Chapter Nineteenth: Secret Conference in the Pavilion

  Li Zai walked over, looking a bit uneasy. I knew he felt it was a bit harsh to disturb me so soon after my injury, especially since I had just woken up from a coma and wasn't ready to handle affairs yet. But thinking about it, I had been unconscious for half a month, and then Mr. Sang had forbidden visitors, so the Crown Prince must have many things he wanted to discuss with me. So, with Xiao Shunzi's support, I stood up and said loudly: "Your Highness, please come into the pavilion, forgive me for not being able to greet you properly."

  Li Zai hastily stepped forward and said, "Don't come out, Rui Yun, it's windy outside." He walked a few steps into the pavilion, smiled and said, "This is a good method. We can taste tea and appreciate flowers without worrying about catching cold from the wind. Please sit down quickly."

  The action just now has made me break out in a cold sweat, so I sat down and said calmly: 'Your Highness, please have a cup of tea first.'

  Li Zai wanted to speak but stopped, took the fragrant tea handed over by Xiao Shunzi, and after drinking it, he said: 'Sui Yun, although it's a bit difficult for you, what do you think this king should do now?'

  I smiled slightly and said: "Your Highness has done a good job, taking the opportunity to enrich the imperial guards, gaining the emperor's sympathy. Qin Qing, Xia Hou Yu Feng, and Jingjiang Wang Junzhu are all suspicious. These days will probably bring many conveniences to Your Highness. General Qin may also lean towards you a bit more because of this. After all, Qin Qing is the most suspicious. What else can Your Highness be dissatisfied with?"

  Li Zai said with a wry smile: "I was also in a hurry, but now I don't know how to wrap things up. Besides, I don't know who the assassin is. Does Su Yun have any ideas?"

  I said calmly: 'The person who shot me with an arrow, I saw him, but the distance was too far, and I didn't know his identity. However, Your Highness, no matter who it is, you can't let your emotions get the better of you because of Ziyun; it's still best for you to find an opportunity to make amends with General Qin.'

  Li Zai frowned and said: "What you said is not wrong, but if it was Qin Qing's doing, how can I let him live in the world? Without getting to the bottom of this, I will not let it go. Su Yun, you mentioned earlier that there were some arrangements, I don't know what the situation is like now."

  I took a glance at Xiao Shunzi. In the past few days, when Sang Chen was by my side, Xiao Shunzi had secretly gone out to meet Chen Yin once. I had already reported this to him yesterday. Within this short period of less than two months, the Crown Prince has made two transactions with Jin Xiu Alliance, and we have also earned a lot. Of course, we did not forget to record how the Crown Prince smuggled goods and which trusted officials he called upon. These records had already reached my hands yesterday, but for now, I still do not intend to use this move. After all, I must wait until the Crown Prince is in a desperate situation before taking action.

  After some thought, I said calmly: 'These things are detrimental to your reputation, Your Highness. It's better if you pretend you don't know about them.'

  Li Zai was taken aback and hesitated, saying: "Zi Yun, I'm not being overly cautious, but you mustn't overdo things. If it harms the country and its people, I'd rather give up this position as crown prince."

  I smiled slightly and said, "Your Highness can rest assured, I won't do those things." There was one sentence I didn't say out loud - if the crown prince wants to do it, what does it have to do with me? But no one would want me to take the fall for the crown prince's crimes, would they? At most, I'd be an accomplice, but that heinous crime was committed by the crown prince himself.

  Li Zai said with a smile: "That's good, Su Yun, this is the intelligence gathered over the past few days. Take your time to look at it."

  I took the intelligence report handed over by King Yong and studied it carefully.

