Ye Xiao walked to the table and sat down, testing the temperature of the teapot with his hand on the wall. With one hand holding the teapot, he pulled out two cups from the tea tray.
Filling the cups to about eighty percent, Ye Xiao put down the teapot and looked at Palace Attendant standing by the window, "Surrender?"
With a clear look in his eyes, Palace Attendant moved his neck left and right, then, with a very steady gait, he sat down opposite Ye Xiao and lightly sipped the tea poured by Ye Xiao. Then, he took out an article from his sleeve, "This is the article Ouyang Ruo gave me at the banquet, supposedly written by his incompetent son, asking me to have a look and give some advice."
While Huo Ling and Ye Xiao were engaged in their silent competition—largely one-sided—Palace Attendant and Ouyang Ruo, who were deep in conversation, had long since started addressing each other as brothers, each praising the other. When Palace Attendant, intoxicated, read the article in front of everyone, making sure that everyone who needed to see it had had the chance, he then leaned against his forehead with a laugh, "I can't anymore. I'm really getting old. I've had too much to drink; I can't even make heads or tails of an article."
"If you don't mind, dear brother, I'd like to take it back and give it some serious thought."
"Sure, go ahead," Ouyang Ruo, equally inebriated, didn't care about whether Palace Attendant could give his opinion on the spot—after all, his son wasn't at the table and couldn't receive Palace Attendant's guidance. He raised his glass to Palace Attendant again with a smile, "Dear brother, please."
"Please."
The interaction between the two of them did not attract much attention from those who were observant, nor was it as lively as the "banter" between Ye Xiao and Huo Ling on the other side.
Although most of Ye Xiao's attention was on Huo Ling, he also noticed the situation with Palace Attendant. However, he didn't expect that the "communication" between "scholars" was so subtle and open, making it difficult to doubt.
Most importantly, could Palace Attendant actually be somewhat useful?!
Controlling the gaze directed at the Prince, who had no use in the indoor hall, Ye Xiao maintained a calm demeanor, accepting the article handed over by Gong Yi without immediately reading it. Meanwhile, Gong Yi's mouth did not cease moving, "Ouyang Ruo must have been prepared long ago. Otherwise, who would attend the banquet with his own son's article?"
Ouyang Ruo's article presented to Gong Yi seemed to be a travelogue expressing sentiments towards the scenic landscapes, praising the peace and prosperity of the Great Zhou Dynasty and the wise rule of the Huo family. However, it also contained a hidden message: "People choose wise monarchs as their rulers, just as birds select good trees to nest in."
Gong Yi seemed convinced that it would be difficult to guess the true meaning, "If I still can't figure out Ouyang Ruo's intentions, then there's no need for me to be the Minister of the Household Affairs. Even the name of Li Gongming can be read in reverse!"
As he thought about his own aged bones running around with the Crown Prince all day, filled with fear, and possibly in contrast to Li Gongming, who may have already returned to the capital, Gong Yi couldn't help but gnash his teeth in hatred, even directly swallowing the tea leaves in his mouth.
Observing Gong Yi, who seemed lost in thought, Ye Xiao's lips twitched slightly. He was too lazy to inquire about what the other party was thinking, instead, he lowered his head and began to read the grand work in his hand.
Just as Gong Yi had said, he detected the subtle and cryptic "defection" in the article. However, after reading it, there were still several doubts that needed to be resolved. Before addressing them, Ye Xiao wanted to clarify one thing, due to his compulsive nature, "What is the matter with Lord Li? Why is it Li Gongming's name that is written in reverse, and not Gong Yi's?"
"Old man is willing." Gong Yi downed the tea in his cup, relieving his thirst. His voice became more forceful, "I simply can't stand that old man Li Gongming. Do I need a reason?"
The enmity and grudges between Li Gongming and Gong Yi could be discussed for days. Sensing that he had carelessly asked a foolish question, Ye Xiao cleared his throat and steered the conversation back on track, "So, what is your view, Lord Gong?"
