Early next morning, Gu and Tang Li received news from Long Fei Ye that he and Han Yunxi would be sneaking into Thousand Buddha Cave with the Chu Clan. They were to wait outside and await orders at any time.
"Await orders at any time? Heheh, "Gu laughed coldly.
"You can choose not to go," Tang Li's face was full of disdain. If his big bro didn't like someone, then he didn't like them either.
Unexpectedly, Gu had poisoned him with a single wave of his hand. Tang Li hadn't noticed at first, but Gu ignored him. He assumed that Gu had nothing to say and was about to mock him when he realized he couldn't make a sound.
This was the same feeling he'd felt when Han Yunxi had poisoned him last time!
Tang Li immediately shot his weapons at Gu, but they were flung aside by a thorny vine before they could reach Gu.
"If this old man doesn't show off his power to your master, do you think this old man's a sick cat?" Gu Qishao's voice was cold. Although he was all smiles in front of Han Yunxi and looked easy to talk to, he was actually an extremely petty man who held grudges. He couldn't afford to suffer any losses.
Gu knew that Tang Li was the young head of the Tang Clan, but he'd only called him a "servant."
Actually, the entire Tang Clan counted as Long Fei Ye's servants. But when had Tang Li, the precious young head of the Tang Clan, ever been called a servant?
Ten different types of weapons appeared on his fingers as he prepared to fight Gu to the death.
Chu Xifeng almost fell to his knees at the sight of the two men at daggers drawn. Why are they still arguing at a time like this?
"You two, can't you do me a favor? Are you going to Thousand Buddha Cave or not? If you're not going, I'll go myself! "
Chu Xifeng turned to leave as soon as he finished speaking, but Gu wasn't going to argue with Tang Li.
In this world, other than Long Fei Ye, other than women, other than Han Yunxi, he didn't really care about anyone else! He immediately followed. Tang Li opened his mouth to call for Chu Xifeng to stop, but couldn't make a sound. Gloomily, he missed a few of his needles!
Gu! Just you wait! Once this matter with the Wood of Ten-Thousand Poisons is over, this young master will turn you into a hedgehog!
Gu's group of three arrived at the Thousand Buddha Cave and waited for a long time before they saw Empress Xue's grand procession. After all, the Empress was the Empress. She was extravagant and had many people following her.
Because Qin Wang and the others had said that they would blend in with the honor guards and enter Thousand Buddha Cave, Gu and the other two hid in the shadows and opened their eyes wide to search.
Helplessly, he just couldn't find a familiar face in the crowd.
Because the weather was cold and windy, the court ladies and attendants were all wrapped in thick scarves and hats. Their heads were bowed, making it difficult to recognize their faces.
The procession was vast and mighty, but not everyone was allowed to enter Thousand Buddha Cave. After the stone doors opened, only a small group of people followed the empress inside. Most of the rest stood guard outside.
Gu and the rest watched as the doors slowly closed. Their hearts itched, but they didn't dare to act rashly for fear of ruining the Duke of Qin's plans.
Tang Li had been poisoned into a mute, while Chu Xifeng and Gu had nothing to say. The three of them stayed together in silence.
Although they didn't know what Long Fei Ye's plans were, the three of them were still confident in Long Fei Ye's abilities.
But soon enough, a guard delivered a secret missive to Chu Xifeng. It was from Third Elder Shen.
As soon as Chu Xifeng read the contents, he was stunned into silence. "Too vicious!" he exclaimed.
Third Elder Shen said that Head Elder Ling and Lady Lianxin had gone to Western Liang. It was very likely that they'd try to induce labor on Chu Qingge so she could give birth to a prince ahead of time. Third Elder Shen said he'd been guessing ever since he found out Head Elder Ling had gone to Western Liang, but he wasn't certain. After all, such a thing went against medical ethics, so he couldn't just make wild guesses. Thus, he asked Medicine City's Council of Elders for information on inducing labor and discovered that someone had actually bought the medicine from Medicine City not too long ago. Although that couldn't be used as proof, he still made a bold guess.
At the end of the letter, Third Elder Shen emphasized again and again that the Duke of Qin had to be extremely cautious. Without proof, he couldn't bring up the matter lightly. Otherwise, he'd offend Head Elder Ling and become an enemy of Medical City.
Chu Xifeng was stunned by the letter. If he hadn't read it, he'd never have thought of inducing labor in his life.
Such formidable medical skills existed in this world? And it was possible to raise a baby born before it was born?
Leaving aside the question of whether or not it'd work, the method itself was inhumane. How cruel was it to force a child out of its mother's womb?
The Chu Clan and Chu Qingge had truly gone mad for the sake of the throne.
Gu and Tang Li glanced over at the same time, only to see Gu snatch the letter away. Tang Li scooted over to read it as well.
Both of them were stunned by the contents. Tang Li opened his mouth to curse, but couldn't find the words. In his desperation, he kicked Gu, who quickly cured him of the poison.
"That's too inhumane! Isn't Chu Yunyi afraid of being struck by lightning? And this Head Elder Ling, the head of the Council of Elders? How could he do something like this? Chu Qingge was willing? "Tang Li couldn't believe it.
Gu Qishao didn't agree. What wouldn't Head Elder Ling do? So what if he was an elder of the medical academy? The head of the medical academy was just like that!
