Chapter 399: Chapter 304: A Game of Imperial Power_2
She said, "Go on, why does discovering Duan Mian’s existence have anything to do with you harassing the Great Zhou?"
"In the eighth year of Sheng Yuan, after two years of war, Dayue hadn’t gained much advantage. The Monarch began raising military funds domestically, but more importantly, he was seeking skilled fighters. Only by strengthening the forces and quickly penetrating the Central Plains could we obtain endless food and fertile land. The court scoured for talent everywhere and in the process captured the surviving officials of the Prince Yi Mansion. Along with discovering them, they also found traces of Duan Mian hidden in the Central Plains in letters from some clients who had once received benefits from Prince Yi, which they hadn’t sent out yet."
Tie Ying started coughing at this point.
Pei Zhan asked a guard to bring him a cup of tea, then looked at Fu Zhen, "You went to the northwest before me, and you know more about the events from the eighth year to the fifteenth year of Sheng Yuan than I do."
Fu Zhen took a deep breath, "That’s right. He isn’t lying about Dayue waging war against Great Zhou."
The eighth year of Sheng Yuan was when she turned eight, and it was that very year she went to the northwest.
She looked at Tie Ying, who had finished the tea and stopped coughing, "Where did you find Duan Mian then?"
"At the time, we only knew he was in the Central Plains, but the exact location was unclear. However, it seemed he wasn’t stationed anywhere."
"Then why did the surviving officials and clients of the Prince Yi Mansion remain in Dayue?"
"Because they hadn’t given up on contending for imperial power and stayed in Dayue to coordinate with Duan Mian internally and externally, planning to counterattack when the Great Zhou attacked Dayue!"
A hint of sarcasm unintentionally flashed in Fu Zhen’s eyes. But she quickly continued asking, "Where is Duan Mian now? Did you capture him?"
"He is dead. Two years later, the Monarch sent people to ambush a small town in the northwest. They waited for him to reunite with the Prince Mansion officials and killed him and his wife, then took their bodies back to Dayue."
Fu Zhen frowned, "Which month was this?"
"July."
Fu Zhen couldn’t help but glance at the Liang Chen brothers.
What Tie Ying referred to as two years later would be the tenth year of Sheng Yuan, the same year she happened to find Xu Yin, and precisely in October shortly thereafter!
No wonder the Dayue Monarch would identify Xu Yin; every clue matched perfectly!
Suppressing the surge within her heart, she asked, "Why do you think there’s still a child of Duan Mian alive, and that it’s Xu Yin?"
"There was a jade piece that Duan Mian’s wife always carried with her; they were a pair of mother and child jade, looking identical, but with a fitting section on the reverse side. The piece on Duan Mian’s wife was the mother jade. The child jade was missing. Also, she had a child’s coat beside her when she was put to death.
"It was July, and it was hot even in the northwest. It makes perfect sense for her child to take off an outer garment and hand it to the mother, as their own child couldn’t bear the heat."
Fu Zhen held her breath by this point.
She indeed had once seen such a piece of jade on Xu Yin and later saw a very similar piece on Lian Rong too!
She asked, "Where’s that jade?"
Tie Ying shook his head, "I don’t know. It might not be important. At that time, what was most important to our Monarch was whether there was indeed this child? If there was, then where is he?"
"Did you find him later?"
Tie Ying shook his head again, "No. Later, the war escalated, leaving no room for our Monarch to relax. Or rather, facing the powerful soldiers of Great Zhou, whether the Prince Yi Mansion still had this child left behind was unimportant. It was not until recently that I learned about these secrets from our master."
"Your master?" Everyone was reminded, "Is it the prince Lian Yang that your Emperor had placed at the General Wei Wu’s Lianqing Mansion? Then where did you escape to when your country was overthrown?"
"Just hiding here and there. General Lian was a loyal minister. The master received various protections from the Lian Family ever since childhood. Even when the city fell, he had dozens of civil and military attendants by his side. I rushed to the Lian Family to take him away, then settled down in Yu City afterwards."
Pei Zhan frowned, "How many troops do you have left?"
Tie Ying instinctively pursed his lips tightly, raising his head to find himself before a particularly formidable general, lowering his head unconsciously again, "After General Lian’s sacrifice, those soldiers under him were all taken as prisoners to surrender. However, there’s still a part of the imperial guard in the far north that we managed to establish contact with."
"Are you gathering these people to restore your country?"
Tie Ying gritted his teeth, "Restoring or not, that should no longer be any of your concern, should it? As long as our Dayue doesn’t wage war against Great Zhou anymore, you ought not to meddle in our state affairs!"