Chapter 3: Early Frost (Three Down)

  I slept very soundly.

  As the light appeared in front of his eyes again, Lei Wanchun struggled to turn his head and look around, only to find himself lying on a very luxurious large bed, covered with a thin but extremely warm brocade quilt. At the foot of the bed, a woman in white clothes had her arm propped under her forehead, fast asleep, her jet-black hair cascading from her shoulders all the way down to her knees, like a waterfall.

  "How did I end up sleeping here?" He was shocked, and as he turned over to sit up, a sharp pain suddenly shot through his shoulder, draining all the strength from his body.

  "Are you awake?" Yang Yuyao, who was in a deep sleep, was startled by the violent shaking of the bed and raised her face. Her tired eyes were filled with irrepressible joy. "Don't move around, the arrow on your shoulder has been poisoned, and it took Fēng Hé Shàng over an hour to clean the wound!"

  "Mad monk?" Lei Wanchun furrowed his brow, unable to recall ever knowing such a person. The wound on his shoulder was throbbing in pain, but after a while, it started to itch, making him believe that Yang Yuyao hadn't deceived him. But how did he end up back at Madame Guo's house? Had those pursuers discovered his true identity or not? Everything seemed like a dream, and the more he thought about it, the more confused he became.

  "The abbot of Ci En Temple, Nian Chi, is well-versed in the art of medicine and often provides free medical consultations. Last night you were injured, and since there was no skilled doctor at our residence to treat wounds, I sent someone to fetch Nian Chi from Ci En Temple. He lives nearby and often comes here spouting nonsense to swindle money, so everyone calls him a crazy monk." Seeing Lei Wanchun's confusion, Yang Yuxiang smiled and explained in a low voice, "Although he appears to be a bit mad, his medical skills are actually quite impressive. The poison that our doctor couldn't handle, he was able to treat with ease."

  With a smile, her tired face suddenly added three points of charm. Lei Wanchun saw that her eyes were full of bloodshot, and guessed that she must not have closed her eyes for the second half of the night. He smiled wryly and said with great apology: "This time, I've really, really troubled you. Alas, old Lei is useless in other ways, but he's good at causing trouble..."

  "What are you talking about, Brother Lei!" Yang Yuyao gently glared at him and covered his mouth with her hand. "Brother once saved me before, now I'm saving you back, isn't that even? What's the big deal? Besides, if you hadn't drunk too much at my place last night, you probably wouldn't have been ambushed by someone on the way!"

  "The people who startled your horse and carriage that day are my friends. At the time, I reached out to calm the frightened horses, which was what I should have done!" Lei Wanchun shook his head and interrupted in a low voice. He wanted to tell the other person that he wasn't ambushed by someone on the road last night, but rather was sneaking around Xue's residence at night and accidentally stumbled upon a huge secret, which is why he was shot with poisoned arrows by the constables of Wannian County. But for a moment, he didn't know where to start, and his tongue became even more clumsy due to hesitation.

  Yang Yuyao stood up with a smile, just like a considerate and understanding wife. "If big brother feels uneasy, he can find another chance to save me in the future! Anyway, you won't be able to leave the capital for a while. Are you hungry? I'll have someone bring over a bowl of chicken soup!"

  "Wait!" Just as Yang Yuyao's figure was about to reach the door, Lei Wanchun hastily called out, "Listen to me finish speaking. I accidentally got into big trouble last night. It wasn't intentional that I ran here, it's just that at the time I was dizzy and confused..."

  "It's nothing!" Yang Yuyao stopped in her tracks, smiled and turned around. "I've seen many troublesome things before. In the dark of night, who can see you running to my house? Besides, there are probably only a few people in the capital who dare to come to my house to catch someone!"

  The more she said, the more uneasy Lei Wanchun felt in his heart. He remembered that after jumping down from the high wall last night, he detected poison on the arrowhead. So he struggled to climb onto his horse, grabbed the silver plate and ran away. At that time, he only thought that the other party's power was too great, and he couldn't bring disaster to Zhang Zhou, nor could he let the little kid Wang Xun get involved again. But unexpectedly, just after escaping halfway, he became dizzy and lost consciousness.

  The rest of the things, he couldn't remember at all. But since he had thought about not giving Zhang Jun and Wang Xun trouble before, it's likely that in the vast city of Kyoto, only Princess Guo could withstand those who were chasing him. Even if he wasn't sincere about bringing disaster to Princess Guo's mansion, perhaps his heart had similar thoughts at the time. Otherwise, the black horse that understood its master's intentions wouldn't have run to Yang Yuyao's mansion by coincidence.

