The discussion in the Southern Study concluded.
Everyone withdrew from inside, leaving only the grand ministers of the cabinet and a few close confidants of the emperor still within. It seemed Shen Lang still had other matters to discuss.
Gu Chunfang had only recently been transferred back to the capital, so naturally he wasn’t among those remaining.
Zhang Zhe walked alongside him, falling slightly behind by a couple of steps, still characteristically silent and reserved.
Gu Chunfang observed his expression and said as they walked, “Earlier in the Southern Study, the sudden proposal for you to infiltrate the Celestial Doctrine under the guise of that Du Jun Mountain Man wasn’t discussed with you beforehand. Please don’t take it to heart.”
In truth, there had been no way to discuss it beforehand.
Gu Chunfang couldn’t have known in advance what Xie Wei would say today. Everything had been improvisation and adaptation to circumstances.
Zhang Zhe truly hadn’t imagined he would become entangled in such complex affairs through such a twist of fate. He had no grand ambitions in this life—he merely wished to have more time to accompany and care for his mother.
Being drawn into these disputes was entirely unexpected.
In his previous life, after Xie Wei and Yan Lin’s rebellion, the Celestial Doctrine’s forces were thoroughly exterminated along with them. From top to bottom, they were swept clean in a bloodbath. Yet even when the sect leader’s head rolled, that legendary “Du Jun Mountain Man” never appeared.
If such a person truly existed and was so important, could he really escape to heaven or earth, vanishing from the mortal realm?
Thus everyone in the world believed the Celestial Doctrine never had such a person—it was merely a fabrication by treacherous rebels, deliberately creating this immortal figure to deceive followers and make them believe more deeply in the Celestial Doctrine.
Zhang Zhe had once handled many cases related to the Celestial Doctrine during his service in the Ministry of Justice, and had indeed been ordered to investigate who this Du Jun Mountain Man truly was. But each time the investigation yielded no results and eventually fizzled out.
Yet he had harbored some suspicions.
Only these suspicions came without foundation and were truly quite fantastical, so he had never disclosed them to others.
In this lifetime, however, there seemed to be some traces emerging.
Nevertheless, Zhang Zhe thought, those matters seemed to have little connection to him.
He lowered his eyes and simply said, “My lord showed me kindness by cultivating my talents in the past. This recommendation is also an honor—I certainly have no complaints whatsoever. It’s just that since Mentor Xie proposed this plan, perhaps he had a suitable candidate in mind. My lord inserting yourself like this might perhaps cause Mentor Xie to harbor resentment…”
Gu Chunfang’s eyes had aged, yet they had grown increasingly perceptive.
He stroked his beard and said, “Precisely because it was Mentor Xie who proposed it, I had to recommend you.”
Zhang Zhe immediately raised his eyes toward Gu Chunfang.
However, Gu Chunfang uncharacteristically furrowed his brow, though it seemed he felt this made him appear overly grave, so he relaxed his brow again and said with a smile and a sigh, “Perhaps this old man has grown old and has become somewhat suspicious. I always feel that this Mentor Xie—though young in years and appearing detached from worldly affairs—has very heavy thoughts and truly quite deep cunning. He’s not as simple as he appears on the surface. When I was his age, I was still a hothead in the court, crashing about bloodied and understanding nothing. I hope I’m simply being overly suspicious…”
Zhang Zhe fell silent.
Gu Chunfang merely reached out and lightly patted his shoulder, saying, “This time I must trouble you greatly. By the way, how is your mother’s health lately?”
Zhang Zhe replied, “After moving to the capital, she’s been somewhat better. I’ve been obtaining medicine for her recuperation. It’s just that she still can’t stay idle and always insists on keeping busy at home.”
No amount of persuasion could dissuade her.
Gu Chunfang couldn’t help shaking his head. “You’re a filial child. If those useless ones in my family had even half your virtue, this old man could rest easy!”
As the slanting sun gradually set, the two men left the palace.
Those who had remained in the Southern Study also emerged after half an hour.
