Speaking of this matter, Xu Da couldn’t help but furrow his brow: “Before Minister Zheng was imprisoned, he mentioned it once. It seems that because Imperial Physician Hu in the palace had learned some detoxification methods from Taoist Master Taibai, and with Physician Yan who had previously detoxified the Grand Imperial Grandson also present, they timely controlled His Majesty’s poison. But even so, His Majesty remains unconscious.”
As he said this, watching the Grand Imperial Grandson’s Consort and Grand Imperial Grandson’s procession being awkwardly escorted by the Golden Martial Guards and Feathered Forest Guards around Vermillion Bird Street to take a detour, a mocking smile appeared on his face: “It doesn’t matter. This poison has no antidote. Even if the legendary physician Hua Tuo were reborn, they couldn’t possibly save him. They’re merely buying time.”
That person felt relieved and cupped his hands toward Xu Da: “If that’s the case, then I’m much more at ease. So everything will be decided tomorrow?”
“Right, we’ll wait until tomorrow.” Xu Da spoke and laughed as he exhaled: “What day is tomorrow again? The Fourth Young Master of the Marquis Changning’s household is departing for Shu to study tomorrow, right? What a good day…” He smiled and waved his hand extremely lightly: “Perfect. It would be rather troublesome if this whole family weren’t together.”
The carriages and procession had already disappeared from view, but the commotion continued and showed signs of intensifying. The people from the Five Commanderies’ Military Inspectorate and the constables from Shuntian Prefecture formed a standoff with the citizens, which quickly developed into a conflict.
It was unclear which side struck first, but soon someone was wailing and crying, lying on the ground bleeding profusely. Even from this distance, one could smell the scent of blood from afar. Xu Da took a sip of tea, watched the person summoned in nod and leave, then turned his attention to the person opposite him: “There won’t be any mistakes on your end, will there? If there’s even the slightest error, we’re finished. Don’t take this lightly.”
That person lowered his head and smiled: “There was a small error before.”
Xu Da’s brow furrowed fiercely, his eyes pinning on him like sharp arrows: “The matter with the Lu family—it still hasn’t been resolved? Is he that useless?!”
That person lowered his voice: “Actually, you can’t say it hasn’t been resolved. It’s just that there are some lingering troubles.” The person sighed: “That young lady from the Lu family is quite clever. When she wrote letters home and didn’t receive replies from her grandfather, she found it strange. Later she sent several more letters and still received no response, which aroused her suspicion…” As he spoke, he seemed to have a toothache. He didn’t know why, but these days young ladies were truly formidable one after another—first Sixth Miss Song and Chen Mingyu, now Miss Lu. When these girls stirred up trouble, they were truly even more formidable than men like them. He covered his mouth, enduring the ache, and said: “Who knows how this Miss Lu has such a keen sense of smell. Discovering that Old Master Lu had been placed under house arrest by Master Lu…” He coughed, seeing the killing intent hidden in Xu Da’s gaze, he spoke even more urgently: “Placed under house arrest by Master Lu, she felt something was wrong. Actually, we should still blame Master Lu. Even if he needed to find a dignified excuse to insert people into Fujian to find Lord Fan, did he need to send his own daughter there? Doesn’t he know his own daughter? I heard this Miss Lu was raised from childhood by Old Master Lu. Who is Old Master Lu? Old Master Lu is the only minister from the previous dynasty who survived from the late emperor’s hands. A child raised by him—how could she lack wits? She must have discovered that going to Fujian made her a chess piece. Being clever, she followed the trail to investigate, and by casually probing for information, she discovered the schemes of the Lu family’s steward who followed her.”
Xu Da’s expression darkened: “It’s still because Guo Huaiying is too difficult to deal with. The Marquis wanted Fujian to erupt in chaos as well, but Guo Huaiying would certainly not turn a blind eye to the Japanese pirates and sea bandits. To make Fujian erupt in chaos, naturally only Lord Fan could make a move. But Lord Fan is right under Guo Huaiying’s nose. To avoid arousing suspicion while contacting someone from the Fan family with such a special status, they could only use Miss Lu as a cover. Who would have thought this Miss Lu would be so troublesome and so sharp.”
Indeed, truly perceptive to the smallest detail. She even stumbled upon the discovery that the Lu family was colluding with Han Zhengqing. Since the Lu family was colluding with Han Zhengqing to help him find the Fan family, Lu Chonghua would naturally help the Grand Imperial Grandson and wrote letters intending to send messages to the capital.
That person breathed another sigh of relief: “This really is fortunate that the old…” As he spoke, he immediately shut his mouth, glancing left and right before not continuing, saying vaguely: “Fortunate that the people around that person were alert and intercepted the message in time. Otherwise, this Miss Lu would truly have ruined everything.” As he spoke, he shook his head: “It’s just still somewhat regrettable—that Miss Lu, no one knows whether she’s alive or dead.”
If she were alive, it would be another troublesome matter.
“Intensify the search.” Xu Da squinted his eyes, impatient killing intent pouring from them: “Don’t drop the ball at this critical moment. Guo Huaiying is not easy to fool—isn’t his son in Huizhou right now? Handle it properly, don’t leave any evidence. And you, be more careful around the Celestial Master.” He frowned as he instructed: “Don’t think everything’s going smoothly and let your guard down. Don’t risk contacting that side anymore. He knows what he should do.”
The person’s face, hidden in shadows, finally emerged. He was actually dressed as a Taoist priest, plump and portly with a kind appearance. Standing up, he bowed to Xu Da, patting his belly and smiling: “Rest assured, if the Celestial Master doesn’t trust me, who would he trust?”
That was indeed true. Xu Da’s expression eased slightly. This fat fellow was the Celestial Master’s confidant. Otherwise, he couldn’t have silently leaked information about Zheng Baihu. He nodded but still solemnly warned: “Stop grinning. Hide your tail well these next few days.”
That person acknowledged with a yes, and only then did Xu Da stand up: “Return quickly. I won’t say anything superfluous. If things go smoothly on our end, their breakthrough will be just around the corner.” He pointed far off in the northwest direction, smiling as he looked at the fat man: “When that time comes, you’ll be the Celestial Master personally appointed by the court.”
The fat man stroked his belly and chuckled: “I heard that Zijing Pass is about to fall immediately, right? Chief Commander Cui is truly wise all his life but confused for once—to actually do something so foolish. He actually thinks that controlling Yecha and his twenty thousand troops is enough? What is Yecha anyway?” He smiled disdainfully: “In our Marquis’s eyes, only useful people are allies. Chief Commander Cui trapped Yecha in Qingzhou Prefecture, thinking the Marquis had no options? The Marquis directly sent those eighty thousand troops to attack Zijing Pass. This strategy of besieging Wei to rescue Zhao depends on whether Chief Commander Cui dares to defy universal condemnation and turn a blind eye to Zijing Pass’s predicament.”
These were all battlefield matters. He couldn’t interject nor decide anything. Xu Da’s expression became solemn and serious: “The Marquis’s thoughts are not for you to fathom. Shut your mouth. You only need to know that as long as both our fronts progress smoothly, that’s all.”