Xuan Shuang sighed and said, "How could I not know? Last time Prince Fu wanted to curry favor with my Empress, but he was unwilling to reveal his intentions, so he took the side drum and invited me to his mansion as a guest first. He showed me his weapons and equipment, the formation of his soldiers, and wanted to hear my praise. He wanted to hear my bragging, I don't need to pay, so naturally I would tell him. He flattered me so much that he almost flew to the sky. In a moment of excitement, he summoned his secretly trained men to die for him. He told me to randomly pick one of them, to show that he did not prepare anything beforehand. And then that man killed himself in front of me without even blinking his eyes. His colleagues were standing on the side, looking on with indifference. I cooperated with him, pretending to be a little child who was scared silly. Prince Fu was very pleased with himself, he laughed and said that if everybody in the army was like that, in battle, we would be invincible. Afterwards he held a banquet, saying that he wanted to 'help me get over my shock'. I am not that easy to deceive, naturally I knew that he wanted me to brag about him when I returned to the Snow Song Palace. But I did not say anything. I ate all the delicacies on the spot, and when I returned to the Palace, I pretended that nothing had happened. That old fox waited for several days, and then deliberately swayed in front of my Empress. Seeing that she did not respond, he was secretly shocked. Ha, you see, they did not even crease their brows when they died, why would they betray their master just because of your money? If you want money, won't Prince Fu have a lot more than you do? "While speaking, he suddenly felt a burst of cold air; he hugged his arms and shivered. He did not know if it was because it was really cold in the middle of the night, or because he was thinking about the scheming and scheming in the depths of the Palace, which made his heart tremble.
Shangguan Yaohua could not help but feel a lingering fear; he thought that if Prince Fu really wanted to kill him, taking his life would be as easy as taking something out of his pocket. He did not have any familial affection toward Prince Fu, so he did not recognize him as his father by using the method of climbing up a pole. As far as he was concerned, only he could let other people down, but other people had to be willing to be the sucker.
As soon as he heard that Prince Fu dared to harbor evil thoughts and scheme against him in secret, his fear gave birth to a kind of heartfelt resentment. Gnashing his teeth, he said, "When I work for him, I do my best. And for the sake of the Life Demanding Chop, he had gained a lot of face in front of the emperor. What was there to be dissatisfied about? Why are you treating me like this? Why did you take me as your adopted son in the first place? "
Xuan Shuang was also puzzled by this matter. He pondered for a while, but still could not figure it out. Instead, his brain was blocked and swollen. "Let me analyze it for you," he said, "Prince Fu shouldn't be doing this for no reason and cause so much trouble. In the past, he would not act rashly if he did not have seventy to eighty percent confidence. So I think someone must have told on us. Think about it. Knowing that your identity has been exposed, as the orphan of the rebels, the only thing awaiting you is death … Who would hate you so much? "
Shangguan Yaohua said, "I don't think so. I just entered the Palace not too long ago. From the princes, dukes, and ministers, to the eunuchs, officers, and men, I don't know anyone, let alone offend anyone. … "
Xuan Shuang said patiently, "Speaking of jealousy, you picked up a treasured saber by luck. Since you entered the palace, you haven't done anything earth-shattering. Who would be jealous of you? Last time when I said the set of fist technique was beautiful, I was just coaxing you. Don't be angry. What's the big deal about a few flowery but impractical moves? I am afraid anyone in the Palace would be better than you. Everyone on the field was praising you, not because you fought well, but because they were trying to curry favor with Prince Fu. Since it's not a new enmity, it's an old enmity. Think about it from another angle: when you become the Xiao Wangye, henceforth you will draw a clear line between yourself and the Jianghu people. Who would be the most unwilling? "
Shangguan Yaohua followed his advice. Thinking along the way, he was suddenly enlightened. "That's right!" He said, "It must be Lu Qian, that despicable person, who did not want me to be his disciple … only he would not want me to be conferred the title of Prince or conferred the title of Marquis. After the banquet last time, he and Li Yijie interrogated me in a corner. They wanted me to admit that I was Cheng … I was that person. Unfortunately at that time Yifu … Prince Fu happened to pass by and told me to return to the Mansion first. Afterwards I don't know how many malicious words those two scoundrels said about me in front of Yifu … Damn it, they dared to harm me behind my back? Watch how I deal with them? "
