Chapter Twenty-Five: Between Advance and Retreat

  King Wang was infatuated with Ai Chongxiao, and wanted to shift his guilt onto Cui Yang. However, Ru Shao Fu admonished him to stop, but as a result, Ru and Xiao bore a grudge against each other from then on.

  Yong Shi - Ji Wang Lie Zhuan

  I put down the book and asked: 'Can Jing Chi and Chang Sun Ji be used with a sincere heart?'

  Xiao Shunzi nodded and said: "Young master, rest assured. The two generals are both men who strictly follow military orders, and their martial arts skills are excellent. Huo Jicheng is a famous expert in Shu, but he was almost killed when surrounded by them. Chi Ji rescued Huo Jicheng with smoke bombs, and himself almost got caught. If they hadn't received the order beforehand not to reveal their identities, I'm afraid Huo Jicheng wouldn't have been able to escape."

  I said faintly: "The love token of the King of Yong, isn't it extraordinary? You said last time that your Soul Searching Hand had a 50% chance of success, won't you be seen through by others?"

  Xiao Shunzi smiled and said: "Young master, don't worry. When I was in South Chu, I had a fight with someone from the Li family. Although Da Sou Hun Shou is powerful, I'm confident that my secretly learned skills are not bad. Moreover, Huo Jicheng is a disciple who broke away from the Li family, and his Da Sou Hun Shou has some impurities and weirdness. But what I don't understand is that Cui Yang also wants to ambush and kill Huo Jicheng, so why do you have to personally intervene, young master?"

  I shook my head and said, "If the prince had let Ho Ji Cheng be killed, he might not have been able to get out of it himself. You saw their ambush, if it wasn't for your lightning-fast victory, it wouldn't have been so easy. If the prince's assassination had succeeded, then even if we exposed this matter, it would have been useless. Moreover, if we went to rescue Ho Ji Cheng, either Han Wuji would have revealed his true intentions or Ho Ji Cheng would have suspected us. That's why I arranged things this way. Now that Ho Ji Cheng has escaped, with his personality, he will seek revenge even if it means suffering losses himself. Only by making a big deal out of this can we achieve our goal. By letting you kill Cui Yang, I wanted to cut off the prince's wings. If the matter is exposed, the prince originally intended for the current Minister of Revenue to be the scapegoat, and Cui Yang could have taken over as minister. Now that 'Ho Ji Cheng' has killed Cui Yang, I want to see whether the prince will abandon Cui Yang or the minister. By observing how the prince handles this situation, I'll know who he relies on most."

  Xiao Shunzi asked: 'Then what should we do next?'

  I turned my eyes and said, 'We must divert the prince's attention. I'll go visit General Qin Yi. Because of the assassination attempt on me last time, Qin Qing was implicated, and I should apologize to him.'

  Xiao Shunzi said discontentedly: 'Qin Qing is also suspicious, they didn't come to explain and that's already very excessive.'

  I shook my head and said, "They can only do this, otherwise the matter will get bigger and bigger. If they came, would His Highness believe or not? You don't see that the others didn't come to explain either. Explaining is useless in such matters. It's like now that we already know who the murderer is, can't we just tolerate it? Moreover, this matter has harmed Qin Qing even more. He was an innocent person, but several parties have been stirring up trouble. As long as they know I wasn't injured by the Southern Chu assassin, wouldn't most people suspect that Qin Qing was resentful of being forced to apologize to me and killed me in a fit of rage?"

  Xiao Shunzi hesitated and said: "Should we go inform Your Highness first?"

  I smiled and said: "That's natural, did you think I, a small Sima, was qualified to ask for an audience with the great General? By the way, how is Pei Yun doing?"

  Young Shunzi replied, "Don't worry, General Pei has not only fully recovered from his injuries, but also made great progress in his inner strength. This time, he broke through the limits of life and death and is expected to break through the seventh layer of limits. The Shaolin side is also very happy because General Pei has recently taken a concubine. The woman comes from a scholarly family, is gentle and elegant, and her clan has close ties with Shaolin. Although it's not yet public, this marriage has already been approved by General Pei's parents. As soon as the woman becomes pregnant, the Pei family will propose to break off the engagement with the Xue family."

  I sneered and said: "It seems that General Pei's parents couldn't wait any longer, so they were willing to ruin the relationship between the two families."

