What had the Chu Clan done?
Everyone assumed that the embezzlement case would take a year or so before Emperor Kang Cheng took his time to deal with the Chu Clan. Who knew that the Chu Clan would expose Crown Prince Ye as the culprit? Crown Prince Ye had used the Chu Clan's name to do so! Not only did the Chu Clan expose the crown prince, but they also produced indisputable evidence and witnesses!
Empress Xue went to Emperor Kang Cheng's door every day to cry. Emperor Kang Cheng didn't want to depose the crown prince, but that wouldn't quell public anger, much less the military!
"The Chu Clan's move is too brilliant!" Han Yunxi was sincerely praising.
"It really is!" Long Fei Ye wasn't stingy with his praise either.
Since Emperor Kang Cheng had exposed the embezzlement case, he wouldn't let the Chu Clan off so easily. Instead of seeking help from Crown Prince Ye, the Chu Clan had exposed him as the culprit. Emperor Kang Cheng had no choice but to deal with the matter impartially.
At most, the Chu Clan would be punished as collateral damage, but the crown prince would lose his position as heir apparent as well! Embezzlement was different from other cases. If it wasn't dealt with fairly, it would cause the army to lose morale.
There were emperors who weren't afraid of losing the hearts of the people, but none of them were!
Emperor Kang Cheng wanted to take back the Chu Clan's military power, but he'd lost the crown prince first. Without a doubt, this was Cloud Realm Continent's biggest joke of the year.
Of course, the Chu Clan wouldn't have a good ending. Emperor Kang Cheng couldn't touch the Chu Clan in this case, but that didn't mean he couldn't do anything else.
The Chu Clan was playing with fire! They'd thoroughly infuriated Emperor Kang Cheng!
Just what were they planning?
"Could it be that they're trying to trick us? They don't have a guarantee of getting the Wood of Ten-Thousand Poisons, so they broke off relations with Emperor Kang Cheng before we exposed the Nether Clan's secret?" Han Yunxi asked doubtfully.
"That can't be. Chu Qingge still has four months before she gives birth. With Emperor Kang Cheng's temper, he'll definitely take care of the Chu Clan within two months! "Tang Li declared.
Even if the Chu Clan wanted to go all out, they'd have to wait until Western Liang had made all the necessary preparations before they could retreat!
"Is there still no news from Gu Beiyue?" Gu interjected.
Judging from the current situation, the Chu Clan might really have done something to Chu Qingge's stomach!
"Doctor Gu isn't at Pill Fiend Pharmacy's main branch. He said he went to one of the branch stores, but we haven't found him yet," Chu Xifeng dared to say this because he had Long Fei Ye's approval.
Perhaps Gu Beiyue had disguised himself too well. Han Yunxi and Gu had never suspected him, so neither of them noticed the peculiarity in Chu Xifeng's words.
As for Third Elder Shen's reply, Long Fei Ye was still waiting.
"Even if the Chu family can retreat to the Western Capital, aren't they afraid that the Fiend Clan will be exposed?" Han Yunxi couldn't figure it out. She felt that something was wrong. They had something on the Chu family. No matter what, they wouldn't dare to trick them!
Once his identity as a member of the Nether Clan was exposed, the nobles who supported Western Qin would most likely come knocking on his door for revenge. Furthermore, the various powers of Cloud Realm Continent wouldn't allow such a noble family to continue growing.
How could the Nether Clan withstand their combined suppression?
"Indeed, they don't have the capital to trick us," Tang Li muttered to himself.
At this moment, one of the guards arrived with an urgent message from the Nether Clan Head, Chu Yunyi!
Long Fei Ye opened it and skimmed through it before handing it to Han Yunxi. Han Yunxi didn't say a word after reading it, but handed it to Gu instead.
Gu had only read half of it when he exclaimed, "That's strange!"
Indeed, it was strange!
After thoroughly pissing off Emperor Kang Cheng, the Chu Clan had even written a letter stating that they'd be able to enter Thousand Buddha Cave on the 19th of November. They only needed Long Fei Ye and Han Yunxi's help to get the Wood of Ten-Thousand Poisons.
