Chapter 1245

Don't panic; just tell me slowly whatever it is.

Zou Yong nodded, then recounted everything that had happened today from beginning to end.

After hearing this, the Empress Dowager's face hardened: 'You also made an appointment with Dongqing?'

Zou Yong bitterly said: 'Empress Dowager, it was Xue Lingjun who made the appointment with Dongqing; I never actively invited them. Xue Lingjun proposed going out for a tour and asked me to guide her. If I had known today's events would happen, I would never have agreed to the appointment no matter what.'

The Empress Dowager snapped: 'It's obvious you were lusting after that seductive Xue Lingjun; otherwise why would you provoke her?'

Zou Yong inwardly groaned; the Empress Dowager was clearly jealous, yet his approach to Xue Lingjun wasn't because Dongqing had suggested it—ultimately it was to help Li Chenzhou remove obstacles and cement Xue Lingjun's guilt. Now looking back, he felt he had entrapped himself, but the Empress Dowager knew nothing of the plot, and he couldn't reveal the truth, forced to swallow his anger. He sighed: 'Empress Dowager, if I harbor even the slightest improper desire for Xue Lingjun, may I be pierced by ten thousand arrows and die a wretched death.'

The Empress Dowager coldly said: 'Enough; I don't want to hear any poisonous oaths from you.'

Zou Yong said: 'Empress Dowager, these past few days someone in Wanghai City has been deliberately spreading rumors, all detrimental to us...'

The Empress Dowager glared at Zou Yong, forcing him to swallow the rest of his sentence.

Zou Yong said: 'Empress Dowager, this happened again today; it's clearly someone deliberately framing me. My death would be of little consequence, but if I implicate your reputation, then I would die a thousand times without excuse.' He wore a pained expression, seeming to speak for her benefit, yet his words were laden with threat.

The Empress Dowager bit her lip, finally calming her anger, and whispered: 'Why would they want to harm you?'

Zou Yong said: 'Empress Dowager, how would I know? I don't fear death, I fear dying without cause. Dying at strangers' hands would be tolerable, but if the king believes the rumors and blames all responsibility on me, then even in death I could not rest in peace.'

The Empress Dowager closed her eyes somewhat painfully: 'Rest assured, the king will not move against you, and I will not let him push the blame onto you.'

Hearing the Empress Dowager's promise, Zou Yong finally relaxed and stepped closer, but she widened her eyes at his approach: 'What do you want?' She was in no mood for anything else.

Zou Yong realized the Empress Dowager had misunderstood his intent. He silently cursed this woman putting on airs—though she was the Empress Dowager of Bohai, before him she was merely a fickle flatterer—but despite his contempt he still put on a deferential façade: 'Empress Dowager, I think this is a conspiracy.'

'Speak!'

Zou Yong said: 'Empress Dowager, do you know about the capture of Yan Tianlu's nephew, Yan Boguang?'

The Empress Dowager's brows slightly furrowed; naturally Yan Tianlu's nephew was her own nephew, the precious son of Yan Kui of Heavenly Wolf Mountain.

Zou Yong said: 'The king has ordered that in two days he be beheaded and displayed publicly; I believe this must be a plot by Yan Tianlu's rebel faction to rescue Yan Boguang.'

The Empress Dowager was not dense; she whispered: 'Dongqing and the others have merely lost their whereabouts; they may not have fallen into Yan Tianlu's hands.'

Zou Yong said: 'The truth will soon come to light. However, Empress Dowager, rest assured the Grand Princess should be safe for the time being.'

The Empress Dowager anxiously said: 'If Dongqing truly fell into those bandits' hands, this time we're likely in trouble.'

Li Chenzhou heard of tonight's events in the capital and his heart sank. Without much thought he judged that the other side's actions were almost certainly aimed at Yan Boguang. Li Chenzhou secretly admired their tactics: on the Zou Yong side they had just eliminated Li Changxing, then they retaliated by killing Guo Zhenhai, not long after they took out Kou Zisheng, and the Grand Princess Xue Lingjun's sudden disappearance at this moment effectively gave them the initiative, providing a pretext to challenge the Bohai royal house.

Even before Fuyan Shou came to invite Li Chenzhou to the capital, Zou Yong had already sent someone to inform Li Chenzhou of what had just happened at Jingwater Retreat. Though Wan Changlong's old patron Qian Laoye was wealthy, he ultimately dared not oppose a state, let alone his son-in-law; this Hu Dafu clearly had considerable background, and his relationship with Xue Lingjun was puzzling. Li Chenzhou had already concluded that Hu Dafu's visit must have been commissioned by Prince Yan Xue Shengjing.

As for the Grand Princess Xue Lingjun's disappearance, it certainly wasn't an accident; Li Chenzhou simply didn't believe she would encounter real trouble—so-called disappearance was most likely a self-staged performance.

The Grand Palace Steward Fuyan Shou respectfully said: 'General Li, the king summons you to the palace.'

Li Chenzhou pondered; Hu Dafu leading the Golden Scale Guard to storm the capital at night, his aggressive demeanor evident to all—no ordinary merchant would dare such heaven-defying acts; his every move must be directed by the Xue siblings behind the scenes, and Bohai King Yan Dongsheng's invitation now was merely to have Li Chenzhou resolve his troubles. Not wishing to confront Xue Lingjun directly, Li Chenzhou politely declined: 'Steward Fu, it's too late; if we delay the king's rest, let's discuss tomorrow.'

