The fad swordsmanship of Tuoba is truly sharp as the winds of the desert, and powerful as the waves of the sea, ng Zhi paid the complint solemnly, but his tone grew cold again as he said, But General Tuoba must still answer the question I raised before why have you co here to the capital of our nation?
Tuoba Haos cold gaze fell onto i Changsu, as he replied, My countrys embassy ca with the good intent of a marriage request, but now one of our strongest warriors has gone missing, when has your noble nation given us an explanation?
You an that Baili Qi? Although ng Zhi knew the truth behind Baili Qis disappearance, his face betrayed no sign of it. He walks on his own two feet, how could we know where he has gone? If General Tuoba feels he has the right to demand an explanation from our country, why not co with the credentials of a diplomat and ask openly?
Hmph, you people of Da Liang have always been skilled orators, no good would co of such questions. I only wanted to co to see what kind of person could make Baili Qi ashad to return to his own country.
The corner of i Changsus mouth curled as he said, And has General Tuobas thod of seeing people always involved baseless accusations and cracking open the roofs of palanquins?
Tuoba Hao said proudly, I never regret the things I have done, and since I have offended Mister Su, say what you want to do, but say it openly.
Of course we ng Zhi was about to say that of course they would first have to arrest him and go from there, but suddenly feeling i Changsu pinch his waist, he reacted quickly and continued, Of course we should let Mister Su, whom you attacked, decide what to do.
Hearing these strange words, Tuoba Hao couldnt help being surprised, and his gaze turned again to i Changsu. Whether by rank or by age, the person with the right to make the decisions should have been ng Zhi, could it be that this Su Zhes position in Da Liang was so unusual that even the commander of the imperial guard would listen to him?
The commander has given another difficult task. i Changsu took in Tuoba Haos expression at a glance and understood why he was surprised, and couldnt help smiling, but continued lightly, General Tuobas sword only fractured the roof of the palanquin and did not hurt anyone, and he did his best not to harm the servants and guards, choosing not to use any of his killing strokes, which shows that he had no intention to cause any real trouble. But as for the matter of Baili Qi, I truly know nothing, and if he decided on his own to leave, how could the General have so easily found this out in so short a ti?
Tuoba Hao was not unintelligent, and imdiately understood the aning behind i Changsus words. He had co to find Su Zhe for the sake of Northern Yans reputation, and not because he wanted to get to the bottom of Baili Qis disappearance, and so he took his cue from him and replied, Since Mister Su says he knows nothing, I have no reason not to believe him. Please do not worry, I will imdiately leave Jinling, and will be back in my country within ten days, and will not stop anywhere on my way.
Good! ng Zhi said in a deep voice. I believe General Tuoba is a man of his word. As such, we will part here, and et again in the future!
Although i Changsu had already expressed his intention to let him go, Tuoba Hao had not expected ng Zhi to agree so readily, and his preparation to undergo an intense battle in order to leave was in vain, and he stood stunned for a mont. But he knew that, since his identity had been exposed, he could not stay in Jinling a mont longer than necessary, so he quickly regained his composure, clasped his fist in farewell, and did not waste any more words, but turned and disappeared from view.
When he felt from the air that this Northern Yan master had really gone away, ng Zhi bent to examine the wounded on the ground and discovered that they had only fainted, and had not co to any great harm, and then finally, he turned and pulled i Changsu to one side, asking quietly, Why did you let him go?
i Changsu gave him a look. Is the commander confident that you could have captured him alive?
Wellit would probably have co to a difficult fightbut as he said, this is my territory, and it is not a jianghu duel, so I would not have needed to go against him on my own.
And after you have captured him, what then? i Changsu spoke indifferently. Kill him, or imprison him indefinitely?
ng Zhi had not thought about how to handle the situation, and hesitated.
He is one of the great generals of Northern Yan, a beloved minister of the Yan Emperor, and whether you kill him or imprison him, neither the Yan Emperor nor the head of the Tuoba clan would sit by and do nothing. And then, for the sake of one Tuoba Hao, if the two nations ca to war and the border cos under threat, who will be sent to defend it? i Changsu sighed. It wouldnt be the Crown Prince or Prince Yu, would it?
