Chapter 26 - 1#
Regret - Can’t Help Thinking of Yanzhi#
—Who?
Who are these people?
—On what basis?
On what basis did Yanzhi’s favorability toward them rise so quickly?
On what basis did Yanzhi have an initial favorability of fifteen for Xiao Chen and A-Si, ordinary characters who don’t even have proper names?
On what basis did Yanzhi’s favorability toward this Boss Wei keep rising? It’s only been half a day, and it’s already nearly thirty!
Who on earth is this Boss Wei?!
Xiao Cuan sat on the couch, his face gloomy and his gaze sinister, completely hidden in the darkness.
In the dark, a creaking sound could be heard from time to time.
It was the sound of Xiao Cuan gritting his teeth, his molars grinding together.
It was also the sound of Xiao Cuan clenching his fists tightly, his knuckles rubbing against each other.
So Yanzhi went to all that trouble to escape the palace just to find these nobodies?
It’s so late; has he had dinner? Has he found a place to stay tonight?
Why isn’t he sleeping yet? Why is he still with these people?
What kind of people are they? Hunters or bandits?
The next moment, Xiao Cuan swung his fist violently, shattering the darkness before him.
What does it have to do with him?
Whether Yanzhi has eaten or slept, what does it have to do with him?
Yanzhi can’t tell a hunter from a bandit; even if he were captured by bandits, what does it have to do with him?
Xiao Cuan’s face was taut as he forced down the rage in his heart and threw himself heavily back onto the couch.
Sleep!
He still had to attend court tomorrow; the government’s affairs were busy, with a mountain of matters awaiting his decision.
The snow came late this winter; there might be a pest outbreak next spring.
—Yanzhi loved to run around in the woods, and he has such tender skin; insects would bite him every time.
The New Year is approaching, and he has to give money to all the officials—another huge expense.
—Yanzhi isn’t in the palace, so he doesn’t have to give him gold biscuits; it actually saves money.
In a few years, he’ll lead another expedition to expand the borders of Daliang further.
—Yanzhi won’t be able to go along anymore; he won’t get to eat the milk from the west or the sea fish from the east.
Yanzhi, Yanzhi, Yanzhi!
Why can’t he help but think of Yanzhi?
Xiao Cuan sat bolt upright on the couch, raised his fist again, and slammed it into his own face.
Wake up!
You’ve been infected with the stupidity disease by that idiot Yanzhi!
His sharp canine teeth cut his lip, and blood flowed.
It didn’t hurt, but the faint taste of blood was enough to wake him up.
—What if Yanzhi really was captured by mountain bandits?
Although he had campaigned far and wide and stabilized the world over these years, there would inevitably be evil people in the deep forests.
Yanzhi is stupid; his personality panel only has the word “innocent” on it. He has no guard against anyone, sees everyone as a good person, and his favorability toward someone he’s just met shoots up immediately.
That’s why Xiao Cuan never dared to let him go out alone, let alone meet people alone, for fear he’d be tricked by outsiders.
Yet he ran away on his own.
He didn’t know how much silver he had on him, or if he had taken the gold biscuits given to him in previous years.
Xiao Cuan lowered his head, propped up one leg, and covered his forehead with his hand, as if having a headache.
If he’d known, he should have given him more money to save for himself.
If he’d known, he shouldn’t have hidden the matter of appointing him Empress. If he’d told Yanzhi earlier that he was the Empress, he naturally wouldn’t have run away.
If he’d known, he shouldn’t have sent people to catch him with such fanfare, forcing him not to take the official roads and only dare to take mountain paths.
If he’d known—
If he’d known, he shouldn’t have returned to the palace.
Yanzhi is so small, like a kitten, running on mountain paths in heavy snow and strong winds.
How could he withstand the wind, frost, and snow outside? How could he outrun the wolves, tigers, and leopards out there?
He was clever the night before last, knowing to find Xie Yi and having a comfortable sleep at Xie Yi’s house.
But where in the world is there a second Xie Yi? If he runs further, where is there a second Xie Yi to take him in?
Xiao Cuan was truly starting to regret it.
He shouldn’t have come back.
No matter how angry he was then, he shouldn’t have come back.
He should have continued looking for Yanzhi; how could he have come back?
The more Xiao Cuan thought about it, the more his head ached and the more irritable he became. He simply waved a hand and opened Yanzhi’s favorability panel again.
The panel was still lit, meaning Yanzhi was still alive.
Good, not dead yet.
Xiao Cuan gave the back of his head two more thumps and got out of bed.
Since Yanzhi wasn’t dead, he would continue to search.
He didn’t intend to close Yanzhi’s favorability panel anymore.
Anyway, others couldn’t see it; he’d keep it open like this by his side to ensure he could monitor Yanzhi’s condition in real time.
Xiao Cuan got out of bed, grabbed an outer robe, threw it over his shoulders, and walked out.
The night was dark and the wind was high; the palace lanterns swayed under the eaves.
Two servants on night watch huddled under the corridor, talking in low voices.
“Do you think His Majesty really wants to appoint Young Master Yanzhi as Empress?”
“I can’t say for sure. To say His Majesty is good to Young Master Yanzhi, it doesn’t seem especially good; to say he’s bad to him, it doesn’t seem especially bad either. What do you think?”
“I can’t say either. His Majesty’s feelings for Young Master Yanzhi are fickle, one way one moment and another the next. Plus, hasn’t Young Master Yanzhi run away now? The world is large and the crowd is vast; whether he can be found is another matter entirely.”
“I agree.”
As they were talking, a “creak” suddenly came from above.
The hall door was pulled open from the inside, and the two servants instinctively stood up and turned around.
