Chapter 796: Taking Leave of the Palace and Returning to the West Prefecture

Love Shenjing, Assembly Hall.

After Noyan Noyan Taiji finished writing the transcript, he discussed and finalized a few points of doubt with Jia Cong, then recopied it once more.

He wrote an additional appendix letter, browsed through both documents from start to finish, then folded them carefully, placed them into a specially made soft cowhide bag, and sealed the opening with wax and a stamp.

He then had the maid Xiao Xia call for Hu Hu Ergan, saying: "You are to select capable men to deliver this secret letter to Father Khan with all speed, and bring back a reply as quickly as possible.

This matter is of the utmost urgency and concerns the future and safety of the Ordos Tribe; not a single mistake can be made!"

Watching Hu Hu Ergan receive the order and leave the main hall, Noyan Noyan Taiji stretched his body, walked up to Jia Cong, and bowed solemnly with a respectful expression.

He said: "Brother Cong, for speaking to the Son of Heaven on behalf of the Ordos Tribe, the agreement between both sides has been reached, and the thousands of tribespeople in the Hetao region will benefit from this.

Brother Cong's actions are of immeasurable merit; the Ordos Tribe will surely keep this in mind, and Noyan will also remember this friendship and will certainly seek to repay it in the future."

Jia Cong laughed: "Noyan, you overstate it. Currently, the Great Zhou and the Mongols are in a standoff; once war breaks out, national strength will be exhausted and the people will suffer. Regardless of victory or defeat, it is a bleak outcome.

You and I have hit it off as friends, riding and hunting together, drinking and laughing; how joyful that is. For the sake of today's friendship, neither of us wishes to see our armies face each other in the future.

Once this matter is accomplished, the Great Zhou and the Ordos Tribe can live as good neighbors, recuperate, and each gain their own benefits, benefiting the thousands of commoners in the northern lands. Why not do it? I dare not speak of merit."

Noyan Noyan Taiji sat down, helped Jia Cong fill his teacup, and said: "A hundred years ago, the Great Zhou's founding ancestor had sharp military prowess. After a ten-year war, he swept across the Central Plains, and the Mongols were forced to retreat to the great desert.

The victory or defeat in that was not just due to the Great Zhou's founding ancestor's military strength, but more so because the hearts of the hundreds of millions of Han people in the Central Plains leaned toward him. This was the mandate of Heaven.

The majesty of a king and the sharpness of blades can conquer for a time, but cannot last forever. The Golden Family has already declined; from where they came, they shall return. The grasslands are their true home.

The great trend of the world cannot be defied; like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, one will surely fail in the end.

It is just that people are always blinded by ambition, always feeling they have gained too little. There are not many who understand such truths..."

Assembly Hall, Tuman Tribe Station.

At the entrance of the Ordos Tribe station, guards with swords stood watch, the security was tight, and people were patrolling and keeping watch all around the station.

This suddenly emerging, unusual atmosphere, even though it happened silently, still attracted the attention of those with ulterior motives.

In the main hall of the Tuman Tribe station, Ale Tang was browsing through a map. This was a map of the Nine Passes of the northern lands, detailing each town of the Great Zhou's Nine Passes.

In the hinterland behind the Datong and Qiu Xuanfu towns, several place names had been marked, and they were connected to each other by lines.

The lines pointed north directly toward a certain place in the Nine Passes, while the southeastern line vaguely pointed toward the Love Shenjing...

Just as he was fully focused on deducing from the map, a trusted attendant walked into the room.

He said: "Lord Ale Tang, according to your instructions, I have been closely monitoring the movements of the Ordos Tribe.

Noyan Noyan Taiji and the newly appointed peace negotiation secretary, Jia Cong, have been in close contact. He often invites Jia Cong to the station to drink, and once even invited him to hunt outside the city.

This afternoon, Jia Cong entered the Assembly Hall and went directly to Noyan Noyan Taiji's residence.

Not long after, the Ordos Tribe station became heavily guarded. Although they look calm, it is truly suspicious."

Ale Tang frowned upon hearing this, his eyes flickering as he said: "This Jia Cong is not just a peace negotiation secretary; he is also the youngest noble in the Great Zhou.

This person is also a natural-born famous general; in his teens, he could lead an army to wipe out the Jurchens. He is a famous rising star of the Great Zhou and cannot be underestimated.

This Noyan has quite an eye; he doesn't choose the important ministers of the Great Zhou court, but instead takes a fancy to such a person to associate with. It seems he has ulterior motives."

The trusted attendant said: "My Lord, the Ordos Tribe's Khan Khan Jirang is not entirely submissive to our Tuman Tribe.

This time, sending Noyan Noyan Taiji to join the delegation, I worry they have ulterior motives. His behavior of befriending Great Zhou officials is strange, and we must be on guard."

Ale Tang gave a cold laugh: "The grasslands follow the rule that the strong are respected. Although the Ordos Tribe is stronger than the Yongxielun Tribe, it is far weaker than the Tuman Tribe.

The Han people have a saying: 'One force overcomes ten techniques.' Before powerful combat strength, some dark methods are not worth mentioning.

Now that the Great Khan has gathered troops from all tribes for the alliance, the Ordos Tribe's twenty thousand elite troops have been swept into the Great Khan's fifty thousand right-wing army and are already unable to act on their own.