Oh, ng Zhi understood. Thats right, at that ti, of course we cannot let Prince Jing be sent away to lead the troops.
i Changsu turned his gaze towards the direction in which Tuoba Hao had disappeared, a faint expression of annoyance drifting across his face, and his brows furrowed as he said coldly, I have not t him in battle before, and do not know what his military tactics are like. Soday, when such a chance arises, I will take the opportunity to try my hand against him.
Not bad, ng Zhi smiled. It would be imnsely satisfying to et such a person in battle. When the ti cos, dont forget to let lead your vanguard.
i Changsu smiled back at him, the montary fierceness disappearing as he resud his customary calm, quiet air, and then he turned his head and asked, Werent you summoned into the palace? Why did you think to co back?
That ssenger was an impostor, I found out on the road, and realized it was a plot to lure the tiger away from the mountain, and so hurried back, and thankfully you hadnt co to any harm.
An impostor? i Changsus long brows furrowed.
Yes, his acting skills really werent bad, even I mistook him for one of my n, and so he fooled at first. If I had not suddenly thought to ask him to do sothing for , I would not have realized the trick until I arrived at the palace gates.
i Changsu took a few steps forward, and pressed the tips of his fingers together, seeming to be in deep thought. A mont later, he turned back and said firmly, ng dage, you must enter the palace imdiately and report your eting with Tuoba Hao to the Emperor.
Oh? Why? Havent we already let him go?
It is precisely because we have let him go that you must go to court and report it, and also plead for forgiveness. i Changsus eyes were fathomless and dark. Because, if you do not report it, there will soon be soone arriving before the Emperor to accuse you of smuggling one of the high ministers of another nation in and out of the capital.
How? Would Tuoba Hao be so careless as to be caught on his way out? ng Zhi was astonished. And how would you know?
ng dage, do you think that the person who masqueraded as an imperial ssenger was sent by Tuoba Hao to lead you away from ?
Was he not? ng Zhi thought about it carefully, and gradually understood. If he knew that the Emperor had a habit of summoning people to court without warning, and knew who among the imperial guard was responsible for passing along imperial commands, and could copy that persons appearance and actions so well that he had fooled even ng Zhi, then this person had an intimate knowledge of many different aspects of Jinling, and could not be an outsider like Tuoba Hao, who had only been in the capital for a few days. It was already no simple task for Tuoba Hao to have found out that Su Zhe would be going out today and to hide in wait for him on the road he would take on his return journey.
i Changsu saw his expression and knew he had understood, and continued, What I have concluded is this: soone was waiting to attack while I was out, but was afraid of the consequences if you stayed by my side, and so ca up with a plan to lure you away. But they did not expect Tuoba Hao to turn up so suddenly and disrupt their plans, and before they had a chance to react, you had discovered the trick and hurried back. And so in the end, these people have not dared to show their faces. But even if they have not drawn near, Tuoba Haos swordsmanship is too frightening, and we cannot take the risk that they have not noticed everything that has happened. So you must hurry ahead, and report these things to His Majesty.
Ng, ng Zhi rubbed the stubble of beard on his chin and nodded. His Majesty has no ill intent against the Northern Yan at the mont, and as you say, if Tuoba Hao had been publicly arrested, it would have been difficult for the court. Forcing him to leave Jinling quickly actually causes the least amount of trouble, so His Majesty should not punish for acting of my own accord.
This is only if you return imdiately and report everything to him. If it seems as if you released him in secret, then no matter what you say, the Emperor would be suspicious. i Changsu pushed at his shoulder. Stop lingering, go quickly.
But the people here.
Its about ti for them to wake, Fei Liu and I will wait here a bit and then return ourselves.
