In the thirteenth year of the Tianbao era: I became Yang Guozhong's eldest son.

"When Afu arrives, I want him to go out and do three things for me."

"First, go to the West Market and find a few of the people I saw yesterday. Second, retrieve the private seal from the hidden compartment on the east side of my study. Third, find out the specific time and route for this escort out of the capital."

After listening, Yanhe didn't ask who Xishi was looking for, but only asked, "Do you have enough manpower?"

"not enough."

"Then I'll make it up for you."

"Can I trust your people?"

Yanhe looked up at him, her tone calm and even.

"If you didn't trust me, you wouldn't have entrusted your life to me last night until now."

Yang Xuan couldn't help but laugh.

it is good.

This princess usually doesn't speak, but when she does, she always hits where it hurts.

"Then I'll lend you two people," he said. "They need to be discreet, quick on their feet, know the ways of Chang'an, and not let the Prime Minister's residence immediately tell that they're working for me."

"have."

"I'll lend you another car."

"Yes."

"besides--"

"Drink your medicine first," Yanhe interrupted abruptly.

She brought over the medicine that had just been reheated and placed it to his lips, her tone calm and uncompromising.

"If you want to cause trouble, first keep yourself alive."

Yang Xuan looked at the bowl of dark, bitter medicine, his brow twitched, but he still took it and drank it down sip by sip.

The medicine tastes terribly bitter.

But once it was in my stomach, my heart gradually calmed down.

Because at this moment, he was no longer a severely injured and abandoned child lying in a side courtyard waiting to be driven out of Chang'an.

He found a way.

I now have companions.

They also gained the confidence to move on to the next move.

Outside, the sky had fully brightened.

The Yang family mansion, which was bustling with activity just last night, exuded a chilling aura in the morning light.

Everyone thought that after Yang Xuan was flogged and demoted, his only option was to leave Chang'an in disgrace.

But no one knew.

From the moment he opened his eyes, the game of chess truly began to unfold.

Before long, Afu's voice, which he had been trying to keep quiet but couldn't hide, rang out from outside the courtyard—

"Young Master is awake?!"

Yang Xuan leaned back on the couch and slowly raised his eyes.

The confusion in his eyes caused by the high fever finally dissipated completely.

"Let him in."

"Close the door again."

"We need to clear the way out of Chang'an before the Prime Minister's residence can react."

Not long after she finished speaking, Afu was led in by Caifan.

The servant had been walking slowly the whole way, but when he actually stepped into the house, his eyes were already half-red.

Although he didn't witness the entire beating outside the Hua'e Xianghui Tower last night, he heard most of it.

Later, when the stretcher was carried into the side courtyard, even a servant like him, who usually spoke nonsense, didn't dare to take a second look.

Seeing that Yang Xuan had finally woken up, Afu was initially overjoyed, but then her heart clenched with shock at the sight of Yang Xuan's pale face on the bed.

"Young master..."

He tried to speak, but his throat felt dry and hoarse.

Yang Xuan leaned against the pillow, with several layers of soft mattresses behind him. His face was still pale, but his eyes were fully awake.

"Don't cry." He glanced at Afu. "I'm not dead yet."

Ah Fu quickly wiped the tears from the corner of his eyes and said repeatedly, "Pah, pah, pah! Young master, you are a lucky man and have good fortune. How can you say such unlucky things?"

Yang Xuan didn't have time to listen to his flattery, and simply raised her chin.

"Come here, I have something to tell you."

Afu immediately moved closer, standing extremely close, afraid of missing a single word.

"First," Yang Xuan's voice was still hoarse from his injury, but steady, "go to the hidden compartment behind the third shelf on the east side of my study and retrieve that jade seal. If the study is sealed off, don't force your way in; first see who's guarding it, then come back and report to me."

"Secondly, go to the West Market and find two people for me."

Afu was taken aback: "Looking for someone?"

