A layer of extremely faint gray-white had begun to spread across the horizon of Qingshi Village.
At some point, the wind and snow had eased somewhat, no longer striking the face like knives as they had before.
They fell finely and densely, landing on the tops of the military tents and along the edges of the braziers that had yet to be extinguished, producing a barely audible rustling sound.
Inside the tent, Xia Lanshi slowly drank the hot water brought by his personal guards.
Occasionally, the footsteps of soldiers on night patrol could be heard outside, mingling with the sound of wind and snow and making the inside of the tent seem especially quiet.
“Your Highness.”
Xia Lanshi set down his cup.
He pushed aside the booklets on the table, took out a fresh sheet of paper, and wrote down several words with his brush.
“You mean that Doctor Su discovered that there is a half-open peony emblem on the headquarters building of the Sheng clan, and that it matches the family crest of Sheng Yuanli’s residence?”
Xiao Yuan nodded.
“He has already shown it to me.”
He raised his eyes toward Xia Lanshi, a trace of profundity in his gaze.
“The design is completely identical. Three outer rings, with the center slightly shifted to the left.”
The tip of Xia Lanshi’s brush paused.
“Then it is no longer merely a coincidence.”
He continued writing, his handwriting slender and neat, line after line falling onto the paper.
Great Sheng—Sheng Yuanli.
Another world—Sheng Chengxiu.
Half-open peony.
The Gate.
Fragments of ancient books.
Several words were written together, like a hidden thread gradually emerging from beneath the surface of the water.
“But how can the Sheng clan transmit messages between the two realms?”
Xia Lanshi put down his brush and looked up at Xiao Yuan.
“Among those capable of crossing between the two realms, only imperial blood and Su family blood exist. If the Sheng clan is unrelated to either of these, then where does the intelligence in their hands come from?”
Xiao Yuan was silent for a moment.
“Su Muchen’s side discovered that at least eight generations ago, the Sheng clan still had dealings with Guichen Studio. The Sheng clan has been laying its plans for far longer than we imagined.”
Xia Lanshi lowered his eyes in thought.
At present, they knew that living creatures capable of passing through the Gate had to possess a special bloodline.
Xiao Yuan carried imperial blood and had already received the Gate’s recognition.
Su Muchen possessed the direct bloodline of the Su clan. As the key to the Gate, he had the qualifications, yet had not truly mastered the method of passing through it.
And Xiao, likewise, possessed the bloodline of a branch-family Gatekeeper of the Su clan.
Blood.
It seemed to be the starting point of everything.
And also the thing everyone was fighting over.
But what were Sheng Yuanli and Sheng Chengxiu truly seeking?
And how had the two of them made contact?
At this thought, he suddenly realized that this matter was connected to a long-sealed memory of his.
His face immediately turned slightly pale.
Chi Banyue was the first to notice something wrong.
“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell again?”
“I’m fine.”
Xia Lanshi picked up the tea that had already gone cold and took a sip.
The cold liquid entered his throat and immediately triggered a bout of light coughing.
Chi Banyue frowned.
“It’s already this cold and you’re still drinking it.”
She immediately ordered the personal guards to replace it with hot water.
After Xia Lanshi drank several mouthfuls of hot tea and his breathing became somewhat steadier, Xiao Yuan finally spoke.
“What did you think of?”
Xia Lanshi was silent for a moment.
He seemed to be organizing those tangled clues.
Only after a long while did he slowly speak.
“The imperial blood is primarily responsible for controlling the Gate. The direct bloodline of the Su clan is primarily responsible for opening the Gate. The bloodline of the branch-family Gatekeepers is responsible for maintaining the Gate. Only when the Emperor and the Su clan are both present can the Gate be opened. Neither can be missing.”
This was all information they had obtained from the Su clan’s ancient books.
“But what if someone possesses only incomplete information?”
Xiao Yuan’s gaze darkened slightly.
In fact, the information they possessed was also nothing more than fragments.
There were still far too many unknowns concerning the Gate.
