Xuan Shuang closed his eyes tightly and thrust the dagger with all his might, cutting open the man's chest. Blood splashed onto his face, but he was completely unaware, not even bothering to wipe it off. When his fingertips touched the heart, it was still slightly warm, so a sticky liquid immediately stuck to his fingers. He felt disgusted and forced a smile, "He … he said he cursed me to die a horrible death."
Jiang Liechen said, "So what? If you are determined to be an assassin, you will hear a lot more humiliating insults in the future than this. If you really don't like it, you'll have to rush over and cut his throat before he starts cursing. "
Xuan Shuang forced a smile and finally dug out the man's heart. He felt something soft and sticky fill his entire palm, the edges still felt like they were alive. He tried to gently squeeze it, trying his best to ignore the nauseating feeling when the edge of his palm touched the heart. Looking at the blood flowing between his fingers, he felt a faint sense of sadness. The blood on his hands, in this life, he was afraid he would never be able to wash it clean.
Jiang Liechen waited impatiently and said, "Why aren't you moving?" He poured another bowl of wine and pretended to splash it again. Xuan Shuang hastily called out, "Don't … don't! Don't wake them up again. I can't bear to see a living person die in front of my eyes … "Jiang Liechen said," Humph, childish. Let's get this over with! "
Xuan Shuang replied, "Yes … it's nothing more than killing a few people, what's so difficult about that?" Then, as if he had gone mad, he jumped around in the crowd, slashing people's chests with his dagger, their intestines spilling out on the ground.
By the time he killed the last person, it was as if his last breath had been exhausted. He sat down on the ground with cold sweat dripping down his forehead. His eyes were lifeless, and all he could see in his field of vision was a hazy blur. His breathing was hurried, and a few mouthfuls of cold air poured into his throat. It was like a thorn in his throat. His lips were ashen, and his limbs could not stop trembling.
He felt that his palms were still a little sticky, and the smell in his nose made his throat feel bitter. His stomach was still churning, and when it reached his mouth, he didn't even have the strength to vomit. He only wanted to lie down, turn into a pool of water, and melt into the ground. After that, there were no more vexations.
Jiang Liechen finally praised him, "Well done!" Xuan Shuang gritted his teeth and sat on the ground. From time to time, he would feel a chill sweep over his body. He asked, "What is the point of doing this?"
Jiang Liechen said, "To others, it means nothing. This is just to train you to have a bloodthirsty heart, to be cruel enough to not show mercy to anyone close to you. This time, I only asked you to kill some irrelevant trash, which is already considered the lightest punishment. In the future, if there is a need, I might ask you to kill your loved ones. If you want to kill me, you have to be a perfect assassin. The most important thing is that you have to be more ruthless than me. You also can't be tied down by any emotions, otherwise those useless emotions will become a burden in battle. You're alive, and all your efforts, are for this one purpose. "
Xuan Shuang's face paled, but in the end, he still couldn't answer. Jiang Liechen stood up and slowly circled around him, saying, "You can't stand such a small amount of blood? My special training for you isn't over yet. " These words made Xuan Shuang's hair stand on end, and he lost all thought. All that was left was his teeth, which were still chattering. The sound of his teeth chattering and the dripping of his blood intertwined in the deathly silence of the small tavern, giving off a strange aura like that of hell on earth.
— — —
These days, Cheng Jiaxuan had been treated coldly by Xuan Shuang. He really couldn't figure out how he had offended him. After several failed attempts to salvage the situation, he gradually lost interest and focused on gathering intelligence. Xuan Shuang wasn't with her, so no one interfered. As a result, his work had been progressing rapidly.
About half a month later, he found a reason to return to the Prince Regent's Residence to visit relatives. He hadn't returned for many days. Standing in this residence again, there was a vague sense of unfamiliarity, as if he didn't fit in with the environment. With his hands clasped in front of him and his neck deeply buried, he called out in a low voice, "Adoptive father …" He didn't know what to say. His thin and weak body was hidden under the unlined clothes, and his protruding bones were clearly visible. His shoulders were slightly tensed, as if he was about to be blown away by the wind.
