After Being Mistakenly Taken for a Fellow Traveler by Emperor Long Aotian - Chapter 48

The emperor hesitated, then awkwardly asked, “So… you’re not coming back tonight?”

 

Zhou Xun pondered for a moment, then shook his head. “This humble one cannot be certain.”

 

Emperor: …

 

“Is that person an acquaintance of yours?” he asked cautiously.

 

Zhou Xun replied, “Not exactly an acquaintance. We met briefly two years ago.”

 

Emperor: …

 

“Why…!” The emperor slammed the table, then faltered. Finally, he said, “Well, if you’re not coming back tonight, where will you be staying?”

 

Zhou Xun said, “Probably at an inn.”

 

The emperor relaxed slightly, but then heard Zhou Xun add, “If things go well, perhaps I’ll stay at his house.”

 

Emperor: …

 

“This…!” The emperor’s unusual behavior finally caught Zhou Xun’s attention.

 

It wasn’t that he was slow to understand the emperor’s intentions, but rather that the emperor’s thoughts often surpassed his comprehension, akin to flights of fancy that caught him off guard. Therefore, Zhou Xun gave up trying to guess the emperor’s thoughts. The emperor’s whimsical ideas were beyond the grasp of ordinary mortals like them.

 

“I… I…” The emperor rubbed his forehead, sweating. Finally, he said, “I’m worried about your safety traveling alone at night. What if you encounter robbers or something…”

 

Zhou Xun smiled. “I have guards sent by Your Majesty, and he wouldn’t do that.”

 

Emperor: …

 

“You trust him that much?!” The emperor jumped up from his desk, receiving a puzzled look from Zhou Xun.

 

Emperor: …

 

In the end, the emperor gave Zhou Xun the freedom he desired, no longer pressing for details about his whereabouts and reasons, just reminding him to stay safe when alone.

 

After dinner, Zhou Xun left the palace by carriage. The emperor stood in front of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, watching Zhou Xun’s figure gradually disappear into the distance, then suddenly waved to summon the hidden palace guards.

 

Dressed in black, a plain-faced man emerged from the Hall like ink in twilight, naturally inconspicuous. The emperor squinted at him and said, “I have a task for you.”

 

The guard nodded. “Your Majesty, I will send my most capable subordinates to secretly follow Lord Zhou.”

 

“No,” the emperor said, “not the most capable ones.”

 

Guard: ?

 

The emperor continued, “Do you have a way to silently follow him without attracting attention?”

 

Guard: ??

 

As the carriage left the palace gates, Zhou Xun sat inside with a few books on his knee. The coachman, after leaving the gates and entering a narrow alley, asked Zhou Xun, “Lord Zhou, where are we heading now?”

 

“Red Plum Alley.”

 

“Red Plum… Alley?!”

 

The coachman was stunned, but since it was Zhou Xun’s request, he proceeded towards that destination.

 

However, all along the way, he was nervous—Red Plum Alley was notorious in the capital, known as the most remote and haunted place in the city. Why would Lord Zhou, in the dead of night, go there?

 

Unbeknownst to them, another carriage with a black canopy silently followed behind them through the streets and alleys of the capital.

 

“Lord Zhou seems to be heading towards the south of the city,” whispered the guard to the emperor.

 

“The south?” the emperor pondered for a moment. “What’s in the south?”

 

“The south… in the capital, it’s mostly inhabited by merchants from out of town. If you go a bit further west…”

 

The guard hesitated.

 

“Go on,” urged the emperor.

 

“It’s the famous fireworks area of the capital.”

 

Emperor: …

The coachman was halfway through the journey when Zhou Xun parted the curtain from inside the carriage. Just as he turned back, he heard Zhou Xun’s voice, “From now on, follow my directions.”

 

Under Zhou Xun’s guidance, the carriage turned here and there, taking a roundabout route through the streets of the capital. Before the coachman could understand his intentions, Zhou Xun lowered the curtain and said, “Now, just go in the direction you were heading.”

 

“Lord Zhou, but…”

 

“While we were on the road earlier, I sensed someone discreetly following us,” Zhou Xun said.

 

The coachman was shocked. He tightened his grip on the reins, nervously asking, “So, have we shaken them off?”

 

“Not really,” Zhou Xun replied.

 

Coachman: ?!

 

“However, you can drive with peace of mind now. If it were a malicious carriage of my enemies, we would have lost them long ago,” Zhou Xun sighed. “The fact that they managed to keep up after all those twists and turns means this city is full of their spies. Only the emperor has the capability in the capital.”

 

Coachman: …

 

“It’s fine if the Emperor wants to follow,” Zhou Xun smiled. “Let’s not trouble the brothers from the secret guards.”

 

“Yes…” the coachman said, then curiously asked, “Lord Zhou, how did you know someone was following us?”

 

“Because of the trees.”

 

“The trees?”

 

“As we passed that intersection earlier, I glanced back at the poplar trees by the roadside. There was no wind in the capital, yet the leaves were rustling. I suspected someone was following us,” Zhou Xun explained. “But knowing it’s the emperor following us, I am reassured.”

 

Meanwhile, the emperor sat in his carriage and saw Zhou Xun’s carriage in the distance finally stop taking detours. He wondered aloud, “Does the coachman get paid by the month or by the distance? Why does he like taking the long route like some unscrupulous taxi driver?”

