Chapter 4 Frost Descent (Part One)

  "What you've just done is like pouring a bucket of oil on the fire!" After listening to Lei Wanchun's description of last night's situation, Zhang Zhou furrowed his brow and paced back and forth.

  There's no need to force Yang Guozhong out now. The handle of the people's houses and the dead soldiers that King Jingzhao Wang Kuo borrowed are all in his hands, and he won't believe it if he doesn't take the initiative to attack. But this way, both sides of the struggle have been forced into a dead end, originally just skirmishing on the periphery, but now it has become a life-and-death battle.

  "What's gotten into Jia Chang that he suddenly took a liking to doing good deeds and willingly leaked the information to you?!" But what Wang Xun was concerned about was completely different from Zhang Wei. Whether Yang Guozhong or Li Linfu lived or died, who would become the next prime minister, in his eyes, had nothing to do with himself. What he found curious was Jia Chang's behavior, which seemed intentionally designed to lure Lei Wanchun into a trap. "That person is notorious for being narrow-minded and selfish. Since I can remember, I've never heard of him doing something for free!"

  "Most of the time, it's those kinds of people who are killed. I think he's actually quite honest!" Lei Wanchun furrowed his brow and responded in a low voice. He didn't dare to mention to Zhang and Wang that he had been poisoned by an arrow, so for now, he could only endure the pain and itching on his shoulder. The poison from that arrow was particularly potent, causing his vision to blur repeatedly.

  "If he were really upright and honest, there would be no more sinister people in the world!" Wang Xun shook his head, strongly disagreeing with Lei Wanchun's judgment. "I think he has already discovered that the den is where Wang Kuo secretly trains his death squad, but he doesn't want to expose it himself so as not to get involved in the struggle between Yang and Lin factions, so he borrowed Brother Lei's hand!"

  "You're absolutely right!" Zhang Xun stopped in his tracks and whispered in agreement, "But now it's no longer necessary to investigate Jia Chang's motives. Wang Kuo's handle has already been firmly grasped by Yang Guozhong, and privately recruiting dead soldiers is a crime punishable by family extermination in any dynasty. Next, let's see how Yang Guozhong will make his move..."

  "What's the point of you two always talking about these useless things?" The wound was uncomfortable, and Lei Wanchun's mood also became very irritable. "After being discovered, I took advantage of the chaos to give Xue a blow, although not fatal, at least it could make him lie in bed for half a month. Let Yang Guozhong deal with Li Linfu as he pleases, what we need now is to get Yuwen Zidao out as soon as possible and leave this place as soon as possible!"

  Never seen him so angry, Zhang Jun and Wang Chun were both stunned. Lei Wanchun also quickly realized his own loss of composure, smiled wryly, and said in a low voice: "What I mean is that how others fight is none of our business, nor do we need to intervene. Let's focus on rescuing Yuwen first. Didn't we come here just to rescue Yuwen from prison?"

  "That's right!" Zhang Xun sighed and responded in a low voice, "But this is not the blessing of the country. They are fighting like this, consuming...". He licked his lips, he didn't want to continue saying it, Wang Xun was too inexperienced, growing up in the capital, seeing every day how great Tang was, he probably wouldn't believe that under the prosperous surface, countless crises were hidden. And Lei Wanchun, in his heart, probably didn't care who became the emperor, talking about national affairs to him was like playing a zither to a cow.

  "It's not that serious, is it?!" As Zhang Xun had expected, Wang Huan indeed didn't have any sense of crisis in his heart. He smiled and loudly retorted: "Isn't it also you who said that Li Linfu abuses power and misleads the country?"

  "Li Linfu manipulated power and misled the country, but he still had some talent as a prime minister. If it were Yang Guozhong instead, I'm afraid it would have fulfilled He Lao's evaluation - having neither the talent nor the capacity of a prime minister!" Zhang Yun shook his head, smiling bitterly. "Forget it, let's not mention these things anymore. Old Lei is right, for now we can't even manage if we want to. Old Lei, why are you sweating so much?"

  The latter half of the sentence, he almost shouted out. Wang Xun took a closer look and also found that Lei Wanchun's face was pale and not quite right, so he hurriedly stepped forward, reached out with his hand to touch the other person's forehead, "Caught a cold? I'll go ask for a doctor now!"

  "Wait!" Lei Wanchun grasped his sleeve with one hand, the other hanging at his side. "After being discovered, I got a bit hurt. I hid in the Marquis of Guo's mansion for half the night before shaking off the pursuers. If you go to ask the doctor..."

  "How badly are you hurt! Why didn't you say so earlier!" Upon hearing this, Zhang Xun became greatly alarmed and rushed over to examine where Lei Wan Chun was injured.

  "It's already been taken care of!" Lei Wanchun couldn't pretend anymore, his body tilted to one side and he softly fell onto the foot of the bed. "Ci En Temple's Nian Chui Master gave me some medicine, it's said to be quite effective!"

  "Mad monk?" Wang Xun was apparently familiar with Nian Chi, and after a brief pause, his expression immediately relaxed. "The Lady of Guo State can actually invite him? It's really not easy. That old bald donkey is greedy and lustful, but his medical skills are unmatched in the capital."

  When he heard the four words "greedy and lustful", Lei Wanchun's heart suddenly trembled violently. He owed Yang Yuxiao too much this time. He didn't know how to repay her. In fact, not long after leaving Madame Guo's mansion, he began to regret his impulsiveness. But he had already come out, and it was really embarrassing to turn back now. As long as he continued walking forward with his head down, without thinking about the right or wrong of every step.

  Zhang Xun was much more meticulous than Wang Xun. He supported Lei Wanchun to lie down, then went out and ordered a servant to bring him a bowl of meat porridge. Then he sat beside the bed, watching the servant feed Lei Wanchun while smiling and saying: "I heard that high monks in the mortal world cultivate and pursue a single word 'enlightenment'. There are many people who scold Buddha and curse their ancestors on one hand, and cut their flesh to feed eagles on the other. But they are only unruly in appearance, and in their hearts, they are not stained by worldly dust. You don't need to worry, since Lady Guo was able to invite him to ride out at midnight, they must have been familiar with each other for a long time."

  "What's there to worry about!" Lei Wanchun smiled wryly, "As long as her brother Yang Guozhong doesn't fall, I reckon no one will dare touch her. What I'm worried about is us. We've inadvertently gotten caught up in such a huge whirlpool, let's hope we don't make any more mistakes!"

  "It's okay, I think from today on, no one will pay attention to us small fries anymore. As for Zida, later I'll go with Mingyun to look for that Sun guy again."

  "Be careful, you two!" Lei Wanchun thought for a moment and warned with a smile. "That Sun guy probably only has eyes for money!"

  "It's nothing!" Zhang Zhou also laughed, "He is called Kong Youfang, I am called Zhou Guo, haha, the two of us, for thousands of years, have always been able to come and go as we please in the yamen, haha, haha!"

  Note 1: Cutting flesh to feed eagles. A rumor from Buddhist scriptures. Here it refers to inner sincerity, not superficial.

  Note 2: After the Qin Dynasty, all copper coins were round outside and square inside. Therefore, "Kong You Fang" and "Zhou Guo" are both aliases for money.