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Of course, Zheng Zhuo had informed Yuan Cixian of the invitation in advance, and explained the reason and location. Lu Shiqing agreed very generously yesterday, and there seemed to be nothing unusual.
But Zheng Zhuo still underestimated this man's ability to linger. It was only the 9th hour now, and Lu Shiqing must have secretly used some tricks to disperse the court early, and then flew over with wings.
Seeing "Xu Shan" walking leisurely at this moment, Zheng Zhuo sneered in his heart, but he had to cover up for him and said, "I asked Mr. Xu to come with me."
Yuan Cixian retracted her gaze, her expression tense: "Is there something important?"
Otherwise, how could the three of them suddenly meet? There was no such event before.
Zheng Zhuo nodded and said, "It's about the King of Southern Yunnan. However, Mr. Xu and I have discussed the countermeasures overnight yesterday. I invited you here today, firstly to ask you to relax, and secondly, I want to talk to you about the follow-up."
While the two were talking, Lu Shiqing had already arrived at the stone pavilion. But when Yuan Cixian heard that it was about his father, he didn't want to say hello to him. He just nodded to him and asked Zheng Zhuo anxiously: "Is Jiang Bican here for my father?"
Lu Shiqing's polite "County Princess" was immediately choked on his lips.
Well, if you don't want to say hello, then don't fight. It's useless to fight with Xu Shan anyway.
He sighed inwardly and found another side of the pavilion with its back against the rocks to sit down.
The edge of the cliff was too dangerous. He didn't want to see Yuan Cihan and Zheng Zhuo flirting with each other, so he jumped down in anger.
Zheng Zhuo glanced at him, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, but he responded to Yuan Cixian's words and explained, "The young lady from the Jiang family who came yesterday was quite good. After the Jiang family fell into decline, Jiang Siqing entrusted her to my third brother, hoping that my third brother would take care of his daughter for him, considering that he had no merit but had worked hard."
This "third brother" refers to King Ping.
After the Lingnan Iron Mine incident was exposed, although Emperor Huining had no solid evidence, he knew in his heart that Jiang Min was working for Prince Ping. So even if he could not touch Prince Ping, he was determined to eliminate the Jiang family, on the one hand to warn him, on the other hand to clip his wings.
Prince Ping had originally managed to end the matter well, but he did not expect that Yuan Cixian, who was always dreaming and could see things clearly, would show up halfway. As the incident happened suddenly, Prince Ping had no choice but to swallow the loss and did not try to save the Jiang family anymore, in order to avoid further angering Emperor Huining.
In other words, King Ping actually abandoned the Jiang family. So when it comes to the so-called "taking care" of Jiang Bican, it may not be a literal "care". Zheng Zhuo just said it in a more subtle way.
Yuan Cixian nodded to show her understanding.
Lu Shiqing glanced at her. She seemed to understand this kind of thing very well.
Zheng Zhuo continued, "She admitted that the Jiang family had indeed been trying to help my third brother. However, after her father was imprisoned, she had the opportunity to expose my involvement with General Yuan to the Saint, but she did not do so. In fact, she did not want to completely break off with me in case my third brother was unkind one day and she would lose her support."
Yuan Cixian curled the corners of his mouth. This whole story sounded reasonable. Jiang Bican was a man who knew the current situation. He knew that playing tricks would not work at the moment, and being honest would make people less likely to dislike him.
"She said that she initially obeyed her father in order to seek a place to take shelter, but she did not expect that the third brother treated her so coldly. She could not bear the humiliation, so she wanted to ask me for shelter. While the third brother was out, she secretly obtained the invitation to the Liushang Banquet and sneaked here. She said that she had no intention and ability to help the Jiang family make a comeback, and she did not expect me to let her stay in Chang'an. It was just that now she had no way to escape, so she hoped that I could help her leave the third brother and arrange a stable place for her, even if it meant going to exile to suffer."
Just by listening to Zheng Zhuo's retelling, Yuan Cixian could imagine how much tears Jiang Bican shed when he narrated this part.
She raised her eyelids and asked, "Your Highness agreed?"
"Not at the beginning." Zheng Zhuo said, "This request seems simple, but it is not. It's okay for me to help a homeless girl, but since she is already close to the Third Brother, if I intervene, it would be like treating the Third Brother as nothing and openly opposing him."
