Chapter 3

The night market on Chang'an Street bustled with life. Fine horses drew carved carriages through wafts of fragrance, vendors hawked their wares, and wine shops were packed.

Chu Huaiyin stood where the lantern light thinned, watching Meng Zhou slowly disappear into the crowd. The clamor around him seemed to break slantwise through a fog, growing clear again.

He frowned slightly. One step had taken him from the desolate lands north of the Yangbo River into the capital. Both were Great Wei territory, yet the difference was heaven and earth. How lamentable.

A man in black approached without a sound. "Master."

"Mm." Chu Huaiyin took a sheaf of papers from inside his robe and handed it to the shadow guard. "Investigate someone named Zhang Zhou. The legitimate daughter of the vice minister of war, today..."

The shadow guard tactfully picked up where he left off. "Miss Lin only disappeared after she was carried into the Wang residence. And she isn't the only one missing from the capital. Yan Duo, the eldest son of Yan Xiang from the Ministry of Personnel, is gone too. However, the Yan family's public explanation is that Yan Duo has gone traveling to study, with no set date for his return."

The shadow guard put it delicately. In truth, they had eloped.

"By tomorrow morning, everyone in the capital will know that Lin Wan vanished without explanation on her first night married into the right chancellor's household." Chu Huaiyin faced north with his hands behind his back, his expression indifferent. Only when he had mentioned Zhang Zhou earlier had there been any fluctuation in his tone.

The shadow guard looked up in surprise. A scandal all three families were trying to conceal-was his master planning to... He immediately lowered his head, not daring to speculate about his intentions.

"Understood."

An entertaining story broke in the capital early the next morning. The news seemed to have sprouted legs. Everyone knew a few details, and the wine shops and teahouses discussed it with relish.

The right chancellor's daughter-in-law had run off with another man!

Right Chancellor Wang and the vice minister of war suppressed their anger and went together to the Yan residence to demand an explanation. Yan Xiang insisted that his son had gone traveling to study under renowned teachers and that his whereabouts were unknown.

"Your daughter disappeared after entering his household. You should be asking the right chancellor to produce her."

"Bullshit! Who doesn't know your Yan Duo is fond of Lin Wan? He must have put her up to it!" Right Chancellor Wang's face and neck flushed red.

"The parents arranged it, and the matchmaker made it official. Hurry up and have Yan Duo release my Wan'er. You can't force a happy match!" The vice minister of war pleaded earnestly, every word insinuating that Yan Duo had forced Lin Wan.

"Hmph. So you do know you can't force a happy match." Yan Xiang blew aside the foam on his tea, effortlessly turning the argument back on him.

The three argued furiously. Already divided by political views and allegiances, they seized on this fresh pretext and clamored to have His Majesty settle the matter.

"Prince Huai has arrived!"

The room fell silent. All three rose to welcome him. "Your humble servants pay their respects to Prince Huai!"

All three felt somewhat apprehensive. Chu Huaiyin had guarded the border for five years, decisive and ruthless, as though possessed by the king of hell. More blood had probably dried on his body than all the tea they had ever drunk! Even ten years of the capital's waters could not wash away that fierce killing intent!

Right Chancellor Wang was especially afraid. He belonged to the second prince's faction and had done plenty behind the scenes. His greatest fear was that one day Chu Huaiyin would take offense and chop his head off.

How could a man who had returned from battlefields of flashing blades and corpses strewn everywhere listen to reason? The second prince's faction fed Emperor Tianyuan that argument every day, until even Right Chancellor Wang himself half believed it.

Yet they all selectively ignored the fact that, before Empress Zhaoyuan's death, Chu Huaiyin had studied the sages' classics and the arts of rule from childhood, raised as a future crown prince. Before they pushed him onto the battlefield, he too had been a pampered prince well versed in governing a country!

Chu Huaiyin swept his gaze over the three and reined in his imposing presence. When he spoke, his voice was surprisingly gentle. "I happened to be passing and have some questions for Lord Yan. My imperial father attends to countless affairs each day. What matter do you gentlemen wish to bring before him? Might I hear it?"

Chu Huaiyin looked at the right chancellor, the highest-ranking of the three.

The right chancellor said, "Let Lord Lin explain!"

Since it was nothing creditable, the three began passing the responsibility around instead. Finally, seeing Chu Huaiyin's displeased expression, Yan Xiang gave a selective, brief account.

