A Single Tie Of Long Hair Seals A Lifelong Commitment - Chapter 45

An older pharmacy apprentice dispersed the people who were gathered outside the courtyard door, craning their necks and peering through the doorframe.

Separated by two doors and a courtyard, even with ears pricked, they couldn’t make out anything substantial. They only heard scattered, fragmented words like “your father,” “mine,” and “child,” which couldn’t be pieced together into any useful information.

The older apprentice bowed deeply to them, hands clasped, and stood there without saying a word.

It was a polite gesture to ask them to leave.

“Let’s go.”

Xie Wenjun left a few people to guard the Red Bridge.

Other people’s family disputes, no matter how profound the grievances, were their own private affairs. They had no right to comment or pass judgment.

Their hands were still clasped.

As they walked down the Red Bridge, Xie Wenjun released the warmth in her palm, allowing the hand to pull away. The night was slightly cool, and the temperature in her hand was fleeting, impossible to hold onto.

How should she explain it? she wondered.

“I was presumptuous,” Xie Wenjun said.

Chen Liangyu, however, looked indifferent.

“Can’t I?”

Chen Liangyu clearly understood why she used the word “presumptuous.”

Can’t she? They had known each other for many years and were quite familiar. Was it not normal for them to be closer?

Xie Wenjun was flustered by the question. She thought very seriously, as if racking her brain for the answer to a difficult problem. She felt challenged.

She only nodded blankly.

“Since I can, why would Your Highness say it was presumptuous?”

Chen Liangyu’s attire today was simple. She wasn’t wearing armor or a cloak. The hair clasp usually tied in her hair was replaced with an ordinary silk ribbon to avoid drawing attention.

She was clear and pure, just like her eyes reflecting the moonlight.

Utterly untainted.

When she spoke the words that unintentionally stirred up turmoil in the hearts of others, her eyes were clean and devoid of any distraction.

The corner of Xie Wenjun’s mouth curved upward. It was meant to be a smile, yet it revealed endless reluctance.

“You don’t understand,” she said.

Chen Liangyu extended her hand, palm up, toward Xie Wenjun. “If Your Highness wants to hold it, you can hold it. I told you, I’m here!”

She could barely recall the year she had said those words to Xie Wenjun, but she clearly remembered promising it.

Now was the time to fulfill that promise.

Xie Wenjun looked at her open palm but didn’t place her hand on it. A faint, almost imperceptible smile finally appeared on her face, which possessed great beauty but was full of sorrow.

The smile lingered on her lips, very shallow, yet very genuine.

“Alright,” she said.

Although the Nine Glories Villa was a centennial medical and pharmaceutical family, it was not a grand estate with a multitude of servants. The villa only had a few hired hands and about a dozen young pharmacy apprentices, whose hands and faces bore traces of frostbite.

The grey-clothed physician had also mentioned that Master Pei had a habit of taking in children, especially orphans who had lost both parents.

These young apprentices were likely picked up during his travels as an itinerant physician.

He taught them a trade and, at the same time, gave them a life.

The rooster crowed twice.

Chen Liangyu counted in her heart. It was the Yin hour (3-5 AM).

Diligent apprentices had already dressed, shouldered their medicine baskets, and grabbed their shovels to gather fresh herbs.

There were two stone steps at the door of the guest room, with pillars supporting the eaves on either side. Chen Liangyu sat on the steps, resting her head against a pillar, lightly dozing.

She slept very lightly; even the faintest sound of wind could wake her.

The rooster’s high-pitched crow sang for the third time. Chen Liangyu instantly opened her eyes.

Forest birds beat their wings and took flight in alarm.

Something restless was disturbing the silence of the villa.

Rong Jun and the East Palace Guards on duty were also leaning against things and dozing.

Even the most well-trained soldiers were not made of steel. They had been utterly exhausted for days and could only snatch fragmented moments of rest. As soon as Chen Liangyu opened her eyes, they quickly entered a state of alert.

The East Palace Guards resting inside the room heard the commotion and scrambled to their feet.

The night was about to end, yet there were still some reckless people who didn’t want to see the new dawn.

The apprentices had already returned with the fresh herbs. Pei Danxing had finished preparing the medicine and sent it over to them, saying, “Gentlemen, after you have taken your medicine, you may leave on your own if you have no other business. My wife is unwell, and I apologize for not seeing you off.”

