Chapter 56
Within Three Days
"Sang Mo."
"En!"
"Help me dispatch some people to send Wen Ling Shan home." Yun Qian Yu says as she looks at Wen Ling Shan.
"Alright!"
Gong Sang Mo picks his fingers and two people immediately enter the pavilion from outside.
"Send Miss Wen back to Wen manor. Tell Imperial Censor Wen that it is Princess Hu Guo who orders you two to send her back." It is alright to send her back, but he must make things clear from the start. What if other people misunderstand? The road of chasing his wife is already hard enough, he does not need any other trouble.
"Yes."
The two people turns to Wen Ling Shan, "Miss Wen, please."
Wen Ling Shan knows it is time for her to leave, after bidding the old w.a.n.gye farewell and giving Gong Sang Mo a curtsey, she turns to Yun Qian Yu. She is not willing to part from her. "Don"t forget! You said you will come to my house to freeload!"
Yun Qian Yu smiles, "I like my pastries sweet and crispy. As for dishes, I like the light ones. And I only like grapes for fruit."
Hearing that, Wen Ling Shan laughs, "I promise you will be satisfied with what I will prepare!" After saying that, she gets up and leaves with the two guards despite her wavy heart.
She and Yun Qian Yu are both 15 years old, just Wen Ling Shan"s birthday is in the twelfth month. Technically, she is not of age yet. Despite their same age, the difference between them is already so big. In the past, Wen Ling Shan only thinks of Shen Shao Kang. But today, she finally wakes up because of Yun Qian Yu. She promises herself she will study hard from now on.
Not long after Wen Ling Shan leaves, Yu Jian"s carriage arrives. Yun Qian Yu does not waste any time and immediately board his carriage. They both head towards the government"s posthouse.
As Gong Sang Mo watches the silhouette of the carriage leaving, he speaks to San Qiu, "Go and investigate where Long Xiang Luo is."
"Master, are you suspecting…." San Qiu looks at Gong Sang Mo.
"Go!" Gong Sang Mo ma.s.sages his temples.
After walking a few steps, San Qiu stops in his track, "Master, do we need to inform the princess?"
"No need. This matter will not hold her back. You just need to find the 7th w.a.n.gye and make sure he is not dead; the rest, let her handle herself. Yu Jian that little brat needs to gain some practical experience too. Otherwise, Qian Yu will have to take care of him until she is old."
San Qiu understands Gong Sang Mo"s meaning and immediately leaves, taking his people along with him.
Gong Sang Mo looks at the sky; noon has just pa.s.sed. Seems like returning to the palace at midnight today, will already be considered early for her. Winter will be here in less than a month, the weather will be really cold at night. Should he make an appearance and give her things like cloaks and what not? En, he needs to think this carefully.
In the carriage, Yun Qian Yu checks Yu Jian"s pulse. After knowing that he has recovered well, her heart becomes a lot more relaxed.
"Imperial sister, you don"t seem to be panicking." Seeing Yun Qian Yu not speaking, Yu Jian asks her that, anxiously.
"Will panicking gives me anything?"
Yu Jian shakes his head. Panicking is useless indeed, but that seem to be the only thing he is capable of doing. His sister on the other hand, is able to endure everything calmly.
"Imperial sister, do you think the 7th w.a.n.gye of Jiu Xiao Kingdom is still alive?" Yu Jian knows that the seriousness of this matter depends on how far the transgression will be.
Yun Qian Yu looks at the anxious Yu Jian, "The 7th w.a.n.gye is a little injured, at most. He is not dead."
"Why do you say so?" Yu Jian curiously asks.
"If it is an enemy that comes from our Nan Lou Kingdom, they will not kill the w.a.n.gye. Their target is us and the emperor"s seat. They will not want to make Jiu Xiao Kingdom their enemy and start a war with them. If the people who kidnaps him are from Jiu Xiao Kingdom itself, it is even more unlikely for him to get killed. Perhaps, he will not even suffer any injuries. Out of the three kingdoms, none of us has the ability to conquer the other two. If it is really them, their purpose should be only to humiliate us. If we fail to find him while they can, it will make them look good while making us look like fools. That will be a slap to our face."
Yu Jian finally realizes why his imperial sister is so calm.
"Yu Jian, it is important to be calm at all times. If you panic from the very beginning, you will lose. Only when you are calm can you make level-headed decision."
Yu Jian lowers his head in shame.
