20demayo Chapter 489 Each Serves Their Own Master, Ultimately a Discarded Pawn
Chapter 489 Each Serves Their Own Master, Ultimately a Discarded Pawn
When you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares into you.
Huh? While you're investigating others, they're also investigating you.
Qiu Cheng had recently felt like he was being watched, but that feeling disappeared after he entered the Hanlin Academy.
That means that the person keeping an eye on him is someone outside of all the officials in the Hanlin Academy.
Is it inconvenient for that person to enter the Hanlin Academy to continue keeping an eye on things?
Whose people are they?
Usually, only enemies truly understand each other, and Scholar Qiu immediately thought of the Third Prince.
Of course, it wouldn't be the Third Prince personally overseeing it; it must be one of his subordinates.
However, I have never had any contact with anyone from the Third Prince's side, so why would they notice me?
No! I can't cause trouble for my master. I must get the Third Prince's men to stop spying on me as soon as possible.
Otherwise, many things would be hindered, making it impossible to act freely or complete the tasks entrusted by the master.
What a hassle!
Qiu Cheng naturally knew that Yang Guozhong, the Earl of Chengen, was one of the Third Prince's men, but he was not yet certain that the person spying on him was Yang Guozhong.
Yang Guozhong also complained a lot about his subordinates' inability to enter the Hanlin Academy, saying, "Can't you just bribe a minor official in the Hanlin Academy? Are you out of your mind?!"
"Well, Your Excellency, you suddenly said you wanted to keep an eye on Scholar Qiu, so I didn't have time to make any arrangements. I can only keep an eye on him from the outside for now. I've already made contact with the people inside the Hanlin Academy."
"You've already made contact, and Qiu Cheng is probably already aware of it."
"This...we did it discreetly, shouldn't that be possible?"
"You don't understand Qiu Cheng. He practiced martial arts before becoming an official, but he completely abandoned martial arts and pursued literature after passing the imperial examination."
His insight was far beyond that of ordinary civil officials, yet he was still careless in the end!
Yang Guozhong only remembered this person's past today. He forgot to tell his subordinates this yesterday, and it was his own oversight that led to the mistake.
Miscalculation, yet another miscalculation!
"My lord, what do we do now? Should we continue following this person?"
"How can we not follow him? Even if he notices, so what? With you guys watching him, he'll be more cautious in his actions, and he probably won't be able to handle many things as smoothly."
Since things can't get better, let's drag someone down with us! No one's going to have a good time!
It's good to make this person feel bad, since he ruined my plans!
Yang Guozhong was convinced that Qiu Cheng was involved in the theft of the black powder, even though he had no evidence.
The man appeared in such a remote place, and coincidentally, his gunpowder disappeared after he went to that area. Yang Guozhong didn't believe it had nothing to do with him.
Meanwhile, Qiu Cheng realized that he was being watched not only outside the Hanlin Academy, but also within its premises.
It must be said that the subordinates of Marquis Chengen Yang Guozhong were quite efficient; they bribed a minor official of insignificant status in the Hanlin Academy in just one day.
However, Qiu Cheng was no pushover either, and in the shortest amount of time, he identified the person watching him.
In any other place, they would have simply killed the person, but this is the capital city, the Hanlin Academy, right under the emperor's nose.
Since we can't make someone disappear directly, we can only make them suffer some kind of accident, including those who are watching from the outside. I believe our master definitely has plenty of ways to help us get rid of our tails.
Qiu Cheng neither overestimated nor underestimated the power and strength of the Third Prince's side; he was simply well aware that the Third Prince was no match for his master.
In terms of "enduring hardship and biding one's time" or "patiently biding one's time," the Third Prince was far inferior to his master.
Having made up his mind, Qiu Cheng deliberately revealed a flaw in front of the minor official of the Hanlin Academy, pretending to casually mention his itinerary after his shift ended.
The minor official, of course, was unaware that this was a trap. He felt incredibly lucky to have gotten a chance to make a contribution after only one day of keeping an eye on things.
The deposit of one hundred taels of silver is mine, and after the deal is done, there will be a final payment of one hundred taels, which I am sure I can get smoothly!
After finishing his shift, Qiu Cheng deliberately walked slowly in the direction of the route he had indicated.
The clerk who had been secretly following was overjoyed and quickly relayed the message to those outside, instructing them to make preparations as soon as possible.
That's right, Yang Guozhong wanted to kill him to silence him.
Of course, before killing him, they had to find out where the gunpowder was, and then create an accident, such as causing Scholar Qiu to accidentally fall into the water or fall off a cliff.
In short, we cannot let Qiu Cheng, who is still alive, go back.
When Yang Guozhong learned that Qiu Cheng was going to leave the city alone, he naturally did not want to miss the opportunity.
Immediately arrange for men to ambush Qiu Cheng on his only route. When Qiu Cheng walked into a secluded alley, several men in black suddenly jumped out and surrounded him.
Qiu Cheng feigned fear, but inwardly he sneered.
Just as the man in black was about to make his move, another group of people, several times larger than him, suddenly appeared and surrounded him.
The two sides started fighting without saying a word, and their swords drew blood.
After a fierce battle, the men in black were naturally defeated one after another, with not a single one surviving.
Limbs and torsos were scattered all over the ground. A minor official who had been secretly watching the battle tried to escape when he saw that things were not going well, but Qiu Cheng stopped him.
Qiu Cheng said coldly, "Go back and tell Yang Guozhong to stop doing these useless things."
The clerk was so frightened that he wet his pants and scrambled back to report the news.
When Yang Guozhong learned that the plan had failed, he flew into a rage, yelling, "Useless! All of you are useless!"
After calming down, Yang Guozhong thought to himself that Qiu Cheng must have a powerful force supporting him.
He was unwilling to give up and decided to change his strategy.
The most important thing is to first identify the person behind Qiu Cheng. Only by knowing who the real opponent is can we avoid blindly stumbling around like a headless fly.
Qiu Cheng had already met his master through the secret passage and reported Yang Guozhong's actions.
“The actions of the Marquis of Chengen are nothing to fear. The men I gave you are all top-notch experts, and Yang Guozhong’s men cannot do anything to them. However, we cannot sit and wait for the other side to make a move.”
Let's cut off the third brother's not-so-flexible arm first; he's useless anyway.
He told Qiu Cheng to continue working peacefully at the Hanlin Academy, while he began to make plans to send a gift to the Third Prince's faction.
A few days later, before Yang Guozhong could find any fault with Qiu Cheng or any trace of the person Qiu Cheng was loyal to, he was suddenly impeached by the censor for embezzlement, bribery, abuse of power, and seizing farmland belonging to the people.
The charges are too numerous to list.
In the imperial court, although the officials of the Third Prince's faction tried their best to defend him, they could not withstand the overwhelming evidence.
The emperor was naturally furious and ordered a thorough investigation into Yang Guozhong's case, imprisoning Yang Guozhong in the Dali Temple.
Yang Guozhong then realized that he had been completely framed, and the person who framed him was definitely the Third Prince's enemy.
Is it the Fourth Prince or the Fifth Prince?! Who exactly is behind Qiu Cheng?!
He still doesn't understand, because the matter he's been investigating recently has been completely unresolved, and he hasn't been able to find any answers.
When shackled, Yang Guozhong even forgot to protest his innocence.
Haha, who will stand up for themselves?
The Empress? The Third Prince?
They probably wish they didn't exist.