Chapter 196: Awareness
Three days had already passed.
Li Xianhuai paced outside Ye Xian's study, exhaling softly.
Outside the study stood the Old Marquis of Changxing's personal guards—eight burly soldiers from the Iron Cavalry Battalion, clad in padded jackets, surrounding the study completely.
Those in the know would understand the young master was inside, but to the uninformed, it looked as if a prisoner was being held there!
Li Xianhuai tiptoed out of the corridor. The night patrol guards spotted him and cupped their hands in greeting. "Guard Li, it's already the second watch—aren't you going to sleep yet?" Li Xianhuai nodded absently. The patrolman continued, "We're about to change shifts. Brother Zuo bought two strings of braised pork intestines. Why don't you join us for a drink and some food?"
Li Xianhuai waved impatiently. "Get lost! Only you lot would eat such stinky stuff!" He craned his neck to peer at the study, but the dark figures remained motionless. He turned back into the corridor, gazing up at the faint stars floating in the night sky, his heart clawed by unease.
This matter must be important. No matter what, he had to inform the young master...
Li Xianhuai approached the door, only to be stopped again by the Iron Cavalry Battalion soldiers. Two gleaming broadswords barred his way, their voices cold and unyielding. "The Old Marquis has ordered that no outsiders are allowed inside. Step aside!"
The Iron Cavalry Battalion soldiers had crawled through blood and steel—killing was nothing to them. Though Li Xianhuai was skilled, his abilities were honed for survival in the martial world. He knew better than to provoke such men. One trained to stay alive, the other to kill—there was a world of difference.
Li Xianhuai forced a smile and walked away, muttering under his breath in Sichuan dialect, "Damn bastards," his frustration mounting.
Even if they were the Old Marquis's personal guards, did they have to be so arrogant?
He glanced around the study.
The young master's study was surrounded by tall bamboo. Behind the rear annex was a sealed ventilation window, inside of which stood a Curio Cabinet... To the side of the side chamber was a narrow passage. It was conspicuous, but the lattice window there was never opened. The young master liked to set up crossbows there—any intruder who stumbled into Changxing Manor would be lucky to leave alive...
Since his promotion to Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, the young master had been busier than ever. A few days prior, he had just concluded the corruption case in Huguang, implicating everyone from the provincial governor down to county magistrates—over fifty officials in total. The extent of their collusion and rot was horrifying. The accused had just been escorted to the capital, shaking the Court of Judicial Review, the Provincial Surveillance Commission, and the Ministry of Justice. The young master had spent nearly half a month at the court, and even after returning, he was still buried in work in his study...
Strangest of all was the Old Marquis, who had even dispatched his Iron Cavalry Battalion guards to stand watch. Even meals were delivered daily by the Marchioness herself...
This was Changxing Manor—security didn't need to be this tight.
Li Xianhuai pondered for a moment. Taking advantage of the darkness, he slipped into the bamboo grove and circled to the rear annex. Tucking the hem of his coarse clothes into his belt, he spat on his hands, then leaped up and grabbed a bamboo stalk. The smooth, branchless trunk offered little grip, and Li Xianhuai dared not alert the guards outside. With another light jump, he caught hold of a wooden tenon under the eaves, his feet landing on the narrow window ledge barely a foot wide.
Beads of sweat dotted his forehead, but he didn't dare wipe them away. Even the most skilled martial artists wouldn't attempt such a dangerous feat lightly.Li Xianhuai steadied himself and drew a gleaming dagger from his sleeve. The razor-sharp blade easily sliced through the nailed wooden bars of the high window. With a gentle push, he swung open the window panel and stepped onto the Curio Cabinet in the study.
Exhaling softly, Li Xianhuai squeezed his head through and carefully closed the window behind him. But then he froze in shock.
There, seated on the Grand Preceptor's Chair in a dark blue scholar gown, was the young master, aiming a crossbow directly at him.
Li Xianhuai chuckled in a hushed tone, "Young Master..."
Ye Xian kept the crossbow trained on him, his gaze cool. "If not for recognizing those coarse clothes, you'd be dead by now."
With another low chuckle, Li Xianhuai leaped down from the Curio Cabinet and whispered, "Couldn't come through the front—eight guards posted outside your study... Not sure if it's urgent, but something strange is happening."
Ye Xian rose to close the lattice window and asked, "What brings you here?"
Numerous case files lay scattered across his desk.
Li Xianhuai replied, "You've had me keeping tabs on Yao Ge Lao... After the former Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review was arrested, Yao Ge Lao grew close to Wang Xuanfan and even spoke up for him at the Ministry of Justice. But now, for some reason, Yao Ge Lao has suddenly turned against Wang Xuanfan. You'll never guess why..."
Without beating around the bush, he recounted the entire sequence of events before continuing, "Both Yao Ping and Wang Xuanfan were outmaneuvered by Chen Yanyun—that man is as cunning as they come... No one can figure out what possessed Chen Ge Lao to propose marriage to Second Miss Gu. Now the whole of Yanjing is abuzz with this engagement, bringing great honor to the Gu family... It's all so bizarre. Since you've had dealings with Second Miss Gu, what do you make of this?"
Ye Xian, slumped in the Grand Preceptor's Chair with his chin propped on his hand, seemed on the verge of sleep. He wearily lifted his eyelids. "Second Miss Gu... What does that have to do with me?"