Dorgon saw that she had suddenly come, and his meaning was self-evident. Without saying much, he waved his hand and dismissed his subordinates. He pointed to a red sandalwood chair across the long table and ordered, "Sit." After waiting for Cheng Jiaxuan to fidget with his fingers, he asked, "How is the situation in the palace recently? Has there been any change in the situation? " Cheng Jiaxuan's eyes flickered. He stared at his feet and said carefully, "I don't know what Adoptive Father is referring to?"
Dorgon said with displeasure, "This prince ordered you to stay in the Snow Song Palace for many years in order to 'enjoy the moonlight first in the pavilion closest to the water'. Who do you think is the two people this prince values the most in the palace? "
Cheng Jiaxuan hesitated for a moment and said, "Noble Consort Yun was injured a few days ago. She values her appearance the most and is always worried that there will be scars on her face. And that day … she was almost killed. She has a lingering fear in her heart and has no time to compete with others. In addition, she took advantage of the Xuan Shuang incident to reconcile with the Emperor with great difficulty and win back his favor. The two of them are very close. No matter what, she should know her place for a while. "
Dorgon said, "It's still the same as before. In the end, a woman is still a woman. Her only son is much more formidable than her. For her, I don't know whether she should be happy or sad. But I'm afraid the Seven Malevolent Demons may not be able to touch her. If she really falls, she will be defeated by this son of hers. "
Cheng Jiaxuan pondered for a long time. Finally, he made up his mind and asked, "Recently there have been widespread rumors outside that His Majesty intends to change the imperial edict and abolish Lord Baylor Ling's position as the future Crown Prince. Other people have been spreading rumors through the grapevine. I don't dare to believe all of them. After waiting for a long time, I've come to invite Adoptive Father. "
Dorgon said, "His Majesty's intentions are ever-changing. No one can see through them. It's inappropriate for this prince to make wild guesses. But in my opinion, I don't dare to say it's 100% certain, but at least there's a 70% to 80% chance that it's true. "Cheng Jiaxuan was startled." Then why? Isn't Lord Baylor Ling the most outstanding of all the princes at present? " Dorgon coldly said, "Speaking of outstanding, naturally he is outstanding. But I'm afraid he is too smart for his own good. His Majesty's selection of the heir apparent is not entirely based on who has the greatest talent. "
With a distressed expression Cheng Jiaxuan said, "What should we do? I've asked a lot of people about this matter, all of them are His Majesty's trusted aides and close courtiers, but they all have a similar opinion as you. Even if the Emperor's thoughts are hard to guess, he shouldn't have everyone in the Palace saying the same thing, that Lord Baylor Ling is disadvantageous to him. Although he doesn't pay much attention to me now, I still can't let him go … I've always regarded him as a younger brother. Adoptive Father, please think of a way, can you help him? "
Dorgon said, "On my side, this prince's family affairs are so busy that my head is in a terrible fix; how can I have time to meddle in other people's business? Do you really care about this Lord Baylor Ling? Could it be that you really have some kind of groundless thought toward this kid? "
Cheng Jiaxuan hurriedly waved his hand. The more anxious he was to explain, the more incoherent his words became. Dorgon impatiently said, "This kid is wildly ambitious, not inferior to the ambitious and ruthless people in the Imperial Court. The harder His Majesty forces him, the more he will resist, the easier it will be for this prince to secretly take advantage of the turmoil. Has he revealed any clues recently? "
Cheng Jiaxuan's anxiety had not been eliminated, so when he answered again, inevitably his words were rather vague. Finally he said, "Speaking of the Lord Baylor Ling, he has never had any experience in training an army. There are only a few senior soldiers, nobody would submit to this kind of 'yellow-mouthed kid', much less follow him in a rebellion. But speaking of unusual, recently he has indeed been a little bit … "Hearing this, Dorgon was overjoyed. He said," The more unusual it is, the more likely it is to rebel. Why don't you tell me about it? "
