Game Theory
Su Jing, accompanied by Shen Ruoqing, led a large entourage south, their banners fluttering and carriages billowing, deliberately creating the spectacle of an emperor's southern tour to attract Shen Ji's attention. Once the entourage reached Xuzhou and encamped, the bait had finally been caught.
As dusk settled, a guard in black slipped into the post station like a ghost, tossed a secret letter in front of Su Jing, and left only the words, "Prime Minister Shen invites Your Majesty to meet at the old inn south of the city," before disappearing into the night.
Su Jing held the note in his hand, his fingertips tracing the four characters "Old Inn in the South of the City," his eyes dark and brooding. This inn was the very place where Shen Ji and his daughter had stayed when they were trapped in Xuzhou due to the plague. It was ironic that Shen Ji had chosen this place.
"Prepare the carriage." Su Jing stood up, pulled Shen Ruoqing over, and gripped her wrist so tightly it hurt. "Take the Empress with you and come with me."
Shen Ruoqing was being dragged along by him, her eyes filled with fear and resistance, but due to the mute drug in her throat, she could only make hoarse sounds. Su Jing glanced at her, his tone icy: "Don't want to go? It's not up to you."
The old inn south of Xuzhou City remains unchanged from years ago, its wooden buildings weathered and its old lanterns swaying in the evening breeze. When Su Jing led Shen Ruoqing into the inn, the hall was empty except for a strategist in a blue robe sitting at a table with a pot of cold tea in front of him.
"Your Majesty has come from afar, and Prime Minister Shen is busy with affairs, so he specially ordered me to come and report." The strategist stood up and bowed, but his gaze was fixed on Shen Ruoqing. "Prime Minister Shen is concerned about his beloved daughter, so he specially ordered me to take the Empress's pulse to confirm that the imperial fetus is safe and sound."
Su Jing raised an eyebrow and slowly pushed Shen Ruoqing to the table, his tone carrying a hint of feigned gentleness: "My cousin's health is precious, so I'm sorry to trouble you, sir."
The strategist felt Shen Ruoqing's pulse, and as soon as his fingertips touched her wrist, he frowned—it was indeed a sign of pregnancy.
Little did he know that Su Jing had already ordered someone to give Shen Ruoqing a drug to fake her pregnancy, and her pulse was a complete fabrication.
"Since the Empress is pregnant with the Emperor's child, why is she still covering her face with a veil?" The strategist raised his eyes, his gaze scrutinizing. "I need to confirm the Empress's condition with my own eyes before I can report back to Prime Minister Shen."
Upon hearing this, Su Jing slowly raised his hand and lifted Shen Ruoqing's mask, revealing only half her face before quickly lowering it. His tone carried just the right amount of concern: "My cousin recently caught a cold, and her voice is hoarse. She covered her face with a veil so as not to disturb you, sir." He then changed the subject, looking at the strategist, "Uncle, why are you pressing me so relentlessly? Now that Chu Yiran is dead, Ruoqing has become my empress and is pregnant with my child. We can just wait for you to return to court, and then our family will be reunited."
These words, though seemingly gentle, carried a hint of sincerity, causing even the strategist, with his meticulous mind, to hesitate. After a moment's thought, he finally rose and said, "I will truthfully report what Your Majesty has said to Prime Minister Shen. However, Prime Minister Shen has instructed Your Majesty not to act rashly."
"Of course." Su Jing smiled and nodded, ordered people to prepare generous gifts, and personally saw the strategist out the door, his attitude impeccably respectful.
As soon as the strategist disappeared into the alley, Su Jing's smile vanished instantly. He gave Huo Yan a wink: "Follow him and make sure to find out where Shen Ji is."
Huo Yan accepted the order and quietly gave chase with several guards. Inside the inn, Su Jing grabbed Shen Ruoqing's chin, forcing her to look up at him, his eyes icy: "Do you think your father will come to save you?"
Shen Ruoqing's eyes were bloodshot, and tears streamed down her face, but she couldn't utter a single sound of crying.
“Oh, I forgot…” Su Jing released his grip, his tone utterly cruel, “You can’t speak.” He leaned down and said, word by word, “I guess he won’t.”
