The Duke's Daughter is Reborn

The candlelight crackled in the celadon lamp, and Yuan Ruiyuan's hand holding the letter trembled slightly. The maid's usual small regular script shone with a light gold under the candlelight, but it could not hide the urgency between the lines.

He closed his eyes, but things came flooding back to him.

The scene of the assassination on the Qinhuai River three days ago, the poisoned crossbow arrow that brushed past the Crown Prince's ear and was nailed into the carved railing, the wolf head pattern engraved on the tail of the arrow was now surging in his mind along with the three words "Kulyong" on the letter.

It turns out that all the coincidences are carefully woven webs: the Qingliu disturbance was a feint to the east and attack in the west, and those scholars holding the banners of "sharing the joys and sorrows with the people" were just chess pieces stuffed into the chessboard by Lao Wu; even the good news of a 30% increase in grain transport from Jiangnan was probably because someone had tampered with the account books overnight to let himself down.

The twilight outside the window had turned dark black. The evening breeze, wrapped in the moisture of the Qinhuai River, penetrated into the window lattice, making the map of Jiangnan on the desk rustle.

The sound of the night watchman's clapperboard drifted in from afar, "The weather is dry - be careful with fire -" the tail note was stretched out by the wind, like a shaky thread.

Lu Xiaojun stood in the corridor holding a teacup, and saw his own prince standing in front of the window motionless. Even the Longjing tea in the teacup was cold and covered with a thin layer of dirt. "Your Highness," he said softly, with a hint of tentativeness in his voice, "After the fall of the Yang family, the positions of Jiangnan Provincial Administration and Salt Transport Bureau were vacant..."

Yuan Ruiyuan shook his head: "I need to think about this matter again."

When Peilin pushed the door open with the newly obtained intelligence, he saw his own prince staring at the map on the table in a daze.

The locations of the thirteen prefectures in the south of the Yangtze River on the map were circled again and again with a red pen. Next to the central city of Jinling, the words "Cao Yun Yan Yi Zhi Zao" were densely written. The ink was of varying depths, as if it had been carefully considered.

“Your Highness.” Peilin gently placed the secret report on the desk and said in a low voice, “This is the secret report collected today.”

“No need to say more.” Yuan Ruiyuan rubbed his brows with his hand, his knuckles turning white from the force.

He was suddenly aware that he was sweating profusely, and the hair on his forehead was sticking to his skin, making him feel sticky and uncomfortable. "Go get those loquats from the warehouse."

He said to Peilin, "I want the freshest ones, put them in a green bamboo basket."

After a pause, Yuan Ruiyuan continued, "Let An Yi get ready. We will set off back to the Imperial City later. An Yi will stay to replace me."

"Return to the Imperial City?" Peilin was stunned, with obvious surprise in his voice.

What kind of news did Adu bring that could make His Highness give up the unfinished game of Jiangnan?

"That's right." Yuan Ruiyuan carefully rolled up the map and put it into the nanmu box, his movements were so gentle that it seemed like he was putting away some fragile treasure. "Call Lu Xiaojun and Huo Xuan over, I have something to tell them."

When the sound of the night watch wrapped in the night wind penetrated into the window frame, Yuan Ruiyuan had already paced seventeen steps in the study.

"Your Highness, Lord Lu and General Huo have arrived." Peilin's voice was very low, but it was particularly clear in the silent night.

When Yuan Ruiyuan raised his eyes, he saw Lu Xiaojun standing by the door with a sword in his arms. His black robe was stained with night dew, and the jade pendant on his waist was glowing faintly. Huo Xuan followed behind him, and the hem of his moon-white brocade robe was still stained with grass debris - it seemed that he came directly from the training ground and didn't even change his official boots.

"Everyone, come in." Yuan Ruiyuan waved his hand, signaling Peilin to leave, and pushed the secret report on the table towards the candlelight, "Sit down."

Lu Xiaojun knelt on the cushion first, his back straight, "Your Highness summoned me here, is it about the personnel arrangements of the Jiangnan Provincial Government?"

