The flames went out, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Including the imperial guards ambushed near the Yiguang Gate.
Earlier, when shouts of a fire broke out in the distance, those hidden in the shadows couldn’t keep calm any longer. They feared the fire reaching this place and worried Liu Dan might escape amidst the chaos.
When the danger passed, the scout reported that there was no movement at the general’s mansion, which was unusual.
Given the strong wind outside and the distant flames, one would expect them to come out to see what was happening, even if they didn’t flee.
“Could it be that he has already run away?” mused the deputy commander leading the imperial guards.
He was not a confidant of Minister Zhang; in fact, his orders were to capture General Liu Dan for harboring rebels, colluding with bandits, and being involved in desecrating the royal tombs among other charges.
Liu Dan and his personal soldiers hailed from the Northern Border Army, known for their bravery and prowess in battle. The deputy commander, not wishing to fail, heeded the advice of his trusted subordinate and brought all the crossbows and bows he could muster, aiming for a foolproof plan to capture the traitor and gain merit.
Due to the news blockade, the deputy commander, who had been patrolling the outer city, was even unaware of Emperor Lu Zhang’s severe injury and coma. He saw this as a golden opportunity to win the emperor’s favor.
“…It’s impossible for him to have run away. After nightfall, no one has appeared on this street; even the watchmen are our men in disguise! Unless that General Liu is a moth from the heavens and a rat from below, he couldn’t possibly escape our brothers’ watch.”
“Then explain the silence inside?” the deputy commander glared at his subordinate.
The responder was troubled, hesitantly saying, “With such strong winds, even the dead would be awakened by the noise. Could they have drunk themselves into unconsciousness—”
“Nonsense!” the deputy commander said impatiently.
With the capital in such a tense state, one would need to be very bold to drink themselves into a stupor.
“Captain Fei, what do you think?”
His reliable subordinate, with a cunning glance, said earnestly, “I believe this is a feint of the empty city strategy!”
“Explain,” the deputy commander was startled.
“By appearing weak, they show strength; and by showing strength, they suggest weakness. They must have guessed we’re lying in wait but don’t know how many of us there are, or which direction is easier to break through. Thus, they wait for us to grow impatient. The moment we act, they’ll find a way to break through amidst the confusion. Therefore, we must not act rashly.”
The deputy commander pondered and nodded in agreement.
His trusted subordinate, Captain Fei, quietly breathed a sigh of relief. The deputy commander was here to earn accolades, but he was not.
Minister Zhang wanted Liu Dan dead, a fact communicated by the Minister of War. As someone who had pledged allegiance to Minister Zhang early on, Captain Fei had been merely passing messages within the imperial city over the years—information like whom the emperor summoned or who sought an audience with the emperor, tasks others could also perform, thus never seizing a chance to stand out.
Just as the deputy commander looked forward to earning commendations and promotions, Captain Fei aimed for the same, albeit with a more cunning approach, aligning himself with powerful court officials. This behavior wasn’t unusual; many sought to do the same.
Being remembered by Minister Zhang was an achievement for Captain Fei, who knew how to say what others wanted to hear and how to act to gain his superiors’ favor.
The deputy commander wanted to stabilize morale.
They had been crouching here for nearly two hours in the dead of night, with no sign from their quarry, causing inevitable restlessness.
“In my view, we must keep our composure and not relax for a moment. General Liu is surely more anxious than us.”
“Indeed.”
The deputy commander whispered sharply, “Pass the word, anyone who messes this up, beware of their own hide.”
As his words fell, a gust of wind was heard. The deputy commander was pushed aside and hit his teeth against the wall, followed by a crisp sound—the noise of falling roof tiles.
Turning around in fury, the deputy commander was shocked to see a pile of broken tiles where he had been standing. Had he not been pushed away, he might have been lying there now.
“What’s going on?” The deputy commander’s mouth was filled with the taste of blood, his eyes squinting in pain.
“It was… the wind blew it…”
The nearby imperial guards dared not speak, but they all began to check the eaves above their heads.
Seeing the situation turning bad, the deputy commander immediately ordered, “Get back to your positions! Do you want to make it obvious where our ambush is?”
Everyone paused, and after the deputy commander turned his head, they continued to fiddle with the roof tiles or moved a bit further from the walls, no longer hiding as tightly as before.
The deputy commander wasn’t foolish; he quickly noticed his subordinates’ disobedience.
Fuming, he grabbed an imperial guard, about to mete out punishment, when Captain Fei quickly stepped forward, earnestly advising, “Calm down, deputy commander. Raising our voices will only draw their attention. Besides, it’s pitch black; even if someone inside the general’s mansion is watching, they can’t see us!”
The deputy commander glared fiercely at Captain Fei. The only person standing behind him was Captain Fei, and although the latter had pushed him away in time to avoid the falling tiles, the push had been too forceful.
His mouth was full of blood, and touching his chin, it seemed he had also scraped it.
Captain Fei was utterly bewildered, not understanding what the deputy commander meant. His mind, quick to adapt, recalled the moment when the deputy commander, who had been standing perfectly fine, suddenly slipped and hit the wall with his chin.
While others might think the deputy commander failed to dodge in time, resulting in the accident, Captain Fei saw the truth—the deputy commander had moved forward just in time to avoid the tiles.
Captain Fei was still pondering over the deputy commander’s luck when he received that glare, feeling a chill in his heart and a sense of injustice. Was the deputy commander throwing a tantrum just because his stumble was witnessed, feeling embarrassed? Perhaps the deputy commander was too petty!
