Prince Yi's mansion was located on West Second Street, a third of Chang'an City away from the Martial Arts Academy. The mansion wasn't particularly grand; as a prince who had already been enfeoffed, his official residence, built to the specifications of a prince, was in his fiefdom of Jiaoxi. The mansion in Chang'an was merely a temporary residence. However, this temporary residence became Yang Yin's permanent home, while the massive mansion in his fiefdom became merely a decoration.
When Qin Liuqi, the steward of Prince Yi's mansion, returned home at noon, he went straight to the backyard to report his journey to Yang Yin. He seemed to know Yang Yin's location immediately, finding Prince Yi roasting meat by the small pond in the backyard without taking a single detour.
"Did you finish?"
Yang Yin asked casually when Qin Liuqi returned, quickly turning his gaze back to the roasting meat in front of him. He slowly and evenly rotated the grill; the lamb had turned golden brown and was ready to be enjoyed. A low table sat beside Yang Yin, laden with various seasonings. This most esteemed prince of the Sui Dynasty seemed to thoroughly enjoy the roasting process, carefully and meticulously applying the sauce to the roasting lamb. His hands were clean, long, and slender, beautiful as a woman's.
"Take it," Qin Liuqi replied, head bowed.
"What did you say?"
Yang Yin asked again. "He neither refused nor declined, only saying it was too heavy."
Qin Liuqi said, "That soft armor is made of black gold silk from the Western Regions, thin and light, how could it be heavy?"
Yang Yin smiled and said, "He wasn't saying the black gold soft armor was heavy, he was saying the favor he was accepting was too heavy. Fang Jie is a smart man, he knows how to climb the ladder. He also has self-awareness, knowing what he can't refuse. I like young men like that; as long as they have ambition and the desire to climb, they will quickly adapt to the rules of officialdom. He knew he didn't have the power to refuse my kindness, so he accepted it readily."
Qin Liuqi said, "I feel that since he's a smart man, isn't it a bit hypocritical for him to express his opinion so quickly?"
Yang Yin couldn't help but laugh, pointing to the stool in front of him, and said, "Sit down and talk, and see if my cooking skills have improved again."
Qin Liuqi didn't refuse, sat opposite Yang Yin, first rinsed his hands in a basin of water, then took the knife handed to him by Prince Yi and began slicing meat. The lamb was roasted to perfection, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, so tender that when you cut it open, it even seemed to glisten with moisture.
"You think he made his decision so easily?"
Yang Yin put a piece of lamb in his mouth, chewing as he spoke, "You haven't even returned to your residence yet, and I reckon the news of him accepting one of my precious armors has already reached His Majesty's ears. This isn't something that can be hidden, and I didn't intend to hide it from anyone. Fang Jie understands this perfectly well; he has no reason to refuse me. His Majesty won't consider him a good minister just because he refused my gift, nor will he consider him an opportunistic villain just because he accepted it."
" Making a statement is inherently boring and meaningless. I have never forced anyone to take sides, because what I ask for is not excessive."
Yang Yin paused, gesturing for Qin Liuqi to continue turning the grill: "I merely admire this young man's intelligence and talent, and am simply showing him some consideration on behalf of the court, isn't that right? I am not in court and have no real power, but I am still a prince of the Sui Dynasty, His Majesty's brother. Therefore, representing the royal family to bestow a little favor upon a future pillar of the court, would His Majesty mind?"
He pinched some powder and sprinkled it on the meat slices. After a moment of silence, he continued, "What are the court officials saying?"
Qin Liuqi replied, "Seven or eight out of ten are waiting for your instructions, Your Highness. If His Majesty is truly disillusioned with the war in the Northwest, punishing Prince Xu and Minister of War Mou Liangbi is only a matter of time. The governors-general of the three Northwest circuits and the generals of the various guards all have a bad impression of Prince Xu and that Mou Liangbi who rose from prisoner to Minister of War, so naturally they won't easily obey their orders."
