Without exaggeration, as Qin Qinian looked at the mulberry paper in his hands, he felt as if the sky was falling. "Mother, reading four books in half a month and then writing twenty thousand words... I, I can't do it..."
Dai Li corrected him, "Look closely. It's reading four books in the first half of the month, and writing a twenty-thousand-word reflection in the second half. It adds up to a whole month."
Qin Qinian's eyes widened as he looked.
It really was.
However, this made little difference to him. Let alone four books, even one was enough to give him a headache, not to mention the twenty-thousand-word book report that followed.
Not two hundred, not two thousand, but twenty thousand! What was the difference between this and asking him to ascend to the heavens on the spot?
Seeing him looking as if he had eaten a whole basket of bitter melons, Dai Li revealed her first smile since they entered the room. "Of course it's difficult. Otherwise, did you think I had you sign this just for fun? Qinian, if you don't want to write those twenty thousand words, then protect yourself well during the bandit suppression."
The first half of both their agreements was the same: neither of them was allowed to get hurt. The only difference lay in the conditions that followed; one was forbidden from going to the front lines in the future, while the other was forced to read and write.
It had to be said that each had their own version of the sky falling. This was also the result of Dai Li's long consideration to balance the scales evenly between the two.
However, as someone who was merely implicated, Dai Li finally gave him a chance to back out. "Of course, if you feel you can't do it, Qinian, you don't have to sign."
"There's no way I can't do it!" The young man, full of youthful vigor, couldn't stand being provoked.
Dai Li nodded in satisfaction. "Alright, since you think there's no problem, come over here, sign your name, and press your fingerprint."
Once the signing and thumbprints were done, Dai Li couldn't be bothered to look at them anymore and sent the two away. "It's almost time for dinner. Go downstairs."
The two brothers left the room and walked toward the stairs. Halfway there, the youth scratched his head in belated realization. "Second Brother, why do I feel like I just went to Mother's room and ended up signing an agreement in a daze?"
Qin Yanzhou remembered his unhesitating kneel from the previous night, and his gaze softened. "For you, that is indeed the case. I'm sorry, I dragged you into this."
"Hey, hey, why are you saying this to me? I didn't mean to blame you at all." Qin Qinian reacted strongly. "Just like Mother said just now, since I dared to sign the agreement, I will definitely make sure to come out of the bandit suppression completely unscathed."
"Creak." The door to the guest room beside them opened.
Shi Rongyue, who also wanted to go downstairs for dinner, looked at the two outside the door. Thinking of the snippets she had just heard, her eyes lit up faintly. The little girl first glanced in the direction of Dai Li's room before suppressing her joyful voice to ask, "Brother Chongle, Second Aunt agreed to let you go suppress the bandits?"
Qin Yanzhou nodded. "She agreed."
Qin Qinian was surprised. "Rongrong, how did you know about this?"
Shi Rongyue smiled, revealing two small dimples. "I heard it by accident. I wish you both a victorious start when the time comes."
Qin Yanzhou: "Thank you."
"What was the agreement you were just talking about?" Shi Rongyue looked at Qin Yanzhou curiously.
"It's a long story..."
Dai Li put the two agreements away properly before going downstairs. The first floor of the inn was already prepared for dining. Today's dinner was the first time the Northern Territory and the imperial court factions gathered for a meal since the bandit disaster.
The atmosphere was incredibly stiff.
Although the two sides were not well-acquainted previously, for the sake of face, exchanging pleasantries back and forth shouldn't have been a problem.
Playing along on the official stage, who didn't know how to do that?
However, for tonight's meal, they simply split into separate tables. Shen Tianming and Guo Nai sat together, while Qin Shaozong sat with the generals of the Northern Territory. The two sides were clearly divided, with zero communication throughout the entire process.
When the meal was over, Dai Li set down her bowl and chopsticks. Seeing that Shi Rongyue across from her was also full, she simply went upstairs with her. But Dai Li did not know that as soon as she and Shi Rongyue left, the atmosphere on the first floor immediately turned sour.
"Marquis Qin, we can't just let last night's matter go like this, can we?" Shen Tianming gave a fake smile.
Guo Nai, who was beside him, didn't speak, but his gaze was fierce.
Qin Shaozong said calmly, "Then according to General Shen, are we to pause our journey to the capital and put all our efforts into hunting down the remnants of the bandits?"
Guo Nai's face twisted. "Qin Shaozong, so you mean we should just drop this matter? The dozen or so people killed on my side and my lost arm are just gone for nothing?"
