Cellmate

"What is wrong with a father-in-law meeting his son-in-law, or a fiancée seeing her husband-to-be?" Cai Yong demanded.

"This..." Yu Du glanced at Lu Zhi standing behind him, then looked at Luan Yi. Seeing the yearning in Luan Yi's eyes, his heart softened considerably. However, when he looked back at the sea of people packed along the city walls, he had to harden his heart once more. "It is truly inconvenient! This time, the General Who Conquers the East has entered the capital to stand trial. If the two lords converse with the general at this moment, it is bound to invite criticism. Not only will this bring no benefit to the general, but it will also do him harm. I beg the two lords to reconsider!"

"You..." Seeing that Cai Yong was unwilling to let the matter drop, Wang Yun quickly stopped him. Pulling close to Cai Yong, he whispered repeatedly, "What this man says makes sense. After Ziqi was arrested because of the Holy Mother Cult, Zhang Rang tried to implicate the two of us as well. It was only thanks to the Grand Administrator's all-out maneuvering, coupled with the fact that we had not yet formally formed marital ties with the Luan family, that we were barely spared. If the two of us interact too much with Ziqi at this time, it will inevitably give others a handle against us. Should Zhang Rang whisper further slander into the Emperor's ear, we might well follow in Ziqi's footsteps and be thrown into prison together. When that happens, who will be left to rescue Ziqi?"

"This..." Cai Yong suddenly came to his senses. "I was almost ruining a major matter!" He called out again to Luan Yi, "Since that is the case, once Ziqi's grievances are cleared, we shall continue our joyful ties!"

Wang Yun, meanwhile, cast a reassuring glance at Luan Yi.

Luan Yi was naturally at ease. From the moment he saw Yang Biao, Yuan Feng, and Yuan Wei personally coming out of the city to welcome him, the boulder weighing on his heart had already settled. Who were Yang Biao, Yuan Feng, and Yuan Wei? The Grand Commandant, the Minister of Works, and the Minister of the Masses—the Three Dukes of the Han Dynasty and the backbone of the literati faction. Aside from them, Luan Yi vaguely recognized four other high-ranking officials holding the ranks of the Nine Ministers. With them joining hands to vouch for him, how could he worry about an unresolved disaster?

A strong wave of gratitude surged within Luan Yi's chest. Ever since the ascension of Emperor Ling, the literati faction had always maintained an attitude of self-preservation when dealing with the immense power held by the eunuch faction and the imperial relatives. They played both sides, quietly dormant and enduring, waiting solely for the moment when the imperial relatives and the eunuchs would destroy each other so they could rise up and reap the fisherman's profit.

Yet today, for his sake, they had cast aside their usual silence, peeled off the masks of harmless peace-makers, and openly united to challenge the eunuch faction. From this, it was easy to see the tremendous efforts Wang Yun and Cai Yong had put forth during this period.

Of course, Yuan Feng and Yuan Wei had long roamed the officialdom, and having neither familial ties nor prior acquaintance with Luan Yi, their partiality toward him was certainly not out of uncle-nephew affection as they claimed, nor could it be any genuine concern for reserve talent. In this vast world, all actions were driven by profit. The reason they were willing to pay such a heavy price was actually because they favored Luan Yi's future prospects.

For so many years, the literati faction had been suppressed under the feet of the imperial relatives and eunuchs, unable to turn the tables. The greatest reason was the lack of powerful external support within the faction—a lack of a decisive, battle-hardened regional commander holding a formidable army. In this regard, no one was more suitable or worth recruiting than the formidable and victorious Luan Yi!

Luan Yi was fully aware of this. He understood that in Yuan Wei's eyes, he was merely a chess piece—an important chess piece. Yet he felt no resentment toward the Yuan brothers because of this; on the contrary, he thought this arrangement was wonderful, truly wonderful!

Sometimes, an alliance built upon a chain of interests and values is far more solid and secure.

At this thought, Luan Yi cupped his hands in a salute toward Yuan Feng, Yuan Wei, and the others. "Thank you, my lords, for coming out to welcome me."

