Chapter 5: The Hardworking Imperial Envoy
Xiahou Lei was in his early fifties, but due to years of martial arts practice, his figure remained robust and showed no signs of aging. Only his eye sockets were slightly darkened, as if from excessive indulgence in wine and women.
This trip as Imperial Envoy was truly one of the most triumphant moments of his life. From the Capital City onward, the roads were all paved with yellow earth, and officials welcomed him everywhere. The prefects and governors of every prefecture he passed through treated him with utmost respect and trepidation, escorting him from entry to exit. The journey gifts from various prefectures, commanderies, and counties were so abundant that his entourage could not carry them all and had to send them back to the Capital City in batches.
This was still just for passing through prefectures and commanderies. Yangzhou, as one of his inspection destinations, naturally went all out, treating him like a god. From the moment he entered the border, the Prefect Lord served him morning and night like a servant boy, leaving the Marquis both pleased and annoyed.
Finally, after crossing the river, Xiahou Lei could not help but send away the Yangzhou Prefect. His reason was perfectly legitimate: this official is on a mission to inspect, and with you hovering around all day, what can I even see?
The Prefect Lord was speechless and could only obediently stay in Jinling, the prefectural city. Before parting, he uneasily summoned the commandery governors, commandery assistants, and commandery lieutenants from various places, earnestly instructing them to serve the Imperial Envoy with the attitude of attending to ancestors, and if anything went wrong, he would absolutely not let them off!
The commandery governors and assistant officials from various places naturally promised compliance, then returned to secretly pray that the Imperial Envoy would not come to their jurisdictions. These officials were all extremely shrewd; after a few days of observing expressions, they already understood that the Prefect Lord’s diligence toward Xiahou Lei was more for the face of the Xiahou Clan than for the man himself.
They thus guessed that this Imperial Envoy Lord, though of high status in the Xiahou Clan, had little right to speak, and hoping to soar to success through him would likely lead to great disappointment. But they absolutely dared not slack off in the slightest, for the consequences of slighting the Xiahou Clan were unbearable for anyone…
Therefore, the lords could only pray that Xiahou Lei would not select them.
But there would always be an unlucky one, and the first to be chosen was Wu Commandery.
The Wu Commandery Governor had no choice but to rally his spirits, bring along his assistant officials, and “joyfully” go report to Xiahou Lei. Xiahou Lei did not have the typical domineering air of the Xiahou Clan and was fairly amiable toward them, merely instructing them to set off quickly and talk after arriving in Yuhang City.
The Commandery Governor Lord breathed a slight sigh of relief, then carefully discussed the Imperial Envoy Lord’s itinerary with the commandery assistant and Lu Xin upon leaving. He also instructed the commandery assistant to ensure all reception and supplies along the way were properly handled. Then, with earnest emphasis, he instructed Lu Xin: “Although the Imperial Envoy Lord has his own guards, we absolutely cannot relax our vigilance! From now on, you must always lead soldiers and guard at the Imperial Envoy’s side!
Lu Xin nodded and responded, “This is the duty of this official. Please rest assured, Commandery Governor Lord.”
“I have always trusted you with matters.” The Commandery Governor Lord let out a long breath of turbid air and said, “No matter what, there must not be the slightest mishap!”
.
The journey was peaceful throughout. Eight days later, Xiahou Lei arrived in Yuhang and took up residence in the temporary headquarters by West Lake. This headquarters was originally a prince’s mansion from the Southern Dynasties. The Commandery Governor Lord had specially ordered it cleaned and spent a fortune to decorate it, naturally leaving the Imperial Envoy Lord very satisfied.
Before settling into the headquarters, Xiahou Lei instructed the attending Commandery Governor Lord: “The long journey has been quite tiring. This official will rest for a few days; you may come to receive orders later.”
The Commandery Governor thought to himself, who exactly had been tired on this journey? He was also happy to return and rest for a few days, so he respectfully saluted and withdrew.
After leaving the headquarters, the Commandery Governor Lord let out a long sigh of relief and instructed the commandery assistant to communicate daily with the Imperial Envoy’s attendants. Although all necessities were fully prepared, they still needed to promptly check for and fill any gaps. Or if the Imperial Envoy had any special needs, they must be met immediately.
Finally, he still said with some unease: “For some reason, all the singing girls sent into the headquarters were dismissed by the Marquis. Could it be they did not meet his standards?”
“Perhaps…” the commandery assistant guessed, “the Marquis is not interested in women…” He did not believe his own words.
“Forget it, no more guessing.” The Commandery Governor Lord could not figure it out and stopped speculating. Anyway, everything that should have been done was done; there was no helping it if the man insisted on false propriety.
Thus, the two lords departed in their sedans, but Lu Xin stayed behind. He had the duty to guard the Imperial Envoy and naturally dared not leave for a moment.
Lu Xin sent someone to bring word home to avoid his family waiting in vain, then arranged for his official soldiers to stand guard and patrol in shifts around the Imperial Envoy’s Headquarters. He was extremely strict with his subordinates, and the soldiers dared not slack off in the slightest, sealing off all nearby streets!
Yuhang City had always been relatively stable, and the common people had not seen such a grand display in a long time. They gathered curiously outside the alert perimeter, buzzing with discussion. For a time, the streets were crowded and bustling, with carriages unable to pass.
An ordinary-looking carriage struggled through the crowd. Inside, a pair of eyes bright as stars peered through the thin gauze curtain at the headquarters surrounded by layers of guards, staring unblinkingly.
