Chapter Thirty: Wind Tiger Cloud Dragon

  In the twelfth month of the first year of Nan Chu's reign, Jiang Zhe was detained in the Yong Wang Fu. Although the king treated him with great courtesy, Zhe's will remained unbroken. The Qi Wang Xian, who admired Zhe's talent, urged the Yong Wang to pardon him. The Yong Wang had no choice but to agree, and because of Zhe's noble character, he presented him with a golden helmet filled with wine as a gift. Zhe was deeply moved and shed tears, and subsequently surrendered to the Yong Wang.

  The Book of Southern Chu · Biography of Jiang Suiyun

  I almost subconsciously took over the golden helmet, my mind full of Li Zhi's scene pressing on the wine cup. He actually let me go, let me go as a madman who had repeatedly offended him, and was still able to make his great cause turn to ashes with a poisonous stab in the heart. I don't know how, but my tears fell one by one, falling into the golden helmet, falling on the snow-white collar. I could hardly move, thinking of the day when Deqin Wang realized that I couldn't be loyal and devoted to serving Nan Chu, he was very cautious with me. When I was recuperating in Jianye, Deqin Wang's spies were always monitoring me. Thinking back to my last remonstrance, a sincere heart for Nan Chu, but what I got in return was demotion. In the past, I thought I didn't care about these things at all, but today I found that they were all deeply buried in my heart. These are sad past events that even I myself couldn't detect, or didn't want to think about.

  I raised the golden goblet, not caring about the wine splashing out, and drank down the beautiful wine in one breath. I thought to myself that this was probably why Zhuge Wuhou was so devoted to his duties. The fine wine was sweet and refreshing, and I felt like my chest was on fire. I raised the golden goblet again, and fell to the ground, saying loudly: "Your Highness's kindness is boundless, even if I were to die a thousand times, I couldn't repay it. If Your Highness doesn't mind my repeated mistakes, Jiang Zhe is willing to serve you."

  Li Zai was originally disheartened, but unexpectedly I suddenly surrendered. For a moment, he didn't know what to say either. Shi Tuo was clever and lightly pushed Li Zai forward. Li Zai hastily came up and helped me up, excitedly saying: "Sir, you've actually changed your mind! This king, this king really doesn't know what to say. Quickly, quickly get up."

  I, a bookworm with no strength to truss a chicken, had no room for resistance. I was helped up by Li Zhi. My mood had gradually calmed down, and I murmured: "If we hadn't met back then, the old hero would have been spared. The chance encounter between Tang and Wu. Wind, tigers, clouds, and dragons." Looking at Li Zhi, I said calmly: "Your Highness is magnanimous and has spared my life. I have no way to repay you, except to dedicate myself to serving Your Highness, which can make up for the offense I committed against you these past days."

  Li Zai's hand trembled, and he stared at me in shock. He had been secretly congratulating himself on not poisoning Jiang Zhe, otherwise he would have lost a virtuous scholar. But from my tone, I actually knew about the poison in his wine.

  I looked at Li Zuo's uneasy expression and smiled: "Your Highness doesn't have to worry, if it weren't for Your Highness' mercy, Che would not be willing to serve."

  Li Zai glanced at Shi Wei, and Shi Wei had already dismissed the servants. At this time, he heard my words and involuntarily trembled, also looking towards Li Zai.

  I also spoke bluntly, saying: "Your Highness, Mr. Shi doesn't need to worry, Zhe has always been grateful for Your Highness's kindness, and it was only natural that you would have him executed. Now that the matter is over and done with, I won't hold any grudges. Please don't mind my arrogance in these recent days."

  I say this not to complain, but since I have decided to serve the Duke of Yong, I must consider the way a ruler and his subject should interact. If the Duke of Yong wants to poison me or if I intentionally provoke him, these things will be remembered in our hearts and will inevitably lead to resentment in the future. Now that I bring this up, the Duke of Yong won't feel ashamed in front of me nor will he remember my offense against him, so naturally we can get along peacefully as ruler and subject. Don't say I'm thinking too much, but since ancient times there has been the saying "when the birds are gone, the bows are stored away". To put it clearly, one reason is that rulers are wary of their meritorious officials, and another reason is that subjects overstep their bounds. Therefore, I want to leave a way out for myself in the future.

  Li Zuo's expression changed several times before he finally brightened up and said, "As long as the master doesn't blame me, I'm willing to appoint you as the Sima of the Tian Ce Du Fu, to work together with Zi You to assist me."

  I bowed again to thank him, Li Zuo smiled bitterly and said: "Sir, don't be so formal, I regard you as a teacher and friend, please don't keep such distance."

