20demayo Chapter 228 His Highness Will Never Return
Chapter 228 His Highness Will Never Return
"Chi Yue can't be implicated." Qi Xiao shook his head. "Seventh Brother wants to stop Sixth Brother from leading his troops back to Yuanjing. Talks are definitely not going to work out. There's only one way, and that's to expose the case of embezzlement of military funds. This will force Sixth Brother to respond. The Gongsun family will probably push a few scapegoats to protect him. And he would never dare to rebel at this critical juncture. At this point, they can't let me live."
Zong Sheng nodded slightly. He did whatever Qi Xiao said without any objection.
"Do you feel uncomfortable about asking you to hide it from Chi Yue?"
Zong Sheng looked at Qi Xiao without saying anything. He was afraid that Chi Yue would worry.
"Once the Peace Card reaches His Majesty, he will know."
Zong Sheng frowned and his breathing became heavy. Chi Yue once said that if Qi Xiao was not the heir to the throne, they might never see each other again.
Qi Xiao patted Zong Sheng's arm gently and said, "When I get to Shaoyang, come back to find him."
"Master..."
Qi Xiao interrupted Zong Sheng and continued with a smile: "You and I are brothers, not master and servant. I want to find someone I like, and you too. If possible, I really want to be your matchmaker..."
Qi Xiao was about to say something, but his expression suddenly changed. Zong Sheng beside him became alert almost at the same time.
"Master, I'm here."
"It's really a long wait."
In the pitch-black night, the lights on the ship were bright, but the stern was barely illuminated. A chilling murderous intent was hidden in the darkness.
"Swish!" The sound of weapons being unsheathed seemed to be heard next to Qi Xiao and Zong Sheng.
Zong Sheng reacted extremely quickly, blocked the knife that was swinging at him, snatched it away and killed one person in an instant.
Qi Xiao's body swayed, as if he couldn't stand steadily.
The assassins became excited for a moment. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was seasick. No matter how skilled he was, he was no better than a drunkard at this moment!
"kill!"
The stern of the ship was immediately in chaos. Zong Sheng was no match for dozens of assassins. He shouted repeatedly: "Help! There are assassins!"
Qi Xiao staggered and struggled to dodge the continuous sword attacks. He retreated again and again, and finally crashed into the fence. Another sword came down in front of his face.
Qi Xiao leaned back, and although he narrowly avoided the blade, he lost his balance and fell headfirst.
"Pfft."
"Master!" Zong Sheng was horrified and immediately jumped into the water.
"Pfft."
"Bow and arrow, shoot!"
"Swish, swish, swish..." Dozens of arrows shot into the surging Qin River, but it was dark and nothing could be seen under the surface of the river.
"There's an assassin! Protect His Highness!"
The imperial guards on the ship finally arrived, surrounded the assassins, and another fight broke out.
"His Royal Highness?"
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince seems to have fallen into the water!"
"Quick! Get into the water and save people!"
***
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! It's bad, it's bad!"
Zhang Suian stumbled all the way into Chengming Palace.
"Zhang Suian! What are you panicking about?" His Majesty, who was practicing calligraphy, couldn't help but frown. Zhang Suian had been by his side for decades and had seen all kinds of storms. Even when he was young, he rarely panicked like this.
"Your Majesty!" Zhang Suian knelt on the ground, trembling. "The Crown Prince was assassinated and fell into the water. His whereabouts are unknown. We don't know whether he is alive or dead!"
"What?!" His Majesty was shocked and slammed the pen in his hand directly on the table. "Assassinated? Explain clearly."
"Twenty-five assassins attempted to assassinate His Royal Highness the Crown Prince when the ship passed Huaizhou. The Crown Prince and his personal guards fell into the water and...their whereabouts are unknown. All twenty-five assassins have been killed, and tattoos of the Zhanshichu were found on their bodies."