Xia Lanshi continued,
“If someone only knows that imperial blood is related to the Gate, but does not know that the Su clan is the true key, then what would he do?”
The tent fell silent.
Xia Lanshi raised his eyes. His voice was gentle, yet sharp.
“If my inference is correct, the information in the hands of the Sheng clan in both realms is incomplete. They know of the Gate, but do not understand the Gate. They know that imperial blood is related to the Gate, but do not know the complete conditions for opening it.”
Xiao Yuan was thoughtful.
This indeed corresponded very closely with Sheng Chengxiu’s current actions.
The other party had continually pressured Su Muchen to hand over Guichen Studio, yet had never directly attacked Su Muchen himself.
This meant that Sheng Chengxiu knew Guichen Studio was important, but did not know just how important Su Muchen was.
If he truly knew that Su Muchen himself was the key to the Gate, the situation would probably have long since become completely different from what it was now.
At this thought, Xiao Yuan’s eyes turned cold.
“What is Sheng Yuanli after?”
He knew that Xia Lanshi would suddenly make such an inference, so it certainly had not come from nowhere.
Xia Lanshi raised those pale-red eyes.
Slowly, he uttered two words.
“Stealing blood.”
Chi Banyue froze.
“Stealing blood?”
“Stealing the bloodline.”
Xia Lanshi spoke softly.
“Or, more precisely—to fuse the Sheng clan’s bloodline with the imperial bloodline.”
The tent fell into a brief silence.
Xiao Yuan’s expression remained calm. He had actually considered this possibility before, but lacked sufficient evidence.
If the Great Sheng Sheng clan wanted to transmit information into the other world and establish a foothold there, the simplest method would be to make the Sheng clan possess imperial blood.
As long as someone in one generation succeeded, they could use their imperial blood to resonate with the Su family bloodline in the other world and travel there.
“What evidence do you have?”
Xiao Yuan asked.
Up to this point, everything was merely their speculation. Without evidence, it was all empty talk.
Xia Lanshi was silent for a moment, his white lashes lowered.
Only after a long while did he speak softly.
“Me.”
That single word was spoken lightly, yet was incomparably heavy.
Xiao Yuan’s gaze immediately darkened.
Chi Banyue, however, completely failed to understand.
“What does that mean? You are the evidence?”
Xiao Yuan had not intended to continue discussing it and said evenly, “There is no need to say it.”
Yet Xia Lanshi gently shook his head.
“It’s fine.”
He looked toward Chi Banyue, his expression calm.
“I don’t mind letting Miss Banyue know.”
Xia Lanshi lowered his eyes to the teacup in his hands.
His voice was very soft.
Chi Banyue froze, then nodded.
“Of course. No matter what it is, you are still you.”
Xia Lanshi smiled faintly.
He actually trusted Chi Banyue very much. It was not only because they had known each other for many years. On the journey to the northern border, it was her meticulous care that had allowed him to hold on until now.
Although sometimes she did interfere too much, which gave him quite a headache.
“The world only knows that I am an albino, born under an ill omen. What they do not know is that I am actually the ‘secret child’ of a branch of the Xia clan. Before I was ten, I was kept inside the Xia family and had no household registration.”
Chi Banyue’s breathing caught slightly.
She had never heard Xia Lanshi speak in detail about these things.
“Later, after entering the Prince’s Residence, I used Grand Tutor Xia’s connections and old records to secretly investigate the Xia clan genealogy. That was when I discovered something strange. Every few decades, there would be several children in the clan whose origins were unknown. Some had unidentified fathers, some were illegitimate children, and for some, their origins could not be traced at all.”
Xia Lanshi’s fingertips tightened slightly.
“And I was not the first.”
His current identity had been given to him by Grand Tutor Xia and Xiao Yuan.
Otherwise, he had originally been a child of unknown birth whom no one would have known had he died.
His origins were still a secret now. Everything the world could find about him had been fabricated afterward.
Originally, Xiao Yuan and Grand Tutor Xia had intended this to protect him, but they had inadvertently concealed this secret of the Xia clan as well.
