Chapter 106 Secret Message
Chao Yinlong's fingers casually tapped twice on the polished mahogany desk. The light "knock, knock" sounds were particularly clear in the quiet room.
His eyes fell on the face of Sun Honglei, who was sitting below. The young and handsome face seemed a little dazed at the moment. His eyes fell vaguely on a plum vase with a warm glaze in the corner. It was obvious that his mind was not in the present.
"Hong Lei?" Chao Yinlong's voice was not loud, breaking the silence.
Sun Honglei shuddered and snapped back to his senses, forcing a hastily respectful expression on his face: "Your Highness, I..."
Before he could finish his words, Chao Yinlong raised his hand to interrupt him.
He leaned forward slightly, his deep, calm eyes now gleaming with a cold, scrutinizing light. "Where has your mind wandered? You're about to officially enter the court, and your duties as an assistant to the six ministries await you. Looking so distracted, how can you help your father and the emperor, and how can you help me?"
His tone was calm and not harsh, but it made people feel more nervous than a direct rebuke.
Sun Honglei felt a fine layer of cold sweat oozing down his back, and he quickly lowered his eyes: "I dare not! I will do my best to live up to the high expectations of His Majesty!"
Chao Yinlong stared at him for a moment, and the oppressive pressure seemed to weigh heavily on Sun Honglei's heart.
Just when he could hardly bear it anymore, the overwhelming momentum suddenly loosened.
Chao Yinlong leaned back in his chair, a faint smile even appearing on the corner of his mouth. It was soothing, but more like a meaningful test:
"Young man, it's natural to never forget the first taste of love. The eldest daughter of the Luo family is quite a person with her own ideas. However, two marriage proposals have failed to materialize. After so many setbacks, who among the noble families in the capital will dare to easily visit the Luo family in the future?"
He paused, his eyes scanning Sun Honglei's face meaningfully, as if carefully capturing the subtle changes in his expression, before throwing out a tempting bait:
"By then, the future will be uncertain, and her father and brother might not dare to choose her. If you, Hong Lei, are willing to step forward and offer an umbrella, it might be a good match. Hmm?"
Sun Honglei's heart was suddenly clenched by these light words.
Handing over an umbrella? Jiayuan? That's Luo Zhaohan!
That woman who was as proud as the scorching sun had actually become a plaything for his charity and mercy in his power scheme?
"Your Highness..." He raised his head suddenly, his face filled with just the right amount of excitement, his voice trembling slightly. "Your Highness, are you serious? I..." He panted twice in a hurry, "I... thank you for your advice, Your Highness!"
"Yeah." Chao Yinlong nodded slightly, seeming very satisfied with his flattered look.
His gaze turned to the Minister of Personnel who had been sitting next to him. His grandfather, Sun Wanrong, obviously no longer took Sun Honglei's "private matter" to heart.
"Grandfather, there's one more thing. I came to the palace today to pay my respects. While taking a nap in a side hall, my father mentioned that he intends to climb Mount Tai on the second day of the second lunar month during the Flower Festival, personally visit the Dongyue Temple to burn incense and pray for the country."
"What?!" Sun Wanrong suddenly opened his eyes, a gleam of light flashing in his eyes.
His old body involuntarily leaned forward, and his hands suddenly grasped the armrests of the rosewood chair beneath him, his withered fingers almost digging into the hard wood.
"Climbing Mount Tai? Praying for blessings during the Flower Festival?" Sun Wanrong's voice rose in shock. "Since the Crown Prince's death, Your Majesty hasn't held a Fengshan ceremony on Mount Tai for many years! Even the ordinary Flower Festival prayers are only presided over by the Ministry of Rites. How could it be..."
The death of the prince is a wound that will never heal in the emperor's heart, and it is also a taboo that the entire dynasty dare not touch easily.
All the grand ceremonies related to it were buried deeply along with the crown prince's coffin.
Offering sacrifices to heaven and earth on Mount Tai? Absurd!
"I heard it with my own ears!" Chao Yinlong's expression was calm, instantly suppressing Sun Wanrong's surprise and suspicion. "It was after the palace banquet yesterday. Father and I and a few people from the Ministry of Rites were chatting about it. Although it hasn't been announced to the world yet, it's already 80% certain that this is the case!"
"This..." Sun Wanrong took a deep breath, and his rapidly heaving chest slowly calmed down.
"Mount Tai! Flower Festival! Emperor Dongyue!"
He murmured, then turned abruptly to Sun Honglei, "Erlang, you step aside first. Immediately sort out all the ceremonial regulations for Mount Tai sacrifices in recent years! From the reign of Emperor Shunzong to before my father ascended the throne, find all the old rules, no matter how trivial, for me!"
This is already driving people away.
