Eternal Night - Chapter 32
“My lord! Prince Duan is in charge of the defense of the capital region. If he causes trouble, it will be a big deal. Why not ask the prince for help?” Liu, the advisor, offered a suggestion.
The prefect shook his head: "Although I am the prefect of the capital, a third-rank official, it is by no means easy for me to request an audience with Prince Duan!"
"Why don't you go to Prime Minister Zhang's residence... and ask him for help under the pretext of investigating the case? Princess Duan is Prime Minister Zhang's beloved daughter."
The prefect's eyes lit up, and he stopped drinking. He instructed his clerk to notify the prefectural assistant and summon the yamen runners, and then prepared generous gifts to go to the prime minister's residence.
The Prime Minister's residence was located in Zaozi Lane in the capital. A large patch of firecracker paper scraps lay scattered in the snow at the entrance, a festive red. Although the mansion had lost silver, the New Year still had to be celebrated. Moreover, the Prince Duan's heir, the Prime Minister's youngest grandson, was coming to pay his respects today, and Zhang Xiang was beaming with joy. He instructed his servants to report the theft, but didn't dwell on the matter.
Prince Duan and his wife entered the palace. Yongye, accompanied by Li Yannian and a group of guards, came to the Prime Minister's residence. He was reciting Prime Minister Zhang's poems to please his grandfather.
Hearing Yongye's clear voice and seeing his face so similar to his beloved daughter, Zhang Xiang felt a pang of heartache. He recalled how he had worried about Yongye's illness in the past, and now that he was truly cured, he felt a touch of sadness.
"Yongye, do you have any new works?" Zhang Xiang knew that his grandson loved poetry, so he focused on steer the conversation toward Yongye's interests.
Little did Yongye know that this was exactly what bothered him. It wasn't that plagiarism was wrong, but he simply hated it. He also didn't want to inadvertently be labeled a child prodigy, which would inevitably lead to dealing with a bunch of pedantic people. So he shook his head and said, "Ever since reading Grandpa's poems, Yongye has dared not write poetry again!"
Zhang Xiang was overjoyed by the flattery and jokingly called him "Yongye the Little Flatterer."
"Grandpa, I heard that Mother had a sister who looked just like her when she was young. Did she also resemble Yongye?" Yongye really wanted to know.
"That was when we were little. Everyone said we looked alike, but we don't look alike anymore now that we're older," Zhang Xiang said casually, a hint of sadness in his eyes, as if he were grieving over something.
"What about the children my aunts had? Did they look a lot like me when I was little?"
Zhang Xiang trembled, reached out and pulled Yongye into his arms, and whispered, "He is unlucky. You are my only grandson."
Why did Prime Minister Zhang say that? Could it be that he really was Prince Duan's biological son? Yongye wondered to himself. Just as he was about to ask further, the head steward of the mansion rushed in and said that Prefect Cao of the capital had arrived.
Yongye followed Zhang Xiang to the front hall, where he saw a row of yamen runners holding fire pokers standing under the eaves. A horse-faced official sat there with a worried expression. He wore a scarlet robe with a peacock pattern and a black gauze hat adorned with gold and silver flowers. Judging from his attire, he was none other than Prefect Cao.
"Greetings, Your Excellency! Prime Minister Zhang has worked tirelessly for the country and its people. This is a small token of my appreciation. Also... I'd like to inquire about the details of last night's theft." Lord Cao rose and bowed deeply.
Zhang Xiang instructed his men to take the yamen runners to warm themselves by the fire, and invited Lord Cao to sit down. Just as he was about to speak, he noticed that Yongye was still standing to the side, so he patted his head and said with a smile, "Yongye, go and play. You can return to the palace after dinner."
Upon hearing this, Lord Cao raised his head and said with a fawning smile, "So you are the heir of Prince Duan. You are so intelligent and adorable; you are sure to be a great talent in the future!"
Zhang Xiang chuckled, his old face beaming with joy.
Yongye had wanted to observe how officials interacted, but his grandfather didn't want him present, so he bowed and left. As he walked out of the main hall, he heard Lord Cao pleading, "This humble official is indeed in a dilemma, I implore you, sir..."
Just as he was about to listen further, Li Yannian approached. Yongye smiled and went to greet him: "Would Steward Li be willing to accompany me on a tour of the Prime Minister's residence?"
