Chapter 133: with translation of chapter title

Zuo Feichen suddenly laughed out loud; just now, when Xiao Yin's kick had a hint of internal force, a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

Tonight this deal, he has waited too long, so he naturally won't oppose Xiao Yin; even just now Xiao Yin's kick, he didn't use a trace of internal force to resist, he took it head-on with his flesh and blood.

A wave of fishy sweetness came from Zuo Feichen's throat, but his heart burned.

He raised his eyes to Xiao Yin, then looked at Gu Jiu Ling and said, "The Prince will make this deal with me, after all it also involves the Princess Consort."

Xiao Yin's expression shifted slightly, and he slowly sat back down in his chair.

Come!

Outside, Jiu Yue and Ling Feng entered together; Ling Feng's arm wound was still being bandaged by Jiu Yue, and Jiu Yue hurriedly stood in front of him.

After all, one cannot lack an attendant before the master, but Ling Feng is badly injured today; if not properly tended, should any mishap befall his arm later, he might never be able to wield a sword again.

Ling Feng felt a warmth in his heart; realizing that Miss Jiu Yue had taken over his duties to protect him, his heart inexplicably grew a bit sweeter.

"Help Lord Zuo up, change the medicinal tea!" Xiao Yin, unaware of his subordinates' recent oddities, merely looked at Zuo Feichen kneeling on the ground and said coldly.

Jiu Yue hurriedly helped Zuo Feichen up onto the chair, brought the healing medicinal tea and external ointment to help him stop the bleeding, bandaged him properly, then withdrew again.

Outside, Ling Feng was still standing; the night wind was a bit chilly.

Jiu Yue looked at Ling Feng's handsome face, lowered her head slightly, her heart pounding, yet she suppressed it and said softly, "Over there, the west wing room—I just lit a fire; it's not far from the Prince's study. Go warm yourself by the fire; if the Prince has any errands for you, you'll hear it."

I also brewed medicinal soup; have a bowl.

Ling Feng has followed the Prince from childhood through life and death; he is an orphan, the Prince has always raised him in the manor; this is the first time someone has shown thoughtful care, knowing when he's cold or hot, making his heart warm and melty.

Thank you, Miss Jiu Yue!

Jiu Yue pursed her lips and laughed.

Inside the room, Zuo Feichen drank the medicinal soup, and his complexion improved a bit.

Just now, after making a trip before Prince Yan, Xiao Yin is not a kind person; killing him would be like killing an ant, but Xiao Yin now has a weak point—that is Gu Jiu Ling.

He indeed struck Xiao Yin's weak point, and only then did he get this opportunity.

He slowly took out a wrinkled piece of sheepskin from his bosom, slowly unfurled it before Xiao Yin and Gu Jiu Ling; it turned out to be a half-sheet sized lambskin, on which indigo-blue ink drew some strange symbols, looking like layers of mountain ranges.

Zuo Feichen looked at Xiao Yin and Gu Jiu Ling and said, "Prince, Princess Consort, please look—the map shows the border region where Western Rong, Bei Di, and Southern Qi meet—the Mang Ridge."

Upon hearing the term "Mang Ridge", Gu Jiu Ling froze; this place belongs to a no-man's-land, and those mountain ranges coil like a snake.

The snake's head part is even more lofty and rugged mountains; looking at the topographic map gives one a chilling feeling.

Yet Zuo Feichen actually produced the map of that place, but only half of it—just the snake's head, no tail.

Zuo Feichen staggered while delivering the map to Xiao Yin and Gu Jiu Ling's front, then immediately sat back down in his chair.

"Back then, Mr. Du and my father Zuo Ming were sworn friends despite the age gap; when Mr. Du first arrived in the capital and his leg hurt, it was my father who cured him."

"Who would have thought that Mr. Du stayed in the capital only a few days before suddenly rushing off, returning to Jiu Mu with all his gold, silver, and valuables, heading west to Western Rong; everyone thought Mr. Du had betrayed Southern Qi to go to Western Rong, but on the way he was murdered by Bei Di people."

"Actually, that's not the case..."

Gu Jiu Ling furrowed her brows, staring fixedly at Zuo Feichen.

Zuo Feichen took a breath and said, "Back then, Mr. Du never intended to go to Western Rong at all; he was heading for Mang Shan, and before leaving he entrusted this half-map to a little beggar to give to my father."

"He left no words, no instructions, nothing at all—just this half-map."

Gu Jiu Ling now truly couldn't understand: "Young Master Zuo, is it that my maternal grandfather buried a batch of treasure in Mang Shan and hid the map?"

"Or perhaps the so-called landscape map that people talk about is actually the treasure map?"

Zuo Feichen gave a bitter smile: "Mr. Du deceived all of us; it's not a landscape map, merely his smokescreen; the real treasure map is this one, but only half of it—the other half likely can only be asked of Mr. Du where he is."

