Chapter 112 Chapter 112 In a panic...
Panicked, Zisha repeatedly activated his internal energy, but to no avail. Turning around, he saw Wei Liang and the other seven masters also trying to circulate their internal energy, but also failing to activate their internal energy.
Their internal energy was sealed.
"Is this Kalan incense?" Zisha suppressed his panic and looked at the half-burned incense on the table. "It's only produced in the Yelang Kingdom in the Western Regions. It can block the meridians? Did you know we would come tonight?"
Jiang Wan said nothing, his eyes sweeping across the faces of the eight masters one by one, stopping at Wei Liang.
Before Zi Sha could figure out the situation, Wei Liang had already reacted.
Bai Yanyun, the abbot's most valued disciple, rebelled.
He remembered the last secret report that Bai Yanyun sent back to Lin'an half a month ago.
The letter said that the delegation was about to return to Xiaofangpan City, and Bai Yanyun was unable to stop the trade between Da Zhou and the countries in the Western Regions. The mission had failed, and he hoped to assassinate the members of the delegation in Xiaofangpan City.
Three hours ago, Bai Yanyun went to the organization's base to discuss the plan to assassinate Jiang Wan with him.
Before Wei Liang left Lin'an, the chieftain specifically instructed him to proceed with caution. Assassinating several members of the delegation simultaneously would be too conspicuous and was a last resort. The chieftain instructed him to act swiftly and eliminate all traces.
In the gloomy night, the head monk, his face covered by a black robe, held a token in his pale, thin fingers and tossed it in front of him. He spoke softly, "I have met Miss Jiang twice. She is a person of great fortitude and exceptional intelligence. You must not take her lightly just because she is young."
He knew both sides. Once, at the competition site at Yuwan Tower in Dunhuang County, the chief monk watched the entire competition from Room 1, leaving with a solemn expression and no words. Another time, in Chengqian Hall, the chief monk cheerfully praised Miss Jiang's skills to His Majesty, but a hint of regret lingered in his eyes.
Wei Liang had seen that expression before. Four years ago, when Lin Xiangzhi fell asleep at the morning court after swallowing sleeping pills, his own head monk had the same expression. Back then, he had been quite disdainful, thinking, what was there to be sorry for such a fragile little girl?
Now it seems that he was wrong. You have to know that Bai Yanyun was the first master's personal disciple. Jiang Wan was able to use her one year in the Western Regions to persuade him to rebel and set up a trap, which shows her extraordinary ability.
Despite repeated warnings from the chief monk, he still underestimated the enemy and fell into the trap.
Jiang Wan squatted down in front of him, unconcerned with the fear in his eyes, and said calmly, "Tell me, why does your chieftain not want trade between the Central Plains and the Western Regions, even going so far as to assassinate the envoy?"
Wei Liang glanced at Bai Yanyun. The latter often accompanied the chief monk and knew as much as he did. It was unknown how much information he had leaked.
He asked tentatively, "Didn't Bai tell you everything? Why are you asking me?"
"Eunuch Wei, aren't you curious about why Lord Bai was so moved by me?" Jiang Wan brushed her long hair back from her ears and said with a smile, "If you are willing to tell me everything you know, I promise you will live a better life than before."
Wei Liang was stunned for a moment, a flicker of struggle in his eyes. At the same moment, Jiang Wan raised his voice and sternly demanded, "Zhu Yongding, whose son is this?!"
As Wei Liang had suspected, Bai Yanyun had taken refuge with Jiang Wan after the caravan left the Loulan Ancient Road. From him, she learned that the spy organization was headed by none other than the most favored Grand Tutor. Zhu Yongding and Marquis Jing'an were the masterminds behind the previous attempt to frame Duke He, and the Grand Tutor was also implicated—it was he who had brought the Ministry of Revenue files with him.
Jiang Wan remembered that access to the Ministry of Revenue's top-secret files was limited, and neither Zhu Yongding nor the Marquis of Jing'an had such authority. Furthermore, His Majesty had directly convicted Duke He of treason without review by the three judicial departments, which must have been due to someone close to him fanning the flames. If it was this Grand Tutor, it made sense.
"My mission this time is to block trade between the Great Zhou and the Western Regions. Judging from the Chief's actions, he must be using the power of the Xiongnu to eliminate dissidents and preparing to help Zhu Yongding usurp the throne," Bai Yanyun said. "I've never understood why he would be preparing to usurp the throne if he sided with Zhu Yongding. If such a thing were exposed, he would be beheaded. He was favored by the emperor and held a high position of power. Zhu Yongding was at the peak of his power and unstoppable. Why would he take such a risk?"
Jiang Wan leaned against the swaying carriage, tapping his knees lightly with his fingertips. "I'm sure there's some shameful secret. You're by the Grand Tutor's side. Is there anything about him that's different from ordinary people?"
Bai Yanyun thought for a moment and said, "Nothing unusual, actually. However, the First Master privately wears a pink rabbit jade pendant, which is a female jade pendant."
"Pink rabbit?" Jiang Wan sat up straight, took a brush and sketched out the shape of a rabbit jade pendant. "Is it like this?"
Bai Yanyun nodded.
Jiang Wan's hand, gripping the pen, turned slightly pale from the force applied. The night she snuck into the Marquis of Jing'an's mansion, she had seen the jade pendant in the Marquis's study. It was in a locked box, alongside letters from Consort Xiande and a letter of condolence from the Grand Tutor.