"Hmph, the Office of the Occupational Affairs? Zhang Suian, you're clueless! Qi has been destroyed, and no one from the royal family is left alive. How can there be such a thing as the Office of the Occupational Affairs? It's clearly someone impersonating them!" His Majesty flew into a rage and asked, "Why didn't you rescue the drowning man?!"
"Reporting to Your Majesty, the Qinjiang River in Huaizhou is turbulent and the river is winding. It has been raining continuously for the past few days. When Your Highness fell into the water, the Imperial Guards immediately jumped in to search for him, but the wind and rain came in the middle of the night and people..."
His Majesty leaned his hands on the table, shaking with anger, and swept everything off the table.
Zhang Suian curled up and secretly looked up at His Majesty, his heart pounding. He could not escape the power struggle and the quarrel between brothers.
***
News of the Chen crown prince's disappearance quickly reached the Zhou kingdom. As the matter of marriage was a matter of concern, even the Zhou court was in uproar. With only the allegation of a drowning disappearance, not a confirmed death, Princess Xihe continued her planned journey north to the Yuan capital. If she couldn't find him, she would have to wait for the Chen kingdom to appoint a new crown prince.
Xun'an Hou Tang He received a secret letter from Xingluo Wei. He didn't care whether Qi Xiao was assassinated or it was an accident, but for the Great Zhou, if the assassin's purpose was to prevent the marriage between Chen and Zhou, the seriousness of the matter would be more than just the death of a prince. The two countries would likely return to the tense situation of several years ago. The war could break out at any time, and the peace of the past few years would vanish into thin air.
After the court was dismissed, Tang He came out of the palace. After thinking about it, he went to Tang Ling's courtyard to see him, and ordered people to keep Qi Xiao's disappearance a secret to prevent Tang Ling from having too much imagination.
Tang Ling's health gradually improved, and Qinglan allowed him to handle some simple documents. Since the opening of trade between Chen and Zhou, Da Zhou had opened several new docks along the Taihua River, and the canal was also built. There were many complicated affairs, and Tang Ling always had to share some of the burden for his father, Xun Anhou.
The Emperor had been ruling for several years now, and with no conflict between the Chen and Zhou dynasties, Xun Anhou suggested that it was time to gradually step down. He wanted Tang Ling to inherit the title, perhaps even take over the Shenzhao Camp, but he really didn't want him to be involved in state affairs, so he had to maintain the status quo.
Tang He arrived at the courtyard before lighting the lamp. Tang Ling was processing official documents in the study.
"Dad, you're here. I asked Qinglan to prepare dinner."
"Yeah, okay. What are you looking at?"
"A while ago, the Shenzhao Battalion was patrolling the Yiliang docks and apprehended several illegal salt dealers, all from Liujiang. Lieutenant General Xu and the Yiliang County Magistrate submitted a letter asking what should be done with them."
"This isn't the first time, so just do as you did before."
Tang Ling nodded and said, "Previously, all the stolen goods seized were turned over to the national treasury. If the captured individuals were citizens of the Great Zhou, they would be sentenced according to the law; if they were citizens of the Chen State, they would be returned. This time, Lieutenant General Xu seized a huge amount of smuggled salt; this shipload alone is worth over 100,000 taels. Such a large amount is unlikely to be something that salt merchants could smuggle out."
Tang He stroked his beard and said, "You mean someone is selling official salt as private salt?"
"Qi... The Crown Prince of Chen has always been lenient towards the policies of the former Qi. Although provincial governors have been sent to each prefecture, it is inevitable that they will be misled by the unfamiliar climate and environment."
When Tang He heard Tang Ling mention Qi Xiao, and saw that he looked normal, as if he was just talking about the case, he couldn't help but sigh.
"You want to help him?"
Tang Ling was stunned for a moment, then lowered her head slightly. She didn't respond to the "he" Tang He mentioned, but continued to talk about the case: "Dad, I think there must be other things hidden behind this illegal salt trafficking case. Such a large amount of illegal salt flowed into our Great Zhou, so what can we get in return? We only caught one ship this time, but what about the ones we didn't catch? Moreover, they dared to transport so much on one ship, so someone at Yiling Wharf must have been bribed. I will always feel uneasy until the truth is investigated."
