YBTS - 6

Luoyun steadied herself, then slowly picked up the brush and continued writing.

All she could do now was pass the time, waiting for the fugitive’s people to come and get him, to take this plague away. Su Luoyun secretly prayed that this man was not a river bandit or a mountain brigand. Otherwise, this whole ship full of cargo would be a very tempting target.

She was actually very scared in her heart, but since things had come to this, fear was useless. Since she had gone blind, there had been a few times when she was so desperate she wanted to die. But now, she had just found a new goal to live for, and yet, misfortune had struck, and she was being held hostage on a broken-down ship...

However, having experienced the unpredictability of fate, she was able to calm her mind more quickly.

Aside from the first few pages, which were a little messy due to her unsettled heart, the remaining pages of writing got better and better.

A little while later, Xiangcao came with hot tea for her young lady. She didn’t notice anything unusual as she entered. She just said to Su Luoyun, “Eldest young lady, please rest for a while. Your calligraphy is almost as good as it was before you went blind. If you write too much, your wrist will start hurting again.”

Hearing Xiangcao enter, Su Luoyun didn’t feel relieved. She was afraid that Xiangcao would discover some clue and provoke the fugitive again. She said calmly, “I’m going to sleep soon. Don’t come in and disturb me...”

Xiangcao listened and immediately helped her lie down before leaving.

Su Luoyun didn’t fall asleep. She knew she was in a room alone with a man; how could she rest peacefully? So she got up, felt her way to the small ventilation window, and stood there silently, listening carefully to the sounds of the waves around her.

If someone were to look at her at that moment, they would see a beautiful figure from the back, her loose hair on her temples gently stirred by the cold wind, lightly brushing against her cheeks.

She was unaware that the man, with his impressive light-foot skill, had silently come out again and was now standing in front of her small writing table.

On the top sheet of paper, a line of Gao Zhu’s poem was transcribed: “When life offers wine, one must get drunk; has a single drop ever reached the Yellow Springs...”

He raised his eyebrows. Did this young lady feel that her life was about to end and that she regretted not having tasted all the beautiful things in the world?

Just then, the girl standing by the window, listening intently, suddenly concentrated and spoke, “Judging by the sound of the water... it seems a boat is approaching. Good man, take a look, is it your ride?”

No one answered her, but before long, she heard something fall into the water. It must have been the man jumping into the water and swimming toward the boat that was coming to meet him.

Su Luoyun wasn’t entirely certain, so she tried asking again, but still received no response.

It wasn’t until she walked around the cabin and no longer smelled the scent of blood that she was certain the ghost-like man had left the ship.

Su Luoyun was not at ease and called Xiangcao to ask if a boat had approached them earlier. Xiangcao said that a boat had indeed been following them for a while but had since sailed away.

Only then did Su Luoyun truly relax. How the man had contacted his subordinates was an unsolved mystery. However, she knew it was not a matter she could tell others about. The man must have also been certain that she cherished her reputation as a young lady, which was why he didn’t kill her to silence her.

But thinking that her life had been in danger this time because her father had been in a hurry to get on the ship and had neglected her, Su Luoyun’s unfocused eyes were filled with frost.

She had never expected her father to love her very much, but Su Hongmeng always managed to exceed her expectations, hitting her with repeated blows and constantly lowering her baseline for tolerance.

At this moment, the river water rolled on, just like her difficult-to-calm emotions...

Meanwhile, the boat that had been following the Su family’s ships indeed sailed away.

The boat had now reached the misty Thin Smoke Lake near the Huaiyang county seat of the capital.

In the cabin, a short, muscular man with a beard stood beside a curtain. A tall man was changing his clothes behind the curtain.

The short-bearded man, named Qingyang, seemed to have a lot to say, but he held it in. Finally, he couldn’t hold it in anymore and said, “Young Master, your actions today were truly reckless. Although you admire the rebel Cao Sheng and have a close personal relationship with him, he is still acting against the court. If you get too deeply involved with him, I’m afraid...”

The Young Master’s trip out of the capital was to go fishing and have fun at Huaiyang county with a few noble scions. Who would have thought that he would accidentally see his old acquaintance Cao Sheng being taken away in a prisoner cart? He then went undercover that night, arranging a diversion, and risked his life to rescue Cao Sheng.

Such an act, while showing a strong sense of camaraderie, was too dangerous! Thinking that the Young Master had been left alone in a precarious situation, Qingyang felt another wave of fear.

The man was bandaging his shoulder wound. He said nonchalantly, “Someone leaked our plans for this operation! Luckily, you guys arrived in time and intercepted the spies who were going to report back to the capital...”

Qingyang immediately worried, “Young Master, if that’s the case, isn’t your situation precarious? Why not take this opportunity to leave the Wei capital quickly to avoid being coerced...”

The tall man turned slightly at this point.

His features were deep-set, and because his mother was of a different ethnicity, his appearance seemed to have a hint of foreign blood. The side of his face was cast in shadow by the lamplight, his smooth lines looked as if they were carved from wood, his nose bridge was high, and his dark eyes under thick eyebrows were as sharp as an eagle’s. His half-wet long hair clung to his face, giving him a hint of foreign wildness, and a mocking smile appeared on his thin lips.

“The King, my father, sent me to the Wei capital as a hostage. If I were to leave, the Grand Liang Prefecture would be plunged into war... Leave? The world is vast, but where would we go?” Han Linfeng said coldly.

Thirty years ago, the Great Wei dynasty was at war with the northern tribes. The reigning emperor, Wei Zong, who was fond of war, was too ambitious and went to the front line, only to be surrounded at Qiutai for twenty days. This became a national disgrace recorded in history.

