usatvline Chapter 564 Northern Barbarians and the Northern Border
Chapter 564 Northern Barbarians and the Northern Border
Two days later, Yin Sutang removed the cloth from her hands.
She sat on the edge of the bed and used her left hand to untangle the white cloth that had been wrapped around her for several days, layer by layer.
The strip of cloth fell down, revealing the new skin underneath, pink and tender, like freshly peeled fruit.
She tried moving her fingers, first her little finger, then her ring finger, then her middle finger, then her index finger, and then her thumb.
Each of the five fingers moved slightly in turn.
Although not fully recovered to its former flexibility, it is now able to clench its fist, loosen its grip, and hold a teacup.
She tried holding the sword again.
The hilt of the sword was a little cool, pressing against the newly grown skin in my palm, with a slightly astringent feel.
Her hand did not tremble, nor did it loosen.
She walked to the bronze mirror and looked at her face reflected in the morning light.
A moment later, she tucked the short sword back into her waistband, turned around, and pushed open the door.
Qin Mu was sitting in the lobby downstairs.
A bowl of porridge and a dish of pickled vegetables were placed in front of him, and a celadon teapot was placed next to him, with thin white steam rising from its spout.
He held the bowl of porridge and drank it spoonful by spoonful, his posture relaxed.
Yin Sutang sat down opposite him, extended her right hand, spread her five fingers, and then closed them.
"alright."
Qin Mu glanced at her hand and nodded.
"Then go. I've left the letter on your desk in your room. Just remember—you're here on orders, not on your own initiative."
Yin Sutang returned to her room and picked up the sealed letter on the table.
The letter paper was plain white, without any markings.
A vermilion seal was pressed at the seal, and the inscription was a unique symbol of the Northern Mang Xuan Yin Sect—a crescent moon and a horizontal line.
She tucked the letter into her sleeve and didn't read it a second time.
She took a deep breath and pushed open the door.
It was still early, and there weren't many pedestrians on the streets of Zhenbeicheng.
The morning light slanted down from the east, turning the bluestone path into a pale gold.
Yin Sutang walked along the main street, neither quickening her pace nor slowing it down.
She stopped in front of the gate of the Prince of Zhenbei's Mansion.
The guard glanced at her, his gaze lingering for a moment on her newly healed right hand before returning to her face.
Yin Sutang did not avoid his gaze.
"Please inform them that an old friend from Northern Mang has come to visit and has a letter to personally deliver to Prince Xu."
The soldier looked at her for a moment, then turned and strode into the mansion gate.
Yin Sutang stood in front of the door, the autumn morning breeze passing by her.
The edge of the envelope on the corner of her sleeve fluttered slightly in the wind.
She stood there quietly, as if waiting for a door to open.
Xu Longxiang sat in Zhenyue Hall.
The tea in front of him had already been changed three times, but he didn't touch it.
He tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest twice, then stopped.
Fan Li sat down opposite the long table, poured himself a cup of tea, took a sip, and put it down.
"She's here," Xu Longxiang said.
Fan Li put down his teacup: "This old minister has already heard about it. The envoy from Northern Mang claims to be an old friend."
Xu Longxiang's eyebrows twitched slightly.
"An envoy from Northern Mang?"
Fan Li nodded: "The soldiers guarding the door came to report that they claimed to be old friends from the Northern Barbarians and had a letter to deliver to the Prince in person. They are already waiting in the side hall."
Xu Longxiang's fingers stopped on the handrail.
He glanced at the increasingly bright morning light outside the door, then at the cup of tea in front of him that had gone cold, and stood up.
"I'm going to see her."
He walked through the corridor and entered the side hall.
Yin Sutang had already stood up, wearing a dark gray robe with neat cuffs and a straight posture.
The short sword at his waist hung quietly at his side.
She saw Xu Longxiang walk in and nodded slightly.
"Prince Xu".
Xu Longxiang's gaze lingered on her face for a moment, then fell on her right hand.
The hand was completely unharmed, with its five fingers naturally extended, showing no signs of injury.
His gaze paused slightly.
Yin Sutang noticed his gaze, but offered no explanation.
She simply took the letter out of her sleeve, held it with both hands, and handed it to Xu Longxiang.
"The Khan has sent an urgent message; please take a look, Your Highness."
Xu Longxiang took the letter, tore open the seal, and pulled out the letter paper.
His gaze swept over those lines of text, his brows furrowing slightly, then relaxing, then furrowing again.
The letter was very brief.
The Northern Barbarians have completed their preparations for marching south, and are only waiting for a response from their northern flank.
The letter contained no urging or demands, but simply stated a fact.
Xu Longxiang folded the letter and put it back in the envelope.
"Is this letter the Khan's will, or the Xuan Yin Sect's?"
Yin Sutang did not avoid his gaze.
"That's what the Khan meant. The Xuan Yin Sect was merely following orders to hand it over."
