Chapter 50 Falling into the Trap: He thought she was waiting for him to kiss her.
Inside the quiet room of the bookstore, the rough wolf fang pendant was pressed onto the center of the wooden table by Bai Lian with a "thud".
“There are no signs of intrusion in the room.” Bai Lian’s voice broke the silence, so calm that not a ripple could be detected. “The only person who could leave things on my dressing table is someone who regularly comes and goes in the inner room.”
Galorin stood with his hands behind his back before the city map. Hearing this, he turned around, his sharp gaze sweeping over the wolf fang. "This means our opponents are more insidious than we imagined. Defense is no longer enough." He walked to the table, his fingertip emphasizing the location of "Jade Palace Tower" on the map. "We must keep them preoccupied with their own problems."
"What do you plan to do?" Bai Lian looked up at him.
“A two-pronged approach.” Galorin drew a circle on the map with his fingertip. “On the surface, I’ll have people crack down on Jade Pavilion’s related businesses, and then I’ll have the Censorate cause some trouble for Minister Han. As for this wolf fang…” He looked at Bai Lian, his brows furrowing slightly, “What are your plans?”
Bai Lian picked up the wolf fang, her fingertips tracing its sharp tip: "The bait has been placed to its mouth, how can it not bite? I'm going to meet that 'Azure Wolf Guard'."
“Too risky,” Galorin immediately objected. “It’s like walking straight into a knife’s edge.”
“Waiting passively is the greatest risk.” Bai Lian stood up, her gaze resolute. “They are lurking in the shadows, and we must act in the shadows as well. Only by taking action can we find a weakness.” She tucked the wolf fang into her sleeve. “I need an environment where I can have brief contact with him and then quickly escape.”
Galorin was silent for a moment, then finally nodded: "Okay. But my people will be there to provide cover in case anything changes..."
"Understood." Bai Lian interrupted him. "Don't worry, I won't linger in the fight." With that, she packed her things and prepared to leave.
Galorin looked at her intently. Recently, they had been meeting in this quiet room every few days to exchange information, but their relationship was not developing as he had expected...
"Lian'er," Jialuolin said slowly after a moment's thought, "Aside from official business, you can also consider... I was just saying..."
"Are you trying to talk about how to strengthen our alliance?" Bai Lian replied without looking up. "I think things are fine as they are right now. We're cooperating quite well, aren't we?"
"We have great chemistry, but..."
"When did Your Highness become so indecisive?" Bai Lian approached Jialuolin step by step. Seeing his consistently serious expression, she suddenly felt like teasing him.
Galorin had no time to react and could only retreat, until Byakuren forced her back against the wall.
Their faces were very close. Bai Lian tilted her head slightly, staring intently at Jia Luolin without moving. Her eyelashes fluttered, and her moist lips curved into a smile. Jia Luolin almost thought that Bai Lian was waiting for him to kiss her...
"Alright, Your Highness, it's getting late. I'll head back to my residence now." Bai Lian suddenly took a large step back, a sly smile on her face, like an elfin girl.
Galo Lin leaned against the wall, stunned and seemingly unable to come to her senses, when she saw Bai Lian wave her hand and leave.
After a while, he sat silently in the corner, covered his face with his hands, and gave an embarrassed smile, but his ears were so red they looked like they were about to bleed.
-
Two days later, at dawn, Bai Lian was practicing her sword in the courtyard when a figure silently appeared under the eaves.
"General, news has come from the Crown Prince's side," the guard whispered. "At today's court meeting, Minister Han was indeed impeached by the censor because of his protégé. Although His Majesty did not investigate further, he ordered him to strictly discipline his subordinates."
Bai Lian sheathed her sword, a slight smile playing on her lips: "The Crown Prince moves quickly. What about Yu Yu Tower?"
“Starting yesterday, their three silk shops have been pressured to lower prices by unidentified caravans, and they reportedly suffered considerable losses.” The guard paused. “Also… this morning, Liu Ma, who is in charge of purchasing for the household, asked for leave to go home, saying that her elderly mother is seriously ill.”
Bai Lian's eyes narrowed: "Find out whether it's a real illness or a fake one."
"We've already sent people to investigate."
After the guards withdrew, Bai Lian looked towards the West Market, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the wolf fang hidden in her sleeve.
Cat Lane was tinged with blood by the setting sun at dusk. Ba Xiang dragged his weary steps into the lane as usual, but was blocked in the middle of the lane by a figure wearing a veiled hat.
Just as he was about to step aside, the man raised his hand—his fingertips were pinching that familiar wolf fang pendant.
Batu froze, his right hand silently reaching for the short dagger at his waist.
"Lone wolf of the grasslands," a woman's voice with an unusual accent came through the veil, speaking in the local dialect of his home tribe, "Have you smelled the scent of death in the alleys of Luoyang?"
These words struck Batu like a thunderbolt. He froze on the spot, watching helplessly as the figure left behind a cold look before disappearing like a ghost at the end of the alley.
Cold sweat instantly soaked his back. He turned abruptly and ran wildly towards Yongfengfang.
"The target has moved; it's headed towards Chen's Grocery Store in Yongfengfang," the guard reported in a low voice.
Galorin, standing by the window, turned around upon hearing this: "Proceed according to plan. Remember, we need them alive."
"Your Highness, are you going to personally take action? Isn't that too risky?" the head of the secret guards couldn't help but ask. "What if..."
