Chapter 15 Self-disruption
Lord Jia and Lord Qian were both second-rank officials of the dynasty. Lord Jia stood up for Tianji Pavilion, so Lord Qian naturally got nothing. Lord Jia's timely appearance brought the farce of Tianji Pavilion to a quiet end. Bai Jin led the Imperial Guard Battalion back in defeat, and failed to get any "explanation" from Zhao Yuan as Lord Qian said, nor was he able to take anyone away from Tianji Pavilion.

After the storm subsided, everyone in the West Mansion left angrily, and after watching the people from the West Mansion leave, the confidence on Lord Jia's face slowly faded, replaced by a deep worry. No matter how Zhao Yuan asked, Lord Jia always avoided the question. Zhao Yuan invited him to have tea in the mansion, but Lord Jia hurriedly said goodbye with an anxious look on his face.

After a while, the noisy front of Tianji Pavilion became deserted. Although the West Palace's expedition did not harm Tianji Pavilion and was just a farce without any danger, Lord Qian's furious threats and Lord Jia's hesitation made Zhao Yuan feel very uneasy, as if a huge stone was hanging in his heart, unable to fall to the ground for a long time.

Although Lord Jia tried to comfort Zhao Yuan with kind words before leaving, telling him not to take the matter to heart, Zhao Yuan's intuition after years of experience in the court told him that the matter must not be that simple.

There was no talk for a day. The West Palace did not send anyone to cause trouble to the Tianji Pavilion, and the East Palace did not send anyone to explain anything to the Tianji Pavilion. It was this calmness that made Zhao Yuan even more uneasy. He estimated that although the Tianji Pavilion was calm today, the adults of the East and West Palaces must have been arguing fiercely in the imperial court.

In one day, Zhao Yuan summoned Liu Xunyi, Qiu Han and Qin Wei seven or eight times in a row, repeatedly asking about what happened in Tianxing Tower and the dilapidated temple on the outskirts of the city last night. Liu Xunyi and the other two reported all the details of last night to Zhao Yuan, wishing they could even remember how many steps they took and how many times they blinked. But even so, Zhao Yuan was still not satisfied, and continued to ask about what happened last night over and over again.

In the evening, someone from the East Palace suddenly came to invite Zhao Yuan to go to the Prime Minister's Mansion alone for a talk. Zhao Yuan knew that the matter was of great importance and that what was coming would come sooner or later, so he did not delay at all and left in a hurry before finishing his dinner.

Zhao Yuan's departure made Liu Xunyi and the others nervous. Qin Wei looked worried, thinking that he had caused a disaster and would be beheaded soon, so he couldn't even eat a few bites of dinner. Compared with Qin Wei's chattering and Qiu Han's silence, Liu Xunyi was secretly worried about Luo Ningyu and Lin Fangda. After all, Liu Xunyi had never heard from them since they parted at the ruined temple, and he didn't know if they had left Lin'an smoothly.

Now that the two governments of the East and the West are at odds, Luo Ningyu and Lin Fangda must have a close relationship with the imperial court. Maybe the emperor has already personally ordered their arrest. In this case, wouldn't their situation be a hundred times more dangerous than last night?
In the pavilion of Tianji Pavilion, Liu Xunyi felt more and more uneasy. He looked up at the dim night, then at Qin Wei and Qiu Han who were sitting opposite him. He couldn't help but sigh and said, "Last night, the Marquis ordered us to protect Miss Luo and Brother Lin, but he didn't want to anger the West Mansion. With the strength of the West Mansion, if they take advantage of our unpreparedness and take action, Brother Lin and Miss Luo will definitely be in danger."

Qin Wei couldn't help but pout upon hearing this, and said pessimistically: "Brother Liu, we can't even protect ourselves now, why are you still thinking about those two outsiders? We have been badly harmed by them this time. Now I think it's better for them to be caught by the people of the West Palace. Maybe the adults of the West Palace will be happy and stop pursuing our Tianji Pavilion, and we can save our lives."

Liu Xunyi shook his head and said, "The Marquis has always been cautious in what he does. He would never ask us to protect Miss Luo and Brother Lin without a reason. The Marquis must have done this under the secret order of Lord Dongfu. I guess the conflict last night was probably caused by the disagreement between the East and West Palaces."

Qin Wei sighed and said, "The more this happens, the more trouble we will have. Both the East and West Palaces are pillars of the Song Dynasty. In comparison, our Tianji Pavilion is really insignificant. Maybe the masters of the East Palace will hand us over to the West Palace for the sake of peace."

