As mentioned, Ye Wang grew up doted on and favored. It wasn’t just the Duke’s Mansion favoring him; the Yin family, due to Madame Yin, also pampered him greatly. Although the Yin family was based in Yunrong, because of their interrelation by marriage, the two families often move around each other.
One year, when Ye Wang visited Yunrong as a guest of the Yin family, he brought back a hunting falcon with a white neck and a light brown head. This hunting falcon was born strong and powerful, alert and ferocious. It was originally the king falcon of the Yin Family’s Falcon Garden.
Beizhao revered martial arts, and the ferocious hunting falcons were very popular among the rich and powerful families. The place where hunting falcons abounded was Weizhou, and Weizhou was where most of the falcons in the Yin Family Falcon Garden came from.
The hunting falcon that Ye Wang brought back was even more special. It was personally captured by Ye Wang’s eldest cousin on the grassland between Weizhou and Xihuang. This hunting falcon was originally one of a pair of brothers. One of them was brought back to Yunrong by Ye Wang’s cousin to be tamed, while the remaining one was said to have been sent to the Northern Xinjiang Governor’s mansion.
These were all what Ye Wang said when he showed the hunting falcon off in front of Ye Yunting. Ye Yunting had already forgotten about these, but remembered them suddenly when he saw Ye Wang.
Nowadays, the post stations in gates of various states were heavily guarded and difficult to cross. But no one would check on this falcon.
He still remembered how Ye Wang bragged that his cousin had been very reluctant to give the falcon up, because this king falcon was not only a powerful hunter, but could also travel between Weizhou and Yunrong alone. It would often go to Weizhou for a month or two, stay with its brother in the Northern Xinjiang Governor’s Mansion, eating and drinking, before returning to Yunrong by itself after enough time.
However, Ye Wang later brought the Falcon back to the capital, carefully raised it in the mansion, and never let it go out alone again.
Ye Yunting considered the possibility of letting a hunting falcon deliver the message.
Yunrong was part of Jizhou, and the west of Jizhou was close to Weizhou. The two places were not far from each other. People making that trip would need half a month to go on horseback taking official roads. A hunting falcon, though, would arrive in seven or eight days at the most.
But there was no guarantee that the falcon could accurately deliver the secret letter to Zhu Wen’s hands.
Ye Yunting’s mind turned around a few times. When he looked at Ye Wang again, his expression became softer. He raised his hand to pick up the teapot on the small table and poured two cups of hot tea. He placed one cup in front of Ye Wang and took the other cup for himself, taking a leisurely sip.
Ye Wang looked at the tea in front of him and fidgeted uncomfortably.
This was the first time the two brothers sat together calmly and peacefully to drink tea. In the past, every time he arrogantly came to Ye Yunting’s door to make trouble, Ye Yunting usually let him do what he wanted, and then saw him off docilely. Ye Yunting had a temperament like that of a clay figure, as if nothing that Ye Wang did could set off the slightest ripple in Ye Yunting’s heart. It would end with Ye Wang letting out some harsh words and then leaving in a rage.
Rarely were they ever brotherly and friendly with each other.
Second Young Master Ye was rather unaccustomed to this, and also somewhat… flattered.
But he didn’t show it at all on his face. He picked up the tea and drank it in one gulp, raised his chin and said proudly, “Did Prince Yong’an bully you? Why didn’t you go home for your bridal home visit1?”
“Wangye treats me very well.” Ye Yunting put down the tea cup and said softly, “As for the bridal home visit, Wangye and I are both men. We have not followed the traditional marriage customs between men and women. In addition, I occasionally get ill from the cold. I was afraid that I would make our parents worry if I went back, so I didn’t. “
His face was whiter than snow these days, and his stomach for taking medicine was also weak. He was even thinner than he had been when he was still at the Duke’s mansion. His words were quite convincing.
Ye Wang did not doubt him even a little.
“Then when will you come back?”
