Chapter 17: Turbulence Behind the Scenes

  Sun Simiao was picking herbs in the deep mountains. On the day he came out of the mountains, he saw an imperial edict from Emperor Yong, and thus learned that Rong Yun was on the verge of death. Within three days, he rushed a thousand miles to Chang'an, arriving at Prince Yong's residence just as Rong Yun's life hung by a thread. Sun Simiao's divine hands brought him back to life, and Rong Yun survived, but from then on his body was much weaker.

  The Book of Southern Chu · Biography of Jiang Suiyun

  Sang Shichen arrived at the Wang Mansion and rushed straight to the Cold Garden, bringing several imperial physicians and Xiao Shunzi along. He shut himself indoors, only occasionally issuing instructions for various matters.

  Li Zai and others stood outside the door, extremely anxious in their hearts. Pei Yun's injuries had already fully recovered, and upon hearing that Sang Chen had arrived at the Yong Wang Fu, he also rushed over to stand outside the door waiting. He was very grateful to Jiang Zhe, and after discussing with his master according to his method, although the two masters did not speak, they had already tacitly agreed. Although it went against the Buddhist doctrine of compassion, they couldn't help it. Pei Yun was their carefully nurtured guardian disciple, and he absolutely could not have any connection with Feng Yi Men. For this reason, they specially gave one of the only two small pills on their body to Jiang Zhe to take.

  Everyone waited outside for a whole day, until the second night, before they saw Sang Shen and others walk out with exhaustion. The medical sage was already nearly seventy years old, although he was advanced in age, his hair was all white, but he was still physically strong, these two days the imperial physicians almost had to take turns on duty, but he never took a step out of the house door.

  As he walked out of the house, Sang Chen caught sight of Li Ze and stepped forward to pay his respects, saying: "This old man thanks Your Highness for your painstaking efforts. If it weren't for Your Highness using precious medicine to prolong my life, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to wait for Master Yun's rescue."

  Li Zai finally let out a sigh of relief, and sat down softly on the chair brought over by the guards, tiredly saying: 'Mr. Sang, it's this king who should be thanking you for saving Mr. Jiang.'

  Sang Chen smiled slightly and said: "I and Sui Yun, are like grandfather and grandson, I saved him is also a matter of course. Although he is now safe and sound, but the subsequent nursing still needs to be taken care of, so I have to trouble Your Highness."

  Li Zai hastily stood up and said: "Of course, even if Master Sang doesn't say it, I would still ask you to stay in the palace for a while. Whatever you need, please tell me, and I will definitely not disappoint you."

  Sang Chen nodded and said: "I'm also tired, please prepare a place for me to rest. I'll come back tomorrow to treat Su Yun's illness again. I'll stay in the Cold Garden, so I can take care of Su Yun's body at any time."

  Li Zai nodded repeatedly and said he had already arranged for a residence to be prepared for Sang Chen in the Cold Garden.

  At this time, the queen sent someone to persuade Li Ze to return to the back house to rest. For these days, Li Ze had almost eaten and lived in the Cold Garden, and he hadn't gone back at all. Now he finally put his mind at ease and returned to his residence. The queen, accompanied by two concubines and maidservants, attended to Li Ze's bathing and changing clothes. After a good meal, Li Ze finally lay down on the bed with no worries and fell asleep.

  When he woke up, it was already three poles in the sun. Li Zhi got up and two maids came to help him tidy his clothes. Li Zhi smiled and said: "Where is the princess?"

  The princess walked in from outside and smiled: "Your Highness is overjoyed, just now the Cold Garden sent someone to report that Jiang Sima has woken up."

  Li Zai exclaimed with great joy: "The Medical Sage is indeed famous for a reason! After just one night, Su Yun woke up."

  The princess suppressed a smile and said, "Your Highness, it's been two days already. You've slept for so long that you can't be woken up no matter what. Mr. Sang came over to take a look and said that you were just exhausted from working too hard the other day. Once you wake up, you'll be fine."

  Li Zai smiled wryly and said: "No wonder I'm so hungry, quickly bring some food, I want to go to the Cold Garden to visit Mr. Jiang."