  I smiled and said, "The etiquette of superior and inferior cannot be lightly abolished. As for Su Yun, it is not possible to lose courtesy. However, if Your Highness does not blame Su Yun for being discourteous, then Su Yun will not be polite." This was my true intention. Since I had surrendered to the Duke of Yong, we would inevitably meet every day from now on. If I always had to be respectful and courteous, it would be too painful. On the contrary, before the Duke of Yong ascended to the throne, I didn't need to consider etiquette at all.

  "My goal has been achieved, so I spoke seriously: 'Your Highness, Su Yun also wants to have an in-depth conversation with you, but it's not possible now. Please send someone to inform King Qi that Su Yun's old illness has suddenly relapsed and he needs to stay behind to recover. King Qi will surely come to visit him personally. Su Yun dares to ask Your Highness to serve the medicine in person, this is the first thing. Secondly, although Su Yun knows a bit about the situation with Da Yong, the forces within the court are still entangled and not entirely clear. Please send all the intelligence you have gathered so far to Su Yun, and after studying it, we can discuss further tonight. Thirdly, Guan Xiu and others do not yet know what happened today, and they may harbor some resentment in their hearts. Please ask Mr. Zi Yu to inform them discreetly about today's events, to demonstrate Your Highness' benevolence and put the minds of your advisors at ease. These three matters are all extremely important.'"

  Li Zai's eyes lit up after hearing my words, and he said: "Rui Yun is indeed thoughtful, I will do it immediately. I will accompany Mr. back to the guest house right away, Zi You, you go notify Qi Wang first." I exchanged a smile with Shi Tuo, and Shi Tuo hurriedly left. I continued to play along, letting Yong Wang support me out of the great hall. Outside, Xiao Shunzi was waiting anxiously, and when he saw me come out, he quickly walked over, gave Yong Wang a cold glance, and said: "Young master, what happened?" As he spoke, he took over supporting me from Yong Wang. I calmly said: "Xiao Shunzi, do you have a way to make me temporarily ill? I need to see Qi Wang."

  Li Xian arrived at the Yong Wang Fu with great joy, but was immediately drenched in a bucket of cold water when Shi Tuo told him that Jiang Zhe's old illness had relapsed. Li Xian's first reaction was that the Yong Wang was intentionally detaining him, but he thought again and realized that the Yong Wang would not be so clumsy. Regardless, Li Xian still asked to see Jiang Zhe and left Qin Zheng in the carriage. He rushed straight to the Qifeng Pavilion, his heart full of annoyance. However, as soon as he entered the room, he saw Jiang Zhe lying pale-faced on a soft couch, while his second brother was carefully holding a steaming bowl of medicine and blowing air on it. Seeing Li Xian enter, he only smiled slightly and said: "Sixth brother, Mr. Jiang talked with several officials in my mansion last night and drank too much wine, causing his old illness to relapse. I'm afraid he won't be able to leave."

  Li Xian looked at Jiang Zhe's face and angrily said: "How can this be a coincidence? He just fell ill and your medicine is already ready."

  Li Zai said lightly: "Mr. Jiang has been taking medicine almost every day since he arrived at the Wang Mansion, this is a regular occurrence, so I instructed my brother to always have the medicinal soup ready, fortunately it was so, today Mr. Jiang suddenly fell ill, if not for this medicine, I'm afraid Mr. Jiang would have fallen ill again for many days."

  I struggled to open my eyes, cursing Xiao Shunzi in my heart for being so serious. The cold and gloomy true energy that he had infused into my body made me feel chilled to the bone, and I was stiff all over. With a weak breath, I said: "Ever since Su Yun fell ill in Shu, she has been having frequent relapses at any time of day or night. I didn't expect it to happen today of all days, truly sorry to trouble Your Highness Qi Wang." After speaking, I coughed several times.

  The Prince of Yong took a light sip of the medicine and said, "Alright." Then he had Xiaoshunzi help me up, and the Prince of Yong personally fed me the medicine. After taking the medicine, my complexion seemed to improve slightly, and I said, "Your Highnesses, after Ruyi takes her medicine, she usually takes a short nap. Please don't mind."

  "Please rest well, sir," said King Yong hastily, "I will take my leave now."

  I nodded gently, gazing at King Yong with tears of gratitude in my eyes, and then seemed to slowly drift off to sleep.

  "Let's not disturb the gentleman, sixth brother," said King Yong, rising from his seat and speaking in a low voice. "Shall we step outside to talk?"

  Out of the Phoenix Pavilion, Li Xian's expression was wooden as he said, "It seems that heaven has willed it so, and it appears that Second Brother, you have won."

  Li Zai smiled and said: "Sixth brother is being overly anxious, after Mr. Jiang recovers from his illness, he will naturally go to the Qi Wang Fu."

