Chapter 39: Zhao Xiang's Bid, and the Enemy Becomes
It started raining again outside, the sound of raindrops reached my ears, and there were fewer people on the road.
"Sir, what do you mean? Please explain clearly."
Shang Yuwan naturally would not directly admit that they had the account books in Zhang Jiuquan's hands and were holding the prime minister's lifeline.
However, Zhao Xiang did not intend to beat around the bush. He took out the envelope from his arms, placed it on the table, and tapped it with his fingers.
"My father and I already know the news that you two sent to me by imitating the handwriting of the Dancheng City Lord. There is no need to waste your words on it."
The embezzlement of stolen funds and the exploitation of the people's wealth was a serious matter. If the matter were exposed and reported to the emperor, the crown prince would surely abandon his position to save his own life. If it weren't for the seriousness of the matter, Zhao Zhouxing's father, the prime minister, would not have asked him to make the trip in person.
Zhao Xiang pushed the letter forward and said, "What do you two want? Name your price."
"Mr. Zhao has a keen eye, and I admire him."
Shang Yuwan's eyes curved, "But can you really afford what I want, young master?"
Zhao Xiang nodded naturally, "As long as it's within Zhao's affordability, I can give it to you."
Xiao Qingxu looked at Zhao Xiang's face, which was somewhat similar to Zhao Lan's, and suddenly said, "I want Zhao Lan to die."
Zhao Xiang's expression suddenly turned cold.
Shang Yuwan's expression remained unchanged, but she was a little surprised. She hadn't expected Xiao Qingxu to say this. Why did he start a provocation?
Xiao Qingxu spoke again: "Didn't you hear clearly? I said, I want Zhao Lan to die."
As soon as he finished speaking, several dark shadows suddenly appeared, with cold light flashing in their hands.
“Zheng——!”
Five men in black, their faces covered with black scarves and wielding longswords, attacked Xiao Qingxu in an instant, but he remained motionless. Lu Heying, Cheng Yishui, Bai Xiaoye, and Twelve simultaneously rushed in through the window to stop them.
The nine men fought for several rounds in the room, while the three men at the table remained motionless. The clanging of swords was deafening. Another figure appeared at the window, stepping on the sill. The five men in black suddenly stopped moving. A closer look revealed several hair-thin iron wires appearing around them.
Twelve and the others also stopped and stood beside Shang Yuwan and Xiao Qingxu.
"Try to move again." Ju Gongcheng came late, holding the window with one hand and stepping on the windowsill.
He pulled his other holstered hand inward slightly, and blood oozed from the neck of one of the men in black.
"I'll cut it into pieces and stir-fry it in the pan!"
It wasn't long since Ju Gongcheng repaired the Qianji Line. If these guys broke it, even if he couldn't kill them, he would secretly put them in sacks and beat them up!
Shang Yuwan gently blew a sip of the tea in the cup and casually glanced at the hilt of the sword of the man in black who was closest to Zhao Xiang.
The hilt of the man's sword wasn't straight, it was curved. It was really interesting, a combination of a sword and a short scimitar.
Shang Yuwan's mind raced. In her past life, she had never seen Zhao Xiang have such an attendant. Could he be a secret guard? Who possessed such a unique weapon?
Zhao Xiang sneered, "You two are so bold! My sister is the Queen of Dayu. Aren't you afraid of the Emperor's punishment?"
"Just a gang..."
Before he could finish his words, a short dagger inlaid with green agate flew past his hair, cut off a few strands of hair, and inserted into the wall, shaking lightly a few times.
Zhao Xiang: “?!”
Shang Yuwan patted the small scabbard on Twelve's waist that held the dagger. "It was just a joke. What's with that expression, Mr. Zhao?"
Zhao Xiang laughed angrily, "Is this how you usually joke, young lady?"
He took another look at Twelve, the only one with his face covered.
This person's eyes and eyebrows look so familiar, as if I have seen him somewhere.
Shang Yuwan smiled and waved his hand, "All of you go out."
Twelve stepped forward, drew out the dagger and put it back at his waist, then followed the others out of the window.
Zhao Xiang snorted and waved his hand to let the attendants leave.
"Your subordinates like to climb through people's windows."
"Mr. Zhao, you're joking. There are other common people in this inn, so it's better to keep a low profile."
Shang Yuwan stood up, took out the wooden box from the drawer, put it on the table, and pushed it towards Zhao Xiang.
"Sir, please look."
Zhao Xiang glanced at her and reached out to open it.
