Another pursuit
"I..." Tang Feng lowered his head, remaining silent for a long time. Looking at the guest list in his hand, he slowly said, "Ziliang, I can't do it." Zhou Ziliang sighed, sat down beside Tang Feng's bed, and said softly, "I'm not forcing you to kill him, nor am I asking you to make any difficult decisions. I just want to say that nothing else matters. Whether Han Jiuhua assassinated you or Liu Liu was mistakenly killed, this matter won't be over until you've come to terms with it. Xiao Feng, don't you understand?" Tang Feng sat up, closed the list, and handed it to Zhou Ziliang. "Although it's confirmed... Han Jiuhua is Xu Fengyan, but..." Tang Feng covered his eyes and gave a bitter smile, "But... they also said that a portion of the people were involved in the murder, right? That means it wasn't just Xu Fengyan who assassinated me, and it wasn't necessarily him who killed Liu Liu, right?" Zhou Ziliang looked at Tang Feng and shook his head helplessly. He knew he couldn't persuade him. Tang Feng was too rational. He knew exactly what he wanted to do, so no one around him could sway his thoughts. Tang Feng looked at Zhou Ziliang, grabbing his sleeves with both hands. "If he didn't kill Liu Liu, I want to let him go." Zhou Ziliang hugged Tang Feng and nodded. "Okay, it's up to you. I believe your choice is the wisest." After hearing this, Tang Feng snuggled closer to Zhou Ziliang, wiping away the tears from the corners of his eyes, and choked out, "I just don't want my benefactor to become my enemy. What did I see back then? Why did they do this to me? What... what did I do wrong?" Zhou Ziliang didn't know how to comfort him. Over the years, Tang Feng had experienced quite a lot, but this was the first time Zhou Ziliang had seen him complain so helplessly. Since Tang Feng fell from his horse, when Zhou Ziliang saw him again, he was no longer the person who used to follow him around crying. He had become decisive, intelligent, and responsible. Zhou Ziliang had once believed that this was how he was supposed to be—even when he was seriously ill, he was still the Grand Tutor, strategizing and stirring up trouble behind Li Yunyu. Now, seeing Tang Feng like this, Zhou Ziliang almost forgot that his beloved son was only twenty-six years old this year.
Tang Feng, exhausted from crying in Zhou Ziliang's arms, realized his outburst and whispered, "I'm sorry, Ziliang. I don't know what happened to me. It's good that you helped me find the murderer; I shouldn't have acted like this." Zhou Ziliang sighed, took Tang Feng's hand, and gently kissed his forehead. "I know everything. No need to explain. I believe you can handle Han Jiuhua's matter." Tang Feng shook his head and smiled bitterly, "I can't weigh the pros and cons of this matter. Now I can only hope that the person who acted on the 29th of the lunar year wasn't Han Jiuhua." Zhou Ziliang, wanting to cheer Tang Feng up, beckoned a servant and instructed them to go to Liufuji to buy pastries. "Xiao Feng, didn't you want to eat at Liufuji before going to the palace? Tell them what you want to eat so we can go buy it." Tang Feng, shy and concerned about his image, tried to break free but Zhou Ziliang held him even tighter. He buried his face in Zhou Ziliang's chest and mumbled, "Anything is fine, anything is fine."