Khan Khan Jirang was once a hero of the grasslands, but he is already old. Originally, his two sons were both capable, but they both had short-lived fates.

The Ordos Tribe lacks successors. Even if Khan Khan Jirang's ambition remains, he is definitely no match for the Great Khan.

Although Noyan has some wisdom, he is young after all and lacks experience; he cannot stir up any great waves.

You just keep a close eye on his movements daily. I told you to pay attention to news from the north; has Sun Sun Dali made any moves?"

The attendant said: "I have already sent a message to the camp outside the northern city suburbs. They send out two scout teams every day to patrol within sixty miles to the north.

As soon as there are fast horses delivering messages from the south, they will immediately discover them and rush into the city to report to you, My Lord."

Ale Tang said in a deep voice: "This is the important matter. As long as this is accomplished, under the great trend, the Ordos Tribe's little tricks are not worth mentioning..."

Count's Mansion, South Slope Small Courtyard.

In Sister Miao Yu's room, it was neat and simple, with an ebony cloud bed and elegant plain curtains.

On the dressing table was an exquisite mercury mirror, and in the mirror box was a bottle of jasmine hair oil and a green jade comb; these were the only grooming items Sister Miao Yu had.

Beside the dressing mirror were several rouge and powder boxes, exquisite and unique in shape; these were the only feminine items in the room, used by Zhi Shao for her daily life.

Zhi Shao was helping Sister Miao Yu pack her clothes and luggage because her master and senior sister were about to move back to the Mouni Nunnery.

She saw a set of clothes and trousers placed by Sister Miao Yu's pillow, folded very neatly.

It was the small garment she had made for the Third Young Master. She had made half of it that day, but because she had other needlework on hand, she had asked her senior sister to help finish the other half.

She took the small garment and stroked the exquisite, dense stitches with her slender fingers, a hint of a smile appearing on her pretty face.

At this moment, Sister Miao Yu had finished her lessons in the main hall and had just stepped into the room. Seeing Zhi Shao fiddling with the small garment, she couldn't help but blush.

Zhi Shao looked up and saw her return, laughing: "Senior Sister, you've finished your lessons. I'm just helping you pack your things."

Sister Miao Yu glanced at the clothes in her hand, an indescribable feeling welling up in her heart. In fact, that set of small clothes didn't take much effort.

With Sister Miao Yu's needlework skills, she could have finished it very quickly, but she kept stopping and starting, dragging it out for a long time.

Every time she picked up the needle and thread, her thoughts would become lost in it, willing to sink in, unwilling to pull herself out; no matter how many mantras she chanted before the Buddha, she could not transcend it by even half a fraction.

This was the only intimate connection between her and Jia Cong, and subconsciously, she didn't want it to end so quickly.

It was just that she was about to leave the Count's Mansion, and these clothes had to be finished after all...

She said: "Because I was never free, this set of clothes for Jia Yuzhang was never finished.

I had some time early this morning, so I finished the last few stitches and just left it by the pillow, forgetting to put it away."

Her words contained a hint of justification, and even she herself didn't know if she was explaining to her junior sister or trying to coax and convince herself.

Zhi Shao didn't seem to notice anything unusual, laughing: "Senior Sister's needlework is truly good, almost catching up to Qingwen's skills."

Sister Miao Yu saw that Zhi Shao didn't notice anything, and felt a sense of relief in her heart, but also a hint of stinging pain and guilt.

She changed the subject and said: "This is nothing. My mother was a Su Zhou person, and I grew up in Su Zhou since I was a child.

Su Zhou embroidery is famous throughout the Jiangnan region, and every household in the city can embroider.

My mother's clan even produced a master of embroidery named Hui Niang, who, by relation, was my great-aunt.

Although she died young at eighteen, her embroidery skills were praised by everyone, and the exquisite embroidery pieces she left behind are known as 'Hui Embroidery' and are now worth thousands of gold.

My mother had a family tradition of learning since she was young and also had outstanding embroidery skills, but I was born with a thin fate and had no luck to learn my mother's skills.

My needlework was learned from an old family servant who used to be my mother's maid and learned the skills from her, but she also passed away five years ago."

Zhi Shao rarely heard Sister Miao Yu talk about her family affairs, and suddenly hearing her talk about her mother's clan's past, she listened with great interest.

Sister Miao Yu had been confused in her thoughts just now, loosening her guard, and spoke about her family affairs. Regaining her senses slightly, she stopped talking.

She mocked herself, saying: "It's all because you provoked me. Why talk about these old stories? It's boring to listen to.

Just treat it as idle chatter to pass the time. Don't mention it to outsiders; it's all irrelevant anyway."

Zhi Shao laughed: "I understand what Senior Sister means, but Senior Sister has a family tradition, it's a pity not to use such good skills. Why not help me next time?"

Sister Miao Yu laughed: "I won't be coaxed by you this time. It was just a coincidence that I happened to do it this once, so let it be in the past."

Her pretty face flushed slightly, and she said: "Junior Sister, just give the clothes to Jia Yuzhang. Don't say it was made by me; just say it was your own work." ===== CHAPTER 797 =====