"There are a lot of things you must study, but the best way to gain experience is through practical experiences. You will never forget the things that you have personally experienced."
"I understand, imperial sister!"
"Yu Jian, even if you panic and has no clue how to go on, do not show that to your enemy. The calmer you are, the more restless your opponent will be. When a person is anxious, they will inevitably shows a lot of flaws. You must seize that chance to turn the situation around. As long as you do that much, the victory is already half-yours."
Yu Jian listens to her earnestly. He feels like following his imperial sister everyday will teach him a lot of new things.
As one of them speaks while the other listens, the two of them reaches the posthouse in which the envoys are living at, Si Fang Guan.
As they board down their carriage, they can see so many people going in and out of the posthouse. The physicians that the emperor has dispatched are already there.
Seeing Yun Qian Yu and Yu Jian, everyone immediately make way while bowing. "Greeting Your Highness the imperial grandson, Your Highness the princess."
"You may be at ease." Yu Jian is a fast learner; he looks like he has everything planned out. He enters the posthouse with a raised head and an upright posture.
Jiu Xiao Kingdom did not appoint any Crown Prince, so the one who got picked as one of the envoys this time is the emperor"s favorite son: the 7th w.a.n.gye, Bei Tang Ming. The 3rd w.a.n.gye, Bei Tang Yun is also dispatched as part of the envoys along with the Marquis of Ji, Ji Yun Zhou.
The 3rd and 7th w.a.n.gye comes here with troops that are ordered to escort them. The Marquis of Ji on the other hand, comes all by himself. That is why he is not amongst this group of people.
The 3rd w.a.n.gye, Bei Tang Yun is famous for being cowardly. He is not brave nor is he skilled in martial arts. He does not suffer from any injuries this time; just a little emotionally shaken. He looks a little sickly at the moment.
Amongst the 200 people who comes, less than twenty are heavily though not mortally injured. A couple of dozens more are lightly injured while the rest are not injured at all. All the physicians are divided into two groups; one batch begins dressing the light injuries while the other batch begins checking the heavily injured ones.
Yun Qian Yu and Yu Jian decide to check on the lightly injured ones first before going to the heavily injured ones. Jiu Xiao Kingdom"s 3rd w.a.n.gye is in the room for the heavily injured ones.
Yun Qian Yu greets the 3rd w.a.n.gye first before checking the injuries of the entourage. One of the injured ones has a deep wound.
"Yu Jian, do you know what kind of weapon caused this wound?"
"A sword!" Yu Jian is especially focusing on his sword-training, so he knows very well what kind of wound it inflicts.
"What kind of sword is it?"
Yu Jian studies the wound that is being treated by a physician. "It doesn"t seem to be the kind of sword we usually use. The wound is pretty wide."
"Correct. It is not the kind of sword we usually use. It is at least half a cun wider than our usual sword."
(TN: 1 cun = ~3cm.)
"Nan Lou Kingdom"s swords are mostly narrow, that means the people who kidnap the 7th w.a.n.gye are not from here!" Yu Jian excitedly says.
The 3rd w.a.n.gye harrumphs from where he stands.
Yun Qian Yu ignores him and simply says, "It is too early to come to a conclusion just based on these."
Yu Jian too, realizes that saying the kidnappers are not from Nan Lou Kingdom are too far-fetched, especially when based with such little evidence. The Jiu Xiao Kingdom will not be happy.
Yun Qian Yu turns to the 3rd w.a.n.gye, "I wonder if I can ask the 3rd w.a.n.gye this; how many people kidnapped the 7th w.a.n.gye at that time?"
Bei Tang Yun gives Yun Qian Yu a deep look, "5 people. But only one of them executes the kidnapping, the rest covers for him."
"Alright then," Yun Qian Yu says.
Bei Tang Yun looks at her in doubt, "What do you mean by "alright"? Is Nan Lou Kingdom trying to shirk off their responsibility?"
Yun Qian Yu glances at Bei Tang Yun; no matter how she looks at him, this Bei Tang Yun does not give her the impression of someone weak and cowardly. Seems like the imperial clan of the Jiu Xiao Kingdom is full of intrigue as well.
(TN: She literally uses 卧虎藏龙 (Wo Hu Cang Long) - Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. It means talented people that are hiding their capabilities.)
Bei Tang Yun"s heart trembles a little from the way Yun Qian Yu looks at him. He immediately lowers his eyes and aggravates the sickly look on his face.
