Stepping out of his room, Fang Jie realized that the place he had lived in for the past six months was actually inside the Taiji Palace. He could vaguely see the roof of the Taiji Hall as he walked out the gate. Glancing at the bright red sun, Fang Jie opened his arms and took a deep breath of the fresh air.
"What's that smell?"
Zhuo Buyi asked from behind.
Fang Jie turned to look at him, a slight smile playing on his lips. "I bet you were waiting for me to say something about the smell of freedom, but you'll be disappointed… The air I smell seems no different than inside, except it's a little fresher."
"After being locked up for so long, why haven't you calmed down at all?"
Zhuo Buyi shook his head helplessly. "Where to first?"
"Back to the Sanjin Marquis's residence."
Fang Jie straightened his clothes; his brand-new courtyard uniform fit him perfectly, as if tailor-made. His clean, waist-length hair was casually tied back. What a handsome and refined young gentleman! Especially her long, flowing black hair, which cascaded down her back.
"Go back now. I'll treat you to drinks at Hongxiuzhao tonight."
Zhuo Buyi smiled and said, "But I can't guarantee I have enough influence to get Master Xi to dance a Flowing Flower Sleeves dance. You should know Master Xi's temperament. Last time someone offered a thousand gold pieces for her to dance, she just sent word that she didn't want to. Who could do anything about it? Anyone who wants to deal with her would have to mess with Hongxiuzhao first, but there aren't many people in Chang'an who have that kind of guts these days."
Fang Jie recalled Prince Yi, Yang Yin's apologetic bow in front of everyone when Hongxiuzhao opened. With that precedent, who would dare to act recklessly at Hongxiuzhao?
"Then you treat me to drinks, and I'll test if I have the influence. At the very least… I'll have to get Xiao Dingdian to dance a little."
Fang Jie said smugly, then bowed and took his leave from Zhuo Buyi. Dean Zhou and Qiu Yu had already left; with the New Year approaching, the Martial Arts Academy was swamped with problems. Now, only Luo Weiran, the commander of the Imperial Guards, remained standing beside Fang Jie. He hadn't uttered a word from the moment he entered until he left.
After Zhuo Buyi left, Fang Jie remained silent for a moment, then suddenly bowed deeply: "Although I myself don't know what my relationship with Prince Zhong is, I should still address you as 'Uncle-Master' and thank you for your care these past few days."
Luo Weiran was taken aback and couldn't help but ask, "How did you know?"
Fang Jie straightened up and smiled, "You know, Xiang Qingniu is a loose tongue; bribing him wouldn't be difficult. Of course, he doesn't need to be bribed at all."
Luo Weiran smiled and said, "Since you know, then I'll accept your bow without hesitation. As for the relationship between you and Second Senior Brother, even Du Hongxian said so, so it can't be wrong. After all, in Fan Gu, only she and Su Tu Gou know what happened. However, it's best to keep this a secret and not mention it to anyone else."
"I understand."
Fang Jie nodded.
"Where did the proprietress go?"
Fang Jie asked. "She's been recuperating at Prince Zhong's residence. She was injured on Half-Moon Mountain. But she should have recovered by now. You can go see her."
Luo Weiran paused for a moment and said, "You should go back and rest well. His Majesty originally wanted to see you, but an urgent military report came from the Northwest. I don't think he'll have time to summon you today. But at the latest, His Majesty should send someone to bring you to the palace tomorrow."
"Can I not go?"
Fang Jie asked.
"Guess?"
Luo Weiran replied. Fang Jie shook his head helplessly: "Summoned at will, dismissed at will; praised when desired, shut down when desired..."
"Don't say things like that again."
Luo Weiran said, "Even if you have resentment, you should keep it to yourself. Think of it another way; you should be grateful. Being summoned at will and dismissed at will is true, but your last sentence should be changed to 'praised when desired, killed when desired.' Dean Zhou's analogy was completely inappropriate. It's easy to release someone, just as easy to take them back. You're not a fart, you're a person. As long as you're a person, as long as you're in the Great Sui Dynasty, you must understand what you should respect."
