Hearing him mention "excellent news," I couldn't help but suspect he was being sarcastic. However, looking at his expression, he seemed quite sincere.
"It really is excellent news," Feng Tong said, casting a smiling, sidelong glance at me. "Are you sure you don't want to hear it?"
My curiosity was piqued, but before I could speak, he held up a finger and wagged it playfully in front of my face. "This good news comes with a fee."
"The strange ceases to be strange when ignored. Keep your news for your own amusement." His antics were both exasperating and amusing, yet the frustration in my heart vanished without me even realizing it.
I took a few steps away, but when I looked back, Feng Tong was sauntering toward me with an air of leisurely satisfaction, wearing his trademark "I knew you'd turn around" smirk. Seeing my hesitation, he waved a hand and chuckled. "Though I am a merchant, I have always been fair. The price isn't high..." He leaned in close to my ear, lowering his voice as if sharing a secret. "I only ask... for a kiss."
His breath brushed against my temple, sending a ticklish sensation through me. Just as I was about to pull away, he stepped back and said with mock solemnity, "Three people have left Zhongjing. They are currently en route to the Anli Kingdom."
I froze. Three people? Zhongjing?
I grabbed his sleeve. "You... you... do you mean..."
Feng Tong glanced toward the tent flap and whispered, "Will you pay now? Or shall we put it on credit?"
I was momentarily speechless with indignation. How could this man always crack such ill-timed jokes when I was most anxious?
"Fine, fine, we'll put it on credit for now." Realizing I was truly desperate, he dropped his playful facade, led me back to the desk, and sat me down. "I am referring to your father, your mother, and the young master of your household."
"Truly?" I stared at him, half-doubting, yet my heart was already swelling with a sudden, overwhelming joy. "How... how did you manage it?"
"Simple." He leaned back lazily, his nonchalant posture exuding an effortless elegance. "On the nineteenth day of the second lunar month, during the Guanyin Festival, a grand ritual was held at Mount Chan. All the high officials and nobles of the capital went to offer incense. Consort Chen pleaded with the Empress Dowager, and Lord Ji’s family was granted permission to attend. Unluckily, the cloister where they were staying caught fire due to a young monk’s negligence with a candle. It was the middle of the night, and the mountain winds were strong. By the time help arrived, half the temple had burned to the ground. Lord Ji and his family, most unfortunately, did not survive."
The tale left my heart pounding in my chest. Feng Tong, however, took my hand and gave it a leisurely shake. "Want to know what really happened? That requires another fee."
"I’d rather just strangle you and settle the whole debt at once," I glared at him, my heart burning with impatience. His deliberate teasing was enough to make one’s teeth ache with irritation.
Feng Tong glanced at me, a trace of a charming smile flickering in his emerald eyes. "Losing your composure already?"
"Feng Tong!" I was truly being driven to madness by him.
"Alright, alright, on credit it is." He shook his head with a sigh of feigned helplessness. "Business is truly difficult these days. To the point: it was quite simple. We booked the cloister in Lord Ji’s name in advance, dug a secret tunnel, prepared a carriage on the back of the mountain, and set a fire at midnight. Of course, fearing the Bodhisattva’s wrath, I donated a generous sum of incense money afterward. As for the Anli Kingdom, you needn't worry—I’ve even arranged the maids for their cooking and cleaning."
I knew the actual situation could not have been as effortless as he made it sound. But at this moment, my joy far outweighed my worry. I wanted to say thank you, but I felt that a mere word could never express the depth of my gratitude.
"There is one more thing," Feng Tong said, drawing my hand into his palms. When he looked up again, his expression held a rare gravity. "You should consider sending the child to the Anli Kingdom as well."
My heart skipped a beat.
Feng Tong watched me intently. "I mean nothing else by it. Dongyao isn't necessarily unsafe, but you aren't by his side. I believe sending him to your parents would be the best arrangement for both you and Jingchi."
His words left my mind in a whirl. It sounded reasonable, but...
"Marshal Chu’s army will arrive at Star Gorge any day now. Once the two armies face off at Crimson Sunset Pass, the Windcloud Fort caravans will no longer be able to use this route. In about ten days, a caravan will depart from Shangyang City in the Meng Kingdom. Their route will cross the entirety of the Iron Dragon Desert to enter the northern border of Anli." He paused, as if finding this difficult to say. "The tribes within the Iron Dragon Desert are constantly at odds, so this route..."
Even if one were lucky enough to avoid tribal skirmishes, crossing an entire desert was unthinkable for a six-month-old infant. But if he stayed in Dongyao...
"The conditions for crossing the desert will be harsh, but it isn't necessarily dangerous," Feng Tong said, holding my hand firmly. "Think about it—is it better for the child to be with a wet nurse, or with his own grandparents? Not to mention he would have a young uncle there."
I couldn't help but follow his words into a daydream: my father, my mother, and little Minyan...
"Three people?" I suddenly realized what was wrong. "Why only three?"
"The First Lady refused to leave," Feng Tong shook his head helplessly. "Master Minzhi had no choice but to stay behind as well."
After the countless failed attempts by the people Ming Chuan had sent, I had almost given up hope. I never expected Feng Tong to actually succeed. However, the news that my stepmother and Minzhi remained in Zhongjing caused my soaring heart to plummet. I should have realized—the First Lady could never bear to leave her daughter and grandson. If she stayed, Minzhi naturally would not leave her.
