"Yan Chi, why haven't you captured the culprit yet? Today is the final day. If the murderer who harmed General Fu isn't found by tomorrow morning, the Third Prince will surely make trouble for Great Zhou!" Yan Huai's tone was grave, his anxiety palpable.
Yan Chi remained expressionless. "Your Majesty, rest assured. There will be an answer by tomorrow morning!"
Yan Huai felt irritated by Yan Chi's demeanor, yet Yan Chi was as stubborn as they come. Besides repeated reminders, he couldn't very well hold a knife to his neck and force him to produce the culprit.
With a helpless wave, he said, "I trust you, of course. In short, no matter what, the murderer must be found!"
Yan Chi acknowledged once more, and Yan Huai waved him off. "Very well, you may withdraw. Attend to your duties!"
Yan Chi bowed and turned to leave.
Inside the main tent, Yan Che pondered briefly before speaking. "Father, should we prepare for the worst? If the murderer truly isn't found, are we really going to let the Third Prince of Western Liang take his men and leave?"
Yan Huai frowned slightly, his fingers tapping slowly on the desk. "What else can we do? A Great General of Western Liang has died. We cannot detain the Third Prince in Great Zhou. If we do, war will be unavoidable."
Yan Qi, standing nearby, lifted his chin defiantly. "So what if we can't find the murderer? Let the Third Prince take General Fu's body back. Does Western Liang truly dare to declare war on us? Starting a war is easy for them, but ending it won't be! With Uncle Prince Rui guarding the northwest frontier, Western Liang would think twice before sending troops. I dare say they wouldn't rashly start a war!"
Yan Che sneered. "Prince Cheng, do not forget that we still have the Rong enemies on our northwestern border. They've been eyeing us covetously. Their last major defeat only made them lie low for a while. If Western Liang sends troops, the Rong will surely seize the opportunity to attack. How would Uncle Prince Rui and the Northwest Frontier Army handle that?"
Yan Qi raised an eyebrow. "Western Liang sending troops? If Western Liang sends troops, do you think the Rong would still attack Great Zhou? If I were Western Liang, I'd pick the easier target first. Western Liang would be defeated in no time!"
Yan Qi's unexpected reasoning caught Yan Che off guard. Yan Qi was cunning and skilled in debate. Frowning, Yan Che said, "Prince Cheng, it's too early to say such things. The Rong and Great Zhou have long-standing enmity. How can you be sure they'd attack Western Liang instead of us? And how can we take such risks?" He paused, then added, "Moreover, no matter what, starting a war would harm both Great Zhou and its people. Last year's corruption scandal, the southern floods, and the northern drought—Great Zhou cannot withstand further turmoil."
Just as Yan Qi was about to retort, Yan Huai slammed the table. "Enough! The Crown Prince is right. We cannot take risks. Tomorrow, we must give Liu Yun an answer, no matter what. Prince Cheng, you are being far too simplistic about this!"
Though it was merely a rebuttal and not a reprimand, being corrected in front of so many left Yan Qi flushed with embarrassment. He wasn't unaware of Yan Che's points, but could Yan Chi really find the murderer? If not, and the situation escalated, how would the Crown Prince, as the chief supervisor of the hunt, remain uninvolved?
A faint, cold smile touched Yan Qi's lips. He offered a perfunctory apology and fell silent.On this side, Yan Chi left the main tent and headed straight for the council hall. Inside, Bai Feng was waiting with numerous letters in hand. Seeing Yan Chi arrive, he immediately stepped forward and said, "Master, these letters just arrived this morning."
Yan Chi nodded, took his seat, and swiftly opened the envelopes.
Most of these letters had come from the direction of the capital, densely filled with writing. They contained detailed introductions to the accompanying personnel of Western Liang and Northern Wei this time. Yan Chi read through each one carefully, and when he came to Xu Chang's information, his brow furrowed. Bai Feng, standing nearby, asked, "Master, what is it?"
Yan Chi focused for a moment. "Useful—"
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Bai Feng's lips. "That's excellent! It wasn't in vain that you started the investigation right after the New Year. Now it's finally come in handy."
After the New Year, Northern Wei's state letter had reached Yan Huai. Upon learning of this, Yan Chi had issued an order. At the time, Yan Chi naturally hadn't expected the Northern Wei envoys to run into trouble. Now that he remained in the capital, he made advance arrangements for anything related to the court as a precaution. This time, his decision to investigate ahead of time had proven extremely wise!
Holding the letter, a glimmer flashed in Yan Chi's eyes. "I couldn't figure out his reasoning before, but now I understand. Although Tuoba Hong, as the Crown Prince of Northern Wei, excels in governance, he clearly lacks a thorough understanding of those around him."
