Three Steps: From Assassin to Empress - Chapter 49
Chapter 49
The carriage returned to the Fushan Inn. Not long after Ying Xiu got out, Yu An arrived as well.
Worried about his father’s frail health, Ying Xiu let go of Xie Zhou’s hand and went to help Yu An.
Xie Zhou stood still, his eyes lowered to his empty palm. Just a moment ago, the youth had been holding his hand, their fingers intertwined.
A faint warmth lingered on his fingertips, slowly cooling.
“Dad, this is Xie Zhou,” Ying Xiu said, helping Yu An walk over to him. Yu An was busy coughing with his head down. After a good while of coughing, he finally had a moment to look at the white-robed retainer.
The retainer was tall and straight, his white robe cool and elegant. His features were cold and beautiful. His dark hair was tied with a simple band, and the thin silk flowing from it softened the sharp edges of his face, giving him an elegant and gentle demeanor.
The other person happened to look over. To be precise, he looked at Ying Xiu first, then followed Ying Xiu’s gaze to him. After just one look, a shiver ran down Yu An’s spine for no reason.
He felt that this Xie Zhou was absolutely not simple, and he didn’t have the temperament of an ordinary noble’s retainer.
…He had a bit of a kingly bearing.
Xie Zhou calmly accepted the scrutiny of Ying Xiu’s foster father. He lowered his head, meeting Yu An’s gaze directly. “Yu-gong, why don’t you stay at my residence for now? If you need anything, just tell them.”
His tone was warm, and his words were polite and courteous, but Yu An was inexplicably on guard. After years of living in hiding and escaping assassination, he was extremely sensitive to murderous intent, especially from those who had killed before. He could tell with one look.
This kind of gentle, upright youth was clearly a person of high rank. He had the power to decide life and death with a single thought.
Seeing that his father was lost in thought, Ying Xiu quickly poked him. The old man glared at him from the corner of his eye and then spoke to Xie Zhou with great courtesy. “Thank you very much. I’ll be so bold as to accept your offer.”
After settling his father in, Ying Xiu was about to leave the building where his father was staying, but Yu An suddenly grabbed him, his face serious. “Tell me in detail, how did you meet that retainer?”
“Dad, he’s not just ‘that retainer’,” Ying Xiu corrected him seriously. “He has a name.”
“Fine, tell me,” Yu An knew how stubborn he was. “How did you meet Xie Zhou?”
Ying Xiu was about to speak when an attendant knocked on the door, saying he wanted to add more furnishings for Yu An. A group of people carrying a stream of objects were waiting outside. Ying Xiu couldn’t say much and had to leave first.
When he returned to the quiet room, he saw Xie Zhou standing outside on the corridor, speaking in a low voice with a strange-faced attendant.
There were always many people coming and going in the residence. Their faces were unfamiliar, but their demeanor was almost identical—cautious, solemn, and respectful. When the attendant saw Ying Xiu from a distance, he immediately stopped talking, bowed, and saluted him.
Ying Xiu had originally intended to wait for them to finish, but since he had already been noticed, he didn’t hide. He raised his hand in a salute, returning the bow.
After dismissing the attendant, Xie Zhou looked at Ying Xiu and asked casually, “When are you planning to go to Jiankang?”
Ying Xiu counted the days in his mind and answered honestly, “Probably within the next few days.”
He had asked the Wang clan of Langya for a sum of money, enough for his father to live on for the rest of his life.
He had already agreed with his father that after he left Jiang Province, his father would use this money to find a place to settle down and would not stay at the Fushan Inn.
He would have to be separated from Xie Zhou for a while in the future, so it was not a good idea to let his father stay at Xie Zhou’s residence forever. He had to make plans early.
Perhaps it was just Ying Xiu’s imagination, but he felt that the retainer seemed to have seen through his thoughts, seeing that he was planning a way out for his loved one. Fortunately, Xie Zhou didn’t say anything, which made Ying Xiu feel a sense of relief.
“I have already had someone prepare your luggage and make arrangements. Just tell me when you’re ready to leave,” Xie Zhou said methodically.
With Xie Zhou around, it seemed like he didn’t have to worry about anything. As long as he made a decision, Xie Zhou would help him make all the preparations.
Ying Xiu lowered his head and quietly took hold of the hem of Xie Zhou’s robe. It was snow-white and soft, falling obediently into his hand.
He wondered how many more times he could hold Xie Zhou’s sleeve like this…
Thinking that he would soon be leaving Jiang Province and might never have the chance to return, Ying Xiu missed his friends and wanted to see them one last time.
He didn’t bother to rest. He just left a single sentence behind: “Xie Zhou, I’ll be back soon,” and excitedly ran out the door.
The golden-robed youth ran away with a jingling sound and disappeared at the end of the corridor. His fluttering golden clothes also vanished.
Only the retainer was left standing there. He didn’t even have time to say the rest of his words. He quietly watched Ying Xiu’s back, motionless.
The leader of the Hanging Mirror Bureau hung upside down from the eaves and said in a low voice, “Your Majesty, your subordinate has already found out. The young master met with Wang Daokui at Qionghua Terrace. We don’t know what they said, but the young master walked out with a dazed look on his face.”
Wang Daokui was a powerful official left behind by the previous emperor, and he had once led the Wang clan of Langya to suppress the imperial family. Now that the Wang clan was in decline and getting worse by the day, it was not hard to guess what he had said when he summoned an assassin.
That’s why Ying Xiu said he was going to Jiankang, to the capital.
The world was full of paradoxes. The prey he was after had stumbled into his trap by a fluke and was coming to him on his own.
