Chapter 679: Prince Zhenbei

Fan Li squatted outside the tent, looking east, then west.

Inside, Siniang, A’Ming, and Xue San sat in a circle. Between the three of them lay the letter.

Naturally, it had already been opened.

The Demon Kings were not the sort to stand on ceremony. Guarding a letter without reading it would have been idiotic.

But the contents...

A’Ming clipped his nails as he said, "Come on. Let's discuss what we do next."

Siniang said, "Master mentioned that when he accompanied the Prince of Jingnan to Mount Tianhu outside Litian City, he promised to make the Prince's Pixiu a set of fish-scale armor like the one our own Pixiu wears. The Prince of Jingnan answered: 'Good. Let it come find you.' And from the conversation Master had with the Prince outside the city during the day, there seemed to be the same implication. There's a saying about returning wrapped in horsehide, isn't there? Whether or not a corpse ends up wrapped in anything, I don't know, but most likely this Pixiu is meant to come back. In other words, originally, the Prince of Jingnan was probably supposed to set out on campaign, or suffer some accident, something along those lines. Under that premise, or afterward, this Pixiu would return here alone and spit this letter out for Master."

Xue San chuckled. "So basically, we intercepted the quest reward early?"

"Mm." A’Ming blew on his nails. "It's like accepting a quest from an old man at the village entrance. He promises you a letter once you've killed the monster. Except before you've even fought the monster or left the village, you steal the letter straight out of the old man's pocket. The problem is, if the Prince of Jingnan arranged things this way, then obviously he had his own calculations and his own reasons. San'er, by triggering this ahead of time, you've put us in a genuinely awkward position. If Master finds out, it'll be even more awkward."

"Oh? So you mean we shouldn't show Master the letter yet?" Xue San asked.

A’Ming shook his head. "I don't know."

Siniang said, "The problem now is that since this letter came from inside the Prince of Jingnan's mount, then it must have been placed there by the Prince himself. To a certain extent, that means the contents must have been personally verified by the Prince of Jingnan. That person is the one behind Du Juan's death. Think about it. If Master sees this letter now, what will he do?"

"Then are we giving it to Master or not? Siniang, give us a firm answer. The Blind Man isn't here, so the three of us need to make a decision quickly."

Their strategist happened to be absent just when something unexpected like this occurred. It really was enough to give anyone a headache.

As for Sun Ying, he could count as half a strategist, but he did not have the standing to involve himself in something like this.

A’Ming pointed toward the letter between them.

"Come on. Let's imitate the Blind Man's way of thinking. Whether something should be done or not is ultimately a matter of weighing gains and losses. Let's start with the drawbacks. I think handing this letter to Master right now would force him into an immediate dilemma. And have you noticed? When it comes to flipping the table just for the satisfaction of it, Master has started showing signs of surpassing us. In fact, I'd say he already has. If Master suppresses himself, he'll feel miserable. If Master erupts and decides to make a move against that person, then setting aside whether the Marquis of Pingxi Residence can survive the consequences, we're in Yanjing right now! That's the downside. Your turn. What's the upside?"

Xue San laughed.

"I honestly don't see any upside to giving Master the letter right now. At worst, A’Li and I triggered the quest early, but that doesn't stop us from handing it to Master when the proper time comes. At the very least, we can wait until we're back at the Marquis Residence. Though admittedly, once we're back, killing that person will become more difficult."

A’Ming and Xue San both looked toward Siniang.

The two of them had already voted against it. Now it depended on her.

This was not really democratic decision-making.

Fan Li was excluded first.

Then the remaining three went through the motions of voting two against one.

In reality, if even one Demon King present objected, the others could not make the decision stick.

First, there was no way to silence the dissenter permanently.

Second, how could one person insist on being the good guy while forcing the other two to play the villains?

"I agree with what A’Ming said. Giving this letter to Master now will definitely be harmful to the larger situation. But..."

A’Ming immediately cut in.

"Human rights, freedom, trust. No need to give us reasons like those."

Xue San nodded along.

"Bonds, ideals, companionship. No need for those either."

Siniang nodded.

"But I think ever since Master accompanied the Prince of Jingnan to Mount Tianhu that day, he's been extremely, extremely close to breaking through Sixth Grade. It may happen during this very period."

A’Ming and Xue San's gazes sharpened almost simultaneously.

A’Ming put away the nail clippers and pressed his left hand to his chest.

