CH 80

Seven days later.

After crossing a mountain, the checkpoint of Daliang was already in sight. They could arrive before dusk if they kept up their current pace. Xie Chaoling instructed the people to rest for a while before continuing forward.

As they were drinking water, they heard the sound of horse hooves ahead. Xie Chaoling pushed open the half of the carriage window and looked ahead. Soon, someone came to report that it was soldiers from the Northwestern Army, and they were sent by King Xing to greet them.

The soldiers arrived in front of them, numbering only fifty cavalry, led by Xie Chaohui’s trusted aide. He dismounted and greeted Xie Chaoling before explaining, “His Royal Highness’s affairs in the northwest are not suitable to be known by others. It is not appropriate for the prince to come in person with great fanfare, so the prince has sent me to greet Your Highness’s return to the capital.”

Xie Chaoling chatted with the soldiers for a while before ordering them to continue their journey.

By dusk, Xie Chaoling saw Xie Chaohui at the border of the King Xing Mansion.

Without much ado, Xie Chaoling asked about the situation in the court, “What is happening in the capital now?”

Xie Chaohui spoke frankly, “The Emperor has been kidnapped by King Huai and the Zhao family. He is still unconscious. They have also issued a decree accusing you, the Crown Prince, of colluding with enemies and betraying the country. They have removed your position as the Crown Prince and issued a decree to condemn uncle as a traitor. They accused him of controlling Dongshan Ying and colluding with the garrison in the outer city, planning to rebel while the Emperor is sick. The situation has been at a stalemate for more than a month now, and most court officials are in a wait-and-see attitude. Even the Xitai Camp has not clearly stated whether they support King Huai or your uncle.”

Seeing Xie Chaoling frown, Xie Chaohui continued, “The decree issued by uncle accused King Huai and the Zhao family of colluding with enemies, and they also claimed that you were being held hostage in the Eastern Palace. As long as you can return to the capital, King Huai’s claim that you have fled to Xirong can be refuted without much difficulty. You don’t have to worry too much about this.”

Xie Chaoling asked him, “And you? What do you want to do?”

“I will go back to the capital with you to support you in the cause,” Xie Chaohui firmly replied.

“Are you sure? Actually, you don’t have to get involved in this matter. You can sit back and watch the fight from a distance. Wait until both sides are exhausted, and then reap the benefits.” Xie Chaoling reminded him.

Xie Chaohui shook his head calmly and said, “King Huai and the Zhao family have committed many injustices. I want to settle the score with them myself.”

Xie Chaoling didn’t say anything more, knowing that the account between Xie Chaohui and those people regarding the former Crown Prince’s matter would eventually have to be settled. He may have been waiting for this day for too long.

“How many troops do you have? How many people can you bring to support?” Xie Chaoling asked again.

Xie Chaohui did not conceal it, “Five thousand men.”

Xie Chaoling’s heart sank slightly. Five thousand men were too few.

The combined forces of Dongshan Ying and the outer city garrison amounted to tens of thousands of men. If they were to forcefully attack the city, they had enough military strength. However, their purpose in rescuing the emperor was to let the entire court officials and high-ranking families see the attitude of the Northwest Army, so that these people would be intimidated and dare not engage in secret dealings with Xie Chaoqi and his men. But with only five thousand men under Xie Chaohui’s command, they could not represent the entire Northwest Army, and their deterrent effect in rescuing the emperor in the capital would be greatly reduced.

Xie Chaohui explained, “These generals in the Northwest Army have been stationed outside for a long time and have little involvement in court affairs. It’s normal for them to choose to turn a blind eye to this matter and protect themselves. And because of my identity, I can’t persuade them.”

Xie Chaoling naturally understood this reasoning, but the fact remained disappointing.

Tebumu, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up, “Let me go and persuade them. Fortunately, His Highness the Prince is a royal prince. If I go to persuade them to rescue the emperor in the capital, they will think more and will be even more hesitant to agree. I’ll give it a try. Perhaps some of these old generals in the army still remember the old friendship with my father and are willing to sell him this face.”

Xie Chaoling turned to look at him and nodded, “Okay, this is the only way now. We have to try.”

On the same day, they settled in the King Xing Mansion villa. Xie Chaohui called for his own military doctor to examine Xie Chaoling. The old military doctor carefully listened to his pulse for a while and solemnly said, “Your Highness is severely weakened, and it may not improve in a short time. From today on, you must remember not to overexert yourself, and be careful not to catch a cold. You must take medicine on time every day, slowly recuperate with food, and it will take some time. Fortunately, Your Highness is still young, and with careful adjustment, there should not be any lingering illnesses.”

Xie Chaoling didn’t care much and asked someone to prepare the medicine. He knew his body best, and he had survived before, so he wouldn’t die now for sure.

