Prince Yi, Yang Yin, seemingly casually asked, "Do you think the war against the Mongol Yuan was right or wrong?" If this got out, even though Yang Yin was a prince, he would likely face punishment. Questioning the emperor, especially during such a crucial war, Fang Jie hadn't expected Yang Yin to be so audacious.
Logically, he had only met Yang Yin a few times. Although he had accepted Yang Yin's soft armor and morning dew sword, Yang Yin wasn't an idiot; why would he be so hasty? But Fang Jie quickly understood Yang Yin's intention, and his heart tightened slightly.
Fang Jie frowned, remaining silent.
Yang Yin laughed and said, "I was just teasing you. How could His Majesty's decision be wrong? The Mongol barbarians are entrenched in the northwest, eyeing us covetously. This war was inevitable sooner or later. Rather than waiting for their army to press in, it's better to take the initiative. His Majesty has prepared for this war for twelve years; there's no chance of failure."
Fang Jie thought to herself, "That 'what if' is you."
Yang Yin changed the subject, saying, "You served in the army in Fangu for three years, as a deputy scout. Come... tell me about the Mongol barbarians. I've heard that Mongol women are all big and burly, even fiercer than men, capable of capturing galloping horses and seizing cattle and sheep with their bare hands. Is that true?"
Fang Jie laughed, "It's not that far-fetched. Mongol women are women too. How could they be so different? It's just that they're exposed to the wind and sun on the grasslands every day, so they do look less delicate than our Sui women. They all have dark skin and are indeed very strong, but still not as strong as men. If they could capture galloping horses and seizing cattle and sheep, what would be the point of men?"
Yang Yin laughed, "That's right! I was just saying, if they were stronger and fiercer than men, how would the Mongol men survive?"
These words carried a double meaning, and the two beauties serving him wine couldn't help but giggle. Yang Yin pulled one woman into his arms, kissed one of them on the cheek, and laughed, "What are you laughing at? If you continue to be so insolent, I'll send you to the Mongol grasslands to be sold to those barbarians. Let's see if you still have the strength to laugh then!"
One of the women said flirtatiously, "Your Highness, please spare us! We still need to save our bodies to serve you."
Shen Qingshan frowned slightly, her expression displeased. She was a strong-willed person and couldn't stand women behaving themselves. If they weren't in the Prince's residence, she probably would have slapped them already. Just as she was suppressing her anger, she suddenly felt warmth in her hand. She turned her head and saw Fang Jie holding her hand under the table. Fang Jie shook his head slightly at her, his eyes gentle. Shen Qingshan's face flushed slightly, and she turned her hand over to hold Fang Jie's hand.
"I told you to be serious, but you insist on being so affectionate. If you anger the guests, see how I deal with you!"
Yang Yin joked a few times, then sat up straight and said, "Juexiao, you know I'm naturally a lazy person. In my spare time, I might discuss court affairs, but I really don't have the mind to get bogged down in important matters of state… His Majesty is the wisest emperor since the founding of the Sui Dynasty, and His Majesty's decisions are naturally correct. So, you don't need to take that joke seriously."
He glanced at Fang Jie and said, "But you're different. You'll be returning to the army sooner or later. So, I really want to hear…" "What are your thoughts on the Northwest campaign?"
"This student dares not offer any insights."
Fang Jie lowered his head and said, "As Your Highness just said, His Majesty's decisions are never wrong, so what more could this student possibly want? The Sui Dynasty will surely win this battle."
"Well said!"
Yang Yin had someone fill Fang Jie's cup with wine: "The Sui Dynasty will surely win. By the way, have you seen Prince Xu? In the past, I was closest to him in the capital. Didn't the people of Chang'an say that I am the most romantic person in the world, and Prince Xu is the second most romantic?"
"This student has never seen him."
Fang Jie said. Yang Yin laughed, "Then tell me, if he, the second most romantic man in the world, can lead an army to conquer the Mongol Yuan, can I, the number one in the world, handle this task?"
