Chapter Fourteen: Strike First and Gain the Upper Hand

  In the next few days, Hao Fenglou was spirited and seemed to have a goal in life. He wasn't an official fanatic, but thinking that after King Yan crossed the river, he had endured humiliation and hardship, shed blood and sweat, and made great contributions, he would definitely be rewarded with honors and titles in the future. At that time, being driven out by his parents would mean nothing, and this young master would live a life of luxury.

  The Embroidered Uniform Guard did not make any moves on that side. On the one hand, the Embroidered Uniform Guard had already been disbanded during the Hongwu period, so Hao Fenglou was sure that this was their arbitrary action, and these people might not want things to be made public. After all, Lu Zhong was a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the current emperor claimed to be benevolent and righteous. However, now that the Lu family had arranged for the Embroidered Uniform Guard to be stationed at their home, if this matter were to be exposed, it would definitely cause an uproar throughout the land.

  So Haofeng Building is still safe for the time being, he still goes to Miss Lu's place for lessons, still uses stories to enlighten Miss Lu, it's just that this can't go on like this, fortunately it won't be long before liberation, if he can get some credit, when the time comes, he will have to change his appearance and visit again, so he is also relaxed during class.

  As for Ling Xue, he had been nowhere to be seen for the past two days, presumably busy spreading rumors. Before long, all sorts of news spread throughout Zhenjiang, with many people in the streets saying that Lu Dudu was loyal and righteous, determined to share the same fate as Zhenjiang. Rumors often came with various small stories, and the protagonist of these stories was naturally Lu Dudu - how he faced north towards the river and angrily tore off his hat, how he thought of Yan Wang's defeat in Jiangbei and silently wept, deeply hating Yan Wang for causing suffering to innocent lives.

  This news also spread in Lu Fu, Hao Feng Lou heard it and smiled slightly, thinking to himself: "What will the imperial court react?"

  …………

  In the Zhongjun Dufu of the capital, Wei Guogong Xu Hui Zu was frowning, sometimes sitting down and sometimes standing up, pacing back and forth around the small hall.

  Sitting on one side was a man in his forties with a towel wrapped around his head, who glanced at him and said faintly: "How do you think, sir?"

  Xu Huizu sighed and said, "The King of Yan is a cunning old man, it won't be that simple. Previously in Zhenjiang, there were rumors that Lu Feng would rebel, but Lu Feng has always been cautious, these words, the governor didn't believe a single one. But now this rumor has spread again, this must not be an unfounded rumor, it seems someone is intentionally spreading it. The question is, who is spreading this news and why are they spreading such rumors?"

  "What does 'Guo Gong' mean?" The man in linen clothes opened his eyes wide and flashed a suspicious look.

  Xu Hui stood beside the case, saying lightly: "If we guess that these two pieces of news are both done by Prince Yan, the first piece of news said that Lu Feng will definitely rebel, this must be to sow discord and separate people. But the second piece of news... Why would Prince Yan do such a thing? Thinking about it again and again... There is only one possibility."

  The silk scarf man said, "Your Excellency's meaning is that perhaps Lu Feng and the King of Yan have colluded with each other, and in order to deceive the imperial court, they deliberately spread such rumors..."

  Xu Hui Zu bitterly smiled.

  The man in the linen cloth condensed his words: "Although Lu Feng worked with King Yan in his early years, as a student, he is not such an ignorant person. Perhaps this is also King Yan's arrangement to provoke the relationship between Lu Feng and the imperial court."

  Xu Hui Zu sighed: "This could be a more clever counter-espionage plan by the King of Yan, or it's also very possible that Lu Feng is indeed playing both sides to do such treacherous things. Even if there's only a 1% chance of the latter, the imperial court can't afford not to guard against it. At this point, we can no longer take risks." He paused for a moment and said seriously: "Now it's already impossible to change generals mid-battle. Lu Feng has great prestige in the Zhenjiang naval forces; if we were to change generals, the consequences could be even worse. You issue the next military order, instructing Liang Hui's troops to set up defenses in the Jurong area, as a precaution against unexpected events."

  The man in linen clothes shook his head and said, "Isn't this arrangement clearly guarding against Zhenjiang? I'm afraid that Lu Feng will know about it and won't be pleased."

  Xu Hui Zu sighed again and said: "This is an unavoidable measure, it can only be arranged this way."

  …………………………

  Two days later, Hao Fenglou gave a lesson to Miss Lu, but a maid came over and said: "Please ask Mr. Feng to see the lady."

