Min County.
An army thirty thousand strong galloped from Zaohe River toward Shangjing. Two thousand soldiers cleared the way ahead, while five thousand escorted Emperor Li Zong's personal entourage. The remaining troops were split into several groups, following close behind as escort.
At the center of the army, the emperor's massive yellow carriage stood out. Pulled by twenty-four docile horses, it resembled a giant moving house.
Inside the carriage, Li Zong lay on his couch. Apart from the eunuchs who served him and imperial doctors accompanying him, only his most trusted confidants could remain within.
Shen Zhongyu lifted the curtain and got onto the carriage. He waved the eunuchs away, and made his way into the innermost room.
"Is something wrong, Shen-daren?" Cui Xi asked quietly in a low voice, standing at the door as Shen Zhongyu approached.
"Is His Majesty still resting?" Shen Zhongyu looked somewhat anxious, but he couldn't hide the joy in his eyes. "I have important news to report."
"He just woke up," Cui Xi said, stepping aside to let Shen Zhongyu enter. "Please come with me, Shen-daren."
"Thank you for your help, Cui-changshi." As he followed, Shen Zhongyu reached into his sleeve to touch the reply letter, his smile growing wider.
Li Zong had indeed just woken when they entered. Dressed in bright yellow robes, he leaned lazily against a soft pillow propped behind him. The white bandage wrapped around his right arm was especially noticeable. Seeing Shen Zhongyu enter, he raised his eyes and guessed, "Has there been news from Yong’an Palace?"
"Yes," Shen Zhongyu presented the reply letter with both hands and said with a smile. "I especially asked the Elder Wangfei to pass on the message, so Prince Yong’an wouldn't suspect anything."
Li Zong toyed with the letter but didn't open it. He looked at Shen Zhongyu and asked, "What was written in the letter? Li Fengqi is careful; would he agree to work with you simply based on a letter?"
"His Majesty sees through me clearly. I rushed here as soon as I received this letter." Shen Zhongyu bowed deeply, wishing to show his loyalty to heaven and earth, the sun and the moon. "How dare I read it before His Majesty has seen it?"
He paused before adding, "But even without reading it, I can guess its contents. Prince Yong’an is cautious—he won't write anything incriminating in the letter. However... given the involvement of the Elder Wangfei, as long as he has the intention to rebel, my proposal will surely tempt him. As long as he doesn't refuse, once we return to Shangjing, we can follow our plan and lure him into making a move..."
Li Zong’s fingers playing with the letter paused. Li Zong sat up straighter, leaned forward slightly, and glanced at Shen Zhongyu with a smile. "My dear Shen is too cautious. It'd be fine if you read it first."
As he spoke, he unfolded the letter and concentrated on reading at its contents, but his thoughts aligned perfectly with Shen Zhongyu's.
The letter was indeed in Li Fengqi's handwriting. He started with heartfelt greetings for Shen Zhongyu before changing the subject:
“My dear cousin,” he wrote, “Mother has conveyed your proposal to me. I'm deeply shocked and heartbroken. How could you urge me to become a traitor and a rebel?”
After this initial rebuke, Li Fengqi listed the past achievements of the Shen family:
“The Shen family of Nieyang built its reputation through military accomplishments. The whole family is known for our unwavering loyalty and bravery. Even my mother, as a woman, taught me from a young age to be loyal to the emperor and to love the country. How has my cousin’s generation become so degenerate? You've become disloyal and treacherous in your ambition! Your actions truly disappoint me and tarnish the name of our Shen family’s heroic lineage.”
Every word of the letter was righteous, and every word condemned Shen Zhongyu for being disloyal, unjust, unkind and untrustworthy.
If this letter had come from another official, Li Zong might have been pleased to find one more official loyal to him. But since it came from Li Fengqi, his face gradually darkened as he stared silently at the paper.
Noticing his change in expression, Shen Zhongyu cautiously asked, "What does Prince Yong'an think?"
Li Zong raised his head with a cold laugh and tossed the letter onto the ground. "My dear subject Shen, you can read it for yourself."
“?”
The sudden shift in Li Zong's attitude left Shen Zhongyu even more bewildered. He bent down to pick up the letter from the floor and quickly skimmed through it, catching sight of the sentence: "Your actions truly disappoint me and tarnish the name of our Shen family’s heroic lineage."
“???”
Shen Zhongyu's heart sank as he hurriedly continued reading. Li Fengqi went on to write:
"I initially wanted to set this matter aside for the sake of our brotherly bond and pretend ignorance. But after days of turmoil, I've grown genuinely fearful that my cousin was still plotting rebellion. This anxiety has kept me awake at night. Thus, I must take decisive action for the sake of the greater good. Once His Majesty returns to the capital, I will present this letter to His Majesty and ask him for judgment..."
After reading just this short passage, Shen Zhongyu felt dizzy, his hand trembling slightly as he held the letter.
He looked up at Li Zong and murmured, "How could this be?"
Li Zong remained silent, his face dark and unreadable.
Shen Zhongyu muttered something to himself as he continued reading the letter. He saw Li Fengqi's tone shift again, now writing with genuine sincerity:
“I hope that, after reading this, my dear cousin won't take this against me or mother. Mother is still unaware of the situation, and I'm simply too honest by nature to hide such a serious crime for you. Therefore, I must choose justice over family ties. But don't worry too much, Cousin. Treason may be a grave offense punishable by death for all nine generations related to the accused, but since you haven't acted on it yet, I still have some influence with His Majesty that might help. When the time comes, I'll definitely plead for mercy on your behalf before His Majesty so that your life may be spared. The only thing is... you might have to resign from your post and retire early, spend some time at home….”
