As soon as the peddler received the heavy silver ingot and heard what Xue Yan said, he hurriedly began making change while smiling.
“Young Master, you look so young, yet you already have a wife?”
He did not notice at all that the other young master beside this one had quietly turned red at the ears.
“No need for change.” Xue Yan could not be bothered to carry around a bunch of loose silver. He took the pair of jade pendants and turned to leave.
The peddler immediately realized that he had encountered a generous customer.
He hurriedly offered a few auspicious words.
“Then thank you, Young Master! May you and your wife have a marriage lasting a hundred years, and may you have a son soon!”
Rarely did Xue Yan reveal even a faint smile to an outsider like this.
“Thank you,” he said.
But immediately afterward, he was dragged away by Jun Huailang.
Jun Huailang pulled him some distance away before lowering his voice.
“What nonsense are you talking about? Who is your wife?”
Xue Yan only smiled without answering.
Jun Huailang could do nothing with him.
Seeing his ears turning red, Xue Yan smiled as he pulled him toward a less crowded place by the roadside.
“I said it wrong. I’m your wife, all right?”
Jun Huailang shot him a sideways glare.
Once they had stopped somewhere with fewer people around, Xue Yan clenched one of the jade pendants in his palm, freed his other hand, and tied the other one around Jun Huailang’s waist.
He tied it quite seriously, lowering his head. The crown of his black hair gently brushed against the tip of Jun Huailang’s nose.
After a moment, Xue Yan finished tying the jade pendant.
The jade pendant was of such poor quality that hanging from Jun Huailang’s robes, it looked somewhat mismatched. Yet Xue Yan looked extremely satisfied. After tying it on, he even looked him up and down.
Jun Huailang could not help laughing at him.
“How did you suddenly think of buying this little thing?”
Xue Yan answered seriously, “Didn’t you hear what the stall owner said? The knot on it is a same-heart knot.”
“Hmm?” Jun Huailang was somewhat puzzled.
Xue Yan gave a low laugh and moved closer.
“Tied around you, doesn’t that mean I’ve tied you down?” he said.
He was actually this childish.
Jun Huailang thought this to himself, yet his heart could not help softening even more, and the smile on his lips deepened.
Beneath the dimming lantern lights, Xue Yan suddenly moved closer. Before Jun Huailang could react, he quickly kissed him on the lips, then immediately pulled back.
“You…”
Before Jun Huailang could say anything, Xue Yan stuffed the jade pendant in his own hand into Jun Huailang’s.
“Quickly. Tie me down too,” he said.
——
The Embroidered Uniform Guards traveled very quickly.
From the day Guo Rongwen was imprisoned, the Embroidered Uniform Guards had gathered all the evidence, including the IOUs written when Young Master Xu bought and sold courtesans, and sent everything to Chang’an.
Several days later, they arrived.
The Embroidered Uniform Guards moved swiftly and extremely discreetly. Not until they had entered Chang’an did the court and the common people receive even the slightest bit of news.
But Chang’an had always been the Eastern Depot’s territory. Here, they had eyes and ears everywhere.
The moment the Embroidered Uniform Guards entered Xuanwu Gate, Donghua Gate had already received the news.
Outside Donghua Gate, at the Eastern Depot, it was the scorching height of summer. Chang’an’s summers were dry and hot. A basin of ice had been placed in Duan Chong’s room, steadily melting and sending cool air upward.
He put down the half-peeled grape in his hand and picked up the secret letter delivered by one of the Eastern Depot’s agents.
After a moment, he slowly laughed.
Wu Shunhai, who was serving at his side, hurriedly moved closer when he saw his expression.
“Chief Eunuch, what is it?”
Duan Chong handed the secret letter to Wu Shunhai.
Wu Shunhai took it and read it carefully.
“This… The Prince of Guangling actually intends to make such a huge move?” he exclaimed.
Wu Shunhai gave two rough laughs and picked up another grape, beginning to peel it.
