Rong Xuan met Zhao Su's gaze and somehow understood what she was thinking. He tightened his hands on the table unconsciously and said meaningfully, "Your Highness has no bargaining chips now. It seems that there is no room for negotiation?"
Zhao Su looked straight at him and said something shocking: "Sir, you are wrong. The one who has no choice now is not me, but Ji Fan—"
Rong Xuan's pupils shrank slightly when he heard this, but Zhao Su's clear voice rang in his ears: "The envoys from Yan State only brought 500 people to the capital this time. They may have a backup plan, but with the Third Prince interfering, Yue Yuanting can't mobilize too many troops anyway. Even if you add Ji Fan's 3,000 cavalry, the maximum number is 10,000. But do you know how many troops are stationed around the capital?"
Zhao Su dipped his fingertips in tea and drew a simple diagram of the deployment of troops on the table: "There are a total of 1,500 elite imperial guards in the palace, all of whom are masters of the fourth rank. The four palace gates in the southeast, northwest and northeast are guarded by the twelve city gate marquises, a total of 6,000 people. The five city soldiers and horses are stationed in the city, a total of 7,000 people, adding up to 15,000 people."
"The Pojun Camp and the Hubao Camp are stationed in the suburbs, with a total of 20,000 people. Once the Marquis of Donglin fell, the military power fell into the hands of others and no one could replace him. The emperor had already transferred General Pinglu to lead his troops back to the capital to report on his work, and that was another 8,000 people. There are also garrisons stationed in neighboring counties, and they will arrive in two hours if they gallop. Do you know how many people they are in total?"
Zhao Su's voice suddenly became deeper, and it sounded especially clear in the hall: "There are more than 50,000 people in total, Rong Xuan, more than 50,000 people, among whom there are even sword masters who can fight against a hundred people alone. If Ji Fan wants to leave the Zhou Kingdom, it will be as difficult as ascending to heaven. He may be able to leave the capital with those soldiers and horses, but he will definitely not be able to reach the Yan Kingdom."
She is telling the truth.
Because in the original novel, Ji Fan had just escaped from the capital when he was caught up and killed in the suburbs by Xuanyuan Qing's troops.
Rong Xuan couldn't refute, his face looked a little ugly, and he didn't speak for a long time. Zhao Su didn't want to embarrass him, but now it was not a personal grudge, but the gains and losses of the two countries. He tilted his head to look at the moon outside, wondering what he was thinking: "If I help Ji Fan return to Yan, and he doesn't keep his promise, then I will not only create a powerful enemy for the Great Zhou, but also become a traitor. Sir, please change something for me to repay this favor, don't embarrass me."
Rong Xuan: "Then Your Highness, are you going to just wait like this, waiting for the Emperor to depose you as the Crown Prince?"
Zhao Su was hit in the heart, but he still didn't panic: "Sir, how do you know that I won't make any moves? In any case, General Xuanyuan still has the military power in his hands. I have more bargaining chips than Ji Fan. The worst that can happen is imprisonment and dethronement."
She had the trump card of fighting to the death, and she still had room for backup. But Ji Fan couldn't wait. Once Emperor Yan passed away, he would miss the best opportunity to succeed to the throne.
Rong Xuan felt his throat dry and itchy for some reason. He frowned and drank the cold tea in the cup in front of him. Finally, he asked, "What do you want him to pledge as collateral?"
Zhao Su slowly sat up after hearing this. Because he had been kneeling in front of the Queen's coffin for too long, his face was always a little pale and sick. "Ji Fan is cunning and cold-hearted. Although he looks gentle, he is cunning. He has been in Zhou for seven years, but I have never seen through what he cares about. Sir, what do you think such a person would care about? What can he care about?"
"He is a man with nothing. Even if I wanted to take something else from him as compensation, he would not be able to do it."
What was left around Ji Fan? The only person left was Rong Xuan.
Zhao Su's words were not meant for Zha Jifan's heart, but for Zha Rongxuan's heart. They caused a sharp pain like a needle prick, and even his breathing became heavier.
Rong Xuan still couldn't make a decision. He stood up from his seat and turned to leave, but suddenly Zhao Su's voice rang in his ears: "Sir, you haven't gotten involved in this quagmire yet. Anything related to the imperial power is a gamble, and once you gamble, there will inevitably be risks."
"I risked my life to let Ji Fan leave Zhou, which was a gamble. He left a precious item as collateral, which was also a gamble. The best situation is to restrain each other. Only in this way can we help each other without distraction in the future."
"If you can't bear to do this, I'd rather you leave and not get involved..."
