Chapter 57

The night was as cold as ice, and He Xuan seemed frozen, unmoving for a long time.

Mo Yin stood up straight, his gaze calm as he looked at He Xuan. He appeared unperturbed, as if unaware of the impact his words would have on He Xuan.

After some time passed, He Xuan set down the tea bowl in his hand. His hands were steady, and the bowl made almost no sound as it was placed on the table.

“Mo Zigui?” He Xuan said slowly.

Mo Yin replied, “That’s correct.”

He Xuan stared at him. “Tobe Squire?”

“Yes.”

He Xuan fell silent for a moment, his lips barely curling upwards. “You’re not.”

Mo Yin said, “If the General doubts it, you can take me to the Ministry of Justice now and have those officials recognize me. I appeared in court at the Ministry of Justice eight times in the past. I believe they wouldn’t easily forget my appearance.”

He Xuan remained silent again, his mind in turmoil though he didn’t show it. After his gaze wandered and focused back on Mo Yin, he said in a deep voice, “I received a portrait of Tobe Squire from the court before. It doesn’t look like you.”

“I switched the portrait.”

He Xuan’s pupils shook.

“At that time, I was in Yongcheng. You sent someone to monitor me, and the person escorting the portrait stayed overnight at the post station. I took the opportunity at night to switch the portrait and sent the fake one to you. After that, you came to Yongcheng to welcome me back to the camp.”

Mo Yin spoke calmly, omitting the involvement of Cheng Wu and Zhang Zhi.

He Xuan stood up, and his red sleeves made a crisp sound as he moved. He turned his back to Mo Yin, standing tall and imposing. When he turned around, his gaze was sharp. “You, a convicted criminal of the court, dare to infiltrate the military. Mo Zigui, are you seeking death?!”

Mo Yin met his gaze, still composed.

“Five years ago, I was appointed as Tobe Squire. I have always been diligent and never dared to make mistakes. The corruption in Shancheng had nothing to do with me. I was imprisoned and exiled unjustly because I isolated myself from socializing and never got involved in factionalism. I was framed and suffered humiliation.”

He Xuan listened quietly, his surface undisturbed, but his mind was already in turmoil. As Mo Yin spoke, he no longer furrowed his brows. Instead, he saw Mo Yin remove his cloak and belt. He tightened his grip on the back of his hand.

As Mo Yin unbuttoned his coat, He Xuan turned to face him. He brushed Mo Yin’s collar and looked intensely into his eyes. “Why are you only telling me this now?”

“You never asked, General.”

“My name never appeared in any battle reports. Didn’t you have doubts?”

“…”

Yes, he had never fully believed that Mo Yin was just Mo Yin.

How could such a remarkable figure appear out of nowhere in the desert?

He had only pretended not to see those doubts, deceiving himself.

He let go of Mo Yin’s hand, stepped forward, and straightened Mo Yin’s collar. His gaze was intense as he looked at Mo Yin’s face. “Where did you send my letter?”

“To the Ministry of Justice dungeon.”

He Xuan’s gaze shot out urgently.

“Years ago, Yan Qi, to protect his subordinates, pushed me out to take the blame for the corruption case. Five years have passed, and he has not repented at all. Instead, his appetite has grown. He colludes with rebels and deceives the superiors and subordinates. When I returned to Yongcheng, I just wanted to say goodbye to the past. I thought I could withstand the torment of those officials and die on the road of exile. From now on, I am just He Jun’s military advisor. But I didn’t expect those people to still be the same, and the ghosts to remain the same. The court is full of chaos. General, how can you expect me to stand by and do nothing?”

Mo Yin spoke while pressing his palm against his chest, as if his heart was bleeding, “If these despicable people are not driven out of the court, I, Mo Zigui, will not rest in peace—”

He Xuan’s mind was in chaos.

He thought this matter was about to be resolved, and he was about to return to the border. He neither liked nor wanted to get involved in court affairs. He only wished to guard the border, maintain the integrity of the country’s territory, and ensure the safety of the people.

He Xuan closed his eyes lightly, and turned his face away. His handsome face, with its knitted brows, seemed contorted in struggle. After some time passed, he turned his face back to Mo Yin and said, “Accompany me to the palace tomorrow.”

“General…”

He Xuan raised his hand slightly, his long sleeves sliding down. He whispered, “I trust you.” His gaze fell powerfully on Mo Yin’s face for a moment. “I trust you.”

Mo Yin parted his lips but remained silent.

“You’ll accompany me to the palace and present your case to the emperor,” He Xuan said. “No one spoke up for you back then, so you’ll speak up for yourself now.”

Mo Yin stood upright, bowed deeply to He Xuan.

After a long silence, He Xuan supported Mo Yin.

“You should rest early.”

After Mo Yin tidied himself up and left, the door creaked shut behind him. He Xuan stood in place for a while before sitting back down.

The two bowls of tea on the table had all gone cold.

His mind was still in chaos, far from the calmness he showed on the surface. He Xuan lifted a bowl of cold tea and drank it down in one gulp. The icy liquid flowed down his throat, a mix of cold and warmth in his chest.

“I appeared in court at the Ministry of Justice eight times… I was framed and suffered humiliation… I thought I could withstand the torment of those officials and die on the road of exile…”

His hand involuntarily trembled. In a moment of distraction, the tea bowl in his palm made a dull sound as it shattered, cutting his hand. Compared to the wounds he received on the battlefield, it was nothing, but He Xuan felt an inexplicable pain.

