Chapter 39

There was the sound of horse hooves in the woods, and someone holding a torch was getting closer and closer, illuminating Ale's eyes.

A'le's eyes were filled with tears as he watched Lin Shuge get off the horse and hurried over.

"Ale, Ale, hold on, the doctor will be here soon."

"Mr. Lin, I'm so cold... I want to sleep." A'le lost too much blood and could not hold on any longer, so he slowly closed his eyes.

While I was fuzzy, I heard Lin Shuge shouting, "Ah, wake up. I promised to take you to eat barbecue. Hang in there."

Okay, you still owe me a barbecue.

He thought and lost consciousness.

The first ray of sunlight in the early morning shone through the window. Ale was blinded by the light and slowly opened his eyes.

When he moved his body slightly, he felt pain all over his body, making him grimace in pain. Both his legs and one arm were wrapped in thick bandages. He wanted to sit up, but before he could move, he felt dizzy.

"Hey, don't move. You're injured like this, why are you moving?"

Lin Shuge came in with medicine and saw that A'er was trying to move with three of his limbs tied up, so he hurriedly stopped him.

"I'm still alive." Ale suddenly started to smile foolishly, and his smile pulled the wound, causing him to scream in pain.

"Yes, yes, you're still alive." Lin Shuge replied unhappily, blew on the medicine, and fed it to his mouth with a spoon.

Ale opened his mouth and drank it, then suddenly remembered, "Where is the prince? Is the prince back?"

Lin Shuge smiled and said, "I'm back. I saw you were so injured last night and cried so hard that you couldn't catch your breath. I stayed by your side all night and just now I persuaded you to go back and rest."

"But Al is truly loyal and brave. I heard from the prince that it was you who led the pursuers away for him."

Lin Shuge was shocked when he saw Ale's miserable condition last night. He didn't expect that the young man who seemed heartless and simply loved to play could burst out with such potential at the moment of life and death.

"He actually wanted to torture me slowly and make me die in fear, so I was able to hold on for so long." Ale said with his head down.

"Torture you slowly? Who is so cruel and merciless?" Lin Shuge asked in surprise.

Ale shook his head. "I don't know. He didn't say a word from beginning to end. I can only be sure that he is from Xiye."

"A person from Xiye?"

"Yes, he had a piece of jade on him, which is a specialty of my Xiye country. The situation was critical at the time, but I promise I am not mistaken."

"What about the person behind the scenes? Do you have any clue?" Lin Shuge asked.

An idea flashed through Ale's mind, but he still shook his head.

Seeing him like this, Lin Shuge didn't ask any more questions and just fed him the rest of the medicine.

There were hurried footsteps outside the door. As soon as Taran entered the room and saw that A'er had woken up, he burst into tears before he could say anything.

"Ale, I'm sorry, it's all my fault." Taran threw himself on the bed, looking at him in a mess, tears streaming down his face.

"I'm glad that the prince is safe. Am I okay too? Thanks to County Magistrate Lin, I was able to come back alive."

"Okay, there's no need to say thank you, Your Highness. Let's go out first and let A'le have a good rest." Lin Shuge advised.

Taran looked at A'er, who was full of fatigue, wiped his tears, nodded, and followed Lin Shuge out.

"Wait, County Magistrate Lin, I vaguely heard you say that you would treat me to barbecue after I get better." A'le shouted behind him.

Lin Shuge was very upset. This kid, it’s already this late and he’s still thinking about eating.

But the fact that he is like this shows that there is nothing serious wrong with his health.

"Okay, when you're better, take your good highness with you. We'll go hunting first, and then I'll let you taste my cooking."

"It's a deal, don't regret it."

"No regrets."

"Pfft." Taran was amused.

Lin Shuge glanced at Ale and realized that he said this because he was afraid that Taran would worry.

He told Ale to have a good rest and took Taran out.

"Your Highness, who wants to harm you? Do you have an answer in your mind?"

Taran looked in the direction of his homeland and remained silent for a long time.

"It seems that Your Highness already has the answer in his mind." Lin Shuge said.

Taran gently stroked the wound on his face, with a trace of sadness in his eyes, "He is my brother, the eldest prince Avna."

The eldest prince? Lin Shuge remembered that Zhou Du once said that King Xiye favored the younger prince and disliked the older prince, and he realized that it was nothing more than a struggle for power within the royal family.

Seeing Lin Shuge's eyes, Taran said: "You are right. My brother and I are not from the same mother. My mother was born in the Xiye clan and was made queen by my father. My brother's mother..."

When it comes to the royal family secrets, Taran hesitated for a long time before saying, "Her mother was also from a noble family, but she...had an affair with someone."

adultery?

"My father remembered her grandfather's contribution to the country and did not sentence her to death. He only imprisoned her in the palace, which caused her brother to be disliked by my father. Maybe it was because of the long-term imprisonment that her mental state has not been very good. My brother grew up with her when he was a child. Sometimes when she gets crazy, she will take it out on her brother. When my father found out..."

"It may be because he has been with my mother since he was a child. After my brother was taken away, he became cruel and murderous. He would abuse the palace maids for no reason. My father disliked him even more, until one day..."

There was a struggle in his eyes, as if he was lost in painful memories.

"Your Highness." Lin Shuge called out worriedly.

