As she spoke, she noticed Cheng Yaojin rubbing his large belly with one hand, his eyes blinking incessantly as if struggling to keep up with her words. It wasn’t his fault for lacking refinement—Wei Shufen herself felt her thoughts were scattered and incoherent. But this wasn’t a debate at the Female Academy… Who cared?
“Listen, Lady Chai,” Cheng Yaojin said after a moment of dizziness, ignoring Wei Shufen and addressing Chai Yingluo directly. “If you think Old Cheng has been disrespectful to your High Truth Master or to Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress, go ahead and bring a lawsuit before the Emperor. No problem. When Old Cheng was fighting battles with His Majesty, heads in hand, you kids weren’t even born yet…”
Before he could finish, a clamor rose from behind the courtyard wall, growing louder as it approached, punctuated by faint cheers of “We’ve got them!” Chai Yingluo and Wei Shufen exchanged alarmed glances, while Cheng Yaojin slapped his belly in delight, cursing, “Damn slowpokes!” before turning and striding out of the monastery gate.
Unable to resist, the people of Purple Void Monastery followed him outside. A group of soldiers holding torches rounded the western wall, and as they drew closer, it became clear that the two tall figures in their midst—one burly, the other slender—were none other than Li Yuangui and Yang Xinzhi.
Their turbans were askew, their clothes dirty and torn from the struggle. Their waist knives had been confiscated, but thankfully, there were no obvious signs of blood. As a prince and imperial brother, Li Yuangui received preferential treatment—the guards hadn’t even bound them, merely prodding them forward with spears and blades. Both wore expressions of frustration and gloom.
Wei Shufen felt her heart plummet endlessly, as if falling into a bottomless well. Her legs weakened, barely able to support her, torn between the urge to scream and to sob. Then an arm reached out, steadying her waist.
Cheng Yaojin strode toward the group that had captured the imperial prisoners, asking a few questions to confirm their identities before clasping his hands in a salute to Li Yuangui. “My apologies,” he said, then waved for the guards to take them away. Puffing out his chest, he sauntered back to the monastery gate, his face brimming with triumph.
“Lady Chai, let me tell you something,” he said smugly. “Before the Zhenguan era, this monastery was a barracks for Prince Qi’s garrison. Back then, His Majesty and I planned countless times on the sand table—if we had to storm it, where the strategic points were, where archers could suppress the defenders, where the troops inside were most likely to sneak out… It’s only been ten years. Old Cheng’s memory isn’t that bad yet, hahaha…”
Chai Yingluo remained silent. Supported by her arm, Wei Shufen suddenly understood.
Cheng Yaojin had never intended to search the monastery.
His bluster at the gate had been meant to provoke Li Yuangui and Yang Xinzhi into fleeing, straight into the trap he’d set outside. It was far simpler and more convenient—and spared him the charge of forcibly entering a sacred site at night.
The petty schemes of these young men and women were nothing before a veteran who had waded through mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
“General Cheng,” Chai Yingluo spoke at last, her voice much gentler now. “Prince Wu is the Supreme Emperor’s beloved son and His Majesty’s valued brother. The incident at Great Peace Palace has many hidden complexities. Given the Supreme Emperor’s current condition—as you well know—the slightest disturbance could be devastating. I implore you to consider carefully, to treat Prince Wu and his servant with kindness, and to leave no room for future regrets…”Wei Shufen barely registered how Cheng Yaojin responded or how Chai Yingluo bid him farewell. She stood there in a daze until a serving girl helped her into the monastery, stumbling step by step until she collapsed onto some mat or bedding, staring blankly into space.
Taken away… What now… How can we save them?
“A Fen!”
Chai Yingluo’s voice snapped her back to reality. Lifting her head, she saw the female Taoist’s grim expression under the lamplight:
“Pack and prepare. We’re leaving tomorrow morning too.”
“Huh?” Wei Shufen didn’t understand. “We’re leaving too? Where to?”
“Silly girl, think about it,” Chai Yingluo sighed. “General Cheng knows your identity now, and he’s in charge of the palace guards—he’ll see your father from time to time. If your father hears you’ve returned to the Purple Void Monastery, won’t he—”
“Immediately storm over and drag me home.” Wei Shufen’s mind finally cleared a little. “Right, I can’t stay here. I have to go—”
But where? Prince Consort Chai’s residence? Her father could just as easily storm there to demand her. The Sogdian Temple Protectorate? After the An father and son’s incident, who knew who was in charge there now or what the situation was like. The Pei family’s farm estate in Xianyang? Cheng Yaojin had already sought out Pei Lvshi—she couldn’t drag their siblings into more trouble…
In all the vast world, where was there a place left for her?
“Come with me. I have a place where you can stay for a few days,” Chai Yingluo said slowly. “Didn’t you arrange to meet your mother at Xingsheng Temple? It’s only a couple of days away. Talk things over with her first, then decide what to do next.”
Wei Shufen nodded, then grabbed Chai Yingluo’s hand, tears welling in her eyes:
“Sister Ying, Fourteenth Young Master and Yang Dalang…”
“Don’t worry. At least they won’t suffer physically,” Chai Yingluo reassured her. “General Cheng may seem rough, but he’s sharp and reasonable. Fourteenth Uncle and Yang Da have always had good relations in the imperial guards. With the Yin siblings dead, no one will seize the chance to take revenge or harm them. Think of it as being locked up to catch up on sleep—they’ve been exhausted lately… Sigh , we still have to figure out how to rescue them. We’re the ones worse off!”
Despite her sorrow, Wei Shufen couldn’t help but laugh at Chai Yingluo’s words, though the tears in her eyes spilled over. Wiping them away, she choked out, “I’ll listen to you, Sister.” The female Taoist nodded:
“Get some rest first. At dawn, I’ll have someone help you pack. Once the palace gates open, we’ll leave early—the longer the night, the more dreams there are.”
After giving her instructions, Chai Yingluo stood to leave, but Wei Shufen called out to her again:
“Sister Ying… Do you have any ideas on how to save them?”
“I do—plenty of thoughts, but I haven’t sorted them out yet,” the female Taoist sighed. “There’s no denying what they’ve done. The only path is ‘atonement through merit.’ His Majesty assigned Fourteenth Uncle two tasks—investigating Yi Niang’s case and finding the Tuyuhun king’s grandson—both of which were left unfinished. If we can achieve results in either, we might have grounds to plead for leniency…”
“We’ll investigate for him!” Wei Shufen sprang up, sleeves flaring. “No matter how difficult or dangerous, we’ll carry on!”
Chai Yingluo gave her a weary, sorrowful smile, like ripples from fallen petals drifting on water—an image that lingered in Wei Shufen’s mind, refusing to fade.#####This chapter's annotations explain the allusions Wei Shufen used to criticize Cheng Yaojin, as well as the background of "Prince Qi's Guard." For the full annotation content, please visit the author's Weibo. Search for the ID "Tang Chuan Daoyou Senlin Lu" on Sina Weibo. Discussions are welcome.
OpenNovel