  The princess pulled Li Ze to the outer room for dinner, walking and saying: "Your Highness will take Roulan away later, these days I dare not tell her about Jiang Sima's affairs, she has cried and made a fuss several times."

  Li Zai nodded and said: "Alright, you can also accompany me on this trip, then go to the palace to inform Chang Le."

  The princess looked at Li Zuo in surprise and said: "Didn't Your Highness say that this matter was not suitable?"

  Li Zai sighed and said, "As soon as Chang Le found out that Jiang Sima was seriously injured, she immediately sent half of the Xuan Shen that Father Emperor had rewarded her to Ben Wang. Two days ago, she even sent someone to ask if I needed the other half. If the Medical Saint hadn't arrived yet, I'm afraid I would have really gone to borrow the Xuan Shen. It seems that Chang Le's feelings for Jiang Sima are indeed very deep. Even if I couldn't fulfill her wishes, I wouldn't want her to worry about it every day."

  The princess nodded and said, "Alright, let's do it this way. I'll bring Rouran with me into the palace and say that I'm bringing her to meet Empress Dowager Shang. This child is young but clever and lovely, and Chang Le also likes her very much."

  Li Zai nodded, and the princess continued: "Your Highness, although you released General Qin and his men, they have been under surveillance for days, and yesterday General Qin's wife came to visit me in person. She said that it was not Qin Qing's doing, but the general still had him locked up and interrogated thoroughly." Li Zai replied coldly: "These matters will be discussed with Su Yun later. If he is responsible, I will not forgive him."

  The princess hesitated and said: "Your Highness, you are now at odds with the Crown Prince and others. If you offend General Qin again, I really can't rest assured. Moreover, Xiahou's family is deeply favored by the Emperor, and this time, Princess Jingjiang came here on her father's orders. No matter who offends whom, it will be very troublesome."

  Li Zai paused for a moment and said lightly: "Nothing, some things will be solved sooner or later. If Qin Qing really did such a thing, it would be a shame to the family."

  The princess said cautiously: 'I think this child won't do such a thing, General's family education is strict, the child has a kind nature, although he is a bit reckless, but he can't do things that harm people in secret.'

  Li Zai hesitated for a moment, saying nothing. He had already asked Qin Qing personally, and Qin Qing had not hidden the situation that day. He could be sure that someone was sowing discord among Qin Qing, but he couldn't be certain that Qin Qing hadn't fallen into the trap. After all, there were no other eyewitnesses to what happened that day except for Jiang Zhe, who was already dead. Even if Qin Qing was telling the truth, it didn't rule out the possibility that he had taken advantage of someone's assassination attempt to frame others. However, this was a serious matter, and Li Zai did not want to tell the princess. He simply said calmly: "This king will make a fair judgment."

  The Yong Wang Fu finally calmed down temporarily, and the people in the mansion had been turned upside down for days. Now it's finally calm, but of course, the hidden waves are not something ordinary people can understand.

  The Crown Prince's mansion, Lu Jingzhong stared blankly at the intelligence in his hand, suddenly furious and tore it to shreds. After a moment, he got up and walked out of the room, walking to the temple door, but heard that the music and dance inside were still going on. Lu Jingzhong shook his head and quietly walked in, only to see Crown Prince Li An sitting at the top, lazily watching the beautiful dancing postures of those dancers. Seeing Lu Jingzhong coming in with a bad expression, Li An waved his hand, and these dancers and musicians all retreated. He asked: "Why is the Junior Guardian so worried? Isn't Jiang Zhe's life saved? Our goal was never his life anyway."

  Lu Jingzhong anxiously said: "Your Highness, these days I have carefully gathered intelligence and discovered that we have made a great mistake."

  Li An was taken aback and sat up straight, saying: "What makes you say that, Young Master?"

  "Your Highness, I used to think that Jiang Zhe was a national hero, but to be honest, we are not lacking in talent for literature and martial arts. Although he has exceptional abilities in military strategy and state policy, I didn't pay much attention to him. As long as you ascend to the throne, if he is willing to serve, it's not too late to use him. After all, you are not yet the Emperor, so there's no need to hastily recruit talented individuals and arouse the Emperor's suspicion. I secretly laughed at Prince Yong for being unaware of his own limitations. Even if Jiang Zhe's talents were exceptional, what use would they be if he couldn't enter the inner circle? Originally, my suggestion to assassinate Jiang Zhe was just a ploy to provoke conflict between Prince Yong and General Qin. Unexpectedly, another group of assassins struck first, and although their plan failed, our own people succeeded in the end. Afterward, you saw Prince Yong's reaction, and that's when I realized that we might have stumbled upon his weakness."

