In King Zhongshun's secret stronghold.
The young prince, who had been called "just the right amount of stupidity" by his own strategist, had just finished writing a letter to call for reinforcements. He had sent a loyal servant to deliver the letter through a top-secret channel.
His brother Li Xuanba, his grandfather's family, and the forces left behind by King Zhongshun's residence, as well as loyal allies and trustworthy helpers. He had called them all. Of course, he had used the royal family's secret communication channel, so there was no risk of the news being leaked.
He had to call for more people, he thought.
After all, he was a former marshal. Even though Jia Ying was seriously injured, she was still a stubborn person. He was a member of the royal family. He had to maintain the dignity and elegance of the royal family at all times. Even if he despised his opponent, he had to pay enough attention to them.
And the more people there were, the better.
Because those who came were all my allies and potential staunch allies, they were the best support for me to ascend to the throne. If I could defeat Jia Ying, my name would definitely spread throughout the world. How could such a grand scene lack spectators? With them as spectators, it was extremely good. My heroic achievements would definitely increase their confidence and convince them wholeheartedly. From then on, they would wholeheartedly support me.
That was great.
The young prince daydreamed for a while, then prepared to get down to business.
— — I will definitely become a monarch with great talent and bold vision. How can I rely only on my subjects to accomplish things? Sir has great foresight and strategy, but I cannot rely on him for everything. This is not the way of a monarch.
Although it wasn't advisable to do everything personally, he couldn't just be a clay puppet …
So he began to mobilize his troops, ordering the spies hidden all over Jinling to take action. As the saying goes, know thyself and know thy enemy to win a hundred battles. First, he had to plan the overall situation.
He was very efficient at gathering information. Soon, the young prince received the first report.
"What?" He looked at the old servant who delivered the news and raised his eyebrows. "Jia Shidao went to the Shi residence?"
The old servant still looked like he was half dead, but his tone was clear as he reported the news sent back by the spies, "Yes, Young Master Jia of the Ning Guo Mansion has entered the Jia Mansion in plain clothes. Our spies did not dare to approach, but they still saw the head of the Shi Family, Shi Yiquan, personally coming out to greet him. He was extremely respectful …"
King Zhongshun fell into deep thought. "That's strange … Why did Jia Shidao go to the Shi Family?"
The old servant didn't reply. He was a protector, not a strategist. This wasn't his mission.
The young lord didn't seem to expect him to continue the conversation. Instead, he said to himself, "The Jia family and the Shi family have never been on good terms. Jia Ying thought of a way to put Wang Wangxing's body into Wang Ren's coffin, which made the Shi family the scapegoat. That was such a brilliant move that even I have to praise her. Now that the Shi family has nothing to say about it, Jia Shidao should pursue them with all his might. Why did he go to the Shi family in disguise?"
The old servant remained silent.
After thinking for a while, the little prince still couldn't figure it out, so he subconsciously asked, "Where's Teacher?"
The old servant replied, "Master hasn't returned yet."
King Zhongshun's brows furrowed slightly before relaxing. Forget it, I can't always rely on him.
He patiently pondered. "Jia Shidao isn't a real imperial envoy. Why did he go to the Shi family to investigate a case?
Shi Yiquan is a vengeful person. Jia Shidao detained his son, but he still put on a face and greeted him personally. I suspect there's something fishy going on … "
The old servant, who had been keeping his head down, slowly said, "Your Highness, the Shi family is Empress's people."
The young lord nodded. "I know. The Shi family's rise in the past two years has been very unusual. I've looked into it before. Their new caravans and businesses in the past two years have all been traced back to Tensei Province. This Shi Yiquan obviously turned to my good sister …"
Speaking up to this point, a sharp glint flashed across his eyes. "Even the incident at Jinling this time, I suspect that she was behind it. Putting everything else aside, the Shi family dared to rob the coffin in broad daylight. It's obvious who fed them the courage of a bear's heart and leopard's guts. Hmph, the Shi family … This time, I'll teach them a lesson!"
But at this point, he seemed to have thought of something. He suddenly raised his head. "… You mean!?"
The old servant lowered his eyes. "I don't understand. I just want to remind Your Highness not to ignore the Shi family's background. After all, no matter what, Empress Tensei is your biggest enemy."
At this point, it was enough for him to divert his thoughts. Moreover, his opponent was Empress Tensei. The young lord's thoughts ran like a wild dog.