  Hao Fenglou followed the young maid to a flower hall in the backyard, and indeed, his wife was sitting there. When she saw him, she smiled and said, "Has my daughter been making things difficult for Mr. Feng?"

  Hao Feng Lou didn't know why Mrs. Lu wanted to find him, so he could only exchange pleasantries with her and said: "Miss is elegant and intelligent, I don't know where to start talking about being unreasonable."

  Madam Lu said: "Oh? The gentleman has seen my daughter?"

  "Hmm." It was quite embarrassing, and Hao Feng Lou had indeed never seen Miss Lu before, so the two words "show" were obviously not practical. Hao Feng Lou could only say: "I'm guessing."

  Mrs. Lu just smiled slightly, seemingly wanting to get to the point, and sighed softly.

  "Madam, why do you sigh?"

  Mrs. Lu said: "I'm worried, daughter's affairs are worrying, family matters are also worrying."

  Hao Feng Lou smiled and said: "Madam, this is self-torment. Everyone in the mansion envies you, saying that Madam has good fortune."

  Madam Lu smiled and said, "One knows one's own fortune, no need to mention others, just take Master as an example. He has also been having a streak of bad luck lately. I heard that today in the camp, he accidentally broke a jade pendant. This jade pendant was given to him by me when we were young. Look at him, he says break it and breaks it, without any regard for sentiment."

  Hao Fenglou realized that Mrs. Lu was not there to chat with him about family matters, but had heard that Mr. Lu had smashed something and hoped he would offer her some advice.

  No matter what, Hao Feng Lou's previous reminder was indeed a great help to Mrs. Lu, and Mrs. Lu needed someone to help her tie down her husband.

  Hao Fenglou was overjoyed and casually made some excuses to Mrs. Lu before taking his leave, then went to find Ling Xue and said: "It's done."

  "What's going on? What happened?" Ling Xue was confused.

  Hao Feng Lou shook his head and said with his hands behind his back, "Our plan to sow discord has succeeded. Just now, I received news from the side of Lu's wife that Lord Lu smashed a jade pendant."

  Ling Xue supported her chin, imitating Hao Feng Lou's thinking, perhaps thinking that learning Hao Feng Lou's body language could confuse and deceive, like a brain gold, increasing intelligence, but she was still confused: "What does this have to do with Shuai Yu Pei?"

  Hao Feng Lou sighed: "Think about it, Lu Houye leads the Jiangsu Navy, what kind of person is this? Would such a person easily lose his composure? For ordinary small matters, could they force him to make such a move? In my opinion, it must be that our rumors have been leaked out. Although the imperial court is also half-believing and half-doubting, in order to prevent any possibility, they must have taken some measures. And these measures, in Lu Houye's eyes, are that there are people in the court who are intentionally targeting him. Think about it, what would Lu Houye think?"

  "You say that, I also see some clues, just... uh..."

  Hao Feng Lou saw her sigh and said: "Things have been settled, we've made new achievements, why are you sighing?"

  Ling Xue bitterly smiled and said: "But I heard the latest news that the imperial army of Jiangbei has regained its footing, marching south from all directions, attempting to surround the Yan army. The king's majesty is in a precarious situation with tigers and wolves in front and pursuers behind. If he doesn't cross the river within three days, he will be surrounded and defeated without a doubt."

  "Is that so?" Hao Feng Lou suddenly felt a headache, this is not scientific, Yan Wang you are not very powerful, why so dispirited, like a bereaved dog?

  "So even if Lord Lu gets angry, it's still a pipe dream to think he'd defect to the Yan King because of this. Alas... in three days at most, if there's no other way out, I'm afraid His Highness the Yan King will be in grave danger."

  Hao Feng Lou bitterly smiled: "Actually, there isn't no way?"

  Ling Xue's eyes lit up: "What did you say?"

  Hao Feng Lou said: "Your martial arts skills are so good, why not help me tie up Miss Lu and go with us? We'll change our names and identities, I'll marry Miss Lu, you can pretend to be my concubine, and we'll spend the rest of our lives traveling and hiding in the mountains, never to be seen again. How about it?"

  Ling Xue gave a disdainful glance at Hao Feng Lou: "The King of Yan has treated me with great kindness, how can I abandon him? Bah..." Ling Xue coldly spat out the words, looking down on her: "Besides, who wants to be your concubine?"

  Hao Feng Lou said in surprise: "Tong Fang Da Ya Tou, I originally left it for my family's Xiang Xiang, you took advantage of me and still..."

  Ling Xue's face turned bright red, and she made a move as if she was about to take action.

  Hao Feng Lou hastily covered his mouth and said: "I have another idea."

