The blizzard raged like swirling cotton, the howling wind resembling the wails of ghosts and wolves.
Wei Yan lay with his eyes closed on a pile of withered grass, inwardly amused. Truly, age made one nostalgic—the wind outside this prison cell almost made him feel as if he were back in the northern frontier.
How many years had it been since that old man dragged him to the Qi family’s military camp, where he and Xie Linshan had guarded the northern borders together?
But those had been good days.
Old General Qi was still alive then, Rong Yin had not yet entered the palace, and Linshan and the Crown Prince had not perished in Jinzhou…
The happiest days of his life had been in that time.
His eyelids grew heavy, and Wei Yan allowed himself to drift into sleep amidst the relentless howl of wind and snow.
In his daze, he sensed someone approaching, draping something over him to shield against the biting cold that seemed capable of flaying skin from flesh.
Wei Yan wondered—was it a prison guard?
But as a condemned man, the guards wouldn’t casually offer him extra clothing. Had they received instructions from Grand Tutor Tao or Xie Zheng?
Before he could finish his muddled thoughts, the person who had covered him did not leave. Instead, they hesitated, then reached out as if to touch him. Wei Yan caught a faint scent, something between orchids and camellias.
Years of walking on thin ice had honed his instincts. Almost reflexively, his hand shot up and seized the intruding wrist, his sharp phoenix eyes snapping open.
But the face he saw was one that only appeared in his midnight dreams.
The woman wore a pear-white winter coat embroidered with lotus petals, her shoulders delicate, her waist slender as if bound by silk. Her features were like a landscape painting, soft and graceful. Her wrist was still trapped in his grip, her fair face a mix of alarm and bashfulness at being caught. Biting her lower lip, she said, “I saw Third Brother sleeping here, so I brought you a cloak…”
Wei Yan had an elder brother who died young, as well as a half-brother from a concubine, making him the third son in his family.
The Wei and Qi families had been close, and Qi Rongyin had called him "Third Brother" since childhood.
He stared at the woman before him for a long moment before speaking. “You haven’t visited my dreams in so many years. Have you come tonight because you know my time is near?”
Rong Yin frowned, her embarrassment momentarily forgotten. The hand he held twisted slightly, her warm, smooth palm pressing against his forehead. “Third Brother, why are you talking nonsense? Have you caught a fever?”
The skin beneath her palm was indeed burning. Her expression darkened at once, and she called to a maid standing guard at the corner of the city wall, “Lanyue, fetch the army doctor! Third Brother has a fever!”
Wei Yan looked up and saw a sky full of stars, along with the Qi family banner atop the city wall, illuminated by the glow of braziers. Only then did he realize he had been sleeping against the battlement. Around him were soldiers dozing with their weapons, their faces and bodies still stained with blood—clearly, a fierce battle had just taken place.
This dream felt too real, just like those years he had spent in the north.
As Rong Yin moved to stand, Wei Yan tightened his grip on her hand.
Puzzled, she looked at him—he had been acting strangely since waking. “Third Brother?”
Wei Yan spoke slowly, “Don’t go. Let me look at you a little longer. Eighteen years… Every time you’ve appeared in my dreams, you’ve never stayed to talk…”
“What are you saying? What eighteen years?” The confusion in Rong Yin’s eyes deepened, but she soothed him nonetheless. “I won’t leave. I’ll just fetch some water to wipe your face.”Due to the cold, Wei Yan's head was indeed throbbing with pain. He raised his other hand to press against his temple.
Seeing this, Qi Rongyin withdrew the hand he had been gripping and descended the city wall to fetch water.
Wei Yan's gaze instinctively followed her, afraid she might disappear. Beside him, a general with blood and dust streaked across his face, who had been feigning sleep, opened his eyes and laughed, "Wei Zhonglang, it seems good fortune is near for you, isn't it?"
Wei Yan remembered that during his time in the Qi family's military camp, he had held the rank of Zhonglang General, and his comrades often addressed him as "Wei Zhonglang."
The man before him was unfamiliar. Squinting, Wei Yan studied him for a while before recognizing him as the later Shaanxi Protectorate Commissioner. They had indeed shared camaraderie during their time in the Qi family's camp.
But their interactions had dwindled afterward.
How strange—dreaming of Qi Rongyin was one thing, but why would he dream of this man as well?
Faintly, Wei Yan sensed that tonight's dream was different from those before.
He tried to rise, leaning against the wall, when a sharp pain shot through his hand. Looking down, he saw his palm wrapped in bloodstained bandages.
Earlier, upon opening his eyes and seeing Qi Rongyin, his mind had been entirely preoccupied, oblivious even to the pain in his hand. Now, clenching his fist again, the needle-like sting returned, and Wei Yan finally realized something was amiss.
Could pain in a dream feel this real?
Qi Rongyin returned with a basin of water, leading the Army Doctor up the city wall. Softly, she said, "Third Brother Wei has developed a high fever. With Father and Elder Brother still pursuing the enemy, he mustn’t fall ill now. Army Doctor, please examine him."
