Tigers Sniff the Rose - Chapter 144

Chapter 144

The summer palace was in utter chaos. After Mu Wanyao emerged from the Emperor’s bedchamber, surrounded by ministers, she began to take command of the defensive battle.

"The Prince of Qin’s forces are undoubtedly stronger than our standard garrison," Mu Wanyao said. "We don't need to defeat him or capture him alive; we just need to hold our ground. Once news of this crisis reaches Chang'an, they will surely send reinforcements. Since the Prince of Qin is rebelling, he is a traitor acting without moral authority. He isn't panicking, so why are you?"

A minister wore a distressed expression: "Hasn't the Ministry of War been under the Prince of Qin’s control for years? Will Chang'an really send troops to support us?"

"Of course," Mu Wanyao replied.

Of course they would not.

If her father were presiding over Chang'an, the battlefield at the summer palace would be left to her and Yan Shang. Since Yan Shang had his own troops, the Emperor would only care about the result and would not easily dispatch troops out of Chang'an.

"Compose yourselves!" Mu Wanyao said sharply. "How can you lose heart before the battle has even begun?"

"But the Prince of Qin has controlled the military for years, and we are merely civil officials..." the minister stammered.

"What is there to fear?" Mu Wanyao retorted. "Am I not here with you?! Now, come out with me, comfort the soldiers, and have them take up their weapons to fight the rebels. My orders stand—anyone who dares to take a single step backward will be executed as a deserter!"

With no further excuses, the ministers braced themselves: "Understood!"

The Prince of Qin’s forces entered the summer palace, initially as easily as if they were walking into an empty field. The low, rumbling thunder overhead seemed to encourage his campaign. The Prince of Qin was full of ambition; if he could kill the Emperor here in the summer palace, he could ascend the throne amidst the chaos, restore order, and who could block his path?

However, that was only in the beginning.

When the Prince of Qin’s troops ransacked the entire summer palace but failed to find the Emperor, he began to grow uneasy.

At the same time, because Mu Wanyao had stabilized the morale of the troops, the summer palace guards began to organize a counterattack, and the Prince of Qin’s advance was no longer as smooth as before. The Prince of Qin gritted his teeth: "That little brat, Mu Wanyao! She’s causing nothing but trouble!"

He wanted to eat her alive for following the Emperor every step of the way!

The Prince of Qin ordered: "Capture the Sixth Princess alive for me!"

Watching the battle from a window, Mu Wanyao instructed her guards: "To capture the bandits, first capture the leader. My third brother will surely want to kill me first. Fang Tong, it’s up to you now."

Fang Tong and the other guards surrounded Mu Wanyao, protecting her at the very center. At the Princess’s command, Fang Tong replied loudly: "Rest assured, Your Highness! What is this chaos? We will surely protect Your Highness!"

Mu Wanyao nodded.

She did not understand military affairs, but she did not need to learn on the spot. She only needed to stabilize morale here; as long as the summer palace guards saw her, they could fight with peace of mind. Mu Wanyao watched the civil officials issue orders. They kept glancing at her, and though she said nothing, they steeled themselves and carried on despite their unease.

The margin for error in this battle was high.

Because, after all, the Emperor was not there.

Mu Wanyao held this confidence, guarding the secret. She waited for the right moment, the perfect opportunity to let this news out and disrupt the enemy’s morale!

Mu Wanyao issued a command: "Tell everyone that our people have sent troops to rescue us! Tell the soldiers to hold on for a little longer."

By the afternoon, the Prince of Qin’s forces had captured half of the summer palace, but the other half remained as sturdy as an iron barrel. With a favored princess presiding over it, the morale of the summer palace remained unshaken. Just as the Prince of Qin, unable to find the Emperor, began to worry that his campaign was a mistake, a scout came panting: "Your Highness, a troop of soldiers is encircling us! They are flying the 'Protect the Emperor' banner! From what we can see on the watchtower, they appear to have nearly ten thousand men!"

Ten thousand men!

The Prince of Qin’s camp was in an uproar.

The Prince of Qin’s eyes narrowed, but he said calmly: "Those are our reinforcements, do not panic."

At the same time, Mu Wanyao’s scouts intercepted the same news. Mu Wanyao’s beautiful eyes lit up, and she smiled: "It must be my husband coming to the rescue! Let us quickly send troops to welcome them!"

