Chapter 153 Drawing a Line
The moon is bright and the stars are sparse, and everything is quiet.
"I was careless." Li Jincheng said, "I thought I could get rid of Li Zhaonian in the spring search, but he sprained his foot and escaped."
Marquis Xuanping on the side said nothing.
Li Jincheng originally planned with Marquis Xuanping to eliminate the fourth prince Li Zhaonian during the spring search. This was the person Li Jincheng considered his biggest rival.
Many ministers in the court disliked his way of doing things and preferred Li Zhaonian, who was open-minded and benevolent. Emperor Tongxu's preference for Li Zhaonian also made him wary.
I didn't expect that after planning for a long time, it would all end in vain.
"Uncle, do you think he was lucky? Or did he have a premonition?" Li Jincheng personally poured tea for Marquis Xuanping.
Xuan Ping Hou took the tea and said, "Prince, now is not the time to think about this. If it hadn't rained today, I'm afraid we would have been destroyed."
Li Jincheng nodded, "The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. I was careless. I didn't expect there would be another group of people. Who arranged this group of people?"
He murmured his analysis, "Old Four is the smartest. He didn't go into the mountains because he sprained his foot, maybe not just to keep himself out of trouble. And Old Nine, he has been stupid for more than 20 years. He can't become smart overnight and figure out how to plan, right?"
Xuanping Hou shook his head. "Not necessarily. Your Highness, don't forget that he has Xie Tingzhou by his side. Back then, Xie Tingzhou rode his horse and drove the northern barbarians hundreds of miles away. He was such an unparalleled young man. Although his martial arts skills are useless, his brain is not useless. Such a person should not be underestimated even if he is useless. Otherwise, why would Your Majesty detain him in the capital at this moment?"
"Father knows that he is dying." Li Jincheng said solemnly, "He is worried that I won't be able to control Beilin after he leaves, so he detained Xie Tingzhou here to pave the way for me."
"Such a person may be able to teach a fool, so we'd better be vigilant." After saying this, Marquis Xuanping took a sip of tea.
Li Jincheng snorted coldly, "It's not impossible for Old Seven to deal with today's incident."
Xuan Pinghou's eyes moved, "What do you mean? Didn't he also encounter an assassin?"
"Who knows if he was intentionally injured in order to clear himself of suspicion? If that's the case, someone who can be so cruel to himself would be willing to sacrifice anything."
Li Jincheng added: "None of my brothers are simple. When the imperial power changes, all kinds of demons and monsters will surface."
After the night talk, Marquis Xuanping walked out of the tent, put on his cloak and walked towards his own tent.
Li Yanchang was sitting alone in the tent when someone lifted the curtain and came in.
Li Yanchang raised his eyelids and asked, "Why are you here so late?"
"I can't leave." The man, dressed in black, sat down and said, "Let's get to the point. What happened to you today?"
"It's almost there, just a little bit.
It succeeded, but unexpectedly, a timely rain came and saved Li Jincheng from the disaster. "A trace of gloom flashed across Li Yanchang's face.
The man in black said, "You reacted quickly and stabbed yourself twice, but you were too ruthless."
"None of them are life-threatening." Li Yanchang said nonchalantly, "You have to act more genuinely, otherwise no one will believe you."
He changed the subject and said, "Pei Chunli seems to be close to Shi Shiyu, but it seems that he may not know that she is a woman."
"Woman?" the man in black asked in surprise.
"That's right."
"Since you knew she was a woman, why didn't you expose her on the spot?"
Li Yanchang said calmly, "Let's play the long game and catch the big fish. What's the point of exposing her now? It can only show that she is respectable and admirable as a woman on the battlefield. If I hold her accountable, Li Jincheng can use this as an excuse to say that my hostility towards her stems from her saving the prince. But when she returns from suppressing the bandits, it will be different. If she is promoted as an official in the court, wouldn't it be better to punish her for deceiving the emperor? I can also charge her with ulterior motives and force Xie to stop the boat and launch it."
"Besides..." Li Yanchang used the lid of the cup to skim off the foam, "Qi Chang's matter has been delayed for too long, and it is inevitable that there will be more trouble. It is just right for her to go and destroy the evidence for us."