Yuan Feng and Yuan Wei smiled and nodded, saying to Lu Zhi and Luan Yi, "Zigan, Ziqi, you may rest easy. All matters at court will be handled by us. The two of you need only set your minds at ease; after spending a few days in prison, you will see the light of day once more."

"Thank you, my lords!"

After another round of polite pleasantries, the prisoner cart resumed its forward journey and entered the city. Luan Yi looked back at Cai Yan and Diaochan, who were following behind and weeping incessantly, and a wave of sorrow overwhelmed him. "Zhaohui, Chan'er, return home and wait for a while. It will not be long before I come out to meet you both."

Diaochan called out from afar, "Young Master Luan, if any misfortune befalls you, this handmaiden will follow you into death."

"How could that happen?" Luan Yi waved his hands casually. "I have yet to take you both as my brides; how could I bear to die? Return home in peace!"

Cai Yan and Diaochan were, after all, women. Seeing that they could no longer keep pace with the moving prisoner cart, they finally stopped. They said to each other, "Ziqi must not come to any harm!"

"Young Master Luan is blessed with a natural fortune; he will surely be safe!"

...

The prisoner cart rumbled slowly along the capital's paved stone streets, jolting Luan Yi until he was dizzy and nauseous, before finally arriving at the prison.

Clearly, Luan Fu had long since paved the way in this regard, having sent plenty of silver to the chief jailer.

Thus, upon seeing Luan Yi, the chief jailer was exceptionally cordial. Not only did he exempt him from the mandatory beating of intimidation upon entering the prison, but he also assigned him the finest single cell. It was meticulously cleaned, complete with tables, chairs, benches, and the Four Treasures of the Study, making it look precisely like a top-tier private room in an inn.

Luan Yi was extremely satisfied with this and instructed the jailer that after his shift, he could go to the Qifeng Pavilion in the capital to collect one hundred taels of silver.

Upon hearing this, the jailer's mouth split into a grin from ear to ear. Of course, Luan Yi had another condition: to grant leniency to Lu Zhi as well, providing him with a high-end single cell. Whatever daily provisions Luan Yi used, Lu Zhi was to receive the exact same.

Naturally, the jailer had no objections to this. After all, the silver for the supplies wasn't coming out of his own pocket; the wealthy patron right in front of him was paying for everything himself. Moreover, the more items purchased, the more money he could embezzle from the transactions. Such a "win-win" affair—why not embrace it?

At noon, someone arrived to deliver a meal. Luan Yi opened the food box and found it filled entirely with his favorite dishes. To be honest, having traveled continuously for nearly a month, although the food along the way had been decent, compared to the culinary standards of Qifeng Pavilion, it fell far short.

As he picked up his bowl and chopsticks, eager to indulge in a hearty meal, he noticed a hidden compartment at the bottom of the food box containing several neatly placed slips of paper.

The first letter was sent from Jinan State by Mao Jie. The letter stated that, according to Luan Yi's instructions, Mao Jie had successfully shifted the Holy Mother Cult from the open to the underground. All churches had been sealed up and ceased usage, replaced by various activities hosted within the homes of devout and wealthy families, and operations were running entirely as normal. However, when the believers first learned that the Cult Master had been arrested, there was immense resentment across various regions. They openly accused the emperor of being muddle-headed and treacherous ministers of holding power, adopting an attitude of rising in revolt to demand justice for the Cult Master. Fortunately, the divine servants in various places managed to pacify them, preventing any major chaos. Furthermore, Mao Jie had already relocated Luan Yi's family members—Luan Tao, Luan Miao, and Madam Luan—to the mountainous region in southern Jinan State. The terrain there was complex, and only trusted individuals like Mao Jie and Wu Tian knew the exact location. Should government officials come looking, they would never find them. Finally, Mao Jie informed Luan Yi that Luan Tao, Luan Miao, and Madam Luan were in good health, telling him not to worry!

