The bruising at the corner of Xie Zheng’s eye had faded considerably.

Leaning against the couch, his eyes half-lowered, he seemed lost in thought. Gongsun Yin’s entrance into the tent didn’t even draw his attention. It wasn’t until Gongsun Yin spoke teasingly that he finally lifted his eyelids.

“If you’re that idle,” Xie Zheng said, “go supervise the war effort in Jinzhou.”

Gongsun Yin found a place to sit and poured himself a cup of hot tea.

“Idle?” he exclaimed. “You send one letter through Xueluan, and I immediately drag the soldiers of Yanzhou hundreds of miles to Lu City. I work like an ox and a horse for you, and all I get is that? Truly heartbreaking.”

Xie Zheng was in a foul mood, and his tongue was sharper than ever.

“You gave that bird a ridiculous name. Aren’t you embarrassed?”

He glanced at Gongsun Yin.

“Since you’re already serving as an ox and horse, I assume you won’t need any carriage or mount on the way back to Yanzhou. You can walk.”

Gongsun Yin choked.

Everyone praised his silver tongue.

Yet whenever he faced Xie Zheng, he never seemed to gain the upper hand.

Unable to help himself, he complained,

“Why are you so angry? If you dislike Xueluan so much, give her to me!”

As he said the last sentence, his fox-like eyes drifted toward the Haidongqing hawk in the corner of the tent.

For some inexplicable reason, the bird had recently become obsessed with sleeping in bamboo baskets.

The basket had originally been intended for dirty laundry.

The hawk saw it once and immediately claimed it as a nest.

Xie Zheng lifted his eyes lazily.

“Didn’t you realize? It’s not the bird’s name I dislike.”

Gongsun Yin nearly stormed out.

“Xie Jiuheng, don’t push your luck!”

Xie Zheng couldn’t have cared less.

Gongsun Yin reached the entrance of the tent.

Then suddenly turned around.

He returned and sat back down.

“Nice try,” he said. “You almost tricked me into leaving.”

His eyes narrowed.

“Someone managed to injure you and leave you in this foul mood…”

He leaned forward.

“I heard the Heir of Prince Changxin went to Qingping County recently. Back at Chongzhou, he outmaneuvered you and defeated your army. The military praises him as some unparalleled prodigy.”

A sly smile appeared.

“Could the injuries on your face have come from him?”

Xie Zheng snorted.

“You think too highly of him.”

The answer immediately ruled Sui Yuanqing out.

Gongsun Yin frowned.

“Then don’t tell me you’ve somehow gotten yourself into romantic trouble and been beaten up by a woman…”

The moment the words left his mouth, he burst out laughing.

“Impossible. Absolutely impossible. Leaving aside the fact that you, Xie Jiuheng, have never had much luck with women, even if you did, I can’t imagine any young lady possessing that kind of strength.”

Xie Zheng’s expression stiffened slightly.

“Did you come here just to talk nonsense?”

Noticing his displeasure, Gongsun Yin finally put aside the jokes.

“I do have actual business.”

He took another sip of tea.

“The Yanzhou soldiers encountered no issues when they contacted Merchant Zhao’s people and transported the grain. They didn’t leave a single trace behind. In fact, it was Zhao himself who deliberately left clues for the Jizhou authorities, which eventually led He Jingyuan to Yanzhou.”

A calculating smile appeared on his face.

“When I sent people to raid the Zhao family’s hidden bases, I deliberately leaked information and allowed them time to relocate. That led us to even deeper hideouts.”

He looked at Xie Zheng.

“The investigation uncovered something rather interesting.”

Only after making him wait did he continue.

“The Zhao family has connections with Prince Changxin as well.”

Xie Zheng’s expression didn’t change.

“When Zhao Xun met me, he repeatedly hinted that he served the imperial grandson who supposedly died in the palace fire seventeen years ago. Prince Changxin’s rebellion and whatever dealings he has with the people behind Zhao Xun aren’t surprising.”

The moment the words imperial grandson were spoken, Gongsun Yin’s face changed.

“What does the Marquis think?”

This time he used the title Marquis rather than speaking as a friend.

He was asking as an adviser.

Asking which side Xie Zheng intended to support.

Xie Zheng replied,

“After Chongzhou, Wei Yan and I are irreconcilable enemies.”

Gongsun Yin thought for a moment.

“Prince Changxin is hardly a good man either. If the imperial grandson truly exists, who knows what sort of bargain he’s struck with Prince Changxin?”

Xie Zheng sat with one leg bent.

His hair was tied back neatly.

His tone remained cool and detached.