"Discord is of no benefit to the war. His Majesty will not tolerate..." The war in the Northwest has dragged on and on, and it's impossible to tolerate a chaotic fighting situation. With just a little more effort, the day when Prince Xu and Mou Liangbi are forced to leave the Northwest in disgrace won't be far off. Once they can't stay in the Northwest, His Majesty will appoint a new person to lead the war... none other than Your Highness. As long as His Majesty hints at a change in leadership, the court officials will naturally make sure His Majesty hears your name."
Prince Yi, Yang Yin, nodded and said, "Don't be too hasty. Making it too obvious will be counterproductive. My fourth brother seems to be a soft-hearted person, but..." "If he really loses his temper, no one can withstand it. If he feels he's being coerced, then nobody will have a good time. This matter isn't urgent... You go back and arrange for someone to rush to the Northwest and tell Li Yuanshan and the others that this matter should be taken slowly; a war can't be over in a short time. To avoid arousing suspicion, we can win a battle... win first, then lose, and lose more and more tragically—that's more realistic."
"Find a few people, first have them write a memorial to Mou Liangbi and submit it. The logistics and supplies for the 700,000 troops in the Northwest are all under Mou Liangbi's control, numbering in the thousands..." With tens of thousands of supplies and millions of laborers, how could there not be mistakes? If we're willing to search, we can still find quite a few. My cousin Yang Kai, though a bit slow-witted, isn't stupid. If Mou Liangbi is taken down, he might resign himself… They're all royals; I don't want to embarrass him too much."
"Your Highness is merciful."
Qin Liuqi said, "What I don't understand is, since Your Highness's goal is the Northwest, why try to win over Fang Jie so early? Even if he's a talented person, it might be more than two years before we can use him, and by then the war in the Northwest might be…" "It's already settled, can he still be used?"
"Six or seven, that's a good name for you. You only use six or seven parts of your brain, the other two or three parts are like a fool."
Yang Yin smiled and said, "If His Majesty issues an edict to arrest Mou Liangbi and Yang Kai, in order to balance the situation, he will naturally also move some of my people. The first to be affected will be Li Xiaozong. That guy was just a small fry to begin with, losing him is no big deal. But in terms of understanding the Mongol Yuan, no one in the Northwest Army can compare to him, so His Majesty has appointed him as the vanguard... If he is then..." "If he's abandoned, who will take his place?"
"Right now... besides Fang Jie, who else understands the Mongol Yuan and the Manchu Banner like Li Xiaozong? Don't forget Fang Jie's identity before coming to Chang'an; he was a deputy scout. Li Xiaozong's understanding of the Mongol Yuan and the Manchu Banner came entirely from Fang Jie. As long as I go to the Northwest to oversee military affairs, I won't need to ask; His Majesty will proactively take Fang Jie from the Martial Arts Academy and hand him over to me."
"Trading a piece of fine armor for a capable vanguard—it's a good deal."
Yang Yin smiled, a hint of smugness in his eyes.
...
...
The snow finally stopped as dusk approached. Two heavy snowfalls within ten days were unusual. The constables of Chang'an Prefecture were about to get busy again, hiring carts from large companies to haul the snow away from the streets. The city had no shortage of laborers waiting for work, and the government wouldn't cheat them out of their due thirty copper coins.
The snow in the martial arts academy was naturally cleared by servants, but the students weren't in a good mood because of the snow. The news of the murder of five martial arts academy students couldn't be kept secret; it quickly spread like wildfire throughout the academy. After class, everyone gathered to discuss this topic.
Most were angry, with little fear.
In all the years since the founding of the Great Sui Dynasty, this was the first time someone had dared to provoke the martial arts academy. No one doubted that the murderer would eventually be captured, much less that he would be crushed to dust by the laws of the Great Sui. Amidst the discussions, Fang Jie's class clearly became the focus of attention.
