Chapter 140 - 138: Assassinating the Prince
"Brother Lu, why are you telling me this? You know, it’s impossible for me to join you. I’ll pretend I never heard about this today, and won’t speak of it to anyone else," Song Changming said, shaking his head.
The strong liquor today was somewhat hard to swallow.
"Does Changming think we’re daydreaming?" Lu Zheng couldn’t help but ask.
"No, it’s just that our paths differ," Song Changming replied. He had never aspired to vie for the world, nor would he assist Gu Wenhui in doing so.
"That’s really unfortunate," Lu Zheng said, regretfully.
This would probably be his last invitation to Song Changming.
Unless Song Changming changes his mind, they are destined not to walk the same path.
"In that case, I have another deal. I wonder if Changming would be interested?" Lu Zheng continued.
"What kind of deal would require you to find me?" Song Changming looked at Lu Zheng, puzzled.
What kind of person is Gu Wenhui? Working under the Fifth Prince, his subordinates must naturally include a group of capable ministers and fierce generals.
What matter could possibly require someone as insignificant as him from the Jianghu?
"To eliminate someone in Donglai Prefecture for us," Lu Zheng said directly, indicating that this was a blood-soaked transaction.
"Who?" Song Changming tried asking further.
"The Young Prince, Chu Huai!" Lu Zheng stated outright.
"!?"
Song Changming looked at the big wine bowl before Lu Zheng, then at his own small wine cup, and couldn’t help but say, "Brother Lu, is it you who drank too much, or is it me?"
Have him make a move against the number one figure in Donglai Prefecture, the Young Prince with Emperor’s Blood?
Why not just outright eliminate the Fifth Prince? That would be even more straightforward...
Seeing Song Changming’s strong reaction, Lu Zheng gestured for him to calm down, saying, "Maybe you should listen to what the stakes are first."
"Brother Gu has prepared a set of Martial Techniques and a five-hundred-year-old Mountain Ginseng as the stakes for this deal with you.
If you participate and the Young Prince is killed, you will get the Martial Technique. If you land the fatal blow, the Mountain Ginseng will be yours. In fact, to be safe, you won’t be the only participant in this venture."
Song Changming pursed his lips. Although this mission was somewhat outrageous, the offered benefits were indeed tempting.
Both the Martial Technique and the precious five-hundred-year-old Mountain Ginseng were treasures Song Changming genuinely desired and were not the kind of things money could easily buy.
It must be said that Lu Zheng, as an old friend and colleague for many years, understood him quite well.
Other benefits wouldn’t have moved Song Changming this much.
If he misses this opportunity, getting that Martial Technique or the Mountain Ginseng in the coming years would be very challenging and the chances slim.
And he finally understood why Lu Zheng first asked about Liu Dingsheng’s strength when he arrived.
Most likely, Liu Dingsheng, a renowned expert of the Extreme Realm in the Jianghu, would also be one of the assassins Lu Zheng would try to persuade to participate.
Seeing Song Changming in deep thought, Lu Zheng added.
"Changming, there are some details I can’t disclose too much, but I can assure you that after taking out the Young Prince, everything will be settled, and you needn’t worry about any subsequent troubles from the Imperial Family."
In his heart, Song Changming mulled over the matter, then suddenly asked, "Why doesn’t Lord Gu choose someone closer and more reliable to carry out this task?"
Lu Zheng shook his head and said, "For this plan, Brother Gu has mobilized all the forces he can, including myself, for more critical arrangements. At the time, coming to Donglai Prefecture easily won’t be possible for us..."
While Lu Zheng said he couldn’t disclose much, he actually let slip quite a bit.
Song Changming could sense that Gu Wenhui had probably been plotting for a long time, preparing for a significant move.
Solving the issue of the Young Prince in Donglai Prefecture was likely just a small part of his grand plan, not a pivotal point.
In other words, for Gu Wenhui, eliminating the Young Prince sent to Donglai Prefecture would be best, but failing to do so likely wouldn’t affect the bigger scheme.
"So, do you want to participate? You could obtain a set of Martial Techniques, which is a gain no matter how you look at it, not to mention you might even get the five-hundred-year-old Ginseng for free. Don’t you want to know the effects of this Ginseng?" Lu Zheng tempted.
Of course, Song Changming wanted to know.
The three-hundred-year-old Flowing Gold Ginseng had once directly elevated him to the Seventh Realm of Bone Forging within a month!
Now, this even rarer and more precious five-hundred-year-old Mountain Ginseng might directly propel him to the Ninth Realm of Bone Forging in terms of cultivation and strength.
Song Changming’s heart was stirred, but in the end, he restrained himself, not immediately agreeing to the matter.
After calming down and thinking deeply, this was a dangerous mission to assassinate someone with Imperial Blood, a high-stakes task. If his identity was exposed, he would be pitted against the Fifth Prince with military power, likely to an irreconcilable degree.
