Chapter 157

Chapter 157

Five days later, on a rest day.

Xie Yiguan wore a simple yet elegant dark blue robe adorned with subtle patterns, ready to go out, when he saw his groom watering flowers in the courtyard.

The groom, upon seeing Xie Yiguan, quickly informed him, "Sir, Su Yu is here, waiting in the carriage."

Xie Yiguan was momentarily stunned and immediately walked outside, only to see Wei Chiyou standing there holding the horse, "Where is Su Da?"

Wei Chiyou pointed under the carriage, and then Su Yu crawled out from beneath it, holding Xie Yiguan's hidden long sword, long knife, and bow.

Su Yu exclaimed, "Cousin, your carriage is like a treasure trove."

She had heard from the Imperial Guards that Xie Yiguan's carriage had its secrets, but she hadn't expected so many.

Xie Yiguan coughed lightly, "I'm just a weak scholar, unlike the heads of prestigious families who have trained guards from childhood. I can only depend on these items for self-defense."

He invited Su Yu into the carriage and detached a section of the carriage wall, revealing that between the two layers of wooden walls were iron plates.

Xie Yiguan skillfully reassembled the wall and smiled, "This is a necessary precaution, really. After two street assassinations, I'm still on edge."

Su Yu thought he didn't seem shaken but rather thoroughly prepared.

Xie Yiguan asked Su Yu, "What brings you here today, cousin?"

Su Yu glanced at the rebellion countdown flashing above his head and smiled, "Thinking that you'll be leaving the capital in a few days and I won't see you for a while, I wanted to come and spend some time with you. Do you have plans with someone else? Can I tag along?"

Xie Yiguan paused slightly. He was originally going to the bookstore today. Since Su Yu had stopped suspecting him, he had gradually resumed contact with the bookstore owner, collecting intelligence.

This time, heading to Jiangnan, he had gathered a lot of information for thorough preparation, but now he couldn't possibly take Su Yu to his covertly operated bookstore.

After a brief thought, he smiled and said, "Of course, it's no trouble. I was planning to attend the poetry gathering at Lishan. If you're interested, you can come with me. The wind at Lishan is strong, so I'll go get a veil hat. Wait for me."

There was indeed a poetry gathering at Lishan today, and he had been invited, though he hadn't outright declined.

Xie Yiguan returned to the Xie residence, instructed a servant to fetch a veil hat, and quickly wrote a note for the groom to deliver to the bookstore.

He then took the veil hat and got back into the carriage.

Lishan was within Wenshui Town, a bit of a distance from the capital.

Originally, scholars in the capital preferred to hold poetry gatherings around the Daci Temple, but since the temple's reputation had plummeted, scholars, cherishing their reputations, feared being associated with Daci Temple. Even outings and poetry gatherings were moved away from it, making the more remote Lishan the favorite spot for scholars in recent years.

Perhaps to highlight the elegance of the literati, the poetry gathering was held at the summit of Lishan.

Alighting from the carriage, Su Yu looked up. The summer sun broke through the white clouds over the mountain peak, revealing just how high Lishan was.

Su Yu suddenly felt regret for coming. She could have just used the system projection to watch Xie Yiguan's every move without having to climb such a high mountain herself.

"Cousin, come here," Xie Yiguan placed the veil hat on Su Yu's head to shield her from the glaring sun and extended his hand to her.

Su Yu looked at his distinctly knuckled hand and then up at him. His smile remained, but Su Yu could tell he was holding back laughter, amused that the emperor was following him to climb a mountain—

She knew Xie Yiguan well, and he knew her just as well.

Su Yu sighed helplessly. Since she was already here, giving up easily wasn't her style, "Cousin, lead the way. I'll follow behind."

She turned to Wei Chiyou and said, "Ayou, hand me your knife handle and pull me up."

Yu Chiyou whispered to her, "Brother Zhi Wei, do you want me to carry you up?"

Su Da was somewhat tempted.

Xie Yiguan coughed heavily twice, "There are still people going up the mountain now, and we might encounter officials of the fifth rank or above. Cousin, you should be a bit more discreet."

After all, officials of the fifth rank or above could recognize Su Da as the emperor.

Xie Yiguan added, "You can do that when we descend later."

Su Da shrugged regretfully, "Alright then."

