Chapter 141: A Chance Encounter

After the imperial edict had been read, Yu Du pointed toward the prison cart in the distance and bowed.

“Then, General Who Conquers the East, you may set out with us.”

Luan Yi smiled faintly. “Eunuch Yu, there is no need to hurry.”

Without waiting for a reply, he turned to Xu Shu and ordered, “Brother Fu, go and fetch Eunuch Yu some money for tea and wine, as a token of my regard.”

Xu Shu understood at once that Luan Yi intended to pave the road with silver. He immediately sent someone to the registrar to withdraw the money.

It was not long before the man returned, followed by two burly fellows carrying a large chest.

“It is only a small sum for wine and refreshments. I hope you will accept it, Eunuch Yu.”

Yu Du stepped forward and lifted the lid just enough to peer inside. At a single glance, his heart leaped.

Good heavens... it was all gold.

Seeing the unusual expression on Yu Du’s face, the attendants who had accompanied him realized that the contents were extraordinarily valuable. Every one of them broke into delighted smiles. After all, they had a share in it as well.

“You have gone to considerable expense, General Who Conquers the East!”

“You are mistaken, Eunuch. Yi is no longer the General Who Conquers the East.”

A man who had accepted another’s gift could hardly remain cold toward him—especially when the gift was so generous. Besides, Yu Du had an important favor to ask. His manner was therefore exceptionally courteous, almost intimate.

“Master Ziqi will forever be the General Who Conquers the East in our hearts.”

Luan Yi gave a low chuckle. Seeing that the hundred taels of gold had done their work, he said, “You have endured a long journey by carriage and horse, Eunuch. Why not rest in my tent for a while? That will also give me an opportunity to entrust a few words to the officers under my command.”

“Everything shall be as the general wishes.”

With that, the party entered the main tent under Xu Shu’s guidance. Soon afterward, attendants brought out pastries purchased in Nanyang, along with the army’s treasured “fire bottles”—Immortal Brew.

Once he had watched Yu Du take his seat, Luan Yi hurried toward the medical quarter. In truth, he had prepared everything and could depart at any moment. The only thing he could not put out of his mind was Zhang Fei.

He had wounded Zhang Fei.

“Third Brother!”

Luan Yi swept aside the curtain and rushed into the barracks, only to find Hua Tuo bandaging Zhang Fei. Dian Wei, Guan Yu, Zhao Yun, Huang Zhong, Taishi Ci, and Xu Chu were all inside. Seeing Luan Yi arrive in person, they clasped their hands in greeting.

Luan Yi waved casually, indicating that there was no need for formalities. He went to Zhang Fei and looked at the wrist wrapped in layer upon layer of bandages.

“Third Brother, does it hurt?”

At those words, tears instantly filled Zhang Fei’s eyes. The towering, broad-backed man, fierce as a tiger, actually began to cry.

“It doesn’t hurt. Not in the least! Ow... Old Hua, what are you doing?”

At that very moment, Hua Tuo had “accidentally” touched the injured spot.

Hua Tuo cast Luan Yi a reproachful glance. “You call that not hurting? A little more pressure and your wrist would be ruined!”

“Then let it be ruined! If it means Fourth Brother will suffer less, I’d gladly lose my whole arm!”

Luan Yi heard the hidden meaning in his words and asked, “Third Brother, what do you mean by that?”

The generals glanced at one another. Huang Zhong stepped forward.

“Reporting to the Leader, it was I who sent Yide out to make trouble.”

“What? Why?”

Huang Zhong replied, “I knew the man sent to proclaim the imperial edict would most likely be a eunuch. To prevent him from causing trouble for you on the road, I sent Yide out with a fierce look to give the eunuch a warning. Fearing that we might take his life, he would then dare not trouble you on the way to Luoyang.”

“So that was it...”

Luan Yi was overcome with shame.

“I wronged you, Third Brother, and made you suffer. Please accept this bow and forgive your younger brother.”

With that, he knelt and bowed deeply.

Zhang Fei hurriedly rose to help him, but in doing so he struck his injured wrist.

“Hiss... Fourth Brother, you mustn’t do this. What is there to forgive? I never took it to heart. Besides, things worked out even better this way. I struck the eunuch once, and then you offered him a sweet date. He will be grateful to you and take special care of you along the road.”

“Third Brother...”

“Fourth Brother...”

All their affection was contained in the silence between them.

Since Zhang Fei bore him no resentment, Luan Yi had nothing left to worry about. He clasped his hands and bowed to the brothers in the tent, bidding them a reluctant farewell.

The generals followed him out of the tent and watched as he climbed into the prison cart. Once again, they beat their breasts and stamped their feet in grief.

Luan Yi comforted them as best he could, calming their hearts somewhat before urging Yu Du to set out.

“We must leave sooner or later. Lingering here will only deepen the sorrow,” Luan Yi told him.

Yu Du understood. With a broad sweep of his arm, he led the procession onto the road back to the capital.

“Take care, all of you!”

Without turning around, Luan Yi waved from inside the prison cart.

Those simple words opened the floodgates of the generals’ tears. One after another, they wept as they watched him depart.

After the prison cart had gone more than ten miles from the camp, the distant thunder of galloping hooves suddenly reached Luan Yi’s ears.

His heart lurched. He thought Zhang Fei must have lost control of himself and rashly gathered troops to intercept them. But when he followed the sound with his eyes, he realized that the hoofbeats were not coming from the camp. They were approaching from the direction of Nanyang.

Before long, a mounted troop appeared on the horizon. At its head was none other than Qin Jie, the governor of Nanyang, who had hurried after hearing the news.

“Master Ziqi! Master Ziqi!” Qin Jie shouted from far away.

Luan Yi asked Yu Du to halt and wait.

