Chapter 228: A Clue

In the courier hostel.

“Your Highness, we… failed!”

Shan Congwen sprang to his feet. “How could you? Wasn’t the plan watertight?”

“We have no idea what happened in there. Ling Zhang wasn’t poisoned. The waiter trying to poison him has committed suicide.”

Shan Congwen paced up and down in the room twice, looking very anxious. “What about the groom of the racecourse?”

“He was taken away. Yuwen Tong’s men had him. Fortunately that groom is merely a contract killer. He doesn’t know it was us who hired him to do that. Just now I’ve had the go-between disposed of beforehand.”

Shan Congwen’s countenance slightly softened but was still sulky.

“The King Hui probably has been informed as well. Given that we’ve failed to kill Ling Zhang twice, I’m afraid there might be a change of the deal between us and the King Hui.”

Shan Congwen, cold-faced, said, “There won’t. As long as he still wants to ascend the throne, cooperating with us will remain his only choice, for besting the King Duan, the King Yu and the Crown Prince unaided is no easy job.”

“Then… what do we do now?”

“We wait for another opportunity,” said Shan Congwen through gritted teeth, clenching his fists tightly.

“But… the emperor has already begun to suspect us because of what happened in the hunting ground and would probably have us leave the Great Yue immediately after the hunting, which means we’re running out of time. Your Highness, the most important purpose of this journey of us to the Great Yue is to keep Yuwen Tong from contracting an alliance with the imperial family of the Great Yue by marriage, cast in a bone between Yuwen Tong and the imperial family and eventually have the emperor of the Great Yue kill Yuwen Tong, but we’ve stayed here for such a long time and the mission is still unaccomplished. Is pinning our hopes on the King Hui really going to help us get what we want?”

Shan Congwen’s face grew impatient and fretful. “I’m just as anxious to get this fucking job done as you are. It’s all that goddamn Ling Zhang guy’s fault. His fucking arrival upset many of my plans. Originally I believed that the Ninth Princess not marrying Yuwen Tong meant our task was half fulfilled, but then the emperor’s attitude became uncertain because of it – Yuwen Tong had a falling out with Yuwen Zhi and intends to marry a man, which means that he won’t have any children, and he also willingly let the emperor get the goods on him. Now the emperor is not as determined to kill Yuwen Tong as he used to be before, leaving me no fucking choice but to go to so much trouble to cooperate with the King Hui, which is unbelievably unfortunate.”

“How about we directly have Yuwen Tong assassinated?”

Shan Congwen spat, “You think I would’ve waited so long if that’s an option?!”

His subordinate felt rather awkward in the knowledge that what Shan Congwen said was true. They wouldn’t have gone to so much bother had they stood a chance of assassinating Yuwen Tong.

Shan Congwen continued, “Besides, having Yuwen Tong assassinated is too risky. We’ll be the first ones people suspect. What we’re supposed to do is split the North-western Army, rather than give them an excuse to launch an attack on our country with boosted morale. We must figure out a way to have Yuwen Tong die at the hands of people of the Great Yue. It would be best if a member of the imperial family takes his life. Only in this way can we shake the foundations of the North-western Army’s allegiance and get the opportunity we need.”

Shan Congwen had gradually calmed down while making these remarks. “The Crown Prince of the Great Yue claims to be ill, but there’s no telling whether it’s true or not, and we couldn’t even have an audience with him. There’s no conflict of interest between Yuwen Tong and the King Duan or the King Yu, and the latter two are even bent on curry favor with the former. Cooperating with them would be a very risky move as well, for they’re too inclined to switch sides; one mistake and we’ll be doomed. Driving a wedge between Yuwen Tong and the emperor of the Great Yue is our best choice. It’s a pity that the emperor, though having a very suspicious mind, is also fully aware of Yuwen Tong’s value, otherwise he wouldn’t have put up with Yuwen Tong for so many years. He’s a wily old fox. We can but make some covert arrangements, and we cannot afford to let him find out that we’re involved in this, or else it’d be having the opposite effect. This also makes me feel my hands are tied. Yuwen Tong is the one to blame for this – it was because of him that all the important pawns we planted in the capital city of the Great Yue were eliminated. Now I have nobody at my disposal except for some insignificant lackeys.

“Though our cooperation with the King Hui promises no quick results, it’s likelier to succeed. Since we have something on him, he’d have no choice but to execute Yuwen Tong after ascending the throne, even if he regrets. On top of that, it’ll be easier for us to keep the new emperor under control if the King Hui is the one to be enthroned, and it’ll also be easier to take the Great Yue. We may also incite civil strife in the Great Yue to undermine its power while assisting him in striving for the throne so that our country wouldn’t be disturbed during the period of recuperating and building up strength.”

His subordinate, after hearing Shan Congwen’s analysis, lowered his head and said, “You’re so wise and visionary, Your Highness. Just now I was being impulsive. If I understand you correctly, cooperating with the King Hui is a must for us. But the King Hui stated categorically that the prerequisite of him cooperating with us is we kill Ling Zhang. Given that we’ve suffered a spate of failures and the Great Yue has begun to suspect us, do we still stand a chance of getting it done?”

Shan Congwen said through gritted teeth, “We’ll create another chance if we don’t. That Ling Zhang guy has to go to the Imperial College every day, doesn’t he? Although it won’t be easy to gain entry into the Imperial College, current circumstances leave us no alternative. Figure out a way to infiltrate into that college.”

That subordinate of his, though finding this task of a very high level of difficulty, still earnestly bobbed his head. “I’ll go and start collecting intelligence right away. The courier hostel is under very close surveillance these days, and I think we have to wait a few days before contacting the King Hui once again lest we be identified.”