Su Jingtai understood Shen Ji. That old fox was cunning and calculating, valuing power above all else. He would never easily expose his whereabouts for the sake of a daughter. His act was merely a way to temporarily appease Shen Ji and buy himself time to mobilize his troops.
The battle in Mobei resulted in the loss of 30,000 elite troops. Shen Ji, having gained a decisive advantage in the Jiangnan region, was also using the name of Su Qi's former subordinates to incite popular sentiment. A direct confrontation at this point would be tantamount to throwing an egg against a rock. Only by proceeding cautiously step by step and employing unconventional tactics could the tide be turned.
As Su Jing had expected, Shen Ji's reply arrived at the post station three days later. The letter was "earnest" in its wording, stating that the rebellion in Jiangnan was not yet quelled and that he needed to stay to "assist" Su Jing in stabilizing the situation. He would return to the capital immediately after Shen Ruoqing gave birth to a prince.
"What a fine 'assistant'!" Su Jing threw the letter in front of Shen Ruoqing and sneered, "Your father has abandoned you too."
Huo Yan gritted his teeth in anger: "That old fox is so cunning!"
A ruthless glint flashed in Su Jing's eyes: "If he wants to drag this out, I'll drag it out with him. But how we do it is not up to him."
In terms of cunning, how did Shen Ji outmaneuver Su Jing? Su Jing had been navigating the inner palace since childhood, and even as a hostage in Northern Qi, he had endured hardship and humiliation. Shen Ji's cunning and scheming as a businessman paled in comparison to Su Jing's.
In the months that followed, Su Jing pretended to be dealing with Shen Ji from afar, frequently sending news of Shen Ruoqing's "safe pregnancy," while secretly dispatching Huo Yan to contact loyal and former subordinates in various prefectures and counties in Jiangnan, laying a trap.
For more than half a year, Su Jing pretended to be deeply in love with the Empress and indulging in the beauty of Jiangnan. He even put a fake pregnancy on Shen Ruoqing and paraded her around the city every day. At the same time, Huo Yan was also secretly causing riots in various prefectures and counties of Jiangnan. If this continued, Su Qi's old troops would not be able to withstand such attrition.
Su Jing had already sent people to find out that Shen Ji was in Jinling. Every time he dealt with Shen Ji remotely, he always put on a respectful demeanor, and even sent gold, silver and rare treasures to Shen Ji from time to time. In his secret letters, he addressed Shen Ji as "uncle" in a very affectionate manner. As time went by, Shen Ji became more and more relaxed and even dispersed his main forces to various prefectures and counties to suppress the "rebels," while he himself retreated to the Prime Minister's residence in Jinling, waiting for Shen Ruoqing to give birth to a prince so that he could seize power legitimately.
When the time was ripe, Su Jing finally threw out the last bait—he wrote a letter on the grounds that Shen Ruoqing had suffered a "difficult childbirth and postpartum hemorrhage," and earnestly asked Shen Ji to leave the city to see his daughter.
Upon receiving the letter, Shen Ji was indeed filled with suspicion. He only sent his men back and forth to probe, while keeping the gates of Jinling tightly closed and refusing to step out.
Su Jing had anticipated this, so he immediately changed into a plain brocade robe, personally drove a simple carriage, and came alone to the city of Jinling. He stood in front of the carriage, facing the city wall, and wept bitterly, his voice hoarse and almost broken: "Uncle! Ruoqing is dying! She was still calling for you when she was about to give birth, how can you bear to let her leave with such regrets?"
Before the words were finished, a woman's shrill scream came from inside the carriage. Her cries of "Father!" were lingering and mournful, and it was Shen Ruoqing's voice—which Su Jing had found to imitate the voice of a woman skilled in ventriloquism in Xuzhou City, and it was so realistic that it could be mistaken for the real thing.
Seeing Su Jing's disheveled and weeping state on the city wall, and hearing his daughter's heart-wrenching cries from inside the carriage, Shen Ji finally couldn't bear it. Though ruthless, he ultimately cherished his only daughter. After much hesitation, he finally shouted down towards the city gates, "Open the city gates!"