Talking about official business, Gong Yi put aside thoughts of that old man still lingering by the Yellow River. He even became more serious in his expression, "Ouyang Ruo is from the same place as Li Gongming. Although I've never interacted with him, I have heard about this person from Li Gongming." With no hesitation, he referred to Li Gongming by both his name and surname, sipping his tea lightly before continuing, "He's a 'good old man', well-connected and slippery." The problem lies here: Ouyang Ruo's behavior seems fine on the surface, but to Gong Yi, it seemed somewhat urgent, which didn't fit his character at all.
Gong Yi tapped the table with his knuckles, frowning at the article in Ye Xiao's hand. He couldn't help but furrow his brow, "His actions give me a strange feeling."
"Hmm?" Ye Xiao raised his head, "Can you be more specific?"
"When Ouyang Ruo handed me this article, he hesitated." Despite drinking much alcohol, Gong Yi had a constitution that never got drunk after a thousand cups. Not only was he sober, but he also noticed many details at the time, "Although he eventually placed it in my hands, after that, Ouyang Ruo occasionally looked at the sleeve where I kept the article. At the same time, when he looked at the Crown Prince, there was disappointment and..." He paused and used a strange expression that surprised even himself, "expectation."
Urgency and hesitation, disappointment and expectation, various complex emotions intertwined, causing Gong Yi to feel that something was not quite right, despite Ouyang Ruo's perfect performance.
Gong Yi could understand Ouyang Ruo's hesitation and disappointment. After all, such hesitancy was normal when facing visitors from the capital, and disappointment was to be expected when facing the Crown Prince. But why was Ouyang Ruo in a hurry? What was he hoping to gain from the Crown Prince? And, could Ouyang Ruo's offer of defection be trusted?
Landing a knuckle on the tabletop, Gong Yi, with a deeply furrowed brow, concluded, "Before we came to Jiangnan, something must have happened that he didn't anticipate."
Ye Xiao looked up and provided an immediate answer, "It should be the annihilation of the Luo family."
According to the information he had obtained, Ouyang Ruo's son was engaged to the legitimate daughter of the Luo family. The already good relationship between the Ouyang and Luo families was supposed to deepen further this winter, but unfortunately, before autumn had passed, the Luo family was annihilated.
"What?" Gong Yi abruptly stood up, "The Luo family was annihilated?!" He had corresponded with Luo Decheng at the beginning of the spring. How could they have disappeared in just a few months?
Gong Yi couldn't believe it. He stared intently at Ye Xiao, not missing any change in the other's expression, "Are you sure?"
Ye Xiao nodded, providing an unequivocal answer, "I am sure."
Staring directly at Gong Yi, without averting his gaze, Ye Xiao continued, "I'm not quite sure about the specifics since my men haven't given me the details yet. However, the only thing that could affect Ouyang Ruo's state recently should be this matter." As for the depth of the situation regarding the annihilation of the Luo family, it would depend on what his men could uncover.
Not sensing Gong Yi's resentment towards Li Gongming and not knowing how to console Gong Yi upon learning about the annihilation of the Luo family, Ye Xiao fell silent. He turned his head towards the direction where the Crown Prince was, speaking softly, "Isn't this the reason we came to Jiangnan?"
If the waters of Jiangnan weren't deep, they wouldn't have appeared here.
"You're right." As an experienced old fox, it took only a moment for Gong Yi to rein in all of his emotions and return to his original astute state. He even calmly began to analyze the annihilation of the Luo family, fully concentrating on it. "We need to understand the circumstances of the Luo family's annihilation, the involvement of Ouyang Ruo in this matter, how many people are involved, and..." Gong Yi proceeded to analyze each point, unwilling to overlook any lead.
The annihilation of the Luo family was an unchangeable fact. Instead of immersing themselves in sorrow, it was better to find the culprit and provide peace for the Luo family.
With this in mind, Gong Yi believed that they should focus on Ouyang Ruo. "Ouyang Ruo could be a breakthrough. I think we can..."
Before Gong Yi could finish his thought, Ye Xiao raised his head to interrupt, "No, what we need to do now is... wait."
"Wait?"
