The Great Wei Music Bureau

Chapter 474 The Game (Page 12)

Last time, we talked about how Li Yi sneaked into Jiankang to find Xiao Ruoping, but his real purpose was to deal with Master Zhu. Master Zhu had taught him the Xuan Yu Lei Jing Lei Zhen, so he was practically a mentor to Li Yi. He couldn't possibly fight Master Zhu. So how would the talented Li Yi persuade Master Zhu? Let's find out together.

Daylight had broken, and the maids stood guard at the door with washing utensils. Normally, the princess would be practicing her martial arts by this time. They exchanged glances, none daring to knock. The last maid who had entered the room on her own had died mysteriously. However, they were all sent by Xiao Yongming to monitor Xiao Ruoping, and this situation would certainly need to be reported.

Just as they were hesitating, they suddenly heard Xiao Ruoping's voice: "Oh no! We overslept!"

"Did anyone oversleep?"

"I'd usually be practicing my martial arts by now, so you'd better hide. The maids will be coming in to help me wash up soon!"

"Why are you hiding? Even if an army of 100,000 surrounds this place, they can't stop me. Go back to sleep!"

Upon hearing that someone was in the room, the maids immediately exchanged glances. One of them handed a towel to her companion and then quickly left to inform Chen Xingguo, who was now the commander of the Youwei guards responsible for watching over Xiao Ruoping.

Upon hearing this, Chen Xingguo's eyes lit up. He said to the maid, "It's wartime now, so don't make a fuss. I'll go and investigate before deciding whether to report to His Majesty."

So Chen Xingguo followed the maid to the bedroom door, knocked and bowed, saying, "I heard from the maid that the princess has not yet washed up. I wonder if the princess is feeling unwell and if we should call the imperial physician to take a look?"

"No need! I just overslept, I'll get up soon." Xiao Ruoping said in a low voice, "Chen Xingguo is here, you should hide."

The maids couldn't hear the whisper, but Chen Xingguo heard it clearly. He chuckled and said, "Since the princess is alright, I won't disturb her any longer. I'll take my leave. You all take good care of the princess as she washes up. I'm leaving." Chen Xingguo gave the maids a wink.

Chen Xingguo had just turned to leave when Xiao Ruoping pushed open the door, just in time to see his departing figure. The maids peeked into the room through the crack in the door, and Xiao Ruoping said coldly, "What are you all standing there for? Go inside and serve us!"

"Yes!"

The maids followed Xiao Ruoping into the room, and after washing up and changing, they went to the training ground. One of them, being cautious, used the excuse of making the bed to stay in the room a little longer, and deliberately searched the place, but found nothing. She then went to report to Chen Xingguo.

"Hmph, it would be a problem if you found out who was inside."

"Does Commander Chen know who that person is?"

"He's a formidable character; even ten of me couldn't handle him. But he's incredibly arrogant, always thinking no one in the world can defeat him. This time… hmph…"

"Pretend you know nothing and serve him as usual. If you can really capture this thief, you will have done a great service and will be rewarded handsomely. Go!" After giving all the instructions, Chen Xingguo went to find Master Zhu alone.

On the other side, Xiao Ruoping finished her training and casually asked while eating breakfast, "Where is Commander Chen? Tell him to come see me."

The maidservant responded and left, returning shortly afterward. She bowed and said, "Commander Chen has some business at home and has gone back for a while. He said he would be back soon. I wonder if the princess has any urgent matters? I can send someone to his home to find him."

"It's nothing urgent. Just let him come to my study alone when he gets back."

Chen Xingguo returned in less than an hour and, after being informed by a maid, went to the study. "Your Highness, you wanted to see me."

"Come in and talk, then close the door. Commander Chen, don't you want to fight on the front lines and achieve merit when the Northern Wei attacks Jiankang?"

"Of course I would like to, but I still have to obey the princess's orders."

"That person has been here."

"Which person?"

"Commander Chen, are you going to keep up the act?"

"Ah, I did guess that Li Yuefu was coming, so I didn't let them make a sound. If Your Highness is worried that those maids might leak the news, I can help you with that."