"The location of Mang Shan is overlapped by hundreds of thousands of mountains; without the map, that batch of treasure cannot be found at all. That said," Zuo Feichen said lightly, "just how much could the Du family's treasure amount to?"

"As for letting the Bei Di crown prince travel thousands of miles to come and rob? Mr. Du may be wealthy, but can even more wealth surpass the emperor? Can even greater strength rival the entrenched power of Southern Qi's aristocratic clans?"

"That batch of treasure doesn't really matter, but you can see the Mang Shan map—it's a snake coiled upward; is it a snake or a dragon?"

Xiao Yin and Gu Jiu Ling's expressions changed simultaneously; Gu Jiu Ling couldn't help but say, "Could it be a dragon vein?"

Zuo Feichen fell silent, gave a laugh, and after a long while said, "Princess Consort, you are indeed clever; what lies beneath the dragon vein is unknown to us, but surely whatever is buried down there is something everyone in the world would covet!"

"How did the landscape map end up in your hands?" Xiao Yin's face darkened severely, and he was not being led by Zuo Feichen.

Zuo Feichen looked at Xiao Yin and said slowly, "If the Prince agrees to cooperate with me, a commoner, then I can continue speaking; after all, each of the following words I speak is only possible with my life hanging by a thread."

Xiao Yin's face turned grim and cold, yet this thing before him was unyielding; he sneered, "Fine! I, the Prince, agree to you!"

Zuo Feichen, however, looked at Xiao Yin and said, "I don't distrust the Prince; I want a written agreement of cooperation from the Prince, and also a token; thereafter, if I ever anger the Prince, the Prince must not kill me!"

"You..." Xiao Yin gritted his teeth, yet still wrote a letter; this matter is truly too important, he cannot but yield.

He never expected that after investigating for so long, Zuo Feichen would voluntarily offer him a breakthrough.

"The token!" Zuo Feichen accepted the letter.

Xiao Yin, annoyed, pulled off the thumb ring of black jade from his thumb and tossed it toward Zuo Feichen's lap; the inner circle of the black jade ring was engraved with his name.

Zuo Feichen hurriedly picked it up; when he looked at Xiao Yin again, his gaze carried a hint of solemnity.

"All the causes stem from the Prince!"

Xiao Yin's face was so dark it could wring water out; beside him, Gu Jiu Ling truly felt anxious for him, as she repeatedly tested his bottom line, also a ruthless person.

Zuo Feichen said slowly, "Seven years ago, the Prince was truly too dazzling and eye-catching, likely arousing the jealousy of the aristocratic clans and the sovereign's suspicion."

"They set a trap for the Prince, and the Prince fell into it."

"But someone had to take the blame for the battle at Qi Sha Gu; the blame was too great for the Prince to bear alone, so the imperial court found some minor figures to act as scapegoats."

"Initially, everyone in the Prince's army fell ill because they used moldy provisions; in fact, those provisions were not only moldy but also laced with poisoned rice, killing many soldiers."

"It just so happened that an innocent logistics officer suffered misfortune—that is the father of Miss Ruoxi from the Pink Pavilion; he was beheaded."

"And another minor figure: at the outset, the Stone Tiger garrison held the Yan Guan Pass thirty miles north of Qi Sha Gu; when Qi Sha Gu fell and hundreds of thousands of Bei Di troops poured into the pass, a commander of a thousand could only hold out so long, yet Stone General and his soldiers all died in battle."

"Who would have thought..." Zuo Feichen's face flushed red, he eased the sharp pain in his heart, "... who would have thought that the fallen general would be framed by the capital's aristocracy as deserting in the face of the enemy, thus letting the gates of Qi Sha Gu be flung open."

"Stone General's family was utterly exterminated; even his youngest son, only eleven years old, was beheaded and displayed publicly! Where is the justice?"

Zuo Feichen stared fixedly at Xiao Yin: "If the Prince helps clear Stone General's family's name, I, Zuo Feichen, will devote my liver and brains to the Prince and Princess Consort! I will spare nothing!"

He hesitated, then said: "The Map of Mountains and Rivers was ordered by General Stone to be brought back by a soldier before his death; later all the Stone family members died, that soldier was severely wounded, rescued by my father at the Hall of Precious Lingzhi, and before dying he handed the map to my father, dying with resentment."

I only hope my father can help the descendants of the loyal and virtuous seek justice and revenge!

Besides that map, there is also a ledger brought back to Shang Jing together—the ledger of the Du family grain shop—which is now in the hands of the Prince and Princess Consort; I, a commoner, will say no more.

Gu Jiu Ling felt her scalp tingle; how could she feel that her maternal grandfather, Old Master Du, was even more unrestrained, with everything somehow tied to him?

Maternal grandfather suddenly left home, heading to Mang Shan, Qi Sha Gu, and Goose Pass...

Countless lives tragically lost, those innocent little folk who were slaughtered...

And there's Zuo Feichen's father, who is all mysterious, that deceased divine doctor—quite complicated!

She felt waves of headache.