stonecrandall Page 47
Page 47
Lu Ni didn't say a word, and just as abruptly as she appeared, she vanished from the room.
...
As noon approached, Lord Yanchun, having returned from court, was helped back to his residence by Jueying. Seeing his subordinate's behavior, he knew that the subordinate had something to report to him.
With a wave of his hand dismissing the butler and other irrelevant people, Yan Chunjun lazily slumped in the main seat: "Speak."
"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince's residence has recently made some new moves!"
Jueying took out the bamboo scroll that recorded Lu Wei's crimes, knelt on one knee, bowed his head, and unfolded the bamboo scroll to show Yan Chunjun.
Squinting as he finished reading, Yan Chunjun slowly tapped the armrest of the main seat with his long little fingernail:
"There have been quite a few changes lately!" he said casually. "What does the content here have to do with the Crown Prince's residence you mentioned?"
"Reporting to my lord..." Jueying's lips curled into a smirk: "This intelligence report was submitted by my subordinate, Number Seventeen."
"This Number Seventeen and his intelligence team are all from the Crown Prince's residence!"
"Oh~" Yan Chunjun glanced at Jueying, who had lowered his head, and laughed instead of getting angry upon hearing the news: "The Crown Prince's mansion has reached into my mansion?"
"It is said that His Highness Crown Prince Dan is about to return from Qin, and that's why the Crown Prince's residence has been making a lot of small moves lately."
Jueying said in a deep voice.
“Crown Prince Dan…” Yan Chunjun stopped tapping and gripped the armrest tightly with his left hand.
"According to the investigation by my subordinates, Grand Tutor Ju Wu fabricated a large amount of false information in order to prepare a gift for His Highness Crown Prince Dan's return. He intended to sow discord between the Emperor and the Agriculturalists, Taoists, Legalists, and various small factions and groups at the lower levels, thereby easing the pressure on the Crown Prince's residence."
Jueying continued, "They're trying to reap the benefits!"
"That does fit Ju Wu's old tricks." Yan Chunjun released his grip, turned to the side, changed his posture, and suddenly asked, "Is all the information on here fake?"
"No, part of it is true. There are indeed some small cliques who are dissatisfied with us."
Jueying paused for a moment, then continued, "It is also a fact that Xiaoyaozi of the Daoist sect meddled in our affairs a few days ago and killed several of our people near the border."
"As for everything else... it's all fake!"
"Truth and falsehood are intertwined. Our Grand Tutor is indeed very capable, but he simply doesn't use his abilities for the right purposes..." Lord Yanchun sat up slightly, no longer harboring any doubts:
"Small cliques and factions, merely following orders. As for the Taoists... I'll give them some face too."
"Since the Crown Prince's officials wish to prepare a gift for my dear nephew, I, as his uncle, should also offer something in return..."
"Your Majesty is absolutely right. I have prepared a surprise for His Highness the Crown Prince and the Grand Tutor."
Jueying closed the bamboo scroll and spoke at the opportune moment.
"Great, go ahead and do it, make it as lively as possible!"
Lord Yanchun looked at his subordinate with satisfaction: he was a bit ugly, but he was loyal, capable, and the things he did were in line with his own personality.
These江湖人 (jianghu people) are much more useful than ordinary servants!
Chapter 66 The Boy with Divine Power
The surprise Jueying prepared for the Crown Prince's residence was, naturally, a baptism of blood. This method was the most direct, and it was also what he, as an assassin, was best at.
However, the target cannot be Ju Wu himself.
After all, he held the official position of Grand Tutor, and the Ju family had close ties with the current royal family. Nobles had their own rules; murder and killing were not permitted for high-ranking officials.
Even Lord Yanchun, who had always acted with impunity in the Yan state, was unwilling to break this tacit understanding, as it was to preserve the dignity of both sides.
In the entire aristocratic struggle among the seven kingdoms, perhaps only the Han general Ji Wuye would so recklessly slaughter princes and nobles... Perhaps that's why his fate was no better than those nobles he slain...
Although they cannot take action against Ju Wu, the maids, guards, and even the head guard of the Crown Prince's residence do not have such an exemption!
Taking action against these people serves as a warning and also weakens Prince Dan's power: it would take a lot of time and effort to cultivate another group of absolutely loyal confidants and guards.
At the same time, the deaths of these guards dealt a severe blow to the prestige of the Crown Prince's residence. The entire city of Ji could see this clearly through their corpses:
Who really calls the shots in this country?
This exciting surprise was personally led by Jueying, with all the experts from the entire Yanchun Jun Mansion mobilized.
The Crown Prince's residence, the home of the future ruler of this country, was subjected to an unprecedented and brutal attack.
Crown Prince Dan himself was still far away in Qin, and it was impossible for the old ministers who supported the Crown Prince, such as Ju Wu, to stay overnight at the Crown Prince's residence. Therefore, the person in charge of this attack was the Chief of the Guards, Yan Da.
This soldier, utterly loyal to Prince Dan, fought to the death without retreating. Gazing at the masked men who were killing and burning everywhere, his eyes were bloodshot with rage, yet he still managed to restrain his anger, remain calm, draw his longsword, and begin to organize his men to fight back in an orderly manner.
Then, he was spotted by the shadowy figure high above...
That night, flames and blood stained Jicheng crimson...
The night patrol and the Jicheng army only slowly lined up and arrived when the fire was already raging and beyond saving.
Ju Wu, his face ashen, was reviewing official documents in his own residence when he realized that the direction of the fire coincided with the location of the Crown Prince's residence. His face was filled with horror. He only had time to wrap a long gown over his pajamas and rush to the scene, but by then everything was already set in stone.