  Ling Xue hesitated for a moment, then said, "You speak."

  Hao Feng Lou said: "If you want Lord Lu to turn against the court, the only way is to make him have no other choice. Isn't Lord Lu's concubine a person from the imperial court? In that case, it wouldn't be a problem to directly kill her, and then go see Lord Lu in the middle of the night, tell him this person's true identity, and force him to surrender to Prince Yan."

  "Will he agree?"

  "There's a 60% chance, think about it, this person is from the imperial court, always keeping an eye on Lord Lu by his side. If Lord Lu were any man, wouldn't he feel that the woman beside him was actually set up by the imperial court? The so-called deep affection and love were just someone in the palace playing tricks on him. Could he tolerate this? They say women's hearts are as unpredictable as a needle at the bottom of the ocean, but men's psychology is also very subtle. Men can be magnanimous in other aspects, but when it comes to being played by a woman, they absolutely cannot bear it."

  Ling Xue nodded slightly: "What you said makes sense."

  Hao Feng Lou continued, "Furthermore, what kind of person this concubine is remains unknown. However, thinking about it, she must be an important pawn for some people in the imperial court. Now that this woman has died mysteriously at the Lu residence, even if Lord Lu were to jump into the Yellow River, he wouldn't be able to wash himself clean. If someone were to bring up old accounts later and accuse him of murder, would he be able to bear the punishment?"

  Ling Xue's eyes lit up, and he said: "Isn't this the story of Ban Chao going out of the pass? Ban Chao was sent to Yiwu, and at first, the king of Yiwu treated him with great courtesy. However, soon the king gradually became cold towards Ban Chao and the other Han envoys. After inquiring, they found out that the Xiongnu envoys had also arrived, and the king was being two-faced, having changed his mind to make friends with the Xiongnu. Ban Chao gathered thirty-six people and launched a night attack on the Xiongnu envoys, killing all of them. The Xiongnu envoys were all killed in Yiwu, and the king knew he couldn't explain this to the Xiongnu people, who would eventually come seeking revenge. Therefore, he completely severed ties with the Xiongnu people."

  Hao Feng Lou rubbed his nose and thought to himself, "Who would have thought that a casual idea of mine would lead to such a historic precedent? Indeed, great minds think alike." He hastily said, "That's right, as long as the person is dead, we can then prove that this woman was sent by the imperial court. Lord Lu will have to be cautious and even if the imperial court doesn't punish him now, it's possible that someone will bring up this matter in the future to attack him. In any case, the person died at the Lu manor, so no matter what he says, others may not believe him. If someone were to say that Lord Lu colluded with Prince Yan and therefore killed this woman, then it would be even more impossible for him to clear his name. Therefore, if we want to win over Lord Lu, we must first kill this woman."

  Hao Fenglou was furious with this 'woman', he himself only had a bit of suspicion, yet she ordered Lu Zhong to kill him, if not for his quick thinking, he would have probably lost his life already.

  "Ling Xue murmured: 'It's just that in this Lu manor, even a slight stir will inevitably alarm others.'"

  Hao Feng Lou smiled and said, "What's difficult about this? Find someone to set a fire on the other side, when the time comes, the Lu residence will be in chaos. Take advantage of this opportunity, and Ling Xue sister can directly go and kill that poisonous woman."

  Ling Xue smiled and said: "What you said seems very reasonable. Alright, let's take action tonight."

  Hao Feng Lou was taken aback for a moment and said: "Wait a minute, what do you mean by this? What do we mean?"

  "We are who we are." Ling Xue said: "I'll get someone to set a fire nearby, and when the time comes, you and I will rush to that woman's courtyard together. That woman is not an easy one to deal with, I'm afraid one person can't handle her alone."

  Hao Feng Lou suddenly had a feeling of digging his own grave, at least in his plan, he should be the kind of person who would make a big change, suddenly flames would burst into the sky, people outside would shout and kill each other, while he sat quietly in his room, locked the door, held a fan, and had a small red-sleeved girl adding incense beside him, calmly singing "Liang Fu Yin" to express his own integrity.

  But now I feel like I'm just doing odd jobs?

  Hao Fenglou felt that he no longer believed in the organization. The organization didn't understand people, did it? A fine young talent like him was also going to go kill and set fires.

  "With you by my side, I feel a bit more at ease, otherwise..."

  Hao Feng Lou sighed and said, "I understand."

  It's no use if you don't go, a grasshopper on a line, if Ling Snow fails, I'll be unlucky too, so let's go, Kongming can't do it, this young master can only be Zhang Fei.