Chapter 66#
Mountain Forest: Little Pei Goes to Enzhou (Part 7)#
Pei Xiting had started losing his mind again.
The man sat at the table early in the morning with a pair of swollen, red eyelids. Heaven only knew how many times he had tossed and turned in bed the night before. He held a spoon in his hand, stirring a bowl of milk porridge around and around, occasionally lifting it to his mouth, only to forget to put the spoon down for a long time.
Yuan Fang knew that the Crown Prince had come the previous night, taken the little grandchild away, and stayed in Pei Xiting’s room for a good while. But he had no idea what the Crown Prince had done to Pei Xiting to leave the man so dazed. He hadn’t heard any commotion from beside the room either.
Pei Xiting lifted the spoon into the bowl, scooped up a spoonful of air, and brought it to his mouth. Yuan Fang stood to the side with his arms crossed, watching the spectacle for a moment. Just before Pei Xiting aimed the spoon at his nose, he spoke up in time: “Are we getting down to business or not?”
“Ah.”
Pei Xiting muttered a reply, his mind a million miles away. Seeing this, Yuan Fang reached out and tapped Pei Xiting’s head, but got no reaction. Then he pinched Pei Xiting’s slightly reddened cheek—this time, it was a different story. Pei Xiting abruptly covered his face with his hand, turned his head to glare at him, and actually had a hint of bashfulness about him.
“…” Yuan Fang understood. “Last night, did the Crown Prince pinch your face?”
The imagination of a pure-hearted boy was truly this limited. Pei Xiting rubbed his cheek and said, “What the hell would you know?”
“I may not know shit, but I do know that if you don’t eat soon, you’ll be complaining about being hungry later,” Yuan Fang said. “There’s no food up in the mountains—too strong a smell, not easy to stay hidden.”
Only then did Pei Xiting remember that today they were supposed to secretly tail Zong Rui up Da Mang Mountain. He quickly picked up the bowl and downed the porridge, then got up to get dressed. While hurrying to prepare, he said, “Don’t you try to scare me. What about those people who take a flask of wine with them on nighttime assassination missions? What about them?”
“Can you even compare yourself to them?” Yuan Fang inquired.
Pei, the little weakling, never blamed himself. He said coldly, “Don’t go blindly comparing yourself to others. Elevating outsiders while putting me down—that kind of behavior is wrong. It hurts my feelings, and you need to correct it.”
Yuan Fang stared solemnly at Pei Xiting for a moment, then said, “I wasn’t putting you down.”
“You were just stating the facts, right—” Pei Xiting’s words trailed off as he shot out the door, chasing after Yuan Fang, heading straight for the back gate of the guild hall.
Since this was a tailing operation, using their own carriage was out of the question. Pei Xiting, familiar with the routine, directed Yuan Fang to rent an inconspicuous ordinary carriage from a carriage shop, then turned and headed toward Da Mang Mountain.
The carriage passed by the front of the “Longming Inn.” A window on the second floor gently pushed open, and Yu Shaoyun leaned out, watching the direction the carriage was heading. “Secretary Pei is heading toward Da Mang Mountain?”
Zong Lu was sitting upright at the desk practicing calligraphy. At that, he said, “If Secretary Pei wants to participate in suppressing the bandits, he could go with the heir. Yet he chooses to secretly tail them alone. Is he going to carry out some secret mission?”
“What business is it of yours?” the Crown Prince set down his teacup. “Focus on your calligraphy. I’ll check it when I return.”
Zong Lu asked softly, “Where is Fifth Uncle going? Can’t you take me along?”
“Do you still need me to take you?” the Crown Prince said calmly. “I thought you have your own ideas, with nimble legs to follow me perfectly well, without needing my permission.”
Hearing this, Zong Lu lowered his head and dared not speak. The eunuch Lai and Qingjiao beside him wished they could bury their faces in their toes.
Eunuch Lai especially—he had lived half his life and seen all kinds of scheming and dirty tricks, only to end up capsizing in a ditch, drugged unconscious by the little imperial grandson!
In the ensuing silence, the Crown Prince stepped out of the room. Yu Shaoyun patted Eunuch Lai on the shoulder, giving him a look that said, “Next time, you old thing is done for,” then quickly followed the Crown Prince.