Fuyan Shou smiled faintly, understanding that Li Chenzhou had refused the king's audience, and without insistence he bowed and took his leave: 'General Li, you've thought this through thoroughly; then we'll take our leave.'

Hu Xiaotian arrived at the Mu'en Palace escorted by a group of palace guards, each as tense as facing a formidable foe, their eyes never leaving his sides.

Hu Xiaotian walked among them as if strolling through an idle courtyard, calmly entering the Mu'en Palace.

Bohai King Yan Dongsheng sat high on the throne; under the dim palace lanterns his face was somewhat blurred, he leaned sideways on the dragon throne, right hand supporting his head, his gaze not toward the approaching Hu Xiaotian, and he said coldly: 'Hu Dafu, you led the Golden Scale Guard to cause a disturbance at the palace gates late at night—do you truly think Bohai has no law to restrain you?'

Hu Xiaotian calmly gazed at Yan Dongsheng, without answering his question.

Yan Dongsheng mistakenly thought Hu Xiaotian had been cowed by his aura, he bolted upright and snapped: 'No matter where you come from or what your status, upon entering Bohai territory you must obey Bohai's laws!'

Hu Xiaotian bowed respectfully: 'They say Bohai governs by law; hearing the king say so today, it must indeed be true.'

Yan Dongsheng detected a hidden meaning in his words and coldly asked: 'What do you mean by that?'

Hu Xiaotian said: 'I am Hu Dafu, of humble origins, not worth mentioning, yet my coming to Bohai is not only for trade but also to fulfill Empress Dowager Jiang's orders to investigate certain matters and, incidentally, protect the Grand Princess's safety!' He produced the Phoenix Dance Nine Heavens token from his hand, handed it to the nearby eunuch, who received it on a pure gold tray and carefully presented it to Yan Dongsheng.

Yan Dongsheng took the token from the tray, examined it closely; though he had never seen the actual object before, he recognized the seals of Xue Shengkang and Empress Dowager Jiang above. After verifying it, he carefully returned it to its place, and his stern expression softened considerably.

The eunuch then returned the Phoenix Dance Nine Heavens token to Hu Xiaotian's hand.

Hu Xiaotian put the token away again, only to hear Yan Dongsheng say: 'So you are Empress Dowager Jiang's secret envoy!'

Hu Xiaotian softly replied: 'Although I received the Empress Dowager's commission, I bear no diplomatic mission; she chiefly worries about the Grand Princess's safety, which is why she sent me.'

Yan Dongsheng nodded; he was well versed in the political landscape of Da Yong, whether Xue Shengkang alive or dead, Empress Dowager Jiang's influence there remained strong. As her envoy, he ought to be shown some respect, and he said softly: 'Please, be seated.'

Hu Xiaotian calmly replied: 'I dare not sit before the king.'

Hearing Hu Xiaotian still show him respect, Yan Dongsheng's heart eased, thinking that since he was on his own turf, Hu Xiaotian dared not stir up too great a storm, nor did he have the ability to.

Hu Xiaotian said: 'Your Majesty, I have a doubt: they say Bohai is a land of law, so why has my Grand Princess been abducted and gone missing?'

Yan Dongsheng replied: 'Envoy, you are mistaken! Your state's Grand Princess has merely lost contact; it is not confirmed she was abducted.'

Hu Xiaotian said: 'Without evidence I would not dare come before Your Majesty to demand justice!' He produced a piece of cloth—bright green, clearly torn from a woman's garment. The eunuch stepped forward, took it, and passed it to Yan Dongsheng.

Yan Dongsheng took the cloth and saw written in fresh blood: 'Zou Yong abducted me!' Seeing these words, his heart was greatly shaken.

Hu Xiaotian inwardly gloated: 'Zou Yong, Zou Yong, to add guilt there's no lack of excuses—old me will trap you to death, what of it?'

Yan Dongsheng exclaimed in shock: 'Where did you obtain this cloth?'

Hu Xiaotian said: 'Your Majesty, this morning Zou Yong invited the Grand Princess to go out for an outing, also inviting your state's Grand Princess; we waited left and right but saw no sign of the Grand Princess returning, so we went to their appointed meeting place to investigate, and there we found this bloodstained note. We recognize the Grand Princess's handwriting—it must be a clue she left in an emergency. We then went to Jingwater Retreat to demand her return, but there Zou Yong not only denied ever having seen the Grand Princess, but relying on his status as a Bohai minister he violently attacked us, killing one of our brothers. I ask Your Majesty, does Bohai still have any law? Is Zou Yong still your subject?'

Yan Dongsheng was left speechless by Hu Xiaotian's question; the fact that someone had died was undeniable, and regardless of whether the blood letter was genuine, its words pointed directly at Zou Yong. He said: 'But… this… this blood letter may not have been written by the Grand Princess herself…'

Hu Xiaotian clasped his hands in salute: 'Your Majesty, I have a few words I wish to speak to you alone.' (To be continued~^~)