"Yes, sir!" Li Yannian replied with his hands at his sides.
The Prime Minister's residence occupied a large area, and the outside world was already a silvery landscape. Yongye looked around to make sure no one was there, then smiled and said, "I noticed that Steward Li was paying quite a bit of attention to that Lord Cao."
"Your next target is him!" Li Yannian said calmly. When no one was around, he reverted to his arrogance in front of Yongye.
"What's the reason this time?"
"No matter how important the position of the Prefect of Kyoto is, he is the Empress's man, and he must be eliminated."
Yongye sighed: "Does this mean that anyone who stands in the Crown Prince's way must be eliminated? Can we possibly kill everyone in this world?"
"The Crown Prince is kind and benevolent, but Consort Li is powerless and without support. How else can she contend with the Empress? However, I can tell you that this Prefect is no benevolent man. He has only been Prefect for five years, yet he has already taken nine concubines in the capital and acquired numerous fields and properties. He is also a frequent visitor to the Peony Courtyard. Yesterday's theft in the capital involved officials from the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works related to the snow disaster. It seems that the thief did not steal silver indiscriminately. Yet, Lord Cao did not report the loss. I wonder if he lost too much silver and was afraid of losing his position if he reported it."
"Who could it be?" Yongye asked.
Li Yannian smiled wryly: "Do you think Youli Valley knows everything? We have our own power, but we can't control everything. This world is so big, there are too many thieves."
A thief who steals silver is still a thief, and a thief who steals a kingdom is still a thief. Yongye smiled: "I've been an assassin for you, I've been your heir, shouldn't I take double the silver?"
Li Yannian was stunned for a moment, then took out a silver note from his sleeve: "According to the rules of the valley, the reward for this mission is one thousand taels."
Yongye took it without ceremony, glanced at Li Yannian, and said coldly, "From now on, unless you are relaying messages from the valley, you are not allowed to approach me. I don't want anyone to know about my relationship with Youli Valley if the valley still wants me to complete the mission."
Li Yannian frowned: "But your martial arts..."
"What you want is a result. Everything else is none of your business," Yongye snorted.
Li Yannian was stunned by Yongye's imposing aura, and remembering that he was only ten years old, he felt a surge of resentment. Staring at Yongye's retreating figure, he said fiercely, "He's just relying on his face! Even Prince Duan wouldn't dare speak to me like that, you brat!"
As Yongye left the manor, Lord Cao was also departing. Before getting into his sedan chair, Yongye smiled at him. Lord Cao was dazzled by the smile and felt a flicker of attraction, a lewd glint in his eyes. Remembering Yongye's identity, he shook his head regretfully.
Yongye saw this expression and thought coldly, "It's rare for Li Yannian to ask me to kill a corrupt official, so don't blame me."
She got into trouble with Feng Yangxi
This was Yongye's first time acting alone. He stared blankly at the courtyard. Before each mission, he always liked to quietly review the plan in his mind.
After finishing his meal calmly, he even went to Prince Duan's study to exchange a few pleasantries. Prince Duan looked at him with a beaming smile, but his gaze was strangely intriguing. It wasn't like he was looking at his own son, but rather admiring the shape of his nose and eyes. Yongye really didn't want any more contact with him; he was genuinely afraid that Prince Duan's scrutinizing gaze, like someone selecting meat or vegetables, would reveal that he was a fake.
Yongye sighed, preferring the night to the day. He tired easily in the light, but at night, his eyes shone brighter than a cat's at midnight.
Unfortunately, he cannot live in darkness forever, nor will he.
Yihong and Lanlu had gotten used to not sleeping with him at night and not disturbing him. This made it very convenient for Yong to act at night. Even so, tonight he still put a sleeping potion in Yihong, Lanlu, and Yin'er's rooms. He guaranteed that they would sleep soundly until dawn, without even a dream.
"Bang!" The watchman's voice, announcing the time, echoed softly in the distance.
Yongye straightened his clothes: a black bodysuit and a black and white cape.
He wouldn't overlook this during the snowy season.
Laughter filled the Kyoto Prefectural Government Office that night. With Prime Minister Zhang's support, Lord Cao was able to relax and enjoy drinking and hot pot with his wives and concubines.
The melodious sound of the pipa spread out. A sweet voice sang sweetly: "Eighty miles of wind and snow cannot stop my love's journey home—"