If it were Xie Yiguan's pace, it would take no more than half an hour to walk from the foot of the mountain to the top. However, with Su Da following behind, he involuntarily slowed his pace, pausing occasionally to glance back at her.

It took them twice as long to reach the top.

The scenery at the top was indeed beautiful, offering a breathtaking view of the mountains and the vast sky.

Su Da took off her veil hat, letting the mountain breeze tousle her black hair.

As Xie Yiguan was about to pull out a brocade handkerchief to wipe her sweat, he saw Su Da pull one out from her wide sleeve and casually dab the sweat from her nose. Xie Yiguan, however, keenly noticed the character "Cui" on the handkerchief. He smiled faintly, pursing his lips, and handed his own brocade handkerchief to Su Da, "Use this one instead. Yours is nice, but it’s clearly from the Cui family, which could lead to misunderstandings."

Su Da glanced at him and, without refusing, took the handkerchief from his hand.

The poetry gathering was held in a pavilion at the far end.

When Su Da and Xie Yiguan arrived, the pavilion was already crowded with people, including Wang Mo, whom Su Da was familiar with.

"Brother Zhi Wei, I thought you weren't coming..." Wang Mo was delighted to see Xie Yiguan, but when he noticed Su Da beside him, his delight turned to shock.

Others, unaware of the situation, asked Wang Mo, "Brother Dao Xian, why are you acting so weird all of a sudden?"

Wang Mo quickly looked around and realized that among the attendees of today's poetry gathering, only he and Xie Yiguan were officials of the fifth rank or above. Excluding Xie Yiguan, who was a close confidant of the emperor, he was the only one who knew the truth, feeling somewhat helpless.

He forced a smile and muttered, "It’s nothing."

Then he awkwardly turned to face Su Da.

Su Da smiled at him but did not indicate how he should address her, leaving Wang Mo standing there, not daring to move.

It was Xie Yiguan who stepped forward and introduced with a smile, "This is my cousin, Su Da."

Wang Mo exaggeratedly said, "Nice to meet you."

Su Da smiled and asked, "Brother Dao Xian, why are you so sweaty?"

Wang Mo replied, "Reporting... Su Da, it’s just the heat. It’s sweltering here. Su... Su Da, would you like to rest in the pavilion?"

Su Da immediately agreed and walked towards the pavilion, with Wang Mo trailing awkwardly behind her.

Only after sitting down did someone close to Wang Mo quietly ask, "This Su Da looks like a celestial being. Why does Brother Dao Xian seem so afraid?"

Wang Mo was at a loss for words and could only give a forced smile.

The poetry gathering was rather boring for Su Da. In her opinion, only the two poems composed by Xie Yiguan had substance, while the rest were just empty complaints with narrow perspectives. Even the tea tasted inferior to what Cui Xuan had served.

She was almost yawning and couldn't help but glance at Xie Yiguan again. The countdown above his head kept flickering, showing zero days.

"In this scene, Su Da, would you like to recite a poem?" Suddenly, someone called out Su Da's name.

The man had long noticed Su Yu sitting beside him, drowsy and clearly an uneducated fool.

He sneered to himself. Xie Yiguan loved to steal the spotlight, and at every poetry gathering he attended, he always took the top spot. He harbored resentment toward Xie Yiguan. Today, Xie had brought his clueless cousin along, and as a scion of a prestigious family, he had also heard some rumors about Xie's cousin.

Seizing this chance, he was determined to humiliate Xie Yiguan and his cousin!

Su Yu casually raised her head and glanced at the man. Instead of asking Xie Yiguan, she turned to Wang Mo and asked, "Who is this?"

Wang Mo felt a wave of relief, thinking, "Finally, a fool has stepped forward to provoke the emperor, so the emperor won’t focus on me." He quickly replied, "This is Yuan Fifteen, courtesy name Zhengyan."

Su Yu knew that "Zhengyan" was Yuan Fifteen's courtesy name and asked for his given name.

In those days, calling someone by their given name, especially among peers, was considered rude. Wang Mo hesitated slightly before whispering very softly into Su Yu's ear, "His given name is Yuan Yan."

Su Yu asked again, "The Yuan family of Qizhou?"

Wang Mo shook his head, "The Yuan family of Qizhou is a branch of their clan. He is from the Yuan family of Hebei."