When Tebumu came over, he was still sitting under the lamp, playing with the concentric jade pendant in his hand.

Hearing footsteps, Xie Chaoling reluctantly snapped out of his daze, put away the jade pendant, and gestured for Tebumu to sit down.

Tebumu, Li Congyu, had already changed back to the attire of the people from Daliang. The stubble on his face was all shaved off, ignoring the terrifying burn scar on half of Li Congyu’s forehead, he was still the handsome young man with sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes from the Li family back then.

Seeing him like this, Xie Chaoling smiled, “I still prefer my little uncle in this kind of attire.”

“I’m actually not used to it.” Li Congyu self-deprecatingly said.

Actually, it was not that he was not used to it, but after many years of being away, he was always uneasy about his return.

“Don’t worry too much, little uncle. Once the situation in the capital is settled, your identity won’t be a problem. You have been providing information to the court while staying in Xirong for many years, and you even played a key role in overthrowing the Xirong King. You are a great contributor to Daliang. Now that you have returned to the capital, you deserve to be rewarded.” Xie Chaoling briefly changed the story about Li Congyu’s amnesia and his stay in Xirong.

“Li Huan’s behavior was absurd and caused a big mistake. He deserves to die. His family cannot be protected anymore. Now, he can only plead guilty and admit that he was acting on King Huai’s orders without knowing that the prince gave the defense map to the Xirong people, in order to reduce his own charges and protect the other members of his family. I hope my little uncle can understand.”

“Li Huan’s actions were indeed ridiculous and led to a great mistake. He deserves to die. Your Highness is merciful enough to spare the lives of Li’s family. I am extremely grateful.” Li Congyu changed his way of addressing Xie Chaoling and sincerely thanked him.

If Xie Chaoling didn’t return to Daliang, the Li family would have suffered a calamity because of what Li Huan did. His gratitude was genuine.

“Little uncle, no need to be so formal,” Xie Chaoling waved his hand. “If it weren’t for meeting you in Xirong, I wouldn’t have been able to come back to Daliang so quickly. I should be thanking you. Besides, you did remind the Northwestern Army about the drawings.”

Xie Chaoling let out a sigh, “But let’s not talk about that. I have something to give to you.”

He took out a letter and placed it on the table, then moved it in front of Li Congyu.

“This is a letter from Royal Uncle. He asked me to give it to you.”

Li Congyu looked at the envelope with a suppressed emotion in his black eyes. After a while, he clenched his fist and picked it up, tucking it into his chest.

Xie Chaoling smiled, “Royal Uncle hasn’t married in all these years, and you haven’t taken a wife in Xirong either. It’s finally time to move forward.”

Li Congyu was silent at first, but then his eyes gradually softened, revealing a rare tenderness. Then, for the first time since they reunited, Xie Chaoling saw him smile.

…It was truly enviable.

After Li Congyu left, Xie Chaoling took out the jade pendant again and rubbed it lightly in his hand.

Wang Jin brought in the medicine he had prepared, but Xie Chaoling didn’t drink it. He put down the bowl and asked, “What did he say to you that day?”

He was referring to the night when Xie Chaoyuan had talked with Wang Jin for a long time while he was talking with Li Congyu.

Wang Jin didn’t dare to hide anything and said, “The little prince told me about some trivial matters, big and small, and asked me to take good care of you. He also said that if he sees you again and you’ve lost even a pound, he’ll ask me about it.”

Xie Chaoling couldn’t help but laugh. Xie Chaoyuan was still the same, domineering and unreasonable.

“What else did he say?” Xie Chaoling asked with a smile.

Seeing Xie Chaoling’s happy expression, Wang Jin continued, “The little prince also said that if you ever feel bored or unhappy, he wanted me to talk to you about him, and it’ll make you happy. He said that you’ll definitely be happy when you hear me talk about him.”

Xie Chaoling became even happier upon hearing this and said, “Really? Then he is quite confident.”

“Yes, the little prince also said… he will have someone keep an eye on you. If you marry a Crown Princess or favor any of the palace women, he will come to Daliang at all costs to kill them and take you away. This time he won’t go to Xirong, he will go to heaven or earth, but he will be with you even in death,” Wang Jin said. At the end, Wang Jin’s heart was already pounding, afraid that Xie Chaoling might suddenly change his expression.

However, Xie Chaoling was still smiling and asked Wang Jin, “What about himself? What if he marries another consort in Xirong?”

“The little prince said he won’t marry anyone else. If he does, Your Highness can just take him to Daliang and do whatever you want with him,” Wang Jin said.

The candlelight spread between Xie Chaoling’s smiling eyebrows, and he nodded, “That’s a good idea.”

Clearly sensing that Xie Chaoling’s mood had improved a lot from before, Wang Jin breathed a sigh of relief and quickly handed over the medicine that was about to get cold.

