Chapter 744: Vermilion Bird Arrives (3/4)

Chapter 744: The Vermilion Bird Arrives (3/4)

Just as both sides thought they had found a way to curry favor with the beauties, the two young maidens cried out in unison, "Speaking ill of others behind their backs is no act of a gentleman. Our quarrel is open and aboveboard—why do you need to play the petty villain?"

With that, they pushed through the crowd in perfect sync and fled at top speed, pursued by a swarm of flies.

As they ran, they instinctively turned their heads to glance at each other, then angrily snapped them back. They felt a surge of pleasure in their hearts, yet still forced themselves to appear upright and honorable—who could understand that feeling?

Couldn't you at least wait until she's not around to say such things... Honestly.

"You two..." A youth suddenly appeared ahead, followed by a large retinue of guards, blocking their path. He smiled and said, "I wonder if you'd do me the honor of joining me for a meal?"

Both halted and said coldly, "Move aside!"

Others at least knew to court only one of them, but you—you want to invite both!

The swarm of flies behind them hesitated, shrinking back and daring not approach, watching from a distance.

"Why be so fierce, ladies? I only wish to make friends." The youth chuckled. "You're both new here—more friends mean more paths."

"I have no interest in making friends." Huangfu Qing crossed her arms and sneered. "Call me 'Mother,' and I might consider it."

The youth: "?"

What kind of vulgar girl is this?

He turned to Tang Wanzhuang—she seemed more refined...

But Tang Wanzhuang was indeed refined. She didn't even glance at him, simply walking past his attendants as if they didn't exist.

Someone instinctively reached out to stop her. Tang Wanzhuang kicked him flat on his back, using the momentum to float away, stepping off the wall like a ripple, vanishing in an instant—elegant beyond compare.

As if reading each other's minds, just as Tang Wanzhuang struck, Huangfu Qing kicked over a lackey blocking her path on the other side and scaled the wall in a flash.

Tang Wanzhuang's voice drifted back on the wind: "I, Wanzhuang, come to the capital for study. The capital is a gathering of talents—surely there are those who can teach me. It shouldn't be like the countryside, full of ruffians and rogues... The debates at Jixia, the morning bells and evening drums—they are truly admirable..."

Her voice lingered, trailing off into what sounded like disappointed sighs.

A group of capital gentlemen blushed crimson, glaring at the youth and his hangers-on in silence. We may be flies, but we don't block the street and try to force invitations like this! You've ruined the capital's reputation—if word spreads to Jiangnan, what face will we have left?

But no one dared curse him, for many recognized him as the Crown Prince.

The only prince of the realm.

Only a fiery girl like Huangfu Qing would dare claim to be his mother... If taken seriously, it would be gross disrespect. But young maidens speak without restraint, and no one pressed the matter.

The Crown Prince's handsome face flushed red and white. He was about to lose his temper at the chaos around him when someone strolled up and said calmly, "Does Your Highness seek revenge?"

The Crown Prince looked up and dared not be careless. He cupped his hands and said, "Grand Tutor Cui..."

"I am no longer Grand Tutor. I have just resigned before His Majesty." Cui Wenjing said flatly, "Before I leave the capital, let me give you a few final words of advice... Huangfu Yongxian has guarded Yanmen for generations. He can be weakened but not humiliated. He has moved his children to the capital as a gesture of good faith, not as targets for bullying. Your Highness, think thrice in all matters, lest you damage the royal dignity."

"What about a marriage proposal?"

"Unsuitable. If Huangfu Yongxian becomes a relative by marriage, he will be even harder to control, especially given his ties to the previous dynasty... His Majesty will not agree."

"Then... Tang Wanzhuang?"

"If you sincerely seek her hand, it might be worth considering. But for now, her family standing is still a bit low... His Majesty might be amenable, but the Empress will likely refuse outright. Wait and see." Cui Wenjing smiled faintly. "After all, you are both still young... That girl has a certain spirit. Perhaps the Tang family's fortunes will rise because of her—who knows?"

The Crown Prince pouted, unable to see any spirit in that pretty girl—arrogance, perhaps.

"Also..." Cui Wenjing glanced around and said sternly, "Your safety concerns the foundation of the state. You cannot be so casual and reckless, strolling the streets like this. If an assassin strikes..."

The Crown Prince was stunned. "Grand Tutor, why do you say that?"

Cui Wenjing shook his head. "Intuition, or perhaps a premonition from the strong. In any case, be cautious."

The Crown Prince clearly did not take it to heart, waving his hand casually. "I understand."

Cui Wenjing could not be bothered to dwell on whether he was vigilant, nor to analyze the source of his own premonition. He walked away leisurely, murmuring, "She said that I, Cui, am selfish for my clan, seeking only my own gain, of no benefit to the state... I wonder, if the Tang family rises, what then?"

If the two girls knew that Cui Wenjing had overheard their mutterings—meaning they could hardly escape the ears of the peerless emperor—they might have wet their pants in fear, especially Huangfu Qing, whose words were truly treasonous.

One can only say that young girls are not yet mature...

