Chapter 86 Remembrance: For Power
In an instant, every pair of eyes in the room was focused on Situ, including that of Feng Luodi beside him. She shuddered, uncomfortable with the sudden turn of events. That can"t be true! Situ has no reason to kill the Xianbei Crown Prince! But if it wasn"t Situ…then who might be trying to frame him?
General An looked at Situ, confusion apparent in his eyes. The two were often engaged in battles both of brains and of blood, and he knew that Situ was not a man who would order an a.s.sa.s.sination like that. However, if it was indeed him…
“General Situ. What do you have to say to that?”
Situ did not reply, but the officer who accompanied them sneered. “Why do you even bother to acknowledge such outrageous accusations?”
“What do you mean?”
Sarcasm was apparent on the officer"s face. “You could have examined the body immediately to find out the cause of death, yet you"d waited till now to do so, when more than enough time has pa.s.sed for the murderer to remove any evidence that would have implicated him. Are you trying to indict our General just with the word of a lowly servant? You seem to have forgotten your place, General An.”
Well said indeed. Feng Luodi quietly commended the officer, shooting a sideward glance at Situ.
Li Hengba b.u.t.ted in again. “That does have some truth in it, but General Situ does indeed have the motive to order an a.s.sa.s.sination! He"d just came into the possession of a mysterious weapon a few days back, and it makes complete sense for him to cause unrest and chaos within the Xianbei kingdom, making it easier for him to take the kingdom by force.”
Everyone"s face tensed upon the mention of Situ"s “mysterious weapon”.
“Hehe,” the Third Prince of Xianbei chuckled, “are you accountable for your words? Who knows, maybe General Situ will attack the Huns instead of us Xianbei.”
So this guy is just trying to cause as much chaos as he can, huh? Feng Luodi nodded to herself, turning to Situ. If Situ still doesn"t speak up, it"ll be as good as admitting to a.s.sa.s.sination of the Crown Prince.
Finally, he did. “If I"d wanted to a.s.sa.s.sinate the Crown Prince, I could have done it anytime I wanted, not now.”
The Fourth Prince of Xianbei jumped to his feet, pointing a finger angrily at Situ. “That"s enough, Situ Muye! I don"t give a d.a.m.n about how my father respects you; you are in Xianbei right now! Your Northern Army can"t do a thing about it if I was to slay you right here and now!”
Before his sentence ended, Situ"s Covert Guards materialised out of the thin air, surrounding the prince from all angles.
“If you are to disrespect the General again, you will not live to walk out of the Crown Prince"s residence.” Two"s voice was cold and flat, with all the blood and ruthlessness of a seasoned killer.
Situ waved a hand in the air. “Let him be. General An is here; I"m sure he"ll ensure fair treatment for all guests.”
“Yes, General.” The Guards vanished into the thin air, without casting as much as a glance at the prince.
General An coughed lightly. “I believe that it"ll take some time before any conclusive results are reached, and we shall allow all guests to return to rest in their rooms. We will visit each of you individually afterwards, and we ask for your cooperation to facilitate the investigation.”
However, Li Hengba was not letting things slide so easily. “Well well well, I never thought that I"d get to see the day the Xianbei royalty bow its head to others in their own lands! I guess you"ll see a bit of everything weird if you live long enough.”
“Why don"t you just die right now, then? That way you won"t have to see anything ‘weird".” The Third Prince of Xianbei chuckled as he mocked Li Hengba.
Li Hengba"s expression froze for a second, and he turned to the Third Prince. “Why are you always against me, when our mothers are blood-related sisters?”
The Third Prince laughed again. “Why, who else should I target then? Perhaps if I do it enough, our positions might even change!”
Feng Luodi blinked repeatedly, completely muddled by the exchange of quizzical words. Situ stroke his mind absentmindedly, bored by the events unfolding before him. n.o.body seemed to be paying General An"s words any heed.
Feng Luodi shuffled closer to Situ and kept her voice as low as possible. “Didn"t he say that we could leave already? The stench of alcohol is too overwhelming in the antechamber; let"s go back.”
Situ nodded and got out of his chair, turning to General An. “We will be taking our leave now. We"ll be willing to help in any way we can.” He turned to leave the hall, pausing for a second when he walked pa.s.s Li Hengba. He flashed a smile.
Li Hengba tensed up visibly.
As they left the hall, Feng Luodi quickly voiced her doubts. “Why were you quiet all the while? You gave them the opportunity to accuse you of all sorts of things!” She was not only perplexed, but a little upset at his pa.s.sivity.
“Sleepy.” Situ"s answer was simple.
Feng Luodi rolled her eyes. “What? Did you think I was born yesterday?”
“I"ve never lied to you before.” Situ"s voice was as composed as ever.
Feng Luodi pondered for a while. He never did lie to me before indeed.
The officer beside them b.u.t.ted into the conversation. “Don"t you feel that General Situ"s silence will make them even more unsure than they already are?”