"Yes, wait."
Before Ye Xiao could figure out how to explain to Gong Yi, the sound of snoring suddenly came from the inner room, breaking their train of thought.
"Snores... ah... snores..."
Even at a distance of four or five Zhang, the Crown Prince, though seemingly asleep, still managed to affirm his presence uniquely.
Unavoidable, unignorable.
The rhythmic snoring, one after another, made Gong Yi forget his words after speaking a sentence, and Ye Xiao found it increasingly difficult to focus. This was the first time he had discovered that Huaoling snored when drunk, and at that moment, his thoughts were solely focused on how to prevent such an improper situation from occurring again.
The conversation was at a standstill. Ye Xiao and Gong Yi exchanged a glance, then inexplicably reached a silent agreement. Gong Yi, keeping a composed expression, stood up to suppress his frustration towards the Crown Prince. He nodded to Ye Xiao, "It's late. I should leave now."
Ye Xiao also stood up, "Lord Gong, take care."
After seeing Gong Yi off, Ye Xiao returned to the indoor room and took his seat at the table.
Ye Xiao hesitated to go to the room arranged by the Ouyang family and instead chose to stay and watch over Huaoling personally, intending to sit quietly until morning and organize his thoughts.
Meanwhile, near where Huaoling was located, Luo Qin, who had unknowingly arrived at the courtyard, was just about to turn the corner when someone called out to him, "Luo Qin, is that you?"
The once very familiar voice came from his ear, but Luo Qin seemed to have heard nothing, his expression unchanged, even his steps not staggered, his head down and preparing to turn the corner by himself.
The next moment, a man in a dark purple brocade robe stood in front of him.
Luo Qin stopped, and he laughed lightly at him enveloped in the opponent's shadow, then slowly raised his head.
Facing Luo Qin's face, which looked even more ferocious in the moonlight, Ouyang Xue's pupils shrank, subconsciously took a step back, "You, you…"
Ouyang Xue hesitated for a long time and couldn't continue, Luo Qin's peripheral vision caught sight of the sachet hanging from the opponent's waist. Thinking of something, he blinked lightly, and the next moment only a dead calm remained in his eyes, "Young master, you've got the wrong person, I'm not Luo Qin."
With the appearance of Luo Qin's hoarse and dry voice, Ouyang Xue's heart trembled, and the amazement that had arisen from the face of the other party dissipated quite a bit, and he regained his voice and stared directly at Luo Qin, "I knew it was you, Luo Qin."
He said word by word, "A person's face can change, temperament can change, body shape can change, even people can change, but the eyes won't change." No matter how long ago it was, no matter what happened, Ouyang Xue remembered Luo Qin's eyes, as if nothing could erase the light reflected in those eyes.
Bright as stars, shining brightly.
Even though it was now covered in dust and gloom, it still made Ouyang Xue recognize him at first sight.
Realizing that it was unavoidable, Luo Qin no longer concealed himself. He straightened his hunched back and his temperament suddenly changed. If it weren't for the scar on his face that could not change, no one would connect Luo Qin with the ordinary coachman he used to be.
He raised his head, his gaze calm to the point of deadly silence, "So what?"
Dressed in dark purple brocade, wearing a jade crown on his head, with a sachet at his waist, a wealthy man born and raised in wealth, and a face that captured people's attention, was completely different from him, who had fallen to dust and only had a worthless life left.
The gentle moonlight spilled over the earth, and also onto the two figures standing in the corner, but Ouyang Xue's eyes seemed to be stung by the moonlight. As he moved his steps to hide himself in the shadow of the tree, he also avoided the gaze of Luo Qin.
The hand hanging at his side held the sachet at his waist, "I, I…" After organizing his thoughts many times, Ouyang Xue finally uttered the long-delayed apology, "I'm sorry, truly sorry."
This poignant and bitter "sorry" caused Luo Qin's calm expression to suddenly collapse. He grabbed the other's collar, leaned close to his face, "I accept your 'sorry', but I choose not to forgive."
