Der Mond scheint hell über den leeren Bergen, und Blumen füllen den Himmel

Kapitel 88

It turns out that although there are countless waterways in the area of the Hongshui River in Daming Mountain, only a few are navigable by large ships, as they are all tributaries of the Hongshui River. In this remote and wild southern region, to find a mansion with "painted beams and courtyards," one would need to be in a bustling county town. The only places with both major rivers and bustling county towns are Maping, Guilin, Lingling, and Qujiang. Other places are either too far away or have no rivers at all. Furthermore, while Maping and Qujiang have major rivers flowing through them, the Maping River only flows westward, and the Qujiang River only flows downstream to the sea. Only Guilin and Lingling connect to the Xiang River via a tributary of the Hongshui River. If Jiang Chenming is hiding along this route, he could travel from the Xiang River to Dongting Lake, then into the Yangtze River, and finally to the Grand Canal to reach the heart of the Song Dynasty. Of Guilin and Lingling, Lingling is naturally the most remote, hence Shengxiang suggested starting with Lingling to investigate whether Jiang Chenming is hiding there.

"But what if Xiao Yan's poem was cobbled together by him?" Sheng Xiang glared.

Rong Yin sneered, "Now that things have come to this, we have no choice but to take a gamble."

Shengxiang grinned and made a face at him, "If you win, I'll treat you to dinner."

Rong Yin didn't answer, and after a moment of silence, he slowly changed the subject: "Your father..."

Shengxiang's eyes flickered. "What?"

"The Emperor has requested your father to serve as the military governor of Wusheng Army to attack Youzhou and Jizhou," Rong Yin said. "He will set off in the next few days."

Shengxiang remained silent for a moment, then said, "That is—resignation as prime minister—"

Rong Yin chuckled, neither confirming nor denying, "Your father concurrently holds the positions of Grand Commandant and Attendant-in-Ordinary, ranking among the Three Dukes and Five Departments, still a first-rank official. It's just that he's been removed from office, a promotion in name only, a demotion in reality."

Shengxiang didn't say anything, just smiled, "It's good that you're safe, it's good that you're safe..."

Rong Yin placed his hand on his shoulder. "With your father's merits and status, the Emperor can only do so much. Don't worry."

Shengxiang smiled and said, "My father did many foolish things back then. If the Emperor really wanted him dead, there would be a reason... The Emperor is still... merciful."

Rong Yin gazed at him and slowly said, "It's not necessarily a bad thing that you can think this way."

Shengxiang stuck out her tongue, intending to smile more brightly, but ultimately didn't. She leaned against the pillow with a faint smile, slightly tugged at his brocade and luxurious sleeve, and said nothing more.

Leaving the Prime Minister's residence... though that place might not be the happiest for Shengxiang, leaving it would easily leave him... scarred and broken... that was his home. Choosing to leave was his hope that it wouldn't be destroyed because of him. He had abandoned his home, like a lone goose separated from its flock; mentioning his home was like a painful wound. Rong Yin stared solemnly into Shengxiang's eyes, eyes that were flawless when they smiled faintly, even showing a hint of joy, without any sign of pain. After looking at him for a while, Rong Yin changed the subject: "If nothing unexpected happens, we will set off for Hunan at this time tomorrow, you..."

"I'll go too."

Rong Yin nodded, but didn't voice his wish that Sheng Xiang would stay to recuperate. Sheng Xiang was indifferent to likes and dislikes, but once he made up his mind, he was always stubborn. Not letting him go would only make him come up with more bizarre ways to achieve his goal, so it was better to go along with him.

Outside the window, Yu Cuiwei was still playing his ebony zither haphazardly when Gu She came in and said that Yu Xiu had sent word: someone had seen Boss Zhou, who dealt in jewelry in Lingling, while trading silk. Boss Zhou had fallen and become lame years ago, but this time he was walking freely, which startled the friend. Boss Zhou's wife had died early, and this time he had married a very young woman, about seventeen or eighteen years old, extremely beautiful. She was accompanied by a handsome young man, and the three were very close, often seen together. Shi Shimei said this must be where Jiang Chenming was hiding, but she didn't know where his ten thousand remaining soldiers were hidden.

She arranged for everyone to travel south by boat at this time the next day, and instructed everyone to be careful in everything they did.

At this moment, Zhoujiazhuang in Lingling was filled with joy.

The one impersonating Boss Zhou without being lame was Jiang Chenming. He killed Boss Zhou and made himself a human skin mask. Unfortunately, he didn't notice that Boss Zhou's left and right legs were different lengths, which made "Zhou Baosheng" suddenly walk very fast and very strong.

Boss Zhou's new wife was none other than Liu, and the young master Wenxiu was none other than Li Lingyan. On this day, Zhou Family Village was brightly lit and very lively. Jiang Chenming surprisingly wore a bright red auspicious robe. It turned out that Liu had been confirmed by the doctor to be pregnant. Jiang Chenming was very proud to have a son in his old age. He was full of pride and joy.

Inside Zhoujiazhuang, gongs and drums resounded. Li Lingyan sat alone in his room, carefully examining a string of stones—a string of dazzling diamonds of varying sizes, fifteen or sixteen of them set on the same gold wire. Their value was beyond measure, perhaps even several cities. He played with them with great interest, as if they were not a string of treasures, but rather a puzzle that had captivated his attention.