Ye Yunting smiled. “I have to wait at least until I get better.”
Ye Wang frowned, barely satisfied with the answer. “Then find a time to come back after you recover. Both Father and Mother miss you very much.” After saying this, he fidgeted again, as though there was a thorn stuck to his posterior.
“Okay.” Ye Yunting agreed, feeling that his time was almost up, and poured him another cup of tea before getting to the point: “By the way, is your hunting falcon still in the mansion?”
Ye Wang said, “Yes”. The hunting falcon was his heart’s treasure. He specifically borrowed two servants from the Yin family who were well-versed in raising falcons to take care of it.
“Why are you suddenly asking about it?” Ye Wang looked at Ye Yunting doubtfully. Seeing him with lowered eyes and an embarrassed expression, he his heart suddenly brightened and he said proudly, “Have you taken a liking to my falcon?”
This was even better than Ye Yunting thought. At his words, Ye Yunting casually responded: “Well, I read some books while I was recovering from illness, and it made me want to try taming a falcon.”
“I can lend him to you to take care of.” Ye Wang looked at him with a pleased smile on his face and said, “But you have to give me something in exchange.”
“What?”
Ye Wang pointed to a jade pendant on his waist. “That, I want that jade pendant.”
Ye Yunting lowered his head to look at his waist, where only a worthless gourd jade pendant hung. This jade pendant was a birthday gift bought by the wet nurse for him and Ji Lian when she was still alive. It was not good-quality jade, and the carving was only average. It was just an image of the gourd’s meaning of “good fortune”. He and Ji Lian each had one. It was nothing special, not even worth a little money .
“Are you sure you want this?” Ye Yunting furrowed his eyebrows, unsure of his brother’s intentions.
“I don’t want your piece.” Ye Wang rolled his eyes and said, “A gentleman doesn’t take away a person’s favorite. Doesn’t that servant of yours also have one? Just give his piece to me.”
Ye Yunting became more and more confused about the reason, but this jade pendant was a gift from the wet nurse. He could give his own to Ye Wang, but not Ji Lian’s
He shook his head, smiled and removed the jade pendant from his waist. “The two jade pendants are exactly the same. If you like it, I’ll just give you mine.” After saying this, he handed the untied jade pendant to Ye Wan.
“…” Ye Wang glared, becoming without warning: “I want his piece. It’s not the same!”
“What’s the difference?” Ye Yunting asked.
“It’s just different!” Ye Wang’s expression grew more and more irritated. He angrily glared at Ye Yunting, but he couldn’t exactly say what the difference was. In the end, he could only reach out, grab the jade pendant and stuff it into his sleeve. “Fine, I won’t argue with you. I’ll send you the hunting falcon later!”
Ye Yunting didn’t understand why he got angry again, but Ye Wang’s temperament had always been unpredictable, and his temper came and went all the time. Since he had already agreed to send the falcon, Ye Yunging didn’t want to cause any more trouble, so he said “Thank you. Then I will go back to the palace first.”
Ye Wang watched as he lifted the curtain of the carriage and left the carriage calmly.
Ji Lian, who had been waiting outside, went over to support his arm, and the master and servant entered the palace through a side door.
Ye Wang suddenly became even more angry, threw the carriage curtain down, and yelled, “Back to the mansion, back to the mansion!”
*
Supported by Ji Lian, Ye Yunting walked to the main courtyard. The two guards finally felt reassured when they saw that he was sick and didn’t seem to be faking it, and that he was calm and composed throughout.
The master and the servant waited until they entered the house. Ye Yunting put away his weak and ill demeanor, told Ji Lian to close the door, and quickly walked into the inner room.
In the room, Li Fengqi was studying a book on medical skills when he saw him rush in like a gust of wind, his eyes shining with excitement. “I have a way to deliver a message to Northern Xinjiang.”