“I once wondered, since they hated me so much, why did they still let me live?”
Before he was ten, he had stayed inside the Xia family, locked in a certain room. There was no sunlight there, and he was not allowed to go outside. He could only remain in that room, which did not even have a window.
Sometimes someone would come in to beat and curse him.
He would deliberately resist and provoke them, making them curse him even more, using that opportunity to learn their language and obtain fragments of information.
At that time, all he knew was that he had no father, his mother had died, and he was an ill-omened child.
Those were the things they repeated most often.
They said that he was hated, that they wished they could beat him to death.
Yet they would still send him the bare minimum amount of water and food, and when he became seriously ill, they would have a physician examine him and give him medicine.
It made no sense.
He had figured it out.
Although these people hated and despised him, they had a reason they had no choice but to keep him alive.
Chi Banyue finally realized how terrifying this was.
“You mean…”
Xia Lanshi slowly nodded.
“I suspect that the Xia branch has always been secretly raising children for certain people, and all those children carry the same blood.”
Chi Banyue could not help asking,
“What blood?”
This time, Xiao Yuan answered for him.
“Imperial blood.”
The tent instantly fell silent.
Chi Banyue stared blankly at the two of them, forgetting even to breathe for a moment.
She first looked at Xiao Yuan, then at Xia Lanshi, and it was as though thunder had exploded in her mind.
Although the two of them did not look particularly alike, and Xia Lanshi’s albinism made him even harder to recognize, if one observed carefully, one could still barely see some resemblance in the shape of their eyes and the bridge of their noses.
After a long while, she suddenly stood up.
“Wait. You mean—you are also that Emperor’s son?”
Xia Lanshi did not deny it.
Chi Banyue walked back and forth twice inside the tent, her mind completely thrown into chaos.
“So the person I used to order around every day was actually a prince? And he’s also the Prince’s younger brother?”
She paused for several seconds before finally squeezing out one sentence.
“This news is simply more shocking than a hundred thousand northern barbarians pressing down on the northern border.”
Chi Banyue picked up the water beside her and took a large gulp.
As it turned out, that cup had also been replaced with hot water by the personal guards when they changed Xia Lanshi’s water.
She immediately burned her mouth badly.
Xia Lanshi had no choice but to order the guards to prepare another cup of cold water for her. Only after she drank it did she finally recover.
The personal guards had no idea what they had been discussing. One moment they wanted hot water, and the next they wanted cold water.
But they did not dare ask questions. After delivering the water, they quickly withdrew.
Xia Lanshi could not help laughing.
“His Majesty does not know. I will only ever be Xia Changshi of the Prince Su’s Residence. That will never change.”
He had no intention of exposing this secret.
It would cause a great deal of trouble, bring no benefit to Xiao Yuan, and bring none to himself either.
Chi Banyue, however, could not laugh at all. She only felt her stomach churning.
If all of this was true, then the matter was far too terrifying.
The Xia family secretly raised children carrying imperial blood, while the Sheng family and Xia family frequently formed marriage alliances. The two families had jointly maintained some kind of plan spanning generations.
They secretly sent women to the imperial bed and quietly gave birth to children.
The purpose of all this might very well have been nothing more than to get closer to that Gate.
Chi Banyue felt both furious and heartbroken for Xia Lanshi.
Those people clearly hated him tremendously, yet they still kept Xia Lanshi alive by the thinnest thread.
It was not because of pity, nor because they had any conscience left.
It was simply because they still needed the blood inside him.
That was all.
If he had not been rescued, he might have spent his entire life being treated as a tool—a tool for continuing the bloodline.
She really wanted to comfort Xia Lanshi, but they were still discussing serious matters, so she held herself back.
She could only record this grudge in her heart for now. Once they returned to the capital and she encountered members of the Xia family, she would certainly make them pay.
“If my inference is correct…”
Xia Lanshi pulled his thoughts back to the main matter.
“The Sheng family and the Xia family should have been cooperating for many years. The Xia family is responsible for the bloodline, while the Sheng family is responsible for power. They are trying to cultivate someone capable of controlling the Gate. It’s just that… they may not know the true answer.”