  As he thought of this, he felt increasingly ashamed. Struggling to prop himself up, he smiled bitterly and said: "You'd better listen to me finish speaking! I don't know how much trouble I've gotten myself into this time. I have an acquaintance, that little guy who startled your horse carriage the other day. His name is Yuwen Zida. Recently, for some reason, he offended some god or spirit and was thrown into the Wan Neng County prison. Then, because his answers didn't conform to the magistrate's meaning, he was beaten very badly. Last night on my way back, I thought that the head of the Wan Neng County constabulary, Xue Rongguang, might know some inside information, so I decided to pay him a visit. Who would have expected that there was a group of people in his residence having a secret meeting, seemingly plotting something illicit? I was curious for a moment and couldn't resist eavesdropping on their conversation from the rooftop. As a result, before I could even make out what they were saying, I was discovered by the other party!

  "Then they'll shoot you with poisoned arrows?" Yang Yuyao, who had also experienced some ups and downs, listened to the conversation halfway through before slowly walking back and kneeling beside Lei Wanchun. "No wonder early this morning, the bailiffs from Wan Neng County were like they'd lost their ancestors, stirring up the entire Chang'an City in an uproar, yet refusing to say what they're looking for. So the root of it all is here! Did you see clearly who's inside the mansion?"

  Lei Wanchun thought for a moment, speaking in a low voice as he recalled the details, completely unaware that Yang Yuyao's body was now like someone else's, "There were fifty or sixty constables, and many idlers. The one in charge wasn't Xue Rongguang, but a fifth-rank official with a long face and a short beard under his chin, looking to be around forty years old."

  "Rank five, that should at least be a Langzhong! Long face and short beard, how tall is he? Is he fat or not?" Yang Yuyao continued to ask in a low voice, her fingers flexing and extending, illuminated by the sunlight coming through the window, making her fingernails appear exceptionally long and sharp.

  "Slightly chubby, medium height, about seven feet three inches, with slightly drooping eye corners." Lei Wanchun was taken aback, looking at Yang Yuyao's sharp fingers, and responded in a low voice.

  He found that the other party had turned back into that Madame Guo. With a charming and varied demeanor, yet with a hint of ruthlessness deep within her soul. This feeling made him extremely uncomfortable, but he was also helpless. Dreams are meant to be woken up from, no matter how deeply one sleeps or how warm the dream is.

  Lei Wanchun noticed that Guo's wife was looking at him, and her face turned unnaturally red. She smiled and explained in a soft voice, "If big brother doesn't want to tell me, he can just not say it. Little sister will never force you!"

  "It's better to let you know the situation as soon as possible!" Lei Wanchun sighed softly and added in a low voice, "That fifth-rank official is extremely ruthless. In less than half a stick of incense, I saw him order two lazy bailiffs to be suffocated to death with mulberry bark paper. Immediately after that, he beat another two half to death!"

  "That fifth-rank official should be Wang Duo, he is the younger brother of Wang Kuo, the Prefect of Beijing. The two brothers are notorious for their ruthlessness. Obviously, Madame Guo was not surprised by the method of suffocating someone with mulberry bark water, she smiled and analyzed in a low voice, "Xue Rongguang is Wang Kuo's confidant, those bailiffs and helpers you saw are probably all Wang family's running dogs. Fortunately, you ran to my house yesterday, otherwise, nowhere else could hide you!"

  "I, I didn't intentionally come running here!" Lei Wanchun's face turned red in an instant, just like he had been caught telling a lie.

  "Big brother thought of little sister at a critical moment, and little sister is overjoyed!" Madame Guo smiled, misunderstanding Le Wan Chun's words, and softly comforted him. "Don't worry, you can recover from your injuries in my home. Yesterday, I secretly sent someone to investigate, and it seems that no one saw you sneak into my house. Even if they did discover something, we're not afraid. The things they're plotting are definitely not meant to be seen. So, no matter how much they've heard, they must have been frightened out of their wits by now."

  "Hmph, dare to hurt me!" She gritted her teeth, her eyebrows slightly furrowed. "They're really asking for it. Big brother has been worried about not being able to catch them in the act. This time, aren't they just delivering themselves to our doorstep?"

  "Yes, I almost forgot that you are Yang Guozhong's sister." Lei Wanchun smiled to himself, thinking silently. He had never been good at plotting, but his hasty escape the previous night had coincidentally led him to the right place. Yang Guozhong and Li Linfu were evenly matched in their struggle for power. And King of Jingzhao Wang Jin was precisely Li Linfu's confidant. Unintentionally, he had overheard the secret plot of Wang Jin's younger brother Wang Tong, and then escaped into Madame Gao's house, which was equivalent to directly handing the handle of the Wang brothers' scheme to Yang Guozhong.

