Chapter 381: 381. Discard the brain if it’s not being used (Fourth Watch)

Translator: 549690339

The day after the Lantern Festival, Su Liang had old Mu bring Zhengzheng over, and after discussing with Lu Yu and Wan Hui, they decided to let Zhengzheng stay at Su Mansion temporarily.

They didn’t know the assassin’s background, so they couldn’t rule out the possibility that he was trying to kidnap Zhengzheng as a hostage against Su Liang and Gu Ling.

The assassin’s corpse had been disposed of, and there was nothing left to investigate; they could only be more vigilant.

According to the original plan, Liang Country would go to war with Qian Country in the spring. Yin Country’s grain had been given to Situ Xie’s people before New Year, but there was still no sign of large shipments in Qian Country. Su Liang had confirmed with Zhengzheng’s grandfather, Master Wan, that there were no unusual circumstances in the grain business recently. This made her really suspect the existence of a storage space-type magical item.

And, both Su Liang and Gu Ling felt that Situ Xie wouldn’t stay put before the war.

However, the possibility of Situ Xie sending someone to assassinate Emperor Duanmu Chen was very small. Because Situ Xie knew very well that if Duanmu Chen died, the Duanmu royal family would be gone, and the next emperor would either be Gu Ling and Su Liang, or their friends. Qian Country would be even more dominated by Gu Ling and Su Liang, and it would be even more disadvantageous for Liang Country.

Therefore, Su Liang believed that Situ Xie would likely send someone to assassinate her and Gu Ling before March. In Situ Xie’s eyes, they were the backbone of Qian Country and the biggest obstacle on his path to great achievements.

If Su Liang and Gu Ling could be eliminated before the war, then Liang Country would have a better chance of victory during the war.

After the previous incident, Su Liang thought it was unlikely that Situ Xie would resort to using hostages to coerce her and Gu Ling again. Because this kind of tactic could be easily countered, there were also Qian Country Royal Family’s master infiltrators in Liang Country Yao City. Capturing Situ Xie wasn’t easy, but capturing his grandson was not impossible. However, once this kind of thing started, it was easy to fall into a vicious cycle of mutual harm, and hostages involved would be in great danger.

Similarly, Su Liang and Gu Ling would also try not to use hostage-taking tactics to force the other party to submit, because they both had a lot of people they cared about and did not want to put them in danger.

One day, Gu Ling entered the palace to see Duanmu Chen.

Duanmu Chen knew that Gu Ling had come for official business, and as expected, once Gu Ling began to speak, he said, “The northern border may go to war after the beginning of spring; let Marquis Zhong Xin return to Xuanbei City as soon as possible.”

Duanmu Chen’s face tightened, “Did you receive any secret information?”

Gu Ling nodded, “Indeed. Situ Xie is getting old and can’t afford to wait or delay.”

Duanmu Chen frowned, “But Liang Country doesn’t have enough grain to go to war, unless they’ve negotiated an alliance with Yin Country!”

Seeing Gu Ling nod again, Duanmu Chen’s face darkened, “Is the information accurate?” If Yin Country was really planning to form an alliance with Liang Country, the situation of Qian Country would be terrible. The Emperor of Yin Country was not the same as before; Duanmu Chen did not know much about the new emperor, Ji Yuebai, but intuitively, she was a strong opponent.

Gu Ling admitted, “The information comes from Ji Yuebai herself.”

Duanmu Chen froze for a moment when he heard Gu Ling mention the name of the Emperor of Yin Country directly. Suddenly remembering the time when Su Liang had gone missing, Gu Ling had also disappeared, and shortly after, the Crown Prince of Yin Country had become the originally unknown Ji Yuebai. At that time, Duanmu Chen had thought that perhaps Gu Ling was involved in the change of the crown prince.

But at that time, Duanmu Chen thought it was because of Mu Ya that Gu Ling had a grudge against the former prince and had removed him; he hadn’t thought that Gu Ling’s goal was to help Ji Yuebai become the emperor. Later, he forgot about the matter.

“You’ve known the Emperor Yin for a long time?” Duanmu Chen’s expression kept changing.

Gu Ling nodded, “I saved him once many years ago.”

“Did you help him become the crown prince?” Duanmu Chen asked.

Gu Ling nodded again, “I just gave him a push. Who holds power in Yin Country is very important for Qian Country.”

“You mean, Ji Yuebai is now allying with Liang Country on the surface because of you, but in fact, he is allying with Qian Country?” Duanmu Chen’s eyes suddenly brightened. He had just doubted Gu Ling but quickly could no longer doubt him because if Gu Ling didn’t want him to know such a thing, he would never know. Since Gu Ling spoke it voluntarily, it meant there was no hidden agenda.