“If the imperial grandson really has dealings with Prince Changxin, yet Prince Changxin launched his rebellion without invoking his name, then there are only two possibilities.”

He raised two fingers.

“Either the so-called imperial grandson is a smokescreen created by Prince Changxin.”

“Or…”

His eyes sharpened.

“Prince Changxin’s ambitions have outgrown any desire to serve another man.”

Gongsun Yin felt a chill.

“Even if he doesn’t intend to remain subordinate, rebelling under the imperial grandson’s banner would make his cause seem more legitimate. Once he controls the realm, whether the imperial grandson sits on the throne would still be entirely his decision.”

The more he considered it, the more convinced he became.

“In that case, the imperial grandson story really could be Prince Changxin’s scheme.”

His brow furrowed.

“But Wei Yan has been investigating the imperial grandson as well. He’s arrested countless people based on little more than rumors. Even your own investigation into the Jinzhou incident seventeen years ago was enough to make him want you dead.”

He looked puzzled.

“If the imperial grandson doesn’t exist, why is Wei Yan so frightened?”

Xie Zheng thought back to his conversation with Zhao Xun.

Zhao Xun had claimed to serve the imperial grandson.

Yet he knew nothing about the hidden truths behind the Jinzhou tragedy seventeen years ago.

Even the story of how the imperial grandson supposedly survived the Eastern Palace fire came solely from Zhao Xun’s own words.

There was no evidence whatsoever.

That was precisely why Xie Zheng had demanded to speak directly with the person behind Zhao Xun.

Unfortunately, before that could happen, the Zhao family’s businesses began falling one after another under government confiscation.

The matter had been left unresolved.

“What did your people find before the authorities seized Zhao’s operations in Qingping County?”

Gongsun Yin shook his head.

“Their Qingping County establishments were all temporary. Most of the shops and inns had only been purchased within the past two months. There was almost nothing useful to uncover.”

Xie Zheng’s fingers stopped tapping the table.

“By the time those properties were confiscated, I had only been staying in Qingping County for a month.”

His eyes narrowed.

“Which means those operations were never established for my sake.”

Gongsun Yin’s expression gradually changed.

“You mean something happened in Qingping County before your arrival? Something important enough to justify all those hidden bases?”

Something that had happened one month before his arrival…

A cold light flashed through Xie Zheng’s eyes.

Only one thing fit.

The deaths of the Fan family couple.

Wei Yan had murdered them.

Then repeatedly sent assassins to search the Fan residence for something.

Anyone monitoring Wei Yan’s movements would inevitably have noticed.

Which meant…

Those Zhao family bases had been established because of the Fan family.

Zhao Xun hadn’t sought him out because he admired his essays.

Nor had he coincidentally discovered his identity.

The Zhao family had already been watching the Fan household.

Discovering him had merely been a byproduct.

A realization slowly emerged.

Xie Zheng spoke quietly.

“It seems even Wei Yan was played by Prince Changxin.”

Gongsun Yin immediately understood.

“You’re saying Prince Changxin intentionally spread rumors about the imperial grandson and the Jinzhou battle to make Wei Yan panic?”

Xie Zheng nodded.

“The imperial grandson may exist.”

“Or he may not.”

“But Prince Changxin clearly knows some of the truth behind what happened back then.”

His voice remained calm.

“Lacking proof, he released these rumors deliberately. He wanted Wei Yan to believe loose ends remained from seventeen years ago.”

A faint smile touched his lips.

“And when Wei Yan rushed to eliminate those loose ends, he would expose the evidence himself.”

Even Gongsun Yin was momentarily stunned.

His brows knitted tightly.

“If the imperial grandson never existed in the first place, then Zhao’s purchase of two hundred thousand shi of grain was designed from the beginning to provoke Wei Xuan into forced grain collection and drive Qingping County into rebellion.”

He stood and began pacing.

“At the same time, the Northern Ques attack Jinzhou. With those two hundred thousand shi of grain stockpiled there, Jinzhou becomes nearly impossible to conquer.”

Otherwise, if Jinzhou fell and the northwest lay open, the Northern Ques would sweep south unchecked.

“That wouldn’t benefit Prince Changxin either.”

The more he analyzed it, the more terrifying it seemed.

“Those two hundred thousand shi of grain served three purposes at once.”

He stopped pacing.

“Wei Yan wants you dead.”

“Prince Changxin controls the grain routes around Chongzhou.”

“You hold off the Northern Ques while his armies continue advancing south.”

His eyes darkened.

“When you’re finally exhausted, you’ll either die of starvation in Jinzhou like your father and Crown Prince Chengde once did…”

“Or you’ll be forced to ally with Prince Changxin and hand over your military authority.”