Even though the other person was standing within earshot in the shadow of the tree, Luo Qin still clearly saw the momentary change in the other person's expression, perhaps feeling guilty, perhaps regretful, perhaps sad and at a loss... What did it matter to him?
Luo Qin, who was no longer concerned, had no fluctuation in his heart. He even smiled with a touch of sarcasm, "Since the day you chose to betray, you have nothing to do with me."
Ten years of friendship, three years of schoolmates, a future brother-in-law, that's all.
Luo Qin reached out and pulled the sachet from the other's waist, "My sister made this, you don't deserve it."
The hand that had wanted to take back the sachet froze in mid-air, Ouyang Xue bit his lip, and the hand that had been frozen slowly clenched into a fist. Just now, with his movements, he stepped out of the shadow of the tree, his face pale in the moonlight.
Silence spread suddenly between the two of them.
After some time had passed, as Ouyang Xue's restrained tears soaked his reddened eyes, the mixed sound of regret and pain reached Luo Qin's ears, "I'm sorry, really, really sorry, I didn't think it would turn out like this... really, I really didn't think it would turn out like this," Ouyang Xue crouched in front of Luo Qin, looking pained, with a gaze that was somewhat blurry, fixed tightly on the sachet in the other's hand, not knowing whether he was apologizing to Luo Qin or to someone else who would never respond to him, "After all, he is your uncle, I really thought at the time that he just wanted to find you for a chat."
"I'm really sorry, I don't know how to make it up to you, but as long as you tell me, I will do whatever I can, and if I can't, I'll find a way to do it."
Listening to the other's muddled and remorseful words, Luo Qin's thoughts gradually floated away.
The day the Luo family was wiped out, just like today when the Crown Prince arrived in Jiangdu, the sun was bright and cloudless.
Because his sister had a craving for candied fruits, before returning home, Luo Qin deliberately took a detour to buy candied fruits, not knowing that when he brought the snacks his sister wanted home, what welcomed him were corpses scattered all over the ground.
The first thing the teenage boy thought of when he encountered the sudden change was his family, but on his way to seek help from his uncle's house, he saw Bai Yue, his uncle, at the entrance to the Treasures Pavilion, stained with blood and wearing his mother's token in his hand.
["The Treasures Pavilion recognizes tokens, not people. With the token, you can collect things stored in the Treasures Pavilion."]
These words echoed in his mind, the words his mother had once casually mentioned to him. Instinctively, Luo Qin changed direction, frantically sought out his longtime friend, Ouyang Xue, and with the help of the other, temporarily hid in the Ouyang family's annex.
Who knew that despite countless reminders, under the temptation of the news related to a famous painting, Ouyang Xue, who loved painting passionately, made a mistake and leaked Luo Qin's whereabouts to his uncle Bai Yue.
And then, there was no more after that.
When Ouyang Xue saw Luo Qin, he really wanted to ask him, "How did you escape?" However, the words rolled round and round in his belly, and in the face of the greatly changed and disheveled Luo Qin, the only thing he managed to utter was a belated apology.
Seeing Ouyang Xue, who was crouching on the ground and seemed to be in great pain, Luo Qin lowered his eyes and spoke with a bitter sarcasm, "I can forgive you for disclosing my whereabouts, but—"
"After the Luo family was wiped out, I can understand why you would want to disassociate from the Luo family, but why would you also kick us while we were down?" Thinking of the Ouyang family's attitude, even though Luo Qin was now able to maintain calm, he still hated them so much that his hand clenched into a fist. "Using the blood of our Luo family to curry favor, it must feel very good to be suspected even after all that brown-nosing, right?"
His fingernails pierced into the flesh, and drops of blood trickled down through the gaps in his fingers, soaking into his body after being covered in mud.
Luo Qin's voice remained calm throughout, and only the aroma of the blood pervading the air revealed his inner turmoil, "Ying Ying was your betrothed, why didn't you give her a proper burial? And it's been less than a hundred days since Ying Ying passed, why would you so willingly betroth another lady from the Fang family?"
