Chapter 71

 

This night, which was a time for all living beings to be relieved of the pain of their deceased parents and relatives in the afterlife, was destined to be unusual for Pei Xiaoyuan.

Chen Shao had been waiting secretly at the street corner outside the southeast gate.

To avoid drawing attention, he still served on duty around Yanping Gate, but his position had been promoted from an unranked squad leader to an eighth-rank Military Assistant Officer, overseeing the military officers of Yanping Gate and with permission to join the imperial retinue.

He saw Pei Xiaoyuan’s figure among the bustling crowd. After surveying the surroundings and confirming that no one was tailing or watching, he approached, and was about to go up to him and talk, when he suddenly noticed that under the reflection of the dim red lotus light nearby, master’s face looked a little stiff, as if he were lost in a dazed contemplation.

This had never happened before, and he could not help but hesitate for a moment. Soon Pei Xiaoyuan saw him and cast his gaze. At this time, his expression seemed normal, and his eyes were focused.

Chen Shao thought that it was because of the dim lighting that he saw things wrong.

“I just got the news.”

“The person we were looking for before has been caught,” he said.

In the southwest corner of Yining Lane in the northwest of Chang’an, there was an inn. The owner had a full beard and dark skin. He claimed to be a businessman from Anguo and could speak fluent Anguo dialect. His identification document also supported his story, indicating that he was a foreigner who recently came. In Chang’an, where foreign merchants were numerous, Yining Lane—located near Kaiyuan Gate—was home to many people whose appearances differed from those of the Holy Dynasty. Thus, when this man took over the inn two to three years ago, he blended in seamlessly, settling into the city as if a drop of water merging into the sea.

The reason why this seemingly flawless Anguo merchant caught Pei Xiaoyuan’s attention was that after carefully searching several foreign settlements in Chang’an, he selected a list of people whose arrival time was most consistent with the Xifan man he was looking for. This person was one of them.

A few days ago, Pei Xiaoyuan sent Chen Shao to the inn under the pretext of a normal inspection to test him, and unexpectedly called out Chada’s real name in Xifan language. This person did not reveal any major flaws at the time, but the next day, the owner and several of his foreign assistants were vanished, leaving the place empty. A secret search of the inn uncovered a hidden room containing various valuables and goods that hadn’t yet been removed—items of all kinds that looked like spoils of theft. When questioned, one of the laborers at the inn confessed that, being in a quiet corner with few neighbors, the business was slow and that the Anguo innkeeper didn’t pay much attention to it, often keeping the doors shut. Once a month, however, he and his assistants would leave for a few days, returning later with wagons, though the laborer claimed not to know what they were doing during these trips.

Obviously, this was a ruthless person who ran a shop during the day and robbed business travelers at night. He fits the characteristics of the person they were looking for more.

Chen Shao immediately searched everywhere. Just tonight, he received news that a group of five to six Anguo people who escaped with gold and silver were captured in the barren mountains near Lingao Posthouse west of the city.

“He admitted his identity. He was Chada, who surrendered with the dead Xifan noble. Because his mother was from Anguo, he could speak Anguo dialect. Three years ago, after his master died, he killed a newly arrived Anguo merchant outside the city and hid himself by stealing his identity.”

“But he refused to confess no matter what and said he had to see the master.”

Pei Xiaoyuan quietly left the city from Yanping Gate and travelled to the field where he had a secret meeting with He Jin and others not long ago. Chada, that Xifan man, was lying on the ground with his hands and feet tied with ropes. When he saw Pei Xiaoyuan walking towards him under the moonlight, he shouted, “It’s you!

“I saw you during the battle in the west three years ago! You are the descendant of the former Great General Shenhu! You look so alike! So alike!”

He murmured, staring at Pei Xiaoyuan with a mixture of fear and awe in his eyes.

The young man in front of him made him recall the past that had gradually become distant.

Even though many years had passed, recalling that bloody ambush in the valley still filled him with dread.

Once the hand-to-hand combat began, the enemy’s great general, with only 800 men, had managed to hold off tens of thousands of Xifan soldiers for nearly half a day. They paid the brutal price of thousands wounded or dead before finally witnessing that god-like man fall, allowing them to pass through the valley he had so fiercely defended.

“My last name is Pei, and General Shenhu is my father.”

Pei Xiaoyuan lightly lifted the hem of his robe, bent down, and squatted in front of the person on the ground.

“Tell me, you clearly retreated that year, why did you send troops to Beiyuan again?” he asked in a calm voice.

Chada’s bulging eyes flickered suspiciously in the moonlight: “If I tell you, can you spare my life and let me go?”

“Yes.”

Pei Xiaoyuan stood up and gestured to untie him. Chen Shao did as he was told.

