Would You Like to Have a Drink

Chapter 12.2

The attendant replied respectfully, “Replying to the gentleman, today is the fourth day.”

Gongsun You have been here for four consecutive days.

Zong Luo unconsciously frowned.

Whether it was according to the memory of the previous life, or according to the plot of “Would You Like to Have a Drink”, Gongsun You should be around Yu Beizhou at this moment and displaying his devotion, why was he instead running to him repeatedly?

However, it was not much of a surprise actually.

Zong Luo remembered what Gongsun You did silently behind Yu Beizhou in his previous life.

After Gongsun You lost his temper with Yu Beizhou, he became very close to the other princes on the surface. Had private allegiance to no less than one prince, and became their advisor. 

In fact, the only master he was really loyal to was Yu Beizhou alone. He was also the key person used by the latter to conquer the Great Yuan Dynasty. How many front-line military reports he got from other princes while being undercover. Let alone grasp the trend of the front-line reports, even a little leakage from his fingers could make the other princes turn around in circles.

Now that Gongsun You was running to him, what’s behind isn’t yet certain.

Zong Luo had always disliked trying to figure out his nemesis with the greatest malice. At this moment, he only put a big red circle on Gongsun You’s name in his heart, smiled and told the attendant to prepare a carriage for him.

Although Zong Luo withdrew from the Imperial Capital in his previous life, it did not mean that he had no cards in hand.

Ranked among the top three, the Imperial Censor, who was in charge of supervising officials, was Zong Luo’s secret line. This person’s real power was self-evident, even if Zong Luo was in the frontier, he could still get a lot of the latest updates on what’s happening in the Imperial Capital.

Gongsun You’s multi-faceted ambush was exactly what Imperial Censor Xue reported to him along with Yu Beizhou being involved in the seizing of the throne. However, at that time, the sky was high and the emperor was far away, therefore he couldn’t do anything about it.

(t/n he sky was high and the emperor was far away- tiān gāo huáng dì yuǎn, originally refers to a remote place where the power of the central government cannot be reached.)

But now, the information learned from the previous could help him in this life.

“Go to the suburbs of the Capital.”

He lifted the curtain of the carriage, bent his slim waist as he stepped inside and sat down steadily, flipped his fingers and hung the ancient jade with Kui pattern back on his waist. This simple-colored carriage galloped all the way and went straight out of Baihu Gate.

****

The horses used in the hunt were all military horses of the Great Yuan Army. The Great Yuan Army was a well-known division of tigers and wolves in all countries. They were well-trained and their armaments were beyond the reach of other countries.

If one wanted to borrow military horses, one had to find a cavalry. This type of unit was present in a regular large army. The army stationed near the Imperial City included the permanent Garrison Guards, and some cavalry.

Early this morning, hundreds of students came to the military camp in the suburbs of the capital to borrow horses. They made their intentions clear outside the guard barracks, and the guards at the gate told them to wait for a while and went inside to report.

In their spare time, the students were amazed when they saw the Xuan Cavalry training in the distance. Looking around, this team of cavalry horses were all black, and there was not a single stray hair on their bodies. They were black, beautiful, and handsome.

“The Xuan Cavalry has actually returned to the Capital?”

One person said, “It seems to be the news of the past few days. Xuan Cavalry went to Nanliang a few years ago, but due to their poor state, it became somewhat of a deadlock. Later, they were replaced by the Tianji Army of the King of Beining. After the great victory, they returned to the Capital together.”

Everyone’s face was clear.

The news that the King of Beining conquered Nanliang spread throughout the Great Wilderness. With the ambition of conquering the nations for the Great Yuan, even if he accepts the letter of surrender and does not harm the common people, he would still certainly cut down the weeds and root out the imperial family.

Just like the other nations that had been conquered. In a few years, they would completely disappear from history and be naturalized as citizens of the Great Yuan. At this point, Great Yuan’s grand plan for hegemony had taken another step forward.

“Still…” A student suddenly thought, “If Xuan Calvary had already returned, then can’t we…..?”

Talking about the most famous cavalry, of course, it must be the Xuan Cavalry, the personal soldiers of the Third Prince of the Great Yuan Dynasty.

When a garrison guard heard the words, he poured cold water directly, “Don’t think about it.”

