Chapter 147

Chapter 147

Inside the Prince of Pingnan's Mansion in southern Western Shu, leaders from various Secret Factions gathered. The failure of the Liangzhou plan caught the southern rebels off guard, and not only that, but a large number of Western Shu rebels had surrendered and been granted amnesty. In just half a month, various rumors about the court had spread across the southern border—all the work of the Crown Prince of Dayuan, who had come to Western Shu in person.

When the Dayuan Emperor overthrew the previous dynasty, the former dynasty's nobles and fallen aristocratic families had all taken refuge in the southern border. These people had lived incognito for years, and only with the covert support of the Prince of Pingnan's Mansion had they managed to gather such a formidable force. Now that the court had detected the existence of the Secret Faction and was aggressively uprooting their planted agents in the capital, if they missed this chance, it would be difficult to ever revive the Yin Dynasty.

"Those people in Liangzhou should never have been kept alive."

"Don't say that. Our current military strength began in Liangzhou... Without them, we couldn't have secretly raised so many private troops."

Most of these veteran generals and their men still had hopes for the Dayuan Emperor, but that was just them. The elite troops raised and trained by the Prince of Pingnan's Mansion had, through years of covert operations, become completely loyal to them. An accident like what happened in Liangzhou City would never happen again.

It's a pity we lost Liangzhou.

"The court has already caught on to the mansion, but it's too late now. The master has fully taken over the Prince of Pingnan's Mansion. The Prince of Pingnan is at death's door; when necessary, cutting off his medicine will solve the problem. But Your Highness, winning the people's support now will be difficult."

The advisor looked at the silent Prince of Pingnan's Heir. It had been over a decade since he took over the Yin dynasty network from the Princess Consort. Over these years, the heir had meticulously planned and orchestrated everything. The entire situation had been unfolding according to their plans—until that Sixth Prince showed up and changed everything.

Who could have predicted that a half-broken pawn would overturn most of their schemes?

The hall fell silent, with only the sand table's map of Dayuan drawing everyone's gaze. For decades, they had never abandoned this land. Now, the most critical position for besieging the southern border was firmly in the hands of the imperial army, and the situation was turning sour for them.

Just then, a messenger hurried in: "Reporting to the master, the Prince of Qin has been executed."

At these words, the Secret Faction members who were arguing about Liangzhou suddenly stopped. The Prince of Qin's Army had caused endless trouble in Western Shu these past months. If not for the Prince of Qin's many disruptions, their army wouldn't have stayed so long in southern Western Shu, missing the opportunity to break through Tianqian Pass... But hadn't the Prince of Qin escaped? How did he suddenly...

They all looked toward the person sitting in the high seat.

"His appetite was too big; he tried to grab too much and lost everything."

The advisor said, "With the Prince of Qin dead, there are no more internal troubles in southern Western Shu."

From the high seat, the Prince of Pingnan's Heir listened to the report and waved the scout out. He took a sip of tea, then set the cup down. In the ensuing silence, the Secret Faction members realized that the Prince of Qin's death had likely been the master's plan all along. They fell silent, one by one. The master and the Princess Consort had laid so many plans over the years, with so many contingencies in place—they couldn't let one Liangzhou throw them into chaos.

The mansion's advisor stepped forward: "Master, what should we do now?"

The Prince of Pingnan's Heir looked at the sand table. Amid the seemingly declining situation, his gaze settled on the upper part of the sand table.

One spot was the capital, far from the conflict; the other was the rock-solid northern border.

"It's almost time."

...

Liangzhou was peaceful.

After things stabilized, the Liangzhou rebels surrendered and became the Liangzhou Army, with military authority handed over to Qi Hanzhou to coordinate with the imperial army in defending Liangzhou, Western Shu. During this time, Old General Chen in Jiangnan joined forces with the Prince Jin's Mansion, barely managing to hold off Marquis Cen'an's army across three prefectures. The great river at Ningjiang County became a natural defense, and Old General Chen, having spent years in Jiangnan, had gained experience dealing with naval forces.

