“Young Master, Anhan Prefecture is just ahead.” Just as Long Xiang finished speaking, he saw a group of garrison guards turn around the corner ahead, and he instinctively touched the short blade at his waist.
“Halt! What’s your business here!?” The leader shouted loudly, blocking their carriage.
“Long Xiang.” Baili Cheng’an’s voice came from inside the carriage.
“Sir, this humble one is taking family members to Anhan Prefecture to seek medical treatment.” Long Xiang got down from the carriage, bowing repeatedly, and grabbed the guard’s hand to slip him a large silver ingot. “Please allow us to pass through.”
“Oh——” The garrison guard dragged out his voice, lifting his eyelids to scan the worn-out carriage, weighing the silver in his hand. “At least you have some sense, kid. But it’s not that I won’t let you through – orders from above say there’s a fugitive who escaped from the capital. We’re just following orders! Get down for inspection!”
He shouted loudly, stuffing the silver into his bulging money pouch, and banged his sword against the carriage wheel.
Long Xiang clenched his fists, just about to make a move, when suddenly the carriage curtain was lifted from inside.
A woman wearing a veiled hat emerged, holding a four or five-year-old girl. The little girl was crying uncontrollably, her face covered in red rashes, calling unclearly for her father and mother. The woman quickly patted her back to comfort her, saying softly, “Please excuse us, sir. The child has developed a rash and is nearly delirious with fever.”
The garrison guard quickly stepped back several paces when he saw the child’s swollen face and rashes, afraid of infection. “Quick, go on! Hurry up!”
“Ah, thank you, sir! Thank you for your hard work!” Long Xiang quickly jumped onto the carriage, helped the people inside, and cracked the whip to continue forward.
“Chief, weren’t we supposed to look for a child? Are we just letting them go like this?” someone asked worriedly.
The leader slapped him on the head, “Are you stupid? The higher-ups are looking for a boy, that was clearly a girl, and didn’t you see her mother’s hands were covered in rashes too? You want to die? I still want to live!”
The hoofbeats echoed steadily, and only when they were out of sight of the officials did Long Xiang finally breathe a sigh of relief. “Young Master, how is the child doing?”
“Still feverish, we need to find a doctor.” Baili Cheng’an said worriedly as he patted Liang Huan who was muttering in delirium, “If the fever continues, there could be trouble.”
“There’s a town in thirty more li, I will go find a doctor,” Long Xiang said solemnly.
Baili Cheng’an patted the constantly sobbing child in his arms, gently comforting, “Your Highness, don’t cry anymore.”
Liang Huan struggled to open his eyes, his small hands tightly gripping his collar, calling out tearfully, “Mother……”
Baili Cheng’an didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, “Your Highness has mistaken me for someone else, this minister is not.”
“It hurts…” Liang Huan was delirious with fever, wrinkled his nose and whimpered, “Don’t want to wear… little dress…”
“Just wear it for a while.” Baili Cheng’an placed a wet cloth on his forehead, “We can take it off once we find Uncle.”
“Want Mother…” Liang Huan’s lips trembled as he started crying, “Ah Huan isn’t a motherless child… Ah Huan has Father, why doesn’t Ah Huan have Mother… Don’t want Uncle, don’t want Liang Ye… want Ah Huan’s Mother…”
Baili Cheng’an sighed, patting his back, “Please bear with it a little longer, Your Highness, it will be better soon.”
Liang Huan quieted for a moment at his patting, his watery eyes just looking at him, and after a sniffle, “Sister?”
“Not sister,” Baili Cheng’an uncomfortably removed his earrings and hairpins, making a hushing gesture to him, “Call me Uncle.”
Liang Huan sniffled, “Brother.”
Baili Cheng’an touched his little face, “Your Highness isn’t completely delirious after all?”
Liang Huan grabbed his finger and placed it on his burning hot face, “Mother.”
“……” Baili Cheng’an sighed helplessly.
By the time Long Xiang found a doctor, Liang Huan was already half asleep with fever. Baili Cheng’an and Long Xiang awkwardly managed to get the medicine into the child before both finally breathing sighs of relief.
“Young Master, this servant has sent a message to His Majesty as Master Cui instructed, but we haven’t received a reply on schedule. Should we continue east?” Long Xiang quickly glanced at the rouge on his lips, uncomfortably lowering his eyes.
“His Majesty might have been delayed by something.” Baili Cheng’an gently patted Liang Huan, pondering for a moment before saying, “It’s too dangerous for just the two of us to travel with His Highness. We must deliver His Highness to His Majesty and the Prince.”
Liang Huan’s illness came at such an opportune time, greatly reducing the chances of them being questioned closely, and since Long Xiang rarely appeared in public, the risk of exposure was low.
Long Xiang looked at the delicate makeup on his face, asking uncomfortably, “Will Young Master continue dressing as a woman?”
“Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures.” Baili Cheng’an said with an unchanged expression. “What’s wrong, does it not look convincing?”
Long Xiang’s face instantly turned red as he shook his head frantically.
It wasn’t that it didn’t look convincing, but rather… it looked too convincing.
Baili Cheng’an teased, “It must be convincing, right? The little highness keeps calling me mother.”
Long Xiang nodded vigorously again with a stiff face.
Baili Cheng’an gave a light laugh. “But if I were truly a woman, I fear everyone would find me intolerable.”
“If Young Master were a woman, you would surely still achieve great things,” Long Xiang said stiffly.
“You’re wrong, Long Xiang.” Baili Cheng’an lifted his head, his gentle features carrying a killing intent in the candlelight, “If I were a woman, I probably couldn’t even step past the second gate of the Baili family.”
The titles of unparalleled genius, first among the four young masters, youngest minister of the cabinet… they would never allow such honors to fall on a woman’s head.
