Fish Meat – Chapter 140
by Little PandaThe Second Year of Zhao Wu
Morning Like Blue Clouds (4)
The carriage stopped again. Zhong Ji, feeling uneasy, rolled up the carriage curtain and stood on the carriage to look ahead.
“What’s going on now?” Zhong Ji asked.
The driver said, “It seems like something is blocking the road ahead.”
“Lady…” Xiaohua’s weak voice came from inside the carriage. Zhong Ji went back, lowered the fabric curtain, and touched her forehead. It was still very hot.
The stitching went very well, the bleeding stopped, and the wound was slowly healing. However, the poison of the Ghost Dove was still actively flowing in Xiaohua’s blood. Zhong Ji originally wanted to take this chance during the stitching to replace her poisoned blood and completely remove the source of the poison. Now it seemed that the Ghost Dove was more stubborn and changeable than imagined.
Blood replacement is very dangerous. If not careful, the poison might not be fully cleared, and the person could die from rejecting the new blood. Fortunately, Xiaohua was strong enough to endure for a while, but since last night, her fever hadn’t subsided, and her condition was getting more dangerous. Zhong Ji soaked a cloth in icy mountain spring water to cool Xiaohua down and gave her a few pills, but after a whole night, there was no effect.
Zhong Ji was now desperate to return to Runing. Even though she had brought all the medicine bottles and tools she could, they were running out, and now Zhong Ji found herself in a difficult situation.
Seeing Runing right in front, but the carriage moved one step and stopped three steps, Zhong Ji felt very frustrated.
“Stop worrying about your lady,” Zhong Ji flicked Xiaohua’s forehead with his fingers. “You should worry about how long you can live, idiot.”
“What’s happening ahead?” Xiaohua asked, panting heavily after each word, her eyes too hot from the fever to open.
“The road is blocked again.” Zhong Ji stared at her, “You’re not too weak to talk, so why didn’t you finish what you were saying last time?”
Xiaohua suddenly coughed violently, as if she was about to pass away immediately.
“What’s your problem? You only have the strength to talk when it’s about your lady? Fine, just rest and save your last breath. Don’t die before we even reach Runing.”
Xiaohua’s eyes were heavy, showing her sickness. Zhong Ji checked her pulse and found it very dangerous.
“Even if you don’t care about the past with Beilou, you should stay alive for your lady’s sake. The Path of Ten Thousand Directions can’t harm her, but once we’re back in Runing, that’s when the real fight for life begins.”
“It seems someone doesn’t want us to return to Runing.”
From Wei Tingxu’s words, it seemed she had already figured out who was secretly causing trouble.
“Zizhuo’s meaning is…”
Wei Tingxu then explained to her about Li Yanyi’s plan to reform the selection system.
“The opening of the Path of Ten Thousand Directions seems like a grand achievement benefiting the whole of Da Yu, but it has hurt many people’s interests. Now, there are countless people in Da Yu’s government who want to get rid of us. The fierce tiger was a trap, and now this Jianfeng Valley is probably also a burial ground selected by those with ulterior motives.”
Zhen Wenjun originally thought that Ah Xun was coming again to take her life to avenge the Xie family, but after listening to Wei Tingxu’s words, she realized how narrow-minded her thinking was. Compared to the noble families of the entire Da Yu, Ah Xun’s threat was nothing.
“We can’t go through Jianfeng Mountain anymore,” Wei Tingxu said, “Let’s turn back and move the wood out of the way.”
Zhen Wenjun nodded. It seemed that the strangely placed log was deliberately set up to change their route into Jianfeng Mountain.
However.
As Zhen Wenjun turned the horse around, she pondered that the dangerous terrain of Jianfeng Mountain was too obvious; even without experience in military tactics, one wouldn’t easily enter the valley. Those who wanted to ambush them wouldn’t just wait for them to walk into such an easily identifiable trap.
There must be another plan.
Xiaoxue’s hooves tapped twice, and Zhen Wenjun’s thoughts spun around three times. Suddenly, she realized something and shouted, “Oh no!”
As she turned around to shout, a thunderous cry of battle came from the valley, like an army charging with thousands of galloping horses!
A large group of bandits on horseback charged out from the valley, a dark mass that filled the valley like a black snake emerging from its hole! The convoy of fewer than two hundred people was terrified by the sight and immediately began retreating to the suspension bridge they had crossed earlier!