Although Northern Wei was thousands of miles away from Lin'an City, Yan Chi's orders had been issued three months prior. Thus, the information he held was exhaustive, even including details that Tuoba Hong, the Crown Prince of Northern Wei, was unaware of.
Hearing this, Bai Feng felt relieved. If Yan Chi spoke this way, it meant he had a well-thought-out plan. Yan Chi had set a three-day deadline, and Bai Feng naturally didn't want his master to face any criticism because of it.
"Master, what should we do now?"
Yan Chi shook his head. "Stick to the original plan. Just wait for good news."
...
...
When Wei Chan came out of the tent, he once again saw the Great Zhou guards not far away. Although they wore the uniforms of the imperial guards, Wei Chan could tell they were no ordinary imperial guards. Regular imperial guards would always salute when they saw deputy commanders and other officers passing by, but these men completely ignored the military officials among the imperial guards.
Wei Chan's heart was tangled with worry. He stood outside the tent door for a moment, then turned and went back inside.
Inside the main tent, Xiao Yu looked miserable, with dark circles under his eyes—he hadn't slept a wink the previous night. Seeing Wei Chan enter, Xiao Yu said, "Are they still guarding us?!"
Wei Chan nodded. Xiao Yu clenched his fist fiercely. "Will the Crown Prince wake up or not?! If the Crown Prince doesn't regain consciousness, there's no one to take charge in the camp. Are the two of us just going to be caught and made scapegoats for nothing?!"
Wei Chan smiled bitterly. "We can only go seek the princess."
Xiao Yu sighed. "The princess is most concerned about the Crown Prince. She might even believe that we committed the crime. At that point, she might kill us. Brother Xu said only the two of us heard Ninth Miss's orders, and that day when we went up the mountain, the bait to lure the prey was carried by us. With these two points, we have no way to explain ourselves. Who knows what other fabricated evidence that heir apparent Yan will pin on us!"Wei Chan said, "But that day when we returned and talked about that matter, Brother Xu was also nearby. He can testify for us..."
Xiao Yu shook his head, "But he can't prove we didn't go to the medical tent to kill anyone either. Everyone slept deeply that night, and Brother Xu wasn't even with us. Who knows what really happened to us?"
Wei Chan nearly burst into tears, "Damn it... When we came here, we thought we'd protect the Crown Prince well and earn some merit upon returning. Who would have thought we might even lose our lives now!"
Xiao Yu sat with his head lowered, hands pressed against his knees and clenched into fists. Suddenly, he looked up at Wei Chan, "Either we explain everything to the Fifth Prince and the Princess, or we run away!"
Wei Chan's face turned pale instantly, "Explain? Run away?"
"Some people outside are even saying the Fifth Prince is the murderer! With us around, why would the Fifth Prince defend us? Besides, we're the Crown Prince's men! The Princess... how could the Princess be a match for Heir Apparent Yan? And if we run... wouldn't that make us confirmed murderers?!"
Xiao Yu felt utterly helpless. He suddenly stood up and said, "We can't explain, and we can't run away. Are we just supposed to wait here to die?!"
Wei Chan's face remained pale, truly unable to come up with any solution. Xiao Yu stood anxiously pacing in place, "Then... then should I go talk to Brother Xu?!"
Wei Chan had no other options and could only nod in agreement.
When the two brought Xu Chang into the tent, Xu Chang could already tell from their expressions that something was wrong. After hearing their story, Xu Chang said, "It might be worth a try. The Princess never leaves her tent. You should go speak with the Fifth Prince. Give it a shot. If he believes you, you'll at least have someone to protect you. If he doesn't, there's nothing I can do."
Hearing this, Wei Chan and Xiao Yu had no choice but to make up their minds. Seeing their pitiful state, Xu Chang added, "I'll scout the way for you. After you speak with the Fifth Prince, I'll observe his reaction and come back to tell you."
Wei Chan and Xiao Yu felt slightly reassured, composed themselves, and headed to Tuoba Rui's quarters.
Tuoba Rui was idling in his tent when Wei Chan and Xiao Yu suddenly arrived. After they explained their situation, Tuoba Rui showed slight surprise, "Suspecting you? Is there any reason?"
Xiao Yu said, "Because that day when we went up the mountain, we were the ones carrying the bait beside the Crown Prince. We had already explained this clearly before. But on the night General Fu was killed, only I and Xu Chang knew that the medical tent was empty at that time, so..."
Xiao Yu and Wei Chan looked bitterly at each other, then shared their suspicion that Yan Chi would likely use two scapegoats. After hearing this, Tuoba Rui frowned, "Would Heir Apparent Yan really do such a thing?"
Wei Chan and Xiao Yu nodded repeatedly. Xiao Yu said, "Your Highness, don't you know Heir Apparent Yan's reputation? To resolve this situation, it's most likely he'll use us Northern Wei people as scapegoats!"