  So, how much he heard last night and what he heard are no longer important. Even who he is, whether he is dead or alive, has nothing to do with the overall situation. As long as Yang Guozhong hints that the person who sneaked into Xue's house last night was appointed by him, it would be enough to force the Wang brothers not to act rashly. Once the Wang brothers retreat, it would be equivalent to cutting off one of Li Linfu's arms. Regardless of whether they won or lost in the previous fight, after setting up these few wonderful chess pieces, the situation in the capital has already thoroughly tilted towards Yang Guozhong.

  It's just that becoming a chess piece is not what I wanted. The fierce battle in the capital was originally unrelated to me, Yang Guozhong and Li Linfu were both despicable in my eyes. But I accidentally got involved and sank deeper and deeper, everything became uncontrollable.

  At this thought, Lei Wanchun struggled to sit up in bed, ignoring the dizzying pain in his shoulder, and smiled: "Hearing you say that, I feel at ease. Since I didn't return for the night, Lord Zhang must be worried about my safety right now. I'd better hurry back to see him, or he'll go looking for me everywhere!"

  After speaking, one hand picked up the boot and bent down to try it on. Madame Guo was taken aback, her smile slowly freezing on her face. "If big brother doesn't like it, I won't tell my brother about what you said today!" She pleaded, squatting down and pressing her hand against Lei Wanchun's wrist.

  Lei Wan Chun's arm trembled slightly, then stiffened as she pressed it down. "You'd better inform Lord Yang as soon as possible. Wang's heart is cruel and ruthless; he wouldn't dare to barge into your mansion during the day, but at night, he'll secretly send people to sneak in, and you can't defend against that. I'm not blaming you, I really have to go back!"

  Madam Guo sighed, wanting to explain a few more sentences, but ultimately didn't say anything. She slowly got up, walked out the door, and called in several young maidservants to help Lei Wanchun change his clothes and put on his boots.

  The clothes on his body were all newly changed, including the undergarments. Lei Wanchun, even if he reacted slowly, found that the texture of the clothes was very different from what he used to wear. It was the Tianzhu cotton fabric that had become popular in the capital in recent years, which was much finer and softer than the traditional hemp and linen fabrics, and did not have the unique coolness of silk. Just this set of undergarments would be enough for him to spend his entire year's income. Of course, unless he went back to his old profession of robbing the rich to help the poor.

  The maids' hands and feet were very slow, and they stopped several times to steal glances at Madame Guo's expression. However, no matter how slow, the clothes would eventually be put on. Madame Guo was unwilling to say more, so they could only help Lei Wanchun put on his outermost cloak, take out the precious sword he wore, and tie it around his waist.

  "This!" Lei Wanchun grasped the sword with one hand, slowly unsheathing it, and handed it to Madame Guo with a smile. "I'll give it to you. It's also made by a famous craftsman, extremely sharp. In the future, if you need my help anywhere, no matter where I am, just have someone bring this sword over, and I'll definitely rush over on horseback!"

  "Hmm!" Madame Guo took the treasure sword, grasping it tightly in her hand. Because she used too much force, all five fingers instantly lost their color from the lack of blood. It hurt a bit; she hadn't felt such pain in many years. But she knew that she couldn't stay. The infatuation and madness of last night were just a dream, and now that she was awake, life had to go on. He was Lei Wanchun, and she was Madame Guo.

  Seeing the other person's silent appearance, Lei Wanchun's heart was also numb. He wanted to say a few words to comfort her, or tell Yang Yuyao that in his eyes, she was a very good woman. But then he found out that all the words were either too pale or too easy to cause misunderstandings.

  It's better not to say more, Lei Wanchun nodded and smiled as he bid farewell to the host, then strode out. He walked past the path covered with maple leaves, past the winding corridor, past the second gate, and past the screen wall. Yang Yuyao silently followed behind him, silently seeing him off, silently watching him struggle to mount his horse and release the reins.

  "Be careful!" She finally opened her mouth and made a very low voice. Unconsciously, tears had already flowed all over her face.

  "Be careful yourself!" Lei Wanchun surprisingly heard, turned his head on horseback, and suddenly the sun was shining behind him. "If there's anything, just send someone with a sword to find me. Anything will do."

  Having said that, he patted the horse's belly and galloped away along the street covered with maple leaves.

  Autumn wind blows up fallen leaves, fluttering and swirling, blocking people's line of sight. The beautiful Chang'an, like a dream, who is awake inside or outside the dream?

  Note 1: Cotton was not a mainstream clothing material in China before the Tang Dynasty. Indian cotton, due to its long fluff and softness, made it a luxury item at that time.