Even if peace were restored in the future, this could potentially be unearthed by the Central Imperial Authority and reassessed.
The Imperial Family most valued the dignity of their bloodline, never allowing it to be tainted or humiliated by outsiders.
Moreover, he couldn’t fully trust Gu Wenhui as a person.
With doubts in his heart, he couldn’t readily agree to this mission deal.
Lu Zheng didn’t force Song Changming, whether or not to participate was entirely up to Song Changming himself.
Even if Song Changming ultimately refused, he had other candidates to complete the task.
After a round of drinking, Lu Zheng took his leave, leaving behind Song Changming deep in thought.
Gu Wenhui was undoubtedly a man of great ambition, and he hid it extremely well.
For him to suddenly be exposed was merely because the other party chose to reveal himself, not caring if he was aware of it.
If Gu Wenhui truly succeeded, would the thousand-year-old rule of the Chu Imperial Family really change hands...
Evening, Liu Residence.
"In that case, I’ll take my leave." Lu Zheng glanced at the time and stood up to leave.
Liu Dingsheng watched Lu Zheng depart, his hands clasped behind his back, a slight change in his expression, ultimately letting out a long sigh.
"Born at the wrong time..."
If he were a few decades younger, still with his vitality and courage, he would definitely choose to participate.
The timely emergence of this Martial Technique could have enabled him to advance further in the Martial Tao, completing a transformation!
But unfortunately, his current state was deteriorating, and he couldn’t, nor was there any need, to take risks anymore.
...
Meanwhile, at the Li Mansion.
Governor Li Yan finished reading the letter in his hand and sat alone in the inner courtyard throughout the night.
By dawn the next day, he finally made a decision.
At the same time, within the Governor’s Mansion.
Chu Huai lay among a heap of beauties, feeling triumphant.
He had successfully defeated the Imperial Court’s army, ensuring the safety of Donglai Prefecture.
After this battle, he had already received a commendation letter from his father, and among his siblings, his performance was undoubtedly the most dazzling.
He was already envisioning the distant future where his father sat on the Dragon Throne and appointed him as Crown Prince.
Every time he thought of this, he wanted all the more to perform eagerly before his father and continue to earn merits.
With the heavy sound of war boots on the ground, the clattering of armor followed, and the General strode in.
Upon entering, Xiong Dang Mountain immediately noticed Chu Huai’s unrestrained behavior during the day, and even after his arrival, he still hadn’t restrained himself, which caused him to frown deeply.
"General Xiong, why have you come in such haste, can’t you see I’m busy? If there’s anything, discuss it with me later." Feeling his mood disturbed, Chu Huai was unhappy and instructed his General to leave quickly.
Yet Xiong Dang Mountain seemed not to hear, still reporting directly, "Your Highness, I have received news that unrest is spreading in various towns and villages, and if this continues, there is a high probability of rebellion..."
To him, this was no small matter.
"Rebellion?" Chu Huai, hearing this, finally paused his actions and frowned.
"Why would there be a possibility of rebellion under my rule? Are the Patrol Guards of the Public Security Bureau a bunch of useless idiots!"
Chu Huai scolded, which left Xiong Dang Mountain somewhat speechless.
This Prince truly had no self-awareness; at this point, he still couldn’t figure out that the root cause of Donglai Prefecture’s current situation needed him, a military general, to point out...
"Your Highness, I believe we cannot forcibly requisition any more military supplies, and we need to introduce some policies that benefit the people to stabilize the rapidly boiling public sentiment." Xiong Dang Mountain advised.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" Chu Huai, quite angry, waved his hand and dismissed.
"These unruly people daring to challenge authority, who do they think they are? Anyone who dares to cause trouble, you should directly lead the army to suppress them. Those troublemakers you capture, no need for a trial, take them straight to the execution ground in the public market and execute them in front of everyone.
I refuse to believe anyone would dare defy my orders then!"
Forcible requisition is a necessity; otherwise, how could they continue to contend with the Imperial Army, and military supplies are quite a challenging issue to resolve.
Not only does he want forcible requisition, but he wants to escalate it further, to recruit troops and supplies for his father’s sake, to win his father’s favor.
"Assign those who are elderly to transport supplies and handle the military’s logistics, and even the children, if they are over ten years old, get them to work; I don’t raise idlers!"
"Your Highness, this cannot be!" Xiong Dang Mountain wanted to persuade him, as he knew somewhat the importance of public opinion.
Especially over a prolonged period, public opinion becomes even more valuable.
Yet this Young Prince seemed to have a misconception about the people, equating them to his family’s slaves, considering them insignificant.
"Just do as instructed, don’t argue any further, or you’ll anger me!" Chu Huai banged the table and exclaimed, unwilling to change his mind in the slightest.
...