Resign and retire early? Spend time at home?
As Shen Zhongyu read on, he found himself so angry that he was laughing despite himself. He was only thirty-six years old—right at the age to realize his ambitions—and here Li Fengqi wanted him to quit his job and go home?!
Besides, how could Li Fengqi use an unsigned letter to convince His Majesty to convict someone of a crime?!
He closed his eyes briefly, took a deep breath, and gritted out, "Your Majesty, perhaps Prince Yong’an has caught on to something?"
That must have been why he had sent this letter: to humiliate and mock him. His plan had been exposed.
"How could he know? Only a few trusted ministers are aware that I was only slightly wounded."
Li Zong’s gaze swept over Shen Zhongyu and Cui Xi, wondering if someone had leaked the information. With word going out that his life was in danger, how could Fengqi resist taking the bait? And he even had the leisure to write such a taunting letter!
Loyalty to the emperor and the country? What a joke!
Sensing Li Zong's suspicious look, Shen Zhongyu grew alarmed. He quickly changed the direction of his words and expressed his unwavering loyalty, saying, "There's no way news of Your Majesty's condition could have been leaked. Perhaps Prince Yong’an is just being overly cautious and distrustful of me, so he wrote this letter as a test." After a moment's thought, he added, "With our armies about to reach Shangjing, it's crucial we keep Your Majesty's recovery secret for now. Once I return to the capital, I'll pay a visit to the Prince of Yong'an's palace to get to the bottom of this."
Cui Xi, who was next to him, agreed. "Shen-daren is right. The words in this letter are definitely not something that Prince Yong’an would write. When things seem strange, there's usually a reason. Maybe he was just trying to test Shen-daren."
This guess made sense. Li Zong thought for a moment before saying darkly, "Fine. We'll do as my dear subject Shen says for now."
He seemed to remember something and asked, "How is Ye Boru's injury?"
"The Imperial Physician has been watching him closely. He's recovered," Cui Xi replied. "I went to see him today. He wanted to come pay respects to Your Majesty, but his wounds haven't fully healed, so the physician wouldn't allow it."
"Let him focus on recovering well," Li Zong said. "He saved my life, and even before he's healed, he's already giving advice. He's talented. Have someone keep an eye on him carefully. Once he's fully recovered, bring him to me."
Cui Xi bowed in agreement.
Li Zong shot another glance at Shen Zhongyu, waved his hand, and said, "My dear subject Shen may withdraw for now. After we return to the capital, go to the Yong’an Manor and test the waters."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Seeing the situation, Shen Zhongyu could only tightly grip that letter and leave.
After sending off the letter, Li Fengqi was still unsatisfied.
Li Zong had teamed up with Shen Zhongyu to try and outsmart him. A simple letter wouldn't be enough to settle the score. Moreover, in addition to this life, there was also a grudge from his previous life that remained unavenged.
"Does the Eldest Young Master have any ideas?" Li Fengqi asked as he stirred sour horse milk in a small pot.
This sour horse milk had been bought from a merchant caravan by Zhu Lie. By boiling it with fresh horse milk and filtering it, one could make horse milk wine. The method for making this wine had come from Xihuang and many northern states had learned how to do it too. But Li Fengqi used to dislike it because it tasted too milky and wasn't strong enough, so he rarely drank it.
When Zhu Lie unexpectedly got some sour horse milk this time, he remembered that Ye Yunting had poor alcohol tolerance. Horse milk wine would actually be perfect for him. So he ordered the necessary tools and personally set about brewing some for Ye Yunting.
Ye Yunting rested his chin on his hand and watched Li Fengqi stir the mixture with chopsticks. He sniffed at the rich milky aroma and squinted slightly, saying, "I've been wondering, was the news about Li Zong being near death only told to Wangye? Or did other officials at court also heard about it?"
He took a deep breath of the strong milky scent, a sly look flashing through his eyes. He guessed it must have been the former.
Li Fengqi thought the same thing. "He wouldn't dare spread it widely."
The news sent by the spy clearly stated that Li Zong had been seriously injured and needed to return to Shangjing for medical attention. But there was a huge difference between "seriously injured" and "on death's door."
If Li Zong spread word that he was close to dying, it might give some court officials ideas they shouldn't have. That wouldn't be good for him at all. Hence, this was meant only for Li Fengqi from the very beginning.
"Then let's lend him a hand," Ye Yunting said. "As someone who loves his country and its ruler, you'd naturally want to show your concern when you hear His Majesty is near death. It would prove your loyalty."
Li Fengqi paused. He looked up and met Ye Yunting's eyes, and the two of them smiled at each other.
He called over Wu Geng and gave him instructions before sighing with regret. "I worry about his worries, so I do everything I can, but unfortunately Li Zong won't appreciate me for it."
Ye Yunting was focused on waiting for his horse milk wine. At these words, he reluctantly spared Li Fengqi a glance. "Wangye, you're thinking too much."
Once Li Zong returned to the capital, not only would he fail to appreciate Li Fengqi's efforts, he'd probably want to storm the prince's palace and kill him out of anger.
=== Author’s Notes ===
Li Zong: Thank you, my ancestors.
77: ? That’s not necessary.
=== Translator’s Notes ===
Omg Li Fengqi’s such a troll I was laughing while translating his letter.
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