  Li An nodded and said, "You're right, we've been making things difficult for the second brother all these years. I've never seen him so tough, first going to the emperor's face to cry and complain, then deploying the imperial guard into the city. He doesn't even cherish the xuanlian that the emperor rewarded him with, and he even borrowed it from Princess Chang Le. Even Liu Yu is trying to curry favor with him, thinking about this makes me angry, how can my sixth brother be so muddled? Does he still consider me in his eyes?"

  Lu Jingzhong said: "It was precisely these that made me suspicious, and after carefully reviewing the old intelligence reports, I realized that I had failed in my duty. This Jiang Zhe, previously I thought he was a talented pillar of society, but after careful consideration, it turns out that this person is actually a genius at plotting and scheming."

  Li An raised his eyebrows, gesturing for Lu Jingzhong to continue. Lu Jingzhong said: "This person rose to fame with his literary talent. He served as an advisor in the camp of King De of Southern Chu. At first, I didn't think it was strange, thinking he was just a follower. Moreover, from the intelligence we gathered, although we knew that King De trusted him greatly, we didn't see him contribute any strategies. Although we knew he handled military affairs well, we also thought it was unimportant. These days, I collected all of King De's battle reports and discovered that only when Jiang Zhe was in his army did King De's tactics become cunning and ruthless. Furthermore, Jiang Zhe's one move sent the King of Shu to his death, although it was praised as a beautiful story, everyone thought it was King De's order, and Jiang Zhe was just carrying out the deed. However, thinking back now, it might not have been Jiang Zhe's own idea. Only after that did Jiang Zhe fall ill for many years, so no one paid attention to him anymore. If I hadn't thoroughly read through the intelligence from Southern Chu, I'm afraid I wouldn't have discovered this point either."

  Li An smiled and said: "Isn't the Junior Master worrying too much? These are all unverified matters."

  Lu Jingzhong said: "Indeed, there is no evidence, but Your Highness, why did the King of Qi want to compete with the King of Yong for this person? This time, he even sent a valuable medicine, didn't you say that Liang Yu had told you that both the King of Yong and the King of Qi had asked her to pay attention to Jiang Zhe? We thought that the King of Yong appreciated Jiang Zhe's talent, Your Highness knows that the King of Yong is infatuated with talent. As for the King of Qi, he is always making trouble, so we didn't take it to heart. Now it seems that both the King of Yong and the King of Qi are aware of this person's abilities. Only the Crown Prince and I thought Jiang Zhe was a talented scholar, but in fact, he is a strategist on par with Liang Ping. It's like being blinded by a single leaf and not seeing Mount Tai. The King of Yong used his prestige to make us believe that Jiang Zhe was a famous scholar like Qu Yuan or Jia Yi, but we overlooked the fact that this person is actually a brilliant strategist."

  Li An said: 'Shao Fu is meticulous, I know that, but it's also unavoidable to worry too much. Since this person has been relying on King Yong, he hasn't achieved anything worth mentioning.'

  Lu Jingzhong's eyes flashed with a hint of vigilance: "This is exactly what I was worried about. As the saying goes, 'a good fighter has no brilliant achievements.' Moreover, if I'm not mistaken, this person's plan should be sinister and strict, without any constraints. I'm afraid we will fall into his trap. That's why I originally hoped he would die, but unexpectedly, such a severe injury still allowed him to escape."

  Li An comforted him: 'Shaofu is more intelligent than others, even if that person has skills, he's not Shaofu's opponent. At worst, we'll send another assassin.'

