Chapter 556 Success or failure hinges on this one move
A long, dull yet peaceful silence fell over the room.
After an unknown amount of time, Shen Wuzheng sighed softly and said, "It seems we underestimated them. This person acted cleanly and decisively, unlike someone who does this for the first time."
"..."
"But what's most terrifying isn't this person's methods."
Yuwen Ye looked at him but remained silent. Pei Xingyuan, however, asked in confusion, "Isn't this scary? I almost lost my life at this person's hands today. What could be more frightening than this?"
Shen Wuzheng smiled and shook his head.
Then he said, "What's even more terrifying is that there's someone like this right next to us, but we've never noticed."
"...!?"
Pei Xingyuan suddenly opened his eyes wide.
Yuwen Ye's eyes flickered slightly, and after thinking for a moment, he said, "Brother Fuming means that a wise man should act as if he were an awl in a bag, and its tip would be revealed immediately."
Shen Wuzheng nodded.
Pei Xingyuan blinked, thought for a while, and then suddenly realized: "That's right, if such a powerful person really existed, how could he have been completely unknown in the past?"
Shen Wuzheng said, "Even Shan Tong'er—such a small child—was able to be called by name and know his background when Feng Chen went to Wanggang Village."
"..."
"This person's methods and wisdom have caused us far more trouble than Wanggangzhai, yet we have never known of his existence, and there has never been such a person's name among the common people."
"..."
"This person is like, it seems—"
He frowned slightly, as if carefully choosing his words.
At this moment, Shang Ruyi, who had been silent all along, suddenly said, "It's as if God threw it into this world out of thin air."
"...!"
Upon hearing this, the three men were all taken aback.
Yuwen Ye, in particular, seemed completely taken aback by Shang Ruyi's sudden remark and looked at her in surprise. Shen Wuzheng thought for a moment and then slowly said, "That's exactly right."
"..."
"This person's knowledge and abilities far surpass those of ordinary people."
"..."
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi's gaze deepened, her lips pressed into a thin line, and she remained silent.
The room fell into an almost oppressive silence once again.
However, Pei Xingyuan immediately broke the silence. He slammed his hand on the table, forgetting his injury. He grimaced in pain, his eyes red, but he still showed a disdainful expression and said, "So what if you're better than an ordinary person?"
"..."
Are we ordinary people?
"..."
"That person went to so much trouble to try and kill me, but he didn't succeed, did he?"
At this point, he seemed to remember something, turned to look at Yuwen Ye, and said, "By the way, tonight Jin Daji sent people to block our way the whole way, just to prevent me from playing any tricks and having my men follow us. So how did you find that place? And how did you get here so quickly?"
Yuwen Ye glanced at him and said, "Wanghuo Tower."
"ah?"
Upon hearing this, Pei Xingyuan's eyes lit up immediately, and he asked, "The watchtower next to the metropolitan city?"
Yuwen Ye nodded.
The fire lookout tower was a tall building built outside the four most prosperous wards in Daxing City. Although it was called a tower, it was actually just a simple wooden tower. Its height was almost the same as the city wall. Standing on it, one could overlook a large area of the wards. Once a fire broke out in one of the wards, it could be discovered immediately, and the location could be roughly determined before going to put out the fire.
One of the two watchtowers in the eastern part of the city was built in the northwest corner of the metropolitan area.
After realizing he had lost track of Pei Xingyuan, Yuwen Ye did not force his way in. After all, doing so might not be enough to catch up with him, and alerting him might only provoke him into a desperate act.
He said, "When I arrived at the watchtower, I saw the firelight over there."
"..."
"I estimated the location and immediately led my men there."
As he spoke, he glanced at Pei Xingyuan, his eyes flickering slightly, and said in a deep voice, "Fortunately, you bought yourself some time."
"..."
"Otherwise—I really might not be able to make it in time."
Upon hearing this, Pei Xingyuan couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.
Indeed, if he hadn't risked his life to lure Jin Daji forward with the thousand taels of silver, then grabbed his arm tightly, threatening to die with him, forcing him to order the flames to be extinguished, and then to wait until he was rescued before attacking him, thus buying time for Yuwen Ye to arrive, he might have really met with misfortune tonight.
Pei Xingyuan was still shaken, but he immediately smiled and said, "Good brother, you're the most reliable one."
"..."
Yuwen Ye did not speak immediately, but remained silent for a while before looking at him and saying, "Xingyuan, tonight, you saved yourself!"
Pei Xingyuan immediately became somewhat smug, shook his head and smiled, then looked at Shen Wuzheng and said, "See? I told you, the other party is stronger than ordinary people, but are we ordinary people?"
"..."
"He tried everything to kill me but couldn't, let alone the group of us combined."
"..."
"Furthermore, even if the other party could predict the future—or even be omniscient and omnipotent—could he possibly figure out what we're thinking? I doubt it. Otherwise, if he wanted to kill me, he wouldn't need to be so meticulous in his actions."
