Chapter 589 - Chapter 589: Chapter 589: Delaying Tactics_1 (1/2)

Chapter 589: Chapter 589: Delaying Tactics_1

“Lord Tian, are you sure you’re not mistaken? Here is the residence of King Rui, filled with its people, none of whom are traitors.” Wei Ruo said.

“I haven’t been mistaken, the turncoat spy Xu Zhengyong is right here as we speak.”

“Xu Zhengyong is a Sixth-rank Zhouwu General. How could he be a traitor? Even if he was, such judgment should be made by the governor.” Wei Ruo said.

“It would seem you’re inclined to harbor a criminal then?”

“Lord Tian, why do you pretend not to understand my words? The judgment of treachery is for the governor to decide, why do you insist on using force here?” Wei Ruo said.

“No, it’s my perception that you’re trying to protect a criminal. If you refuse to cooperate, you leave me no choice but to take you down by force.”

Saying this, Tian Yuande was about to command his men to take action.

Yun Zixiu and the people behind him, inside the courtyard, were suddenly put on high alert.

The enemy had the numerical advantage, and they only had a few dozen people here. Plus, with the Prince heavily injured, their chances of winning a confrontation were quite low!

“Hold on.” Wei Ruo commanded, “Lord Tian, all you want is to cover up your ill-treatment of Xu Zhengyong. This issue is not a big deal. Why involve us, the people of King Rui’s estate in this?”

Tian Yuande squinted his eyes, looking at Wei Ruo again more closely.

Taking this opportunity, Wei Ruo continued, “Lord Tian, you deliberately assigned Xu Zhengyong, along with a small team, on a patrol in the enemy territory, to be captured. Am I right? The reason is simple enough: Xu Zhengyong disagrees with you on many issues, and you are afraid he might take your position.”

Unruffled by Wei Ruo’s accurate conjecture, Tian Yuande started to clap slowly.

“Interesting, it seems the sickly prince does have some capable subordinates. Pity that you got one thing wrong. Even if you die here in Ji Town, I can easily find a thousand reasons to explain it to King Rui’s Residence and Capital City. The borderlands are always restless with enemy spies, roaming bandits, rampaging refugees; any one of those unpredictable factors could claim your lives.”

Wei Ruo continued, “I understand that Lord Tian has a well-thought-out strategy, but it works under the assumption that the people present represent unimportant roles in King Rui’s Residence. If someone important from our side is present, the excuses you mentioned will not hold water. Prince Rui will certainly petition for a thorough investigation, and the Emperor, who favors the prince, will absolutely see this matter through.”

“Ha, such foolish dreams!” Tian Yuande chuckled, “Talking about King Rui being favored? If he was favored, why would he be demoted to Jiliao? Seems like all those rumors about King Rui’s favoritism are merely hearsay!”

“King Rui’s demotion to Jiliao has more to do with his illness than lacking favor.” Wei Ruo replied composedly.

“I don’t believe such stories; I see the reality of things. King Rui is clearly not favored! Even if he was, no matter how much favor he garners, what can a dying man do? Once in Jiliao, he is stuck; things are not as easy as they were in Capital City.”

Wei Ruo shot back, “What if Lord Tian’s judgment is wrong? Why gamble on this? It is a trivial matter involving Xu Zhengyong, whom I can assure you, is no threat. But if it ends up turning King Rui’s Residence into an enemy-even if they may not be in favor-the situation will become much more troublesome.”

Even though Tian Yuande maintained a defiant appearance, doubts started to creep inside his mind.

He indeed did not want to escalate the situation further.