"When she saw that I didn't agree, she proposed a trade, saying that she had a piece of information about Third Brother's recent plan, and she would reveal it to me as long as she left the city safely. So I agreed to this for the time being and sent her out of the city, preparing to make plans based on the situation after getting the news."
No wonder Zheng Zhuo didn't explain the details in the note yesterday. It wasn't just because he was in a hurry, but he really hadn't figured out the details yet. Yuan Cixian frowned and asked, "Is this news related to my father?"
Zheng Zhuo nodded: "The note she left behind stated that Third Brother was organizing an assassination attempt to stop the King of Southern Yunnan and his wife on their way home."
Yuan Cixian's throat choked and he blinked three times stiffly, but he remembered what Zheng Zhuo said at the beginning, that he had discussed countermeasures with Xu Shan overnight, so he suppressed his impatience and asked calmly, "Is the news accurate?"
"Before I got the news, Miss Jiang had already been silenced, and the people I sent to escort her out of the city were also killed. I found the note by accident in her sleeve when I had someone take care of her body afterwards. She must have planned to give it to my subordinates after she had settled down safely."
Yuan Cixian frowned deeply: "Your Highness means that Jiang Bican was killed by Prince Ping who was worried that his plan would be exposed. However, Prince Ping did not expect that she had kept a trick up her sleeve. If it were not for coincidence, you might not have found this note... So, this is not fake news that she deliberately sent to your door?"
Lu Shiqing coughed softly as a reminder. The conversation had already passed Zheng Zhuo's narration, and it was his turn to make the next brilliant analysis.
Zheng Zhuo looked at him helplessly, then said, "My first reaction was the same as the county lady's, but after discussing it carefully with Mr. Xu, I felt that it might not be the case."
Lu Shiqing finally succeeded in taking over the conversation when Yuan Cixian looked at him, and said seriously: "There are three possibilities. One is what the county lady and His Highness originally thought. But if we reverse the whole process - how could Miss Jiang overhear Prince Ping's plan so coincidentally, how could she get the opportunity to sneak into the Liushang Banquet so coincidentally, and how could she play the role of transmitting information after her death so coincidentally? There are too many coincidences, I'm afraid it can't be called a coincidence."
Yuan Cixian nodded and agreed: "Sir, you are right."
Lu Shiqing was secretly proud of himself when he saw a hint of admiration flashing in her eyes, but then he thought that although he had saved Zheng Zhuo the opportunity to steal the spotlight, it was not adding glory to himself either, and he couldn't help but sigh again.
It's tiring to be a person with secrets.
Seeing that he didn't want to continue, Yuan Cixian had to ask, "Sir, the other two possibilities you mentioned are perhaps like this? The first is that Prince Ping deliberately asked Jiang Bican to overhear the plan and sneak into the Prince's residence, with the purpose of revealing the news to His Highness. The second possibility is similar to the first one, but it's not that Jiang Bican was deceived unilaterally, but that she did these things at the instruction of Prince Ping. I will gain his trust after the success, but I didn't expect that he would be abandoned after he has done his job."
Lu Shiqing nodded: "The county lady is smart."
After he finished speaking, his throat felt like being stabbed by a needle. He felt that she was smart and could use Lu Shiqing's mouth to say it. Alas.
Yuan Cixian no longer looked at him, and looked at Zheng Zhuo worriedly: "Although what Mr. Xu said makes sense, and may even be closer to the truth, I can't gamble with the lives of my father and mother and do nothing. What do you think, Your Highness?"
Zheng Zhuo glanced at Lu Shiqing, indicating that he had to answer the question, not that he was ignorant, and then said: "I'm afraid this is the purpose of the third brother. Even if the truth is as Mr. Xu speculated, as long as there is a one-tenth of a chance that the King of Southern Yunnan and the Princess are in danger, we can't just sit there and wait for death. However, once we take precautions, we are likely to fall into his trap."
At this point, he affirmed, "But rest assured, County Lord, I will not take any risks with them. Although the note did not specify the time of Third Brother's plan, the King of Southern Yunnan has not been away from the capital for long, and is still in the northern part of Jiannan Road where there are many prefectures and counties. It is absolutely not appropriate to take any action at this moment, so we still have room for maneuver."
