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When they were a dozen or so metres away, Chu Xiang reached over and pressed hard on his wound, causing fresh blood to well up between his fingers. Before Lan Jue could express his surprise, he felt two chilly fingers quickly touch the corner of his mouth. Blood cooled quickly once it left the body and what touched his mouth was already cold, but he felt as if he had been scalded.
“What are you doing!” he scolded quietly.
Bai Jing’an moved to greet them. When he arrived, Chu Xiang was leaning on Lan Jue’s with his head buried in his shoulder and his arms hanging limply, looking as if he was too injured to speak.
Seeing this scene, what Bai Jing’an intended to say instead became, “Lord Lan encountered an assassination attempt?”
Lan Jue pursed his lips in displeasure. “Obviously.”
“This–” Bai Jing’an hesitated for a few seconds, then reached for Chu Xiang’s hand. Lan Jue retreated half a step and glared, causing him to hastily explain, “I only wish to examine Sir Chu’s injuries.”
Although Bai Jing’an’s tone was respectful, his actions were very forceful as he stepped forward and took Chu Xiang’s hand. The man’s pulse was floating and irregular, indeed not faked, and as soon as he made contact, he knew that this person’s physique was very poor and he had no foundation in martial arts. If a person like this was made to fight, they would pass out before anyone could pull out a sword.
“May I ask what kind of assassin you encountered?”
The purportedly unconscious Chu Xiang was worried for a moment, but fortunately, Lan Jue wasn’t as brainless as rumours said. “I haven’t even complained about Commander Bai’s improper defence, yet you’re interrogating me?” he immediately shot back. “Could it be that I stabbed my own man and gave each other internal injuries on a short walk outside, just to trick you?”
Then he raised his chin to show the bloodstain on his lips.
Yang Feng hurried to their side and, not knowing the truth, was frightened out of his wits. “My Lord, you’re hurt!!!”
“Internal injuries, I’m fine.”
The scene became chaotic — it wasn’t good for Lan Jue to argue with Iron-Clad Guards, the Guards didn’t care for Yang Feng who was at the same level as them, and there was also the addition of Chu Hexing, who swore constantly and refused to stop jumping around. Bai Jing’an could only silently accept their accusations and signal his men to call for a medic.
“My Lord encountered assassins and had to escape the post house in order to avoid them, and was even injured. But you, Commander Bai, as soon as you came you surrounded us without a word because you thought we were harbouring assassins. If we were, would our lord be hurt? This is obviously a false accusation. Slandering the lord of a principality is a serious crime!” Yang Feng shouted.
Bai Jing’an was unmoved. “An elder from the Observatory was murdered tonight, and we found marks belonging to a unique sword skill from Western Tang, so we were obligated to investigate. I hope the lord doesn’t blame us.”
An elder from the Observatory?
While Chu Xiang pretended to be half-dead, he was confused because he thought that whoever was inside the Observatory’s carriage had been fake. So in other words, the real person met assassins at the same time? The real and fake goods died together?
“Are you a fool!” Chu Hexing yelled. “Everyone knows not to let others recognise you if you fight on the street, do you think assassins don’t know how to disguise themselves?”
“Even if that is the case,” Bai Jing’an said, still calm and not at all affected merely because the person scolding him had a low status, “the technique used by the assassin is very obscure. I would not have recognised it either if not for previously crossing blades with a skilled swordsman from Western Tang.”
“That doesn’t mean we haven’t been framed, they can be subtle too!” Chu Hexing argued back with Bai Jing’an’s own vocabulary.
Bai Jing’an fell silent. Western Tang’s borders weren’t peaceful, the people there were martially inclined; it was said that there was a technique popular throughout the principality called the Thirteen Styles of Duanshui, which Lan Jue himself also used in battle. With its widespread fame, it would be easy to imitate it. There was indeed a large possibility that the evidence on the Observatory elder which pointed to Western Tang’s sword style was deliberately planted.