Although he himself served as evidence, this matter still required deeper investigation before a definite conclusion could be reached.
Xiao Yuan slowly nodded.
Then everything made sense.
The Sheng family knew a great deal, yet they did not know enough.
They knew the Gate existed. They knew imperial blood was important. They believed that creating “controllable imperial blood” would be enough.
Yet they had always been missing the most crucial piece.
“If that is the case…”
Xiao Yuan spoke coldly.
“What we truly need to investigate is probably not only the Crown Prince.”
Xia Lanshi nodded.
“Sheng Yuanli may be the true core of this entire line.”
The candlelight inside the tent flickered faintly, while the wind and snow continued to howl outside.
And a gigantic web that had been buried for decades, or even hundreds of years, had finally begun to reveal its outline.
Xia Lanshi gathered his thoughts and continued,
“This matter still requires deeper investigation. Doctor Su’s side has the Su clan’s ancient texts. Imperial blood is one of the conditions for opening the Gate, so it is impossible for the imperial family to have no records whatsoever. The Sheng family and Xia family must also be investigated from within.”
Xia Lanshi’s fingertips lightly tapped the edge of the paper, a habitual movement he made whenever he was thinking.
Xiao Yuan did not answer immediately.
He had naturally considered this matter before.
The imperial clan’s secret archives contained many old records unknown to outsiders. Some had perhaps never even been carefully read by the Emperor.
If there truly were records related to the Gate among them, then this would no longer merely be a matter of investigating the Sheng and Xia families.
It would involve the entire Great Sheng imperial family’s understanding of the Gate.
“Investigate it,” Xiao Yuan said. “But don’t rush. The secret archives are not a place one can enter freely. Searching through them recklessly will attract attention.”
He did not want to alert Xiao Sheng and have him discover the secret of the Gate instead.
Xia Lanshi nodded, folded the sheet of paper, placed it into another envelope, and wrote four words on the front:
“Investigation of the Sheng Line.”
“What about Sheng Yuanli?”
“Keep watch. Do not alert him,” Xiao Yuan said. “The false accounts from Blackpine Ridge have already been released. They believe we have only discovered Warehouse A and the northern route. While they are relaxed, investigate his people, his money, and his dealings with the Transport Bureau.”
Xia Lanshi acknowledged this, then added,
“And the northern border military camps. If Sheng Yuanli is truly connected to the grain case, the front lines cannot possibly show no reaction. Send people under the guise of inspecting the grain routes and secretly find out whether any generals in the military camps have had private dealings with Sheng Yuanli.”
Xiao Yuan nodded and committed each of these matters to memory.
Outside the tent, the sky gradually brightened, and at some point, the sound of wind and snow stopped.
Xia Lanshi glanced at the gray-white daylight filtering through the gap in the tent door and suddenly said,
“The wooden tablet at Qingshi Village is still standing.”
Xiao Yuan said nothing.
“The villagers pass by it every day and stop to take a look. Some add a few dead pine branches. Others place a small bag of grain beside it.”
Xia Lanshi’s tone was calm, as though he were reporting an ordinary military matter, but Xiao Yuan could hear the weight beneath that calmness.
Qingshi had not perished.
That wooden tablet was not only meant for the people of Qingshi Village. It was also meant for everyone who passed along this road.
The Prince Su had come. The grain had returned. The village had survived.
That was more convincing than any proclamation.
“What about Qin Feng?”
“The Hanchuan light cavalry has taken over the western grain route. Zhao Ping’s injuries have improved, and the northern watchpost has raised its flag again.” Xia Lanshi pushed several documents over. “All the grain carts from the western warehouse at Blackpine Ridge have been transferred. One batch has been left at Qingshi Village and one at Hanchuan. The rest will be sent in batches to the temporary military settlements farther north.”
Xiao Yuan looked through the records.
Every entry had been recorded according to Su Muchen’s evidence format, clearly stating the source, destination, handlers, and method of sealing.
