Chapter 49: Bozhou Rain Shots Zhang Yin Like Shooting Prey
Prince Si's Mansion.
Li Cunxu stood with his hands behind his back in front of the desk, watching Zhu Qing enter the room. He immediately glared angrily and roared, "What a mess you two have made! Didn't you say you would ensure this trip would go perfectly? You two, you wouldn't happen to be spies, would you?"
In this era of constant warfare, it was common for warlords to plant spies among themselves.
Moreover, the retreat route proposed by Feng Huaihe for the Prince of Jin's trip was lost, and he was assassinated. It is understandable that Li Cunxu had doubts.
But Zhu Qing had already prepared her explanation on the way here. She forced herself to remain calm and said frankly:
“We previously served in the Chang’an military headquarters, assisting Tian Lingzi. We only went to Jinyang because we felt he was unsuitable. But Tian Lingzi belongs to Tang, and Jin is also loyal to Tang. We all yearn for Tang. So Your Highness suspects us of being spies. Whose spy could I be?”
Li Cunxu was stunned for a moment.
He had previously sent people to investigate Zhu Qing and Feng Huaihe's route to Jin, but they had not had any contact with other powerful figures.
They came directly from Chang'an in Tang Dynasty, from Jinyang.
Li Cunxu hesitated, then frowned and asked, "Then tell me what happened? Why did you say everything was foolproof, yet we still ended up like this? If Father doesn't return, I will not let you off!"
Zhu Qing also didn't know why Feng Huaihe, who clearly had memories of his past life, would still follow the same old path. But seeing Li Cunxu's angry expression and the way his chest heaved, Zhu Qing couldn't tell the truth.
Not to mention, Li Cunxu's other two advisors were also in the study. She and Feng Huaihe were now their rivals.
If even the slightest mistake is discovered, who knows how they might be framed and killed.
After thinking it over and over again, Zhu Qing lied and said, "Actually, this was also Feng Zhijian's scheme."
Li Cunxu frowned: "Oh?"
Zhu Qing fabricated a story: "Before he left, he told me that he had a secret plan to test Zhu Wen's loyalty to the Tang Dynasty. However, this plan is a secret and cannot be revealed to anyone. Your Highness, are you willing to believe me?"
Li Cunxu: ...
Could he believe it? He looked at Zhu Qing with dissatisfaction, thinking that he and his father, Li Keyong, were both geniuses and outstanding military figures, and had never been made fools of like this before.
Although Li Cunxu did not have Zhu Wen's violent temper, a ruler like him still had some temper, and immediately ordered that Zhu Qing be killed in place of Tian Lingzi.
Zhu Qing felt a chill run down his spine as he pondered how to devise a 'secret plan' to deceive Li Cunxu. At that moment, an advisor standing to the side said, "Your Highness, wait a moment!"
Li Cunxu glared at him unhappily: "What?"
The advisor said, "Now that the Prince of Jin has disappeared without a trace and there is no news from him, as the saying goes, no news is good news. Feng Zhijian has a good reputation, so he probably wouldn't deliberately harm his lord for short-term personal gain. Otherwise, how could he continue on this path?"
Li Cunxu thought this made sense, and after a moment's thought, asked, "Then what do you suggest we do?"
The advisor said, "In my opinion, we should detain Miss Zhu at the Prince's residence and wait for news from the Prince of Jin. If what she said is true, Your Highness need not grieve the loss of such a talented person. If she is lying, it is not too late to kill her then."
Li Cunxu looked at Zhu Qing hesitantly.
Zhu Qing nodded repeatedly, her gaze as firm as if she were making a vow.
"I will give you one more chance!"
-
Bozhou, a rainy night.
The campaign to quell Huang Chao's rebellion took a long time, and the journey from Shandong to Kaifeng had already begun; it was now the rainy late spring.
Li Keyong's troops fled from Kaifeng and entered Bozhou. The rain became increasingly heavy, slapping against their faces and obscuring their vision, making it impossible to see anything. That's how they got lost.
Feng Huaihe raised his hand to wipe the rain off his face, but as soon as he wiped it away, a torrent of rain poured in again, making it impossible to see anything clearly.
The soldiers couldn't light their torches; it was pitch black all around, and the only sound was the patter of the rain hitting the leaves.
“Prince Jin, it’s late at night and hard to find your way. If we continue, we might accidentally enter the territory of the Great Tiger, and things will get very bad,” Feng Huaihe said, struggling to discern Li Keyong’s direction through his rain-blurred vision.
Rainwater kept pouring into Li Keyong's mouth, and his somewhat slurred voice came through: "But this is not a place to rest!"
As he spoke, Feng Huaihe had already pulled a few slightly softer branches from the roadside bushes, tied them into a grass ring, and put it upside down on his head, finally blocking most of the rain that flew into his eyes.
He said, "I have practiced archery for many years and have eyesight that surpasses that of ordinary people. I will lead the way and find a more open place to rest. If we can find a cave, that would be even better."
Unlike Li Cunxu, Li Keyong did not doubt him. With the torrential rain and difficult night travel, he was only thinking about how to solve the problem as soon as possible, so he nodded in agreement.
Feng Huaihe walked to the front, holding a bow and carrying a quiver of arrows, trying hard to make out the path ahead.
After walking about half a mile along the mountain path, we did not encounter any caves, but instead came across a slope with a large incline, which turned to shield the area below, forming a natural eaves that provided shelter from the wind and rain.
Led by Feng Huaihe, the group stopped here to rest.
Without the disturbance of the torrential rain, everyone wiped the water from their eyes as soon as they came in, then rummaged through their dry rations to see how much was left to eat, and then looked for anything that could start a fire.
