Gao Manor.
"Master, a distinguished guest has arrived outside!" A servant rushed inside, accidentally stumbling and practically rolling into the main courtyard.
At that time, Gao You was leisurely admiring a painting.
The painting was a gift from Third Young Master Xie, created by a great master of the previous dynasty. Very few authentic works of that master had survived to the present day, making it invaluable. Gao You, who loved calligraphy and paintings, treated it as a precious treasure, spending a great deal of time admiring it every day for the past two days.
Interrupted by the servant's hasty arrival, Gao You revealed a look of displeasure. But then, thinking of something, he quickly asked, "Is it Third Young Master Xie again?"
Last time, the other party borrowed the military patrol from him and thanked him with calligraphy and paintings. He wondered what he had brought this time.
It was almost mealtime; could he have brought fine wine?
Thinking of this, Gao You suddenly felt delighted and casually picked up the teacup beside him to take a sip.
"It's not the Third Young Master, it's... the Marquis of Wu'an," the servant stammered.
"Pfft—!" Gao You spat out a mouthful of tea.
The tea splashed onto his precious masterpiece from the previous dynasty's great master. For a moment, he didn't know whether to mourn the ruined artwork first or panic over the possibility that he was hallucinating.
"Who? Who did you just say came?" Gao You's beard trembled.
The servant repeated, "The Marquis of Wu'an, the Marquis of Wu'an from the North."
Gao You gasped loudly, "Why is that god of death here?"
The joint effort of the North and Qing Province to conquer Yan Province was closely watched by every governor and magistrate in the commanderies and counties of Yan Province. This battle would determine whether their highest superior would change; they had to pay attention!
With Bairi Pass serving as the frontline defense, they originally thought it would be a protracted war, taking three to four months at the shortest, or up to a year and a half at the longest to decide the victor.
Instead, no sooner had they received the news of the war breaking out than they were informed:
Bairi Pass had fallen!
Setting aside their emotional rollercoaster upon learning of Fan of Yanzhou's lightning-fast defeat, the officials of Yan Province all focused on what would happen next.
Yan Province changing hands meant that the officialdom on their side might be reshuffled.
"Xiagu is in the western part of Yan Province. Why would the Marquis of Wu'an come here first? Could he have already settled everything in the east?" Gao You muttered to himself. "That shouldn't be possible, how could it be that fast?"
He grumbled under his breath, but his hands moved swiftly to change his clothes. Once properly dressed, Gao You led his sons out to receive the guest.
"...What? The Marquis of Wu'an is here? What is he doing in Xiagu!" Xie Yuanxiu's expression changed drastically.
Qi Yu turned a deaf ear to Xie Yuanxiu's question and only said to Diting, "The Marquis of Wu'an just arrived at the Shen hour and has now directly moved into the governor's manor with his men. Looking at his accompanying soldiers, they are all elites, numbering around two hundred."
Xie Yuanxiu silently repeated the number "two hundred," and his heart gradually settled. He had brought four hundred men with him to Xiagu this time. In terms of troop numbers, he had the upper hand over the Marquis of Wu'an.
However, he was still puzzled. "He dares to come with only over two hundred men? What exactly is he here for?"
Up until now, Xie Yuanxiu still believed that Dai Li was Diting's biological sister, completely unaware of her relationship with Qin Shaozong.
There was also a round-faced man with squinty eyes in the room. This man's name in the cult was Fanyin. At this moment, Fanyin smiled and said, "He is here for the same reason you are."
This matter could no longer be hidden, so it was better to tell Xie Yuanxiu now.
Xie Yuanxiu froze, taking a long while to recover his senses.
He wasn't stupid, and he was well-informed about the affairs of various provincial governors. Naturally, he knew that in recent months, the Marquis of Wu'an had a highly favored young woman by his side.
Could it be...
His gaze swept over the people in the room, from Diting sitting by the tea table, to the man dressed in black robes who always wore a black mask, then to the squinty-eyed Fanyin, and finally to Qi Yu. The latter slightly turned his head, avoiding Xie Yuanxiu's gaze.
Now, what else could Xie Yuanxiu not understand? "Diting, she is not your elder sister?!"
With the lie exposed, Diting showed no sign of panic. "Whether she is or not is no longer important. What matters is that the Marquis of Wu'an has tracked us down, and we should think about what to do next."
Xie Yuanxiu gritted his teeth but was helpless. He could only ask, "How did the Marquis of Wu'an find Xiagu? Who leaked the news to him? Is there a mole within the cult?"
