170. Supervisor of Ceremonies
In the quiet garden path, Mr. Feng stood on the gravel road and looked at Chen Ji with interest: "How did you guess that?"
Chen Ji thought for a moment and said, "When Mr. Feng came to Cuiyun Lane earlier, he first asked who was commanding the Tiger Armored Cavalry. This shows that this personal guard is not under your control, and you are very concerned about who their new commander will be."
Mr. Feng was amused: "Then why should I kill General Qian?"
Chen Ji looked directly at Mr. Feng and said, "Because you are such a smart person, you don't like things to be beyond your control."
Without waiting for Mr. Feng to speak, he continued his analysis, "The Tiger Armored Cavalry was originally led by General Zhou, but now it's General Qian... I suspect this was also your doing. You tricked General Zhou out of the way. You thought that by getting rid of General Zhou, you could control this personal guard, but you didn't expect that Lord Liu wouldn't choose you, but instead gave it to General Qian."
Mr. Feng gradually put away his smile and said nonchalantly, "Then do you know that being too smart is not good either?"
Chen Ji said sincerely, "As long as it's useful to Mr. Feng, it's fine."
Mr. Feng patted him on the shoulder and said, "Young man, remember this: the promise I made to you in Longwangtun will remain in effect forever. Imperial Physician Yao and the others will remain in this palace. If you can help me kill General Qian within one day, they will live. If you can't, you will have to collect their bodies."
Chen Ji was reluctant to take the high-stakes gamble of risking several lives, but he had no choice but to accept it. Mr. Feng was unscrupulous, inciting civil unrest and killing his own people to seize power. There was nothing he couldn't do.
If he doesn't answer, Zhang Zhuo, his master and others will really die.
Chen Ji took a deep breath and said firmly, "Okay, I'll go kill General Qian."
Mr. Feng smiled and said, "This General Qian is a master of the Xiantian realm. He is always accompanied by a hundred cavalry guards. Killing him is not an easy task."
Chen Ji frowned and asked, "What kind of official background does he have?"
Mr. Feng shook his head. "I don't know either. This is a warrior that my master has kept for many years and has always kept as a treasure."
Chen Ji thought for a moment and said, "Seizing power must be very important to Mr. Feng. Why not let Jiang Yan put on armor and move with me? That way we can be more confident."
Mr. Feng laughed heartily. "Jiang Yan has his own things to attend to and doesn't have the time to assist you. If you want Doctor Yao and your fellow apprentices to survive, you'll have to find a way yourself."
After saying that, he turned around and walked towards Jing'an Palace with his hands behind his back: "Come on, I wasted so much time here with you that I missed Prince Jing's chess game."
…
…
The Jing'an Hall was brightly lit, and soldiers stood in front of the gate.
Mr. Feng came to the front of the hall, stepped over the high threshold and walked in. Chen Ji and Zhang Zhuo could only wait silently outside the door.
In the main hall, Lord Liu and Prince Jing sat opposite each other in front of the Qianlong Screen Wall.
The chess game was drawing to a close. Elder Liu, dressed in a simple gray cloth, sat at the chess table and spoke slowly, "Your Highness, you lost your mother at a young age. If it weren't for my sister who adopted you and patiently raised you in Kunning Palace, you would have been murdered long ago. For all those years, she brought you up with His Majesty, raising you as if you were her own. Did she ever treat you unfairly?"
Prince Jing stared at the chessboard, not even looking up. "No. In the winter, she would specifically instruct the palace maids to prepare charcoal for me, and in the summer, she would bring me ice from the cellar to cool me down. I have everything Your Majesty has, and I also have everything Your Majesty doesn't have. Even my elementary school tutor was personally chosen by her."
Liu Ge Lao rolled up his sleeves and dropped another child: "After your Majesty ascended the throne, you two have been estranged from her. Now she is in the Cining Palace.
She was filled with grief and looked haggard. She had worked so hard to raise two sons, but now they were like strangers to her. No mother in the world could withstand such a blow.