Upon hearing the good news from Liangzhou, word came from Jiangnan that Old General Chen had found a way to coordinate with the elite troops stationed in Jiangling. The battle line in the Jiangnan direction was now basically secure.

"Chen Shoude's meaning is that as long as we don't hold things up and let people through, they can hold the line on their side," a general said.

"This Chen Shoude is getting too arrogant! His temper's grown over those years in Jiangnan!" General Lu grumbled. "If they need troops, we could spare some from our end."

That night, the soldiers inevitably had a little wine.

Outside the command tent, quite a few people were already sitting—some veteran generals from the Liangzhou Army, and the rest from the imperial army.

After all, they had clashed on the battlefield, and there was inevitably some tension between the warriors. Since they would be defending Western Shu together from now on, General Lu suggested that a couple of drinking sessions would smooth things over—to wash away the bad luck and build bonds.

It was rare for the army to have such a relaxed and lively time. Everyone knew it was a brief respite from work; they drank but didn't overdo it.

When Ying Fusheng arrived, the other generals hadn't expected him to come and quickly rose to make room. Ying Fusheng shook his head, telling them to carry on. His gaze swept to Qi Hanzhou, and he walked over to sit beside him.

The Crown Prince had rarely left his tent while ill. Now that he was just recovering, a faint trace of sickness lingered on his face. As soon as he arrived, many eyes were on him, worried that some bad luck might rub off on His Highness. Ying Fusheng paid them no mind, telling them to act as usual. As he sat among them, everyone realized that despite all the scheming in Western Shu, the Crown Prince was only just over eighteen years old.

Among this group of rough warriors, he was barely more than a youth.

After a while, seeing that the Crown Prince had no further orders, the warriors stopped worrying and continued drinking and chatting.

"Not staying in the tent?" Qi Hanzhou asked.

"Heard the noise and came out to see," Ying Fusheng replied, catching the faint smell of alcohol on Qi Hanzhou. It was rare—he seldom smelled it on him. He knew Qi Hanzhou always carried a wineskin at his waist but rarely drank. Still, Ying Fusheng knew he must have a high tolerance.

Thinking this, he reached out to grab the wineskin hanging at Qi Hanzhou's waist, only to have his hand silently stopped. Around them, the soldiers were laughing and joking. The two sat close together, their clasped hands hidden beneath the bright campfire, creating a strangely intimate feeling.

Perhaps it was because they had been staying together longer these days, but Qi Hanzhou had noticed that the other's small gestures had increased.

When ill, sharing a bed, he always liked to play with the ends of Qi Hanzhou's hair. Sometimes, when moving too much, he preferred to lean against him while sleeping. Qi Hanzhou understood that his body temperature was off, but every time he was teased like this, he found it hard to sleep through the night. There had once been restraint between them, but after crossing that line once, touching had become an everyday thing.

Qi Hanzhou held his hand, warming his slightly cold palm in a spot no one could see. When ill, his hands were hot; after illness, they were overly cold. Either way, they needed warming.

Around them, the campfire crackled with warmth, and the soldiers' relaxed, carefree voices filled the air.

Ying Fusheng spoke casually: "I heard from Xuan Jiu that you've been looking into the Princess Consort Pingnan lately."

Much could be learned from the Liangzhou rebels. Though they hadn't openly implicated the Prince of Pingnan's Mansion, the Western Shu rebels had been receiving aid from it for years. Before coming to Western Shu, their assessment of the mansion had already become clear: the southern rebel forces couldn't have been built without the mansion's decades of management.

Now, within the mystery of the Prince of Pingnan's Mansion, the Princess Consort was key.

Ying Fusheng had mentioned this to Qi Hanzhou.

"Earlier, about the Princess Consort..." Qi Hanzhou paused, glancing at Ying Fusheng. Though not stated outright, being familiar with such intelligence suggested it came from someone close to the women's quarters. In the court, only the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Clan could access such records.

