Chapter 105 (1/2)
Chapter 105: Mister Ji Bo
”What did you find out?” asked Nan Xun.
Jun Huang shook her head. ”Qi Chen is hiding something from me. He didn't talk about the corruption among the court officials in detail. He was being deliberately ambiguous, and it seemed like he was talking around something. His change of att.i.tude must be his secret benefactor's doing.”
Nan Xun echoed her feelings. After a pause, he said, ”The people I ordered to keep watch outside Prince Chen Manor spotted someone suspicious a few days ago. However, their face was hidden, and it was late at night. My people had to keep their distance to avoid detection. The figure is likely to be the one who has been helping Qi Chen.”
”We've been attracting too much attention,” Jun Huang said with a sigh. ”They must have gotten wary. Now it will be difficult for us to find information to use against them.”
They fell silent. Qi Chen must have ordered his people to destroy any incriminating evidence still in their possession. It was likely that he hadn't informed Jun Huang because Jun Huang had never gotten her hands dirty. There wasn't anything for her to get rid of.
Jun Huang let out a sigh of relief. Perhaps she had not lost Qi Chen's trust. Well, technically Qi Chen was still wary of her, but he didn't know it was her.
”We have rattled the snake,” said Nan Xun. ”To be on the safe side, we should stop trying to sway Qi Chen's people, or we risk being exposed.”
Jun Huang disagreed. She looked up at the night sky with misty eyes, her lips quirked up in a half-smile. She didn't respond immediately. ”If we stop now, they will be suspicious of us. I say we continue to do what we've been doing, but we stop going to the meetings in person. And we don't let those people join us. They will be our channels when we want to pa.s.s down certain information.”
Nan Xun nodded. What she said made sense.
A pageboy came to inform Jun Huang that Qi Yun had come. Jun Huang exchanged a look with Nan Xun before ordering a servant to lead Qi Yun in.
Recently, Qi Yun had been visiting Jun Huang more and more often. Whenever he had some free time, he almost always invited himself in to have a chat with her.
Seeing Nan Xun was a surprise for Qi Yun, but he didn't comment on it.
Jun Huang had just been thinking of discussing the issue with Qi Yun. Since he was here already, she might as well talk to him about what they should do next. She ordered Little Girl to brew a pot of refres.h.i.+ng tea.
Jun Huang was going to talk business, so Little Girl couldn't object to her order. She brought them a pot of tea and reminded Jun Huang not to drink too much before stepping aside.
Jun Huang was a tea lover. She ignored the advice and finished a cup in one go. It woke her up a little. She poured a cup each for Nan Xun and Qi Yun before saying, ”Qi Chen's benefactor has gotten suspicious. What do we do next?”
”Qi Chen has been ruling his people with a tighter grip. What we do to in the future will not escape his notice. I don't know what we should do.” Qi Yun was feeling helpless. Things had not gone as he had expected. He had oversimplified everything. Once the situation became more complicated, he lost his sense of direction.
Nan Xun was a general; he had never been that adept at political maneuvering in court. Jun Huang was smart, but she wasn't that good at plotting for power. The stress on her mind had accelerated the decline of her health.
They continued brainstorming for the time it took an incense stick to burn, but they couldn't reach a conclusion. Jun Huang leaned against the stone table. She had to fight to keep her eyes open.
Seeing how thin her clothes were, Nan Xun gave Little Girl a pointed look, silently telling her to bring Jun Huang something warmer. Little Girl left to retrieve a robe.
”Being hasty won't help us in any way,” said Nan Xun. He didn't want Jun Huang to exhaust herself. ”You are tired. We can continue this discussion tomorrow.”
Jun Huang looked up at him and shook her head. Inhaling deeply, she stared at the sky. ”I'm fine.”
It was late. The chilly winds cleared away the fog in Jun Huang's drowsy mind. Nan Xun lowered his head in bemus.e.m.e.nt, while Qi Yun held tightly onto his teacup, his thoughts indiscernible.
Nan Xun suddenly snapped his head up and said, ”We want to gain the world not through brute force, but through careful planning. The three of us won't be enough. Our priority is to find new followers.”
Jun Huang paused. Nan Xun's suggestion was reasonable. Qi Yun too nodded. The same name came to the three of them- Mister Ji Bo. They shared a knowing smile.
The sky grew a shade darker. Qi Yun had matters to attend to the next day. He couldn't stay. Before he left, he said in a serious tone, ”I will leave the task of searching for Mister Ji Bo in your hands.”
Once he was gone, Jun Huang felt weak in the knees and almost fell over. Fortunately Nan Xun had a quick enough reflex to catch her. ”Have you forgotten about your condition?” he said gently. ”What if you collapse?”
”I know my body,” Jun Huang said with a stilted smile and pulled away from Nan Xun's arms. ”I'm fine.”
Nan Xun sighd. He didn't know what to do with Jun Huang. ”Qi Chen may not trust you as much now. If he knows that you have left the imperial city – ”
”Then I'll make sure he doesn't find out,” Jun Huang said without thinking. ”It's late. If we're going to search for Mister Ji Bo, you should return now. We will talk about the details tomorrow.”