Building a Harmonious Song Dynasty

Chapter 40

Perhaps it was the weather's fault, for the first downpour of early summer fell on the day of the banquet. Zhao Gou, accompanied by several key civil officials and Liu Qi, braved the rain to arrive at the Liao Imperial Palace, where Prince Ao Luwo of Jin personally greeted him at the palace gate.

Upon entering the hall, Zhao Gou shook the water droplets off his wide sleeves, then cupped his hands to Ao Luwo and said, "It is truly an honor to be personally welcomed by the Prince of Jin."

Ao Luwo returned the greeting, saying, "I am truly ashamed. Your Highness has been in Zhongjing for quite some time now, but our country's affairs are numerous and complicated. If I have neglected Your Highness in any way, please forgive me!"

Zhao Gou nodded in understanding, but the two civil officials behind him made strange noises from their noses in unison, clearly dissatisfied with the Liao Kingdom's neglect.

Ao Luwo pretended not to hear and led Zhao Gou to the inner seats. The Qin-Jin King Yelü Chun and General Yelü Huan, who were traveling with the Liao Kingdom, also took their seats in turn.

The people present were already quite familiar with each other, so they spoke directly. Yelü Chun raised objections to Zhao Gou's earlier condition of "returning the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun." These sixteen prefectures, after a century of changes, had become an important part of the Liao Dynasty, including Nanjing and Xijing, two of the five capitals. How could the Liao Dynasty possibly agree to such a condition?

However, the Song envoy's purpose in coming this time was to obtain those sixteen prefectures, and he was not going to give in easily either, so a verbal tug-of-war ensued.

Zhao Gou remained silent, letting the civil officials mediate with Yelü Chun. Instead, he paid more attention to Yelü Huan, who was also sitting quietly to the side.

Just as the banquet and discussions were in progress, Yelü Huan was led out by a guard, and returned shortly afterward with a serious expression. Ao Luwo noticed Yelü Huan's unusual demeanor and asked, "General Chenglie, what has happened?"

Yelü Huan glanced around at everyone, then said gravely, "Gao Yongchang, the garrison commander of Liaoyang Prefecture in Tokyo, has rebelled, and Tokyo is in chaos."

A series of loud crashes and the sound of porcelain shattering echoed from the banquet, startling both the Liao and Song officials.

King Ao Luwo of Jin had a golden complexion. This sudden news left him bewildered.

After reporting, Yelü Huan saw that Ao Luwo had lost his composure and that his father, Yelü Chun, was also frowning and deep in thought. He then turned to Zhao Gou and said, "Your Highness, please forgive us. Things have happened suddenly, and today's discussions may have to end here. Please lead your envoys back to the post station first. We will definitely come to apologize in person another day."

Zhao Gou recovered from the shock of the news. He rose and said to Yelü Huan, "General, please don't worry about it. I understand. I'll take my leave now!"

The Prince of Jin and his entourage finally recovered from their shock, repeatedly apologizing to the Song officials and rising to see them off. After Zhao Gou and the others left, the Prince of Jin, Yelü Chun, and Yelü Huan exchanged glances and hurried towards Yelü Yanxi's palace.

The thunderstorm continued. Zhao Gou, sitting in his carriage on the return journey, suddenly burst into laughter. Liu Qi, beside him, asked in surprise, "Why did Your Highness laugh?"

"This is a golden opportunity for us! We have been negotiating with the Liao Kingdom about the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun for many days without any progress. Now that they have suddenly encountered trouble, it will surely cause great turmoil. The more critical their situation, the more they need our support. When the time comes to negotiate again, they will have no choice but to back down!"

Liu Qi nodded in agreement, as he had also thought of this point, but he was surprised to hear Zhao Gou say it.

Zhao Gou instructed, "Lord Liu, go and investigate who Gao Yongchang really is. Tokyo is a strategically important military location, and it is too suspicious that he could so easily seize it for himself."

