Chapter 110: The Dragon and Tiger Meet in the Capital (6)

People say that there is not even a blade's width of space between lovers, but that is a biased view.

Whenever Su Mei met with Yang Huaiyu, she would always drag Tie Xinyuan along, as if his presence made their rendezvous legitimate and proper. And Tie Xinyuan was certainly much thicker than a blade.

Over time, both of them came to treat Tie Xinyuan as an invisible man. As long as they provided him with a drink, they would huddle close together and whisper the usual sweet nothings of lovers.

"Dalang, I plan to take all the money I have and buy land outside the city. What do you think? The Prince of Runan's family is planning to sell six thousand mu of land, all of it prime plots along the riverbank. We have enough money to buy a hundred mu. We should act quickly before it's all gone."

Hearing this, Yang Huaiyu immediately rummaged through his chest, took out a small parcel, and handed it to Su Mei. "This is fifty taels of gold my grandmother gave me. Take it and buy yourself some gold jewelry."

Su Mei took the gold without hesitation, opened it to peek inside, and laughed. "What do I need gold jewelry for? It would be better to use that spare money to buy land."

Tie Xinyuan pulled a book from his backpack and began to read intently. Since he was Su Mei’s final guarantee of propriety, he might as well play the part of a human wall-shield faithfully; staying silent was the greatest help he could offer them. It kept the old nurse from the Su household from finding an excuse every few minutes to check if her young mistress’s clothes were still intact.

"Brother Yuan, how do you think His Majesty will handle the chaos of this year’s military examination?" Yang Huaiyu’s mind finally returned to reality, and he began to show concern for his own future.

Tie Xinyuan looked up at Yang Huaiyu. "I thought you were living on love alone. Turns out you do occasionally care about state affairs?"

Yang Huaiyu looked at Su Mei, gave a foolish grin, and said, "My ancestor wants me to prepare for the worst. She says the title of champion this time won't be easy to earn, and even if I win it, the outcome is hard to predict, especially for those of us from military families."

Tie Xinyuan laughed loudly. "Why do you think I made such a fuss about the military exam? The more public the matter, the more relatively fair the exam will be. In previous years, whenever your military families wanted to promote someone, you’d just bring out a fierce warrior to easily defeat all the other candidates, only to lose to your chosen candidate in the final round, making him the champion. Hmph, I’d like to see how you manage that this year!"

Yang Huaiyu patted his chest. "I never intended to ask anyone to clear a path for me. Even if such a championship were handed to me on a silver platter, I wouldn't want it. If I only cared about that kind of reputation, I might as well stay on as a Deputy Envoy of the Imperial City; that position is far more prestigious than a military exam champion."

Tie Xinyuan glanced at Su Mei. "If you go to the frontier, what will happen to Su Mei?"

Yang Huaiyu smiled. "An Yang Huaiyu left in the capital to live like a walking corpse would hardly be a good companion for Mei'er."

Tie Xinyuan shrugged indifferently. "There are many women who live to regret their husbands' pursuit of titles and glory. I hope you two won't end up regretting this."

With that, Tie Xinyuan stretched, shouldered his backpack, and planned to visit Gao Liansheng to check on Tie Shizi. He was a good man, after all; it would be a shame for him to be broken by this turmoil. As for Yang Huaiyu and Su Mei, heaven would have its own arrangements. Heaven always provides a pair of shoes to match the feet that wear them. Yang Huaiyu loved to cut people down on the battlefield, so Su Mei would surely love staying in the capital to boast about how many men her husband had killed. It was a match made in heaven.

Just as he stepped out, he heard a "thwack." A bamboo dart with an iron tip embedded itself into the doorframe, right along the path where his face had been a moment before.

Xiao Qiao was standing on the second floor, holding a long flute, pretending to play it.

"I would only truly admire you if you could blow flute music out of a piece of wood without holes," Tie Xinyuan said, pulling the dart from the doorframe and walking slowly up to the second floor.

Xiao Qiao did a nimble flip and jumped down from the second floor. Tie Xinyuan reached the spot where she had been standing and smiled. "Why are you running?"

Xiao Qiao laughed. "If I didn't run, I might get hit by a crossbow bolt. If you could aim, I wouldn't worry. The problem is you can't aim, and that's why I'm worried."

Tie Xinyuan spread his hands. "I was just planning to get a little closer..."

Before he could finish, the front gate shattered with a loud boom. A massive horse hoof remained wedged in the broken door panel for a long moment before it was pulled back.

The children playing in the courtyard dashed into the house immediately. The frightened young maids were barked at by Xiao Qiao and sent into their rooms, where they locked the doors and huddled together by the windows to peek outside.

