The Kingdom That Never Sleeps CH 106 Returning To Youzhou
The night Yelü Qin was ambushed, a masked assassin seized a secret letter and fled westward. Lu Shen witnessed everything. Strangely, it wasn’t Yelü Qin who recalled the assassin’s appearance but Lu Shen.
Lu Shen had his own methods of tracking people. Following the route west from Yelücomm's residence, he ruled out inns, as the Liao soldiers had already searched all of them without finding the assassin. He also excluded ordinary residences—this was Xijin Prefecture, under the control of southern officials and especially Yelü Qin. The assassin would never dare meet with others, as doing so would expose his whereabouts.
Soon, Lu Shen identified dozens of abandoned houses needing inspection. Meanwhile, Qiao Jiu, bearing gifts, personally visited Xiao Lü to apologize, claiming that his son had fallen ill again from a lingering cold and could not meet the Second Prince.
Xiao Lü, growing impatient, restrained his temper and said, "Qiao Jiu, it was you who insisted on leaving Xijin quickly. I went through so much trouble to arrange this meeting with the prince, and now you put me in this position!"
A shrewd man, Qiao Jiu sensed something unusual in Xiao Lü's words. Why did Xiao Lü seem particularly eager for Tang Shen to meet the prince? Could he have already discovered Tang Shen’s identity?
Probably not. If Xiao Lü truly knew, he wouldn’t wait for Tang Shen to meet Yelü Shege; he would capture Tang Shen immediately and offer him to curry favor.
Feigning distress, Qiao Jiu wailed, "Mr. Xiao, I’m truly suffering! My household is filled with the sick, both old and young. My son genuinely cannot get out of bed. If he meets the Second Prince in this condition, he might spread the illness. How about I go with you to explain in person?"
Having no other options, Xiao Lü brought Qiao Jiu to see Yelü Shege. Upon hearing of the illness, Yelü Shege was a little surprised at first but then sneered coldly, "How convenient. His illness has saved his life. If he can’t even leave his bed, then he can't leave the city. Naturally there's no need for Xiao Lü to bring him."
Dismissed and offended, Xiao Lü stormed out without another glance at Qiao Jiu, who chased after him with repeated apologies. Xiao Lü ignored him entirely.
Once Xiao Lü departed, Qiao Jiu’s fawning expression vanished. He thought grimly, "Now it’s clear—I can’t let Xiao Lü live. Offending him like this will make it impossible for me to succeed in Xijin if he remains."
Meanwhile, Tang Shen pretended to be bedridden, planning to wait for Lu Shen to locate the assassin before leaving. Unexpectedly, a secret letter from Su Wenyun arrived in the city. Although Xijin was under strict lockdown, the letter had managed to enter, while Tang Shen remained trapped inside. The letter contained a coded poem, which, after deciphering, caused Tang Shen’s heart to tighten: An envoy from Shengjing has arrived!
Someone from Shengjing had come!
Tang Shen couldn’t gauge the severity of the situation but dared not take it lightly. The mission to gather intelligence in Liao was a closely guarded secret, known to few. Even Wang Zhen had deduced it without being explicitly informed. There was no telling whether the envoy from Shengjing might jeopardize the mission.
Gripping the letter tightly, Tang Shen spent the afternoon in deep contemplation. As night fell, he burned the letter and summoned Qiao Jiu. "By tomorrow at the latest, I must leave the city. Do you have a plan?"
Qiao Jiu asked cautiously, "Daren must leave?"
"Yes, I have to."
After a moment's thought, Qiao Jiu nodded. "I do. Please leave it to me."
At dawn the next day, a scrawny servant pushed a slop cart toward the western gate. Upon reaching the gate, he was stopped by guards. The servant, putting on a pitiful expression, pleaded, "Daren, have mercy. Our tavern hasn’t been able to dispose of waste for days. If this continues, the stench will drive everyone out."
Before the guards could respond, the foul smell assaulted their noses, causing them to gag. One guard waved his hand in disgust, "What is this stench? Don’t you know the city is under lockdown?"
"I’m just a servant from the West Sparrow Tavern, here to dispose of kitchen waste," the servant explained, almost tearfully.
The guards hesitated. Completely sealing the city was impractical—without allowing waste disposal, the city would become unlivable in days. Holding his breath, one guard approached the cart and lifted two lids. The putrid smell intensified, making him retch. He ordered his companion to check the other two barrels, and the servant also cooperated by hurriedly lifting one lid himself.
"Enough, enough," the other guard muttered, pinching his nose. "Go ahead."
The young servant was overjoyed and quickly knelt to bow to the two guards, helping lift the cart and preparing to leave.
At that moment, one of the guards said, “Those two barrels still haven’t been checked.”
“What could be in them? They stink so badly, could they be hiding someone?”
Just as the guard was about to say something else, his companion, irritated, drew his sword and casually stabbed it into the remaining two large barrels. "Is this better? Ugh, it stinks even more now. The slop’s leaking out, and my sword’s covered in it! Damn it, hurry up and go, don't delay us."