Hearing this, Wei Yan frowned. Old General Qi and the young general were still chasing the enemy?
In his memory, only once had Old General Qi acted on faulty intelligence, leading the father and sons to pursue the enemy together—and it was during that pursuit that the Qi family perished on the battlefield.
As the Army Doctor took his pulse, Wei Yan remained lost in a haze of thoughts.
After the examination, the doctor retrieved a silver needle from his pouch. "The city has run out of medicine for cold damage. Since the Zhonglang's fever persists, this old man can only relieve it slightly by bleeding the Shangyang acupoint."
The needle pierced his fingertip, the pain unmistakably sharp.
Too real for a dream!
A suspicion formed in Wei Yan's mind, like a sword cleaving through the fog in his consciousness. A surge of wild joy overwhelmed him.
As the doctor withdrew the needle, ignoring the pain in his fingertip, Wei Yan tightly grasped Qi Rongyin's hand. Tears glimmered in his usually calm eyes. "Rongyin, Rongyin... it's really you..."
His grip was so strong it hurt her delicate bones.
Her elegant brows, like distant mountains, furrowed slightly. "Of course it's me. What's wrong, Third Brother? You were only napping on the wall, yet you keep speaking nonsense upon waking..."
The Qi family were key border defenders. With the northern invaders attacking, Qi Rongyin had brought physicians to treat the wounded at the city gates.
Wei Yan laughed hoarsely, a mix of disheveled joy.
Qi Rongyin and the soldiers on the wall exchanged puzzled glances.
But Wei Yan quickly pulled himself up by the battlements and said to her, "I can't explain now. Quickly muster three thousand elite troops—we must ride out!"
If he had truly been reborn, this was the battle where Old General Qi and his sons, seeing the northern prince retreat, gave chase intending to capture him—only to fall into an ambush and die in the desert!Qi Rongyin, having followed her father and brother beyond the pass, was keenly aware of military affairs and immediately sensed something amiss. "Are my father and brother in danger?" she asked.
Wei Yan, suppressing the throbbing pain in his temples from the chaotic memories, countered with a question instead of answering: "How long have they been out of the city?"
Qi Rongyin replied, "It's already been an hour."
Wei Yan's expression darkened. He didn't know if he could still alter the fate of the Qi father and son dying in battle, but since the heavens had granted him a second chance, he would fight with all his might. He commanded in a low voice, "Muster the troops and prepare the horses!"
Qi Rongyin's heart pounded wildly. Somewhere deep inside, she felt that something was wrong.
On the battlefield, sometimes just a few minutes' advantage could determine the outcome of a battle.
With her father and brother's lives at stake, she didn't have time to ask too many questions. She quickly ordered the deputy general left in the city to gather whatever soldiers were still fit to fight.
However, the troops in the city had just endured a fierce battle. The remaining elite forces had followed the Qi father and son in pursuit of the enemy. Even counting the wounded who could barely fight, they barely managed to assemble three thousand men, most of whom were exhausted.
If they rushed over such a long distance, even if they caught up in time to rescue the Qi father and son, facing the vicious Northern Turks, who were as fierce as wolves, it was uncertain whether they would be walking into a trap.
But Wei Yan remembered that in his previous life, Xie Linshan had already received news of Yanzhou's plight at this time and was rushing here with the Xie family's Iron Cavalry from Huizhou.
In his past life, he had fallen ill with this very cold. By the time Xie Linshan arrived with reinforcements, the battle at Yanzhou had already been won. The old general and his son had pursued the fleeing enemy and captured the Northern Turk prince. But after waiting a long time without seeing Old General Qi return, they went to investigate. Following the traces of the army's detour, they circled around and finally found the bloodstained "Qi" banner and the corpses strewn across Mawang Slope.
The Northern Turks' ambush had taken place at Mawang Slope. If he marched at full speed now, he could save a lot of time that would otherwise be wasted tracking the army's hoofprints in circles. As long as they could hold out a little longer and send scouts to find Xie Linshan's forces, once the Xie family's Iron Cavalry arrived, the Northern Turks' scheme would fail.
As Wei Yan rode out of the city, he summoned his trusted aide and ordered him to gallop at full speed toward the main road from Huizhou to Yanzhou. If he encountered Xie Linshan, he was to tell him to head for Mawang Slope.
The aide, puzzled by the order, blurted out, "Master, how do you know General Xie will bring reinforcements?"
Wei Yan shot him a cold glare, and the aide felt a chill down his spine. He dared not ask further and quickly clasped his fists. "I'll deliver the message at once!"
With that, he spurred his horse toward the Huizhou road.
Wei Yan tugged on the reins, momentarily lost in thought. Indeed, before the bloodshed in Jinzhou, those around him had still dared to speak to him so casually.
Later, all those who had followed him died, and those who replaced them never dared to speak out of turn.