  Xiao Shunzi couldn't help but say, "The intelligence from the secret camp says that General Pei's parents also think that their unmarried daughter-in-law is too active and can't be a good wife and mother. Moreover, the Pei family only has one bloodline now, so they want General Pei to take in several concubines to branch out and spread his roots. Originally, they wanted General Pei to get married quickly and then take in several concubines, so when General Pei proposed taking a concubine this time, they agreed. They just hid it because of the face of their relatives, and once the concubine has children, they can openly bring them back home. At that time, Miss Xue will have no choice but to accept."

  I couldn't help but laugh and said, "It turns out that General Pei is still too old-fashioned. Now isn't it a win-win situation? Besides, he was originally under the command of King Qi. This time he saved my life, will King Qi make things difficult for him?"

  Xiao Shunzi calmly said: 'The King of Qi not only did not make things difficult for him, but also supported the decision of the palace owner, and promoted General Pei's official position. The crown prince had some small movements before, wanting to take advantage of the opportunity to arrange his own people in the Northern Camp of the Imperial Guard, but the emperor was very dissatisfied, personally praised General Pei, and the crown prince gave up.'

  I nodded and said: "Alright, the prince is resting now. You go ask him tomorrow morning if he has any arrangements. It must be tomorrow, or it will be too late."

  The next morning, news of King Yong's Li Zai visiting General Qin Yi's mansion spread quickly throughout the capital.

  I and Prince Yong arrived at the residence of Qin Yi at the end of Chen time. The mansion occupied a vast area of about ten acres, which was already considered quite large among the ministers' residences. However, it was only spacious in layout, but its exterior appearance was very simple, even the steps in front of the gate, the dismounting stone, and the lions were all ordinary-looking, making it look like an ordinary official's residence. As soon as Prince Yong got off his carriage at the entrance, Qin Yi, who had already seen the prince's messenger, led his family to welcome him at the entrance. Although General Qin was of a superior status, Prince Yong was still the emperor's son, and the proper etiquette could not be neglected. I followed behind Prince Yong and stole a glance, seeing that behind Qin Yi, apart from Qin Qing, there was also a tall young man and four or five boys in their teens. The young man wore military attire and looked about 80% similar to Qin Qing, but appeared more rugged. Apart from them, the attendants standing on both sides were all house generals and servants, each with a calm demeanor and hidden killing intent, seemingly all being brave warriors who had survived bloody battles.

  Qin Yi hastily stepped forward, bowed his head and said: "Your servant Qin Yi pays respects to Your Majesty for a thousand years."

  At this time, Qin Qing and those young men also came forward to pay their respects. The young man also had an official position, I heard him call himself Qin Yong, and immediately remembered his identity. He was the nephew of Qin Yi's clan, his father was originally Qin Yi's clansman, unfortunately died in battle, Qin Yi took his family to the mansion, his grandparents passed away were all buried by Qin Yi, now he is one of Qin Yi's deputy generals. It is said that this person, although with a simple appearance, has a hidden talent for military strategy and tactics, but he is extremely loyal to Qin Yi and filial to his mother, except for a few years of training on the border, he has been following Qin Yi for many years, is Qin Yi's right-hand man, and is more favored by Qin Yi than Qin Qing.

  Li Zai pulled Qin Yi's hand, and the two walked shoulder to shoulder into the mansion. I glanced at Qin Qing and smiled: "Last time General Qin came to the Duke of Yong's mansion, Zhe had invited the general to have tea. Today, Zhe followed the emperor to visit, so the general should receive me too."

  Qin Qing looked at me with a somewhat strange expression, and only walked over after I spoke up: "Commander Jiang, please."

  After walking a few steps, he asked in a low voice: "Didn't General Jiang suspect that I, Qin Qing, was an assassin sent to kill you?"

  I smiled and said, "General Qin, this is a misunderstanding. I was unconscious for nearly two months before, and then I was recovering from my injuries. Where did I have the energy to suspect anyone? Besides, General, you are a straightforward person. If you wanted to kill Jiang, you would probably do it openly with your sword. This assassination and sneak attack is not something you would do."

  Qin Qing's eyes flashed with a relieved expression, and her face was no longer cold. She said in a low voice: "Alas, it's all because of me that I suffered. Father locked me up for over a month and almost used torture to force a confession out of me. If not for Third Brother pleading on my behalf, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to bear it."

  I raised an eyebrow in confusion, and Qin Qing pointed to Qin Yong who was following closely behind Qin Yi: "That's my third brother, my distant cousin. Luckily he can talk some sense into Father, or else I'd be in big trouble."

  I smiled and said: "So it was, but does the general still believe those rumors now?"