Gu Ling nodded, “Sort of.” It wasn’t only because of him, but there was no need to explain too much.

“Is Ji Yuebai really trustworthy? Don’t be fooled by him!” The sudden good news made Duanmu Chen a little incredulous. If Yin Country was really determined to stand with Qian Country, the situation would be greatly beneficial to them, and Liang Country would no longer be a threat.

“Trustworthy.” Gu Ling only said two words. Ji Yuebai wanted a stable world, not to be an emperor. He had explicitly stated that if Gu Ling approved of Duanmu Chen, he wouldn’t object, and when the time was right, he could transfer Yin Country’s power to Duanmu Chen peacefully.

While there were many ambitious people in the royal family, not all who were born in the royal family desired power and the lofty position. There were always exceptions. Ji Yuebai was a member of the royal family with the ability and ideals who didn’t aspire to be an emperor.

Duanmu Chen took a deep breath, “You should have told me earlier, so I wouldn’t have to worry every day about what to do if Liang Country and Yin Country cooperate.”

“Some things only became certain recently,” Gu Ling said, “Ji Yuebai and I are just friends. He doesn’t listen to me, but I’m sure he won’t work with Situ Xie.” Because the purpose of the war provoked by Liang Country was aggression, slaughter, and seizing better land and resources. Past history had already proven this.

Although people from Liang Country could say why they should be poor, Ji Yuebai believed that if the ruler of Liang Country truly cared for the people, they should voluntarily give up their imperial power, use peaceful negotiations to promote unity under heaven, and seek a better future for the people of Liang Country. Because people in other regions might have had a little more luck than the people in Liang Country, but they didn’t owe them anything.

The world itself is unfair, the geographical gap is actually no different from the gap in birth, and the geographical factor is also a part of one’s origin. Some people are born with a golden spoon and are wealthy all their life, while some are born poor and can’t ever make a better living. Pursuing fairness is acceptable, but one shouldn’t use the banner of eliminating injustice to justify robbery.

However, the Liang Country’s Royal Family has always been using such a grand excuse. They are not truly for the sake of the people of Liang Country because war brings no benefits to the people. The ambitions of the Liang Country Royal Family have caused the already poor people to bear more taxes and labor, making their lives increasingly unsustainable, with many starving and freezing to death each year.

Duanmu Chen hesitated for a moment and finally asked what was on his mind, “If it is only me and Ji Yuebai left, who would you choose?”

By calling himself “me”, he implied that he was also Gu Ling’s friend.

Duanmu Chen was very clear that the foundation of his stable position as the emperor was Gu Ling and Su Liang, and the people who held military power were their absolute confidants. Duanmu Yi said that Duanmu Chen was unknowingly being manipulated, but Duanmu Chen believed that he was not being manipulated but rather chosen.

Now that Gu Ling has another Emperor friend, it means that he has another option.

Duanmu Chen knew that if Gu Ling gave up on him, he had no way of making a comeback and could only accept losing everything. Fortunately, he believed that so far, he had not done anything to upset Gu Ling and Su Liang. Given their personalities, they wouldn’t take away his current possessions for no reason, even if they were only obtained with their help.

Gu Ling looked at Duanmu Chen and said a single word, “You.”

Duanmu Chen was a bit surprised; even though it was the answer he had hoped for, he suddenly didn’t know how to react.

After a moment of silence, Duanmu Chen thought of Gu Ling’s intentions. “Alright, I will issue an order later to send Marquis Zhong Xin back to Xuanbei City.”

Gu Ling then got up and left without further explanation to Duanmu Chen.

Duanmu Chen sat quietly for a while, mocking himself with a smile, “This result is the best it could be; why did I overthink it?”

Xing Ji received the decree that he would return to Xuanbei City tomorrow and was not surprised. Although he was unaware of many things, he could feel that the three-country stalemate was about to break. Last year, the throne of the three countries had changed hands, which was an unusual sign of a major change.

Old Lady Xing was extremely reluctant, but also helpless. There are only a few capable military commanders remaining in Qian Country. Besides Xing Ji, only Lin Bojun can go to Xuanbei City to lead the army, but he is Duanmu Chen’s most trusted commander. He must be kept in the capital city to control the City Guard Army, not because of Su Liang’s face that Lin Bojun was not sent to the border.

Late that day, Xing Ji came to Su Mansion to bid farewell to Su Liang and Gu Ling.