When Xie Wei walked out through the palace gates, his face still wore a pleasant smile.
But once he boarded his carriage, those gentle and genial expressions slowly faded from his face, transforming into an expanse of silent, cold severity.
—
Lu Xian felt his entire person was somewhat unwell. He had just returned from the Shuxiang Inn, and the two pieces of news he’d heard continued to circle in his head even as he passed the already-sealed Marquis Yongyi’s manor and stepped through the Xie manor gates.
Shares in the salt yards could be freely transferred and sold to others?
Ren Weizhi had come to the capital and incidentally resolved his lifelong affair—he would be going to the Earl Qingyuan’s manor to propose marriage in the next few days?
How could affairs in this era be so incomprehensible?
His brow was deeply furrowed, and he paid no attention to others in the manor who greeted him. Just as he was about to step into Zhuoqin Hall, he remembered what had happened there some days ago and couldn’t help but shudder.
That foot he’d stepped forward immediately withdrew.
Looking left and right and seeing that Daojian and Qinshu were all absent, he simply called a random servant to move a chair for him and sat down directly in the corridor outside Zhuoqin Hall, lost in thought and contemplation.
Lu Xian was waiting for Xie Wei.
However, he hadn’t expected that when Xie Wei finally returned, he would see that his expression was truly no better than his own. His eyelid immediately twitched.
He asked, “Something changed at court?”
In the winter garden, the flowered trees were withered.
In the lotus pond, the dried lotus leaves curled yellow on the water’s surface.
The trailing hem of Xie Wei’s pale green Daoist robe was like a drifting fallen leaf.
The events that had occurred during the Southern Study discussion also turned in Xie Wei’s mind. When Lu Xian asked, he recounted them once with an expressionless face.
When he heard about the stratagem Xie Wei had presented to the emperor, Lu Xian’s entire scalp nearly exploded!
“Using another’s knife to kill—what a plan!”
That day when Xie Wei killed Gongyi Cheng, such an important and renowned figure within the Celestial Doctrine, one could imagine that if the sect learned of it, what kind of bloody storm it would stir. Just Xie Wei’s dual identity—both within the Celestial Doctrine and at court—meant that with one misstep he would face attacks from both sides. If people discovered the secrets about him, it would be like walking in the crevice between two constantly closing cliffs—sooner or later crushed to pieces!
Therefore, after the killing, they needed to immediately control the Celestial Doctrine forces in the capital.
Those who obeyed would be claimed for their own use; those who didn’t would be ruthlessly eliminated.
However, if the commotion was too great, and since there were no walls in the world that didn’t let wind through, with internal sect forces fighting each other, news would inevitably reach Jinling and attract the attention of the main altar there.
Xie Wei had leverage held against him by them.
His identity was the greatest leverage.
So all of this had to be done without anyone knowing!
Clearly it was Xie Wei who killed Gongyi Cheng, but now it became a killing by the Prefect of Shuntian during his campaign to suppress the Celestial Doctrine—didn’t this immediately become “proper and justified”?
Moreover, if this method continued to be used afterward, it would be an excellent “borrowed knife killing” stratagem!
Obviously Xie Wei wouldn’t eliminate those forces obedient to him.
Then, this time by borrowing the court’s power to eliminate forces within the Celestial Doctrine that were more inclined toward the Jinling side, he weakened Jinling’s strength, making it easier for Xie Wei to control this area of the capital. From the court’s perspective, eliminating the Celestial Doctrine could be considered one of Xie Wei’s outstanding achievements!
Killing three birds with one stone—nothing surpassed this.
Lu Xian couldn’t help clapping his hands and exclaiming in admiration.
However, not a trace of change appeared in Xie Wei’s expression. He merely added the final result flatly—
At the Southern Study discussion, the person designated to impersonate Du Jun Mountain Man was not him.
But Zhang Zhe.
Lu Xian was immediately dumbstruck, almost unable to believe what he’d heard. “But—but this… you actually didn’t raise any objection and just let things develop like this? Won’t Zhang Zhe ruin things?”
