Chapter 215 An Impeccable Divide Strategy
The autumn sun shines serenely, the sky is clear and blue, and the wind scatters the clouds.
Inside the main hall of the general's mansion, Li Jin stood expressionless, arms crossed, in silence for a long time.
The water stains on the table gradually disappeared. Xiao Chen finished his entire cup of tea, glanced at his serious face, and after a long while, continued, "Judging from your expression, you probably don't know."
He took a deep breath and put the empty teacup aside: "He let Lin Zhongyi and the two carts of armor go. I led a small team and chased after them for ten miles in the dark, but the armor seemed to have vanished into thin air. I couldn't find any trace of it anywhere. It wasn't until dawn that I rushed back, fearing something might have happened to the palace."
Time seemed to stand still in the main hall. Li Jin's fingers tapped lightly on his clothes. He closed his eyes and asked in a deep voice, "Did you see it with your own eyes?"
Xiao Chen glanced at Li Jin and nodded: "His relationship with His Majesty and his status in the court and among the people compel me to personally receive him." He paused here, "But he only exchanged a few pleasantries with me before I was sent away."
He chuckled: "What a coincidence. After staying at the palace for more than a month, Consort Shu's niece, who's all over the place and whose connections are unknown, suddenly lost something that night and made a fuss about having the Imperial Guards look for it."
“Su Wanying.” Li Jin lowered his eyes.
“Yes, it’s her.” Xiao Chen sneered disdainfully. “I originally sent my deputy with men to help, but…”
He tapped the spot on the table where his name had just been written: "He said that the girl was the eldest daughter of the Grand Tutor, and that my deputy general was a boorish man who might cause trouble, so he sent me away like that."
"After I spent more than an hour searching the entire courtyard for that Grand Tutor's eldest daughter's broken earring, I heard that Lin Zhongyi had disappeared."
Xiao Chen's voice was strained as he said this.
“He was the only one who came all night. When I rushed back, the dungeon guards were fast asleep and couldn’t be woken up.”
He took a deep breath, as if only in this way could he suppress the raging anger churning in his chest.
"Just as dawn broke, while I was still chasing after the two carts of armor on their way back, the urgent memorial about the rebellion, delivered over 800 li, was brought into the palace."
Li Jin glanced at the tea on the table, which had gone cold, his expression inscrutable.
He pondered for a long time, then chuckled softly, "You're quite clever."
"Quite clever." Xiao Chen snorted. "His movements were fluid and effortless, giving me no time to react at all."
"Because I led the team out to chase after them in the middle of the night, I inexplicably became the 'General Who Suppressed the Rebellion,' a great hero, and was promoted two ranks to become a role model for the court and the people." Xiao Chen's nostrils trembled with anger. "What a fine scheme to sow discord! If you and I hadn't grown up together and known each other so well, his move would have been flawless."
If Li Jin hadn't known Xiao Chen so well, and hadn't personally witnessed him stand firm and grit his teeth to accept the imperial decree and express his gratitude in the Taiji Hall, this scheme to sow discord would truly have been flawless.
After that, in order not to arouse Li Jing's suspicion, Xiao Chen made a three-year agreement with him.
They agreed to meet again three years later, depending on how the situation had changed, and to recount what had happened that day.
In order not to alert the enemy and to appear resolute, General Xiao moved his entire family out of the capital. The once powerful General's Mansion moved overnight to the remote Fengzhou, becoming neighbors with the Tiande Army stationed there.
In the entire capital, only Li Jin remained.
"Looking back now, what my grandfather said back then, though harsh, was actually helpful," Li Jin chuckled, taking a sip of her cool tea.
Before General Xiao left, he secretly met with Li Jin and left only one sentence: If you don't even have the ability to survive, it doesn't matter if the world is given to Li Jing.
"Hey," Xiao Chen laughed. "The old man always has a sharp tongue but a soft heart." He sighed, "But back then, no one expected that this separation would last for six years."
Li Jin frowned: "That's your grandfather."
Xiao Chen paused for a moment, then chuckled and nodded with obvious satisfaction: "Hmm, those words sound so familiar." He said, "Six years, I never thought you could actually turn adversity into opportunity. Along the way back, in every city and town, there was the shadow of Prince Jing following you..." He glanced at Li Jin's eyes, "Grandpa really didn't misjudge you."
"And then?" Li Jin didn't pick up on his words, but continued, "What happened after you returned to the palace?" He paused, "What happened inside the palace that day?"
Li Jin was never able to access information about what was happening inside the palace.
When he asked these questions, Xiao Chen's gaze darkened.
He stood up, poured Li Jin a cup of hot tea, then glanced at Jin Shu's back as she sat on the steps, took two steps forward, and closed the main hall door.
Xiao Chen stood there, looking at Li Jin's face, and took a deep breath.
“I almost didn’t make it back to the palace.” His voice was much lower. “On the way back, I saw a force of at least two thousand men from a high vantage point. They were unarmored, lightly armed, and well-trained; they were definitely not ordinary people.”
He stepped forward and said, “I left a few spies behind, and then rode at full speed through the secret passage into the palace. When I met His Majesty, he was standing in the main hall, looking at the memorial in his hand.”
At that time, Emperor Li Yi of the Great Wei Dynasty sat imposingly on his dragon throne, glancing at Li Jing kneeling before him with a playful expression.
He didn't seem to be in a hurry. He just raised his eyebrows and looked at the Second Prince for a long time before throwing the memorial in his hand to the ground.
Time passed slowly, and Xiao Chen, standing at the palace gate, was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.
Not far from the palace was a troop of two thousand men, while the Imperial Guards inside the palace numbered only eight hundred at most.
He paced back and forth, listening to the intelligence reports from his scouts, calculating the most critical timeframe.
“But it’s just strange.” He picked up his tea and moistened his throat. “His Majesty was a warlord who led troops into battle and dominated the battlefield. It’s impossible that he couldn’t understand military coded language.”
“I stood at the door and repeatedly called out ‘military emergency,’ telling His Majesty not to ask any more questions and to leave through the secret passage immediately.” At this point, Xiao Chen paused for a moment, then shook his head. “I’m sure he saw it and understood it. But his expression didn’t change at all; he neither responded nor left.”
"After that, Consort Shu and that...that eldest daughter of the Grand Tutor's family came to see him one after the other." Xiao Chen pursed his lips. "At this time, His Majesty actually summoned the two of them instead of me."
"I was surprised and tried to rush in several times. Until I heard the Grand Tutor's eldest daughter kneeling on the ground, saying that the Crown Prince's rebellion had been planned for a long time."
These words awakened Xiao Chen at that time.
He stood there, stunned, staring blankly at the appearance of the main hall.
At the time, he didn't believe that the eldest prince, whom he called a "soft target" and who would respond with a smile, could actually do such a shocking thing.
The armor that was transported was real, and the two thousand men outside the palace were also real.
He gripped the hilt of his sword with one hand, pursed his lips, and glanced at Li Yi, who remained expressionless and silent.
He turned and left.
He had made up his mind. Even if there were only eight hundred men, a desperate battle that would stain the palace with blood would be enough to buy Li Yi time to evacuate.
In that instant, he never thought about going back alive.
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