Compared with the Third Prince and the others, Hu Yu had barely had any presence early on. He had only stepped out to stir things up once when Chu Shao Yang first joined the Yulin Guard. Who could have imagined that his identity would change again and again later, forcibly adding so many scenes to his role?
Come to think of it, Fu Xi Yan’s first meeting with Hu Yu had not been pleasant. But time flew, and so much had changed around him over the past year or two that the people who had made him unhappy back then no longer mattered enough for him to care whether seeing them was pleasant or not.
The old Zizui Tower had been demolished, and the Delicacy Pavilion had been built in its place. The place was still the same old place, but its appearance was entirely new.
Fu Xi Yan looked up at the signboard.
The three gilded characters for “Delicacy Pavilion” gleamed brilliantly in the sunlight. Whether they intended to eat there or not, anyone passing by could hardly resist looking up at them.
What Fu Xi Yan was looking at was the signature.
Yan Jiu Cha was the courtesy name of Yan Can, Vice Minister of Works. Yan Can served in the Ministry of Works, but his calligraphy was famous far beyond it. People came in an endless stream every day begging for his writing, yet perhaps not even one in a hundred got what they wanted.
For the Delicacy Pavilion to obtain a signboard written in his own hand, the power behind it could not be underestimated. Even if the former Capital Prefect came back to life and worked another seventeen or eighteen years, he might still fail to match it.
Later, when Fu Xi Yan raised the question over the meal, Hu Yu laughed. “Forget Tu Mu. Even Chancellor Pu couldn’t catch up to that person.”
Fu Xi Yan raised a brow and pointed upward with the chopsticks in his hand.
Hu Yu nodded. “Otherwise, with Yan Can’s pride in his own calligraphy, why would he agree to hang his writing outside and let the wind and rain beat at it?”
Fu Xi Yan said, “His Majesty’s private coffers are running low?”
Since Yan Can and Hu Yu both knew who owned the establishment, the other officials at court could hardly have been kept in the dark. All those people who normally worried that they had nowhere to curry favor would naturally have to patronize the place day and night.
Hu Yu laughed. “There was a sixth-rank official who thought exactly the same thing.”
Fu Xi Yan asked, “So did he end up getting promoted or demoted?”
“What do you think?”
“If he’d been promoted, you wouldn’t still be calling him a sixth-rank official, would you?”
Hu Yu said, “The Censorate uncovered his corruption and bribery. He’s already in prison.”
Fu Xi Yan shook his head. With intelligence like that, becoming a sixth-rank official in the first place must have meant smoke was rising auspiciously from his ancestral graves. People truly could not afford to be insatiably greedy.
Hu Yu said, “I heard Lord Fu has returned to his post at the Censorate?”
Fu Xi Yan cupped his hands toward the heavens. “This Fu has no great ambitions. I merely wish to devote my loyalty to His Majesty, my strength to Northern Zhou, and my heart to the people.”
“If there’s ever anything you need from me, just say so. I don’t have much else, but I’ve been in Haojing for a long time and happen to have a few friends. Night watchmen, opera performers, and even people who run gambling houses.”
Hu Yu paused slightly at that last part and gave him a meaningful smile.
Fu Xi Yan said, “What a coincidence. I just sealed a gambling house.”
“Since we both understand what’s going on, there’s no need to speak in riddles. The God of Wealth Gambling House that Lord Fu sealed today happens to belong to a friend of mine. Would Lord Fu be willing to do me a favor and remove the seals first? As for the person you’re looking for, leave that to me.”
Hu Yu had promised so much outright that even Fu Xi Yan was a little surprised.
In his view, given Tian Tuo’s status, Hu Yu being willing to step forward for him at all was already an enormous favor. He had not expected Hu Yu to take the whole matter upon himself.
Fu Xi Yan said, “Forgive my poor judgment, but what exactly is Boss Tian to Lord Hu?”