Both men, with their thoughts, remained silent.
In the darkness, their expressions were conspicuously clear.
Sitting on the eave of a high building next to them, Mo Li: “……”
Doctor Mo silently turned his head, Meng Qi was slightly raising his eyebrows, looking amusedly at the imperial guards below.
The falling tiles, the unseen push—these were all the handiwork of Master Meng.
At first, Mo Li thought Meng Qi was merely teaching the deputy commander a lesson, to scare him. But as he watched, he realized something else was amiss. Soon, the deputy commander and his trusted subordinate became estranged, and it took Mo Li a while to understand what was happening.
So, human hearts are such complex things?
Although Mo Li didn’t understand why the deputy commander, upset about being pushed too hard, didn’t simply voice his complaint, he found the manipulation of human emotions terrifying. What was even more frightening was that the person behind these actions wasn’t meticulously targeting them.
—It was done casually, a mere flick of the wrist at those he found displeasing.
Mo Li’s feelings were complex. He thought he would disapprove, as it went against the principles of a gentleman, but then, seeing Meng Qi’s face, his thoughts instantly turned to resignation.
Compared to manipulating hearts, Meng Qi seemed more interested in causing them trouble.
This malice was akin to stealing grain or official robes.
“They’re just following orders; how did they provoke you?” Mo Li asked helplessly.
“The imperial guards are indeed just following orders, but not the deputy commander and the captain, especially that captain,” Meng Qi leaned towards Mo Li, saying lazily, “Since someone wants Liu Dan dead, involving secrets of the Northern Border Army’s provisions and more, they would surely send someone they trust. Listening to their tone, the deputy commander doesn’t seem in the know, but the captain is suspicious.”
“So you’re… driving a wedge between them?”
Meng Qi laughed at the question, “This hardly counts as driving a wedge. It’s just a small rift. My goal isn’t that, but to make them less close. Doctor, people are like this; whatever happens, they’ll be influenced by their prior opinions of others. The captain is eloquent, but as long as the deputy commander harbors suspicions, the captain will find it harder to secretly eliminate Liu Dan and pin the blame on the deputy commander as an accident.”
After all, Liu Dan is a valuable asset, currently their landlord, and cannot die.
Meng Qi decided to lend a hand, albeit reluctantly.
Doctor Mo was silent for a long moment before suddenly saying, “It’s not just people who are like this.”
“……”
Meng Qi paused, turning to look at Mo Li in confusion.
In this world, there may not be monsters, and people may not turn into ghosts after death. He’s unsure about the intentions of ghosts and goblins, but dragon veins, too, can harbor biases in their hearts. Thus, in his eyes, the wicked become ever more wicked, while the good…
Even if it clearly goes against one’s principles of conduct, one can’t help but make excuses for them in their heart.
Upon hearing the explanation and confirming that the plump rat was not manipulating hearts but rather strategizing to save others, the joy that suddenly arose felt like a validation of one’s own discernment.
People tend to favor those they love and shun those they despise.
This is a phrase Mo Li had long known, taught to him by his old teacher, Mr. Qin, during his literacy lessons.
People always favor those close to them and cannot treat those they despise with fairness. Mo Li doesn’t see himself this way. When his junior brother, Tang Xiaotang, gets into trouble playing with the neighbor’s kids and breaks something, Mo Li doesn’t instinctively think it wasn’t Tang Xiaotang’s fault, that it was others who led his normally well-behaved junior astray.
When Qin Lu had a dispute with County Magistrate Xue over pharmacology, Mo Li wouldn’t just side with his teacher because he’s a physician and Xue is a poison expert, thinking the right must be on his teacher’s side.
He always listens to the entire process, hears everyone out, before coming to a conclusion.
This is a habit that a physician must have; one cannot rely on years of experience to prescribe medicine without careful examination, cannot accept a patient’s self-diagnosed condition without question, nor can one ignore the symptoms described by the patient.
To conclude before diagnosing is a great taboo in medicine.
One cannot simply diagnose a fisherman with rheumatism because of leg pain, nor can one declare a dissolute young man’s dark circles as a sign of excessive indulgence leading to kidney deficiency and diminished yang energy.
Mo Li always thought he was composed, that he wouldn’t become like that.
Now, he’s not sure.
Suddenly, Mo Li recalled what Mr. Qin had said: it’s not only difficult for a physician to treat themselves but also to treat those close to them.
It’s easy to become overly concerned, uncertain about the prescription, fearing an overdose could overwhelm the patient’s body, or that an underdose wouldn’t cure the ailment.
So, this is what it feels like.
Mo Li isn’t good at hiding his inner thoughts. When he’s calm and collected, no one can tell what he’s thinking, not even Meng Qi.
But when his emotions are turbulent, and the root cause of it all is right before him, Mo Li looks steadily at Meng Qi, revealing far too many thoughts in his gaze.
Meng Qi: “……”
Not knowing what had happened, nor understanding exactly what the doctor was thinking, but suddenly realizing that the doctor’s pleasure in him wasn’t an illusion.
Really not an illusion!
Author’s Note:
“People tend to favor those they love and shun those they despise” – From “The Book of Rites · The Great Learning”
Plump Rat: ……
Unsure of the specifics, but this time it’s settled.
——————
PS: There will be updates even at midnight, striving to catch up OTZ
