Chapter 119: Meeting the Sixth Prince Again

Two days was nowhere near enough for an ordinary person’s injuries to heal.

For Zheng Fan, naturally, the same was true.

Still, after two additional days of recovery, he could barely manage to wear armor.

It was only for appearances, though.

If he actually wanted to draw a saber and fight, that was basically impossible.

“There shouldn’t be much danger. After all, with the Marquis of Jingnan returning to the capital, security along the road should be extremely strict. There can’t possibly be any accid—”

“Silence!”

The Blind Man directly stopped Liang Cheng before he could finish.

“When did you become so superstitious?” Liang Cheng asked.

“If anyone else talks nonsense, I don’t care.

“But do you have no idea what kind of existence you are?

“Even a Gypsy witch holding a crystal ball would have to call you Grandmaster by seniority.”

“I want to go with you,” Liang Cheng said.

“Don’t even think about it.

“If you leave, who commands the barbarian soldiers in the fortress?”

The Blind Man rejected Liang Cheng again.

“What about me?”

Fan Li pointed at his own face.

“Someone needs to stay home and chop firewood.

“Otherwise we won’t even have enough hot water for baths.”

The Blind Man rejected Fan Li as well.

“Oh.

“All right.”

Fan Li nodded, feeling the Blind Man’s reasoning made perfect sense.

In truth, the main reason was that Fan Li was manageable as long as someone kept an eye on him.

Once nobody supervised him, he could easily cause trouble.

Even at home, the other Demon Kings were often frightened into twitching eyebrows by the things he did.

If he went to the capital and caused a disaster there, cleaning up the aftermath would become genuinely difficult.

A’Ming stood nearby with a reserved and elegant smile.

This time, he and Feng Siniang would accompany Master to the capital.

Truthfully, there probably would not be much they actually needed to do.

Since Master had been personally placed into the Marquis of Jingnan’s guard, he would most likely eat and sleep separately from the two of them.

Their presence was simply insurance.

People who could be used if something unexpectedly went wrong.

Of course, the greatest advantage was that if something truly did happen, he and Feng Siniang would at least be inside the capital and capable of doing something.

At the absolute minimum, they would have time to prepare themselves mentally.

Unlike the four staying behind at Willow Fort, who would have to spend every moment wondering whether they were about to suddenly drop dead while eating, sleeping, or using the latrine.

After several dangerous incidents, the Demon Kings had developed a genuine psychological shadow regarding sudden death.

“So you still haven’t told Master that the recovery of our strength is tied to his own cultivation?”

The Blind Man shook his head.

“Wait a little longer.

“We’ll tell him after Master returns from the capital.

“This matter should be important.

“Better not distract him right now.”

A’Ming chuckled.

“You just told Ah Cheng not to raise a flag.

“But you’ve already raised one yourself for the second time.

“In a movie, that’s basically the same as saying, ‘When he comes back, I’ll confess to her.’

“Usually the person never comes back.”

“Two negatives make a positive,” the Blind Man said shamelessly.

You’re blind.

Whatever you say is apparently reasonable.

“All right.

“Siniang and Master are coming out.

“You should go too.”

Hearing that, A’Ming gave the Blind Man and the others a very gentlemanly Western bow.

“Then— farewell, gentlemen.”

……

Last time, Zheng Fan had gone to Nanwang City by carriage.

This time, he rode a horse.

The winter morning was bright with sunlight, but the temperature remained extremely low.

Yet by the time Zheng Fan reached the walls of Nanwang City, his body was already drenched in cold sweat.

He really was still terribly weak.

At the city gate, Zheng Fan separated from Feng Siniang and A’Ming.

He entered the city alone and went to the residence where the Marquis of Jingnan was staying.

Not long after the report was passed inside, Zheng Fan saw Du Juan walking toward him.

Two maidservants followed behind her, carrying a set of standard Jingnan Army armor.

Yan favored black.

But the equipment of different regional armies still had their own characteristics.

Setting aside the details, purely in overall impression, the armor of the Zhenbei Army appeared darker and more subdued, as though the desert sand had ground a matte layer over it.

The armor of the Jingnan Army looked brighter and more vigorous.

It possessed more visual beauty.

But because of that, it lacked some of the accumulated baleful aura produced by true bloodshed.

“Lord Zheng, please go bathe and change clothes first.”

“Mm…”

Zheng Fan froze.

Changing into military armor made sense.

That was entirely reasonable.

But he also had to bathe?

Was the Jingnan Army really this obsessed with cleanliness?

Still, when in another place, follow its customs.

Besides, Zheng Fan liked bathing.

The only difference was that at home, Siniang served him while he bathed.

Sometimes they even enjoyed a bubble bath together to loosen the muscles.

Here in the Marquis’s residence, the servants merely carried in hot water.