At the time, Jiang Wan suspected it was a relic left to his brother by Consort Xiande. If it was in the Grand Tutor's possession, it would only prove that Marquis Jing'an and the Grand Tutor were in cahoots. But if it was worn regularly in private—what could a man's intentions be for constantly wearing a woman's belongings?
When Jiang Wan told Bai Yanyun this speculation, the latter's eyes widened, and he covered his mouth and looked around. He then lifted the carriage curtain to confirm that no one was around, and then lowered his voice and said, "You mean, the late Concubine Xiande and the First Lord are having an affair?!"
Jiang Wan glanced at him and said, "It's just a guess."
"Oh my God. Aren't they planting a piece of green grass on Your Majesty's head? Isn't Zhu Yongding Your Majesty's bloodline?" Bai Yanyun approached her tremblingly, but her tone was a little excited.
Jiang Wan pushed him back and grabbed a piece of kidney bean cake to stuff into his mouth. After recognizing him as the spy sent by the Grand Tutor, she almost forgot that he was a nagging chatterbox and became excited at the smell of gossip.
This was probably the only possible scenario she could think of. Before leaving Beijing, she had seen the Grand Tutor from afar in Chengqian Palace. He was thin and unusually pale. Hua Qingzhi had told her then that the Grand Tutor had developed a life-threatening condition called photophobia, which only made him more afraid of the sun with age, and his skin paler, with no cure.
If Zhu Yongding is indeed the son of the Grand Tutor, then as he grows older, he will also develop this symptom, and Your Majesty will likely become suspicious. It is possible that he is preparing to usurp the throne for this reason.
Jiang Wan suddenly asked Wei Liang in a stern tone, just to test his reaction. When he suddenly raised his head, his old eyes gleaming fiercely, he knew his guess was correct.
It's just a pity that Emperor Chengde, in order to pave the way for Zhu Yongding, punished the He family, exiled Wen Shen to Yumen Pass, and suppressed all the military generals in the court... It turned out that all he did was to prepare wedding clothes for other people's sons.
The mystery was now solved. Jiang Wan was about to order people to tie up Wei Liang and the others when he heard a loud bang of air explosion.
The air was filled with the smell of blood. Jiang Wan turned around in surprise and saw Zi Sha covered in blood, his face twisted in pain, and a powerful internal force lingering around him. This internal force was spreading outward uncontrollably.
"He severed his own meridians!" Liu Ming exclaimed.
Galanxiang blocks the internal force in the meridians and cannot move. The way to sever one's own meridians is to forcibly break Galanxiang's restraints by cutting off the meridians and let the internal force leak out.
A person whose meridians are severed will see their internal energy gradually dissipate, rendering them unable to use force. Furthermore, as their meridians shrink, they lose control over the release of their internal energy. This means that even if they release their internal energy, they can only use it for a short while, after which they become useless.
This is a way to die together.
Following Zi Sha's actions, the other eight people also severed their own meridians and attacked Jiang Wan while enduring the pain.
The chief's secret has been exposed. Even if they escape, he won't let them go. It's better to take a chance and die here than to suffer a fate worse than death in the chief's presence.
Liu Ming's figure flashed, blocking Jiang Wan's way. But how could he alone withstand the siege of nine masters? Strong winds, sword energy, flying knives, and poisonous mist attacked from all directions. He himself was like a clay Buddha crossing a river, so how could he care about Jiang Wan?
In the blink of an eye, choking red smoke enveloped Jiang Wan and the other three. A nimble figure flew over. Jiang Wan felt his whole body lighten, and then there was a loud bang above his head.
The smoke cleared, and before her eyes lay a face so handsome and beautiful that it was beyond description. After so many years, she had thought that time would have faded the traces of him left in her memory.
But this face deepened little by little in her thoughts as she drank wine facing the moon, in her unwillingness to be trapped in the yellow sand, in her search around walls and pillars, and in every person or thing related to him - until she resigned herself to her fate and gave up forgetting, indulging herself in occasional longing.
You can only have your cake and eat it too. This is what she used to persuade Aigu to let go, and it was also a warning to herself.
But when she returned to Xiaofangpan City and saw his inscription outside the shop, she clearly realized that she could not let go.
Jiang Wan stared at Wen Shen infatuatedly, and the latter also stared at her intently, then slowly raised his index finger and shook it near his lips.
This meant to signal her to be quiet.
Jiang Wan slowed down his breathing, shifted his gaze away from Wen Shen's face, and looked around.
She was in a dusty secret passage, the floor at the end of which was the color of the Jiang family's shop. Liu Ming, Bai Yanyun, and Lin Xiangzhi were all silenced and sat behind her.
Wei Liang's furious voice echoed overhead: "Zisha, take two men and hold the line here. The others, follow me and chase after them. We only have half a cup of tea. We must kill Jiang Wan as soon as possible!"
After a burst of footsteps and the sound of light skills being practiced, the Jiang family shop became much quieter.
"You two, go search all the houses and see if they are hiding inside." said a charming female voice.
Soon, the sound of porcelain breaking could be heard in the warehouse and on the shelves, causing Jiang Wan to feel a pang of pain.
But at this moment she had to hold her breath and not make any sound.
The ticking of the clock outside the house indicated that Zi Sha's time was passing by minute by minute.
The nearest footsteps overhead stopped.
Immediately afterwards, a fierce sword energy came down, and with a bang, it shattered the floor at the entrance of the secret passage. Wood chips fell in a mess, stirring up a cloud of dust.
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