Volu at Dawns Frost (1/2)

Volume 3, Chapter 10: Vicious and Merciless

After these iuards departed, naturally there were people ould deliver the corpses to the crematory in the Western Palace These dead did not have the qualifications to be buried and could only be shoved into the oven to be cremated These matters were handled by coarse eunuchs No one paid these corpses any attention As a result, no one noticed that before the corpses were cre Even if anyone noticed, no one would make trouble for themselves

On the thirteenth day of the sixth month, news of the Eastern Palace fire and the crown prince placed under house arrest spread throughout Chang’an Ignoring potential suspicion, the Crown Prince’s Junior Mentor Lu Jingzhong, Princess Li Hanyou of Jingjiang, and Concubine Lan gathered to discuss countermeasures However, they were helpless in the face of this crisis For the crown prince to do such a thing, there was no way to immediately cool the emperor’s temper Just as the three of them were anxiously worried, suddenly a voice could be heard to laugh and state, “What is it? Have you run into a difficult proble sight of a plain-clothed woh her appearance was ordinary, her i and stern aura caused everyone to be unable to underesti to their feet to greet the newcomer “Eldest apprentice sister! It’s you!”

Wen Ziyan smiled and replied, “It’s not just me, Master, herself, has already arrived, as well She is cultivating at Roosting Clouds Nunnery”¹

Xiao Lan and Li Hanyou were delighted and worried at the saazed at Wen Ziyan Sus poorly If the master blaood word for us”

With a faint sry You should first go greet her If there are any issues, allow Master toso distressed Junior Mentor Lu, you should co as well Master wishes to see you”

Li Hanyou and co into civilian clothes On horses, they galloped out of the city, not caring if their speed attracted attention, only slowing dohen they arrived at a Buddhist nunnery located on the eastern outskirts of Chang’an Lu Jingzhong’s horse him to fall behind Li Hanyou and Xiao Lan did not bother about hi Clouds Nunnery This nunnery was several yi Sect Every tiyi Sect master came to the capital, she would stay here As the talked inside, they noticed that all of the Buddhist nuns here had all disappeared without a trace On both sides of the tree-shaded s stood countless numbers of azure-clothed women All of them carried swords, while their faces were as cold as frost When the two arrived before the door, they found four wo on either side of the door All of theh they did not wear hairpins or brocade, their clothing was extreh these four women looked no es were over forty They were the trusted subordinates of the Fengyi Sectas hout the world As a result, their status was quite honored and respected

The two entered the pavilion Inside, everything was furnished elegantly, a snohite felt rug on the floor On the walls were pale azure curtains At the center of the pavilion was a beaded curtain that split the room in half Behind the beaded curtain, one could faintly see a bed A woman in snohite clothes was reclined on the bed Separated by the beaded curtain, her expression and appearance could not be seen

Before the beaded curtain, Xiao Lan and Li Hanyou dropped to their knees Speaking together, they stated, “Disciple bows before Master We were incompetent Would Master please punish us?”

“You two cannot be bla her mouth The voice was as rich as pearls and jade, and yet possessed a hint of pure and frosty rawness

Although one could not see clearly her facial expressions, once this wo aura completely enveloped the entire rooing a glance, Xiao Lan spoke up, “This is all because of the incompetence of disciples Disciples already knew about the affair between His Ihness and Concubine Chun, and tried to devise s with that woed, refusing to comply Because of this, he even became hostile towards us Disciples could only search for another path and didn’t expect that a problem would arise at this h and inquired, “If His Ihness would not comply, then why didn’t you have Ji Xia think of a entle and soft, it carried a biting solehtened, Xiao Lan broke out into a cold sweat and could not utter a single word Li Hanyou pro planned We absolutely did not expect that the Crown Prince would have a private engageinally, we had planned to make our move after the sacrificial ceremony”

“Fine Since n bla, “Does Hanyou understand the current situation?”

Advancing one step forward on her knees, Li Hanyou respectfully responded, “The Emperor executed everyone connected to this ing herself The Crown Prince has been placed under house arrest The Emperor has not taken any other steps In addition, the Emperor has already called Pri Xia, Grand General Who Suppresses Distant Lands Qin Yi, and Duke Cheng Shu of Wei into the palace for discussion It is likely that within the day, the Crown Prince’s punishment will be handed down This disciple has already requested the Emperor’s son-in-law to ask his father to plead leniency on the Crown Prince’s behalf However, according to Qin Qing, Qin Yi was noncohed “This ardless of who pleads for leniency, the E that we can do is to temporarily preserve the Crown Prince’s position as heir apparent Perhaps there may be leeway to redeeratuitously allow the Prince of Yong to get his way This seat² has just now issued an order, th to suppress all those ish to undermine the Crown Prince’s position as heir apparent As for the Prince of Yong, this seat will have to go personally”

Withhas coveted the Crown Prince’s position as heir apparent forto forbear at this moment?”

“If this were nor,” remarked the woman indifferently “However, this time, he will have no alternative but to obey The Embroidered Union affair is his fatal weakness”

Li Hanyou stared back at herconnected to the Embroidered Union affair?”

The wo Let me ask you If the Crown Prince colluded with the Ele military equip won’t be able to find out? In Great Yong, th rests in the hands of the Prince of Yong If he was not deliberately allowing the so on, hoould the Crown Prince have succeeded?”

“But at the tiued Li Hanyou “Because of this, the Prince of Yong was deeply concerned Hoould he have the energy to worry about these matters?”

The wo of the words, ‘a sentleman, a realwould truly forget about the world for a single Jiang Zhe, then he is unfit to be this seat’s opponent What’s roup in Southern Chu Hoould they have the ability to do business with the Southern Chu governh that Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets is a mystery, it wouldn’t be incorrect to identify it as a faction in Southern Chu If not for the Prince of Yong, who else would be able to inally suppressed by the Great Yong military, and a faction in Southern Chu? This seat believes that even if the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets is not subordinate to the Prince of Yong, then it still has strong links to the Prince of Yong Although that Jiang Zhe’s position in Southern Chu was not high, that ies is completely unpredictable⁴ I had you assassinate him at the tih lack of final effort”

“If the E under the instructions of the Prince of Yong,” asked Li Hanyou cautiously, “Then why did the ?”

“If this seat truly wished to pursue Huo Jicheng, it would be best to keep an eye on the Prince of Yong’s residence,” answered the woh “Hanyou, you hu</eyi Sect However, as a leader of the orthodox sects, the Fengyi Sect cannot casually suppress those factions Without this excuse, I will have to find another opportunity to eradicate all those a to incite trouble, under the Crown Prince’s reputation, while this seat used this opportunity to eradicate all dissidents What’s more, what does the Crown Prince’s reputation have to do with us? The worse his reputation, the more he will have to rely upon our help It is only that this Crown Prince has gone overboard, giving someone a hold on him⁵ If we do not act, it is likely that his position as heir apparent will not be preserved”

Li Hanyou’s eyes brightened “Master, if we seize this opportunity to negotiate with the Prince of Yong, if he is willing to obey, we can allow hier need to support this rily, the wo to be obedient, ould I select the Crown Prince to serve as our puppet?”

Frightened, Li Hanyou dropped her head to the ground, not daring to ain, her voice tranquil and calo back first to placate the Crown Princess and everyone in the Crown Prince’s household Simply explain that this seat will preserve the Crown Prince’s position as heir apparent”

Although she was filled with hesitation, Xiao Lan did not dare to question further, bowing down, stating, “This disciple obeys,” before quietly withdrawing