After the upheaval in Kaifeng, a troop of soldiers had dwindled to less than a hundred men. Feng Huaihe stood in a corner where he could observe everyone, outwardly watching them busy while secretly counting their numbers.
More than half of the people were missing, including Zhu Zhengyang and Zhang Yin.
Uncle Zhu sat on a large rock, carefully checking the medicine box, unaware that his elder brother was missing.
Feng Huaihe took off the grass ring he was wearing, then picked more soft grass to make a larger mound that could block more rain. He then slung his quiver and bow over his shoulder and prepared to go out.
Li Keyong noticed this and called out to him, "Where is Zhijian going?"
Feng Zhijian stopped and turned around. Water droplets from the grass ring dripped onto the corners of his upturned eyes, making them appear even darker.
"Zhu Zhengyang and Zhang Yin have disappeared. I will go and find them."
Li Keyong's expression was solemn. He remembered that Zhu Zhengyang was the one who protected him when he was assassinated, and he also remembered that Zhang Yin was recommended by Zhang Chengye.
Li Keyong weighed the options and said, "They are very important, but the current situation is not suitable. Our team cannot afford to lose any more people."
Feng Huaihe said in a deep voice, "Prince Jin need not worry."
Seeing that he was about to leave, Li Keyong stood up worriedly: "We need to find the person, but let's wait until dawn."
Feng Huaihe looked at Li Keyong and saw that his clothes were soaked, there was a knife wound on his forearm bleeding, and he looked serious and somewhat worried.
Feng Huaihe had never met a lord who worried about him before.
He wanted to stay, but he was worried about Zhu Zhengyang. If something happened to Zhu Zhengyang, Zhu Qing would only hate him even more.
Thinking of this, Feng Huaihe clenched his fists and promised, "I will come back as soon as possible."
As Feng Huaihe spoke, he ignored all advice and took his bow and arrows, stepping into the torrential rain.
Searching for someone in this way is like looking for a needle in a haystack, but Feng Huaihe remembers that Zhu Zhengyang was still there when he left. Perhaps it was because of the heavy rain and slippery roads along the way that they got separated.
If we search along the road, we might still be able to find it.
With spring approaching, insects are foraging more frequently, and if Zhu Zhengyang isn't found soon, the consequences could be dire.
For the first time, Feng Huaihe was grateful that he had listened to Feng Ruling's advice, never slacked off in practicing archery, and had developed eyes that could see in the dark.
The bushes in the forest were leaning and crooked, traces left by their group when they came. He followed the traces and walked forward. He didn't know how long he had walked when the rain subsided a little. He saw a figure lying paralyzed under the bushes not far away.
Feng Huaihe was slightly pleased and strode forward, blurting out, "Big Brother?"
He lifted the other person's face, and the moment he saw clearly, the joy in his eyes receded like a tide, replaced by boundless disgust and hatred.
"It's you." Feng Huaihe's voice was extremely cold. When it reached Zhang Yin's ears, Zhang Yin felt a chill run through his body, colder than the rain falling from the sky.
When he arrived, he stepped on something and his foot got stuck in a tree branch. A dead tree branch pierced his calf, causing him to bleed profusely. He couldn't get up, and his cries were drowned out by the torrential rain.
Zhang Yin thought Feng Huaihe had come to rescue him, but when he looked up and saw the ferocity in Feng Huaihe's eyes and the overwhelming hatred that he could no longer hide, he lost his confidence.
Zhang Yin's pride prevented him from asking why he had come, nor did he plead for help. He simply stared at Feng Huaihe with a pale face in silence.
Feng Huaihe squatted down in front of Zhang Yin, seemingly disgusted, and used his bow to brush away the wet hair covering Zhang Yin's cheeks.
“Look at you,” Feng Huaihe said.
Zhang Yin frowned and asked weakly, "What?"
"Crouching at my feet, too ashamed to even ask for help, you are no longer the young master of Lingnan, yet you still cling to that useless pride." Feng Huaihe laughed mockingly, his eyes growing colder.
Zhang Yin lowered his eyes and said nothing. The bow that brushed aside his hair was icy cold, and he frowned uncomfortably.
He didn't know why, even though he once thought he was such a good person, he felt inferior to Feng Huaihe in every way.
Feng Huaihe had nothing, yet he managed to climb to such a high position. Compared to him, I seemed to be nothing more than a useless person enjoying wealth and privilege.
Zhang Yin was thinking when he suddenly heard a noise.
He looked up and saw Feng Huaihe stand up, take a few steps back to increase the distance between him, then draw an arrow from his quiver, nock it, and pull back the bow.
The arrow was aimed at Zhang Yin, and he saw a flash of cold, murderous light on the sharp end.
Zhang Yin's heart skipped a beat, and he frowned deeply, both frightened and puzzled: "I want to ask why?"
Feng Huaihe chuckled, "I never need a reason to kill whomever I want."
The grass wreath on his head obscured most of his features, so Zhang Yin couldn't see the emotions in his eyes. He could only see the cold smile that emanated intense hatred and murderous intent.
Zhang Yin sighed dejectedly, "I felt from the beginning that you hated me. Now you want to kill me, and I have no power to resist. I just want to die knowing why."
As the rain grew weaker and the sound of rain lessened, Feng Huaihe drew his bow tightly, looked at Zhang Yin's inquisitive eyes, and said nothing.
There's no one else here; this desolate wilderness is the perfect place. Shooting Zhang Yin is like shooting prey; afterwards, no one will know.
Even Zhu Qing wouldn't know.
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