The emperor glanced at the leader hanging from the eaves. The leader cautiously asked, “Your Majesty, should we—”
Before he could finish, the emperor suddenly interrupted him. “There’s no need.”
There was no need to do anything. Just wait…
Just wait.
It was close to dusk. The fading sunlight was like brocade, and the stream was as still as a ribbon. On the Little Qinhuai River, a soft southern folk song drifted as usual.
Ying Xiu hired a small boat. He was half-lying on the boat like he used to. The lotus leaves in the river had withered, and only a few lonely, withered vines stood in the rippling green water.
A fishing light hung from the bow of the boat, casting a faint glow. The light was reflected in the water, as if there were also lights lit beneath the surface. Crucian carps swam in the reflection of the light.
Jiang Province was located in the southwest, so winter was not too cold. The north wind blew from the distant Qinling Mountains, making the lamplight flicker in the lake.
The golden-robed youth poked his head out, looking at the long, winding lake. He reached out his fingertip and stirred the water.
After a short while, the boat stopped. Ying Xiu was about to give the boatman some silver, but the boatman waved his hand. “Old man, I remember you. You’re the one who helped us get our grain back. It was four sacks, enough for us to eat for half a year.”
Ying Xiu was stunned. The silver in his hand had not yet been given. The boatman searched around and took out a crucian carp from a wooden bucket. “Benefactor, I just caught this this morning. You can have it!”
How could that be right? He had already taken the man’s boat, and now he was to take his fish as well?
Ying Xiu quickly declined and put the silver on the bow of the boat. The boatman kept refusing, one wanting to pay the fare, and the other not only not taking the money but also wanting to give him a crucian carp.
The two of them talked past each other for a while, and in the end, they both took a step back. The boatman took the fare, and Ying Xiu took the crucian carp.
Ying Xiu secretly gave him a little more silver when the boatman wasn’t looking. Before the boatman could find out, he walked quickly up the bluestone path and went ashore.
The crucian carp was still alive, twitching under the red string. Ying Xiu held the fish and had an idea.
The sun was setting. At a tavern by the stream, a youth walked in, his back to the setting sun.
The people in the tavern looked toward him against the light and were stunned for a moment. It wasn’t clear who was the first to break the silence. “Ying Xiu! You’re finally back!”
The person who spoke was Xue Hao. He was holding a volume of policy papers and was studying intently. He looked up, saw Ying Xiu, and immediately jumped up. Holding the papers, he was the first to run in front of him.
“Next March, we’ll have to go to the government office to take the local exams! This is the first local exam since the Southern Dynasty reinstated the imperial examination system!”
Xue Hao was unusually excited, and for the first time, he showed the spirited passion that a young man should have.
The scholars who were focused on their books around them also recognized Ying Xiu. They put down their books and gathered around, asking Ying Xiu questions all at once. Some asked if he was going to take the imperial exam, and others teasingly asked him about his partner.
Ying Xiu was a little flustered by the questions. He held up the lively crucian carp in his hand and tentatively suggested, “How about… we eat first?”
Sizzle. The crucian carp was put into a pot and became bowls of milky-white crucian carp soup.
Sixteen people sat around a table. A few steps away was the open door of the tavern. The crimson sunset was cast all over the ground, and a dazzling light flowed from the sky to their feet.
The sunset made the thousand ridges beautiful, and the green water made the river bright.
Spring was coming soon.
Ying Xiu drank his fish soup, sitting among the scholars, listening to them discuss their future with high spirits.
How strange. An assassin would actually be friends with scholars.
He had never thought such a day would come.
The youth put down his bowl. For a moment, he couldn’t describe what he was feeling. Xue Hao elbowed him and winked. “What’s wrong? Something on your mind?”
Ying Xiu shook his head. “No.”
“You, you’re not even good at pretending,” Xue Hao said, a little helpless. “I can tell just by looking at you that something’s on your mind. Is it about that partner of yours…”
Thinking of Ying Xiu’s partner, Xue Hao couldn’t help but fall silent. He remembered going to the Wang clan’s private residence to find Ying Xiu and seeing a youth in a white robe standing outside the door, detached from the world, cool and unique.
He was truly an extremely beautiful, stunning, and extraordinary person.
From just that one encounter, he had a gut feeling that this person was not a simple man. He looked like the powerful head of a noble household.
Xue Hao thought about it and said earnestly, “If there’s any misunderstanding, you must clear it up in time. If you don’t say anything and I don’t say anything, you’ll just break up…”
In his opinion, a messy breakup would be a good outcome. Who knew what else could happen?
No matter what he said, Ying Xiu just nodded. How could he even talk about this?
He couldn’t just say to Xie Zhou, I’m an assassin, and I’m going to assassinate the current emperor. You just wait at home for me to come back, okay?
He hesitated for a moment and then asked in a low voice, “I have a friend. He wants to part ways with his…” Ying Xiu carefully considered his words. “…with his confidant. What should he say?”
Xue Hao stared at Ying Xiu with a look that said, “I get it, so you’re the heartless one.” Ying Xiu felt a little flustered under his gaze and lowered his eyelashes.
Still, as a good friend, Xue Hao decided to use all his knowledge to offer advice.
“That’s not difficult. Why did you… why did your friend become friends with that person in the first place? Now, tell him you don’t like him, can’t stand him, and want him to change. If he can’t, you’ll naturally part ways.”
Ying Xiu listened and nodded, feeling deeply that this was the only way to not hurt Xie Zhou’s heart. He had learned a valuable lesson.
…
How will Ying Xiu’s misguided plan to protect Xie Zhou backfire?