Chapter 1219: Now This Will Be Interesting!

After the customary greetings, Jia Wuqun and his two companions boarded the carriage, leaving their flying mount for the embassy staff to arrange.

There was no helping the fact that they had not simply ridden the flying mount straight into the city. Under normal circumstances, flying mounts were not permitted to enter the capital of a state without authorization. In wartime especially, such an intrusion could easily cause a misunderstanding. Notice had to be given and permission obtained first.

Entering the city under the identity of Song's diplomatic mission was much more convenient. Once inside, Jia Wuqun lifted the carriage-window curtain with one hand and watched the bustling streets pass by, expressionless and silent.

After considering the matter again and again, he had ultimately chosen to arrive openly rather than in secret, and he intended to stay at the Song embassy.

Nanzhou had only handed him the matter and told him to handle it. They had not dictated how. He had concerns of his own.

First, he wanted to use his identity and background to make things easier. Second, he was not entirely confident in the two men Nanzhou had assigned him. They claimed those two alone could guarantee his safety. How could he possibly feel secure relying only on that? Borrowing Song's strength was much safer.

He had no intention of losing his life over this affair.

When the convoy reached the embassy, the group disembarked and went inside. Their quarters had already been prepared.

After settling in, Jia Wuqun did not hurry to rest. He held a long discussion with Song envoy Mai Deman, first asking about the general situation in the Jin capital. Naturally, the conversation soon turned to the war. Facing a man like Jia Wuqun, Mai Deman answered as fully as he could and held almost nothing back. Most of the envoys Song had stationed abroad had risen through Zi Pingxiu's patronage, and he was no exception.

When they reached the subject of the war, Jia Wuqun shifted the conversation once more. He traced words across Yuan Cong's back, and Yuan Cong spoke for him. "The Jin Emperor sacrificed the Seventh Princess to secure Xiping Pass. Now that Chen Changgong is dead, what has become of the Seventh Princess?"

"Speaking of the Seventh Princess..." Mai Deman shook his head and sighed. "She's back. She returned quite some days ago. Once Jin opened the supply route to Xiping Pass and Yin Chu was confident he could hold it, he finally released her. Since returning, she has remained deep inside the palace and scarcely shows herself. None of her former innocence remains. I hear she rarely sees anyone. This official went to pay respects once and was not received. Ah, after a young woman suffers something like that, one can understand her state of mind."

Jia Wuqun traced another question. "I read the reports Lord Mai sent back. Rumor says Shao Pingbo was the one who first proposed the affair?"

Mai Deman nodded. "The rumor should be correct. Someone has to shoulder the blame for something like this. Taishu Xiong is the Emperor; he can hardly be accused of debasing his own daughter. No one else is going to carry Shao Pingbo's blame for him either. It was only natural that someone would expose it."

Jia Wuqun tested him again. "I would like to meet Lord Shao. Does Lord Mai have any way to arrange it?"

Mai Deman smiled bitterly. "I won't hide the truth from Sir. One of this official's duties in the Jin capital is to gather information from every quarter and learn about all the important figures here. I wanted to meet Shao Pingbo before as well, but he was guarded extremely tightly. Has Sir heard of the enmity between him and Niu Youdao, the elder of Yan's Zijin Cave? Jin feared he would be assassinated and assigned many experts to protect him. The defenses were airtight. Outsiders simply could not reach him."

"After the war began, security around his residence loosened, but by then the man himself was gone. This official investigated, but no one knew where he had gone. His movements are extraordinarily secretive. Even most senior officials at court seem unaware of his whereabouts. If Sir wishes to meet him, this official truly has no way to arrange it."

Jia Wuqun fell into thought. He seemed to understand what Nanzhou had intended by giving him this assignment. Forcing a marriage was probably not the ultimate objective. They wanted to force that man out into the open.

That happened to coincide with some of Jia Wuqun's own thinking.

After pondering for a while, he traced more words across Yuan Cong's back. "I want to meet the Seventh Princess. Trouble Lord Mai to arrange it."

Mai Deman looked suspicious. "Sir seems rather interested in the Seventh Princess?"