After returning to her residence, Rong Ji flew into a rage, smashing everything on her dressing table to the ground. The palace maid beside her was so frightened that she knelt on the ground, too afraid to speak. After Rong Ji had vented her anger and calmed down, she gasped and said, "Go! Go and summon the Fourth Prince! If this isn't dealt with, Tang Feng will cause chaos!" Rong Ji never imagined that the Empress Dowager would go to such lengths for Tang Feng. Fang Lu was also taken away by the Empress Dowager to protect herself. However, Rong Ji knew in her heart that the Empress Dowager was making an example of her, probably giving her a way out because she was the birth mother of a prince, and also because Fang Lu took the blame for her. Li Yunheng arrived quickly, probably having overheard some rumors at the imperial mausoleum. He rushed straight to Rong Ji's side. "Mother," Li Yunheng greeted her upon entering, seeing the room in disarray. He didn't say much, simply bowing and saying, "Sit down." Rong Ji, no longer as furious as before, sat down at the table and sighed, "Tang Feng is becoming increasingly unreasonable. That Mid-Autumn Festival, when he came to the palace, I invited him to admire the flowers together. I could tell then that this kid was no ordinary person, too cunning. Now look what's happened..." "He hasn't succeeded even once. No matter how capable Zhou Ziliang is, does he think he'll be by Tang Feng's side all the time?!" Rong Ji said angrily, slamming her hand on the table, making the teacups clatter. "Mother, please calm down. Tang Feng is indeed becoming increasingly lawless. During the spring hunt, an arrow pierced his chest. I thought he wouldn't survive, but who knew the Empress Dowager would intervene halfway through?" Li Yunheng sighed and continued, "Xu Chang'an gave us a secret report saying that Tang Feng originally intended to assist Li Yunyu..." We knew that too, but we hadn't paid much attention. Everyone in the court knew Yunyu was out of favor, but after returning from Wanliang, the Emperor personally bestowed upon him the title of Prince, and all the civil and military officials began to curry favor with him. There's just one thing I don't understand: Tang Feng went to great lengths to make Li Yunyu a Prince, yet the two of them fell apart due to discord. We heard from Li Yunye's servants that Tang Feng was wounded by the Ninth Prince's arrow…” Rong Ji turned her head, her eyebrows slightly raised. “That arrow that Tang Feng shot was…” "Nine shots?" Seeing Li Yunheng nod, Rong Ji chuckled, "Tang Feng is a ruthless man. He'll stop at nothing to achieve his goals. Tang Feng is putting on an act for Li Yunye, isn't he? As fellow contenders for the throne, Li Yunye can't amount to anything without Tang Feng, so he won't easily break ties with him. Tang Feng's behavior in front of Li Yunye is probably an attempt to incite him to ruin his own future." Li Yunheng frowned and slammed his teacup heavily on the table. "This Tang Feng, if he's not killed..." "Alright. Whether it's overhearing your conversation with the spy Pu Yuan, or everything he's doing now, Tang Feng can't stay any longer. Even if his body is on its last legs, we can't wait any longer. Tang Feng is like an autumn tiger now; even if he has only one breath left, his bite will still draw blood." Rong Ji pondered for a moment, clearly showing some concern. "Today, the Empress Dowager stood up for Tang Feng at the Imperial Mausoleum, declaring she would investigate the matter of the Sixteen Riders of Yanshan. I know the Empress Dowager killed Fang Lu to save face for me, and also to warn me not to make any moves on Tang Feng. But Tang Feng has also seen through it; he will still carry it out privately. If Pu Yuan's matter is exposed, even if you are a prince, Emperor Yun will execute my mother and me!" "Mother! Mother, calm down." Li Yunheng patted Rong Ji's hand, then continued, "Then let's sacrifice the small to save the big, throw out the scapegoat, and let Tang Feng investigate thoroughly." Rong Ji looked up, roughly understanding Li Yunheng's meaning. "You mean let Xu Fengyan take the blame?" "?" Li Yunheng nodded. "He failed in his assassination attempts time and again, letting Tang Feng go each time. Now, as a scapegoat, it's not a loss. Let him try again. I believe someone as shrewd as Tang Feng should have already guessed most of it. If he tries again, he'll only get caught. Using the Xu family as leverage, he probably won't dare to betray us. Besides, with Xu Fengyan dead, Tang Feng won't pursue this matter anymore. It will be much easier for us to hire someone to assassinate him again." Li Yunheng stood up and walked to the window, looking at the crabapple blossoms outside and sneered. "We should thank this Grand Tutor Tang. I was just worried about how to deal with my third brother! His arrival has actually helped me a lot. And judging from his health, I secretly asked the doctor, and he only has about a year left. If Li Yunye is brought down by him, and Tang Feng dies too, the throne will be mine! Mother, we'll just be the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind." Rong Ji nodded. "Then have Xu Fengyan come to see me now. I want to give him my personal orders."