Chu Huaiyin sneered. "I thought you gentlemen spent your days and nights considering how to ease His Majesty's burdens... yet you would trouble my imperial father with household affairs." His tone shifted. "Whether Miss Lin fled of her own accord or was hidden away will be clear after a search of the right chancellor's residence. To ensure impartiality, let my guards conduct the search. That will also clear the young master's name."

"An excellent approach. I suspect Miss Lin is right there in your residence! My son cannot bear the charge of eloping." Yan Xiang addressed Right Chancellor Wang irritably.

"We'll see what you have to say when they find no one!" Right Chancellor Wang, already furious at having the blame thrown back on him, was red in the face and neck.

By the time Chu Huaiyin's guards surrounded the Wang residence and Right Chancellor Wang and the vice minister of war exchanged looks, realizing something was wrong, it was already too late.

Even if it had not been too late, who would have dared stop Prince Huai from investigating?

Acting on Chu Huaiyin's orders, the guards quickly found a woman in the Wang residence who had been beaten half to death.

The woman wore coarse cloth and an old hemp skirt, unlike a maid's attire. Her clothes were disheveled, and even unconscious, her injured hands clutched tightly at her collar.

"Right Chancellor, what is this?"

Chu Huaiyin's expression darkened as he called the Wang family to account.

Wang Junyang had abducted her and hidden her in the house himself. The right chancellor was equally bewildered and had no idea what had happened.

"Steward, what is going on?"

"M-master..." The steward stammered, unable to give an explanation.

Seeing his manner, the right chancellor's heart jolted. He vaguely sensed that the day's succession of events was a trap-and he had walked right into it!

"Drag this thieving woman away. Don't let her offend Prince Huai's eyes!" Right Chancellor Wang signaled the steward with his eyes. "During my son's wedding last night, thieves took the opportunity to slip inside. The servants caught a petty thief, presumably this woman. Their interrogation methods were a little harsh. Please forgive us, Your Highness."

"Wait!" Chu Huaiyin sneered inwardly. They had reduced the girl to this state and still hoped to bluff their way through. "This morning, a common woman stopped my sedan in the street, saying her daughter had gone missing. I see some resemblance. Bring her in to identify her."

A guard brought in a peasant woman. At the sight of her younger daughter lying so pitifully on the ground, she nearly fainted. "It's A-Juan... A-Juan, get up and look at your mother..."

The person on the ground did not respond. The peasant woman's gaze went unfocused. She looked around, then shuffled on her knees to Chu Huaiyin. She did not recognize the eldest prince, but seeing his unmistakably noble bearing and how everyone present deferred to him, she bowed her head to the floor. "My lord! Please give A-Juan justice! Wang Junyang abducted her! ...My poor Juan'er has always been stubborn, ever since she was little. If, if..."

Right Chancellor Wang's face turned livid. "Shut up!"

Just then, Wang Junyang, whom Chu Huaiyin had knocked unconscious, finally woke. Seeing the crowd outside, he walked out with one hand supporting his crooked neck. "What's going on? Hah, why is this damned bitch here? Steward! Lock her up and starve her for a few days. Let's see whether she gives in... Ow! Father! Why are you hitting me?"

Such things were hardly rare in the capital these days. Yet the vice minister of war shuddered as he thought of Prince Huai's unfathomable scheming. Soldiers faced death at the front while the capital's young masters wallowed in extravagance and lust. Prince Huai had come with a clear purpose today. This could not end peacefully.

His daughter had indeed fled the wedding, most likely with that wild brat. Now, to preserve her reputation... Furious, he immediately pointed at Wang Junyang and cursed. "I married my perfectly good daughter to you, yet you, you...! Wan'er is innocent and pure. She must have fled after seeing these filthy dealings in your household. Afraid I would scold her, she didn't even dare come home... My poor Wan'er! Give me back my daughter!"

The right chancellor watched in disbelief as his in-law changed sides faster than turning a page, tearfully denouncing the Wang family. Wang Junyang had never met Chu Huaiyin. He flew into a rage. "Who wants her? Listen here, you damned old hag! See that person on the ground? There isn't a woman in this world I, Wang Junyang, can't have!"

The right chancellor kicked Wang Junyang aside to stop him from uttering anything more outrageously defiant. He practically wanted to stuff him back into his mother's womb!

By the time Meng Zhou learned that Wang Junyang had abducted a commoner's daughter, incurred Prince Huai's wrath, and was awaiting punishment, it was already that evening. Chu Huaiyin's move had dealt the wastrel young masters a heavy blow, and his reputation among the people rose ever higher.