After removing the fragments from his palm, He Xuan remembered the day he received that portrait. It wasn’t the face he had expected. He let out a long breath, and glanced at the words on it without reading them carefully.

He Xuan called for Li Yuan.

Li Yuan listened quietly, then left. After a short while, he returned to the room.

“General, the Mo Squire you asked me to inquire about shares the same name and surname as the military advisor. He was born in the first year of Tianyuan, became the top scholar in the thirteenth year of Longyuan, served as an attendant reader in the Hanlin Academy, and later became an assistant minister at the Ministry of Revenue. In the eighteenth year of Longyuan, he was imprisoned for corruption in Shancheng and was sentenced to confiscation of property and exile three thousand miles away.”

He Xuan remained silent for a moment before asking, “Where are the family members of this Mo Squire now?”

“Mo Squire lost his parents when he was young and had not yet started a family when his property was confiscated, so he has no family members.”

He Xuan’s eyelashes trembled suddenly. After a moment, he continued, “Did you find out anything else?”

“This Mo Squire was exiled after being sentenced five years ago. There are not many rumors about him in the capital. It’s said that he is as beautiful as ice and snow, praised by the emperor as ‘plum-like snow, snow-like person, without a trace of dust,’ hence the nickname ‘Plum Snow Top Scholar.'”

Plum Snow Top Scholar.

He Xuan stood up. The wound in the palm of his hand throbbed as he opened and closed his hand. Then, he said something Li Yuan didn’t understand.

“He’s actually two years older than me.”

—

“Knock, knock—”

“Military Advisor.”

“Come in.”

Zhou Yong held a wooden tray in his hands. “General, here are your clothes.”

“Put them down.”

He Xuan hadn’t slept all night, nor had he taken off his official attire. As the day broke, he allowed Li Yuan to come in and dismantle his hair bun for a redo. Li Yuan asked, “General, are you going to the palace again today?”

He Xuan didn’t answer. “Li Yuan.”

“Here.”

“What do you think of the military advisor?”

Li Yuan was startled, his hair-combing slowed. “The military advisor… He’s like a deity in our hearts.”

“A deity?”

“Yes, the military advisor is so powerful and capable of everything,” Li Yuan swiftly re-combed He Xuan’s hair in a clean and neat manner while speaking, “and the military advisor always makes people feel like he’s right in front of us, yet so far away, just like a deity, isn’t it?”

After Li Yuan finished combing He Xuan’s hair, he handed him the official hat. It was then that he noticed the wound on He Xuan’s hand. Having been a soldier himself, Li Yuan didn’t make a fuss. He just found it strange. How could the general, in such a peaceful place like the capital, get injured?

When He Xuan brought up the corruption case from five years ago and mentioned Mo Yin, the former assistant minister at the Ministry of Revenue who had been wrongly accused and imprisoned, the emperor showed a vague sense of confusion. He asked, “Who?”

“Assistant Minister Mo Yin of the Ministry of Revenue. In the Shancheng corruption case, he was sentenced to confiscation of property and exile. Your Majesty, Mr. Mo suffered greatly on the road after his exile. By a twist of fate, he entered the military camp, and the method of farming in the desert was diligently researched and developed by Mr. Mo. He made great contributions in the military, enabling the recovery of large areas of lost territory and the destruction of most of the barbarian tribes. Mr. Mo’s contributions cannot be ignored.”

The emperor listened with confusion. Among the long string of words, he only managed to interject, “He went to your military camp?”

“Yes.”

He Xuan’s face tightened. “Your Majesty, Mr. Mo has been wronged. I am willing to guarantee with my own head that Mr. Mo was innocent in the corruption case. If Your Majesty is willing to hear Mr. Mo’s plea, he is waiting outside the palace at this moment.”

The emperor adjusted his sitting posture, one hand resting on his knee, the other playing with a string of crystal prayer beads, and said with interest, “Is that so? Bring him in for me to see.”

The palace corridor was long and quiet. Mo Yin followed the eunuch step by step. He had only been to the palace once before, when he achieved the top scholar rank. At the banquet in the palace, the emperor praised his looks, but he didn’t thank him and remained aloof, proud and unbending, refusing to show any submission.

“Assistant Minister Mo.”

The eunuch who came out of the study addressed him with his old title, squinting and smiling. “His Majesty is calling for you to come in.”

Mo Yin entered, with He Xuan standing by the side, watching him intently, his gaze filled with support and encouragement. He knew He Xuan must have spoken highly of him.

Approaching, Mo Yin lifted his robe and knelt down. His snow-white cloak unfolded, revealing the white attire inside. He looked like he was carved from ice and snow, “Your Majesty, I pay my respects.”

The emperor immediately remembered upon seeing Mo Yin, “You…” He sat up straight, shook the string of crystal beads in his hand, tapped the royal desk lightly, furrowing his brows as if pondering. After a moment, he smiled, “Top Scholar—”

Mo Yin raised his head. “Your Majesty still remembers this minister.”

“Of course,” the emperor said with interest, “After you, we haven’t seen anyone else worthy of the title of top scholar.”

Others might have interpreted the emperor’s words as praise for Mo Yin’s remarkable scholarship, but only Mo Yin and the emperor knew that the emperor was complimenting his beauty.

Looking up at the high seat on the platform, Mo Yin’s cold face suddenly melted into a faint and beautiful smile, “Your Majesty’s favor in appointing me as the top scholar is something I will never forget.”