The commandery princess clearly had something she wanted to say to Cheng Danruo, but the palace maid beside her quickly stopped her.
“Your Highness, the female official bears an imperial command and likely has no time to chat and laugh with you,” the palace maid said with a smile, her hand tightly gripping the girl’s arm.
“Insolent.” Cheng Danruo immediately assumed a stern expression, looked at the frozen palace maid, and rebuked her. “When Her Highness asks a question, how dare you overstep your role and answer on her behalf?”
The palace maid was quick to react as well, immediately saying, “I deserve death. The Princess Dowager instructed this servant to look after the commandery princess, and I was momentarily anxious and spoke wrongly.”
Cheng Danruo frowned heavily, but did not pay her any further attention. She lowered her head and said, “Your Highness, I have been ordered by the Princess Dowager to assist in managing the affairs of the princely estate, and dares not be negligent. If you wish to know about the sights of the capital, you may speak to the Princess Dowager. Once the Princess Dowager gives her consent, I will certainly tell everything I know and say everything I can.”
The commandery princess, however, showed a trace of panic and even fear, and said with difficulty, “I did not know you were busy, so let it be.”
The palace maid breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly said, “We still need to pay our respects to the Princess Dowager.”
“Farewell, Your Highness,” Cheng Danruo bowed slightly.
The commandery princess, surrounded by attendants, was led away with no ability to resist.
Cheng Danruo watched her leave, her expression somewhat grave. Even though she was not truly a young lady from an official family, having been immersed in the palace atmosphere, she still knew what real imperial relatives and nobles looked like.
This commandery princess clearly had not been a commandery princess for long.
Of course, this did not mean there was any problem with her identity, that she was an impostor. Her skin was very delicate, her complexion rosy, her teeth neat and white, and her hair black. An ordinary family could not have raised someone in such a nourished condition.
The Princess Dowager would also absolutely not be foolish enough to confuse royal bloodlines, especially for just a commandery princess. She must be Prince Lu’s biological daughter. It was just that, before this, she had probably merely been an unnoticed, unfavored transparent figure in Prince Lu’s estate.
What was it she wanted to say to her?
Cheng Danruo thought it over, and the next day she invited Matron Zhang, who served at the Princess Dowager’s side.
“By rights, this is not something I should speak too much about,” Cheng Danruo said, delivering the remarks she had prepared the night before, speaking earnestly. “But the Princess Dowager has shown me favor several times, and I am truly overwhelmed by the honor.”
A faint smile appeared at the corners of Matron Zhang’s mouth.
They had already assessed Cheng Danruo: yesterday, when she admonished the palace maid for speaking disrespectfully, it was clear her temperament was upright; when she taught the commandery princess how one should conduct oneself, one could glimpse her good character. Since she was a female official of proper conduct and virtue, then after receiving lavish hospitality from Prince Lu’s estate, wanting to repay it somewhat was only natural.
Therefore, she was not surprised. Instead, she sighed and said, “The commandery princess has been lax in discipline, and has let the female official see something laughable.”
“Not at all. The Princess Dowager is advanced in years, and it is not good for those below her to keep disturbing her with matters concerning the younger generation,” Cheng Danruo considerately found an excuse for them, then shifted the subject. “However, the commandery princess is not young anymore, and what should be learned still needs to be learned.”
Matron Zhang said, “We will teach her slowly.”
Cheng Danruo pondered for a moment, then said in an ordinary tone, “If the Princess Dowager does not disdain it, I could keep the commandery princess company and talk with her.”
“You are an honored guest from the capital. How could we trouble you?” Matron Zhang also gave the excuse she had prepared, declining, “The Princess Dowager has already ordered me to go serve at the commandery princess’s side.”
That meant they did not want her to have contact with the princess.
Cheng Danruo felt as if a weight had been lifted, and said with a smile, “The Princess Dowager thinks things through thoroughly. I was presumptuous.”
She looked as though she also did not want to take on any trouble.
Matron Zhang was also reassured, and offered a string of kind words. “You meant well, and we cannot thank you enough.”
The two exchanged some more idle talk, and only then did Matron Zhang take her leave, both parties feeling quite satisfied with each other.
Two days later, Cheng Danruo went to the study again to return books, and under the pretext of asking them to buy ejiao, she met with them privately and asked them to help investigate a few matters.
The guards left behind were bored stiff, especially since they thought of those at the front who could earn military merit while they could only clock in at the princely estate every day. They wished for something to do, and readily agreed.
A few days later.