Prince Jing pondered the chess game while calmly saying, "My father-in-law is a sensible man. After Your Majesty ascended the throne, the Queen Mother should have let go earlier and not allowed the Liu family to abuse their power. Nothing lasts forever, and nothing blooms forever. The Liu family's recent troubles were sown long ago."
Elder Liu smiled and said, "Your Highness, you were crowned king at the age of twenty-one, and your first order of business was to go south to collect grain taxes for His Majesty. I remember when you first arrived in Jiangnan, the wealthy families murdered their wives and brought them to the government office. They gathered a thousand people and accused you of taxing people to death. In the end, it was the Liu family who intervened and helped you collect the grain."
Prince Jing sighed, "I was a rookie back then and didn't know the importance of the situation. Fortunately, I had my father-in-law to help me."
Elder Liu continued, "In the winter of the eleventh year of Jianing, bandits broke out in Nanguang. While you were leading troops to suppress the rebellion, you contracted a lung disease and fell unconscious. You were then besieged by the bandits in Liuzhou. It was only after my family went to the Taoist temple on Laojun Mountain to seek elixirs and sent troops to support you that we were able to rescue you. At this very moment, Liu Mingjing is on his way to the Taoist temple on Laojun Mountain, saying he would risk everything to obtain the next life feather pill for you."
Prince Jing paused for a moment before sighing, "The Liu family has helped me a lot."
Elder Liu looked up and stared at Prince Jing. "Your Highness has been running around for His Majesty all these years, but how has His Majesty treated you? Those who served under the Qiansui Army have been demoted or even executed. Let's talk about General Zhang four years ago. He deserted his post due to his mother's death. While a serious crime, it wasn't punishable by death. Yet, the eunuchs executed him first and then reported him, having him executed on his way to the funeral."
Elder Liu continued, "Take, for example, General Li, who served under the prince. He clearly had meritorious service in suppressing the rebellion, but he received no reward. In the end, the eunuchs' party found a charge of drunkenly discussing state affairs and threw him into the inner prison, where he was tortured to death. And think about my Liu family. Isn't it the same? Although we have our shames before His Majesty, we are also meritorious officials who helped him seize the throne. Why would he kill us all?"
Prince Jing sighed, "Father-in-law, you worry too much. Why would His Majesty kill them all?"
Elder Liu said slowly, "The prince should know best who that person is in Renshou Palace. He won't be able to sleep until the prince and the Liu family are dead!"
At this point, he disrupted the chessboard in front of him. "Your Highness, if it weren't for you, why would the Liu family have endured for so many years? Back then, the timing wasn't right, so we had to give up. Now, our Liu family is strong and well-equipped, with abundant food and fodder. We also have the Jing Dynasty's Divine Martial Army in the north to support us... Don't hesitate any longer, start the rebellion!"
Chen Ji outside the hall was suddenly stunned. Could it be that Prince Jing and the Liu family had already discussed the rebellion?
He had been wondering before: Where did the Liu family get the confidence to plot a rebellion? Concubine Yun was just a concubine, so where did she get the courage to contact the Jing Dynasty Military Intelligence Department?
This puzzle seemed incomplete, with many things inexplicable. But if Prince Jing was placed at the center of the puzzle, many things would make sense. However, the next moment, Prince Jing whispered, "Father-in-law, if you start a rebellion, I'm afraid the people of several states will suffer. I cannot agree to this."
This confused Chen Ji. Looking at Prince Jing's behavior, it didn't seem like he was planning a rebellion.
What went wrong?
In Jing'an Palace, Elder Liu slowly stood up and said, "Your Highness, the arrow is on the string and must be released. You can't hesitate any longer. You can sit on the throne whether you want to or not. If you want to blame someone, blame me alone, not the Liu family."
At this moment, a burly general walked in from outside the hall, his footsteps making a thud-thud sound on the bluestone bricks.