It was too fast. They had only been in Xiagu for a few days!
Moreover, Qin Shaozong didn't go to Tianshui Commandery in Si Province but came straight to Xiagu. He must have received information...
Questioning anything else was fine, but at Xie Yuanxiu's last sentence, Qi Yu couldn't hold back. "Seven years ago, the Marquis of Wu'an planted a sleeper agent under Rong Bingzhou. Planting a mole in the core circle of another province was effortless for him, let alone just having eyes and ears to gather intel. He probably guessed that we were the ones who abducted Lady Dai, so he directly sent a message to his spies in Tianshui Commandery, ordering them to secretly observe our movements."
Qi Yu firmly believed that the cult was united as one. Rather than having an inside man, he was more inclined to believe that the Marquis of Wu'an's eyes and ears were spread all over Yan and Si provinces.
"The Third Young Master's recent troop movements have been quite loud. Dividing the forces by boats and personally leading men to Xiagu, wouldn't that naturally draw their attention?" Fanyin touched his chin from the side.
A hint of ruthlessness flashed in Xie Yuanxiu's eyes.
Saying this, were they pushing all the blame onto him?
But they didn't consider that if it weren't for their momentary negligence in watching over her, how could she have escaped?
"Clack." A sudden noise broke the silence in the room.
The few people in the room paused and turned their heads to look at Diting sitting by the table. They saw that he had accidentally knocked over his teacup, and a small puddle of tea spilled onto the table.
Diting wore a silver-white mask, so Xie Yuanxiu couldn't see his expression, but his intuition told him that the other party must have been struck by some kind of emotional impact, otherwise, he wouldn't have accidentally knocked over the teacup.
Xie Yuanxiu was about to ask when he heard the other party ask in a calm tone, "Xiagu belongs to Yan Province. Now that the Marquis of Wu'an has arrived, does the Third Young Master still want to continue?"
Xie Yuanxiu froze, obviously a bit hesitant.
But thinking of the young woman he had seen in the back garden that day, it felt like a fire was burning in his heart, making it impossible for him to say the words "forget it."
Moreover, if he backed down now, wouldn't it tell the world that he was terrified at the mere mention of the Marquis of Wu'an?
Even if the other party only brought a little over a hundred men this time...
The main hall fell silent, and everyone looked at Xie Yuanxiu.
The veins on Xie Yuanxiu's forehead throbbed and then subsided. "The Marquis of Wu'an only brought a little over a hundred men, while I currently have hundreds of soldiers. He is the one who should be worried. I will send a message back to Si Province later and mobilize heavy troops overnight. If the Marquis of Wu'an dares to stay here any longer, I will make sure he never returns!"
Diting said, "There is no time to lose. Third Young Master, please hurry."
These words were true. Xie Yuanxiu immediately left the main hall and went back to write the letter.
After the only outsider left, Diting looked at Qin Yanzhou. "Mingdeng, when you were in the Qin Manor, how did the Marquis of Wu'an treat you?"
He didn't speak too plainly, but everyone present understood perfectly.
"You suspect me," Qin Yanzhou's tone was unruffled. "But what benefit would I gain from betraying the cult and working for him?"
Diting picked up a brocade handkerchief from the desk and tossed it into a puddle of water. He did not formally declare it a betrayal, merely stating, "This matter is rather bizarre. The Marquis of Wu'an arrived in Xiagu far too quickly."
Even if, as Qi Yu said, Qin Shaozong's spies were scattered throughout the Yan and Si provinces, or even taking a step back and assuming he knew they were the ones who had abducted Lady Dai...
How did the Marquis of Wu'an determine Lady Dai's exact location?
The Green Lotus Sect had countless strongholds. They could hide in Tianshui Commandery, where the grand ceremony was being held, or in their former headquarters in Huaian Commandery.
There were plenty of places. If he had no clues whatsoever, just confirming Lady Dai's whereabouts would have been enough to keep Qin Shaozong running around in circles for half a year.
Yet, of all places, he came straight to Xiagu!
Qin Yanzhou fell silent for a moment before simply admitting it. "Looking back on it now, my departure back then was indeed a bit too easy. Perhaps his spies in Yanzhou had already discovered my true identity."
Diting took off the mask on his face and slapped it onto the desk. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Your share of the divine medicine for the next quarter is docked. Any further punishment will be decided by Uncle personally."
The young man remained silent, raising no objections.
"Diting, should we retreat?" Fanyin asked.