Under Li Fengqi’s gaze, he explained the link between the falcon and Northern Xinjiang. “Still, there’s just no guarantee that it will be delivered precisely to the deputy governor’s hands.”
“It can be delivered.” Li Fengqi’s eyes narrowed slightly, his finger tapping on the page. “If I guessed correctly, the other falcon is raised by Zhu Wen.”
Weizhou was abundant in hunting falcons, and the Northern Xinjiang Governor’s mansion was located in Weizhou, so it was only natural that it raised many hunting falcons.
Although he didn’t have a lot of spare time, Zhu Wen loved taming falcons the most, and he had shown off his very brave falcon in front of him many times.
“That would be great.” Ye Yunting smiled, but became a bit distressed. “The letter can be sent by a falcon, but just in case, the secret letter shouldn’t be written too obviously. I did read about several encryption methods in books. But the deputy governor might not be able to decipher…”
He frowned in deep thought, his expression very serious.
Li Fengqi glanced at him, then glanced at him again, seeing that he had brought a pen and paper to try to write out the secret words, before he said, “Zhu Wen and I have our own set of secret words for communication that others cannot understand.”
At those words, he took the pen from his hand and started writing in the blank area of the page. “There are many confidential matters in the army, and there’s always the risk of getting our letters intercepted and leaked. That’s why, before leading the troops out, we’d agree on a set of secret words for communication.”
As he spoke, he wrote a song called “Military March” in the margins of the page.
The beacon light shines on the west, and I feel uneasy.
The riders of iron are circling around the Dragon City.
The snow darkens flag paintings, and the wind feels heavy because of the sound of drums.
I would rather be a military commander than a scholar.
Ye Yunting was puzzled. “How do you decode this?”
“This is the key we agreed on before coming to Shangjing.” Li Fengqi put down his pen and pointed at the poem: “The generals of the Xuanjia Army have another forty military affairs in their hands, each of which can correspond to a word of this poem.”
Ye Yunting heard this and said knowingly, “In that case, Wangye will take charge of the secret letter.” After saying this, he stepped back as though wanting to avoid suspicion, lowered his eyes and averted his gaze from the paper.
However, Li Fengqi raised his eyebrows when he saw this. “You don’t want to know?”
Ye Yunting didn’t take the bait and lowered his eyebrows. “It’s a military secret, so naturally it cannot be divulged to outsiders.”
“You are not an outsider.” Li Fengqi laughed very lightly and briskly, then collected himself and beckoned him over. “Come here, I will tell you.”
Ye Yunting raised his head in surprise and saw that he had a serious look on his face. He pursed his lips, but in the end couldn’t help but move forward out of curiosity. He sat by the bed and listened to his words.
The military had always used the word verification method for communication, and Ye Yunting also had some understanding of this. But his knowledge were just based on what he had read in books, never in practice.
“There are forty matters related to military affairs. The first is about asking for bows, the second is about asking for arrows, the third is about asking for swords… The eighteenth is about asking for solid defenses… The thirty-ninth is about widespread sickness, and the fortieth is about a small victory.” Li Fengqi lowered his eyes, adding another item to the page with each explanation. His handwriting was as small as a fly’s head, but it still showed strength and power.
“Each of these items, in order, corresponds to a word in the poem.” Li Fengqi circled “around” and “because” in the poem.
“Do you understand?” He raised his head and looked at Ye Yunting. His phoenix eyes were deep and calm. Even though he was bedridden, he was still the Yong’an Prince, strategizing and winning from thousands of miles away.
Ye Yunting followed the forty military matters he wrote one by one along with what they corresponded to: the eighteenth day said to hold firm; the thirty-second day said that the bandits’ siege has been overcome.
It meant: the crisis has been resolved; hold your ground.
===Author’s Notes===
77: Wangfei is not an outsider, she is an insider.
===Translator’s Notes===
- “三朝回门“: A bride traditionally returns and visits her (or his, in this case) birth-family home three days after the wedding ceremony ↩︎
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