In the secluded and quiet flower garden path, Mister Feng stood on the gravel road, appraising Chen Ji with great interest. "How did you guess?"
After thinking for a moment, Chen Ji said, "Earlier, when Mister Feng was in Emerald Cloud Lane, the Tiger Armor Iron Cavalry was not under your control, and you were very concerned about who their new commander was."
Mister Feng was amused. "Then why did I want to kill General Qian?"
Looking directly at Mister Feng, Chen Ji said, "Because a smart person like you does not like things falling outside of your own control."
Mister Feng smiled but didn't speak.
Without waiting for Mister Feng to speak, Chen Ji continued earnestly analyzing, "The commander of the Tiger Armor Iron Cavalry was originally General Zhou, and now it has been changed to General Qian... I guess this was also your handiwork. General Zhou was lured away by your scheme. You originally thought that by getting rid of General Zhou, you would be able to control this personal guard army yourself. But you hadn't expected that Elder Liu wouldn't choose you, instead handing it over to General Qian."
Mister Feng gradually restrained his smile and said casually, "Then do you know that being too smart is actually not a good thing?"
Chen Ji said sincerely, "As long as it is useful to Mister Feng, then it is fine."
Patting his shoulder, Mister Feng said, "Young man, remember: the promise I made to you previously at Longwang Village is eternally valid. But what I want you to do is not to kill General Qian. You don't have the ability to kill him."
Chen Ji was stunned.
Mister Feng said, "Stretch out your hand."
Chen Ji stretched out his hand, only to see Mister Feng cut his own finger, pull out a Rat Tail Brush from his sleeve, and dip it in fresh blood to draw an eye on Chen Ji's palm. Moreover, around the eye, there were six small seal script characters of the Immortals, their meaning unknown.
He tried to rub some of it off, but found that the eye seemed as if it had been printed into his palm, completely impossible to rub off.
Mister Feng said calmly, "Do not worry; the 'Mind's Eye' will only remain on your hand for two hours. Tonight, when you travel with General Qian, remember: look at him using this eye, and I will be able to borrow your vision. Physician Yao and the others will remain here in the prince's estate. If you do as I say, they will live. If you don't do it, then just wait to collect their corpses."
Using several human lives as stakes in a massive gamble. Chen Ji was unwilling to accept it, but he had no choice but to accept it.
Taking a deep breath, Chen Ji said with absolute certainty, "Alright. But how will I travel together with General Qian? What if he doesn't... within two hours?"
Mister Feng smiled broadly. "That is not something you need to worry about. Just wait for the opportunity with peace of mind."
Having said that, he turned around, clasped his hands behind his back, and strolled leisurely and carefree toward the Jing'an Hall. "Keep up. Delaying so long here with you caused me to miss Prince Jing's chess game."
...
Jing'an Hall was Brightly Lit, and armored soldiers stood like a forest before the doors.
Arriving in front of the hall, Mister Feng stepped over the high threshold and walked inside. Chen Ji and Zhang Zhuo could only wait silently outside the doors.
In the grand hall, Elder Liu and Prince Jing sat opposite each other in front of the hidden dragon screen wall.
The chess game had reached its final stages. Wearing plain and unadorned grey cloth garbs, Elder Liu sat in front of the chess table and said slowly and methodically, "Your Highness, you lost your mother when you were young. If my younger sister hadn't taken you into the Palace of Earthly Tranquility and patiently raised you, I'm afraid you would have been murdered long ago. During those years, she kept you by her side and raised you together with His Majesty, treating you as her own flesh and blood. Did she ever treat you unfairly in the slightest?"
Keeping his eyes fixed on the chess game, Prince Jing said without even raising his head, "She did not. In the winter, she would specifically instruct the palace servants and maids to prepare charcoal fires for me, and in the summer, she would even send me ice blocks from the cellar to relieve the heat. Whatever His Majesty had, I possessed; whatever His Majesty didn't have, I also possessed. Even my enlightenment teacher was personally selected by her."
Rolling up his sleeve, Elder Liu placed another piece. "After His Majesty ascended the throne, you two became estranged from her. Now she sits in the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility, grieving silently and broken-hearted; her appearance has already grown withered and haggard. Having painstakingly raised two sons, both have ended up treating her like a stranger on the road. For any mother in this world, no one could withstand such a blow."
While pondering the chess game, Prince Jing said calmly, "Father-in-law is also a person who understands reason. After His Majesty ascended the throne, the Empress Dowager should have let go earlier. She shouldn't have indulged the Liu Family in acting tyrannically and abusing their power. People cannot be perfectly well for a thousand days, and flowers cannot bloom red for a hundred days. The Liu Family's recent disasters and calamities were also planted far earlier on."