The Marquis of Wu'an had arrived, yet Lady Dai had still not been found. Once she heard the news, she would definitely take the initiative to contact the Marquis.
Once those two parties reunited, given the lessons learned from past mistakes, taking Lady Dai away again would be as difficult as ascending to the heavens.
Qi Yu whispered at this moment, "I see that Third Young Master Xie is absolutely determined to get Lady Dai, and his military strength far exceeds that of the Marquis of Wu'an. It's still unknown whose hands the prize will ultimately fall into."
"Xiagu belongs to Yanzhou," Qin Yanzhou said coldly out of the blue.
Diting's fingertips tapped rapidly against the desk a few times. "Prepare for both scenarios. We can start making arrangements for the retreat."
Gao Manor.
Gao You's face had grown stiff from smiling. He was forcing a smile on the outside, but inside, he was suffering unspeakably.
Before him was the prospective Governor of Sizhou, and behind him was the Marquis of Wu'an. He was merely a lowly prefect, caught in the middle and pleasing no one.
It was a difficult situation, truly difficult.
But after weighing the options, he decided to temporarily lean towards the latter.
It was true that Xie San was the prospective Governor of Sizhou, and it was also true that he had brought troops and arrived menacingly. But at the end of the day, Xiagu belonged to Yanzhou.
What if, after some thought, Xie San decided not to provoke the Marquis of Wu'an and slipped away? What would happen to him then?
Xie San's headquarters wasn't here. He could run, but as the Prefect of Xiagu, Gao You was like a monk who could run away while his temple could not!
"...Absolutely. Whatever the Lord Marquis commands, this humble official will certainly do his utmost." Gao You looked at Qin Shaozong seated above him, revealing a fearful and troubled expression, as if struggling with whether he should say something. "It's just that there is one thing..."
Qin Shaozong held his wine goblet and appropriately offered a prompt, "Just what? Lord Prefect Gao, please speak freely."
"I wouldn't dare hide it from you, Lord Marquis. A few days ago, that Third Young Master Xie from Sizhou came to find this humble official. His words, both explicit and implicit, were all asking me to dispatch the city patrols to find a young woman for him. At the time, I thought since we are neighbors, doing him a small favor would be no trouble at all, so I agreed. But today, hearing your description, Lord Marquis, I personally believe the person you are looking for is seventy or eighty percent similar to the 'lost favored concubine' Third Young Master Xie spoke of," Gao You said in a low voice.
He knew very well in his heart that it wasn't just "seventy or eighty percent" similar; it was highly likely the exact same woman.
But that wasn't important. What was important was that he needed to use this opportunity to explain his previous actions to the Marquis of Wu'an.
Ignorance is no crime. Previously, I didn't know the inside story, but now that I do, I am determined to abandon the darkness and turn to the light. You can't settle the previous score with me.
Qin Shaozong understood the underlying meaning of his words. He immediately smiled, swirled his wine goblet, and raised his cup to Gao You. "You don't need to worry about this Xie San. This man won't be staying in Xiagu for much longer."
Gao You beamed with joy and hurriedly raised his goblet to drink with him. "You are absolutely right."
As the local overlord of Xiagu Commandery, Gao You's choice of sides determined many things, such as the direction of the city patrols.
Although the patrols were still searching inns and civilian homes for people, it was obvious they were no longer taking orders from Xie Yuanxiu.
Invisible gunpowder smoke spread, and as a single spark was deliberately released, the raging flames exploded with a boom.
"There's a perfectly good road, yet you insisted on bumping into me. I think you're tired of living." Mo Yanyun aimed at the leader of the opposing group, reached out, and shoved him when he was off guard, sending the man sprawling onto his back.
The other man quickly scrambled up, unable to bear the humiliation. "You're awfully arrogant! The broad road is open to the sky, and we each walk on one side. It was clearly you who bumped into me!"
"Not only do you refuse to apologize after bumping into someone, but you're also standing here running your mouth! Brothers, let's show them what we're made of!" Mo Yanyun was the first to draw his sword.
Seeing that the situation was turning bad, a peddler quickly picked up his carrying pole and slipped away. Pedestrians hurriedly dodged, clearing an open space for the two groups of men.
Swords flashed and shadows of blades danced; blood splattered. The scene instantly descended into total chaos.
On the second floor of a teahouse facing the street, a window was half open. Qin Shaozong stood by the window, looking down and taking in the chaos on the street.