Su Yu glanced at him lightly. Based on the naming convention, he was of the same generation as Yuan Ling and Yuan Ran, and he looked older than Yuan Ran.

She gave a faint smile, "My cousin has already done it."

Most people would get the hint, but Yuan Yan was determined to embarrass Su Yu. He sneered, "What does your cousin's poem have to do with you?"

Xie Yiguan frowned slightly. Was Yuan Yan asking for trouble?

Though he still wore a smile, his eyes turned icy. He slowly stepped forward, blocking Yuan Yan's view of Su Yu.

But Yuan Yan, still clueless, pressed on, "Minister Xie, your cousin is way out of line. Just now, he dared to compare the Yuan family of Qizhou to our Yuan family of Hebei. Everyone knows that the Yuan family of Qizhou failed to defend Qizhou ten years ago. What’s worse, Yuan Ran from the Yuan family of Qizhou was captured by the Luosuo people and castrated. Now, he’s still in Luosuo, surviving by..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Su Yu stood up, brushed past Xie Yiguan, and landed a kick right between Yuan Yan’s legs.

Yuan Yan doubled over in agony, unable to stand straight. He reached out to grab Su Yu, but Xie Yiguan immediately stepped in front of her, ready to pin Yuan Yan to the ground. However, Su Yu grabbed Xie Yiguan and said, "Zhi Wei, I’ve got this."

Su Yu was well aware that in this era, establishing a school wasn't just about official rank; reputation was equally important. If she were to take down Yuan Yan, she couldn’t involve Xie Yiguan.

She stepped in front of Xie Yiguan instead.

In an instant, Xie Yiguan understood Su Yu's intentions. He stared at her back in a daze. At this moment, the emperor stood before him, silhouetted against the light, her face as radiant as an immortal’s. His heart raced.

"I..." Xie Yiguan wanted to say that while he valued his reputation, he couldn't allow Yuan Yan to mock Yuan Ran, nor could he let Yuan Yan use Yuan Ran to indirectly insult the emperor.

Before he could speak, Su Yu shouted, "Ayou, take him down!"

Yu Chiyou moved swiftly. Before the scholars could even see clearly, he had already reduced Yuan Yan to a blur.

Xie Yiguan: "...” He almost forgot that the emperor was most skilled at using others to do her bidding. He had been careless, almost moved to tears!

"That's enough, spare his life," Su Yu stopped Yu Chiyou from continuing. She then turned to Wang Mo and said, "Daoxian, take him back. If the Yuan family has any complaints, tell them to come to me."

Wang Mo reluctantly agreed. This was no easy task, but offending the Yuan family was better than crossing the emperor. Besides, what Yuan Yan had said was truly excessive—he deserved the beating!

After this incident, the poetry gathering couldn't continue. The others dispersed and went down the mountain.

After everyone had left, Xie Yiguan crouched in front of Su Yu and said, "Let me carry you down the mountain. Yu Chiyou is carrying a sword and it's inconvenient for him."

His words left Yu Chiyou no room to object.

Su Yu glanced at his slender frame, hesitating to speak. Xie Yiguan smiled and pulled Su Yu's hand to his abdomen. Beneath the fabric were firm abs. "Cousin, don’t worry. I may be a scholar, but I train daily in the six arts of a gentleman. Carrying you down the mountain is no trouble at all."

Su Yu smiled and retracted her hand, "It's not that I don't trust you, cousin, I'm not that frail. Let's go, I can manage the hike down."

Xie Yiguan watched Su Yu's back as she walked ahead, inexplicably feeling a sense of regret.

Returning from Lishan to the capital, it was already late.

Xie Yiguan bid farewell to Su Yu, entered the Xie residence, and then left through a small back door.

The bookstore manager was already waiting for him at the back door, "Here's the list of tutoring schools in Qiantang, young master."

Xie Yiguan was going to Qiantang to establish a school, directly affecting the interests of various tutoring schools, so he had someone investigate the situation of tutoring schools in Qiantang.

He took the list and noticed the bookstore manager had more to say, "If you have something to say, just say it."

The bookstore manager gestured to the carriage behind him, "There's someone in the carriage who says he used to be a eunuch for Princess Pingshan. He doesn't want to return and is in need of money, saying he has important information to sell to you."

Xie Yiguan paused, wasn't Princess Pingshan's eunuch the one who used to be by Su Yu's side? He remembered, Su Yu was assassinated four years ago, and all those servants died, so where did this eunuch come from now?

