Xie Wanqing's voice didn't pause for long.
"The Emperor ordered Lin Yichen to muster 10,000 troops and continue the Northern Territory expedition. The Ministry of War has issued a document stating that provisions and horses must be supplied from Yi Prefecture in succession."
These words carried even more weight in the room than Xiao Jinghan's message from earlier.
Su Yao put down her pen.
Shen Ling'er stopped grinding the medicine.
Gu Moran stared at the line of words for three breaths, then picked up his tea and took a sip.
Yi Prefecture a region that produced grain, salt, Shu brocade, and had waterways.
The Northern Expeditionary Army needed to eat, and the Ministry of War clerk specifically named Yi Prefecture.
Before he even entered the city gates, the task of supplying provisions fell upon him.
"There's one more." Xie Wanqing flipped to the last line of the codebook, " Gu Moli added another code: Mother Consort said that the two old foxes in Yi Prefecture, one scholarly and one martial, might not be arguing for real."
The room fell silent for a moment.
Gu Moran placed the teacup back on the table.
Si Renyou, Zhen Daijin.
A scholar from Min County, a Heluo.
He raised his hand and pressed the letter under the teacup, then turned to look at the local gazetteer that Xie Wanqing had spread out.
"How many years have the Yi Prefecture and the Commandant of the Vanguard been in office?"
Xie Wanqing turned two pages. "The seventeenth year of Si Renyou, the eighteenth year of Zhen Daijin."
Gu Moran's eyebrows twitched. "The Commandant arrived before the Governor?"
"Right."
Su Yao continued, "It's recorded in the old accounts of the Chancellor's Residence that the former governor of Yi Prefecture was demoted due to a salt tax deficit. Three governors were appointed before Si Renyou was finally sent."
Gu Moran mentally went through all those years.
These two old foxes have managed to stay in the same place for over a decade. Although they are openly at odds, Yi Prefecture is managed to be well-ordered.
However, salt tax was delayed, military pay was blocked, and the government treasury was strained.
These two are either genuinely stupid, or they're waiting for some opportunity.
Noble Consort Chen said that the emperor threw him into Yi Prefecture so that the governor and the military commander could attack him from both sides and prevent him from gaining a foothold.
But what if these two people were actually in cahoots?
Gu Moran didn't say anything.
He looked around at the people in the room.
Su Yao's pen was still dangling, Shen Ling'er's pestle rested on the edge of the mortar, Xie Wanqing turned to the page on Si Renyou in the local gazetteer, Lin Qingdai leaned against the door with a knife across her knees, Murong Xue was still gnawing on beef jerky, Liu Ruyan quietly refolded the letter.
"The same as usual tomorrow." Gu Moran patted his knees and stood up.
Su Yao looked up. "Still what?"
"I'll remain sick. You guys will remain powerful."
Lin Qingdai scoffed.
When are you not sick?
"If I'm not sick, will they both feel at ease?" Gu Moran gestured towards the city center. "Two old foxes invited me into their cage, but I'll make them think that the one entering the cage is a clueless quail."
Shen Ling'er raised the pestle.
"The quail will need to take its medicine tomorrow too."
Gu Moran sighed.
"Fine, the quail accepts its fate."
He walked to the window and pushed it open a crack.
The night breeze carried in the lingering light of the distant city wall lights, and the air was filled with a faint scent of rice and the fishy smell of river mud.
Yi Prefecture.
Granaries, salt wells, Shu brocade, waterways.
There was also the supply route for the Northern Expedition, where 10,000 troops were desperately waiting for food.
His father banished him from the capital.
But they pushed him onto a piece of fatty meat that everyone was eyeing.
" Uncle Fu."
"This old servant is here."
"Tomorrow, the convoy will proceed into the city as before."
Uncle Fu responded.
Gu Moran closed the window and turned to look at the six people in the room.
"Once you enter Yi Prefecture City, whatever you see or hear, don't rush to speak. Let them finish their performance first."
Su Yao closed the ledger.
"Is Your Highness sure they're acting?"
"I'm not sure," Gu Moran smiled, "But I'm sure I can act better than them."
Murong Xue chewed on beef jerky and mumbled, "Aren't you tired of acting every day?"
"I'm tired." Gu Moran walked back to the table and sat down, habitually reaching out to grab Shen Ling'er's hand. "That's why I need the ladies to treat me better."
Shen Ling'er glared at him.
Take your hand away.
Gu Moran obediently withdrew his hand.
Liu Ruyan asked softly, "Your Highness, what should we do about the supplies for the Northern Expedition after we enter the city?"
