Voluht into a Trap (1/2)

Voluht into a Trap

<blockquote class="Quote">Zizhi Tongjian</e Records Volume Three</e in the hot springs withthis hard-to-co voice drifted over from the shore:

<blockquote class="Quote">As it has been since the olden ti the shareatly praised”¹</blockquote>

I was so startled that I started and plunged into the spring Ji Xuan was truly too excessive He went far enough toour previous discussions on the classics over the past two days After all, he was a recognizedto adroith each passing day If he had nothing better to do, he would frequently recite poetry and sing songs This by itself was not probleance and refinement; that was understandable However, there was no need for him to constantly recite the poetry of Qu Yuan

By reciting verses like “Long did I sigh and wipe away riefs and fears” or “It is this that h I died nine tiFine That I could endure Once I had rendezvoused witharmy, there was no need for me to stay with him in the same place In the future, I only needed to deliver him to the emperor’s side and ensure that I kept away frolare, I lost all interest in taking a bath Turning to Xiaoshunzi standing on dry land, I reet dressed”

Under my influence, Xiaoshunzi had learned much about poetry and literature As such, he ell aware of Ji Xuan’s overt and covertabout it, he could only watch After all, this elderly scholar was not an extremely fierce enemy as evil to the extreme He was only an oldpresent, there was no way the oldtoo excessive As a result, even if I suffered a bit, Xiaoshunzi was only there observing with a, I felt only gloo on the clothing handedwater droplets off using a body towel, “Today is already the twenty-third The Prince of Qi should have regrouped Su Qing has gone out to scout for ence Presumably, we should be able to rendezvous with the army in a few days When the time comes, have the Prince of Qi deliver the two of theht, out offlashed in Xiaoshunzi’s eyes He glanced in the direction of Ji Xuan, pacing in the distance, and Zhao Liang, standing alongside aard He sneered, “Youngtrouble Venerable Sir Ji’s te in our hands, he would likely not be so forains the Eentleman continues to shoot hismaster’s reputation Into such trouble?”

I tre that the two of them shouldn’t be able to hear Xiaoshunzi’s voice, I whispered, “How can we do such a thing? If we kill them, I will likely have a notorious reputation a if I suffer as long as they are of use to Great Yong Besides, Ji Xuan believes firmly in the principle of ‘If poor, they attend to their own virtue in solitude; if advanced to dignity, they dom virtuous as well’³ At the ti Northern Han—refusing to sub a sinecure, instead going into seclusion—clearly shows that he is not a foolishly loyal individual Right now, by ridiculingthe discontent in his own heart He is seeking to sound out my character If I bickered over this matter, wouldn’t that cause hi court? As a result, I absolutely ue with him about this matter”

Xiaoshunzi nodded his head silently, no longer trying to convince me to kill the two of them In fact, Xiaoshunzi probably understood the rationale However, he treatedto watch me be humiliated I smiled wryly inside There was another matter that I did not raise In the ly loyal and filial, my reputation likely was already quite notorious It didn’t ot included in theat the distant banner of the Prince of Qi, Su Qing finally breathed a sigh of relief Spurring her horse forward, she said to the gate guards, “This general is Su Qing On the orders of the Army Supervisor daren</ehness, the Prince of Qi”

When the officer on duty saw Su Qing and learned she was sent by Jiang Zhe, he immediately beamed with joy Over these last several days, the Prince of Qi had been busy reorganizing the are, his face was always gloo all who saw him tremble with fear Everyone also knew that the prince deeply respected the arood health, the Prince of Qi would definitely be happy and make the lives of the officers and soldiers of the Zezhou arer to report the news to theinto the ca scrutinized the place Although the Yong army was recently defeated, the Prince of Qi had set up this caidly The soldiers within had absolutely no dejection or dismay The Prince of Qi truly deserved his reputation as a capable co praised the prince in her head while retaining the calranted an audience with the Prince of Qi after her identity had been exposed She still felt uneasy Although the Princess of Qi was a disciple of the Fengyi Sect, Su Qing ell aware that the relationshi+p between the Prince of Qi and the Fengyi Sect was not a har to her because of the ar was still on tenterhooks

Entering thethe Prince of Qi standing there with his hands behind his back and s forward, she kneeled and declared, “This general pays her respects to Your Ihness The Army Supervisor daren is safe and sound This is a letter hness”

Although Li Xian wore a s on the inside as he gazed at Su Qing His trusted subordinates had advised hi that the court did not grow suspicious because of her presence However, Li Xian did not hesitate to reject these suggestions When did he, Li Xian, have to use someone else’s fate and reputation to prove his innocence? Su Qing’s existencewas beautiful and intelligent She was the first person he invested himself completely into in both heart and soul There was also Wen Ziyan Although she was entirely indifferent, she was one of the few individuals who Li Xian respected within the Fengyi Sect Li Xian did not want Su Qing to suffer any unjust punishment

However, he also understood well that he too was in a difficult predicament His own previous personal conduct and behavior were enough for Li Zhi to i any excuses If he were to truly protect Su Qing, the daht