  Li Xian sneered, "He's ill, is he? The great General Tian Ce, the Prince of Yong, personally serving him medicine and soup. If he doesn't have a change of heart after this, I'd be surprised."

  Li Zai thought to himself, I've also done a lot in the past, but unfortunately he just wouldn't submit, and instead said, "Sixth brother is being overly cautious."

  Li Xian flung off his sleeve and left, went out of the gate, didn't get on the carriage, pulled over a guard's horse, vented his anger by whipping it hard, that fine horse neighed loudly, galloped away, Li Xian ignored the calls from behind, angrily departed.

  In Xuefengxuan, I let Xiaoshunzi remove the restraints from my body and laughed: "My body is covered in cold sweat and wine fumes, hurry, I want to take a bath."

  Xiao Shunzi smiled and said: "I've been ready for a long time. Don't I know your temper, young master?"

  I looked at him and said, "You don't ask me how I changed my mind."

  Xiao Shunzi said calmly, "A distance of over ten zhang, I heard it very clearly. Young Master's decision Xiao Shunzi has never doubted, Young Master can rest assured, as long as Xiao Shunzi is here, no one can harm Young Master."

  His tone was so calm and firm, I felt a warmth in my heart and said: "Of course, Xiao Shunzi, you must practice your skills well. In the officialdom, I can maintain a safe distance, but there is another world outside, if there is a top-notch assassin who wants to kill me, then it's up to you."

  Xiao Shunzi's eyes flashed with a hint of excitement, but his voice was cold and calm: "Don't worry, young master. The sword manual you gave me earlier, I've already mastered it thoroughly. Although there are some people I may not be able to defeat, no one can easily get past me."

  I nodded, Xiao Shunzi would never boast or exaggerate, but I asked doubtfully: "I remember some sword techniques you said required masculine true energy, how can they be used now?"

  Xiao Shunzi smiled faintly: "Young master is well-versed in the principles of divination, doesn't he know the principle of yin and yang giving birth to each other?"

  I looked at Xiaoshunzi, who couldn't hide his joy, and although I didn't quite understand, I knew that Xiaoshunzi's martial arts had reached a new level. I thought to myself, "I've heard that it takes over 20 years of practice to reach the pinnacle, how can Xiaoshunzi be so powerful at just over 20 years old? Is he really a martial arts prodigy?" Unbeknownst to me, my wild guesses were half correct. Xiaoshunzi was indeed talented and had a strong will, his martial arts training suited his physical condition, and in addition to following me for these years, he also made significant progress in literature. Therefore, he could achieve what he has today. Although compared to the three great masters, he still has a long way to go, but he has already far surpassed ordinary top-notch masters.

  I changed into a set of green clothes and followed Shi Yu to the secret study in the Yong Wang Fu, which was located on the right side of the palace. The room was heavily guarded, and inside this ordinary-looking study were stored all the secrets of the palace. Except for the Yong King himself and Shi Yu, no one else could enter without permission. Four book boys, each around 18 or 19 years old, took care of the study. They were all well-behaved and agile, clearly trusted attendants of the Yong King. I thought to myself that with a single order, they could become powerful officials for the Yong King. I walked into the study and began searching for the information I needed. Although Xiao Shunzi had already told me about the intelligence he obtained from Chen Jin, it couldn't compare to the comprehensive information collected by the Yong King. The book boy who stayed behind to serve me was very efficient, retrieving documents immediately as I requested them according to the catalog. Although it felt a bit unusual without Xiao Shunzi by my side, it didn't matter - in the future, I would be working in my own study, and looking through these materials once would be enough.

  Li Xin couldn't help but steal a glance at the handsome young man in his early twenties, filled with curiosity. Li Xin's father was originally one of the personal guards of Prince Yong, and he died in an assassination attempt, leaving behind only one orphan. Seeing that Li Xin was all alone, Li Zhi took him under his wing and raised him in the mansion for many years. With his diligence, eagerness to learn, and loyalty, he earned Li Zhi's recognition and was given a name and surname, entering the secretarial department. Although his movements were strictly restricted here, he could participate in important matters and follow Prince Yong closely, which greatly benefited him. Moreover, Prince Yong had long said that once they came of age, he would let them go out and become officials. Li Xin knew this was a path to success, but the price was that he must be forever loyal and extremely cautious, so curiosity was his greatest weakness. Once, a book boy had been curious and peeked at a document, violating the rules, and when Prince Yong discovered it, he became furious and ordered him to be beaten to death. Li Xin remembered the tragic scene forever, so he never overstepped his bounds. He knew he shouldn't guess about the young man's identity, but when he saw that Prince Yong was waiting for this youth in another study room, he couldn't help but feel curious again.

