Chapter 260 - 65: Night Meeting

Chapter 260: Chapter 65: Night Meeting

Xie Yanfang paid no mind to what was happening in the main hall. He carefully examined the document he had just written and summoned a eunuch.

"I’ve just finished writing a detailed explanation of a few court matters. Please deliver it to His Majesty," Xie Yanfang said. "His Majesty can glance through it for leisure after he’s done with his studies."

The eunuch smiled respectfully. "Mr. Xie, you jest. Your writing is so clear and easy to understand that His Majesty loves reading it. He can’t put it down before bed every night. Eunuch Qi has to urge him to stop."

Xie Yanfang said, "If His Majesty enjoys my writing, I will write more for him."

He would not rush to present himself before Xiao Yu.

He would wait patiently, revealing his heart to the boy, waiting for the boy to let go of his inhibitions and approach him on his own accord.

It was not until night fell and all but the officials on duty had left that the Imperial City grew quiet.

Though the throngs of officials were gone, the documents piled on Deng Yi’s desk were as high as a mountain. Suddenly, the busy Deng Yi paused and called for someone.

A Clerk came forward.

"Go," Deng Yi said. "Bring me that register of military merits."

The Clerk froze for a moment before realizing what Deng Yi was referring to.

"My lord, are you going to approve Chu Ling’s merits?" he asked.

Deng Yi gripped his brush. "I’m not approving Chu Ling’s. I want to see why someone doesn’t want me to."

...

...

His fingers flipped through the register under the flickering lamplight. Soon, they stopped at one spot, and he tapped it lightly.

The Clerk quickly leaned in to look and read the names there aloud: "Liang Yao, Liang Qiang." He gasped. "It’s the Liang Family!"

"So it was the Liang Family." The Clerk clapped his hands in a moment of sudden realization. "That fellow did it on purpose!"

They who bought their way in may have no other skills, but they served as the eyes and ears of Deng Yi, so of course they had noticed that the official was one of Xie Yanfang’s men.

"No wonder that fellow was so provocative from the start; he was deliberately trying to anger you, my lord," the Clerk said. "The Liang Family and the Xie family are enemies. The Xie family was behind the Liang Family’s exile to the Border County, so Xie Yanfang certainly doesn’t want to see the Liangs receive any merits."

The Clerk, his expression animated, said everything that needed to be said. Deng Yi simply stared at the names in the register of military merits and remarked, "Chaotic times give rise to heroes. War is a tragic affair, but for many, it is also an opportunity."

’Did I not also find my own opportunity amidst chaos?’

He didn’t mind if others had the same chance.

Deng Yi picked up his brush and wrote "Approved" at the end of the register. Then he took the Grand Tutor’s Seal and the Jade Seal and stamped the document.

"As General Chu wished," he said.

...

...

Xie Yanfang left the Imperial City without a large contingent of guards, accompanied only by Du Qi. As they walked through the market streets, the night could not conceal his elegance, and passersby couldn’t help but turn to look.

"It’s Third Young Master Xie."

"Third Young Master Xie!"

Some whispered, others called out excitedly, but no one disturbed him. They simply watched the noble son proceed at a leisurely pace on his horse, a pleasing sight to behold.

"Third Young Master Xie holds an important position, and the situation is so unstable, yet he still travels without guards."

"He’s nothing like Grand Tutor Deng. When Grand Tutor Deng goes out, they have to block off the streets."

"How can an upstart who got lucky compare to a noble son from an old aristocratic family?"

Xie Yanfang paid no mind to the stares and chatter around him, lost in his thoughts. However, when the sound of urgent hoofbeats and a shouted order came from behind, he and Du Qi immediately moved to the side, watching as a posthouse soldier galloped past.

"The rewards for military merits in the Border County," Du Qi said in a low voice, adding with a sneer, "The Grand Tutor’s ’goodwill’ couldn’t even wait for the night to pass. He was in such a rush to send it off."

Xie Yanfang watched the departing posthouse soldier. "This is for the best. General Chu won’t have to be troubled by this matter anymore." He then looked at Du Qi. "Has Miss Ah Zhao seen her father yet?"

Du Qi nodded. "She has."

Xie Yanfang gazed into the distance. "General Chu’s health has worsened, hasn’t it?"

Du Qi nodded again and said in a low voice, "His eyes can no longer see. By my reckoning... he doesn’t have long."

Xie Yanfang sighed softly. "Miss Ah Zhao must be both happy and sad right now."

...

...

In the Border County, the night wind howled. The city was under curfew, and no one but soldiers could be seen.

A troop of riders galloped in from outside the city walls.

A girl among them, dressed in cotton armor, stopped in front of the government office.

The soldiers waiting in front of the government office all bowed. "Miss."

They had originally called her "Empress," but it always felt awkward. Chu Zhao had waved it away, saying, "I’m not in the Imperial City, and an Empress who patrols the city with her soldiers is no longer an Empress. We’re all family here. Just call me ’Miss.’"

So everyone comfortably called her "Miss." After all, they were family.

"Want to come to the gatehouse for a drink to warm up?" Chu Zhao asked, lifting her heavy cap to address the soldiers behind her.

’Should they or shouldn’t they?’ Ding Dachui didn’t dare answer. He looked toward the young general in front of him—the one in charge wasn’t here, but he, Ding Dachui, still wasn’t the one to make the call.