"I think we have no right to deprive Master of his right to know."

Xue San planted his dagger upright before him.

"No matter what happens, we must always believe in the power of bonds!"

Outside the tent, Fan Li had been squatting there the entire time, barred from voting and from reading the letter.

He looked up at the stars.

Shook his head.

And muttered:

"Morons."

...

"Mm? What's that smell on this letter?"

Marquis Zheng accepted the letter with obvious distaste.

At present, only Siniang had entered the tent to deliver it.

The other three remained outside.

"Master, San'er dug this letter out from inside the Prince of Jingnan's Pixiu."

"Mm?" Zheng Fan blinked and instinctively asked, "What did San'er do to that Pixiu?"

"..." Xue San, outside the tent.

"Master, Xue San found it in the Pixiu's excrement." Siniang paused, then added, "San'er said he would never overlook a single clue in any corner."

Outside, Xue San clenched his fist.

Oh yeah!

Then Fan Li shouted:

"I made it squirt!"

Zheng Fan laughed.

"All right. All of you come in."

Very soon, A’Ming, Xue San, and Fan Li entered.

Zheng Fan understood.

A single letter had brought four Demon Kings together to deliver it.

Whatever was written inside had to be extraordinarily important.

He did not open the black-sealed letter immediately.

Instead, he first took out his iron cigarette case.

He drew one cigarette, held it between his lips, and Siniang lit it for him with a fire stick.

After two drags, Zheng Fan ground his teeth.

Then, at last, he opened the letter.

A short while later, Zheng Fan closed his eyes and folded the letter shut.

The tent fell utterly silent.

The Demon Kings waited for Master to make the decision.

Even if the Blind Man had been here, the final word would still belong to Master himself.

A long time passed.

Only then did Zheng Fan slowly open his eyes.

Terrifying red veins filled them.

But he did not roar in fury.

He did not scream hysterically.

Instead, he held the cigarette, already more than half burned away, over the ground and tapped off the ash.

Then he said:

"I know."

...

The next day, the court audience was canceled.

The Emperor of Yan, having returned to the imperial palace, seemed in no hurry to formally announce his return by summoning his ministers to court.

Meanwhile, in the camp outside the city, neither the Prince of Jingnan nor the Marquis of Pingxi entered Yanjing.

Yet this very refusal to move created an almost suffocating pressure throughout court and countryside.

On the third day, an imperial edict arrived, summoning the Prince of Jingnan and the Marquis of Pingxi into the capital to inspect their residences.

For an extraordinary Prince of Great Yan and a military-service Marquis of Great Yan to have no residence of their own in the capital was, after all, somewhat improper.

People believed a man's roots followed his household.

If your home was not in the heart of the imperial court but somewhere else entirely, how could anyone expect you to remain forever of one heart with the court?

Even Prince Zhenbei had a residence in Yanjing.

Earlier, when the Commandery Princess entered the capital, she had temporarily stayed in the Rear Garden. Later, when His Majesty moved into the Rear Garden to recuperate, she left and returned to the Li family's own residence in Yanjing.

The Prince of Jingnan Residence and the Marquis of Pingxi Residence stood right beside one another.

Zheng Fan was very pleased with that.

"Inspecting their residences" was merely going through the motions. Neither man intended to live there permanently, so they had not put much thought into arranging the places.

The true purpose of the edict was ceremonial.

Continuing to remain in the military camp outside the city was becoming somewhat improper, or perhaps simply inconvenient.

They were expected to come back inside.

Marquis Zheng took a bath in his new residence and changed clothes.

Siniang and the others stayed behind to settle a number of people into the property.

Zheng Fan himself accepted an invitation from the Sixth Prince and brought the Sword Saint to Quande Restaurant.

The roast duck at Quande Restaurant in Yanjing was getting worse and more expensive.

Its reputation, however, was only growing.

As the former owner, Little Sixth could return whenever he pleased.

And he was no longer the prince who had once been suppressed at every turn.

Back then, the Ministry of Revenue had constantly taken over or crushed the businesses he held openly.

Now, he was the true head of the Ministry of Revenue.

What had been his was still his.

This Quande Restaurant on Taoran Street was the original establishment.

Today, the entire restaurant had been reserved.

No outside guests were admitted.

After Zheng Fan entered, he found that the usual noise and greasy smell were gone.

The place had even been perfumed.

Eunuch Zhang was serving the tables.

Seeing Zheng Fan arrive, he immediately bowed.