Hearing this, Qiu Han's eyes flashed with determination, and he shook his head and said, "The Marquis will never agree to do this."

"What if the Marquis can't protect himself?" Qin Wei muttered unwisely.

"What did you say?" Qiu Han's eyes flashed coldly, frightening Qin Wei so much that he quickly swallowed back the words that were about to come out of his mouth, and at the same time he cast a questioning look at Liu Xunyi. Seeing this, Liu Xunyi quickly interrupted and said, "No matter what, we will stand together with the Marquis. If the masters of the East Palace do not want to offend the West Palace and hand over the Tianji Pavilion, that is our fate, there is no need to complain."

Qiu Han said expressionlessly: "If the East Palace really wanted to give up Tianji Pavilion, then Lord Jia would not have come to rescue us this morning."

"Brother Qiu is right!" Liu Xunyi responded without denying it.

Qin Wei disagreed and muttered to himself, "Maybe the emperor wants to keep things quiet. Compared to the West Palace, which holds great military power, the emperor might force the East Palace to give in a little and make us the scapegoat in the dispute between the two palaces..."

"If the king wants his subjects to die, they have to die. Why do you have to say so much?" Qiu Han said coldly, "A real man is afraid of death?"

Qin Wei was very unhappy when he heard this, but before he could open his mouth to refute, Liu Xunyi had already sat between the two of them and said with a smile: "Now that the Marquis has gone to the East Palace, nothing is known yet. Why should the three of us belittle ourselves here? Maybe the matter has been resolved now, and the East and West Palaces have each taken a step back and will not pursue it anymore."

Qin Wei said with a sad face, "If the Prime Minister's problem has been solved, why would you invite the Marquis to your house to have a talk at night? What can't be discussed until tomorrow? Why do you have to be so anxious in the middle of the night?"

"Oh!"

Before Qin Wei finished speaking, Qiu Han had already slammed the table with anger in his eyes and shouted angrily: "In the end, you are just afraid of death!"

"Don't talk so righteously. Aren't you afraid of death?" Qin Wei was also enraged. He stood up suddenly and glared at Qiu Han without avoiding. He was no longer the cowardly child he used to be. Now he and Qiu Han were equal in the Tianji Pavilion. Therefore, he was less afraid of Qiu Han in his heart. He refuted, "Even if I'm not afraid of death, I'm not willing to die in such an unclear way! We are just following orders. What's wrong with that?"

Seeing that the two were at loggerheads, Liu Xunyi hurriedly tried to smooth things over, saying, "No one is accusing us of doing anything wrong now, so why are you bothering yourself, Brother Qin?"

"The soldiers from the West Palace had already arrived at the gate this morning. If Lord Jia hadn't arrived in time, we would have been captured by Bai Jin's men." Qin Wei said angrily, "Isn't this enough to prove that we were wrong?"

Qiu Han sneered, "You should admit your mistakes when the West Mansion says we are wrong. Are you from the East Mansion or the West Mansion? Do you still have the East Mansion and Tianji Pavilion in your eyes? Even if Lord Jia wasn't here today, the Marquis would definitely not let the soldiers of the West Mansion randomly arrest people in Tianji Pavilion..." "Ridiculous." Qin Wei counterattacked with disdain, "Did Young Master Qiu forget who was almost kidnapped by Bai Jin's men this morning?"

"I volunteered!" Qiu Han retorted, "It's better for me to die alone than for everyone to die together!"

Qin Wei sneered and said, "You have such deep feelings for Tianji Pavilion, but the Marquis did not stand up to speak for you. Isn't this enough to explain everything?"

Qiu Han's face was as gloomy as water. He drew the sword in his hand out of its sheath with a "swoosh" sound, pointed the tip of the sword directly at Qin Wei, and said in a cold voice: "What do you mean by that? How dare you be unfaithful to the Marquis?"

Qin Wei seemed to realize that he had just spoken out of turn, and hurriedly evaded the question, "What I meant is... in that situation, even if the Marquis wanted to save us, he couldn't. He was willing but unable. I don't doubt the Marquis's love for us..."

Qiu Han snorted angrily, "What nonsense! In today's world, even the emperor can't do whatever he wants, let alone the Marquis?"

"I didn't say that the Marquis can do whatever he wants..." Qin Weisheng was afraid that he would say something wrong again, so his tone was much softer than before.

