Chapter 87 Make a Deal
Chapter 87 Make a Deal
Xiao Xia felt a little alert and instantly entered the barrier-breaking state.
He held the hilt of the sword and walked forward slowly. The car door opened and Yuan Shirong smiled and said in the car, "Master Xiao, don't be so nervous. No one in Jiangdu wants to kill you now!"
"What does County Officer Yuan want from me?"
"Let's talk about it after we get in the car!"
Xiao Xia pondered for a moment, then got on the carriage. The carriage started slowly and headed towards the main street.
Inside the carriage, Xiao Xia asked, "Why do you say that no one in Jiangdu wants to kill me now?"
Yuan Shirong smiled slightly and said, "Because there is no point in killing you, and I will offend the princess for nothing. No one will do this business at a loss."
Xiao Xia said coldly: "Is this County Magistrate Yuan's own opinion, or is it the Crown Prince's clear statement?"
Yuan Shirong pondered for a moment and said, "Ever since the princess complained to the emperor, the prince was scolded by the emperor. You may not have thought that the person who is most afraid of you being assassinated is the prince. If you die, he is the biggest suspect, so he sent his confidant Heba Yue to protect you!"
"Wait a minute!"
Xiao Xia stopped him and asked in confusion: "Who is Heba Yue? Why haven't I seen him before?"
"You've seen him. Hasn't he always been on your roof?"
Xiao Xia suddenly remembered the man in black who had spied on her. It turned out that he was sent by the prince. Xiao Xia showed a sarcastic smile on his face, "Why do I always think that he is spying on me?"
"To be frank, it's all there is: surveillance and protection!"
"You're wrongly blaming him. I should have paid him protection money!"
Marshal Rong laughed, "He and I were colleagues before, and our relationship was terrible. I didn't like him either. Fortunately, we will never see him again. After you went to Jiangning, he returned to Chang'an."
"and then?"
Xiao Xia said calmly, "Your Highness, aren't you afraid that the King of Han will kill me and put the blame on him?"
Marshal Rong shook his head slowly. "Now that Li Min has come to Jiangdu, the King of Han will not attack you again. He promised the Princess that he would not touch you again. This is the real reason why he let you go on the Jiangnan Canal."
Xiao Xia sneered, "I don't believe he will keep his promise. The reason why he let me go on the canal was because I had a ninth-rank master behind me. He was afraid of the consequences and held back. Any promise is not worth mentioning to him."
Marshal Rong said earnestly, "I understand your anger, but you don't know that the emperor hates fratricide the most. If he kills you, once he can't put the blame on the crown prince, he will pay a very heavy political price, and may even have to withdraw from the fight for the throne. He can't afford such consequences, so I said that no one will do business at a loss."
Yuan Shirong smiled and said, "I'll tell you straight out! The King of Han has already turned his attention to Xiao Cong. He certainly doesn't want to kill Xiao Cong. As for what his purpose is? You've met Li Min, I believe you know the reason."
"Then why did County Lieutenant Yuan ask me to get in the car?"
Yuan Shirong hesitated for a moment and said, "I want to make a deal with you!"
"County Lieutenant Yuan thinks I will make a deal with you?"
Yuan Shirong waved his hand, "Don't reject me outright. Listen to me. If you are not satisfied with the conditions I offer, or you cannot meet my requirements, then just don't do it. It doesn't matter. Even if the deal fails, the friendship remains. Although I am not a good man, I will not make myself unhappy, right?"
"You say it, and I listen!"
"It's like this. The King of Han's ship is on the Yangtze River. It's a large ship with a capacity of 8,000 dan. There is a secret room in his cabin, which displays his jewelry and curios, as well as letters of loyalty from his followers. Today I sent a female expert to steal the letter of loyalty, but she failed, but she didn't alarm the King of Han. I know you have a ninth-grade expert by your side. If he is willing to help, I believe he will succeed!"
After all, it turns out that Master Yuan Rong has taken a liking to Yuan Shoucheng.
"How did County Lieutenant Yuan know that the letter of loyalty was on the ship?"
"Someone in Chang'an has already sneaked into his study and looked for it, but didn't find it. So the most likely possibility is that he carried it with him. In fact, it doesn't necessarily have to be stolen. We just want to know who wrote the letter of allegiance to him?"
Xiao Xia smiled and said, "Some people don't like to write a letter of loyalty, but at the same time they want to be loyal to the King of Han. What should we do?"
Yuan Shirong had no choice but to smile bitterly and said, "Okay! I'll be frank. Actually, we just want to know if there is a letter of loyalty from Yang Su in it."
