Chapter 52: 50

Zhao Yelan suffered from insomnia.

He had been unable to sleep for the past two days, but tonight was somewhat different. Before, he would close his eyes and think about it unconsciously, still hoping that he could fall asleep quickly.

But tonight, with his eyes open, he didn’t think about anything. He simply emptied his mind and didn’t want to fall asleep.

For some reason, he felt that Yan Mingting was not asleep either.

But he didn’t turn over to check. He was afraid that the other party would continue to talk to him. Intentionally or not, some words could confuse people’s minds.

At dawn, he heard Yan Mingting get up and leave the room lightly, and there were footsteps outside.

He sat up slowly, walked to the window, and watched Yan Mingting and Zuo Ran lead the horses to the gate. After discussing the affairs of the mansion with Housekeeper Qin, he raised his head and suddenly looked toward the bedroom.

Zhao Yelan was startled, and instinctively dodged aside. It wasn’t until hoofbeats sounded outside the gate that he returned to the bed without looking back, closing his eyes tightly.

When he woke up again, it was already noon, and he took a three-day leave from the Imperial Academy on the grounds that he had contracted a cold. He put on the sweetgrass sachet again, rested at home, and coughed a few times now and then.

“Did my lord not drink the medicine? Why does the cold seem to be getting worse?” Housekeeper Qin said worriedly, and couldn’t help but nag, “My lord, drink your medicine quickly, lest the General come back and see that you are still ill and punish us.”

Zhao Yelan poured the medicine in front of him, then locked himself in the room, feeling bored after a little while.

He was obviously used to being alone in the house in the past, but today it seemed to be particularly deserted.

As he walked around the mansion, the servants performed their duties and were busy in an orderly manner, but they didn’t get together and secretly gossip about why the two masters were arguing again.

Even Xiao Gao was a little listless: “Why do I feel that even the chickens are quiet after the General left? My lord, when will the General come back, ah?”

“Miss him so soon?” Zhao Yelan asked.

“En.”

“Do you like him very much?”

“En, en.”

In the afternoon, Zhao Yelan received a letter from Yan Mingting.

He opened it in surprise. The handwriting on it was a bit messy, and seemed that it had been written in haste. The letter stated that they had arrived at the first post station, so he wrote to report that they were safe.

In the evening, the second letter came again, from the second station.

After two days, Zhao Yelan received a total of six letters, all of which were small things –

Mengting, we are now at the border of Longzhou, and it is raining heavily here. I wonder if it is raining in the capital? Remember to wear more layers, don’t catch a cold.

Mengting, let me tell you a joke. A soldier went to piss at night and was kicked by a horse, haha! Zuo Ran also walked in on him, and she beat him up again, haha!

Mengting, what did you eat tonight? We could only eat some dry food on the road tonight, because the weather is hot and most of the food is rotten. In fact, I have long been used to this kind of life, but it may be that I have eaten too well in the capital in the past six months. I actually started to miss Mingji’s steamed buns and Huichunlou’s drunken shrimp. It’s all thanks to you.

Mengting, I had a dream last night about when we met for the first time. If at that time I took you directly to the military camp to serve as my military adviser, would the war have ended sooner? Would we have grown up together?

Mengting, He Cuizhang is still in Beijing. If you have any troubles, you can go to him. He has a letter from me and can act in my name.

Mengting, I regret it, I shouldn’t have left without saying goodbye. I thought I would be anxious about saying goodbye in person, but even without saying goodbye, I miss you a little now……I lied to you, I miss your Hongshao.

“General, are you writing a letter again?” Zuo Ran carried a water bag to the river to finish fetching water. She saw Yan Mingting leaning against a big tree with a piece of biscuit held in his mouth, writing on his bent knees.

Along the way, whenever he was free, Yan Mingting would write letters and deliver them at the post station. Some were mailed out, and some were crumpled up and thrown away.

“Are you all rested up?” Yan Mingting quickly chewed on the stale biscuit, then folded the letter and said, “There is food at the next post station, and we can prepare some more dry food.”

“Okay.” Zuo Ran raised her head and looked at the sun. The scorching heat made people sweat profusely. Today was already the seventh day since they left the capital. According to the speed of their traveling day and night, they would be able to reach Huaizhou tomorrow.

“General, I just watched you write a letter. Why don’t you seem to have received a letter from Zhao-daren?” Zuo Ran asked curiously.

“Because we are traveling fast, how could the letters traveling back and forth keep up with our speed?” Yan Mingting got on his horse.

“That makes sense. Then when you arrive in Huaizhou, you might be able to receive a letter,” Zuo Ran said optimistically.

However, on the third day after arriving in Huaizhou, he did not receive any letter from Beijing.

