Chapter 958: [Who Schemed Against Me] (Part 2)

Qiqi didn't give an answer; in fact, even if she didn't speak, Hu Xiaotian could guess: eight or nine times out of ten it was Hong Beimo's idea, possibly also Grand Tutor Wen Chenghuan's. Hu Xiaotian smiled calmly: "Li Tianheng has the ambition of a wolf cub; he initially raised the banner of sending troops to support the king, but now that the Emperor has retaken the throne, he no longer mentions leading troops to submit, nor the matter of reincorporating Xichuan into Dakang's territory—this clearly shows he intends to make himself king. Does the Emperor still harbor extravagant hopes for him?"

Qiqi sighed: "Dakang is now surrounded by enemies on all sides; we can't go about making enemies everywhere."

Hu Xiaotian: "So the Emperor came up with this idea, to enfeoff Li Tianheng as king, thereby stabilizing him?"

Qiqi: "Since Xichuan is already under his de facto control, we might as well be generous. Although Li Tianheng harbors rebellious intentions, he outwardly still presents himself as a loyal minister. He has placed my Imperial Uncle under house arrest in Xizhou—his intentions are clear. If one day the Emperor passes away, he will claim to be the legitimate successor of Dakang, supporting and manipulating a puppet regime."

Hu Xiaotian had previously heard Yang Lingqi mention this; he nodded involuntarily: "Your view coincides exactly with that of a friend of mine."

Qiqi's beautiful eyes lit up: "Who?"

Hu Xiaotian: "A talented but unrecognized scholar; his name is Yang Lingqi, and I was just thinking of recommending him to the court."

Qiqi: "If the opportunity arises, arrange for me to meet him. The court is currently in need of talent; if he truly possesses ability, I can appoint him exceptionally."

Hu Xiaotian nodded: "I plan to bring him along on the mission to Xichuan; he has a deep understanding of the situation and will surely be of great help to my trip to Xichuan."

Qiqi: "You may select the members of the envoy yourself; tell me what conditions you need, and I will do my best to meet them."

Hu Xiaotian: "I always feel this trip to Xichuan won't be peaceful; someone probably hopes I go and never return."

Qiqi: "How about I send Eunuch Quan with you? His martial skill will certainly guarantee your safety on this journey."

Hu Xiaotian, hearing this, hastily waved his hands: "No need; sending him with me isn't to protect me—it's likely to monitor me."

Qiqi couldn't help laughing, she said softly: "In your heart I've always been scheming and unscrupulous; perhaps that was true before, but after our engagement, we should share weal and woe, stand together through hardship."

Hu Xiaotian gazed at Qiqi's youthful face, unable to help sighing: "To you it's just a marriage contract; to me it's a shackle. I've already promised to wholeheartedly help you, yet you're still unsatisfied, insisting I become your prince consort to satisfy you—prince consort, prince consort. To toil like an ox and horse—could it be that my fate is to be ridden by you for life?"

A rare bashfulness appeared on Qiqi's lovely face as she whispered: "Rest assured, as long as you treat me well, I will never bully you again, nor will I make things difficult for your family, and certainly I will not treat you like a horse to ride."

Hu Xiaotian: "If that's the case, first agree to one condition of mine."

Qiqi blinked, eyes full of vigilance: "Where do you get all these conditions? Didn't you already promise to spare your life twice?"

Hu Xiaotian: "First, release my father."

Upon hearing it was this condition, Qiqi found it naturally easy. She nodded happily: "Good! I'll have someone take care of it tonight and send Sir Hu back to his residence."

Qiqi kept her word; when Hu Xiaotian returned to the Secretariat Residence, Hu Buwei had already arrived home ahead of him. The couple were in their room discussing their son's marriage; hearing Hu Xiaotian's return, they hurriedly summoned him inside and asked for his final decision.

Seeing his father return safely, Hu Xiaotian's heart finally settled; he smiled: "I just met the Yongyang Princess—this matter is settled as such."

Xu Fengyi sighed: "The imperial edict cannot be defied, but this means you'll likely have no freedom for the rest of your life." A son is the flesh of his mother's heart; Xu Fengyi dotes on Hu Xiaotian extraordinarily, and in her eyes even though Qiqi is a noble lady, she may still not be worthy of her son.

Hu Xiaotian: "Becoming a prince consort is also a splendid affair that makes people envious; Mother, why wouldn't you be happy about it?"

Hu Buwei nodded and said to Xu Fengyi: "Fengyi, go rest first; I have some private words to speak with Tian'er."

Xu Fengyi shook her head, rose, and said: "I'll go out for a walk; you two are hiding things from me."

After Xu Fengyi left, Hu Xiaotian came to sit beside his father, smiling: "Father, are you alright?"

Hu Buwei chuckled: "Nothing serious; the Yongyang Princess treated me fairly well. She was supposed to release me tomorrow, but unexpectedly she sent me back tonight—probably because of you." He paused, gazing meaningfully at his son's face, and said deeply: "This matter has wronged you."

Hu Xiaotian: "Father, I have nothing to feel wronged about."

Hu Buwei sighed: "Your mother told me you already have a beloved; this marriage proposal surely will dash your hopes."