Feng Luodi"s lips twitched. “He"s already scary enough, even when he speaks.”
“It"s different.” The officer shook his hand, and turned to return to his room.
What"s different? Feng Luodi was still perplexed by Situ"s att.i.tude, turning to look at Situ. Before she knew it, Situ had already entered her room. He walked to the bed, lying down casually without removing his clothes.
What is he doing! I can"t back down from such a challenge. Feng Luodi balled her hands into fists and followed into the room. Walking close to the bed, she saw that Situ"s eyes were already closed, his breathing even.
“Situ, Situ! You"ve got to go back to your room!” Feng Luodi tugged on his sleeves. “Where else am I going to sleep?”
Situ did not budge.
What? Aren"t martial artists supposed to be aware of their surroundings, even in their sleep? Feng Luodi was confused. Is this just an act?
She shuffled over to the table and cradled her head in her hands, looking at Situ. She yawned loudly. “I"m really sleepy too…but it"ll be really weird if I slept in your room, wouldn"t it?” She looked across the room at the sleeping Situ, feeling her mind slowly slipping from the realm of the conscious. Shaking her head, she strode over to Situ and shook him by his shoulder.
“Get up Situ, and go back to your own room! It"s not good for the two of us to spend the night like that!” Her voice slowly died out, her cheeks flushed red with embarra.s.sment.
She yawned again. “Argh…I guess I"ll just find an empty room to spend the night.” She turned to leave the bed, but felt a strong pull on her hand. Before she knew it, she was flat on the bed with Situ poised above her.
“You were indeed faking your sleep!” Feng Luodi saw that Situ"s eyes were clear, with no hint of sleep in them.
“I slept, but was woken up by someone.” Situ said in his usual stoic manner.
“Are you sure you"d wanna continue our conversation in this position?” Feng Luodi was feeling an intense mixture of embarra.s.sment and awkwardness, but did not dare to squirm for fear of touching more of him. “Don"t make me shout for help!”
Situ stared deep into her eyes. “What exactly is going through your mind right now?”
Feng Luodi blushed and tried to push him away. Surprisingly, Situ followed her push and slid off her, sitting on the edge of the bed. “I"m thinking…of the relations.h.i.+p between the Third Prince of the Xianbei and Li Hengba, the Third Prince of the Huns.”
Situ poured himself a cup of tea and Feng Luodi sat up immediately, relieved. I know Situ to be someone who guards his boundaries and rules zealously, and him breaking such boundaries between us says a lot about him…and me. I can"t let this go on anymore! I can"t let us fall any deeper into it!
“The birth mother of the Third Prince of the Xianbei was a princess of the Huns. She was married to the Xianbei king in a marriage of alliance, but is the blood-sister of Li Hengba"s birth Mother as well.” Situ answered calmly.
“Doesn"t that put the Third Prince in an awkward position?” Feng Luodi arranged her clothes and joined Situ by the table. “No wonder it seemed as if he had bad relations with the rest of his brothers.”
“That is his fate. His every action will be scrutinised by both sides, and will be guarded against by all.”
Feng Luodi sighed. No wonder he acts like that, seeing as how n.o.body actually treats him seriously enough. “I guess I"ll act like that as well, if I was in his shoes.”
“You wouldn"t.” Situ shook his head. “He"s smart, but not smart enough. If he could balance his relations on both sides well enough, he wouldn"t have ended up like that. But it"s all too late for him now.”
“Late?” Feng Luodi shook her head. “I feel like it"s only the beginning for them. The Crown Prince has just died, and neither does the King seem to be in the pink of health. Theoretically, there will be equal chance for each of the remaining Princes to fight for the throne.”
Situ looked at her for a moment. “I thank my lucky stars that you weren"t born a man, or…”
Feng Luodi laughed. “Or what? I"m sure I wouldn"t last a day in such politics if I was a guy.”
Situ did not continue her joke, but stared deeply into her eyes, silent as a bat. His look unnerved Feng Luodi and she laughed again, trying to break the tension between them. Standing up, she strode to the door and threw it open.
“Go back to your room; it"s almost daybreak. I want to catch what remaining sleep I can.”
Situ stood up and advanced slowly towards her. Before he could speak, a Covert Guard dropped from the roof into the courtyard, sword half brandished. He faced a corner of the yard, face as cold as the steel he wielded.
“Who"s there?”
The two of them followed his gaze. A small boy about the age of six or seven slowly walked out from his hiding place behind a tree, clad in rags. His features were deep and defined, but he did not look like the typical Xianbei. He stared at them wordlessly.
Feng Luodi gasped unconsciously when she took in his face; his eyes were cold and desolate. What happened to him, that caused him to have such unfeeling eyes?
“He looks like you.” Situ commented.
“What?”
“He looks like you.” Situ repeated patiently. “Since the day I met you in Moonglade, and every time we met afterwards. He reminds me of you.”
Feng Luodi froze. Now she understood what Situ was referring to.
It was their eyes.