“Do not panic!”
Zhen Wenjun quickly raced to the back of the convoy, controlling the horses that were about to become chaotic, preventing them from retreating recklessly and getting too close to the suspension bridge.
With her keeping order, the carriages and horses became much steadier. Mengda Khan’s guard team hurried over to ask what was happening. Zhen Wenjun heard shouts and the clash of weapons at the front of the convoy. She instructed Mengda Khan’s guards to stand before the suspension bridge and not allow any of their carriages or horses to step onto it. Then Zhen Wenjun immediately drew her sword and rushed forward, covering Wei Tingxu and Xiaohua’s carriage to retreat to the back, and then engaged in a fierce battle with the mountain bandits.
The mountain bandits, though sounding fierce, were actually less than a thousand. Zhen Wenjun and Zuo Kunda rode their warhorses, cutting through the bandits and soon killed the bandit leader. The remaining bandits surprisingly did not flee but avoided fighting the two of them, seeming to search for someone.
These people were looking for Wei Tingxu; their target was only Wei Tingxu!
Just as Zhen Wenjun had expected, this Jianfeng Valley was just straw laid over a trap. If the prey could be fooled by the straw and fall into the trap, it would be easy. But if not deceived, the hunters had another plan.
When crossing the suspension bridge, Zhen Wenjun noticed it was narrow and shook violently. After testing its weight capacity, she instructed for the carriages to cross one by one slowly, to prevent the bridge from collapsing under too much weight, which would surely lead to falling into the valley with no remains left.
After safely crossing the suspension bridge, they reached the entrance of Jianfeng Valley. Going inside could mean being crushed by falling boulders from the mountaintop. Not falling into the trap and slowly retreating back over the suspension bridge was an option.
But the “bandits” didn’t want them to escape unharmed.
By shouting loudly in the valley before revealing themselves, they used the unique terrain to amplify their voices, making it seem like there were many bandits. Feeling outnumbered could make their urge to escape overwhelming. If a large group of carriages and horses rushed onto the bridge, it would surely collapse.
The trap setters laid out three layers of traps: the falling rocks of Jianfeng Valley, the collapsing suspension bridge in panic, and the deadly blades for those unable to reach the bridge in time.
The mountain bandits moved with ease and were clearly well-trained, definitely not ordinary bandits. They looked more like private soldiers of a powerful noble family. These nobles’ private soldiers aimed to ambush and kill them outside Da Yu’s borders. If they died in the valley, it could be explained to the emperor as well. Whether it was falling rocks or the suspension bridge collapsing, it could be passed off as a natural disaster. Even if the emperor investigated, they could easily blame it on natural causes, making it impossible to trace.
Understanding all this, Zhen Wenjun couldn’t help but sneer, realizing that they were indeed well-prepared.
A group surrounded Wei Tingxu’s carriage, trying to drag her out. Zhen Wenjun fought her way through and killed the bandits surrounding Wei Tingxu one by one.
“Who else will come!” Zhen Wenjun shouted loudly, making the bandits tremble and hesitate to advance.
Wei Tingxu looked out from the carriage, realizing these bandits were not a match for Zhen Wenjun.
However, they were still a thousand miles from Runing, and after seeing through this trick, there would be another wave waiting for them.
A direct confrontation might still bring victory, but losing soldiers and leaders was not the outcome Wei Tingxu wanted.
Perhaps…
In front of the Zichen Palace in the Forbidden Garden of Runing, a banquet was already set. When Li Yanyi appeared, everyone bowed low to the ground, shouting long live.
Li Yanyi actually had many things to deal with, but the lack of news from Wei Tingxu’s group left her uneasy. To make matters worse, the official reports were all written in a very obscure manner, with the real messages hidden between the lines or in odd corners. The more she read, the more tired and frustrated she became, so she threw them aside and went for a walk in front of the Zichen Palace.
In the past, when the emperor of Da Yu traveled, palace maids and inner attendants would follow behind, and the procession would be grand and luxurious, making it hard for people to approach. Li Yanyi was used to moving quickly and couldn’t walk slowly just to appear refined. She hated wasting time, didn’t like sitting in sedans, and thought the sedan carriers were too slow. If the distance wasn’t too far, she preferred to walk herself. Instead of having quirky attendants and delicate palace maids behind her, she was accompanied by Moon-Chasing soldiers armed with weapons. Wherever she appeared in the Forbidden Garden, a sense of foreboding filled the place. No one dared to look directly at this empress, fearing that a single glance might lead to severe punishment.