Cheng Danruo obtained relatively definite information.
There was indeed no problem with the commandery princess’s identity. She was Prince Lu’s youngest daughter, but her biological mother was of very low status – a Daoist nun whom Prince Lu had obtained from who knew where, who had returned to secular life and become a concubine.
But because her status was too low, she had never been given a formal title, and had no choice but to serve in the East Garden year-round. Perhaps because she had borne children, Prince Lu spared her life and did not kill her, though her days were hardly easy.
“The old night watchman said that on the night of the eighteenth, he heard commotion near the princely estate, and at dawn several corpses were carried out,” the guard said in detail. “Young women often die violent deaths at the princely estate, and poor families like to arrange ghost marriages, so that night several bold ruffians from the underworld went to dig up the corpses, but unexpectedly they were all adult men.”
Cheng Danruo asked, “And then?”
“This is also a strange matter, and not hard to find out. The next night, the princely estate caught fire, the red glow lighting up half the sky. The next day people were called in to carry out the corpses, men and women alike, at least a hundred bodies – it must have worn the matchmakers out.”
Cheng Danruo asked, “Matchmakers? Specializing in ghost marriages?”
“Indeed. This city is also strange – business is done right on the princely estate’s doorstep,” the guard sneered.
Cheng Danruo immediately said, “Find a way to determine whether she has seen those dead female corpses, and how they all died.”
I’m afraid the people of Prince Lu’s estate will never know that such a business was being conducted below their noses. If they believed that once the corpses were thrown into the mass grave, they would be torn apart by wild dogs and all traces erased, then perhaps very important clues have been left behind.
“Handle it carefully, and absolutely do not let anyone discover that we are investigating,” she instructed.
The dozen or so guards Xie Xuanying had left her were all subordinates of his trusted retainers, not only loyal but also capable. Before parting, they had been repeatedly instructed that they must do their utmost to handle matters for Official Cheng, and therefore did not dare be negligent. They said repeatedly, “I will certainly handle it properly.”
They did not disappoint Cheng Danruo.
Under coercion and inducement, the matchmaker quickly told the truth.
She did not examine the male corpses – after all, whose family did not have an unmarried dead man? – but she would personally inspect the female corpses to see their age and appearance, so as to match them with suitable men.
She told the guard with great certainty, “The women were all strangled to death. Their tongues were squeezed out, and it took me a great deal of effort to push them back in.”
Cheng Danruo was silent for a moment, then slowly asked, “Do you know how many there were in total?”
The guard answered, “Eighteen.”
She sneered inwardly.
Eighteen young women, all strangled to death – the secret Prince Lu’s estate wanted to conceal must be no small matter.
Just as Cheng Danruo was exploring the secrets of Prince Lu’s estate, Xie Xuanying was facing a real challenge at the front.
Eunuch Liang led two thousand personal troops and arrived at Dongping County.
“Young Master Xie, fortunately I did not fail my mission,” Eunuch Liang said with a smile. “This servant can finally catch his breath.”
To Jiang Yi’s ears, these words could be translated as: give money, or I will report you to the emperor for dereliction of duty.
He gave his subordinates a look, signaling them to hurry and carry the chests of silver to the eunuch’s room.
However, Xie Xuanying only nodded. “Thank you for your trouble, Eunuch Liang.”
Eunuch Liang said with a smile, “We are all serving His Majesty; how would I dare speak of trouble? It is rather that Young Master Xie has grown thin. Your dedication to handling His Majesty’s affairs is something this servant cannot hope to match.”
Jiang Yi: “…”
Xie Xuanying smiled briefly and said, “Please rest first. We will talk later.”
Eunuch Liang cupped his hands and withdrew.
Jiang Yi secretly found it strange. Could it be that this time they had encountered a diligent, good eunuch who truly handled affairs?
Then a subordinate came back and told him that after the silver was delivered, Eunuch Liang’s adopted son stopped looking down his nose at people; before that, he had seemed ready to make surprise inspections in the camp at any time and carry out the duties of a supervising eunuch.
Jiang Yi understood.
No wonder the young marquis had failed in the competition. With imperial favor like this, who could contend with him? It seemed that, barring any accident, more than half of the military merit this time would have to be handed over.
He adjusted his attitude and became even more careful and meticulous when formulating strategy that evening.