However, he did not give in. “This matter involves an elder of the Observatory and I can only act according to the orders given. The astrologers of the Observatory are not ordinary people, and their abilities may be of use in desperate times such as now. Thus, I ask the lord to temporarily remain in the post house — we will dispatch additional men to protect your safety.”
The commander steadily strode away amidst Chu Hexing’s scolding, while the remaining Guards melted into the darkness yet did not leave.
Lan Jue crossed the door’s threshold, and after confirming that there weren’t any eavesdroppers, Chu Xiang lifted his head from within his embrace.
“Many thanks, Your Excellency,” he said as Chu Hexing slowly supported him to sit at the table. The night was quiet and there was no sign of the medic. Chu Xiang sadly glanced at his blood-soaked clothes, then couldn’t help but say to Chu Hexing, “Help me boil some water, I want to wash–”
“No,” Lan Jue interjected, “you’re too weak, don’t touch water.”
Chu Xiang: “…” I miss the time when people listened to me!
“Just now, it was fortunate that you had quick wits,” Lan Jue said.
“…Your Excellency was the one who saved me first,” Chu Xiang said. “There is no way for me to repay you, my life and body both belong to you.”
Although his face was pale, his wan smile still made Lan Jue’s heart confused.
Things felt strange for a moment. Lan Jue didn’t look away and neither did Chu Xiang, which made Lan Jue feel a trickle of admiration.
“Who do you think is framing us?” he asked.
Yang Feng was even more bewildered. “Our Western Tang has always kept a low profile, why does someone suddenly want to target us?”
“Not just us, an elder from the Observatory died as well. They dared to touch the emperor’s most beloved Observatory, and even succeeded. I don’t believe this is something Eastern Tang can do from thousands of miles away. The person plotting against you should be within Tianyan and their goal can also be guessed: they want the emperor to dispose of you. They know that in order to destabilise a vassal state, they must either send troops to raze it to the ground or let the emperor take action while holding the moral high ground,” Chu Xiang replied. “This person’s status must be sufficiently high, but tonight you left the post house and gave them a chance. I must ask, how did you know to appear there at that exact moment?”
Lan Jue did not answer. He seamlessly changed the subject instead. “Any candidates?”
“Not yet.” Chu Xiang thought that he didn’t want to reveal any spying assignments, so he obediently followed the topic. “You should have no enemies in the capital. A failed marriage proposal shouldn’t result in a feud.”
In comparison, it was Chu Xiang who had offended more people. His poem which cursed people to die was still making rounds in the streets.
“We are in the open. No matter who it is, just wait and see,” Lan Jue said unhurriedly.
“But Excellency, what will you do if the emperor intervenes?”
Lan Jue frowned. “Tell the truth.”
“Our enemy has made everything look like a coincidence, and in addition, your actions tonight did leave loopholes. Anything you say will only increase suspicion.”
“Then what do you think?”
Chu Xiang began chuckling. “Don’t the rumours say you’re illiterate? You can play into it a bit. There’s no need to explain too much, because most people will feel that someone who’s illiterate doesn’t have the brains to scheme like this.”
I just don’t know if lords of principalities have ever studied acting, Chu Xiang thought.
As they were discussing, there was the sound of wind coming from outside the window. Lan Jue raised a hand and caught the stone which flew through the window.
There were three words carved on it with a small knife:
Awaiting your arrangements
Lan Jue let out an admiring breath. “What good skills. There are Iron-Clad Guards everywhere, yet the assassins have the means to pass a message! It seems Sir Chu’s vision is quite good.”
“Your Excellency, leave the assassins to me, you just focus on dealing with the emperor.”
* * *
Chu Xiang didn’t guess wrong — the next day, the emperor unprecedentedly attended morning court for once. An edict was sent to the various lords four hours in advance to notify them that the emperor would be present and everyone was summoned.
The emperor — already over sixty years old — sat on the dragon throne, accompanied by his beautiful young concubines. Two women lay bonelessly on his fat belly, while his imperial sister sat below him with a scrupulously proper posture.
