The man untied the red cloth strip from the eagle's leg, glanced at it, and casually tossed it into the charcoal brazier.
Inside the room, a woman in plain robes sat on a three-sided couch, holding a teacup with lowered brows.
The fragrance of tea lingered in the air. After a long while, the woman set down the cup without drinking. "Shall we return?"
The man coughed a few times, watching the charcoal flames flicker in the wind. "Yes."
...
The snowfall had grown heavier in recent days. The brutal battle by the riverside, now veiled in white snow, appeared less gruesome.
The authorities had recovered ninety-one bodies from the scene. The houses along the riverbank were nearly deserted, with nine out of ten homes empty.
It was yet another horrifying massacre. As soon as the news spread, the recent major incident on the river was brought up again, with many speculating it was the work of the same group.
Among the evidence found at the scene was a token—a pass belonging to the Crane Control Institute.
The authorities immediately suppressed the information, but secrets are hard to keep. With so many witnesses, word eventually leaked. Scholars in the Jiangnan region, after confirming with local officials, jointly petitioned the Emperor to investigate the Crane Control Institute thoroughly.
On the surface, the Crane Control Institute was established to train talent for the Palace Command and the Imperial Guard. Its founding had faced opposition from many officials, and now that it was embroiled in such an incident, some were eager to seize the opportunity to stir trouble.
In a courtyard in Yangzhou, a group of injured individuals sat on the veranda, basking in the sun.
Mo Sigui and Sheng Changying, sleeves tucked in for warmth, sat by a brazier discussing the hottest topic in the city.
"Those people are making such a fuss. What’s the point? The Crane Control Institute isn’t newly built," Mo Sigui remarked lazily as he warmed his hands.
Under Mo Sigui’s care, Sheng Changying’s spirits had improved significantly. Now that he was healthier, he found himself with even more idle time. "In the past, the Palace Command and Imperial Guard recruited from the military, allowing noble families to easily place their own people in those positions. Their descendants could secure official posts in both departments with little effort. But now, the Crane Control Institute controls both departments entirely. Those coveted positions are out of their reach. Now that they finally have leverage, of course they’ll go all out."
The Palace Command and Imperial Guard weren’t particularly lucrative, but they guarded the capital’s key areas. High-ranking officials in these departments were close confidants of the Emperor. Moreover, the founding Emperor had served in the Palace Command before ascending the throne, so these departments had always held special importance in the dynasty. Naturally, people would fight tooth and nail for such positions.
"Too much free time," Mo Sigui commented dryly. He bent down to poke at the sweet potatoes roasting by the brazier with an iron fork, found one that was done, and picked it up to offer to Lou Mingyue. "Roasted sweet potato."
Lou Mingyue, eyes closed in meditation, replied coldly, "Not hungry."
"I’ll take it," An Jiu said, her neck wrapped in thick bandages that made even turning her head difficult. She had to shift her entire body to face them.
This had been Lou Mingyue’s favorite snack as a child. Back then, they would sneak into nearby fields to dig up sweet potatoes and roast them in hidden corners. After being caught by her parents, both were severely punished and forced to apologize to the farmers with gifts.
Mo Sigui scoffed. "Save your breath. You’ll be drinking so much medicine later, you won’t have room for anything else."
An Jiu paused. "I was just trying to save you some face by offering you a way out. If you don’t care about dignity, then forget I bothered."
"Ha! I stopped caring about dignity ages ago!" Mo Sigui retorted, shoving the steaming sweet potato into Lou Mingyue’s hands.Lou Mingyue held the sweet potato, her palm burning slightly from the heat. She didn’t eat it, but neither did she throw it away in front of everyone.
As the sun shifted westward, the warmth of the afternoon quickly faded in the winter chill. Everyone had collected their medicine from Mo Sigui and retreated to their rooms.
An Jiu entered her room and sat down by the wall.
Just as she was about to doze off, a black figure dropped from the ceiling beam and tossed something toward her.
An Jiu caught it and caught a whiff of a familiar aroma.
“I didn’t want to eat this,” An Jiu frowned, glaring at him unhappily.
The scent of roasted sweet potato lingered in the air. An Jiu’s nose twitched slightly as she unwrapped the cloth, picked one up, and took a bite. Her frown deepened immediately. “It’s not good.”
Chu Dingjiang took the sweet potato from her hand, peeled it, and held it to her lips. “Try another bite.”
An Jiu took a bite from his hand, and her eyes brightened slightly.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Mei Shisi!”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Mei Shisi!”
Mo Sigui’s howling voice echoed outside. “Chu Dingjiang, if you’ve got the guts, don’t hide!”
An Jiu opened the door to see Mo Sigui, his face bruised and swollen.
Spotting Chu Dingjiang in An Jiu’s room, he fumed, “Mei Shisi! Keep Chu Dingjiang on a leash! Don’t let him out to bite people!”
With that, he turned and stormed back to his room, where the sound of rummaging soon followed.
“Did you hit him?” An Jiu asked.
Chu Dingjiang leaned against the pillar. “Obviously.”
An Jiu didn’t ask why. She closed the door and silently returned to her spot, gnawing on the sweet potato. As she ate, she suddenly grinned.
Chu Dingjiang had rarely seen her happy, though he had imagined it countless times in secret. Her face was beautiful—when she smiled, he had expected it to be alluring, breathtaking. But reality often defied expectations. Her smile was goofy, yet the innocence shining in her eyes was as pure and untainted as a child’s. Gazing at that smile, his heart felt like a stone had been dropped into a still lake, sending ripples across its surface.
An Jiu had never shown a fragile side—only coldness or ferocity. Anyone who had witnessed her murderous aura and ruthlessness would instinctively fear her. But at this moment, Chu Dingjiang found her pitiable, and an urge to protect her welled up inside him.
Unaware of his thoughts, An Jiu buried herself in devouring the sweet potato. Soon, she polished off all four in her pocket. Wiping her mouth, she concluded, “It smells great but tastes just okay.”
Chu Dingjiang chuckled. “Just okay?”
“Better than dry rations.” An Jiu’s diet had once been simple, limited to a few staples. But after joining Mei Shi, she had indulged in delicacies daily. Though she could still survive on rations, having tasted finer things, she now understood the vast differences in flavors.
“The Crane Control Army’s meals are decent. You won’t have to eat rations every day from now on,” Chu Dingjiang said.
For An Jiu, this was undoubtedly good news.
With food and drink settled, she recalled the rumors circulating outside and asked, “That Crane Control Institute token they found—is it a problem?”
Before missions, they never carried anything identifiable, let alone a token. It was clearly a setup. Chu Dingjiang understood she was asking if he would be implicated."A single token can't do much to me, but..." Chu Dingjiang paused, then continued, "Their target isn't me—it's the Crane Control Institute. They'll definitely pin both recent incidents on the Crane Control Institute, aiming to weaken its authority. If I'm not mistaken, this is another scheme by the Liao people."
An Jiu could guess as much, but she didn't understand, "Such obvious framing—why would anyone believe it?"
Chu Dingjiang smiled wryly, "There will always be some greedy, short-sighted fools who don't stop to think—when the nest is overturned, no egg remains unbroken."
Knock knock
"Is Lord Chu present?" someone called from outside.
"Speak," Chu Dingjiang responded.
"There's a letter for you," the person said. (To be continued...)
PS: Working on the outline today, just one update for now.
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