“Master Ziqi...”

When he drew near, Qin Jie dismounted and strode toward the prison cart. His hands trembled with anger as he gripped the wooden bars, looking as though he wished to tear the cart apart with his bare hands.

“Master Ziqi, how has it come to this?”

With a look of resignation, Luan Yi told him the whole story.

“Petty men hold power! That vile eunuch Zhang Rang is truly a traitor to the realm!” Qin Jie cried indignantly.

Luan Yi stole a glance at Yu Du, afraid that Qin Jie’s insult might offend him. But Yu Du merely turned away and pretended not to have heard.

Luan Yi could not help developing a favorable impression of him. This eunuch was indeed very different from the Ten Attendants described in common rumor.

Qin Jie said anxiously, “Master Ziqi, do not worry. As soon as I return, I shall draft a memorial praising your accomplishments and submit it to His Majesty. I will beg him not to listen to slanderers and to restore your good name!”

“Then I shall trouble you, Governor. Yi am deeply grateful.”

Luan Yi tried to clasp his hands in salute, but the shackles prevented him. He could only give a helpless smile.

After exchanging a few more sorrowful words with Qin Jie, the prison procession continued northward.

Luan Yi had to admit that the hundred taels of gold he had given had been money well spent. Along the journey, Yu Du took excellent care of him. Whenever they reached a sparsely inhabited region, the escort would release Luan Yi from the prison cart and let him ride a horse. Only when they approached a city gate, where someone might see him and report the matter to the imperial court, would they lock him up again.

The food along the road was also quite good, purchased from the finest inns in each city.

It was almost amusing. At first, Luan Yi suspected that Yu Du’s kindness concealed some sinister scheme. Perhaps Zhang Rang had ordered the eunuch to lull him into complacency before secretly arranging his death.

Thus, he remained cautious every day, never allowing his index finger to leave the iron disk at his lower back. To guard against poisoned food, he cut a silver ingot into more than a dozen pieces. Once the dishes had been served, he tested each one with the silver before eating or drinking.

As it turned out, his fears were needless.

They traveled slowly, almost as though sightseeing through mountains and rivers. Even after passing Hulao Pass, Yu Du made no move against him.

Only then did Luan Yi finally relax.

The prison cart rolled along the official road toward Luoyang, its wheels producing a grating clatter over the stone pavement that set one’s teeth on edge.

Luoyang was near. Travelers crowded the road, forcing Luan Yi to climb onto the prison cart and stand there foolishly while passersby stared at him. For a time, he even felt like a monkey locked inside a cage.

“Look! Who is that?”

“He looks like a general!”

“What a handsome young general!”

“I wonder what crime he committed!”

Luan Yi simply covered his face with one hand to spare himself the humiliation. Then he heard the bystanders’ attention shift.

“Look, here comes another one!”

“Who is that?”

“I saw him when the soldiers marched out last year. That is General Lu Zhi!”

“What? Wasn’t General Lu Zhi a good official? Why has he been arrested too?”

One passerby sighed. “Are there still so few good officials being arrested in our great Han?”

“Oh? Then is that young general a good official too?”

“Most likely!”

Luan Yi stopped listening to their muttering and turned to look behind him. Sure enough, another troop was approaching, and in the center of it rolled a prison cart just like his own.

An old man was confined inside. His clothes were ragged, his topknot had come undone, and his hair hung loose around his face. He looked utterly wretched. His handsome features were heavy with exhaustion, yet the resolute strength of a man who had long commanded armies still remained.

He must have endured many hardships on the road, sleeping in the open and eating whatever he could find.

“Eunuch Yu, please stop for a moment.”

The prison cart came to a halt.

“General Who Conquers the East, have you grown too cramped in the cart? Bear with it a little longer. This is not a convenient place. Once we enter the county town in another two hours, you may come out and stretch your legs. By this time tomorrow, we shall have reached Luoyang.”

Yu Du offered him an ingratiating smile.

“This little discomfort is something Yi can endure.”

Luan Yi returned the courtesy with a smile.

“I only wished to ask whether you might wait for the troop behind us. I would like to exchange a few words with General Lu Zhi.”

“Oh?”

Yu Du glanced back and muttered to himself, “How did he get arrested too?”

Then he turned to Luan Yi.

“As I have said, we shall follow the general’s wishes.”

With that, he went to meet the escorting force behind them and began conferring with the eunuch in charge.

Clearly, Yu Du was on good terms with that eunuch. After exchanging pleasantries for a while, he even removed a considerable amount of gold and silver from his own large chest and handed it to the other man.

The eunuch accepted the money and gave a hearty laugh. The two groups then merged into one.

On the broad road, the two prison carts rolled side by side. Luan Yi looked toward the old man in the cart beside him and found that the other was looking back.

“Greetings, Commander of the Imperial Guards. Forgive me for being unable to offer the full ceremony while shackled.”

“Oh?”

The old man’s listless eyes suddenly opened wide.

“You are Luan Ziqi? Even you have been arrested?”

“Yes.”

Luan Yi sighed.

“I never imagined that I would meet the commander under circumstances such as these.”

“Heh.”

Lu Zhi gave a self-mocking laugh.

“Why were you arrested, Master Ziqi? Did something go wrong in the war in Yu Province?”

Luan Yi had not expected that, even at such a time, Lu Zhi would still be concerned about the state of the campaign.

Great Han, great Han... how many loyal men like Lu Zhi do you still possess?

“General, there is no need for alarm. The campaign is proceeding smoothly, and the rebels in Henan have been almost completely wiped out. As for the reason I was arrested... that is a long story.”

Luan Yi recounted the entire affair to Lu Zhi.

“Those vile eunuchs have gone too far!” Lu Zhi ground his teeth in fury.

“And why were you arrested, Commander?”