The memories brought bitterness to his heart. Wei Yan steeled himself and was about to order the troops to march when he heard a frantic call from the city gates: "Third Brother!"
Wei Yan reined in his horse and turned to see Qi Rongyin, wrapped in a snow fox fur cloak, running toward him through the slush.
Her cheeks were flushed from the cold wind and her haste.
Wei Yan yanked the reins, turning his horse toward Qi Rongyin. The warhorse halted five paces away from her, its front hooves rearing high and shaking off snowflakes.Qi Rongyin handed him a peace talisman adorned with tassels: "Third Brother, take this peace talisman with you. You must return safely!"
She didn’t know why Wei Yan had suddenly and urgently mobilized troops to leave the city, but she could sense the danger he was heading into.
As Wei Yan bent down to take the talisman, he also tightly grasped Qi Rongyin’s hand, which was reddened from the cold. His face still bore the bloodstains from the previous battle, and he looked at her with a gaze she couldn’t decipher—deep, laden with pain and sorrow. "Rong Yin," he said, "once this battle is over, let’s get married, alright?"
The young girl, barely sixteen, stood frozen for a moment before finally curving her lips into a smile. "Alright," she replied.
The flush from the wind on her cheeks masked her shyness.
Wei Yan gave her hand another firm squeeze before grabbing the talisman, turning his horse around, and shouting, "Full speed ahead to Mawang Slope!"
A maid quickly opened an oil-paper umbrella to shield Qi Rongyin from the snowflakes falling like goose feathers, urging her, "Miss, let’s return to the city first."
Qi Rongyin pressed her slender, pale hand to her chest, watching as Wei Yan led the remaining three thousand soldiers out of the city. A shadow of worry crossed her brow. "Lanyue," she murmured, "I don’t know why, but ever since Third Brother mentioned mobilizing troops to leave the city, my heart has been uneasy. He’s been acting strangely since he woke up—he must be hiding something from me..."
By the time the army reached the vicinity of Mawang Slope, the ground was already littered with corpses.
The soldiers accompanying Wei Yan were stunned at the sight of such devastation, evidence of yet another brutal battle.
Had their pursuing forces been ambushed?
Wei Yan’s blood ran cold at the scene, but years of high command had honed his composure, leaving his expression unreadable. He only ordered in a low voice, "Find the Commander's Flag!"
His subordinates hurriedly searched the battlefield strewn with corpses for the flag.
Moments later, they reported back: "Colonel, the Qi family’s Commander's Flag isn’t here! Neither General Qi nor his men have been found!"
Wei Yan felt the weight on his chest lighten slightly—the absence of the flag and the Qi family meant they might still be alive.
But if they had broken through, they were likely still being pursued by the Northern Turks.
He barked, "All scouts, fan out and search for retreating hoofprints around the battlefield."
The army’s scouts galloped off in all directions to investigate.
Soon, one scout raced back: "Colonel, there are scattered hoofprints beyond the mountain!"
Wei Yan dug his heels into his horse’s flank, his stern face twisting with urgency. "After them!"
As they crossed a gentle slope, the distant clamor of battle echoed from beyond the mountain.
The army accelerated over the ridge, and from the steep slope, Wei Yan saw the Qi family’s forces below, struggling desperately within the tightening encirclement of the Northern Turks.
The once-mighty army of ten thousand now appeared reduced to mere hundreds.
The Qi family’s banner stood unyielding at the center, but the Northern Turks circled them in a taiji formation, using their horses’ momentum to cut down layer after layer of the outermost defenders.
Cornered, exhausted, and with no hope of escape, the Qi troops could barely fight back—they were practically lambs to the slaughter.
The deputy general accompanying Wei Yan grew frantic. "Colonel," he urged, "we must save General Qi and his men at once!"Wei Yan clenched his jaw, his gaze fixed on the Northern Turks' forces tightening their encirclement below. He barked, "Reform the battle formation! These three thousand men must occupy the entire hill ahead. Plant banners in the shrubbery behind us and set up all the war drums!"
He had brought only three thousand battered troops. Charging down now would be suicide.
Their only chance was to create an illusion of strength, to intimidate the Northern Turks first.
The deputy general immediately went to deploy the orders.
As the war drums were set up, Wei Yan commanded, "Sound the horns!"
The soldier with a bronze animal horn at his waist took a deep breath and blew—"Woo—woo—"
The long, resonant notes echoed across the battlefield below.
Fortunately, the mountain hollow was shaped like a trumpet, amplifying the sound as the north wind carried it downward, creating echoes from all directions.
The tightening Northern Turk forces slowed, turning to look up the slope.
"Beat the drums!" Wei Yan roared again.
The soldiers standing before the massive, man-high drums swung their mallets.
"Boom—"
"Boom-boom—"
The thunderous drumbeats shook the ground like a storm.
The Northern Turk ranks below visibly stirred. At first glance, the entire slope seemed filled with Great Yin reinforcements, banners fluttering in the shrubbery. The sheer implied numbers gave the Northern Turks pause.
