Chapter 86: Beyond The Capital City
“Wei Jiao, why are you here!”
Outside the Capital City at the post station, Wei Xu was the first to jump off his horse. He had been cautious in the Capital City and hadn’t even left the door, but at this moment he could finally flaunt the Wei family banner. But before he could swagger in and call for the postmaster, he saw Wei Jiao sitting in the courtyard roasting by the fire, with the postmaster tremblingly adding firewood personally at the side.
Seventh Master Wei came in right after and was stunned upon seeing Wei Jiao.
“Third Young Master.” He was somewhat surprised, then hurriedly stepped forward. “We went to your mansion yesterday. The doorkeeper said you weren’t there. Because we were in a hurry to bring the Emperor’s decree and reward to the Great General, we didn’t wait any longer.”
After speaking, he asked with concern.
“Young Master, do you have any words to pass to the Great General?”
Wei Jiao was baking his fair slender fingers over the fire. “No need to pass words. No matter how many pretty words are said, they’re not enough to express my filial piety…”
He lifted his head and smiled brilliantly.
In the harsh winter cold, Wei Jiao’s face was even paler, but under the reflection of the leaping bonfire, it was covered with a layer of red glow, becoming soft, charming, and gorgeous with that smile.
Seventh Master Wei stared blankly. It was no wonder that this mother and son had survived in Zhao Tan’s hands back then.
But the next moment he shivered.
Nothing good ever came from this little madman’s smile!
A voice came from beside his ear.
“So I decided to personally escort you all the way to show my filial piety to Father.”
Personally escort? Travel with them? Seventh Master Wei was startled and blurted out, “Can His Majesty agree?”
Wei Jiao nodded. “My father had the precedent of escaping from Zhao Tan’s hands by taking advantage of official duties back then. The son resembles the father, but now His Majesty is not some dog thief like Zhao Tan. I have no need to escape anyway, and His Majesty is never worried about that.”
After speaking, his face turned cold.
“Seventh Uncle, watch your words. That’s truly treasonous talk, enough to wipe out the family!”
Seventh Master Wei’s face stiffened. What? What he meant was that Wei Jiao had been sent to the Capital City as a hostage. If His Majesty agreed to let him travel with them, what if he ran back to Longxi…
This kid actually dragged Zhao Tan into it, turning it into him cursing the Emperor as being like Zhao Tan.
This was deliberately stirring up trouble!
Forget it, he should say less.
“Yes, yes, A Jiao’s reminder is right. Seventh Uncle misspoke.” He hurriedly said, “I’m just afraid of delaying your duties. You’re serving His Majesty now.”
A smile reappeared on Wei Jiao’s face. “It won’t delay anything. I can handle duties wherever I go.”
……
…….
Because of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the post station no longer received other guests, but also because Wei Jiao was there, Wei Xu had no chance to flaunt his power.
The group quietly parked the carriage and horses, then returned to the room to rest.
The servant standing at the doorway looked around, then made a hand gesture to the people indoors.
“Father, he doesn’t have that much filial piety.” Wei Xu said urgently.
Seventh Master Wei frowned. “Of course I know he has no filial piety, but what can be done? Can I stop him from escorting us?”
Wei Xu couldn’t help saying, “Did he discover…”
“Silence.” Seventh Master Wei scolded him in a low voice.
Wei Xu swallowed the rest of his words.
Seventh Master Wei glared at him again. “Get out.”
Wei Xu reacted, hurriedly went out, and stood under the corridor chatting idly with the servant outside the door. “…Check the carriage and horses.” “The fodder must be good.”
It became lively outside the door.
Indoors, Seventh Master Wei’s face was grim.
“What a bunch of waste. So many people went and they all died.”
“Even if that Little Prince truly had experts surrounding him and was heavily guarded, the matter couldn’t be accomplished in one try, but it couldn’t turn out like this either.”
“The people died, and it stirred up a storm across the city!”
The other two indoors also looked distressed.
“Who would have thought that Miss from Duke Ding’an’s Mansion lived in that alley.” One person said in a low voice. “The young ladies came out wandering and alarmed the patrolling soldiers.”
That Little Prince from the previous dynasty couldn’t be seen in public and stayed silent even when ambushed, but the young ladies from Duke Ding’an’s Mansion could scream loud enough to shake heaven and earth.