Jia Wuqun stared at him coldly.

Mai Deman immediately came to his senses and awkwardly corrected himself. "Sir, what this official means is that the Seventh Princess remains deep inside the palace. Even I cannot meet her. It would truly be difficult to arrange."

Jia Wuqun traced another message. "If you cannot manage even such a small matter, it seems the Chancellor's decision to send Lord Mai as envoy to Jin was not particularly wise."

At once, Mai Deman grew restless. He hurriedly said, "Sir, when this official said it would be difficult, I did not mean impossible. The matter simply cannot be rushed. Please give this official a little time to think of a way."

Jia Wuqun traced two words.

"Fire God Temple."

"Fire God Temple?" Mai Deman was taken aback. He naturally knew that, because of the Qiyun Sect, the people of Jin revered and worshiped the Fire God. But he did not understand what Jia Wuqun meant. He cupped his hands. "Please enlighten me, Sir."

Jia Wuqun continued through Yuan Cong. "Lord Mai represents Song here in the Jin capital. Surely you do not mean to tell me you have no one inside the Jin palace who can gather information?"

"Yes, yes, of course we do. This official may be incompetent and unable to learn the palace's deepest secrets, but bribing a few palace maids and eunuchs to report movements is still within my ability."

"The Seventh Princess was first forced to give herself to Chen Changgong. Then Chen Changgong died. She lost her chastity before marriage, and now people may say she brought death upon Chen Changgong and became a widow before she ever wed. Her future is bleak, one misfortune following another. Spread a rumor that anyone who goes to the largest Fire God Temple in the capital and worships sincerely can burn away ill fortune and obtain a bright future. Once the rumor spreads, it may lure her there."

Mai Deman froze, then immediately understood. Whether the worship truly worked or not did not matter. After suffering something like this, anyone desperate for peace of mind might try it once they heard the rumor. Someone around the Seventh Princess was bound to urge her to go. He immediately cupped his hands. "Sir is indeed brilliant!"

Jia Wuqun continued, "If possible, before Blackwater Terrace becomes alert, buy off someone at the Fire God Temple whose words carry weight."

Mai Deman nodded. "Understood. Sir may rest assured. If there are no further instructions, this official will arrange it immediately."

Jia Wuqun nodded.

Mai Deman left in high spirits. Being able to handle matters for Jia Wuqun genuinely filled him with energy. If he could please this man and earn a few favorable words before the Chancellor, there was every chance he might be transferred back to the Song capital to reunite with his family, with a promising future ahead of him as well.

Yet not long after leaving, he returned. "Sir, Guo Wenshang, Jin's Grand Herald, heard that you had arrived and sent someone to announce that he wishes to visit. Will Sir receive him, or would you prefer to rest first and arrange a meeting another day?"

The office of Grand Herald was no minor post. It stood beneath the Three Excellencies as one of the Nine Ministers and oversaw Jin's relations with the other states. For such a man to come personally to visit Jia Wuqun was naturally because he had heard of Song's so-called "Hidden Chancellor."

Habit had already become second nature. Yuan Cong stepped automatically to Jia Wuqun's side and stood with his back toward him. After feeling the characters traced there, he said, "His timing is perfect. I won't meet him today. Tell him I am unwell and will personally call on him another day."

"Very well. This official will send the reply now." Mai Deman cupped his hands and took his leave again. Before stepping out, he glanced at Wei Duo, who stood to one side with his hands folded.

Mai Deman had no idea who the man speaking for Jia Wuqun was, but he had heard about Wei Duo from Song's people stationed with Wei. Because Wei Duo had called Jia Wuqun a "mute," Jia Wuqun had demanded him as a servant.

Wei Duo stood obediently at the side. He had heard the entire conversation and had no idea what Jia Wuqun was plotting. One thing was obvious enough: the moment the man arrived in the Jin capital, he had begun scheming. Wei Duo could not help feeling that Jia Wuqun did not seem like a good person.

...

In Nanzhou, the buildings along several newly designated streets surrounding the Prince's residence had been hurriedly rebuilt and repaired.