After the battle at Hangu Pass, none of the Xuan Cavalry elites survived. Mu Yuanlong, the general who took over now, was known for his unselfishness and loyalty. In addition, Xuan Cavalry loved their horses like their life. The horses in their hands would naturally be good horses, and it was certainly difficult to even borrow it.

Sure enough, some students dared to ask, and finally came back in despair, bemoaning one’s inadequacy in the face of a great task.

Xuan Cavalry’s dark horses were slick and smooth, although not as good as the legendary snow-paced black horse, but it was certainly not far behind. If it can be borrowed, it’s not certain how much it could increase the winning rate in the hunting competition, which was quite regrettable.

While the students were chatting, two unremarkable yellow horses suddenly appeared in the distance. A small servant on one of the horses drove straight to the outside of the Xuan Cavalry Barracks and said that he wanted to borrow a horse.

Just when the students thought that this servant was going to return without success, the outcome was not what they’d expected. When a Xuan Cavalry saw his waist token, he hesitated for a moment. He directly brought a good black horse, whose saddle had not yet been removed and handed him the reins.

The students watching from a distance were shocked. “Army Lord, why can this one borrow Xuan Cavalry’s horse?”

(t/n Army Lord (Jun Ye)-honorific title for soldiers in the old days.)

Just at this time, the garrison guard who lent them military horses also came.

The garrison guard also felt perplexed when he saw this scene, who didn’t know how precious Xuan Cavalry’s horses are? It was his first time witnessing such a situation.

“Looking at the clothes, he should be a servant from the Proton Mansion.”

Proton Mansion? Although it was not long after entering the Great Abyss, the current situation in the Imperial City had already been touched by various families.

The students began to discuss with each other.

“It’s the Crown Prince of Wei. When the Sovereign of the Wei Country descended on the world, the Third Prince of the Yuan Dynasty was forced to go to Wei as a hostage. Who would have thought that ten years later, the situation of Yuan Dynasty and Wei would be reversed. Thirty years from Hedong and thirty years from Hexi, it was the turn of the Great Yuan Cavalry to press into the borders of the Wei Country, so the Wei Country not only returned the proton, but also sent its own Crown Prince to the Great Yuan, and now it has been six or seven years.”

(“Thirty years of Hedong and thirty years of Hexi” is a widely circulated proverb , which is used to describe the rise and fall of world affairs and lament the impermanence of world affairs;

During the Warring States Period, Qin and Wei fought for the Hanoi area. Wu Qi helped Wei to retake Hanoi, and thirty years later, Bai Qi helped Qin to retake Hanoi. Thirty Hedong, Thirty Hexi;)

For six to seven years, and still in the case of declining, the Wei Country still did not mention to the Great Yuan that they wanted to take back the proton. This situation was not very good.

Some people can’t help but wonder. “The Crown Prince of Wei is in Great Yuan, why is he still able to get in line with the Xuan Cavalry? Is he selling Wei’s face?”

“Come on. General Mu doesn’t even sell his own general’s face. He is a proton, how can he still have such a great reputation?”

The garrison guard looked contemptuous and sneered at this.

“You don’t know, this Wei Country Proton has taken refuge in several big figures, and his methods are very powerful. If you go to Hualiu Street and ask about it, you will know that the ones raised in the deep palace are much better than those in the Nanfeng Hall.”

This was also what the garrison heard from a brothel girl. It was said that one day when official prostitutes served their guests wine, several of them drank too much during the banquet. Some said obscene things to each other and unconsciously blurted out some secrets.  At that time, there were many people with wide social connections present, thus this fragrant story slowly spread, until it was known to everyone in the military camp.

The garrison’s voice was not lowered at all, and it spread far away in the open suburbs. Everyone did not expect the truth of the matter to be like this, everyone felt astonished.

On a horse not far away, Ye Linghan clenched his fists, his face flashed with a forlorn humiliation.

The servant carefully led the pure black horse to him and said, “Master, the borrowed horse.”

Ye Linghan looked at the military horse, and his voice sounded as cold as ice. “Return it, I don’t want this horse anymore.”

The servant sighed. “Why are you so troublesome?”