"..."
"So, as I said before, as long as we think more deeply than the other side, they can't do anything to us, let alone beat us!"
"..."
"Feng Chen, what do you think?"
"..."
Yuwen Ye didn't answer him, but just glanced at him, then slowly stood up, walked to the other side of the room, and pushed open the window.
Suddenly, a refreshing breeze blew into the room, instantly dispelling the anxiety that had just begun to rise. Not only Shang Ruyi and Shen Wuzheng, but even Pei Xingyuan, who had inhaled a lot of smoke and felt a tightness in his chest, felt a sense of relief and let out a soft sigh.
So comfortable!
Looking up again, the once pitch-black sky was now faintly tinged with the pale light of dawn.
It was almost dawn.
It was only then that Pei Xingyuan realized that they had been up all night—which was not surprising, since he arrived at the north gate of the metropolis at midnight, then went through a life-or-death ordeal, and was brought here. Yuwen Ye then dealt with those people, so it was almost dawn by now.
On the dimly lit streets, horse-drawn carriages began to appear, and the sound of hooves and wheels rolling over the ground gradually broke the silence that had settled over the long night.
Normally at this time, court officials would be going to the palace for the morning court session. However, although the morning court session has been cancelled, Yuwen Yuan had already ordered on the first day of the plague outbreak that he would rise early every day to sit and work in Chengqing Hall. It was at this time that these officials would rush to the palace to assist in government affairs.
Yuwen Ye slowly turned around and looked at the three people in the room.
The deep night behind him, and the faint morning light that even the deepest night could not obscure, made his tall figure even clearer. Even clearer were his eyes, which never panicked and became even calmer in the midst of chaos.
He said, "Of course."
As he spoke, he lowered his eyelids slightly, his long eyelashes covering his piercing, restrained eyes, revealing only a glimmer of light. He said, "After tonight, I actually think that this person might really be able to predict the future, but—"
Shang Ruyi asked, "How is it?"
Yuwen Ye said, "Knowledge and wisdom are two different things."
Upon hearing this, a glint of light flashed in Shen Wuzheng's eyes, and after a long while, he nodded slightly.
Pei Xingyuan, however, clearly didn't understand their meaning. He looked at Yuwen Ye, then at Shen Wuzheng, and said somewhat anxiously, "What do you mean? What do you two mean? Explain yourself!"
Yuwen Ye pursed his lips but ignored him, instead saying to Shang Ruyi, "It's about time, let's go."
Shang Ruyi nodded and immediately stood up.
Unlike the "heartless" Yuwen Ye and Shen Wuzheng, she stood up and said to Pei Xingyuan, who was a little angry at being neglected, "Young Master Pei, you should rest here and recover from your injuries. We will send someone to talk to Master Pei."
Although Pei Xingyuan was somewhat dissatisfied, he could only nod when he heard her say that.
Shang Ruyi looked up at Shen Wuzheng again: "Brother, then you—"
Shen Wuzheng said, "I have neither an official position nor any special favors, so I will not go to the palace with you. I will stay here to take care of Xingyuan."
Originally looking displeased, Pei Xingyuan immediately laughed upon hearing this, saying, "At least you have a conscience."
Shen Wuzheng shook his head, then looked at Yuwen Ye, his expression even more solemn than before, and said, "The success or failure of our recent plans hinges on this one move—you, be careful!"
Yuwen Ye nodded: "Yes."
After saying that, he turned and left the room with Shang Ruyi.
A moment later, the sound of a carriage leaving echoed downstairs. Shen Wuzheng walked to the window and watched their carriage grow farther and farther away until it disappeared at the end of the still dark street.
He sighed softly and turned around.
Pei Xingyuan slowly stood up and stretched, but this aggravated several bruises on his body, causing him to grimace in pain. Shen Wuzheng walked back to his side and asked, "Do you want to call another doctor to take a look, or—"
Pei Xingyuan immediately waved his hand: "Let's talk about it later. I need to sleep for a while. I've been tossing and turning all night, and my eyelids are so heavy I can barely keep them open."
Shen Wuzheng smiled and shook his head, then helped him to the bedside to lie down, and pulled the blanket over him.
Pei Xingyuan smiled and said, "I didn't expect you to care about me so much."
Shen Wuzheng tucked the blanket around him and then said, "By the way, remember to make up for the five hundred taels of silver notes that you burned for Ruyi last night."
"ah?"
Pei Xingyuan's screams immediately echoed through the room—
"Five hundred taels! You want me to make up the difference? I'm already five hundred taels short of my own!"
"I don't care if you burn your own things, but if you burn Ruyi's, you have to pay for it."
"You're so heartless..."
As the two complained and argued, dawn broke, and the streets that had been silent all night gradually revealed their bright outlines in the morning light. When the first ray of sunlight shone on the Daxing Imperial Palace, the city gates, which had been tightly closed, suddenly opened.
A rider galloped in, stirring up the already tense morning in Daxing City.
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