Yan Suchen had come!

Wasn't Yan Suchen supposed to be in Taiyuan? To appear here so quickly… As the ministers watched the Princess’s smiling eyes, they instantly understood that this battle had likely been anticipated all along. With preparations already in place, they felt even more at ease.

Even if Yan Suchen was a civil official like them… since he could quell the Taiyuan rebellion, he could naturally quell the chaos here too!

Mu Wanyao said loudly: "We have rested for half the day and gifted half of the mountain villa to the Third Brother. From now on, let the generals prepare; we are going to counterattack. We must meet our reinforcements!"

The ministers wanted to argue about how they could possibly coordinate a counterattack with so few troops, but Mu Wanyao had them send out a message: "Send a soldier with the loudest voice to stand on the highest pavilion in the villa and shout for half an hour. The louder, the better. You must ensure everyone on the Prince of Qin’s side knows—my father is not in the summer palace."

The crowd was shocked once more!

Once this ploy was launched, Mu Wanyao watched from the high pavilion and indeed saw that, behind the clearly defined lines, the Prince of Qin’s side began to fall into disarray. Someone on his side tried to suppress it, but as the reinforcements arrived, the enemy’s formation began to collapse. The battle entered a white-hot state. Mu Wanyao gazed toward the direction outside the villa and set a new goal: "Capture the Prince of Qin alive!"

The Prince of Qin’s side cried out hoarsely: "Capture Princess Danyang alive!"

The speed of cavalry is best demonstrated on the plains. Within an hour, Yan Shang’s ten thousand soldiers appeared outside the villa. Yan Shang began to support from the outside, while Mu Wanyao led a counterattack from the inside. Coordinating, they pushed forward, crushing the Prince of Qin’s forces.

The ministers cheered: "It is Yan Suchen! It is Director Yan! Master Yan has really returned! We are safe!"

Another hour passed, and a breach was broken in the Prince of Qin’s line. The reinforcements charged in, and the Prince of Qin collapsed step by step. Yan Shang dismounted and walked through the gardens, now littered with corpses and stained with blood. Mu Wanyao saw him from the pavilion. Stunned, she quickly turned and ran down.

Her skirts fluttered in the wind like crumpled silk.

Yan Shang, looking refreshing, had just reached the stairs when a girl jumped down a couple of steps and threw herself into his arms.

Yan Shang was startled and quickly wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her tight. They gazed at each other, speaking in unison: "Are you hurt?"

They paused simultaneously, then both said: "I am not."

They were stunned again, then could not help but burst into laughter. Mu Wanyao’s laughter was radiant, while Yan Shang’s was soft and subtle.

Holding his wife’s wrists, Yan Shang felt a lingering fear. He had been terrified that he would be too late and that something would happen to Mu Wanyao. Seeing her safe now, he found the heart to whisper to her: "The private soldiers from the Li family, having entered via Jiannan Road, will arrive soon.

"The Prince of Qin will not escape this time."

Mu Wanyao nodded: "Let’s capture him together!"

On the Prince of Qin’s side, there was utter desperation. The Emperor was not in the summer palace, and Yan Shang and Mu Wanyao had reunited… it looked more and more like a pit dug for him. By now, how could he not know he had been played by his father? His father knew he would rebel from the start… or rather, he had hoped he would.

If he rebelled, the Emperor could then deal with the Jiang clan.

The Prince of Qin felt a bitter taste in his mouth. He looked out into the distance, heartbroken, wondering which prince in which dynasty had ever been pushed to this extent by his own father… was that even a father?

It was a guillotine, carving him apart inch by inch.

A scout came running in a panic: "Your Highness! More tens of thousands of troops are closing in on the city, split into two parts: one heading toward us, and one entering the city of Chang'an from the north…"

After his shock, the Prince of Qin calmed down and asked for the details of the troops. This time, there was joy in his eyes: "They are our men! Quickly, receive them!"

They were his men!

They were the Crown Prince’s men!

The Crown Prince had not lied to him; he was truly cooperating with him!—

Yang Si’s thirty thousand troops were divided into two: one part supported the Prince of Qin, and the other, led by Yang Si himself, forced its way into Chang'an. At the north gate of Chang'an, the Crown Prince’s men had already opened the gates. The ten thousand troops entered the city with ease, joined by the troops already within the city, and charged toward the Imperial City.

