Although Wu Geqi hadn’t actually drunk much, he put on the appearance of being drunk, pretending his footing was unsteady and deliberately bumping into an inner attendant he had already set his sights on. The man had no choice but to support this envoy from the borderlands and help him out of the palace.
After leaving, Wu Geqi then took the chance while drinking some water to deliberately soil the attendant’s robe. Using an apology as an excuse, he very attentively pulled the man into his own carriage.
The moment the carriage door closed, Wu Geqi dropped his drunken act entirely. He knelt upright on the cushion and gave the inner attendant before him a deep, proper bow, then asked with humble deference, “May I know how to address you?”
The inner attendant smiled and said, “I am Gao Ling, currently serving under Right Vice Commissioner Zhang.” He added, “You called me over – what instructions do you have for me?”
Wu Geqi had made special inquiries about the situation inside the imperial palace and learned that the State Preceptor, Wen Jingmei, was able to keep the young emperor under control partly thanks to two inner attendants named Chi Yi and Zhang Luo. Feeling slightly relieved, he slipped a piece of gold to the man and whispered, “If you are not in too much of a hurry, might we return to Gaosteet to discuss matters in detail?”
The inner attendant accepted the gold but politely declined the invitation. “I still have duties to attend to. Is your matter extremely urgent?”
Wu Geqi pressed him a few more times, but the attendant did not agree – though his attitude had softened a great deal. Wu Geqi hadn’t expected to achieve his goal immediately; once he learned how to get in touch with the man, he took his leave.
Before Wu Geqi arrived, the chief envoy of the Wuliu Tribe had already returned to Gaosteet ahead of him. When he saw Wu Geqi enter, he stopped him and said with a cold laugh, “I have never dared to ask too much about the prince’s affairs. I only hope you will not fail the Great King’s charge.”
Although the leader of the Wuliu Tribe had not been formally granted the title of king by the Great Zhou, the people of the tribe had long since begun calling him that in private.
Wu Geqi nodded slowly, his eyes turning cold and sharp. “What Brother entrusted to me concerns the great affairs of our tribe. Of course I will not delay.”
Their stated reason for coming here was to trade slaves, but in truth they were acting on the instructions of Marquis of Quanling, Wen Jinming, to find an opportunity to free Xiao Xichi and the others from Jianping.
Xiao Xichi was the current leader of the Qingyi Tribe’s generation – brilliant and precocious. By the time she was sent to Jianping, she had already begun handling tribal affairs. Because she was gentle and benevolent in nature, she had been deeply beloved by her people. Even after being trapped in Zhou territory for many years, the Qingyi Tribe’s longing for her had never diminished.
With her martial ability, if she truly wished to escape, she could have ridden alone for a thousand miles. But when she entered the capital as a hostage, she was accompanied by the children of various important families within the Qingyi Tribe. Both emotionally and morally, Xiao Xichi could not abandon them.
What made the Marquis of Quanling’s offer so enticing was that she promised to free not only Xiao Xichi, but the entire group. Of course, in exchange, once they returned home, they would need to send troops to disrupt the lands around the Qingyi Tribe, tying down the border camps and thereby aiding the Cui clan and others in their plans for Jianping.
Wen Jinming was not afraid that Xiao Xichi would break her promise. In recent years, the harvests everywhere had been poor; even the people of the Central Plains were struggling to survive – let alone the border folk living in harsh, barren lands. The Qingyi Tribe was already suffering from a critical shortage of clothing and food, which was also why Xiao Xichi was so desperate to return home. And as for the Cui clan, a powerful aristocratic family with great wealth, its clan head readily agreed: as long as they were willing to send troops, he would present a shipment of grain and provisions to the Qingyi Tribe.
This time, Wu Geqi and the others entered the capital under the pretext of paying respects to the Sovereign, bringing many slaves with them, intending to use this opportunity to carry out a “cicada-shedding-its-shell” escape strategy.