"This slave greets the Marquis of Pingxi. May the Marquis enjoy health and peace."

After saluting Zheng Fan, Eunuch Zhang turned and saluted the Sword Saint.

"Greetings, sir."

Strictly speaking, this was not an especially appropriate time to meet with an imperial prince.

It invited gossip.

But the premise behind the saying that bystanders saw more clearly was that the bystanders themselves had to stand high enough.

For Zheng Fan, spending two days in the camp outside the city beside the Prince of Jingnan was like a freshly fried dough stick that had already been hung up to drain.

Enough oil had dripped away.

He was clean enough.

Anyone with eyes already understood his political attitude.

So coming to meet Little Sixth now was merely a matter of old private friendship.

They could hardly cut each other off forever.

Besides, the Emperor had just granted him a residence.

The meaning was obvious:

You may enter the city now.

A man with a new residence would normally hold a banquet for guests.

If he could not be bothered doing that, visiting friends instead amounted to much the same thing.

Of course, at root, everything was different now from how it had been before.

Just as Old Tian had said over dinner in Litian City:

He was no longer starving.

Naturally, his mentality had changed.

Eunuch Zhang led Zheng Fan and the Sword Saint to the second floor.

They sat beside a window.

Eunuch Zhang poured tea, then set down a plate of dried tofu, a plate of boiled peanuts, and a plate of cloud-slice cake before withdrawing.

Zheng Fan picked up a slice of cloud-slice cake and put it into his mouth, chewing as he looked out at the street below.

Yanjing was still Yanjing.

Lively.

Noisy.

The Sword Saint lifted his teacup and drank.

...

In the rear kitchen, beside the roasting oven, Little Sixth used tongs to pull out a roast duck and began slicing it with a knife.

Eunuch Zhang entered.

"Master."

"They're here?"

"They're here. Drinking tea upstairs."

"Mm."

Ji Chengjue was not angry.

He merely smiled and continued slicing the duck with care.

There were endless supposed rules and rituals to eating the roast duck at Quande Restaurant.

Most of them had been invented out of thin air by Ji Chengjue back in the day.

But if the duck itself was to taste good, that still required meticulous work.

When he finished, Ji Chengjue had Eunuch Zhang arrange everything on plates.

He did not carry the food himself.

Instead, after handing the trays over to Eunuch Zhang, he removed the protective sleeve-covers from both forearms, flicked them loose, left the roasting room, and went upstairs.

When he appeared, Zheng Fan turned and looked toward him.

"This won't do. Your serving speed is much too slow. We're about to fill up on tea snacks before the main dish even gets here."

"Oh, honored guest, do forgive us. Look, isn't it here now?"

Ji Chengjue gestured for Eunuch Zhang to lay out the duck and all its accompaniments.

Then he sat in another chair.

The Sword Saint stood.

Ji Chengjue immediately said:

"Lord Sword Saint, don't trouble yourself. Sit and eat. We're not discussing state affairs today."

So the Sword Saint sat again.

Zheng Fan picked up a thin pancake, wrapped duck inside it with a few condiments, dipped the whole thing in sauce, and put it into his mouth.

"How is it?" Ji Chengjue asked.

"Passable. So-so."

"That mouth of yours is getting pickier and pickier."

"It is."

Zheng Fan picked up the teapot, turned over an empty cup, and poured tea for Ji Chengjue as well.

"Sigh. Things really were better before. Back then, everything tasted good."

"Oh? There's something behind those words."

Ji Chengjue shook his head.

"No. Just nostalgia. Back then, whenever I got sick of gnawing cornbread, I'd run into the palace and mooch wine and meat off those chief eunuchs. That stuff tasted wonderful. Now, there are three more little mouths at home. Every morning when I open my eyes, I feel as if I've woken up owing another full day's debt. I have to work for them."

He Sisi and Lingxiang had both given birth.

He Sisi had another son.

Lingxiang had a daughter.

Little Sixth was now the father of three children.

"Life goes by without asking permission."

Zheng Fan still remembered the old days outside Marquis Zhenbei Residence, when Ji Chengjue had surrounded himself with several female entertainers.

Perhaps there had been an element of deliberately hollowing himself out to tarnish his own reputation, but what man could deny how free and easy those days had looked?

Zheng Fan had been the same.

A merchant-escort Lieutenant in Tiger Head City.

An irregular.

A petty officer who barely counted for anything.