A horse walked slowly into the courtyard after smashing through the gate. It would be more accurate to call it a monster than a horse. Horses are naturally gentle creatures, full of beauty; Tie Xinyuan had always considered them the most elegant creatures on earth. But when a horse was draped in heavy iron armor, especially when its head was encased in a mask painted with a ferocious design, it became a brutal machine of war.

The horse that entered was larger and more robust than any Tie Xinyuan had ever seen, its head nearly brushing the lintel as it walked. There was no rider. Tie Xinyuan couldn't imagine what kind of warrior would be worthy of such a beast.

Soon, however, someone emerged from behind the horse. In weather cold enough to freeze water, he was still waving a goose-feather fan. He strolled into the courtyard and shouted, "Yang Da! Your creditor has arrived. Aren't you going to come out and welcome me?"

Yang Huaiyu had been standing in the courtyard the moment the gate shattered, but the man had been looking up at the sky and hadn't seen him at all.

"Cao Ba, what debt do I owe you? I have no idea what you're talking about."

The man who had been looking at the sky finally looked Yang Huaiyu in the eye, pointed his fan at him, and said, "You owe me a human life. It would have been one thing if you’d just killed the man, but why frame Tie Shizi for it? Do you know that Tie Shizi was almost beaten to death by the neighbors in Dongjing last night?"

"What life? What Iron Lion or Copper Lion? I haven't the faintest idea," Yang Huaiyu said, completely bewildered.

Cao Ba pointed his fan at Yang Huaiyu and laughed. "Don't bother denying it just because the body is gone. Do you want me to dig it up from the ground for you? It was just a common thief, nothing to us brothers. We already buried him for you. Is there really a need to play dumb?"

Seeing that Cao Ba didn't seem to be lying, Yang Huaiyu waved his hand hastily. "Cao Ba, I am a man of my word in this city. If I had done it, I wouldn't deny it. When I killed the drunkard with a crossbow bolt, I could have found a scapegoat, but I went to the Kaifeng Prefecture openly. Why would a mere thief make me lose face?"

Cao Ba was puzzled as well. He fanned himself a few times to cool down and pointed at Tie Xinyuan. "That little kid was the last one to come out of that alley, just before Tie Shizi went in."

Yang Huaiyu looked back at the innocent-looking Tie Xinyuan and frowned. "Do you think he could kill a grown man?"

Cao Ba laughed. "No, which is why you must have killed him, and because I needed Tie Shizi, I cleaned up the mess for you. Regardless, you owe me a favor. You have to promise me you won't keep framing Tie Shizi for no reason. If you keep playing like this, I’m going to have nothing left to play with."

Yang Huaiyu asked curiously, "Tie Shizi belongs to the Gao family. What does that have to do with you, the Cao family? Didn't you find Ma Yan from Hebei?"

"Don't mention him. Ma Yan was nearly beaten to a pulp by Tie Shizi. You know my temper—I either don't want it, or I want the best. That's why I have my eye on Tie Shizi."

As he spoke, he pointed his fan at the horse pacing in the courtyard. "Forget about the military exam champion title. I’m determined to win it. See this? As long as you don't compete for the champion spot, this horse is yours. It’s a treasure brought from Central Asia by a Persian merchant. It can travel a thousand miles by day and eight hundred by night. It’s a true Central Asian steed. I had to pull a lot of strings and pay thirteen hundred strings of cash for it. You’re getting a bargain."

Yang Huaiyu was furious and was about to refuse when Tie Xinyuan spoke up first: "It’s a deal. Yang Dalang won't find a single helper, and he won't let any helpers compete."

Cao Ba looked at Tie Xinyuan with a smile and said to Yang Huaiyu, "The kid is smart. Honestly, Yang Da, if you run into Tie Shizi, you’ll be beaten into a pulp. I’ll make sure to tell Tie Shizi to go easy on you."

Yang Huaiyu gritted his teeth and said, "And what if I win the championship on my own merit?"

Cao Ba held up a finger. "I don't think you can beat Tie Shizi. Even if you somehow managed to win, heh, Meng Tiefu, Long Chuan, and Liang Shimeng would turn you into mincemeat."

Seeing Yang Huaiyu’s anger rising, he waved his hand. "Don't take it out on me. Among all of us, your martial arts are top-tier. But against those people? I hate to say it, but we pampered lot are no match for those who have suffered and ground their way to the top. Martial arts is something that only grows with hard work; you can't fake it. If you truly win the title on your own merit, say no more—at the Sun Sheep Tavern or the Fan Tower, I will host a grand banquet to congratulate you. This horse will naturally be yours; consider it a gift from a brother..."

Yang Huaiyu grabbed the horse's reins. "Fine, it's a deal. I won't look for a single helper, and I'll fight my way to the top on my own!"

Cao Ba laughed loudly. Four porters immediately carried a sedan chair into the courtyard. He sat down naturally, waved his goose-feather fan, and let the porters carry him away without another word. Yet, the mockery on his face could not be hidden.