Xuan Yaohua said, "Don't mess around. Prince Fu is worried that he won't be able to find your weakness, yet you want to deliver yourself to his door and let him catch you? Besides, this is just a conjecture, we can't be sure what that old fox is planning. I'll try to help you investigate those death warriors, see if I can get anything out of them. But these people are practically impenetrable, don't hold too much hope. Before that, don't do anything, just pretend that you know your place in front of the people investigating you. I don't dare to say that the rumor will collapse without any attack, but I can use it as a diversion tactic to confuse Prince Fu. When you are in the Palace, don't appear to be extremely clever. If you threaten his position, you must make him suspicious even more. But you must not be too dull and slow-witted. What good would it do him to raise a hundred useless pieces of wood? In short, you must wear a mask and compromise. "
Shangguan Yaohua nodded and said, "I am in the open, he is in the dark. If you did not remind me today, I really would not have discovered this conspiracy …" After pondering for a while, he looked around at the tranquil and peaceful surroundings. His restless heart began to stir again. He said, "Now that nobody is following us, why don't we take a detour to the forest?"
Xuan Yaohua said, "We want to confuse Prince Fu, but why are you the first one to confuse him? Prince Fu did not leak a single drop of water, he wanted to investigate thoroughly, even the names of the eighteen generations of your ancestors were clearly found out. There are people watching you, some are in the open, some are in the dark; do you think there is only one group? Haven't you heard of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind? You went to the forest to catch someone, but you ended up being caught by someone else instead? Listen to me, let's go back to the Snow Song Palace first. I guarantee that I will investigate the whole matter to the bottom for you. "
Shangguan Yaohua was silent for a long time before he said, "Then … that is the only way …"
The two of them went straight. On the surface, they did not play any tricks and obediently returned to the Snow Song Palace. But in reality, they each had their own ulterior motives. From time to time, they would sneak glances to both sides to see if there were any suspicious figures.
When they arrived at the entrance of the Snow Song Palace, Xuan Yaohua suddenly stopped and gestured for them to be quiet. Only then did he place both hands on the door and carefully push it open inch by inch, peeking inside.
The hall was completely dark and not a single person could be seen. He let out a sigh of relief, but still did not dare to lower his guard. He tiptoed over the threshold and carefully took a few steps forward. When his eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness and confirmed that there was no one around, he finally relaxed. He waved at Shangguan Yaohua, indicating that he could enter the hall.
Shangguan Yaohua touched the darkness. Even though he did not understand why he was so cautious, when people gathered together, they would often imitate each other. Just like Xuan Shuang, she tiptoed and sneaked into the hall like a thief. It was not easy for her to get close to him. He whispered, "What are you doing? Are you suspecting that the Seven Evil Spirits will launch a sneak attack again … "
Xuan Yaohua said, "No, no, who would be afraid of that devil?" Then, he lowered his voice to a whisper and said, "To tell you the truth, I don't want to see that woman. Fortunately, she went to bed early. Otherwise, in my current state of mind, I would have to politely call her 'Empress'. It would be worse than killing me. "
Shangguan Yaohua said, "So that's how it is. She harmed my entire family. It is indeed difficult for me to face her with a calm heart. But if I don't inform her, will she … agree to let me stay? "
Xuan Yaohua glared and snorted coldly, "She dares not agree? I also have a share of this Snow Song Palace. What difference does it make whether I stay or you stay? In any case, I won't disturb her. "
Shangguan Yaohua grunted in agreement. He was so careful that he didn't even dare to touch the candlestick. He looked for the door step by step, afraid that he would drop something. He couldn't help but sigh, "Xuan Yaohua, I used to think that I was the most amazing person in the world and that everyone in front of me was childish and useless. Only after knowing you did I realize that I've lived for almost twenty years in vain. "
Xuan Yaohua smiled and said, "You flatter me. If you stay in the palace for a few more days, I'm sure you'll gain some experience. One day in the palace is equivalent to ten years in the common world. It's not an exaggeration. "As he spoke, he touched the door and pulled him inside.
