cooperate
Xiao Wan'er forgot how she walked back to the room. She closed the door and sat on the bed, Liu Mingyin's words still ringing in her ears.
"Since when did you change?"
She looked at her hands. They were clean, but in her eyes they were filled with blood.
When did she start to change? Xiao Wan'er thought carefully.
It was probably on the night of Shangguan Wan'er's death that she executed her colleagues who had attempted to kill her. Then, when Li Chongfu was plotting a rebellion, she volunteered to execute those who had killed others but, for various reasons, had escaped punishment. The day before, she volunteered and received permission to assassinate Wei Anshi, an innocent man who posed a serious threat to Princess Taiping.
The bottom line was lowered step by step.
Xiao Wan'er thought again, could she refrain from taking action in the future?
It also seems impossible.
With Princess Taiping and the Crown Prince locked in a bitter, agonizing conflict, siding with one side would inevitably lead to attacks from the other. Regardless of whether she took action or not, the attacks from enemy officials and assassinations by enemy monks would not cease. Furthermore, as a monk renowned for her martial prowess, how could Princess Taiping allow her to remain inactive? Furthermore, even if she did withdraw, would the Crown Prince let her go?
Once you step into the vortex of power struggle, it is impossible to extricate yourself.
And she wasn't the only one who had changed. Princess Taiping no longer had the same high spirits she once had when she was friends with Shangguan Wan'er. The civil and military officials who joined the team, when advising the emperor and performing their duties, always prioritized preventing the enemy from gaining an advantage.
Power struggles change everyone equally.
Thinking of Liu Mingyin who would still disapprove of her because of killing someone, Xiao Wan'er sighed in her heart.
"I hope he won't change."
I also hope that this fight will end soon.
Because she entered a weak period after the operation and her strength decreased significantly, in order to prevent others from noticing the clues, Xiao Wan'er simply took a leave and recuperated at home.
Liu Mingyin went to the government office alone to work, and was stopped by Pei Yingguan when he was off duty in the evening.
"What's the matter, Commander?" Like Xiao Wan'er, he no longer called Pei Yingguan "senior brother".
Pei Yingguan pursed his lips and said, "This is not a good place to talk. Junior brother, can you come with me?"
Liu Mingyin frowned, but still followed him cautiously to a secluded place.
As soon as he stopped, Pei Yingguan asked Liu Mingyin directly: "Wan'er killed Wei Anshi, right?"
Liu Mingyin immediately drew his sword, pointing the tip of the sword at Pei Yingguan.
Pei Yingguan pushed the knife away with his bare hands, and even smiled at Liu Mingyin: "Junior brother, there is no need to be so nervous. I have never told anyone about this."
As he said this, seeing that Liu Mingyin still looked doubtful, he simply swore a poisonous oath.
Seeing that he really had no hostility, Liu Mingyin put the knife away.
"Junior Brother, you know your Senior Sister has a deep prejudice against me. If I were to tell her something directly, she would reject it without hesitation. She might even draw her sword against me. So I can only ask you to tell her," Pei Yingguan said to Liu Mingyin earnestly, full of distress. "Junior Brother, do you think Princess Taiping has a real chance of winning?"
After thinking carefully, Liu Mingyin slowly shook his head.
"Yes, you know it well. In terms of legitimacy, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has a much more legitimate claim than Princess Taiping. And when it comes to personal ability, Princess Taiping is far inferior to His Royal Highness," Pei Yingguan concluded his analysis and posed a question to Liu Mingyin, "What you can clearly see, can't Wan'er really understand?"
Liu Mingyin immediately retorted: "Senior Sister, wasn't it also because of the Crown Prince that you came to this point?"
"The Crown Prince did initially regard Junior Sister as an enemy," Pei Yingguan did not deny this. "But I have received a promise from His Royal Highness that if Junior Sister leaves Princess Taiping's camp, His Royal Highness will not attack her again. She can continue to serve as the deputy commander of the Divine Dragon Guard, or she can leave the court and return to the clan. His Royal Highness also does not want to attack the princess of the royal family for no reason."
Seeing that Liu Mingyin was wavering, he struck while the iron was hot.
"Since there's a chance of escape, why stay on a ship destined to sink? Go back and talk to your senior sister. Don't follow Princess Taiping into a dead end, where you might as well lose your own life."
Liu Mingyin returned home with a heavy heart and told Xiao Wan'er all the conversations with Pei Yingguan.
"What are your plans, Senior Sister?" After he finished speaking, he asked Xiao Wan'er nervously.
Xiao Wan'er didn't answer for a moment.
When Liu Mingyin thought that Xiao Wan'er would not answer, and even thought that he might make her angry, he heard a helpless sigh.
"Don't I know that Princess Taiping is indeed incompetent and is feared by conservatives? I simply have no choice."
Liu Mingyin looked puzzled when he heard this.
Xiao Wan'er didn't answer his questions, but instead recalled her own childhood. "When I was young, before I entered Biyun Monastery, I was seriously ill. At its worst, I was nearly incurable. Back then, I could only lie in bed every day, waiting for the doctors my father had called in to decide whether I could continue to live or prepare for a funeral. Can you imagine how desperate I was then?"
Liu Mingyin nodded sympathetically and distressedly.
"I was lucky to be saved by my master. When I grow up, I never want to be in this situation again," Xiao Wan'er said, her tone changing as she pulled herself away from her memories. "But if the crown prince eventually ascends the throne, I'll still be in the same situation where my life and death are at the mercy of others. Even if I say I can quit the Divine Dragon Guard now, what good will it do? My master has already fallen into his hands. By then, we will have no power, and he will hold absolute power. With just one order, we will be exiled, if not killed immediately."