After she finished speaking, she stood there quietly, waiting for Xu Longxiang's next question.
Xu Longxiang remained silent for a moment, his gaze falling on the letter.
"Sir, please take this envoy to rest. I will give you an answer after I have made up my mind."
He glanced at Fan Li, his tone suggesting he was waiting for Fan Li to finish speaking.
He paused, then looked at Yin Sutang again.
"I will give this letter a good consideration."
Yin Sutang stood in the center of the side hall, her posture composed, like a tree that had stood in the wind for many years, neither in a hurry to leave nor in a hurry to stay.
Xu Longxiang shifted his gaze from her face back to the letter, gently pressing the edge of the paper with his fingertip as if to confirm the authenticity of the handwriting.
Then he raised his head, his voice softer than before, as if someone had finally decided to ask a question: "Does the Khan... have any requirements regarding the timing of the southward march?"
Yin Sutang shook her head, her tone calm, as if stating something she had confirmed many times: "The Khan has not set a date."
"He simply stated his position in the letter: the Northern Barbarians are ready, and the rest depends on the arrangements made by the Northern Border."
She paused, then lowered her voice further, as if adding a detail she felt Xu Longxiang should know: "However, the Khan's health is not very good."
"After winter sets in this season, I'm afraid we won't be able to hold on for much longer."
When these words reached Xu Longxiang's ears, the tip of his finger paused slightly on the edge of the letter.
He didn't reply immediately, as if waiting for the information to settle in his mind first, before speaking, his voice unchanged: "The Khan's body... has it reached this point?"
Yin Sutang neither nodded nor shook her head, but stood there quietly, as if she were telling a story unrelated to herself, her tone calm yet carrying an unquestionable certainty: "The old Khan has not personally mounted his horse for a long time."
He entrusted all the important matters to several princes, but none of them were willing to submit to the others, and they were all waiting for the day he would fall.
"If he leaves, Northern Mang will fall into internal strife, and it will probably not be so easy for them to send troops south again."
After she finished speaking, she paused slightly, as if waiting for Xu Longxiang to process her words in his mind. Then she composed herself, restoring her calm and unyielding tone: "The Khan's intention is to settle things while he still has the strength to hold on."
"Otherwise, once he falls, there will be a power struggle within Northern Mang, and who will remember the agreement with the Northern Border, who will care about this alliance?"
Xu Longxiang fell silent.
His gaze fell on the letter in his hand, on the handwriting, as if he were looking at something he had been looking at for a long time but had not yet fully understood.
He pressed his fingertip against the edge of the letter again, then raised his head, his voice a few decibels deeper than before: "I understand."
"Please tell the Khan that I will reply to him within three days."
"If we decide to form an alliance, I will send a trusted confidant to Northern Mang to sign the treaty in person with the Khan."
When he said the words "face-to-face signing of the covenant," there was a solemnity in his tone that he himself did not realize.
Yin Sutang nodded slightly, without asking further questions or saying anything more: "Then I won't bother you any longer."
"I will truthfully convey Your Highness's decision to the Khan."
After saying that, she turned around and walked towards the door.
She walked out of the side hall at a moderate pace, her figure disappearing into the morning light outside the door.
The side hall fell silent.
The morning light peeked in through the cracks in the window, moving slowly across the floor and casting Xu Longxiang's long, thin shadow.
He stood there, looking at the closed door, the letter still clutched between his fingers, its edges worn smooth from repeated handling.
A moment later, he turned around and walked back to Zhenyue Hall.
Fan Li was already sitting there. The tea in front of him had been changed; the tea was warm and steaming.
He didn't drink; he just sat there quietly, like someone waiting for the tide to recede, neither urging nor in a hurry.
Xu Longxiang sat down opposite him and placed the letter on the table, as if it were something he had already decided on his fate.
When he spoke, his voice was calmer than before: "What do you think?"
Fan Li did not answer immediately.
His gaze fell on the letter, but he didn't reach for it. He just looked at the vermilion seal on the seal, as if confirming something.
After a moment, he shifted his gaze to Xu Longxiang's face: "Does Your Highness believe what she said?"
Xu Longxiang tapped his fingers lightly on the edge of the table: "If what she said about the Khan's health is true, then time is indeed of the essence."
"If it's fake—" he paused, "then why would she make up such an easily exposed lie? Just send someone to investigate, and they'll know the truth."
Fan Li didn't speak, but simply picked up the cup of warm tea, took a sip, and put it down again: "What she said is half true and half false."
"The old Khan is indeed in poor health, and the intelligence network in the North has also reported this bit by bit."
"But she said, 'He hasn't personally ridden a horse in a long time,' and I need to confirm that news again."
"As for the power struggle among those princes, it is indeed true. Several small-scale battles have already taken place in the Northern Barbarian lands."