The heavy gates of Jinling slowly opened, revealing a gap just wide enough for a carriage to pass through. The sorrow in Su Jing's eyes vanished instantly, replaced by a chilling killing intent. He abruptly lifted the carriage curtain, and several fully armed guards rushed out, brandishing sharp blades and charging straight at the gate guards.
Outside the city gate, Huo Yan had already led tens of thousands of elite cavalry to line up and wait. The moment the city gate opened, the cavalry surged in like a tide, and the shouts of battle instantly resounded throughout Jinling City.
Standing on the city wall, Shen Ji stared at the sudden turn of events, his eyes wide with shock: "Su Jing! You dare to lie to me!"
"All's fair in war, Uncle." Su Jing stepped into the city with his sword drawn, his gaze turning coldly to Shen Ji on the city wall. "This is the lesson you taught me."
Caught off guard, the rebel army in Jinling was routed by Su Jing's forces. Shen Ji's personal guards desperately protected him as he fled towards the Prime Minister's residence, only to find it already surrounded by Huo Yan and his men. After a fierce battle, all of Shen Ji's guards were annihilated, and Shen Ji himself was cut down from his horse by Huo Yan and captured in a sorry state.
When Shen Ji was brought before Su Jing, looking at Su Jing sitting upright in the hall, and then at Shen Ruoqing who was pale as a ghost beside him, he finally realized that he had been deceived by Su Jing from beginning to end.
"Su Jing! How cruel you are!" Shen Ji collapsed to the ground, roaring with eyes wide open in fury.
Su Jing slowly walked down the steps, looking down at him with a calm but chilling tone: "Ruthless? What my uncle taught me was much more ruthless." He raised his hand, signaling the soldiers to drag Shen Ji away, "Put him in the prison cart and take him back to Yanjing with me. In front of the entire court, I will settle your case for treason."
Shen Ji's curses were muffled in the prison cart and gradually faded into the distance. Su Jing turned to look at Shen Ruoqing, who had already collapsed to the ground, her eyes filled with despair.
"Guards," Su Jing said calmly, "take her away and lock her up with Shen Ji."
After the soldiers took Shen Ji and Shen Ruoqing away, Huo Yan walked in carrying a child. The child was wearing a yellow dragon robe, which seemed very out of place. His little face was dirty, but his eyes were bright and black, like a frightened fawn. He timidly shrank into Huo Yan's arms, clutching Huo Yan's clothes and not daring to let go.
"Your Majesty, this is Su Zhi, Su Qi's son," Huo Yan reported in a low voice, his tone tinged with complexity.
Su Jing's gaze fell on the child, his eyes darkening. He slowly stepped forward, looking down at the child, his voice low: "You are Su Zhi?"
The child flinched under his gaze, clutching his clothes even tighter. He could barely speak, only nodding slightly and replying softly, "I... I'm called Su Zhi, and I'm three years old."
“Three years old…” Su Jing repeated softly, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing his palm, a layer of barely perceptible bitterness creeping into his voice, “So it’s been three years since I ascended the throne.”
He paused, his gaze drifting to the deep twilight outside the tent, his voice as soft as a sigh: "So, it's been almost a year since A-Ran left?"
The tent was silent. Huo Yan hung his head, not daring to speak.
Chu Yiran's "soul" hung to the side, and upon hearing these words, he felt a sense of disorientation. Time had passed so quickly, so quickly that he had forgotten that almost a year had gone by since his death.
Su Zhi blinked his dark, bright eyes, timidly looked up at Su Jing, his little brows furrowed: "Who are you?"
Su Jing's gaze returned to the child, his eyes devoid of any warmth, and he said, word by word, "I am your father's killer."
The child blinked blankly, clearly not understanding the meaning of the words "father's killer." He just looked at Su Jing's cold expression, shrank further into Huo Yan's arms, and pursed his little mouth tightly, not daring to speak again.
Looking at his bewildered and ignorant appearance, Su Jing suddenly chuckled, his laughter carrying a hint of mockery and an inexplicable sense of melancholy. He turned to Huo Yan, his tone as indifferent as if he were instructing someone on something trivial: "Take him back to Yanjing as well."
Huo Yan was slightly taken aback, then bowed and accepted the order: "Yes, Your Majesty."
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