Feng Tong gave my hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze. "In my view, you needn't worry too much about his situation. Ever since Chancellor Han claimed illness and stopped attending court, many of his followers have been dismissed. With the court in need of capable men, the Emperor won't make things difficult for him. I heard the court intends to dispatch an envoy to the Nanwan Island Kingdom. With Chancellor Shen’s support, it shouldn't be hard for your brother to secure the post. As long as he leaves the turmoil of Zhongjing..."
Hearing him mention Chancellor Shen confused me further. The Chancellor had no deep ties with our family; why would he help Minzhi? Just as I was about to ask for details, I heard him murmur, "If that First Lady of yours is willing to go overseas with your brother to broaden her horizons, it would be better than her staying here to chant sutras, eat vegetarian meals, and bicker with her daughter-in-law..."
"Daughter-in-law? When did Minzhi get married?" I interrupted, utterly shocked. He seemed to know so much, yet he had never mentioned this.
Feng Tong was also taken aback. "Before the New Year. Did I not tell you?"
I shot him a glare. My mind, however, was racing: Minzhi actually got married? My stepmother actually agreed to let him marry Yingluo?
Then again, Yingluo came from a humble background; the First Lady would surely look down on her. With my stepmother's temperament, Yingluo's life was likely difficult. Regardless, Minzhi had achieved his heart's desire. Such a small flaw was simply the price lovers paid to be together...
"Your sister-in-law is said to be Chancellor Shen’s most precious daughter. Her personality is naturally spoiled. However, with the Chancellor as his backing, Minzhi..."
"Wait," I interrupted him again. "What Chancellor Shen? Minzhi didn't marry Yingluo?"
Feng Tong looked at me as if I were a strange creature, seemingly confused by my question. He hesitated before stammering back, "Why... why would he marry Yingluo?"
Minzhi didn't marry Yingluo? I stared blankly at Feng Tong, but in my mind's eye, I saw that charming woman in white.
Every time I thought of her, the image of a jasmine flower swaying on a branch appeared—elegant, fragrant, and pitiable. Truly, *'Flowers bloom and fade in their own time, all dependent on the Lord of Spring.'*
"She must go, yet how can she stay!" I looked at Feng Tong with melancholy. "A woman like her... even you must have once lost your heart to her..."
"Lost my heart?" Feng Tong glanced at me with utter disdain. "Which of your eyes saw that?"
I was about to retort when I suddenly remembered him saying he had stayed at the Water-Side Pavilion in Zhongjing. I had even seen him go there to find Yingluo with my own eyes. Thinking of Yingluo’s soft, watery gaze, I felt a sudden, inexplicable surge of irritation.
"If you didn't, you didn't. What does it have to do with me?" I threw the words at him and turned to leave.
His figure flashed before me like a ghost. Unable to stop, I nearly crashed into his chest. I looked up at him, glaring, only to find him gazing intently at me, a strange light dancing in his emerald eyes.
"What are you doing now?" I tried to push him away impatiently. He caught my hand in a firm grip. Just as I was about to lose my temper, he said, word by word, "You are jealous."
The words "jealous" caught me off guard, and I couldn't immediately process them. Feng Tong’s smile held a hint of wicked charm as he leaned in quickly to press a kiss to my lips. "Rest assured," he said playfully, "I will never lose my heart to another woman."
I shoved him away, pointing at him but unable to form a coherent sentence. "You... you... I..."
Between the earlier incident with Li Meng and the rollercoaster of news about my family, I was already filled with a frustrated heat. But seeing the two bright sparks of fire deep within his shimmering eyes, I found myself unable to say a single word.
That gaze made me feel suddenly flustered. I took a step back and fled out the door before he could say another word.
***
Before Crimson Sunset Pass.
The hour of the Sheep was drawing to a close.
Billowing yellow sands, mixed with gravel and withered grass, swept across the boundless wilderness. Although this veil of dust obscured almost everyone's vision, a chilling killing intent pierced through the layers of sand, vibrating in every corner of the world.
From the hillside where I stood, I could see the undulating ridges in the distance. On the cliffs beside me, crossbow carriages had been densely deployed along the terrain. Every carriage was aimed toward the same point.
Jie Ziqian stood beside me, slowly stroking his short beard, his sharp, glittering eyes fixed unblinkingly on the front. He appeared unconcerned, but the rhythmic stroking of his beard was slightly stiff.
My back felt rigid from tension, and a cold sweat began to dampen my palms. Aside from the nerves, there was a faint, lingering sense of anticipation deep within me. I strained my ears, listening for the sound of Marshal Chu’s army advancing.
Three thousand elites of the vanguard stood in perfect formation on the plain. Behind them lay a shallow basin about a mile wide. Aside from a few sand dunes that had been moved there temporarily, there was nothing remarkable about it. I turned to look at Jie Ziqian; he seemed to read my thoughts, a faint, ghost of a smile touching his lips, though he offered no explanation.
Feng Tong, standing on my other side, seemed to sense my unease. He moved closer and took my hand. In such a situation, his gesture seemed inappropriate, yet the warmth from his palm brought me a sense of comfort. I hesitated, gritting my teeth to pull away, when his grip suddenly tightened.
"They're here," he whispered.
Far off, a faint black line appeared through the wind and sand at the edge of the horizon.
***