“Compared to them, Commander Chen is probably more concerned with himself.” Li Yi suddenly appeared behind Chen Xingguo, making him break out in a cold sweat.

"Li Yuefu!"

"Commander Chen, would you like to be a minister who supports the emperor?"

What did Li Yuefu mean by that?

"The Second Prince and the Third Prince have already left Jiankang City, one heading west and the other east. Commander Chen, why don't you guess where they went and what they're doing? Right now, you're the only one who knows this news. If you manage things properly, when the new emperor ascends the throne, Commander Chen will surely have a place in the palace."

"What does Li Yuefu mean?"

"Tell the Crown Prince this news so that he can make plans as soon as possible. If there is an opportunity, you might as well give him some advice."

"What idea do you have?"

Li Yi gestured for Chen Xingguo to come closer, then whispered his plan to him, the most important sentence being: "As the saying goes, when the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits. If Commander Chen seizes this opportunity, he might find an even better one."

After listening, Chen Xingguo looked at Li Yi in astonishment. The latter nodded and smiled at him, patted him on the shoulder and said, "Alright, stop standing there in a daze. Go to the East Palace now, and think carefully about what to do on the way." Chen Xingguo kowtowed three times to Li Yi, then got up and left.

Will he listen to you?

"Few men can resist the temptation of the throne. Didn't Xiao Yongming seize your father's position as crown prince to become emperor? If he can do it, why can't his son? That's what I'm advising those two princes."

"What about Master Zhu's matter?"

“I asked Chen Xingguo to take the Crown Prince to ask Master Zhu. He is an upright man and will certainly not allow the Crown Prince to act recklessly. Therefore, he will definitely come to me in person to verify the truth of the matter. At that time, I will trouble the Princess to brew tea for us.”

"Then I'll go prepare the best tea leaves right away."

"No need, I have everything with me." Li Yi casually took out a crane-shaped tea table made of golden nanmu wood from the burlap sack, and then began to teach Xiao Ruoping how to use it.

On the other side, Chen Xingguo kept pondering Li Yi's last words to him on his way to the East Palace: "When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits!" Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he gripped the reins tightly, spurred his horse, and sped up.

At this moment, the Crown Prince was catching up on sleep at his residence. He had waited with Xiao Yongming all night, only to receive news that the Qiqi Army had been completely wiped out and Xiao Zongji was missing. Xiao Yongming was furious and immediately summoned several of his most trusted generals to the palace to discuss military affairs before letting him return to the Eastern Palace.

"Your Highness, Commander Chen Xingguo of the Imperial Guard said he had an extremely urgent matter to report to you in person. We told him you were resting, but Commander Chen not only refused to leave, but also injured a guard and barged into the residence!"

"The guards have been wounded! Is Chen Xingguo planning a rebellion? Let's go check it out!"

With an angry expression, Xiao Zongqing arrived at the front yard, only to see that the entire yard of guards had already formed ranks and were ready to fight at any moment.

"Chen Xingguo, how dare you trespass into the Eastern Palace? Are you planning a rebellion?"

"Your Highness, I do indeed have something extremely urgent to report to you personally, and if I am late, it may cause serious problems!"

"If it's truly an emergency, why don't you go directly to the palace to report to the Emperor? What are you doing here in my palace!"

"This concerns His Highness the Crown Prince's safety; this humble servant must come to see His Highness!"

"What's the matter? Tell me!"

"This humble servant can only speak to Your Highness!"

Xiao Zongqing looked at Chen Xingguo, who was anxious, and said coldly, "Fine, I'd like to hear just how urgent your 'ten thousand urgency' is! Come in with me!"

Inside the main hall, only Crown Prince Xiao Zongqing and Chen Xingguo were present. After listening to Chen Xingguo's words, the former grabbed Chen Xingguo by the collar and questioned him, "Where did you get this information from!"

"It was Li Yi, the music director of the Northern Wei Dynasty, who told me personally that when he came to Jiankang, he got along quite well with Your Highness, and Your Highness had helped him. That's why he asked me to tell Your Highness."