Seventh Master Wei paced indoors with furrowed brows. “How is it such a coincidence? How could they be there? Real or fake?”
One person said in a low voice, “It’s real. A scholar Liu from Fuzhou and his daughter lived there. Miss Liu passed the selection as the Princess’s companion reader. The young lady from Duke Ding’an’s Mansion is also the Princess’s companion reader. The two are classmates, so they had dealings. That night they happened to come here, and then…”
They were unlucky, and so were they.
Another person said in a low voice, “There are three houses in that alley. Miss Liu’s family occupied one, a butcher couple another, and the remaining one should be where that Little Prince was hiding.”
The previous person continued, “It’s just that the Imperial Guard probably wanted to shift responsibility, so they classified that night’s incident as Sun clan remnants, alarming the Emperor. Now the government is strictly investigating, soldiers guard the city, and all sides are spying. We couldn’t go investigate in detail…”
Seventh Master Wei said irritably, “Investigate what? Besides, with such a big fuss, do you think they’re idiots waiting for us to investigate?”
The two lowered their heads and said, “Seventh Master, calm down.”
One person said softly, “This time we were indeed careless. We knew the Little Prince was heavily protected, but didn’t expect it to be so tight, with so many experts. Old Ding and the others withdrew early, but still ran into an ambush. The whole group was wiped out.”
The other carefully soothed, “Seventh Master, although we failed this time, our tracks are clean and won’t be traced. Even if Third Young Master was there, he wouldn’t discover anything.”
Seventh Master Wei sneered, “Of course he wouldn’t discover it. He’s not really family and doesn’t understand us.” After speaking, he exhaled, looking at the two. “We failed this time. Do nothing next. Have everyone in the Capital City withdraw. We’ll talk after returning to see the Great General.”
The two softly acknowledged.
Wei Xu’s voice outside suddenly rose. “Wei Jiao, why are you dismantling our carriage!”
Seventh Master Wei exchanged a glance with the other two, hurriedly stopped talking, and all went out. Sure enough, they saw Wei Jiao standing in the courtyard, with a group of Embroidered Uniform Guard dismantling the Wei family’s carriage…
“You packed too much stuff.” Wei Jiao said lazily. “Having received His Majesty’s oral decree and reward, you should travel light and hurry back to Longxi. My father is waiting eagerly at home. Do you even have my dad in your eyes?”
Wei Xu saw the box of jewelry he bought for his beloved concubine being pulled out and thrown into… the arms of an Embroidered Uniform Guard. Heartbroken, he wanted to rush over, but was held back by Seventh Master Wei.
Seventh Master Wei took a deep breath. “Let him be. Don’t stir up more trouble.”
This trip to the Capital City had been nothing but setbacks. Endure it, take the loss as disaster averted.
Just as Wei Jiao said, hurry back to Longxi to see the Great General. He didn’t want to stay outside a moment longer.
“A Jiao is right.” Seventh Master Wei raised his voice. Looking at the others beside him, “You all simplify your own luggage too. We’ll travel light and fast, returning to Longxi early.”
Travel light meant suffering on the road. Wei Xu watched the box of jewelry that originally belonged to him tucked into an Embroidered Uniform Guard’s arms. This trip out yielded no benefits at all.
His eyes red, he hoarsely acknowledged.
……
…….
The post station was busy day and night, with carriages and horses coming and going incessantly.
Compared to the post stations near the Capital City, those in remote areas were somewhat crude.
In the twilight, a postmaster led postmen standing at the door, respectfully paying respects to an official arriving surrounded by a team of soldiers.
“Inspector Ji, please come in quickly.”
Ji Ying pulled back his hood and dismounted, glancing around.
The postmaster hurriedly said, “Qingshan Post is humble. I hope Your Excellency will bear with it.”
“I’m not out here sightseeing.” Ji Ying said. Then he glanced at the sky, seeing dense dark clouds and wind as cold as a knife. “Having a roof to stay under before the heavy snow arrives is already good.”
The postmaster smiled broadly. “Your Excellency, please come in.” After speaking, he took a letter from his arms. “Your Excellency arrived just in time. Your family letter just arrived. I was thinking of personally delivering it to the government office.”
Ji Ying took it, saw the seal on the envelope, his expression slightly tensing for a moment before returning to normal. He lowered his eyes and tucked the letter into his arms.