Huo Xuan sat down at the side, picked up the candied fruit box on the table, broke off a sweet-scented osmanthus candy and put it in his mouth: "I said, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince can control the clean streams of Jiangnan, and can be scared away by a mere assassin? There must be something important for us to do."

Before he could finish his words, Lu Xiaojun poked him with his elbow.

Yuan Ruiyuan tapped the map with his knuckles and said to Lu Xiaojun, "You should fill the position of Jiangnan Provincial Government Secretary first."

"Once the affairs of the Imperial City are settled, I will ask Gao Xian to come and assist you." He stroked the hilt of the sword with his fingertips. "That guy always said 'money should be spent on the blade'. This blade should be sharpened."

Lu Xiaojun clenched his hands on his knees and said, "Thank you for your trust, Your Highness. But now the Imperial Guards have to patrol Jinling City every day. If I take on the post of Governor..."

"The three hundred Yulin Guards under your command, will they not move without you?" Huo Xuan interrupted, "Besides, you are now the commander of the Yulin Guards of the third rank, and the deputy governor is only of the fifth rank - in terms of rank, you have been demoted?" He laughed out loud, and then quickly stopped, "I mean, Your Highness, this is an opportunity for you to exercise."

Yuan Ruiyuan flicked the word "Caoyun" on the map and said, "Xiaojun, do you know why I asked you to serve as the governor?"

Seeing Lu Xiaojun shaking his head, Yuan Ruiyuan's fingertips moved across the dense red circles on the map. "Although the situation is peaceful, the impeached officials are linked to the gentry of three provinces and eighteen counties. How many false reports of acres are hidden under the good news of a 30% increase in grain production? These things can only be suppressed by the scabbards of the Imperial Guards."

Seeing that Lu Xiaojun stopped talking, Yuan Ruiyuan slowly said, "I will leave for the Imperial City soon."

The smile on Huo Xuan's face disappeared instantly, and he asked in surprise: "Your Highness, you want to go back to the Imperial City? Did something happen in the Imperial City?"

The candlelight dimmed, making Yuan Ruiyuan's eyes darker and darker. "The Imperial City sent a message that Lao Wu secretly contacted Kulyong to create evidence of my conspiracy with the Western Looting Barbarians."

"What!" Huo Xuan and Lu Xiaojun were both shocked by the news.

Especially Huo Xuan. As the defender of Xihu, the Huo family has been fighting against the Xiluo barbarians for many years. Now, after hearing the news, they can bear it.

"Don't worry." Yuan Ruiyuan held Huo Xuan's hand, "Since we were able to intercept this information, we are not without evidence. Besides, the Queen Mother is still in the capital and will stabilize the situation.

However, there are some things that I have to deal with personally.

Jiangnan is now in your hands."

Lu Xiaojun and Huo Xuan clasped their fists and said, "I will obey your orders."

When the gong of midnight struck for the third time, Yuan Ruiyuan stood at the door of the study, looking at the ginkgo leaves in the yard that were dyed white by the moonlight.

As the wind blew, a few leaves swirled and fell, landing on the back of the green horse and on the shoulders of Peilin and Adu.

Peilin and Adu had already been waiting at the corner gate with their horses. The hooves of the blue horse were wrapped with soft cloth to prevent the night dew from disturbing them; Peilin's black outfit was tied very tightly, and he had a dagger he often used on his waist.

“Your Highness.” Peilin clasped his fists, his voice solemn, “I have prepared a fast horse and will rush to Yangzhou Ferry overnight. We will be able to catch the earliest grain transport ship at noon tomorrow.”

Yuan Ruiyuan reached out and patted the horse's neck. The horse rubbed his palm affectionately, and the warm touch came through his gloves. He looked at the last ray of moonlight in the sky and said in a voice as light as a sigh, "It's time for my chess piece to fall back to the capital."

The sound of a night watchman was heard in the distance: "Three o'clock in the morning--" A few crows were startled and flew over the eaves. A few drops of night dew were swept up by the tips of their wings and hit Yuan Ruiyuan's black cloak, leaving small dark balls.

He wrapped his cloak tightly around him, and when he turned around, the black iron sword at his waist collided with the jade token, making a crisp sound.