"Nan Lou Kingdom will never shirk off any responsibility. After all, the envoys are here to celebrate our emperor"s birthday. But it is too early for the 3rd w.a.n.gye to claim Nan Lou Kingdom responsible for this."
"He is kidnapped right outside your capital. Don"t tell us your Nan Lou Kingdom"s defense is that weak." The 3rd w.a.n.gye counters her.
"Calm down. Everyone can be negligent at times. The truth will come to light soon, by then, the 3rd w.a.n.gye can direct your anger to the person responsible." Yun Qian Yu does not appear upset at Bei Tang Yun"s words at all. Even Yu Jian appears calm. Bei Tang Yun suddenly feels like he is inferior to these two kids.
At that very moment, a red-robed Hua Man Xi bustlingly enters the place.
"How?" Yun Qian Yu"s word is as straight to the point as ever.
"Troops from Hu Wei Camp has been searching everywhere within 100 li radius from the capital. We cannot find anything."
"Search again. Extend the scope to 200 li," Yun Qian Yu says after thinking for a while.
Hua Man Xi nods before instructing the guard next to him.
"Have you searched inside the capital?"
Hua Man Xi replies her, "The search for inside the capital is under Shen Qiu Ming as well as the troops that are in charge of guarding the imperial city. They cannot find anyone; there is not even a single trace left."
"Spread the imperial grandson"s order: Search from house to house. Not a single place is to be skipped." Yun Qian Yu gives that instruction to the guards outside who are in charge of protecting Yu Jian.
"Yes." That guards then leaves to execute the order.
"Hmph, with the direction you people are heading, I"m afraid we will only find the corpse." Bei Tang Yun scoffs.
Yun Qian Yu"s eyes immediately turn icy, "I"m afraid I will have to disappoint you. The 7th w.a.n.gye will not only be alive, he will be alive and well."
"What do you mean by this, princess? You make it sound like this prince is waiting for my 7th brother to die."
"I am sure the 3rd w.a.n.gye knows what I mean." Yun Qian Yu coldly replies him.
"You……."
Whatever Bei Tang Yun intends to say is stopped by Yun Qian Yu. "Didn"t you suffer from shock, 3rd w.a.n.gye? You better recuperate. Bengong promise you, bengong will make sure the 7th w.a.n.gye returns safe and sound within three days."
"What use does your promise have?" Bei Tang Yun does not believe her.
"This is the first time someone ever doubts my words!" Yun Qian Yu says as she walks outside. Yu Jian follows her.
"Just wait for our good news, 3rd w.a.n.gye," with that parting word, Hua Man Xi fling his sleeves before walking away.
Bei Tang Yun"s eyes darken as he looks at the door; they all look so young yet they are already talented. He turns around and looks at all the injured party in the place. The physicians have treated them and no one is in grave danger. He turns around and heads to his own room.
After Yun Qian Yu, Yu Jian and Hua Man Xi walks out, Hua Man Xi asks her, "Did you discover anything, Your Highness?"
"Take me to the area where the incident happened, first." Yun Qian Yu does not directly answer Hua Man Xi"s question.
"Alright." Hua Man Xi waves his hand to someone from Hu Wei Camp and one of them immediately brings them three horses.
Yun Qian Yu jumps lightly and rides the horse. Hua Man Xi and Yu Jian does the same.
The three horses are side by side while Yu Jian"s bodyguards and Hu Wei Camp"s soldiers follows them from behind. They continue riding, heading for the kidnapping site.
Yun Qian Yu"s skirt flutters as her hair flies; she looks so free and unrestrained while riding the horse. Hua Man Xi"s eyes are trained tensely on her silhouette. His usually unruly face is so gentle at the moment.
As for Yu Jian, this is the first time he is experiencing such a thing. He is really excited.
After around an hour, they reaches the site where the attack happens. This road is a must if one is heading for the capital and it is flanked with dense forests on both sides. It is a perfect place to lay ambush.
Yun Qian Yu jumps down from the horse and carefully eyes the traces of the fight. There are traces of blood on the road. She earnestly studies the surrounding, not overlooking even a single stalk of gra.s.s.
Hua Man Xi has investigated this place thoroughly prior to this; so now, he is simply watching Yun Qian Yu"s movements.
Yu Jian is also studying Yun Qian Yu; he will look at the direction she is looking at. Even though he has things he does not understand, he does not ask anything to avoid disturbing her.
An incense stick time later, Yun Qian Yu finally finishes her investigation.
Hua Man Xi asks her, "What do you think?"
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