Xiao Zongqing angrily retorted, "Nonsense! If he truly wanted to help me, why would he have let my second brother go west? He just wanted to see our Great Liang in turmoil so he could take advantage of the chaos to plunder! Hmph, what a joke! Everyone says that this time the Wei army's southward march was different from before, with no burning, killing, or looting! It turns out they wanted to plunder even more, and plunder even bigger!"

"Your Highness, that is true, but if Your Highness does not make plans soon, I'm afraid you will miss out on the throne!"

"Make plans in advance? The Wei army is at the city gates now, what plans do you expect me to make?"

"Your Highness has been the Crown Prince for so many years, surely you have cultivated your own faction, and your strength is not inferior to that of the Second Prince and the Third Prince?"

Xiao Zongqing looked at Chen Xingguo and said coldly, "You mean you want me to flee like those two? My power is all in the capital, what use would fleeing be!"

"This isn't escaping! It's clearly going to get reinforcements! Your Highness, think about it, didn't the Second Prince and the Third Prince also go to get reinforcements? But their reinforcements are probably just here to collect His Majesty and your corpses! If you don't go to get reinforcements soon, then there really won't be anyone to save His Majesty!"

After a moment's thought, Xiao Zongqing asked, "I will go to see the Emperor now and expose the wickedness of those two brats!"

"Your Highness must enter the palace, but you absolutely must not mention the Second Prince or the Third Prince to His Majesty!"

"Why?"

"Because there's no concrete evidence! In His Majesty's view, the Second Prince was captured by the Wei army, but even if the Third Prince is missing, how can we be sure of his whereabouts?"

"No evidence found! If there is no evidence, Chen Xingguo, why do you believe Li Yi? Couldn't he try to sow discord among us and throw us into chaos?"

"He showed me the documents that the Second Prince and the Third Prince had signed with him!"

"Documents? What documents?"

When Chen Xingguo mentioned ceding the Jiangbei region to the Wei Kingdom, Xiao Zongqing flew into a rage and cursed his two brothers. But what good was cursing? He needed to calm down and think of a solution. He suddenly looked at Chen Xingguo.

Why would Li Yi show you this document?

"To be honest, Your Highness, when he came to Jiankang last time, he inscribed the Divine Thunder Seal on my body. I had no choice but to obey his orders. Fortunately, after he left, I found Master Zhu and asked him to help me remove the curse seal. But Li Yi didn't know about this and still treats me as one of his own."

"Then what is his purpose in sending you to see me?"

"Naturally, it's to disrupt the situation in Li, so that the Wei army can attack the city!"

“No, I can neither lead troops into battle like my second brother, nor do I have external support like my third brother. What exactly is he plotting against me? If we can’t figure this out, we’ll fall into his trap no matter what we do!” Xiao Zongqing looked at Chen Xingguo and asked, “Why did he go to Ruoping’s place?”

"Well, he and the princess are very close friends."

"Hmph, Li Yi is a lecherous man by nature. If he's having an affair, just say so. What do you mean by 'private relationship'? He was very close to Ruoping when he came last time. I didn't expect that they actually hooked up."

"Does Your Highness not intend to report the Princess?"

“There’s no need for that. I’ve always treated Ruoping well. Keeping her around might provide a way out. I’m afraid Jiankang City can’t be defended. It’s more important to think about how to break this deadlock.” Xiao Zongqing paced back and forth with his head down, then suddenly looked up at Chen Xingguo and asked, “Did Zhu Zi help you remove your Divine Thunder Seal?”

"Yes, apart from Zhu Zi, who is at the Transcendent Realm, no other great Confucian scholar can undo this Purple Heaven Divine Lightning."

"Since we can't figure out what Li Yi is plotting, the only one who can intimidate the Wei army and Li Yi right now is Zhu Zi. If we explain things to Zhu Zi, we might be able to find a way to change things."

And so, Chen Xingguo led Xiao Yongqing to find Zhu Zi, and after explaining the situation, Zhu Zi looked helpless.