Chapter 231 (1/2)

Chapter 231: Counterbalance

In the end, Qi Chen concluded that Jun Huang should be informed, but not about the whole truth. He told her to come to the manor the next day. He had something important to tell her.

Jun Huang was still reeling from the fact that the third prince was able to go to such distance when he put his mind to it. Qi Chen’s voice jerked her out of her trance. She nodded.

He patted her on the shoulder and told her to rest well. She nodded again and took her leave. She had things to take care of.

She knew Qi Chen was going to reveal something to her, but she wasn’t sure what that something was. The possibility that Qi Chen’d tell her about his secret benefactor didn’t even cross her mind. He was mistrustful. Even though she had served him for quite some time, he didn’t consider her part of his inner circle yet.

The next day, she went to the crown prince’s manor. When Qi Chen told her that he had a secret force supporting him, she was dumbfounded.

She widened her eyes, unable to process his sudden honesty. He looked at her and told her that the force supporting him had great power.

Jun Huang listened without a word. The fact that Qi Chen was willing to tell her this indicated that he had relaxed his guard towards her. She risked attracting his suspicion if she asked any questions. She’d rather investigate afterwards than to try finding out from him.

She made her way to Prince Nan Manor in a daze. Nan Xun had just returned from the training ground. He spotted her from afar. In her contemplation, she failed to notice a coach rus.h.i.+ng her way. He dashed to her and pulled her into his arms, avoiding the coach by a hair.

The coach came to a stop on the side of the road. The page boy came up to them and asked if they had been hurt. Jun Huang stared at the coach with her brows furrowed. It looked familiar. She must have seen it somewhere.

Nan Xun noticed her gaze after sending the page boy away. He whispered, “That’s Prince Duan’s coach. He should be the one inside.”

Jun Huang’s gaze snapped to Nan Xun before she turned to the coach again. A wind brought up the curtain before the coach sped away, revealing Prince Duan’s profile.

“What’s wrong? What are you thinking about?” Her thoughtful look worried Nan Xun. He didn’t want her to think herself into a corner again.

She looked at the pedestrians walking the street. “This is not a good place for us to talk. Let’s go back first.”

Her expression told him that this was not a trivial matter. He nodded and returned to his manor with her. Once he’d dismissed all the servants, he turned to her, awaiting her explanation.

She told him about what Qi Chen had said and concluded, “I suspect Prince Duan to be his secret benefactor.”

“Why?” Nan Xun asked curiously.

“It’s my gut instinct,” she said. “Also, Qi Chen and his relations.h.i.+p are unusual. All signs point to something big, but I can’t find the evidence.”

Nan Xun sighed. “Qi Chen asked you to look into the third prince’s treacherous actions, didn’t he? You should take care of that first. Then you can worry about the rest.”

Jun Huang agreed. Prince Duan had hidden himself well. She wouldn’t be able to find evidence anytime soon. She might as well deal with the third prince first.

She asked Ji Bo to meet her in a tea house. She was doubtful about the content in the letter. She had to get confirmation from him first.

Ji Bo bluntly told her that everything in the letter was true, which shocked her. Her eyes turned cold as she said frigidly, “I didn’t expect a cowardly man like him to be bold enough to commit treason.”

Ji Bo snorted. “He only did so because he had no other choice. Even I didn’t expect him to go that far. It’s uncharacteristic of him. I thought he’d do something serious enough for Qi Chen to set him up and put him down, but he went further than that.”

She scoffed. “These men truly are willing to do anything for the throne, consequences be d.a.m.ned.‘

Ji Bo knew she despised people like the the third prince, so he didn’t comment on that. He told her to make her move now. The third prince believed he was going to succeed, so he had pushed Ji Bo aside and refused to listen to him. It was imperative for them to take out the third prince now to avoid future troubles.

If the third prince was left to his own devices, there would be a civil unrest in Northern Qi before Eastern Wu fell into chaos. Then it would be difficult for Northern Qi to fight back when Eastern Wu struck.

She also wanted to convert those Qi Chen had a.s.signed her for the investigation. She planned to use Qi Chen’s men and funds to help Qi Yun. Qi Yun held the least influence in the imperial court at the time being. If she didn’t do anything, he would end up being a puppet ruler even with the third prince and Qi Chen out of the picture. She didn’t want that to happen.

“Qi Chen told you to get to the bottom of this,” said Ji Bo. “You should seize this opportunity. I’ll help you.”