Three days later, the capital sent another letter from Xie Fengzhen, urging Xie Chaoling to return to the capital as soon as possible.

Xie Chaoling pressed the letter down and asked Li Congyu, “What do you think, little uncle?”

“We do need to return as soon as possible, I am afraid that King Huai and the others will get anxious and take desperate measures,” Li Congyu said. “Let King Xing send someone to escort you back to the capital first. King Xing’s team will follow soon after. As long as the northwest army moves, those who are still sitting on the fence in the capital will have to make a decision quickly. Maybe the situation can be resolved before the northwest army even reaches the capital.”

In the past few days, Li Congyu had already met with several loyal old subordinates of General Li from the army, and indeed convinced them to follow Xie Chaoling to the capital. The army had gathered 30,000 soldiers.

He also reminded, “But we can’t be too optimistic. If His Majesty is still in their hands, and they refuse to open the inner city gates, or even take all the high-ranking families in the city as hostages, things will become troublesome. Forcing our way into the city is the lowest way to do it.”

Xie Chaoling asked, “What about getting the people inside the city to open the gates for us?”

“It’s difficult. The inner city troops are all under the control of the Zhao family, and it’s almost impossible for anyone else to open the city gate.”

Xie Chaoling thought for a moment and said, “There’s one person who can do it.”

Li Congyu didn’t understand, so Xie Chaoling explained, “Empress Dowager Zhao. I’ll write a letter and have Royal Uncle find a way to deliver it to Leping Princess who is staying at the Palace. That kid is clever and knows what to do.”

When the letter was sent out, Xie Chaohui came to report the intelligence from Xirong.

The Xirong King had died, but the news had been suppressed by someone with a hidden agenda and the country had not yet announced mourning. The Xirong tribe was now in total chaos. Kunxi, the king of the Kun tribe, had joined forces with several other tribal leaders and was trying to seize the throne of Xirong. The sons of the late Xirong King, who had previously been at odds with each other, had now formed an alliance and were ready to fight together against Kunxi.

“Several military conflicts have erupted within the city over the past ten days, and two princes have died. It’s not yet known who will become the next Xirong King,” Xie Chaohui said.

Xie Chaoling frowned at the news and asked, “What about him?”

Xie Chaohui knew who he was referring to and comforted him, “He’s been staying at home all the time. The Xirong people seem to think he’s timid and forgetful, so the fire won’t burn him for the time being.”

But Xie Chaoling didn’t seem relieved. He didn’t believe that Xie Chaoyuan would just sit idly by during this turmoil.

Just then, a messenger came in and reported that a caravan from Xirong had arrived, entrusted to deliver a gift to King Xing.

Xie Chaohui felt that something was off about this and went to receive the visitors himself.

Li Congyu whispered to Xie Chaoling, “Your Highness, I’ve also received news about what’s happening in Xirong. I know more than King Xing.”

Li Congyu had spent ten years in Xirong and had left his own people behind before leaving. He knew more about the situation than the spies that Xie Chaohui had sent. In the past ten days, Xie Chaoyuan had not been idle. On the contrary, he had been busy almost every day. He not only made a deal with the living Buddha but also formed alliances with both Kunxi and the sons of the late Xirong King. He played the three parties against each other and incited them to fight, and the two princes who had died were killed by him in the chaos.

Xie Chaoling was speechless after hearing this. Even though he had repeatedly warned that little rascal to be careful and not act recklessly before he left, it seemed that the warning had fallen on deaf ears.

Xie Chaoyuan’s wayward style was unlikely to change in this lifetime.

After two quarters of an hour, Xie Chaohui returned with something in his hand and presented it to Xie Chaoling.

The gift was not for him but for Xie Chaoling, and it was obvious who had sent it.

Xie Chaoling opened the wooden box, inside of which were two blood-stained gold necklaces. Li Congyu took them out and looked at them for a while without saying anything. He read the names engraved on the necklaces and explained to Xie Chaoling, “The aristocratic descendants of the Xirong tribe are born wearing such a gold necklace with their name engraved on it, which they cannot remove for their whole life. Taking away their necklace is no different from taking their head.”

The names on the necklaces were those of the two deceased Xirong princes. Xie Chaohui frowned and said, “Both of these people led troops on this border before, and they were extremely vicious, with their hands stained with the blood of the common people of Daliang. The gift-giver should have specially sent these.”

Xie Chaoling took the things from Li Congyu’s hands and held them for a while before suddenly laughing.

…This little scoundrel.

He threw the things back into the box and instructed Wang Jin, “Put them away. There will be a day when we reward our achievements.”

Li Congyu looked at Xie Chaoling. After this, his gaze fell back to the wooden box, and he paused for a moment, completely at a loss for words.