Those slaves were brought as samples for future trade, and afterward they would be presented as tribute to the nobles in Jianping. However, the size of the envoy delegation was fixed, and since Jianping was the very heart of Great Zhou, all who entered or exited had to undergo inspection. To ensure that their numbers remained normal upon departure, Wu Geqi and the others would inform the local nobles that after selling the slaves, they would temporarily hire some local people to fill out their ranks.
Xiao Xichi and her group would then mix in under the identities of those “hired locals.”
To most people, the group departing would simply be seen as the Wuliu Tribe’s envoy. To those who understood the situation, it would be a small number of actual Wuliu envoys plus a large number of hired locals. And even if someone were to notice something amiss, as long as the Wuliu Tribe and the nobles of Jianping shared mutual interests, others would help cover things up.
At the same time, in Xiao Xichi’s residence:
She stood in the study with her hands clasped behind her back. The candlelight fell across her profile, softening the usually sharp and striking lines of her face.
A member of the Qingyi Tribe who had come to Jianping together with Xiao Xichi was speaking gently and at length, “…Since the Marquis of Quanling wishes to assist, why not give it a try?”
Xiao Xichi let out a small laugh. “We’ve been in Jianzhou for so many years – do we still not know what sort of person the Marquis of Quanling is? She will never truly help me.”
The Qingyi tribesman was puzzled. “Given the Marquis’s current circumstances, if she wants to gain control of Jianzhou, doesn’t she need someone to tie down the local troops?”
None of them put much faith in the virtue of Great Zhou’s people, but they did believe that driven by their own interests, those people could certainly be induced to take actions that happened to align with both sides’ goals.
Xiao Xichi said calmly, “Even if they want the Qingyi Tribe to tie down the local troops, why would they truly need to let us go?” She continued, “So long as we are killed by the young emperor, the Qingyi Tribe will naturally fall into turmoil. Then the Marquis of Quanling would neither need to deliver the promised grain, nor would she fail to justify herself – she could simply claim that the Sovereign was unjust and the Qingyi Tribe disloyal.”
The Qingyi clansmen in the room thought carefully on her words, and expressions of shock appeared on their faces.
“In that case… what should we do?”
Several of them dropped directly to their knees, pleading, “The fate of the entire tribe rests on you alone. We know you cannot bear to abandon us, but if you do not abandon us now, it will be the tens of thousands of tribespeople at home whom you abandon.”
Xiao Xichi helped them up with both hands, her tone firm. “We came together back then, so of course we should leave together.” Before the others could object, she added, “Besides, if I were to return alone, who in the tribe would still acknowledge me?”
Seeing her close followers fall silent, Xiao Xichi smiled again. “In truth, this matter is not entirely unworkable.”
The Qingyi clansmen said, “We ask you to speak plainly.”
Xiao Xichi said, “If this plan is to fail, the Marquis of Quanling must arrange for someone to expose our movements as we leave the city. Only then would there be an excuse to slaughter everyone from the Qingyi Tribe.”
The Qingyi clansmen roughly understood – there were two key points to carrying out this plan: one was who would reveal their identities, and the other was who would carry out the attack.
If no one exposed them, Xiao Xichi and her group could leave the city calmly; and if no one launched an attack, then the worst outcome would simply be being confined back to their residence.
Xiao Xichi said, “The defense of Jianping has always been under the direct charge of the Imperial Guards’ Outer Guards – specifically General Yan. Given his loyalty to the Sovereign, he certainly will not neglect his military duties. Therefore, the troops the Marquis of Quanling can mobilize will not be many. And if the first strike fails, they will inevitably retreat for a time. So as long as we depart one or two days earlier than the agreed-upon date, we can be temporarily safe.”
A clansman of the Qingyi Tribe thought aloud. “In that case… we wouldn’t actually be breaking with her completely…”
It was not that they feared the Marquis of Quanling, but given their tribe’s current circumstances, it was best not to create another enemy.