Hu Xiaotian: "Feelings are one thing, marriage another; it seems Dakang has indeed reached the end of its rope, otherwise it wouldn't actively seek a marriage alliance with our Hu family."

Hu Buwei nodded, narrowing his eyes: "Although the Emperor is old, he shouldn't be muddled; his recent foolish actions are clearly meant to deceive the outside world."

Hu Xiaotian: "The Emperor and Qiqi are putting on a double act—one sings the red face, the other the white face; the Emperor aims to help Qiqi quickly establish authority and win the people's trust."

Hu Buwei's eyes lit up; he had wanted to say exactly that, never expecting his son to have seen it so clearly. Hu Buwei: "Quan De'an came to me to discuss your marriage; I knew the Emperor hadn't abandoned his plan."

Hu Xiaotian: "After my engagement to Qiqi, our Hu family and the imperial house become one family; the Jinling Xu clan, whether willing or not, will be bound to the same boat."

Hu Buwei: "That is exactly what the Xu clan least wants to happen."

Hu Xiaotian: "Actually, for us there is no loss."

Hu Buwei: "What do you mean?"

Hu Xiaotian listened attentively; all movement within a radius of five zhang around the front and back of the house escaped his perception, and he was certain no one was eavesdropping outside, then he whispered: "Father, haven't you noticed that the Emperor, after exhausting all his schemes, truly aims to lift Qiqi to the throne?"

Hu Buwei pressed his lips, speaking low: "I do have that feeling, but I've never dared to conclude it, given that since Dakang's founding no woman has ever ascended the throne; does the Emperor truly have the courage to abolish ancestral rules and choose a woman as Dakang's heir?"

Hu Xiaotian: "The Emperor is advanced in age and could pass away at any moment; he cannot fail to consider a successor. Looking over the Dakang imperial clan, only Qiqi is truly fit to inherit the throne, and everything the Emperor has recently done clearly prepares her to hold power."

Hu Buwei nodded: "Listening to you, that should not be wrong."

Hu Xiaotian: "But I still can't fathom this move of the Emperor—choosing me to become the future prince consort probably isn't merely a way of binding our Hu and Xu families together on the same boat to jointly support Qiqi."

Hu Buwei said: "If you marry the Yongyang Princess, our Hu family will naturally do our utmost for her." The son and Qiqi marrying makes the Yongyang Princess the Hu family's daughter-in-law; from this point, Hu Buwei will naturally strive for the interests of his son and daughter-in-law; if the old Emperor truly intends to hand Dakang's authority to Qiqi, enabling her to become Dakang's empress, then Dakang's realm would be half his son's, and serving Dakang is serving his son.

Hu Xiaotian shook his head: "Although Qiqi is smart, her scheming and tactics still fall short of this old emperor. Father, I still suspect the old emperor isn't that simple—on this side he proposes marriage to our Hu family, letting me and Qiqi become engaged; on the other side he sends me to Xichuan on an envoy to announce the enfeoffment of Li Tianheng as king."

Hu Buwei, hearing his son was again to be sent to Xichuan, couldn't help drawing a sharp breath. Li Tianheng was formerly his in-law; originally he had sent his son to Xichuan to leave a retreat for the Hu family. Later Li Tianheng raised troops, declared himself ruler, carved out a domain, becoming the Southwest Hegemon. The Hu family suffered collateral damage from this, nearly facing extermination. Although the Hu family had unilaterally annulled the marriage contract, now the Emperor sends his son to Xichuan; one cannot guarantee Li Tianheng won't bring up the past, and it's hard to say how he would treat his own son. Hu Buwei whispered: "Why would the Emperor do this?"

Hu Xiaotian: "It is said that several ministers jointly recommended me for the mission to Xichuan."

Hu Buwei frowned: "The Emperor's intentions are truly puzzling; why must it be you who goes?"

Hu Xiaotian: "I also can't fathom the reason, but one thing is certain: this trip to Xichuan will certainly not be peaceful."

Hu Buwei: "That Li Tianheng is ambitious, never content to be subordinate; the Emperor even harbors the extravagant hope of winning him over by granting him a princely title."

Hu Xiaotian: "The Emperor doesn't actually hope to reform him; he merely wants to temporarily stabilize Li Tianheng this way, since Dakang and Xichuan still share interests—if Li Tianheng breaks the current situation, it will surely give Da Yong an opportunity to exploit."

Hu Buwei: "But why does he insist on sending you?"

Inside the Hall of Nourishing the Heart, Long Xuan'en sat cross-legged on a white jade platform, bare-chested, his body studded with golden needles; many of the needles trembled incessantly with his pulse. Hong Beimo glanced at the scant remaining incense in the burner, then pulled out Long Xuan'en's golden needles one by one.

Long Xuan'en exhaled deeply, slowly opened his eyes, and said softly: "This method of acupuncture with golden needles is indeed excellent; each time after the treatment, I feel a sense of being reborn."

Hong Beimo smiled: "As long as Your Majesty persists in following my method, prolonging life and longevity will be no problem."

Long Xuan'en said: "What I most anticipate now is the elixir concocted by my beloved official; if it succeeds, I can return to youth."

Hong Beimo said: "It's a pity that the Elixir Cauldron chapter of the 'Opening Heaven and Earth' has never been found; I can only study and research it on my own, and progress has been slow." (To be continued~^~)