The man in black's cloak covered his eyes, leaving only his nose and chin exposed. He pondered for a moment and said, "I'm still worried about someone who's not one of us going. What if she notices something..."
"You are being too cautious," Li Yanchang smiled conceitedly, "Ge Liangji has died with the secret, and now my father is hoping that this matter will end here. Besides, who would think of the food and grass?"
"It's better to be cautious." The man in black said seriously: "I will send people to Qichang. If they find any problems, they will not let Shi Yu return to Beijing alive."
…
The maid came in and changed the water twice before Shen Yu washed off the bloody smell on her body.
Chen Yu waited in the tent for a long time, and had prepared a speech in her mind, but Xie Tingzhou still didn't come back.
As he walked out of the tent, the guard on duty at the door immediately saluted, "Sir."
Shen Yu was stunned for a moment before she realized that she was now an official appointed by the imperial court.
The guard asked, "Are you looking for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"
Chen Yu nodded, "Yes, where are the others?"
The two guards looked at each other and said, "The prince is not feeling well. I have informed His Majesty that he will return to the capital tonight."
Shen Yu was stunned on the spot.
He was fine before and had no discomfort at all. It was just an excuse to return to Beijing.
Was she serious about what she said in the tent, that she had succumbed to the Beilin Palace?
He wasn't mean to her nor did he scold her. He didn't even want to hear her explanation and left in a hurry overnight. Did he mean to draw a clear line between them?
Chen Yu's throat choked
, lifted the curtain and entered the tent.
The two guards were just about to have a secret chat when they saw the door curtain opened again and she had a horsewhip in her hand.
Chen Yu gritted her teeth. She would not let things go like this. Even if she had to draw a clear line, she would ask her face to face.
Li Yanchang sent the man in black away and stood in front of the tent to enjoy the breeze to refresh himself.
"Huh?" He looked intently and shouted, "Shi Yu."
Chen Yu was leading the horse, she was going to go back to Beijing to find Xie Tingzhou overnight.
She turned her head and looked, "Seventh Prince."
Li Yanchang's injuries were all on his upper body, but his legs and feet were still quite agile. He took a few steps forward and said, "Maybe I should call you Master Shi from now on."
Chen Yu said calmly: "I am just doing things for His Majesty. If the Seventh Prince is fine and Shi Yu has something important to do, then - "
"Hey..." Li Yanchang interrupted her with a long tone, "It's just a few words, why are you so anxious?"
Shen Yu pursed her lips, "Seventh Prince, please speak directly if you have anything to say."
Li Yanchang smiled softly, "Why don't you come closer? I think some things should be said quietly."
Shen Yu frowned, but she was not afraid at all. Li Yanchang's kung fu was no match for her at all.
She walked closer, leading the horse. "Go ahead."
"Quick and straightforward." Li Yanchang clapped his hands, "I just want to express my admiration to Master Shi. After all, it is not something that everyone can do as a girl on the battlefield."
Chen Yu's eyes narrowed suddenly, and her thumb had already pushed the knife at her waist half an inch out.
Li Yanchang saw the warning in her eyes, glanced at her hand holding the knife, smiled and said, "You misunderstood. If I wanted to expose you, I would have exposed you in the palace long ago. Why would I confront you now? You may not believe me when I tell you this, but I have no ill intentions."
Chen Yu asked, "What do you want?"
"No request." Li Yanchang said, "It's easier to get things done with someone in the court. If the prince of Beilin can't be trusted one day, you can follow me."
Chen Yu climbed onto the horse, lowered her eyes to look at him, curled her lips, and then said nothing.
The sound of horse hooves rang out, and the dashing figure shuttled between the tents and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
"This person is so unruly."
Li Yanchang said without even turning his head: "She is so stubborn. You can see a lot of pride in her. This kind of temper is really to my liking. I just took a closer look and found that her facial features are really beautiful, especially her eyes. It's a pity that she is painted too dark. I wonder what she would look like if she changed into women's clothes."
The guard thought for a moment and said, "The sword dance under the moon that night was indeed beautiful."
Li Yanchang tilted his head and said, "I asked you to do something, and you still have time to look at beauties."
The guard knelt down quickly and said, "I only caught a glimpse of her at the time, and I still remember it clearly."
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