He came to the hall and saluted Liu Gelao: "Sir
Someone spotted the Golden Pig's movements in the East Market. This person now lives in seclusion, hiding in a courtesan's garden.
Liu Gelao waved his hand and said, "General Qian, take a group of tiger-armored cavalry and make sure to capture him."
After that, he said to Mr. Feng, "Wen Zheng, invite the prince, the crown prince, and the princess to the Liu family mansion. Tomorrow, we will open the ancestral temple, beat the drums to gather the people, and offer the heads of the eunuchs as sacrifices to the flag. Then the army will march!"
Liu Gelao walked out, followed by a dense mass of armored soldiers, like a black tide surging outward. The intense killing aura was like hot magma, capable of melting even pig iron.
Mr. Feng smiled and looked at Prince Jing: "Your Highness, please come in. Please don't embarrass me."
Prince Jing stood up calmly, smoothed the wrinkles on his robe, and walked out of Jing'an Hall with Baili. As Mr. Feng came out, he glanced at Chen Ji, intentionally or unintentionally, with a deep meaning in his eyes.
…
…
The impatient sound of horse hooves broke the tranquility of Anxi Street.
Chen Ji and Zhang Zhuo were wearing armor and riding their horses at the end of the tiger-armored cavalry. All of them had their faces covered with black armor and rushed towards the East Market of Luocheng like a torrent.
Zhang Zhuo tightened the reins and moved closer to Chen Ji, lowering his voice and saying, "Something is fishy. Why do I feel like these people... aren't quite right?"
Chen Ji raised his head to glance at the cavalry in front of him, slightly turned his eyes and whispered, "Master Zhang, do you think so too?"
Zhang Zhuo crouched low. "I think there's something wrong with Prince Jing. The Liu family has been besieging Luocheng and has been reluctant to send troops north. It's clear they're waiting for him to make a decision. How could Prince Jing have been unaware of the Liu family's private ironwork and army-building during their years managing Yuzhou?"
Chen Ji asked, "Master Zhang, do you mean that Prince Jing is also involved?"
Zhang Zhuo hesitated for a moment. "That's exactly the problem. As the saying goes, speed is of the essence in war. If he really wanted to rebel, he would have raised his flag and headed north long ago. Why is he stalling here? This won't do him any good at all!"
Zhang Zhuo continued, "And Mr. Feng, is he still fighting among himself at this hour? How much good would it do him to seize power over the Tiger Armored Cavalry? I just can't understand it, absolutely can't understand it!"
Chen Ji suddenly said, "Master Zhang, if anything happens later, you must immediately ride to Tuoluo Temple to get reinforcements. Save my master first."
Zhang Zhuo was stunned. "What happened? What happened?"
Chen Ji said, "The timing of the Golden Pig's appearance is too coincidental. This was originally a trap for General Qian... They want to help Mr. Feng remove the stumbling block."
Just as he finished speaking, he heard a sharp sound of breaking wind from the front.
Chen Ji suddenly looked up and saw that the windows of the two-story buildings on both sides of the long street were open, and spears came whistling and pierced through the tiger-armored cavalry one by one!
Suddenly, the war horses neighed and the neat cavalry team became chaotic.
Chen Ji shouted in a low voice: "Go quickly."
Zhang Zhuo responded by turning his horse around and going into the alley.
Chen Ji sat on his horse, looking at the dark windows from afar. He suddenly remembered many things: when he met Mr. Feng in Longwangtun, the other party said, "It's a pity that all the masters around Prince Jing have been eliminated by the Imperial Household Department over the years."
The other party was talking about the "Silijian" instead of the "Eunuch Party".
At that moment, Chen Ji also noticed that there was something wrong with the wording in this sentence, but he didn't think about what was wrong. Now that all the clues came together, he finally realized it.
No wonder both Mr. Feng and Tianma escaped unscathed after the fight.
It’s because Mr. Feng has always been from the Imperial Household Department.
(End of this chapter)
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