That useless cousin of Gu Jinzhao—he'd never even spared her a proper glance.
Li Xianhuai scratched his head. "Ah... Then I risked coming here for nothing. I thought you cared about her marriage prospects. Last time her cousin proposed to her, you even had me investigate his family background..."
Only then did Ye Xian fully open his eyes, frowning. "Second Miss Gu..." The Gu family had reordered their generational rankings. Second Miss Gu... Li Xianhuai was talking about Gu Jinchao!
Ye Xian nearly leaped from his chair, grabbing Li Xianhuai by the collar. "Explain clearly—Chen Yanyun and Second Miss Gu... Gu Jinchao are engaged?"
Li Xianhuai was taken aback by the young master's reaction, unsure how to respond.
"Well... I'm baffled too. These two have nothing in common—why would Chen Yanyun take a fancy to Second Miss Gu..."
Ye Xian realized he'd overreacted and released Li Xianhuai, pacing the study instead.
Chen Yanyun... The image that came to mind was that ever-smiling face, those inscrutable eyes, and a ruthlessly calculating nature. Such a man wouldn't act unless it benefited him—why would he want to marry Gu Jinchao?
Hadn't his first wife died? He had a son too, who ranked third in last year's provincial exams in the Northern Metropolitan Region... So this would be a second marriage for him.
And why would Gu Jinchao agree to this?Ye Xian pressed his lips tightly together. No wonder Li Xianhuai hadn't been able to enter these days, and it was always his mother who brought him meals... He rubbed his temples, feeling irritated. He'd been too busy lately to notice such small details...
"Bring me my cloak," Ye Xian said to Li Xianhuai as he picked up his crossbow.
Li Xianhuai brought over the dark blue Hangzhou silk cloak belonging to the young master. Ye Xian tucked the small crossbow into his sleeve and said quietly, "You go out through the high window as before. Gather our men outside and prepare the carriage."
Meanwhile, he stepped around the screen and opened the study door.
As expected, soldiers from the Iron Cavalry Battalion stood guard outside. Seeing the young master emerge, their leader cupped his hands respectfully. "Young Master, you've come out..." He discreetly signaled to a guard beside him to quickly inform the old marquis.
Ye Xian smiled slightly. "Who ordered you to stand guard here?"
The leader hurriedly replied, "You've been occupied with official duties recently. We were ordered by the old marquis to protect you."
Ye Xian stared directly at him with a smile on his lips. Though his delicate features were as beautiful as a woman's, his gaze turned dark and ominous. The Iron Cavalry guards had all witnessed how Ye Xian saved Marquis Changxing during Prince Lian's rebellion, and how mercilessly he killed Xiao You... Under that piercing stare, they broke out in cold sweat, their legs weakening.
Ye Xian spoke slowly, "Are you protecting me or confining me? You're getting too bold. Don't forget, I'll be the one ruling Changxing Marquisate in the future. Do you understand who you can afford to offend and who you can't?"
Without waiting for a response, he adjusted his collar and strode forward. The lead guard mustered his courage to block him again. "Young Master, the old marquis said you're not to leave without permission. Have mercy on this lowly one—if you leave, I'll lose my life..."
"How about I end your life right now?" Ye Xian smiled, pressing the crossbow against the man's neck.
The Iron Cavalry soldiers finally stepped aside.
Li Xianhuai had already prepared a carriage waiting behind the screen wall, surrounded by Ye Xian's personal assassins. Since childhood, Ye Xian had enjoyed cultivating his own forces—these men answered to him alone. Upon reaching the screen wall, Ye Xian immediately ordered Li Xianhuai to head for the Gu family in Daxing. Behind them, the old marquis arrived with his men in pursuit, accompanied by an anxious Gao Shi. "Ye Xian! Stop right there!"
"Grandfather, your grandson has urgent business. We can talk when I return," Ye Xian said.
The old marquis trembled with rage. "Silence! I never imagined you could be so foolish. Your sister has told me everything! Last time I found it strange when you specifically sought out Gao Jingyao to grant the Luo family shipping rights in Xianghe... You disgrace! Look at what you've done! Whether it's the Chen family or the Gu family, you're not to interfere. For the sake of a woman, how could you jeopardize the Changxing Marquisate?"
Gao Shi added, "I've already sent matchmakers to the He family to propose marriage. Don't cause trouble now. Why won't you listen to your mother? Has that woman truly blinded you..."
Ye Xian nodded. "To keep me from knowing about this, you even had the Iron Cavalry guard me." He turned to Gao Shi. "No wonder I've been feeling so drowsy lately... The meals you've been bringing me must have contained some sedatives."
Gao Shi was rendered speechless.Ye Xian then said to the old marquis, "Grandfather, when my father lay gravely ill on Wormwood, you declared that I would take charge of the Marquis Changxing household. Since it falls to me, let it be done my way. I know exactly what I'm doing... No one should interfere."
The Marquis Changxing family owed Gu Jinzhao a great debt. Without those few words from Gu Jinzhao, the Changxing Marquisate might have been reduced to ashes by now.
After speaking, Ye Xian lifted the carriage curtain and stepped inside. The carriage immediately departed from the Changxing Marquisate. Despite hundreds of long blades pointed at them, the assassins showed no fear.
The old marquis heaved a long sigh. (
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