Chapter 1240

Xia Zhangming, who had gone to Ji Prefecture, has returned; this time he chose to stay at the Immortal Guest Inn, because an assassination incident occurred at Sea Rhyme Pavilion, and recently everything has been under strict control by the Bohai Kingdom, with all the lodgers inside having been moved out.

Xia Zhangming's trip to Ji Prefecture yielded nothing; although he completed the task Hu Xiaotian gave him, he did not see Huo Xiaoru, and even the manager of Yanxi Hall, Xiang Shancong, only said a few words.

Hu Xiaotian felt relieved upon hearing that Yanxi Hall was currently fine; at least for now, the Bohai Kingdom has not yet investigated Yanxi Hall, which means Huo Xiaoru will not face any risk in the short term.

Xia Zhangming said: "I just don't know whether they will guess that you've come."

Hu Xiaotian said: "They will definitely guess." As long as that painting is delivered into Huo Xiaoru's hands, she will guess from its unique brushwork that it was I who came to the Bohai Kingdom.

Xia Zhangming said: "What plans does the manager have?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "Help me check out Heavenly Star Garden; you don't need to get close, just need to draw a bird's-eye view of Heavenly Star Garden."

Xia Zhangming nodded and said: "No problem!" He whispered: "I heard that the manager is now living together with Xue Lingjun."

Hu Xiaotian couldn't help but laugh: "People's words are fearsome; she encountered an assassination at Fuqing Pavilion, so she worried for her safety and thus borrowed lodging at Zhichun Garden; there's nothing between us."

Xia Zhangming also laughed: "Even if the manager is just putting on a show, it's no big deal; I'm worried that this would actually push the manager onto the spotlight everyone's watching."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Given the current situation, being in the open is actually safer for me, after all the Bohai side still has some reservations about Xue Lingjun, so acting against me would be detrimental to her."

Xia Zhangming said: "We need to guard against the other side jumping the wall in desperation."

Hu Xiaotian said confidently: "I have no problem protecting myself."

Zou Yong was in a good mood today; Xue Lingjun invited him to accompany her on a tour of Qingping Lake, and the Grand Princess Yan Dongqing also came along. Zou Yong originally intended to go to Zhichun Garden to pick up Xue Lingjun, but Xue Lingjun politely declined; in Zou Yong's view this was also natural, given that Xue Lingjun had been getting too close to him these past two days, already stirring Hu Dafu's jealousy; if he rashly showed up at her door, he feared it would cause unnecessary trouble.

Regarding Xue Lingjun, Zou Yong didn't have much confidence. Xue Lingjun was clearly far more capable than the other Grand Princess, Yan Dongqing; perhaps she had sensed her own perilous situation, which is why she chose to approach me; this woman's motives are absolutely not as simple as they appear on the surface; the more I perceive the complexity of the matter, the more intrigued I feel—if I could conquer such a beauty as Xue Lingjun, what a sense of accomplishment that would be. Even if Xue Lingjun and Hu Dafu were colluding, deliberately setting a trap for me to walk into, I still have confidence to make them lose everything, losing the wife and losing the troops.

Thinking of this, Zou Yong couldn't help but laugh.

The appointed time had already arrived, but she still hadn't appeared; Zou Yong shook his head—women are always like this, the more beautiful a woman is, the more she likes to make men wait. Merely, Xue Lingjun hadn't arrived; Yan Dongqing hadn't either—could it be that the two had agreed to take this opportunity to test my patience?

Zou Yong's patience had always been good. Especially regarding women, time passed second by second, and in the blink of an eye half an hour had already passed, and Zou Yong began to feel a little impatient. He didn't really understand Xue Lingjun, but with Yan Dongqing he knew every part of her inside out; this woman was always punctual, rarely breaking an appointment. Zou Yong finally couldn't help but gesture to his attendant warriors, telling them to go separately to meet the two Grand Princesses.

An hour passed in waiting, yet the two Grand Princesses were still nowhere to be found, like a vanished yellow crane. Zou Yong finally became impatient, his first thought being that they were colluding to tease him—such behavior was rather childish and somewhat rude, and he was hesitating whether to continue waiting.

A warrior hurriedly came up to him, leaning close to his ear and whispering in a low voice: "Master, something serious has happened—Criminal Ministry Vice Minister Kou Zisheng, Lord Kou, was just assassinated on his way to the Criminal Ministry on official business, and he has already died!"

"What?" Zou Yong could hardly believe his ears—Li Changxing had just died, and it was precisely because Li Changxing had been removed that Kou Zisheng was able to ascend to the position of Criminal Ministry Minister; yet today was only his first day in office, and he was already assassinated—this is certainly no coincidence. Zou Yong hadn't expected the enemy's retaliation to come so quickly; he bit his lip, no longer able to concern himself with Xue Lingjun and Yan Dongqing's broken appointment, and said in a deep voice: "Return at once."

Yan Dongqing's eyes were covered with black cloth, and a wad of torn cloth was stuffed into her mouth; although she could not see her surroundings, she could sense from feeling that the place was damp and foul-smelling. Having been pampered since childhood, when had she ever suffered such fright and humiliation? She shed tears nonstop, but unfortunately could not make a sound.