"BOOM—"

Dark clouds gathered on the horizon, and the thunder grew louder.

Before the citizens of the city could react, they heard a roar even louder than the thunder. It was not rain that was coming; it was ten thousand troops entering the city!

In the Imperial Palace, the Emperor learned of the event, his eyes narrowing, stunned for a split second. He gritted his teeth: "Flying the banner of Youzhou? It’s Yang San leading the troops? The Crown Prince… the Crown Prince actually dared to cooperate with the Third! That unfilial son!"

He realized that the Prince of Qin had managed the Ministry of War for years, so he wouldn't just have those few troops. He had prepared for everything, even using the influence of the Li family to secretly transport troops into Chang'an as private soldiers to avoid panic… but he had calculated everything except for the fact that the Crown Prince and the Prince of Qin had teamed up!

The Emperor’s hands trembled, and he swept the tea cup off his desk, shattering the porcelain across the floor. The Emperor raged: "Is the Crown Prince trying to rebel too?! Why would the Crown Prince rebel! This empire will be his; what more could he be dissatisfied with? I paved every path for him, what more could he want!

"Send the Imperial Guard to the Eastern Palace and capture the Crown Prince for me!"

But the Eastern Palace had been prepared long ago. Fighting erupted the moment Yang Si led his troops into the city.

Outside, soldiers battled, and blood flowed like a river. The Crown Princess, with a terrified expression, rushed into the palace where the Crown Prince was, leading his concubines and children, all of them kneeling on the floor, their faces white as snow: "Your Highness…"

The Crown Prince did not look at them. He dropped the chess piece in his hand, and as lightning tore through the sky, he tilted his head to look out the window.

The spring scenery was bright, and the reeds were lush and green. This should have been a beautiful season for enjoying the spring, but now it was stained with the color of slaughter, everything dyed in blood-red.

The Crown Prince said calmly: "What does it matter if I cooperate with the Prince of Qin? As early as last year, he provoked a conflict between me and the Prince of Qin over the petty affairs of the Nanyang Jiang clan, wanting us brothers to kill each other… back then, I already began working with my third brother! Who in this world is smarter than whom, and who is a fool?

"Why shouldn't I rebel? Is the empire he gives me what I want? He wants to bury the entire Yang clan, preferably to the last man. Once it was the Li clan, now it is the Jiang clan; once the Jiang clan falls, he will move to eliminate the Yang clan. With the noble families having no hope of return, I can only rely on the commoner forces he provides. Heh, he has a wonderful scheme.

"He clipped my wings, severed my path, and still expects me to be grateful! Expects me to endure it for the sake of the empire’s grand cause! I have endured for too long… he gives me the position of Crown Prince, but he is the one doing the real calculating! He says the future ruler is me, that I lack nothing, but this is the empire he has arranged—it is not mine!

"He wants commoners to rise and noble families to fade. He has his considerations, but he never considered me. Since he never considered me, why shouldn't I cooperate with my third brother?"

The Crown Prince stood up abruptly, his wide robes overturning the chessboard. Amidst the clatter, the black and white chess pieces splashed like rain, tapping crisply against the floor tiles—

"Since he was unrighteous first, don't blame me for being unfaithful!

"The chess game he gave me is not what I wanted! I will play it myself!"—

Liu Wenji led the Northern Administration army in full battle readiness. Originally intended to guard against the unexpected, he had not expected to wait for Yang Si’s troops to enter the city first.

Now that the rebel was Yang Si, Liu Wenji had received the imperial mandate: he did not need to be inhibited by the other party’s status; he was to kill without question.

Liu Wenji sneered.

He thought: this is Yang Silang! A born military genius who rose from a common soldier to a general in Longyou! The Northern Administration wanted to kill Yang Si—but could they?

It would just be filling the gap with severed heads!

While Liu Wenji thought this, he still galloped without pause to intercept and kill Yang Si. At the same time, he ordered a soldier to pass a message: "Go to the summer palace and ask the Princess when Yan Suchen’s troops will arrive! Chang'an is short-handed and lacking in troops; the Yang family has rebelled, and Chang'an needs support!"—

In the streets of Chang'an, Yan Xiaozhou had heard the muffled thunder in the morning. Thinking it was going to rain, she had not returned home in time but was eating and drinking with friends she had made in Chang'an near a tavern, waiting for the rain.