The people of Maolu Villa officially moved in. Before they did, Yun Ji used the excuse of inspecting the buildings to construct another underground tunnel chamber.

Inside that hidden room, Niu Youdao paced with the latest report from Jia Wuqun's side in hand.

The report had come from Wei Duo. Wei Duo did not know his information was ultimately reaching Niu Youdao; he thought he was reporting to Zhao Xiongge. In any case, he followed instructions and regularly sent updates on Jia Wuqun's situation. His attitude toward the work was conscientious and earnest. He had little choice. For the sake of the sect's future, Elder Su Po had made the importance of the task perfectly clear.

"To think he actually appeared openly. Isn't he afraid Shao Pingbo will retaliate..." Niu Youdao muttered with a frown after reading the report.

He had no intention of interfering with how Jia Wuqun handled the matter. The assignment had been given to him; he could decide what to do. Besides, the distance was too great. Jia Wuqun would face situations that demanded immediate judgment, and Niu Youdao's reach did not extend that far. Interfering would be inconvenient as well.

Guan Fangyi said, "He's using his own identity and background to mobilize Song's strength directly. It's more convenient that way."

Niu Youdao raised his brows, looked down at the intelligence again, and suddenly smiled faintly. "I'm afraid he's planning more than forcing a marriage. He means to strike hard at Shao Pingbo and deal with him while he's at it?"

Guan Fangyi was surprised. "He only needs to finish the simple assignment. Shao Pingbo isn't easy to provoke. Why invite trouble for himself?"

Niu Youdao tapped the paper in his hand and chuckled. "Precisely because he knows Shao Pingbo isn't easy to provoke. Once he makes this move, he'll offend Shao Pingbo to the death by forcing that enormous humiliation onto him. He's studied Shao Pingbo's situation in detail and knows how vicious the man's methods are. He probably has no intention of waiting passively for retaliation to arrive."

"He likely knows he won't be able to hide his hand from Shao Pingbo anyway. So he may as well openly use every resource he can and eliminate the danger once and for all."

Guan Fangyi's bright eyes flickered. "Then this is a life-and-death contest."

"The Fire God Temple..." Niu Youdao shook his head and clicked his tongue twice. "He only just reached the Jin capital and casually laid out a game. To make something weighty look effortless—that is no ordinary ability. It seems I truly did choose the right man."

"Heh. Judging from the way he's moving, he has truly come with ill intent. A good man does not come, and whoever comes is not good. Shao Pingbo is already a step behind. I doubt he'll escape having a princess for a wife this time. I only wonder how he'll fight back once he realizes what's happening. Now this will be interesting!"

...

In the Jin capital, the largest Fire God Temple stood atop Nanling Mountain. Ordinarily, worshipers came and went without end. Today, however, soldiers were guarding the mountain.

At its foot, more than a dozen mounted guards escorted two carriages to a stop. Jia Wuqun and the others disembarked. Guo Wenshang, Jin's Grand Herald, stepped down with them.

Everyone had come in ordinary clothes.

Jia Wuqun had called on Guo Wenshang that day. After they spoke for a while, Jia Wuqun expressed a desire to see the sights of the Jin capital.

Guo Wenshang had no idea there was a scheme behind it. A few words from Jia Wuqun were enough to draw him into volunteering to accompany the man.

After seeing the capital's streets, Jia Wuqun said he wanted to visit the largest Fire God Temple in the city.

Who could have expected them to find the mountain guarded like this when they arrived? Guo Wenshang revealed his identity and personally stepped forward to question the officer in command.

Jia Wuqun strolled closer and listened from the side.

The officer reported that Noble Consort Lan and her daughter, Seventh Princess Taishu Huan'er, were presently offering incense at the Fire God Temple.

Guo Wenshang froze, then turned apologetically toward Jia Wuqun. "Sir Jia, our timing is somewhat unfortunate today. You heard what he said."

Jia Wuqun smiled without speaking. As he glanced around, he gave Song envoy Mai Deman, who had accompanied them, a look.

[End of Chapter 1219]