insects have increased in number with the arrival of summer, and they keep bothering me. Commander Wen once said she would make me some herbal sachets to repel mosquitoes, but now that the situation outside is unsettled, she hasn't returned yet. I wonder if Supervisor Song can send some people to keep an eye on Wang Nu to prevent her from biting him."
Wang Nu, whose real name is Zhao Xuanyi, is now the fifth prince and the emperor's newly adopted son.
Hearing Wen Yao, Song Mingde's eyes flickered. After a moment, he nodded slightly and said, "The servants in the palace need to be dealt with. How can we let the Fifth Prince be frightened? Lai Fu, pick out a few smart ones and send them to Concubine Su's palace to treat the insects."
Su Yi suddenly released the breath she had been holding in her heart, her tense body relaxing. She pushed Xuan Yi's back and knelt to express her gratitude. Song Mingde watched the concubine bow to him coldly, and without saying anything else, he turned and left.
The person walked away, but the tall, bright red figure was still dazzling in the dark night.
The fifth prince tugged at Su Yi's skirt and called out, "Mother."
He raised his head and saw several purple marks on his tender neck, where someone had pinched him hard. The child had lived a pampered life, with fair and tender skin, but these purple marks were very noticeable and shocking.
Su Yi touched his head soothingly, thinking of the palace maid who had just fallen into the lotus pond and drowned, her eyes gradually grew colder: "I hope you will be obedient. Don't go out alone these few days. Stay with my mother and Aunt Hongshu. Do you understand?"
The fifth prince nodded quietly: "I understand, mother."
Su Yi bent down, lifting him up with some difficulty, cradling him in her arms and patting his back gently. Hong Shu, standing nearby, was a little worried, holding an umbrella with one hand and resting the other under her arm. Su Yi's health had deteriorated significantly since the miscarriage, and she was often ill. Su Yi held Xuan Yi firmly in her arms, and the two of them slowly walked back to Yunjin Pavilion under umbrellas in the pouring rain.
In front, Song Mingde strode a distance away, and Lai Fu beside him whispered, "Is it Concubine Feng's people?" Concubine Feng and Su Yi were at odds, and everyone in the harem knew it. Attacking the fifth prince seemed like something Concubine Feng would do.
"Her? She doesn't have the energy to care about a five-year-old child right now." Song Mingde raised his eyelids slightly and said, "Pick out some with good hands and feet and send them over. Before Prince Yan returns, not even a mosquito is allowed into Yunjin Pavilion."
The endless sound of rain drowned out the turbulent emotions within the palace. The emperor vomited blood and fell unconscious, but the palace lights remained lit all night. Similarly, a study in the magnificent gardens of the Qiu family in Suzhou remained lit.
Qiu Pingyan wore her hair in a spiral bun, a delicate flower ornament framing her brows. She was as famous as Yuan Mei, so naturally she was also a truly exceptional beauty. Her waist was slender, her eyes were watery, and between her brows was a simmering melancholy.
She personally carried a tray with two bowls of sweet soup on it, and stood quietly outside the study, waiting. Earlier in the kitchen, her white fingers had burned red from the slightly scalding bowls. A maidservant couldn't bear to see this and asked her to put the tray down, but Qiu Pingyan shook her head and refused, staring intently at the door that reflected the light.
"Father and His Highness must be tired after discussing important matters for so long." She let out a breath softly: "I would like to stay here with them." Accompanying the two most important men in her life right now.
A number of people sat within the doorway, and the atmosphere was exceptionally tense. At the very back of the vast, spacious room sat Zhao Xuanshuo. His face was gloomy, and a piece of paper, pressed against his knees, was crumpled and clenched tightly in his powerful hands.
"He's vomiting blood and unconscious. Prince Yong has taken over the Crown Prince's seal and temporarily moved to the Eastern Palace." He suddenly looked up, his wolf-like eyes gleaming with ruthlessness as he gritted his teeth. "Why did my father suddenly vomit blood and become unconscious? Are all the palace doctors dead? What a queen, what a prince!"