The five dead students were all from this class; it was impossible for people not to have suspicions. All sorts of bizarre speculations flooded the martial arts academy, with some even suspecting that the murders were specifically targeting Fang Jie. Otherwise, why weren't students from other classes killed?
Fang Jie had no time to pay attention to such pointless and somewhat malicious speculations. After returning to his room, he stared blankly at the armor supposedly from the Western Regions. Prince Yi sent someone all this way to deliver such a valuable gift; even a fool would know what it meant.
Looking at the soft armor with its metallic sheen, Fang Jie couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.
Twelve years have passed, and you still haven't given up on returning to the court… Power truly is the greatest temptation for a man, even more so than beauty.
Since Prince Yi was willing to lower himself to actively win over Fang Jie, how many people had he won over in these twelve years? Fang Jie didn't need to rack his brains to guess that there were quite a few officials in the court willing to speak up for Prince Yi. He couldn't help but want to laugh, thinking, even I can see it, surely His Majesty can too?
Back then, His Majesty's angry execution of the Vice Minister of War, Hou Junci, and the dismissal of the Minister of War, how could it be unrelated to Prince Yi? However, His Majesty's methods of warning him clearly hadn't made the prince reconsider. The war in the Northwest was the most significant event in the Sui Dynasty in over twenty years. For Prince Yi to return to power, there was no more direct and swift method than personally overseeing the war and achieving victory.
If he could go to the Northwest to command the war effort and return in triumph, His Majesty would have no reason to prevent a prince with such great merit from returning to court.
But would His Majesty truly grant Prince Yi's wish?
Just as Fang Jie was lost in thought, the door creaked open from the outside, and Professor Qiu Yu walked in slowly, her expression seemingly displeased.
"You accepted Prince Yi's gift?"
She asked directly as she entered.
"Yes."
Fang Jie answered crisply.
"Why?"
Qiu Yu asked.
Fang Jie pointed to the soft armor on the bed and smiled, saying, "It's a good thing."
"Just that simple?"
Qiu Yu asked again.
"Just that simple."
Fang Jie nodded. Qiu Yu walked over, picked up the soft armor, examined it, and said, "It's indeed a fine item... If he had given you a silver note worth tens of thousands of taels of silver, or two beautiful women, would you have accepted it?"
"Of course," Fang Jie replied matter-of-factly.
"I never refuse anything offered to me."
"Do you know you're setting yourself up for trouble?"
Qiu Yu said with some annoyance, "Even if you come from a remote place, even if you've never seen any treasures before, are you really an idiot? Is Prince Yi someone you can afford to offend right now?"
Fang Jie smiled, poured a cup of tea, and handed it to Qiu Yu: "Sir... Precisely because Prince Yi is someone I can't afford to offend, do you think I have the power to refuse? Even if His Majesty thinks I'm a useful talent, do you think Prince Yi could easily destroy me?" Will it be difficult? If I don't accept it... I'd be an idiot! "
Qiu Yu was startled and couldn't help but said angrily: "Are you so afraid of losing your future?"
"Afraid!"
Fang Jie said seriously: "Otherwise, why would I enter the martial arts academy?"
These words left Qiu Yu with no words to refute, so she became even more angry: "But have you ever thought that if His Majesty knew about this, if he wanted to make you lose your future and your life, it would be much easier and simpler than Prince Yi?"
"No."
Fang Jie smiled and said: "You underestimate the emperor too much, and you underestimate Prince Yi too much."
Fang Jie took off his robe and put on the soft armor. He turned around in a circle and asked Qiu Yu: "Is it suitable?"
"This soft armor can stop a sword, but it can't stop others who want to kill you!"
Qiu Yu said harshly, turned around and left.
Fang Jie smiled bitterly, looked at Qiu Yu's back and said, "Sir... your fault is that you still didn't see clearly. I put away my soft armor... what I blocked was the murderous intention."