With the ruse in place, only a desperate fight remained.
Wei Yan dug his heels into his horse's flank, leading the charge downhill. His crescent-moon Saber, forged of fine steel, cleaved through the northern winds as he bellowed, "Attack—!"
Behind him, three thousand soldiers followed, charging down Horse King Slope.
Though three thousand couldn't match the earth-shaking force of ten thousand, the thunderous drumbeats terrified many Northern Turks.
Seizing this advantage, Wei Yan quickly tore a gap in their encirclement.
But three thousand exhausted troops could only do so much.
Though the initial feint caught the Northern Turks off guard, their commanders soon realized the true numbers and adjusted. They pulled back the battered front lines, sending flanking forces to seal the gap, aiming to trap this sudden "reinforcement."
The deputy general, fighting desperately, shouted to Wei Yan, "Commandant, these savages mean to box us in too!"
From the distant Qi family forces, surrounded by Northern Turks, a hoarse cry came: "Commandant Wei! The general orders you to retreat with your men!"
Wei Yan cut down a blocking Northern Turk officer, his eyes burning with fury as he pressed forward.
"Commandant, retreat!" the deputy urged through gritted teeth. "Don't throw lives away recklessly! Preserve these brave men—we'll make the Northern Turks pay in blood another day! If they seal the gap, we die for nothing!"
Wei Yan, now blood-mad, turned and snarled, "Reinforcements are coming! Hold for one more quarter of an hour!"
The deputy, knowing the Wei and Qi families' close ties, assumed he was lying to save Old General Qi and nearly cursed in frustration—
Then the ground trembled beneath their horses' hooves, rocks shaking loose. This time, the earth truly shook.Amid the deep, resonant drumbeats, an overwhelming roar erupted from behind: "Kill—"
The sheer force of the sound alone made eardrums ache.
The deputy general turned his head in alarm and saw a vast black iron cavalry charging down from Horse King Slope like a raging flood.
At the horizon where snow met sky, a fluttering "Xie" banner advanced with the black tide.
At the forefront rode a young general on a silver-saddled white steed—his face divine yet his expression demonic, his crimson cloak whipping violently in the icy wind, striking awe into all who beheld him.
The Northern Turks below, still attempting to tighten their encirclement, froze in terror at the battle cries behind them. Before they could reorganize their ranks to counterattack, the Xie Family's Iron Cavalry plunged down like a sharp wedge, tearing their formation apart.
The exhausted Qi Family Army, trapped at the center of the enemy's ranks, nearly wept with joy at the sight of the "Xie" banner. "The Xie Family's Iron Cavalry! General Xie has brought reinforcements!"
Someone let out a triumphant cry. Though their arms were numb and weak from prolonged combat, they raised their swords once more and fought their way toward the reinforcements, inching forward with desperate resolve.
Wei Yan's heart finally settled at the sight of the Xie Family Army Flag. His feverish body, worn from relentless battles, left him dazed and unsteady.
The deputy general asked in astonishment, "Captain, how did you know General Xie's reinforcements were coming?"
Wei Yan didn’t answer, gripping his blade as he pressed forward toward the Qi Family Army's encirclement.
When the two forces converged, his eyes immediately found Old General Qi, surrounded by his personal guard—though the old general clutched his waist, his hand already stained crimson with blood.
A severe wound, unmistakably.
Wei Yan's chest tightened. He urged his horse forward and called out, "General!"
Old General Qi, his hair and beard streaked with white, bore a formidable and dignified presence—though now his lips were pale, and he leaned heavily on his eldest son for support.
Recognizing Wei Yan, his expression softened slightly. "You and Linshan have come."
Wei Yan dismounted, his face twisting with grief at the sight of the unstanched wound. His eyes burned. "How... were you injured?"
To Wei Yan, Old General Qi was both mentor and father.
In his past life, it had been Wei Yan's own careless words that ignited the old emperor's long-held suspicions of the Qi family. To weaken the Crown Prince's faction, the emperor had struck first against them.
It wasn’t until the Northern Turks attacked Jinzhou again—forcing the emperor to reluctantly return the Qi family's military authority to Xie Linshan—that they uncovered the truth: the deaths of the Qi father and son had also been the old emperor's doing.
Even with a second chance... could he still not save General Qi?
Qi Xianhui, the eldest son, supported his father with bloodshot eyes. "That traitor Xu Ce—even if he was trampled to death beneath the hooves of battle, it wouldn’t be enough to quell my hatred for the sword he drove into my father!"
Wei Yan's head snapped up. "Xu Ce wounded the General?"
Qi Xianhui ground his teeth. "The bastard ambushed him!"
His lips trembled with fury as he took in his father's ashen face—pale from blood loss. He turned away, barely holding back tears.In his previous life, Wei Yan had only discovered that Xu Ce of the Qi Family Army, acting on the Old Emperor's orders, had falsified military reports. Knowing full well that the Northern Turks had set an ambush, Xu Ce still lured the Qi father and son into pursuing the enemy. Yet Wei Yan had never known that the fatal wound on Old General Qi's body was also inflicted by Xu Ce.