"Your Highness is drunk, and so am I."
Fang Jie lowered his head and said, "The wine in Your Highness's residence is very strong. I've only had two cups and I'm already feeling dizzy and lightheaded. My vision is blurry, and everything is swaying. I can't remember a single thing Your Highness said. What did I say?" "Oh, I forgot... This student can't hold his liquor. Please forgive me, Your Highness, I really can't drink anymore."
"You're too weak! You're already drunk after only a little drinking..."
Yang Yin laughed loudly, "Since that's the case, I won't keep you any longer. You and your beauty can go back and rest. You can come to my palace anytime, but next time don't bring Qingshan with you. I'll find you two virgins, I guarantee the experience will be completely different, haha!"
Fang Jie stood up, clasped his hands, and said goodbye. Shen Qingshan also bowed, then followed Fang Jie out of the third floor. Descending the spiral staircase, Shen Qingshan pulled Fang Jie's hand from behind, her palm slightly cold. Fang Jie turned back and smiled at her, then led her out.
Yang Yin walked out of the third floor, leaning on the railing, watching the backs of the beautiful couple and smiled. No one knew what the meaning behind that smile was.
At some point, the steward named Qin Liuqi appeared beside Yang Yin. He bowed slightly and asked, "Does Your Highness think this young man is usable?"
Yang Yin smiled and shook his head. "He's still somewhere between usable and not usable. He should still be grateful and respectful to my fourth brother, which is why he didn't dare answer when I tested him several times during the meal. But that's good, it proves he didn't approach me intentionally. If that were the case, he wouldn't have acted so humbly and arrogantly; he would most likely have gone along with what I said. Also, if he was approaching me on someone else's orders, he wouldn't have brought Shen Qingshan along… and he wouldn't always have a skilled bodyguard by his side." "This shows he doesn't trust me. If he wanted to get close to me, he wouldn't be foolish enough to let me sense his distrust."
"The Emperor treats him well, that's why he's grateful."
Qin Liuqi said with a smile, "But the Prince treats him even better, he'll eventually side with me."
"Hopefully."
Yang Yin nodded and said, "I'm growing to like this young man more and more. It's good that he knows how to be grateful, otherwise, wouldn't it be a waste of all my investment to raise such an ungrateful wretch?"
...
...
Fang Jie pulled Shen Qingshan's hand and walked out, completely disregarding the stares from the people in the Prince's mansion. There were many martial arts practitioners and beautiful young women in the mansion. Especially these women, seeing Fang Jie and Shen Qingshan walking hand in hand, mostly looked envious.
As they approached the door, a young man in a scholar's robe approached. He looked to be about twenty-six or twenty-seven years old, tall and handsome. He nodded slightly and smiled in greeting as he met Fang Jie. Fang Jie nodded in return and brushed past the man.
Upon reaching the door, Fang Jie saw Qilin's carriage waiting at the street corner. He waved to Qilin, who immediately drove over. Fang Jie and Shen Qingshan boarded the carriage. After frowning and thinking for a moment, Fang Jie said, "I think I've seen that young man before."
Thinking more carefully, he suddenly remembered: "That day, Professor Qiu and I were looking for a classmate to take back to the Martial Arts Academy in Chang'an. This man walked past my shop. When I left, he was sitting at Old Wang's stall eating hot soup noodles."
"You have a good memory," Shen Qingshan said with a smile.
"No..."
Fang Jie shook his head slightly. Shen Qingshan paused, startled. "What's wrong?"
Fang Jie said, "Since he's from the Prince's mansion, he naturally has no worries about food and clothing... But I remember very clearly the way he ate his noodles that day. He wolfed them down, as if he hadn't had a proper meal in ages. How could someone who can move freely in the Prince's mansion be so uncouth even when eating a bowl of hot soup noodles?"