"Since it's a deal, what benefits do I get?" Yuan Shirong opened the car door and waved his hand. A warrior walked up quickly, took out a jade pendant from his arms and showed it to Xiao Xia.
Xiao Xia narrowed his eyes. It was the fake jade pendant that had disappeared before, and it was actually in the hands of the prince's faction.
The warrior put away the jade pendant and left. A trace of annoyance flashed in Yuan Shirong's eyes. Wei Lihu asked him to do something, but he didn't even have the most basic trust in him. He didn't even give him the jade pendant, but let his trusted warrior hold it. This was simply too much!
Yuan Shirong was annoyed in his heart, but he still smiled and said, "This is what our people stole from the King of Han at the risk of their lives. This is the condition for the transaction with you."
"Captain Yuan, aren't you afraid that I will make up a random conclusion?"
Yuanshi Rong said calmly: "The door lock of the secret room is very special. It is a golden lock. You can either open the lock with a key or cut it with a sharp blade. The golden lock is your token."
Yuan Shirong took out a folded piece of thin silk and handed it to him, "This is the blueprint of his ship, think about it yourself!"
The two did not agree or disagree. If Xiao Xia wanted the jade pendant back, he had to steal the letter. If he didn't want to do it, no one would force him.
In fact, it was Master Yuan Rong who gave him a condition to get the jade pendant back.
The carriage slowly stopped again in front of the gate of the Samurai Academy, and Xiao Xia got off the carriage without saying a word.
Yuan Shirong looked coldly at Xiao Xia's back as she walked into the gate. Xiao Xia might not know the importance of the jade pendant, but Li Min certainly knew it.
…………
In an elegant room of Guanyun Restaurant, Xiao Mansion Butler Liu knelt down and kowtowed desperately to a tall and thin man, "Please let my grandson go! I only have this one grandson, please let the child go! I will do anything for you."
The tall and thin man laughed dryly and said, "We are not interested in your grandson. As long as you do what I say, we will definitely let your grandson go. Didn't you say so yourself? We will do whatever I ask you to do!"
Butler Liu was speechless for a moment. Just as he was about to speak, the tall and thin man stared at him fiercely, "Why, do you have to force us to give you a hand first before you understand that the King of Han's orders cannot be disobeyed?"
Butler Liu moved his lips and finally lowered his head weakly.
...........
At dusk, Xiao Xia found the head of the family, Xiao Cong. Xiao Cong smiled bitterly and said, "I was just about to send someone to look for you, but you came here by yourself."
"What happened?" Xiao Xia asked.
"A very despicable thing happened. Xiao Hong informed the King of Han that the Xiao family in Jinling had hidden a large number of prohibited weapons. The King of Han then sent his trusted subordinates with dozens of warriors to Jinling."
Xiao Xia frowned, inadvertently showing the thinking expression of an adult, not a teenager at all. Xiao Cong was a little dazed for a moment. How old is this child?
"Is the informant true? Does the Jinling Xiao family really have a large number of contraband weapons?" Xiao Xia asked.
Xiao Cong stopped thinking and nodded, "Indeed, but that was Emperor Wu of Liang's collection of various precious weapons. Later, they were lost to the public. Xiao Lin spent twenty years collecting them bit by bit. There are a total of 123 pieces. Only three people know this secret: me, Xiao Hong, and Xiao Lin."
"and then?"
"Then these warriors didn't find the weapons, so the King of Han took a step back and asked him to hand over the genealogy of the Qi and Liang dynasties, and let him go this time. Xiao Lin had to agree."
Xiao Xia groaned for a moment and said, "The key lies in Xiao Hong!"
Xiao Cong sighed, "Yes! If Xiao Hong testifies, and the King of Han just took a bunch of weapons and stuffed them into his house, then there will be evidence. If Xiao Lin is interrogated by a cruel official for a whole night, he will have to confess, after all, he really has the banned weapons."
Xiao Xia said calmly: "So that shameless bastard got the Qi and Liang family tree again."
Xiao Cong nodded, "He has completely become the lackey of the King of Han, so of course the King of Han will reward him with a bone."
Xiao Xia snorted coldly, "It's not that simple. The King of Han has begun to make plans in Jiangnan, and Xiao Hong is an important chess piece of his. He wants to get Xiao Hong a chance to meet the emperor. Xiao Hong might even embark on a career in politics."
Xiao Cong nodded silently. He indeed didn't see things as clearly as the child. That should be the case.
Thinking of Xiao Hong's despicable means and ugly face, Xiao Cong gritted his teeth and said, "But the scandal of him coercing his own people will also spread throughout Jiangnan."
Xiao Xia shook his head and said, "Master, let's not talk about this for now. Let's talk about another big thing right now!"
(End of this chapter)