Tuoba Rui stared at them with a grave expression for a moment, then nodded, "I understand. You should return and wait for now. If you didn't do it, I naturally won't let Heir Apparent Yan wrongfully accuse you!"After all, they were fellow Northern Wei insiders. Wei Chan and Xiao Yu felt a wave of relief upon hearing this. After repeatedly kowtowing to express gratitude, they turned and withdrew. Once outside Tuoba Rui’s quarters, they exchanged a glance and simultaneously relaxed. Inside the grand tent, however, Tuoba Rui sank into deep thought. A nearby attendant tentatively asked, “Your Highness, how do you plan to assist them?”
Tuoba Rui lifted his gaze to the attendant and said coldly, “Who said I intend to help them?”
…
…
Wei Chan and Xiao Yu had initially felt greatly relieved, but shortly after returning to their tent, Xu Chang entered the grand tent again. Wei Chan and Xiao Yu immediately stood up. “Brother Xu, what’s the situation?”
Xu Chang glanced at them. “You went to speak with him?”
The two nodded and recounted exactly what they had said in front of Tuoba Rui. Xu Chang’s frown deepened as he listened. Finally, he said, “Just now, I saw the Fifth Prince dispatch his personal guard toward Heir Apparent Yan’s side.”
“Sent a guard to find Heir Apparent Yan?”
Wei Chan and Xiao Yu were stunned, unable to comprehend why Tuoba Rui would do such a thing.
Could Tuoba Rui possibly be sending his guard to explain things to Yan Chi? If he were to explain the whole story, he should go himself to be convincing—would Yan Chi even listen to a mere guard?
But if it wasn’t to explain, then why send a guard at all?
Wei Chan and Xiao Yu panicked instantly. If Xu Chang hadn’t told them, they would never have known—this was hardly the behavior of someone intending to protect them!
“Brother Xu, what does the Fifth Prince mean by this?!”
Xu Chang’s eyes darkened. “I suspect that guards will be reinforced here shortly.”
Wei Chan’s face drained of color. “So the Fifth Prince is informing Heir Apparent Yan that we’ve already caught on?”
Xu Chang didn’t confirm with a nod but said, “We’ll know for sure soon enough.”
Two incense sticks’ time later, checkpoints were set up at the intersections to the left and right of the camp where Wei Chan and Xiao Yu were stationed, effectively sandwiching their tent in the middle.
Inside the tent, Wei Chan and Xiao Yu were plunged into despair. So Tuoba Rui had never believed their words at all! Xiao Yu fumed, “We never should have gone to the Fifth Prince! How much better if we had just left directly?!”
Xu Chang had been staying with them all along. “You want to leave?”
Wei Chan and Xiao Yu exchanged a look, then glanced at Xu Chang before suddenly kneeling before him.
“Brother Xu! We beg you to spare us a way out!”
…
…
By nightfall, another shift change took place in front of Tuoba Hong’s camp, and this time, Xu Chang was in charge of the guard duty.
Not long after he began his watch, a medicine boy came to deliver the medicine. Xu Chang watched as Qin Guan took the medicine inside and, moments later, emerged with an empty bowl. She instructed the medicine boy, “The next dose will be the last of this prescription. Simmer it over a low flame with cold water for half an hour and deliver it at exactly hai hour.”
The medicine boy nodded and hurriedly agreed. Qin Guan then said with a slight nod, “You’ve all worked hard these days, but it won’t be for much longer. If my predictions are correct, the Crown Prince will wake tomorrow.”
The medicine boy’s face lit up with joy, his weary expression instantly brightening. If Tuoba Hong could be saved, not only Qin Guan but even they, the medicine boys, would be handsomely rewarded!
Seeing this, Qin Guan smiled faintly and reentered the grand tent.Xu Chang waited outside for a moment, watching as the night grew deep. After informing the brothers beside him, he walked toward the tent of Wei Chan and the other man. The two were inside, tense and anxious, fearing that even Xu Chang might not help them. When they saw Xu Chang arrive, their spirits lifted at once. Xu Chang then said, "Keep an eye out for movement after half-past the Hour of the Dog, and seize the opportunity to leave. Once you're out, head west all the way. Here is some silver and my waist token—take them. They might help you evade some restrictions."
Xu Chang’s status was different; he could move freely within the camp. With his waist token, even if the two were discovered, they could temporarily pass undetected. Wei Chan and Xiao Yu were immensely grateful and hurriedly knelt to kowtow.
Xu Chang could not stay long and, after a few more instructions, stepped out. Before leaving, he added, "Remember, you must leave only after half-past the Hour of the Dog." He paused, then said, "Take care of yourselves."
Wei Chan and Xiao Yu’s eyes reddened, but before they could say more, Xu Chang had already left the tent.
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