One question after another, Ouyang Xue, who was crouching on the ground, became even more pained, and he could not contain his tears, "I'm sorry, I'm really, really sorry..."
"Not everything can be resolved with just one 'sorry' and 'no other choice'."
One 'sorry' after another, each more painful and regretful than the last, and yet Luo Qin remained unmoved. "Between you and me, this is the end."
Tucking the sachet into his bosom, Luo Qin walked directly past the crouching Ouyang Xue, not even sparing a glance, and left.
He couldn't find an opportunity to return to the Luo family to collect the bodies of his family. Luo Qin thought that it would be the Ouyang family that would do so, but who would have thought it would be the Qin family, who had no connection to the Luo family.
After the Luo family was wiped out and Ouyang Xue leaked his whereabouts, the Ouyang family quickly distanced itself from the Luo family, stating that the proposed engagement between the two families was nothing but a joke from the past, and even providing help to others based on information about the Luo family that they had known for many years, striving to prove their own innocence while currying favor with those in power.
He knew that he was able to stand here now was not necessarily only due to the help of Qin Qixiang, but so what?
There was no going back, and the so-called cordial relations between families were so ironic.
Putting the hoarse crying behind him, Luo Qin, calm in his heart and face, stepped firmly, turning left and entering the courtyard of Huolong.
Before he could step over the threshold, a dagger appeared from nowhere and was placed against his neck.
As the outermost protective force, in a situation where Luo Qin had no cover, Huo Can easily detected the other's presence and made a timely response, holding the dagger horizontally against Luo Qin's neck and coldly demanding, "Who are you?"
Times had changed, after training with the Embroidered Guards and under the favor of Du Ruo Qianhu, Huo Can was no longer the one who couldn't even resist when Huolong scolded him. Even though he was still at the bottom in the Embroidered Guards after putting on the official flying fish attire, dealing with Luo Qin was still an easy matter.
However, Huo Can did not know that he was able to easily hold the dagger against the other's neck because Luo Qin had mentally prepared himself before stepping into the courtyard, otherwise at the moment he attacked, Luo Qin's dagger would have already penetrated his body first.
When fate meets at a narrow path, the brave emerges victorious.
When a person doesn't even care about his life, Huo Can has already lost.
Estimating the strength of both sides in his mind, because of Huo Can, Luo Qin was somewhat disappointed in the Brocade Guards, but there was no sign of it on his face. He looked at Huo Can and said, "I want to see His Highness the Crown Prince for something."
Completely unaware that he was being underestimated, Huo Can responded with a sense of entitlement, "Can you see His Highness the Crown Prince just because you want to?" His hand holding the drawn sword at the opponent's neck was steady, carrying the air infected by His Highness the Crown Prince, Huo Ling. His voice was cold, "Tell me, who are you? What do you want here?"
"Sir, your sword," without answering Huo Can's question, Luo Qin calmly pointed out an issue, "You're holding it the wrong way."
Huo Can: "……!!!"
After hastily adjusting the grip of the sword, Huo Can struggled to maintain his original stance, "Tell me, who are you?"
"I have a secret that can shake up the officialdom of Jiangnan."
Ignoring the embroidered spring blade held at his neck by Huo Can, Luo Qin took a step forward, and Huo Can's blade instinctively moved back, fearing an accidental injury.
Looking at Huo Can, Luo Qin uttered word by word, "I want to see His Highness the Crown Prince."
"Sir, is that okay?"
Huo Can's hand shook involuntarily, and his gaze landed on the scar on the opponent's face. He instinctively swallowed saliva.
Then, Luo Qin saw Ye Xiao.
Author's words:
Human nature is a complex thing. Many things cannot be judged as right or wrong, but they can be judged by people's hearts.
For Ouyang Xue and Luo Qin, their story is really "between you and me, it ends here." However, Ouyang Xue might have some role to play later on. I've hidden some irrelevant foreshadowing. If I remember, I might bring it out later, but that's after His Highness the Crown Prince becomes the Emperor.
Now, let me first rack my brains on how to solve this situation where too many characters and too many intrigues are mixed, making the author's head not enough to handle.