Volume One: The Carefree Journey in a World of Uncertain Fates Chapter Forty-Three: Escort Destroyed, Lives Lost

Duan Canghai exclaimed in surprise, “The Marquis of Loyalty and Righteousness has not come?”

Gu Qinghan shook her head and said, “When the General was alive, our marquisate always enjoyed close ties with the Marquisate of Loyalty and Righteousness. I thought that upon hearing the news of the General’s passing, the Marquis would come at once. But... so far, the Marquisate has only sent someone to pay brief respects, and since then, no one else has come.”

Yang Ning, standing by, asked, “Could it be that the Marquis sees that my father is gone and our estate no longer... no longer has a mountain standing behind it, so...?”

“Ning’er, don’t speak carelessly,” Gu Qinghan reproached him with a glare, though her eyes betrayed a trace of surprise. “Why would you think that?”

Yang Ning had spoken without much thought, but on seeing Gu Qinghan blame him, he said hurriedly, “I... I was just talking nonsense, I won’t say any more.” He thought to himself that with the strongest members of the Qi family gone, the remaining men were hardly a match for the burdens ahead. The decline of the estate seemed inevitable, a fact surely not lost on many. If, for that reason, people began to look down on the Qi family or distance themselves, it would hardly be a surprise.

Duan Canghai’s expression grew grave as he shook his head. “To say the Marquis of Loyalty and Righteousness is opportunistic—such a thing is unlikely. Whatever he truly thinks, he has never allowed himself to be faulted in matters of decorum.” He paused, lowering his voice. “Madam, is there a chance... that something has happened in the palace?”

“The palace?” Gu Qinghan was taken aback. Her eyes flickered as she replied softly, “Now that you mention it, it is rather odd. When the General’s body was secretly brought back to the capital, the news was reported to the palace. Yet no one has been sent from there. The Marquis of Loyalty and Righteousness, too, has chosen just this moment to absent himself—could it be...?” She furrowed her brows but did not continue.

They did not dwell on palace matters, for such things were not fit to be discussed in private.

Yang Ning spent half a day in the marquisate, receiving all manner of news and forming a general understanding of the household.

There was no doubt that the estate had once enjoyed boundless glory, at one time even serving as a pillar of the Chu dynasty’s military. Yet with the passing of Marquis Qi Jing, the situation had shifted in subtle and profound ways.

Moreover, the estate was not as extravagantly wealthy as he had imagined. They were troubled over a mere few thousand taels of silver, and even to borrow money they had to mortgage the pawnshop.

Still, from their words, Yang Ning gathered that the estate had more than one source of income, though he could not understand why money was coming from Jiangling.

He knew that some things could not be rushed, and he would have to learn gradually. Occasionally feigning a casual question to glean information was harmless, but if he pressed too hard, the household might find it suspicious. For now, he needed the estate’s influence to help him find Xiao Die, so it would be best not to reveal his hand too soon.

Whenever they mentioned the palace, it was, of course, the imperial palace within the capital.

Yang Ning understood well that, given Qi Jing’s status and contributions to Chu, the emperor could not possibly let his death pass without some acknowledgment.

For such a high-ranking minister to die, even if the emperor did not come in person to pay respects, he would at least send a prince or a member of the royal family. At the very least, a eunuch would be dispatched with an imperial edict, offering praise and condolences—an essential formality. There should also be an imperial reward.

That the palace had not sent anyone was, naturally, most unusual.

However, Yang Ning was not overly concerned with these matters just now. His mind was occupied with how to get Duan Canghai to help him investigate the various escort agencies.

To gain something, one must first pay a price.

Returning to the mourning hall, Yang Ning assumed his role as dutiful son without protest. After all, this Marquis had been a great general of his age, a dragon among men—kneeling in his honor was no great loss.

No one came to pay respects that night. Guards were posted within and without, and since Duan Canghai and the others had just returned, they kept vigil with Yang Ning through the night.

Naturally, they did not kneel the whole time, and someone brought them a late meal. By the latter part of the night, Qi Yu came to the hall. Yang Ning did not speak much to him, simply left him to keep vigil and went to rest himself.

Over the next two days, there was no shortage of officials from the capital coming to pay their respects. The Marquis’s passing had not been widely announced, and only a handful of his close friends from outside the capital had been notified. These few arrived, weary from travel, but all their needs were seen to by the estate.

Everything proceeded according to Gu Qinghan’s arrangements. Qi Yu was not permitted to meet the officials who came to mourn; whenever someone arrived, Yang Ning would greet them. Fortunately, he was not required to speak much, as Chief Steward Qiu was always on hand to help. Yang Ning was unfamiliar with the officials, and whenever Qiu introduced them, their names would slip his mind almost at once.