"One of them is named Cui Shen, a man from Hedong. He is around thirty years old, thin, with a fair complexion and a small mole on the corner of his right eye. A few years ago, he worked as a scribe in the Jingzhao Granary Office, but later he got into a lawsuit and was kicked out of the government office. Now he mostly works as a scribe copying contracts for people at the south entrance of the West Market."

"The other one is named Pei Zhao. He comes from the Hexi Army. He has an old scar on the web of his left hand. He was recently dismissed from the army for arguing with his superior. Now he's probably making a living in a foot inn, gambling den, or pawnshop in the West Market."

Afu opened his mouth.

He wanted to ask how the young master knew even that someone had a mole on their face and a scar on their hand, but when he met Yang Xuan's eyes, he swallowed the question back.

The young master of today is no longer the lazy, absurd young man who only knew how to fight cocks and ride horses, as he was a few days ago.

Since returning from the East Market and then causing a ruckus at the Hua'e Xianghui Tower, Afu still felt like she was in a dream, but she instinctively felt that whatever the young master said was the truth.

"The third thing," Yang Xuan continued, "is to find out the time of my exile's escort—whether it departs this afternoon or tomorrow morning. Is the escort from the Jingzhao Prefecture, or from a joint force of the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War? Which gate will the carriage exit from, and which road will it take?"

Ah Fu felt a chill run down his spine.

This is hardly a departure from the government to assume a new post.

This is clearly an attempt to treat the Prime Minister's residence, the capital's prefecture, and the escorting officials as thieves.

"Did you understand?"

"Understood."

"If you understand, then go."

Afu responded and was about to turn around when Yang Xuan called him back.

"etc."

"Does the young master have any further instructions?"

Yang Xuan looked at him, her tone becoming somewhat indifferent.

"Don't say much to those two people in the West Market. Just tell them I have a way to make a living for them. Whether they want to come or not, listen to me first. If anyone stops you, don't be stubborn, come back and report to me."

Afu nodded vigorously.

"I understand."

"Go."

Afu quickly stepped back.

After the door closed, Yanhe said, "You didn't just go to the East Market yesterday to check prices."

Yang Xuan leaned against the pillow, a slight upturn at the corner of his lips.

"You need to look at prices, and you also need to look at people."

"In Chang'an, what's not lacking is idle people who want to watch the show, but what's lacking is people who are willing to go to bad places with you and who actually have some use."

Yanhe glanced at him, but didn't press further, only saying, "I'll also send someone out."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'll rob the money out for you first."

After she finished speaking, she called out towards the door.

A moment later, an old servant with gray hair but still very straight back walked in.

His clothes were inconspicuous, but his demeanor was extremely steady, clearly not the kind of steward in the Prime Minister's mansion who only knew how to act according to the prevailing winds.

"Uncle Wen," Yanhe asked, "did you bring the account books and the vault key?"

The old servant clasped his hands in a gesture of respect.

"I brought it."

Yang Xuan's gaze fell on him, and he understood seven or eight parts of the situation.

This should be an elderly servant brought by Yanhe from the imperial clan, who is not directly controlled by Yang Guozhong and has kept a low profile for many years, making it a suitable time for him to step forward.

Wen Bo took out a booklet and a string of small keys from his sleeve and placed them on the table.

"When the princess married into the family, half of the gold jewelry and ornaments bestowed by the palace, the dowry from the imperial family, and those brought from her separate residence were stored in a small treasury under the princess's own name, and the key has always been with this old servant. If the Prime Minister's residence doesn't break off relations, they shouldn't be able to touch it."

"Logically speaking?" Yang Xuan looked at him. "If things really come to a head, then things might not be so simple."

Wen Bo lowered his head and said, "If Your Excellency truly intends to kill, you can order the courtyard, the storehouse, and the accounts to be sealed off. Therefore, this old servant has already had the lightest, most valuable, and easiest-to-move items moved out of the courtyard."

Yang Xuan looked at the old servant with a more serious expression in his eyes.