Chapter 132: The Ren-Chen Injustice?

9-11 am.

The guest house courtyard was quiet.

Li Qiushi, Wang Xigui, the Daoist Master, and the Prince of Nanshun—disguised as a guard—had already left quietly half an hour ago.

They must have left the City by now.

In the courtyard next door, the laughter of the Prince of Nanshun’s concubines rang out occasionally. Everything seemed normal.

Inside the room, only Ding Suian and Yi Yiyi remained. The latter sat upright in her chair, eyes fixed, motionless, like a carved jade statue of Guanyin, possessing an untouchable, cold grace.

Ding Suian felt bored, so he said, “You are actually a Disciple of the Jile Sect?”

“Mm.”

“In the eyes of Great Wu, or at least the monks at Shangling Temple, the Jile Sect is considered an evil sect.”

“Oh.”

“…”

This was not a good attitude for conversation.

Ding Suian simply shut his mouth and looked at the pine trees in the gloomy sky outside the window.

As soon as he fell silent, Yi Yiyi’s delicate fingertips curled slightly. Now that her father and the guards of the State of Wu had left, and aside from those Zhao Army soldiers whose background she did not know, only Steward Yi and Ding Suian remained to be trusted.

It would be unwise to make the relationship awkward.

Her lowered eyelashes trembled like butterfly wings.

After trying for a while, Yi Yiyi found a topic. Her voice remained calm but softened slightly, “Why is the Dutou willing to stay?”

“If everyone left, they would notice something was wrong, no matter how foolish they were.”

“Oh.”

It seemed she didn’t know how to continue the conversation again.

Ding Suian said, “How did you join the Jile Sect?”

“When I was young, I originally studied under Mr. Zhou. Later, I followed my father to your country as a hostage, and my Esteemed Teacher could not accompany me.”

“Who is Mr. Zhou? Why couldn’t he accompany you?”

“My Esteemed Teacher…” Yi Yiyi paused, perhaps feeling that since she was now in Southern Zhao, it wouldn’t cause trouble to reveal her teacher’s background. After careful consideration, she said, “He was originally a member of the Confucian Sect. Forty-one years ago, during the Ren-Chen injustice…”

In the end, she did not use the official Great Wu term ‘The Ren-Chen Confucian Rebellion’ to refer to that secret past, but followed her Esteemed Teacher’s terminology.

“…during the Ren-Chen injustice, my Esteemed Teacher led some Disciples to flee your country and hid his identity in Southern Zhao. Only in recent years did he start operating under the name of the Confucian Sect in the world again.”

So that was it.

No wonder Great Wu only recently learned that Southern Zhao was hiding ‘confucian renegades’, which ultimately led to the Southern Expedition.

“Continue,” he said.

He was very interested in this past event.

Yi Yiyi looked up, a trace of faint confusion in her eyes. Her shimmering gaze inadvertently exuded a seductive charm she was unaware of, “Continue what?”

It was as if every glance contained affection, unspoken and lingering.

If you didn’t look at her, she was an icy beauty; once you met her eyes, she instantly became a love-starved seductress.

Perhaps it was a side effect of cultivating the Jile Sect’s secret arts?

But this little look of hers was much more powerful than Zhao Yan’s straightforward flirting. Was her cultivation even deeper?

Too much to handle!

Ding Suian looked away, “Naturally, about why you joined the Jile Sect.”

“Oh,” Yi Yiyi lowered her eyelids again, and that seductive charm vanished, “My Esteemed Teacher could not accompany me, and fearing that I would have no guidance to continue my cultivation, he had me join the Saint Aunt’s sect to learn curse arts.”

“Saint Aunt?”

Was this the same aunt that Zhao Yan always talked about? And Confucian Sect members recommended her to the Jile Sect?

Did the Jile Sect actually have a connection with the Confucian Sect?

“Is the Saint Aunt you mentioned always in the Prince’s residence?”

“No. The Saint Aunt’s whereabouts are erratic, but she came to the residence to teach me every month. Last year, she said she was cultivating at a Daoist temple in the City. As for where she is now, I do not know.”

The City.

That matched!

Back then, Madam Wu was obsessed, willing to destroy herself to drag Lin Hansu down with her.

At that time, Ding Suian had suspected that Madam Wu had been cursed with the ‘Lotus Heart Curse’.

Then there was Shopkeeper Wu of the Northern and Southern Goods Store who helped Madam Wu contact The Third Place Scholar Li and then mysteriously disappeared.

When Ding Suian and Zhisheng secretly investigated the store, they found the heartless lotus used for the Jile Sect’s Lotus Heart Curse in the warehouse.

