Li Xuanjing naturally would not easily believe Ming Zhang’s one-sided story. However, after spending time with him these past days, he also understood deeply that Ming Zhang could not be judged by ordinary standards. The more contact he had with him, the more terrifying he found the man to be.
At first, it was clearly Ming Zhang who came seeking his help, yet at some point, like moisture silently soaking into everything, Ming Zhang gradually infiltrated his forces. Because of his special status, Li Xuanjing could neither appear openly in the capital nor deploy his forces too frequently.
As a result, the spies he had planted in the palace, all of Li Xuanming’s information, and even Yan Yihuan had all fallen firmly into Ming Zhang’s hands. More frightening still was that he had been gradually manipulated step by step by him into staying back in the capital.
For a moment, Li Xuanjing was filled with uncertainty and suspicion. He could no longer tell which of Ming Zhang’s words were true and which were false, nor what it was that he truly wanted!
“Ming Zhang, do you think you can still walk out of this room alive?” His hand moved subtly toward his waist, fingers slowly curling into a tight fist. “If anything happens to Yihuan, you will be buried with him!”
“Since I dared to come, I naturally have my own methods.” Ming Zhang’s gaze lightly brushed over Li Xuanjing’s hand. “But I want to know the truth, the real reason Your Highness is so obsessed with Yan Yihuan.”
Li Xuanjing’s hand remained at his waist, motionless, as he carefully weighed the pros and cons of speaking.
Whether Li Xuanming was truly hanging by a thread between life and death, he indeed had no way of knowing. But rumors did not arise without cause. It was a fact that Li Xuanming had been injured, and it was also a fact that chaos reigned in court while he still refused to appear.
Du Cheng’en and the troops he had brought from the capital were being held in Changyun Prefecture to fend back the Northern Di. His(LXJ) father and King Yan were already leading their main army southward, advancing with unstoppable momentum.
The reason he was willing to remain in the capital now was naturally not only because of Yan Yihuan. More importantly, Ming Zhang had said he could find a way to obtain the capital’s defense layout map. With such an item to aid them, capturing the capital would only be a matter of time.
But the current Ming Zhang made Li Xuanjing feel increasingly out of control. He had even begun to consider that it wouldn’t matter even if they failed to obtain the defense map. At worst, it would simply require more effort.
At this very moment, Li Xuanjing appeared calm as he looked at Ming Zhang, but killing intent had already risen in his heart.
Before that, however, he still had to appease Ming Zhang first.
Li Xuanjing slowly lowered his hand. He turned and sat in the chair, his body visibly relaxing as he leaned lightly against the backrest,
“My attachment to Yan Yihuan naturally stems from our bond we shared since childhood, but there is indeed another reason unknown to others.”
Ming Zhang slightly held his breath, his gaze fixed on Li Xuanjing’s slightly parted lips.
“That is Yan Yihuan’s unique fate.”
—
It was nearing the fourth watch[mfn]四更 – According to Baidu, it’s 1 a.m. to 3a.m. Meanwhile, according to Wikipedia, it’s around 2:30 a.m. to 4:30 a.m. Sources: Baidu (https://baike.baidu.com/en/item/Fourth%20Watch/667222) Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_timekeeping)[/mfn] of the night, and all was silent.
Although the sedan bearers wore soft cloth shoes and walked lightly, the rustling of their footsteps could still be heard in the utter stillness. Inside the small sedan chair, Ming Zhang had long since shed his initial shock. His gaze lowered, appearing extremely calm.
But suddenly, a low laugh escaped him. He raised a hand to his forehead, trying hard to suppress his amusement.
Empress? How could someone possess such extraordinary fortune?
From the moment of birth, Yan Yihuan had been showered with endless affection. Although born into a noble family, he had lived carefree, pure as ever. He did not even need to do anything in order to obtain everything Ming Zhang had desperately sought all his life without success.
From the previous dynasties until now, it had been an unwritten rule that men could not become empresses. So even though he(MZ) longed to spend his life with the emperor, he had never once imagined becoming empress, and naturally disdained becoming a consort.
Thus, he had painstakingly strived to become someone who could stand equal beside him, someone irreplaceable. Yet Yan Yihuan appeared, and his destined fate seemed to mock just how overconfident and ridiculous he himself(MZ) had been.
“What I could never obtain, why should you get it so easily?”
So might as well just vanish, right? If the emperor’s eyes held no place for him, then there should not be room for anyone else either.
