stonecrandall Chapter 1210 Preparing to take action against Hong Siyang!
Chapter 1210 Preparing to take action against Hong Siyang!
It has been raining in Kyoto for three days straight.
As night fell, the teahouse in the eastern corner of the imperial city disappeared into the mist. The iron horse-drawn carriages hanging from the eaves jingled in the wind, but could not drown out the sound of the rain. In the private room by the window on the second floor, only one lamp was lit, its dim light illuminating a piece of calligraphy on the wall—the work of a calligrapher from a previous dynasty, the ink at the signature already blackened.
Gao Yao sat by the window, holding a cup of tea in his hands; the tea had already gone cold.
He was waiting for someone, and also for news.
From early spring last year until now, a full eleven months have passed. Some of the pawns he planted within the Qing Kingdom have already taken root and sprouted, some have been completely eradicated, and others—such as those in the western border—are slowly growing according to their predetermined trajectory. Eleven months is enough time for an infant to learn to walk, and also enough time for a rebellion to grow from its infancy to maturity.
The sound of rain outside the window suddenly intensified.
Gao Yao's gaze fell on a single tea leaf floating in the teacup. The leaf bobbed and sank in the water, much like the current situation in Kyoto—calm on the surface, but turbulent beneath.
He recalled this time last year when he had just broken through to the Grandmaster realm. Back then, killing Emperor Qing wouldn't have been difficult. With his current level, even if he stormed the palace head-on, the so-called guards around Emperor Qing would be nothing more than chickens and dogs. The only people in the entire capital who could truly stop him were one and a half—half the old monster deep within the palace, and the other was Ye Liuyun.
Ye Liuyun is not in Kyoto at the moment. That leaves only Hong Sixiang.
Gao Yao placed the cooled teacup back on the table with a soft thud.
Footsteps came from outside the door, three long and two short, the agreed-upon signal.
"Come in."
The door was pushed open, and a man dressed in black, soaking wet, slipped in, kneeling on one knee. Rain dripped from his clothes onto the floor, leaving a small, dark stain.
"His Majesty."
"Check it out?"
"Yes." The man in black raised his head, revealing a young and capable face. "For the past three months, Hong Sixiang has made a point of going alone to the Zhaixing Pavilion in the northwest corner of the palace on the first and fifteenth of each month, staying for about two hours. According to reports from the palace's spies, the Zhaixing Pavilion houses the classics left over from the previous dynasty, and Hong Sixiang goes there every so often to organize and classify them. This is not a secret in the palace, but no one knows exactly what he is doing."
Gao Yao nodded slightly.
The Star-Picking Pavilion. He remembered that place; it was located in the northwest corner of the palace, on relatively high ground, with no tall buildings around, offering a wide view. To make a move in such a place without alerting others would be quite difficult.
"How is the defense?"
“Normally only two eunuchs are on duty outside the pavilion. After Hong Sixiang goes in, they will retreat to a hundred paces away. There are no hidden sentries in the Zhaixing Pavilion itself, but the nearest patrol team is about two hundred paces away. If they are disturbed, they will arrive in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.”
A cup of tea.
Gao Yao silently calculated in his heart. Given Hong Sixiang's level of skill, if he couldn't defeat him in one move and dragged it out until after the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the entire palace would be alarmed. By then, even if he could kill Hong Sixiang, he would inevitably be exposed.
He cannot reveal himself yet.
Where is Ran Min now?
"General Ran arrived in the capital yesterday and, as instructed by the lord, is staying in a private residence in the south of the city, keeping a low profile and remaining unknown to the public."
Gao Yao stood up, walked to the window, and pushed it open a crack. A cold wind, carrying raindrops, rushed in, bringing the chill unique to late autumn.
“Tell him to be prepared on the fifteenth.”
The man in black paused in his breathing.
"My lord... is he going to take action against Hong Sixiang?"
Gao Yao turned around, and in the dim light, his face appeared somewhat blurry.
"It's been almost a year, it's time to close the net."
The man in black lowered his head, not daring to ask any more questions. He had followed Gao Yao for quite some time and knew the emperor's habits—he would say what needed to be said, and asking about what he shouldn't was pointless.
"Go down."
The man in black retreated upon hearing this, the door closed gently, and the private room fell silent once more.
Gao Yao sat back down by the window, his gaze fixed on the depths of the rain. From this angle, the outline of the palace could be faintly seen; the layered palaces resembled a crouching behemoth in the night, silently waiting for something.
Hong Sixiang.
He recalled this man's resume. He entered the palace at a young age, starting as a lowly eunuch and climbing step by step to his current position. He had served three emperors and weathered countless palace intrigues, yet remained steadfast. After Emperor Qing ascended the throne, Hong Sixiang became his most trusted confidant—without exception.
This trust is not without reason.
Hong Sixiang's loyalty to Emperor Qing bordered on blind devotion. He may not have been unaware of the details of Ye Qingmei's death, but he chose to remain silent and stand by Emperor Qing's side. In the more than twenty years that followed, he eliminated countless political enemies for Emperor Qing and handled numerous shady dealings—a number that even Hong Sixiang himself probably couldn't recall.
Such a person cannot be bought, persuaded, or even threatened.
His only weakness is his life. And that life is not easy to take. A half-step Grandmaster.
Gao Yao weighed the weight of those four words in his mind. In the path of martial arts, above the ninth rank lies the Grandmaster, and the gap between the Grandmaster and the ninth rank is like an insurmountable chasm. Ordinary ninth-rank martial artists are nothing but chickens and dogs in front of Grandmasters, easily annihilated. Although Hong Sixiang has not truly stepped into the Grandmaster realm, he has already taken that half-step—the most crucial and also the most dangerous half-step.
This means he has already glimpsed the path to becoming a Grandmaster, but has not yet truly opened that door.
It was precisely because of this half-step that he was able to remain hidden in the palace for so many years, allowing the outside world to always believe that he was just an ordinary old eunuch. Emperor Qing used him as a decoy, making the world believe that Hong Sixiang was the number one expert in the palace, thus concealing the fact that he himself was the true grandmaster.
Emperor Qing mastered this deception to the extreme.
Unfortunately, Gao knew the truth. And among his subordinates, there were only two who could rival Hong Sixiang—himself and Ran Min.
Lü Bu is no good.
Gao Xiang recalled Lü Bu's perpetually arrogant face. In terms of bravery and charging into battle, Lü Bu was indeed a master, taking the head of a general from among thousands of soldiers as easily as taking something from a bag. But against an opponent like Hong Sixiang, bravery would become a fatal weakness. Hong Sixiang had spent decades navigating the treacherous waters of the palace, witnessing all sorts of open and covert attacks, and had long since become a cunning old fox. Dealing with such a person required patience, calculation, and ruthless decisiveness.
Ran Min happened to possess these qualities.
More importantly, Ran Min's cultivation level is high enough. Although he is still some distance from becoming a Grandmaster, if he were equipped with that sword, he might be able to fight Hong Sixiang.
However, this battle must be fought silently.
Gao Yao closed his eyes, mentally rehearsing every detail of the fifteenth day. The terrain of Zhaixing Pavilion, Hong Sixiang's habits, the patrol routes of the palace guards, the retreat route... every step had to be flawless, and every detail had to be carefully considered.