Returning to his seat, Gongsun Yin sighed.

“What a meticulous plan.”

“And what a vicious one.”

Yet Xie Zheng appeared remarkably unconcerned.

Almost amused.

“I thought you’d advise me to join forces with Prince Changxin.”

Gongsun Yin looked offended.

“Don’t lump me in with fools.”

He shook his head.

“Leaving aside the fact that you’re Wei Yan’s own nephew, the simple fact that you command such enormous military power makes that impossible.”

His eyes sharpened.

“If you surrendered to Prince Changxin, he wouldn’t dare use you.”

“No one sleeps peacefully with a sword hanging over their head.”

Xie Zheng was the finest blade in the world.

Unmatched in sharpness.

Wei Yan had unintentionally forged that blade because circumstances demanded it.

Yet the moment he sensed danger, he tried to break it.

If even Wei Yan feared him so deeply, how could Prince Changxin dare wield him?

If Xie Zheng rebelled, there was no guarantee who would ultimately rule the realm.

Prince Changxin was far too clever to keep such a threat close at hand.

Then a thought struck Gongsun Yin.

His fox-like eyes narrowed.

“Does the Marquis want the throne?”

Xie Zheng snorted.

“I want the truth behind the Battle of Jinzhou seventeen years ago.”

Gongsun Yin immediately laughed.

“Now that’s the Xie Jiuheng I know.”

He straightened his robes and prepared to leave.

But at the tent entrance, curiosity got the better of him.

He turned back.

“I still want to know who beat you up.”

His injuries were limited almost entirely to his face.

That was simply too strange.

Xie Zheng’s icy gaze swept toward him.

Gongsun Yin quickly fled through the tent flap.

After he left, Xie Zheng closed his eyes.

The feelings he had deliberately suppressed resurfaced because of a few careless remarks.

He had suffered little defeat in his life.

What he felt now was more than bitterness.

There was resentment too.

Not a princess.

Not the noble daughters of the capital.

If he wanted them, he could marry any of them.

Yet that woman…

That woman practically treated him like a weed growing by the roadside.

His chest felt tight.

Irritated.

Restless.

At that moment, the tent flap opened again.

Annoyed, Xie Zheng looked up.

It was Gongsun Yin once more.

This time he carried a large bundle.

A familiar-looking bundle.

Seeing Xie Zheng’s unfriendly stare, Gongsun Yin shrugged.

“A lieutenant from the Jizhou camp brought this.”

He lifted the package.

“Said an old carpenter cured his rheumatism with a few medicinal plasters. He owed the man a favor.”

Gongsun Yin grinned.

“So he helped the carpenter search for his niece’s husband.”

“The carpenter said his niece’s husband is named Yan Zheng.”

He spread his hands.

“Out of the thousand recruits I borrowed, you’re the only one using the alias Yan Zheng.”

His grin widened.

“So naturally I figured this belonged to you.”

Then he raised an eyebrow.

“Niece’s husband?”

“You got married?”

For a brief moment, Xie Zheng froze.

Then his lips pressed together.

His expression turned colder.

“Put it in the rear tent.”

Gongsun Yin stared.

His eyes widened so much he looked almost foolish.

“Wait.”

“You really got married?”

Xie Zheng remained silent.

Married.

Technically.

Though the marriage itself had been false from the beginning.

Gongsun Yin frowned.

Then suddenly something occurred to him.

He stared at Xie Zheng in disbelief.

“You’re not planning to abandon her, are you?”

His gaze moved to the bruises on Xie Zheng’s face.

The theory seemed increasingly plausible.

“Don’t tell me those injuries came from her family after you wronged their daughter?”

Xie Zheng’s face darkened.

“Shut up.”

He was the one who had been discarded.

Not the other way around.

But Gongsun Yin had already begun sympathizing with Fan Changyu.

Looking at Xie Zheng as though seeing him for the first time, he sighed dramatically.

“Jiuheng, Jiuheng… I never imagined you were this kind of man.”

Xie Zheng lifted his eyes impatiently.

“Do you want to walk out yourself, or should I have someone throw you out?”

Gongsun Yin ignored the threat.

His expression became unexpectedly serious.

“Jiuheng, even if her status is too low to become your principal wife, she stayed with you when you were at rock bottom.”

He shook his head.

“At least bring her back and give her the position of a concubine. How can you be so heartless?”

For a long time, Xie Zheng said nothing.

Then, at last, he spoke.

“She doesn’t want me.”

The expression on Gongsun Yin’s face instantly became so strange that it defied description.