Chapter 588

Hu Xiaotian sighed and said: "Drinking to drown sorrow only makes sorrow deeper, but since the two generals are so earnest, if I refuse again I would be ungrateful. Two generals, Hu Xiaotian will first drink as a sign of respect." He lifted the wine bowl and gulped it down in one go, put the empty bowl on the table, his eyes quietly fixed on Tang Boxi, no other meaning, you're shouting loudly, it's your turn to drink.

Tang Boxi certainly wouldn't show weakness in front of a little eunuch; he lifted the bowl and drank it all in one go.

Li Chen Zhou caught the smile at Hu Xiaotian's lips, understood in his heart, one bowl versus their two bowls, in the end this bastard still got the advantage. He took a sip of wine and set the bowl down.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Li Jiangjun, why aren't you drinking?"

Li Chen Zhou said: "I cannot hold my liquor; if I drink I will surely get drunk to the point of insensibility."

Hu Xiaotian silently cursed, just now he said he wanted to get drunk to dispel a thousand worries, but it turns out he wants to get me drunk, and you won't take a single sip.

Tang Boxi said: "Eunuch Hu, my brother can't drink alcohol, don't force him."

Hu Xiaotian really felt both laughing and crying, I can't drink but you insist on forcing me, your brother can't drink yet you don't allow others to be forced, are all the generals of Da Yong this unreasonable?

Li Chen Zhou said: "That unfortunate fallen General Wen is none other than the son of the Grand Tutor Wen Chenghuan of Dakang, right?"

Hu Xiaotian nodded and said: "Exactly, it's him."

Li Chen Zhou sighed and said: "I have long heard that Dakang recently produced a youth talented in both civil and military affairs; I have long admired General Wen, and I thought this opportunity would let us meet and become friends, but I never expected General Wen to die young, truly lamentable."

Hu Xiaotian said: "General Wen's unfortunate demise is a great loss to our state; he was talented in both civil and military, deeply favored by the Emperor, and at a young age was entrusted with important duties. Planning the Divine Strategy Manor, heroes from all directions flocked to join him, truly a talent unseen in an age; civil and military officials of the court all regarded him as Dakang's hope, the nation's pillar, yet who would have thought heaven would envy talent. Just as he had entered Da Yong's territory, he encountered such misfortune..."

Tang Boxi interrupted him rudely: "Hey! Eunuch Hu, don't spout nonsense, Wen Bohua clearly died in your Dakang, it has nothing to do with our Da Yong." He seemed coarse and rash, but actually not at all foolish.

Li Chen Zhou felt as if his heart were being torn apart, yet he forced himself to stay calm; thinking of his tragically deceased brother, he suddenly became so sad he could not speak.

Hu Xiaotian said: "General Tang, don't misunderstand. I don't mean to shirk responsibility; I'm just saying, General Wen's corpse is right here— isn't this Da Yong's territory?"

Tang Boxi was again stumped by his question, scratched his head and said: "Although the corpse is here, their deaths have absolutely nothing to do with our Da Yong."

Li Chen Zhou said: "Now is not the time to pursue responsibility, Sir Hu, do you know exactly who ambushed you?"

Hu Xiaotian lamented: "If I knew, I would have reported it to the world and surely annihilated that band of ruthless villains. But from start to finish, I never even saw an enemy."

Tang Boxi curled his lips. He silently cursed that Dakang's lot were pus-filled sacks, dying in such numbers without even seeing what the enemy looked like.

Li Chen Zhou said: "Your ship wouldn't sink for no reason."

"Of course it wasn't for no reason; when our boat reached the middle of the river, three fishing boats drifted down from upstream. We were trying to stop the fishing boats from colliding when suddenly countless stones fell from the sky. General Wen led us in brave resistance, shooting down a few vultures. It must be that these featherless creatures carried stones up high, then dropped them from above to attack our warship."

Li Chen Zhou furrowed his brows; if what Hu Xiaotian said is true, then these vultures certainly did not appear by chance over the Yong River and launch an attack, but someone is manipulating them behind the scenes. To command such a scale of vulture army to attack must be the work of an exceptionally skilled Beast Tamer. Although Beast Tamers are many worldwide, those with such ability are few and far between; following this clue should make it easy to uncover the mastermind behind this massacre.

Tang Boxi also realized this: "There must be a Beast Tamer manipulating them."

Hu Xiaotian nodded and said: "I think so too."

Li Chen Zhou said: "I asked the rescued warriors; it is said that at the time the ship carrying Princess Anping caught fire in the middle of the river, and then two ships collided."

Hu Xiaotian secretly guarded himself, seeing that Li Chen Zhou had already conducted an investigation; this person is meticulous, we must be extra vigilant, absolutely cannot show any flaw in front of him. Hu Xiaotian nodded and said: "Indeed, at that time we were thrown into chaos by the vultures' attack, and suddenly we discovered that the ship on which the Princess was riding had burst into flames."

Li Chen Zhou's brow twitched: "Eunuch Hu, you weren't on the same ship as the Princess?"

Hu Xiaotian had already anticipated he would notice this, and did not hide it: "Exactly!"

Li Chen Zhou said: "Eunuch Hu, in Dakang you are the manager of Zilan Palace, your duty is to personally attend the Princess; why did you not choose to be on the same ship as her?"