The two of them, in perfect sync, raced across the rooftops toward their homes. It was easy for their separate paths to converge, and they glanced at each other, both looking grim. Tang Wanzhuang, kind-hearted as ever, spoke first: "That man just now was likely a top noble of the capital. You offended him so badly—aren't you afraid of trouble?"

Huangfu Qing studied her, sensing goodwill rather than mockery, and replied stiffly, "My family is special. Though not highborn or powerful, as long as those so-called nobles aren't insane, they won't dare oppress us. If trouble comes, they can't bear the consequences. As for you—your Tang family can't even call the shots in Suzhou, can they? A small household like yours—aren't you afraid? Want your big sister to help?"

Tang Wanzhuang looked at her. You've slipped up, little sister. You've just moved to the capital from the border—how do you know the standing of my Tang family in Suzhou? And the Vermilion Bird Saintess had personally visited Suzhou not long ago... The case was all but solved.

But this time, she had slipped up out of kindness. Tang Wanzhuang didn't want to press the issue, so she shook her head. "I deliberately left those words at the end to put them in a bind... Unless they're utterly shameless rakes, it should be fine. Besides, I think that young lord might not have the leisure to bother us anymore."

Huangfu Qing's spirits lifted. "I also felt something was off instinctively. What did you notice?"

Tang Wanzhuang hesitated. "Among those people, there should have been experts. They wouldn't have let us knock them over so easily. But when we struck, no strong fighters intervened. Could it be that they all looked down on that rake's behavior and refused to act?"

Huangfu Qing immediately said, "Impossible. The lackeys and hangers-on I know aren't that upright. If anything, someone wanted to use us to cause chaos... But it wasn't chaotic enough, and we ran too fast."

Tang Wanzhuang suddenly stopped. "Someone was hiding among that lord's guards, intending to harm him—and at the level of a guard captain!"

Huangfu Qing didn't know he was the Crown Prince, only that he was some noble. The two exchanged glances, their thoughts rarely aligned. Whether such a rake lived or died was no great matter, but a plot to assassinate a high official's son in the capital—if they knew about it, even out of curiosity, they had to take a look! Otherwise, they wouldn't sleep tonight.

Besides, if someone wanted to use the chaos they caused to act, wouldn't the blame for murdering a noble's son fall on them? Did they think we were easy to bully?

The two girls, fuming, retraced their steps to find the young lord.

The Zhengming Palace had opened in the afternoon, and after all this commotion, it was now evening. The sky was dimming, and households were starting to cook dinner. Taverns, brothels, and entertainment houses along the street were opening for business, bustling with activity.

The two girls stared in disbelief as the young lord, surrounded by attendants, stepped into a brothel.

How were they supposed to follow that?

Even more astonishing, several men who looked like high-ranking officials were also heading into the brothel. The two even recognized some debaters from the Zhengming Palace—one who spoke on Mencius, another on Han Fei and Li Si. Now, Confucians and Legalists were at peace, vying instead for the courtesan's favor.

Tang Wanzhuang suddenly had a thought: if this was the case, brothels were excellent places to gather information, covering all walks of life...

Huangfu Qing, oblivious to such frivolous musings, flickered like a shadow and slipped around through a side alley.

Tang Wanzhuang snapped back to reality and hurried after her. "Where are you going?"

Huangfu Qing said, "Let's sneak in through the back courtyard. Judging by the layout, there should be guest quarters in the rear. Little girl from a small household, watch and learn."

As if you're not a little girl yourself, Tang Wanzhuang thought, swallowing her irritation as she followed through the alley. Together, they crouched on the wall, peeking down.

Soon enough, they saw the young lord, arm around a courtesan, leering as he headed toward a side building.

Both silently spat. What a piece of trash—and he wanted to be friends with us? Go be friends with your mother!

Before they could finish their silent curses, Tang Wanzhuang caught a glint of metal from a window in the side building.

A crossbow bolt!

Forgetting how detestable the young lord was, her instinct took over. Her long sword slid from its sheath as she stepped into the void.

"Clang!" The spring-water sword light rippled, deflecting the bolt. The watery radiance spread, seeping without a trace into the window across. Several assassins inside stared in shock at the fairy floating toward them—what bad luck had they stumbled upon? This was a brothel—why would a pretty girl jump in here?

"The Spring Water Sword Art is pretty to look at..." Huangfu Qing muttered sourly, then flickered, lunging at the guard behind the young lord.

The guard had just raised his sword to strike the young lord when a terrifying killing intent behind him made his scalp tingle. He had no choice but to swing his blade back.

Huangfu Qing slapped the side of his sword, stumbling back several steps from the force.

He was clearly a master, far beyond her current cultivation. But Huangfu Qing wasn't here to fight to the death. She only wanted to mess up the plans of those who tried to use her—and clear herself of any suspicion.

So, after one palm strike, she laughed, leaped over the wall, and vanished. "Don't stare at me, big hero—your target's getting away!"

The guard turned. The Crown Prince had already fled in panic toward the courtyard gate, nearly out of sight.