By the afternoon, the rain had not come, and Yan Xiaozhou parted ways with her friends. Feeling uneasy, she felt that something was wrong and hurried back to the Princess’s residence with her maid. Just then, the city gates were opened from the inside out. Amidst the roaring sound, the gates were flung wide open, and Yang Si’s troops began a massive assault on the city. The people fled in terror!

Yang Si commanded loudly: "Attack only the Imperial City, do not harm the citizens! Those who violate this will be killed without mercy!"

At the Zhao Censor’s residence, Zhao Ling妃 had no heart to concern herself with any marriage. When the streets of Chang'an were filled with soldiers, she refused her parents’ demand to stay in the house. She climbed over the backyard wall to see the situation in Chang'an.

With large numbers of troops surrounding the city, she worried for the safety of Wei Shu in the Imperial City and avoided others to sneak toward it.

The Imperial City at this time was also in chaos. The rebels were attacking, and their goal was certainly to take the Imperial City first, then the palace. The Six Ministries, the Secretariat, the Chancellery, and the Censorate were all in the Imperial City. On a typical afternoon of work, all the ministers were uneasy, inquiring everywhere about the news of the great battle.

The eunuchs sent by the Emperor ran around drenched in sweat, reading the imperial decree: "His Majesty says the Yang family has rebelled. Every master of a noble household must send people back to their families, have them bring out their private troops, and hand them over to the Northern Administration to cooperate with Gonggong Liu in intercepting Yang Si!

"Masters, you all have private soldiers at home. If you hide them now, once Chang'an is captured, your future will be grim!"—

In the summer palace, after Yan Shang and Mu Wanyao reunited, the Prince of Qin’s troops began to show signs of defeat. But since things had come to this, no one retreated. The Prince of Qin fought with the idea of mutual destruction; he did not retreat an inch, but instead attacked even more fiercely.

The enemy used flaming arrows to attack, forcing Yan Shang and Mu Wanyao to leave the wooden pavilion and abandon the burning area. The two headed toward a rockery, still wishing to occupy the high ground to see the enemy’s movements.

Reports of the battle were constantly sent to the couple. Yan Shang paused and said: "The Prince of Qin isn't retreating at all; I fear he has another plan… The southern private soldiers are about to arrive. The Prince of Qin has no way out; why doesn't he flee? Instead, he fights more intensely. It’s like, it’s like…"

Mu Wanyao met his gaze: "It’s as if he’s trying to buy time for someone."

The two were stunned.

Then Yan Shang blurted out: "The Crown Prince in Chang'an!"

Mu Wanyao’s eyes widened.

The Crown Prince and the Prince of Qin… two people who had always been mortal enemies, were actually cooperating?! To what extent had the Emperor pushed them!

Their hearts tightened, both thinking that if the Crown Prince was involved, the Yang family would be too. If the Yang family was involved, would Yang Si be involved? Setting aside his personal relationship with them, Yang Si’s leadership ability was unmatched… The battle in Chang'an would inevitably be even more tragic than the one at the summer palace!

The southern private soldiers shouldn't be supporting them; they should be supporting Chang'an!

Thinking of this, Yan Shang immediately ordered: "Pass my command, let…"

Fang Tong suddenly shouted sharply: "Your Highness, Prince Consort!"

Yan Shang looked up and saw that on the high rockery where he and Mu Wanyao stood, several burly soldiers were hiding, unknown to anyone. When he looked up, they gave a cold laugh and shouted, throwing themselves against the rockery. The stones tumbled down one after another, and earth and dust cascaded down.

Fang Tong and the others lunged forward to attack the enemies.

Because the other side was prepared, the entire rockery collapsed, and the stones crashed toward Yan Shang and Mu Wanyao below.

Mu Wanyao was slower to react. When she looked up, Yan Shang had already hugged her, shielding her face in his arms. A boulder as tall as several men crashed toward the spot where Mu Wanyao stood; no one could avoid it. In the haste, Yan Shang could only turn, shielding Mu Wanyao with his body, letting the boulder hit his back.

Yan Shang groaned, holding Mu Wanyao as he stumbled a few steps.