 

The head guard: …

 

“In response to Your Majesty, Lord Zhou may have already noticed us.”

 

He wiped off a cold sweat. He truly didn’t know how Zhou Xun had detected their presence.

 

However, he didn’t know that after two years of near-death experiences, Zhou Xun’s temperament, thoughts, and abilities had changed dramatically. His sensitivity to being watched had also greatly improved, so spotting them wasn’t so surprising.

 

“Oh…” the emperor nodded.

 

The guard was nervous, fearing the emperor would scold him. However, after a moment of contemplation, the emperor suddenly realized, “Since he’s already noticed us, whether we follow secretly or openly doesn’t matter anymore, right?” The emperor chuckled, “Why don’t we speed up and follow directly?”

 

Guard: …

 

Far ahead, the signboard with the three characters “Red Plum Alley” finally came into Zhou Xun’s view.

 

He got off the carriage.

 

Red Plum Alley was a plum forest at the southernmost edge of the capital, where a small temple stood.

 

Many years ago, during the reign of Emperor Gaozong—the father of the current emperor—a loyal general guarding the northern frontier was falsely accused of rebellion. This general had grown up with Emperor Gaozong and had supported him wholeheartedly since he was an unpopular prince. Originally stationed in the southern frontier, the emperor grew suspicious of him and issued three edicts commanding his return to the capital.

 

He led his troops into the city from the south, leaving them outside the city while he entered alone. It was midwinter that day, with heavy snow falling like goose feathers, an uncommon sight in the capital for a hundred years.

 

In such heavy snow, the general walked alone with his horse, attracting the attention of all the court messengers as he passed through Red Plum Alley. They feared he might lead a rebellion with his troops, eyeing the sword at his waist warily. As expected, at that moment, the general drew the dagger from his waist in front of everyone.

 

Then, under the gaze of the assembled envoys, he stabbed it deep into his own chest.

 

Many years later, even the elderly envoys still remembered the scene vividly. The young general, with his black hair, knelt in the snow. He gripped the dagger deeply embedded in his chest, blood spattering into the air, staining the snowflakes red. In Red Plum Alley, it unexpectedly began to snow red.

 

“Iron-blooded loyalty… iron-blooded loyalty…” With his mouth full of blood, the general uttered these last words, “Your Majesty, would you want to open my chest and see this iron-blooded loyalty?”

 

It is said that when the general stabbed the dagger into his heart, Emperor Gaozong was seated on the throne in the Ming Hall. He didn’t intend to take the general’s life but planned to strip him of his military power and confine him. As the general lay in the snow, bleeding out, with no one daring to approach, messengers rode swiftly back to the palace. The emperor was still waiting for the general to return… Childhood companionship ultimately succumbed to the suspicions of a monarch.

 

From that moment, Red Plum Alley became the most taboo and ominous place. Choosing it as their meeting place was somewhat unexpected for Zhou Xun.

 

Unexpected, yet somehow fitting.

 

Inside the small temple in Red Plum Alley, candles flickered, and Zhou Xun entered to find the old man he had met earlier in a secluded lane during daylight.

 

Seated at a stone table with a chessboard before him, the old man toyed with a chess piece, contemplating his move. Upon hearing Zhou Xun’s footsteps, he didn’t lift his eyelids. “Come sit down. Show me how this move should be played.”

 

Zhou Xun sat down, taking the white pieces while the old man took the black. As the black and white pieces intertwined, the old man grinned, showing his teeth. “Old man didn’t misjudge. You’ve indeed come.”

 

“The four books given by the elder to the junior indicate the time and place of our meeting today,” Zhou Xun said, placing a white piece on the board to revive what seemed a hopeless situation.

 

“How so?” the old man replied, making his move.

 

“‘Yingzhou Mengtan’—’Ying’ means fullness. The other three are in large format, while ‘Yingzhou Mengtan’ is in small format, signifying ‘small fullness’. Yesterday, after midnight, marked ‘Xiaoman’—small fullness.”

 

“In ‘Zheng Feng,’ the torn page is ‘Nü Yue Ji Ming,’ precisely at cockcrow. ‘Jiang Xue Ji’ indicates the location—’Jiang’ is red, ‘Xue’ is snow. How could there be red snow in the world? The red in the snow refers to the red plum, hence the meeting place is in Red Plum Alley.”

 

The old man chuckled. “And what about ‘Wei Zheng Gong Ji’?”

 

“‘Wei Zheng Gong Ji’…” Zhou Xun smiled helplessly. “Wei Zheng Gong refers to Wei Zheng, known for his saying ‘Take a man as a mirror; one can see the truth’. The elder’s meaning… ‘Jian’ from ‘Jiang Xue Ji’.”

 

“Things were rushed at the time, so I could only casually give you these few books,” the old man snorted as the game reached its conclusion. He collected the pieces and said, “You have some intelligence, which suits my taste. How old are you now? Who taught you before?”

 

Zhou Xun was taken aback; he hadn’t expected the old man to speak so bluntly.

 

Helplessly, he replied, “Elder and I still don’t know each other’s true identities. Taking me as your disciple like this, aren’t you afraid I might be a bad person?”

 

“You?” The old man scrutinized him suspiciously.

 

Zhou Xun continued, “Even if the elder isn’t afraid I might be a bad person…”

 

The old man burst into laughter.

 

Zhou Xun added, “I’m also afraid the elder might be a bad person.”

 

The old man: …