For Ye Beizhi, this New Year’s passed without much impact. It wasn't particularly joyous or unpleasant, it merely passed like any other day.
The sky was already bright by the time he got up. He dressed and walked into the inner room.
Inside, Chi Nanwei was still sound asleep. Last night at dinner, she had gotten into a sorrowful mood and insisted on drinking. After a few cups, she started talking nonsense and soon began crying, sobbing about Grandpa Wu and Big Brother Fang.
Ye Beizhi didn’t think much of it, but Granny Yu and Su Yi understood that Chi Nanwei had been reminded of sad memories that made things a bit awkward. Seeing that dinner was over, Ye Beizhi simply carried her back to her room and tucked her into bed.
Chi Nanwei was curled up on the bed, soundly asleep. Her breathing was steady like a small kitten.
Ye Beizhi stood quietly at the bedside, gently brushing a few stray hairs from her cheek. He gazed down at her peaceful sleeping face, and a ripple of emotion stirred in his eyes.
After a long moment, Ye Beizhi took a deep breath and turned away from the sleeping woman. He crouched down, reaching under the bed, and pulled out his Tang blade.
It turned out that Chi Nanwei had hidden the Tang blade there. She thought she had successfully concealed it from Ye Beizhi, unaware that he had long known about it and simply chose not to say anything.
Ye Beizhi fastened his Tang blade on his waist with practiced ease. There was no need to prepare anything else. Killing someone required nothing more than the blade.
Before closing the door, Ye Beizhi paused for a moment, wondering if he should leave a note for Chi Nanwei. Inside, Chi Nanwei rolled over, mumbling a few words in her sleep, still deep in her peaceful slumber.
In the next moment, he shook his head. Forget it.
A light sound echoed as the door closed.
Not long after Ye Beizhi left Fuzhao Courtyard, the door to Granny Yu’s house next door also opened. Su Yi stepped out, and Granny Yu asked from inside, "You rascal, are you coming back for lunch or not?"
"No, I’ve got things to do. You eat by yourself," Su Yi replied casually as he closed the door behind him.
It was clear that Su Yi was dressed more formally today, wearing the junior first-rank official robe embroidered with clouds and cranes. He had dressed this way because he was going to meet someone important, and his junior first-rank status would convey the seriousness of his visit.
He was going to see Qi Zongbi, the External Prime Minister who had dared to gamble with the lives of fifty thousand people. Though Su Yi wasn’t sure what he could do for the lives that hung in the balance, he still wanted to seek out the man responsible in person.
In the past, when he was just a junior seventh-rank Hanlin scholar, he wouldn’t have even made it through the gates of the Prime Minister’s residence. But now, as the Crown Prince’s tutor with a solid junior first-rank title, even though he had no real power, he could at least stand face-to-face with Qi Zongbi and speak to him on equal footing.
There was just one thing that detracted from his official air... this junior first-rank official was carrying a basket of eggs.
The doorman at the Prime Minister’s residence rubbed his eyes, thinking he must have been seeing things. Was that high-ranking official dressed in a cloud-and-crane robe carrying a basket of eggs on a formal visit to see the External Prime Minister?
"May I ask... sir?" The doorman hesitantly cupped his hands. "What business brings you here?"
"Oh, it’s . Please inform the External Prime Minister that the Crown Prince’s tutor, Su Yi, has urgent business to discuss," Su Yi responded politely, showing no disdain despite the man being a servant.
The doorman’s expression grew uneasy. "Lord Su, this is quite unfortunate..."
"Hmm?" Su Yi froze. "What’s wrong?"
The doorman spread his hands and said, "My lord left early this morning. He’s not at home right now."
"The External Prime Minister went out?" Su Yi was confused. "It’s the first day of the New Year. Why wouldn’t he be home?"
"You may not know, Lord Su," the doorman replied, "but every year on this day, my lord goes to pay respects to his late master. So your timing is unfortunate indeed."
Su Yi nodded and then asked, "How long until the External Prime Minister returns? If it’s not too long, I can wait."
"That’s hard to say. I’m just a servant, so I wouldn’t know my lord’s schedule." The doorman paused and added sincerely, "If your business is urgent, it’s best to go find him and speak in person. My lord is leaving the capital soon, supposedly for the war... It’ll be hard to find him after that!"
The mention of the war immediately triggered Su Yi’s nerves. He quickly asked, "Then I’ll go find him right away! Where did the External Prime Minister go?"
The doorman pointed to the northwest. "To the far northwest of the city, there’s a place called Heavenly Divination Shrine. That’s where my lord went."
"Thank you." Su Yi cupped his hands in gratitude and turned to leave.
The doorman quickly returned the gesture. "You’re too kind, Lord Su. This is my duty."
Su Yi had only walked a few steps before he suddenly turned back. The doorman, about to close the door, stopped when he saw Su Yi return.
"So this"—Su Yi extended the basket of eggs—"is a small token. Please pass it on to the External Prime Minister for me."
The bewildered doorman took the basket of eggs. "Uh... alright." By the time he snapped out of it, Su Yi had already walked off into the distance. He stared down at the eggs and mumbled to himself, "Is this year’s gift-giving trend changing?"
After getting off to a late start, Su Yi was further delayed. It was noon already.
He patted his stomach, feeling the emptiness from having skipped breakfast. Knowing that Qi Zongbi probably wouldn’t be done anytime soon, he decided to stop by a small restaurant along the street to grab something to eat.
Su Yi’s entrance startled the owner. The small restaurant had never served such a person before. The robe, with ethereal clouds and dancing cranes, had silver embroidery on its hem and sleeves and radiating a refined grandeur. Even without much experience on the matter, the shopkeeper could tell that a high-ranking official had arrived.
The shopkeeper quickly pushed aside the dazed shopboy and rushed over to Su Yi. "This, this esteemed sir, may I ask... what brings you to our humble shop?"
The shopkeeper’s attitude briefly shocked Su Yi. He was unused to such subservience but then he realized the issue. He had forgotten about his new position and that he was still wearing his official robe.
After thinking about it, he thought it made sense. After all, what kind of high-ranking official would come to a small shop dressed in their junior first-rank official robes for a meal?
But it was too late to go back and change now. Su Yi waved his hand helplessly. "It’s fine, just give me a bowl of plain yangchun noodles, and I’ll leave once I’ve eaten."
"Yang... yangchun noodles?" The shopkeeper thought he must have misheard. Yangchun noodles were just basic noodles and cost two wen per bowl.
An official came to my little shop just to eat yangchun noodles? The shopkeeper figured he could boast about this story for an entire year.
The shopkeeper was about to confirm Su Yi’s order when he noticed Su Yi staring wide-eyed in one direction. Following his gaze, the shopkeeper saw a man wearing a conical bamboo hat striding across the street toward the dilapidated Heavenly Divination Shrine.
There was nothing much that made the man stand out except for one thing...
That man had a blade hanging from his waist.