Chapter 79 What I am about to do is of great importance.
As the weather grew colder day by day, Lou Xueying finally understood why Li Pan had scoffed at her words so much when she said she was willing to go to the Northwest with him.
Because she really felt it was too cold outside.
She enjoyed a very free life after arriving in the Northwest. Here, no one was controlling her and Li Pan; they were always inseparable. Li Pan took her to many places, letting her experience customs and cultures completely different from those in the capital.
If Li Pan was busy with important business, his mother would take her shopping together.
Lou Xueying occasionally felt a sense of time travel. A few months ago, she was the one taking Li's mother around, but now, it was Li's mother taking her. She often looked confused because she couldn't understand the dialect, and Li's mother would happily teach her.
The people she encountered while shopping were all very enthusiastic. Although she often made a fool of herself because she didn't understand what they meant, she could clearly feel their simple kindness. Most of the time, she didn't spend much money when she went out, but instead brought home a lot of "people's hard-earned money".
After this happened a few times, she became less inclined to go out.
Moreover, the wind and sand in the northwest are too strong and the climate is too cold. The local people have long been used to it, but she finds it very difficult to adapt.
She wished she could stay in her room all day and never go out.
Her favorite thing to do now is to sleep close to Li Pan every night, which makes Li Pan very resentful of her. He feels that her intention to use him is too obvious, and that she is using him as a human heater.
However, despite his verbal complaints, his body remained honestly tender towards her.
Lou Xueying wrote a letter to her family in Beijing, telling them about her life in the Northwest and reassuring them not to worry. At the end of October, she received a reply from her family, who said that they were also doing well.
Also at the end of October, Li Pan began planning to deal with the Di and Qiang people.
The Di and Qiang tribes were not adjacent to Dayue. In their previous lives, they were able to attack Dayue by borrowing a passage from the already declining Quanrong tribe.
Li Pan suggested to Hasule that the Wusun and Quanrong temporarily cooperate. The Quanrong had been defeated by Dayue and forced to submit to him and pay tribute, suffering heavy losses and urgently needing to find alternative supplies.
However, it has become a defeated dog that anyone can kick at, so it has neither the ability nor the energy to deal with other tribes.
Unless the Wusun come to their aid.
Li Pan incited Hasule, saying that the new Di-Qiang king was eager to prove himself, while he, the Wusun king who rose to power by chance, had not accomplished anything in the past two years. Didn't he want to make some achievements to deter those royal collateral branches who might be dissatisfied with him?
Cooperation with the Quanrong would be perfect. Both sides could keep a close eye on the Di and Qiang, and once the Di and Qiang made a move, the Quanrong could block them at the front line, while the Wusun could flank them from the rear, attacking the Di and Qiang from both sides and sharing the spoils.
The Quanrong could not withstand the Di and Qiang on their own, but with the help of the Wusun, the pressure was greatly reduced. Moreover, the Wusun king, Hasule, had never taken the initiative to send troops before, so this could be his first test battle.
Hasule was indeed tempted after receiving the letter, saying that Li Pan was truly wicked, and had already started doing bad things as soon as he returned to the Northwest. He had subdued the original first tribe, the Quanrong, befriended the current first tribe, the Wusun, and was about to suppress the Di-Qiang, who were on the verge of becoming the second tribe.
However, he was happy to follow Li Pan.
Lou Xueying asked Li Pan, "What if you keep doing this and make Hasule's appetite grow too big? As Wusun becomes stronger, won't he betray you?"
Li Pan: "If he really betrayed me, I also have ways to deal with Wusun."
Lou Xueying: "What method?"
Li Pan: "I spread rumors that Hasul's royal bloodline was problematic, and those royal collateral branches who were dissatisfied with him would definitely jump out and start fighting among themselves."
Lou Xueying asked in surprise, "Is there really a problem?"
“It’s just a tactic. It’s dirty, but he was unkind to me first, so don’t blame me for being unjust to him,” Li Pan said. “However, Hasule won’t go that far in the short term.”
In November, Li Pan received a message from Lü Gui through secret sentries in the capital.
He was in the military camp at the time. After receiving the news, he immediately rushed back to the general's mansion and found Lou Xueying, who was learning how to knead dough from Li's mother.
Li Pan looked at her with a serious expression: "Susu, come out for a moment."
Lou Xueying's hands were covered in powder, wet and sticky. She wanted to clean them, but seeing Li Pan's strange expression, she didn't care and hurriedly followed Li Pan outside.
The north wind was biting, and as soon as Li Pan opened his mouth, he exhaled a puff of white breath.
"I just received a secret letter from the capital. The Crown Prince is dead," Li Pan said solemnly.
Lou Xueying didn't react for a moment.
"The Crown Prince is dead," Li Pan repeated. "This is not a rumor; it's true."
"What?!" Lou Xueying stared in shock, her eyes wide. "How...how did he die?"
Li Pan: "It is said that a fire broke out in the imperial garden at night. The palace servants were negligent and the fire was not put out in time. The crown prince was unable to escape in his sleep and was burned to death."
Lou Xueying was taken aback.
Li Pan: "You also find it incredible, right?"
Lou Xueying opened her mouth, but for a moment she didn't know what to say.
“Lu Gui said that after the Crown Prince died, the Empress fainted, and the Empress’s family was furious and wrote a letter demanding a thorough investigation.” Li Pan said in a deep voice, “The matter was urgent, and Lu Gui did not have time to wait for the results of the investigation before informing me first.”
Lou Xueying was momentarily dazed. Leaning against a pillar, she murmured to herself, "Is it true? He... he's just dead like that?"
Li Pan: "You don't want him to die?"