Tang Li's anger quickly turned into astonishment. "In other words, Chu Qingge's about to give birth? Is the Chu Clan really planning to fall out with Western Zhou's imperial clan? And then take over West Liang? "
"That's exactly it!" Gu laughed coldly. He'd experienced Head Elder Ling's medical skills when he was young and was certain that the man had the skills to make Chu Qingge give birth prematurely while keeping the baby alive!
"If that's the case, then master's efforts with Emperor Kang Cheng will all be for naught!" Chu Xifeng said hatefully.
After all, His Highness Duke of Qin had instigated discord between the Chu Clan and Emperor Kang Cheng so he could use the emperor to weaken the Chu Clan's military might.
Who knew that he'd push the Chu Clan into a corner and do something so utterly devoid of conscience?
"Looks like the Chu Clan will strike first before Emperor Kang Cheng does anything. They'll catch him off guard!" Chu Xifeng muttered to himself.
At his words, Gu Qishao and Tang Li both looked at him in silence.
"What … are you guys looking at?" Chu Xifeng asked timidly.
Gu didn't reply, but turned to look at the stone doors of Thousand Buddha Cave. Tang Li slapped his thigh. "Oh no! It's very possible that they'll use this chance to make their move! They'll drag the Duke of Qin down with them! "
As it turned out, Tang Li was right!
This was the Chu Clan's plan. They'd made meticulous plans and made multiple preparations.
Chu Yunyi had instructed Gu Beiyue to kill Long Fei Ye and Han Yunxi as a test. If Gu Beiyue really did betray the Chu Clan, then the disguised Chu Clan archers would kill Gu Beiyue as well.
Of course, even if they failed in the end and failed to kill Long Fei Ye and Han Yunxi, they'd still expose Long Fei Ye and Han Yunxi's identities. Then they'd drag them down with them and make them enemies of Western Zhou's imperial clan.
If Long Fei Ye wanted to stir up the deep waters of Western Zhou, the Chu Clan would never let him leave unscathed!
At least half of the people who'd followed Empress Xue into Thousand Buddha Cave today were Chu Clan archers in disguise. The Chu Clan hadn't spent all these years in Western Zhou for nothing. They hadn't fooled around with Crown Prince Ye for nothing, either.
They'd harbored thoughts of betrayal long before the previous emperor, but had been waiting for the right opportunity. Now that Long Fei Ye had forced them into a corner, they had no choice but to act ahead of time!
General Chu had already deployed the Chu Clan troops. As soon as something happened at Thousand Buddha Cave, the various Chu Clan troops would join in the mutiny. Chu Yunyi had also contacted the Di Clan's Ning Clan and was ready to receive them at a moment's notice.
Meanwhile, Empress Xue's group had already passed through the bodhi forest and was nearing the altar of ginkgo trees.
The ginkgo tree was circular in shape with a radius of ten or so meters. Aside from the thousand-year-old ginkgo tree in the center, there was nothing else.
The thousand-year-old ginkgo tree was as tall as three people. Because it was winter, its leaves and branches had long withered away. Though the tree's crown was nowhere to be seen, its trunk and main branches were clearly visible.
From a distance, it looked like a wooden stele towering between heaven and earth, simple and mysterious in appearance.
A ring of short shrubs surrounded the ginkgo tree. It was unknown what species they were, but they were still lush and luxuriant even in this season of withering vegetation.
The empress's entourage was currently passing through the lush forest to enter Thousand Buddha Cave. Everyone had to walk, including Empress Xue.
As she walked, she suddenly stopped and turned to look at the ginkgo tree in the distance. No matter who it was, they couldn't help but look back when they passed by. The thousand-year-old tree was even more awe-inspiring than the Buddha in the cave. It had a kind of magic that made people stop and look up to it, kneel down and worship it.
As soon as Empress Xue stopped, the people in front and behind her stopped as well. In front of her were the monks of the cave, while behind her were a dozen or so eunuchs and court ladies. Behind them were a dozen or so guards.
Chu Yunyi had mixed himself into the ranks of the guards, but he wasn't part of the group at the back. Instead, he stayed close to Empress Xue as her personal bodyguard, with only two or three people between them.
Standing to his right was a tall guard with a full beard. His head was bowed the entire way, making it impossible to see his features clearly. On his left was a court lady with a thick scarf that covered her nose and half her face. Her head was bowed as well.
Not far behind Chu Yunyi was another guard. He looked rather thin and weak, and his face was covered in a full beard. He was staring at Chu Yunyi the entire time.
"It's that tree on the right. Don't be fooled by how empty the stone altar looks. According to Old Man's investigations, there are three high monks with high martial arts standing guard here. Without Emperor Kang Cheng's command token, even Empress Xue can only watch from a distance, "Chu Yunyi murmured.
"When are you planning to make your move?" the tall guard on the right asked Cold.
Before Chu Yunyi could answer, Empress Xue suddenly fell to her knees and bowed towards the ginkgo tree. In a flash, the monks and the guards behind them all followed suit.
Chu Yunyi's eyes flashed craftily before he rose to his feet. "Your Highness Duke of Qin, if you don't destroy the thousand-year-old ginkgo tree now, when will you?"
So speaking, he shoved the tall guard next to him aside. At the same time, all of the archers hidden in the crowd rose to their feet. The old mama by Empress Xue's side was the first to grab the empress to her feet and choke her with one hand.
Empress Xue's mind went blank as she screamed. "Ahhh … ahhh … ahhhh!"
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