The black-clad female thief had vanished without a trace.

“Master Pei, are there any other paths down the mountain?” Chen Liangyu asked.

Pei Danxing said, “Yes.”

He pointed towards the back mountain, saying, “Go out the back door of the villa, walk east to the back mountain, and there is a winding, goat-track path trodden by people. It leads down to the Mountain God Temple. Exit through the front or east door of the temple, and you’ll reach the official road. Has something happened?”

Xie Wenjun pulled open the door of the guest room. “Do you know who they are?”

Chen Liangyu shook her head. “Not yet.” She turned to Rong Jun and Pei Danxing. “Rong Jun, tell the people outside to head towards the back mountain. Master Pei, this place is dangerous. Do you want to leave with us?”

Pei Danxing replied without hesitation, “My wife needs rest and is not suited for traveling. You all should leave.”

“Then what about you?”

“If something unexpected happens, we have a place to take refuge.”

Chen Liangyu bowed and saluted. “We apologize for the disturbance. We will take our leave.”

“Wait,” Pei Danxing said. “General, do you know Prime Minister Xun?”

Xun Xian?

“I do.”

Pei Danxing’s gaze was very complex—pain, struggle, but also release and relief, and even a hint of unconscious hope. “Could you please ask on my behalf: In the 19th year of Xuanyuan, on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, after he took what he wanted, why did he still send people to massacre the Lingxiao Villa?”

The answer and the reason were no longer important.

As commoners, insignificant people who knew the dirtiest, most sordid secret between the Prime Minister and the Emperor, how could they be allowed to live?

Yet, he still wanted to ask.

To ask for his family who died unjustly on that Mid-Autumn full moon night.

Even if this question were to bring another wave of pursuit twenty-something years later.

Chen Liangyu said, “After this matter is resolved, and I return to Yongdu, I will surely investigate this case.”

The boundary between the sky and the earth began to glow with the white of dawn. That patch of white gradually spread, bringing with it a pale orange-red glow.

People and horses surged into the forest, startling more birds.

They were surrounded on all four sides, yet those people were slow to act, circling them tightly like a python constricting its prey, slowly closing in.

Following the route indicated by Pei Danxing, they quickly found the winding path trodden by people.

“A-Li, who do you think it could be?” Xie Wenjun asked.

The path wound around the mountain body and was slightly steep. Everyone helped one another. After passing that section, the road ahead was relatively flat.

“Be careful.”

Chen Liangyu held Xie Wenjun’s arm to help her land stably.

“It won’t be the group sent by Prince Qi from Yongdu; those people were dealt with by the Celebration Chamber. Nor will it be the people of Marquis Heng from the Southern Border. When I rushed to Yongjia City, my troops were following behind. Although their pace was slower, they have arrived now, and he knows it. I tested Marquis Heng; his stance is very ambiguous. Before the overall situation is decided, he will not risk making an enemy of any party.”

Xie Wenjun said, “Of the 50,000 troops you took, how many are left now?”

“Less than 30,000.”

Liangxi City and Yongjia City both belong to the administrative division of Chong’an Prefecture. The number of garrison troops in each city is fixed. Yongjia City is a fortress, and the Celebration Chamber only has about 10,000 men.

“What is the background of Du Peixun, the Prefect of Chong’an Prefecture?” Chen Liangyu asked.

Xie Wenjun pondered for a moment. “He is a very… boring person.”

“Boring?” Chen Liangyu said.

It was rare for someone to use that word to describe a person.

“This man was a Jinshi successful candidate in the highest imperial examination in the sixth year of Xuanyuan. His family background is clean. At its most glorious, his ancestry produced two Hanlin members of the prestigious Hanlin Academy, serving as compilers and proofreaders, but their ranks were not high. After passing the Jinshi exam, everything was too smooth for him. He was promoted when he should be, and sent out to a local post when he should be. He doesn’t stir up trouble and has no great achievements. He only ensures that his annual review is without fault, gets rated ‘Diligent’ during the Daji assessment, and spends the rest of his time like a secluded hermit. There is seldom any news of him.”