  In another study, Li Zhi was looking at military books, but his mind was restless. He glanced at Shi Yu and said, "Zi You, you should go rest, I'll wait for him myself, don't overexert yourself."

  Shi Yu smiled and said, "Today, Jiang Suiyun has returned to the palace, and with a loud thunder, he first let Qi Wang put down his guard, then let the strategist feel at ease. Zi You was very impressed, so I also want to know what strategy he will present to Your Highness. The anxious heart is not under Your Highness."

  Li Zai smiled and said, "Yes, I really look forward to his strategy. The current situation is clear to you, I am trapped in a web, the more I struggle, the tighter the net gets. I really want to know what method he has to help me get out of this predicament. Thinking about it, it really gave me a chill, if I had really poisoned Jiang Zhe, I'm afraid I would have been doomed."

  Shi Wei Dao said, "Yes, thanks to Your Highness's benevolence, otherwise Jiang Zhe would not have been so willing to submit. I've thought about it over and over again, and I'm afraid our thoughts are all in his grasp. This cup of poisoned wine today is probably Jiang Zhe's test for Your Highness."

  Li Zai said doubtfully: "But if I hadn't pulled the reins on the cliff, would he really have drunk that cup of poisoned wine?"

  Shi Yu smiled wryly and said: "This subordinate also cannot know his arrangements, but since things have not reached that point, Your Highness does not need to worry about it either."

  Li Zuo also smiled and said, "Yes, past events, I still worry about what, Zi You, only fear that he will not come out very quickly, we might as well play a game of chess, also good to pass the time."

  Shi Yu Dao said: "Your Highness has such a elegant interest, I naturally accompany you, and please spare me."

  Two people looked at each other and smiled, set up a chessboard, and started playing against each other.

  After a moment, Book Boy Li Zhong walked in and reported: "Your Highness, when I went to deliver the tea just now, I saw Mr. Jiang seeming somewhat troubled, and he also asked where his servant was."

  Li Zai was taken aback, looking at Shi Wei. Shi Wei's thoughts turned and he said: "Your Highness, I think Jiang Zhe relies heavily on Li Shun by his side, and it seems that they can't be apart for a moment. And Li Shun is also extremely loyal to Jiang Zhe. Why not let Li Shun go in to serve him? Anyway, Li Shun will inevitably come into contact with confidential matters later."

  Li Zai thought for a moment and said, "That's right. Li Shun is not an ordinary person. The relationship between him and his master must be very deep. Li Zhong, send someone to Qifeng Xuan to summon Li Shun to the study."

  After a while, Li Zhong came back to report: "Your Highness, Mr. Shi, Mr. Jiang is very happy. Li Xin reported that this Li Shun is very well-behaved and only focuses on serving, never paying attention to the content of the documents."

  Li Zai finally put his mind at ease and said, "That's good, Zi You, it's your turn now."

  Shi Yu looked at the chessboard and smiled: "Your Highness's mind is elsewhere, it seems that this game of chess will be mine to win."

  Li Zai smiled bitterly and looked at the trapped White Dragon, saying: "Yes, I lost."

  Shi Yu Dao said: "This is a subordinate's wholehearted effort, Your Highness doesn't need to worry about that side anymore. In the next round, don't let me win again."

  Li Zai picked up the chess pieces while saying: "Good, watch how I, the king, will make your blood flow like a river."

  The two of them gradually became engrossed, and when the third game ended, Shi Yi stood up and looked out the window. It was just dawn, and outside the window was a vast expanse of blackness. Li Zuo glanced at the chessboard and said, "I won half a move."

  Shi Yu smiled and said: "Your Highness's chess skills are extraordinary. If you just put in a bit of effort, I'll be thoroughly defeated."

  Just then, Li Zhong came in and reported: "Your Highness, Mr. Shi, Mr. Jiang requests an audience with Your Highness."

  Li Zai immediately jumped up and asked: "What was his expression like?"

  Li Zhongdao said: "Although the gentleman's complexion is somewhat tired, his demeanor is very calm and peaceful. He even joked with me, saying that I should go and drag the emperor out of the palace."

  Li Zai's heart, which had been hanging in suspense for a whole night, finally put down, and he let out a long sigh of relief, saying: "It's all right, it's all right."

  Shi Yu looked out of the window and exclaimed: "Your Highness, look!"

  Li Zai raised his head and looked out, only to see that the dawn sunlight had already pierced through the thick clouds outside the window, and the eastern sky was already whitening. Li Zai smiled and said: "Good omen, let's go and see Jiang Zhe?" After speaking, he walked out, Shi Tuo watched Li Zai's majestic appearance, and couldn't help but put down a big stone in his heart, and followed him out.

  The first part ends.