"Acheng, the way I see it, Duke Huan still can't bear to part with you," Xi Chao said frankly inside the tall carriage. "He won't let you go to Jiankang partly because he's worried the court might win you over. As for Hebei, distant though it is, it's a good place to escape the disputes. Take a long trip, and by the time you return, everything will have blown over. Things will naturally be much easier then."
"I know. It's a good thing." Liu Cheng was perfectly at ease, even rather cheerful.
He genuinely thought this was a good thing, and a very good thing that accomplished several ends at once.
First, he really did need some distance from Huan Wen right now. The old man had such a foul temper, and once pleased with himself, he became outrageously unrestrained. If Liu Cheng kept hanging around him all day, and some lingering malicious thought suddenly reminded him of something and drove him to an extreme act, who would take responsibility?
Somewhere as far away as Yecheng was just right.
Second, the Murong Clan and the court had always maintained civil relations. Even though this mission essentially amounted to a formal severing of ties, his safety was still largely assured-far more so than when he had visited Yao Xiang or Fu Xiong. Moreover, at this moment when the order of north and south was being redrawn and ruptured, this was unquestionably a major official assignment. As long as he did not arrive and promptly marry into the Murong Clan, it would count as a credential worthy of the merit rolls and historical records. Even if Liu Cheng had not fallen out with Huan Wen, this would still have been a good stepping stone into the inner halls after reaching adulthood.
So