Chapter 799: That Night

They left the mausoleum.

Descended Stone Mountain.

The memorial ceremony had begun in a perfunctory rush and ended just as perfunctorily.

At the foot of the mountain, Prince Cheng Situ Yu knelt.

First, he kowtowed to Zheng Fan.

Then he kowtowed to the Crown Prince.

Behind Situ Yu, the household servants of Prince Cheng Residence knelt and kowtowed along with him.

“In a few days, I’ll write Prefect Xu a letter. Restore the authorized guard establishment of Prince Cheng Residence.”

The previous batch of Residence guards had been “used up” by Zheng Fan as chickens slaughtered to frighten the monkeys.

Afterward, Zheng Fan had simply abolished the Residence’s authorized guard establishment altogether.

Now, whenever the dignified Prince Cheng left his residence, he could only bring household servants. Those servants were permitted to carry sabers, but they could not wear armor or use standard military weapons. He could not even assemble a proper ceremonial escort.

“Thank you for Your Highness’s grace. Thank you for Your Highness’s grace.”

Situ Yu offered thanks again.

“Situ Yu, you’ve already exhausted the goodwill your father left behind. From now on, you need to think carefully about how you’ll accumulate some goodwill for yourself and your descendants. Draining the pond to catch every fish may feel satisfying, but when the pond runs dry, there will be plenty of time to cry.”

“Yu understands. Yu will remember Your Highness’s instruction.”

“Mm. Go back. Live your life honestly.”

Zheng Fan urged Situ Yu to leave.

The little fellow tucked against his chest was already growing restless.

“Yes. Yu takes his leave.”

Prince Cheng departed.

Only then did Ji Chuanye, seated in Zheng Fan’s arms atop the Pixiu, speak.

“Uncle Zheng, he saluted you before he saluted me.”

“What about it?” Zheng Fan asked. “Aiyo. Jealous?”

“Chuanye thinks he was trying to sow discord.”

“No.”

“He wasn’t?”

“Because he doesn’t know that you’re this clever at such a young age.”

Ji Chuanye thought it over several times and gradually understood.

Whether an act counted as sowing discord depended on the target.

If an adult Crown Prince were standing here and Situ Yu had done this, then yes, it could have been deliberate provocation.

But the Crown Prince was still a little brat.

No matter how calculating Situ Yu was, could he really have predicted the child would think that far?

If anything, Ji Chuanye himself seemed afraid of stepping into a pit, so he had deliberately voiced the matter immediately.

Situ Yu had been thoughtless.

The Crown Prince had been thoughtful.

He had hurried to clear the air.

Zheng Fan reached down and rapped the Crown Prince’s head several times with his knuckles.

“A child should act like a child. Don’t spend every day thinking so heavily. Eat when you should eat. Drink when you should drink. If your thoughts are too heavy, they’ll hollow out your body.”

The Crown Prince hugged his aching head and nodded.

“Oh.”

“Chuanye, do you know what kind of person is smartest in this world?”

“Please enlighten me, Uncle Zheng.”

“The smartest are those who know how to cherish their blessings. Of course, there are people in this world worthy of song and tears, people who swim against the current, who sacrifice themselves for righteousness. Your Uncle Zheng has met plenty of them over these years. We had people like that. Qian and Chu had them too. I personally killed quite a few, and after killing them, I still had to admire them. But that is when death becomes unavoidable, when a man dies for conviction, for persistence. If things have not reached that point, then you should still know how to cherish your blessings and preserve your spirit. Your Uncle Zheng isn’t a physician, but I know perfectly well that if you keep going like this, even when you grow up you’ll still be a sickly weakling. Whether you become Crown Prince or Emperor later, what matters most? A healthy body. You need to live long. You need to stay alive. Once you’re dead, everything else is worth shit.”

Ji Chuanye scratched his cheek.

Clearly, Zheng Fan’s words conflicted with some of the convictions he had formed before.

“Father said I have to believe whatever Uncle Zheng tells me. Since Uncle Zheng says so, then... Chuanye understands.”

“Your father and I are still in our prime. With the two of us around, we can at least let you children enjoy a happy, carefree childhood. As for what comes afterward, leave that for afterward.”

With that, Zheng Fan flicked his riding crop eastward.

“Come on. We’re going home!”

...

Originally, Zheng Fan’s plan had been to rush straight back to Fengxin City after receiving the child.

Detouring briefly to Stone Mountain would not have delayed them much.

But midway through the journey, the procession had no choice but to slow and stop again.

The Crown Prince fell ill.

Zheng Fan absolutely refused to believe it had anything to do with him taking the Crown Prince onto the Pixiu that day and racing headlong into the wind.

Siniang’s diagnosis was simple.

The child had not acclimated to the local climate and water.

When someone’s physical foundation was weak, this sort of thing happened easily.