  Qin Qing hastily signaled me to be quiet, and said in a low voice: "Don't say that anymore. I just told Father about that matter, and Father whipped me. Father said, 'What kind of person is the Princess? If she's willing to have private relationships with people...'" Qin Qing suddenly stopped speaking here, and his face showed an awkward expression. I knew he had revealed something he shouldn't have, so I changed the subject: "By the way, I heard that the Empress wants to marry you off to the Princess of Jingjiang. You're really lucky! I saw the Princess, she's a national beauty, just the right match for a general like you."

  Qin Qing's face showed a strange expression, seemingly admiring and yet regretful. After a long while, he said: "The young mistress is indeed a heavenly being, how can someone like me be worthy of matching with her?"

  My heart sank, and Qin Qing was indeed infatuated with Li Han Yu's beauty. This is not surprising, as he is a young master of a noble family, unlike Pei Yun who hopes for a wife to be thrifty and manage the household. He wants to marry an outstanding woman, and Li Han Yu has both national beauty and extraordinary temperament, being a disciple of Feng Yi Men, her talent and insight must also be exceptional. She is exactly the kind of wife Qin Qing dreams of, but Qin Yi doesn't allow it, no wonder he looks like this. However, if Feng Yi Men were to win over Qin Qing, then the neutrality of the Qin family cannot be guaranteed.

  I thought for a moment, looking at Qin Yi and Qin Yong, as long as they understand the harm of an alliance marriage, that's all that matters. I don't believe that even in a life-or-death situation, Qin Qing would still be reluctant to part with a woman. This kind of feeling based on talent and beauty may come strongly, but it will also dissipate quickly. As long as they don't have the opportunity to get close, Qin Qing will soon forget Li Han Yu. Unfortunately, the princess is not willing to marry Qin Qing, otherwise... Thinking of this, I suddenly felt a bit annoyed in my heart, probably because my injuries are not fully healed yet.

  When King Yong of Qin entered the mansion, the Crown Prince had already received news of Cui Yang's death. The most troublesome thing was that it wasn't his people who discovered Cui Yang's body, but rather Jingzhao Yin, a dignified Hu Bu Shilang and the Crown Prince's relative, who found them in a poor and mixed neighborhood. This already gave the Crown Prince a severe headache. He thought that perhaps Ho Ji Cheng had discovered trouble and killed Cui Yang in self-defense. The Crown Prince was shocked by Ho Ji Cheng's strength and didn't know how to deal with this situation. The last batch of smuggled goods hadn't arrived yet, and this loss was already severe. If Ho Ji Cheng were to cause more trouble, Li An would be filled with regret for his ruthless methods. He glanced at Lu Jingzhong, thinking that if he hadn't said they should eliminate all future troubles, perhaps they wouldn't have today's problems.

  Lu Jingzhong knew that the Crown Prince had a bad temper, but he didn't take it seriously and said: "Your Highness, although things have changed, there's no need to worry. We may have lost the last batch of goods, but overall it's not a big deal. Now, we don't necessarily have to lose them either. The Jinxiu Alliance has taken over this batch of goods, what can they do with it? Besides you, if someone else can take over such a large quantity of goods, wouldn't you notice? When the time comes, I will have a way to recover most of the losses. For now, the key is which one do you want to save, Cui Yang or the Minister of Revenue, Liang Zhenyuan?"

  Li An furrowed his brow and said, "Of course it's Cui -" He stopped mid-sentence. His original plan was to let Liang Jinpu take the blame for something that had happened, and then have Cui Yang take over as Minister of Revenue. But now that Cui Yang was dead, if he still went ahead with this plan, wouldn't he be left without anyone to use? The position of Minister of Revenue wasn't one that just anyone could fill - you needed the right qualifications, rank, and abilities. Moreover, the Ministry of Revenue was within his own sphere of influence, so if he were to appoint someone who wasn't suitable, it would hinder his own ability to get things done. But Liang Jinpu had been secretly keeping his own accounts, which already showed that he had a divided heart. If he let him off scot-free, he wouldn't be able to rest easy. Most importantly, Cui Yang and he had a close relationship, so if something were to happen to Liang Jinpu, people would inevitably turn their attention to him, wouldn't they?

  Li An was hesitating here, Xia Jinyi came in to report: 'Your Highness, Lan Fei Niangniang requests an audience.'