And since the Jile Sect could easily disguise themselves as others, perhaps Shopkeeper Wu was already dead and replaced by a member of the Jile Sect.

If a high-level Jile Sect member had been hiding in the City causing trouble, all the previously fragmented clues could form a complete chain of logic.

But what puzzled him most was what the Jile Sect hoped to gain by planning for so long and expending so much effort.

After thinking for a long time without success, Ding Suian asked again, “By the way, after Great Wu was defeated, Supervisor Yuan was entrusted by an ‘old friend’ to ask me to take care of your residence. Is your teacher, Mr. Zhou, also a member of the Confucian Sect? Was Supervisor Yuan entrusted by him?”

Yi Yiyi thought for a moment and shook her head, “I do not know.”

This matter could be small or big. At its smallest, it was just a favor from an old friend to take care of a younger generation. At its largest, Supervisor Yuan was colluding with enemy renegades!

No wonder he didn’t dare to show his face at the time, and sold Ding Suian such a big favor to take in Hansu as a Disciple for such a small matter.

Chatting made time pass much faster.

Around noon, Si Zhiye rushed over, only to be blocked by Steward Yi outside the courtyard.

Ding Suian heard the commotion and walked out. When Si Zhiye saw that he was still there, his confusion turned into indignation, “Dutou Ding! What is going on with your country? Where is Lord Li? Why did the mission stationed outside the City suddenly leave?”

Ding Suian looked troubled, leaned close to Si Zhiye, and whispered, “Lord Si, you saw the situation last night. We came to negotiate, not to get involved in your internal affairs. The Prince was frightened and refuses to move. Lord Li has state affairs to attend to, so he led the mission on a different route to Yunzhou first.”

Si Zhiye’s expression turned stern. He also knew that the journey ahead would likely be troublesome, but hearing that Li Qiushi had left on his own, he couldn’t help but say angrily, “How can this be! Without our Ministry of Rites to guide your mission, what if our army misunderstands and hurts your people? Who will be responsible!”

“Who says it isn’t! I didn’t agree to it either, which is why I stayed! If something happens, he will be responsible for it himself!”

Si Zhiye was about to say more when he heard the door creak open. The Prince of Nanshun walked out slowly from the room, “What are you arguing about?”

Regardless of the situation the Prince of Nanshun was facing, he was still the legitimate eldest son of Southern Zhao. Si Zhiye quickly bowed, “Your Highness, when do we depart?”

The Prince of Nanshun looked up at the gloomy sky, “The weather is bad today. We won’t leave. Rest for a day, we’ll talk tomorrow.”

“…”

At such a time, he wasn’t thinking about returning to the capital as soon as possible, but was still dragging his feet here.

Si Zhiye complained inwardly, but said respectfully, “Yes, as you command, Your Highness.”

October 13th.

Using the ‘fright’ from the assassination attempt as an excuse, the ‘Prince of Nanshun’ stalled for two more days at the guest house. This morning, he finally agreed to set off.

Originally planned for 7-9 am, but the concubines in the Prince’s residence were slow and delicate, fussing over their makeup and packing their belongings, which delayed them for another half hour.

It was not until 9-11 am that this long convoy, which had expanded to over twenty carriages, snaked out of the county town.

This day went smoothly enough; although there were constant trivial matters, they managed to reach the next county town before dark as planned by Si Zhiye.

But the next day, things fell into chaos. Perhaps because they felt they had stepped onto their motherland’s soil, the arrogant air of some concubines, which had been suppressed for a long time in the State of Wu, began to emerge.

They complained of fatigue after traveling only a few miles, and as soon as they rested, they clamored for hunger and wanted to make a fire to cook.

Yi Yiyi was afraid that close contact would reveal her secret, so she suppressed her anger and endured it without stepping in to restrain them.

The convoy moved slowly, stop-and-go. By the end of 5-7 pm, the sun was already hidden behind the heavy mountains, dusk was falling, and they were still twenty miles away from the next town.

Si Zhiye was helpless and had to order the team to find a sheltered spot under a cliff to camp for the night.

After cooking, setting up the carriages and horses, and all the busyness, it was already 9-11 pm.

The camp gradually fell silent, with only the crackling of torches and the tired footsteps of the Zhao Army patrolling.

Ding Suian had his own small tent next to the ‘Prince of Nanshun’s’ large tent.

“Kun Yuan Hui Sheng, Wu Ji Tong Ling.”

After skillfully setting up the grains, he summoned the male Gray Rat, which came according to his order.

Under the control of the Plague Lord Banner, the Gray Rat’s exploration range was up to ten miles. It had become Ding Suian’s mandatory task to let it scout the surroundings every night after settling down.