In the past, the city guards often casually used their swords to poke through the goods they were inspecting. This time, the guard, dazed by the smell, unconsciously drew his sword and stabbed, completely forgetting this was a cart of slop. After doing so, he immediately regretted his action.
The young servant stared in shock, his eyes wide open. The guard’s swift movement had been so quick he didn’t even have time to react. However, this time, he couldn’t not leave even if he didn't want to. The two guards directly kicked him out of the city gate to prevent the contents of the barrels from spilling onto the ground.
Once out of sight, he quickly moved to a deserted area and opened a hidden compartment in one of the barrels. Tang Shen, soaked in foul liquid, emerged, gasping for air.
"Are you all right, daren?" the servant asked anxiously.
Tang Shen, drenched and reeking, could only manage to stagger away and retch violently by the roadside.
The mechanism within the barrel had been hastily constructed and leaked badly. Tang Shen’s body and hair were covered in the foul-smelling, dirty water. The fact that he had managed to endure this far was a testament to his incredible willpower.
The servant accompanying him out of the city was a trusted subordinate of Lu Shen. He handed Tang Shen a water pouch, but Tang Shen couldn’t drink it. He vomited for a long time, only stopping when his stomach was completely empty.
The servant asked, “Daren, earlier the guard stabbed the barrel twice. Are you injured?”
Tang Shen wiped the acidic water from his mouth and raised his arm. “I’ve only been scraped a little, but the wounds aren’t deep. It’s nothing serious. The barrel I was in was half filled with foul water. When stabbing it, he probably didn’t notice anything unusual. Don’t waste time. We must hurry back to Youzhou City.”
The servant carefully examined the wound on Tang Shen’s arm, which was indeed shallow, and the blood had dried up during their time leaving the city.
They were in a hurry, so they didn’t pay much attention to their surroundings. Soon, they found a small town, changed clothes, bought a horse, and set off for Youzhou City.
Though it had taken Tang Shen six days to reach Xijin, the return journey, driven by urgency, took only two.
By the time they neared Youzhou, Tang Shen was pale and feverish. He clutched his arm and coughed weakly. "I was careless. The wound must have become infected."
Alarmed, the soldier quickly dismounted to check Tang Shen's wound. He saw that although the wound wasn't deep, it had turned pale and was oozing pus. When he touched Tang Shen's skin, it was scalding hot. The soldier exclaimed, "This is bad, the wound needs to be treated immediately. Daren, please bear with the pain." With that, the soldier drew a dagger, lit a fire with a fire striker, and placed the dagger in the flames to heat it.
Once the dagger was glowing red, he said again to Tang Shen, "Daren, please bear with it."
Tang Shen gasped for breath and gently nodded. The next moment, the red-hot dagger was pressed against his arm. Tang Shen's face twisted in agony, the excruciating pain radiating from the wound and spreading throughout his body. His muscles spasmed uncontrollably around the injury, as if his whole body was reacting to the pain.
He eventually succumbed to unconsciousness.
When he woke up again, they were almost at the gates of Youzhou City. The soldier didn't think much of it and was about to directly enter the city. "Your wound must be treated quickly, we need to get you to a doctor. I only did a simple treatment, it's not enough."
At this moment, Tang Shen was burning with fever, his body scalding hot. He grabbed the soldier's arm and shakily pulled out a token from his sleeve. "We cannot enter the city like this. Go to the Youzhou military camp and find General Li. Tell him about this, and deliver a message for me... The favor owed in Shengjing, the general can repay it."
The vast grasslands were bathed in the glow of a low-hanging moon, the stars scattered like scattered children.
A small soldier holding the Western Expedition General’s token from Li Jingde galloped under the night sky toward the Youzhou military camp. The sky was about to brighten when the soldier still had not returned. But by dawn, two horse-drawn carriages slowly made their way into Youzhou City.
After the two carriages entered the city, one went to the Youzhou government office, and the other went to the Silver Pull Division.
The carriage that went to the government office only stayed for an hour before heading to the Silver Pull Division.
By the time the sky brightened, Yu Chaosheng, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, got out of the carriage. He looked up and saw the three-character plaque of "Silver Pull Division" hanging above the gate. Inside the building, a crowd of officials had already gathered and started working.
An official came out to greet Yu Chaosheng and led him through two courtyards to the back of the Silver Pull Division.
Outside the door, Yu Chaosheng said, "Lower official, Yu Chaosheng, here to pay respects to the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue."
The door creaked open, and Wang Zhen, dressed in a crispy pressed dark red official robe, smiled and said, "Yu daren just went to the Youzhou government office, and now you're here at the Silver Pull Division?"
Yu Chaosheng replied, "I was ordered to oversee the Silver Pull Division’s affairs, so I must not delay."
Wang Zhen smiled leisurely and said, "Then come in."
After a brief exchange, Yu Chaosheng asked, "The officials of the Silver Pull Division are all diligent. Before I entered, they had already started working. However, I did not see Tang daren. He came to Youzhou a month ago to oversee the Silver Pull Division affairs. I need to discuss things with him, but why is he not here? Do you know where he is?"