The man's lips were curved, but that icy smile did not reach his eyes.
"Lord Marquis, I have investigated thoroughly. In the three days since Xie San arrived in Xiagu with his troops, they, along with the city patrols, have searched every inn in the commandery, big and small. In addition, they have posted notices around the city looking for her and sent men to investigate the major commoner residential areas. They've done quite a lot, but they still haven't found any trace of Lady Dai," Feng Feng reported.
He was also quite baffled in his heart.
The inns had all been searched, the notices had been issued, and a massive amount of manpower and resources had been sent to search the commoner districts. Such a full combination of tactics had been executed, yet it surprisingly failed to make even a splash.
Could it be that Lady Dai was no longer in Xiagu?
"She has always been good at hiding. Have someone spread the news that people from the North have arrived in Xiagu, had a very pleasant conversation with the Prefect of Xiagu, and are currently residing in the Prefect's Manor," Qin Shaozong said, twisting his thumb ring.
That fox had hidden herself; let's see if this could draw her out on her own.
Feng Feng received his orders and withdrew.
Qin Shaozong watched the chaotic streets, his gaze darkening.
Dai Li had been living in this small courtyard for a day now. It wasn't a long time, so she could endure it; she hadn't taken a single step out of her room. However, even though she hadn't gone out, she was somewhat aware of the commotion outside.
The search for her was still ongoing.
Dai Li would sometimes hear hurried footsteps passing by her door, and occasionally, phrases like "You few, go ask over there; you guys are in charge of this area" would drift in.
The houses in this "urban village" were built so close together that they were comparable to modern handshake buildings. Sometimes, she could even hear the neighbors talking.
Like right now...
"It seems there's a new group of people in the city today."
"You must have seen wrong. It's probably still the same ones from a few days ago, or maybe their reinforcements have arrived. Tsk tsk, this is a massive operation. I wonder what kind of female thief is worth having these government officials mobilize so many forces."
"It's not the same group. When I went to the market to buy groceries today, I saw a fight break out. Someone's head was severed from their body, rolling far away, and blood spilled all over the ground."
"A fight broke out? Why are they fighting amongst themselves?"
"I told you they weren't from the same group. I secretly kept an eye on them. The men doing the slashing were all clad in matching black armor. Every single one of them was incredibly burly; they looked like elite fighters. Taking on five men at once probably wouldn't be a problem for them. The other squad wasn't as imposing, but they made up for it with agility. Once they saw things going south, some of them sneaked off, probably to call for backup."
"You actually dared to watch that kind of spectacle? Do you have a death wish?"
"What's there to be afraid of? They were focused on each other, and their blades were aimed precisely. It didn't look like they were going to take their anger out on innocent bystanders."
...
Dai Li stood by the wall, listening to the voices just on the other side, her brow twitching.
Another faction had arrived in the city, and they had even gotten into a conflict?
The previous group was undoubtedly from Sizhou and the Green Lotus Cult. But who could these newcomers be?
A tall, imposing silhouette inexplicably surfaced in Dai Li's mind.
The voices next door spoke up again:
"Oh, right, I remember now. I heard the other group came from the North and has deep ties with Prefect Xia. They have all taken up residence in the Governor's Manor."
"Oh man, with Prefect Xia covering for them, whoever picked a fight with them is going to suffer."
Just as I thought, Dai Li said to herself.
It really was Qin Shaozong...
She paced around the courtyard a few times. Finally, unable to hold back, she waved over the young boy. She was just about to speak when, out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a dark figure suddenly vaulting over the wall from outside.
Even though it was broad daylight with the sun shining brightly, Dai Li was still startled. But once she got a clear look at the intruder, her heart instantly settled back into her chest, and joy lit up her face.
However, mindful of the other person in the courtyard, Dai Li could not bring herself to call out to her son directly.
Qin Yanzhou shot her a look, which she understood, and the two of them retreated into the room.
Once the door was closed, Qin Yanzhou kept it brief. "Mom, the Marquis of Wu'an has tracked us down. He has won over the Prefect of Xiagu Commandery. Now, the city's military patrols and the soldiers he brought with him have merged into one force to deal with Xie San."
Dai Li knitted her delicate brows in thought, then suddenly her eyes lit up. "Zhouzhou, so right now there are two opposing factions in the city, and it is completely chaotic outside, right?"
Qin Yanzhou nodded in confirmation.
"The chaos is just what we need! Zhouzhou, how about we take advantage of the mess and make our escape?" Dai Li said excitedly.