"You are right. I will report this to the Emperor. There are six doors to the investigation, so you don't have to worry too much."
Tang Ling nodded.
Qing Lan knocked on the door: "My Lord, Master, dinner is ready."
While eating, Tang Ling seemed to be still thinking about the smuggled salt case and was a little absent-minded. Tang He noticed it but didn't say anything. Tang Ling's tenacity was very similar to his mother's, as if she could get through anything by gritting her teeth.
Back then, Tang Ling's mother was murdered by the Occupational Affairs Commission, but they told Tang He that they had found poison on the assassin and that the Imperial Hospital could prepare an antidote, but it would take some time. Such a crude lie wouldn't have fooled Tang He, but he somehow chose to believe the glimmer of hope in his heart, only to end up burdened with a lifetime of pain, guilt, and regret.
Tang Ling was born weak, and he, as a father, had lost his mother before his son was even a year old. For many years of Tang Ling's childhood, Tang He didn't know how to face her. She looked so much like her, especially her eyes, the way she smiled at him. It was so painful for Tang He that he even feared to step inside every time he stood at the gate of the Marquis's mansion. It felt like a repeat of that time he was late, a replay of the separation of life and death.
At this moment, Tang He looked at Tang Ling. If he knew that Qi Xiao was in trouble... Tang He wanted to protect his son and didn't want him to experience such endless pain.
As he thought about it, Tang He suddenly realized that his son was very similar to him. They both had someone hidden in their hearts, and they were unwilling to tell even their closest relatives, as if mentioning it to others would be a torture that would dig out their hearts.
Tang Yan sighed unconsciously, and Tang Ling raised her head slightly: "Dad, is there anything bothering you in the court?"
"Hey, there's never a day when you don't have worries."
"Is someone bringing up the issue of disbanding the three armed forces again?"
Chen and Zhou had not fought a war for several years. After the Battle of Taihua River, the financial situation of the Zhou Dynasty was worrying. Although they later gained the rich land east of Liujiang River and opened up trade, building the canal was a huge financial expenditure. The black iron ore of Chen State was also exchanged for real money. After adding and subtracting, it was still stretched to the limit. The Ministry of Revenue was complaining about being poor every day. It was a bit difficult to increase revenue, so they could only think about cutting expenditure. Many people in the court were keeping an eye on the Tang family, so it was a good opportunity to submit a petition to cut military spending in a legitimate manner.
Tang He shook his head: "Whether to cut back or not is up to the Emperor."
Tang He's words were filled with helplessness. Disbanding the three armies was just a superficial gesture; the real struggle was still about power struggles. The Tang family held up half of the Great Zhou, and the emperor had half Tang blood in his veins. Even if he was wary of Tang He's high position and power, he knew in his heart that he had to rely on the Tang family. But the queen was not happy. She was under pressure from the queen mother and Tang He in the court. When would her mother's family be able to make a breakthrough? Last year, Concubine Jin gave birth to the second prince, and now Concubine Li was pregnant again. Her son was no longer the emperor's only child. If she was not strong enough, how could she push her son to a high position in the future?
Tang Ling understood all of this. Tang Ling and the emperor were cousins of similar age. Before he followed Tang He into the Shenzhao Camp, he studied with the emperor in the upper study for several years. During the disputes before the emperor ascended the throne, the Tang family participated in the whole process and took the lead. Although Tang Ling was young at that time, he understood everything.
"Father, you should discuss this with the Emperor again. There are three new docks under construction along the Liujiang River. Once the canal is completed, they will all require military deployment. If we relax our defenses due to the disbanding of the three armies, the hidden dangers will be too great. Now there's smuggling of salt, and in the future there might be smuggling of people."