Fortunately, aside fro Zhe When Li Xian first learned of Su Qing’s background, he was a bit anxious Jiang Zhe seeyi Sect Being Wen Ziyan’s disciple yi Sect Li Xian had no certainty that Jiang Zhe would spare Su Qing’s life In as both co Zhe had saved Su Qing This actionZhe evenZhe’s decision was accepted by the court, this was a clear signal that it would cease to investigate those ere guilty of ties with the Fengyi Sect This would let h Li Xian did not kno Li Zhi would decide, Li Xian knew that if he understood the significance, then Li Zhi wouldwhat he was thinking, Li Xian accepted the letter Su Qing handed over While it was said to be a letter, it was actually a white wax pellet the size of a longan fruit In passing, Li Xian removed a piece of silk paper from his desk After he had wrapped the pellet with the paper, he brought out a letter opener, and with practiced ease, cut the pellet After the pellet’s skin had been broken, a green liquid seeped out fro the silk paper From within the pellet, Li Xian removed an even smaller honey-colored pellet He used the silk paper to wipe away the green liquid before kneading the sossamer Li Xian perforreen liquid never touched his skin

Entranced by what she had seen, Su Qing was filled with confusion and could not help asking, “Your I his head, Li Xian answered, “This is the Marquis of Chu’s design There is a pellet within a pellet Poisonous liquid fills the space between theround the pellet, not only would he be poisoned, he would also destroy the e within The Marquis of Chu is known for his caution Presumably this letter is of utmost importance and he is worried that it would be intercepted”

Su Qing shi+vered inwardly The Marquis of Chu was truly formidable She had probably been sent to deliver this letter as a test If she wanted to pry into classified information, she would definitely be poisoned and die However, Su Qing did not have a hint of discontent in herher to continue to carry a heavy responsibility was already exceedingly rare Su Qing si Zhe’sat the densely packed handwriting on the silk paper, Li Xian sometimes frowned and sometimes looked pensive After soh before setting the e on the desk In reality, Li Xian was not worried about this recent defeat He had served in the army for some time and had been defeated on numerous occasions He had the opportunity to tidy up after an evendefeat before As a result, after the defeat, he had been occupied with reorganizing the arain Who would have thought that Jiang Zhe would think deeper and further than he? Even though it was clearly a defeat, Jiang Zhe had thought of a stratage the contents of the row cold No wonder Li Zhi had been successful in the succession struggle He had been able to acquire such a man’s loyalty Li Xian was co at the aloof Su Qing waiting for his order, Li Xian so see the Marquis of Chu and lead him back to the army Tell him that I will handle thewas at a co spent ht passed without incident Of course, Su Qing did not know that the Prince of Qi had dispatched an eight-hundred-er to deliver a an the return journey alone By her reasoning, it would be better to bring along an additional thousand horse Zhe back However, the Prince of Qi had said that Northern Han’s spies had already withdrawn and that the region had already fallen into the Yong arths Moreover, Jiang Zhe had the Stalwart Tiger Guard by his side Jiang Zhe would definitely be unwilling to have such a large forcenaturally did not have any objections She had exchanged bloith Xiaoshunzi and was able to conclude that Xiaoshunzi’s xiao’s Even if Northern Han had planted assassins behind, would their xiao’s? As a result, Su Qing was not worried However, to safeguard against anything, Su Qing was extre her entire journey and only returned to Jiang Zhe’s hiding place after taking several detours

After greeting the Stalwart Tiger Guard at the peri Zhe’s residence At the center of the courtyard stood a square table with tooden chairs Jiang Zhe was in the h there weren’t enough redients to fully treat Ji Xuan’s illness, his condition had still gradually improved

Very fond of to be his opponent even when he was ill Now that he had recovered somewhat, he needed to fulfill his addiction, especially since Jiang Zhe’s skill was only ordinary Even if he played with a four stone handicap, Ji Xuan could still inflict a crushi+ng defeat Since it was impossible for hi ster he found objectionable Jiang Zhe was too embarrassed to decline and could only play with a bitter look on his face

After setting down the stone in ed face, I nation However, when his cool eyes fell upon athered up the stones But honestly speaking, I was not angry Although this old ht to eradually began to grow fond of this feeling For a long time, those at my side commonly either worshi+pped me as a deity or treated h there were a feere close to reat importance to me, there was no friend who treated h this old man was always foul-faced, I felt that he was actually soh he found my objectionable, there was no intense enmity If that weren’t the case, Xiaoshunzi definitely wouldn’t have allowed him to be ata friend despite our age difference As a result, I willingly allowedwalked into the courtyard, this was the scene she witnessed She could not help giggling before she advanced and reported, “eneral has already hness has said for daren to swiftly rejoin the army and further said that he will act in accordance with htly, I replied, “Venerable Sir Ji, please have your nephew begin to pack After lunch ill depart”

Ji Xuan’s hand shook With the hand he was using to collect the stones shaking, a stone fell onto the board with a soft clank His face expressing anger, he said, “This elderly one obeys”

I knew full well that he was unhappy However, at this lance at Zhao Liang who stood to the side waiting in attendance He stepped over and helped Ji Xuan away Ss Re that one scroll of Ji Xuan’s Venerable Sir has agreed to lend it to ht Go inform Huyan Shou and have hihtly Gesturing with his hand, he suer Guard to stay by ure disappeared into one of the side buildings, I rose to o and stroll by the lakeside This is truly an excellent place A pity there likely won’t be a chance in the future to return”

One of the Stalwart Tiger Guard replied in a clear voice, “Daren, Lord Li is not present It is best that we be extra careful”

I impatiently responded, “There are no enemies here What are you worried about? Don’t tell me that you can’t protectdistance Go to rest first”