Yuan Cixian said gratefully, "Thank you, Your Highness, for understanding the feelings of a child." After saying that, he looked at Lu Shiqing again, "So, sir, do you have a plan?"
Lu Shiqing looked slightly unhappy behind his mask.
Oh, she looks to Zheng Zhuo when she needs to make a decision, and only looks to him when she needs to ask for a solution. She just wants to use his brain, right
He was silent for a moment and said, "If you want to break the trap, you must first see what the trap setter's intention is. The ultimate goal of Prince Ping is always Your Highness. Dealing with the King of Southern Yunnan is just like dealing with other hidden stakes Your Highness has arranged in the court. It is just an intermediate link. Prince Ping is too powerful and restless to win the favor of the emperor. Even if he can find out more, empty words will not convince the emperor. It will only alert the enemy for no reason. So even if he knew that General Yuan had close contacts with Your Highness, he still kept his troops in place until he set up this trap."
"The purpose of this game is not to kill the King of Diannan, but to find two pieces of evidence. One is to prove that he might rebel, and the other is to prove his connection with Your Highness. In this way, the crime of rebellion can be pinned on Your Highness, which is the so-called method of catching them all in one fell swoop."
Yuan Cixian nodded: "The second one is indeed feasible. The plan of Prince Ping was told to His Highness by Jiang Bican. If this news eventually reaches my father, it can be proved that His Highness secretly reported it. But the first one..." She frowned and looked at the two of them, "My father has no intention of rebelling. How can Prince Ping prove this by turning black into white?"
Lu Shiqing sighed inwardly. King Ping actually wanted to force Yuan Yizhi to use his private army when he had nowhere else to go, and then use this evidence to show the saint. After all, private army and rebellion are the same thing in the eyes of the superiors.
However, Yuan Cixian had no idea that his father secretly had a private army, and he could not tell her because Yuan Yizhi had previously asked him to keep it secret.
He had no choice but to say, "Perhaps King Ping suspected that the King of Diannan secretly raised assassins or troops, so he wanted to give it a try."
Yuan Cixian nodded thoughtfully. Although he felt that King Ping's mentality and speculation were reasonable, his father had no private army and would not fall for it. Wasn't it too hasty to go to such great lengths to set up a trap just to prove something that might not exist
She always felt something was wrong.
Lu Shiqing was afraid that she might guess the truth if she thought about it too much, so he changed the subject and said, "In response to Prince Ping's intention to set up a trap, Xu and Your Highness have discussed a few countermeasures last night."
Yuan Cixian's attention was diverted: "What do you think, sir?"
"This is an open conspiracy. The way to crack an open conspiracy is to change the situation. Since now is not the best time for Prince Ping to take action, it is the best time for us to take action."
Yuan Cixian seemed to understand something and said in surprise, "Sir, what you mean is that it is not appropriate for Prince Ping to take action now. Why don't we plot an assassination before he does and turn the passive situation into the active one?"
What can I do since she and "Xu Shan" always have such a good understanding with each other
Lu Shiqing nodded unhappily and said, "That's right. Xu's idea is that His Highness secretly arranges a group of assassins to 'assassinate' the King of Diannan before the King of Ping. There are many prefectures and counties in the northern part of Jiannan Road. Once the King of Diannan is 'assassinated', it will be taken care of by all parties and will also alarm the court. The Saint is not afraid of the King of Diannan to the point of wanting his life. When encountering such a thing, it is impossible not to make superficial efforts and will definitely send people to escort him."
Yuan Cixian's anxiety suddenly disappeared, and he said in surprise: "In this way, there is no need to risk informing my father and reminding him to be careful, so that Prince Ping will not catch your Highness and my Yuan family in contact. And with the order of the Saint, the support of the prefectures and counties on all sides will be enough to protect my father. From now on, it will be difficult for Prince Ping to succeed."
Lu Shiqing nodded. More importantly, Yuan Yizhi would not be forced into a desperate situation and use his private army.
Yuan Cixian laughed: "Sir, you have a very smart plan, it's simply..." She paused here.
Zheng Zhuo and Lu Shiqing looked at her questioningly.
