Chapter 589: Let’s Test It
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation | Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Although Xiao Jin was trying his best to suppress his emotions, Su Ying still
noticed that something was not right with him.
Xiao Jin still didn’t say anything even after he had washed up and was lying on the bed at night.
Su Ying nudged her body against his. Xiao Jin felt her movements and subconsciously moved his body to the side to make way for her to lean into his arms.
Su Ying leaned onto him but she didn’t hear any movement from him. She could only turn around and face him. Even in the darkness, she still caught sight of his unfathomable gaze at once.
“Did something happen?”
Xiao Jin came back to his senses and held her hand as he said softly, “Nothing.
I’m just thinking about some matters in the Imperial Court.” There was always some matter happening in the Imperial Court. Up till now, except for the incident in Kun City, Su Ying had never seen anything that could make him get so caught up in his thoughts.
“What’s wrong? Don’t you want to tell me?
Su Ying placed her hand gently on his chest, and under her palm was his strong heartbeat.
Xiao Jin frowned. “Something happened to Su Yulun. There was news from the other side today that when he went to the gold mine for an inspection, the mine suddenly collapsed and he was buried inside.”
“Su Yulun actually went down into the mine for an inspection?
Xiao Jin’s arm around her tightened a little. Those who understood Su Yulun’s character knew that he would never do that.
“Someone wants his life.”
Su Ying pursed her lips. Su Yulun was the Prime Minister, and silencing him was a very, very dangerous act unless the other party was going to do something even more dangerous than killing Su Yulun. If they discovered a gold mine and had mined it privately without reporting it to the Imperial Court, they would be sentenced to death. So, could it be that the other party decided to go all out and kill Su Yulun?
Su Ying couldn’t figure it out. The most important thing now was to send someone over there to find out what exactly was going on.
“Have you sent someone?”
“Mm-hmm. Told Wang Su to bring five thousand elite soldiers there.
Su Ying nodded. “Don’t be anxious. I’ll get the Red Demon Sect’s members to investigate tomorrow and see if they can find any clues that no one knows about.”
Many of the Red Demon Sect’s assassins mixed around with the various cults and factions. Sometimes, they knew more than the spies of the Imperial Family. Some things were easier for them to find out.
“Alright.”
The next day, after Su Ying had breakfast, she went to the back garden and sent a message to Mo Tu, telling him to send people to investigate the matter in
Qingyang County.
Coincidentally, when the gold mine in Qingyang County had just been discovered, some people from the Red Demon Sect had already noticed it. They might have realized that things were not that simple, so they had been secretly observing the progress of this matter to see if they could get some benefits from it.
When Mo Tu sent a message to the person-in-charge over there to investigate, news came back very quickly.
Su Ying read Mo Tu’s message, which explained in detail what happened at the gold mine during that period.
After the gold mine was discovered, Ma Zhi immediately harbored evil thoughts. However, he did not act immediately. Instead, he waited for a few days. Mo Tu speculated that during these few days of waiting, he probably sent a message to the person backing him. He wanted to wait for the other party’s instructions.
A few days later, Ma Zhi got people to start digging.
Before Su Yulun arrived at Qingyang County, Ma Zhi had ordered his men to speed up the mining work. After Su Yulun arrived, it was not known what method he deployed to bring Su Yulun down to the gold mine and then bury him outright.
At present, under Mo Tu’s instructions, the Red Demon Sect’s members were trying to find out where the gold ore that had been dug up had gone to. In addition, Ma Zhi had fled after Su Yulun was buried. The people sent by the Imperial Court to Kun City were now doing their best to track down Ma Zhi’s whereabouts.
After Xiao Jin returned, Su Ying showed him the news from the message. After Xiao Jin read the message, he immediately asked Zhang Shumrng to bring out the map.
Kun City was very close to the southwest border of the Chu State. It was easy for Ma Zhi to escape out of the kingdom through the border, but once outside the border, the land was deserted for at least a few hundred miles. At least, there were no records in history of the existence of any kingdoms within 500 miles of the border.
