Chapter 99 Snowy Night Conspiracy Wei Wei Returns

Great start.

Winter has arrived. It snowed lightly last night. This place is the northernmost part of the northern border, and the snow never melts all year round. The thick snow on the ground makes the sky brighter.

On the vast snow-covered ground, a black figure gradually approached, thin but tough, and walked step by step towards the village in the mountains.

The coarse cloth on Wei Wei's shoulders was casually wrapped over his head. The wind and snow soaked him, and only his eyes were exposed.

Wei Wei stopped and a group of people rushed out from all directions and surrounded him, holding swords and bows, looking very imposing.

The leader raised his axe, looked dignified and said in a stern tone, "Who are you?"

Wei Wei raised the long sword that was blocked by the coarse cloth, his eyes cold, "Wei Wei."

Several people were startled. The leader looked him up and down, confirming the sword again. "Please wait a moment, sir. I need to report to my master."

Wei Wei hadn't seen Xiao Chengying for almost six years. The last time they met was when the Wei family was accused of treason. Xiao Chengying petitioned the court to plead for the Wei family, but was imprisoned for the same crime as Xiao Chengyun. They met briefly in prison, and he had no time to thank him.

He never imagined that when the Wei family was in trouble, the person who finally pleaded for his family was the least competitive among all the princes.

Wei Wei was just an acquaintance with him, and Xiao Chengying was younger than him, and they had never played together in their childhood. Taking such a risk... If he had any ulterior motives, the Wei family had no benefits to gain at that time, and standing up for the Wei family was just asking for trouble.

Because of the Wei family's plea for mercy, Xiao Chengying was caught and sentenced to death by the new king who didn't know how to deal with Xiao Chengying. In fact, Xiao Chengyun's plan not only killed two birds with one stone, but also killed three birds with one stone.

Not long after that, news came out that Xiao Chengying had died in prison. Xiao Chengying's mother was just a female doctor of humble origin. She had no reliable power behind her, so no one cared about her death.

Everyone thought he was dead, and Wei Wei also thought so. If he hadn't read history, he probably wouldn't have been able to find Xiao Chengying's hiding place.

Xiao Chengying pushed the cup of hot tea over and said, "You are the first person in Kyoto City to send me a message."

Wei Wei picked up the hot tea and the hot steam covered his palm. The temperature difference between inside and outside the house was very large, and the cold air gradually faded away.

"So it seems that the Ninth Prince was able to leave Kyoto alive that year, and it must have been because of the secret help of people in Kyoto." Wei Wei paused, "Or maybe this was also a plot set by the Ninth Prince?"

Xiao Chengying smiled and said, "I never intended to hide it from you. My brother, the emperor, gave you the power to take charge of the entire Western Factory. I thought you would have been able to find out a long time ago, but you came later than I expected."

In fact, when Xiao Chengying received Wei Wei's letter, he was not very shocked, because before that, the news of Wei Wei's disappearance was known to the world. His royal brother was so crazy that he turned the entire Daqi upside down, searching for Wei Wei's whereabouts day and night, causing chaos in the world.

He also didn't believe that Wei Wei would die at the hands of some unknown people, but he was also very curious about where Wei Wei had been during this period of time.

Wei Wei admitted that he had indeed underestimated Xiao Chengying in the past.

In the battle for the throne among the princes, Xiao Chengying had the least chance of winning. It was precisely because he did not fight or compete and lingered on the edge that he was able to survive. But who would have thought that Xiao Chengying had such a strategy, faking his death and coming to the northern border to secretly develop his own power.

If Xiao Chengying had not participated in that incident on behalf of the Wei family, he could still be an idle prince in Kyoto. In order to avoid the gossip of the people, Xiao Chengyun would have had to keep Xiao Chengying.

"Does the King trust me so much?"

Now everyone in the world knows that he is Xiao Chengyun's most trusted dog.

"Although you and I each have our own goals, our ultimate goal is Xiao Chengyun." Xiao Chengying sniffed the tea. "I think the Wei family case you've been investigating for these years has finally come to fruition, otherwise you wouldn't have come to me."

"The blood feud of annihilating your entire family is heart-wrenching. The fact that you could endure the humiliation of being sent to the Western Factory proves how much you hate Xiao Chengyun."

"And me, too."

So he didn't worry at all that Wei Wei would betray him, and Wei Wei would even help him cover it up.

That's much simpler.

Wei Wei offered him tea and said, "Before my father returned to the court, he secretly disbanded a 50,000-strong military guard."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Chengying straightened his back and his expression became serious.

Wei Wei said calmly, "During the reign of the late emperor, my father had already started on this matter."

It wasn't that he harbored any rebellious intentions; it was the late emperor who had proactively mentioned this elite force and ordered Wei Yinchao to privately train it. At that time, the late emperor's health was failing, and his sons were ambitious. The late emperor deliberated for a long time before concluding this agreement with Wei Yinchao.

However, the previous emperor passed away suddenly. At that time, the war on the border was tense and Wei Yinchao was unable to take care of it, so an accident still occurred.

He learned about this from Wei Yinchao on the night when the Wei family was imprisoned. When the Wei family was wronged, Wei Yinchao did not think of mobilizing the private army. He was upright in character and would rather die than be charged with treason and ruin the reputation of the Wei family.

"Aside from the late emperor, only my father can mobilize this private army."

Xiao Chengying's emotions were in turmoil. "What does General Wei mean by this?"

Wei Wei hadn't heard this title for a long time.