She wanted to say that he was just as good as Lu Shiqing. But the problem was that Lu Shiqing had helped her expose the Jiang family by using some secret agents and had not shown up in person. So in the eyes of the Saint and the princes and courtiers such as Zheng Zhuo, this matter had nothing to do with him. She suddenly said this now, which inevitably aroused the suspicion of the two people present.
Although she did not completely confess to Lu Shiqing about Zheng Zhuo's affairs, she also would not tell outsiders about his private actions.
So she gave a dry laugh and continued, "I'm simply in awe of you!"
Lu Shiqing's eyebrows behind the mask twitched.
Prostrating herself? Does she know what this posture is? She prostrates herself!
Zheng Zhuo coughed dryly, as if he could smell the sourness spreading around him, and hurriedly tried to smooth things over: "Mr. Xu, this method is feasible, but the assassin I send must really fight with the King of Southern Yunnan, otherwise it will not be enough to convince others. And the sword has no eyes, in order to avoid accidental injuries, I hope to get some advice from the county lady to ensure that the King of Southern Yunnan understands the cause and effect in the shortest time possible, so that he can cooperate with me to perform this scene well."
This is what Zheng Zhuo just said, the follow-up to the communication with Yuan Cixian.
She nodded: "This is not difficult. I will tell you a few words. I think my father will quickly guess that the assassin is a friend."
After Yuan Cixian finished her explanation, the meeting ended. Before the meeting ended, Zheng Zhuo asked her playfully, "The county lady is here to keep the appointment, but Minister Lu may not know about it, right?"
Lu Shiqing, who was standing by, was shaking his head. Although he knew that Zheng Zhuo was looking for trouble, he was also curious about Yuan Cixian's answer. After a moment, he saw her smiling and said, "I don't know. He is a petty person. If he knew, he would be furious."
Zheng Zhuo gloated at Lu Shiqing, who was clearly already looking gloomy, and asked, "Today is the Flower Festival, aren't you going out with him?"
"Come on." Yuan Cixian pouted. "When I ask him to step on the mud later, he thinks it's dirty. When he looks at wild flowers, he insists that the petals and leaves are all symmetrical. This is just forcing the flowers to be difficult. How can we enjoy the outing?"
Zheng Zhuo laughed out loud.
Lu Shiqing really wanted to beat him up. He was sitting on the edge of the cliff and laughing so arrogantly, not afraid of falling down.
Yuan Cixian sighed. Her fiancé was such a spoilsport.
She sighed and was about to say goodbye to the two of them, but she saw Zheng Zhuo stood up before her: "I have something important to do, so I have to leave first. I'm afraid I'll have to trouble the county lady and the gentleman to wait for a while."
In order to conceal their whereabouts, it would be best for the three of them to leave the mountain separately. Originally, Yuan Cixian wanted to leave first to avoid being alone with any of them, but since Zheng Zhuo said so, she had no choice but to nod and say, "No problem, Your Highness, go and do what you want first."
Lu Shiqing felt a little more comfortable now. He glanced at Zheng Zhuo and signaled him to walk as fast as possible.
Zheng Zhuo smiled secretly in his heart, and before leaving, he added to Yuan Cixian: "Since the county lady feels that it is boring to appreciate flowers with Minister Lu, why not go for a walk with Mr. Xu. He told me a few days ago that he needed someone to go out for a spring outing with him."
After he finished his work, he left, leaving Yuan Cixian and Lu Shiqing looking at each other in bewilderment.
*
After an incense stick of time, the two of them left the stone pavilion side by side and strolled into the mountains together.
Yuan Cixian was a little embarrassed. If Zheng Zhuo hadn't said that, she would have gone home. But now, out of politeness, she couldn't help but ask Xu Shan if he was interested in going out for a spring outing.
After all, he used to be a person who loved to travel and enjoy the beauty of nature. Now in this treacherous city of Chang'an, in order to hide his identity, he rarely has the opportunity to go out openly. It is normal for him to want to have someone to go out and see with him. And he just happened to help her a lot today. If she didn't even ask a question, it would be unreasonable.
But she was just being polite, thinking that Xu Shan would be sensible and would not go out alone with a woman who already had a fiancé, but she didn't expect him to agree. Now, even though she knew it was inappropriate, she couldn't refuse.
