The Double
Chapter 775 - 229 Ambush_3

Chapter 775: Chapter 229 Ambush_3

Jih Heng and the six brocade-clad men behind her walked in.

After Yin Zhan had finished drinking, he casually tossed the wine jar aside, wiped his mouth, and exclaimed with satisfaction before turning toward Jih Heng. He laughed heartily, "Duke Su is here too, please!"

Jih Heng did not refuse and calmly took a seat.

This room was extremely spacious and the long table was only half occupied by Yin Zhan’s men. It was as if the other half was deliberately left empty for Jih Heng’s men, as though it was known in advance that Jih Heng would come. The two of them sat at opposite ends of the table. Yin Zhan raised his wine jar toward Jih Heng, who responded with a light smile. Wen Ji passed a wine pot to her, and she propped her head up with one hand and tilted her head back to drink, embodying the very essence of charm and easy grace.

A toast was made.

Jih Heng’s lips curled up, "The Prince of Xia County really makes one go through a lot to find him."

"But it was Duke Su who found him," Yin Zhan replied with an indifferent smile, "The waves behind drive on the waves before!" Raising the jar again, he continued, "Please!"

The laughter of women outside, the teasing of men, and the cheers of onlookers all disappeared in an instant. Aside from the guests behind the beaded curtain, only the actors on the stage outside kept singing relentlessly.

"Dim glow of the moon, amidst the golden wind, the drums and bugles sound sorrowful. Remembering the battles joined, countless have been the frosts and dews. When shall the wish to return home be fulfilled, when weapons are laid to rest in the sun and moon’s light?" Yu Ji turned around, her voice filled with melancholy and sorrow: "Yu Ji, under the tent of the Overlord of Western Chu, raised in seclusion and skilled in letters and sword from a young age; having followed the great king through battles east and west, enduring hardships and trials, not knowing when peace will come!"

"Yu Ji, Oh Yu Ji!" These words came from Yin Zhan’s mouth, his expression forlorn as if he remembered something, and he took a deep drink of wine.

Gazing at him, Jih Heng remarked with a half-smile, "Prince of Xia County seems deeply moved. I wonder if it’s Lin Roujia on your mind, or my mother, Yu Hongye."

Yin Zhan’s hand, holding the wine jar, stiffened. After a moment, he looked toward Jih Heng and laughed loudly, "Hong Ye! The son born to Hong Ye really is as clever as she was."

Holding the wine pot, Jih Heng poured himself a small cup of wine. He took a sip and smiled, "What a pity that no matter how clever, he met his end at the hand of the Prince of Xia County."

These words, neither light nor heavy, silenced the previously chatting and laughing guests. Neither the rough men in homespun boots nor the fine young men in brocade and jade pretended not to hear. They continued eating and drinking as before, but in silence.

The atmosphere at the banquet grew eerily quiet, and from this quietness emerged a sense of desolation.

The performance outside continued, reaching the part where Han Xin set an ambush and earned his merit, dismounting to advance through the mountain path. Eight Han generals positioned flags to form the formation, with Li Zuoche leading Xiang Yu into the battle array.

"Prince of Xia County," Jih Heng began with a smile brimming with mirth, "The Ambush on All Sides, this play must be very familiar to you, doesn’t it remind you of something? Or do I need to remind you of what happened twenty-three years ago at Red Mountain Temple? How you lured your brother, my father, into a trap, with a hundred archers blocking the path, their arrows tipped with poison. Everyone praises the Zhaode General for his noble character, yet they all forget to say that no true man is without his poisons, don’t they?"

Yin Zhan looked at the youth before him, whose beauty was undiminished even as he spoke of the tragic fate of his parents, and managed to do so with a carefree smile. That smile contained a ferocious cruelty, almost enough to devour someone, yet it hid an evil innocence that could make one inadvertently fall into a trap from which they could never climb out.

The Jih Heng before him suddenly became blurred, as if morphing into the close friend who always patted his shoulder and laughed heartily, Jih Minghan, and then into Yu Hongye, who was intelligent and bold, and possessed stunning beauty.

Twenty-three years ago, as Eastern Xia invaded, the young Jinwu General led his troops to war. In Yanjing, Yu Hongye, waiting for the return of Jih Minghan, passed away from a serious illness. People knew nothing of the underlying secrets, only that all the servants within and without the Jih family’s house were replaced. From then on, Jih Minghan vanished without a trace, leaving behind only Jih Heng and Old General Jih to depend on each other.

What the truth was became of no consequence to anyone. Time, like the Yangtze River, buried all vivid colors, aging them until they became insignificant, sinking to the riverbed, never to be brought up again. However, not everyone forgot.

How exactly did Yu Hongye die?

Yin Zhan recollected an afternoon decades ago, when he was in a secluded part of the palace, getting intimate with the Empress Dowager. Who could have imagined that Yu Hongye would appear at that moment? Her timing was perfect to the extent that not even the palace maids on the lookout outside noticed. To this day, Yin Zhan still could not fathom why Yu Hongye had appeared then.