Hu Yu poured himself a cup of wine and drained it before saying, “To tell you the truth, he’s my milk-brother. But it wasn’t his mother who nursed me. My mother nursed him. While my mother was pregnant with me, my father drowned while casting fishing nets. My mother then entered the Tian household as a wet nurse. Back then, the Tian family were still landlords. Tian Tuo and I grew up together. He treated me neither particularly well nor particularly badly. But when his father took him to a martial arts school to find a master, he brought me along.”
By this point, Fu Xi Yan understood why Hu Yu treated Tian Tuo so differently. Hu Yu’s present achievements had inevitably resulted from many circumstances coming together, and Tian Tuo taking him along to seek instruction at a martial arts school had unquestionably been one of the most crucial.
Fu Xi Yan asked, “Then why did he come to Haojing to run a gambling house?”
Hu Yu said, “I told him to.”
Fu Xi Yan looked puzzled.
“He’s a hopeless gambling addict, the incurable kind. Oddly enough, after opening his own gambling house, he improved quite a bit. Sometimes when his hands get itchy, he gambles in his own establishment. The money merely moves from his left hand to his right. At least it never flies into someone else’s pocket.”
Hu Yu spoke very calmly.
He was grateful to Tian Tuo because Tian Tuo had given him the opportunity to change his fate, but that did not mean he and Tian Tuo would become friends. Their statuses had differed when they were young, and their personalities clashed after they grew up. They might never become intimate friends in this lifetime, but that did not stop Hu Yu from repaying what he owed.
Fu Xi Yan picked up his teacup and tapped it against Hu Yu’s wine cup. “Of course I have to give Lord Hu’s milk-brother some face, but I’ll still need Lord Hu to put some effort into the Censorate’s assignment.”
Hu Yu asked, “Naturally. But who exactly is this Lu Xiao Feng? Why would he appear at the God of Wealth Gambling House, and why is the Censorate investigating him?”
Fu Xi Yan said, “Because he killed… someone from the Spirit Sect and took something away. Ahem. It involves confidential matters, so that’s all I can tell you.”
Someone capable of killing a Spirit Sect member, and an object important enough for the Censorate to pursue relentlessly.
That alone was enough to give Hu Yu limitless room for speculation.
Hu Yu said, “Since it concerns the Spirit Sect, even apart from this favor, I ought to lend Lord Fu a hand.”
Fu Xi Yan thought, Lu Xiao Feng went to the Silver Hook Gambling House, not the God of Wealth Gambling House. I’m afraid Lord Hu’s helping hand is going to have a hard time finding anywhere to land.
Whether Hu Yu and Tian Tuo’s relationship was genuine was no longer within the scope of Fu Xi Yan’s investigation. Hu Yu’s place of origin and background would certainly have been registered when he entered palace service. The remaining work could be handed to the patrol commissioner responsible for his home region.
Fu Xi Yan’s next task was Rong Liang.
He tried hard to sound Hu Yu out during the meal, but unfortunately, every time he mentioned Noble Consort Rong or the Rong family, Hu Yu steered the conversation elsewhere and refused to engage. If Fu Xi Yan pressed too often, Hu Yu simply brought out the emperor.
“The Rong family is right beneath His Majesty’s eyes. It would be inappropriate for people like us to pass judgment.”
Fu Xi Yan could only let the matter drop.
Just as they were about to leave, a Yulin Guard soldier hurried over and whispered a few words into Hu Yu’s ear. At that distance and volume, he might as well have been whispering directly into Fu Xi Yan’s ear.
Fu Xi Yan heard him say that His Majesty had issued an urgent summons.
It was almost dark. What could be so urgent? Had something happened in the palace?
* * *
To explain what had happened, one had to go back to when Liu Tan Du had finished meeting Noble Consort Liu and was preparing to leave the palace, only to be summoned by Emperor Jianhong halfway out.