It was too late for Fang Tong and the others to save them. In the blink of an eye, the entire rockery collapsed, burying the Prince Consort and the Princess underneath. In the sudden silence, Fang Tong roared: "Save the Princess and the Prince Consort!"—

The summer palace was busy trying to save Yan Shang and Mu Wanyao, while in Chang'an, as Yan Shang and Mu Wanyao had expected, the battle was raging intensely.

All the usable troops in Chang'an had been deployed, but even with only ten thousand men, Yang Si could not be stopped by the Northern Administration, who were retreating step by step. Waiting in vain for reinforcements and seeing that they were about to retreat into the Imperial City, they realized that if they retreated any further, the coup might actually succeed today!

A plan that had been prepared early on had become so difficult because of the Crown Prince’s intervention!

Sweat beaded on Liu Wenji’s forehead as his side retreated, and he grew more and more anxious. Waiting in vain for reinforcements, he became angry, suspecting Mu Wanyao of toying with him, intentionally letting him lose. Or perhaps Yan Shang had other ideas? Yan Shang no longer viewed him as a friend, but like other scholars, treated him as a dog, as an alien species.

The scholars all looked down on him, and Yan Shang was a scholar too.

It was his own arrogance to think that Yan Shang would remain the same, that he would not become his enemy.

Liu Wenji’s heart grew cold, and he sneered, knowing how difficult life was—one could rely on no one but oneself.

As he pondered this, a general ran over, dripping with sweat: "Gonggong, we cannot hold back Yang Si’s army… what should we do?"

Liu Wenji said in a sinister voice: "Drag all the commoners out of Chang'an, pull them onto the streets, and drive them to the front of the Imperial City! For every step Yang Si’s army takes forward, let them step on these commoners. Let’s see if he kills more commoners today, or more of us.

"Doesn't Chang'an call Yang Si an ambitious young hero? Now, I want to see… if that young man of the past will kill commoners today just to take the city!"

The general was shocked: "How can we implicate innocent commoners…"

Liu Wenji turned to look at him, his eyes filled with gloom: "Otherwise, are we to stand in the street and wait to be trampled to death by his army? Issue the order!"

Consequently, because of Liu Wenji’s order, the people of Chang'an were dragged from their homes one by one, driven onto the streets like pigs and dogs, forced to stand in the street, facing Yang Si’s army with their flesh and blood.

In the chaos, Yan Xiaozhou managed to hide in a shop, avoiding capture. However, she was filled with shock, watching the innocent commoners being dragged from their homes by the government troops, even children were not spared. Crying and wailing filled the streets. The commoners had not died at Yang Si’s hands, but were first dragged through a river of blood on the street by the soldiers—

Yan Xiaozhou’s face was pale, and she murmured: "They’re crazy, they’ve all gone crazy…"

The shopkeeper shivered with fear, urging Yan Xiaozhou: "Young lady, you should quickly come with us to hide in the cellar. It won't be good if you’re caught by them."

Yan Xiaozhou bit her lip. She had intended to go with the kind shopkeeper to hide, but through the crack in the door, she saw several poor children crying and sitting on the street, and she didn't know when the soldiers would arrive. Weighing her options, she apologized to the shopkeeper and ran out the door of the shop.

Several children had been separated from their parents in the chaos. Seeing the soldiers on horseback coming to capture people, they cried in terror, waiting for their cruel fate to arrive. From the side, a pair of slender white hands suddenly scooped up one of the children and dragged them toward the back.

A young lady’s gentle voice whispered from behind the wall: "Come with me."

The children looked back blankly to see the one holding the child was a young lady standing in a narrow alley corner. The lady beckoned to them and put her index finger to her lips, making a "shh" sound, quietly motioning for them to come over.

The lady had a kind face and a gentle smile, and the children followed her, sobbing.

Yan Xiaozhou sighed, rubbed their heads, and told them in a low voice: "I don't know where your parents are, and I can't take you to find them. I know of a place where the soldiers will never dare to search for or capture people. If you want to live until you find your parents, try with me and go there to hide. If you don't want to, I won't force you."

She meant the alley where Princess Danyang’s residence was located.

The soldiers would never dare search a Princess’s territory, even if the Princess was not currently in Chang'an.

The children looked at each other and nodded tearfully: "Big sister, we will listen to you. Don't leave us. They said big, vicious brothers are coming to kill us, we don't want to die…"

Big, vicious brothers.