He had no time to spar with Huangfu Qing, and shot out through the courtyard gate.

No sooner had he chased outside than cold sweat poured down, and even his legs began to tremble.

The crown prince was dangled in midair by one hand, while the other hand cracked a loud slap across his face: “A man who’s to be crown prince, and you let yourself be coaxed into whoring! You’ve no shame, but your old man here has! Get the hell back and face the wall for a year—if you so much as step one foot out of the palace gate, I’ll break your legs!”

The crown prince was flung far away like trash by his own father, then scrambled off in a panic, looking more afraid of his dad than of the assassins.

Xia Longyuan’s gaze fell on the assassin’s face, and he wore a very kind smile: “Besides you, how many others did Temür bribe? Take me to see them.”

The guard collapsed to the ground, limp.

“Clang, clang, clang!” The clash of weapons came from the opposite building; Tang Wanzhuang, unable to fend off the assassins inside the room, was retreating clumsily through the window.

Xia Longyuan glanced over, a hint of a smile on his lips, and flicked his finger.

All the assassins’ heads burst like watermelons.

Tang Wanzhuang turned in horror and saw the emperor she had met that afternoon walking away leisurely, the assassin leader in hand: “Thanks, little girl… I mean for your comment that I could rule by non-action, haha…”

Tang Wanzhuang quickly understood—that dissolute young master was actually the crown prince… and his father had come to settle the score.

A wildly absurd feeling welled up in her heart: a crown prince, in the capital, whoring, being assassinated by his own guards, and the emperor himself coming to the rescue. What on earth was this? What kind of shoddy troupe was this?

Panting, Tang Wanzhuang watched the emperor’s retreating back, and from somewhere found the spirit to suddenly shout: “Rule by non-action? Only if you’re willing to listen! From what I’ve seen today, the Capital Prefecture should be abolished, and the Six Doors beheaded! With such chaos, hasn’t any upright minister proposed reform?”

Xia Longyuan turned with amusement: “Oh? And you, a little girl, can come up with a reform plan?”

Tang Wanzhuang said: “The Six Doors have the duty of criminal investigation and thief-catching, but they’re all under the jurisdiction of local prefectures and counties—their authority is too shallow, and strong men are scarce. Take just one ‘Butterfly’—wanted for so long and never caught, why? The bandits of Huaiyang collude with officials, run rampant on the waters, and no one investigates, why? Assassins lurk in the capital, bribe guards, and no one asks—who’s in charge? The court needs a new Six Doors, independent from local governments in both personnel and finances, dedicated to martial affairs in the jianghu.”

Xia Longyuan shed some of his contempt, his expression turning serious: “And then?”

“In this age of martial arts, whether demon cult leaders or foreign chieftains, all are on the Heaven, Earth, and Man rankings—beyond the reach of local officials and unwilling to be handled by great clans. To establish this new bureau, you need a top-tier strongman with no ties to any faction, whose authority stands independent of all parties, answerable only to Your Majesty. Externally, he can subdue the world’s demons; internally, he can oversee the ghosts in men’s hearts…”

Xia Longyuan’s heart stirred. This was a fine piece in his game against the great clans… but it seemed hard to execute. The little girl could indulge in scholar’s passion and grand rhetoric, but the actual troubles were too many to detail.

He decided to test her further: “Where would you find a top-tier strongman with no ties to any faction? Even Yuxu has his Daoist sect’s private interests. Even you, who proposed this laughable plan, carry the expectations of the Tang family—can you be considered unrelated to any faction?”

Tang Wanzhuang shouted: “I can!”

Xia Longyuan laughed out loud: “You? You’re only at the fifth level of the Mystic Gate, and you fled in disgrace from a few assassins—you’re still a million miles from the top-tier strongman you set as your goal.”

Tang Wanzhuang’s face flushed red: “I’m still young—how can Your Majesty judge the future by the present!”

“Don’t bully the young and poor, right?” Xia Longyuan cut off the girl’s words, smiling: “You can’t take the martial arts exam until the year after next, can you?”

“…Yes. Only a year and a half!”

“In a few days, I’ll begin setting up this bureau, with a strongman from my personal guards in charge. You can assist in its establishment and offer counsel. As a reward, you may freely borrow any civil or military texts from the imperial collection. I’ll wait for you to earn your rank in a year and a half, become a minor chief in the new bureau, then go out into the jianghu for experience—and see if you can live up to your bold words.”

Tang Wanzhuang stared blankly at the emperor, stunned for a moment.

I… I hadn’t even thought through how to run this new bureau—I just spoke out of ignorance and fearlessness… Why did you take it seriously?

“Externally subdue the world’s demons, internally oversee the ghosts in men’s hearts—well said. I will reform the Six Doors and establish a new bureau, to be called… the Demon-Subduing Bureau.” Xia Longyuan strode away with his captive, laughing heartily: “I’m very curious… whether you’ll be a Ma Su who talks big but fails, or my Zhuge Liang.”

If the sovereign grants me the role of Zhuge, then I will surely be a Zhuge!

The girl clenched her fist and returned home, brimming with energy.