"Your Highness, Yangzhou City has fallen into the hands of Prince Yan, and Taizhou will probably not hold out for much longer." An aide advised, "How to break the current situation, whether to leave or stay, I hope Your Highness will make a decision soon."
Zhao Xuanshuo sneered, "Go back? What for? Wait for Zhao Xuanfeng to take over my military power and secure his position as crown prince?"
The aide's eyes flickered, and he whispered, "That's not the case. Your Majesty has always been in good health, how could he suddenly vomit blood and faint for no reason? There must be some treacherous person behind this, taking advantage of this opportunity to stir up trouble. Your Highness, since you are leading the troops outside, and you have the support of the generals in the south... why don't you lead the troops back to Bianliang, purge the court, kill the villains who are hypocritically cooperating with Northern Liao, and restore a clear and bright future for Northern Liao?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the others fell silent and held their breath.
Zhao Xuanshuo clenched and unclenched the paper in his hand several times. After a while, he frowned and said slowly, "You want me to rebel?"
The staff was puzzled, thinking to themselves, you contributed your heart and soul to the mob riots before, and now you are sitting in the Qiu family study. Aren't you planning to rebel against your father?
"It's just to clear the court of corrupt officials and temporarily detain those who are not worthy of respect." He said, "Other matters will have to wait until His Majesty wakes up to make a decision."
Everyone knew, judging from the news coming out of the palace, that the emperor's vomiting of blood was sudden and definitely not just a result of being irritated by the Northern Liao barbarians. This time, the emperor might not be able to wake up so easily.
The staff member said, "Your Highness is not in the palace. If someone takes the opportunity to forge the emperor's will and stir up trouble, it would be even more inappropriate."
The head of the Qiu family sat to one side, holding his breath and keeping quiet, the candlelight illuminating his aged features. He remained silent, never looking up, sitting beneath the King of Qin like a blind and deaf man, his palms trembling slightly.
After a long moment, Zhao Xuanshuo closed his eyes and spoke in a calm tone, saying, "With my mother and maternal grandfather around, it's not easy for someone to take advantage of the situation. Besides, there's Song Mingde by my father's side—he doesn't necessarily side with Empress Zhao Xuanfeng. With something like this happening right under his nose, some people really think the factory supervisor is a pushover."
The staff member hesitated and asked, "What does Your Highness mean?"
"Many of the unruly people in Suzhou oppose the rice-to-mulberry conversion, and the riots are far worse than in Yangzhou. I can't bear to slaughter my people, so I've decided to proceed with caution. I'm here personally to lead the troops to suppress the situation and accelerate the rice-to-mulberry conversion." Zhao Xuanshuo's lips cracked into a smile, a sinister look on his face. "Even if Prince Yong urgently summons me with the Crown Prince's seal, I'm afraid I won't be able to return this time."
Instead of forcing the palace to revolt, Zhao Xuanshuo decided to stay in Huainan with his troops and refused to return to Bianliang unless ordered to do so. This meant that he could maintain his own military power and compete with Bianliang.
"But Prince Yong still has General Zhongli's mansion under his control." The staff member said, "If Prince Yong's party accuses Your Highness and leads the troops to attack—"
"Idiot." Zhao Xuanshuo sneered softly, "Zhao Xuanfeng is not a fool. Are you fighting me now because you think Northern Liao doesn't stand much chance of winning against Tianshui, and you're trying to pass on your weakness to the North?"
The staff member suddenly realized and immediately shut up and stopped talking.
A nation's foundation is nothing more than internal and external troubles, a check and balance between the two. Northern Liao is lingering, and this rude request is clearly intended to provoke war. No matter what concessions Tianshui makes next, this battle with Northern Liao is inevitable.
There's no smoke without fire. For Zhao Xuanshuo, this wasn't entirely a bad thing. As long as the Northern Liao threat wasn't eliminated, no one dared to openly accuse him of treason. If he were pushed too far and actually contacted the generals to rebel, that would mean handing Tianshui's control to the Northern Liao, giving them the opportunity to exploit the chaos and launch an attack.