Wang Zhen did not immediately respond. He smiled lightly and began preparing tea.
Although Yu Chaosheng wasn’t from an aristocratic family, his family was still well-known and affluent in the local area. Seeing Wang Zhen start making tea, Yu Chaosheng had no choice but to stay silent and observe Wang Zhen's method, appreciating his skill. He was puzzled and wondered if Wang Zhen had sent Tang Shen on an errand, which was why he was unwilling to tell him his whereabouts.
However, Wang Zhen’s demeanor was calm and elegant, like the moonlight reflected on water.
Even though Yu Chaosheng was puzzled, he couldn’t help but admit that watching Wang Zhen’s tea-making technique was truly pleasing.
By now, the two had idled a good part of an hour in the room. Yu Chaosheng had finished his tea and was about to ask again when an official came into the room and saluted, saying, "This morning, General Li and Tang daren went hunting outside the city. They have not returned yet. I have already gone to inform them."
Wang Zhen’s gaze shifted. He thought to himself, my junior brother is quite clever, he’s returned just in time and even thought to find Li Jingde for help.
Wang Zhen nodded and said, "No hurry. Yu daren, would you like another cup of tea?"
Yu Chaosheng had already drunk a belly full of tea, and though he wanted to leave, he dared not without Wang Zhen’s signal. Officially, he had been sent by the emperor to oversee the Silver Pull Division’s affairs, but everyone knew the Silver Pull Division was Wang Zifeng's domain. In Youzhou, it was better to be humble and not offend Wang Zifeng.
Another hour passed, and then the soldier sent by Li Jingde arrived, as if he had timed it perfectly.
Yu Chaosheng asked, "Have Tang daren and General Li returned?"
The soldier replied, "During the hunt, Tang daren was accidentally struck by a stray arrow and is now receiving treatment at the Youzhou military camp."
Wang Zhen furrowed his brows, but then he thought this was a delaying tactic by Tang Shen. He pretended to be surprised and asked, "Struck by a stray arrow? How serious is the injury? Is it life-threatening?"
Upon hearing this, Yu Chaosheng glanced at Wang Zhen. He thought, Wang Zifeng doesn’t seem to be in much of a panic. Could it be that these two senior and junior brothers don’t get along and their feelings are not as good as they appear?
The soldier, following Li Jingde's instructions, answered honestly, "Tang daren lost consciousness and hasn’t woken up. General Li has already called for two military doctors. When I left, the doctors had already applied the best hemostatic powder."
Wang Zhen’s eyes flickered, as if he had sensed something. He subtly tightened his grip on his teacup, then asked, "He’s at the Youzhou military camp?"
The soldier and Yu Chaosheng were both surprised and looked at Wang Zhen strangely. The soldier had already said that Tang Shen was being treated at the military camp—had Wang Zhen not heard?
The soldier obediently confirmed, "Yes, Tang daren is at the military camp."
Wang Zhen’s hand trembled slightly, and the teacup slipped from his grip, spilling tea across the table. The room fell silent. Yu Chaosheng silently observed Wang Zhen. Wang Zifeng’s calm, elegant face showed no emotion, but he remained silent, as though he had forgotten how to speak.
After a long while, Wang Zhen exhaled, then said quietly, "Yu daren, would you like to visit the military camp and see how Tang daren’s injury is?"
Since Wang Zhen wanted to visit his junior brother, Yu Chaosheng naturally agreed to go along. "Of course."
The next moment, Wang Zhen stood up, then paused, as if realizing his movement had been too abrupt. He nodded to Yu Chaosheng, then turned to the soldier, saying, "You go ahead and tell General Li. We will be there shortly."
Soon, Wang Zhen and Yu Chaosheng got into a carriage and headed toward the Youzhou military camp.
Yu Chaosheng secretly observed Wang Zhen, who appeared composed and had his eyes closed, resting without speaking. After a while, Yu Chaosheng withdrew his gaze, unsure whether Wang Zhen was concerned about Tang Jingze’s injury or not. If he was worried, why did he not seem particularly concerned when he first learned of the injury? But if he wasn’t worried, it didn’t seem that way either.
"Wang daren?"
Wang Zhen opened his eyes and looked at Yu Chaosheng.
Yu Chaosheng met his gaze and was suddenly shocked. He quickly lowered his gaze and said lowly, "Nothing, it seems we are almost there."
The carriage stopped outside the Youzhou military camp. The two of them got out and walked inside. Soon, Li Jingde emerged from a tent.
Yu Chaosheng saluted and said, "This lower official greets General Li."
Li Jingde looked at Wang Zhen, who seemed calm, and asked, "Strange, Wang Zifeng, you don’t seem worried at all about your junior brother. Why aren’t you concerned?"
Wang Zhen asked, "How is his injury?"
Li Jingde had originally intended to say, "It’s extremely serious, he’s near death," but he stopped after the first three words. Wang Zhen’s gaze was extremely frightening. Li Jingde quickly changed his words, "It’s not good, but it’s not that bad either."
Wang Zhen closed his eyes and remained silent for a long time. When he opened his eyes again, he said, "Let’s go in."