The name Rongxiang Fang is elegant, but it is actually a slum in the city of Yandu. Most of the people in the slum are poor, and all kinds of people are mixed together. Cen Yelan raised his head and looked at the old plaque. He wore a bamboo hat on his head and slowly walked inside.
Yandu is the capital, it was prosperous and glamorous, but Rongxiang Fang is like the other side of that glitz.
The streets are long, the houses are low, and most of the people walking on the road are common people. In the narrow alleys, you can vaguely see a few homeless people and beggars lying or sitting.
There were all kinds of people in Rongxiang Fang. Cen Yelan dressed like a Jianghu person, wearing a bamboo hat and a hanging black veil to cover his face. When he walked on the street, only a few people would look at him.
Soon, Cen Yelan stopped in front of a blacksmith shop. A middle-aged man was hammering out a crude knife in his hand. Hearing footsteps, he asked without even looking up, “Just take a look.”
Cen Yelan smiled and said, “Uncle Zhou.”
Zhou Qing suddenly raised his head and saw Cen Yelan at a glance. He was both surprised and happy. He almost blurted out ‘General’. Seeing his attire, he extended his hand and said, “Dear guest, please come in.”
The two entered the inner room. Zhou Qing carefully closed the door, knelt down, and said while bowing with his fists, “Zhou Qing greets the General.”
Cen Yelan immediately supported him and said, “Uncle Zhou, there is no need to be polite.”
Zhou Qing had a dark complexion, but he showed a simple and honest smile. He stood up with Cen Yelan’s help and said, “I heard that the General had returned to the capital a long time ago. I didn’t expect you to come here.” As he spoke, he eagerly made tea for Cen Yelan. He was a strong man, but he limped when he walked. Zhou Qing was a member of the Northern Frontier Army and a confidant of Cen Xi. Later, he injured his leg in the war and retired from the barracks. Since he was alone and miserable, Cen Yelan simply asked him to stay in the capital and live an ordinary life.
Cen Yelan said, “Uncle Zhou, how have you been these years?”
Zhou Qing smiled and said, “Good, good, everything is fine, but I miss the General.”
Cen Yelan smiled, Zhou Qing made some tea, and said, “The tea is simple, General, please.” Cen Yelan took the teacup. Those hands that held the sword are halberd, rough and weathered. The two chatted for a few words. Cen Yelan used the cup lid to brush away the tea leaves floating on the surface of the tea and slowly said, “Uncle Zhou, I came here to ask you something.”
Zhou Qing said, “General, please say. Although I am not in the camp, but I once was a member of the Northern Army and will always be a member of the Northern Army whether I live or die.”
Cen Yelan looked at Zhou Qing and said, “Uncle Zhou, have there been any new faces appearing in Rongxiang Fang these days?”
Zhou Qing thought for a moment and said, “Rongxiang Fang is the most chaotic place in the entire Yandu. There are often strangers coming in and out of Rongxiang Fang. General, are you looking for someone?”
“I want to find a boy of fifteen or sixteen years old.” Cen Yelan took out a piece of drawing paper and unfolded it. There was a thin boy in the paper with an ordinary face, except for a red mole between his eyebrows that was particularly eye-catching.
Zhou Qing’s eyes fell on the painting, and he said, “I have never seen this person, but if he is in Rongxiang Fang, it is not difficult to find his whereabouts either.”
Cen Yelan said, “This matter is of great importance. We can only search in secret and have to be careful.”
Zhou Qing’s face became serious, and he bowed and said, “Yes, General, Zhou Qing understands.”
Cen Yelan smiled slightly and said softly, “Uncle Zhou, thank you for your hard work.”
“General, what you said really embarrasses me.” Zhou Qing said with a smile, “I am so happy to be able to serve you again. These years, I have been blessed with the General’s care and have lived a comfortable life. But I always think of the days in the North. Even in my dreams at midnight, I always fight side by side with my brothers in the North, killing the Hu people.”
Cen Yelan looked at the old general in front of him and said softly, “Uncle Zhou, you should just take good care of yourself and leave the northern border to those young men.”
Zhou Qing burst into laughter. “Don’t worry, with the General here, why would I not be at ease?”
Cen Yelan left Rongxiang Fang and looked back at the entrance. Meng Tan said that Cheng Huai might be hiding in Rongxiang Fang. He had people secretly investigate several times but found nothing. On the night of the palace coup, the city gates were strictly guarded. Even if Cheng Huai left the palace, he might not be able to leave the city either.
Besides, it would be useless for him to leave the city with the will.
The will—the will of the late emperor—has such a hidden danger, no wonder the capital has been under strict control for so long. Yuan Heng would be unable to sleep if he could not find Cheng Huai, and he would keep an eye on Yuan Zheng and the Meng family.
After Su Chenzhao concluded that there was something strange about the medicine Yuan Zheng drank, he racked his brains to come up with a solution, ground the pills, and secretly gave them to Meng Huaixue.
Su Chenzhao told Cen Yelan that although the medicine he prepared could neutralize the medicinal properties, but it was three-quarters toxic, and this was also not a long-term solution.
Cen Yelan naturally understood.
Since that night, Cen Yelan has not visited Yuan Zheng again. He looked at the towering mansion in the distance from afar. Even in the capital, Yuan Zheng’s mansion is eye-catching.
Cen Yelan watched quietly for a while but finally couldn’t help but walk over there. It was noon, the weather was fine, and the capital city was full of flowers, and the air seemed to be filled with the sweet fragrance of flowers.
Yuan Zheng once told him that Yandu was beautiful in spring and that he wanted to travel around Yandu with him. Yuan Zheng was full of joy when he said this, with smiles flying in the corners of his eyes, as bright as the sun.
A branch of flowers passed over the high wall. Cen Yelan stood outside the wall, looking at the branch full of flowers, and was in a trance.
They are peach blossoms, pink and red, colorful like clouds, heavily weighing down the strong branches.
Suddenly, Cen Yelan heard a noise coming from the other side of the wall. It was the palace attendants shouting, one by one, “Aiyo, my Highness, you can’t climb up, how did you climb up the wall!”
“Your Highness, please come down quickly.”
An impatient voice came from Yuan Zheng, who angrily said, “Shut up, you are all making so much noise.”
Cen Yelan’s feet seemed to have grown roots, and he heard Yuan Zheng say, “I want that flower, you are not allowed to stop me.”
The palace attendant complained, “Your Highness, the servant will pick it for you, can you please come down first?”
Yuan Zheng said, “No!”
Cen Yelan raised his head and saw half of a body sticking out from the other side of the wall. With a click, the branch of peach blossom was broken.
Their eyes met. Under the bamboo hat with black veil is a very good-looking face, with dark pupils and a cold expression, and it hid a bit of uncomfortable stiffness.
Yuan Zheng blinked slowly and climbed up the wall. The palace attendants below looked at him in fear and kept calling out “Your Highness, Your Highness” and urging him to come down.
Cen Yelan suddenly came to his senses, brushed away his veil, and took a step back. Then, the peach blossom appeared in front of him, with the tip of the branch adorned with fresh flowers, so beautiful that it was tempting to look at.
Cen Yelan stared at that flower in a daze, then suddenly raised his head to look at Yuan Zheng, only to see that the branches had scattered. Yuan Zheng seemed to have slipped and fallen down, and the palace attendants screamed several times.
Cen Yelan’s heart skipped a beat. He looked at the flower that had fallen to the ground, was silent for a moment, then he lifted his robe, squatted down, and picked it up.
He held the flower branch, which was rough and seemed to still carry the warmth of Yuan Zheng’s palm.