They were neat and orderly, like another form of battle report.
“Have Qin Feng continue recording them according to these rules,” Xiao Yuan said.
“Yes.”
Xia Lanshi then took out the copy of the report stating that “outsiders appeared in Hanchuan asking about Doctor Su” and said quietly,
“These people will find their way to Qingshi Village.”
A flash of coldness crossed Xiao Yuan’s eyes.
“The villagers of Qingshi Village know very little. They only know of the Guichen Medical Sect and Doctor Su. They do not know where Doctor Su is or what he looks like.”
Moreover, the wooden tablet at the village entrance read:
“Thanks to His Highness Prince Su. Thanks to Doctor Su of the Guichen Medical Sect.”
In their hearts, Doctor Su and the Guichen Medical Sect were one and the same. He was not some ordinary person who could simply be captured and interrogated.
Xia Lanshi nodded lightly, determination appearing in his expression.
“So the second version of the story should be released from Hanchuan. The Guichen Medical Sect is an overseas branch, and Doctor Su is merely one of those who knows its methods.”
Xiao Yuan nodded.
“I’ll leave this to you.”
“Rest assured, Your Highness.” Xia Lanshi agreed, then straightened his expression and lowered his voice. “Your Highness, there is one more matter.”
“Speak.”
“It concerns the ‘plan.’”
At the words “the plan,” Xiao Yuan’s expression immediately tightened. The smile between his brows vanished, replaced by a rare solemnity.
“There are too many variables now. We must review the ‘plan’ again and shorten the timeline as much as possible.” Xia Lanshi’s speech was unhurried, but every word was steady. “Otherwise, once the secret of the Gate is exposed, things will become even more troublesome.”
Xiao Yuan’s hand hanging at his side unconsciously clenched, his knuckles turning white.
He had endured for many years and planned for many years.
Now was the critical moment.
He absolutely could not allow the plan to fail at the final stage.
“How much can we shorten it to?” he asked, his voice lower than usual.
Xia Lanshi calculated silently in his heart.
He soon had an answer.
“Three years at the shortest. Five years at the longest.”
This estimate was based on the maximum “throughput” the Gate could currently withstand.
No matter how urgent the situation was, they were ultimately constrained by the Gate’s capacity.
But this was already considerably earlier than what they had originally planned.
Everything was possible only because of Su Muchen’s assistance, which had allowed them to move the timeline forward.
After hearing this, Xiao Yuan’s heart sank slightly.
Three or five years were both too long.
If he were alone, he could wait.
But now Su Muchen’s safety was involved as well, and every additional day felt like torment.
Yet the rules of the Gate were there. There was no use being anxious.
“Shorten it as much as possible,” he said quietly.
“I will do my best, Your Highness.” Xia Lanshi cupped his hands, though there was some reservation in his words.
There were other ways to shorten the timeline.
But the risks would increase accordingly.
They could only choose between two risks: the secret of the Gate being discovered, or the secret plan being detected.
They had to choose the one with the lower risk and the one that would be easier to control.
Thus, the implementation of the plan had to begin as soon as possible.
He took out a map of the northern border defenses. His slender fingertips swept across the paper, eventually stopping at one marked location.
“The First Military City of the Northern Border.” He raised his eyes toward Xiao Yuan. “We must hurry here as soon as possible and begin the next stage of our operation.”
Xiao Yuan nodded, a cold smile appearing at the corners of his lips.
“Xiao Sheng thinks that by driving me to the northern border, he is sending me into a dead end. Yet he does not know that this move is his most foolish one.”
The two discussed several more military matters.
Outside the tent, the sounds of soldiers getting up and moving about could already be heard. Armor plates lightly clinked, and footsteps became intermingled.
Xia Lanshi placed the organized documents into a wooden box, along with a letter that he handed to Xiao Yuan.
Xiao Yuan looked down.
The envelope bore the words:
“To Doctor Su, personally.”
“I have written inside what I wish to ask Doctor Su to do. I’ll trouble Your Highness to deliver it,” Xia Lanshi said warmly.