The Ministry of Rites was under the Eighth Prince, and the Imperial Clan likely involved the Empress Dowager and Empress Xu.

Ying Fusheng noticed Qi Hanzhou's look and knew he was concerned about his relationship with Empress Xu. The child-swapping incident had been covered up, and now that he was Crown Prince, these matters had to remain buried in the shadows forever.

He deftly avoided the topic: "When the late emperor overthrew the former dynasty, the seeds of trouble were probably all left in Jiangnan."

"My father had dealings with the Prince of Pingnan's Mansion. In my memory, she was a very kind person," Qi Hanzhou said, noticing his evasion, then continued: "That impression is shared by these old Liangzhou soldiers."

But kindness was a past impression. Since learning that the Secret Faction originated from the Prince of Pingnan's Mansion, they knew disguise was what these hidden factions did best.

"In the eyes of these Western Shu people, the Prince of Pingnan's Mansion, as Dayuan's symbol guarding the southern border, naturally had an affinity with the local garrison and people from the start. The Princess Consort was kind-hearted; in the early days of Dayuan's founding, she devoted herself to aiding refugees," Ying Fusheng said, drawing from intelligence sent by the court. In her early years, the Princess Consort had done much to help refugees in chaotic times. "With her status, backed by the Prince of Pingnan's Mansion, rescuing refugees was the perfect cover for the Former Dynasty Remnants hiding in the shadows."

"The former dynasty is hard to investigate. After the affair with Concubine Xian and the Second Prince, I used my position in the Brocade Guard to look into certain secret archives. At that time, the former dynasty's imperial clan was hunted down, but the dynasty was already falling apart. Some members' bodies were never confirmed," Qi Hanzhou said. He knew that if the Princess Consort was truly part of the Secret Faction, and she could command the loyalty of the former dynasty's remnants in the chaos, her identity must be extraordinary. "This Secret Faction can only be from the former imperial clan."

The mastermind had once tried to support the Second Prince to the throne, but now he was a discarded piece. To revive the dynasty, the mastermind's faction must be tied to the former imperial clan. Either the Princess Consort or Concubine Xian had to be connected to it.

That was the only explanation. Pei Yi had been saved by the Liangzhou Army back then, and at that time, the Liangzhou Army followed the Prince of Pingnan. If this was all the Princess Consort's doing, then in Dayuan's early days, using the Prince of Pingnan's Mansion to protect and settle southern refugees while sheltering the former dynasty remnants hunted by Dayuan—this would explain everything from Jiangnan to Western Shu: the Fei family in civil matters, the local garrisons in military... She might have been laying these plans from the very beginning.

Ying Fusheng had been releasing news about Liangzhou these days. Like the captured rebel generals at Tianqian Pass, many were shaken by the Liangzhou affair. But the last rebel army in Liangzhou didn't care about the truth at all. Southern Western Shu had been unusually stable lately, with no probing attacks. This calm signaled one thing.

This rebel army no longer needed the Prince of Pingnan's Mansion's cover or maneuvering. It was now fully under the mastermind's control.

"The Liangzhou Army is special, Qi Hanzhou. For the remaining rebels in the south, we can only prepare for them all to be enemies," he said softly.

Qi Hanzhou understood. After Liangzhou, if they wanted peace in the south, whether the people were from Western Shu or not, only swords and blades remained. He was about to say more when suddenly he tensed with alertness and tightened his grip on the other's hand.

This sudden change made Ying Fusheng frown. "What's wrong?"

Qi Hanzhou patted his back reassuringly. "Wait for me here."

He stood up quietly and slipped behind the tent unnoticed.

Behind the tent, the Ye brothers stood with two Light Garment Guards, and before them lay the corpse of an assassin. The body was already decomposing and hadn't been dealt with yet. When they saw Qi Hanzhou approach, they quickly said, "Junior General."