Zuo Ran didn’t have the time to ask about Yan Mingting’s letter, because she was worried about how to rescue Yin Pinglu.

When he first arrived in Huaizhou, Yan Mingting received good news from his subordinates. The troops who had arrived first, together with Huaizhou officers and soldiers, captured a large number of bandits alive, and they had been put in prison. They had destroyed all their strongholds, but two leaders escaped.

Yan Mingting sent people to investigate the whereabouts of these two, and then he was taken over by the Huaizhou Magistrate.

After conversing with the Magistrate for a while, he then brought up Yin Pinglu: “Yin-daren is so lucky to have such a good daughter as Pinglu.”

Magistrate Yin asked doubtfully: “General Yan knows Pinglu?”

“Didn’t she tell you? We met at the border once. She has a clever mind and was a great help to me,” Yan Mingting said.

Magistrate Yin had of course heard Yin Pinglu say this, but he didn’t believe it at all. She was a weak woman, how could she know Yan Mingting on the battlefield? Not to mention being of  help. If this was the case, why didn’t anyone mention Yin Pinglu’s name when the court discussed meritorious deeds and rewards? It must be a lie that this girl made up in order to escape.

But now hearing Yan Mingting admit it in person, he was aghast, but there was still a smile on his face: “It turned out to be like this. Maybe she was just lucky and happened to come up with some crazy ideas.”

“You can’t say that, the battlefield changes rapidly and a few fleeting ideas can’t turn the tide. Your daughter is very talented,” Yan Mingting said seriously.

“Ai, what’s the use of having great talent? She studied and practiced calligraphy in her early years, so she was a little ignorant of worldly matters. Who would look down on this, ah. Not only did she take the initiative to break off the engagement with her fiance, but she also ran away with a lowly girl. It has long been the biggest joke in Huaizhou. This woman is not married, how can this be proper, ah? I almost lost all face because of her,” Magistrate Yin said in vexation.

Yan Mingting saw his stubborn nature. He feared that in his eyes, even the main daughters should be used to marry higher up and improve his official position, not to mention Yin Pinglu, a rebellious concubine.

Yan Mingting once heard Yin Pinglu mention that Magistrate Yin had eight daughters and a young son who was just three years old. The sisters were all married to dignitaries, and the last one was also married to a magistrate. Among the remaining daughters of age, only Yin Pinglu was still unmarried.

He knew that it would be difficult to change Magistrate Yin’s mind with these few words, so he said: “I came to the mansion today because I actually have something to ask. The bandit leaders fled, but I’m new here and not familiar with the terrain, so I wanted to borrow Pinglu to help.”

“This……” Magistrate Yin wiped the sweat off his face. This wasn’t good. “It’s really not that this humble official wants to refuse the General’s request, it’s just that Pinglu has been infected with a serious disease lately and is still recuperating in the house. Whether she can recover is unknown, and we are powerless, ah.”

“If that’s the case……then I won’t disturb her. There are many women in the house, so I won’t borrow a room. I will be staying at the biggest inn in the city. If Yin Pinglu recovers well, you just let her come to me directly, ba,” Yan Mingting said.

“All right, all right.” Magistrate Yin repeatedly agreed, then graciously sent him to the inn himself.

After the people left, Zuo Ran appeared covertly: “General, how is Pinglu?”

“Not too great.” Yan Mingting frowned. “You go to her house late at night to see what the situation is like with the guards. Don’t alert the enemy.”

“Okay.”

At midnight, Zuo Ran returned and said: “The security is heavy, especially around Pinglu’s room. It is full of guards, with senior officials coming in and out. Is Magistrate Yin afraid of her escaping and wants to imprison her?”

“No, she should have already escaped,” Yan Mingting said.

“What?”

“With Magistrate Yin’s temperament of cozying up to others, how could he be willing to refuse such a good opportunity when he heard that I wanted to borrow someone? And clearly he gave me a warm invitation to be a guest in his house, but after hearing me ask for someone, he didn’t urge me to stay. This is likely because he was afraid that we would find out that the person had already run away, so he lied about her being ill and sent people to strictly guard to create false appearances.”

“Then what should we do? Nothing will happen to Pinglu, right?” Zuo Ran was nervous.

“We split into two groups. You take a team and stay at the inn. Keep an eye on the movement in the Yin Mansion at all times, and send someone to deliver some medical materials and supplements in my name every day or two. In this way, Magistrate Yin will have to speed up his search for Yin Pinglu. If she is found, don’t act rashly, and notify me immediately.” Yan Mingting said, “I still have to track down the whereabouts of those two thieves.”

“All right, I understand,” Zuo Ran said calmly.

Yan Mingting glanced at her in surprise: “You seem to be……a lot more stable.”