Sun Honglei didn't dare to hesitate for a moment. He immediately stood up and bowed, saying, "Yes! Grandfather! I'll do it right away!"
He hurried out and gently closed the wooden door with his backhand.
The moment the door was sealed, all the expressions on Sun Honglei's face disappeared completely in an instant, like a piece of thin paper blown away by a strong wind.
Only a hollow paleness remained, as if all the blood had been drained out in an instant.
Chance?
Oh.
What is that? A poison coated in sugar.
The bait thrown by Chao Yinlong was more like a chain than a promise.
This shows that in Chao Yinlong's eyes, Luo Zhaohan is nothing more than a chess piece or tool on the Sun family's chessboard that can be sold at a price in the future and used to buy and win over people's hearts.
And I am also a pawn on the chessboard, helpless.
There was no possibility for him and her to be together anymore due to layers of conspiracy and inescapable family shackles.
Sun Honglei leaned weakly against the porch pillar. The slightly cold autumn wind blew from the courtyard, blowing up his robe.
He closed his eyes and felt a heavy, suffocating fatigue seeping out from between his bones.
For the first time, he felt so clearly and deeply disgusted with the blood flowing in his body, and with this family that treated everyone, all love, and all choices as bargaining chips.
It turns out that long before they met, the road leading to each other had been built with high walls.
…
The air in the East City Command Office of the Wucheng Bingmasi was filled with the lingering smell of sweat, leather, and the pungent aroma of unburned low-quality charcoal.
Xie Wuqi had just returned from patrol outside the city. He was swinging the horsewhip in his hand and walked into the yard with dust all over his body, lifting the curtain.
As soon as he stepped over the threshold, the inner courtyard, which was originally filled with low laughter, suddenly became quiet for a moment.
More than a dozen pairs of eyes were focused on him.
The look in his eyes was extremely complicated, with undisguised mockery, deep curiosity, and even contemptuous scrutiny, as if he was looking at a rare commodity that had just been launched on the market.
Several glances swept across his face, carrying a burning temperature.
A few soldiers who usually loved to gossip gathered in the corner. Their voices were not loud, but they penetrated Xie Wuqi's ears, which had just been numbed by the wind, with extraordinary clarity:
"Tsk, did you just hear the news? The Fuyuan General's Mansion and the Changning Earl's Mansion are really connected!"
"Which one?"
"Who else could it be? The young lady whose engagement was broken off! Tsk tsk, she's turned around and hooked up with Pei Ji, the Junior Justice of the Dali Temple in the Changning Marquis's Mansion! A high branch! A truly high and stable branch!"
"Wow! Junior Minister of the Dali Temple! Incredible! I heard that Master Pei registered before the Emperor at such a young age..."
"That's right! Look at this guy in front of us? Pah! He's like a toad falling into an icy hole, feeling completely chilled, right? He clung to the young lady and refused to let go, but what happened? He was sent back with a divorce letter and became the laughing stock of the entire capital! He was even kicked out of the house by his own father during the New Year... Haha!"
"That's called fate! I've had some bad luck, but I can't get any better! And you still want to compete with Pei Shaoqing? He even thinks it's dirty to carry someone's shoes!"
Every word was like a whip tempered with salt, lashing Xie Wuqi's already tattered self-esteem.
Xie Wuqi's face instantly turned from red to blue, and then from blue to purple. The temples on his forehead were throbbing wildly, and he clenched his back teeth tightly.
He gripped the wooden handle of the whip so tightly that his knuckles cracked, almost breaking the rough wood.
He used the greatest restraint of his life to resist drawing his sword and slashing at him on the spot!
He turned stiffly and, like a volcano ready to erupt at any moment, walked step by step towards his own small signing room.
The door was slammed shut, blocking out all eyes from outside.
Inside the signing room, the raging rage that had nowhere to vent and the bone-eating jealousy almost burned Xie Wuqi to ashes.
Why? Why could Luo Zhaohan marry Pei Ji so gloriously? That cold-faced devil!
Who is he? I am her first man!
And the King of Jin...
He paced anxiously in circles around the palm-sized room, his nails digging deep into his palms.
Why had La Meilin's suggestion fallen on deaf ears so long ago? Could it be that the almighty prince had also considered himself a discarded pawn?
Unwilling! Humiliation! Jealousy!
"Bang!" A dull loud noise exploded in the small room.
Xie Wuqi's long-accumulated violence finally got out of control, and he suddenly punched the old elm table in front of him, which was covered with old oil stains.
The wooden table groaned as it could not bear the weight, and a cluster of tiny splinters instantly burst out from the joints of the old boards.
The immense force caused a sharp pain in the surface of his fist. Several wooden thorns penetrated deeply into his broken bones, oozing out fine beads of blood, but he was completely unaware.