As soon as the name Qin Shaozong came out, the surrounding atmosphere grew even more tense.
He didn't use a courtesy name, but directly addressed the other party by his full name. Such a situation was usually from a superior to a subordinate; otherwise, it was considered a provocation.
Obviously, if one really got down to it, a Palace Attendant was not as high-ranking as a top-tier Marquis.
Mo Yanyun was instantly enraged and returned the favor by calling him by his full name. "Guo Nai, you insolent fool! Wasn't the Marquis asking you what you want to do? He was clearly asking for your opinion. Which word of his mentioned dropping it?"
Bai Jianping quickly followed up, "Exactly! Always thinking about dropping it, I reckon the person who wants to drop it is you."
"Tsk, tsk, someone is a thief crying stop thief!" Feng Feng sighed.
The veins on Guo Nai's forehead throbbed. "You lot are simply lawless. Just wait until we return to the capital..."
His shoulder was suddenly pressed down by Shen Tianming, intending to make him calm down. The former paused, took a deep breath, and fiercely looked away.
Only then did Shen Tianming say to Qin Shaozong, "Then, in the Marquis's opinion, how should this group of bandits who assassinated imperial officials be dealt with?"
This was clearly kicking the problem back to Qin Shaozong.
Qin Shaozong: "Naturally, we notify the local government office to arrest them."
Guo Nai snorted heavily. "That's it?!"
"Otherwise, what does Attendant Guo think we should do? Stop in our tracks and focus on searching for the bandits alongside the local government? Or do you want to send a letter back to the capital, asking His Majesty to send people from a thousand miles away to suppress the remaining few dozen bandits?" Qin Shaozong retorted.
Guo Nai just glared at him, unable to open his mouth for a long time.
Upstairs, a half-hour after Dai Li returned to her room, Qin Shaozong also came back. As soon as he entered, he said to Dai Li, "Madam, I'm afraid we will have to stay in this small county for a few more days."
Dai Li pondered, "Is it because Attendant Guo needs to heal his wounds here?"
"Exactly. This person still believes that everything last night was a trap set by our Northern Territory. Why would he be willing to let Ding Congjian treat him now? He went to find a doctor in the city himself." Qin Shaozong sneered. "Whatever, it's good to stop for a bit. It gives Chang'an more time to prepare."
Hearing that he already had everything planned out in his words, Dai Li didn't say much more.
Instead, he suddenly changed the subject. "Just now during dinner, I saw that Qin the Second had a huge appetite, eating a bowl of rice more than usual. Did Madam agree to his request?"
The early evening had arrived. Outside the window, the setting sun was gradually fading in layers, leaving only a barely visible trace. A lamp was lit in the room, its bright and harmonious light spreading a warm color all around.
The man's sharply defined face was enveloped in the warm colors, fading his usual heavy and intimidating pressure. Although there were shallow traces of time at the corners of his eyes, they did not diminish his mature aura in the slightest.
Dai Li knew at a glance that he was in a quite good mood at the moment, and deliberately said, "I did agree, but Zhou Zhou wasn't the only one who signed the agreement."
His eyebrows twitched slightly. "Oh? Who else?"
Dai Li only replied with two words: "You guess."
"Since Madam is unwilling to tell me, I can only rely on my own hands to find the answer." Qin Shaozong walked over to the desk and began searching for the answer.
The items were not hard to find. The couple had two small wooden boxes for important letters, and Qin Shaozong saw them as soon as he opened the first one.
He took out the mulberry paper and unfolded it. Daili did not know which one he read first, but she saw him raise his long eyebrows in apparent surprise before breaking into a bright, clear smile. You did very well, Madam. This is exactly how it should be done.
Daili guessed that he had probably seen Qin Qinian's copy first. I told them that you would not intervene in this matter. No matter how the situation develops, it would be useless to seek you out.
Naturally.
Chang'an.
As the capital of the nation, even if other regions were littered with the starved dead or filled with ruined walls, Chang'an still maintained its bustling scene of crowded vendors and an endless stream of fragrant carriages and fine horses.
On this day, the young ladies of the city's prominent families arranged to go on a spring outing. Spring had arrived, and a myriad of flowers competed in beauty, making it the perfect time to enjoy the season.
Just as a long line of carriages passed through the busy market and was about to head toward the east city gate, a sudden, deafening roar echoed from the other direction. The sound was so immense that it felt as if a giant dragon were tossing about in displeasure underground, causing the earth itself to seemingly tremble for a moment.
The earth dragon is turning! Get out of the houses! someone roared first.