Emperor Jianhong generally preferred to summon outside officials to Yanying Hall for discussions. Liu Tan Du had been there several times when he returned to the capital to report on his duties, but the route Zhang Cai Fa was leading him along was not the way to Yanying Hall.
Liu Tan Du slowed his steps. “Where is His Majesty receiving me?”
Without looking back, Zhang Cai Fa said, “Qinghui Pavilion.”
Liu Tan Du paused, then quickly followed again. Truthfully, it was not that he had never suspected Zhang Cai Fa of acting under someone’s orders and trying to trap him in wrongdoing. The palace contained no shortage of filthy schemes. Noble Consort Liu had witnessed plenty and had even mentioned some in letters home. But within this imperial city, there was probably only one person bold enough to order one of Emperor Jianhong’s favorites to frame the Noble Consort’s elder brother.
And if it was that person, what difference would guarding against it make?
Liu Tan Du had already prepared himself for a situation in which no amount of explanation could clear his name. Yet when he entered Qinghui Pavilion, he found Emperor Jianhong standing before a painting with his hands behind his back, studying it from left and right as though dissatisfied.
Liu Tan Du hurriedly saluted.
Emperor Jianhong said, “You saw the Noble Consort?”
Liu Tan Du said, “Just now.”
“I heard the moment you brother and sister met, you threw yourselves together and wept?”
Liu Tan Du kept his head lowered. “We had not seen one another for a long time. Our emotions overcame us.”
Emperor Jianhong turned around. “What emotions?”
Liu Tan Du frowned slightly, offended by the question. But constrained by the relationship between sovereign and subject, he still answered, “The affection between brother and sister. The love of family.”
Emperor Jianhong said, “Including Liu Yan Sheng, the bond among you three siblings has always made Us envious. When Anle sees Us, she treats Us like a guest: distant, courteous, and impeccably polite. The one thing she never does is throw herself into Our arms and cry.”
Liu Tan Du said, “Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven. It is only natural for the Grand Princess to feel reverence.”
“That sounds like something Chancellor Pu would say.” Emperor Jianhong beckoned for him to come closer. “Do you know why We summoned you?”
“This subject does not know.”
Emperor Jianhong said, “We called you back from the Southern Border and had Ji Chou Ying take your place. Do you resent Us?”
“This subject would not dare.”
He did not dare, not that he did not want to. Emperor Jianhong said, “In the imperial decree, We said We had other arrangements for you. Do you want to know what they are?”
Liu Tan Du said, “Whatever Your Majesty orders, this subject can only obey.”
“We originally intended to send you to the Northern Border to assist the old commandery prince. The Northern Alliance and Mengwu coalition has arrived in force, clearly intending not to withdraw without a fight, so war in the north will be difficult to avoid. But the old general is advanced in years, and the battlefield changes in an instant. No one knows what might happen. We must always keep another option in reserve. And you are someone We trust.”
Liu Tan Du hurriedly dropped to one knee. “At a single command from Your Majesty, this subject would brave ten thousand deaths without hesitation.”
Emperor Jianhong said, “But the Noble Consort wants to keep you in Haojing. We summoned you today because We wanted to ask what you prefer. Would you rather go to the Northern Border and perhaps one day succeed the old commandery prince, or stay in Haojing as Commander of the Yulin Guard and eventually follow the same path your elder brother once did?”
Liu Tan Du hesitated briefly, but his decision soon hardened. “This subject wishes to remain in Haojing.”
Emperor Jianhong said nothing for a long time. Just as Liu Tan Du could no longer resist wanting to raise his head, the emperor abruptly said, “Get up and look at this painting. It was painted years ago by the former palace painter Mei Xia Ying, but he left no title. What do you think of this picture of a poor woman giving away her child?”
Liu Tan Du slowly rose and looked at the painting. The longer he looked, the paler his face became. After a long while, he said, “This subject is only a rough military man. I truly cannot perceive the subtleties of painting.”
Emperor Jianhong said, “Someone saw Mei Xia Ying in Jiangling. Have you met him?”