Why can she climb up the social ladder? He can't!
He must ruin this marriage! He must take her back!
Just then.
The door, which was originally tightly closed, was suddenly pushed open from the outside without any warning.
The force was so great that it brought a gust of wind, blowing in the slightly cold air outside.
A man wearing the uniform of an ordinary patrol captain from the Bingmasi, but with an unusually strong build and a somewhat unfamiliar look on his face, rushed in.
He moved swiftly, pushing the door shut behind him with his backhand after entering. The whole process was smooth and effortless, without making any unnecessary noise.
"Get out! Who let you in?!" Xie Wuqi was at the peak of his rage, like a wounded beast whose territory was invaded, bloodshot in his eyes and growling.
The "captain" who broke in ignored his anger, with no expression on his face. His eyes were as sharp as an eagle, staring directly at Xie Wuqi's face.
He didn't even say a word, but quickly pulled out a plain, unmarked hardcover envelope from his pocket.
The envelope was sealed tightly with dark wax, but there was no signature on it.
The man moved extremely quickly, his two fingers as fast as lightning, and he placed the letter steadily in the middle of the wooden table that Xie Wuqi had just punched and was still stained with blood.
Then, without even looking at Xie Wuqi, he turned around, pushed the door open, and disappeared quickly like a silent shadow, not even giving Xie Wuqi time to roar again.
Everything happened in a flash.
Xie Wuqi's roar was stuck in his throat.
He stared at the strange secret letter on the table.
There was no writing on the cover except for dark wax. But an extremely strange aura, like a sticky snake, silently coiled around his arm along the table.
It’s the King of Jin!
It was definitely him! The heavy, bloody, and deadly aura of the "Captain" who broke in was something Xie Wuqi had only seen in a few of the confidants around Prince Jin!
Although I can’t remember the specific appearance, the feeling is definitely there!
The ecstasy instantly overwhelmed the overwhelming anger!
King Jin listened to La Meilin's suggestion!
He accepted it!
Xie Wuqi's fingers trembled as he almost pounced on the letter and grabbed it.
He roughly scratched open the hard wax seal with his fingernails, pulled out the neatly folded plain paper inside, and unfolded it eagerly.
There were only two lines of words on the paper:
"Pei Luo's marriage cannot be accomplished. Try to stop it."
"Once the matter is accomplished, the position of deputy commander of the Beijing Guard will be vacant."
Xie Wuqi's hand holding the letter was shaking violently with excitement, and his eyes were flashing with fanaticism!
It's not just because of the promise made by the fifth-rank deputy commander of the Beijing Guards.
Moreover, the order itself - "Prevent Pei Ji and Luo Zhaohan from marrying" - was exactly what he wanted!
A godsend!
This is exactly what he wants to do most at this moment!
I'm so sleepy, someone hand me a pillow!
After the ecstasy, a hint of ruthlessness quickly filled his eyes.
Lantern Festival.
The Lantern Festival is coming soon, with lanterns as bright as day and crowds of people...
No one knew that he was familiar with all of Luo Zhaohan's Lantern Festival customs.
This is a rare free time for her in a year, and also the most relaxing and happiest time of the year for her.
She likes the freshly baked osmanthus candy in Nanshi, and the rabbit lanterns made by an old craftsman in an inconspicuous shop by the canal. She prefers to climb the relatively secluded Luofengpo in the western suburbs of the city alone when the night deepens and the crowds disperse, just to take a look at the cold and lonely full moon after the fireworks have faded.
These habits had been ignored countless times, even annoying, in her previous life when she was around Xie Wuqi, so she gradually stopped mentioning them to others, and even hid them in front of those close friends who were hypocritically flattering her.
Only Xie Wuqi, who was once her nominal "fiancé", was forced to understand and even accompany her twice because he needed to maintain superficial concern, and only then did he engrave this secret yearning in his own observation.
Xie Wuqi's lips curled into a smile.
Being alone... It's hard to strike in crowded places... But if it's a remote place with no one around...
A crazy idea suddenly struck my mind:
How could he force Luo Zhaohan and Pei Ji to break off their engagement? Kidnap her? Spread rumors? Create a scandal?
How to make her willingly dislike Pei Ji? Or, create a situation that even Pei Ji cannot accept?
Let Pei Ji see with his own eyes that Luo Zhaohan is treating other men...
A ray of light, like a sudden phosphorescent fire in the dark tomb, suddenly cut through Xie Wuqi's confused thoughts.
He suddenly stopped his rapid pace, stared at a certain point in the air, and subconsciously held his breath.
The past events came to mind one after another.
Those images are not clear, but they carry a strong sense of suggestion.
A plan that is vicious and deadly enough slowly takes shape.
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