Li Yanyi looked at the setup for the banquet. From the wine to the dishes, everything was rare treasures she had collected for a long time. She needed to properly reward Wei Tingxu. Besides the triumphant Wei Tingxu, high officials of the fourth rank and above would attend this banquet where she planned to issue an edict, bestowing the title of Marquis of Boling on Wei Tingxu.
She knew there would definitely be people who would rise up in opposition.
Li Yanyi could already imagine the surprised expressions of these old officials when they heard the edict midway through their meal, and she wondered who would stand up to oppose it on the spot.
That was precisely what she wanted.
Li Yanyi calmly walked out of the Zichen Palace.
Everything was ready, just waiting for Wei Tingxu to return.
Unexpectedly, before Wei Tingxu returned to the capital, and without any news from Ah Lie and Ah Yin, she received a secret letter from the northern frontier.
This secret letter came from a spy she had sent. This spy in the northern frontier was not responsible for any other military intelligence, only for secretly following Ah Xin and reporting everything about Ah Xin back to Li Yanyi. From trivial details like meals to the most important health conditions and even highly private personal interactions, Li Yanyi had the spy record everything meticulously and send it back to the capital.
The spy sent reports back every ten days, with six dedicated messengers handling the communication between Runing and the northern frontier. Each time, Li Yanyi received a large pile of sheepskin letters. After dealing with all political affairs, she would bathe, set a branch of flowering crabapple on the desk, and read through these letters one by one. Bit by bit, the details filled Li Yanyi’s mind, allowing her to reconstruct Ah Xin’s daily life as if they were right there with her.
Only three days after the last secret letter was sent back, Li Yanyi received another secret letter about Ah Xin. Even before opening it, she knew something unexpected must have happened.
Since Xie Fuchen was imprisoned, Ah Xin went to guard the icy northern frontier, and it had been over two years. According to the reports from the spy, Ah Xin not only reclaimed three counties but also steadily strengthened her forces, slowly pushing the northern line forward. Her ambition was to break into the northern frozen lands and completely eliminate the Chongjin tribes.
This matter required careful planning, as Ah Xin was not someone who acted rashly. She was constantly probing the whereabouts and movements of the Chongjin, aiming to seize the opportunity to capture them all at once. Over the past two years, Ah Xin devoted herself entirely to dealing with the Chongjin, not even changing her coat. She patched her clothes repeatedly and could make a single sweet potato last an entire day.
Ah Xin’s life in the northern frontier was simple and tough, guarding Da Yu’s borders amidst the wind and snow daily, which pained Li Yanyi deeply.
Every time she unfolded the sheepskin scroll, the contents were almost identical, with at most minor changes in meals. When sweet potatoes ran out, Ah Xin would dig up wild roots to eat.
But today’s scroll repeatedly mentioned a person’s name.
Ah Wen.
The letter said that Ah Wen had spent the past three nights in Ah Xin’s tent. The first two nights, the tent’s lamp burned until morning, as the two talked all night without sleeping. On the third night, shortly after Ah Wen entered the tent, the oil lamp went out, and for the next half hour, strange breathing sounds came from the tent.
The letter also noted that this young lady named Ah Wen had been unwell a few days ago, and Ah Xin ran all night to catch a wild rabbit to make a nourishing stew for her. The two were inseparable, like a married couple.
After reading the letter, Li Yanyi slowly rolled it up, tied it securely, and placed it in a wooden box under the desk, specifically for storing items related to Ah Xin.
She knew this person called Ah Wen.
Back then, the little eunuch gossiped in front of her and mentioned Ah Wen, saying she greatly admired Ah Xin and followed her everywhere. Despite the harsh conditions in the northern frontier, she went there too.
Li Yanyi pushed open the study door and walked out. In midsummer Runing, the rain poured down heavily.
Beyond the Forbidden Garden lay her kingdom, her empire, yet she could only stay here, without even the possibility of acting impulsively for the person she loved.
The deep palace walls and the lines of rainwater wove into a massive cage, trapping her inside, making it hard for her to breathe.
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