  These days, the Crown Prince's side has been low-key, after all, he is the dead enemy of King Yong. At this time, even if it's a case of adding insult to injury, it can't be too blatant, after all, there is still the Emperor above. This time, the Emperor is also very suspicious of the Crown Prince, so it's inevitable that there are some warnings. The Crown Prince has been hiding in the mansion, indulging in music and dance, and having a great time. The one who has been taking care of these things for the Crown Prince is his newly favored guard, Xia Jin-yi. Although Xia Jin-yi is not very capable, he is indeed a genius when it comes to managing the harem. He has trained the palace's songstresses and dancers to be extremely skilled, singing soul-stirring melodies and performing heavenly dances, entrancing the Crown Prince and making him indulge in the pleasures of the flesh every day. If it weren't for the presence of Concubine Xiao Lan and Junior Tutor Lu Jing-zhong, the Crown Prince's mansion would have already descended into chaos. Seeing this, I couldn't help but smile slightly. It seems that my goal has been achieved, as the Crown Prince is already indulging in pleasures before even ascending to the throne. However, this behavior of his is also a kind of confusion. The intelligence sent by Chen Yin had long said that these days the Crown Prince was busy smuggling military equipment. Two batches of military equipment have already been smuggled, and the Crown Prince has taken great pleasure in them. Now, he's busy smuggling a third batch, and the Brocade Alliance is also very satisfied. However, good times don't last long. Although profits can move people's hearts, as long as we make a move, we can cause them to turn against each other. The Crown Prince must have entrusted the matter of smuggling to Lu Jing-zhong and others to handle. Thinking about it this way, the Crown Prince's mind is not ordinary either. Once something goes wrong, even if it's investigated and found that Lu Jing-zhong was involved, it would only be said that the Crown Prince was too indulgent in women and was deceived by his subordinates. However, such a mindset, no matter how deep, is only that of a hegemon. How can one who wants to be the ruler of the people shift the blame?

  Those who were suspected of assassinating me also had relevant intelligence. Qin Qing was locked in the mansion by General Qin and was not allowed to go out. It is said that General Qin enforced family law, and Qin Qing was beaten so badly that he could not get out of bed. Xiahou Shuangfeng was acting normally, but this was a bit abnormal. His residence was very secure, and King Yong did not dare to disturb him without evidence, so it was unknown what he was doing in secret. Li Hanrou, the princess of Jingjiang, had come to Beijing to pay respects to the emperor on her father's orders. Since King Jingjiang had no children, sending his daughter to congratulate the emperor was also allowed. However, Li Hanrou's identity as a disciple of Fengyimen was somewhat embarrassing. Moreover, Princess Jingjiang had been by the empress's side these days. It is said that this was because King Jingjiang intended to choose a good husband for his daughter and entrusted the empress to take charge. According to rumors, the empress intended to marry Li Hanrou to Qin Qing. When I saw this, my heart felt cold. If Fengyimen were to get involved with Qin Yi, it would be too terrifying. It seems that whether or not Qin Qing attempted to assassinate me, he could no longer be dealt with. After carefully recalling the assassin from that day and remembering his appearance, I suddenly realized that regardless of who this person was, he was absolutely not Qin Qing. Thinking back to the situation at the time, I finally understood that someone had been manipulating events and then attempted to assassinate me, framing Qin Qing in the process. It just so happened that the person with the poisonous hand and evil heart had acted first. The person who manipulated events did not need to be thought about - it was obvious who it was. I had finally locked onto my opponent and looked at the name of Lu Jingzhong. This person is truly terrifying, and their purpose this time was probably just to make King Yong and Qin Yi become enemies. They likely chose me because I am one of King Yong's newly appointed trusted officials. Do I count as an innocent victim this time? However, now that King Yong is so anxious, it seems that even if I wanted to keep a low profile, I could not do so anymore. This person's mind is truly very sinister, but their shortcomings are also very obvious. If I were to use strategy, I would never be as blatant in my manipulation. It would be better to let the opponent fall into the trap on their own. Now Qin Yi and Qin Qing probably hate the manipulator even more, but it is strange that although they were trying to frame Qin Qing, the rumor about me having a private relationship with the princess was too fake.

  These intelligence are not particularly detailed, the original intelligence materials should be in Yong Wang's study, after all, Yong Wang does not want me to think too much, most of them only have a few lines, I don't think about it anymore, those intelligence are about the investigation of my assassination attempt, things that have already happened, I am not eager to know, for now, as long as I know the current situation, it's enough.

  I put down my emotions and said calmly: "Your Highness, I've already figured out the number of people involved. Please don't worry about it, Your Highness. You might as well take a stroll in the palace these few days, relax a bit, and I'll have an opportunity to strike back. The person who wants me dead isn't seeking personal revenge, so I won't seek revenge either. As long as you win, my revenge will be naturally avenged."

  Li Zai Xi said: 'Has Rui Yun already understood? Then who assassinated you, this king will absolutely not lightly forgive.'

  I smiled faintly and said, "Your Highness, I don't have any evidence now, and it's not good to say who it is. But I won't let them off the hook. Your Highness, please don't reveal anything for now, just drag General Wang along for a while. If we resolve this now, even General Wang might not be able to stop the marriage between Princess Jingjiang and General Qin Qing. But if General Qin has any suspicion on him, then General Wang can politely decline."

