Chapter 88: Experts’ Battle
Chapter 88: Experts’ Battle (Part )
"What's the big deal?"
"I want to ask the master something, you must tell me the truth."
Xiao Xia asked in a deep voice: "Has my father sent anyone to look for you in the past few years? The key is, has he sent any letters?"
Xiao Cong became sensitive and asked, "Why do you ask this question?"
Xiao Xia really didn't want to say it, but she had to.
"Because Li Min told me that this time the world's eastern tour to Jiangdu is actually to recognize my father's contribution, to make my father a regular employee, and to restore his normal status."
"what!"
Xiao Cong was suddenly surprised and happy. Although he had guessed it a long time ago, it was just a guess after all. Now it was finally confirmed. If the Prince of Jin was restored to the throne, it would mean that he would also be restored.
"Master, let's talk about the present first. Does Master know about the Five Dragons' Struggle for Succession?"
Xiao Cong also served as emperor for two years, and he had a deeper understanding of the struggle for succession in the Sui Dynasty than most people.
He sneered and said, "This is actually the hypocrisy of the current emperor. On the one hand, he keeps telling the whole court that he hates fratricide the most, but in fact, he is indulging and even manipulating his five sons to fight for the throne. To the emperor, the prince is his enemy who wants to take his throne. Only by provoking a fight for the throne can he sit firmly on the throne."
Xiao Xia also nodded. "The head of the family said it clearly. The emperor knew everything, but pretended to know nothing. However, if he re-employed my father, it would inevitably lead to the Crown Prince and other princes trying their best to stop him. Li Min told me that the Crown Prince assassinated me on the ship at the beginning of the year in order to frame my father and create the illusion that a tiger is poisoning its own cubs."
Xiao Cong was startled. He pondered for a moment and said, "Now that you put it that way, it seems to be true?"
"What did the Patriarch discover?"
Xiao Cong nodded and said, "I got those official kiln porcelains with the words 'Princess Leping' printed on them. They are very valuable. I wanted to return them to the princess, but then I found out that they were not from Princess Leping's mansion. Someone had swapped them out.
Later, I went to Chang'an to inquire about it. The shop that made these imitation official kiln porcelains was owned by Cui Hongsheng, Yang Zhao's father-in-law. I couldn't understand why. If you say that you framed the King of Jin, then it makes sense. These porcelains are evidence pointing to the King of Jin's murder. "
Xiao Xia sighed, "This shows how cruel the struggle for succession is. However, they failed to assassinate me, and now they are starting to think of other means. I met Yuan Shirong this afternoon, and he told me that the King of Han has changed his target to the head of the family."
Xiao Cong wanted to ask Yuan Shirong why he told Xiao Xia, but he held back and did not interrupt Xiao Xia's thoughts.
"You said the King of Han wanted to assassinate me?"
Xiao Xia shook his head. "Of course not. The King of Han wanted to assassinate you. He did it last time at the Jiangnan Canal. I thought about it for a long time last night. I think it should start from the connection between my father and the head of the family. If my father secretly sent someone to meet the head of the family and gave him a letter, then this letter is the key."
Xiao Cong was silent for a moment and said, "Three years ago, your father sent your second brother to find me and indeed brought me a letter, mainly asking me to take good care of you. However, this matter is very secret and only three people know about it."
"Which three people?"
"Me, the third brother, and Butler Liu."
Xiao Xia frowned again, feeling something was wrong.
"Butler Liu knows?"
Xiao Cong nodded, "He is my confidant. He has been my book boy since I was a teenager and has been following me till now. He also knows about your affairs. Three years ago, when your second brother came to deliver a letter to me, he was the one who brought him to my study."
"Where is the letter?"
"I hid it!"
Xiao Xia thought that he couldn't be careless and he had to see it with his own eyes.
"Can the master check it again?"
Xiao Cong hesitated for a moment and then nodded. He took out a book from the bookshelf, poured out a key from the scroll, and took down a painting on the wall, revealing an iron door with a copper lock behind it. Xiao Cong used the key to open the copper lock, and the iron door creaked open, revealing a lot of letters and documents inside.
Xiao Cong took out a wooden box and took out a letter from it, "This is the letter!"
Xiao Xia took the letter and looked at it, then asked, "Master, have you confirmed that the letter has not been swapped?"
Xiao Cong opened the letter and took a closer look, then shook his head. "It wasn't switched. I had Zhuni on my hand at the time, so there was a red fingerprint of mine on the letter. When I saw the fingerprint, I knew it wasn't switched."
