Chapter 58 (2/2)

Invited by the Chief of the Imperial Army for a tour of their army base, Situ arrived at the base to see Xue Yiqi coming up to him, still dressed in his armour.

“Elder brother! It’s great to have you here! I’m sure our Imperial Army will be much stronger after hearing your advice!”

The face of the Chief darkened, but he quickly regained his composure. “Captain Xue. This is an official army base, so please give the General-in-chief of the North the respect he deserves.”

“My apologies for my mistake, sir.” Xue Yiqi grinned and scratched his head. Situ watched from the side, not offering a single word.

The Chief led Situ around the camp enthusiastically, humbly asking for Situ’s advice on the camp’s deployments. Before long, the a.s.sistant Chief quickly approached him for an urgent decision, and the Chief had to leave. He turned to Xue Yiqi.

“I will have to trouble Captain Xue to show General Situ around. Do not be complacent in your job, Captain.”

Xue Yiqi heaved a sigh of relief, and turned to Situ, laughing. “Elder brother, let’s go this way. This is the place where the parade for the changing of the Imperial Guard takes place. What a waste of s.p.a.ce that could be used as training grounds! You’ll see what I mean when the parade takes place in a bit.”

“That’s a good idea; have you mentioned it to the Chief?” Situ walked alongside him.

Xue Yiqi shook his head disappointingly. “I did, but he instantly rejected me without a second thought. His reason was that this parade was a practice designed by the Chiefs before him – a rule that cannot be changed. He even berated me for being over-eager to achieve results.”

“There can be no improvement without change. No matter; it'll all work out once you take over his place as the Chief.” Situ said casually, completely unaware of the effect his words have in the camp of the Imperial Army.

“Elder brother!” Xue Yiqi’s eye twitched and he quickly glanced around, looking to see if anyone else overheard their conversation.

Situ continued calmly. “A man without the brains for improvement, nor the heart to make s.p.a.ce for those who can.”

“Elder brother! Surely that isn’t your appraisal of the Chief?” He was aware that there were some in court who were displeased with the Chief’s abilities, but he himself had held the Chief in high regard.

“Nope.” Situ shook his head.

“That’s good to hear.” Xue Yiqi breathed a sigh of relief. “I was just thinking that the Chief isn’t half as bad as you’d said.”

“It was the appraisal of the Chief from his Majesty.”

“What!” Xue Yiqi was shocked and could not keep his exclamation down. A few officers looked in their direction, and Xue Yiqi quickly pulled Situ in another direction.

“This is the training grounds of the Imperial Army, where we train our 5000 soldiers daily. Sometimes, the officials from the yamen join in our training as well.”

Situ nodded along. “It’s a great idea for the Imperial Army to train hand in hand with the yamen. You should submit this proposal to the Emperor.”

“Of course, brother.”

“Stop being so humble, Yiqi. You can only realise your fullest potential if you are in a better position to do it.”

“I understand, brother.”

Finis.h.i.+ng the tour of the Imperial Army,  Situ rejected Xue Yiqi’s invitation to have lunch together and headed back to his residence. As soon as he’d stepped into the main gate of his residence, Covert Guard Two appeared in front of him.

“General, I have found something on Zhao Wu, the owner of the Mingxuan Zither Emporium.”

“Report.”

“We lost track of him this morning, a mere hour after he arrived at the Emporium. I’d snuck into the yard and discovered an empty well that led straight to the residence of the 7th Prince. The man who had invited Zhao Wu to the prince’s residence was very respectful towards him, and we deduce that Zhao Wu is an advisor to the prince, someone of a high stature amongst the prince’s followers. We think that they might be plotting something important, and Zero stayed behind in the prince’s residence to continue spying on them while I’d returned first to report to you.”

“Risking his cover just to return to the 7th Prince’s residence?” Situ rubbed his chin lightly and frowned. “The sis.h.i.+ of the 7th Prince is not to be taken lightly. Get Zero to keep a safe distance; he is to only follow Zhao Wu. If we manage to catch him, I’m sure we can obtain important information from him.”

“I will see to it immediately.”

Situ walked into his courtyard and sat down by the stone table. Just as he was about to pour himself a cup of wine from Autumnal Ombre, another member of the Covert Guard appeared in front of him.

“General. I have found evidence that the Left Arbiter in the Judicial Bureau was bribed heavily by many. He is one of the strongest candidates nominated to succeed as the Chamberlain of the Judicial Bureau in place of Chamberlain Feng. It was only thanks to Chamberlain Feng’s clean track record that he was not impeached. He may appear very righteous, but he is in fact a two-faced man, and exceptionally ruthless and cruel towards his subordinates.” The Covert Guard continued. “I had to dig very deep, using the subordinates he had killed as leads, before I uncovered that he is a distant relative of the Shu Concubine in the palace. Very few people are aware of this.”

Situ was deep in thought. “Is he in close contact with the 7th Prince?”

“No. On the contrary, they actually interact less than the prince does with the other officials.” The Guard paused. “However, he is a frequent patron of Dream Mirrors, despite his reputation as a sombre and serious man, especially antagonistic towards those engaged in the arts. I’d staked out the establishment, and found that the 7th Prince had visited Dream Mirrors frequently as well. However, I've never seen them together before.”

“Dream Mirrors?” An image of Emerald flashed through his mind. Along with her captivating dance, was Gan Qingjia’s remark about her.

“This woman is completely unlike any of the other artistes of such establishments. Instead, an elegance that can only be inherited bleeds through her every movements. I suspect that her ident.i.ty is but a mere ruse.”

“Do a detailed check on the backgrounds of the owner of Dream Mirrors and of Emerald, as well as a check on all their related personnel.”

“Yes, General.”

As the Covert Guard disappeared once again, Situ slowly took out a flask of Autumnal Ombre and sat in the courtyard, drinking by himself.