Chapter 35: Changping
Prince Wei, with eyes red from crying, provocatively glanced at the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince suppressed the anger in his heart and warmly agreed.
Emperor Xiaowen continued, “With the Empress and Prince Wei here to accompany me, that’s enough. You are the Crown Prince and must shoulder heavy responsibility, handle affairs of state well, and share my worries.”
As usual, no matter how well or thoroughly he did things, there was no praise or approval. In Emperor Xiaowen’s eyes, there were only Empress Liu and her son.
The Crown Prince suppressed the anger in his heart, respectfully acknowledged the order, and withdrew.
The moment he stepped over the threshold, the Crown Prince quickly turned his head and caught Prince Wei’s smugly upturned lips.
That smile was full of sarcasm and mockery.
Father Emperor has already awakened.
No matter how capable or powerful you are, don’t you still have to bow your head?
The Crown Prince expressionlessly withdrew his gaze and went to handle affairs of state and process government matters.
That evening, Commander He quietly came to report, “…The five people Your Highness mentioned, this subordinate has already investigated all of them. These five people do indeed have secret collusion with Prince Wei.”
“Should this subordinate immediately take action to deal with them?”
A cold glint flashed in the Crown Prince’s eyes: “Spare their lives for now and keep watch on their movements. Report back immediately if there is any unusual activity.”
Rather than beat the grass and startle the snake, it was better to keep these “internal agents,” which might be of greater use later.
Commander He nodded in acknowledgment.
The Crown Prince pondered for a moment, picked up his brush, and wrote a letter: “Send this letter to General Meng via someone.”
A few days ago, the Crown Prince had ordered Grand Tutor Pang to write a letter to General Meng, instructing him to look after the Pei Family Womenfolk. Now it seemed that the token of thanks was far too light.
Eliminating Daoist Master Tianji, uncovering the Eastern Palace internal agents, and severing Prince Wei’s conspiracy—Sixth Sister Pei had truly made a great contribution.
Since she was a useful and weighty chess piece, he, as the Eastern Palace Crown Prince, would certainly not be stingy. This handwritten letter of his explicitly instructed General Meng to protect the Pei Family Womenfolk. Anything Sixth Sister Pei needed would be provided in full.
……
“We’ve finally arrived at Changping County.”
Standing before the boundary marker of Changping County in Yan Prefecture of Youzhou, Captain Sun, who had been traveling for nearly three months, let out a long sigh.
Guard Gao also had a face weathered by wind and frost, and he gladly said, “Yes, this bumpy and arduous journey has finally come to an end.”
The two turned their heads together to look at the spirited and vibrant young woman full of vigor.
The Pei Family Womenfolk had been exiled in the seventh month and were heading north all the way; now it was already the tenth month. After entering Youzhou, the weather had clearly turned cold, and galloping on horseback brought biting winds to the face.
The cotton clothes the Pei Family Womenfolk had prepared in advance came in handy; everyone had thick cotton clothes, with hot soup and hot meals every day, finally warding off the piercing chill.
Pei Qinghe’s delicate cheeks were reddened by the cold wind, her black eyes like obsidian washed clean by water, shining brightly. She gazed into the distance, not knowing what she saw or thought of, as her lips curved into a pleased arc: “Yes, we’ve finally arrived at Youzhou.”
Others mentioned the place of exile with faces full of endure unspeakable suffering, but only Sixth Sister Pei spoke of Youzhou as if it were her hometown, with an inexplicable fondness and tenderness.
Captain Sun silently grumbled in his heart, showing nothing on his face, and chuckled softly, “By the rules, I must first escort you to the county office to register. The county magistrate here will allocate a plot of land for you to settle on. If Sixth Sister Pei has any requests, feel free to tell me.”
Pei Qinghe was not the least bit polite and immediately said, “Changping County borders Yan Mountains to the north; our Pei family will settle there.”