Lightning flashed and thunder roared outside the carriage, but Zhao Gou was in a good mood. He was focused on the affairs in Tokyo when the carriage suddenly stopped. Before he could understand what was happening, Liu Qi grabbed him and threw him out of the carriage!

Under the torrential rain, Zhao Gou was instantly soaked to the bone, but he couldn't care less about that at the moment, because the horse lying sideways in the rain had already told him that he was in danger!

Liu Qi leaped far from the carriage with Zhao Gou, and as soon as he put Zhao Gou down, they were surrounded by men in black who rushed out from the rain.

The heavy rain obscured everyone's vision. Apart from the enemy in front of them, Zhao Gou didn't know how many people they had, nor did he know whether the ministers in the other carriage had been attacked.

Swords and blades came flying at him. Zhao Gou drew a dagger from his sleeve and barely managed to defend himself. The powerful attacks forced Zhao Gou to stop thinking and focus on dealing with the enemy in front of him. In his ruthlessness, he felt the dagger go soft under his hand. He had just felt a bit of warmth in his hand when the rain washed it away. But Zhao Gou knew clearly that he had killed someone.

His momentary lapse in concentration exposed a major opening, but fortunately, Liu Qi's superior martial arts skills blocked most of the attacks. After successively killing three enemies, the two of them felt the pressure ease immediately, indicating that they had received reinforcements from the outside.

After all the enemies were eliminated, Zhao Gou saw Wu Shaofen, her hair slightly disheveled, pulling a thin sword from an enemy's body. The two stood a few steps apart in the rain. Zhao Gou was slightly taken aback. Hadn't he told her before leaving that night that he didn't need her protection? Had she secretly followed him after all?

"Your Highness? Are you alright?"

Shao Fen walked over in a few steps, and Zhao Gou quickly suppressed his surprised expression and said, "I'm fine."

By this time, Liu Qi had already taken stock of the small battlefield. There were many people lying haphazardly on the street. There were eight assassins, but more than a dozen of his own guards had been killed or wounded. Fortunately, the carriages of the civil officials were safely parked to the side and had not been attacked.

"Your Highness," Liu Qi reported back to Zhao Gou, "this group of eight seems to have come specifically for you. The other carriage is unharmed, so it seems this was planned in advance..."

Zhao Gou wiped the rain off his face and simply instructed Liu Qi, "Send someone to inform the government that we should return to the post station."

"Your Highness? Aren't you going to investigate the backgrounds of these people?" Wu Shaofen blurted out.

Zhao Gou glanced at her but said nothing. He simply led a guard's horse through the rain and walked away. Liu Qi, seeing Shao Fen following closely behind, felt relieved and led the remaining guards to protect the ministers back to the inn. In truth, both Zhao Gou and Liu Qi knew who had sent these assassins, but they kept it to themselves.

Volume Two: Eagle Soars Through the Sky 074 A Tumultuous Love Affair

At dawn the next day, the thunderstorm subsided slightly. Qin Zhen stood in front of the gate, looking around, but the street was deserted.

Qin Zhen naturally knew that Prince Jin had hosted a banquet for the Song delegation on behalf of the Liao Emperor last night. However, she didn't understand why Yelü Chun and Yelü Huan hadn't returned home after being in the palace all night, so she guessed that something must have happened in the palace.

Yue Fei ran back from one end of the street and said, "I went to inquire and heard that many people died on the south street last night. There were eight people whose identities were unknown, as well as several Song Dynasty soldiers. However, I heard that the prince and the others are all fine, just a little frightened."

Qin Zhen frowned and said, "Something has indeed happened."

"The general and the prince must have stayed out all night because of this," Yue Fei guessed.

News of the fall of Tokyo had not yet spread, and Qin Zhen was naturally unaware of it. Just as Yue Fei had guessed, she was worried that the relationship between Liao and Song would deteriorate because of what happened last night.