Xu Fengyan was secretly summoned, and he already felt uneasy when he went. Xu Fengyan knew very well that this day would come sooner or later. Tang Feng's assassination attempt had lasted for ten years. If the earlier attempts were due to too many coincidences that prevented him from taking action, then the later attempts were due to his deep feelings preventing him from doing so. It was perfectly normal for Consort Rong to be dissatisfied with him. After entering Anqing Palace, Consort Rong sat in the main seat and drank tea. From her expression, there was no difference from usual. Xu Fengyan knelt down, cupped his hands, and said, "Xu Fengyan greets Consort Rong. May Your Majesty be well." "How many years have you been a member of the Sixteen Riders of Yanshan?" Rong Ji looked at Xu Fengyan kneeling on the ground and smiled slightly. "Replying to Your Majesty, it has been thirteen years." "Originally, I had Xu Chang'an bring you into the Sixteen Riders of Yanshan because I would need you in the future struggle for the throne. However, later, when Tang Feng witnessed my conversation with the envoy Pu Yuan, I had Xu Chang'an arrange for you to assassinate Tang Feng. More than ten years have passed, and not a single hair on Tang Feng's head has been harmed." Xu Fengyan, of course, understood Rong Ji's meaning. He lowered his head and bowed, saying, "This subordinate is incompetent. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
"Of course I can let you go, but Xu Fengyan, you know very well what Tang Feng is up to—assisting the prince, forming cliques, and building factions. Tang Feng isn't stupid. If this continues, I—we—will all be killed by Tang Feng. Of course, your Xu family too. Xu Chang'an and you—none of you will escape." Xu Fengyan knelt on the ground, biting his lip tightly. He didn't want Xu Chang'an to die because of him, but he could guess what Rong Ji wanted him to do. He said in a hoarse voice, "Your Majesty, I'll do whatever you want, but please don't touch the Xu family." "Go assassinate again?" Rong Ji stood up and walked to Xu Fengyan. "I don't ask you to succeed; I ask you to slip up." Then he was at Tang Feng's mercy, but even in death, the secret of this matter could only be taken to his grave. If even the slightest leak was made, the entire Xu family would be wiped out.” Xu Fengyan slowly closed his eyes, giving a bitter laugh. “Your Majesty, rest assured, Fengyan is but a worthless life, death is not a pity.” Xu Fengyan left Anqing Palace, leaned against the long palace wall, and slid down to the ground. His nose stung, and he wanted to cry, but so many years of training and assassination missions had rendered him unable to shed a single tear. Xu Fengyan suddenly didn't know where he should go, where his home was. Was it the Xu family mansion, which still refused to acknowledge him as a young master of the Xu family, or the Qinghui Fang, which worshipped him like a god, or perhaps the Yanshan Sixteen Riders, who spent their days with slaughter?
"You're out here so early, are you out of your mind?! Do you know how many people are watching you?! Tang Feng is about to find you!" Xu Chang'an immediately flew into a rage when he saw Xu Fengyan enter. Xu Fengyan was somewhat at a loss. He knew that Consort Rong had asked him to assassinate someone to protect him, and that he was doomed. So he wanted to see Xu Chang'an again, but he hadn't expected to come at the wrong time. After being scolded by Xu Chang'an, he stood at the door, too afraid to go in. "Come in!" Xu Chang'an beckoned him in and then asked, "What's the matter?" "Nothing... nothing, I just wanted to come to the Xu residence to see..." Xu Chang'an thought Xu Fengyan was thinking about joining the imperial clan again, and impatiently interrupted him, "Didn't I tell you about joining the imperial clan? Don't worry, I'm talking to my father. He will approve of you one day." Then, realizing his outburst, he slowly sat back down. "There were big changes in the palace today. Tang Feng didn't make things difficult for you at the imperial mausoleum, did he?" Xu Fengyan shook his head. "Don't worry, I won't... I won't betray you." "Of course you won't!" Xu Fengyan threw the pen in his hand into the pen holder. "But Tang Feng isn't stupid. Doesn't he want to investigate? Sigh, forget it. You're still too soft-hearted to do anything big. You should have had someone else kill Tang Feng back then. Go back. I'll try to manage things these next few days. Don't go near Tang Feng's nose for now." Although Xu Chang'an gave the order, Xu Fengyan didn't leave. Instead, he asked, "Young Master, can I ask you a question?" Xu Chang'an knew Xu Fengyan wasn't one to procrastinate and assumed there was something else. "Ask." "Why did you save me back then?" "No reason. I just felt Father shouldn't treat you like that." "Wasn't it because you wanted to place me in the Sixteen Riders of Yanshan?" Xu Chang'an laughed upon hearing this. "You're only six years old. What do you know? I just thought you'd die if you didn't eat, that's all."
Xu Fengyan looked up at Xu Chang'an after hearing this. This was probably the answer he wanted to hear. Xu Chang'an had saved him not out of exploitation, so he was already content. "Then... can I call you brother?" Xu Chang'an frowned, wondering what was wrong with Xu Fengyan today, why he was throwing a tantrum, but he didn't say anything. "Although Father doesn't acknowledge you, since you have my family's jade pendant, you can call me that. I'm fine with it."
"Brother... Fengyan wishes you a blessed marriage and continued success." Xu Fengyan then bowed to Xu Chang'an and was about to leave when Xu Chang'an, though confused, stopped him. "Go out through the main gate. Since you call me brother, you don't need to go out through the side gate."
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