"I'm fine. He was jealous of me, so he pushed me into the lake when I was not paying attention. I screamed desperately and was rescued by a guard passing by. My father punished him very severely that time. Since then, he seems to have become a different person. He is no longer cruel and is very caring and polite to me. I didn't expect that everything was just a disguise."

The guard who communicated with him last night must have been bribed by him long ago. If he had died in Dayan last night, not only would there be one less person vying for the throne, but the blame could also be put on Dayan, destroying the friendly relations between the two countries.

And knowing that he knows him so well and that he has a deep relationship with his father, he would definitely panic when he heard that he was seriously ill. The only person who could give them an opportunity to take advantage of him was his brother.

"The flowers of Tangdi are so beautiful, and the people nowadays are no better than brothers. County Magistrate Lin, will there be brothers killing each other in the Central Plains?" Taran turned around and asked with sadness in his voice.

"Brothers fight each other, fathers fight each other, it's always like this when it comes to power, Your Highness, don't worry too much."

Taran blinked his eyes and said, "I have already written a letter to my father, explaining the situation to him. Don't worry, County Magistrate Lin, this matter will be resolved."

Lin Shuge nodded and watched him leave.

This matter is not that simple. If you really want to kill the little prince, you can assassinate him anywhere outside Xiye Kingdom. If you are worried about the left captain leading soldiers to guard, you can use the same trick again to let the guard Yue Talan come out.

Taking action in Dayan can only be an attempt to put the blame on others. Could it be that they want to provoke a war between Dayan and Xiye?

No, Xiye is just a small country. Even if they combined their forces, they are not enough to defeat Dayan. Could it be that they have other plans?

It seems that we still have to start from Xiye Country.

Lin Shuge rubbed his sore eyes and prepared to go to the county government office to take a nap before going on duty. After such an incident, the county government office was probably in a mess.

After the New Year, things happen one after another and they are all difficult to handle.

Except for the guard who was captured by the Left Commandant, nothing happened for several days after the stabbing of the envoys.

They interrogated him all night but didn't get any useful information. The guard was bribed by the eldest prince because he had received favors from his mother's family in the past. His mission was to lead Taran to the destination, and he knew nothing else.

Lin Shuge has been running around on this matter these days and is extremely busy.

"Sir, Young Master Wei has arrived. The county magistrate wants you to come over." A runner came to report.

Wei Huan? It must be about Taran's assassination.

"Got it. I'll go with you."

The two of them arrived at the county government office. Wei Huan had been there for a long time. He looked up and saw Lin Shuge with a smile on his face. "It's been a long time since we last met. County Magistrate Lin is still as elegant as ever."

"Greetings, sir. Are you coming to Ganzhou because of the assassination of the little prince of Xiye Kingdom?"

Wei Huan put away his teasing attitude and said, "Yes, my father sent me here to check after the county governor's office received the news. This is related to the diplomatic relations between the two countries, so we have to be cautious."

Lin Shuge said slowly: "This matter may involve the internal strife of the Kingdom of Duxiye."

"What?"

After these words were spoken, County Magistrate Li was the first to become restless.

"Why are you telling us about such an important matter now?" County Magistrate Li stood up from his chair.

"Sir, it's just a guess. I dare not spread it." Lin Shuge repeated what Taran had said that day about the hidden palace secret.

"Are you saying that it is true that the eldest prince killed the younger prince, and there may be other intentions behind it?" County Magistrate Li tapped the table lightly with his fingers and spoke slowly.

"You are right." Wei Huan stood up and walked in front of Lin Shuge. "Captain Zhao sent a message that the Xiongnu suddenly invaded the border a while ago. Fortunately, the commander of the guards was brave and good at fighting. He led the troops to repel the Xiongnu's attacks time and time again."

"You are talking about Zhongxuan. The Huns are invading on a large scale. Is Zhongxuan okay?" Lin Shuge's heart tightened and he asked anxiously.

"Who are you, Captain Wei Sui?" Why are you so concerned?

"I saved Zhongxuan from danger, and I treat him like my younger brother. My brother is young, so please tell me."

Wei Huan looked at his expression, his eyes full of worry, and sneered, "You two really have a deep brotherly love. Don't worry, Captain Wei Sui shot the Xiongnu captain's eyes blind with an arrow, and he has been worshipped as a god by those soldiers."

Lin Shuge finally let go of the worry that had been in his throat, as long as Zhongxuan was okay.

"Okay, let's get back to the point. According to the Xiongnu captain captured by Wei Sui, a Xiye man had been in and out of their Guli King's tent. Not long after he left, the Xiongnu sent out troops, but they ran into a tough guy like Wei Sui. Not only did they not get any good results, but they were also beaten and fled in panic."

Wei Huan slapped the table and said happily.

The border guards all hated the Huns to the core. The crimes committed by the Huns at the border were too numerous to list. When they heard about Xie Chen's achievement, everyone applauded.

"It seems that the collusion between the Xiye people and the Xiongnu is true. Regardless of whether he is the eldest prince or not, he can hold the King of Xiye accountable."

I don’t know whether Taran has received a reply from King Xiye. This matter depends on King Xiye’s attitude.

Suddenly, the messenger came in a hurry and reported: "Mr. Lin, the little prince wants to see you for something urgent."

The three of them looked at each other. Speak of the devil, he appeared. If Lin Shuge's guess was correct, it seemed that there should be a reply.