The Embroidered Uniform Guard who had remained seated suddenly stood up and said, "All right. Now that everyone's here, let's move quickly. The sooner we finish the mission, the sooner we can return and report."
Wei Yun couldn't help asking, "Is it really that urgent?"
At that, the other guard smiled faintly. "If certain matters weren't inconvenient for people like us to handle, they wouldn't have sent two Hundred-Man Commanders from the Embroidered Uniform Guard. They would have sent the Commander-in-Chief."
The Commander-in-Chief?
Wei Yun's expression changed when he heard that title.
If things truly reached that point, this would no longer be some minor skirmish.
The Commander-in-Chief was the highest-ranking official in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, holding the Principal Third Rank.
His cultivation would be at least in the grandmaster realm.
If the Commander-in-Chief truly took action, he probably wouldn't be going after the Tamu Eldest Prince. It would mean the Great Qian Emperor wanted the Tamu Tribe's king dead.
Likewise, he didn't dare underestimate even the two Hundred-Man Commanders standing before him.
Everyone knew that, owing to the Embroidered Uniform Guard's special status, its members were considered one rank above ordinary officials, whether civil or military.
In other words, even as a Thousand-Man Commander and Grand Commander, he was merely their equal in rank.
Even that arrangement already reflected considerable restraint on the Imperial Court's part.
"All right, then. I'll see you two off."
"No need. It's more convenient with just the seven of us. We can leave and return quickly."
With Wei Yun making the arrangements, the seven of them were soon mounted.
After some conversation, Li Dao and the others also learned the two guards' names.
The guard who had attacked Li Dao was Gao Liang, while the other was Sun Zheng.
"Hundred-Man Commander Sun, Hundred-Man Commander Gao, I wish you success on this mission."
With that, Wei Yun turned his gaze toward Li Dao and the other four and nodded.
This would be the five men's final mission. If they completed it, they could obtain household registration and regain their freedom.
If they failed, even preserving their lives would probably be difficult.
After all, this mission had come from the Imperial Capital. Whether it succeeded or failed, someone would have to shoulder the responsibility.
Part of the reason the Embroidered Uniform Guard needed assistance was that they wanted a few scapegoats ready in case of trouble.
Of course, that didn't mean these two guards were bad people. It was simply the prevailing atmosphere at court, the way society's hierarchy worked.
The seven riders pressed on across the plains and soon reached a valley.
Standing on one side of the valley, Sun Zheng checked the map and said, "This is a route the Tamu Tribe must take to enter Great Qian's borders. The seven of us can wait here."
He then glanced at Li Dao and the others. "Are any of you skilled in lightness techniques?"
At his question, their gazes turned toward Shen San.
"Him?"
Sun Zheng and Gao Liang looked at Shen San, who weighed at least two hundred jin, and were momentarily at a loss for words.
They then looked at the other three aside from Li Dao. The more they looked, the more questionable this group seemed. What normal army camp had people like these? Still, they couldn't say anything, lest they damage morale.
Sun Zheng simply said, "Since you're skilled in lightness techniques, sorry for the trouble, but you'll be responsible for scouting out the target's location."
"As for the rest of you, rest and wait."
Though Shen San was deeply reluctant to obey the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the thought of freedom kept him from wasting words.
He talked back to Wei Yun because he knew the man's temperament and understood that Wei Yun wouldn't hold it against him too much. If he talked back to these two guards, however, he would probably suffer for it.
After all, he knew full well that the Embroidered Uniform Guard's fearsome reputation had been forged through killing.
Once they had sat down to rest, Li Dao spoke.
Li Dao took the initiative and asked, "I heard you two came from the Imperial Capital and serve in the Embroidered Uniform Guard. You must know a great deal."
Gao Liang asked bluntly, "Are you from the Imperial Capital, young brother?"
Li Dao hesitated briefly, then nodded. "I suppose I count."
Strictly speaking, with his household registration revoked, he could only be considered an unregistered resident, but he obviously couldn't tell these two that.
Suppose?
Gao Liang looked puzzled. Was this really something one could be uncertain about?
"Sounds like there's something you want to ask us."
Sun Zheng suddenly spoke from beside him.
Li Dao nodded. "I haven't returned to the Imperial Capital in a long time. I'm curious about what's happened there."
Gao Liang suddenly laughed. "Curious? Don't tell me you're hoping to learn about Princess Mingyue from us?"
"You guessed?"
"That's perfectly normal. When this first came out, it shook the entire Imperial Capital. You know about this mission, and you're from the capital yourself. It would be strange if you weren't curious."
"Then could you tell me about it?"
Gao Liang and Sun Zheng exchanged a glance before Gao Liang chuckled. "We certainly couldn't tell you anything confidential, but practically the whole country knows about this now. Even the Tamu Eldest Prince has heard, so it hardly counts as a secret. Since we've nothing to do right now, we can chat about it."
As always, everyone enjoyed gossip. Li Dao's reaction was perfectly normal.
Likewise, most people enjoyed spreading gossip.
Though serving in the Embroidered Uniform Guard sounded like a solemn profession, its members were still human. They were only truly serious while carrying out missions; in everyday life, they enjoyed gossip too.
Hearing their response, Li Dao no longer hesitated. "I know Princess Mingyue was defiled by a villain. I'm curious about what happened to him."