"What's going on?" Han Yunxi asked.
"We're not replying," Long Fei Ye intoned.
They really didn't reply to Chu Yunyi's letter. But a few days later, they received news that Empress Xue had donated all of her cosmetic money to the various soldiers. She was willing to enter Thousand Buddha Cave to pray for Buddha for three years and pray for Emperor Kangcheng and the people of Western Zhou. She begged the emperor to give Crown Prince Ye another chance to turn over a new leaf.
The imperial uncle's Xue Clan also took out a large sum of silver to donate along with Empress Xue's cosmetic money to plead leniency for the crown prince.
Emperor Kang Cheng had always wanted to protect the crown prince, so he used this chance to agree to Empress Xue's request and delay the matter for a year. At the same time, Emperor Kang Cheng cut the Chu Clan's archery squad's pay by half on the pretext of not reporting the truth and aiding the tyrant. This was a huge step in keeping the Chu Clan in check! Most likely, Emperor Kang Cheng would make his move next spring after the new year!
At this moment, Chu Yunyi sent another letter saying that there was no need to wait until the 19th of the month. The empress's visit to Thousand Buddha Cave on the last day of the month was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Along with the letter was a map of the Thousand Buddha Cave's layout.
"Heheh, the Chu Clan does have some weight after all!" Gu chuckled.
"There's still five days …" Han Yunxi was lost in thought. "They still haven't found Gu Beiyue?"
It was Chu Xifeng who replied with a shake of his head.
Han Yunxi had no time to find out where Gu Beiyue had gone, either. With five days left, they had to make a decision quickly: follow the Chu Clan into Thousand Buddha Cave, or refuse.
She looked at Long Fei Ye and waited for his decision.
Long Fei Ye fell silent before he replied, "I won't reply for now."
Then he added, "Your lordship thought we'd be staying in Western Zhou for a long time, but it looks like … there's no need!"
Han Yunxi and Gu exchanged glances, unsure of what Long Fei Ye meant.
Han Yunxi knitted her brows in thought. As for Gu, he was too lazy to rack his brains. In any case, he was dealing with the Chu Clan for the sake of the Wood of Ten-Thousand Poisons, so he'd have to get involved. Let Long Fei Ye waste his time on brainstorming.
That night, Long Fei Ye asked Chu Xifeng again, "Third Elder Shen still hasn't replied?"
"He sent a letter saying there's something fishy going on, but he doesn't dare to jump to conclusions. He needs more time to think things over," Chu Xifeng replied.
The Chu Clan's recent actions had been strange, so there had to be a trap. But his master still hadn't expressed his stance, so Chu Xifeng had no idea whether he'd go or not.
If he went, he might fall into a trap.
If he didn't, he'd miss a golden opportunity and have a harder time entering Thousand Buddha Cave in the future.
Long Fei Ye didn't say much, but stayed up all night to watch over Han Yunxi and stare blankly at the map of Thousand Buddha Cave. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking.
Three days later, there were only two days left until the empress's Buddha ceremony, but the Chu Clan still hadn't received a reply from the Duke of Qin.
This time, Chu Yunyi was able to keep his cool and didn't send a letter to inquire further.
"How's Witch Aunt doing?" he asked.
"The baby will definitely be born by the end of next month. Everything's fine," General Chu replied.
"Heheh, Duke of Qin, you're the one who's pushed people too far. Don't blame my Nether Clan for pushing you too far!" Chu Yunyi laughed coldly.
Chu Yunyi still hadn't received a reply from Long Fei Ye until the day before the empress's Buddha ceremony. But that very night, Long Fei Ye and Han Yunxi appeared in the Chu Estate courtyard.
General Chu was startled before he rejoiced. "Heheh, Your Highness Duke of Qin, the clan head's been waiting for ages."
As soon as Chu Yunyi saw Long Fei Ye and Han Yunxi, his first words were, "Your Highness Duke of Qin, esteemed wangfei, will we be traveling together tomorrow?"