“I am stupid and weak, so it is hard for me to find her by myself, but I trust the General. Since this is the case, I cannot panic and drag my feet,” Zuo Ran said firmly. “And I believe in her. She is so smart, she will definitely be able to save the day.”

“Right,” Yan Minging said with a smile. “Perhaps she has escaped safely. We’re staying at this inn, with a lot of people coming in and out. The news will spread quickly, and once she finds out, she will come to us.”

“En!”

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Early the next morning, Yan Mingting went to the prison to interrogate a few bandits about news of the two bandit leaders, and came up with a piece of information –

They had backers, and those two were coaxed into making trouble.

But this information didn’t need to be tortured out at all. He could guess that bandits had appeared in several areas simultaneously, and why else would that be if it was not premeditated? Were bandits like cats, who when the season comes, would go into collective heat?

In the afternoon, he took people to the stronghold to check the situation, and it was already destroyed. However, that did not rule out that there could be something left and that the two would come back secretly. He sent a handful of teams in several directions to track down a trail.

One day later, he finally found a clue. Not far from the stronghold was a grass field with a line of shallow marks where the grass was obviously sparser than on the sides. He walked down this path and found a secret passage, leading people in to search it. The inside was a mess, and there were a few pieces of jewelry on the ground that they hadn’t had time to take away.

He looked around and found a letter. It ordered the two to rush to Quzhou, and said that someone would meet them.

He immediately summoned three teams to chase along several roads, then sent news to the officials in Quzhou while keeping some people in Huaizhou to prevent the other party from deliberately luring the tiger away from the mountain.[1]

After several days of busy work, he had time to write a letter after dinner. He wrote down everything that happened these past few days in detail, and unexpectedly wrote four voluminous pages. Instead of using his own people to deliver the letter, he went out to find a messenger.

However, before he could find a messenger, he first met Zuo Ran, who was standing on a bridge and staring at the calm water in a daze.

“What are you thinking about?” Yan Mingting walked over and asked.

Zuo Ran was startled, and turned to look at him: “General……have you eaten yet?”

“En, what about you? Why aren’t you guarding the Yin residence?”

“I kept someone there, but I don’t want to be near that place right now.” Zuo Ran curled her lip and turned to walk over the bridge.

The two walked along the river and finally came to a pavilion. Zuo Ran then said: “Today that old man went to the Yin mansion, that fellow who wants to marry Pinglu. You should have seen Magistrate Yin’s groveling look……”

Yan Mingting knew that she was feeling indignant and angry on Yin Pinglu’s behalf, so he didn’t speak immediately. After she vented for a while, scolding those two people bloody, he laughed and asked, “Has your temper cooled?”

“It hasn’t.”

“Then you can scold them for as long as you want.”

Hearing this, Zuo Ran laughed self-consciously: “Forgive me, ah, I’ve wasted your time with my complaining.”

“It’s nothing, I’m happy to hear it, and it improved my mood a little bit.”

“Is the General worried about the bandits?” When Zuo Ran received no response after asking, she guessed at another reason. “Or is it because you haven’t received a letter from Zhao-daren?”

As expected, Yan Mingting’s expression changed slightly.

“When we first met you, we thought you were ignorant and didn’t understand feelings at all. You saved a beautiful woman, and no matter how many times she clearly approached you, your heart was as firm as iron and stone and you said that you would never marry a wife in this life.”

“She ran into the military camp without authorization, disrupting military discipline. That I didn’t punish her was already good.”

“Then Zhao-daren will obediently observe your military discipline?” Zuo Ran teased.

Yan Mingting glanced down at her and Zuo Ran stopped teasing him. After a while, she heard him sigh deeply: “If it’s just that he won’t write back, then that’s fine.”

“Why?” Zuo Ran wondered.

“He may……have left.”

“Where did he go?”

“I have no idea.” Yan Mingting said in a heavy voice: “He should have been planning it for a long time.”

Judging from Zhao Yelan’s abnormal behavior recently, while on the surface he seemed to agree to all of his requests meticulously and thoughtfully to celebrate his birthday, when he thought about it deeply, it seemed more like he was dealing with funeral arrangements. In particular, the identities of Gu Niaoniao and Kan Chuan had been exposed to him. If it wasn’t for a sudden incident, how could Zhao Yelan have revealed this to him so easily?

So the plan on that note probably referred to a plan to leave.

It was unknown how he would go about leaving, but with Zhao Yelan’s temperament, if he truly planned to disappear, he would certainly make arrangements.

He feared that after returning to Beijing this time, Zhao Yelan would no longer be in the General’s Mansion.

Zuo Ran was very surprised, but she didn’t quite understand what took place between these two people, so she just asked: “Since you guessed that he was leaving, why didn’t you stop him?”