"No!" She frowned. "I just think... how could he have died so easily? It shouldn't be like this... In his past life, he was the one who could secretly kill his father, the emperor. In this life, how could he have died in a fire? The emperor confined him to his quarters; he couldn't have just surrendered!"
Li Pan said, "He succeeded in his previous life because the emperor wasn't on guard against him, but this life is different. If the emperor wants to kill him, he can always find a way. No matter how powerful a crown prince is, he can't surpass the emperor. We don't know what really happened that night. Maybe the fire was just a cover, and the crown prince died for another reason. But our abilities are limited, and we can't find out so many inside stories. However..." He paused again, "Actually, I also have some doubts. Did he really die like that?"
Lou Xueying took a deep breath: "Assuming he didn't die, what do you think would be the reason?"
Li Pan: "Either he conspired with the emperor to stage a play to create trouble and plot his own downfall, or he manipulated things to deceive the emperor into believing he was dead."
Lou Xueying pursed her lips, thinking quickly.
If she were in the capital, right in the eye of the storm, she might be completely disoriented and unsure of what to do. But she's in the Northwest, thousands of miles from the capital, so even if she were affected, it wouldn't be so soon.
With time to catch her breath, she was no longer so panicked.
“It couldn’t be that he and the emperor joined forces.” Lou Xueying shook her head. “The only reason he would join forces with the emperor is to deal with you. But that method would be entirely detrimental to him. With the crown prince now dead, the emperor can immediately appoint a new heir, and the other princes will be eager to make their move. He wouldn’t leave himself with such a hidden danger. As for the emperor, there’s even less reason for him to join forces. Since the crown prince is practically dead anyway, what difference would it make if he were killed? Why bother joining forces?”
Li Pan: "So, you think he fooled the emperor and faked his death to escape?"
Lou Xueying: "I don't think he will die so easily, but I also think that faking his death is too risky. As I just said, once the crown prince dies in public, his position may be taken by someone else. If he wants to fake his death, there will inevitably be a period of dormancy after that. But we all know that anything can change if it is delayed."
Li Pan: "So according to you, he can only be really dead."
“If he really dies, what will happen next?” she whispered. “If I were the emperor, I would probably settle scores with the empress’s family next.”
"The cleanup is over, so what's next?" Li Pan asked quietly.
Lou Xueying bit her lip.
Li Pan: "We have too little information, and we can't draw any accurate conclusions by just guessing. But Susu, instead of guessing whether the Crown Prince is alive or dead, we should make thorough preparations first."
Lou Xueying: "What?"
Li Pan: "First, if the Crown Prince isn't dead and is in league with the Emperor, then he's clearly targeting me, and I absolutely cannot sit idly by and wait to die. Second, if the Crown Prince faked his death and fooled the Emperor, then he's temporarily avoiding a direct confrontation, preparing to catch the Emperor off guard. If the Emperor is caught off guard and he succeeds, am I supposed to just watch the Crown Prince ascend the throne? Third, if the Crown Prince is truly dead, and the Emperor has already dealt with the Empress's family, but hasn't shown any intention of targeting me, I ask you, Susu, can you be at ease then? Do you think he has completely let go of you and let me go?"
Lou Xueying looked at him, unable to answer.
Li Pan stepped forward, cupped her face in his hands, and said slowly and deliberately, "Susu, you actually already know what I'm going to do, you just don't dare to ask me."
Lou Xueying's eyes gradually reddened.
"Susu, don't be afraid." He stroked her soft cheek and said softly, "You either make a firm choice or you give up firmly. You can't hesitate. If you hesitate, you'll end up with nothing."
Lou Xueying hugged him tightly, her voice trembling as she said, "Li Pan..."
"I am here."
“Li Pan…” Her arms tightened around him.
Li Pan gently patted her back: "What I'm about to do is no small matter—let me ask you, what would your family do if they found out?"
Lou Xueying was silent for a while before saying, "Before leaving the capital, I told them not to get involved in the conflict between the emperor and the crown prince, and I also reminded them that the capital was dangerous, and if possible, to make plans to withdraw as soon as possible."
Li Pan paused upon hearing this: "Is that what you told them?"
"……Um."
"Your father has been in officialdom for so many years, do you know what those words mean to him?" Li Pan sighed softly. "What was his reply?"
“He asked me if you told me to say that,” Lou Xueying said in a low voice. “I said, ‘Let’s just say that.’”
"Then what?"
Then he said he understood.
“Susu, I take back what I just said.” He kissed the top of her head. “You didn’t hesitate, you’ve made your choice. Thank you. I’ll have Lü Gui contact your father right away and discuss it with him.”
Lou Xueying leaned against his chest and gripped his clothes tightly.
However, a few days later, Li Pan received another secret letter.
He was puzzled; even by carrier pigeon, it wouldn't be this fast for a round trip from the Northwest to the capital.
He opened the secret letter, but it was neither Lü Gui's handwriting nor Lou Shu's.
Li Pan glanced at it, and his pupils suddenly contracted.
The emperor, respecting the wishes of the empress's maternal family, ordered a thorough investigation into the cause of the fire at the imperial garden. It wasn't long before it was discovered that a palace maid had deliberately set the fire. Under severe torture, she finally confessed that she had been instructed by the Marquis of Wu'an—the humiliation of his wife could not go unpunished.
Public outcry erupted, and the emperor immediately sealed off the Marquis of Wu'an's residence and temporarily confined the Lou family. At the same time, he sent envoys to the northwest to summon the Marquis of Wu'an back to the capital for questioning.
Lu Gui had gone missing, and this secret letter was an urgent report from a spy in the capital, bypassing the proper channels.
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Author's note: There will be a second update today.
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