“Young Master Xie is not skilled in naval warfare, so for the surprise attack, only I will lead the troops.” Jiang Yi observed Eunuch Liang’s expression and chose his words carefully. “The bandits have been unusually active lately; clearly they are also moving troops and deploying commanders from the rear. Eunuch Liang, it is not that I am boasting, but horse bandits are all brigands who rush after quick gains. They will certainly be unwilling to give up the convenience of cavalry, and will surely engage us in battle in this area.”
He pointed at the map and analyzed, “No matter how foolish the horse bandits are, they know we have a naval force, so I am afraid they will not dare stay too close to the river. The most suitable place for an ambush is none other than Shimen Mountain.”
But then he smiled and said, “There are two bands of horse bandits, and they have always refused to submit to each other. I am afraid they will not dare have one lure the enemy while the other lies in ambush, lest one suffer a loss. Therefore, their force should be only a little over a thousand.”
Eunuch Liang held his teacup. “There is room to make something of this.”
“Petty scoundrels never consider the overall situation.” Jiang Yi looked at Xie Xuanying. “I will leave this to Young Master Xie. If these two can be captured, it will surely be a great merit.”
Xie Xuanying knew Jiang Yi was giving him a favor, and said no more. “Very well.”
Setting other things aside, Jiang Yi was quite satisfied with the third young master’s understanding of propriety. It was not frightening to have no ability and still muddle along for credit; what was frightening was someone with no ability who still wanted to boss others around.
This was very good.
Next came a series of routine pre-march measures: mobilizing troops, transporting grain and fodder, reorganizing units, and communicating and deliberating detailed plans with subordinate officers.
It was at this point that Eunuch Liang’s importance became apparent. As the Seal Supervisor of the Imperial Horse Administration, he had rich experience as a supervising eunuch and truly understood the work – he was no figurehead.
With people they disliked, they only needed to delay progress on grain and fodder to make their lives worse than death, prompting them to quickly send money to avert disaster. But once they cooperated, dispatch was rapid, and the state machine could operate at high speed.
The officers did not deliberately oppose him or harbor hidden intentions.
Xie Xuanying had entered the imperial guards at fifteen. He first served as a decorative ornament in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and later worked in the palace guard. Over three years, he had at least developed superficial friendly relations with the commanders of the Twenty-Two Guards.
This was also the emperor’s purpose in selecting personal troops. Under the arrangements of the Marquis of Jinghai, Second Young Master Xie had early on interacted and socialized with the various guards of the Five Military Regional Commands, becoming familiar with people, while what Xie Xuanying was familiar with was the personal army.
He had imperial favor and status; all he lacked was actual merit.
But now, had the opportunity not come?
Like Centurion Zheng, they all knew this was a good opportunity to let Young Master Xie earn merit. Who would dare cause trouble?
However, the greatest advantage was not the eunuch and the officers.
It was the soldiers.
What Jiang Yi was deploying were troops from the garrisons – hereditary military households’ sons, with strengths and weaknesses, good and bad mixed together. But the personal guards were recruited soldiers, and their annual military expenses alone were a large sum of money.
They did not need to farm garrison fields. Although they also had some capital defense duties, their main task was still training, ensuring combat effectiveness. Of course, deductions from military pay were hard to avoid, and training for ten days while slacking for two was normal, but no matter what, they could receive some soldier’s pay and accept basic training.
This was a regular, trained force.
Neither Eunuch Liang nor Jiang Yi thought Xie Xuanying would be in danger as bait, and it was all because of this.
With soldiers, horses, armor, and weapons, facing a rabble of rebel troops, if something still went wrong, Xie Xuanying might as well roll back to the capital and go work at the Hanlin Academy.
The three days of preparation ended.
The camp was broken, and they advanced east.
Cavalry on the vast plains moved at a truly astonishing speed. Within a few days, they approached Xing Mountain. Any farther, and they would enter the stretch of mountainous terrain best suited for ambush in this region.
Sure enough, the scouting cavalry who had gone ahead to reconnoiter returned and said they had discovered a group of rebel troops ahead, waving a white flag, and their numbers should not be large.
“General, this is a stratagem to lure the enemy. We must not rashly pursue,” Li Bowu immediately warned.
According to Jiang Yi’s warning, they indeed should not advance rashly, but at this moment, Centurion Zheng came over and said: “I asked the guide what the mountain in the northeast direction is. He said it is Cai Mountain. If we go north and bypass this road, we will also encounter a long, narrow mountain path there, only it is not as perilous as Shimen Mountain.”
Li Bowu was stunned.
“The enemy has occupied this place ahead of us. Is it possible that there are ambushes in both places?” Centurion Zheng looked worried.
