It rained heavily all night. Pei Zhan and his group didn’t rest much because they were escorting a high-profile criminal of the court. Fortunately, the rain stopped at dawn the next morning, and a bright sun soon climbed into the sky.
The team regrouped and set out once again.
When Yang Yi came downstairs, he looked no different from usual. Only Pei Zhan, with his sharp eyes, noticed that the color under his eyes was deeper than usual.
But he said nothing.
The remaining hundred or so li were covered in just over a day. Along the way, at almost every post station they entered, people were discussing the revelation of King Yan’s lineage.
On the afternoon of the second day, the group entered the city gates as scheduled.
The Minister of War led some civil and military officials to greet them outside the city gates. Everyone was full of praises for Pei Zhan, then there were also accolades for generals Liang Zhi and Cheng Chili. However, for Yang Yi, who appeared the least familiar in the crowd, though unknown to many, his extraordinary demeanor caught their lingering gaze.
Yang Yi remained silent and spoke not a word. It wasn’t until after they entered the city and everyone dispersed, with Pei Zhan and his team following the Minister of War into the government office, that he returned to the Yang Residence with his entourage.
Half of the guards the Empress had assigned to Yang Yi had accompanied him to the Northwest, while the other half stayed behind to watch over the residence.
The first thing Yang Yi did upon returning home was to call these people over.
"How was King Yan’s lineage exposed?"
The leading guard, Liu An, replied, "In response to your highness, I am not clear. It was about half a month ago that someone suddenly spread the news.
"I sent someone to the palace to meet the Empress, and she also wasn’t aware, finding it very puzzling.
"Later, the Empress worried that the news would reach the Northwest and affect your highness’s campaign, so she instructed us to remain inactive while investigating the source of the rumor daily on the streets and alleys."
"Did you find out anything?"
"Not yet. But we have pinpointed the initial place the news spread — it’s at the Huzhou Guild Hall in the south of the city, said to have been disseminated by some merchants.
"But as to which individuals they were, it can’t be traced anymore."
"Huzhou?"
Yang Yi’s eyes flickered at this.
Liu An looked up at him, "Does your highness have any leads?"
Yang Yi did not reply. After gazing out the window for a moment, he said, "Are you familiar with the Qianqing Palace guards?"
Liu An was momentarily stunned. Then he bowed his head, "There are a few I am quite familiar with."
"Go to Qianqing Palace and see what you can find out."
Liu An glanced at the ground and agreed, retreating as he did so.
Chen Song and He Zhao approached, "Does our lord suspect that the Emperor leaked the information?"
"Who else could it be?"
Yang Yi’s voice carried a faint scorn.
Not many people were aware of this matter in the first place; the Pei family wouldn’t do something like this, nor would the Ning Family.
Instead, the Emperor’s ancestral home is in Huzhou, and it came from the Huzhou Guild Hall; how could the Qianqing Palace not be suspect?
The two exchanged glances. He Zhao said, "If it was the Emperor, he wouldn’t necessarily have needed to involve the Huzhou Guild Hall, wouldn’t that just be admitting it?"
Yang Yi replied, "How do you know he didn’t do it on purpose?"
At this, both were taken aback, unsure of what to say.
Yang Yi turned back around and loosened his outer robe, "Let’s wait and see what they learn from the Qianqing Palace."
After taking a sip of tea, he added, "By the way, send the local specialties we bought on the way to my mother."
...
After the prison wagon entered the city, it encountered many rotten cabbage stalks and rotten eggs.
The tea houses and taverns were exceptionally lively that day, with all sorts of conversation topics reaching a new high.
But all these reactions were anticipated, so despite the chatter outside, life continued for everyone as usual.
Pei Zhan and his group returned to the capital four or five days earlier than originally planned. Since the prison convoy couldn’t move quickly, the guarding escort had arrived in the capital a day before them.
Thus, Fu Zhen and the others had already received the news yesterday and prepared a welcome banquet in advance.
Having arrived after noon, the banquet was scheduled for the evening. They also took the opportunity to invite Yang Yi, Liang Chen, Liang Zhi, as well as Cheng Chili and his brothers.
However, Pei Zhan and his companions had to enter the palace first to report. Before their return, Fu Zhen began organizing the event.
When the banquet hall was being arranged, Yang Tong casually walked in, "The general just entered the palace. I saw the general at the palace gates; after a month’s absence, he is darker and thinner. After going there and back in such a short time and fighting a major battle, I wonder how much hardship he endured on this journey."