"Brother, judging from what happened last night, it was probably just an assassination attempt, but it kept the two of them away all night. I wonder if something else has happened. It's worrying."

"The prince and his entourage returned to the post station last night. Why don't we go and ask him about it?"

Upon hearing Yue Fei's suggestion, Qin Zhen lightly stamped her foot and pouted, saying, "I'm not going to go find him!"

Yue Fei, not quite understanding of his daughter's thoughts, had long forgotten about Qin Zhen and Zhao Gou's quarrel. Seeing Qin Zhen's anger, he thought for a while before remembering it. He then advised, "Don't take such things to heart. Your Highness was just anxious the other day. State affairs are more important. Let's find out what happened last night first."

Qin Zhen hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded and went with Yue Fei to find Zhao Gou again.

Meanwhile, Zhao Gou was drinking unpalatable ginger soup at the post station. Last night, everyone had been caught in the rain, and the accompanying doctor was worried that some of them might catch a cold, so he made everyone drink a large bowl of it.

Zhao Gou placed the empty bowl on the table. As the guards were taking the bowl away, Zhao Gou instructed, "Summon Wu Shaofen to see me." The guards responded and immediately sent someone to fetch her.

A short while later, Wu Shaofen came before Zhao Gou, still dressed in the uniform of a male guard, but her spirits were not as good as they had been in the previous days.

"Your Highness, you wanted to see me?"

Zhao Gou glanced at her and said, "I told you last night that you didn't need to come into the palace with me, but you still went?"

Shaofen stammered, "These past few days, there have been people loitering near the post station, and I was worried about Your Highness's safety. That's why... Please forgive me, Your Highness. I didn't mean to disobey Your Highness's orders!"

"Alright. Get up. We owe you a lot last night." Zhao Gou paused, then asked, "You were soaked in that heavy rain last night?"

Shaofen was somewhat surprised and replied in a low voice, "After the prince's carriage entered the palace, I found a place to take shelter from the rain. I wasn't constantly getting soaked."

"And on the way there and back... you..." Zhao Gou suddenly didn't know what to say. Should he scold her for being too foolish, too stupid? But she looked so clever; she didn't seem stupid at all. He really couldn't understand what was wrong with this woman. Why was she so loyal to him!

Finally, Zhao Gou said, "Fine, you can stay with me from now on. If it rains, you don't need to get soaked in the rain to protect me, and you'll just get sick..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Wu Shaofen let out a loud sneeze.

"It really is a cold. You should go see a doctor."

Wu Shaofen was flattered and quickly thanked him before leaving.

It was only at this point that Zhao Gou truly began to take Wu Shaofen seriously. She was a woman who had to dress up in full armor every day and travel thousands of miles away from home to protect herself. This was no easy feat for a girl who was not yet fourteen years old.

As Wu Shaofen returned to her room, she suddenly saw figures on the wall. Running over, she saw Yue Fei and Qin Zhen, and only then did she lower her guard. Yue Fei, seeing her, smiled and said, "You're not trying to send us away again, are you?"

Shao Fen blushed and apologized to Yue Fei and Qin Zhen beside him, saying, "I'm so sorry about what happened the other day. I was too rash."

Seeing her apologize so earnestly, Yue Fei felt embarrassed and asked instead, "I apologize for hurting you that day. Is the wound on your neck any better?"

"It's just a minor injury, nothing serious. Oh, and your handkerchief, I'll go get it and return it to you." She looked at Yue Fei with great embarrassment, and then prepared to go back to her room to get it. This sight made Qin Zhen's thoughts race, and a mischievous smile appeared on his lips. He quickly urged, "Brother, why don't you go with her? It's not good to make others run back and forth. I'll go wait for you at Zhao Gou's place first."

Yue Fei thought Qin Zhen's words made sense, so he went with Wu Shaofen.

When Qin Zhen arrived in front of Zhao Gou's room, he deliberately coughed loudly. Zhao Gou was startled to hear it, and a look of joy appeared on his face. He then deliberately composed himself and opened the door.