When the ministers saluted, it was Princess Qinghe who allowed them to rise. The emperor’s gaze remained on his favoured concubines, who knew if there was any meaning to his presence here.
Ten years ago, when the current emperor ascended the throne, he chose Changle1With the characters 长乐, meaning long-lasting joy as the era name. At the time, the world’s forces had been divided for a long time and the power of the central government was weak, it was impossible for them to recover overnight. In addition, this emperor was an only son so he had no choice but to ascend even though he hardly had the qualifications to rule even a city. This depleted the country’s fortunes even further, and in recent years, the Changle Emperor seemed to have lost interest in everything and spent his time wallowing in whatever enjoyment he could get before the world changed hands.
The ministers were used to this.
Below the emperor, standing at around the same level as the Grand Princess, was a young man. He had black hair and black clothes, wore no jewellery, and had a single long lock of grey hair on his left temple. His eyes seemed to have no pupils, so looking into them was like falling into the void or into an abyss of stars.
This was Qu Lingxin, the master of the Observatory and the person the emperor relied upon the most, even more prominent than the Grand Princess.
Although the common people denounced these people as charlatans, the Observatory was a serious institute set up to support ‘astronomy officials’. The phrase ‘whomever obtains Longque, obtains the world’ first came from something Qu Lingxin derived from the stars. No one knew how he reached this conclusion, but the emperor had the utmost faith in both him and it.
Grand Princess Qinghe, not daring to let the emperor know that she lost the Longque sword, suppressed the matter while Bai Jing’an and the Iron-Clad Guards became busy, only saying to the outside world that they were capturing troublemaking rebels and assassins. The emperor himself only cared to know where Longque was, he had no interest in the details and wasn’t the kind to meddle.
The emperor was silent as he leaned against the cushions and drank wine. After a while, Qu Lingxin looked in a certain direction and suddenly said, “Last night, an elder of the Observatory met his end on his way home. The stars have informed me that the assassin is from Jinzhou, which Commander Bai Jing’an of the Iron-Clad Guards has also confirmed. Lord Lan, where were you when this incident occurred?”
Before he departed, Chu Xiang had disregarded the doctor’s orders to stumble his way, dishevelled and barefoot, out of bed and into Lan Jue’s room. The man had looked neither elegant nor dignified, and his hair was even a little messy from rolling on his bed, but even so, his expression was serious as he gripped Lan Jue’s wrist. “No, this time your opponents are all cunning vipers, I can’t not worry,” he had said.
Lan Jue’s heart skipped a beat, then raced like a little wolf pup jumping for joy at seeing the moon.
“You have to pay attention to traps in other people’s words, and times and places…” Chu Xiang rambled for a long time, then he shook his head. “Remember your character, don’t seem too smart or too polite, why don’t I act it out for you…”
Recalling that guy pretending to be ‘the Lord of Western Tang who has rocks for brains’ as if he had any strength in his body, Lan Jue almost couldn’t resist bursting into laughter right then.
Qu Lingxin’s gaze returned from the void and fell on Lan Jue.
So Lan Jue calmly followed the script. “I also crashed into assassins outside the post house last night. When was Elder Lin killed? Could it be that we met the same bunch of assassins?”
He appeared very angry, even learning from the way Chu Hexing’s roughneck accent would come out when she became agitated.
“This is Tianyan, the capital, and they still dare to show their faces at the post house for lords to live in! They’re lucky they run fast otherwise I’d’ve bashed their heads in!”
Many ministers showed forbearing expressions and couldn’t bear to look at him — Lan Jue, the Lord of Western Tang, indeed looked exceedingly handsome, but…
He was so vulgar! Too violent, there wasn’t a bit of refinement in him.
Author:
If you try hard, anyone can get a little gold man! In addition, Little Xiangxiang’s invincible golden body is being reassembled, the first part will be here soon!
Translator:
There’ll be an extra chapter released next Monday to celebrate the New Year.
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- 1With the characters 长乐, meaning long-lasting joy
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