He paused, as if considering how to say his next sentence: "But Your Highness, even if what she said is true, this matter is too coincidental."
"She arrived right after the Northern Territory acquired Zhao San and Bai Yujing."
"The timing was perfect."
Xu Longxiang leaned back in his chair, his gaze fixed on the letter, as if pondering something he hadn't fully grasped: "You mean, this letter might have been deliberately sent at this time?"
Fan Li neither nodded nor shook his head: "This old minister simply feels that things have gone too smoothly."
"Your Highness has just won over Zhao San and Bai Yujing, and the Northern Barbarians have already sent a letter to establish an alliance ahead of schedule."
"It's as if someone is paving the way for Your Highness, just waiting for you to walk on it."
Xu Longxiang fell silent.
He sat there, the candlelight reflecting a flickering light in his eyes, like a ship that had just seen the coastline but was still hesitating whether to dock.
He didn't answer Fan Li's question immediately, but instead changed the subject: "If this letter is genuine, do you think I should accept it?"
Fan Li's gaze fell on the letter, as if he were looking at something he had seen many times before. Then he looked up and said, "Your Highness, if the old Khan really doesn't make it through this winter, then the time to form an alliance is indeed this month."
"We missed the chance. With the internal strife in Northern Mang, it will probably take several years to find someone who keeps their word again."
He paused, then lowered his voice further: "But if this is a trap, Your Highness might never be able to get out once you step into it."
Xu Longxiang's fingers stopped on the handrail.
He was silent for a moment, then said, "Then send someone to investigate."
"Within three days, I must know the exact state of the Old Khan's health."
"If it's true, then we can accept this letter."
"If it's fake—" He paused, his voice carrying a certainty that even he himself wasn't entirely sure of, "then it means someone is secretly pushing all of this. In that case, I need to find out even more who that person is."
As he spoke, his gaze involuntarily drifted towards the window, towards the closed side hall door, as if he were looking at something he hadn't fully figured out yet.
His hand rested on the table, next to the open letter, the vermilion ink on it gleaming dimly in the morning light.
He suddenly remembered Chen Ruoyao's slightly parted legs when she left his room, and the fleeting, inexplicable disappointment that crossed his mind.
He shook his head, as if trying to shake those images out of his mind, but they weren't shaken out; they just sank deeper, like a stone pressed into water. The surface of the water returned to calm, but the images were still there.
He didn't know why he would think of those images at this time, nor did he know why he would feel a sense of excitement when thinking about those images, which he tried hard to ignore but could never completely ignore.
He felt that it wasn't something he should be thinking about right now, but it was there, like a door that let in light even though he hadn't pushed it open.
As Yin Sutang walked out of the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion, the morning light was streaming in from the rooftops on the east side, gilding the outline of the entire street with a faint golden hue.
She walked back along the same path she had come from, her pace slightly quicker than before, but she didn't seem to be in a hurry.
As she walked through the alley where breakfast stalls were located, she paused slightly, her gaze falling on an old man squatting in front of a steamed bun shop.
The old man was wearing a faded gray coat and was slowly munching on a steamed bun.
He looked like an ordinary old man, but Yin Sutang noticed that when he was eating a steamed bun, his eyes weren't on the bun.
She withdrew her gaze, did not stop, and continued walking forward. After turning the street corner, she walked for about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea before stopping under an old locust tree. She turned to the side, as if tying her shoelaces.
She glanced at the path she had come from out of the corner of her eye; no one was following.
She straightened up and continued walking, winding through several alleys, finally stopping in front of an inconspicuous courtyard. She pushed open the half-closed wooden door, slipped inside, and then gently closed it again.
There was no one in the courtyard.
Qin Mu was sitting on a stone bench in the courtyard, with a pot of tea and two upside-down teacups in front of him.
He didn't look at her, as if he had been waiting for her to come back.
Yin Sutang walked to the opposite side of him, sat down, and placed the empty envelope on the stone table: "The letter has been delivered. Xu Longxiang said he would reply within three days."
Qin Mu picked up the teapot, poured himself a cup, and then poured one for Yin Sutang: "How much of it did he believe?"
Yin Sutang thought for a moment, then picked up the cup of tea but didn't drink it: "Six or seven out of ten. His advisor, surnamed Fan, has some doubts, feeling the timing is too coincidental. But Xu Longxiang has already sent people to investigate the Khan's health; there should be results within three days."
Qin Mu picked up his cup of tea, took a sip, and put it down: "Then let's wait three days. If the information he finds matches what we told him, then the connection to Northern Mang will be established."
Yin Sutang did not respond.
She held the cup of tea, her gaze fixed on the fine ripples on the surface of the tea, as if she were thinking about something.
She didn't speak again; she sat there quietly.
Outside the courtyard gate, in the streets and alleys of Zhenbei Town, the sounds of people at the morning market were gradually becoming lively.