Hu Xiaotian gave a wry smile: "It's because I inadvertently offended the Princess while in Cangmu, so the Princess had me roll onto another ship."

Upon hearing this, Tang Boxi couldn't help but burst out laughing; he patted Hu Xiaotian's shoulder, this time not using too much force: "Eunuch Hu, it seems being a eunuch also has its hardships."

"That's right; serving people requires constantly watching the master's facial expression."

Li Chen Zhou said: "Sir Wu also shared a ship with Sir Hu; all three of those tasked with the marriage escort did not sail with the Princess— is this merely a coincidence, or does this arrangement hide some deeper meaning?"

Hu Xiaotian secretly admired Li Chen Zhou; this person's mind is not ordinary, trying to deceive him is no easy feat. Hu Xiaotian said: "Speaking of this, I am also utterly puzzled; I originally thought General Wen would be on the same ship as the Princess, and because of this I asked General Wen, but General Wen said that on water and on land are completely different— on land one can provide close protection, but on water one must keep a distance; should an unexpected situation arise while crossing the river, our ship could shield the Princess from danger." He paused deliberately here, his eye sockets reddening, tears welling up: "But we never imagined the danger would come from the sky."

Li Chen Zhou said: "Even if they suffered a vulture attack, it wouldn't cause such heavy casualties. Why did the two ships collide? Why would the boatmen make such a basic mistake?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "Li Jiangjun, to be honest I still haven't figured it out."

Tang Boxi said: "Could there be spies mixed in among them?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "I don't know either; it's irresponsible to speak without evidence, but there is one thing I can be certain of: if someone wanted to harm the Princess, they would certainly not want her to marry your country's Seventh Prince."

Li Chen Zhou's heart jolted at those words; he had actually already thought of this.

Tang Boxi said: "Your country's Princess marrying our country's Prince is naturally a match made in heaven; who would not want them to wed?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "Perhaps someone does not want Dakang and Da Yong to form a marriage alliance, intending to murder our Princess to sabotage this union."

Tang Boxi said: "It's also possible that your Princess offended someone, which is why someone wants to kill her."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Our Princess has been raised in the inner palace since childhood, rarely even stepping out of the imperial gates— how could she have offended anyone? Perhaps it is your Seventh Prince who has offended someone, so someone seeks revenge on him by plotting to kill his fiancée."

Tang Boxi shouted angrily: "Impudent!" He slammed his palm heavily on the table, making cups, plates, bowls and chopsticks jump up, pointing at Hu Xiaotian's nose he roared: "We kindly rescued you, yet you this eunuch actually try to push all the blame onto us— your intentions are despicable, your motives vicious, truly shameless and base!"

Hu Xiaotian showed no fear at all, sighed and said: "General Tang, why get angry? We're not analyzing this matter; I'm just saying it's possible, not that it's definitely your country's people who did it."

Tang Boxi couldn't help but burst out with profanity: "What's it to us? Hu Xiaotian, it's clearly that you guys failed in your protection, were careless; if you were subjects of Da Yong, our Emperor would surely have beheaded you all, not leaving a single head."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Hearing General Tang say that, I'm fortunate to have been born in Dakang; our Majesty is benevolent and reasonable, certainly able to discern right from wrong and clear our names."

Tang Boxi heard every word of his as a sarcasm aimed at himself, yet couldn't refute him; furious, he sprang up from his chair, grabbed the hilt of his sword, and bellowed: "You eunuch scum, you really make me furious— old man, I'm going to take your life right now!" He said, turning hostile instantly.

Hu Xiaotian remained seated there, the corner of his mouth curling in a cold smile: "General Tang bears an imposing and mighty aura; though I am merely a servant of Dakang, this time I come bearing the Emperor's edict, thus I am an envoy of Dakang— families have family rules, states have state laws; even if I Hu Xiaotian were guilty, I would have violated Dakang's law, it's not up to you, a foreign general, to point fingers at me. I've heard that Da Yong's folk are simple and honest, the populace educated and reasonable; seeing General Tang's conduct today, it truly proves that hearing about something is no substitute for seeing it."

"You……" Tang Boxi, although he gripped the sword hilt, did not draw the blade from its sheath.

Li Chen Zhou stepped forward to block him, saying: "Big brother, you've drunk too much!"

Tang Boxi gave a cold snort: "Damn it, a real man doesn't bother with someone like you, neither male nor female!" He was merely acting out the plan he'd agreed upon with Li Chen Zhou; seeing that he couldn't intimidate Hu Xiaotian, he now had a graceful exit.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Just because something has a protrusion doesn't make one a real man; someone who looks stalwart may actually be weak inside. In this world there are many who deceive and steal fame, even more who bluster, and counterfeit spearheads are countless."

Tang Boxi was so angry he was lost for words; in terms of eloquence, ten of him still aren't a match for Hu Xiaotian, yet he still wanted to kick up a fuss; Li Chen Zhou subtly gave him a look, saying: "Big brother, Sir Hu is an envoy of Dakang, a honored guest of our Da Yong country; you must not be rude after drinking— come, someone, escort General Tang back to rest."

Two guards came up and supported Tang Boxi as they left; Tang Boxi was so angry his head felt swollen, if not for Li Chen Zhou restraining him, today he would surely have chopped this little eunuch in half with one blow. (To be continued~^~)