While he was surrounded, he was forced to write an edict of abdication to get reinforcements.

When Emperor Wei Zong returned in a state of disgrace, his uncle, Han Xu, who was supported by the new faction of the Wei court, took his place. After Han Xu ascended the throne and became Emperor Wei Xuan, he ceded twenty prefectures of northern territory and brought a swift end to the war.

From then on, the lineage of Han Xu became the legitimate imperial line.

Although he usurped the throne during a time of chaos, he had his nephew, the emperor’s, abdication letter, which made his claim to the throne legitimate. In turn, he bestowed upon the disgraced Emperor Wei Zong the title of “Grand Emperor of Holy Virtue.”

Then the new emperor exiled the crown prince who should have succeeded the throne to the barren land of Liang Prefecture, to live as the carefree Prince of the North.

In this way, the transfer of the throne between uncle and nephew was harmonious and looked good in historical records.

However, Liang Prefecture was surrounded by treacherous mountains and heavily guarded by major garrisons, like a turtle in a jar. Emperor Wei Zong, who had been forced to abdicate, was full of resentment. He fell seriously ill in the capital and died in the second year of his abdication. On his deathbed, none of his children were by his side.

Thus, by the time of Han Ren, Han Linfeng’s father, the children and grandchildren of the former emperor had become useless in the Liang Prefecture, mostly a bunch of wastrels.

According to the old rules, each new prince had to send his son, who would inherit the title, to the capital. The official reason was to study and experience the capital’s culture, but in reality, it was to hold a hostage and test his character. If there were any unrest in Liang Prefecture, this son would be pushed to the altar.

Two years ago, Han Ren sent his eldest son, Han Linfeng, to the capital for a five-year period of study.

It was precisely because of his awkward situation that his attendant, Qingyang, was so nervous about the young master’s bold actions.

Fortunately, they had escaped danger by getting on the Su family’s boat. However, the young master needed to quickly return to his companions who had left the capital and deal with the aftermath properly.

Qingyang was still a little worried and asked, “Will the people on that boat cause any trouble later?”

He was referring to the Su family’s boat. If word got out that the prince’s heir had helped the rebel Cao Sheng, the consequences would be huge. The entire royal residence in Liang Prefecture would be in danger, and they would have to resort to drastic measures.

His young master, who was usually very decisive and resolute, paused for a moment and then said, “It’s fine. She doesn’t know who I am.”

Hearing his young master say this, Qingyang no longer insisted. He picked up a change of clothes and helped his master put them on.

The long robe embroidered with peonies was luxurious and garish, its exaggerated style neatly concealing Han Linfeng’s strong body. His black hair was tied up in intricate braids, and he wore a golden crown. His handsome face was covered with an unfitting layer of fine powder, and his lips were dotted with rouge.

With his defined features and handsome face, when his masculine aura was completely concealed, what was left was an air of noble femininity.

This was the fashionable look for wealthy young men in the capital—a androgynous appearance that was oblivious to the worries of a peaceful world. Young masters would apply makeup just like women.

Han Linfeng’s face was expressionless as he looked at a pale, exhausted-looking dandy reflected in the bronze mirror. He suddenly curled his thin lips into a cold smile... In that instant, the feminine aura vanished, as if a bloodthirsty beast was lying in wait, poised to take flight...

Unfortunately, the smile was fleeting and disappeared completely.

After getting dressed up, Han Linfeng quietly crossed the gangplank to a large pleasure boat docked in the lake. With a cynical smirk on his face, he swayed the wine cup in his hand, gracefully caressed the cheek of a beauty who had thrown herself into his arms, and blended in with the singing and dancing in the cabin.

The nobles, who had been drinking all night, were now as drunk as skunks. Some were even jumping into the lake to frolic with the beauties.

No one noticed that Prince Han had been gone all night; they just assumed that he had gone to a nearby boat to spend a passionate night with a courtesan he fancied.

After all, Han Linfeng was just such a wastrel—the well-known heir of the Prince of the North in the capital’s social circles, a good-for-nothing who only knew how to eat, drink, and play!

But as he raised his cup and clinked glasses, Prince Han turned his head to look at the lake covered in morning mist. The image that flashed in his mind was not the decadent music in front of him, nor the perilous and dangerous fighting from earlier. It was the elegant figure of a beautiful woman, sitting alone at a table, calmly holding a bamboo brush and practicing calligraphy.

The wound on his shoulder was still throbbing. Yet, without hesitation, he drank the entire cup of wine, quietly reciting the ancient poem the girl had transcribed—”When life offers wine, one must get drunk; has a single drop ever reached the Yellow Springs...”

The tranquil and composed scene of her transcending life and death was clearly not a good fit for him. After swallowing the rich, mellow wine in his cup, Han Linfeng dismissed that elegant figure from his mind.

Leaving aside the singing, dancing, and toasting on the pleasure boat, when the Su family’s two ships arrived at the capital’s dock one after another, Su Hongmeng finally remembered Su Luoyun, who was on the second ship, and waited for her for a little while.

Su Guiyan had been worried about his sister. If he had known that his father had ordered the boat to set sail early and leave his sister behind, he would never have gotten on board.

So, when he saw Su Luoyun disembark, Su Guiyan immediately ran over to help his eldest sister into the carriage. But as he touched his sister’s hand, he exclaimed in surprise, “Why are you so cold? Xiangcao, didn’t you get a hand warmer for my sister?”

Xiangcao replied with a look of shame, “All of our things were put on the first ship early on. We only had one box with a few clothes in the carriage. There was a hand warmer for the eldest young lady, but the charcoal got cold halfway through the journey. There was only one stove available for cooking and boiling water. And the ship was a cargo ship; it was a bit drafty...”