Xiao Xia asked again: "Does the master have an absolutely trustworthy letter-forging expert? I want to forge this letter."
"The Third Master is a master of imitation letters. I'll call him over!"
Xiao Cong walked over, opened the door, stuck his head out and told the tea boy outside, "Go and ask the Third Master to come in. Tell him I have an urgent matter!" The tea boy ran off.
Xiao Cong closed the door again, walked forward and asked, "Why, do you suspect Butler Liu?"
Xiao Xia nodded, "I have witnessed the methods used by the King of Han and the Crown Prince many times. They use every possible means to make it hard for people to defend themselves. If there is a loophole here, it must be Butler Liu."
"That's easy, just burn the letter!"
After saying that, Xiao Cong decisively turned around and walked towards the incense burner. Xiao Xia was startled and hurried forward to stop him. "This letter is a double-edged sword. It can frame my father, but it can also prove my father's innocence. The head of the family will give the letter to me later, and I will hide it."
Xiao Cong was flustered and didn't know what to do, so he nodded and agreed.
Not long after, Xiao Yu opened the door and came in, "Brother, are you looking for me?"
Xiao Cong nodded, "Please help me forge a letter."
Xiao Yu didn't ask any more questions. He spread out the letter and read it carefully more than ten times. He concentrated on thinking for a moment, then picked up the pen and quickly copied it.
Xiao Xia was amazed when he saw it. It was exactly the same. He was indeed an expert in imitating letters.
In a moment, Xiao Yu had copied the letter. At least in Xiao Xia's opinion, the handwriting was exactly the same.
Xiao Cong handed the original letter to Xiao Xia, "I'm giving this letter to you, keep it!"
Xiao Xia put the letter close to his body, and asked Xiao Yu with a smile: "Does Third Uncle know about Butler Liu's situation?"
"What situation?"
"For example, has he behaved in any unusual way in the past two days?"
Xiao Yu was stunned, "How do you know he has abnormalities?"
Xiao Cong was also stunned, "Is there really something wrong with him?"
Xiao Yu nodded, "He made two mistakes today, mistakes he had never made before. I feel like he's a little absent-minded!"
…………
At two o'clock in the morning, Xiao Xia lay on the roof, looking coldly at the short and fat body of Butler Liu sneaking into the master's study. Xiao Xia looked into the house through the cracks in the tiles. There was no light in the room, but the moonlight was good and he could see clearly.
Butler Liu skillfully took out the key and opened the secret door on the wall. He found the wooden box containing the letter. He looked at the letter, a look of ecstasy appeared on his face. He quickly put the letter in his arms, restored the study to its original state, and left quickly.
..........
In a small house in the south of the city, Xiao Xia sat cross-legged and read Yang Guang's handwritten letter to Xiao Cong. The content was almost all about herself. She said that she was very pitiful and begged Xiao Cong to take good care of herself.
Although Xiao Xia had never met his father Yang Guang, he could deeply feel a father's worry and concern for his young son from the words in the letter.
This made Xiao Xia feel a little sad. Regardless of whether Yang Guang was a tyrant or not, he was a good father at heart.
Xiao Xia sighed, rolled up the letter and stuffed it into the long, narrow-necked bottle on the ground, then plugged it in with a wooden cork, restored the bricks to their original shape, and put down the bed.
He began to sit cross-legged and practice martial arts. A lot of things happened today, from being seduced by Xiao Mannu at noon to being betrayed by Butler Liu at night. So many things happened in one day.
Xiao Xia felt truly overwhelmed with emotion, and it was this kind of ambiguous and distracted state of mind that triggered the Qi deep within his body. Xiao Xia clearly felt that his Dan Qi began to change again.
Xiao Xia closed his eyes, and a powerful stream of Dan Qi rushed out from his Dantian and rushed to the top of his head, as if a huge force was pulling him into an endless black passage.
The Danxi Flow was like a black tunnel. He felt his body flying forward rapidly in the tunnel, faster and faster. Gradually, his body began to decompose into several parts, and then decomposed into hundreds of small pieces, getting smaller and smaller, until it became a molecular state and turned into billions of tiny selves.
He seemed to be flying at the speed of light. A bright spot appeared in front of him, getting bigger and bigger. It turned out to be a bright white exit. He rushed into a bright white world in an instant, and his body returned to normal.
Xiao Xia slowly opened her eyes, and everything in front of her was so clear.
He upgraded again.
At this moment, Xiao Xia suddenly understood why Yuan Shoucheng left.
Yuan Shoucheng knew he was going to be promoted.
(End of this chapter)