Stranger Danger

“How did it go, Your Highness?”

Inside the Chu River Embassy, Chu Xunxian, Guo Ximian, Zheng Xuanjun, Chu Mingfeng and more were sitting under the same roof.

“The North Duke has agreed to my demands,” Chu Xunxian answered.

“That old fox wouldn’t dare to betray us, would he?” Guo Ximian asked worriedly.

“The North Duke is a smart man. He wouldn’t dare.”

Chu Xunxian said indifferently before looking at Chu Mingfeng. “Have you gathered all the intel we have on that Ye Qing yet?”

“I have, imperial uncle.”

Chu Mingfeng stepped forward and passed a jade slip into Chu Xunxian’s hands.

“Thank you.” Chu Xunxian immediately inspected the jade slip’s contents after receiving it. A few breaths later, he opened his eyes with an imperceptible frown on his face.

“So, who is Ye Qing, Your Highness?” Guo Ximian asked.

“You may find out for yourself.”

Chu Xunxian passed the jade slip to Guo Ximian, and the general checked its contents as quickly as he could.

A moment later, Guo Ximian put the jade slip away and said, “So, the reason Ye Qing held a grudge against Wangsun and Muyun is because they set him up in the first place?”

“Judging from the current information we had, that is correct.” Chu Xunxian nodded.

He had commanded Chu Mingfeng to obtain this intel from the Intelligence Department on his behalf. Looking at the intel he received, the only point in time where Chu Wangsun, Fang Muyun and Ye Qing were all in the same venue was the Hidden Dragon Meet. However, everything looked normal, and nothing had happened between the trio during this time.

However, the Chief Libationist’s behavior made it clear that Chu Wangsun and Fang Muyun must have done something terrible to Ye Qing. The only incident that happened during this time was the death of the Harmony King’s son and Ye Qing becoming a wanted criminal because of it.

It would seem that the incident wasn’t as simple as it seemed. For whatever reason, Chu Wangsun and Fang Muyun had come together to frame Ye Qing for the murder of a prince. They were going to end him in Tian Yong, but Ye Qing was ultimately able to foil their plan and escape. That loose end eventually resulted in their tragic ends.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

But why did Chu Wangsun and Fang Muyun frame Ye Qing for murder? There was an easy way to find out. He simply needed to ask the Chief Libationist to find out every detail.

Unfortunately, the Sage had given his word that he would not be interfering with this matter. His word was his bond, so it would be pointless to pry any information from him.

“Ye Qing was a member of the Pacification Bureau, and from what I can tell, he hadn’t had any real interaction with Wangsun or Muyun, much less a grudge, so why did they set him up?” Guo Ximian asked.

Chu Xunxian said coldly, “Now’s not the time to think about that. He betrayed Chu and killed our geniuses. Whatever his reason might be, he is now our enemy.”

“Imperial uncle, Martial Might Duke, what on earth happened? Who is this Ye Qing?” Chu Mingfeng asked while glancing between the two men in confusion. He had no idea what was happening.

Earlier, he suddenly received an urgent order from Chu Xunxian to gather all information regarding Ye Qing and what happened during the Hidden Dragon Meet at top speed. To this end, Chu Xunxian had even activated the intelligence agency the Intelligence Department had planted in Qi. As his request was for the information to be brought to him as quickly as possible, no matter the cost, the intelligence agency had no choice but to comply even though their actions would almost certainly expose them to Qi.

It had taken decades for the Intelligence Department to plant the intelligence agency in Qi. If it was exposed, the cost would be humongous to say the least. Even so, Chu Xunxian did not relent. It showed just how important this was.

Chu Xunxian shot Chu Mingfeng a glance and answered, “Chu Wangsun is dead!”

“What?!”

Chu Mingfeng shot to his feet, eyes wide and mouth open. “Wangsun… Wangsun is dead? How is that possible?”

“Sit down,” Chu Xunxian said coldly.

Chu Mingfeng knew he lost his composure and mastered himself, but the shock on his face did not fade in the slightest. “What on earth happened? How… How did Wangsun die?”

“He was murdered,” Chu Xunxian answered succinctly.