Liu Tan Du said, “This subject never met this painter in the palace. Even if I saw him in Jiangling, I would have had no way to recognize him.”
“But in Jiangling he did not change his name. He still called himself Mei Xia Ying. Is there such a person among those around you?”
“There is indeed a retainer named Mei Xia Ying in my household, but he spends his days doing nothing in particular. Apart from admiring his poetic talent when we first met, this subject has paid him little attention.”
Emperor Jianhong said, “What a pity. This Painter Mei’s identity is anything but simple. Not only is he a guest retainer of the Northern Alliance, he is also a favored disciple of Zheng Jiao Jiao of Borrowing from All Living Beings. The King of Mengwu even asked him to teach his son. One could say he is a figure who can stir wind and rain across the north. For a man like that to serve as a retainer in your residence shows that, in his eyes, your potential rivals that of the Northern Alliance itself.”
Hearing this, Liu Tan Du ought to have been terrified enough to kneel and beg forgiveness. But by this point, Emperor Jianhong had plainly already obtained information about his activities in the Southern Border. Secretly colluding with an enemy state was a crime punishable by extermination of the entire household. How could kneeling and pleading possibly wipe such a charge away?
He stood ramrod straight. “Your Majesty has asked me many questions. I have one question I wish to ask Your Majesty. I wonder whether Your Majesty is willing to answer it.”
A mocking curve appeared at the corner of Emperor Jianhong’s mouth. “Ask.”
“I want to know exactly how my elder brother died.” With every word Liu Tan Du spoke, he took another step forward. By the time the sentence ended, he stood less than two chi from Emperor Jianhong.
To allow them to speak openly, there was no third person inside Qinghui Pavilion at that moment. Liu Tan Du looked at Emperor Jianhong, but what he saw was not the man. He saw the life standing before him.
He charged forward exactly as he had countless times on the battlefield.
Without hesitation, without turning back!
Kill him!
Kill him!
Kill him!
At that moment, those were the only words in Liu Tan Du’s mind, and Emperor Jianhong was the only person in his sight. In his eyes, the emperor was already a dead man.
Just as Liu Tan Du’s palm was about to strike, Emperor Jianhong, who should have been panicking, instead revealed a strange smile. There was even a trace of pity in the way he looked at him.
Liu Tan Du’s palm finally struck the other man, yet it never landed solidly.
Between his palm and Emperor Jianhong’s body, dozens of strands of purple true qi had woven themselves into a tiny net, perfectly separating the two of them.
Liu Tan Du was horrified. “What is this?”
Emperor Jianhong raised a finger and lightly pointed at Liu Tan Du. Liu Tan Du withdrew his palm and tried to flee, but no matter where he ran or how he dodged, that finger followed his forehead like a shadow. In his panic, he took one wrong step and retreated a fraction too slowly. The fingertip lightly touched his forehead. He first felt a coolness there, then a wave of heat, followed by such violent turmoil inside his body that he nearly vomited.
He dropped to one knee, still badly shaken, as though he had not fully awakened from what had just happened.
Emperor Jianhong withdrew his finger and looked down at him. “Your elder brother wanted to kill Us. Now you want to kill Us too. The people of your Liu family truly are ungrateful wolves that can never be tamed.”
Liu Tan Du raised his head with difficulty and sneered. “My brother was utterly loyal to you, with the sun and moon as witnesses. Yet because he became a King Puppet, you killed him. You are the wolf!”
“Do you know that a King Puppet remains conscious?”
“You knew my brother was conscious, and you could still bring yourself to kill him?” Liu Tan Du’s eyes reddened. “He grew up with you. How many punishments did he take for your sake? Every time you lost to Prince Longnan or Prince Yunzhong, he was the one who took the beating for you!”