The letter said that the Prince of Guangling had sent several Embroidered Uniform Guards to deliver a secret letter into the Emperor’s hands. Hidden within the letter was evidence that the Xu family had embezzled funds from Jiangnan and provided aid to people sent by the Yunnan Prince to cause unrest in Jiangnan.
“Then isn’t the Xu family going to be completely ruined by the Prince of Guangling?” Wu Shunhai exclaimed.
Although the Xu family could not compare with an old-established noble house like the Jun family, it had endured through several generations of emperors and was now more powerful than ever.
No one could have imagined that there would come a day when the Xu family would fall.
Duan Chong laughed.
“The Xu family?” he said. “That boy’s appetite doesn’t stop there.”
Wu Shunhai was puzzled.
“What else does he want to do?”
Looking across the entire Great Yong court, although the Jiang family engaged in factional politics, they had never interfered in the imperial harem or the succession. Other than the Xu family, who else had the ability or ambition to contend for the throne?
As long as Xue Yan brought down the Xu family, wouldn’t the imperial throne eventually fall securely into his hands?
What else could he possibly want besides that?
Duan Chong glanced at him and shook his head.
“He clearly wrote the Yunnan Prince’s name in his letter,” he said. “Tell me, if His Majesty sees it, what decision do you think he will make?”
Wu Shunhai answered without hesitation.
“Given His Majesty’s temperament, naturally he will send troops…”
He stopped.
“You mean… the Prince of Guangling wants military power as well?”
Duan Chong put the peeled grape into his mouth and picked up a handkerchief to wipe his hands.
“Although military commanders have a low status in Great Yong, there are plenty of troops in the court,” he said. “And he grew up in Yan-Yun. He went onto the battlefield when he was barely in his teens. How many battles has he fought against the Turks? If he goes to fight the Yunnan Prince, wouldn’t winning be only a matter of time?”
“You mean…”
Duan Chong looked outside the door.
Outside, the camphor trees were lush and green, while the cries of cicadas rang continuously in his ears.
“If he wins this battle, let alone bringing down the Xu family, he will also be able to cultivate his own influence within the military,” he said. “At that point, he will have support everywhere, and no one will be able to contend with him. Wouldn’t the imperial throne belong to him sooner or later?”
Wu Shunhai nodded along.
“Then why is the Chief Eunuch unhappy?” he asked. “We’ve already chosen the Prince of Guangling’s side and helped him so much. Wouldn’t the Chief Eunuch be able to sleep soundly without worry by then?”
But Duan Chong slowly said, “The longer the night, the more dreams there are.”
Upon hearing those four words, Wu Shunhai also fell silent.
The Emperor was currently in good health and was only in his forties. As long as nothing unexpected happened, ruling for another ten-odd years would be effortless.
By then, Xue Yan would already be at the height of his power. But who knew what the situation would be like ten-odd years from now?
Besides, no one understood better than the people of the Eastern Depot how changeable people could be. At present, although they had given Xue Yan timely assistance when he was in desperate need, judging from the letters Duan Shisi sent back regularly, they also knew that Xue Yan trusted the Eastern Depot more than the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
But if Xue Yan enjoyed ten-odd years of peaceful days with everything firmly in his grasp and so many followers at his side, who could say whether he would still remember this little bit of kindness from the Eastern Depot?
There were simply too many variables they would have to face.
For them, the ideal situation would be for Xue Yan to remain frustrated and unable to achieve his ambitions, then ascend the throne with their assistance. Or else for Xue Yan to ascend the throne quickly within a few years, allowing them to take advantage of the current situation and profit as much as possible through him.
But now, the development of the situation was already beyond their control.
Thinking of this, Wu Shunhai’s expression also became solemn.
“Then this… Chief Eunuch, what should we do?” he asked.
Duan Chong picked up his teacup and took a sip, washing away the cloying sweetness of the grapes in his mouth.
“Naturally, we cannot truly let him have things go so smoothly,” he said.
Wu Shunhai nodded repeatedly.