Gu Moran thought for a moment. " The Ministry of War's documents are handled openly, Yi Prefecture will definitely receive the official letter before me. Si Renyou and Zhen Daijin have probably already argued about this. I'll leave it alone for now and see how they try to present it to me."
Xie Wanqing carefully put away the codebook. "What if they deliberately use provisions to force Your Highness to choose sides?"
"Then I'll stand on the safest side."
Lin Qingdai asked coldly, "Which side is safe?"
Gu Moran pointed at Shen Ling'er.
"On her side, patients don't need to stand in line."
Shen Ling'er rolled her eyes.
"Are you planning to live your whole life faking illness?"
"As long as you're alive." Gu Moran stretched, pulled the letter from under the teacup, and held it up to the candlelight.
The corner of the paper caught fire, and the flames reflected on his face, creating flickering light.
"Starting tomorrow, Yi Prefecture is our territory."
He blew away the burnt ashes.
"Although there are two old foxes on this territory, a pile of shady debts, a military camp that keeps complaining about being broke, and ten thousand mouths waiting to be fed."
Su Yao picked up her pen.
I'll recalculate the grain prices tonight.
Xie Wanqing opened the local gazetteer.
"I checked the old regulations of the Yi Prefecture Transport Office."
Liu Ruyan stood up. "I've been investigating the movements of merchant ships in Central Shu over the past half-month."
Shen Ling'er carried the medicine bowl to Gu Moran.
"You, take your medicine, and go to sleep."
Gu Moran's face turned green again.
" Ling'er, let's talk this over..."
"No discussion. Let's go back inside."
The next day, just after Chen Shi (7-9 AM).
The Prince Yi's Residence's entourage met up three miles outside the city.
The official fleet, carrying flags, soldiers, and ceremonial guards, slowly made its way along the official road.
Gu Moran's carriage was mixed in with the rest of the carriage. The curtains were drawn tightly, and only Uncle Fu's back could be seen from outside.
Shen Ling'er sat in the car, her wrist resting on Gu Moran's pulse.
"Your pulse is alright. Don't get too dizzy from overacting later."
Gu Moran was wrapped in a blanket, and her complexion was indeed not good.
Last night, Su Yao and Shen Ling'er kept me playing for two hours, and then Murong Xue kicked me awake in the middle of the night saying there was something wrong with the horse.
I didn't sleep well all night; the dark circles under my eyes are real.
"No need to act." He said with his eyes closed, "I'm really sleepy."
The wheels rolled over the stone pavement, and voices came from ahead.
Uncle Fu whispered from outside, "Your Highness, we've arrived at the city gate."
Gu Moran opened his eyes and looked out through the gap in the carriage curtain.
The Yi Prefecture City were narrower than those of the capital, but they were built very sturdily.
The word "Yi" is written on the flag at the top of the city, and the guards on both sides stand upright. They look looser than the imperial guards in the capital, but the swords on their waists are real swords.
On either side of the city gate stood a group of people.
On the left, five or six civil officials in green robes stood in neat rows. The middle-aged man leading them was of medium height with a handsome face, and his black gauze hat was so perfectly straight it looked as if it had been measured with a ruler.
Si Renyou.
On the right, seven or eight military captains stood crookedly. The burly man in the lead was half a head shorter than Tuoba Mang, but his shoulders were as broad as a small mountain, his face was full of fat, and he had an old knife with a worn-out blade hanging at his waist.
Zhen Daijin.
The two groups were five steps apart, with the open space in between resembling the Chu River and Han Border.
Before Gu Moran's carriage had even come to a complete stop, a quarrel had already broken out over there.
Zhen Daijin spoke first, his voice as loud as a gong.
" Si Renyou! Damn it! Your bunch of pedantic scholars are blocking the city gate, preventing the royal carriage from getting in! Make way, make way!"
Si Renyou bowed slowly and deliberately, his voice gentle, with a hint of the soft accent of Min County at the end.
" Commandant Zhen, the prefectural government has its own regulations for welcoming the emperor. Civil officials come first, and military officials stand to the side. This is the proper etiquette of the imperial court. I, Si Renyou, am not trying to embarrass you. If you are not satisfied, you may submit a memorial to impeach me."
"Investigate you? I'll investigate your ancestors for eight generations! You're using your ridiculous rules to annoy the Prince? He traveled all the way to Yi Prefecture, and the first thing he saw was your bitter face. How could he be happy?"
" Commandant Zhen, the Prince is showing respect to Yi Prefecture, and to Commandant Zhen himself. Your Excellency's face is hardly more presentable than mine."
"Hey, say that again?"