Captain Sun and Guard Gao had nothing to do along the way and had both looked at the map of Changping County. They knew exactly the place at once and were both stunned upon hearing this.
Guard Gao kindly reminded her, “There are several fierce groups of mountain bandits there who occupy the mountains and call themselves kings, raiding homes and robbing travelers, making passing merchants endure unspeakable suffering. When the Imperial Court sends troops, they hide deep in Yan Mountains. Once the troops withdraw, they come out again to stir up trouble. It’s really not a peaceful place.”
“A place like this is perfect for the Pei family to establish a foothold.” Pei Qinghe’s eyes shone brightly, like a sword drawn from its sheath, sharp and revealing.
Guard Gao and Captain Sun had learned of Pei Qinghe’s capabilities and skills along the way and already held her in admiration. Seeing her so determined, the two no longer tried to dissuade her and spurred their horses straight toward Changping County Town.
Yan Prefecture was one of Youzhou’s seven prefectures, governing ten counties. Changping County was a superior county, vast in territory with numerous mountains and forests, and a total population of about fifty thousand.
Of course, this was only the official figure. Clan retainers and slaves, the vast numbers of mountain bandits, and hidden households concealed in the mountain forests were all uncounted.
The true population of Changping County was at least double that.
The city gate of Changping County Town looked fairly tall and imposing from afar. But up close on horseback, one could see its worn and dilapidated state after years of weathering.
Dozens of gate guards lazily held their weapons while guarding the city gate. The tax collectors’ eyes were much sharper, staring at every person entering the city, each required to pay ten wen in entry tax.
The commotion of over a hundred horses galloping was no small matter; the ground trembled slightly, and dust rolled up.
The city wall guards on watch were frightened pale and hurriedly shouted, “Quick, quick, close the city gate! Bandits are coming!”
The gate guards all changed color, someone cursing angrily, “These mountain bandits are getting more and more brazen. In broad daylight, they dare to attack the city gate.”
“No nonsense, quickly close the city gate! If the mountain bandits break in and burn, kill, loot, and abuse, we’ll all die!”
The tall and sturdy city gate required thirty men pushing together to close it.
Just as those over a hundred horses charged to below the city, the city gate closed perilously shut. The gate guards felt lingering fear, each holding bow and arrow, vigilantly prepared to shoot at any moment.
A man’s voice came from below the city gate: “I am Captain Sun Cheng of the Capital City Tiger Guards, an eighth-rank captain escorting the family of a convicted official to Changping County. Please let the city gate officer allow passage.”
The city gate commander poked his head out and scrutinized carefully for a few moments, growing more and more suspicious.
Below the city gate were about twenty adult men, and the rest were indeed women. However, these women wore cotton clothes and rode horses, each full of spirit.
Where did they look like the family of a convicted official?
They looked more like noblewomen out for horseback hunting.
Captain Sun raised the Tiger Guards’ banner and waved it back and forth.
Only then did the city gate commander order the gate guards to slowly push open the heavy city gate.
After carefully verifying Captain Sun’s identity and learning Guard Gao’s identity, the city gate commander’s attitude immediately became much more respectful: “Earlier, I didn’t know the situation and thought mountain bandits were attacking, so I closed the city gate. Please forgive us, Guard Gao and Captain Sun.”
Guard Gao had no interest in bandying words with a ninth-rank gate commander, nodding slightly. Turning his head, his attitude suddenly became much more respectful: “Sorry to keep Sixth Sister waiting so long.”
The city gate commander: “…”
The city gate commander stared dumbfounded as the arrogant Eastern Palace Guard instantly changed faces.
That Captain Sun was also exceptionally mild and courteous: “The others can wait here; please, Sixth Sister, come with us into the city.”
Pei Qinghe smiled faintly, her gaze sweeping over the city gate commander’s dumbfounded look with mouth agape big enough to stuff an egg, and unhurriedly spurred her horse through the city gate.