But at that moment, Han Zhen’s face suddenly burst into his mind, abruptly halting Ming Zhang’s chaotic thoughts. What followed was a sharp pain shooting through his head. Pressing a hand to his forehead, Ming Zhang bent over involuntarily. The sound of fabric tearing entered his ears, and then with a loud thud, a feathered arrow embedded itself into the beam of the sedan chair.
The sedan chair came to a sudden stop. The bearers did not dare shout in the street. They quickly lowered the chair and lifted the curtain to check, only to see Ming Zhang slowly straightening up, his gaze fixed on the arrow.
“My lord, are you alright?” One bearer asked in a low voice.
Ming Zhang nodded his head slightly, his eyes dark.
The surroundings were deathly silent. The assassination attempt had been hasty, likely carried out by only one person. Presumably because Ming Zhang did not know martial arts, the attacker had been extremely confident of killing him with a single shot.
Indeed, just moments earlier, the wind had lifted a corner of the curtain, and he had even unconsciously glanced outside. If not for the sudden headache forcing him to bend over, the arrow would already have pierced through him, killing him on the spot.
It was ironically Han Zhen, whose face had intruded into his thoughts, who had saved his life at that moment. Ming Zhang found it absurd, but he was unwilling to recall anything connected to Han Zhen now. The bearers withdrew, and Ling Chen appeared at the entrance of the sedan chair,
“My lord, we could not find the assassin.”
“Knowing that the Youluo Jian was nearby, the man only waited for a chance to fire one arrow before fleeing immediately. But I already know who’s behind it.” Although Ming Zhang’s voice was calm, it carried a chilling coldness, “It is just a pity Li Xuanjing had too little time to prepare, while my luck was simply too good.”
Ming Zhang extended his fingers and brushed over the arrow pinned into the beam. It was utterly ordinary, bearing no markings that could reveal its origin, but he knew it had to be Li Xuanjing.
“Although he acted impulsively, he is not a fool. Since the first strike failed, there will not be a second attempt. Return to the residence.”
The sedan chair was steadily lifted once more. Ming Zhang stared at the arrow, lost in thought. Li Xuanjing had first tried to assassinate the emperor, and then, driven into desperation, had attempted to kill him as well. Ming Zhang let out a quiet scoff and could not help shaking his head.
Li Xuanjing appeared deeply calculating, but in truth he possessed courage without strategy. Thinking that he had genuinely believed Li Xuanjing could help him achieve his wish, even Ming Zhang found it laughable.
But having come this far, did he still have any path of retreat? What kind of person was the emperor? Even if Han Zhen concealed things for him, how much could truly remain hidden?
Cold wind occasionally slipped through the damaged sedan chair. One drop… two drops… Rain began pounding against the taut roof overhead. The already anxious bearers grew even more hurried, their pace noticeably quickening.
The rainy season had arrived.
Within moments, the rain became torrential. Water leaked through the curtain and the tear in the sedan chair from time to time, soon soaking through his right sleeve.
It had been a long time since he had stood in the rain, Ming Zhang thought to himself silently. Back then, when he already knew Han Zhen liked to follow him around, he had deliberately walked into the pouring rain, allowing himself to be drenched through. Then he would turn back and see the flustered Han Zhen running to fetch an umbrella and chasing after him, panicked to the point Han Zhen himself would be half drenched as well.
But Han Zhen never knew that Ming Zhang had not only deliberately lured him into chasing after him. Part of the reason was also that he wanted to fall ill in the emperor’s palace, greedy for the emperor’s worry and care.
But the days when they had once slept side by side could never return. That bed now belonged rightfully to Yan Yihuan alone, who had taken away everything that had once been his.
But it was about to end. All of this was finally going to end.
Irritated, Ming Zhang banished Han Zhen’s figure from his mind and forced himself to focus on the torrential rain outside instead. His gaze gradually steadied.
Yan Yihuan, since Li Xuanjing is so deeply devoted to you to the point of being willing to risk so much to remain in the capital for you, then you should use that absurd destiny of yours to help him ascend the throne.
The author has something to say:
Actually, there is no clear distinction about whether Ming Zhang is the gong or the shou.
Deep down, he is an extremely proud person. Aside from the emperor, he is unwilling to submit to anyone else.
Especially Han Zhen, whom he has always regarded as his own follower.
While Zhenzhen is a loyal puppy type. As long as it’s Ming Zhang, he is fine with anything.
Of course, I also don’t want to waste Zhenzhen’s excellent waist, hehe.