The endlessly flowing market instantly descended into chaos. The horses pulling the carriages were spooked, neighing loudly as they dashed forward with the carts.
What is going on? Quick, get the horses under control!
Was it an earthquake?
Huh, it only sounded once with no follow-up. It doesn't look like the earth dragon turning; it sounds more like a house collapsing.
That direction seems to be the Jiang Manor. Let's go take a look.
...
By the time the busybodies from the market rushed over, quite a few people had already gathered at the site of the collapse.
A man with a broad forehead and a pale complexion stepped forward. With a shrewd glint in his eyes, he raised his voice, This house looks quite grand. The master of the household must have deep pockets. If we rescue them, we might be able to get some reward money. Who wants to help me save them?
Then let's dig and see.
People tend to follow the crowd. Once one or two started, many others joined the rescue team.
When the capital guards of Chang'an arrived, they heard people saying from afar:
A white fox is considered an auspicious sign, right? How could there be a white fox here? And it's lying on the ground vomiting blood endlessly?
There are words written in blood here. Could they have been written by the fox vomiting blood? Is there anyone who can read? Someone come and see what the white fox wrote!
Uh, it seems to be Han-Yan falls in Chang'an, the golden dragon emerges by the nest. Han-Yan? Doesn't that mean the ones above...
The leading guard's expression changed drastically, and he immediately scolded, Cease this nonsense at once!
Seeing the capital guards arriving on horseback, the commoners all quieted down, not daring to speak further.
However, such a bizarre incident as a white fox writing a blood letter appearing out of nowhere, and happening right in the bustling market where a perfectly fine house suddenly collapsed, looked incredibly strange no matter how one looked at it.
That phrase, Han-Yan falls in Chang'an, the golden dragon emerges by the nest, quietly spread throughout Chang'an.
The current dynasty's official title was Yan, and the current emperor's surname was Han. What this Han-Yan referred to was self-evident. The word falls closely following it was a direct offense to those in power.
...
The emperor was young, so the court affairs were jointly controlled by Empress Dowager Wang and Prime Minister Dong Zhou. Backed by the Wang clan, the Empress Dowager held half the empire, making the Wang clan incredibly powerful and sought-after in Chang'an.
However, the Wang residence, usually filled with esteemed guests, had recently rejected a large number of visiting cards and kept its main gates tightly shut.
Inside the study of the Wang Manor.
The young emperor's uncle, Wang Tianchuan, wore an ugly expression. Have you found anything out?
The two men in front of him lowered their heads and hunched their backs, looking utterly ashamed. Please forgive us, Master. There is no news as of yet...
Bang!
A top-quality mutton-fat jade paperweight smashed near the feet of the two men, and the flying jade shards cut one of their cheeks.
Blinding bright red blood immediately flowed down, but the man only lowered his head even further, not daring to utter a word.
Useless trash! It's not like I asked you to recapture the Northern Territories or Jingzhou. You can't even handle this little matter. What use do I have for you? Wang Tianchuan slammed the table and stood up, his fat belly jiggling continuously with the movement.
The eldest young master of the Wang family, sitting to the side, advised, Father, please calm your anger. Since the other party dared to act in such a way, they must have made ample preparations. It is normal that we cannot root out the culprit right away. However, this land of Chang'an is ultimately in your grasp. The source will be dug up sooner or later. I believe that besides searching for the mastermind from the root, we can also approach this from another angle.
With his proudest legitimate son speaking, Wang Tianchuan's anger subsided slightly. My son, what are your thoughts?
The one who orchestrated this is undoubtedly the beneficiary. 'The golden dragon emerges by the nest'—could this second half of the phrase, which has caused such an uproar in the city, be the beneficiary building momentum for themselves and directly related to them? he speculated.
Since the previous dynasty, the dragon had been endowed with a special meaning. People believed it possessed the power to predict the future and turn the tides of the world.
Although it was not yet directly linked to imperial power as it would be in later generations, there was no doubt that at this time, the dragon absolutely represented a great hero.
Wang Tianchuan's expression turned somewhat peculiar.
The current dynasty favored the colors profound black and red; black and red were used for all major occasions.
Gold, on the contrary, was rarely used.
Gold... could it be the Capital Guards?
The golden dragon emerges by the nest.
If the imperial city was compared to a nest, then the Capital Guards who patrolled the capital were indeed right by the nest.
However, before the Wang father and son, along with other prominent families, could make sense of things, eerie roaring sounds began to appear one after another within Chang'an city, occurring during both the day and night.
And after every tremor, a blood-written letter that resembled a prophetic omen was left at the scene.