A trace of awkwardness crossed Li Dao's face when he said "villain." He wasn't sure whether this counted as insulting himself.
"What happened to the villain?"
Gao Liang said bluntly, "You've certainly asked the right person."
Then he lowered his voice. "Officially, everyone heard that the villainous earl was locked deep inside the Heavenly Prison because Princess Mingyue pleaded for mercy. But an acquaintance of mine in the Heavenly Prison told me that someone took him out the very night he was imprisoned, and His Majesty had him secretly executed."
Sun Zheng tugged at Gao Liang. "Have you gone mad? How can you spread something like that so casually?"
Gao Liang shrugged. "What's the problem? Plenty of people know. It's no secret anymore. Who doesn't know His Majesty dotes on his daughter like a man possessed? In my opinion, the earl already died too slowly, considering he wasn't sliced to death on the spot."
Sun Zheng nodded in agreement. "That damned cur of an earl got off easy by dying. He was lucky he didn't fall into our hands. Otherwise, even death would have been beyond his reach."
The corner of Li Dao's mouth twitched. He couldn't help asking, "Was that earl really hated that much?"
"That doesn't even begin to cover it."
Gao Liang said casually, "After he died, Princess Mingyue's plea meant that, for the time being, no action was taken against his household."
"But the household hardly got off unscathed. Princess Mingyue's reputation for kindness among the common people brought countless people to throw rotten eggs and vegetable leaves at the estate every day. Apparently, they cleared away several hundred jin of rotten eggs and leaves daily. Some went even further and splashed the place with liquid manure."
"And even when the people inside reported it to the authorities, nobody bothered with their complaints. Anyway, if I lived in that household, I'd be too ashamed to show my face."
Hearing this, Li Dao momentarily felt that being "dead" was rather nice.
If he were "alive," he would have been socially dead instead.
"Actually, that's not even the worst of it."
Sun Zheng looked at Li Dao and said, "Those methods are merely disgusting. The truly vicious attacks came from the powerful officials and nobles in the Imperial Capital targeting the Earl of Anyuan's lineage."
"I heard that under their attacks, all the assets belonging to the Earl of Anyuan's lineage suffered devastating losses. Before we left the Imperial Capital, we even heard that the people in the Earl of Anyuan's Residence had begun selling off their property. At this rate, even if His Majesty does nothing, those officials and nobles will soon ruin the household and destroy the family."
At that, Li Dao's fists involuntarily clenched, and his expression gradually darkened.
Though he was reincarnated, the nearly twenty years he had lived in the Earl of Anyuan's Residence were no illusion. In fact, those memories ran even deeper than the memories of his previous life.
Naturally, he had his own emotional attachment to everything in the Earl of Anyuan's Residence.
He could laugh off people throwing vegetable leaves and rotten eggs at the Earl of Anyuan's Residence, or even splashing it with liquid manure. After all, none of that could truly hurt anyone.
But if someone genuinely wanted to ruin the household and destroy his family, he couldn't accept it.
By comparison, he hadn't resented the Great Qian Emperor nearly as much for wanting him dead. After all, he had ruined someone's chastity first. Having only himself killed already counted as good fortune.
Li Dao couldn't help asking, "Do you two know who's targeting the Earl of Anyuan's Residence?"
Sun Zheng answered casually, "Too many to name. Apart from a few lineages that were already close to the Earl of Anyuan's Residence, most of the capital's nobles have targeted it. But if you insist on an answer, the people from the Chancellor's Residence have probably been the most ruthless."
Gao Liang added, "It's only natural for the Chancellor's Residence to target them. Everyone in the Imperial Capital knows how their eldest young master feels about Princess Mingyue."
Sun Zheng suddenly laughed. "Isn't that perfectly normal? Princess Mingyue is Great Qian's Number One Beauty. Any man would have thoughts about her. Most of those officials and nobles targeting the Earl of Anyuan's Residence harbor at least a little envy, jealousy, and hatred."
At that, he looked at Li Dao and continued, "Of course, even more of them want to curry favor with the Chancellor's Residence. The Chancellor is the head of all officials, after all. What civil official wouldn't want to climb closer to him?"
The Chancellor's Residence?
As someone from the Imperial Capital, Li Dao naturally knew the Chancellor's standing in the Great Qian Dynasty.
Deep in his memories, he had even clashed with the Eldest Young Master of the Chancellor's Residence. They had fought once, and Li Dao had won.
Later, however, he heard that after losing to him, the young man had left the Imperial Capital and joined a sect. Apparently, testing had revealed excellent aptitude, and the Chancellor's Residence had held a lavish banquet to celebrate.
At the time, he had guessed that the Eldest Young Master of the Chancellor's Residence had chosen to seek a master and learn martial arts because he had lost to him.
He hadn't expected that before their old grudge was settled, another would be added to it.
That night, everyone else had gone to rest.
Li Dao sat by the campfire, keeping watch.
The words exchanged with the two guards that day kept replaying in his mind.
It seemed that if he could regain his household registration, his first priority would be to return and see how the Earl of Anyuan's Residence was faring.
At the same time, if he had the opportunity, he also wanted to apologize to Princess Mingyue, whom he had met only once.
After all, he had caused this entire affair from beginning to end.
Before you continue