"Yeah." Tang Yan nodded and agreed perfunctorily. There were always hidden worries, but he was more worried that Qi Xiao would disappear and the marriage between Chen and Zhou would change. It was hard to say whether the army would be reduced or recruited at that time.
***
Ten days after Qi Xiao's disappearance, all of Dachen felt like the Qin River at night, surging and churning in the darkness. Those on shore might not be able to see clearly, but those on the boats couldn't help but panic and struggle, fearing a wave could sweep them into the river and drown them. And Chi Yue seemed to be on the boat, throwing everyone into the raging waters one by one.
After Qi Xiao's accident, everyone on the fleet, including the Imperial Guards, crew, cooks, and even those at the Qihuai Wharf and the post station, was taken to the nearby Huaizhou Prison and interrogated one by one by the Xuanji Camp. Chi Yue, in Yuanjing City, thoroughly investigated the Imperial Guards and the Ministry of War, thoroughly investigating every person who had accompanied Qi Xiao aboard.
Although the imperial court claimed that Qi Xiao's fall into the water was an accident, anyone who was not stupid would know that it was not that simple. How strong a storm on the Qin River could cause such a large royal ship to fall into the water and not be found?
In his rage, His Majesty did not kill all the imperial guards who were not providing adequate protection on the ship, but instead locked them up and interrogated them, which made it clear that something was fishy.
Thinking about it more carefully, Qi Xiao was surrounded by imperial guards. Who could sneak in among them and assassinate the crown prince? And who could benefit from Qi Xiao's death? The answer was already obvious.
Chi Yue came out of the secret prison in Tiance Camp, his body stained with blood. He hurriedly changed his clothes before entering the palace to meet His Majesty.
When Chi Yue arrived in front of Chengming Palace, Zhang Suian nodded to him from a distance and called him aside.
Chi Yue bowed slightly to Zhang Suian: "Eunuch Zhang."
Zhang Suian nodded and whispered, "The Imperial Master has just entered. I'm afraid we'll have to wait a while."
"Okay." Chi Yue nodded, followed Zhang Suian, and waited at the door.
Chengming Hall is very large, and once the door is closed, one cannot usually hear the voices inside. However, a master like Chi Yue can still hear them if he wants to.
Inside the hall, there was no sound of talking, only the breathing of two people, one light and long, the other deep and rapid.
Chi Yue frowned almost imperceptibly. Did the Imperial Master Ning Wanxiao make His Majesty unhappy?
After a long time, Chi Yue heard Ning Wanxiao speak in a very soft voice: "Your Majesty, Sirius is not the Emperor Star."
"Ning Wanxiao!"
Even Zhang Suian heard the Majesty's angry rebuke. He couldn't help but shudder, then lowered his head silently, as if nothing had happened.
Chengming Hall fell silent again. After a long while, Chi Yue heard His Majesty scold Ning Wanxiao, "Are you my Imperial Master, or his messenger? How dare you allow him to deceive me?!"
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I truly do not know the origin of this object. When Your Highness placed it on the altar for worship, I had no doubts. It was not until Your Majesty ordered me to divine that I remembered that Your Highness had left this object at Linxiantai."
"...What does the hexagram mean?"
"The hexagram of Li on top and Kan on the bottom is not suitable for the situation. It is not suitable for the situation, but it has both firmness and flexibility."
"Why?"
There was another long silence.
"...According to the hexagram, Your Highness will never return."
"……roll!"
Ning Wanxiao walked out of Chengming Hall, nodded slightly to Zhang Suian, and left.
When Zhang Suian informed His Majesty and allowed Chi Yue to enter, Chi Yue saw that His Majesty was holding a small object tightly in his hand. He recognized it at a glance. It was the "Nothing to Worry About" card that His Majesty had given to Qi Xiao that year.
Chi Yue's heart skipped a beat, and he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. He hadn't known that His Majesty had promised Qi Xiao a reward in exchange for the "Nothing to Do" card. But he understood what it would mean when the "Nothing to Do" card returned to His Majesty's hands.