Xiao Yuan nodded and placed the letter inside his robe.
He looked at Xia Lanshi, his gaze somewhat gentler than usual.
In the past, he had never experienced the affection between siblings.
In the face of power, his relationships with several of his imperial brothers had been worse than those between strangers.
But now, having learned that Xia Lanshi was actually his half-brother, he naturally hoped that this person could live well.
“If Xiao says anything unpleasant to you again, I’ll discipline him for you,” Xiao Yuan suddenly said.
Xia Lanshi was slightly stunned.
He raised his eyes to look at him, seemingly unable to understand where this promise had come from.
But seeing the seriousness in Xiao Yuan’s expression, he did not ask further. He merely curved his lips into a slight smile.
“…Thank you, Your Highness.”
◆◇◆◇◆
The matter at Qingshi Village was wrapped up faster than expected.
After Zhao Ping’s injuries improved, he was eager to return to the northern watchpost.
Xiao Yuan did not stop him. He only let him take several recovered soldiers and a cart of supplies.
Before leaving, Zhao Ping knelt outside Xiao Yuan’s tent and knocked his head against the ground once. He said nothing, simply rose and left.
Xiao Yuan stood beside the tent entrance, watching his back disappear into the snowy mist.
Chi Banyue leaned against the carriage, twirling the short blade in her hand. Her tone was lazy.
“Captain Zhao certainly has some backbone.”
Xia Lanshi sat inside the carriage, wrapped in a thick cloak, with freshly brewed medicine beside him.
“He’s not being tough. He simply doesn’t want to recuperate here and drag everyone else down.”
Chi Banyue snorted.
“Isn’t that still being tough?”
Xia Lanshi did not argue further.
Over at Blackpine Ridge, the Hanchuan light cavalry sent by Qin Feng had finished taking inventory of all the remaining supplies in the western warehouse.
Grain, cotton-padded clothing, military arrows, and account books were being escorted in separate batches back to Hanchuan and Qingshi Village.
The bandit captives were being held separately, while several men in gray were being interrogated individually by Xiao Yuan’s personal guards.
When the news came back, Xiao Yuan was looking over the grain-route reconstruction plan Xia Lanshi had just written.
“The men in gray still haven’t talked?”
The personal guard lowered his head.
“They bit down on poison once, but we stopped them. After that, they have remained silent, refusing both food and water.”
Xiao Yuan was not surprised.
“Keep them locked up. If they won’t eat, feed them. If they won’t drink, force water down them. Make sure they can’t die.”
The guard accepted the order and left.
Xia Lanshi raised his head from the account books and said softly,
“They’re not ordinary spies.”
“Mm.”
“From biting poison to refusing food, all of it was trained into them.” Xia Lanshi’s tone remained calm. “People like this aren’t backed by bandits or ordinary officials of the Transport Bureau.”
Xiao Yuan naturally knew.
People like this would only appear around the true center of power.
The Crown Prince, or… Sheng Yuanli.
Xia Lanshi continued,
“Blackpine Ridge has been stabilized for the time being, but they won’t stop here. Hanchuan has already been targeted, and sooner or later, Qingshi Village will be investigated as well. Your Highness, we need to hurry.”
Xiao Yuan looked toward the tent entrance.
The wind and snow were gradually dying down, but the sky remained gloomy.
“Time waits for no one.”
Xia Lanshi did not deny it.
“So we have to get ahead of them.” He paused. “Your Highness, can we find a way to gain access to the imperial secret archives?”
Xiao Yuan was silent for a moment.
“I’ll make arrangements. But we need a reason that won’t arouse suspicion.”
“Organizing the northern border military intelligence,” Xia Lanshi said. “Reviewing the battle reports and grain-route records from previous years. That reason is legitimate enough, and it won’t attract too much attention.”
Xiao Yuan glanced at him, a trace of an extremely faint smile appearing in his eyes.
“You certainly thought it through.”
Xia Lanshi lowered his eyes.
“I learned it from Doctor Su.”
Xiao Yuan did not contradict him.