"Looks like I'm not even as good as a fart."
Fang Jie smiled self-deprecatingly, clasped his hands, and said, "I'll go back first. Da Quan and the others haven't seen me for so long; they must be uneasy."
"Go ahead."
Luo Weiran waved his hand and said, "I'll be at the Red Sleeve Pavilion tonight."
Fang Jie bowed again, turned, and walked out. Luo Weiran assigned a man in a flying fish robe to lead the way, but Fang Jie refused, smiling and saying his memory was always excellent; he had been to Taiji Palace before and knew how to get out. Luo Weiran didn't insist and turned to leave first. Fang Jie wasn't in a hurry, admiring the snowy scenery of Taiji Palace as he walked. Perhaps it was His Majesty's order, or some noblewoman in the harem, that snow remained unsweeped in many places. It seemed the majestic palace, draped in silver armor, was indeed breathtaking.
Turning a corner, Fang Jie smiled when he saw a slightly awkward-looking person standing ahead. He guessed that person would be waiting for him; that person was also someone who constantly climbed upwards.
The little eunuch, Mu San.
"Young Master Fang, congratulations!"
Seeing Fang Jie approach, Mu San hurried over and bowed, saying, "This servant heard today is your auspicious day of leaving the palace, so I've been waiting here this morning to congratulate you. You know the Imperial Guard's quarters aren't easily accessible, so I could only wait here."
Fang Jie returned the bow, saying, "I must thank you for saving me, Eunuch."
"Young Master Fang, please don't say that. This servant only did what I could."
Hearing Fang Jie mention it, Mu San was very pleased. He was glad he hadn't stood by when Fang Jie seemed to have lost power; if he had, he would have lost a very important friend. He was just a lowly eunuch; currying favor with those important court officials was as difficult as climbing to the sky. Therefore, he had carefully chosen Fang Jie—this young man who hadn't yet risen to prominence, but was certain to do so in the future.
"I will remember your kindness, Father-in-law."
Fang Jie patted his chest, then smiled and said, "I'm also certain that Father-in-law will rise to prominence one day. We don't need to spell everything out. In the East Warm Pavilion from now on..."
"This servant is just a tea server."
Mu San lowered her head, slightly shy, and said, "I don't know much."
Fang Jie nodded: "What I want to know... isn't much either."
...
...
As the sun began to set, Fang Jie and his group of four left the Sanjin Marquis's residence, boarded the manor's carriage, and headed straight for East Twenty-Third Street. Their destination wasn't Hongxiuzhao, but the shop Fang Jie had rented. Because of his imprisonment, Fang Jie had already missed the day he had chosen and had to postpone it.
Sitting beside Fang Jie, Shen Qing's fan still held a lingering charm. Da Quan and Qilin could naturally guess what she had done during that hour alone with Fang Jie. This powerful woman was now surprisingly submissive, something rarely seen. When Da Quan and the other two were in the Sanjin Marquis's mansion, Qilin and Da Quan kept their distance. This woman's eyes were terrifying, sending chills down one's spine. If Da Quan hadn't pleaded with her, who knows if she would have stormed the Martial Arts Academy?
"I've been trapped for so long, and now you know why. Even now, you still won't tell me the truth?"
Fang Jie sighed. "If I hadn't been lucky enough to die so inexplicably in the Imperial Guard's secret prison, don't you feel any guilt? Tell me… what is my background? I promise I won't be surprised at all, whatever answer you give me. Even if you tell me I hatched from a bird's egg, I'll believe you."
Da Quan said, "No, at least you weren't an egg when we took over."
Chen Qingshan looked at Da Quan, then at Qilin: "Qilin, go drive the carriage."
She said it calmly.