Shen Qingshan shook her head. "What does it matter? Perhaps he was just taken in by Yang Yin."
Fang Jie said, "I was wondering, was his appearance outside my shop that day intentional, or just a coincidence? If it was intentional, it means Yang Yin sent someone to monitor me. If it was a coincidence..."
He sighed. "Never mind, it's more important than this..." "There are too many headaches, why bother with someone like this... Yang Yin's feigned madness today was just a test. I don't know if my behavior fooled him, but he's definitely not truly infatuated with pleasure. Those martial artists in the courtyard... they're called wandering swordsmen, but some of them are practicing military-style boxing. One of them even has an arrow wound; ordinary martial artists rarely have arrow wounds. Those people are most likely veterans... Also, when I went aboard the ship, I touched the hull; it's very sturdy. There must be an iron layer inside. This ship is built so solidly; it's probably not just for keeping out the wind and rain."
"But that ship probably really can't set sail,"
Shen Qingshan said. Fang Jie hummed in agreement, then thought carefully for a moment: "He shouldn't have taken us to the top of the ship. He wanted to test me, so he pretended to be completely open... The more someone pretends to be indifferent, the more likely they are to reveal a flaw. From the top, you can overlook the palace and see the Imperial Guards' movements clearly. I don't believe he was just there to admire the snow... Those words were just him deliberately diverting attention after realizing his mistake."
"This trip was worthwhile."
He sighed and said, "This Prince Yi... is quite interesting."
Prince Yi's Residence.
Qin Liuqi glanced at the approaching young man, frowning slightly as he asked, "Weren't you worried he'd recognize you? Why did you deliberately run into him?"
The young man smiled and said, "He doesn't actually remember my face at all. I tested him once outside his shop. If he really remembered me, he wouldn't be so unmoved. On Half-Moon Mountain, only a few students truly remember my face, and I've already killed most of them. Only two remain… the daughter of General Guide, and the son of a Gentleman Attendant."
"Behave yourself lately."
Prince Yi, Yang Yin, gave him a cold look and said, "Except for what I order you to do, you are not allowed to do anything else. Fang Henshui… the Imperial Guards have already gone south to Jiangnan." Arrest your parents. If you don't want all three of your family to die without a burial place, you'd better keep Gu's words in mind. "
The young man's expression changed, and he leaned over and said: "I know, now that I have entered the palace, I have given my life to the prince. Please rest assured, the prince will not act recklessly."
Yang Yin nodded: "You are a smart man, I don't doubt it. You want to get ahead, you want to be a master... With your identity and your sins, who else can help you achieve what you want besides Gu? If you want to become a big shot, you must do what you should do first. Gu will not treat someone who is loyal to Gu, and of course... you will not tolerate someone who causes trouble to Gu. Gu knows that you want to kill Fang Jie... just bear with it."
"Here!"
Fang Henshui nodded with a humble attitude.
"Go."
Yang Yin waved his hand: "Although you have good cultivation, your ability to kill is not very good. There are many good killers in the Snake Guard. You should learn more."
Fang Henshui leaned over, bowed and left. After he left, Yang Yin snorted coldly, "People like that will never amount to anything. So self-important… They can be used as a dagger, but not as an arm."
"What about Fang Jie?"
Qin Liuqi asked.
Yang Yin was silent for a moment, then said, "Let's see. He's not someone easily tamed. Also… tell the Snake Guards to keep quiet recently. Someone in the Imperial Guards has already noticed something. Tell them to move their operations further away. Anyway, it's still a long time before we need the Snake Guards… That Zhang Kuang guy is now the deputy captain of the Snake Guards? He and Fang Jie are very close… Have him approach Fang Jie and see if it was my fourth brother who deliberately let Fang Jie get close."
"Yes, sir."
Qin Liuqi replied, "I'll take care of it right away."
He smiled slightly, "I like people like Zhang Kuang the most. He only loves money… People like that are the easiest to use."