Reading up to this point, Luan Yi's hands began to tremble. He had to admit that Mao Jie's letter used extremely concise wording to convey the entire situation in Jinan State with absolute clarity. Yet there was one point he had very cleverly avoided mentioning: how did his grandfather, father, and mother feel upon learning of his arrest?

Their anxiety went without saying, and his mother must have washed her face with tears once again!

"Your son is unfilial!" Luan Yi reproached himself bitterly, weeping as he knelt on the ground and kowtowed heavily three times facing due east.

Having finished kowtowing, Luan Yi stood up and carefully tucked Mao Jie's letter into his bosom. This fellow had now become a renowned calligrapher; normally, writing three or five characters would easily fetch millions of guan in cash. Now he had written a sweeping letter of nearly a thousand words—how much was that worth? He had to keep it safe; in the future, it might very well become a family heirloom.

He reached into the food box to retrieve another letter and began to read. This one was written by Xu Shu and dealt mostly with the military situation. After Luan Yi was arrested in Nanyuan, Huangfusong sent down a military order commanding Nanyuan Prefect Qin Jie to join forces with the church army, temporarily led by Xu Shu, to support Zhu Jun in attacking Wancheng. Wancheng would soon fall, after which Huangfusong and Zhu Jun would lead a large army northward to campaign against Jizhou. Xu Shu, using the excuse that the imperial decree only authorized them to support the military operations in Yuzhou, refused to follow the northern expedition.

Huangfusong found this understandable. After all, the emperor had arrested their commander-in-chief while the fires of war were still burning; the fact that they hadn't taken advantage of the fire to loot or gathered a crowd to mutiny was already remarkable. Expecting them to help suppress the rebellion at such a moment would be a joke. Therefore, he permitted the church army to return to Jinan and even ordered the commanderies along the route to provide them with rations.

Upon learning that all his brothers had returned safely to Jinan, Luan Yi finally set his mind at ease. He laid down the letter paper and opened the next one. This letter had been sent by Wang Yun.

Wang Yun informed him that Emperor Ling had not mentioned Luan Yi's matter at all during this period, nor had he specified when the trial would take place. It seemed as though he had simply forgotten about dispatching men to capture Luan Yi. He told Luan Yi not to worry; the longer the delay, the more advantageous it would be for him.

Luan Yi felt the same way: since he had arrived, he would take things as they came. Since the prison cell was so comfortable, he didn't mind staying a few days longer. The only drawback was what to do about the boredom of squatting in this "cell" day in and day out.

Just at that moment, a crisp creaking sound came from the adjacent cell, separated only by a wooden partition. Luan Yi looked toward the source of the sound and blinked. "Oh? General?"

"Haha..." Lu Zhi had clearly just washed up and changed into a new set of prisoner robes. His complexion now looked much better. Pointing to the gleaming rosewood furniture in the room, he said with a hint of excitement, "Thanks to Ziqi's immense fortune, I never imagined that in my old age, I would be able to enjoy such treatment in prison!"

Luan Yi smiled shyly. "With the General's company, this time in prison will not be spent in vain!"

"Indeed!" Lu Zhi glanced at the food box on Luan Yi's table and licked his dry lips. "Is there wine?"

"How can there be no wine when there is meat!" Luan Yi carried the food box to the edge of the cell, sat cross-legged facing Lu Zhi across the wooden bars, took out various meat dishes from the box, and produced a flask of immortal brew.

Catching the aroma of the wine, Lu Zhi's index finger twitched with anticipation, and he shook his head regretfully. "What a pity... there is far too little wine!"

Luan Yi cast a glance back at the jailer. Before he even spoke, he heard the jailer bow and scrape, saying, "The two generals may drink to your hearts' content. However much wine is needed, there is plenty; this humble one will go buy it right away."

Luan Yi smiled and cupped his hands toward him. "Then I must trouble you, Official!"

"The General flatters this humble one too much. I am merely a chief jailer, a petty official—how could I be worthy of being addressed as 'Official'?" With that, he turned his head and ordered someone off to purchase the wine.

Luan Yi took out two cups and poured a cup for each of them. "General, to our fated meeting here, bottoms up!"

"Bottoms up!"