Kingdom of Ying
Late at night, the moon hung high in the sky, stars scattered around it, shining in mutual brilliance.
In one of the cities of this borderland minor state, which lay amid vast wilderness and mountain ranges and was somewhat closer to Great Zheng, the drawbridge slowly lowered under cover of night. More than a dozen riders entered the city almost without a sound.
As it was only a small cavalry unit, and their horses' hooves had been wrapped in cotton, they did not even disturb the residents near the city gate.
After traveling down a main street for less than half an incense stick's time, the group entered a grand residence with high gates. Once inside, they all dismounted.
As Cao Yiyan reflected on what he had seen along the way, he saw an elderly man striding swiftly toward him. Short and stout, with a dark reddish face, he wore the uniform of a third-rank military officer of Great Wei. Though he was past sixty, he remained vigorous and hale. The instant his gaze met Cao Yiyan's, he fell to his knees and said, "This subject, Cao Pingfang, pays respects to Your Highness the Crown Prince—we have waited for so many years. You have finally come!"
The Kingdom of Ying, once part of the previous Great Wei dynasty, had acted without using Great Wei's name, and thus had gone unnoticed by Great Zheng for the past thirty years.
Yet this force had never forgotten Great Wei. Every year, it sent people into what was now Great Zheng to search for descendants of the imperial house. However, none of those they found had been suitable. Only recently had they managed to make contact with Cao Yiyan.
"General Cao, please rise."
Upon learning that the military commander entrenched in