Elder Liu smiled. "Your Highness, at twenty-one years old you were enfeoffed as a King. The very first thing you did was travel south to collect grain taxes for His Majesty. I remember when you first arrived in Jiangnan, those wealthy, prominent households murdered their own daughters-in-law and carried eleven corpses to the government office, gathering thousands of people to shout that your tax collection had forced people to their deaths. In the end, it was still the Liu Family who stepped forward and maneuvered things, helping you collect the grain."
Prince Jing sighed with emotion. "Back then, I had just emerged from the thatched cottage and didn't know the proper weight and severity of matters. Fortunately, I had Father-in-law's assistance."
Elder Liu continued speaking, "In the winter of the eleventh year of Jianing, during the bandit rebellion in Nanguang, you contracted a lung disease while leading troops to suppress the rebellion. Falling unconscious and unable to wake, you were besieged by the bandit army in Liuzhou. Later, it was also our Liu Family who went to the Mount Laojun Daoist Court to beg for immortal medicine and dispatched troops as reinforcements, only then lifting the siege around you. At this very moment, Liu Mingjing is currently on his way to the Mount Laojun Daoist Court, saying he will stop at nothing to beg for a Feather-Generating Pill for you."
Prince Jing's motion of placing a piece paused, and then he sighed deeply. "The Liu Family has helped me greatly."
Looking up, Elder Liu stared fixedly straight at Prince Jing. "Over these years, Your Highness has rushed about east and west for His Majesty. But how has His Majesty treated Your Highness? The old subordinates of the Thousand-Year Army were demoted if not killed. Just take General Zhang from four years ago, for example. Because of his mother's passing, he left his post without authorization. Although it was a grave offense, it was not a crime deserving of death. Yet the Eunuch Faction executed him first and reported it later, beheading him while he was hurrying home for the funeral."
Elder Liu continued, "And let's mention General Li under Your Highness's command. He clearly possessed merits for suppressing rebellions, yet he received no rewards or enfeoffments. In the end, the Eunuch Faction found an excuse—recklessly discussing court politics after drinking—and tossed him into the Inner Prison, torturing him alive until he died. Thinking back to our Liu Family again, hasn't it also been exactly the same? Although we may feel ashamed toward His Majesty, we are nonetheless meritorious subjects who helped him seize the imperial throne! Why must he pursue and exterminate us to the very last one?"
Prince Jing let out a sigh. "Father-in-law is overthinking things. How could His Majesty possibly pursue and exterminate everyone to the very last one?"
Elder Liu said slowly and methodically, "What kind of person that one in Renshou Palace is, Your Highness should know best. As long as Your Highness and the Liu Family are not dead, he cannot sleep at night!"
Upon saying this, he forcefully swept his hand across the chessboard in front of him, scrambling the pieces. "Your Highness, if not for you, why would the Liu Family have endured and remained silent for so many years? Back then, the timing was not ripe, so we could only let the matter drop. Now, our Liu Family's troops are strong and our horses are sturdy, our provisions and forage are abundant, and in the Northern Region, we have the Jing Dynasty's Divine Martial Army to coordinate with us... Stop feigning ignorance; raise your banners and rise up!"
Outside the hall, Chen Ji was suddenly stunned. Could Prince Jing and the Liu Family have been discussing the matter of treason since long ago? The reason the Liu Family dared to rebel was actually because Prince Jing instigated it?
Previously, he had been puzzled: exactly where did the Liu Family get their confidence to actually dare scheme such a treasonous act? Consort Yun was merely a secondary consort—where did she get the courage to dare secretly contact the Jing Dynasty Military Intelligence Division?
These pieces of the puzzle seemed to continually be missing pieces, and many things couldn't be explained logically. But if Prince Jing was placed at the center of this puzzle, then many things suddenly made logical sense.
Prince Jing said softly, "Father-in-law, once we rise up in rebellion, I fear the commoners and all living creatures across several provinces will be plunged into an abyss of misery. Let me consider this matter a little longer."
In Jing'an Hall, Elder Liu slowly stood up. "Your Highness, right now the arrow is already fitted to the bowstring and must be fired. You cannot be allowed to hesitate any longer. Whether you want to sit on this imperial throne or not, you must sit on it! If you wish to assign blame, blame me alone, but do not blame the Liu Family."
Right at this moment, a burly general strode over from outside the hall, his footsteps thudding loudly on the bluestone bricks.
Arriving inside the hall, he cupped his hands and saluted Elder Liu. "Master, someone has discovered Jin Zhu's movements in the Eastern Market. This person has been living in deep seclusion lately, hiding out in a small courtyard belonging to a Pure Courtesan."