He had to scrub himself.

After bathing and changing into armor, Zheng Fan emerged and discovered the armored soldiers of the Marquis’s household already filing out of the estate in orderly ranks.

Clearly, they were preparing to depart.

Zheng Fan wanted to grab someone and ask where the Marquis’s personal guard was.

He still needed to report in.

But just as he prepared to stop someone, footsteps came from behind him.

He turned.

Du Juan again.

“Lord Zheng, board the Marquis’s carriage.”

“…”

Zheng Fan.

Bathe.

Change clothes.

Then board the Marquis’s carriage.

Even though Zheng Fan believed himself perfectly normal and believed the Marquis was also perfectly normal, the sequence still felt strangely suspicious.

In the end, however, Zheng Fan boarded.

If there was a carriage available, he might as well ride in it.

His current body could not endure several days of jolting on horseback.

It was the same carriage as before.

This time, however, no brazier burned inside.

Instead, a writing desk had been placed there, covered with memorials and official documents.

After Zheng Fan entered, the Marquis of Jingnan did not even raise his head.

He remained focused on the work before him.

A short while later, Du Juan entered as well.

She sat sideways beside the Marquis and helped him process the documents.

Nobody paid attention to Zheng Fan.

That was actually convenient.

He did not stupidly maintain a kneeling posture.

Instead, he faced toward the outside of the carriage, leaned diagonally against the wall, narrowed his eyes, and began dozing.

Unfortunately, once the procession started moving, even dozing gradually became a luxury.

From time to time, cavalrymen approached the carriage.

Du Juan would hand out documents that had already been processed or accept newly delivered ones.

This carriage was essentially a mobile office.

Du Juan did not ask Zheng Fan to help.

So Zheng Fan did not volunteer.

He continued leaning against the carriage wall as a decorative door god.

Once night fell, the column made camp.

They did not choose to stay near a city.

What surprised Zheng Fan was that his special treatment did not stop at getting a free carriage ride.

He also got to eat with them.

The food was quite good.

Apparently, the Marquis of Jingnan was not actually a sweet-potato fanatic.

Two stir-fried dishes.

One stew.

Three sets of bowls and chopsticks.

The Marquis of Jingnan.

Du Juan.

And Zheng Fan.

Eating with a great figure was itself a kind of “reward.”

Ancient emperors loved showing favor by ordering someone to remain and dine with them.

In later times, the meaning was not so different.

For a subordinate, being allowed to sit at the same table and eat was already a form of grace.

After the meal, the procession continued moving.

They did not stop to sleep.

Candles were lit inside the carriage.

The Marquis of Jingnan stopped working and instead picked up a book to read.

Zheng Fan had no idea exactly what book it was.

This world also possessed the Hundred Schools, along with Confucian, Buddhist, Daoist, and other traditions.

But at some point in the distant past, history here seemed to have diverged.

As a result, its development had gone down a path unfamiliar to Zheng Fan.

Du Juan served tea beside the Marquis and brought over some dried fruit and preserves.

The Marquis of Jingnan set his book down and said to Zheng Fan, “Eat.”

“Reporting to the Marquis, this lowly officer doesn’t like those.”

He was not being humble or polite.

In his previous life, there genuinely had not been many young people who loved eating traditional dried-fruit platters.

The Marquis said nothing more.

He held the book in his left hand and continued reading.

From time to time, his right hand picked up a few pieces of dried fruit and slowly chewed them.

Zheng Fan decided that after he became successful someday, he would have Xue San make him a carriage like this.

He would sit inside reading.

Siniang would sit beside him adding fragrance to the red sleeves.

And two or three insignificant little fellows would sit below in fear and trembling.

“If you’re tired, sleep here.

“You’re wounded.

“You cannot stay awake all night.”

Hm?

Sleep in the carriage?

Ever since changing into the special armor of the personal guard, Zheng Fan had not once reported to the actual guard unit.

He had simply remained inside the carriage the whole time.

He was starting to resemble a eunuch accompanying the Marquis.

Still.

When in Rome.

“Thank you for your concern, Marquis.”

Zheng Fan stopped being polite.

He lay down on his side inside the carriage, trying to occupy as little space as possible.

Then he closed his eyes and began counting sheep.

……

This sort of life continued for several more days.

Aside from brief stops morning, noon, and evening for rest and reorganization, the column kept moving regardless of day or night.

Every cavalryman had two horses.

They even took turns sleeping in the saddle.

Truthfully, Zheng Fan had only ever seen that level of riding skill among his own barbarian soldiers.

So regardless of how often people said the Jingnan Army had never truly been tempered by war, it was unquestionably an elite force.

Early the next morning, the column reached Tiantai County.

This was a county outside the capital.