After an unknown amount of time, a sigh was heard at her ear, and someone pulled the torn cloth from her mouth. Yan Dongqing immediately shouted: "Save me! Save me!" She shouted for a long time, her throat grew sore, and she began to realize that shouting like this was utterly useless; she sternly said: "Let me out—do you know who I am? I am the current reigning Grand Princess; you dare to abduct me—this is sheer audacity; do you not know this is a crime punishable by confiscation of property and extermination of the clan?"

Someone pulled the black cloth from her eyes, and in the dim light Yan Dongqing saw an old man whose facial contours were as distinct as a marble sculpture standing before her; gazing at that face, she actually felt a sense of familiarity, and for a moment forgot to shout.

Yan Tianlu smiled at his niece and said softly: "Dongqing, you are even more beautiful than when you were a child."

Yan Dongqing widened her eyes, having already guessed the other's identity, and trembled as she said: "You are…" Her voice shook from inner fear, for she knew the consequences of falling into this person's hands.

Yan Tianlu nodded and said: "It is me."

Yan Dongqing said: "Why are you treating me like this? After all, we are of the same clan."

Yan Tianlu said: "You are my niece, Boguang is my nephew, and in my heart you are equally important."

I don't know any Boguang, and I have nothing to do with him.

Yan Tianlu laughed and said: "You naturally wouldn't know him—you are the noble Bohai royal family; how could you regard these bandits as kin?"

Yan Dongqing trembled as she said: "Release me, and I promise you I will persuade my royal elder brother to release him." She had already guessed this uncle's intention.

Yan Tianlu said: "Your words are not reliable; even if I believed you, I still wouldn't trust Yan Dongsheng; in any case, as long as Boguang is unharmed, you will be safe."

Yan Dongqing's eyes welled with tears as she said: "I am merely a woman; I have never involved myself in court affairs."

"You need not be afraid, nor blame me; blame only that you were born into an imperial family, and you have no choice."

When Yan Dongqing was abducted, Hu Xiaotian was paying his respects at the Li residence. Li Mingju wore mourning clothes, his tears had dried, his eyes were red and swollen, and above the memorial hall hung the plaque bestowed by the king—"Upright and Unyielding"—but the person was already dead, and even granting tenfold greater honor could not bring him back to life.

It was precisely because of Li Changxing's upright and unyielding nature that he had offended many in Bohai Kingdom; of course he also had many friends, but most people understood why Li Changxing had died, so no one dared to show his face too much during this sensitive period, especially since Li Changxing was already dead and the Li family no longer held its former standing in Bohai Kingdom—people are realistic like that, and even more so in officialdom.

Hu Xiaotian's arrival moved Li Mingju greatly; Hu Xiaotian gazed at the plaque bestowed by Bohai King Yan Dongsheng and sighed inwardly, "Regardless of whether the Bohai King succeeds as a ruler, his calligraphy is indeed excellent."

Li Mingju said: "Thank you, Hu Cai Dong."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Li Brother, no need to be polite."

Li Mingju said: "Hu Cai Dong, please follow me."

Seeing his solemn expression, obviously he had something important to say, Hu Xiaotian immediately nodded and followed Li Mingju to the side room of the memorial hall, where Li Mingju looked at Hu Xiaotian and asked: "Hu Cai Dong, may you frankly tell me what exactly brought you here?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "Haven't I already told you this, Li Brother?"

Li Mingju said in a low voice: "Hu Cai Dong is my lifesaver; I really shouldn't have presumed to ask, but my heart is filled with too many doubts, like a bone stuck in my throat that I cannot help but spit out."

Hu Xiaotian nodded, listened carefully to the surroundings, confirmed no one was lurking nearby, and then said: "Li Brother, please ask."

Li Mingju said: "That night I was ambushed at Sea Rhyme Pavilion; did Elder Brother Hu know beforehand?"

Hu Xiaotian shook his head and said: "That evening I had an appointment with the Da Yong Grand Princess Xue Lingjun to dine at Sea Rhyme Pavilion; I merely happened to run into Li Brother, and had no inkling of the impending danger to him."

Li Mingju said: "Do you know who wanted to assassinate me?"

Hu Xiaotian pondered for a moment, then said: "Although I don't know exactly who assassinated you, I can determine that those who killed you and those who killed your father come from the same camp; judging by the arrow technique, it is likely the same person; they killed you to interfere with Sir Li's investigation, and after the assassination failed they immediately decided to kill Sir Li, because Sir Li handles affairs conscientiously, always seeking truth and evidence, which has already disrupted their plans."

Li Mingju's eyes reddened as he said: "Are you referring to the Yuan Tianzhao case?"

Hu Xiaotian neither affirmed nor denied, and said in a low voice: "It is definitely not a revenge killing; behind Sir Li's death lies a huge political conspiracy."

Li Mingju said: "Someone wants to use the Yuan Tianzhao case to drag down the Da Yong Prince Yan Xue Shengjing; ostensibly it's an investigation into Yuan Tianzhao, but the real purpose is to establish the connection among Yuan Tianzhao, Python Flood Island, and Prince Yan Xue Shengjing; once the relationship among the three is proven, Prince Yan Xue Shengjing will be confirmed guilty of harming the public for private gain and deceiving the sovereign and superiors. The person behind this is the Da Yong Emperor, and the King's reason for agreeing to cooperate in this matter is that he hopes to exchange this for Da Yong's support, to help pacify Python Flood Island, right?" (To be continued~^~)