Zong Lu turned his head to glance at the door that had opened and then closed again, lost in thought.
Eunuch Lai picked up the porcelain pot and poured him a cup of milk, saying, “My little ancestor, please don’t get any more ideas. Be careful or His Highness really will break your legs.”
“At least Fifth Uncle won’t break my head. Besides,” Zong Lu thought for a moment, “Secretary Pei would plead for me, wouldn’t he?”
Eunuch Lai heard him mention Pei Xiting and let out a sigh, saying, “Then you’ve thought wrong. Secretary Pei is both reckless and disciplined. If it’s an ordinary matter, he might indeed plead for Your Highness before the Crown Prince. But if you truly anger His Highness to the point of wanting to break your legs, Secretary Pei most likely won’t say anything inappropriate in front of His Highness.”
“And besides, if His Highness wants to break your legs, Secretary Pei wouldn’t even know about it,” Qingjiao added. “So it’s best you just focus on your calligraphy. If it doesn’t pass inspection when His Highness returns, you’ll be writing again tomorrow.”
Zong Lu pressed his lips together, sighed, drank the warm milk, and then earnestly resumed his calligraphy practice.
Seeing this, Eunuch Lai breathed a sigh of relief. He was about to step away from the desk when Zong Lu stopped writing again. Eunuch Lai’s eyelid twitched, but he smiled and said, “What is it?”
“Last night, I observed a bit. It seemed like Secretary Pei wasn’t too fond of Fifth Uncle,” Zong Lu thought for a moment, then nodded. “He even threw a little tantrum at Fifth Uncle and wanted to drive him away.”
The little imperial grandson was truly persistent in probing the relationship between his Fifth Uncle and Secretary Pei. Eunuch Lai smiled and said, “But His Highness didn’t get angry.”
“Not only did he not get angry, Fifth Uncle also sent me away and stayed in the room for a long time. When the candle went out, I thought Fifth Uncle was about to come out, but he didn’t. He still stayed in the room. After a while, Fifth Uncle finally came out. Although he looked the same as usual, while we were in the carriage, I secretly observed a bit and thought that Fifth Uncle’s mood was much better than when he arrived. Moreover, Fifth Uncle also seemed to be daydreaming, as if savoring something wonderful.” Zong Lu pondered. “So, Fifth Uncle and Secretary Pei had a conflict and got into an argument, but last night they talked by candlelight and made up, right?”
Eunuch Lai’s guess was not as innocent as the young boy’s. He gave a mysterious smile but did not voice his suspicion that His Highness and Secretary Pei must have done something only adults do—or at least half of it!
Children shouldn’t hear it. Eunuch Lai simply said, “That’s most likely it.”
Zong Lu was quite satisfied and said, “It seems I did a good deed then. It was my arrival that prompted their reconciliation.”
They could go from doing it more to loving more, or to hating more. Eunuch Lai naturally couldn’t confirm whether His Highness and Secretary Pei had reconciled, but he didn’t want to dampen the little imperial grandson’s spirits either, so he nodded and said, “Indeed.”
Zong Lu had tossed and turned all night without sleep. Partly it was guilt over coming to Enzhou without permission, wondering how Fifth Uncle would punish him. Partly it was pondering the relationship between Fifth Uncle and Secretary Pei. Now that the worldly-wise Eunuch Lai also agreed with his conclusion, he finally felt at ease, leaving only one question.
“By the way,” Zong Lu looked at Eunuch Lai, “do you think Secretary Pei will become my Fifth Aunt… Uncle?”
“Well,” Eunuch Lai said hesitantly, “who can be sure? Do you hope Secretary Pei becomes that?”
Zong Lu said, “I hope Fifth Uncle finds happiness. I hope he has someone to love, and that he loves and is loved in return.”
Eunuch Lai smiled at that, his gaze warm, and said, “His Highness is blessed with deep fortune. He will.”
“Ah-choo!”
Pei Xiting sneezed, rubbing his nose in annoyance as he leaned toward the carriage door. “Where are we?”
“Almost at the foot of the mountain,” Yuan Fang said. “There are soldiers from the Enzhou Camp guarding below. Get ready—we’re taking a detour up the mountain.”
