Chapter 1105 - 1107 Behind-the-Scenes Scheming_1
Fan Li noticed the hateful look in Zhou Jue’s eyes and thought to himself that he must have been extremely fond of that concubine, no, the female doctor from Danliang Country.
In fact, what Zhou Jue hated was Zhou Rui, who had attacked him at night. Had he not reacted quickly, he might not have seen tomorrow’s sun. He hadn’t expected Zhou Rui to arrive so swiftly, and that so many experts had been planted in Danliang Country.
At the Bai Residence, Bai Ruozhu had not gone to bed. How could she miss such an intriguing event? Soon, Muyu returned, her face flushed with excitement as she started telling the story.
"Madam, to kill Zhou Jue, Zhou Rui used quite a few of his subordinates planted in the Capital. The loss this time was indeed significant, a pity that Zhou Jue’s martial arts are outstanding, and he only suffered some superficial wounds," Muyu said excitedly.
"The two brothers were visibly jealous of each other, but Zhou Rui’s martial arts are inferior to Zhou Jue’s. He seemed quite surprised as well, as if Zhou Jue’s inner strength had suddenly increased quite a bit."
Bai Ruozhu asked anxiously, "Under normal circumstances, how can an expert suddenly have such a great increase in inner strength?"
"Generally, there are two situations. The first is taking some medicine or using a secret technique to temporarily boost inner strength, but it often harms the body to some extent afterward, the severity of which varies, but it’s never light," ventured Jianqi. "The second possibility is receiving power from another expert, and the one transferring power must not be weak, otherwise, they wouldn’t have the capability. This kind of transfer results in a permanent increase in inner strength."
Bai Ruozhu narrowed her eyes, "Send someone to keep an eye on Zhou Jue to see if his inner strength has been temporarily increased, or if he has received a power transfer."
"Madam, there’s no need to check. I’m sure he was bestowed martial arts. We didn’t exchange many moves last time, but I could tell his inner strength had greatly improved, and tonight he didn’t seem to have just temporarily boosted his inner strength," Muyu interjected eagerly.
Bai Ruozhu nodded her head, perhaps Zhou Jue had some fortuitous encounter.
"Also, that Ling Shan is likely not going to survive," Muyu clicked her tongue twice. "She was quickly incapacitated, but from her expression, she seemed very unwilling to part with Zhou Jue. Moreover, I heard that she used to be the Emperor’s woman."
Bai Ruozhu could not help but twitch at the corner of her mouth. Muyu’s words she did believe to some extent; if Ling Shan wasn’t absolutely reliable, the Emperor would not have allowed her to be one of the first to learn the Suturing Technique. But now, it seemed that the technique had already been transferred to Chengshui Country.
Was this considered Ling Shan cuckolding the Emperor? And the image of Zhou Jue being indiscriminate in his affairs with both men and women left Bai Ruozhu with a terribly bad impression, so she could not muster the slightest sympathy for Ling Shan.
The next day, news of the guest house being attacked quickly spread throughout the Capital and by noon, storytellers in tea houses and restaurants were recounting the power struggle of the Chengshui prince and the events of the previous night.
Zhou Rui, the third prince of Chengshui, originally planned to submit his memorial to Emperor Tang Yin a few days later, but now he couldn’t keep it concealed any longer and had to submit his memorial directly.
Emperor Wuning, Tang Yin, quickly met with Zhou Rui, and his attitude was surprisingly good, beyond Zhou Rui’s expectations. Just as Zhou Rui was trying to figure out what was happening, Tang Yin spoke up, "Prince of Chengshui, your brother has caused trouble in Danliang Country. Tell me, how should I deal with this?"
Joy flashed in Zhou Rui’s eyes, "The sixth brother is indeed a bit wild. What exactly has he done to upset Your Majesty? I, as his older brother, definitely need to educate him well."
"We have a female disciple of the Medical Saint who was attacked while carrying out tasks for our court a few months ago and has been missing since. Last night, someone saw her captured by Zhou Jue at the guest house." The Emperor intentionally did not mention the incident from the previous night. Zhou Rui’s gaze flickered, immediately understanding that the Danliang Emperor did not like Zhou Jue and did not want to expose what had happened last night.
"If it were just any woman, it wouldn’t be a big deal, but she is a disciple of the Medical Saint and was serving the Imperial Court. By capturing her, Zhou Jue has crossed a line with our Danliang," the Emperor continued.
"To have such a thing happen, I must report this to Father Emperor and ask him to punish the Sixth Brother severely. We cannot allow him to continue to act rashly," Zhou Rui said.
The Emperor nodded with satisfaction, "It would be best if the Third Prince brings the Sixth Prince back to the country as soon as possible. I have heard that the Capital City has been rather unstable lately, and I am also concerned about your safety."
Zhou Rui couldn’t possibly refuse; as long as he could take Zhou Jue back to the country, there would be plenty of opportunities to deal with him on the way.
"It’s just that..." Zhou Rui paused, "my younger brother is stubborn, and I’m afraid he won’t obey easily."
He had already lost many subordinates and exposed many undercover agents in Danliang. He was reluctant to sacrifice any more of his men. If Tang Yin could lend a hand, that would naturally be for the best.
"With such an imposing presence, how could the Third Prince not even discipline a younger brother?" Unfortunately, the Emperor didn’t take the bait. He wanted to send Zhou Jue away but did not want to get involved in the succession struggle of Chengshui Country.
Zhou Rui showed a hint of embarrassment. As an elder brother, if he couldn’t control his own brother, it would indeed be laughable–how could he then succeed the throne?
That day, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, Bai Guanghe, went to the Guest House and proclaimed a Holy Edict from the Emperor. The gist of it was that Zhou Jue had detained a disciple of Danliang’s medical sage without regard for Danliang Country, but considering his status as a prince of a friendly nation, they would not hold it against him. However, the matter of the marriage alliance would not be mentioned again.
Zhou Rui quickly made his way to the Guest House, fury in his demeanor as he went to confront Zhou Jue.
"Look at what you have done, Sixth Brother! Your actions could damage the alliance between the two countries, possibly leading to misunderstandings and unnecessary conflict. Can you face the common people of Chengshui after this?" Zhou Rui spoke righteously, "Tang Yin has already warned you. You will return to Chengshui with me tomorrow."
Zhou Jue’s face showed a trace of mockery, "My concubine was abducted and it’s all thanks to you, Third Brother. I never expected you to team up with Tang Yin."
"Don’t try to talk your way out of this; you can’t be capricious anymore. I will send someone to take you back with me tomorrow!" Having said that, Zhou Rui left the room with a flick of his sleeves. Once outside, he whispered instructions to his subordinates, telling them to keep a close eye on Zhou Jue.
...
Back at the Bai Residence, Bai Ruozhu received the news from the Guest House. A smug smile appeared on her lips, "As long as Zhou Jue returns to the country with the blame, the matter with Achun will blow over."
Upon hearing this, Muyu frowned, reminding her, "Madam, I’m afraid there’s still someone who won’t agree."
"That old man is running out of strength to cause trouble," Bai Ruozhu said with a cold laugh.
Muyu was taken aback but then showed a relieved expression, and Muyu even began to laugh, "That’s great. It would be best if he stayed sick and never got up, saving us from being annoyed."
"The problem lies with Zhou Rui. It’s unlikely that he can handle Zhou Jue so easily. The Emperor is not in a position to help him, but how can we, such kind-hearted people, stand by and watch?" Bai Ruozhu stroked her chin as if thinking, "I need to ponder how to assist him, to leave Zhou Jue powerless to fight back."