  Lu Jingzhong's eyes flashed with a hint of pride, but he shook his head and said: "This is another thing that we overlooked. There is a hidden expert by his side named Li Shun, who is said to be an eunuch from the Southern Chu Palace. He took refuge with Jiang Zhe when Jianye City was broken and was brought back together with the Duke of Yong. After I investigated this person's intelligence, I found that it was very scarce because he was almost inseparable from Jiang Zhe every day. Jiang Zhe is a recluse who rarely goes out, and this person is also like that. Your Highness knows that the Yong Wang Fu is like an iron barrel, very difficult to penetrate, especially around Jiang Zhe, where there are many guards. Our spies didn't notice this person at all. According to Xia Hou, Li Shun's martial arts have reached the level of 'not wearing skin', unless it's someone of his level or a connoisseur, it's hard to see his depth. Our spies were really lacking in this regard and didn't pay special attention, which is why we overlooked this person. According to Xia Hou, Li Shun's martial arts must be far above his. If we send another assassin, I'm afraid it won't work."

  Li An said anxiously: 'Shao Fu, then what should we do?'

  Lu Jingzhong said: "As the saying goes, 'when soldiers come, generals will block', Your Highness doesn't have to worry too much. We just need to be more careful. Once you ascend to the throne, there's no need to worry anymore. If the situation becomes urgent, at most we'll send some formidable assassins. No matter how high Li Shun's martial arts are, can they surpass that person?"

  Li An nodded and said: "The young master is right. Should we slow down our business then?"

  Lu Jingzhong said: "This is not necessary, Xia Hou said that the assassin was 80% or 90% sent by Nan Chu. I don't believe a surrendered minister of Nan Chu would have any connection with the Jin Xiu Alliance, and I also don't think he has any power in difficult situations. Now that King Yong is worried, we can take advantage of the situation to make some moves. By the time King Yong becomes aware of it, we will be done. However, Your Highness, I still advise you to keep a distance from Xia Jinyi. He entered the mansion after having a conflict with Jiang Zhe, and I'm worried that he has ulterior motives."

  Li An said impatiently, "Young Master, you know that although Xia Jinyi had a conflict with Jiang Zhe, it was because of the Guanzhong Alliance. Even if he were Jiang Zhe, he would have done the same thing. Besides, I sent people to monitor Xia Jinyi, and all he did was spend time with Xiu Chun and practice singing and dancing. This time, when Jiang Zhe was seriously injured and the Yongwang Fu was in chaos, if he were a spy, he should have been particularly concerned or pretended to be unconcerned. But you also know that although he was curious, he didn't show any sympathy, and even mocked the people of Yongwang Fu. Other than trying to get Xiu Chun into his hands, what else did he do? If he were a spy for Yongwang Fu, wouldn't he have been busy collecting intelligence these days? Besides, this kind of person who only knows how to indulge in sensual pleasures is probably not someone that the second master would look at. Don't worry, I won't let him know any secrets. This kid isn't capable of it."

  Lu Jingzhong furrowed his brow and stopped advising, he couldn't say that the prince had been seduced by Xia Jinyi's indulgence in sensual pleasures for days, which had already caused dissatisfaction among some people.

  Li An waved his hand and said: "Alright, Shao Fu just needs to strengthen the surveillance of the Yong Wang Mansion, no need to worry too much." Lu Jingzhong could only nod in agreement.

  Li An's expression changed, and he said: "There is only one thing that makes me very uneasy. The King of Qi did not warn you about Jiang Zhe's matter beforehand, and now he is trying to win you over with flattery. Do you think the King of Qi has become suspicious?"

  "Your Highness, who in the world does not have a private heart? I think that Prince Qi just likes talented people, this little private heart Your Highness should not mind."

  Li An looked at Lu Jingzhong with some dissatisfaction and said, "Since you've said that, I'll let it go. However, you must be careful of the King of Qi. I don't want to see a family torn apart."

  Lu Jingzhong's expression remained unchanged as he said, "I will definitely pay attention to the movements of King Qi. If Your Highness is worried, it would not be a bad idea to ask Consort Lan, she and Queen Qi are from the same school, she must know something."

  Li An said coldly: "I've already asked the Xiao family, and they said that the Qi Wang Fei told them that the Qi Wang only did it because he remembered that Jiang Zhe had cured his poisoning before. I knew about this, so I didn't pay attention to it. But after hearing your words today, I'm afraid that what Lao Liu said is not entirely true. You'd better keep an eye on this matter for me. I absolutely will not allow another Yong Wang to appear."

