Chapter 38 Staying Home

Lu Changming cut open the cuff from the inside, looked at the deep wound that exposed bone, and let out a long sigh. His lord had been injured for so long without making a sound.

After the wound was properly bandaged, Lu Changming said in a deep voice, "My lord, do you have any clues about today's assassination attempt?"

Pei Yanzhi raised his hand and looked at his arm, his eyes cold and piercing: "The secret investigation between Jiang Boyang and me tonight was known only to a few of us. Since it wasn't leaked from us, it must have been leaked from Jiang Boyang."

He paused slightly, then continued, "Think about it, if this spy mission succeeds, who will be the biggest threat?"

"Song Zhaonian?"

Pei Yanzhi nodded in satisfaction. "Since Song Zhaonian is so wary of my alliance with Jiang Boyang, and since he dared to assassinate us, Jiang Boyang is probably in grave danger."

"However—Jiang Baiyang is always cautious and will definitely have a backup plan."

Today's secret mission is aimed at Kangzhou and Suizhou. These two states have long been at odds. Now that I have conquered Chongzhou, I will return to Yanzhou in two or three months at the latest, and I cannot stay here for long.

This was the perfect opportunity for Jiang Boyang to win him over. Song Zhaonian had been putting pressure on the people of Kangzhou for years, and the people of Kangzhou were suffering terribly. Jiang Boyang was taking over Kangzhou this time by leveraging the power of Yanzhou.

However, Jiang Boyang's forces were far from sufficient to confront Kangzhou. He came here to borrow troops, and everyone in the world knew that the Twelve Iron Cavalry of Yanzhou were famous throughout the land.

If they could borrow troops from Yanzhou, what would Kangzhou use to resist? This was precisely what Song Zhaonian feared.

That's why he did the assassination of Jiang Boyang and Pei Yanzhi. Thinking of the key point, Lu Changming said, "Isn't Song Zhaonian afraid of retaliation from Yanzhou?"

Pei Yanzhi said coldly, "Don't forget who Song Zhaonian is behind. He is backed by the imperial court. Empress Dowager Song has controlled the government for many years, and Song Zhaonian is her nephew. Do you think she doesn't know what Song Zhaonian wants to do?"

"This must have involved the instigation of Empress Dowager Song, or even that it was Empress Dowager Song's doing."

"Now that the assassination attempt has failed and their whereabouts have been exposed, Song Zhaonian is unable to eat or sleep in peace."

And that is indeed the case.

"Snap!"

The teacup was struck hard on Chen Zhou's forehead, and blood slid down his forehead onto his face, making him look even more sinister and terrifying.

He knelt on the ground, his voice trembling, and said, "It's all my fault."

Still not satisfied, Song Zhaonian drew his sword and stabbed Chen Zhou in the chest.

Fortunately, the stab wasn't deep, and everyone present fell silent in fear.

Song Zhaonian cursed, "You're all fucking useless trash! You can't kill Pei Yanzhi, and you can't kill Jiang Boyang either. I've been raising you all these years for nothing, and you've just been eating for free."

Chen Zhou clutched his knife wound, his back soaked with cold sweat. "It is my incompetence, my lord. I beg you to punish me."

Wang, the eunuch standing to the side, slowly took a sip of tea, seemingly unfazed by the situation. His sharp voice rang out: "Alright, Lord Song, I also need to report to the Empress Dowager. I don't have time to watch your performance."

After saying this, he got up to leave, but Song Zhaonian, his face ashen, stood up as well and said, "Eunuch, I'm sorry. I hope you can put in a good word for me with the Empress Dowager. I will remember your great kindness."

He glanced discreetly at his attendant to the side, who, upon receiving instructions, presented the lavish gifts he had prepared.

Upon closer inspection, Wang Dajian realized it was a snow-white jade coral half the height of a person, an extremely rare find, and immediately composed himself.

He lowered his voice and advised, "Neither of you succeeded this time, but Lord Yan is shrewd and will surely be able to guess who did it. Lord Song, you should make plans as soon as possible."

These words made Song Zhaonian's head throb. He knew all this all too well. If he had gone astray and ignored the Empress Dowager's advice, focusing solely on assassinating Jiang Boyang, Suizhou might already be without a ruler.

Otherwise, we wouldn't be in this predicament, caught in a dilemma.

When Eunuch Wang returned to the palace, he was met with the Empress Dowager's fury. In the end, the Empress Dowager would only say that he was more trouble than he was worth.

After Wang Dajian left, Chen Zhou, who was kneeling on the ground, swayed and fell down.

Seeing this, Song Zhaonian waved his hand, and the people behind him stepped forward and dragged him out.

The strategist standing to the side observed everything before him, pondered for a moment, and said, "My lord, things have come to this point. Since they want to form an alliance, the Empress Dowager must know about it. The only way now is to smear them and strike first to gain more allies."

Song Zhaonian slumped into a chair, leaned back heavily, and sighed, "Yes, Pei Yanzhi wants to reap the benefits without lifting a finger. Then I'll tear off this fig leaf and see how he silences the public. Even if he wants to send troops, he needs a legitimate reason."

In the end, it was no longer in a state of utter defeat.

Meanwhile, Lu Changming put down what he was holding and said with concern, "My lord, I'm afraid you can't ride a horse with your hand injury, lest the wound reopen."

It would be bad if there were any lingering consequences, since there's no chance of a second wave of assassinations anyway.

It's not far from Chongzhou; it would only take a day to get here by carriage.

"Okay, you should go and rest too."

Just as Lu Changming was about to leave, Pei Yanzhi said again, "Check the owner of this mansion."

It's always best to be cautious when traveling.

"Yes, my lord." He withdrew.

At the same time.

Chang Wu returned to the main courtyard.

Ji Shu was not asleep at the moment. She heard Chang Wu knock softly on the door and say, "Come in."

Seeing that Chang Wu was alright, he put the storybook aside and asked, "How did it go?"

Chang Wu still felt lingering fear when he thought about what had just happened; that was the Marquis of Yan.

He handed the gold from his sleeve to Ji Shu, explained the whole story, and said:

"Young lady, they have been arranged to rest. Marquis Yan and his men have not suspected anything, so it seems there is nothing to worry about."

Ji Shu finally breathed a sigh of relief. Ever since that incident, she didn't know why, but the thought of seeing him made her inexplicably nervous. If she could, she would rather never see him again; the oppressive aura emanating from him made it hard for her to breathe.

"That's good. They'll only be staying one night. The two courtyards are so far apart. When they leave, arrange for them to use the back door, just to be on the safe side, so they don't run into each other."

She rested her hand on her forehead and said wearily, "Let's get rid of this big Buddha as soon as possible."

The next morning, Ji Shu woke up with dark circles under her eyes.

He called out to Chunzhi, and Chunzhi came in carrying a copper basin.

He handed the warmed handkerchief to Ji Shu and whispered, "Miss, that man is still having breakfast. He'll probably leave after he finishes."

Ji Shu yawned and nodded. Seeing that she still looked tired, Chunzhi gently advised, "Why don't you sleep a little longer? I'll talk to you after everyone leaves."

Ji Shu mumbled, "I have something on my mind, so I can't sleep."

Wearing only her undergarments, she walked to the dressing table. Chunzhi stood behind her and picked up a comb to brush her smooth, dark hair.

Suddenly remembering something, she lowered her voice and said, "Young lady, last night the maid said that Marquis Yan seemed to be injured. She said that the basin of water that was changed last night was full of blood, which was quite creepy."

For people like them who live on the edge, this was commonplace. What surprised Chunzhi was that someone still dared to lay a hand on the Prince of Yan.