Emperor Jianhong said, “But he wanted to kill Us! He told Us with his own mouth that he could not accept Us becoming the sovereign of all under Heaven, and for that reason alone he wanted Us dead! Have We not treated him well enough? We were the one who made him Grand Commandant, beneath one man and above ten thousand. What more could he possibly have wanted?!”
Liu Tan Du said, “My brother is already dead. You can say whatever you want now.”
This time Emperor Jianhong was truly too furious to speak. He glared at Liu Tan Du for a long while before finally asking, “Was this assassination something you and your sister planned together?”
“Her Highness had nothing to do with it!” Liu Tan Du denied it flatly. “I acted on a sudden impulse.”
“A sudden impulse? Hah.” Emperor Jianhong said, “She deliberately chose a day when Hu Yu was off duty to have you enter the palace, then pestered Us until We agreed to give you a chance to choose between going to the Northern Border and staying in Haojing. Otherwise, how do you think you got this opportunity today?”
Liu Tan Du froze.
“Eldest Brother is gone. Second Brother is the head of the family now. Whatever Second Brother wants to do, his little sister will do too.”
“Do what you have to do. Don’t worry about me.”
Thinking back now, Noble Consort Liu’s words had already been hinting at exactly what was happening before him.
“I’ll find a way to survive. Even if I can’t, at least the three of us siblings will be together.”
She had also known that his chance of success was not high. Yet she had still told him to do what he needed to do. Perhaps after being trapped in this imperial city, spending every day beside the man who had killed her elder brother, she too had long since had enough.
Emperor Jianhong sneered. “Do not underestimate your sister. If you killed Us today, tomorrow she would dare put the Tenth Prince on the throne. She has gathered no small number of supporters around herself over the years.”
Liu Tan Du opened his mouth, then slowly closed it again. The initial shock drained from his expression until calm returned, along with a trace of cold indifference.
Since the assassination had failed, everything else had lost its meaning.
He no longer even cared why Emperor Jianhong had suddenly acquired such formidable martial arts.
Seeing his deathly expression, Emperor Jianhong suddenly said, “For the sake of the fact that you did not follow Mei Xia Ying to the north, We can give you one more chance.”
Liu Tan Du did not react.
“We will not kill you, and We will not kill the Noble Consort. Not only will We spare you both, We can also give you an opportunity to redeem your crimes through meritorious service.”
At last, a trace of expression returned to Liu Tan Du’s face, though suspicion outweighed delight. He soon recovered enough to say, “I can go to the Northern Border. I swear that as long as I live, I will never let the Northern Alliance or Mengwu cross the Northern Border by even half a step.”
Emperor Jianhong shook his head. “We already gave you that opportunity. You failed to cherish it. We do not offer the same opportunity twice.”
Liu Tan Du looked blank.
Apart from fighting on the battlefield, he could not imagine what other merit he could earn to atone for his crime.
Emperor Jianhong said, “We intend to send the Tenth Prince to Zijing Academy. But he is too young, and We are not at ease sending him without anyone beside him. Let the Noble Consort accompany him, and you will serve as his guard. Of course, publicly, the two groups must travel separately. You will escort the Tenth Prince, while the Noble Consort will ostensibly go to Xingzhou to oversee construction of an imperial residence.”
After a long silence, Liu Tan Du said, “Is Your Majesty not afraid I might harm the Tenth Prince?”
“Every grievance has its source and every debt its debtor. The person you hate is Us. Have We not likewise left the people hiding in Dingxi untouched?”
Liu Tan Du’s heart tightened.
After Liu Yan Sheng’s widow and children left the estate, they had gone to Dingxi. He had always believed he had arranged it without anyone knowing, yet apparently it had still been uncovered.
Emperor Jianhong said, “Believe it or not, We killed Liu Yan Sheng because he tried to kill Us first. Perhaps that was not his true nature. Perhaps the King Puppet affected him. But Our conscience is clear!”
Liu Tan Du was silent.