Rong Xuan paused when he heard this, but he didn't turn around. Instead, he pushed the door and left. His figure quickly disappeared at the end of the palace road. He had been away from the palace banquet for half an hour, and when he returned, he keenly noticed that the atmosphere was not right. There was no other reason. The Chonglin Palace was full of guards, and the palace maids and eunuchs were all panicked and gathered together, making it impossible to squeeze in.
Rong Xuan frowned slightly when he saw this, and he grabbed a passing eunuch and asked, "What happened?"
The eunuch didn't know Rong Xuan, but he still wanted to share the shocking secret. He covered his chest and said with lingering fear: "Oh my, you are not serving in the palace, so you don't know! Just now, the envoys of Yan State presented snow wolves, and those two beasts somehow became ferocious. In addition, the cage was not locked tightly, so they rushed out and bit people everywhere, almost hurting Your Majesty!"
Rong Xuan's fingertips tightened when he heard this: "And then?!"
Emperor Zhou already suspected that Yan State had ulterior motives, and now that the Snow Wolf had become so ferocious, he might have mistakenly thought that they wanted to assassinate him.
The eunuch's arm was in pain from Rong Xuan's grip, and he grimaced and said, "Then? Then Crown Prince Yan immediately stepped forward to protect the emperor and stabbed the two beasts to death with his long sword. You didn't see the blood everywhere in the palace. It was really scary!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Rong Xuan suddenly pushed him away. The eunuch was about to start scolding, but when he turned around, he could no longer see Rong Xuan.
The atmosphere in the hall was extremely solemn. The palace maids and eunuchs were cleaning and wiping the blood on the ground, propping up the tilted candlesticks and chairs, and replacing the candles with new ones. The two ferocious snow wolves had their abdomens pierced, and they lay on the ground bleeding. The blood dyed their gray-white fur red, making them look extremely bloody.
Emperor Zhou was sitting on a high throne, still in shock. Just now, the snow wolf broke out of the cage and rushed towards him to bite him. If Ji Fan hadn't grabbed the sword and stepped forward to protect him, he would have been in danger of his life.
Zhou Xiqiong stood at the side of the palace, indifferent. He glanced at Ji Fan, who was covered in blood, and thought that the prince of Yan State reacted quickly. When he was about to take action, he took the guard's long sword and blocked in front of Emperor Zhou. Otherwise, the Yan State delegation would never be able to get rid of the accusation that they intended to assassinate him.
Yue Yuanting never expected that the snow wolf would suddenly escape from the cage. He knew something was wrong and quickly knelt down to apologize: "I deserve to die. I never thought that the beast would go crazy and disturb Your Majesty. I really deserve to die. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"
Before Emperor Zhou could recover from the shock of hearing this, a young-looking general suddenly stood up from the table and angrily asked Yue Yuanting, "How could the Snow Wolf escape from the cage when it was locked up? I think the State of Yan is pretending to offer a gift, but in fact they are plotting to assassinate us. They deserve death!"
He was originally a former subordinate of Marquis Donglin, but he suddenly launched an uprising at this time. No one knew what his intention was. Could it be that he hated the people of Yan State just like Marquis Donglin
Ji Fan remained silent from beginning to end, but finally took action after hearing this. He looked up at the general, half of his face was stained with scarlet blood, and his eyes were heavy. He pulled the corners of his mouth habitually, and although he was smiling, it made people feel inexplicably cold: "So it's General Pinglu. I heard that you have been stationed at the Liao border. Why did you suddenly return to the court? Are you here to attend the funeral of your old mentor?"
The three judges held a joint trial that day, and the evidence was conclusive. Donglin Hou was sentenced for multiple crimes and had already committed suicide in prison. Yin Pojia, the general who pacified the enemy, was promoted by Donglin Hou, so it is hard to guarantee that he would not bear a grudge against him.
Ji Fan deliberately linked him with Marquis Donglin, which as expected caused Emperor Zhou to frown deeply.
Yin Pojia's expression remained unchanged: "I returned to the capital on the orders of the Emperor. I never expected that when I attended the banquet for the first time, I would see an ambitious person assassinating me in front of the palace. It is really hateful!"
Ji Fan lowered his eyebrows and pretended to be harmless, but his words were full of wit: "General, you are wrong. They are just two beasts. A fourth-rank master can easily kill them with one palm. Your Majesty has countless capable ministers around him, and a first-rank master guards him. How can two snow wolves hurt Your Majesty?"
"Our Great Yan and the Zhou Dynasty have always been friendly neighbors. This time, I heard that Your Majesty wanted to use the blood of the snow wolf as medicine when refining the elixir, so I came all the way here. Prime Minister Yue is a pillar of our Great Yan. This time, to show sincerity, he only brought 500 people to Zhou. Even if Yan really wanted to assassinate, it would never sacrifice a prime minister here. It could just replace him with an insignificant official from the Ministry of Rites. How can a mere 500 people rebel? How can they assassinate?"