The Qi clan’s relatives continued to come by to offer assistance. The Third Grandmaster appeared twice, though he did not enter the mourning hall nor give Yang Ning so much as a glance—his anger at Yang Ning evidently remained. The Fifth and Sixth Masters, however, never showed up at all.

As the day of the funeral approached, the palace still had not sent anyone, as if the great general who had rendered such service to the empire had been entirely forgotten.

That afternoon, Yang Ning sat idly in the mourning hall when Duan Canghai entered, coming close and whispering, “My lord, do you recall the escort agencies you mentioned the other day?”

Yang Ning brightened, silently praising Duan Canghai’s perceptiveness. He had not found an excuse to ask for news of the agencies, but after a single mention, Duan Canghai had already made inquiries. This man was truly attentive—he would go far. “You went to ask about them?”

Duan Canghai shook his head. “No need to ask. Qi Feng heard people talking outside—the escort agencies are in trouble.”

“In trouble?” Yang Ning asked. “What happened?”

Duan Canghai lowered his voice. “You must remember the three great escort agencies of the capital.”

“Four Seas, Changping, and Rising Sun,” Yang Ning replied without hesitation. He had a sharp memory, especially for matters concerning the escort agencies. When Duan Canghai had first mentioned them, he had memorized their names.

Duan Canghai nodded. “That’s right. This time, it’s serious—both Four Seas and Rising Sun have been wiped out, their cargos destroyed and their men killed.”

“Destroyed and killed?” Yang Ning’s heart tightened. “What exactly happened?”

“It means the wagons are gone, and all the escorts and handlers are dead,” Duan Canghai said gravely. “Such things are rare, and it happened on the northern routes.”

Yang Ning’s brows knitted. He realized that the night at the tavern, when they were attacked by the secretive assassins, the Four Seas Agency must have met disaster. When he left, a few men were still holding out, but now it seemed all had perished.

Duan Canghai, thinking Yang Ning might not understand, explained, “Of the three great escort agencies in the capital, Changping mainly runs southern routes, Four Seas heads west, and Rising Sun goes north. But with fighting against the Northern Han in the Huai River region these past two years, the north has been unstable, so Four Seas has also been running northern lines.”

“Uncle Duan, how does Rising Sun compare to Four Seas?” Yang Ning asked. “Which is stronger?”

He already had a theory: since Changping ran only south, it could be ruled out—the people who took Xiao Die must be from either Rising Sun or Four Seas. Although he had seen the Four Seas wagons on the road and found no trace of Xiao Die, making them less likely, he could not be sure. A major escort agency would not have only one wagon train.

“It’s hard to say which is stronger,” Duan Canghai replied after some thought. “Both have connections to the nobles of the capital. The escort masters at Four Seas are mostly from the martial world, skilled in combat. Rising Sun, on the other hand, has many former soldiers and their own tricks. On western routes, Four Seas has broader connections and more respect in both the underworld and the official world, so they have the advantage over Rising Sun. But on the northern lines, Rising Sun has the edge.”

Yang Ning nodded slightly, reasoning that if Rising Sun had better connections up north, their involvement was all the more likely.

“Both agencies lost a wagon train to violent attack,” Duan Canghai continued. “Four Seas was ambushed at a tavern on the roadside—the wagons vanished, and all the escorts and handlers were killed there. The entire place was left without a living soul. When people found them, not a single survivor remained.”

“Was there no clue left behind?” Yang Ning asked, though he knew well that since the assailants were secret assassins, they would not leave a trace.

Sure enough, Duan Canghai shook his head. “I don’t know the details. Robbery happens every year, but to kill everyone is rare. The escorts know their limits—if they can protect the shipment, they’ll fight to the end. But if the enemy is too strong, they’ll save themselves and try to recover the cargo later. For everyone to be slaughtered like this—it seems less like robbery and more like revenge.”

Yang Ning thought to himself that it was not revenge, but simply that someone had implicated them. If not for Xiao Guang, Four Seas would not have suffered such a calamity.

Thinking of Xiao Guang, he remembered the fellow still owed him five hundred taels of gold. If he could get his hands on that, Gu Qinghan’s worries would be over.

But then he realized that even if he did get the gold, he could not give it to Gu Qinghan. After all, the young marquis he was impersonating had never been a bold figure—where could he possibly have gotten so much gold? If he produced it, Gu Qinghan would certainly start asking questions, which would make things worse. And if Xiao Guang showed up, he would recognize him at once, exposing his impersonation. Until he found Xiao Die, it would be best not to encounter that troublesome youth.

“What about Rising Sun?” Yang Ning asked.

Duan Canghai replied, “Rising Sun’s situation is similar—cargo lost and men killed—but there are some differences from Four Seas...”