Elder Liu waved his hand. "General Qian, you take a squad of Tiger Armor Iron Cavalry and make absolutely sure to apprehend him and bring him back."
Having said that, he said to Mister Feng, "Wenzheng, invite Your Highness, the Prince Heir, and the Commandery Princess to the Liu Family's main residence. Tomorrow, we will open the ancestral shrine, beat the war drums to gather the masses, and use the heads of the Eunuch Faction to sacrifice to the banners. The great army will set out!"
Chen Ji's heart turned cold, and from behind his face mask, his gaze abruptly shifted toward Mister Feng!
The timing of Jin Zhu's appearance was far too coincidental. This must definitely be due to the Secret Spy Division's deliberate arrangements. Mister Feng was someone from the Secret Spy Division!
When he encountered Mister Feng at Longwang Village, the other party once said, "It's a pity that the experts around Prince Jing have all been eliminated by the Directorate of Ceremonial over these years."
The other party said 'Directorate of Ceremonial', and not 'Eunuch Faction'.
At that time, Chen Ji had sensed something off about the word choice in that sentence, but he hadn't deeply considered what exactly was wrong. Now, with all the clues converging into one place, he finally Suddenly Realized.
No wonder after the life-and-death struggle between Mister Feng and Tian Ma, both sides were able to retreat completely unscathed.
It was merely because Mister Feng had always been someone from the Directorate of Ceremonial.
Before he could overthink things further, Elder Liu was already walking outside. A densely packed crowd of armored soldiers followed behind him, surging outward like a turbulent black tide.
The intense, murderous, and chilling atmosphere felt like scorching magma, capable of melting even cast iron.
Smiling, Mister Feng looked toward Prince Jing. "Your Highness, if you please?"
With a calm and collected demeanor, Prince Jing stood up, smoothed out the wrinkles on his robe, took Bai Li by the hand, and walked out of Jing'an Hall. When Mister Feng came out, he shot a glance—intentionally or otherwise—at Chen Ji, deep meaning hidden within his eyes.
...
The hurried, impatient clatter of horse hooves trampled over the tranquility of Anxi Street.
Draped in armor, Chen Ji and Zhang Zhuo urged their horses along at the very rear of the Tiger Armor Iron Cavalry. Everyone's faces were concealed by black masks as they galloped toward the Eastern Market of Luo City like a torrential flood.
Pulling his reins tight, Zhang Zhuo drew closer to Chen Ji and said in a lowered voice, "There is something fishy about this matter. Why do I feel like these people... every single one of them isn't quite right?"
Chen Ji looked up, cast a glance at the cavalry ahead, slightly averted his gaze, and responded in a low voice, "Lord Zhang also feels it?"
Lowering his body, Zhang Zhuo said, "I feel Prince Jing has a problem. Prince Jing has been managing and operating Yuzhou for all these years. How could it be possible that he knows absolutely nothing about the Liu Family privately casting iron weapons and raising a private army?"
Chen Ji asked, "Is Lord Zhang implying that Prince Jing was also involved?"
Zhang Zhuo hesitated for an instant. "That is precisely where the problem lies. As the saying goes, 'In war, speed is of paramount importance.' If he truly harbors treasonous intent, he should have raised his banners and marched north long ago. Why is he dragging out the time here? This brings absolutely no benefit to him whatsoever!"
Zhang Zhuo continued, "And what about that Mister Feng? What time is it now, and they are still engaging in internal strife? It's not right, it's not right. It constantly feels like this is a trap aimed at the Liu Family!"
Chen Ji suddenly said, "Lord Zhang, if an unexpected change occurs in a moment, immediately turn your horse around and head to Tuoluo Temple to fetch rescue troops. We need to save my master first."
Zhang Zhuo was stunned. "An unexpected change? What unexpected change?"
Chen Ji said, "The timing of Jin Zhu's appearance was far too coincidental. This was already a trap aimed at General Qian... They are going to help Mister Feng eliminate his stumbling block."
Just as his voice fell, the sharp whistling of wind tearing apart suddenly sounded from ahead.
Chen Ji abruptly looked up, only to see the windows of the two-story side buildings on both sides of the long street burst open. One Spear after another whistled through the air as they arrived, skewering right through the Tiger Armor Iron Cavalry one by one!
Instantly, war horses neighed in panic, and the neat cavalry formation fell into chaos and turmoil.
Chen Ji said in a low shout, "Let's go, quickly!"
Responding to the sound, Zhang Zhuo turned his horse around and dove into a small alley.
(End of this chapter)