With no other choice, the procession halted at a military town subordinate to the Residence.

Siniang administered acupuncture.

The accompanying military physicians also carried the necessary medicinal herbs.

After the child took the medicine, they would have to wait until he sweated out the fever before continuing the journey.

Zheng Fan entered the tent and looked at the child.

Ji Chuanye’s face was damp with sweat.

He opened his eyes.

There was fatigue in his gaze.

And guilt.

“Uncle Zheng, Chuanye has burdened everyone.”

“Don’t think nonsense. Close your eyes. Count sheep. Sleep. Wait until you sweat it out.”

“Yes, Uncle Zheng.”

The Crown Prince obediently closed his eyes again.

Zheng Fan personally replaced the damp cloth on his forehead, then rose and left the tent.

Siniang sat outside, knitting a small piece of clothing.

It was not for the child in her own belly.

Nor for the child in the Princess’s belly.

It was for Tian Tian.

“Go rest. Let the military physician watch him here.”

Siniang shook her head.

“Master, this servant should watch him personally. This child’s identity is different, after all.”

Even setting aside the Crown Prince’s identity, if your friend’s child came to stay at your home and something happened to him physically, how were you supposed to explain it?

Never mind that Zheng Fan had no intention of rebelling right now, or at least had made no opening move.

Even if he did, there would still be no reason to murder the Crown Prince outright.

“Then I’ll trouble you.”

“Master, the evening meal is ready in your tent.”

“Good. I’ll eat first, then come back and wait with you.”

Siniang smiled and nodded.

It was not because she was pregnant that Master had suddenly become attentive.

Even in the past, when she was busy with work, Master had often sprawled beside her like a little puppy, keeping her company while dozing off himself.

Zheng Fan entered his own command tent.

A pot of pork stewed with glass noodles was already simmering inside.

The Sword Saint sat there eating it with steamed buns.

Zheng Fan sat down and joined him.

The two men lowered their heads and ate in silence.

Finally...

Zheng Fan asked with some confusion:

“Why aren’t you asking me?”

“Ask you what?”

“About Situ Yu.”

“We’re not storytellers. I’m not obliged to keep feeding you setup lines.” The Sword Saint bit into a bun. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to keep it to yourself.”

“Fine. You’re right. Do you want to hear it or not?”

“If you want to talk, then talk.”

The Sword Saint refused to take the bait.

“Truthfully, the key isn’t that child carrying both Wenren and Situ blood. Nor is it whether the child lives or dies.”

“Then what is the key?”

“Giving me money. And the attitude with which he gave it.”

“How did this turn into bookkeeping and business?”

“Business isn’t some trivial craft. The reason the people of Fengxin City live better than people elsewhere really does come from commerce. Barter. Exchanging goods for silver. Those are only the basics. The highest level is trading in favors. He doesn’t care whether that child lives or dies. He’s still a child himself. Back when Xu Wenzu and I first learned he’d gotten a woman pregnant, we were genuinely surprised. Tell me, if some half-grown brat muddles his way into fathering a child, does he really understand what being a father feels like? He doesn’t. Still, he is Situ Lei’s seed. After getting slapped around a few times, he grew up quickly enough. But to be safe, we should still have someone investigate whether some new adviser or strategist recently entered his residence. He gave me silver. Gave me his family treasure. I accepted it. But if he asks nothing from me, neither side feels comfortable. If I take his silver and do nothing, not only will I feel no gratitude, I’ll start finding him annoying and irritating no matter which way I look at him. But if he really asks me to do something, then he worries I’ll think he doesn’t know his place. You offer tribute to Grandpa here and still dare make demands? That attitude would be far too improper.”

“So he asks for this sort of thing instead?”

“Exactly. It looks like a huge matter. He doesn’t ask for the child to live. He asks for the child to die. But how could he possibly know whether the child actually lives or dies? My guess is the child was probably born and is being raised somewhere by the Secret Intelligence Department. But there’s no way Prince Cheng gets to know. So I do nothing. I simply send him word that the child died. He then kneels and thanks me. Once the child has been declared dead, dead is dead. If another one ever appears later, that one is fake. Same principle as the Heir of Prince Zhenbei Residence back then. He’s giving me silver to show goodwill. The request is basically just a free add-on bundled with the gift. Understand?”

The Sword Saint looked at Zheng Fan.

“That simple?”