With just one look, the two were terrified out of their wits, retreating repeatedly, unable even to cry out.
“Summon Bian Ying, Liu Xun, Liu Zhen, and Wang Xing to the palace.”
Xiao Cuan didn’t even look at them. Leaving those words behind, he turned and walked back into the hall, sitting on the familiar high platform.
The two servants took a long while to calm down before they dared to confirm that the man they had just seen—with disheveled hair and a gloomy face, looking like Yama, an evil ghost crawled out of hell—was indeed His Majesty.
“Yes… yes, we will go at once to deliver the decree.”
The two bowed in a hurry, scrambled down the stone steps, and ran to deliver the decree.
*
Lord Bian knew it!
His Majesty would definitely be inconsistent and change his mind regarding Young Master Yanzhi.
So when the palace attendant came to the Bian manor to call him, Lord Bian didn’t have much of a reaction.
He simply lay on his couch, answered, then opened his eyes, picked up the official robes he had placed by his side that morning, and skillfully put them on.
Just like the servants at the manor gate hitching the horse to the carriage.
Lord Bian, as before, rode his carriage into the palace, met several colleagues at the palace gate, and they walked together.
Finally, the group of officials arrived before the Taiji Hall, ascended the stone steps, entered the hall, and bowed in salute.
“Greetings, Your Majesty.”
His Majesty also spoke as before: “Rise, be seated.”
Only the voice was deep and low, sounding not as if it came from above their heads, but as if it came from underground.
Lord Bian gathered his courage and secretly looked up.
The result of that look was nearly fatal.
With that one glance, he was scared out of his soul and almost couldn’t stand.
This, this, this…
Who had punched His Majesty?!
Could it be that Young Master Yanzhi had returned? That Yanzhi had done it?
It made sense; in all the world, only Young Master Yanzhi dared to defy His Majesty.
But if Young Master Yanzhi had already returned, why would His Majesty summon them to the palace in the middle of the night?
So…
Before Lord Bian could regain his senses, a colleague beside him, seeing him standing motionless, kindly gave him a tug.
Lord Bian then came to his senses, retreated to the side, and took his seat in turn with his colleagues.
His Majesty’s hasty midnight summons was surely about Young Master Yanzhi.
The officials all knew it, but no one dared speak first for fear of provoking His Majesty.
It was pitch black outside the hall, and only two candles were lit inside.
The doors were not closed, and the cold wind blew in, flickering the candle flames.
Xiao Cuan sat on the high platform, the candlelight casting his shadow on the wall behind him, swaying back and forth, making him unfathomable.
Since they didn’t speak, Xiao Cuan didn’t delay either, speaking coldly: “I—”
The ministers hurriedly sat up straight, their posture respectful.
“I issued a decree during the day for you to call off the search for Yanzhi.”
“Those were words spoken in anger.”
Xiao Cuan lowered his eyes and finally admitted it.
“Yanzhi has accompanied me for many years and is the Empress I’ve chosen. His disappearance from the Daliang Palace for no reason must be investigated.”
Xiao Cuan still refused to admit that Yanzhi had run away himself.
—Disappeared for no reason from the palace.
Anyone who didn’t know better might think Yanzhi had been kidnapped by thieves.
But since he said it this way, the ministers didn’t dare say much, only straightening up and bowing.
“We will surely do our best to find Young Master Yanzhi!”
“I have searched for him for several days and nights and have a few suspicions in my heart that I wish to share with you all—”
“We are listening, Your Majesty.”
Xiao Cuan’s expression was calm, and his tone was extremely cool.
Yet beneath that calm, a fierce storm seemed to be constantly suppressed.
“He left the palace yesterday morning, taking only two sets of clothes, a bit of silver, and that wolf cub.”
“The night before last, he stayed at Xie Yi’s estate.”
“During the day yesterday, he went to the Taoist temple on the mountain next to Yanqi Village to take his mother’s longevity tablet.”
“He is weak and alone, carrying a bundle and a wolf cub; relying on his legs alone, he can’t have gone far.”
“He will surely go to buy a horse or a donkey. Therefore, start searching from near the capital, checking every estate for traces of Yanzhi.”
“The mountain roads are steep and the terrain is dangerous; there may be mountain bandits and horse thieves who could have taken him. When you inspect the estates, take soldiers along and suppress the bandits while you’re at it.”
“Additionally—” Xiao Cuan paused, “I know a few more things.”
“On his way, Yanzhi met some people: one called ‘Boss Wei,’ one called ‘A-Si,’ and several called ‘A-Ping,’ ‘Xiao Chen,’ and ‘Liu-zai’.”
“Go investigate these names and see where these people are now.”
“They appeared in a group; I suspect they are either workers at an estate or mountain bandits.”
Word by word, Xiao Cuan spoke everything he knew.
He knew that these close ministers of his were all people with full talent scores.
If he spoke the names of Boss Wei and the others just like that, they would surely have suspicions.
But he couldn’t wait any longer; he couldn’t consider that much anymore.
He only wanted Yanzhi back!
Xiao Cuan thought for a moment and continued: “Take soldiers with you, dress as government runners, and act as if you’re investigating a case.”
“Even if you find Yanzhi, do not call out to him, do not chase him, and certainly do not swarm him to catch him.”
“Stay put, note the location, and come back to inform me. I will go find him.”
Catching a little bird had to be done this way; he couldn’t rush in to grab him like before.
He had to be patient, gentle, and catch him slowly.
Xiao Cuan lowered his head, rubbed his brow, and finally said: “Each search party member should go to the treasury and take a gold biscuit. If Yanzhi grows suspicious and wants to run, toss the gold biscuit to him and let him take it with him.”