"How did they get in?" Qi Hanzhou asked.

"By blending into a merchant convoy transporting medicine from nearby counties and evading the city's defenses," Ye Xuanjiu replied.

Since Liangzhou was retaken, assassins hidden within the city had launched successive attempts on the Crown Prince's life. The Secret Faction seemed determined to kill His Highness, sending assassins repeatedly. During this time, on Qi Hanzhou's orders, all food and medicine for the Crown Prince were handled exclusively by trusted aides to prevent another poisoning attempt from the former dynasty.

"Interrogate the medicine convoy members, and make sure there are no slip-ups in the inspections at the upper Liang River and when supply convoys enter the city." Qi Hanzhou frowned as he crouched to examine the corpse. The barely recognizable clothing showed signs of careful disguise. "Also, thoroughly check returning troops when they come back into the city. The former dynasty's assassins include experts in disguise."

The Ye brothers understood—Liangzhou couldn't afford any mistakes.

As the Light Garment Guards disposed of the body, Qi Hanzhou turned to leave, only to find Ying Fusheng standing behind him. He paused, hearing him ask, "How many does this make?"

"Five," Qi Hanzhou said.

The Secret Faction's intent to kill Ying Fusheng was now completely out in the open. Everyone embroiled in the Southern Frontier situation knew the Crown Prince was pivotal. As long as he remained at the front lines, three Ministers in the court kept the chaos in the capital under control, Prince Jin's Estate in Jiangnan and the key pass at Jiangling obeyed his commands unconditionally, not to mention hidden players like Xiao Yan of the Censorate.

When the court's urgent decree arrived, Qi Hanzhou also received a secret order from the Emperor. The Emperor had sent many personal guards south, putting them under Qi Hanzhou's command and ordering all Brocade Guards in the southern frontier to prioritize protecting the Crown Prince.

The entire southern frontier was held together by the Eastern Palace alone.

Watching the Light Garment Guards handle the corpse, Ying Fusheng murmured, "Are they getting desperate?"

No—but there were no obvious signs of activity. Now that the imperial court had fully suppressed the southern frontier, the Secret Faction could hardly get past the defensive lines to the north. Any movement would be obvious. Couldn't rule out other hidden agents in the north, but with the Pingnan Prince's Estate under full surveillance, they couldn't act as quietly as before.

"Let's go back."

The assassin business couldn't be talked about openly, or it would cause unrest in the camp.

Qi Hanzhou noticed some people by the bonfire already looking over. The Crown Prince being away would draw attention. Ying Fusheng understood his concern. As they walked back, they saw a group still chatting, many glancing their way.

"Talking about?" Ying Fusheng asked offhandedly.

"Oh, nothing much. You mentioned earlier that the Secret Faction are Former Dynasty Remnants, so we were talking about those old days," a general said. "When the subject came up, everyone gathered to listen. Old General Lu, go on—what did your old man say just now?"

"It's just a rumor. The former dynasty's emperor was corrupt and useless, and word has it that some in the royal family were unhappy and wanted to take power. They allied with the Northern Barbarians, which led to the loss of Mobei and Western Shu and allowed the Northern Barbarians to advance south." As General Lu spoke, the other officers turned to listen. Seeing this, he added, "Just a rumor, nothing to take seriously. My father was drunk and rambling…"

Before he finished, Ying Fusheng's expression darkened. "Old General Lu said this?"

"A rumor, just a secret tale from the former dynasty," General Lu said, noticing the Crown Prince's changed expression. He straightened up quickly. "It might not be true. What—what's wrong?"

From these words, Ying Fusheng realized an extremely serious issue.

His Imperial Father had always been especially wary of the Northern Barbarians. He had assumed it was because the northern tribes might seize the chaos to ally with the Secret Faction and invade Dayuan while it was consumed by internal conflict.

But if the Secret Faction had already secretly allied with the Northern Barbarians before Dayuan was founded… then that must be the real reason his father the Emperor was so wary!