Of course, there was a reason why Lu Shiqing agreed to this "yes". Yuan Cixian met with Zheng Zhuo for political affairs, and she certainly didn't feel sorry for him, but it was different to go out with "Xu Shan". After all, the present is different from the past.
He believed that she still had some conscience. He was very angry with her just now and had no place to vent. Now if he made her feel guilty, he might get some surprise treatment later.
Even if he earns some compensation for himself.
In early spring in February, the grass is still light green and the peach blossoms in the mountains have not yet fully bloomed. Most of them are buds about to bloom. Instead, clusters of unnamed wild flowers grow on the roadside, making the grass look bright.
Yuan Cihan looked around as she walked, but because she felt a sense of inexplicable discomfort, she didn't dare to squat down and take a closer look.
Seeing the envy in her eyes, Lu Shiqing felt the urge to pick flowers for her. By the time he remembered that he was Xu Shan, a bunch of flowers was already in his hands.
He couldn't explain this behavior as his love for flowers and then continue to play with this bunch of bright red things in his hands, so he gritted his teeth and handed it to her.
Yuan Cixian was stunned when she saw this, and hurriedly said, "Thank you, sir." Then, perhaps feeling that the situation was a bit too ambiguous, she quickly took the flowers, quickened her pace, walked faster, and kept a slight distance from him.
Fortunately, she didn't notice the familiar hand.
Lu Shiqing was somewhat relieved to see that she kept her distance from him, but he couldn't help but wonder, if Yuan Cixian didn't have something to hide, why did she do this
When he slowly caught up, Yuan Cixian asked tentatively, "Excuse me, sir, where did Xu Sanniang go after the trip to Lushui last year? She should have gone out with you today..."
At that time, due to the appearance of Xu Sanniang, Yuan Cixian made up her mind to keep her distance from Xu Shan, but she did not see her stay in Chang'an afterwards. She was always confused. Xu Sanniang finally found her old friend, but why did she leave just like that? Could it be that the two of them had a falling out
Lu Shiqing had no choice but to find a plausible excuse and lied, "The political situation in Chang'an is unstable. It would only increase the danger for her to stay here."
The implication was that he sent her away for her safety.
Yuan Cixian said "Oh", thinking about it, it made sense. She couldn't help but sigh at the deep friendship between the two. She was thinking about how to end this inappropriate trip as soon as possible. Unexpectedly, Xu Shan also had the same idea and said first: "It's getting late. The county lady should go back to the mansion for lunch. Where is your carriage parked? Xu will take you there."
Originally, it would have been better for him to go his separate ways from Yuan Cihan like Zheng Zhuo did, but when he saw that she had no maid by her side, he felt worried and asked this question.
Yuan Cixian waved her hand and said, "My carriage is parked far away, but I am waiting for you at the foot of the mountain. You don't have to waste time going back and forth."
"In that case, Xu will take you to the mountain pass."
She didn't refuse anymore, and when she reached the mountain pass and met Jianzhi, she said goodbye to him. In order to avoid attracting attention, Lu Shiqing didn't follow him out of the mountain immediately, and stayed nearby for a long time before leaving.
In order to arrive as early as possible today, he rode a horse. After coming out of the mountain, he mounted the horse and headed back to Chang'an City. Unexpectedly, not long after he started walking, he saw a carriage coming towards him from afar.
There was nothing special about the carriage, but what was special was that he recognized the person driving it. It was Yuan Cixian's maid, Shi Cui.
He wondered why she was here at this time and rode forward quickly.
Shi Cui also noticed him, drove over and asked, "Mr. Xu, what are you doing?"
Seeing that she obviously hadn't received Yuan Cixian's call yet, Lu Shiqing frowned and said, "I just said goodbye to the county lady not long ago. Why are you here instead of waiting for her?"
Shi Cui was stunned: "The county lady sent someone to tell me to come to the mountain pass to pick her up."
Lu Shiqing recalled the direction Yuan Cixian and Jianzhi had left from what he had just seen from afar. He had a hunch that something was wrong, so he shook his head and said for sure, "That's not the case."
Shi Cui seemed to understand something and her expression suddenly became nervous, but before she could ask any more questions, she saw Xu Shan raised his hand, swung a whip, and galloped out.
On the desolate mountain road, the grass suddenly fell and the dust rose.
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