He wasn't looking at the diamonds, of course; he was thinking about the child in Liu's belly.

Whose child is it?

Jiang Chenming's? His? He thought even Liu Ji herself probably didn't know whose child it was... In the candlelight, the diamond shone brightly, its edges shimmering with a little blue light. He carefully filed it with a file, looked at it again, filed it again, and so on for a while. Then he opened his five fingers—the tips of his fingers also shimmered with a faint blue light in the candlelight. His nails were transparent, and his fair fingers were quite beautiful. With a touch of blue light, his beautiful fingers suddenly became eerie.

"Master." The maid Xingxing brought in a cup of ginseng tea from outside the room. Seeing Li Lingyan fiddling with the diamond, her expression changed, and she bit her lip. "The tea is here."

Li Lingyan took a sip of tea and said, "Sit down." He was very considerate to his family and servants.

Xingxing sat down. “Sister Huaiyue said that Brother Tang and Sister Leng have found the place where Brother Beiyue and Brother Guild Leader are imprisoned in Biluo Palace. Sister Shuangli can move freely there. Brother Tang is arranging the rescue. Please rest assured, Guild Leader.”

“Wan Yuyuedan is not someone who can be allowed to act under one’s nose…” Li Lingyan smiled, “Be careful, that child is ruthless, one wrong move and he could be reduced to ashes.”

“Brother Tang is so clever. I heard that Wan Yu and Yue Dan have been staying in his fiancée’s room these past few days,” Xingxing said. “His childhood sweetheart fiancée is sick, so no one in Biluo Palace is paying attention to Sister Shuangli. It seems like they don’t really like or care about Sister Shuangli.”

Li Lingyan smiled and said, "She's a silly girl."

Xingxing smiled sweetly, "Sister Shuangli is a good person. By the way, Sister Huaiyue followed Qu Zhiliang all the way, but he didn't continue to chase Yu Cuiwei and Shengxiang. He rushed back by carriage and horse and will probably be back here tonight or tomorrow morning."

Li Lingyan's eyes lit up, and he slapped the table with a laugh, saying, "Just as I thought!" He rarely showed such excitement. After slapping the table, he stood up and paced around the room. "This mad dog is finally going to bite its master. Who forced it back?"

"I heard that Qu Zhiliang and Shengxiang had a conversation outside Bianjing City, and his face immediately changed. He rushed back like a madman." Xingxing chuckled. "Sister Huaiyue also heard Shengxiang shouting something like 'Is he still alive?' Just those five words scared Qu Zhiliang. Otherwise, how could Young Master Shengxiang have escaped?"

Li Lingyan finally burst into laughter, sipping his ginseng tea slowly. "If Li Lingyan has a confidant, none is better than Shengxiang... From now on, we'll see if he truly understands that poem." His eyes gleamed, shining brighter than the diamond in that instant, as he murmured, "There's nothing more exciting in this world than having another person who thinks the same way as you... 'Is he still alive?' Hahahaha..."

Xingxing couldn't help but ask, "Is the question 'Is he still alive?' very important?"

Li Lingyan suddenly suppressed his cheerful expression and became cautious and low-key again. He slowly said, "If you just read on patiently, you will know how meaningful this sentence is..." The light in his eyes slowly dimmed. "The Heavenly Book is back. Go and get another cup of ginseng tea."

Xingxing glanced at Li Lingyan with her beautiful eyes, then withdrew.

A moment after she left, Tang Tianshu pushed open the door and entered. His "Bone-Melting Divine Skill," characterized by "Autumn Water as Spirit and Jade as Bone," had reached its peak. He was no longer paralyzed in bed, but could already walk freely. Upon entering, Li Lingyan smiled first, "Did you hear everything?"

Tang Tianshu still spoke very slowly: "If you didn't know I was listening, how could you speak so freely?"

Li Lingyan's beautiful eyelashes fluttered slightly. "'Is he still alive?' Qu Zhiliang is indeed deeply in love with Lianzhu Qianli. When it comes to Lianzhu Qianli's safety, he loses his composure and acts faster than I expected." After speaking, he carefully filed the diamond in his hand, as if he had suddenly become a jade craftsman carving gemstones, and nothing attracted his attention more than the diamond in his hand.

Tang Tianshu sat upright opposite him, his posture exuding the charm of a middle-aged man. He straightened his sleeves, but his voice was still somewhat out of sync with his appearance, drawn out, soft, and indistinct: "I have replaced quite a few servants in Zhoujiazhuang. It was easier to set up spies in the military camp than I thought, and the information we got was beyond our expectations."

Li Lingyan asked in surprise, "Lianzhu Qianli is still alive?"

Tang Tianshu smiled and said, "He's still alive. He was indeed hiding in the Han army. Jiang Chenming carries this important asset with him wherever he goes. However, he hid it very well. It took me three months and eight days to find out that Lianzhu Qianli was being guarded by Jiang Chenming's confidants and was being hidden in the military stables."

Li Lingyan sighed softly, "He actually didn't die..."

"This man was once very famous, it's really pitiful." Tang Tianshu also sighed. "Although he's not dead yet, it's not difficult to help him."

Li Lingyan's eyes flickered, then he suddenly gasped, "You—"

Tang Tianshu suddenly asked in a strange tone, "When do you ever feel surprised by murder?"

Li Lingyan sighed, "You've already killed him? I still want to see him. If he's not dead, it would be a good thing if he fell into our hands."