"I know that the Shi family is that woman's lackey. Jia Ying must know too. After all, he's a marshal. The Shi family's rise is strange. He must have noticed something strange. Besides, Jia Xu must have noticed it too, so he must have known."
"Moreover, our previous plan was to hide behind the scenes and mislead Jia Ying with layers of fog and stratagems. It was him who mistook the enemy for the Heavenly Policy Mansion and then led him to fight with that woman. It would be best if both sides suffered great losses … Therefore, he must have realized the background of the Shi Family.
"And he hid Wang Wangxing's body in Wang Ren's coffin. He must have wanted to take the opportunity to attack the Shi family."
King Zhongshun rubbed his chin. "But now he sent Jia Shidao to the Shi family. What is he trying to do?
Is he trying to subdue Shi Yiquan?
No, that's impossible. Jia Ying has always been arrogant. Why would he be interested in the Shi family? Besides, if he really wanted to subdue them, he wouldn't have sent Jia Shidao. Why didn't he go himself? "
The young lord thought hard. He really didn't know why Jia Shidao was going to the Shi family.
At this moment, three long knocks and one short knocks sounded outside. King Zhongshun broke free from his thoughts and glanced at the old servant. The old servant bowed slightly and walked out.
The knocks were a signal, indicating that new information had arrived.
The young lord pinched his forehead and relaxed. Without Master by his side, this kind of mental activity made him feel a little annoyed … The feeling of not having a clue was very annoying.
After taking a sip of tea and a short rest, the old servant quietly stepped in and bowed. "Your Highness."
King Zhongshun said faintly, "What is it?"
"Your Highness … Jia Yucun came to us."
The young lord raised his eyebrows. "I thought he was scared out of his wits by the fake imperial edict. Didn't Master say that we should just leave him be?
Why did he come looking for me? "
"No … He just brought a letter."
The old servant checked the letter in his hand to make sure it was not tampered with before handing it over.
King Zhongshun opened the letter and glanced at it. Then his expression changed dramatically and he stood up.
It was as if he had just found out that his sister was hanging out with some hooligans and was plotting to steal his father's inheritance.
The hand holding the letter trembled slightly, as if the thin piece of paper weighed a thousand catties.
There were no superfluous words in the letter, the main point being that Jia Yucun wanted to break up.
In the end, the magistrate was a man of letters who cared about face. First, he humbly thanked the prince for his appreciation, then appropriately expressed his regret. Finally, he explained the reason in a roundabout way.
He said that with his small arms and legs, he did not dare to get involved in the turbulence between Tensei Province and the Prince of Zhongshun's estate.
For the sake of their future meeting, he carefully and unobtrusively said a few unimportant things. For example, after the Shi brothers were imprisoned, they received special treatment in secret. For example, although the imperial envoy was not polite in court, in private he did his best to avoid the blame of the Shi family and instead turned the spearhead to the Wang family.
There were also many, many seemingly insignificant details.
Every word, every sentence, was like a vicious dagger, stabbing directly into the heart. The young lord trembled from head to toe and panted like an ox, his eyes turning red.
Moments later, he squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth, "Traitor!
Bastard!
Pervert!
Slut! "
The old servant slightly raised his head, as if in shock, but the young lord had already gone mad with anger. He tore the letter to shreds and stomped his feet, cursing, "I'm doing my best for the country, to get rid of Jia Ying for my imperial father. Who would've thought that woman would betray me and flirt with this traitor? She actually sold me out!!"
The old servant was startled, "This …"
The Prince of Zhongshun seemed to be very angry. He roared, "I was wondering why Jia Ying didn't die in the desolate mountains. It must've been because that slut still had feelings for her and showed mercy!
Damn it!
Damn it!
This is treason!
She actually dared to betray me!
She actually dared to betray me! "
The old servant wanted to read the contents of the letter, but when he narrowed his eyes to take a closer look, the letter had already been torn to shreds. He couldn't even make out the words, so he asked, "Your Highness … what does the letter say?"
The young lord roared, "What else could it be?
Tensei Province has long been in cahoots with Jia Ying!
I want to report this to my imperial father and have this adulterous couple cut to pieces! "
"This …" The old servant said, "Your Highness, please calm down. This is a serious matter. Jia Yucun's side of the story isn't enough to trust. It's possible that the enemy is framing her … Your Highness, please don't get angry."