"Come on in since you're here," Zhao Gou said calmly.

Qin Zhen looked at Zhao Gou, whose face was completely calm, and suddenly realized that he was the only one who took the argument very seriously, while Zhao Gou acted as if nothing had happened.

Dissatisfied, she went inside and sat down, asking, "I heard you met someone on the street last night..."

"Yes, that's right."

Do you know who sent them?

"I think I know."

Zhao Gou's simple answer seemed absent-minded, which was really pushing Qin Zhen to her limits. She took a deep breath and said, "My senior brother and Prince Qin Jin haven't returned all night. Is the assassination attempt that complicated? Did something else happen in between?"

"Hmm... something must have happened."

"Zhao Gou!" Qin Zhen could no longer contain himself and finally shouted out his name.

Zhao Gou, however, wore an expression of watching a good show, which made Qin Zhen grit his teeth in anger.

"What exactly do you want? If you don't want to talk to me, just say so. I'll never come looking for you again, and you don't need to make this face to annoy me!"

Zhao Gou finally looked at Qin Zhen with a serious expression, but he didn't say anything. He just walked very close and continued to look at her.

Why are you looking at me like that?

Qin Zhen turned her head away, unwilling to face Zhao Gou, but Zhao Gou forcefully pulled her back: "Don't you understand yet? Don't doubt my attitude towards you. You're not allowed to say anything like I would harm you or that I don't want to see you. None of that is possible, understand?"

Zhao Gou's firm yet slightly forceful words startled Qin Zhen, and she involuntarily lowered her head. She then heard Zhao Gou sigh softly, press her down into a chair, and say, "I really want to take you back to Bianjing as soon as possible. This way, I can only see you once every few days, and you've become distrustful of me."

"I didn't." Qin Zhen blurted out subconsciously, but then felt embarrassed. Zhao Gou was pleased to see her reaction, so he said seriously, "I was wrong the day before yesterday. I shouldn't have spoken to you so loudly, and I shouldn't have made such a big deal out of it. Maybe I've been thinking too much lately, so I've been having some wild thoughts."

"What are you thinking? You're overthinking things." Qin Zhen pressed.

"nothing."

Qin Zhen was puzzled and was about to ask what was wrong when Zhao Gou said, "I have something important to tell you today. Something terrible has happened in Liao. The capital city of Liaoyang has been captured by the traitor Gao Yongchang. This is an urgent report that came last night. I'm sure all the ministers are in the palace discussing this matter now."

"Such a thing has happened!" Qin Zhen finally understood what had happened and asked, "Who is this Gao Yongchang? Is he from the Jin Dynasty?"

"I don't know. I've already ordered Liu Qi to investigate, and I believe we'll have news in a couple of days. What are your thoughts?"

Qin Zhen shook his head and said, "I was completely unprepared for this matter, and it's not really appropriate for either of us to get involved in Liao affairs. Let them handle it themselves for now. If there's anything I can do to help you, Senior Brother, I will certainly do my best. And I have faith in Sixth Senior Brother's abilities!"

Zhao Gou nodded, then remembered something and asked, "What exactly did you come to see me about the other day?"

"Ah, that matter..." Qin Zhen said, "That matter is now settled, there's no room for discussion..."

"What exactly happened?"

"The day after tomorrow...the day after tomorrow, I will be bestowed the title of 'Princess Dingguo' of the Liao Kingdom."

Zhao Gou stood up abruptly and asked in a loud voice, "How could you be a princess of the Liao Kingdom?"

"Actually, I didn't want to either, but Emperor Yelü knew I wasn't my sixth brother's daughter, yet he insisted on this. I had no choice. Besides, my father has been so good to me. If he knew I wasn't his biological granddaughter, how heartbroken he would be. I didn't want to hurt him. When I came to find you that day, I was driven away by you before I could even say a word."