The possibility of Ma Zhi fleeing beyond the border was very small. Even if he had gold and silver, he would have nowhere to spend them. He might even die out there.
If he didn’t leave the kingdom, then he could only go in the north-south direction to Jinling City.
Xiao Jin’s slender fingers tapped on the map.
“This is a big city. Would he dare to escape to this place?” Su Ying asked, looking at the sphere of influence of Jinling City.
Xiao Jin replied, “This is the fiefdom of Prince Jiangning. It’s currently under the watch of his second son, Xiao Shijie.”
“Fiefdom…”
If it was a fiefdom, then some things were not under the control of the Imperial Court.
If Ma Zhi really fled to Jinling City, it would be more difficult for the Imperial Court to capture him there than at anywhere else.
“If he escapes to Jinling City… do you think Xiao Shijie would dare to take him in if he tried to take refuge at his place?”
Xiao Jin’s eyes darkened, but Su Ying had an even bolder idea. “Is there a possibility that he didn’t flee there, but was… going back there?” Xiao Jin’s eyes widened abruptly, and the air pressure around him became more oppressive.
Su Ying didn’t know if there was such a possibility.
“Shall we test it?” Su Ying asked with a raised eyebrow.
Xiao Jin gave a murmur and added, “Let’s test it.”
It snowed heavily at night, and the sky was still not completely bright at 9 in the morning.
Prince Jiangning was waiting outside the palace hall and he was so cold that he kept stomping his feet to keep warm. His face had turned red from the cold, but compared to the anxiety in his heart, this cold was nothing.
Early this morning, the Emperor had sent someone to Prince Jiangnmg’s Residence telling him to enter the palace. He had no official position, so the Emperor definitely would not summon him for no reason.
Prince Jiangning went through everything he had done recently in his mind. He was trying to figure out whether he had done anything wrong.
However, after thinking for a long while, he couldn’t recall anything that he shouldn’t have done. He only came back to his senses when Zhang Shuming’s voice rang out.
“Your Highness, His Majesty invites you inside.”
With a cowering demeanor, Prince Jiangning walked nervously into the mam hall.
“Greetings, Your Majesty.”
“Prince Uncle, you may rise.”
Prince Jiangning straightened up and gave a quick glance at Xiao Jin. He thought that the Emperor seemed to be in a fairly good mood and appeared to be quite amenable. However, he did not dare to let his guard down for fear that he would receive a slap to the face later.
“Prince Uncle, please sit down. Today, I asked you to enter the palace because I thought that after I returned to the capital city, I had not been able to have a good meal with you, Prince Uncle. So I am taking advantage of this opportunity to get Prince Uncle to come into the palace for a good chat to catch up on family matters.”
Prince Jiangning quickly glanced at Xiao Jin. He didn’t feel that he had any family matters to chat about with his icy-faced nephew at all!
“Yes, yes, yes. I also have many things to talk to Your Majesty. Hahahaha…”
“Oh? What does Prince Uncle want to talk to me about?
Prince Jiangning choked. He was just exchanging pleasantries. How come the Emperor did not even understand such pleasantries!
Fortunately, Xiao Jin did not press further. Otherwise, Prince Jiangning honestly thought that he was here to eat his last meal before going for the beheading.
The palace maid came in with the dishes. In accordance with the principle of diligence and thrift, the palace maid served three dishes and one soup. “Usually, I only eat my meals with two dishes. Today, Prince Uncle has entered the palace, so I have specially instructed the Imperial kitchen to prepare more dishes for you. Prince Uncle, try these dishes and see if they are to your liking.” Prince Jiangning obediently picked up his chopsticks and took a bite. He swallowed it without even chewing and nodded his head vigorously as he answered, “Delicious, delicious. It’s simply too delicious.” “Speaking of which, I don’t think I’ve met Shijie before. I wonder how he is doing in Jinling City. I believe Prince Uncle’s birthday is next month.. Now that you have only that one son, why don’t we let him come to the capital city to celebrate Prince Uncle’s birthday?”