Yan Xiaozhou had sorrow in her eyes, but she smiled at them, signaling them to follow her. Although she was just a young girl, and had only been in Chang'an for a year, Yan Xiaozhou was clever and agile. She nimbly avoided the soldiers on the street, and more and more people followed her escape, not just children, but adults too.

Yan Xiaozhou did not refuse them.

Help if you can; if destiny is cruel, then that cannot be helped.

She just lost her focus occasionally, thinking of the young man she met last year on the ancient path into Chang'an, drunk and paralyzed in a stream. His smile was like the winter sun, and his demeanor was fearless and proud… How did he end up where he was today?——

When Zhao Lingfei was weaving through the city, she gave up her original plan to go to the Imperial City.

She stopped in her tracks, staring blankly at the people fleeing like locusts all over the city. Chang'an was no longer the sacred place of prosperity that foreigners longed for; it had become an abyss of hell that day.

Fighting everywhere, looting everywhere.

Some were making a profit from the war; some good people had turned evil.

Zhao Lingfei watched this quietly—what she thought only the uncivilized barbarians of the Western Regions would do, was happening in Chang'an.

A soldier saw a beautiful lady standing on the street and, with an itch in his heart, swung an iron chain to bind her, intending to do good deeds first and then send her to the enemy to die. The iron chain looped around Zhao Lingfei’s neck. Zhao Lingfei turned around abruptly, her icy, snow-like eyes looking at the soldier.

There was no killing intent in her eyes, but when her hand touched the iron chain, the soldier sensed danger.

Zhao Lingfei took a step forward, light shimmering in her eyes, on the verge of falling or not falling, and she whispered: "I will never let my home become your hell."

She did not go to the Imperial City, and did not go to save Wei Shu.

Wei Qi-ge was so capable, he naturally had his own methods. But for now, the miserable people of Chang'an, the people being dragged out to die by the eunuchs… were the ones who needed her.

Yang Si learned of Liu Wenji’s arrangement.

He remained expressionless, making no comments on the matter. He would not kill the commoners, but he could not issue an order about today’s events… the commoners wanted a way to live, and the soldiers under his command needed a way to live too.

Thunder rolled, and Yang Si looked up at the black clouds in the sky—

Let everyone leave it to fate—

In the stuffiness, in the tranquility, Mu Wanyao heard her husband’s hoarse, low call.

She opened her eyes, but her vision was pitch black. After a while, she realized she was being held in Yan Shang’s arms.

Yan Shang coughed: "We’ve been buried under the rockery."

Mu Wanyao replied in a muffled voice. She tried to move, but she was leaning against stones piled up like a wall, and Yan Shang, who was holding her in front, was in a kneeling position before her. He couldn't move, and naturally, she couldn't either.

Mu Wanyao felt depressed for a while, and she took the initiative to persuade Yan Shang: "Fang Tong will save us, don't worry."

Yan Shang whispered that it was fine.

Mu Wanyao suddenly said: "Are you hurt… I smell blood, it’s so heavy."

Yan Shang didn't answer.

Mu Wanyao: "Don't lie to me."

Yan Shang sighed softly.

He said: "I don't know, because I can't move, I can’t really feel anything anymore… but I feel very cold, I’ve probably lost too much blood. I suspect a stone pierced my back. I can't move, the stone is stuck, so the blood has been flowing."

"But that doesn't matter. I’m only worried about the situation in Chang'an. You said Liu Wenji was prepared, but if the Crown Prince lets Yang Si attack the city himself, who can stop him? I’m worried about Chang'an."

Mu Wanyao tried to touch him, but her hand touched only jagged stones; she couldn't even hug him: "Stop thinking about those things. Yan Er-gege, why do you always think of others, but never of us? What are we to do?"

Yan Shang was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled, his voice gentle: "I am thinking of you. Yaoyao, shall I give you a gift?"

Mu Wanyao sat stiffly and looked up. A warm object was pressed into her hand by him. She fumbled with it for a long time and realized it was the shape of a jade pendant.

She was stunned, her heart pounding. Just as she was about to guess, she heard Yan Shang’s embarrassed voice: "Our family’s heirloom jade pendant, Yun Shu brought it when she returned from Nanyang. I’ve always wanted to give it to you, but I never had the chance."