Xie Wei closed his eyes slightly and said, “I believe Gu Chunfang seems quite wary of me.”
Lu Xian replied, “This old fellow was just transferred back from a provincial post. He was formerly a Supervisory Censor of the Henan Circuit. Having lived most of his life, he’s certainly shrewd inside. It’s just that if you can deceive the eyes and ears of everyone in the world, deceiving such a person is merely a matter of spending more effort and requiring time. But that Zhang Zhe—if he truly discovers something, those who end up unlucky may not necessarily be people on our side.”
The Celestial Doctrine had so many halls, all secretly distributed across various regions.
Among them were some that covertly obeyed Xie Wei’s commands.
If Xie Wei himself went to “impersonate” Du Jun Mountain Man, naturally he wouldn’t harm his own forces. But if Zhang Zhe went, heaven only knew what disasters he might stir up!
Lu Xian’s outward appearance was that of a merchant. Having conducted business for these years, he disliked encountering such potentially risky matters. His brow tightly furrowed as he said, “We can’t take risks at critical moments. Since he’s to infiltrate among the Celestial Doctrine followers, this matter itself carries risk. We might as well turn the tables and take the opportunity to kill this person. If he dies at the hands of sect followers, the court will assume the plan was exposed and won’t suspect us.”
Xie Wei remained silent for a long time.
Lu Xian felt this was the most proper approach. Without thinking, he said, “I’ll go arrange it right away.”
He had completely forgotten about Ren Weizhi and the salt yard matters. Slapping the armrest of that chair, he stood up, about to go make arrangements.
Then the next moment, he heard from behind him: “No need.”
Lu Xian froze and looked back at Xie Wei, almost unable to believe his ears. “If we allow this person to assume a false identity and infiltrate the Celestial Doctrine, no one knows what will happen! If we don’t first eliminate this threat, I fear it will leave endless future troubles! Why is there no need?”
Why?
A face actually flashed through Xie Wei’s mind—walking beneath the dim palace walls, that young lady’s pair of eyes illuminated by the lantern light he held, seeming about to burn along with that firelight, blazing bright and brilliant.
Do you like Zhang Zhe?
I like him. Very much, very much…
At this moment, he was actually momentarily dazed. Then he looked at Lu Xian’s grave face and slowly said, “This arrangement is like inviting the gentleman into a trap. Zhang Zhe must infiltrate alone and will certainly have no support. Since this plan came from me, the court will surely have me control the overall situation. Zhang Zhe is a court official. If he gains nothing and perishes within, I’m afraid I may not escape responsibility and criticism. Killing him is simple, but it too leaves endless future troubles. Better to hold off for now and see what he can actually discover upon infiltration. If he learns something he shouldn’t know, before he returns to the capital with that information, we can find an opportunity to eliminate him then. That won’t be too late.”
“…”
This way of handling things was not Xie Ju’an’s usual style.
Lu Xian keenly realized that beyond what Xie Wei had stated, there must be some reasons he didn’t know about. However, after considering in silence for a long while, he ultimately didn’t dare probe too deeply.
Xie Wei stood in the corridor. Having finished speaking these words to him, he merely glanced at the darkening sky before stepping into Zhuoqin Hall.
Lu Xian, however, stood in the corridor without moving.
He turned to look into the hall. His deeply furrowed brow lifted, and as if suddenly thinking of something, he abruptly realized: “Wait, that’s not right. Setting aside Zhang Zhe for now—eliminating Gongyi Cheng, then clearing out forces in the capital, even borrowing another’s knife to kill, this is clearly a chain of stratagems! Yet when killing Gongyi Cheng earlier, you actually told me there was no plan, that you didn’t know?!”
Xie Wei once again stood facing that blank wall. The hall had no lit lamps, and his silhouette was hidden in shadow, indistinct.
But Lu Xian could hear his clear, calm voice.
It said, “I dared to say it; you truly dared to believe it.”
Lu Xian: “…………”
Damn, how did I never notice before that you were such a bastard!