Thats no good, what if those lying in wait for you have left yet, what then?
i Changsu looked at him, a little amused, and said quietly, Commander, do you really think you are the only protection I have in Jinling? Dont worry, nothing will happen to .
ng Zhi stared blankly for a mont, then laughed, embarrassed. He had never been a person to make a great fuss, and so, after hearing i Changsus words, he didnt delay any longer, but said, see you later, and flew away.
i Changsu took Fei Liu with him as he inspected the people lying on the ground, ordering the youth to press a few of their vital ridian points. Tuoba Hao had not wanted to truly hurt anyone in Da Liang, and he had been careful with his attacks, and so soon, they had all regained consciousness. It was not far to the Xie residence, and so i Changsu did not let them bear him again on the palanquin, but leaned on Fei Liu and walked by himself to the gate of the manor, where he turned and dismissed all of ng Zhis guards.
It had left in good shape but returned like this, and Xie Bi stared at the roof-less palanquin for a long while in a daze before thinking to ask i Changsu what had happened.
As for the people who had lured ng Zhi away to strike against himself, i Changsu did not even need to investigate to know that they were connected with the Crown Prince. After all, since he had arrived in Jinling, the only ones he had truly offended were the Crown Princes people; since Prince Yu still dread of acquiring the qilin prodigy, it was unlikely that he would resort to murder at this point in ti. He supposed the Crown Prince had finally discovered his role in the Princess rescue, and had given up any hope of recruiting him to the Eastern Palace, and so had succumbed to this if I cant have him then Ill destroy him ntality.
And if this was the Crown Princes brushstroke, then it must be related to Xie Yu, and perhaps the route the palanquin-bearers of the Xie residence had taken had also been planned in advance, or the false imperial ssenger would not have so easily found ng Zhi among the vast, nurous streets of Jinling. But faced with Xie Bis worried inquiries and seeing his reaction to his own simple explanation, the young man truly seed to have no idea of the plot and trap behind the days events. And from his observations of Xie Bi so far, i Changsu could be almost certain, given Prince Yus intelligence, the reason that Prince Yu had never once doubted Xie Bis loyalty was because this heir of the Marquis of Ning truly believed that his father wanted him to support Prince Yu, and so his speech and his actions were all genuine. In other words, Xie Bi didnt know that his father was using him to keep a foot in both boats in order to secure a good future no matter what the outco.
Thinking of the depth of Xie Yus cunning, that he would so callously use even the son he loved most, a chill grew in i Changsus heart, and now, faced with Xie Bis questions, he grew warm with sympathy.
Is there really no hint we can pursue to find out who did these things? Xie Bi could not know the thoughts passing through Brother Sus mind, but was thinking very seriously. Not even a single person was caught?
When Commander ng appeared, who dared to linger? Naturally, they were all scared away. i Changsu smiled wearily. Let him investigate, I wont bother.
But the attack was aid at you, Xie Bi continued hurriedly, How about I go tell His Highness Prince Yu, and ask him.
No need. i Changsus firm gaze fell onto Xie Bi, stopping him. A case like this with no lead, no good will co of investigating it, and we will not catch the true masterminds anyway. I will be more careful in the future, thats all.
Xie Bi thought dazedly for a long mont, then blurted out, Could it be.
i Changsu cut him off, and said, closing his eyes, Xie Bi, Im a bit tired, and want to rest for awhile. When Jingrui cos back and finds out about this, please help tell him what happened, I dont want to repeat it all again.
Xie Bi looked at his pale skin and withered appearance, and knew that he was not lying about being tired, and so did not bother him any further, but said quietly, Brother Su, rest well, and slowly left Snow Cottage.
Chapter 44 Translators Notes:
I dont have much to say about this chapter, but Ive been reading ahead in the Chinese, and justso much crying. There are a few chapter milestones that I keep in my head as sort of rewards for translating to that point, because those chapters are so beautiful and heartbreaking and are basically the reason why I started this whole project, just for the sake of being able to put those chapters into as beautiful English as I can manage. I already reached one of them, Chapter 36 (Wounds of the Past). The next one is Chapter 57. And the ones Ive been reading lately are Chapters 99 and 100. (And of course, the final chapter is a whole symphony of grief. But Im getting ahead of myself.) So, guys, if we ever get that faryoure gonna be crying with .
(And often, because I dont read in a lot of detail until I read for translation, I discover tidbits of heartbreak buried into chapters I totally did not expect, like the last part of Chapter 31. Those are fun too.)
(Also, this is the last chapter of Book 2! We are starting Book 3 :D)
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