Shan Congwen waved his hand. “I know. Just go and do what you’re supposed to do.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

After his subordinate left, Shan Congwen abruptly smacked his fist down onto the table. “Shit! That Ling Zhang guy actually escaped from death twice in a row. Does he really have some kind of guardian angel who always helps him get out of the jaws of danger, by any chance?”

He didn’t believe that he couldn’t kill this man named Ling Zhang.

…

Meanwhile, in the Ling Mansion.

“What do you mean you have a clue pointing to the King Hui?” Ling Zhang inquired of Yuwen Tong after sitting down, bursting with impatience. After all, he had never suspected the King Hui before this day, and Yuwen Tong had once said that the King Hui acted very normally making no special response in the hunting ground in the western suburbs on that day.

Yuwen Tong said, “Someone interfered with the line-up of the horse race in the hunting ground in the western suburbs on that day. The official in charge of the draw tampered with the draw-pot at the King Hui’s behest.”

Ling Zhang was astonished. “How did you come to be suspicious of the line-up?”

Yuwen Tong answered, “There’s a long distance between the wood and the riding track. The waiting area where students stay is even further away and there are trees in between, too, which means it was very difficult for the assassin to see with his own eyes you were in the next round. Didn’t you find that given the distance between you two, the assassin could only see you face clearly when you were very close to him? Furthermore, though you’ve been very famous in the capital city recently, there are not really many people who can recognize you, so the assassin must’ve been informed beforehand of which round you’d be in.”

Ling Zhang carefully thought back to that horse race and found that what Yuwen Tong said was true. No wonder Yuwen Tong had become suspicious of the official in charge of the draw.

Yuwen Tong added, “That master of ceremonies has admitted that he made some underhand arrangements, but but I cannot mete out punishment to him straight away because the mastermind might be alarmed if I do.”

Ling Zhang inclined his head. “I understand.”

Then he continued, “That assassin was also a subject of the Great Yue. Was it really the King Hui not those from the Wan Kingdom who sent him, by any chance?”

Yuwen Tong shook his head. “That crossbow was by no means from the residential compound of the King Hui. As early as the time when I was still in border areas, I had heard rumors that the Wan Kingdom had been secretly developing ingenious crossbows, but it’s never been confirmed. That day, after hearing what you said, I basically narrowed down the suspect list to the Wan Kingdom. Even if it wasn’t those from the Wan Kingdom who sent the assassin, it’s unmistakable that they were involved in this matter.”

Ling Zhang exhaled deeply. “That accounts for it. If I understand you correctly, you’re saying that the King Hui is in league with the Wan Kingdom?”

Yuwen Tong inclined his head. “It’s very likely.”

Then he added, “The diplomatic corps of the Wan Kingdom have been laying low all along lately, touring the city with either the King Hui or the King Duan, which makes it convenient for them to make contact with the King Hui. Previously I’d always been suspicious of the purpose of their prolonged stay in the Great Yue. After this thing happened, I vaguely guessed something.”

Ling Zhang asked him, “What is it?”

Yuwen Tong shook his head. “It’s only a speculation, and I have to do some digging before I could confirm it. You’ll have to take a few days off from school. Just tell them that your arm injury worsened after the horse race and need nursing. The trade caravan will enter the capital city in approximately nine days. I know you want to go there to make arrangements yourself very much, but it’s not the right time for you to go outside. I’ll have some men help Wang Qing handle it. Just wait until I rid ourselves of all threats. If you feel bored, I’ll invite your grandfather around. What do you say?”

Ling Zhang first gave a nod and then looked at him in confusion. “How do you know the trade caravan will arrived in the capital city in nine days?”

Even he himself had just come to know this after receiving a letter from his uncle who was in Tanyang. Because of the attempted assassination and the belief that it would take the trade caravan another few days to arrive, he hadn’t consulted with Yuwen Tong about this matter immediately. Had he had a lapse of memory and actually already told Yuwen Tong about it?

The look in Yuwen Tong’s eyes unnoticeably flickered and with that he replied, “Your uncle sent me a letter as well.”

Ling Zhang looked at him curiously. “What does he say in the letter?”

Yuwen Tong said, “He wants me to take good care of you.”

Nothing else? Ling Zhang didn’t suspect anything. He just felt that this was somewhat too simple.

Yuwen Tong immediately steered the conversation away from this topic. “Anyway, the matter of the trade caravan can wait. Even if they had already arrived, I’d be able to have everything handled properly.”

On hearing Yuwen Tong talk in such a serious tone, Ling Zhang who had a sense of propriety came to realize that this matter was probably related to something of great severity which had made the one wanting him dead determined to kill him.

“I know. I’ll stay here,” said Ling Zhang.

Yuwen Tong, seeing his meek bearing, felt that his sweetheart was so adorable, his heart brimming over with affections for Ling Zhang.

But if anybody tried to do Ling Zhang harm, he definitely wouldn’t let the threat exist. Now that some people were so insistent on flirting with the line he’d drawn in the sand, he didn’t mind have them know how it felt to regret.

“Young Master, Childe Tao came,” someone reported outside the room.

Ling Zhang was surprised. “Tao Yi? We parted just a while ago. Why did he come again?”

“I don’t know, Young Master, but judging from his countenance, Childe Tao is rather anxious,” said the servant.

Ling Zhang rose to his feet, exchanged glances with Yuwen Tong and said, “I’ll go and meet him. Maybe it’s something urgent.”

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