Once they left Tiantai County and continued north, the capital would finally be in sight.

The procession remained here longer than usual.

Everyone began washing themselves and cleaning their equipment.

This was practically an established custom.

Regardless of the army, before entering the capital, troops would stop and make themselves presentable.

Zheng Fan bathed too.

At this moment, he genuinely felt grateful that he had already bathed once at the Marquis’s residence in Nanwang City before departure.

Otherwise, being unable to bathe for several consecutive days would have been even more miserable for him.

After bathing, he felt refreshed.

Zheng Fan stood beside the carriage and waited for the column to move again.

Then he saw the Marquis of Jingnan approaching atop a ferocious Pi Beast, dressed in gilded armor.

The Marquis raised the riding crop in his hand and pointed it at Zheng Fan.

“Can you ride?”

“Reporting to the Marquis, no problem.”

The several days spent idling inside the carriage had been boring.

But his body had indeed recovered a fair amount of vitality.

Zheng Fan mounted a horse and followed behind the Marquis of Jingnan.

The procession moved again.

The Jingnan Army cavalrymen also brought out the finest appearance and spirit they possessed.

From the moment the capital’s walls first became visible in the distance until they finally arrived beneath the gate, seven separate groups came out to receive them and transmit formal notices.

At the southern gate of the capital, the Minister of Rites led the assembled officials on behalf of the Son of Heaven to welcome the Marquis of Jingnan into the city.

Banners snapped in the wind.

Imperial Guards stood in ordered ranks.

Beyond them stretched a sea of commoners who had gathered to watch the spectacle.

For a century, Zhenbei in the north and Jingnan in the south had stood as the twin pillars supporting Great Yan.

Among ordinary Yan people, their influence was irreplaceable.

The lineage of the Marquis of Zhenbei’s estate unquestionably surpassed the Marquis of Jingnan in influence, actual authority, and inheritance.

But this generation’s Marquis of Jingnan was the Empress’s own younger brother and the current Emperor’s brother-in-law.

His status was incomparably noble.

And Zheng Fan, riding behind the Marquis of Jingnan, personally witnessed what it truly meant to be overbearing.

What it meant to be a genuine great noble.

According to ceremonial procedure, the Minister of Rites was supposed to step forward and take the reins.

Instead, the Pi Beast frightened him so badly with one snort that he did not dare approach.

The Marquis of Jingnan burst into loud laughter.

He gave the Minister of Rites absolutely no face.

Then with a wave of his hand, he signaled for the Jingnan Army troops around him to enter the city as well.

There were still many ceremonies left unfinished.

The Marquis simply chose not to cooperate.

The route from the southern gate to the Tian residence had already been cleared by the Imperial Guards.

Closing roads when leaders traveled was a tradition from ancient times onward.

But the Marquis of Jingnan deliberately brought his Pi Beast to a stop.

Then he beckoned behind him.

Zheng Fan immediately urged his horse forward and came alongside the Marquis.

“Hungry?”

Earlier at Tiantai County, everyone had focused entirely on cleaning themselves.

Nobody had eaten.

“Reporting to the Marquis, I’m hungry.”

“This is your first time in the capital?”

“Yes, Marquis.”

“Tell me.

“What do you want to eat?”

“Marquis, this lowly officer has heard that the roast duck at Quande Restaurant is the most famous in the capital.”

The Marquis of Jingnan turned his head and looked at Zheng Fan.

Zheng Fan solemnly extended his tongue and licked his lips.

The Marquis considered it briefly.

Then ordered, “To Quande Restaurant.”

……

Quande Restaurant became famous once again.

The last time Quande Restaurant had exploded in popularity was when the Marquis of Zhenbei entered the capital and ate several ducks there in one sitting.

This time the Marquis of Jingnan entered the capital and, before visiting either the Tian residence or the imperial palace, went straight to Quande Restaurant to eat duck.

The two supreme nobles supporting Great Yan from north and south had now both graced Quande Restaurant.

From this day onward, it would undoubtedly become a mandatory restaurant for outsiders visiting the capital.

The Marquis was not traveling incognito.

He had come directly from the southern city gate.

His soldiers were still with him.

Naturally, clearing the restaurant was only reasonable.

Armored soldiers entered Quande Restaurant one after another and established strict security.

Zheng Fan followed the Marquis of Jingnan directly to the second floor and entered a private room.

Truthfully, there was no need for a private room anymore.

The entire Quande Restaurant currently had only one customer.

The Marquis sat.

Zheng Fan stood.

The restaurant staff first brought tea and several appetizers.

Zheng Fan naturally took on the role of translator and enforcer.

“Go hurry them up.

“Serve the food quickly.

“Do not keep the Marquis waiting!”

“This lowly one understands!

“This lowly one understands!”