The murderer had already fled.
A resounding slap landed on the face of the commander of the troops who was craning his neck to peer into the flames-stirred Prince's residence. Ju Wu roared:
"Hurry up and put out the fire!"
The commander of the troops was slapped, but he didn't dare to get angry in front of the Grand Tutor of the Imperial Court. He could only smile and agree, but refused to carry out the order.
"The Crown Prince's residence is a vital place of the imperial court. Without the king's decree, we dare not enter!"
Upon hearing this, Ju Wu's eyes widened in disbelief. He pointed a finger at the other person, his lips twitching.
The commander of the troops didn't care; the Grand Tutor could just slap him again and he would take the hit himself.
In the afternoon, Lord Yanchun sent an envoy to warn that tonight's events were beyond his purview.
The leader made it very clear which side was willing to take the lives of their entire clan...
Luqiu Pavilion, which is far from the Crown Prince's residence, was not affected by the fire and could only see the flames on the horizon.
Lu Wei lay in bed fast asleep, not getting up to watch the commotion.
He knew that there would be an operation at Yan Chun Jun's residence tonight. Earlier, Jueying had reported the attack plan to Lu Wei. The steward neither approved nor disapproved, only instructing Jueying to continue to obey Yan Chun Jun's orders as usual.
With Jueying and the steward now in control of Jicheng, Luqiu Pavilion is as stable as Mount Tai. If Ju Wu hadn't come to threaten them and made the wrong choice, today's events would not have happened.
Before the power of farmers is fully unleashed, it is not advisable to talk about it too much.
This warning certainly taught the Grand Tutor a lesson, but once he realized what was happening, the name Lu Wei would likely be remembered by His Highness Crown Prince Dan.
His relationship with Yan Chun Jun will also spark further speculation...
------
The fire extinguished itself the following day, making it pointless to tally the damage.
Grand Tutor Ju Wu and several other senior officials who arrived later stayed outside the burning Crown Prince's residence until dawn, when they finally gathered together in a huff and headed straight for the palace.
The commander who had been slapped led his men to remain on guard.
A fierce political struggle is sure to take place in the palace today; royal decrees could be issued at any moment, and he cannot leave yet.
Yan Chunjun, who had orchestrated all of this on the surface, did not rush to the palace. Instead, he leisurely continued to arrange matters according to his usual schedule.
To have achieved his current power, no one in the entire Yan Kingdom understands King Xi of Yan better than him.
He knew exactly when his elder brother, the king, got up each day and when he would receive foreign officials.
Those civil officials waiting outside the palace gates early in the morning will only annoy the prince and have a completely negative effect.
Lord Yanchun's willingness to allow his subordinates to launch such a vicious attack on the Crown Prince's residence suggests he was absolutely confident he could easily smooth things over with the King.
This level of political struggle has nothing to do with Lu Wei at present.
The steward also had his own business to attend to: at breakfast time, he received an interesting report from his disciple. After only a quick glance, he immediately decided to leave the city!
With Lu Yu by their side, the two rode out of the Jibei Gate and galloped until the sun was high in the sky, arriving at a familiar place.
Yamada Village.
Many years ago, Lu Wei and his four younger brothers joined the farm here.
Returning to the same place, they were greeted by the same "Uncle Tian" again, which made them feel like they were returning home in glory.
However, Uncle Tian, the person in charge, failed to recognize that the important figure riding a fine horse before him was one of the young men he had recruited into the farm three years ago. He simply bowed to the two Lu brothers and said in a flustered manner:
“The mismanagement of the land has resulted in the death of a draft ox in the village. I hereby apologize to the envoy from Jicheng.”
“Uncle Tian, there’s no need to worry.” Lu Wei dismounted and handed the reins to a villager wearing a straw hat beside him, his expression calm: “Take us to see the situation.”
He spoke gently, but did not take the initiative to acknowledge Uncle Tian. Lu Yu followed behind her brother Lu, remaining silent.
Although Uncle Tian felt that the two young envoys looked somewhat familiar, he was more worried about the changes in the village. With a heavy heart, he could only nod and lead the way.
They hadn't walked far when Lu Wei suddenly spoke up: "Is this going towards the field ridge?"
"what?"
Uncle Tian was lost in thought for a while before he came to his senses: "Yes."
"The ox carcass is still in the field, and we haven't touched it."
“We don’t want to see cows.” Lu Wei pursed his lips and shook his head, then slowly said, “Take us to see those two brothers!”
Upon hearing the words of the leading envoy from Jicheng, Uncle Tian's first reaction was to frown and hesitate, but he couldn't think of a reason to refuse. He had no choice but to steel himself, bow, and say "Yes," before turning and heading towards the village...
...
The incident began the afternoon before yesterday.
At the time, Yamada Village was plowing and turning the soil when, for some unknown reason, the village's only ox suddenly went berserk, lowered its head and headbutted the boy in front of it, who was unable to dodge in time. The boy immediately fainted.
Unfortunately, the boy had a younger brother who also worked nearby.
After witnessing his older brother being knocked away, the younger brother's eyes turned red. Recklessly, he stood in front of the ox and smashed its skull with a single punch...
Chapter 67 The mystery of identity
The same event can be viewed from completely different perspectives by different people due to differences in status, position, and perspective.
Since Luqiu Pavilion sent newly improved farming tools to Yamada Village last year and lent them an ox, the farmers immediately felt a huge improvement in efficiency after using them only a few times, and everyone was all smiles.
That ox rose to prominence in the village, and everyone cherished it. They dared not overwork it during daily use, for fear that the ox would get sick or injured.