Chapter 49: Gazing upon Fate

Chapter 49: Gazing upon Fate

Two people sat across from each other at separate tables. Apart from the current Chancellor, Cui Hong had never shown such courtesy to any other courtier or official. At this moment, he was not a Rank One Grand Tutor, nor was he a general leading hundreds of thousands of soldiers. He was just a traveller seeking shelter in the rain, still dripping with rainwater.

Neither was he the cautious minister who had trembled before the Empress Dowager in the Hall of Diligent Administration. He was highly alert, with one hand on the table and the other hand gripping the hilt of his waist sword.

The door was closed tightly, and Cui Hong’s dozen or so guards stood outside, ensuring that no one could eavesdrop.

The rain had lessened, leaving only the patter of raindrops occasionally quickening as the accumulated rainwater poured from the eaves.

“Is Lord Yang not pursuing the remnants of the rebels in Qi? Why are you here?” Cui Hong decided to listen to what the eunuch had to say but had no intention of revealing his own secrets.

Yang Feng stared at Cui Hong as if he were a minor official. “Let me get straight to the point. When did you first befriend Chunyu Xiao?”

Cui Hong gave a wry smile. “Lord Yang must be joking. Chunyu Xiao is the ringleader who incited Prince Qi into rebellion. As the General of the Eastern Expedition to quell the rebels, how could I have befriended him?”Thê source of this content n/o/v/(el)bi((n))

Yang Feng thought for a moment. “That’s right. During the campaign, you couldn’t have met Chunyu Xiao again. So it must have been before Prince Qi’s uprising. But at that time, Chunyu Xiao was still in Qi and had no chance to come to the capital. Hmm... Chunyu Xiao had many disciples. I wonder which one of them caught your attention?”

Cui Hong’s face darkened. “Whose backing are you relying on to slander me like this? I may lack talents, but I know how to keep myself clean.”

Yang Feng clasped his hands together. “Grand Tutor, don’t be angry. I’m just speculating. But I must advise the Grand Tutor that fate seeing is not reliable. Chunyu Xiao and his disciples spread malicious rumors, with great ambition. The Prince of Qi has already fallen. If you are not careful, you will be next.”

“Hmph, have you made up your mind to brand me a rebel’s accomplice? Fine, let’s go to the Capital together and clear things up before the Empress Dowager.”

Yang Feng smiled faintly. “Before the Empress Dowager? Have you been summoned back to the Capital by imperial decree?”

As the Grand Tutor who had just put down a rebellion, Cui Hong should have remained stationed in the north with his army. However, he brought a small number of guards to head back to the Capital and did not report his true identity when checking into the waystation. So of course, his return to the Capital was not by imperial decree. Cui Hong coldly stared at Yang Feng, seriously considering the consequences of “spilling blood here and now”. The door was guarded by his men, and he had weapons on his person.

Yang Feng could guess what the Grand Tutor was thinking. He loosened his collar to reveal the armor inside, indicating that he was prepared and that any spilt blood would not just be his own.

Outside the door were the Grand Tutor’s guards, but further away were Yang Feng’s followers, who outnumbered them. If they came to a stalemate, Cui Hong would not gain any advantage. So he smiled and said, “Lord Yang, you are both intelligent and brave. I respect and admire you. Alright, let’s suppose that I know Chunyu Xiao, and that I have returned to the capital without permission. What would you like to say to me?”

“I wish to show you some confessions.”

“Confessions?”

The guards outside the door could be heard raising their voices in admonition, but Yang Feng said, “That’s my man, and he has brought the confessions.”

Cui Hong hesitated for a moment, then said loudly, “Let him in!”

The door opened, and one of Yang Feng’s followers came in with a wooden box, followed closely by two guards. The follower placed the box on the table, bowed to the Grand Tutor and the eunuch, and then left the room. The guards did not leave immediately, but waited until Yang Feng had opened the box and revealed a thick stack of papers inside. Only then, at Cui Hong’s signal, did they turn and leave the room, closing the door behind them.

“Just in case.” Yang Feng said blandly, playing the confessions on the table back into the wooden box, covering the dagger.

“What should I do?” asked Cui Hong.

“You may change directions and immediately return to the north. Pretend that nothing has happened, and leave things in the Capital to me. With you leading an army, Prince Donghai and the Cui clan would come to no harm. Alternatively, you may return to the Capital with me, and round up all the rebels hidden in the Capital, rendering great meritorious service.”

Cui Hong thought for a moment, his face pale. “Things in the Capital are in motion. I must return personally to put them to a halt. If... I make it in time.”

“You gave authority to act to that Bu Hengru?”

Cui Hong nodded, beginning to regret his past choices. “Not just Bu Hengru, but Luo Huan-zhang as well. He was the one who introduced me to the fate seer. I trusted him very much.”

“Luo Huan-zhang,” Yang Feng recited the name to himself, his eyes squinting slightly. He did not say much but listened to the sounds outside. “The rain has stopped. Grand Tutor, let us return to the Capital as quickly as we can.”

Cui Hong suddenly grabbed Yang Feng’s arm. “Lord Yang, you would not throw me under the carriage once we return to the Capital right?”

“From now on, I will stay by your side. When we capture the fate seers, you shall have complete say over whether to kill them or not. Once matters are settled, we shall say that it was I who asked you to return to the Capital. I shall explain everything else to the Empress Dowager. Prince Donghai will not be implicated, but neither will he become Emperor.”

Cui Hong finally made up his mind. He had secretly returned to the Capital to push his nephew onto the throne, but now he had to stop it. “Alright, let us go.”

With Cui Hong in front and Yang Feng at the back, the walked out. A few steps later, Cui Hong stopped, turned around and said, “Bu Hengru and Chunyu Xiao may be conmen, but fate-sight is not a lie. There are some who are able to gaze upon fate with accuracy. The current Emperor...”

Cui Hong did not speak further, but pushed open the door.

Yang Feng did not believe such superstitions. He believed only in one principle: things happen when men act.

The rain had stopped, but there was quite a lot of accumulated water on the ground. But those in a rush did not care about that. Cui Hong and Yang Feng separately ordered their men to get ready to ride. Cui Hong’s horses were exhausted, so Yang Feng handed some over, and some were levied from the waystation.

The station chief was shocked. It had just gotten dark, and the travellers would reach Hangu Gate in the middle of the night, so the gate would not be opened. But he did not ask questions. He did not recognize the Grand Tutor, but he knew that Yang Feng was a eunuch of the palace. Perhaps he had a permit to pass through the gate.

Yang Feng kept his promise and remained by Cui Hong’s side. During that time, he returned the wooden box to a follower, who asked after taking the box, “What about those three?”

Du Motian, Du Chuanyun, and Ironhead Hu San’er, were tied up in some corridor. Three followers bearing blades stood behind them; only an order was needed for them to be killed.

Yang Feng said to the three prisoners loudly, “It shall take us half a day to get to Hangu Gate. Within this time, if any of your companions come to rescue you, I shall let you off the hook. If not, then you can only blame yourselves for being blind to the human heart. Rather than living as a pointless failure, you would be better off dead.”

The three men were shocked. Cui Hong did not recognize them, and found matters strange. He found that he truly did not understand this eunuch.

Yang Feng got on horseback, with a calm expression. But in actual fact, he was burning with anxiety. Luo Huan-zhang was one of the Emperor’s teachers, and had the authority to enter the palace. This meant that the situation in the Capital was more dangerous than he had expected. Would the young Emperor be able to survive?

Advertisement