Yan Xiaohan smiled softly: “We’re about to get married, consider it early practice.”
Fu Shen was so disgusted he lost his appetite, casually putting the porridge bowl aside, sighing: “Orphaned child, it’s a long story.”
Yan Xiaohan’s pupils slightly contracted: “Just born. Why?”
“The origin of this goes back even further,” Fu Shen said, “The previous Emperor had nine sons.”
The one most loved by the previous Emperor and most likely to ascend to the throne was the Fifth Prince, the King of Ying. The King of Ying and the Third Prince, now the King of Su, were brothers from the same mother.
Fu Shen said: “The English King’s name is ‘Hun’, and ‘Hashi’ means ‘jade’ in the Eastern Tatar language.”
Fu Shen: “In the Battle of Western Autumn Pass, I originally did not want to intervene. It was Hashiqudun who first sent a confidant to find me in North Yan, requesting me to bring the English King’s bloodline back to the Great Zhou. I will send a message to the Duke of Su, and in May he will personally come to North Yan, meet with the messenger, and confirm that Hashiqudun indeed originated from the English King’s household.”
Yan Xiaohan: “So you agreed?”
“You agreed to the Qudun, and her payment to you was… the Wuzhu tribe’s surrender. To legitimately remain in the Great Zhou, she secretly placed the English King’s descendants into the Eastern Tatar delegation accompanying the young prince to the capital, isn’t that right?”
Yan Xiaohan stared at Fu Shen’s legs, “But the Eastern Tatar delegation was ambushed at Blue Sand Pass, with no survivors…”
Fu Shen softly said: “Do you think the Emperor knows about this?”
The Flying Dragon Guard was the Emperor’s ears and eyes. If Yan Xiaohan didn’t know, how could the Emperor possibly know?
But if the Emperor didn’t know, why would he be so eager to eliminate Fu Shen?
“The Emperor might trust you,” Fu Shen’s eyes flashed with a hint of mockery, “but perhaps not entirely, Lord Yan.”
This was his true purpose for telling the story tonight.
Yan Xiaohan had originally intended to probe Fu Shen’s bottom line, but unexpectedly, Fu Shen had countered with a provocation.
Neither of them knew the other’s true intentions. Yan Xiaohan suspected Fu Shen had another plan, and Fu Shen was wary of Yan Xiaohan standing with the Emperor. They spoke of frankness, but underneath, they continued layer upon layer of mutual probing. Neither dared to fully entrust their trust, even though they stood on the same precarious, sinking boat.
Yan Xiaohan offered an insincere compliment: “My lord’s strategies are impressive.”
“Not as thorough as Lord Yan’s considerations,” Fu Shen reciprocated. He added casually, “I can tell you one more thing.”
Two routes are the first layer of deception, the Han envoys of the Eastern Tartar mission are the second layer of deception… In fact, you and the Duke of Su have already sent away the true heir of the English Queen, right?
“Hmm,” Fu Shen nodded seriously, “If things really went to waste as you said, I would have hanged myself long ago – I’d have no face to live in this world.”
He suppressed his laughter and looked up at Yan Xiaohan: “Master Yan, please stop looking so grim. I didn’t even know you could be so sympathetic to me, how embarrassing.”
Yan Xiaohan had no idea which eye of his saw “sympathy” on his face, but knew he was teasing him, so he said coolly: “You’re welcome. It’s only right, after all, we’ll be family from now on.”
Fu Shen: “…”
“You really are… bringing up what shouldn’t be mentioned,” he said, laughing and crying, “Hurting the enemy by a thousand, losing eight hundred to yourself. Are you really so eager to become a family with me, huh?!”
“My lord, you must think carefully,” Yan Xiaohan said patiently: “You are first-rank, I am third-rank. If we truly become a family, I actually don’t lose, but gain instead.”
Fu Shen was speechless.
Seeing he was about to breathe fire, Yan Xiaohan tactfully retreated: “Alright, if we keep talking, dawn will break soon. Let’s sleep.”
Fu Shen’s ruffled feathers immediately smoothed down. He knew Yan Xiaohan was coaxing him, but couldn’t help being lulled by his gentle tone.
A person who could say “there are things to do and things not to do” while in the midst of wind blades and frost swords had far greater endurance than these people who went with the flow.
In this world, hot blood would cool, ambitions would fade, heroes and villains would ultimately return to dust. Forcing things was meaningless, so he only hoped that this person’s sincerity and backbone could wear away more slowly.
“Is there any movement in the palace today?” Fu Shen casually tidied the papers and brush on the table. Yan Xiaohan replied, “The news has spread, but everyone is waiting and watching. I heard the Imperial Censorate is going to submit a memorial about you, after all, you knelt in front of the palace gates for quite a while yesterday. How is your leg injury? Does it still hurt?”
“A bit, but nothing serious. Shen Xiansheng came to check this afternoon,” Fu Shen said. “The imperial betrothal is a private matter, and if we don’t speak, others won’t dare to say anything. What do you think?”
Yan Xiaohan: “I’ve already promised the Emperor. I can’t go back on my word.”
Fu Shen pondered for a moment, not elaborating, simply saying, “Alright, I understand.”
Yan Xiaohan caught a glimpse of the messy papers on the table, covered in Fu Shen’s strange scribbles. Curious, he picked up a sheet and asked, “Can I look?”
Fu Shen was indifferent: “Go ahead.”
Those scribbles were variant characters, somewhat like a signature. Fu Shen saw him looking intently and casually asked, “Recognize them?”
Yan Xiaohan pointed to one: “This ‘military’ character is the seal of the Military Equipment Bureau. All weapons made by the bureau have this mark. The small hooks at the end of your brush strokes resemble arrows, likely from the Crossbow Workshop of the Military Equipment Bureau.”
Fu Shen was casual, but when he heard “Military Equipment Bureau,” his pupils contracted: “The arrows used in the Northern Yan army are unmarked; I’ve never seen such a seal.”
Yan Xiaohan explained: “Generally, large quantities of military arrows are made by local manufacturing bureaus, some with markings, some without. The Military Equipment Bureau mainly focuses on developing new weapons and manufacturing for the capital’s garrison. Therefore, only arrows used by capital troops would have the Military Equipment Bureau’s Crossbow Workshop mark.”
Fu Shen pulled out another paper with a symbol resembling a running beast: “What about this? Do you recognize it?”
Yan Xiaohan smiled, leaned down to pick up the brush, indicating for Fu Shen to hold the paper, and wrote a more rounded and similar symbol.
“This is a ‘leopard’ character written in one continuous stroke.”
“Before the previous dynasty split the imperial guards, there were only ten guards in the imperial city: Left and Right Golden Insignia, Leopard Strategy, Luan Ceremony, Eagle Soaring, and Feather Forest. At the time, each guard was represented by an animal, with the character slightly modified to become a special mark.” He spoke while writing on the paper: “Like Golden Insignia was a three-legged crow ‘gold’ character, Leopard Strategy is the one I just wrote, Luan Ceremony was a phoenix-shaped ‘luan’ character, Eagle Soaring was an ‘eagle’ character, and Feather Forest was a crane-shaped ‘feather’ character.”
“However, after the imperial guards split and expanded to the Southern Garrison’s Ten Guards and Northern Garrison’s Six Armies, this set of characters fell out of use. Why did you suddenly ask about this?”
Fu Shen slightly nodded, composed and steady, appearing unperturbed, as if the arranged marriage had no impact on him.