Pei Xiting said “Got it,” pushed open the door, and crouched next to Yuan Fang. “Is that shadow still here today?”
“He is,” Yuan Fang said. “Not as covert as before.”
Pei Xiting smiled. “Probably because a certain Crown Prince understood my innuendo last night, so today he’s just being open about it.”
He had hesitated for a moment last night before deciding not to tell Yuan Fang about Fu Wei being in Enzhou. After all, with the Crown Prince blocking things, that debtor hadn’t made any moves for now. That brat Yuan Fang had guts to spare, but the moment that debtor was mentioned, his whole demeanor tightened—clearly he was deeply wary. If he found out, he’d probably be constantly on edge.
Pei Xiting had thought it through: if the Crown Prince couldn’t hold the line and the debtor came knocking, he’d charge out and use the “wild punches beat the old master” technique. Yuan Fang was good at qinggong—just that one opening would be enough for him to make a run for it.
On the treetop of a large tree, Fu Wei sneezed lightly, raising an eyebrow. “Who’s thinking of me?”
The Crown Prince stood nearby, saying, “Someone cursing you is more likely.”
Fu Wei said, “I’m kindly following you, and this is how you treat me?”
“Don’t try to muddy the waters.” The Crown Prince said flatly. “Yuan Fang has to stay with Pei Xiting.”
Fu Wei smiled and said, “You’re using an assassin as a bodyguard. Don’t you think that’s rather inappropriate?”
“The assassin volunteered to be Pei Xiting’s bodyguard,” the Crown Prince added. “Fifty taels a month.”
“How much?” For someone from the Immortal Corridor, fifty taels was barely enough to fill a crack. Let alone for “Yuan Fang,” a top-tier assassin?
Fu Wei frowned slightly. “That little brat hasn’t actually fallen for Pei Xiting, has he?”
The Crown Prince was displeased to hear this, but still said, “You’re being very shallow. Feelings in this world are not limited to romantic love.”
“If anyone else said that, I’d listen. Coming from you, I’ll take it as a joke,” Fu Wei laughed. “I pray that His Highness the Crown Prince will recite this sentence a thousand times before sleep and upon waking every day. First console yourself with it, then take it out to fool others.”
Yu Shaoyun, standing nearby, had long since given up on “mediating” or soothing his master. He had come to understand that jealousy, unlike food or drink, once it entered the throat, seeped into the flesh—impossible to wash away or expel, churning inside the body from time to time.
Suddenly, Yu Shaoyun spotted something and said softly, “Secretary Pei is here.”
The Crown Prince stopped bothering to retort Fu Wei. Following Yu Shaoyun’s gaze, he saw Pei Xiting in his green robes with a horsetail whisk, darting through the forest with Yuan Fang in the distant woods.
Pei Xiting didn’t know qinggong, but he was naturally light on his feet. As he ran, the ends of his hair flowed like ink waves, the hem of his robes like shifting shadows—a stroke of lively, elegant color.
The two crouched behind a large boulder near a small cliff. Pei Xiting moved on his haunches, shifting along the ground like a turtle.
The Crown Prince watched this “Turtle’s Hiding Act” with keen interest until Pei Xiting reached out, grabbed Yuan Fang’s back, and pressed their heads intimately together.
The Crown Prince’s lips tightened, and the smile on his face died instantly.
Ah, Yu Shaoyun sighed inwardly.
Pei Xiting, unaware he was being critiqued, squeezed past Yuan Fang and craned his neck to look beyond the boulder—
The Enzhou Camp’s soldiers had the bandits semi-surrounded. Zong Rui sat astride his horse at the very front, with Huidou and Zong An behind him. Then, Zhang Dazhuang’s voice boomed through the valley: “I have a petition here! I humbly beg the heir to examine it!”
This was an unexpected move. Zong An narrowed his eyes slightly, staring at Zhang Dazhuang in shock and suspicion, but said nothing.
Huidou frowned imperceptibly, then leaned close to Zong Rui and said, “Heir, bandits are cruel and cunning. You must not trust their words easily. It’s better to give the order to suppress them directly.”
Zong Rui did not answer Huidou. He looked at Zhang Dazhuang and said, “Since it’s a petition, speak it out directly.”