Rage surged through him, making his blood boil, but he forced himself to stay calm. "First, we return to Yanzhou City," he said. "The general's injuries require immediate treatment."
The Northern Turks knew when to retreat. Seeing that Great Yin's reinforcements had arrived and the Xie Family's Iron Cavalry was unstoppable, they realized their attempt to trap and annihilate the Qi Family Army was hopeless. Immediately, they sounded the retreat.
When Xie Linshan arrived clad in bloodstained armor, he saw Old General Qi’s ashen face and tensed immediately. “Is the general injured?”
Wei Yan lifted his gaze to the young general, whose demeanor was still bright and spirited despite the circumstances. The biting northern wind had left his eyes dry and slightly reddened. He called out, “Linshan?”
Eighteen years of cold moons and warm suns had worn away at his lifespan, blurring the memory of his old friend’s face. All he could recall was the sight of his corpse being transported back from Yanzhou—covered in axe and blade wounds, blackened arrow holes, and a chest and abdomen that had been split open and crudely stitched back together...
That was a young commander whom even Old General Qi had once declared, with a few more years of tempering, might surpass his own achievements. Yet in the end, he had met such a wretched fate!
Now, it truly felt like a reunion across lifetimes.
Seeing the redness in Wei Yan’s eyes, Xie Linshan assumed it was due to concern for Old General Qi and asked at once, “Yigui, who wounded the general?”
Wei Yan forced himself to steady his thoughts. “There’s a traitor in the Qi family’s army. It’s a long story, but the general’s injuries are urgent. We’ll speak more once we return to the city.”
Xie Linshan knew Old General Qi’s condition couldn’t afford delay and nodded.
By the time Wei Yan and Xie Linshan escorted the remnants of the Qi family’s army back to Yanzhou, dusk had fallen.
Qi Rongyin spotted the returning troops from the city walls and rushed down. Seeing her brother’s bloodied face and Old General Qi being carried on a makeshift stretcher of branches and vines by his personal guards, her face instantly paled.
Gathering her skirts, she approached with forced composure. “What happened to Father?”
Qi Xianhui’s throat tightened. He couldn’t bring himself to offer his younger sister any comforting words, turning his face aside to suppress his grief.
It was Wei Yan who spoke. “The general was wounded by the traitor Xu Ce. Let the army doctor examine him first.”
The group carried Old General Qi into the city lord’s residence. As the army doctor tended to him, Qi Rongyin and her brother remained steadfast by his bedside.
Servants brought in basins of water, only to carry out basins of bloodied water moments later. Not a word was spoken; the atmosphere in the room was suffocating.
Everyone knew Old General Qi’s condition was dire.
Wei Yan and Xie Linshan stood with arms crossed at the doorway. After a glance at the Qi siblings inside, Xie Linshan said to Wei Yan, “Yigui, may we speak privately?”
Wei Yan knew what Xie Linshan wanted to ask and nodded, following him away.
Once they reached a secluded spot, Xie Linshan cut straight to the point. “Yigui, how did you know I was leading troops to Yanzhou? And how did you know the Northern Turks would ambush the general at Mawang Slope? On our way back, I sent scouts to survey the terrain. The general was lured by the Northern Turks in a wide detour before reaching Mawang Slope.”
Though the rescue had succeeded, Xie Linshan was acutely aware that without Wei Yan’s advance warning—directing him straight to Mawang Slope—he would never have arrived in time by following the army’s trail.
Wei Yan met his friend’s gaze, a tumult of unspoken emotions flickering in his eyes. Finally, he said, “Linshan, you know I don’t believe in the supernatural. But something inexplicable has indeed happened to me.”
“After a brutal battle, I closed my eyes for a brief rest on the city walls, exhausted. What followed was like watching the rest of my life unfold in a blur. Today’s peril faced by Old General Qi and his son—do you truly believe Xu Ce alone could have orchestrated it?”
Xie Linshan caught the implication, his expression sharpening. “The Jia family?”Jia Guifei was currently at the height of imperial favor, and the Jia family rose to prominence along with her. The Sixteenth Prince sought to contend for the throne with the Crown Prince, and the covert and overt struggles between the Jia and Qi families had been ongoing for quite some time.
Yet Wei Yan shook his head. After two lifetimes, he finally voiced the guilt that had tormented him for most of his life to an old friend: "It was my words about 'abdication' that reached His Majesty's ears."
Xie Linshan's pupils contracted sharply as he abruptly turned to look at Wei Yan. "So it was His Majesty who wanted the Qi family dead?"
Wei Yan closed his eyes heavily. "The Qi family held significant military power. The one in the palace fears the Crown Prince to such an extent, and with an honored guest from the Eastern Palace leaking my 'abdication' remarks, to deal with the Crown Prince, the first to be eliminated would naturally be the Qi family. Without military power, no matter how high the Crown Prince's reputation among the people, he would ultimately remain just the 'Crown Prince.'"