Let's think boldly. If the emperor cannot wake up, Prince Yong will occupy the status of the legitimate son of the empress and the prince's seal in his hand and really become the crown prince. Zhao Xuanshuo can also take root in the eastern road of Huainan, and then encroach on the south, take over the power of Feng Xiang's followers in the south, and become the king of two places with the court to compete with each other.
This is not much different from forcing the emperor to abdicate and rebel.
Zhao Xuanshuo looked at the head of the Qiu family and said, "Your boat was seized by Zhao Xuanxu. Will he find out?"
"Your Highness, please rest assured. All traces of the ship have been removed." The head of the Qiu family spoke slowly, his voice hoarse and respectful. "The people on board didn't know it was me, the Qiu family, who were in charge. They only heard someone had rented our ship to transport a group of people to Yangzhou. My Qiu family is a business, so we gave the ship to anyone who paid, without giving it much thought. At most, it was an oversight."
"Okay." Zhao Xuanshuo looked at this shrewd old fox who had experienced many ups and downs in the business world and softened his tone. "Thank you for your trouble. It's getting late. Let's all go down and rest. We can discuss it next time if there's anything."
The head of the Qiu family nodded, stood up with the help of the people around him, and walked out with the others.
The door, which had been closed for a long time, finally opened. Qiu Pingyan's numb hands and feet moved, and she looked at the people who came out. A smile spread across her rosy face. "Father, your daughter made you some sweet soup. You gentlemen have worked hard, and we have refreshments in the back hall. Now that the rain is coming down hard, why not have some hot tea and some snacks before leaving?"
As she spoke, Qiu Pingyan looked into the study. Seeing that King Qin did not come out, she could not hide the disappointment on her face.
How could a young girl's subtle thoughts be hidden from these astute people present? However, the relationship between the King of Qin and the eldest daughter of the Qiu family was difficult to explain. The few people did not dare to pry into the King of Qin's private affairs. They all agreed and hurriedly left for the back hall, leaving the Qiu family father and daughter standing face to face.
The surroundings suddenly became quiet. His father remained silent. Qiu Pingyan realized what was happening and, feeling slightly uneasy, called out, "Dad?"
"Bring the soup in." The head of the Qiu family turned around and said to the maid beside her. The maid knelt and bowed, walked over, took the sweet soup from Qiu Pingyan's hand, and walked into the house to deliver it to the Qin King's desk.
The head of the Qiu family said in a cold tone, "This is the front yard. Is this where you can come? Do you have any manners? I didn't care about you in the past, but now it's time to change your bad habits and learn some rules."
These words were very serious. Qiu Pingyan didn't dare to reply, hiding her disappointment, and quickly bowed her head to admit her mistake: "Yes, father, I know I was wrong, I will leave now."
The maid beside her supported her, and the group slowly disappeared into the corridor. The head of the Qiu family waited until his daughter was far away, then looked back into the study.
His study is a bit big, but it's not so big that he can't hear any noise outside.
From beginning to end, Zhao Xuanshuo sat inside and did not react at all to the outside world.
The shadow of the candlelight flickered, and after a while, the head of the Qiu family also left.
Zhao Xuanshuo's voice came from the study: "Everyone go down."
The maids and guards gathered at the doorway all knelt in greeting and turned to leave. The area around the study was empty, and Zhao Xuanshuo leaned back in his chair, eyes closed. Someone stepped out from behind him and handed him a letter: "Your Highness, this is from the Imperial Concubine. She has instructed you to be careful. She and Prime Minister Feng are in the palace, so you don't need to worry. And Miss Fan, she was very worried when she heard about the changes in the palace, and has now entered the palace to be with the Imperial Concubine."
Zhao Xuanshuo opened his eyes, reached out, opened the letter, and read it. Inside the letter was a locket, with the woman's handwriting written on it beautifully, so delicate that it floated into his heart.
He clenched the peace locket tightly in his hand and said, "Send more people to protect them and grandfather."
The King of Qin tried every possible way to find excuses not to return to Bianliang, but Wen Yao and Zhao Xuanxu wanted to go back.