Seeing this, Liu Xunyi quickly reached out and pressed down Qiu Han's sword, and chuckled, "Brother Qin has always been outspoken, Brother Qiu, please don't take him seriously. He and I were both favored by the Marquis since childhood, which is why he grew up. How could he be disloyal to the Marquis? Qin Wei is just stubborn and thinks he was acting according to the orders of the East Palace, but in the end he was held accountable, so he is a little confused."

Qiu Han stared at Qin Wei coldly, slowly put away his sword, and said to Liu Xunyi without looking away: "Since we are the young guards of Tianji Pavilion, we must be ready to sacrifice everything for the Marquis at any time, including our own lives. No matter what the outcome of this matter is, we should follow the Marquis's arrangements. Even if he wants us to die, we should never say no."

"Of course, we have kept this in mind since the day we entered Tianji Pavilion." Liu Xunyi nodded, and then changed the subject, "But now the Marquis has not returned from the East Palace yet, and we don't know what the Prime Minister said to the Marquis, and we don't even know if what they discussed was what happened last night. Why should we panic and make random guesses? Maybe what the Marquis and the Prime Minister discussed tonight was completely unrelated. In that case, wouldn't it be a joke for us to be so suspicious?"

"That's right, everything will be revealed when the Marquis comes back." Qin Wei nodded in agreement, and then under Liu Xunyi's urging gaze, he took the initiative to admit his mistake to Qiu Han, "I'm not talking about life or death, and Brother Qiu, please don't mind my momentary slip of the tongue just now. I just don't want to let the West Mansion succeed in vain. Everyone has seen how arrogant Bai Jin was today. After all, if the adults in the East Mansion are unwilling to protect us, it will definitely chill the hearts of the brothers in the Tianji Pavilion. Who will dare to work wholeheartedly for the East Mansion in the future? Who is willing to continue to stay in the Tianji Pavilion and face the mountains of swords and the sea of ​​fire all day long, going through life and death?"

"I won't waste my words with you, just take care of yourselves!" Qiu Han said coldly, and then strode out of the pavilion without looking back. Only Liu Xunyi and Qin Wei were left in the pavilion, looking at each other in bewilderment.

After Qiu Han walked away, Qin Wei complained to Liu Xunyi, "I think Qiu Han has become stupid from practicing martial arts. Everyone saw what happened this morning. It was obvious that the Marquis wanted to abandon him in order to protect himself..."

"Brother Qin!" Before Qin Wei could finish his words, Liu Xunyi interrupted him and said, "There is no need to talk about this anymore. Brother Qiu has worked for the Marquis for more years than you and I combined. His loyalty to the Marquis is evident to all. When is it our turn to comment on him?"

"But……"

“There’s no need to talk about this anymore!” Liu Xunyi threw the wine pot in his hand to Qin Wei and said quietly, “After all, the Marquis is a royal relative. Even if the East Mansion is willing to give in to the West Mansion, they will never let them embarrass the Marquis. As for us… let’s just leave it to fate!”

Qin Wei couldn't help but look sad when he heard this, and sighed gloomily: "It turns out that Brother Liu is just like me. He has long thought that we might become scapegoats for the East Palace and the Marquis..."

Liu Xunyi smiled and shook his head, saying: "In fact, whether it is the Marquis or us, at least we are safe now. But Brother Lin and Miss Luo...if the West Mansion is unwilling to continue to cause trouble for them, the situation will be bad..."

Seeing Liu Xunyi's worried look, Qin Wei couldn't help but frown and asked, "From what you said... do you want to continue protecting them?"

Liu Xunyi smiled bitterly and said, "Brother Lin and Miss Luo are children of the Jianghu. They are generous and righteous, and their temperaments are simple and straightforward. I am afraid that they alone cannot defeat the West Mansion. Although I have only met them once, we have become friends. How can I sit idly by when my friends are in trouble? I originally intended to look for them, but now that the Marquis has not returned, I don’t know whether it will be a blessing or a curse. How can I leave without permission? Therefore, everything should be decided after the Marquis returns!"

"After the Marquis comes back, not only will our life and death be determined, I think we will also have news about the whereabouts of Lin Fangda and Luo Ningyu." Qin Wei nodded.

Liu Xunyi and Qin Wei originally wanted to wait in the pavilion for Zhao Yuan to return to Tianji Pavilion to find out what happened, but what they never expected was that Zhao Yuan went to the East Palace for a meeting and did not return for three whole days.

……

(End of this chapter)