Xie Linshan fell silent, his expression grim and terrifying.
Wei Yan continued, "If everything unfolds as I saw in my dream, the annihilation of the Qi family in battle is only the beginning. By the time the Crown Prince uncovers the truth, the Crown Prince, the Xie family, and I, Wei Yan, will all be eradicated by that virtue-less ruler on the throne."
Xie Linshan frowned. "Since being named Crown Prince, His Highness has always been benevolent and tolerant. Despite repeated suppression by the Sixteenth Prince and the Jia family, he has never acted rashly. Even if your reckless words reached the palace, what fault could he possibly find to topple the Eastern Palace and the Wei and Xie families in one fell swoop?"
Recalling what the Old Emperor had done to the Qi family, Xie Linshan's expression turned cold. "Are they framing the Crown Prince with the charge of treason?"
Throughout history, only the crime of treason could thoroughly eradicate a crown prince's faction.
Wei Yan gave a bitter smile. "Worse than what you imagine."
Xie Linshan was stunned, unable to fathom what crime could be greater than treason.
Wei Yan said, "Soon, the Northern Turks will invade Jinzhou again. With the Qi family gone, you will replace them to defend Jinzhou. That tyrant will have no choice but to hand over the Qi family's military power to you. Empress Qi will fall gravely ill, and to prevent the Qi family from losing all influence in the palace after her passing, leaving the Crown Prince without support, she will summon Rong Yin into the palace. Envious of the Crown Prince's popularity among the people, the Sixteenth Prince will incite the populace to build a living shrine for him. The tyrant will seize this opportunity to accuse the Crown Prince, stripping him of his regency powers."
"To seek a way out, the Crown Prince will volunteer to lead the northern campaign personally. In the Qi family's army, he will uncover the truth about their annihilation. Cornered, the tyrant will, to conceal his own misdeeds, orchestrate delays in the supply convoy. In the end, Jinzhou will fall, and both you and the Crown Prince will perish under the Northern Turks' blades. The blame for the delayed supplies and the fall of Jinzhou will be pinned on me."
Xie Linshan felt his hair stand on end and exclaimed, "Preposterous!"
After a moment to compose himself, he asked, "Is there any evidence? Proof that Xu Ce was acting under orders from the palace?"
Wei Yan replied, "Xu Ce already died on the battlefield, but his son will rank within the top ten in this year's imperial examinations. Xu Ce's son lacks true talent. If you, Linshan, care to look into his usual poetry and essays, you'll see the extent of his scholarly abilities."
The Old Emperor's methods were meticulous. In their previous lives, Wei Yan and Xie Linshan had not easily traced the matter to Xu Ce, especially since Xu Ce, along with the Qi family's father and son and the ten thousand soldiers who pursued the enemy that day, had all perished in the Northern Turks' ambush—and were posthumously honored as loyal martyrs.It was only later, when the Crown Prince suffered repeated suppression from the Old Emperor and voluntarily relocated to Jinzhou, leaving his remaining faction in the capital out of imperial favor, that they attempted to recruit a few upright officials from the court to serve as their "eyes and ears" in the capital. It was during this selection process that they came across Xu Ce's son.
A top-ten ranking in the imperial examinations was an achievement that would make one stand out anywhere.
At the time, Xu Ce's son was merely a compiler in the Hanlin Academy, but if he harbored ambitions, there would be ample opportunities for future success. Moreover, his father had been a loyal general under the Qi family. After careful consideration, they deemed Xu Ce's son the most suitable candidate for their purposes.
Unexpectedly, during their detailed investigation of him, they discovered his mediocre talents—hardly the caliber of someone who could rank in the top tier of the examinations.
Following the trail, they uncovered the truth behind the deaths of the Qi father and son in battle.
With one month remaining before the examination results were announced, Wei Yan and Xie Linshan, after deliberation, decided to temporarily conceal the matter from the hot-tempered Qi Xianhui.
Old General Qi's injuries were severe, and though he barely survived, he could no longer wield weapons. Fearing it would dishearten the old general and lacking concrete evidence, the two refrained from informing him until the matter was settled.
But they had already begun investigating Xu Ce's son.
By the time the examination results were announced, the imperial decree summoning them to the capital for their appointments had also arrived.
Old General Qi, still recovering from his injuries, was unfit for the long journey, so his son Qi Xianhui went to the capital in his stead. Aware of his declining years, the old general also entrusted the Tiger Tally to his eldest son, instructing him to return it to the emperor.
The Old Emperor had ascended the throne entirely through the military power of the Qi family. Though Old General Qi could no longer take to the battlefield, Qi Xianhui remained a formidable presence.
If the emperor were to reclaim the Tiger Tally now, it would reveal his intent to discard allies once their usefulness ended—a move that would alienate his ministers. The Old Emperor wouldn’t act so hastily and risk losing their loyalty.