  Li Zai put down the huge stone in his heart and happily said: 'As long as it's not Qin Qing, that's fine.'

  I hastily said: "Your Highness must not make a sound, and can even temporarily show hostility towards the general, so as to make the enemy less vigilant, and the general will not blame Your Highness for this."

  Li Zai nodded and said: "The main matter has been discussed, but there are still two things that I need to tell you. One is that this time, my father allowed me to replenish the palace guards. I have already ordered Sima Xiong to carefully select from the military. In the past, I always thought that brave warriors should shine on the battlefield, so I didn't deliberately select the best for the palace guards. As a result, you, Sui Yun, were seriously injured this time. This time, I ordered a grand competition in the military to select 1,000 people as the king's guards. I have divided the 800 of them into eight teams: Qian, Kun, Kan, Li, Zhen, Xun, and Dui, responsible for defending the palace. From now on, the Yong Wang Fu will be governed by military law. Anyone who is lazy or neglects their duties will be executed immediately. The other 200 are the best among them. I have arranged for 50 of them to be your personal guards. Many of them are excellent Jianghu disciples with good internal skills, and they can definitely withstand assassination attempts from top-notch experts. Their rewards and punishments will be decided by you personally, no need to ask me."

  My heart warmed up, the grand competition in Yongjun was very grand, divided into three rounds of competition, horse shooting, horse fighting and foot fighting. To become a winner, one must win all three rounds. This kind of competition is to obtain the title of the first brave warrior in the army, it takes countless bloody battles to succeed. King Yong uses the grand competition to select his guards, that is to say, those who are selected are all top-notch warriors, and most of the guards assigned to me are from the Jianghu, it seems that King Yong has paid a heavy price this time.

  I hastily thanked the King of Yong, this was when Xiao Shunzi's face changed again and he finally couldn't bear it anymore, stepping forward to bow down and say: 'This humble servant just spoke out of turn and offended Your Highness, please forgive me.'

  I was shocked in my heart, although I had long seen that he was not good, but unexpectedly he actually offended the prince, and hurriedly said: 'Xiao Shunzi, what's going on, how did you offend the prince.'

  Xiao Shunzi said with a blush: "Just now, Your Highness received news that the assassin's evil heart has finally revealed its tracks, and it has escaped several times. I really want to go and kill that person to avenge the young master, but I'm also worried about the young master's safety. I couldn't help but mock Your Highness, saying: 'If General Pei hadn't happened to be visiting the Cold Garden, I'm afraid the young master would have lost his life long ago. The assassin is just a small, insignificant person, yet they can come and go freely in the Yongwang Fu, and now they're being arrogant outside too - it's truly humiliating for the brave warriors of Da Yong.'"

  I broke out in a cold sweat and hastily got up to say: 'Xiao Shunzi is ignorant, offending Your Highness, please forgive me.'

  Li Zai waved his hand for me to sit down, and said with a bitter smile: "It's this king who owes you both an apology. This time, the guards I've carefully selected can absolutely guarantee Su Yun's safety. Moreover, I've already issued a decree that from now on, every three months there will be a grand competition, and the last ten people in the rankings will have to compete with new recruits. If they can't win, they'll be dismissed. Although Su Yun's personal guards are rewarded or punished at your discretion, you can't decide who is selected. Xiao Shunzi, your martial arts skills are so strong, far exceeding this king's expectations. In the future, if you think someone in Su Yun's personal guard is not up to par, you can dismiss them. Don't follow Su Yun's temperament; he's a kind-hearted person and sometimes doesn't want to say anything even when he thinks someone is incompetent."

  Xiao Shunzi nodded repeatedly, he had suggested a few days ago that I recruit some people from the secret camp, but the advantage of the secret camp lies in its secrecy. If it's real swords and guns, I'm afraid it won't be a match for these military masters. Moreover, the secret camp is not suitable for exposure, so I didn't agree. Now seeing that I have a guarantee of safety, Xiao Shunzi smiled and said: "I dare to ask, please let me personally go select the young master's bodyguards."

  Li Zai nodded and said, "Alright, most of these people will be mobilized by you in the future. You can go select them if you want to. Sima Xiong is currently distributing tasks, why don't you go take a look?"

  Xiao Shunzi hastily nodded, he looked up at me for instructions. I knew that after ensuring my safety, he would go to hunt down Du Shou Xie Xin, so I didn't stop him and instead said: "You quickly go take care of this matter, for such a long time Du Shou Xie Xin's whereabouts were unknown, now that my life is secured, he has appeared, I also want you to thoroughly interrogate him."