Anyone he saw dressed in brocade had to be addressed as "my lord."

"Zheng Fan, don't laugh at me. I used to think I'd never grow old. I couldn't even imagine what I'd be like when I actually got older. Only now do I understand. A person doesn't notice himself aging. Then one day he turns around... and there's no road back."

"Quit spewing that damned nonsense."

These days, the moment Zheng Fan heard keywords like middle age or children, his head started aching.

There was nothing wrong with his body.

Nothing wrong with his constitution.

Yet the three women at home showed no movement in their bellies.

With Siniang, fine.

But the Princess and Ruqing were the same.

That meant the problem on his side was probably serious too.

"I heard Old Fifth deliberately went looking for you beside the Wang River."

"We happened to run into each other."

"I know. Neither of you is stupid enough to arrange a meeting like that. Did Old Fifth say anything?"

"Old Fifth asked me to keep him alive."

"You agreed?"

"No."

"Why?"

"We're not close."

"What about my household, then? Two women. Three children."

Zheng Fan nodded without hesitation.

"I'll protect them."

Ji Chengjue smiled.

He personally wrapped a piece of duck and held it toward Zheng Fan's mouth.

"Come. Good boy. Open up."

"Are you disgusting or what?"

Zheng Fan slapped Ji Chengjue's hand away.

At that moment, footsteps sounded on the stairs.

The man who came up was Li Liangshen, dressed in ordinary clothes.

The instant Li Liangshen appeared, his gaze passed directly over Zheng Fan and Ji Chengjue and landed on the Sword Saint.

"You're here too."

He greeted the Sword Saint.

The Sword Saint gave him a slight nod.

"Yes."

When two sword users spoke, conversation tended to become very direct and very short.

Li Liangshen approached the table.

His gaze fell on Longyuan, leaning against the Sword Saint's chair.

"Didn't get the chance last time. Let me look again."

Men who used swords were usually sword fanatics.

The Sword Saint did not refuse.

"Go ahead."

Li Liangshen reached out and picked up Longyuan.

Then Zheng Fan spoke.

"Li Liangshen?"

Li Liangshen turned toward Marquis Zheng, who remained seated.

"You see this Marquis, yet offer no salute?"

Li Liangshen nodded.

He set Longyuan down.

Took two steps back.

Then dropped to one knee before Zheng Fan.

"This general greets the Marquis of Pingxi. May the Marquis enjoy health and peace!"

Then, on his own, he rose and reached for Longyuan again.

"This Marquis told you to rise?"

Li Liangshen released the sword once more.

Stepped back.

And knelt on one knee again.

"Salute His Sixth Highness."

"This general greets His Sixth Highness. May Your Highness live a thousand years."

Li Liangshen obediently paid his respects.

But there was a smile at the corner of his mouth.

"That's better." Marquis Zheng clapped his hands. "We military men can be a little casual, but rules that ought to be observed should still be observed. This Marquis does not care whether you salute me. You and I are both soldiers. We've never cared much for such empty ceremony. But His Highness is of the imperial clan. Blood of the Son of Heaven. Toward the imperial house, the proper respect must be shown. Next time you see this Marquis, you don't need to salute. No need to stand on ceremony. I believe that even if Prince Zhenbei were here, he wouldn't bother quibbling over such meaningless ritual. Men in the army don't like constantly making one another kneel and salute for no reason. Too troublesome. Too boring."

Ji Chengjue burst out laughing.

The smile on Li Liangshen's face slowly disappeared.

Then... a broad-shouldered, thick-backed man with half-white hair appeared at the second-floor stairway.

Qingshuang stood beside him.

"Well, damn. You're blocking this Prince's mouth before I can even open it."

Today, Prince Zhenbei had entered Yanjing.

The court had sent the Minister of Rites to preside over the welcome ceremony.

Clearly, however, Prince Zhenbei had stood the man up and secretly slipped into Quande Restaurant first to eat roast duck.

Ji Chengjue rose.

But Marquis Zheng moved even faster.

He walked straight over and supported Prince Zhenbei by the arm.

Li Liangshen had obviously come ahead to scout the way.

For a commander stationed in the capital region to suddenly appear here was already unusual enough.

"How is Wujing?" Li Liangting asked.

"Not well."

Marquis Zheng's answer was brutally direct.

Li Liangting nodded.

Then he smiled.

"Of the three of us, which one is well?"

[End of Chapter 679]