Yin Pojia was speechless after hearing Ji Fan's question. He glared at Ji Fan fiercely, full of hostility: "If you are not of my race, your heart must be different. Who knows what you are up to!"
"General Yin!"
Emperor Zhou finally spoke to stop him, his brows furrowed tightly, "I know you are loyal, but the Crown Prince of Yan just stepped forward to protect me, and he has shown his sincerity. I believe that the State of Yan will never do such an assassination, so don't say anything more."
Yin Pojia paused after hearing this, and could only clasp his fists and apologize: "My words were inappropriate, please punish me, Your Majesty!"
Yue Yuanting followed closely behind: "The snow wolf got out of control this time, which was also caused by the improper domestication of Yan State. Your Majesty, please punish it!"
The Emperor of Zhou was in no mood to punish anyone. He stared at Yue Yuanting for a long while without leaving any trace. He didn't know what he was thinking, but he still suspected that the State of Yan had tampered with the matter. He frowned and waved his hand, saying, "Forget it. Snow wolves are wild and difficult to tame. It's inevitable. All the ministers, please leave. I am tired and will return to the palace."
Emperor Zhou left Chonglin Palace in a disinterested manner, and before leaving, he did not forget to instruct the monks to collect wolf blood for alchemy. Ji Fan saw people leaving in twos and threes, and it was like a huge stone had been lifted off his shoulders. He stood there and slowly exhaled.
Yue Yuanting stepped forward and was about to say something, but he heard Ji Fan utter two words coldly: "Go check—"
Ji Fan had guessed something in his mind: "The Snow Wolf was escorted by the Yan State envoys all the way, and the Zhou State people had no way to intervene. Those wolf trainers must have planted Lao San's people among them and tampered with the chain. You should go and investigate it quickly, otherwise there will be endless troubles. Come to the mansion to report at night."
After saying this, he threw the blood-stained sword in his hand heavily to the ground with a clanging sound, pinched his trembling wrist hard, turned around and left the hall.
Yue Yuanting stood there, and only came to his senses after hearing what he said, his face looked very ugly. When he left Yan, he only focused on mobilizing troops, and forgot that the snow wolf could also make moves. He didn't know when the third prince had set up a nail, and he didn't even notice it. If it weren't for the prince's quick reaction and stepping forward to protect the emperor, his life would really be in danger!
Rong Xuan was standing outside the palace. Just now, the Snow Wolf lost control, and the Imperial Guards surrounded the palace inside and out, not allowing palace people to enter or leave. He could only stand outside the crowd and wait anxiously for news. At this moment, seeing Ji Fan walking out of the palace covered in blood, he felt as if his eyes were stabbed by something sharp, and he couldn't help trembling for a moment.
Rong Xuan walked forward quickly, his voice low and full of worry: "Your Highness—?"
Ji Fan was stunned for a moment when he saw Rong Xuan. He didn't care that he was in the palace at this moment. He stretched out his hand and grabbed him as if he had grabbed a life-saving straw. His fingertips trembled violently, and even his whole arm began to tremble slightly.
Ji Fan's face was terribly pale, making the blood stains on his face look even more scarlet. He stared at Rong Xuan and uttered a sentence in a hoarse voice: "Rong Xuan, I just killed two ferocious wolves..."
It was unclear what he wanted to express, it seemed that he was simply repeating what he had just done.
Rong Xuan paused after hearing this, and inexplicably recalled that when they were in Taohua Village, Ji Fan would hide in his quilt for a long time every time he heard the wolf howling in the mountains. Just now, he heard the palace maids and eunuchs talking about the snow wolf getting out of the cage out of control. He thought that Ji Fan must be scared, and he didn't know if he remembered to hide well. What if he was accidentally injured
Countless worries, countless what-ifs, countless guesses, but I never expected this scene...
Rong Xuan thought that the Ji Fan in his memory would hide and avoid him, but he didn't expect that the other party would kill the Snow Wolf with his own hands and walked out of the hall covered in blood.
The smell of blood was strong and my fingertips were very cold.
Seeing that Rong Xuan didn't say anything, Ji Fan repeated it again in a daze, and whispered: "Rong Xuan, I just killed two ferocious wolves..."
Rong Xuan subconsciously grasped Ji Fan's hand and shook it back. He saw many officials drunk at the banquet, all supported by servants. Finally, he stopped worrying and put his arm around Ji Fan's shoulders, helping him walk down the stairs little by little in the dark, speaking softly so that only the two of them could hear: "Don't be afraid..."
Rong Xuan said, "I'm here."