Chada was surprised to be freed so easily. After being stunned for a while, he showed a happy expression: “General Pei is the most outstanding hero I have ever seen. I admire him deeply. Master Pei is also a great hero. I believe you will keep your promise! I believe you!” After saying this, he kowtowed, got up and continued: “That day, our prince learned that the rebellion in the Holy Dynasty was settled, and there was the Shenhu Army blocking the way ahead. He knew that he would not gain any benefits if he continued to fight, so he made up his mind to retreat. Unexpectedly, a captured general from our side suddenly escaped and sent a message saying that General Pei had led his troops on the road to Chang’an. The troops ahead were just bluffing, and Beiyuan’s defense was actually empty. He told him to seize the opportunity to break in for revenge.

“General Pei is strict in his military discipline, and the people we sent out before either never came back or were useless and never obtained any useful information. How could this time he let a prisoner escape and return with such a useful information? Our prince did not believe it at first and was afraid that it was a trap set by the general. He asked what happened and the man said that he had pretended to surrender before, so he was able to save his life temporarily, but after General Pei left, he wanted to kill him to prevent future troubles. He was taken to be executed and thought he was going to die. Somehow, an arrow shot from somewhere and the guard was shot on the spot. He then escaped and reported the news to the prince.

“This matter was indeed strange, but if it’s true, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The prince immediately sent troops to test it and found that it was true! Who would have thought that General Pei really left, and soon after hearing the news, he turned back and held on for many days with the remaining men. Master Pei, you must know what happened next, so I don’t need to tell you.”

“Three years ago, you surrendered to the Holy Dynasty and the prince was killed in the street. Do you know the inside story?” Pei Xiaoyuan pondered for a moment and continued to ask.

Chada’s face was filled with indignation. “We are so stupid! I only realized it later. After the defeat three years ago, the prince was disheartened. He knew that even if he went back, he would have no hope of succeeding to the throne and would probably be ostracized. He admired the clothing system of the Holy Dynasty, so he entered Chang’an and wanted to spend the rest of his life here. Unexpectedly, not long after he entered the court, he was stabbed to death in the street by a hoodlum. The verdict said that it was out of jealousy. The more I think about it, the more scared I am. The one who released the man back to deliver the information must have been someone in the Holy Dynasty who used us to kill General Pei. Even if we sincerely surrender now, those people must be afraid that if we tell them what happened back then, they will not tolerate us. So I fled overnight, and with nowhere else to go, I pretended to be a merchant from Anguo and settled down.”

Although he successfully changed his appearance and avoided disaster by using the identity of a businessman, he was a ruthless man by nature. The idea of truly living like a merchant, relying on business to make a living, was something he could never endure. Over the past few years, he had occasionally led a few of his old loyal followers on “no-cost ventures,” selling off stolen goods and indulging in revelry, enjoying a carefree life in Chang’an. But he never anticipated disaster striking so suddenly; now he was under the watchful eye of a descendant from that fateful battle at Beiyuan. To survive under such scrutiny, he was naturally willing to say whatever he thought would please the other person.

“Master Pei, although the general died in Beiyuan, that was a war between two countries. The prince was also being used by someone back then! The person who designed the Beiyuan Battle is the real culprit.

“Master Pei, I know you want revenge! I have often thought in the past few years that the person who planned that incident might be the emperor of the Holy Dynasty today. As long as you spare my life, I will obey you no matter what you want me to do in the future. I know that you people of the Holy Dynasty always insist on having a legitimate reason for your actions. Even if you want to rebel, you must first issue declarations to let the world understand your grievances. If the time ever comes, I can testify on your behalf—”

The Xifan man was speaking fervently, saliva flying, when suddenly his throat tightened, and he could no longer make a sound.

He still had his mouth open, but suddenly his whole body froze, his eyes wide open, and his gaze fixed on the face of the young man from the Holy Dynasty opposite.

Under the moonlight, the young man’s originally calm face suddenly flashed a fierce look. He stretched out his arm and opened one of his hands. The five fingers of that hand were like iron claws, pinching the Xifan man’s throat and tightening, as if strangling a piece of fat and bloody meat, making the Xifan man’s throat embedded in the meat completely closed, and no longer able to breathe.

The Xifan man came back to his senses from his initial confusion and astonishment, and his eyes suddenly flashed with fury. He exerted force, trying to break free and fight back. However, the young man’s grip on his throat was terrifyingly strong. The Xifan man, with his thick, burly frame, was like a snake seized at its vulnerable point. Despite his furious thrashing—his arms flailing wildly and his feet kicking up dirt and stones from the ground—he couldn’t shake off that single hand locked firmly around his throat.