“There’s no room for ‘what ifs’.” Galo Lin’s gaze was cold and stern. He had to work with Bai Lian personally to ensure that nothing went wrong. “Since they dared to extend their claws into General Bai’s mansion, they should be prepared to be chopped off.”
Meanwhile, Bai Lian was catching her breath in the shadows of the abandoned dye house. She gestured towards the darkness and whispered, "They're here. Prepare to lure us into a trap."
The moment the warehouse door was silently closed, the hunt in the darkness began.
"Third from the left." Bai Lian's voice came clearly from the darkness. Jia Luolin understood, and the sword light immediately turned to the third dark figure on the left.
An enemy attacked Galorin from behind, but Byakuren followed closely, delivering a precise chop to the side of his neck. "Watch out behind you," she whispered, her voice calm.
When Galorin turned around, all she saw was a tear in her sleeve. "You're injured?"
"No problem." Bai Lian had already turned to her next target. "The second one from the right is yours."
Sparks from clashing swords flickered in the darkness. While dealing with her immediate enemies, Galorin couldn't help but keep an eye on Byakuren's movements. Byakuren's skills were astonishingly swift; every move aimed directly at vital points, as if honed through countless life-or-death battles.
When the last enemy was restrained by Byakuren's special technique, Garo Rin quickly stepped forward: "Did you leave him alive?"
"Hmm." Bai Lian quickly released the force from the prisoner's body. "It's Batu."
In the cellar of a farm outside the city, Batu was tied to a wooden chair, his eyes filled with terror.
Bai Lian took out several silver needles, which gleamed coldly under the lamp. "I know you are not afraid of death," she said slowly in Mandarin, "but some feelings are more unbearable than death."
The moment the silver needle pierced his acupoint, Batu trembled violently, and a hoarse hiss came from his throat.
"Speak," Bai Lian's voice was as cold as ice.
“Yuyu Tower…there’s a secret room in the cellar…” Batu finally broke down. “The correspondence…is all there…”
Galorin stepped forward: "What have you been up to lately?"
Batu's eyes flickered, but he completely broke down when Bai Lian raised the silver needles again: "The grain camp in the north... at midnight in three days... someone is going to set it on fire... to frame the Crown Prince..."
Galo Lin's expression changed drastically: "Who ordered this? Who else in the court is helping us?"
"I don't know... I really don't know..." Batu cried, tears streaming down his face. "I only heard it was a... a high-ranking 'official'..."
After the guards took the person away, a brief silence fell over the cellar.
“They’re bolder than we thought,” Galorin said, her voice laced with suppressed anger. “They dare to target our supply depot.”
Bai Lian wiped the silver needles clean and retied her hair: "We must obtain concrete evidence from Yu Yu Lou within three days to stop this conspiracy."
“Not only must we stop them, we must make them pay the price.” Galorin looked at her, her gaze deep. “This time, you will come with me.”
"Okay," Bai Lian replied curtly, a chilling glint in her eyes.
Just then, hurried footsteps sounded outside the cellar. Han Luliu rushed in and whispered a few words in Jialuolin's ear.
Galo Lin's face immediately turned very ugly: "I just received news that Han Liuyue had dinner with the Emperor today and said that she dreamed yesterday that the war in Beiting had reignited, which seemed to be an implication that if the border general stayed in the capital for too long, something might happen."
Bai Lian sneered, "She certainly knows how to seize opportunities."
“It seems we need to hurry,” Galorin mused. “Three days from midnight…that means we only have two days to prepare.”
"That's enough." Bai Lian stood up. "Since they want to play with fire, we'll play with fire to a greater extent."
"However, there's something I'd like to address first," Bai Lian suddenly changed the subject, "Han Liuyue's unbridled behavior in the palace is solely due to the Emperor's favor. If someone could take away her favor..."
Galorin raised an eyebrow: "Do you have a suitable candidate?"
"Consort Zhang." Bai Lian's lips curled slightly. "Her father and Minister Han have always been at odds. More importantly, she was once highly favored, until Han Liuyue entered the palace."
"You want to support Zhang Jieyu?"
"That's not all." A cunning glint flashed in Bai Lian's eyes. "I want to use Zhang Jieyu as a weapon, specifically aimed at Han Liuyue."
"What do you want to do?" Galorin asked.
She took a few steps closer and lowered her voice: "As far as I know, Consort Zhang is proficient in music, especially the guqin."
“Father is fond of the guqin.” Galorin immediately understood: “You mean…”
"If Consort Zhang's zither playing can attract the Emperor's attention and regain his favor..."
"Leave this to me. Father Emperor goes to the Imperial Study to review memorials every day; I can find a way to make him take a detour to the Imperial Garden at the appropriate time."
Bai Lian nodded in satisfaction: "Not only that, I also want to give Zhang Jieyu a big gift."
What kind of gift?
"An ancient zither with strings made of Northern Di silkworm silk." Bai Lian chuckled. "It's said that these strings produce a clear and melodious tone, unparalleled in the world. More importantly... this is a gift that Minister Han just gave to Han Liuyue the other day."
Galo Lin was taken aback at first, then suddenly realized: "Brilliant! If Father asks about the origin of the strings..."
"Zhang Jieyu will naturally tell the truth," Bai Lian continued, smiling slightly.
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