“How complicated does it need to be? It’s like that little brat Chuanye worrying the other day that Situ Yu was deliberately sowing discord by kowtowing to one person before another. There’s no need to overthink everything. First, because it isn’t necessary. Second, because you still have to look at status. It isn’t necessary because my position is different now. Nian Yao dared provoke me, so I went into Chu, fought him, captured him, and castrated him. As for status, look at Situ Yu. Look at Prince Cheng Residence. What state are they in now? No matter how good the plot or scheme, if you lack the power to carry it out, what use is it? Jianghu grudges are complicated. But in a court, in the military and political affairs of a state, things are often simpler instead. Big fish eat little fish. Little fish eat shrimp. Before a tiny shrimp grows up, no one wastes energy even glancing at it. Back then Li Liangting and Old Tian, maybe even the late Emperor, probably all noticed that I wasn’t exactly a peaceful, obedient fellow. But they still smiled at me and treated it like nothing. Why? Because back then, I was only a tiny shrimp. Then, through my own effort, through Yan’s circumstances, and through Old Tian’s protection, I survived. Now I’ve become a big fish too. But when I was a shrimp, I knelt when I needed to kneel, flattered when I needed to flatter, and when it was time to act cowardly, I acted more cowardly than anyone.”

Marquis Zheng slurped up a mouthful of glass noodles.

Chewing, he pointed with his chopsticks.

“Old Yu, guess what I’m more interested in right now.”

The Sword Saint drank a mouthful of soup.

“I’m supposed to think like you, the big fish?”

“Right.”

The Sword Saint picked up a piece of pork.

“You’re wondering where the Wenren Clan treasure is hidden.”

...

The Crown Prince arrived, creating a sensation.

Then the Crown Prince quietly stayed in his temporary palace.

Finally, Prince Pingxi took the Crown Prince away.

To the upper circles of Yingdu... whether Prince Pingxi or the Crown Prince, both were far too high above them.

Unreachable.

But not everyone was like that.

Some people were much easier to approach.

For example, Eunuch Huang, the army supervisor who had bid farewell to Zheng Fan early and prepared to return to the capital to report.

A group of senior Yingdu officials held a banquet for Eunuch Huang.

Eunuch Huang had spent his entire life being cautious.

But this time, he had genuinely ridden a horse into battle.

The itch in his heart was impossible to suppress.

So he decided to give himself one day of leisure.

He attended the banquet.

At the table, he spoke expansively about military affairs.

And fully enjoyed the flattery and sycophancy of the officials around him.

He felt wonderful.

He floated.

The banquet did not end until deep into the night.

Eunuch Huang refused the woman one household had arranged to warm his bed that evening.

He entered his room alone.

First, he opened a box.

Inside lay a human head.

Not Dugu Mu’s.

Dugu Mu’s head and the still-living Grand General Nian, who had now become one of Eunuch Huang’s “colleagues,” would be escorted together to the capital.

The head inside Eunuch Huang’s box belonged to the Chu soldier he had killed himself.

It was proof of Eunuch Huang’s martial valor.

People always wanted to make up for whatever they lacked.

The head had already been preserved against decay.

Once he brought it back to his own residence in Yanjing, it would require further treatment.

After that... it would be placed together with his own great treasure.

They would become his most cherished possessions.

Eunuch Huang admired the head for a long time.

Then he needed to urinate.

Too much wine.

He pulled a spittoon from beneath the bed, loosened his belt, and instinctively started to squat.

Then he hesitated.

He lifted the spittoon and placed it between his legs instead.

He looked at the head on the table.

Then at the bright moon outside the window.

As a thin, broken trickle began pattering into the vessel...

Eunuch Huang suddenly felt as though his youth had returned.

A long-forgotten emotion appeared from nowhere and gradually filled his chest.

Drawing out the note, Eunuch Huang began to sing:

“Thinking back to those days... this eunuch had a cock too!”

...

Fengxin City.

Marquis Pingxi Residence.

Tian Tian, who had originally been lying in bed, silently climbed down with his pillow in his arms and pushed open the door.

The black cat and fox woke and followed to investigate.

They discovered their little master walking straight toward the front courtyard.

Was he lonely sleeping alone and going to find his god-grandfather?

The black cat and fox followed him.

Still hugging his pillow, Tian Tian descended the steps into the secret chamber and stopped before a coffin.

Suddenly... the coffin made a sound.

Tian Tian’s closed eyes opened.

He looked around in confusion.

The black cat and fox immediately rushed over and tugged at his trouser legs.

Tian Tian rubbed his eyes.

He looked at the coffin before him.

Then walked several steps forward.

He reached the coffin and pressed both chubby hands against its side.

“Grandfather...”

A faint scraping sound came from inside the coffin.

Almost like an answer.

Tian Tian raised his head over the edge of the coffin and looked toward the deepest part of the chamber.

There stood a blocked doorway.

Beyond it, a passage led farther underground.

A black-armored man was bound below under layer after layer of restraints.

Even the Pixiu whose physical body was being suppressed beneath Yanjing’s imperial palace had never received such “heavy” treatment.

After this thing had been captured and brought back, the war with Chu had erupted almost immediately.

Naturally... it had simply been “detained” here for the time being.

The Demon Kings had not yet had the leisure to deal with him properly.

Tian Tian spoke.

“I heard him... calling me.”

[End of Chapter 799]