Chapter 45: An Implicit Existence Part 1

Midday, the streets of the Eastern Market.

A minor official clad in cyan robes stumbled forward, his face as pale as parchment and drenched in sweat. He wore a comically tall hat, which he had to reach up and steady every few steps as if terrified it might fall.

Clatter, clatter, clatter—

The rapid thunder of hooves approached from behind, sending a wave of terror through the street vendors and commoners.

“The barbarians are coming! Run!”

Panic erupted.

In the heart of the Great Chen Dynasty’s capital, the scene mirrored the occupied Three Provinces and Nine Commanderies. At the mere sound of hoofbeats, the commoners scrambled into alleys and vendors frantically packed their stalls.

“Hahaha!”

Boisterous laughter shook the air.

Five tall steeds charged through the crowd, their riders dressed in fine silks but possessing the high bridges and deep-set eyes of the north, with curved sabers hanging at their waists.

Leading them was Wu Wei, a man of imposing build with shoulders like a tiger’s and a gaze as sharp as a hawk’s.

“Run faster!” one warrior shouted in broken Han Chinese, drawing a chorus of jeers from his companions.

Wu Wei drew his bow, nocking an arrow as he bellowed in the Liao tongue, “Double the stakes! Whoever hits that hat can take any three women the Court of State Ceremonies sent over!”

The warriors roared with delight, drawing their bows in unison.

Arrows hissed through the air. The official ducked and wove like a cornered rat, not even daring to fix his hat as it tilted precariously.

A white-haired elder couldn’t dodge in time and was struck full-chested by a horse. The rider didn’t even pause; the hooves ground over the man as if he were nothing more than a pile of refuse.

Inside the nearby Heyue Restaurant, the usually bustling midday market was deathly silent.

The windows of the private rooms were crowded with scholars and students, their faces twisted with indignation as they watched the “hunt” unfolding below.

“Those sons of bitches!”

An older scholar sneered, “Why blame the barbarians? The Imperial Court feeds these wolves with Annual Tributes every year. The silks they wear, the steeds they ride—which of those wasn’t bought with the blood and sweat of our people?”

“You should curse the Court. If the government wasn’t so weak, would these barbarians dare to act so wild on our soil?”

These words were like sparks hitting a vat of oil, instantly igniting a low roar of dissent.

“Haha! When Minister Qin sees an Eastern Liao man, it’s like he’s seen his own father. A dignified Minister has turned into a common pimp, God knows how many girls he’s plucked from the Teaching Quarter to be ravaged by those beasts!”

“Does the Court have any sense of honor or shame left? Our people are bullied in the streets, and the Court doesn’t dare to let out a single fart!”

“Did we spend ten years of bitter study just to serve a government like this?”

“Did I earn my official rank just to serve tea and lay carpets for these man-eating barbarians?”

“Better not to be an official at all!”

Fury surged through the private rooms, the cursing growing louder by the second.

Directly below the Heyue Restaurant, at the corner of the street, an eye-catching eight-bearer sedan sat parked at the mouth of an alley.

While the sedan didn’t technically violate imperial sumptuary laws, its materials, carvings, and decorations pushed the limits of civilian regulations to the absolute extreme. With vermillion curtains traced in gold and jade-capped corners, it was obvious the owner was a person of significant means.

A middle-aged man in cyan silk robes stood by the sedan, the words “Hengtai” embroidered on his collar. He was the manager of the capital’s largest bank.

“Master,” the manager whispered, leaning toward the sedan. “The Eastern Liao are causing more trouble than usual today. I just saw them using a translator from the Court of State Ceremonies as a moving target. The city guards saw it and didn’t even lift a finger; they took the long way around to avoid them.”

There was no immediate answer from inside.

A hand with well-defined knuckles lifted the curtain, revealing half of a handsome face.

Wei Qingya leaned back against a soft pillow, idly fiddling with a pair of mutton-fat jade dice. He let out a mocking scoff. “Those lot? Their eyes are only fixed on the commoners. They wouldn’t dare look an Eastern Liao man in the eye.”

The manager bowed even lower. “Master’s meaning is…”

“Go to the Court of Judicial Review. Deliver a formal complaint to our ‘Honorable Nie’.”

Wei Qingya suddenly closed his hand over the jade dice, pulling the curtain wider to watch the terrified commoners. “Tell him… the Eastern Liao are kidnapping a civilian woman in broad daylight. Both witnesses and evidence are present.”

The manager asked no questions. He acknowledged the order and departed immediately.

Wei Qingya reached out a hand, and a beautiful, slender maid stepped forward from behind the sedan, leaning down to offer a tea tray.

“Don’t be afraid.”

Wei Qingya took the teacup, his fingertip tapping the rim lightly. “Just take my sedan. If Master Nie comes, not a single one of these barbarians will escape.”

Thwack—

An arrow pierced the air, accurately striking the tall hat on the translator’s head.

The warrior raised his bow high, shouting excitedly in the Liao tongue, “I won!”

Wu Wei’s expression darkened instantly.

He flipped off his horse and grabbed the translator by the collar. “Useless! You can’t even keep a hat on straight!”

He rained down punches like hailstones, leaving the minor official bleeding from his nose and mouth, kneeling on the ground and begging for mercy.

The scholars in the Heyue Restaurant clenched their fists until their knuckles cracked, yet they could only watch.

Just then— “Make way! Move aside!”

A delicate small sedan blundered through the crowd in a panic.

Seeing the Eastern Liao warriors, the sedan bearers seemed to lose the strength in their legs, and the sedan tilted sharply.

As the curtains fluttered, a young lady in an apricot-colored silk skirt tumbled out. Her gold hairpin hit the ground, and her dark hair cascaded down like a waterfall.

The entire street fell silent.