"General, perhaps you're overthinking; the injuries on He Yan and his servant are real," the deputy whispered.
Di Shuangcheng frowned. "Better safe than sorry."
"With the new emperor rising to power in Beiling, internal chaos has subsided, and their focus is now on our Great Wei. There have been continuous probes along the border, and small skirmishes are becoming more frequent. I sense unrest."
"The appearance of these two is too coincidental. Let's investigate their backgrounds. If they are truly unrelated to Beiling, I will personally apologize to them."
But if there’s something off, using so many guards to send them into the Di family suggests there's a greater scheme at play.
He must be responsible for the 180,000 soldiers of the Zhen'an Army.
The deputy's expression tightened, and he quickly nodded in agreement.
Di Tao opened his mouth to speak, but Di Shuangcheng shot him a glare.
"Stay in the residence for the next few days and rest. Don’t wander around. I will handle things with He Yan. The Di family will not neglect a true benefactor. I will assign someone to monitor them and take care of their injuries. Don’t make trouble."
He paused before adding, "By the way, where is your mother?"
Di Tao replied, "There were too many pursuers. Having mother travel with us would have been too obvious, so I had Li Yong escort her separately."
"Has she not returned yet? She should have arrived before us."
Di Shuangcheng's eyes darkened with worry. "Not yet. Where did you part ways?"
Di Tao described the location.
"I’ll send people to search along the route. Beiling has sent many spies into our territory recently. Your return may have leaked due to an insider. You and Fangyun should stay in the residence to recuperate. Don’t let anyone exploit the situation."
Di Tao’s face changed slightly. Though he was worried about He Yan, he had witnessed Beiling's espionage methods before. He whispered, "Understood, Father."
After the Di family left, someone entered to assist He Yan with his ablutions. However, seeing that they were from the Di family, He Yan waved them away in annoyance, leaving only water and a cloth.
Once the door closed, He Yan leaned against the bed to rest. After a moment, he reached under his pillow, retrieving a bottle. He swallowed a pill and walked over to Zhang Bin, who was lying nearby. He placed two pills into Zhang Bin's mouth and gently pressed his jaw to ensure he swallowed.
He Yan checked Zhang Bin's pulse and, seeing his breathing steady, walked over to the window to look outside.
After a while, Zhang Bin’s weak voice called out, "Master…"
He Yan turned. "How are you holding up?"
Zhang Bin forced a faint smile. "I’m fine. Tu Bai held back. It just looks worse than it is."
Zhang Bin had a congenital heart condition, so while the sword strike seemed dangerous, it didn’t harm any vital organs.
After sitting up with difficulty, Zhang Bin pressed his hand to his wound and took a deep breath before softly speaking, "It seems Di Shuangcheng hasn’t noticed our injuries. Geng Ji must have deceived them."
Geng Ji, like Zhang Bin, had accompanied the governor to the northwest. When searching for the Di family's mother and son in Anxi, Geng Ji had entered Fengcheng ahead of them.
Tu Bai and the others had pretended to attack Di Tao, and by now, they must have infiltrated the city.
He Yan said, "Deceiving them doesn't matter. Di Shuangcheng is more cautious than I expected."
He had initially hoped to use the Di family's rescue as a way to infiltrate and get close to Di Shuangcheng in order to investigate the matter of the dragon-patterned pendant, but Di Shuangcheng’s caution had disrupted this plan.
Moreover, even though the Di family had left, they had left people behind to monitor them.
Zhang Bin hadn’t anticipated this complication. "Master, what should we do now?"
They couldn’t let their efforts go to waste.
He Yan folded his arms, observing the guards outside through the window.
The courtyard had been arranged by Di Shuangcheng, away from the busy market, and with guards stationed outside. While it would be possible to avoid their surveillance and leave, there was no need to do so. Gaining Di Shuangcheng’s trust was crucial for their next step.
He Yan lightly tapped his fingers on his arm, deep in thought. Di Tao was untouchable for now. As for Di Shuangcheng, his caution was unexpected. Even if he suspected their connection to Beiling, offering him some benefits should have been enough to dismiss them. But instead, they were being "detained" and watched.
Such caution—could something be wrong with Luoyan Pass or Beiling?
The next evening, disguised as a doctor, Geng Ji arrived to tend to He Yan and Zhang Bin’s wounds under the watchful eyes of Di family guards. He Yan learned the reasoning behind Di Shuangcheng’s actions from Geng Ji.
"The new emperor of Beiling has ascended the throne?" He Yan frowned deeply.
Geng Ji nodded. "I only learned of it after arriving in Fengcheng. Beiling had been in turmoil for a while, with the princes fighting each other for power, leaving little time to focus on Great Wei. The area around Luoyan Pass and Fengcheng remained relatively peaceful, but recently, Beiling has been carrying out small-scale incursions along the border, and the Zhen'an Army has clashed with them several times."
"Not long ago, a few Beiling spies were caught at Luoyan Pass. It is said that they nearly wiped out a 2,000-man vanguard unit of the Zhen'an Army, and a village was massacred by Beiling forces. After Di Shuangcheng found the culprits, he had them executed in front of the army."
The area around Fengcheng and Luoyan Pass had been under heavy surveillance.
He Yan paused, understanding the situation. No wonder...
Di Shuangcheng must have been worried that He Yan’s rescue of Di Tao was a trap set by Beiling, and he had come to view He Yan as one of Beiling’s spies infiltrating the Zhen'an Army.
"How unlucky, Beiling is causing trouble now," Zhang Bin said weakly, having been struck by a sword.
He Yan frowned deeply. Gaining Di Shuangcheng's trust in this situation wouldn’t be easy, unless they could prove they were not connected to Beiling.
He ran his fingers thoughtfully and then spoke, "Geng Ji, send a message. Have some unfamiliar people come to see me. Tell them to act nervous and be cautious around the Di family. Then lead them to Zhangxing."
Geng Ji was surprised. "Master, you intend to use the He family identity to approach Di Shuangcheng?"
The He family’s ancestral home was Zhangxing.
He Yan nodded. "This Di Shuangcheng is different from what I discovered before. Since he is now suspicious, let’s lead him to investigate the He family. The identity of the orphan of the He family will be enough to test his attitude toward the events from years ago."
Geng Ji hesitated. "Won’t this be too risky?"
He Yan calmly replied, "I came to the northwest knowing it was risky. Unless I have a year or more to slowly approach Di Shuangcheng and win his trust, there will always be risks no matter what we do."
He couldn’t afford to stay in the northwest for too long. Problems could arise back in the capital, and the identity of "He Yan" couldn’t be exposed in Fengcheng or Luoyan Pass.
Waiting for Di Shuangcheng to clear his doubts and prove their lack of connection to Beiling would waste time they didn’t have.
"Do as I say. When those people arrive, make sure they avoid the Di family, but let Di Shuangcheng know."
Geng Ji understood. "Understood. I will arrange it immediately."
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