He had been born into servitude and had always been exceptionally good at reading people’s expressions. Seeing Duan Chong’s expression, he knew that the Chief Eunuch already had an idea.
“Do you mean…” Wu Shunhai ventured.
“Isn’t Lingfu still on the Xu family’s boat?” Duan Chong said slowly. “If he finds out, the Xu family will certainly find out too, won’t they?”
Wu Shunhai’s face turned bitter.
“But the Embroidered Uniform Guards have always acted secretly. Surely they won’t easily let Lingfu…”
He paused.
“You mean, we should give them a little warning?”
Duan Chong smiled.
“Exactly,” he said. “As for what happens afterward, the Xu family, with death staring them in the face, can figure it out for themselves.”
If he could make Xue Yan and the Xu family fight each other, no matter what the outcome was, it would benefit him and do him no harm.
If Xue Yan won, he would still suffer a severe blow. If Xue Yan lost, the Xu family would have no way to put him to death either.
Duan Chong particularly enjoyed this kind of tug-of-war, the pleasure of keeping people under his control and taming them in the palm of his hand. Wounding them himself, then personally giving them a sweet date afterward, making them unable to tell who their enemy was while still being grateful to him.
It was truly interesting, and there was profit to be gained from it.
Meanwhile, the Embroidered Uniform Guards had already entered Qingping Emperor’s imperial study.
Qingping Emperor was reviewing memorials, with Lingfu serving at his side. When he saw several men in ordinary clothing requesting an audience, Qingping Emperor put away the memorial and glanced at Lingfu beside him.
When Lingfu saw the men enter, he secretly sized them up, trying to discern clues from their speech and mannerisms so that he could identify their identities.
But those men knelt before Qingping Emperor and said nothing at all.
Just as Lingfu was about to examine them further, he received Qingping Emperor’s gaze.
It meant for him to leave.
Lingfu naturally did not dare disobey the imperial command. He bowed and silently withdrew.
The door to the imperial study closed heavily behind him.
Lingfu glanced back several times before walking beneath the corridor and asking the little eunuch stationed there, “Those few who just went in—could you tell what kind of people they were?”
The little eunuch shook his head blankly.
Lingfu gritted his teeth and cursed him.
He knew that even if he asked someone else now, he would not be able to find anything out. People like them who served in the palace might appear to live glorious lives, but only they themselves knew how unsafe their positions truly were.
If they served the master before them well, they could enjoy endless wealth and honor. But they were merely vines growing from a great tree. If the tree fell, they would be finished along with it.
Thus, while serving the Emperor before him, he also needed to find himself a way out.
He had originally thought the Xu family was reliable. They were powerful and prominent in court, had favored consorts in the imperial harem, and even had their own imperial heir.
But unexpectedly, that Jieyu had brought about her own downfall, while the Xu family, relying on its enormous influence, had taken several dangerous moves. Instead of gaining any benefit, they had put themselves in an extremely precarious position.
Lingfu could not help feeling resentful.
Although he accompanied the Emperor every day in the palace, the eyes and ears he had under him were limited to the palace.
Now that his support outside the palace was about to collapse, he had no way to do anything about it.
He looked toward the imperial study again.
It was completely silent inside, and he could not hear anything. Yet for some reason, he felt somewhat panicked, with a vague feeling that something major was about to happen.
Just then, a little eunuch walked over.
Lingfu glanced at him. He looked unfamiliar, so Lingfu assumed he was simply some brainless little eunuch who had taken the wrong path.
He stepped forward and immediately began scolding him.
“Do you know what place this is, yet you dare wander in here recklessly?” he said.
But the little eunuch gave him a secretive smile.
“Of course I know what place this is,” he said. “I came here specifically to find you, Eunuch.”
Lingfu frowned and examined him.
The little eunuch’s eyes flicked toward the imperial study.
“Don’t you want to know who is inside?” he asked, lowering his voice so that only the two of them could hear.
“Come with me, Eunuch. I’ll tell you right now.”