"Prince Qin has been dormant for many years, secretly cultivating his own power. However, he is no match for Xiao Chengyun." Wei Wei's eyes were cold. "I just want to ask Prince Qin: do you wish to remain anonymous forever, occupying this desolate land and living a miserable life, or do you wish to enter Kyoto and ascend the throne?"

This was a bold statement, but it hit the mark right in Xiao Chengying's heart.

He had never thought about competing with his royal brothers. After Xiao Chengyun ascended the throne, he just wanted to be a leisurely prince. But Xiao Chengyun was afraid of him after all and wanted to kill him. From the moment he was sentenced to death, he made up his mind that if he didn't fight, he would die, so he might as well fight.

"If King Qin wants to ascend the throne, I am willing to lay the foundation for him."

"These fifty thousand soldiers will be assembled again within six months. And I will be the first one to march into Kyoto to defend the king—the sharp sword."

Xiao Chengying's eyes flickered, and the blood in his body began to boil. He had thought about cooperating with Wei Wei, but the most daring idea he had was to develop Wei Wei into a hidden blade buried beside Xiao Chengyun. However, the surprise Wei Wei brought him was too great. Those were the 50,000 elite soldiers brought by Wei Yinchao!

Before Xiao Chengying could be happy, Wei Wei's expression turned even colder, "But I have two conditions."

"First, redress the injustice done to the Wei family." Wei Wei paused for a moment, then added, "Second, hand Xiao Chengyun over to me for disposal."

Xiao Chengying curved his lips and said, "Young General Wei, do you know why I pleaded for General Wei in the first place?"

"It's not to set up a trap to escape."

It was only after he received the imperial edict of death from Xiao Chengyun that he made up his mind to leave Kyoto.

Xiao Chengying's eyes turned melancholy. "I just can't bear to see a group of loyal ministers and generals who have defended the country and the people of Daqi for half their lives, fighting bloody battles, bear such a heartbreaking and humiliating crime, and die tragically under the suspicion of their loyal and trusted monarch."

"They shouldn't have ended up like this." Xiao Chengying sighed, "Not only did we make them bleed, we also have to make them cry."

Just because of Xiao Chengyun's ridiculous suspicion.

"General Wei, it is our Xiao family who has let you down."

…

Xiao Chengyun was awakened by another nightmare. The back of his underwear was soaked. The lights in the bedroom were dim, making him feel irritated and unbearable. He pulled off the quilt and stumbled out barefoot.

He had a sinister look, red eyes, and disheveled hair, looking like a wild ghost from the underworld.

The palace door was opened, and the young eunuch who was dozing outside was so scared that he quickly got up, bent over and ran over.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, why are you awake? You have only slept for less than an hour."

"Where's A'an?" Xiao Chengyun stepped out of the hall. "Why is there no news about him? Where's A'an? Why haven't we found him yet?!"

The guards and eunuchs on duty all knelt down but did not dare to move or make a sound.

Ever since Wei Wei disappeared, Xiao Chengyun's temperament became unpredictable. He began to have trouble sleeping every night and was haunted by nightmares. Sometimes he seemed to be trapped in a nightmare and no one could wake him up. He could only pick up a knife and kill people indiscriminately. Many palace maids and eunuchs died under his sword, and three or four of them were strangled to death by him this month.

He was originally sinister, narrow-minded and gloomy, and now he was even more like a madman. Whenever the servants who served him heard him waking up in the middle of the night, they would tremble with fear, fearing that they would lose their lives if he was displeased for a moment.

The young eunuch kneeling in the front was trembling all over, his clothes were soaked with urine, but he didn't dare to raise his hands to block it, for fear that Xiao Chengyun would stare at him.

"I ask you, where is Wei Wei?!"

The young eunuch crouched on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, the Wei-Wei Dugong has not been found yet..."

"Didn't find him?" Xiao Chengyun walked over to him, squatted down, and suddenly grabbed his neck. "You bunch of losers, it's been so long, why haven't you found him yet? You are all losers!"

Xiao Chengyun glanced at the puddle of smelly urine and wrinkled his nose in disgust. His expression suddenly became ferocious. "You stinking eunuchs, how dare you be disrespectful in front of me? You should be chopped up and fed to the dogs!"

"Dirty things, you stinking dog eunuchs, die, all of you!"

"Go to hell! I'm going to twist your neck and break it!"

Xiao Chengyun twisted the little eunuch's neck bit by bit, and the crackling sound made people's hair stand on end.

"Your Majesty!" People running from afar shouted excitedly, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty—"

The young eunuch who was strangled to death by Xiao Chengyun had bulging eyes and a ferocious look of fear. Xiao Chengyun loosened his hands, and the young eunuch's neck slipped out, and his head flipped back strangely and leaned against his back. He was already dead.

The person who came to report had his voice stuck in his throat and knelt down in a hurry.

Xiao Chengyun raised the corners of his mouth slightly, feeling very satisfied.

He wiped the blood sprayed from his face by the young eunuch, stood up and staggered forward, "Speak."

"Your Majesty, Your ...

Before he could finish his words, Xiao Chengyun's figure had already rushed several meters away.

"Your Majesty, you are not dressed yet."

Wei Yan had secretly entered Kyoto in the afternoon. He originally wanted to change his clothes and go to see Wei Yang, but he learned that Xiao Chengyun had summoned Wei Yang into the palace.

Wei Yang stayed in the palace for as long as he was missing.

Xiao Chengyun threatened Wei Yang, fearing that he would never return to Kyoto.