Zhang Dazhuang remembered Pei Xiting’s instructions and said, “Forgive me, heir. The things we have to say are too shocking. If they spread, they will surely stir up trouble in Enzhou. I humbly beg the heir to read this before making a decision. I can present the petition to the heir alone. If I make any suspicious move, the heir may cut me down right before his horse!”
Huidou frowned and said, “Heir, you absolutely cannot let a bandit approach you! If he goes berserk—”
“Aren’t you here?” Zong Rui turned his head to look at Huidou. His gaze paused momentarily, then shifted back. “Besides, are you suggesting I should be afraid of some bandit?”
For some reason, Huidou felt that Zong Rui’s gaze was strange, as if it held something—something ambiguous and dangerous. He instinctively glanced at Zong An, but the latter was looking straight ahead, his expression as usual.
Huidou quickly averted his eyes, suppressing the unease in his heart, and said, “Huidou will naturally protect the heir with his life, and the heir certainly has no reason to fear a mere bandit. But the heir’s safety is of utmost importance—you must not be careless!”
“If I were afraid of danger, I would have stayed in the Prince Ning’s manor as a docile heir, enjoying endless riches and honor. Why would I bother coming out here?” Zong Rui did not want to say more. He addressed Zhang Dazhuang, “Present your petition.”
Zhang Dazhuang cupped the petition in both hands and walked step by step to Zong Rui’s horse. He raised his hands above his head and said solemnly, “I beg the heir to examine it!”
Zong Rui drew his saber, turned it, and let the blade slide past Zhang Dazhuang’s wrists, catching the petition. He glanced at Zhang Dazhuang, then looked down at the paper. The characters on it were crooked and messy, densely detailing the crimes of Prefect Li Da and how Da Mang Mountain had become a den of bandits.
Zong Rui’s brow pressed down slightly.
Zhang Dazhuang knelt and knocked his head on the ground. “I beg the heir to examine it!”
The bandits not far away all knelt and knocked their heads in unison.
Zong Rui folded the petition, pondered for a moment, then suddenly turned his head toward Zong An and said, “Mother asked you to come out with me for a walk. Now that bandits have grievances to voice, what do you think?”
Zong An was startled. He glanced at Zhang Dazhuang and said softly, “It’s just one side of the story, nothing to be trusted entirely, let alone coming from bandits.”
Hearing this, Zhang Dazhuang’s eyes darted, and that clear, beautiful voice came back to his mind:
“When you plead your case before the heir, Zong An will surely object. Because that way, he can’t give you any leverage, and you’re no longer useful to him—your deal falls apart. That’s when you step up and change the terms of your business.”
Zong Rui looked thoughtful, but caught a glimpse of Zhang Dazhuang turning his head slightly toward Zong An. He narrowed his eyes and said, “Since you claim to have grievances, I can’t simply ignore it. But this matter is grave—I can’t take your word alone. Are you willing to come back with me? Let me investigate the truth, then we’ll confront your accuser face to face.”
Zhang Dazhuang answered without hesitation: “I am willing!”
“Very well. I won’t suppress you lot today, but I will surround you. Until the matter is settled, no one on the mountain is to come down. Any suspicious movement, and you’ll be executed on the spot.” Zong Rui swept his gaze over the bandits not far away. “Have I made myself clear?”
The bandits answered in a scattered, uneven chorus. Zong Rui called over the Enzhou Camp’s deputy commander and said, “No one is to harm anyone without my orders.”
The deputy commander cupped his hands in acknowledgment and dared not ask further.
Zong Rui turned his horse and rode out. After a short distance, he suddenly stopped.
Huidou approached and asked, “Heir, what’s wrong?”
“The Enzhou Camp is Enzhou’s local troops—not people we know well. If what’s in the petition is true, the Enzhou Camp can’t be fully trusted right now. Su Fan died suddenly, and the new controller hasn’t taken office yet.” Zong Rui looked at the eight guards accompanying him and ordered, “You stay here at Da Mang Mountain, keep an eye on the Enzhou Camp. Report any unusual activity to me immediately.”
Huidou’s eyes flickered. “Heir, if you send them away, who will escort you back?”