Meng Zhou had long sensed that Chu Huaiyin's bearing set him apart from the capital, but he had never imagined he was Prince Huai, only recently returned! Prince Huai's purpose in sneaking into the right chancellor's residence at night certainly could not have been simple. With the struggle for the position of crown prince out in the open, turmoil swept through court, and a major purge was bound to follow.

He slapped his thigh, remembering how he had lied outright last night and called himself "Zhang Zhou." He regretted it bitterly.

A mighty thigh had once been placed before him, and he had failed to cherish it. If Chu Huaiyin gave him another chance, he would treasure it twice as much. If Prince Huai told him to go west, he would never go east!

The red handprint on Meng Zhou's thigh had yet to fade when, the next day, he heard that Yan Xiang had impeached Right Chancellor Wang for misappropriating military funds, nearly causing Great Wei's forces to be wiped out.

That had been four years ago. No sooner had Chu Huaiyin departed than his provisions were cut off. The second prince's faction had intended for him never to return, even at the cost of Great Wei's territory falling to the enemy. Once Chu Huaiyin suffered defeat, or even died for his country, they would send their own people to take over.

The second prince's faction could never have imagined that Chu Huaiyin would fight with his back to the wall and win his very first battle. Still less had they imagined that Empress Zhaoyuan's exalted reputation among the common people would benefit Chu Huaiyin. With support from the people along the way, army and civilians united, sweeping aside all opposition. In just a few years, he had established a firm foothold in the north, maintaining troops and cultivating farmland, with enough strength to stand against the court.

Chu Huaiyin had returned to the capital to settle accounts! The right chancellor was his first target!

Cold sweat poured from the ministers present. After seeing Yan Xiang submit a stack of evidence, they became even more certain of this suspicion.

Prince Huai had come prepared. The ministers who had once obstructed him were terrified.

The vice minister of war broke into a sweat. He had almost boarded the Wang family's pirate ship and taken the blow for them. Making an immediate decision, he prostrated himself. "Your subject has been a fool!"

Emperor Tianyuan asked what the matter was, and the vice minister of war recounted Wang Junyang's deeds. "Your subject's heart was not even as clear-sighted as his young daughter's. I have failed Your Majesty. I beg Your Majesty to punish me, and, in consideration of my daughter's innocence, dissolve her betrothal to the Wang family!"

Emperor Tianyuan agreed, docking his salary for three years and barring him from promotion for five.

They had plainly already performed the wedding rites, yet he insisted on calling it a betrothal. Right Chancellor Wang glared at him resentfully. Who had proposed this marriage alliance in the first place?

The second prince lowered his eyes in silence, ignoring the right chancellor's repeated pleading looks.

Sacrificing a rook to save the king was human nature.

Someone had treated Great Wei's realm as a bargaining chip. Emperor Tianyuan would naturally not tolerate it. He stripped the right chancellor of office then and there, sentenced him to exile two thousand li away, and extended collective punishment to his nine degrees of kin.

His fate was sealed; the reasons would not be pursued. Right Chancellor Wang collapsed to the floor. His Majesty clearly did not wish to investigate further. What did it matter if the second prince had ordered him? He could not even cry injustice.

To appease Chu Huaiyin, Emperor Tianyuan promoted Yan Xiang to right chancellor and allowed Chu Huaiyin to choose someone to fill Yan Xiang's former post.

The second prince had lost an arm, and Chu Huaiyin had won a complete victory.

The vice minister of war suddenly felt grateful that his daughter had fled her wedding and that Chu Huaiyin had happened upon it. Though he still did not understand why, with conclusive evidence in hand, Prince Huai had bothered to concern himself with Wang Junyang's sordid affairs.

Perhaps he truly loved the people as his own children.

The vice minister of war trotted up beside Yan Xiang, matching him step for step. "My daughter and your son..."

Either way, it was a marriage alliance with the right chancellor. The vice minister of war felt he would not lose out.

Yan Xiang wore an unfathomable expression. "My son has yet to return from his travels to study. How can we discuss marriage?"

The vice minister of war: "..." Still pretending???

Chu Huaiyin's series of swift, decisive moves made it perfectly clear that he was the sort who tolerated no wrong and repaid every grudge. Meng Zhou decided to keep a low profile for a while, eat more, and go out less. In an ancient age where imperial authority reigned supreme, lying to someone above you could have consequences great or small. Until he had thoroughly grasped Chu Huaiyin's temperament, he could not rashly show himself before him.