The Daji was the triennial performance review for local officials, assessed according to the “Four Categories and Eight Methods,” and categorized as “Competent,” “Diligent,” or “Serving.” Officials outside these categories were impeached and dismissed.

“He was the top scorer of the second grade Jinshi that year, yet he is content to be a fifth-rank prefect in an outlying area. There is not much documented about him, and my Imperial Brother rarely mentions this person. Under his rule, aside from natural disasters, Chong’an has never had any major upheaval.”

From this description, the man was merely coasting in the court.

There were many such people in the imperial court: they smoothed things over when problems arose, didn’t seek merit or high titles, and didn’t align themselves with any faction of the powerful. Even if the outside world was in chaos, as long as the blood didn’t splash on them, they would only watch from the sidelines.

“If he is such a person, he can be ruled out. So who else could it be?”

Chen Liangyu looked around.

Those people still had no intention of moving.

After turning a corner, the terrain became flatter, and the Mountain God Temple mentioned by Pei Danxing could be seen. The path led directly from the temple.

Chen Liangyu had a signal flare in her sleeve, but since she didn’t know how many opponents they faced, she hesitated to fire the signal immediately. If they were just a few low-level troublemakers, they could handle it themselves. It would be better not to mobilize large forces, lest they be seized upon, accused in turn, and charged with the crime of privately mobilizing troops and attempting rebellion against her and Xie Wenjun.

If they lost the moral high ground, the Imperial Seal that Xie Wenjun carried would be the most fatal piece of evidence. Any fabricated charge of stealing the Imperial Seal would leave them unable to defend themselves.

Walking a little further, they could glimpse the old marks on the walls of the Mountain God Temple. A half-open door showed faintly multi-colored, mottled patches on the wood.

Finally, those people couldn’t hold back any longer.

Chen Liangyu and Rong Jun sensed the sharp whistle of arrows cutting through the air.

“To your posts!”

Chen Liangyu shielded Xie Wenjun behind her. She grasped the hilt of her sword, exerted sudden force, and the blade cut an arc in the air, deflecting the cold, gleaming arrowheads.

Metal clashed, throwing sparks.

“Escort the Princess away!” Chen Liangyu ordered.

Immediately, several East Palace Guards used their bodies as shields, holding their flexible swords horizontally. They moved towards the half-closed wooden door of the Mountain God Temple, parrying the hidden arrows and stray bolts as they went.

Yuan Rong and Dai Qing’s legs were weak. Xie Wenjun supported one on each side, helping them walk.

Dai Qing’s voice was tearful, looking as if she was about to sacrifice herself. “Princess…”

“Shut up. Save your strength for walking properly.”

She purely wanted to die, not to sacrifice herself. What she was thinking was: Living like a fugitive every day, constantly on edge, not knowing when she would lose her life—it would be better to die and be done with it.

A few more cold arrows were shot from behind the cover on the mountain. Chen Liangyu flicked her wrist, catching the arrows with her sword, circling a few times in the air, spinning her body, and then throwing the arrows back at the half-head exposed outside the cover.

It hit the target right between the eyebrows, a single fatal strike.

She hadn’t been watching the front, back, left, and right at the same time. With a swoosh from the other side, a spinning arrowhead flew towards her.

She spun in mid-air, rotating her body once, and landed.

She didn’t hear the wind rushing past her as the sharp arrow flew by.

That hidden arrow had been intercepted halfway.

The person was slightly shorter than her, with a scruffy beard and dressed like a beggar. He carried a bundle of firewood on his back and held a dead branch in his hand, which was pierced by the arrow that had been aimed at her.

Where had she seen him before?

There was no time to think. Dozens of black-clad men, wielding broadswords, rushed down the slope, shouting as they charged towards them.

At the same time, another group of people rushed out of the Mountain God Temple, wearing red armor and carrying red-tasseled swords. They were dressed as the garrison troops of Liangxi City.

Someone shouted, “Protect the carriage!”

The two groups of people began to fight fiercely.

“Retreat!”

The East Palace Guards obeyed the order to fall back.

The beggar carrying the firewood, however, ran up the mountain.

Chen Liangyu pulled back the beggar who was trying to run the other way. “I don’t know how many people are still hiding on the mountain. If you don’t follow me, you will surely die.”

The beggar thought for a moment and followed Chen Liangyu to retreat into the Mountain God Temple.