  Xiao Shunzi hastily nodded in agreement and quickly walked away, apparently he couldn't wait any longer.

  Looking at Xiao Shunzi's back, Li Zai sighed: 'What a loyal and dedicated servant, Suiyun, you are truly blessed.'

  I smiled and said: "This is in front of Your Highness, he only listens like this to give face to Your Highness. Usually, when there's no one around, it's not like that."

  After Xiaoshun's figure disappeared, Li Zuo said calmly: 'Suiyun, I know you have some things hidden from me. I don't want to investigate, it's because I trust that you won't harm me. But if I don't ask, then we can't be frank with each other.'

  Although I knew that King Yong would not be completely unaware of my affairs, when it came to the crunch, I was still a little uneasy and thought to myself: "He shouldn't want to settle accounts with me, should he?" With a nervous heart, I stole a glance at him, and Li Zuo continued: "This time, I'm bringing up this matter not for any other reason. If you have trusted confidants, it's fine to let them follow you. If something like this happens again, I fear that Suiyun won't be so lucky next time. I know that in the past, there were several attendants by your side with decent martial arts skills, but none of them are here now. I don't blame you for hiding it from me; if you weren't being cautious everywhere, how could you protect yourself in these chaotic times? It's just that your safety is crucial, and you shouldn't let them be unable to protect you by your side just because you're hiding it from me."

  I hung my head in shame, but if the Duke of Yong hadn't spoken up, we would have gotten along just fine. However, I didn't expect him to go so far as to make me feel uneasy and want to protect myself better. The gratitude in my heart almost brought tears to my eyes. Thinking about how King De's distrust of me lingered until his death, although I still admired his loyalty, it also sent shivers down my spine. With the Duke of Yong treating me this way, if I couldn't help him ascend to the throne, how could I rest easy? At most, I would just have to put in more effort and not fear being too accomplished for my station. Once I succeeded, I could retreat to a life of seclusion.

  Although it was tacitly understood, I didn't say much, only saying: 'Your Highness's instructions, I respectfully obey.'

  I understood his meaning, Li Zuo said with a smile: 'This time you were seriously injured, Princess Chang Le and King Qi are very concerned about you. The emperor's sister gave the Xuan Shen and bear gallbladder that her father rewarded to her, and King Qi also sent bear gallbladder to you. If not for these medicines, I'm afraid even I couldn't save your life. By the way, Ruo Lan returned from the palace two days ago, Chang Le likes her very much and wants her to accompany her often.'

  I looked puzzled and asked: 'I somewhat understand the thoughts of King Qi, but why did Princess Chang Le treat me with such kindness, and how did Ruo Lan enter the palace again?'

  Li Zai glanced at me and said, "The princess likes your poetry, Ruan Lan. She was brought into the palace by the queen. Since you survived this time, you should thank her for the medicine she gave you. The queen saw that you were seriously injured, so she took Ruan Lan to thank her on your behalf. Ruan Lan is your adopted daughter, and it's also proper etiquette for her to thank her on your behalf."

  I nodded in confusion, why would the princess treat me so kindly? Is my poetry really that good?

  Li Zai glanced at me and smiled, then said: "Right, Chang Le also has a message for you, saying 'thank you', I don't know what it means either."

  My heart skipped a beat, thank you to me, could she have known about the matter of me letting her go that day? It's impossible, if it were so, wouldn't everyone know about Liang Wan's affair? I comforted myself and said: "I also don't quite understand Your Highness' profound meaning."

  Li Zai saw that I looked a bit tired and said, "Alright, I won't keep you from your rest either. Don't overexert yourself." I was indeed feeling a bit fatigued, so I watched as Li Zai left, and two maidservants came to support me. They had been serving me for the past few days, so although I didn't like being served by maidservants, I didn't chase them away either.

  As I lay down on the bed, I gradually drifted off to sleep, but my rest was not very sound. The arrow from that assassin's bow still made me uneasy in my heart, and I couldn't calm down. I had a dream where Xiao Shunzi brought the poisonous hand evil heart right in front of me, letting me kill it with my own hands. Then, that assassin suddenly appeared again - those same clear and bright eyes, those same white and slender hands holding a bow and arrow.

  I woke up with a start, and in the darkness, I said softly, "I know who you are now. It's not possible for it to be anyone else... Li Han Yu, humph."