Chapter 100
Zhao Song seized the opportunity and, to prove his playboy ways, pulled the woman beside him close and gave her a quick kiss: "That's right, Your Majesty, I just love drinking and carousing, and I like pretty girls. I have no interest in anything else!"
Xie Sui'an couldn't bear to look at him. No matter what, he was usually a spirited and arrogant person. He was very fierce when he was a child, but now he was as timid as a quail and could barely speak properly.
Someone like him dares to get involved in factional strife.
They must have been forced to come in just to make up the numbers.
He sighed inwardly. That's how it is in Kyoto. Once there's an imbalance of power, a struggle for interests, or a power struggle, you'll always be forced to take sides. Whether you live or die is entirely up to fate.
But who wants to die? Once you choose one side, you can only rack your brains to fight the other side... It's hard to imagine how Grandpa climbed up to the highest position step by step from this quagmire of officialdom.
Even if he reached the highest position, he could not escape his current fate and became a victim of power struggles, even though he himself was the master of power.
"It wouldn't be the Eighth Prince either," someone simply concluded.
The Eighth Prince suffered brain damage and hand and foot dexterity issues due to a high fever he had as a child, making him partially disabled and no longer a candidate for the crown prince position.
Someone scoffed, "But the most impossible things in the world are the most unexpected. The Prince of Ning'an was terminally ill all along, and nobody seemed to care, yet he suddenly gained the Emperor's favor. Who knows if he was faking his illness all along? And who dares to say that the Eighth Prince's illness wasn't faked?"
Suddenly, everyone present realized that this made sense, and they all nodded in agreement after thinking about it.
Xie Sui'an sneered inwardly at the fickle nature of the situation.
After a moment, the emperor's brother-in-law, Han Sizhong, spoke again: "You have all forgotten about one person..." He glanced at everyone and suddenly looked at the crown prince, his gaze deep and heavy, "There is a person who was not sentenced to death, but was only demoted to a commoner and banished from the capital."
Even Xie Sui'an was taken aback by these words.
Is this referring to...Prince Su?
But can someone whose wings were completely clipped, reduced to a commoner, and exiled to some unknown corner still come out and cause trouble?
Even if he could, what would a prince who is no longer recognized by his ancestors have to fight for the rightful throne?
However, Crown Prince Zhao Bing's expression clearly stiffened.
He not only froze, he collapsed; he was clearly a little nervous: "Big brother? Surely...no way?"
“Naturally, it’s only a minor possibility,” Han Sizhong comforted him, adding, “but to be comprehensive, we must take all possibilities into account.”
“Uncle is right.” Zhao Bing respected his uncle and lowered his eyes in thought. “It seems we need to send someone to look for my elder brother again. We must nip the problem in the bud.”
Xie Sui'an: "..."
“That’s one aspect,” Han Sizhong said, “but the most important thing now is that we cannot sit idly by and wait for our doom. No matter what the outcome, the emperor’s will is key. Things have come to this point, and if the emperor’s will is not on our side…”
“Whether the emperor’s heart is with us or not, we have to follow him. We’ll recognize the Crown Prince as our future ruler! If the Crown Prince is to be deposed,” a bearded, square-faced man raised his chin and arrogantly swept his gaze over everyone present, “we’ll seize the throne ahead of time, have the Imperial Guards take over the capital, and ask the emperor to abdicate!”
So that's what they were planning! The gathering was actually a rebellion!
Xie Sui'an understood.
While realizing this, one can't help but feel that their stumbled upon this place was incredibly coincidental, and... this is on Worry-Free Island, and the island's owner...
He was filled with worry and anxiety, and felt a cold sweat running down his back.
How could his own fourth uncle be involved with this group of rebels?
At that moment, someone inside the hall let out a cold snort.
Xie Sui'an's gaze followed and caught sight of Tan Bi sitting upright over there.
He held the wine glass in one hand, looking at the lotus leaf pattern on it with interest, a disdainful sneer on his face.
Xie Suian did not recognize General Xiao, who had just uttered such arrogant words, but since he was on equal footing with Tan Bi, the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Guards, he must have considerable military power. He might even be a general stationed outside the capital.
Seeing that his words were being mocked by Tan Bi, the square-faced man with the beard immediately changed his expression: "What does Commander Tan mean by this? You dare not??"
Tan Bi stared intently at the wine glass, his gaze fixed straight ahead, as if he were captivated by the painting on it.
"It's nothing, I just couldn't help myself when I heard something funny."
The bearded man's face was already dark, but after hearing Tan Bi's words, it turned both red and black, and his voice rose three octaves: "What's so funny?!"
"Alright," Han Sizhong interrupted the imminent conflict between the two before Tan Bi could speak, "General Xiao, be careful with your words. Keep your worst-case scenario to yourself. We haven't reached that point yet, so there's no need to say it aloud. Be careful, walls have ears."
Although General Xiao was unconvinced, he knew he had said the wrong thing. He sullenly drank a cup of wine, which shattered into pieces on the table with a crack.
“Of course,” Han Sizhong spread his sleeves, his expression turning serious. “We can’t afford to be unprepared for the worst. No matter how taboo something is, at times like this, we must prepare accordingly. If we don’t prepare, others will. Preparation is key to success, and lack of preparation leads to failure. General Xiao, Commander Tan, when things really come to that, we’ll need your perfect teamwork.” He smiled faintly. “It’s unwise to throw ourselves into disarray when it comes to matters of life and death.”
So the conversation then turned to the overall strategy, and the more they talked, the more alarmed Xie Sui'an became.
Having a large workforce is one thing, but how to extricate themselves from this situation is another.
Having heard so much that they shouldn't have, the girls serving them were basically certain they wouldn't leave this room alive.
We need to get away!