News of the Feathered Guards' invasion of Yangzhou spread quickly, sending the soldiers inside into disarray while morale outside soared. Gao Shaoshan, in the middle of a spirited battle, heard that his prince had already captured Yangzhou. Invigorated, he launched a night raid that same night, charging headfirst into the battle and, through bloody battles, successfully breaching the crucial city of Taizhou, another resounding victory.
On the third day after the fall of Yangzhou, the army rested for over a day before reaching Gaoyou City due to heavy rain. The troops were heading into the city to buy mung bean juice to boil for the soldiers to cool down. Wen Yao and Zhao Xuanxu also went to the city to eat something.
Gaoyou Lake is vast, so during the previous drought, Gaoyou City fared much better than other places. At least the city's supply of fruits and vegetables wasn't a problem. Wen Yao and Zhao Xuanxu sat at a stall, plates of glutinous rice, lotus roots, and noodle soup piled before them. Wen Yao clapped his hands after reading the letter and smiled, "Okay, we can save ourselves a trip to Taizhou and head straight back to Bianliang."
Now the emperor is inexplicably unconscious, and Northern Liao is making a huge demand, demanding not only silver but also the marriage of a princess from Tianshui and several border towns as a dowry. Prince Yong sits high in the East Palace, holding the crown prince's seal, while the Prince of Qin makes excuses to refuse to return to the capital. The situation is so complicated. She previously suspected the Prince of Qin first regarding the Xin Man incident, but now she has a new suspicion.
Zhao Xuanxu finally got to eat glutinous rice lotus root with Wen Yao, and he was in a good mood. He picked up a piece of warm glutinous rice lotus root and put it in her bowl, saying, "Send him to Bianliang on his own and meet him in front of Jingji Road."
Taizhou was close to Gyeonggi Province, and Wen Yao's troops had to travel both by land and sea, arriving around the same time as Gao Shaoshan's men. The 10,000 troops originally assigned to patrol various areas for disaster relief were still with the Supervisory and Administrative Office. Zhao Xuanxu, presumably well aware of the character of most of his officials, had not recalled them, thus adding a bit of ceremony to the Supervisory and Administrative Office.
"Your Highness! Commander Wen!"
Galloping horses churned up the official road, sending clouds of dust flying. Gao Shaoshan, his longsword strapped to his shoulder, rode at the front. From a distance, he spotted Wen Yao and Zhao Xuanxu riding side by side. His eyes lit up, and he raised his whip and shouted.
His voice was energetic. When Wen Yao got closer, he saw that Gao Shaoshan had dark eyes and a short stubble on his chin.
Gao Shaoshan was probably not going to have an easy time in the siege of Taizhou.
"Thank you for your hard work." Wen Yao said, "Go back and ask Boss Zhao to give you a bonus."
Gao Shaoshan often drank and chatted with Wen Yao. He understood what she said, touched his head and smiled heartily: "Good!"
"By the way, Your Highness, we are rushing back to Bianliang now. Is it because of the Northern Liao Incident?"
Wen Yao was surprised: "You know?"
Gao Shaoshan chuckled twice, his expression subdued. His current appearance, coupled with the aura of a general who kept strangers at bay, became even more pronounced. "I understand, and this is the strangeness of this matter. Over the past few days, we've been traveling overland, stopping at various places along the way. Word has spread throughout the streets and alleys about the Northern Liao barbarians' rude remarks and insults against the Tianshui envoys."
The imperial envoys didn't directly retaliate, instead covering up the situation. This situation was enough to bring shame to the entire Tianshui community. This was the problem. The imperial court didn't publicize it. Even if the news would have arrived from Northern Liao sooner or later, it wouldn't have come this quickly. In just a few days, everyone in the eastern Huainan route knew about it. Clearly, someone was behind the scenes fanning the flames.
I just don't know whether it is Northern Liao or the King of Qin hiding behind this.
"Come on, forget about it." Wen Yao patted the horse's neck, pulled the reins, and turned around: "Master Zhang is so upset about the letter. A piece of paper is not even enough for him to write a sentence. Paper is expensive in Bianliang. We have to go back quickly to save him the money."
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