  Li An had considerable trust in Xia Jinyi, especially after learning that Deputy Director Xing Song died last night. Xia Jinyi took on the task of going to Hepingfang and destroying the bodies of several Wangfu dead soldiers who were sent to assist, as well as all evidence related to the Crown Prince's mansion. Witnesses who saw the incident were either silenced or bought off, and the methods used were extremely ruthless. Although the Metropolitan Governor knew that the Crown Prince was involved in the matter, he had no choice but to pretend ignorance since all the evidence had been destroyed. It was precisely for this reason that Li An decided to reuse Xia Jinyi. This man may not have exceptional martial arts skills or integrity, but he is skilled at flattering and is very capable. In Li An's mind, Xia Jinyi has already become the best candidate to replace Xing Song; otherwise, he would not have had the qualifications to enter and report during his deliberations.

  He heard it was Consort Xiao Lan who had arrived and hastily said: 'Let her in, earlier I looked for her but she didn't know where she went?'

  Xiao Lan walked in, she was twenty-six years old, beautiful and elegant, with a noble demeanor. After serving as the crown prince's concubine for many years, her temperament had become even more refined and dignified. She entered the room, paid respects to Li An, then greeted Lu Jingzhong, who had already stood up. After Xiao Lan sat down, he also went forward to pay his respects.

  Li An said impatiently, "Since we meet every day, don't bother. He told the whole story from beginning to end, then asked again, "Lan'er, things have come to this, you must already know, what do you think should be done?"

  Xiao Lan smiled slightly and said: "Your Highness, if I say it out loud, don't blame me?"

  Li An said: "What you said is all for my own sake, it's just that some things are not quite right, I won't blame you."

  Xiao Lan said calmly: "Although Lord Cui is the king's brother-in-law, he is now dead. Even if he was originally a high-ranking official, he has become a discarded pawn and abandoned son. The king may not like Prime Minister Liang, but he cannot cut off his own wings. For now, we can only push everything onto Lord Cui's shoulders, first win over Prime Minister Liang, and I will ask my sister to control him. Once things calm down and the king has someone trustworthy in mind, we can deal with this person later. Although it may cause some inconvenience for the crown princess for now, who can bully her under the king's protection?"

  Li An heard the continuous nodding and said: "You make a lot of sense, but if this matter involves Cui Yang, I'm afraid I won't be able to get out of it either."

  Xiao Lan's eyes flashed with a cold light, and he said: "So, Your Highness needs to be ruthless. Take advantage of the situation before it explodes, and say that you are investigating the Ministry of Revenue's accounts because of Cui Yang's suspicious death. This way, you can eliminate your relatives by justice, and who will still be able to drag you into this matter?"

  Li An's face lit up with excitement, and he was about to agree when he saw Lu Jingzhong looking uneasy. He thought to himself, "Could it be that he has a different opinion?" So he asked: "Junior Guardian, what do you think of Lan Fei's suggestion?"

  Lu Jingzhong glanced at Xiao Lan, thinking to himself that this woman was truly ruthless and cunning, able to devise such a scheme of killing two birds with one stone. However, he didn't find it convenient to expose her plan directly, so he calmly said: "Although Cui Yang is nothing much, she is still the Crown Prince's wife and Cui Yang's own sister. The young master and Duke Cui are uncle and nephew by marriage. If Your Highness were to turn against your own family..."

  He didn't continue speaking, but Li An had already understood his meaning. If he wanted to prioritize justice over family ties, then Cui Shi would probably have to step down, and if someone were to stir up trouble, the position of Crown Princess might already have a new occupant. The Emperor would certainly be displeased, thinking that he was not being mindful of their marital bond. Thinking this far, his expression turned cold, and he thought to himself, Fortunately, Lu Jingzhong reminded me.

  Xiao Lan was very clever and saw that the prince's expression was not right, so she said: "I told you, Your Highness, don't blame me."

  The crown prince forced a smile and said: "I won't blame you, it's just that this method probably won't work."

  Xiao Lan smiled and said, "What's difficult about this? Although I don't have any other ideas, my junior sister Li Han You from Jingjiang Wang will be coming to see me soon. She is also the princess's cousin. I've long heard that this junior sister of mine is very clever. Your Highness might as well ask her, she is my junior sister, would she still take sides with others?"

  At this time, Xia Jinyi knocked on the door and entered to report: 'Your Highness, the queen's maid has come to report that Princess Jingjiang of the Wang clan has arrived and is in the queen's chambers.'

  Li An was overjoyed and said: "Quickly, go and send someone to invite her over. Just say that I have an urgent matter to discuss with her."