Surviving in the General's Mansion - Chapter 14: The Meditation Room

Chapter 14: The Meditation Room

Sobbing, Little Wude threw himself at the Droop-Eared Monk, who had come to fetch him.

“Master! Waaaah…”

The Droop-Eared Monk’s eyes were red. He gently stroked the little monk’s head.

“Amitabha. Many thanks to you two benefactors for looking after my young disciple.”

Cang Chuli gave a slight nod.

Xia Heng also nodded to the senior monk.

Chuqing and Qiulin stood beside Cang Chuli. By the light of the torches, Xia Heng noticed bloodstains on the hems of both their skirts.

“General! General! Are you all right?! You scared Die’er to death!”

A fluttering little butterfly arrived on the scene.

“Those men in black were terrifying! They were cutting down anyone they saw! General, Die’er was so scared.”

Zhao Die sobbed as she rushed toward Cang Chuli, only to be blocked halfway by a sturdy arm.

Deputy General Zhang’s face was dark.

“The General is injured. This subordinate will go summon a physician. Ladies, please return and rest for now.”

That was what he said aloud. In his heart, however, he was thinking:

For crying out loud, please stop making trouble. Can’t you see our general is still hurt?

Only after the personal guards repeatedly assured everyone that the attackers had been completely dealt with did the crowd, still shaken, finally disperse.

Xia Heng returned to her room with the other young women to rest.

Zhao Die was still casting lingering, reluctant looks at Cang Chuli, as if she had more to say.

Zhao Siyan gave her a gentle tug. Qiulin said nothing and turned to leave.

“Wait.”

All the girls turned around. Zhao Die’s eyes lit up again, but when she looked back, she realized Cang Chuli had called Xia Heng.

“The wrist crossbow.”

Xia Heng tilted her head.

“Huh?”

“The wrist crossbow. Everything in that room is stolen goods. Or are you saying that wrist crossbow didn’t come from that room?”

Cang Chuli radiated danger from head to toe. The corners of his mouth curved in a smile that was not quite a smile, and his narrowed eyes fixed on Xia Heng.

Cang Chuli had been suspicious to begin with. When he entered that hidden chamber, he had observed the surroundings, and there should not have been any weapons there.

But this person did not look like she could have hidden something like that on her either.

Damn it!

Xia Heng cursed inwardly, but on the surface, she had no choice but to put on a look of sudden realization.

“Oh, right, right. I forgot. I was too nervous. I’ll give it to you now.”

As she spoke in a fearful, deferential tone, she handed over with both hands the counterattack weapon that had cost her thirty-five points and emptied out her entire fortune.

After taking the wrist crossbow, Cang Chuli said, “All right. You may go.”

Xia Heng forcibly suppressed the urge to claw him across the face and respectfully took her leave.

That wrist crossbow was made of light steel. It was compact, lightweight, and extremely lethal.

It had come with eight bolts. When she thought of the three still stuck in those bandits’ bodies, which she hadn’t even had time to pull out…

Her heart hurt even more.

She had been with Cang Chuli throughout the earlier part in the underground passage, so she hadn’t dared to say outright that it was her weapon. She couldn’t even explain where it came from…

This was truly losing the bride and the army both.

Sitting in her room, Xia Heng was grieving over her losses when she heard her stomach growl.

Only then did she remember that she had originally woken up hungry and gone out just to see if there was any food…

Qiulin, who shared the room with her, had already begun washing up. Xia Heng suddenly remembered she still had supplies.

She pulled out the paper-wrapped bundle that had been flattened against her chest.

Looking pitifully aggrieved, she took a bite.

Mm~ It really had to be Chef Xiang! The steamed bun had been sitting for a whole day and had been squashed flat, but aside from being cold, it was still delicious!

“Grrr, grrr~”

Xia Heng was chewing with gusto when she heard another stomach growl.

She looked up and saw Qiulin’s reddened ears. Generously, she broke off half the steamed bun and gave it to her.

They were roommates, more or less. How could she eat while letting someone else watch?

“You didn’t have dinner either?”

Qiulin thanked Xia Heng and accepted the half of the cold steamed bun.

“It was originally prepared, but the General was delayed by some matters. Then later, a group of people suddenly started fighting with the General’s Mansion’s personal soldiers. It only just ended, and no one has had time to eat yet.”

“Oh! As expected, I was foresighted! From now on, you really have to keep some food on you. Let me tell you…”

Qiulin listened to Xia Heng’s life experience lecture while eating the half steamed bun with some tea.

Both of them ended up only half full, but at least their stomachs were no longer painfully empty.

After Xia Heng finished washing up and lay down, Qiulin put out the lamp and also got into bed.

Lying there and mentally replaying her perilous day, Xia Heng suddenly shot upright in bed as if jolted back from death’s door.

Her dagger! Her dagger was still with Cang Chuli too! That bastard had made no move to return it to her at all!

“What’s wrong?”

Qiulin turned onto her side and asked softly.

“Nothing, nothing. I just suddenly remembered something. Let’s sleep first. I’ll deal with it tomorrow.”

Xia Heng apologized awkwardly for disturbing Qiulin’s sleep.

Inside, however, she was bawling her eyes out. Such a loss! She had lost so much!

At that moment, Cang Chuli had only just finished a simple dressing of his wound.

“You’re injured again?”

Inside the meditation room, Dongfang Wei looked at Cang Chuli’s rather unnatural posture and spoke.