The waiter was so frightened by Zheng Fan that his legs shook.

“ROAST DUCK IS HERE!”

A young man wearing a plain robe with an apron tied around his waist approached carrying a roast duck.

At first, Zheng Fan did not pay much attention.

But after looking twice more, his eyes immediately widened.

Who else could this bastard be but the Sixth Prince?

Clearly, the Marquis of Jingnan recognized the Sixth Prince as well.

But the Marquis and the Yan Emperor belonged to the same generation.

Unless the Crown Prince possessed the dignity of heir apparent to rely upon, the other princes serving the Marquis tea or water was perfectly proper.

Even if the Second Prince entered the Eastern Palace in the future, he probably would not dare put on airs before this maternal uncle who held real military power.

“Uncle, forgive your nephew.

“The duck was actually ready long ago.

“But slicing it properly took your nephew a fair bit of effort.

“You see, choosing the duck, controlling the oven, seasoning, heat—all of those are preliminary lessons.

“The most important step actually comes after the duck leaves the oven.

“The slicing.

“I wouldn’t trust anyone else with it.

“This was sliced personally by your nephew.

“Please try it.”

The Marquis of Jingnan nodded.

He picked up a slice of duck with his chopsticks and placed it into his mouth.

In ancient times, the principal wife held precedence.

Children born to concubines still had to address their father’s principal wife as Mother.

In stricter households, children of secondary wives or concubines could not even call their biological mother “Mother.”

They had to address her as Aunt.

The Marquis of Jingnan was the Empress’s own younger brother.

The Empress was therefore the principal mother of all the princes.

Nominally, that made the Marquis of Jingnan the maternal uncle of every prince.

Of course, aside from the Second Prince, the other princes would at most respectfully call him “Marquis of Jingnan.”

They would not call him Uncle.

They still possessed some pride.

“Uncle, the flavor is decent, right?

“Heh.

“Many thanks for honoring your nephew’s little shop and lending us your reputation.

“This is Wuchuan Peach Blossom Brew from Qian.

“As the saying goes, ‘Fine wine from Wuchuan opens the ink of Hengzhou.’

“Use this to cut the grease.

“Of course, if Uncle is in the mood, your nephew has prepared Hengzhou ink as well.

“I’ve been hoping Uncle might leave a piece of calligraphy for this little restaurant too.”

“When Li Liangting ate duck here, did he leave you any writing?” the Marquis of Jingnan asked.

“Aiya, Uncle, don’t mention it.

“The old Marquis of Zhenbei came here and ate five ducks in one sitting.

“Our shopkeeper shamelessly went up and begged him for a piece of calligraphy.

“In the end, the old Marquis grabbed our fine Shangjing paper and used it to wipe his hands.

“He even cursed our paper for being too rough and not wiping cleanly.”

“Heh.”

“Uncle, keep eating.

“There will be duck-frame soup later.

“The weather is cold now, so your nephew told them to wait before bringing it up.

“These are corn cakes baked against the stove wall.

“They’re especially crisp.

“Try some too.”

“You were thoughtful.”

“Isn’t it only proper for a nephew to show filial respect to his uncle?

“Letting Uncle eat well and stay warm is your nephew’s duty.”

With that, the Sixth Prince finally straightened his back.

He looked around at the ring of armored guards.

“Two of you.

“Come with me to the kitchen and carry out the ducks.

“You brothers came all this way from the south.

“You ought to taste our Quande Restaurant too, shouldn’t you?”

The Marquis of Jingnan raised his wine cup.

He took a sip.

Then nodded.

Zheng Fan and two other guards followed the Sixth Prince downstairs into the kitchen.

The other two armored men each carried out five or six roast ducks wrapped in lotus leaves and went to distribute them.

Zheng Fan remained behind.

The Sixth Prince turned around.

He stared at Zheng Fan from head to toe with great care.

“What?” Zheng Fan asked.

“I’m building up emotion so I can buy your loyalty.”

“Oh.

“Continue.”

A short while later, the Sixth Prince’s eyes suddenly glistened.

He spoke, “My dear elder brother!

“How did you become this thin and haggard?

“It pains this Prince’s heart…”

“My dear little brother!”

“…”

The Sixth Prince.

“Zheng Fan, I’m serious.

“You went south and made one circuit.

“How come it feels like you haven’t changed at all?”

Zheng Fan reached out and brushed some wood ash from the Sixth Prince’s hair.

“You really roasted the ducks personally?”

“Of course.

“I started preparing them early this morning.”

“Then you and the Marquis of Jingnan really are quite close.”

“Absolutely.

“I’ve been close to the Marquis of Jingnan since childhood.”

“Really?

“How close?”

“He led troops and massacred my maternal grandfather’s entire family.

“Does that count?”

(End of Chapter)