He took the account book out of the box, looked through it for a few seconds, took a deep breath, and put the account book back.
"It seems that the two of you are on the side of the Crown Prince and are determined to become enemies of my Zhao family?"
Shang Yuwan shook her head. "No. Master Zhao, you should know that we had a big fight with the Crown Prince last night."
"The incident happened suddenly, and the real account books were stolen by the prince's men in the chaos. When our people had a chance to catch their breath, they discovered that they had been swapped."
Zhao Xiang frowned slightly, his tone clearly displeased, "So, young lady, you're just using ordinary account books to perfunctorily deal with me?"
It seems that he didn't know that there were people from the Longwu Army last night. I really don't know whether to say that the emperor did a good job or that the prince cleaned up the place cleanly.
"Isn't this what the young master wants us to take out?"
"We fought the Crown Prince last night and both of us were injured. Otherwise, why do you think we can still sit here and talk with you?"
Zhao Xiang suddenly smiled. "I heard that the young lady brought people to rescue the fifth princess last night?"
Shang Yuwan was not surprised that he knew about this. His father had snatched the silver from Xiao Qinggu, so it was not surprising that Zhao Xiang knew about it.
"The Crown Prince sent someone to pretend to be one of ours to kill the Fifth Princess. We were helpless and could only come to her rescue."
What Shang Yuwan said was understandable. After all, no one wanted to be blamed for killing the royal family.
Zhao Xiang understood in his heart, but he asked in return, "Why is the Crown Prince making things difficult for you? How could you not know the reason?"
Shameless thing!
His gaze turned to the silent Xiao Qingxu and he laughed angrily again.
This is also shameless!
Shang Yuwan seemed helpless. "You smelled the medicinal scent when you came in, right? Our host is seriously ill and needs a lot of money to buy precious medicinal herbs. We have no choice but to resort to this desperate measure."
"Oh."
"If you can't steal the silver, then steal the account books. Using this as a threat is a really good strategy."
Sure enough, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince did not reveal the information that the Prime Minister was being abandoned in order to avoid trouble, and he also secretly found a reason for them.
Shang Yuwan smiled lightly and said, "You are too kind, sir. I can't wait to see His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the Prime Minister for even a fraction of a second."
Zhao Xiang heard the sarcasm in her words, "Young lady, are you really not afraid of being killed to silence yourself?"
The smile on Shang Yuwan's face deepened.
"If you can do it, come on."
Just now, I couldn't even touch the corner of their clothes, and I wasn't afraid of the strong wind blowing my tongue away.
Zhao Xiang had naturally witnessed the strength of Shang Yuwan and the others, so he wouldn't kill them lightly. "What exactly do you want, young lady? Just tell me straight away, and stop joking around."
"It's very simple." Shang Yuwan said with a smile, "A little hush money is enough."
Zhao Xiang asked suspiciously, "Just hush money?"
Shang Yuwan nodded, "Of course, I was just short of money for medicine, and I accidentally stumbled upon the affair between the Prime Minister and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
"How much do you want?"
Shang Yuwan kicked the ball back: "That depends on how much Mr. Zhao thinks this matter is worth."
Zhao Xiang was thinking in his heart, and Shang Yuwan reminded him: "Master, don't forget, we spent a lot of effort to pass the news to Kyoto."
"The account books in the hands of the prince are worth a lot of money, right? If you need it, we can also lend you some manpower to help you get the account books."
"help me?"
After all, Zhao Xiang is the son of the prime minister of the current dynasty, and he will not be easily fooled by the blatant temptation.
"If you stand with me, how will His Royal Highness look at me?"
"Yeah?"
Shang Yuwan laughed and said, "I thought Young Master Zhao and the Zhao family had already broken off relations with the Crown Prince."
Zhao Xiang crossed his arms over his chest, looking as if he had seen through everything.
"Why, you imitated the handwriting to cause a quarrel between the Zhao family and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince? Are you sure I can't see that you're spreading false news that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince intends to abandon the Zhao family?"
"You want my Zhao family to become enemies with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince? That's wishful thinking."
Shang Yuwan smiled without saying anything, and Xiao Qingxu snorted and laughed.
Zhao Xiang sensed something was wrong. "What do you mean? What are you laughing at?"
Shang Yuwan pointed at the piece of letter in his hand and said, "If the Zhao family really believed that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had no intention of abandoning the throne to save his own men, then why did the young master rush into Luzhou City and come to us first?"
Zhao Xiang's expression changed slightly.
Shang Yuwan tilted her head and smiled.
"Instead of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"
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