Cheng Jiaxuan leaned on his chin and thought hard. He frowned and said, "This … Daughter doesn't know how to say it. Lord Baylor Ling's natural disposition is free and easy, he doesn't care much about trifles, but recently he has been particularly fond of cleanliness. Every day he has to wash his hands several times, he has to carry the basin of water back and forth, he is always busy. It's as if he thinks his hands are very dirty? Not only that, he has suddenly become very strange, as if he is particularly afraid of the color red … No, it's not just fear, there is a strong sense of resistance. A few days ago, the Western Region's envoys came to present several watermelons. After His Majesty rewarded the princes, he especially brought one watermelon to the Snow Song Palace to visit Noble Consort Yun. In front of His Majesty, the Xuan Shuang is the one who has always fought for face. This time he only said that he was unwell, he didn't even come out to see His Majesty. At that time, although His Majesty didn't say anything, Daughter could see that he was very dissatisfied. In the end, probably because His Majesty was concerned that Xuan Shuang had just recovered from a serious illness, he didn't make a fuss about it and even asked Noble Consort Yun to send that watermelon to him. Because Xuan Shuang has always liked to eat watermelon … But His Majesty didn't know what happened, he actually gave His Majesty face in public and ordered the watermelon to be taken away in an extremely unfriendly tone. Naturally, His Majesty was unhappy and angrily left on the spot. Later, I wanted to feed him a few mouthfuls, so I used a spoon to scoop some for him to eat. Before it reached his mouth, he vomited. Finally, he said that … he felt disgusted when he saw the red pulp. Even when he saw red cloth, he immediately avoided it and ordered us to burn it. Otherwise, he had to completely stay away from his sight. This illness came so suddenly that even the imperial physicians couldn't see the symptoms. They only said that he was stimulated by something and that he should try to stay in bed and rest more. Perhaps he would recover in a few days. When His Majesty came to visit him, he was still unconscious. His Majesty casually ordered us to serve him well, and then he left. "
Dorgon muttered to himself, "Is that so? A strange illness that came out of nowhere? "After thinking for a moment, he said," In Ben Wang's opinion, it is very likely that he is faking it. "Cheng Jiaxuan was startled," How … how could that be? " I didn't see it at all. "Dorgon said," If you could see it easily, he wouldn't need to pretend. Otherwise, how could he hide it from the people in the Palace? "
Cheng Jiaxuan muttered to himself, "Speaking of acting ability, Xuan Shuang is indeed superior to ordinary people. But Daughter is thinking that everything has a reason. His Majesty has long regarded him as his most beloved son, so it is not worthwhile for him to use this clumsy method to please the crowd. Furthermore, his current appearance will scold His Majesty, which is extremely inappropriate. Could it be that he is still 'loosening the reins only to grasp them better'? "
Dorgon pondered deeply for a moment, then said, "Sometimes it is necessary to 'act in the opposite direction'. Perhaps he is faking his illness to arouse His Majesty's pity? You must know that even if he is favored by the Emperor, he will not be able to obtain the position of Crown Prince. That's right … isn't it that even the imperial physicians are helpless? In that case, we might as well treat a dead horse as a living one and invite a few masters to the Palace to do something. In the end, we will say that Lord Baylor Ling is possessed by a demon, and then we will say some ambiguous words. Finally, we will say that we must follow his instructions in order to disperse the malicious spirit. "
Cheng Jiaxuan was startled, "Then … will it work? After all, no one knows the real situation of Xuan Shuang. If we make a mistake, we will lose a lot of face. "
Dorgon said, "It is precisely because no one knows that it is easier to fabricate a lie, and no one will be able to find fault with it. Ben Wang instructed him to say that Lord Baylor Ling is possessed by a demon, and that he is disturbed by the feng shui of the Snow Song Palace. He is the future Crown Prince, but he does not have a proper mansion; it is really inappropriate. The meaning of this is to urge His Majesty to quickly appoint a Crown Prince and bestow him with a palace. Once this is done, his illness will naturally be cured. "
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