Chapter 610: As Long as One Person Believes Me
Chapter 610: Chapter 610: As Long as One Person Believes Me
"A backup plan?" Princess Qingyang asked, confused. "How would we do that?"
Ye Chutang replied thoughtfully, "If a conflict really breaks out, mobilizing soldiers to fight them isn’t necessarily impossible."
Princess Qingyang almost thought she had misheard. "What!?"
’Mobilize troops?’
’How is that possible!’
"But all of Long City has already fallen! Long City is just a small border town. It has a garrison, but not many soldiers. How can they possibly contend with the five thousand Southern Hu Soldiers lying in ambush? They even took out my father’s personal guards—they must be an elite force!"
"Five hundred against five thousand is already a huge disparity. Furthermore, King Yan Nan was tricked and suffered a major setback, which is how he ended up in this predicament." Ye Chutang didn’t find the five thousand enemy soldiers particularly terrifying. "I doubt the two sides ever even clashed directly. Otherwise, the people of the city couldn’t have been so easily deceived."
Princess Qingyang froze, then suddenly clapped her hands together. "That’s right! Why didn’t I think of that!? A battle involving so many people would create a huge commotion. Covering it up would be next to impossible! The most likely scenario is... my father was tricked the moment he arrived with his troops!"
Suddenly, a thought occurred to Princess Qingyang, and she slumped back into her seat.
"But even if we know this, what’s the use? Even if their five thousand soldiers are all useless, getting rid of them would be no easy task!"
The more she thought about it, the more her head ached. She felt this was already an unsolvable deadlock.
"His Majesty doesn’t know anything has happened over there, so he definitely won’t dispatch troops. And where could we possibly conjure an army out of thin air?"
’Shen Yanchuan has the authority, but he commands the troops on the Northern Border. They’d never make it in time.’
But Ye Chutang said, "Not necessarily."
Princess Qingyang was completely stunned.
’Not necessarily?’
’Could it be? Is Ye Chutang really some kind of goddess who can conjure a troop of battle-hardened soldiers?’
"If we can transfer troops from elsewhere and move in secret, we might just be able to catch them off guard."
Princess Qingyang felt that what Ye Chutang was saying was getting more and more absurd.
"Transfer troops? Neither you nor I have military authority. Who would listen to us?"
"No one would listen to our orders, of course. But what if... Long City requested reinforcements to help resist foreign invaders?"
"Reinforcements?" Princess Qingyang frowned. "That could indeed work, but Long City is already controlled by those people. Even if we sent a request for aid on their behalf, without the Tiger Talisman and the official seal, no one would believe it."
A peculiar smile suddenly appeared on Ye Chutang’s face.
"I never planned on convincing that many people. As long as one person believes me, it will be enough."
Princess Qingyang could hardly believe it. "One person? Who could be that powerful?"
A slight smile touched Ye Chutang’s lips.
"Someone... who trusts me completely."
"It just depends on... whether he can make it in time..."
...
An incense stick’s time later, Princess Qingyang left the Ye Mansion carrying two jugs of wine and reeking of alcohol.
At dusk, a black hawk quietly took to the sky, flying into the distance and gradually disappearing into the afterglow of the sunset.
The Capital City was still bustling, and this small ripple failed to attract anyone’s attention.
「A few days later.」
Under a similar sky filled with the sunset’s afterglow, a carriage slowly rolled into the Capital City.
The carriage looked very ordinary and plain, completely unremarkable.
The driver was quite tall and simply dressed. He didn’t look like a newcomer to the Capital City; he navigated the winding streets with an air of familiarity.
As night fell, the carriage finally came to a slow stop before a mansion’s gate.
"Master, we’ve arrived."
The driver hopped off the carriage and said in a low voice.
Then, a portly middle-aged man stepped down from the carriage.
Once on his feet, he straightened his clothes and looked up at the plaque above the entrance.
—Jiang Mansion.
This was the residence of the former Grand Secretary, Jiang Zhao Yuan.
Unlike the bustling scene he remembered, the Jiang Mansion’s gates were tightly shut and the entrance was deserted. The whole place looked cold and dilapidated.
Zuo Ci stared for a long moment. Although he had already heard some rumors, seeing this sight with his own eyes filled him with complicated emotions.
’He hadn’t actually planned to come. The Jiang family had hardly supported him back in the day, so why would he bother now that they had fallen from grace?’
’But Jiang Zhao Yuan’s letter had been so sincere. More importantly, he’d promised that once the family made a comeback, he would help get him transferred back to the Capital City.’
’Zuo Ci was thoroughly sick of his current post. Although he had extorted a considerable fortune from the populace, Qingzhou was a backwater province. How could it possibly compare to the Capital City?’
’Being a Beijing Official—that was where the truly limitless prospects were!’
"Go knock on the door," Zuo Ci said, lifting his chin.
"Yes."
Gao Yi acknowledged the order and immediately went forward to knock.
The sound of the door knocker echoed in the silent alley.
A moment later, the tightly shut door was opened a crack from the inside, and a servant nervously poked his head out. "Who is it?"
Gao Yi clasped his fist. "Please pass on a message. Say that Mr. Jiang’s protégé, Zuo Ci, has come to pay a visit."
The servant sized him up, his wary expression relaxing slightly. He then looked toward Zuo Ci behind him.
"This must be... Lord Zuo Ci from Qingzhou?"
Zuo Ci took a step forward, putting on a smile. "That’s right."
’The Jiang family really has seen better days,’ he thought. ’Even a servant opening the door for a guest is this nervous and timid.’
’This couldn’t help but plant a seed of doubt in his mind: Could the Jiang family, having fallen so far, really stage a comeback?’
But the thought merely flashed through his mind.
Hearing the reply, the servant’s wary face immediately broke into a smile. While opening the door wider, he said, "Wonderful! Lord Zuo Ci, you’ve finally arrived! Please, come in! My master has been waiting for you for a long time!"
Hearing this, Zuo Ci felt that something was off, but he didn’t dwell on it. He straightened his collar and stepped inside.
"Speaking of which, it has been a long time since I last came to visit my mentor. I really am..."
Just as he stepped over the threshold, Zuo Ci realized something was wrong.
The mansion was unusually dark, as if very few lanterns were lit. Peering inside, he saw only gloom and shadow, which gave off a faintly sinister air.
Zuo Ci paused. "This..."
’Even if the Jiang family has fallen on hard times, surely they haven’t sunk so low they can’t even afford to light a few lamps?’
Gao Yi, who was following behind him, also frowned. From the corner of his eye, he saw the servant who had opened the door hurrying inside with his head down, his rushed footsteps making it seem as if he were trying to escape.
A wave of unease suddenly washed over Gao Yi.
"Sir, this—"
Before the words were out, a sudden, cold gust of wind struck from behind!
Gao Yi’s expression changed. "This is bad!"
He immediately drew his sword to counterattack!
But his opponent was faster. Their weapons clashed in the darkness, and Gao Yi felt an immense force before the sword was sent flying from his hand!
CLANG—!