When he learned that it was Gu Ling who suggested he return to Xuanbei City, Xing Ji was stunned. “Is there going to be a war?” Of course, he wouldn’t blame Su Liang and Gu Ling; he just thought they must have a reason for doing so. He was able to return last year with Su Liang’s great help.

“Current news is that it will be early in March after the start of spring.” Su Liang said.

Xing Ji’s expression turned serious. “I understand. I will set off tomorrow morning. If you have any letters or items to be delivered to Qiao Jing and his grandfather, you can give them to me.”

Su Liang said that she would have them sent to Marquis Zhong Xin’s Mansion when they were ready.

Xing Ji hugged Gu Xiaonuan and then excused himself to leave.

Su Liang wrote a letter to Qiao Cong, and even had Gu Xiaonuan press a small handprint inside. It was expected that Qiao Cong would miss home in Xuanbei City. However, as long as Qiao Jing was there and Liang Country existed, Qiao Cong would not return.

Su Liang asked Qiao Cong and Qiao Jing to go outside Xuanbei City to Ping’an Temple to find Monk Cheng Yun and give him a letter. Su Liang wanted to ask Cheng Yun if he had seen Yan Shiba in the past half year.

During their last meeting, Yan Shiba was considering whether to give up his job as a head assassin because of Su Liang’s words, to be a normal person and to pursue Cheng Yun.

So after that, Yan Shiba might have gone to find Cheng Yun.

Cen Man and Nangong Qian both wrote letters to Qiao Cong, and Nangong Qian even made shoes for the grandfather and grandson pair.

After collecting the letters and items, Su Liang asked Qi Yan to send them to Marquis Zhong Xin’s Mansion.

The next day, as soon as the sky brightened, Xing Ji led a group of people and horses to set off to the north. Qi Jiang insisted on following him.

It was the end of January in a blink of an eye. Half a month had passed since Zhengzheng was attacked on the Lantern Festival. No other incidents related to the case had occurred since then, making Su Liang feel that the origin of the two assassins that night was very strange.

Su Liang couldn’t think of targeting Nian Ruting because she didn’t know that she was still alive. Nian Ruting decided to do so because she arrived in the capital the night before the Lantern Festival and saw Zhengzheng entering and leaving Su Mansion on the day of the festival. She then launched her poison plan out of impulsiveness, sacrificing two men she had seduced.

Shaoyao and Nian Ruting had been hiding in the empty Nian Family mansion. Shaoyao often went out alone at night, but she didn’t allow Nian Ruting to go out again.

After half a month, Nian Ruting still didn’t know what Shaoyao was up to and what she planned to do, so she couldn’t help but ask one night, “Master, can you tell me the purpose of our trip? I can help Master.”

Shaoyao was wiping her sword without even lifting her head, “What if I say that my purpose is to kill Gu Ling?”

Nian Ruting frowned, “Master can’t kill him.”

Shaoyao suddenly looked up coldly at Nian Ruting, “I was really blind to accept you, a fool who lost her heart to a man and hasn’t awakened even after being abandoned like a worn-out shoe!”

Nian Ruting’s face stiffened, “In a person’s life, there must be something they desire and won’t hesitate to pursue; otherwise, what’s the point of living?”

Shaoyao pointed her gleaming cleaned sword in a different direction toward Nian Ruting, “You’d better forget about Gu Ling, even if he doesn’t end up with Su Liang, he will never belong to you.”

“What do you mean by that, Master?” Nian Ruting asked with an indignant expression.

Shaoyao sneered, “Master said that there is a big figure who wants Gu Ling alive. They just haven’t taken action yet.”

“Then why did you say it was to kill him?” Nian Ruting countered.

Shaoyao shook her head, “My purpose of this trip is not to kill people, but to find something in the Imperial Palace of Qian Country. Unfortunately, I haven’t found it yet. Next, I must go to Su Mansion to search for it.”

Nian Ruting puzzled, “What treasure is it?”

“The secret scroll of mechanisms of the Mu Family. Master said there must be a complete copy in the capital city of Qian Country. If it’s not in the Imperial Palace, it must be in Su Mansion,” Shaoyao answered.

“We could kidnap a hostage and force Su Liang to hand it over!” said Nian Ruting.

Shaoyao put her sword back in its sheath, “You don’t need to use your brain if you’re not using it. Don’t forget how you were taken out of the Heavenly Prison by Su Liang. Such crude methods are useless against her. Once Su Liang and Gu Ling are alerted, our identities will be exposed. I can leave, but you can expect to be torn to pieces by them!”