“He was murdered?” But Chu Mingfeng’s shock only grew. “Who would dare do such a thing?”

Chu Wangsun wasn’t just a genius of Chu. He was also the disciple of the Chief Libationist. The Chief Libationist for infamous for vengefulness and recklessness, so who in their right mind would risk his wrath to kill Chu Wangsun?

“It’s a man named Ye Qing.” Guo Ximian passed the jade slip to Chu Mingfeng so he might read its contents.

“Your Highness, I will take my leave and kill this Ye Qing now.”

Guo Ximian glanced at Chu Xunxian with murderous intent. “Anyone who dares to kill the genius of Chu must die.”

“I agree, but there is something even more important than killing Ye Qing right now,” Chu Xunxian said.

“Are you referring to the bad blood between Ye Qing, Wangsun and Muyun, Your Highness?” Guo Ximian asked.

“That’s right.” Chu Xunxian nodded.

If the world learned that today’s incident had happened because Chu Wangsun and Fang Muyun once framed Ye Qing for a prince’s murder, it would be a huge blow to Chu’s prestige and reputation to say the least.

It was bad enough the famous geniuses of Chu framed and tried to kill one of their own, but not only did they fail, they were both killed by their own prey. To call it shameful and embarrassing would be an understatement.

More importantly, Chu was in the midst of building up Fang Muyun as a hero of humanity. If his dirty laundry were to be aired at this sensitive timing, then it would be hugely detrimental to his image to say the least. Not only that, the people were going to wonder if Fang Muyun’s death had not been as accidental as it seemed, or if the one who discovered the conspiracy of the Four Seas Dragon Palace wasn’t him after all. They might even think that Fang Muyun and even Chu itself were just pawns Ye Qing was manipulating this entire time. In any case, both Fang Muyun and Chu would become the laughingstock of the world.

The glory of the empire must not be stained by anything. Otherwise, it would have consequences that shook the entire world.

That was why he could not allow this to happen no matter what.

“What should we do?” Guo Ximian asked.

“It’s simple. We announce to the world that heretics had slain our geniuses due to jealousy,” Chu Xunxian replied.

The people would learn that Chu Wangsun was dead, but they must not learn that they had died in Ye Qing’s hands. They especially must not connect Ye Qing to Fang Muyun’s death.

“Will… Will that work?” Chu Mingfeng asked worriedly. He was still in disbelief after reading the contents of the jade slip, but he had more or less figured out the ins and outs of the situation. “Ye Qing won’t just allow us to twist the truth and slander him. He will reveal the truth.”

“It wouldn’t matter,” Chu Xunxian replied calmly. “All we need to do is to seize the initiative and spread the word and let the entire jianghu know that Chu Wangsun was murdered by heretics. One man’s words cannot be louder than everyone else combined.”

“Besides, Ye Qing had already been executed for the murder of the Harmony King’s son. These so-called truths are just toxic rumors those vile beings are spreading to hurt our nation. Do you understand?”

“Wisely said, Your Highness.” Guo Ximian echoed in agreement. “If three people claim that a tiger haunts a hill, then there is a tiger. If everyone believes that a lie is a truth, then it must be the truth. The actual truth itself would not matter at that point.”

“Mingfeng, General Zheng, I leave this task to you.”

Chu Xunxian ordered, “Mingfeng, use my name and command the Intelligence Department to spread the word that Chu Wangsun had been murdered by heretics in the shortest amount of time possible. The whole world must hear of this.”

He then looked at Zheng Xuanjun and said, “General Zheng, you are familiar with Qi and the Four Seas. I trust you to spread the word throughout the realm and the Four Seas in the shortest amount of time possible.”

“As you command.”

The duo did not dare to waste time. They left immediately after receiving their orders.

“Duke, please track down Ye Qing and kill him.”

Chu Xunxian’s eyes were ice cold. “I’ve already notified the North Duke about this. They will aid you in your efforts.”

“No worries, your Highness. Just leave this to me.” The Martial Might Duke let out a vicious laugh.

“Your Highness, Duke, it’s bad!”

It was at this moment Zheng Xuanjun ran back into the hall with a panicked expression.