Chapter 308: Inviting Them into Their Own Trap
When they arrived at the city gate, Lord Zhou took out the imperial edict and forced the city gate open.
The group left Xunyang without even saying goodbye.
The couple, who had returned to their room to rest, were sitting in Shangguan Han’s study.
Hearing the people below report, Shen Yijia giggled and turned to ask Song Jingchen, “Did I act well?”
!!
Song Jingchen smiled and asked, “Did you drug Eunuch Li?”
Shen Yijia turned her head away guiltily. She fiddled with her clothes and shook her head repeatedly. “No, it definitely wasn’t me.”
She was doing this for the sake of fairness. She couldn’t possibly let the two of them lead the way. She only messed with that Zhou guy, but she missed out on the Li guy. That would be equivalent to looking down on the Li guy.
If Eunuch Li knew what she was thinking, he would say, “Please look down on me!”
Song Jingchen chuckled.
Seeing that the two of them had completely ignored him, Shangguan Han’s heart was struck. He felt that the study was instantly filled with a sour smell.
However, thinking that this matter was too risky, he became serious and asked worriedly, “Cousin, do you think he will really summon you back to the capital?”
He did not want to call Emperor Chong’an his father.
When Song Jingchen told him about this, he didn’t agree.
If that person knew that his cousin had recovered and came to Xunyang, he would probably want to send someone to a.s.sa.s.sinate Song Jingchen to prevent future trouble.
Song Jingchen sneered and didn’t answer.
Emperor Chong’an was a suspicious and jealous person by nature. Why else did he always treat the Bulwark Duke Residence as a thorn in his side?
Apart from the fact that the Bulwark Duke Residence was powerful, another reason was that he felt that his grandfather was more popular than him.
Back then, he didn’t kill Song Jingchen for the sake of his reputation. He probably started to regret it.
Now that he realized that there was a poisonous snake hidden beside him, wouldn’t the best solution be to pull someone out to balance the situation and be his knife?
It was best if he wanted to kill this knife. This way, he would benefit from the fight.
His recovered legs were his best choice.
Moreover, he had the name list that Emperor Chong’an wanted.
However, some people would probably be disappointed.
Shen Yijia lowered her head and crossed her fingers. Her lowered eyes sparkled, although she did not understand the meaning of her beautiful husband’s arrangements.
However, she caught the main point, which was to return to the capital.
She clenched her fists. “Shen Pingxiu, prepare to receive my anger!” she thought.
Thousands of miles away in the Wu Kingdom, the Ghost-Faced General and the others secretly entered General Yan’s residence at night.
As soon as the news of Emperor Wu’s illness spread, General Yan was a.s.sa.s.sinated. He did not know what the situation was like in the capital, so he had to be careful.
He should not have returned so rashly. However, General Yan was his adoptive father and he was indebted to him. He could not ignore his safety.
As soon as the group entered the residence, they b.u.mped into the butler who was walking towards them. When he saw the Ghost-Faced General, the butler immediately had tears in his eyes. “Young General, you’re finally back.”
“How’s Foster Father?” Ghost Face asked.
The butler wiped his tears. “The general was attacked. I didn’t expect that the sword would be poisoned by a thief.”
“I’ve invited all the doctors in the city, but they said that they couldn’t do anything about it.”
Ghost Face clenched his fists. “I’ll take Doctor Chang to see him first.”
With that, he turned around and strode towards the main courtyard.
Yan Guangmao had a childhood sweetheart in his early years. Unfortunately, at that time, Yan Guangmao was only a nameless figure in the imperial guards.
He knew that he was not worthy of that woman, so he found an opportunity to eliminate the bandits. He wanted to marry a beauty after making a contribution.
Unexpectedly, while he was out, something happened to the woman’s family. When he returned, the woman had long disappeared.
Later on, it was not easy to find out where that woman was, but she had already died. Because of this, Yan Guangmao never married.
Therefore, other than Ghost Face, who rarely returned, Yan Guangmao was the only master in this residence.
Seeing that other than Doctor Chang, who was carrying a medicine box, the others also wanted to follow, the butler quickly stopped them. “It’s not good to be too noisy at the general’s place. I’ll bring everyone down to rest first.”
Ghost Face stopped and nodded. The subordinates stopped following him.
The two of them went straight into Yan Guangmao’s room and looked at the unconscious middle-aged man lying on the bed.
Ghost Face frowned and said, “Doctor Chang, thank you.”
Doctor Chang hurriedly stopped Ghost Face from thanking him further. He put down the medicine box and went forward to take his pulse carefully. After about ten minutes, he stroked his beard and exhaled. “He can be saved.”
Ghost Face heaved a sigh of relief. Suddenly, heavy and orderly footsteps came from outside the courtyard.
He turned around and saw the crown prince of the Wu Kingdom, Nangong Huai, wearing a bright yellow four-clawed python robe. He walked over with a large group of soldiers and surrounded the courtyard.
“Did you do it?” Ghost Face asked, walking to the door and squinting.
This explained why his adoptive father, who was so cautious, was plotted against.
Everyone knew that the general’s residence supported the crown prince. Even Nangong Huai himself thought so. His adoptive father probably did not expect this person to suddenly attack him.
He looked around at the people Nangong Huai had brought and frowned. This was a trap for him.
Nangong Huai was already in his thirties and was slightly plump. He sneered. “Unfortunately, you found out too late.”
At this moment, the sound of fighting came from outside the courtyard. Ghost Face knew without thinking that the people he brought were stuck outside.
“Aren’t you afraid that His Majesty will blame you?” Ghost Face’s voice was unhurried.
Nangong Huai laughed. “Father is old and his health hasn’t been good recently. There’s no need for him to worry about such things.”
He was made crown prince at the age of 15. It had been 15 years since then. His father should have stepped down long ago.
“But my adoptive father won’t hinder you.” Ghost Face continued to stall for time.
Nangong Huai sneered. “Is that so? Isn’t your Yan family supporting me on the surface, but secretly befriending my third brother? You even helped him get a large number of slaves from Great Xia.”
In the Wu Kingdom, selling fighting slaves was the best way to bring about huge profits.
What else could a prince do with so much money?
Nangong Huai was angry at the Yan family for acting one way in front of him and another way behind his back. He hated the Yan family even more for choosing his third brother over him.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Nangong Huai stopped chatting with Ghost Face and retreated out of the encirclement. He shouted, “Archers, get ready.”
The row of archers knelt on one knee and drew their bows in unison, aiming at Ghost Face.
Ghost Face frowned. It seemed that this matter had something to do with Song Jingchen. What a good move.
“Release.” The harsh voice sounded again.
In an instant, tens of thousands of arrows were fired at Ghost Face. He pulled out the sword at his waist to block them and retreated into the room while the soldiers were reloading.
He slammed the door shut.
“A secret pa.s.sage.” Yan Guangmao’s weak voice suddenly sounded.
It turned out that while Ghost Face was talking to Nangong Huai, Doctor Chang had fed him an antidote pill and used acupuncture to forcefully wake him up.
This was also the reason why Ghost Face was stalling for time.
Ghost Face blocked the arrows with his sword and kicked over the table in the middle as a shield. He walked to the bed and carried Yan Guangmao.