Who would've thought that at this time, the young lord's anger would quickly fade.
He smiled coldly, "How was it? How was my acting?"
The old servant was truly shocked now, "You …"
The Prince of Zhongshun Senran said, "I'm not an idiot. How could I not see through this kind of framing?
But since I've seen through it, why point it out?
Jia Ying is in cahoots with Tensei Province, isn't this a great thing? "
The old servant's narrowed eyes flashed with a shrewd light, "Your Highness, you're thinking …"
"Jia Ying was actually reduced to playing such a pathetic and clumsy trick of sowing discord. Jia Yucun definitely couldn't handle the pressure and betrayed us, so Jia Ying beat him at his own game, right?
We're using sowing discord to deal with him, so he's also using sowing discord to deal with us. Hmph, he's underestimating me too much. "
At this point, the young lord's eyes became even more gloomy and cold, "Since you beat him at his own game, then I'll beat him at his own game too. Since you said you're in cahoots with Tensei Province, then act a bit more realistically. I can take advantage of this opportunity to collect the evidence you fabricated. The more realistic your act is, the more I'll like it. If you can create flawless evidence like how you forged an imperial edict, then I'll be even happier …"
He opened his right hand, then pulled back his fingers one by one and clenched them into a fist. His tone was Senran as he said, "If you want to beat him at his own game, then I'll kill two birds with one stone. When the time comes, I'll take care of you and gather enough evidence to give that woman a heavy blow … This is also what you want, right? I can take revenge for you while I'm at it."
"Hmph, although it's fake evidence, as long as it's linked to you, then it'll definitely plant a thorn in Imperial Father's heart. As long as Imperial Father has a thorn in his heart, then that woman won't be able to touch the throne …"
"After all, that woman planned to kill Jia Ying in Dahuang Mountain in the past in order to prove herself to Imperial Father. Ha, you're heartless and ruthless. Sooner or later, you'll suffer retribution and die in the hands of your lover …"
At this point, the clever young lord couldn't help but laugh wildly.
What a genius … he thought.
The old servant seemed to be a bit worried, "Your Highness is wise … But since Jia Ying is using a trick, it's best to be careful. He was famous for his strange tactics in the past …"
Jia Ying, it's Jia Ying again. Will you guys die if you don't brag about Jia Ying?
Prince Zhongshun couldn't stand Ying Boasting. He sneered, "What do you mean by strange tactics?
The art of war has always been about the strong defeating the weak. Only with strength can you win with strange tactics. Tricks without strength are just petty tricks.
Now that he's desperate and trying to show off his petty tricks, I'm not afraid at all. Why? "
"Because I'm stronger than him!
Now that he's lost his sacred sword and is seriously injured, I don't know how much of his martial arts is left. On the other hand, I have many fierce generals under my command, and powerful reinforcements will arrive soon. Even if he has a thousand tricks up his sleeve, I'll break them with my own strength and turn them all into a joke! "
The old servant sighed, "Your Highness, we still don't know how strong Jia Ying really is …"
"He doesn't even have his sacred sword, so how strong can he be?" The young lord frowned, "Why do you guys always raise the morale of others and lower your own?
If Jia Ying was still as good as he was back then, why would he try to drive a wedge between us now?
He would've tortured Jia Yucun long ago to force him to tell us how to contact him, and then he would've followed the clues all the way here and killed us all!
But now?
Where is he? "
The old servant was speechless.
Where was Sun Lang?
He was now sitting in a carriage with Jia Shidao, heading slowly in the direction of the Jia Mansion.
"That idiotic little prince will definitely behave himself for a while after receiving this letter."
Sun Lang said as he placed a few bullets on a small table in the carriage. As he spoke, he swept a bullet aside. "After all, idiots are the hardest to deal with. You don't know how stupid he is, and you can't predict what he'll do, so you have to find something for him to do …"
"After removing the biggest uncertainty, we can then calm down and have a good fight with our real opponents …"
Jia Shidao scratched his head. "If he's really stupid enough to believe it and excitedly report it to the Emperor, what should we do?"
Sun Lang rolled his eyes. "So what?
What do I have to lose?
Whether he reports it or not, whether the Emperor believes it or not, what does it have to do with me? "
"… I don't think so."
。