Liu Yan Sheng was dead, and the truth had been buried with him. Emperor Jianhong might be telling the truth or he might be lying, but Liu Tan Du would never choose to believe him in this lifetime.
“We have treated you siblings with the utmost benevolence. You may be grateful or not, as you please, but there is one question you must answer.” Emperor Jianhong looked at him deeply. “Who exactly is Liu Huan?”
* * *
After Liu Tan Du left the imperial palace, he was quickly transferred to the Brocade Guard as Deputy Commander. However, he was not stripped of his title as General of Agile Cavalry, so although Chu Guang was Liu Tan Du’s superior within the Brocade Guard, Liu Tan Du still outranked him in the official hierarchy.
Fortunately, the two had no need to work together, or even to meet.
Not long after receiving his new appointment, Liu Tan Du accompanied the Tenth Prince and set out on the road to study.
In many people’s eyes, Liu Tan Du had been demoted and suffered terrible misfortune. But to Fu Xi Yan, Fu Xuan, and the others who knew the truth, Liu Tan Du being allowed to leave Haojing alive could only mean that the Liu ancestors were protecting him from beyond the grave.
Fu Xuan was even puzzled. “Since when did His Majesty become so merciful?”
It was not that he doubted Emperor Jianhong without reason. Given the emperor’s usual temperament and what Liu Tan Du had done, the only reason Emperor Jianhong had not implicated all nine clans was probably that he himself happened to fall within those nine clans.
Fu Xi Yan said, “Maybe he’s getting old and starting to feel sentimental.”
Seeing his plain clothes, Fu Xuan frowned. “Where are you going dressed like that? Don’t tell me you’re actually going to the Censorate.”
Fu Xi Yan said irritably, “And whose sake am I doing this for?”
“This precedent cannot be allowed to continue. Today His Majesty used us to threaten you into returning to the Censorate. Tomorrow he may press even further. He lifted the Liu family high only to set them down lightly. He is even less likely to strike our family heavily. You can stop worrying.”
Fu Xi Yan said, “Back then, you used every threat and temptation you could think of to make me become a Yulin Guard soldier. Now I’m a perfectly legitimate fourth-rank Censorate official and you’re telling me to quit. Uncle, can’t we be consistent inside and out, unwavering from beginning to end, and steadfastly devoted for once?”
Fu Xuan said irritably, “Fine. Pretend I never said anything.”
“All right, don’t be angry. Mainly, I think the assignment Lord Shi gave me is actually rather interesting.” Especially when he could tug at the tangled thread one step at a time and inch closer to the answer.
He watched Rong Liang for two days.
Rong Liang behaved completely ordinarily. He spent his days idling around, cockfighting and dog racing, and the place he visited most was an opera troupe permanently based in Haojing. But he did not go there to watch performances. He went to see a lover.
The woman was not especially prominent within the troupe. Her features were merely delicate, but her eyes curved like crescent moons, carrying a hint of laughter even when she was not smiling and giving her an unusually cheerful appearance.
But Fu Xi Yan paid attention to her not because of her eyes, but because of the air around her.
Whenever she and Rong Liang were alone, no matter how much Rong Liang tried to bolster himself or how much the young woman played along, their relationship never looked like the expected strong-man, weak-woman arrangement. Instead, it seemed entirely reversed.
Whenever the young woman spoke, Rong Liang listened seriously and responded promptly. But whenever Rong Liang spoke, her expression remained casual, as though what he said hardly mattered.
In front of outsiders, however, the two deliberately maintained the proper distance between a master from an aristocratic family and a minor performer from an opera troupe. The contrast between their public and private behavior was too conspicuous to ignore.
The young woman had a performance that night, and Rong Liang had gone to support her. With both of them away, Fu Xi Yan decided to play the gentleman thief and have a thorough look through her belongings.
But breaking into an empty house required someone to keep watch.
…
Pei Yuan Jin helplessly lowered the book in his hands under Fu Xi Yan’s unwavering, face-to-face stare. “What do you want?”