“There are still my men at the foot of the mountain. They can escort me back then.” Zong Rui pulled at his reins. “Let’s go.”
Zhang Dazhuang quickly followed. As he brushed past Zong An, he shot him a quick glance and gave a slight nod, then strode away without looking back, following behind Zong Rui’s horse.
Zong An was momentarily stunned. His brows knitted slightly. He had thought Zhang Dazhuang was backing out, abandoning their deal. But now it seemed Zhang Dazhuang had made other arrangements.
According to the original plan, they were to take advantage of the conflict between the two sides to help Zhang Dazhuang kill Zong Rui. Amid the chaos, he would immediately kill Zhang Dazhuang to silence him, then wipe out Da Mang Mountain. As for Huidou, he would find a suitable moment to let him “voluntarily die for his master.” That way, when they returned to the capital, the blame for killing the Prince Ning heir would naturally fall on Zhang Dazhuang and Da Mang Mountain. At worst, he himself would be charged with negligence in protection.
Zong An wasn’t entirely without suspicion toward Zhang Dazhuang. But this bandit was simple-minded, not the scheming type—otherwise, he wouldn’t have believed Zong An’s words in the first place. Their private dealings had been conducted with extreme secrecy, and Huidou, planted beside Zong Rui, would have reported any advance suspicion. There was no way Zong Rui could have found out and set this trap in return.
And the present moment was indeed a perfect opportunity. The eight attendants had stayed behind; the others were at the foot of the mountain. There were only four of them now, and Zong Rui was isolated. Kill Zong Rui, then kill Zhang Dazhuang—no one could expose him. But after returning, how could he completely absolve himself?
Zong An’s mind wavered. Then, suddenly, something unexpected happened: Zong Rui fell from his horse. He immediately dismounted and rushed to help Zong Rui up, asking anxiously, “Brother, what’s wrong?”
Zong Rui leaned against Zong An, dizzy and disoriented. He suddenly extended both hands and looked at them. In the center of his left palm was a clear pinpoint mark.
Zong Rui looked up, his gaze turning cold and sharp toward Zhang Dazhuang. “It was you.”
“It was me. I hid a needle at the back of the petition. Barely a hair’s length—hard to spot even on close inspection. When it pierces the skin, it feels like a mosquito bite. The tip was soaked in poison overnight. Not lethal, but it’ll make your mind fuzzy and your body weak.” Zhang Dazhuang’s demeanor changed. He gritted his teeth and said, “Don’t think you can fool me! I’ve heard of Prince Ning’s heir—you made your name by suppressing bandits and climbing ranks in the Ministry of War. Why would you listen to my grievances? You just wanted to lure me away, kill me in private, then order the massacre of all the bandits. That way, you cover up all your crimes. You officials protect each other—you think I don’t know that?!”
Zong Rui laughed coldly. “If you kill me now, all of you will die.”
“We’re going to die anyway. We’re going to be wiped out by the court as vicious bandits regardless. I might as well actually do something vicious—then at least I won’t die for nothing!” With that, Zhang Dazhuang pulled a short knife from his waist and lunged forward.
In a flash, Zong An threw himself forward. The knife slashed his arm, and he was kicked aside. He fell to the ground with a grunt and, as he looked up, quickly exchanged a glance with Huidou.
“…” Huidou gripped his sword hilt, his fingers trembling.
Zong Rui, though drugged, wasn’t about to be a sitting duck. He rolled on the ground to dodge Zhang Dazhuang’s descending blade and kicked the man back.
Zhang Dazhuang stumbled back two steps, then found himself bear-hugged by the scrambling Zong An.
“Brother,” Zong An’s arm bled profusely, but he clung to Zhang Dazhuang with all his might, urging urgently, “Brother, run!”
Zhang Dazhuang cursed, struck Zong An in the back of the head with his elbow, knocking him unconscious, then shoved him away harshly. He wiped his face and lunged at Zong Rui again.
They exchanged a few blows. Zong Rui kicked Zhang Dazhuang’s ankle, and as the man stumbled in pain, he threw himself forward with all his remaining strength, swinging his saber at Zhang Dazhuang’s throat.
Zhang Dazhuang deflected with his dagger, blood rushing to his head, his face reddening. He gritted his teeth and shouted, “Now!”