“A minor wound. Compared to that, come look at this first.”
As Cang Chuli spoke, he set the dagger and arm-mounted crossbow in his hands down on the table.

Dongfang Wei picked them up and flicked them lightly. His eyes immediately lit up, though his mouth remained as unforgiving as ever.

“Hah. You’re the only person who’d dare bring weapons when meeting Us.”

Cang Chuli calmly reminded him, “This is my room.”

Dongfang Wei ignored him and simply took the weapons in hand for a closer look.

“This is made of refined iron. Why is it so light?”

Dongfang Wei grew much more serious.

“Where was it forged? Judging by the design, it doesn’t seem to be from Huaxia.”

“I don’t know. There was a secret chamber below, and a ledger as well, but it didn’t say where they were being sent.

“Still, if we search carefully, we should be able to get close enough to the truth.”

“Xia Yun’s daughter? Interesting. This dagger is hers?”

Dongfang Wei held the dagger and shaved it across the table. A corner was sliced clean off.

“The materials of the two weapons are similar in some respects. We’ll need to investigate the specifics.”

Cang Chuli thought of how Xia Heng had somehow produced that arm-mounted crossbow at the very end and shot those burly men dead on the spot. He rubbed the corner of his eye.

“There were no other weapons in the secret chamber. If they’re connected, then these items probably haven’t been mass-produced. They may be the work of some master craftsman.”

“We acted in time this round. They hadn’t had the chance to transfer the goods yet. Lin Jian’s private soldiers were discovered going in and out of Mount Putuo frequently.

“My men started keeping an eye on them.

“But that secret chamber really was well hidden. If not for the rescue, we might not have found it so quickly.”

Dongfang Wei pondered for a moment.

“Keep watching for now. Find out where she got these weapons from. The construction of this arm-mounted crossbow is quite ingenious. Take it for now and have someone study it. See if it can be replicated.”

“Yes.”

“Speaking of which, Qiulin should be at your place right now, shouldn’t she?”

“Yes.”

“And this Xia Heng is also at your place. Are there anyone else in your back courtyard now? It’s quite lively over there.”

Dongfang Wei leaned back in his chair and teased him.

Cang Chuli looked at Dongfang Wei. “Not as lively as the Emperor’s.”

“Tch!”

Dongfang Wei took a sip of the temple’s clear tea.

“Hmph. The Northern Frontier is making petty moves again. Why can’t they just settle down for once?”

Cang Chuli looked at him seriously.

“The head of their Second Prince you sent over has arrived?”

“Ha. It should have.”

“They massacred my Hancheng and burned my grain stores. How could one head possibly be enough?”

Dongfang Wei toyed with the teacup, his expression dark and unreadable.

“They have coveted my Huaxia for fifteen years. I want their entire nation to pay for it…

“The newest batch of provisions will arrive in three months.”

“Mm. I’ll set off with the provisions. The Zhenbei Army will escort them personally.”

Cang Chuli paused.

“What about the Left Prime Minister?”

Dongfang Wei leaned against the back of his chair.

“He’s been awfully quiet lately. What do you think? Does this secret chamber have anything to do with him?”

Dongfang Wei and Cang Chuli looked at each other and smiled.

==========

This secret chamber really did not have much to do with Cheng Zhesong!

He could hardly believe that Wang Jian, who was usually so meek and submissive in front of him, had actually dared to hide so much gold.

“You’ve done splendidly!”

Cheng Zhesong kicked Wang Jian.

“I spent all my days hunting geese, only to have my eyes pecked out by one today.

“I told you to hold back a batch of weapons. Even if he didn’t die this time, he would have been powerless.

“But you actually replaced everything with inferior goods, handed the evidence right to him, and then hid the money at Putuo Temple?”

“Prime Minister! Prime Minister! I didn’t mean to! I truly didn’t mean to!”

Wang Jian was kicked sideways onto the floor and kept defending himself.

“It was General Lin. General Lin told me to do it!”

“I was misled by that Lin Feng! Prime Minister! He said he had a way to make Cang Chuli die in the Northern Frontier!

“Even if he didn’t die right away, he would keep arranging assassinations and guarantee that Cang Chuli would never enter the capital alive!

“I didn’t know he would be this useless! Prime Minister!”

Wang Jian continued to quibble, not daring to mention that he had also sent an assassin to Cang Chuli’s estate.

The assassination attempt had failed on the very first day, and Cang Chuli had even traced it back to him. If not for Wang Jian acting quickly enough and leaving no real evidence behind,

he would probably have been dealt with long ago.

“Prime Minister, that batch of gold has already been seized by Cang Chuli and his men.

“I only wanted to save a little more. The new shadow guards are still being trained by Lin Feng.

“When he asked me for money, I didn’t dare refuse! Prime Minister! I did it all for you. All for you!”

Wang Jian wept and crawled as he spoke, unable to figure out how they had known there was a secret chamber underground, or how they had moved so quickly.

It was all Lin Feng’s fault for being so incompetent.

After a long silence, Cheng Zhesong slowly helped Wang Jian up.

“There is only one solution now. Don’t worry. I would never abandon you.”

Wang Jian was overwhelmed with gratitude and cupped his hands.

“Rest assured, Prime Minister! There won’t be a next time!”

Cheng Zhesong patted him on the shoulder, then slowly lowered his hand and walked out of the secret room.

“Wait here for a while.”

Wang Jian stood up on trembling limbs. He had only just sat down in a chair

when he looked up in terror and saw a masked man in black walk in, closing the door behind him…