Long Xiang looked at him somewhat stunned.
“The simplest way for people to deal with a woman is to tie her to a man’s side with societal bonds.” Baili Cheng’an stared at him with an icy expression, “So, whatever you’ve seen, whatever you suspect, forget it all, or I won’t keep you around. Understand?”
Long Xiang suddenly knelt with clasped hands, “Young Master saved this servant’s life, this servant has absolutely no disloyalty towards Young Master!”
Baili Cheng’an coldly watched the person kneeling on the ground, patting Liang Huan who was almost startled awake. After a long while, he finally said softly, “You are indeed most loyal, otherwise I wouldn’t have brought you along. Get up.”
“Yes.” Long Xiang let out a heavy sigh of relief.
****
Anhan Prefecture Governor’s mansion.
Xu Xiude wrung his hands miserably, looking at the composed Wang Dian opposite him, pleading humbly. “Your Highness, please put in a few good words for me to His Majesty. Look at me, see how thin I’ve become? This old minister asks for nothing else, just wants to return to the Capital to continue helping His Majesty solve problems.”
Having traveled from the eastern part of Anhan Prefecture, he had seen clearly all the miserable conditions in Anhan. When he learned from Wen Yu that Liang Ye had gone to the governor’s mansion, he had been gloating about that old fool Feng Lan’s impending doom, and before entering was still guessing which unfortunate soul would take over, only to find that unfortunate soul was himself.
“Xu Daren, His Majesty’s words are golden, this is His Majesty showing trust in you by entrusting such a matter to you. You are the person His Majesty trusts most in court,” Wang Dian said with a smile.
Xu Xiude’s expression instantly became as if he had swallowed a fly, forcing a laugh, “Haha, hahaha, right, right, but I really—”
“Xu Daren, Xu Daren.” Wang Dian stood up and patted his plump shoulder, “You can’t just look at the surface of things, hmm?”
Xu Xiude’s eyeballs rolled around twice.
“Think about it, you were originally a Minister of Revenue, but followed the wrong person, and now you’re just a minor official in the Ministry of Rites. Even if you go back, won’t you still be working under Feng Qing? Have you still not figured out His Majesty’s intentions?” Wang Dian said leisurely.
Xu Xiude wiped the sweat from his forehead, “Feng Lan… His Majesty wants to move against the Feng family?”
“Tsk, regardless of which family His Majesty wants to move against, it has nothing to do with your Xu family. Besides, Yan Daren and His Majesty are holding down the fort for you in the Capital, what are you afraid of?” Wang Dian squeezed his shoulder hard, “A magistrate – if you handle this matter well for His Majesty, when you’re recalled to the Capital in the future, how could you remain just a mere Minister of Revenue?”
Xu Xiude swallowed hard, “This… this old minister is truly insignificant and fears being unworthy of the task.”
“Then why did Xu Daren give away all the dried food and silver from your carriage to those refugees?” Wang Dian straightened up, looking at the flickering candle flame and sighed, “Look, you’ve lost two rounds of weight.”
Xu Xiude stared with his round little eyes for a while before chuckling, “That was Wen Daren being kind-hearted, I wouldn’t be so generous.”
“Xu Daren, if you’re not willing to give it away, then you should take it back.” Wang Dian said meaningfully, “The people’s grain and money have all been dragged back and hidden in their own nests by those rats. Those little rats are all grandsons before you, the big rat. Dealing with them should be more than enough.”
Whether they were rats or cats in rat’s clothing, this mess was one he had no choice but to take on.
Xu Xiude came out of his room, weighing his nearly invisible belly with a bitter face, muttering, “Letting rats guard the granary, how daring.”
“Old fox.” Wang Dian looked at the tightly closed door, picked up the teapot and took several gulps. Only then did Liang Ye leisurely walk out from the inner chamber. Without turning his head, Wang Dian said, “He wants Wen Yu from you.”
Wen Yu always followed him around, and Xu Xiude had probably long figured out the taste of things – both thinking Wen Yu capable and cautiously letting Liang Ye’s people watch over himself, saving himself from having no way to speak when the time came.
“Let him have him.” Liang Ye sat down in the chair, “The old fatty has quite a few tricks up his sleeve.”
“At least Xu Xiude actually gets things done, much better than those in the Capital who only care about reputation,” Wang Dian took the letter from his hand, “Has news come from the Capital?”
“The Capital is sealed off, Bian Cang controls the court, Cui Qi and all the other officials you cultivated have been imprisoned.” Liang Ye said, “All the military forces from the seven prefectures west of the Capital have been consolidated by Bian Cang, no less than two hundred thousand troops.”
The scattered Hu people tribes in the west of Northern Liang often invaded but could never amount to much trouble. The western side of the Capital had always developed more steadily than these eastern prefectures.
“The good news is, Baili Cheng’an escaped with Liang Huan beforehand.” Liang Ye said, “If this drags on, Bian Cang may not be able to suppress the other noble families.”
But Northern Liang could not withstand turmoil.
Wang Dian massaged his temples with a headache, “Why would Bian Cang do this?”
“Do you think Bian Rufeng entering the palace was a coincidence?” Liang Ye’s expression was gloomy, “With Bian Yunxin, with Cui Yuxian, could they really make her willingly enter the palace?”
How could a female general who commanded an army’s seal truly be confined to harem struggles? Who did she and Liang Hua ultimately lose to?
‘Aijia knows you hate, you think Aijia killed your father emperor, forced Bian Xin to death – how naive! Ziyu, oh Ziyu, what was wrong with living in confusion all these years? With Aijia here for a day, your throne would be stable for a day, yet you must learn from your father emperor. Just you watch – watch how this Liang nation shatters!’
Cui Yuxian’s words before her death suddenly appeared in Wang Dian’s mind.
