Chapter 401: Chapter 305: Are You Calling Me Mommy?
In the now empty room, Fu Zhen waited for Tie Ying to finish drinking the medicine and asked him, "I have some more questions."
Tie Ying scrutinized her: "Go ahead."
"Why is Xu Yin’s surname ’Xu’?"
Tie Ying suddenly frowned: "That, I don’t know either. I found Tanzhou solely because he stood out too much, and investigating from his ancestral origin was undoubtedly the easiest way to uncover flaws."
Fu Zhen said, "What people are in the Prince Yi Mansion now? In other words, who is around Xu Yin at present that you’ve figured out?"
Tie Ying shook his head: "Our master also didn’t know about him. It was because two successive groups investigating the Lian Family raised suspicion that we learned from those whom the Monarch had originally left with our master that Duan Mian possibly still had a living son. Currently, we only know that Xu Yin has under his command most of the Hidden Guard left by the Prince Yi Mansion who have undergone rigorous training. According to their proper formation numbers, Duan Mian originally had forty-eight Hidden Guards by his side. But King Yi hid him as an heir, so this number must be at least doubled."
"That is to say, there should have originally been at least over a hundred Hidden Guards."
"Exactly." Tie Ying nodded, "Those who captured me in Tanzhou were these Hidden Guards. Aside from the Hidden Guards, I estimate that he should have hidden some troops as well. The private soldiers of Prince Yi Mansion numbered 20,000 at the time. Many were lost, and it’s natural that Duan Mian wouldn’t have been left with so many, but probably around a thousand. But I don’t know where this troop is hidden or who is in charge of them."
Without a doubt, from the moment of the assassination of Liang Ning, the highly skilled guards who appeared around Xu Yin were the remaining Hidden Guards of Prince Yi Mansion. According to the number Tie Ying mentioned, despite some losses, such as the night Princess Rong died, a considerable group still remains.
However, there were not as many as over a hundred people appearing at the Xu Mansion.
This suggests that Tie Ying’s speculation is reasonable. From being saved by Liang Ning in the tenth year of Shengyuan, Xu Yin has been in hiding in Great Zhou for twelve years. Even if he couldn’t set up forces before passing the official exams, there have been six years afterward to plan in secret, so it’s not surprising he has arrangements elsewhere, such as his ancestral home in Tanzhou.
Fu Zhen glanced at Tie Ying, who was already moved to the bed. Under Lu Chongyang’s treatment, his thin and emaciated upper body was exposed, filled with a mix of old and new scars, making it imaginable how much he had suffered at the hands of Zhou Yi and his men. It was remarkable enough that he survived the ordeal of being stowed beneath the deck of the ship without seeing daylight.
The arrangements at Xu Yin’s ancestral home in Tanzhou, which Jiang Lin had once mentioned seemed mysterious, now all made sense.
It was obvious that when Zhou Yi suddenly appeared in the northwest years ago and sent Xu Yin back to Liang Ning, they were reuniting after parting ways.
Even if things weren’t entirely as she imagined, they must be close:
In the tenth year of Shengyuan, the Monarch of Dayue dispatched people to lure Duan Mian, who was liaising with the remnants of Prince Yi Mansion beyond the borders in the northwest, into the open. They captured and killed Duan Mian, his wife, and their followers. For some reason, Xu Yin escaped by luck, later hiding and fleeing, perhaps separated from his companions, and finally fainted in a city at the battlefront, where he was rescued by Liang Ning, who was following her brothers to review the battle situation.
Xu Yin, having no means or possessions, could only stay temporarily in the Zhou Army camp after being saved.
Soon after, Zhou Yi found him, and Zhou Yi was undoubtedly one of Xu Yin’s lost attendants. Coincidentally, Xu Yin went to town to buy ink and brushes that day. It wasn’t likely that they had pre-arranged contact; the Zhou Army’s camp was tightly guarded. If outsiders could easily send messages in and deliver them precisely to Xu Yin without being discovered, such military discipline could never have ultimately defeated Dayue.
In conclusion, that day Xu Yin met with Zhou Yi in town; they discussed matters. Originally, Xu Yin could have left with Zhou Yi directly, but they perhaps felt it was safer to stay in the Zhou Army camp, so Zhou Yi sent him back cautiously. Yet, they didn’t expect that Zhou Yi’s seemingly inadvertent appearance led to Fu Zhen directly heading to Tanzhou to expose their secrets, and consequently intercepting Tie Ying.
Since that meeting, Xu Yin has concealed himself securely under the protection of the Zhou Army and the Liang Family.
Even if the people of Dayue suspected that Duan Mian had a living child, they would never have imagined that he was staying in the Zhou Army camp.
Unexpectedly, in the fifteenth year of Shengyuan, Liang Qin died in battle, and Liang Ning had to escort his coffin back to the capital city, with Xu Yin accompanying them there.