The Golden Age - Chapter 68: Danger
Han Yunong left the main room and came to Jia Prison.
When he arrived, the office door was still closed. Han Yunong coughed loudly once and Niu Zhi walked up to the little window. After seeing Han Yunong, he immediately opened the door and bowed. “Sir.”
Han Yunong just nodded his head. Niu Zhi knew what he meant and said quietly, “I’ll stay outside.” After he left the office, Han Yunong walked in and closed the door behind him.
In the corner of the room, Meng Zimo was currently sitting on a mat.
“Are the wounds taken care of?” Han Yunong took out a jar of wine from the pile of goods in the room and walked next to Meng Zimo. He sat down beside the mat and opened the cover on top of the wine.
Meng Zimo hesitated, and then took the wine and took a large gulp. He looked up at Han Yunong and asked, “Why didn’t you blame me?”
“Blame you for what?” Han Yunong asked back, “Will blaming solve any problem?”
Meng Zimo smiled bitterly and replied, “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to get you involved in this.”
Han Yunong took the wine jar from Meng Zimo and also took a gulp and then said quietly, “That year, I got an arrow in my leg and I couldn’t walk. That Wutuo rider was already next to me as his blade came toward my head. If it wasn’t for you that day who came just in time, I would’ve been buried on the battlefield.”
“It’s already in the past.” Meng Zimo sighed. “The Wutuo army’s soldiers almost ran me over that time. If it wasn’t for you carrying me on your back, I would have long died too.”
“So between the two of us, there’s no such thing as involving each other,” continued Han Yunong, “On the land of Xiling, we watched so many of our soldiers die. So the day I got back to Xiling, I never intended to leave. This is my hometown.”
Meng Zimo nodded and agreed, “I also think of this as my hometown.”
“So, the second you wanted to leave the Manor of the Governor, I knew that you were about to do something.” Han Yunong raised his head and took another gulp. “I know you too well. If you don’t take revenge for Butcher Zheng’s family, you’ll never have a peaceful life.”
Meng Zimo smiled bitterly again. “So why didn’t you tell me not to?”
Han Yunong was a bit angry. “Damn, when do I ever successfully persuade you? If I tell you not to do it today, you’ll do it tomorrow anyway. If that’s the case, then I’ll just let you do it. But I can’t imagine that you couldn’t even kill that bastard.”
Meng Zimo laughed a bit. “You think I’m as smart as you? I only know how to fight. If I were as smart as you, then I wouldn’t be listening to you blabbering every day.” He took over the wine jar and drank some more.
“Someone else did what you failed to do.” Han Yunong said suddenly, “Lang Shenshui died. And Zhen Yujiang was also seriously injured.”
Meng Zimo was about to wipe his mouth with his sleeves when he suddenly stopped. He didn’t even know what to say until after a while, he asked in shock, “Lang Shenshui died?”
“The Wolf Riders are already in the city.” Han Yunong sneered. “That Marquess is determined.”
“No, wait.” Meng Zimo frowned and shook his head. “After I failed to kill him, Lang Shenshui and Zhen Yujiang were completely unharmed. I almost died too. What do you mean someone else did what I failed to do? There was another assassin at Unlimited Happiness?”
Han Yunong nodded and asked, “Exactly, who do you think it was?”
Meng Zimo thought about it for a while. “There are a handful of people who hate the Marquess. But ones who have the courage and power to do so are very little.”
“According to them, that assassin appeared after I saved you out of there. After Zhen Yujiang sent people out to chase you, he got the perfect chance to kill him,” said Han Yunong said. “He has been hiding inside the building the whole time. And what’s more, some people think that that assassin is with us.”
Meng Zimo shook his head. “That’s impossible. I went there alone last night.”
“That’s what you think.” Han Yunong sighed. “Last night, I was hiding in the alley behind Unlimited Happiness. I was ready to pick you up when I suddenly heard a fight. I knew you were in trouble and then went to get you. If there was someone else with you, you may not know.”
“You’re saying there was someone else with me that night?”
“Although I’m not sure, I believe that the person also knew your plan so he was secretly assisting you.” Han Yunong replied, “Otherwise, that person wouldn’t happen to be at Unlimited Happiness right when you were doing the assassination.”
Meng Zimo looked at Han Yunong and then suddenly seemed to have remembered something. “Could it be Qin Xiao?”
“You think so too?” Han Yunong sighed. “I thought about it. Unless there was someone who coincidentally also wanted to kill him and also happened to be doing it on the same night, which is almost impossible. Then that means someone was secretly helping you. That person has to be Qin Xiao.”
“Niu Zhi told me that he didn’t show up at all that day.” Meng Zimo said suspiciously, “The night before he came to my house. He even told me that he had some silver at the bank and was willing to give me some.”
Han Yunong asked, “Did you see him when you left last night?”
“No,” replied Meng Zimo, “I was cautious along the way, and I didn’t see him at all.”
Han Yunong nodded. “Even though you didn’t see him, that doesn’t mean he wasn’t following you. That child seems normal during the day, but when he’s determined, he will get the job done. You and I both helped him before, so maybe he was secretly following you to help. If he asked you in person, he must’ve known that you wouldn’t agree. So that also explains why he was doing it secretly.”
“That kid, he’s killing himself!” Meng Zimo clenched his fists, feeling both thankful and angry, “If it really was him, I’ll go beat him up when I get back.” Then he suddenly thought of something. “We thought it was Qin Xiao, could the Marquess think the same way?”