Xiao Xichi said, “If we truly manage to escape Jianping, the Marquis of Quanling will certainly pretend nothing happened and then demand that we fulfill the earlier agreement.”
The Qingyi clansmen trusted their lady’s judgment – and inwardly cursed the cunning of the Central Plains people.
Xiao Xichi said, “We absolutely must not agree.”
The Qingyi clansmen fell silent.
Their wise leader could not possibly be wrong – and if she ever was wrong, then it could only be because she had been influenced by the people of the Central Plains.
One tribesman spoke anxiously, “After we return to the tribe, if the young emperor gains the upper hand, she can use our escape as a pretext to blame the Qingyi Tribe. And if the Marquis of Quanling gains the upper hand, she will certainly punish us for not sending troops.”
Xiao Xichi said slowly, “When two tigers fight, both are bound to be wounded. Given their current circumstances, neither of them will have the spare attention to concern themselves with the Qingyi Tribe for a while.” She added, “I dislike warfare, and with the state our tribe is in now, how could we possibly withstand another round of turmoil?”
When the others heard their leader say this, they knew the matter could not be overturned, so they all agreed. Only one person raised a concern, “But in that case, where are we to obtain grain and provisions?”
Xiao Xichi replied, “From the young emperor.” Before they could ask further, she explained her plan. “While I am absent, Great Zhou entrusts the governance of Qingyi to the Commandery Administrator of Yonggu Commandery. That Commandery Administrator is indeed exceedingly foolish, but from what I have seen, that young emperor is a rare sort – clear-minded. So long as she learns what the Marquis of Quanling intends to do, she will choose to pacify the Qingyi Tribe for the time being.”
Although pacifying the border regions would cost money, the loss would still be far smaller than waging a war.
The Qingyi tribesman asked, “Won’t that enrage the Sovereign then?”
Xiao Xichi sighed. “There’s no other way. After leaving Jianping, I’ll make a trip to Gaoyi. The Song family’s Cavalry Commandant was entrusted with such an important task, so he must be trusted by the young emperor and have a channel for communicating with Jianping. I’ll write a letter and ask him to pass it on to the young emperor.”
“Can that man be trusted?”
Xiao Xichi said decisively, “He may not be trustworthy, but I’ll leave as soon as I hand him the letter. I doubt he can stop me.”
While Wu Geqi and Xiao Xichi were each preoccupied with their own affairs, Wen Yanran had already fallen peacefully asleep, roused by the call of her biological clock.
As soon as she opened her eyes, Chi Yi came in to attend to her. Wen Yanran knew that the other must have worked late into the night, yet she appeared just as energetic and spirited today.
Wen Yanran, who would wilt with insufficient rest, thought to herself: “…”
Indeed, there was a reason why others could become influential officials in charge of state affairs.
After helping the Emperor into her outer robe, Chi Yi softly reported, “Everything is as Your Majesty anticipated.”
Wen Yanran looked at herself in the mirror and gave a slight nod.
Still young and with many of her close relatives having been executed by the previous emperor, she had relatively few social engagements to manage. As for official matters like evaluating officials, it was likely that the Ministry of Revenue would submit memorials only after the holiday break. Thus, she finally enjoyed a few comparatively relaxed days.
During that period, an official from the Inner Court specially came to inquire, “Your Majesty, would you like to visit Yao Palace during January?”
Finding her daily life truly too dull, Wen Yanran summoned the official before her, showed a smile, and, in a sincere and gentle tone, earnestly asked, “I wonder what pleasures there are to enjoy at Yao Palace?”
Upon hearing this, the official could not help but shudder on the spot, his face turning deathly pale. He immediately knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, “Your Majesty is wise and discerning… I know my offense.”
Wen Yanran: “???”
She suspected that her decisive action earlier in executing Tian Dongyang had left a profound psychological shadow on the close attendants in the palace.