But this time, the Gray Rat returned after only half a quarter of an hour, its voice shrill and panicked, “Master, a large force is rapidly approaching! The vanguard is less than two miles away!”

Ding Suian’s heart tightened, and he grabbed the Kunwu saber he had just taken off, “How many people are there?”

“It’s hard to tell in a rush, but there are at least several hundred.”

Ding Suian rushed out of the tent.

Outside the Prince of Nanshun’s tent, there were no Zhao Army guards—this was his own request, saying he didn’t like people too close when he slept.

Only the loyal old servant, Steward Yi, was guarding.

Steward Yi was the only servant in the entourage who knew the truth about the ‘Prince of Nanshun’.

Seeing that it was late at night, Ding Suian rushed over with wind in his steps. Steward Yi hurriedly stepped forward, trying to block him, “Dutou, the Prince is very tired today and has already rested.”

“Old Yi, run if you want to live.”

Ding Suian’s words were simple yet abrupt.

At this moment, the camp guards consisted of only one company of one hundred Zhao Army soldiers. It was hard to ensure there were no moles or insiders from the other side. The probability of successfully organizing them to fight head-on against hundreds of night attackers was lower than the probability of Ding Suian persuading Xu Jiuxi.

While Steward Yi was still stunned, Ding Suian had already bypassed him and lifted the tent flap to break in.

Presumably, maintaining someone else’s form was very exhausting. Inside the tent, Yi Yiyi had already returned to her true form. Camping in the wild, she maintained a certain level of vigilance, lying on the couch with her eyes closed, but her clothes were still properly worn.

The moment Ding Suian broke in, she had already sat up in shock, raising her hand to protect her chest subconsciously, her clear, seductive eyes filled with shock and suspicion, “What’s wrong?”

“Go, thieves are attacking!”

Ding Suian swung his hand back, extinguished the candle, and drew his saber to cut an exit from the back of the tent.

Almost at the same time he grabbed Yi Yiyi’s wrist and pulled her out of the tent.

“Uh~ ah!”

In the southwest direction of the camp, a scream suddenly broke out, half-shouted and then cut short.

Immediately following, the crisp sound of blades clashing came faintly.

“Enemy attack! Enemy attack! There are thieves~”

“I am the Great Zhao Zhenxuan Army! What thieves, how dare you!”

Exclamations, roars, and wails sounded almost in an instant.

Like a giant stone entering a calm lake, the chaos quickly spread from the southwest corner to the depths of the camp.

Firelight burst out from multiple directions, shadows were everywhere, and agile figures rushed directly toward the core tent of the camp with clear targets.

Ding Suian pulled Yi Yiyi and moved rapidly through the shadows of tents and carriages.

The camp was already in chaos, firelight leaping, reflecting the fighting figures and the concubines screaming and fleeing in panic.

The other side was clearly well-prepared. Not only was the offensive fierce, beating the Zhao Army back step by step, but they also didn’t linger for women or money; they slashed at everyone they saw, regardless of gender.

“This way!”

Ding Suian identified the direction and wanted to detour from the side and rear of the camp to escape.

In the shadows ahead, two men in black holding blades suddenly appeared. Both sides were momentarily stunned at the sight of each other.

Then, instinctively, they swung their blades.

Ding Suian violently pulled Yi Yiyi behind him, the Kunwu saber clanged out of its sheath, and a faint blue light suddenly appeared.

He didn’t retreat but advanced, meeting the blades slashing from left and right with a fierce counter-slash.

“Clang~ crack!”

Two crisp sounds almost overlapped, and the long blades in the opponents’ hands snapped in response.

The Kunwu saber’s momentum did not slow down at all, directly sweeping across the throat of the man on the left.

Blood burst out. Ding Suian turned his wrist again, the saber light drew a faint blue arc, and with a sharp upward slash across the chest, he sent the other person flying backward.

After killing the two cleanly, Ding Suian turned to pull Yi Yiyi, but suddenly felt that the other person’s slender hand had become much broader.

Looking back, in the flickering firelight, it was the slightly pale, fleshy face of the Prince of Nanshun.

But those eyes were still clear, and carried a soft, seductive luster that was completely inconsistent with the face.

Without waiting for Ding Suian to ask, she said, “If we flee, I must also be in the form of my father! Otherwise, if they don’t find my father’s corpse in the camp, they will be suspicious. Let’s drag it out for as many days as Lord Li can help us!”

Ding Suian couldn’t help but look at her with admiration. She was willing to risk her own life to buy more time for Li Qiushi and the others.

Ding Suian nodded, “Follow closely!”