Then, Chen Shao reacted quickly with his men and rushed forward, holding the Xifan man’s arms tightly on the left and right, preventing him from resisting.

Pei Xiaoyuan looked at the face of the Xifan man opposite him, which seemed to be gradually swelling up, and the force of his fingers became stronger and stronger. With a vague gurgling sound, the Xifan man’s hyoid bone broke, and blood began to seep out of his eyes and nostrils, which was a sign of a burst blood vessel. His fingers still did not loosen. Gradually, the Xifan man’s resistance became weak, and finally, he lost the ability to move, and his head drooped weakly to one side of his shoulder. However, Pei Xiaoyuan still did not loosen his fingers until the Xifan man completely stopped struggling in his hands, and a hot and stinking smell of internal filth emanated from his body. He slowly withdrew his hands and threw him away. Chen Shao and the others followed suit, and the Xifan man’s tall and strong body collapsed silently on the ground like a soft and huge flour bag, motionless.

At this point, the fierce look on his face slowly disappeared, replaced by expressionless indifference.

“Kill all his accomplices, dig a deep pit, and bury them all on the spot,” he said.

Chen Shao said yes, hesitated for a moment, and then asked in a low voice: “What about the inn? There are stolen goods in the secret room. The people didn’t go back, and if the magistrate finds out and reports it, in case he finds out the identity of this person, he will suspect us.”

“Divide the valuables in the secret room among you, and set fire to the inn tonight.”

After Pei Xiaoyuan gave the order, he turned around and left alone without stopping.

On this night when the curfew was lifted, the lights in the East and West markets were on all night and the city was packed with pedestrians.

In a corner near Kaiyuan Gate in the northwest of Chang’an, an inn caught fire accidentally due to the use of fire during the festival. Seven to eight houses in the courtyard were all burned down before the fire gradually subsided.

In Ci’en Temple, the Pei family’s ritual that lasted for three days and three nights was coming to an end with the return of Pei’s son in the second half of the night.

And for Xuyu, tonight was also a sleepless night.

County Princess Yucheng, Li Wanwan, had learned that Pei Ji, the Resident Regent of the Eastern Capital, had replied that he was honored by her grandfather’s proposal of marriage, and praised the reputation of County Princess Yucheng, but in the end he declined. The reason seems to be that his nephew had discussed marriage in Ganliang not long ago, and although it did not come to fruition for some reason, it was not convenient to discuss marriage again so soon out of respect for the other party.

No matter what Pei Ji’s real reason for refusing the marriage proposal was, at least this reason was appropriate, showing the Pei family’s consistent generous style and also taking Prince Ning’s face into consideration.

Li Wanwan didn’t care whether her grandfather was disappointed or not. She was very happy anyway, and she was even happier when she thought about going to Cangshan soon. She originally invited Xuyu to go to the two market with her and Lu Wenjun tonight.

Xuyu didn’t want to go, so she found an excuse and declined.

That night, her father did not ask her to accompany him as he usually did. Instead, he shut himself alone in the west hall with the picture of the Queen Mother of the West. It wasn’t until late into the night that he returned to his vihara, coughing as Zhao Zhongfang attended to him, before finally falling asleep.

Xuyu waited quietly outside the vihara until the old palace eunuch came out slowly with a staggering step and said, “Zhao Bandang, I want to go somewhere.”

“You come with me.”

…

In Pingkang Lane, the lights were bright and it was as lively as heavenly street market.

A common dark green carriage, indistinguishable from the many seen on the streets of Chang’an that night, made its way back at an unhurried pace. It passed through the main intersection of Pingkang Lane and finally stopped at the mouth of a narrow alley beside Jinfeng Tower.

Wei Yinniang, wearing a veiled hat, got out of the carriage and, accompanied by servants, returned to the small building where she had lived for many years.

With the help of a lantern hanging beside the small staircase, swaying gently in the night breeze, she climbed up the small building, opened the door and walked in.

She did not ask anyone to follow her in to serve her, nor did she ask anyone to light the lamps.

She stopped alone in the dark night behind the door. She stood there for a moment before taking a step and slowly walking inside, all the way to her bedroom. She groped around and was about to light the lamp when suddenly, she stopped.

A ray of moonlight, together with the shadow of the light casted from the Jinfeng Tower opposite the small building, slanted into the west window deep in the bedroom.

In the dim shadows of moonlight, she saw a slender and quiet figure sitting on the couch behind the window.

“It’s me.”

In a soft voice, the person struck a flint and lit a white lotus-bottom candlestick on the table.

In the sudden bright light that filled the room with a warm yellow hue, Xuyu looked at the woman who was standing still opposite her, with a smile on her face.

“Sister, it’s so late, where did you go?”

She asked softly.

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