Yan Mingting gave a wan smile: “He was an important minister above tens of thousands of people, he has endless money, and he has cultivated many powerful forces. It would not be difficult for him to return to a prominent status. That he would rather give up this kind of life only shows how much he wants to leave……there is nothing in Beijing for him to recall fondly.”

Including Yan Mingting.

He had tried to use his family property and birthday wishes to keep him, but if the other party was still indifferent, then what was the use of forcing him to stay?

Zuo Ran frowned, and when she looked at him again, she actually saw an unprecedented desolation on his face. She didn’t know how to comfort him, so she could only stay quietly at his side.

The night in the Jiangnan canal town was very lively, but it was a bit more gentle than the capital city. There were many talents and beautiful women boating down the middle of the water pathways.

One of the most beautifully painted boats was gliding slowly over the water with several beauties standing on the bow alongside a pavilion. The girls in rouge and powder raised their heads to look at Yan Mingting with unconcealed surprise. They looked at each other a few times, then got off the boat one by one, went to the pavilion, and saluted: “This gongzi, our master has prepared tea and snacks, and would like to invite you aboard for a talk.”

Yan Mingting smelled a flowery fragrance and then saw the bouquets of flowers on the ornately decorated boat. Guessing that these were boudoir girls, he thought that the folk customs in the south of the Yangtze River were really open.

“No need.” Yan Mingting bluntly refused.

Zuo Ran stepped forward and stopped in front of him, saying to the girls: “My family’s gongzi is already married, I hope that you can respect that.”

The group of girls glanced at each other with varied expressions and returned to the boat one after another, truthfully replying: “Master, that young gongzi already has a family and refuses to board the boat.”

“Since he already has a family, let’s not bother him.”

Yan Mingting had already turned around and was about to leave, but when he heard this faint voice with a hint of a smile in it, he turned his head in surprise and jumped onto the bow in the blink of an eye. The girls exclaimed one after another.

A row of beaded curtains faintly concealed the person inside. For a moment, Yan Mingting was afraid that he had misheard and that the master only had a similar voice. He hesitated and lowered his eyes, asking: “May I know who this lord is?”

“Gongzi will know at a glance.” A girl pushed him suddenly from behind. Caught off guard, he broke through the curtains.

There were laughing voices from behind and Zuo Ran’s worried cry: “Gongzi!”

“It’s fine, you go back first,” Yan Mingting ordered.

Zuo Ran was taken aback for a moment, and then was dragged away by those girls.

There were only two people left on the boat. Yan Mingting stared dumbfounded at the person sitting at the table. Dressed in blue and purple and wearing a jade hairpin, his fair face was like the reflection of the moon on the water, so handsome that it made people feel hazy and lightheaded, unreal, as if they were unable to tell whether it was an illusion or reality.

After a long while, Yan Mingting spoke with difficulty: “Why are you here?”

“Long time, no see.” Zhao Yelan smiled slightly, put one arm on the table to rest his chin in his hand, and watched him leisurely as he said, “You’ve gotten thinner.”

Yan Mingting walked up to him in a handful of steps and suddenly grabbed his face.

“ ? ”

“Are you itching for a beating?” Zhao Yelan glared at him irritably.

This expression was Zhao Yelan’s, no doubt. He wasn’t dreaming.

“Why are you here? Didn’t you plan to leave?” Yan Mingting blurted out.

Hearing this, Zhao Yelan stood up with a scoff, slowly grabbed his collar, and raised his head slightly, saying: “Yan Mingting, do you know who I am?”

Yan Mingting lowered his eyes to meet his gaze, staring at him intently.

Zhao Yelan said word by word: “The first time you and I met, I said to you, ‘General Yan is only fighting for the common people,’ but it was just a self-preservation scheme. If Zhao Xuan couldn’t convince your father to join him, then I would ask that none of your Yan family’s forces stand with any side. The doctor sent to the frontier to treat you was just to win you over.”

“What are you doing all of a sudden……Mengting?” Yan Mingting looked at the face that was so close to him, a little dazed. “If that’s what you wanted to say, I had already guessed……”

Zhao Yelan clenched his neckline tightly. His eyes were sharp: “I am selfish, mean, and ungrateful, greedy for money and power, and full of calculations. I have punished corrupt officials, and I have also persecuted good and loyal men. I will do whatever it takes to achieve my goals. People like me go to hell when they die. But there is a person who is blind and deliberately wants to provoke me. How can I let him alone enjoy glory, wealth, honor, and groups of wives and concubines? I want him to never leave me in life or in death.”

[1] To lure the tiger away from the mountain (调虎离山), is to lure the enemy away from one’s territory. ⮐

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