Qilin paused, then understood her meaning. He signaled the driver to stop, took out a few taels of silver from his pocket, handed it to him, and told him to find a place to have tea. Then he sat in the front and cracked his whip. The carriage moved slowly, because Qilin knew Fang Jie needed to hear a story from the world. The reason Fang Jie didn't ask at the Sanjin Marquis's residence was because he knew there were definitely ears there. Regardless of whose ears they were, his background couldn't be easily revealed.
Seeing Shen Qingshan tell Qilin to drive, Fang Jie's heart tightened.
After waiting sixteen years, was the answer finally coming?
But the answer disappointed him greatly. "We don't know."
Shen Qingshan glanced apologetically at Fang Jie, then looked down at her fingers. "We come from all corners of the world. Daquan is a wanderer who roamed the world after the fall of the Shang Dynasty. Xiaoyao and I are from the Southern Yan, so we can also be considered Shang people. Qilin and Henggun are from the Sui Dynasty, and Yexiao and Tienu are from the Southern Barbarian tribes. To be honest, besides these facts, we don't know much more about each other."
Daquan nodded. "As for you… it's not that we don't want to tell you, but we really don't know much. We know less about you than we do about the others." "At least we know where the others came from."
Fang Jie was clearly disappointed, but he immediately pressed on, "Who gathered you all?"
"A man."
Shen Qingshan replied, "That's all you know."
Da Quan said, "Years ago, I was wandering the world, and I met him while sheltering from the rain in a dilapidated temple… But later I thought, he must have been waiting for me there. He told me he wanted me to do something for him, and if I didn't agree, he wouldn't kill me… but he would kill my brother. My family was destroyed, only my brother and I survived. Even if I die, I won't let anyone…" "He threatened my brother's life. So, I fought him, though it hardly counted as a fight. He didn't even lift a finger; he just glanced at me, and I almost died."
"So I'm certain he could easily kill my brother."
Shen Qingshan was silent for a moment before saying, "Xiaoyao and I are fellow disciples. That year, I had only been in the sect for a short time. That man came, glanced at us casually, and caused our master to cough up blood and collapse. Then he ordered our master to summon all the disciples. After carefully examining each one, he chose Xiaoyao and me. When our master asked him why, he just said indifferently..." "She announced my and Xiaoyao's family names."
Perhaps this past event was too heavy, a hint of sorrow lingered in Shen Qingshan's voice: "He said that if Xiaoyao and I didn't agree, he would slaughter our entire sect, and then kill my and Xiaoyao's families. To make us believe he had the power, he pointed at the crowd... Following his finger, in a straight line, all the disciples were pulverized into flesh and blood. Warm blood splattered all over my face, and the girl standing next to me was gone in an instant... scattered everywhere."
Fang Jie's heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously reached out to grasp Shen Qingshan's hand. Shen Qingshan's hand was icy cold, her palms damp with sweat. The mere memory filled this cold and proud woman with pain and fear.
"That's why you forced yourself to constantly become stronger."
Fang Jie looked at Shen Qingshan's profile and spoke softly.
Shen Qingshan nodded, remaining silent. Big Dog continued, "Qilin and Henggun are both from Yongzhou. Although they're Sui people, they're actually Shang people at heart. They experienced that great war, watching helplessly as the Sui army razed the Shang to the ground. Qilin said his family ran a security escort agency, and his father was once a very famous martial arts master. Henggun's father seems to have been a Shang general. After the Shang was destroyed, his whole family was enslaved. Later, he was chosen by conscripts and taken away. His staff technique doesn't really have a set pattern; he developed it himself by adapting the Sui army's staff techniques."
Fang Jie sighed, his eyes filled with confusion: "So, a ridiculously strong man traveled all over Southern Yan and Yongzhou, chose you to protect me, for what purpose, and from what background… Damn it, am I his illegitimate son?"
"Then his wife must be even more terrifying," Big Dog added.
"Get lost!"
Fang Jie cursed, his mind a complete mess.