Not to mention those ordinary women who had no cultivation and could not leave the power of the Tang Dynasty. Once the only option left in life was to get married, then one's fate could no longer be in one's own hands.
"I understand." Liu Mingyin said that he understood, but in fact he didn't understand, but he chose to follow Xiao Wan'er.
Pei Yingguan waited for a long time but there was no response, so he knew Xiao Wan'er's choice.
When neither side took action, one evening, a man and a woman, two cultivators, quietly climbed over the city wall. Both of them were cultivators in the Transcendent Realm, and as soon as they set foot on the land of Chang'an City, they headed straight for Yongchangfang.
Xiao Wan'er was meditating inside when she heard a knock on the door. She walked into the yard and saw Liu Mingyin rushing over.
Without making any sound, she gestured to Liu Mingyin to go back and quietly walked to the gate.
At this moment, the person outside knocked on the door three more times.
Xiao Wan'er prepared for battle and opened the door, only to see the senior sister who was the former captain of the Geng 7th Team of the Shenlong Guard and whom she had let go before and who had provided her with information through telepathy.
Before she could say anything, the senior sister rushed into the yard with the male monk who came with her.
"Why are you here?" Xiao Wan'er was puzzled. "And who is this young man?"
"It's a long story. Are you sure you want to tell it here?"
"Then can you please make it short?" Xiao Wan'er asked back, and received a roll of the eyes.
Xiao Wan'er curled her lips helplessly and took the two of them into her room.
"Now, can you tell me? Why did you come to my house during curfew?"
"We want to avenge our fellow disciples," the eldest sister dropped a bombshell, "Will you cooperate with us?"
"What?" Xiao Wan'er demanded, "Who are you all? Who are you planning to take revenge on? Can you explain it clearly?"
"Let me speak," the male cultivator brought by the eldest sister interrupted. "Deputy Commander Li, nice to meet you. I am Qingyang, a disciple of Lingxiao Temple. My junior brother was once the deputy captain of the Third Squadron of the Divine Dragon Guard. The sect previously issued an order for him to return to the sect. However, not only did he not return, he also lost his life. The Tang court's explanation for this is that he was assassinated by unknown cultivators. However, the information given by Fellow Daoist Mingshu is that the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty sent the commander of the Divine Dragon Guard to assassinate all cultivators who resigned."
When Qingyang mentioned Fellow Daoist Mingshu, he looked at the eldest senior sister. It was obvious that the eldest senior sister's Taoist name was Mingshu.
"What Fellow Daoist Mingshu said is true," Xiao Wan'er confirmed. "Fellow Daoist Qingyang, please stop calling me Deputy Commander Li. Just call me Fellow Daoist Xiao."
"Okay, Fellow Daoist Xiao," Qingyang readily agreed. "Although the sect cannot pursue the consequences of the death of a cultivator serving in the imperial court, my junior brother is my cousin, and the imperial court was the murderer who killed him. I cannot help but avenge him. Mingshu also wants to avenge her junior sister, so we decided to join forces and kill the prince together."
"Fellow Daoist Qingyang, what is your level of cultivation?" Xiao Wan'er asked carefully after knowing their purpose.
"He, like me, is at the Transcendent Realm," Ming Shu replied. "As far as I know, the Crown Prince only has one Transcendent Realm cultivator, the commander of the Divine Dragon Guard. With the two of us, we should be able to kill the Crown Prince."
Xiao Wan'er nodded: "Based on the information I have so far, it's indeed not a big problem."
"But we want to be more cautious," Ming Shu added. "It just so happens that Deputy Commander Xiao is the most powerful cultivator currently alive, and he is an enemy of the Crown Prince, so we would like to ask you to cooperate with us."
So they came to drag Xiao Wan'er into the water.
"You should know that I am a court official, right?"
They both nodded.
"Then you should also know that if you are caught assassinating the crown prince, your entire clan will be exterminated, right?"
The two nodded again.
Xiao Wan'er's voice gradually became dangerous: "So you still want to get me to cooperate with you? Regardless of success or failure, you can just run away when the time comes. What about me? I will stay and take the blame for you?"
Seeing that Xiao Wan'er's pressure was getting stronger and stronger, the two began to sweat coldly, and Qingyang spoke hurriedly.
"That's not the case, Fellow Daoist Xiao, you misunderstood!"
"Oh?" Xiao Wan'er responded, but she didn't let go of her pressure. "Then tell me in detail."
"The entire battle will be between me and Fellow Daoist Mingshu against the cultivators under the Crown Prince's command. Fellow Daoist Xiao only needs to strike when there are no cultivators guarding the Crown Prince and kill him."
After Qingyang finished speaking, the two of them finally felt the pressure dissipate, and their bodies and minds felt lighter.
"Fellow Daoist Xiao, I heard that Princess Taiping isn't having the upper hand in her game with the Crown Prince. If the Crown Prince could die early, it would surely be a blessing for both you and Princess Taiping, right?" Ming Shu, fearing Xiao Wan'er wouldn't agree, offered her and Princess Taiping's perspectives. "This opportunity is fleeting. Cooperation with us will be a hundredfold benefit to Fellow Daoist Xiao."
Although it wasn't entirely without disadvantages, it was indeed a rare opportunity. Xiao Wan'er agreed without further thought.
“May our cooperation go smoothly.”
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