Thus, the Tiger Tally would most likely remain in Qi Xianhui’s hands.
After the three arrived in the capital, Wei Yan and Xie Linshan were often seen visiting various taverns together, much to Qi Xianhui’s displeasure.
Back in the army, the three had been close brothers. Why, upon returning to the capital, had they suddenly grown distant, excluding him from their outings?
Qi Xianhui sulked for days, but the two seemed utterly oblivious, infuriating him to the point where he shattered several flagstones in the Office of Presentations courtyard during spear practice.
After observing them for two more days, he realized something was amiss!
Whenever they went out, they even switched carriages midway—utterly suspicious!
Qi Xianhui decided to tail them secretly and was stunned to find them entering a brothel together.
Furious, he stormed in after them and kicked down their door.
Built like his father—tall and powerfully built—his mighty kick tore the door clean off its hinges.
His booming voice made the teacups rattle: "Wei Yan, you listen here! How dare you visit a brothel while courting my sister? Do you think our Qi army of a hundred thousand men can’t find her a worthy husband? No wonder you’ve been avoiding me—you’ve been whoring around!"
Caught off guard by this tirade in the midst of their covert investigation, Wei Yan and Xie Linshan had no choice. One dragged Qi Xianhui inside to avoid a public spectacle, while the other clamped a hand over his mouth.
After much pulling and shoving, they finally got him into the room.The manager of the brothel, sensing the situation was getting out of hand, stepped in to take control. He shooed away the onlookers with a jest about an elder brother catching his future brother-in-law visiting a brothel and flying into a rage. He then stationed clever attendants at nearby entrances to prevent eavesdropping.
Wei Yan went to prop up the dismantled door panel, while Xie Linshan alone held down Qi Xianhui, inadvertently loosening the hand covering his mouth.
Qi Xianhui threw back his head and howled, "Don't think you can drag me into your filth! I'm a married man! I must keep myself pure!"
Xie Linshan promptly pulled out a tablecloth and stuffed it into Qi Xianhui's mouth.
Qi Xianhui grunted, his eyes practically fire breathing with rage.
Xie Linshan said, "Brother Xianhui, my apologies. Brother Yigui and I came here not for pleasure but for urgent matters. The Office of Presentations has too many ears, so we had no choice but to resort to this."
As he spoke, he placed a stack of documents before Qi Xianhui. "Brother Xianhui, take a look."
Qi Xianhui flipped through a couple of pages and immediately protested, "I've hated reading all my life! What's the point of showing me these poems?"
Wei Yan said, "This person, who usually only produces crude and shoddy verses, ranked in the top ten of the recent Imperial exam. Don't you find that suspicious, Brother Xianhui?"
Qi Xianhui frowned. "So he cheated on the exam?"
Wei Yan replied, "He is Xu Ce's son."
Qi Xianhui's face twisted in fury. "That traitor Xu Ce! I've already drafted a battle report on behalf of my father and submitted it to His Majesty. The son of a criminal dares to dream of entering officialdom through exam fraud?"
Wei Yan and Xie Linshan exchanged glances, both falling silent for a moment.
Xie Linshan said, "The palace exam is personally overseen by His Majesty. There's no way to cheat there."
Qi Xianhui finally caught on, albeit belatedly. "So His Majesty helped him secure this ranking?"
This conclusion clearly baffled him. He looked up at Xie and Wei and asked, "Why? Why would His Majesty help the son of a traitor cheat?"
Wei Yan then explained, "That battle report accusing Xu Ce has been temporarily withheld by the Crown Prince and hasn't reached His Majesty yet."
Qi Xianhui's mind was in turmoil.
His Majesty didn't know about Xu Ce's betrayal yet and was helping Xu Ce's son cheat...
A chill ran down Qi Xianhui's spine. "Xu Ce is His Majesty's man?"
Xie and Wei remained silent, tacitly confirming it.
Qi Xianhui slammed the octagonal table hard and cursed, "Absurd! The Qi family has fought tooth and nail for him. How dare he—"
He was about to raise his voice again when Wei Yan quickly covered his mouth. "I understand your grief and anger, Brother Xianhui, but this brothel isn't entirely free of eavesdroppers. Best to watch your words."
Qi Xianhui finally calmed down.
Seeing he had quieted, Wei Yan removed his hand from Qi Xianhui's mouth.
Qi Xianhui's temples bulged with veins as he suppressed his rage and hatred. "What's your plan?"
After exchanging another glance with Xie Linshan, Wei Yan said, "His Highness already knows about how you and the general nearly died in Yanzhou. You hold the Tiger Tally for the Qi family's hundred thousand troops, and Linshan commands the Xie Family Army from Huizhou. Now we're just waiting for His Highness's approval."
What they were waiting for approval for went without saying.
The Old Emperor could no longer tolerate the Qi family and sought to reclaim military power by exterminating them. Without the Qi family, the Crown Prince would be nothing.