“Lang Shenshui was killed, but Zhen Yujiang wasn’t.” Han Yunong’s expression grew more serious. “If it was Qin Xiao, although he didn’t show his face, Zhen Yujiang has seen him before. He could easily identify his body shape. Even if the Marquess isn’t sure whether it’s Qin Xiao or not, but at a time like this, it would be dangerous even as a suspect.”
Meng Zimo struggled to get up, but Han Yunong held his shoulders and frowned. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to save him.” Meng Zimo replied, “If the Marquess was going to do something to that kid, then he’d be dead. I can’t sit here and watch. Even if I die, I must save that kid’s life.”
Han Yunong said quietly, “Do you know that the first thing the Wolf Riders did when they came into the city was to completely surround the Manor of the Governor? Right now, the Wolf Riders are everywhere and were watching everything that we do.”
“Do they have any solid evidence that the assassin is me?”
“The wound on your leg.” Han Yunong pointed to Meng Zimo’s leg. “The Wolf Rider Commander, Shi Ling, said in public that the assassin’s right leg was seriously wounded. If they see your leg, that’s the most solid evidence.”
Meng Zimo was extremely worried, “Then what about Qin Xiao? If he was in the Manor, we could protect him, since the Wolf Riders wouldn’t dare to burst in yet. But the problem is that he’s not here right now. The Marquess must’ve been sending people to search the whole city. Once they find that kid, they’ll kill him regardless of evidence or not.”
“The Wolf Riders did dare to break in.” Han Yunong sneered. “In fact, they were a few steps away from coming in. But then, the Defense General and Master Xiao came just in time. No matter how brave the Marquess was, he dared not to have a conflict with the Master Xiao of the Department of Investigation.”
“Master Xiao?” asked Meng Zimo in surprise, “Could it be Xiao Jianzhi from the Department of Investigation?”
Han Yunong nodded.
“Last time, you said that there was someone from the Imperial Palace who came to look for the Heavenly Axe. Was it Master Xiao?” asked Meng Zimo in amazement, “Then the Heavenly Axe must be so important for Master Xiao himself to come out?”
“The Emperor is doing it for the Empire. He needs to find the Heavenly Axe and bring him or her to the capital. The Department of Investigation has people and powers around the Empire. It makes the most sense for Master Xiao to do this himself.”
Meng Zimo quickly asked, “If Master Xiao can prevent the Wolf Riders from getting into the manor, could we ask him to protect Qin Xiao?”
“Why did he come to block them from entering the Manor of the Governor?” asked Han Yunong coldly, “It was not to protect you, nor to protect me. It was not to protect the manor either. It was to protect the Imperial Court.”
“What do you mean?”
Han Yunong got up and carried over another jar of wine. “If the Wolf Riders came into the Manor of the Governor, then that would mean deaths for sure. And then we governors would no longer be the thorn in the eyes of the Marquess. The Marquess would be able to do whatever he wanted at that point.” He looked at Meng Zimo and continued, “The Marquess used the assassin as an excuse to kill the governors. If you were the Imperial Court, how would you deal with this?”
“Of course to punish the Marquess.” Meng Zimo said coldly, “The Manor of the Governor represents the Imperial Court. Breaking in would just be the same as a rebellion.”
“Then if they were rebelling, do you need to take them out?” asked Han Yunong, “Then should the Imperial Court send soldiers to Xiling?”
Meng Zimo was a bit hesitant.
“You and I both know that the Murong from Southern Xinjiang is getting more and more powerful. The Imperial Court allowed some trade between the Tusun, and is not doing anything about the Xiling Menfa over and over again. That’s because they’re doing it to maintain peace with Southern Xinjiang.” Han Yunong sighed. “If that place wasn’t settled, then they’d attack whenever they see the Imperial Court moving soldiers elsewhere. The three Xiling Menfa control the majority of the money, food, and soldiers in Xiling. When soldiers from the Tang Empire leave, then there will be chaos in Xiling, and the Wutuo wouldn’t sit there and watch either. At that point, Xiling would be a battlefield and the Imperial Court would lose thousands of soldiers as well.”
Meng Zimo smiled. “I understand now. If the Imperial Court send troops, then that would cause a lot of trouble. But if they don’t send troops, the Menfa would be more powerful in the future.”
“So Master Xiao came forward to prevent the Wolf Riders from entering the manor to tell them that the Imperial Court knows what’s going on here. There’s the Imperial Court behind this Manor of the Governor,” said Han Yunong slowly. “He is also from the Department of Investigation, which is another warning to the Manor of the Marquess. If they were really to anger the Imperial Court, then even if the Imperial Court doesn’t send troops, the Department of Investigation would step forward and handle this.”
“When the Department of Investigation kills people, they do it quickly and quietly, leaving no evidence behind what-so-ever.” Meng Zimo sighed.
Han Yunong nodded again. “The old master came out this time not only to show the Marquess who’s boss but also to maintain peace. After all, Zhen Yujiang was injured, so the Marquess couldn’t just sit back and do nothing. He understood that fact, so as long as the Marquess doesn’t bother with the Manor of the Governor, he couldn’t care what else they do.”
“But what about the kid?” Meng Zimo clenched his fists, “What should we do?”
Han Yunong thought about it for a moment before saying, “We can’t do anything for now. Especially you, you must sit here. Right now, only the Manor of the Governor can save you. When we find the chance, we’ll secretly send you into the Pass. And Qin Xiao…” He stopped for a second. “I’ll look for a chance to go find him. He’s pretty smart, so I’m hoping he can survive this.” He looked toward the window. “If he did die, I’ll go chop off the head of Marquess’ son.”
Edited by: EyljeeÂ