Once the thought suddenly occurred to him, his eyes began to carefully scan the surroundings for the most suitable exit.
The gate opens in both directions. He is skilled in light-footed martial arts, so it's not impossible for him to fly out unprepared. However, it would be best if he could avoid alerting the enemy, otherwise he would be chased by this group of experts, which would be quite a hardship.
Xie Sui'an's furtive glances were noticed by a guard with a sword standing at the door.
The moment their eyes met, Xie Sui'an reacted quickly, shyly burying her head.
His heart suddenly raced as he searched for an opportunity, when suddenly he felt a heat on his buttocks, followed by a sharp pain...
Xie Sui'an looked at the old man beside him, "Grandpa!"
At his age, he's so...so shameless, damn his ass!
The old man with the white beard, still vigorous in his old age, turned to look at him. Perhaps his eyesight was failing, but he found Xie Sui'an to be quite handsome and thought it would be a waste to kill him. He decided to take this opportunity to enjoy himself.
So she tremblingly extended her old, frail hands to his chest...
Xie Sui'an felt a chill run down his spine. When his hand touched his chest, the two men met eyes and stared wide-eyed, each more shocked than the other.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the guard move, accompanied by a flash of a blade.
Xie Suian acted faster than he thought, grabbing the old man and pulling him in front of him.
He had just heard the sound of a knife piercing flesh and a scream when he quickly threw the person down and ran.
Entering through the doorway was out of the question, as it was filled with guards; the only option was to pass through the side hall and plunge into the lake.
His lightness skill was not bad. As he fled, he grabbed a wine cup and a wine pot and smashed them haphazardly in the center of the field. Porcelain shards flew everywhere, and the maids screamed.
Upon hearing the sound, the guards sprang into action, rushing towards Xie Sui'an's direction.
He darted left and right, spinning in mid-air to escape the two pursuers. The two guards nearly collided with each other. Just as they regained their footing, Xie Sui'an staggered to the doorway.
Before him lay a wide lake. Although there were guards on the wooden platform, Xie Sui'an, who had been fighting since childhood, was an excellent escape artist and easily slipped past them.
I thought I would be able to enter the water smoothly, but then I felt a pain in my back, followed by a sharp pain that quickly spread throughout my body.
His legs gave way, and he lunged forward, almost falling into the water, splashing a huge spray.
However, when faced with life and death, one can only grit one's teeth and endure the pain.
After entering the water, the pain lessened. Xie Sui'an was skilled in swimming. When he was young, Xie Zhongxu took him to play at the villa. He asked the old servant guarding the villa to teach him. He learned many skills in the wild lakes and rivers. He could dive into deep water to catch fish and shrimp, and he could also swim upstream against the current.
Although he was injured at the moment, it did not prevent him from diving deep in, and like a fish, he darted forward with a few swaying movements.
The guards who could swim also jumped into the water and chased after them. Xie Sui'an turned around and cursed under his breath.
The other person was surprisingly good at swimming and seemed determined to keep up.
I was careless!
These masters have practiced martial arts for many years, so they are naturally better than me.
He was in a desperate situation and had no choice but to fight for his life.
Fortunately, the two guards who came with him were excellent swimmers, but not very skilled in martial arts. Taking advantage of their unpreparedness, Xie Sui'an spun around, grabbed the neck of the man rushing towards him with one arm, and twisted his head to the side with the other, closing his eyes and gritting his teeth.
The man coughed up blood and foam, his body went limp, and Xie Sui'an's arm loosened, causing him to fall softly to the bottom of the lake...
Another guard caught up just in time. Seeing his companion fall, he reached out and tried to grab him but failed. The red blood seeped into the lake in streaks, like wisps of smoke dissipating into the air, quickly thinning and disappearing completely.
Xie Sui'an took advantage of this gap to create more distance between them.
He did not want to kill unless absolutely necessary. Whether they were servants or men, they were all living beings who obeyed orders, so how could he bear to take their lives?
As he swam, he wondered if someone at that person's home was waiting for him to come home.
On second thought, is someone waiting for me to come home?
Where is Qin Sang being held?
***
Qin Sang climbed out of the hot spring pool. The cave was so cold that she sneezed twice.
She silently sat back on the stone bench, closed her eyes, gritted her teeth, and straightened her dislocated joints herself.
Finally, he breathed a sigh of relief, lowered his hands, looked left and right, and his gaze settled on a tent that looked like a bedroom.
There should be clothes inside.
She got up again and sure enough, she saw many sets of women's clothes in a mahogany box inside, which must have been placed here by Aunt Jiang before her death.
It's just... unlike Hanfu, it's clothing from another ethnic group.
Oh well, never mind, I'll just change into it first.
After changing her clothes, she hung her wet clothes on the wooden rack, then sat back down at the stone table, picked up the fruit and knife, and began to peel it.
While slicing, she muttered, "You think you can lock me up here? You just wait, I don't believe I can't find a way out."
She was a little annoyed. After peeling the fruit, she cut the knife into the flesh with a snap, and with a twist, split the fruit in two.
After taking a bite, he began to analyze to himself: "The Prime Minister was killed by the Emperor, Aunt Jiang was a pawn left behind by the Emperor, Xie Xiao claims to be a bastard and doesn't know who his father is, and his main task now is to restore the country... Tsk, so who should he cooperate with now? The Crown Prince's position is secure, and in theory, he doesn't need his support. There's no reason to cooperate with him for mutual benefit..."
She rested her chin on her hand, thinking of Prince Ning'an.
"That guy might be a good match. If we choose to cooperate with the alien race and promise to help him take the throne and then help him restore his country, that would be a win-win situation."
"But then again, why is he locking me up? I'm the future Princess Ning'an!"
Then he became puzzled again: "Could it be that there is someone else?"
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