He said, "Have him come down to talk."

The bookstore manager stepped up and rapped three times on the carriage door, and the person inside immediately came down and walked up to Xie Yiguan.

Xie Yiguan used the light from his lantern to see the person clearly, with a pointed mouth and monkey cheeks, muddy eyes, and no beard, indeed looking like a eunuch. He asked the person, "If you're short of money, wouldn't it be better to sell the information to Premier Cui?"

The person hesitated and said, "I've heard Premier Cui is hard to deal with, not as approachable as Minister Xie. Besides, it was the manager who found me first. If Minister Xie is willing to pay, I'd rather sell the information to him first..."

Xie Yiguan smiled, "Sell to me first? You plan to sell it again later? How much do you want for your information?"

Seeing Xie Yiguan's gentle smile, the person relaxed, "If Minister Xie can come up with a hundred thousand taels of silver at once, I will sell this information only to you."

"What information is so valuable? Why don't you tell me first?" Xie Yiguan asked.

The person wasn't about to be tricked into revealing the information, "I won't say anything without seeing the money first."

Xie Yiguan said, "I'm also concerned that if I produce the money..."

Before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly paused, almost instinctively dodging to the side, as an arrow shot past him and directly pierced the person's throat, not giving him a chance to speak again, and the person fell straight back.

The bookstore manager was thoroughly startled.

Xie Yiguan immediately turned around, looking towards the dark alley—

It was so dark, even if someone was hiding, it would be impossible to see.

His heart skipped a beat, but he quickly calmed down and said to the bookstore manager, "You head back now; I'll take care of this."

The bookstore manager, no stranger to such situations, didn't hesitate. He immediately got on the carriage and left.

After the bookstore manager left, Xie Yiguan pulled out the arrow stuck in the corpse and slowly walked deeper into the alley with the lantern.

Sure enough, he saw Wei Chiyou with his bow.

"Is Zhi Wei's curiosity a bit too heavy?" Su Yu walked out from the darkness on the other side, smiling and asking.

Xie Yiguan calmly said, "I'm just here to return the arrow. This arrow has the Guards' insignia on it, Wei Chiyou should keep it safe; it would be troublesome if it were lost."

He handed the arrow to Wei Chiyou and then bowed to Su Yu, "Cousin, get some rest."

Su Yu chuckled, "Don't you want to know what the secret worth a hundred thousand taels is, Zhi Wei?"

Xie Zhiwei's hand tightened slightly on the lantern he was holding, and many speculations flashed through his mind. He even suspected whether this so-called eunuch was sent by the emperor to test him. However, he quickly dismissed this suspicion. If it were a test, the emperor would not have directly killed the person, which indicated that the emperor indeed had a secret to hide, and this eunuch had indeed betrayed the emperor.

The emperor had only learned of the news slightly earlier than him, and it was fortunate that he had not obtained the answer, otherwise he might not have fared well either.

Xie Yiguan processed the information and, with a restrained smile, said, "When Your Majesty deems it time for me to know, I will naturally find out."

Su Yu chuckled again and lightly patted his shoulder, "The more secrets you're privy to, the greater the danger. I am also protecting you. Now is indeed not the time for you to know. When the time comes, I will announce it to the world, and this secret will no longer be a secret."

She paused briefly and then reminded Xie Yiguan, "By the way, as long as your bookstore and cosmetics shop pay taxes on time, I will not interfere. You can rest assured and manage them well."

She noticed a fleeting look of surprise in Xie Yiguan's eyes and continued, "Leave the body there. You don't need to handle it; someone will take care of it. It's getting late; let's each head home and rest, cousin."

"Cousin—" Xie Yiguan called out to Su Yu, who was about to leave. She turned slowly in the moonlight, her peach blossom eyes bright and without any hint of malice. His gaze softened as well, "Wait for me in the capital. I will not betray the trust you've placed in me."

Su Yu was silent for a moment, then quipped, "Enough with the poetry readings during the day. Can't you just speak plainly in front of me? You know I'm not cultured, and it's tiring for both of us."

Xie Yiguan was momentarily stunned, then couldn't help but laugh. His Majesty was as shrewd as a fox, yet also incredibly endearing.

And the looming threat of rebellion over him completely dissipated with his laughter.