"Your lordship wants to know if there's a need for that? Your lordship is guarding your Nether Clan's secret, but the Nether Clan Head wants your lordship and wangfei to help steal the Wood of Ten-Thousand Poisons. Your Nether Clan isn't the Di Clan, so aren't you a little too good at doing business? "Long Fei Ye mocked.
Chu Yunyi sighed helplessly. "Your Highness Duke of Qin, you know how difficult it is to enter Thousand Buddha Cave! For the sake of getting in early, my Chu Clan even offended Emperor Kang Cheng to death! "
"What do you mean by that?" Long Fei Ye asked. Han Yunxi sat silently on one side, curious as well.
"Your Highness Duke of Qin, have you seen the map Old Man sent over?" Chu Yunyi asked.
Long Fei Ye took it out. "I've seen it."
"Your Highness Duke of Qin, take a look at the location of the Guanyin Cave, then look at the location of the thousand-year ginkgo tree," Chu Yunyi said.
Long Fei Ye glanced over and saw that the two locations were very far apart. The ginkgo tree was at the foot of the mountain, while the Guanyin Cave was almost halfway up the mountain.
"Your Highness, Old Man only gave up on Guanyin's birthday because he got his hands on this map! Guanyin's birthday is to pray to Guanyin, so Thousand Buddha Cave will open its western gate, which is the furthest from the ginkgo tree. This time, esteemed empress will be praying to Buddha at Thousand Buddha Cave, right behind the ginkgo tree. To enter the cave, one has to pass through the ginkgo altar! "
As soon as Chu Yunyi finished, General Chu added, "Your Highness Duke of Qin, the Chu Clan even chopped down a big tree like Crown Prince Ye for the sake of allowing esteemed empress to pray to Buddha! For the sake of the Chu Clan's sincerity, why don't you give them a hand? Moreover, if the Chu Clan fails this time, you won't get anything out of it, either, right? "
So the Chu Clan had exposed Crown Prince Ye for embezzling military funds just so they could force the empress to pray to Buddha?
Han Yunxi had long heard of Western Zhou's imperial clan's custom of praying to Buddha to atone for their sins. It made sense that the Chu Clan was using this method to force the empress to do so.
However, her intuition told her that there was still something wrong with this. But this time, she couldn't figure it out.
She glanced at Long Fei Ye, only to see him nodding his head.
"Your lordship was still puzzling over why the Chu Clan chopped down a big tree like the crown prince. Weren't they afraid that Emperor Kangcheng would cut them down next year? So that's why … "Long Fei Ye grinned.
"Compared to the secret of the Nether Clan, we can only sacrifice the Chu Clan's military power," Chu Yunyi sighed. A sinister look flashed past his eyes. Hearing the Duke of Qin's words, he knew that his suspicions had been dispelled.
As expected, Long Fei Ye asked, "What are the arrangements for tomorrow?"
"An old mama will accompany the empress to Thousand Buddha Cave to pray to Buddha. She's one of our Chu Clan's spies, so she'll arrange for all the servants to accompany her. When the time comes, we'll have to trouble Qin Wangfei to disguise herself as a servant girl. As for the Duke of Qin, we'll have to ask you to condescend to be one of the guards. Old Man, General Chu, and a few of the Chu Clan's expert archers will also accompany you in disguise.
Once we enter Thousand Buddha Cave … "Chu Yunyi pointed at the map and explained in detail the arrangements for tomorrow's trip to Thousand Buddha Cave. The gist of it was that they'd create a disturbance to draw away everyone's attention while they worked together to help Qin Wangfei find and steal the Wood of Ten-Thousand Poisons.
Han Yunxi listened in astonishment. The Chu Clan had actually planted a spy by Empress Xue's side. She felt that the plan was quite thorough, but her instincts told her that it wasn't very reliable.
Although time was tight, she felt that Long Fei Ye wouldn't agree so easily. But Long Fei Ye didn't ask any questions and simply agreed. He even agreed to spend the night at the Chu Clan so it'd be easier for them to move together tomorrow.
Han Yunxi didn't say a word until they were back in their rooms. Then she murmured, "Long Fei Ye, are you really going?"
Long Fei Ye said, "I'm going!"
What would happen tomorrow?
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