He persuaded him earnestly, “This servant knows that you don’t want to accept the affection of the Third Prince, but now is not the time to be willful… If you can win the top spot in the hunting competition, perhaps your home country will realize your value and the King will also be more attentive towards you. When that time comes, then these rumors and disturbances will collapse on their own. “

“There is a knife on the head of the word forbearance, lie on the hardships and taste the gall. Your Highness, think twice!”

(t/n The character of patience is not as high as the character of tolerance. There is a knife at the head of the character of tolerance- a proverb . It means that when things go wrong, being patient is the best thing to do.)

(t/n Lie on the hardships and taste the gall- endure hardships to accomplish some ambition)

Why wouldn’t Ye Linghan know this truth?

He was too aware of the current situation of Wei Country.

After the fall of the Yu family, the power struggle became more and more serious, Emperor Wei felt powerless. If it weren’t for the fact that other countries had defected, and the common people who wanted to fight the Great Yuan which were led by the foundation of dominating the Six Kingdoms in those years, it was estimated that he would have to walk in front of Nanliang.

But it’s not impossible… As long as he can successfully unite with the Yu Country and unite against the Yuan Dynasty, then the Great Yuan would not be able to conquer these two countries for the last time. What country is difficult to solve?

For a long period of time, draw slowly, accumulate strength–he could always escape the embarrassing situation.

However, the premise of all this would be entirely based on his successful return to Wei Country.

Yet no one wanted him to return home at all.

Ye Linghan’s biggest support had long since perished, otherwise he would not have been sent as an abandoned son. He had been away from Wei Country for so long, and all the power of the Yu family had been divided up by the family, and had long been unable to return to the sky.

If he could find a way to return home, there was still room to fight.

If it was dragged on further, the Crown Prince’s position may not be guaranteed.

Ye Linghan would use his life as bait before the competition, risk it to be able to send a secret letter back, hoping that his father could see his long-term commitment to the country and send envoys to Great Yuan to end his proton identity.

He knew the character of King Wei, and if he couldn’t show his worth, Wei would remain determined to not oppose the Great Yuan at this juncture.

Therefore, this was the only way to do it. Fortunately, the Baijia Banquet was not only limited to students to participate, hence Ye Linghan could also cast his name at the Lanting Waterside Pavilion on the last day, hoping to win a title.

Now that he’d taken part in the hunting competition, a good horse would be essential.

Those tall branches he climbed only regarded him as a high-level plaything, enjoying the feeling that a prince of a noble country was forced to serve them wine. At best, they provided some convenience while treading inside the Great Yuan. If he really encountered something that might cause trouble for himself, he would directly turn his face and disown the person.

In the end, the only people he benefited from were the ones he hated.

“You said it, the Proton Crown Prince of Wei has fine skin and tender flesh, and has a delicate appearance. If he was brought to my door, why would I not want it?”

“Isn’t it? His mother belongs to the Yu family, do you know the Yu family? Although they were exterminated ten years ago, the Yu family is famous for their beautiful appearances in all countries. The last descendant of the Yu family was even more beautiful….Well, I dare not say the name, but you should know who it is.”

The garrison guard did not dare make jokes about the King of Beining.

Just remembering that this Proton of Wei Country was actually related to the vicious King of Beining on the battlefield, one was high in the sky, the other was low in the dust, even the students couldn’t help shaking their heads and scoff, “Obviously he is a hostage in another country, and has never treated unfairly, but wanting to have glory, splendor, wealth and rank—this disciple is short-sighted and ignorant!”

Hearing the obscenities of the guards becoming more and more unsightly, and the cruel words of the various students, Ye Linghan’s memory of being forced to be scolded by the old man rolled over again, and a feeling of vomiting surged in his stomach.

He sat on the back of a yellow horse, his back was straight, with eyes fixed on the black horse and the hands holding the reins showed blue veins. He was about to steer the horse away, but he suddenly stopped when his eyes swept at something.

Not far away, a simple carriage quietly stopped. A young master whose eyes were covered in white silk went down from the carriage himself and walked towards the army barracks. At a distance, he happened to stop in front of those who were talking.

Ye Linghan almost forgot to breathe for a while, his hands and feet were cold, like falling into an ice cellar.

No one knew better than him who the man was standing there. But what he was most worried about at the moment was whether the other party had heard their words just now.

If he had heard…what would he think of him?