As soon as the door closed, another door in the hall was gently pushed open. Cheng Jiaxuan poked his head out and stared at the closed door for a long time. He muttered, "What the hell is going on?" She didn't sleep for most of the night just to follow the two people into the forest to find out what was going on. Who would have thought that her painstaking efforts would be in vain. Inevitably her anger would soar to the sky.
Several months later, Shangguan Yaohua, in the name of protection, would occasionally visit Xuan Yaohua at the Snow Song Palace. The two of them closed the door. One of them would sit on the floor with his back to the window, while the other would sit across from him. Sometimes they would discuss in low voice, sometimes they would raise their voices, talking about unrelated matters. Every time they finished talking, they would sense a shadow flitting across the paper window. Using this method of mixing truth and falsehood, Prince Fu had never been able to find anything that could be used against him.
People all have this kind of quirk. If you don't believe in something at the beginning, and you can't say anything, you're afraid that you'll only do half the work without any results. If you refuse to do it right now, you'll admit that your original plan was wrong. Nobody wants to give other people the impression that they are not wise enough. Prince Fu was exactly like that. At the beginning, he had painstakingly investigated. Even if there was no result, he still wanted to follow this line of investigation and continue to investigate until he found the answer he wanted.
Ever since Xuan Yaohua distanced himself from Cheng Jiaxuan, he did not reveal any of his plans to her. Moreover, he had promised Shangguan Yaohua to keep his secret, so he could not break his promise. Cheng Jiaxuan was still looking for information for Dorgon, but she felt that Xuan Yaohua's temperament was getting stranger and stranger, so much so that no matter how she tried, she could not figure him out.
These past few days, although he appeared calm and peaceful, he was actually crafty and deceitful. All the powers in the Palace were using everything they had, fighting both openly and covertly. Other than worrying about Shangguan Yaohua, Xuan Yaohua continued to study literature with Tang Yuancheng every day, the rest of his mind was focused on how to deal with Jiang Liechen. When his ankle finally recovered, he could not wait even a moment longer. He immediately pulled Shangguan Yaohua, wanting to go to the training field. Shangguan Yaohua was very unwilling, "You want to see Li Yijie and Lu Qian? Is it okay if I don't go? "
Xuan Yaohua said, "If you avoid meeting them, it will seem like you have a guilty conscience and are deliberately avoiding them. What's the point? Are you going to hide for the rest of your life? Listen carefully, you don't owe Master Lu anything. The one who betrayed him was that cruel and unscrupulous disciple of his, Cheng Jiaxuan, but you are not. You are the Young Prince of the Qing Dynasty. If he dares to make things difficult for you, he will be going against the Great Qing Dynasty. Eight or nine out of ten people look alike, how can he make such a presumptuous assertion? You just have to be firm and not let it go. Calm down, he won't dare to do anything to you in front of everyone. If you can't cross this threshold, you will never be able to see past it. "After earnestly persuading her, Shangguan Yaohua was finally convinced and agreed to go with him.
The two of them left Cheng Jiaxuan and practically ran all the way to the training field. Sure enough, they saw Li Yijie and Lu Qian standing together in the distance. They were discussing something in low voices, and their expressions were quite serious. Shangguan Yaohua was still feeling guilty, so when he saw this scene, he became somewhat nervous. His calves suddenly started to cramp, and he couldn't help but tremble.
Xuan Yaohua also noticed his abnormality, so he moved closer and whispered, "Imposing manner! Imposing manner! Even if you lose, don't lose to your imposing manner! "Shangguan Yaohua listened to his words of encouragement and tried his best to calm down, once again putting on a cold expression.
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