The emperor had already placed a blade at the Crown Prince's throat.
Wei Yan knew that given the Crown Prince's gentle and benevolent nature, making this decision would take considerable struggle. But in the end, he would have only one path to take.After all, to yield again would be to send the Eastern Palace and the Qi family down the path of death once more.
Though Qi Xianhui had just been enraged by the news that the emperor intended to harm his entire family, after hearing Wei Yan and Xie Linshan calmly lay out their plans, he still felt a chill creeping through his limbs.
Rebellion—a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations—was a single misstep away from the annihilation of his entire clan.
But when he thought of the Qi family soldiers who had died on the battlefield, and how both he and his father had narrowly escaped death, if Wei Yan and Xie Linshan were willing to stake everything, what did the Qi family have to fear?
Qi Xianhui quickly clenched his fists and declared, "Such a tyrant is unworthy of the Qi family shedding blood on the battlefield for him!"
He turned to Wei Yan. "Aside from the Five Armies Garrison, the Divine Machine Battalion in the capital is another formidable force."
Wei Yan replied, "Leave that to me and Linshan."
After this discussion, the Xie, Wei, and Qi families were essentially aligned in their plan to force the Old Emperor to "abdicate."
However, due to Qi Xianhui's loud outburst that day, rumors spread about Wei Yan and Xie Linshan visiting brothels.
Many noblewomen in the capital wept over this, unable to believe that the "Twin Jades of the Capital" were also men who frequented such places!
The next day, when Wei Yan encountered Qi Rongyin at the Office of Presentations and tried to speak to her, she didn’t even glance his way. Holding a round fan, she walked past him with a cold expression.
When Xie Linshan came looking for Wei Yan, he was carrying a large bouquet of crabapple blossoms. Seeing Wei Yan, he awkwardly rubbed his nose and said, "A-Wan heard about my visit to the brothel and refuses to see me. Could you give these flowers to her for me and... put in a good word?"
Wei Yan said, "You’ve reminded me—I’ll ask Xianhui to plead my case with Rongyin."
But when Wei Yan sought out Qi Xianhui and explained his request, Qi Xianhui wore a pained expression. "All my belongings have been thrown out of my wife’s room, and she’s even drafted divorce papers for me to sign."
Xie Linshan: "..."
Wei Yan: "..."
A shared sense of desolation settled over them.
Qi Xianhui rubbed his temples in frustration. "Rongyin cried all night with her sister-in-law and said she wants to call off the engagement. Since our plan hasn’t succeeded yet, I can’t tell them the truth. Today, the Duke of Qing’s residence is hosting a flower banquet, and my wife took Rongyin there. They even invited Miss Wei, saying they’d help her pick a suitable husband at the banquet."
Wei Yan and Xie Linshan’s expressions darkened instantly. They clasped their fists in unison. "We take our leave."
...
In the late spring of the sixteenth year of Qishun, the Old Emperor fell "gravely ill." The Sixteenth Prince and the Jia family conspired to rebel but were captured by Crown Prince Chengde, along with key generals like Wei Yan, Xie Linshan, and Qi Xianhui.
The Late Emperor, unable to bear the shock of discovering that his beloved concubine and favored son harbored such treacherous ambitions, "failed to recover" and passed away.
Crown Prince Chengde, the rightful heir, was urged by his officials to ascend the throne, ushering in the Qinghe era.
That same year, the new emperor arranged marriages for his two most trusted ministers, Wei Yan and Xie Linshan, and personally presided over their weddings.
Not long after, the Northern Jue invaded again. Xie Linshan took his wife, Wei Wan, to guard the border at Jinzhou, while Wei Yan remained in the capital. Concerned for his sister’s safety, he assigned his most capable retainer, Wei Qilin, to serve under Xie Linshan and protect Wei Wan.
Three years later, the northern frontier was secured, and peace reigned across the land. Xie Linshan returned to the capital with his wife to visit family, bringing along a bright-eyed, fair-skinned toddler.
The child had been born while Xie Linshan was away at war. A passing magician claimed the boy’s fate was extraordinarily strong and that an ordinary name wouldn’t suffice to balance it. Thus, Xie Linshan named him "Zheng" (Conquest).When Wei Wan returned home for a short stay, Wei Qilin approached Wei Yan with a request: "Master, this humble general has taken a liking to a young lady and wishes to ask you to act as a matchmaker on my behalf."
At the time, Wei Yan was dressed in refined Confucian robes, painting in his study. Hearing this, his brush paused slightly as he asked, "Which family's daughter?"
Wei Qilin replied, "The only daughter of Old General Meng Shuyuan, the Changshan General under General Xie's command."
Wei Yan raised his eyes: "You wish to marry their daughter?"
The rough-skinned general grinned sheepishly and said, "This humble general wishes to be taken in as a son-in-law."
A gentle breeze blew through the open lattice window, rustling the rice paper on the painting desk.
Wei Yan seemed to smile as well and said, "Very well."
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