  Lu Jingzhong respectfully said: 'Your subject obeys.'

  In a mansion in Chang'an, Xiahou Yuanfeng was standing in the garden, admiring the newly bloomed plum blossoms. It was already late February, and several early-blooming plum trees were still budding, waiting to unfurl. At this moment, a young servant in green attire hurriedly approached from behind, saw the young master's elegant appearance under the early spring sunlight, similar to that of the plum blossoms, and was taken aback for a moment before loudly saying: "Young Master, there is a guest who wishes to see you."

  Xiahou Yuanfeng smiled slightly and said, "That's good." After cutting off a branch of plum blossoms, he inserted it into the bottle and carried it to the guest room. As soon as he entered the room, he placed the vase on the table, and the faint scent of plum blossoms immediately filled the room. He said calmly to the middle-aged man on the bed, "Poisonous hand and evil heart, has your injury healed?"

  The poisonous hand and evil heart coldly gazed at the handsome young man who had saved him that day, and said in a stern tone: "My injuries have healed, you can state your conditions now."

  Xiahou Yuanfeng smiled and said: "There's something I need to tell you, unfortunately, Jiang Zhe and Jiang Suiyun have escaped."

  His evil hand and wicked heart tightened in his chest, but he calmly said: "So you, this yellow sparrow, didn't gain any advantage either."

  Xiahou Yanfeng said calmly, "Logically speaking, you are a spy from Southern Chu and I should kill you. But I really don't want to kill you. After all, our goals aren't conflicting. If you're willing, I can give you another chance to assassinate me. Are you willing?"

  Du Shou evil heart coldly smiled and said: "Do you think I'm an idiot? Not to mention now Jiang Zhe's side must be heavily guarded, even if it's just Shun Gong Gong, he won't leave his side."

  Xiahou Yuanfeng's eyes lit up and he said: "Are you very familiar with Li Shun?"

  Du Xie's evil heart saw through his thoughts and said calmly, "Not familiar, but I once monitored Jiang Zhe for a period of time, knowing that he often came and went from Jiang Zhe's mansion. I just didn't expect his martial arts to be so powerful. If it weren't for him not being here this time, I'm afraid I would have gone there to die."

  Xiahou Yanfeng said calmly: "These days the inspection in the capital has been relaxed a lot, if you are willing, I can send you out of the city."

  "You're really cold-blooded, what's your ultimate goal?"

  Xiahou Yuanfeng smiled and said: "My purpose is simple, I want you to divert the attention of the Yong Wang Fu. In their pursuit of you, I hope you can make them believe that Qin Qing was the one who colluded with you to commit murder. Of course, I will do my best to help you escape back to South Chu. If not, please take care of yourself. You know what kind of person Qin Qing is. I think it would be beneficial for your South Chu if there were a conflict between Yong Wang and General Qin."

  Du Shou Xie Xin Zhi is a task of nine deaths and one life. Duan Duan said, "Alright, at most I'll return my life to you, but you must also do something, you must kill Jiang Zhe within two years."

  Xiahou Yuanfeng smiled, raised his hand and swore: 'I, Xiahou Yuanfeng, swear to kill Jiang Zhe within two years. If I fail to fulfill this oath, may heaven and earth destroy me.'

  Du Shou Xie Xin said calmly, 'I may not believe your oath, but I do believe you must kill Jiang Zhe. Otherwise, unless you keep it a secret from him for the rest of your life who shot that arrow, you will definitely die at his hands.'

  Xiahou Yuanfeng smiled slightly, and on that day he saw Xiaoshunzi's unbelievable lightness skill, so he knew that the Crown Prince had offended a very formidable enemy. So, he temporarily changed his mind and rescued the assassin who was about to kill Jiang Zhe first, hoping that he could achieve his own goal. However, the person who shot that arrow was not himself. If it weren't for letting Duoxie think so, how would he obediently follow his arrangement? Thinking of the killer Huang Que, Xiahou Yuanfeng thought maliciously, wondering if that person knew someone was also aiming at him with a bow and arrow? The things in the world are really unpredictable, who would have thought that three waves of killers arrived at Hanyuan at the same time?