The shout was piercing. Huidou gritted his teeth, yanked out his blade, and swung it at the back of Zong Rui’s neck!
Zong Rui was completely exposed, his back turned, drugged and utterly unable to dodge or defend. Huidou even averted his eyes slightly. But in the next instant, a sharp pain struck his chest, and as he looked down, he saw a sleeve arrow that had pierced through his flesh from behind.
“Slap!”
The sword in Huidou’s hand wobbled and fell, knocked aside by Zhang Dazhuang’s arm before it could land on Zong Rui. Huidou stared in disbelief at Zhang Dazhuang, then a sudden realization flashed through his mind. He turned his eyes to meet Zong Rui’s gaze as the latter turned around—clear-eyed, sharp-witted, with no trace of being drugged.
They had walked right into a trap!
Zong Rui’s expression was somewhat complicated. Huidou dared not meet his gaze and collapsed, losing all strength. He twisted his head and saw Pei Xiting walking unhurriedly toward them, his left hand still fiddling with the sleeve arrow on his right wrist.
“Right on target,” Pei Xiting reached out and patted Yuan Fang’s shoulder. “My craft is exquisite.”
Yuan Fang remained unflappable and said politely, “The young master hits a hundred times out of a hundred.”
The trees rustled in layers. Birds startled by the sound of the arrow burst into flight.
A young man stood behind a tree, looking at the figure in green in the distance. “Pei Xiting… truly not simple.”
He chuckled softly, his voice languid. “They say he’s a rare beauty, handsome and dazzling. But I didn’t expect he had other talents as well. No wonder he caught the Crown Prince’s eye.”
The last half of his sentence was spoken even more softly, soft as a murmur, but with an inexplicable note of delight.
Behind the veil, the attendant couldn’t see the man’s expression, so he could only say, “Master, do you dislike this Pei Xiting? You said before you wanted a chance to have a good look at him, and if he pleased you, you’d make him into a beauty lantern.”
“I merely wanted to see what kind of person could catch the Crown Prince’s favor, to casually enter the Crown Prince’s villa on Chaohua Mountain.” The man clicked his tongue. “I thought it was just serving with good looks—after all, His Highness the Crown Prince may be indifferent to beauties, but he’s still a normal man. But as it turns out, Pei Xiting has some skill too.”
The attendant said, “Master’s meaning is?”
“Notify the men hidden on the mountain,” the man said. “Tell them to deploy in full. Kill Pei Xiting.”
The attendant hesitated. “Master, the man beside Pei Xiting is no easy opponent. Our people will likely take heavy losses. Wouldn’t it be better to wait until Pei Xiting is alone?”
“When will that opportunity come, if he’s always shuttling back and forth with Zong Rui? By the time he returns to the capital, it’ll be even harder to strike,” the man said. “He’s gradually gaining a foothold in the Bureau of Cage Cranes. Who knows if one day he’ll ride that ship into the Eastern Palace? By then, won’t we lose even more men?”
But Pei Xiting was no member of the imperial clan. Out and about, he had no guards or retinue, nor was he a martial artist himself. If they wanted an opportunity, they could find one. The attendant suspected the man had other reasons for wanting Pei Xiting dead. He chose his words carefully. “Is he worth so many of our lives?”
That was, in essence, a question asking why the man was so determined to kill Pei Xiting at this moment.
The man raised a hand to hold back the brim of his veiled hat, revealing a small, fair, and beautiful face. The corner of his mouth curled up. “Who told him to be born so fair, yet not be a fool?”
A devastating beauty is just a skeleton of rouge and powder. Keen intelligence is not rare either. But he had both. The man said, “He is drawing closer and closer to His Highness the Crown Prince. Who knows if one day he’ll end up in the Crown Prince’s bed? By then, it will be even harder to kill him.”
The attendant disagreed. “Even if that happens, he’s still just a plaything, unworthy of attention.”
“You don’t understand this His Highness. He never keeps playthings. And anything that belongs to him, nothing is unworthy of attention.” The man smiled. “He dared to imprison even his own father—what else wouldn’t he dare? If Pei Xiting truly has the skill, who knows? He might even become Crown Princess one day.”
He sighed softly. “How could that be allowed?”