Only when the carriage drove out of the crowd and the surrounding clamor suddenly vanished did those eyes withdraw their gaze. The ugly male servant opposite then closed the carriage window.
Now, even the light disappeared.
In the dim carriage compartment, Lu Yun and Uncle Bao sat facing each other.
“Young Master, as you saw, Lu Xin always leads soldiers to guard his side. It’s hard for us to bypass him and strike at Xiahou Lei,” Uncle Bao said in a raspy voice.
Lu Yun nodded, his eyelids slightly closed, saying nothing.
“Why not tell him everything?” Uncle Bao suggested. “Lu Xin won’t refuse to help.”
“No.” Lu Yun slowly shook his head. “Father has always been unwilling for us to seek revenge. I have no confidence in persuading him.”
“Then find a way to lure him away,” Uncle Bao said again. “Young Master, send him a message saying something happened at home…”
“No.” Lu Yun still shook his head. “Even if we lure him away, we don’t know the situation inside the headquarters.” He paused and added, “Besides, abandoning one’s post is a grave offense.”
“Ah!” Uncle Bao slammed his thigh heavily, agitatedly saying, “We’ve finally waited for a chance at revenge, but Lu Xin has become the Xiahou Clan’s bodyguard!”
“Uncle, calm down.” Lu Yun gently shook his head, with the confidence of wisdom pearl in hand. “We will definitely get a chance to strike.”
“What is the plan?” Uncle Bao knew that his own Your Highness was precociously mature and exceptionally intelligent, with a mind far sharper than that of a martial man like him.
Lu Yun opened a black-covered booklet at hand, which contained the intelligence on their enemies that he and Uncle Bao had gathered over the years.
The booklet began with the members of the Xiahou Clan. Lu Yun flipped through several pages before reaching the section with Xiahou Lei’s name.
It was written there in neat, tiny regular script:
‘Xiahou Lei, born in the year Guiyou, Elder of the Xiahou Clan, second brother of Clan Leader Xiahou Ba. Dragon Elephant Subduing Demon Divine Skill, seventh layer. Once ranked thirty-seventh on the Investigative Bureau’s Earth Rank list. Reckless in his prime, fond of wealth and women, long disliked by the Clan Leader, who flogged him several times. In recent years, he has restrained himself considerably, seemingly with intent to reform.’
Uncle Bao was already thoroughly familiar with the booklet’s contents and said with some embarrassment, “The intelligence on this fellow is really too scant. He hardly counts for anything in the Xiahou Clan.”
“It’s already enough.” Lu Yun said calmly, “The Xiahou Clan has always been extremely strict with rules. This romantic Second Master must have been terribly repressed in the Capital City, right?”
“Of course. Xiahou Ba extremely cherishes the family reputation and most despises dissolute behavior among the younger generation.” Recalling past anecdotes, Uncle Bao’s mouth twitched into a curve as he rasped, “Yet Xiahou Lei was the most dissolute one, and for that, he got beaten by his brother plenty of times!” He added incredulously, “But it’s said that on this journey, he’s been very proper. He politely declined all the beauties offered by the various prefectures and commanderies. Could it be that at his age, he’s lost interest?”
“He was still an Earth Rank Grandmaster two years ago, far from old.” Lu Yun’s slender index finger lightly tapped the page as he slowly said, “Normally, having finally escaped the cage, he should be compensating himself well. This abnormality suggests that before leaving the Capital City, he must have made some promise to his brother, and with someone supervising him, he’s forced to restrain his conduct.”
“Or maybe he’s just no longer up to it…” Uncle Bao muttered, never stingy with the most vicious curses for every member of the Xiahou Clan.
Lu Yun smiled helplessly and said, “After New Year, he took another concubine…”
“Then this guy must be suffering terribly.” Uncle Bao calculated that Xiahou Lei had been away from the Capital City for nearly a month. A month without women was worse than death for an old lecher.
“Now that he’s come to Yuhang, how could he not be tempted by Jiangnan beauties?” Lu Yun said darkly. “Even if he can’t enjoy them in the headquarters, surely he can come out?”
“Makes sense. A wife is not as good as a concubine, a concubine not as good as a prostitute, a prostitute not as good as an affair.” Uncle Bao’s eyes lit up. “He’s very likely to sneak out for some fun! That would make it much easier for us to strike!”
“Exactly.” Lu Yun nodded.
“But…” Uncle Bao hesitated again. “Who knows when he’ll come out or where he’ll go?”
“If I were him, there would be no other choice.” Lu Yun raised his hand to open the carriage window on the other side. By now, the carriage was traveling along West Lake, with the lingering strains of silk and bamboo music floating over the lake surface. One could see at a glance the double-decked painted boat surrounded like a moon among stars.
“Exactly, such a rare opportunity!” Uncle Bao understood and excitedly clapped his hands. “How could he not sample the charms of Jiangnan’s top courtesan?!” He said vibrantly, “Let’s go watch that painted boat right now!”
“You, not me.” Lu Yun shook his head. “I’ll get off up ahead; I still need to buy some crisp candy from Five Flavors for sister.”
“Young Master…” Uncle Bao said somewhat frantically. “What time is this?”
“Don’t worry, it won’t delay things.” Lu Yun said nonchalantly. “It’ll be much harder for Xiahou Lei to get out than for me.”
With that, he really got out of the carriage and left, leaving Uncle Bao there glaring dryly.
