Chapter 94: Missed Opportunity
Chapter 94: Missed Opportunity
Dozens of warriors were lying in ambush near the boat where King of Han Yang Liang was sitting. All of them were highly skilled in martial arts, including an eighth-rank warrior.
There was a carriage parked in an alley, and inside the carriage, Yuan Shirong was patiently waiting for a wonderful scene to happen.
He received the news early in the morning that the King of Han had left in a small boat and was heading for the emperor's dragon boat.
In fact, they had been keeping watch nearby, but apart from a seventh-rank female warrior under Li Min's command who came once, there had been no further movement.
However, according to the inference of the governor Wei Lihu, the other party would definitely take advantage of the time when the King of Han went to meet the emperor. At that time, the defense of the entire ship was the weakest, and all the masters had left with the King of Han.
Time passed little by little. They waited from morning to noon, but still nothing happened.
Yuan Shirong began to waver. Perhaps Xiao Xia didn't care about the jade pendant at all. That should be the case. If he cared about the jade pendant, how could it be easily stolen?
At this time, a surveillance warrior came to report, "Report to the county lieutenant, His Royal Highness the King of Han has returned!"
Yuan Shirong's heart sank into an icy cave. They were fooled and no one would come.
Helpless, Yuan Shirong left two people to continue monitoring, and he led the other warriors to retreat. The other side did not take action when the King of Han was away, and now that the King of Han is back, they will not take action either.
On the surface, it seemed that they overestimated the importance of the jade pendant to Xiao Xia, and Xiao Xia gave up the jade pendant when he found the risk too great.
But Yuan Shirong suddenly thought of another thing. At that time, Wei Lihu's trusted guard showed the jade pendant to Xiao Xia in front of him. He felt that there was something wrong with the jade pendant, but the thought only flashed through his mind and he did not take it to heart.
At this time, Yuan Shirong became increasingly suspicious that there was something wrong with the jade pendant.
Yuan Shirong is a famous appraisal expert in the capital. The last time he appraised Xiao Xia's physical medicine and internal power medicine, he recognized it as Vajra Pill at a glance, and also guessed that the internal power medicine was Chunyu Pill. Most warriors don't even know what Chunyu Pill is, which shows the high level of Yuan Shirong's appraisal skills.
Yuan Shirong hurried to the governor's mansion and found Wei Lihu.
Wei Lihu wanted to know if there was something wrong with the jade pendant, so he went to the inner study room to get the brocade box.
"The things are still there. I thought they had stolen them just now."
Wei Lihu handed the jade pendant to Yuan Shirong. Yuan Shirong took it and looked at it carefully from front to back, and his expression suddenly changed.
"Is this the jade pendant from before?"
"Of course, I'm hiding in the inner study, no one can find me, is there a problem?"
Yuan Shirong nodded, "This is the jade pendant style of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. Now it is the Sui Dynasty. How could the emperor's grandson's jade pendant be made according to the Northern Zhou Dynasty style?"
"what!"
Wei Lihu was shocked. His face darkened and he immediately turned the tables, "County Lieutenant Yuan, you were present when this jade pendant was shown to Xiao Xia, how could you not notice it?"
Yuan Shirong was really annoyed. The other party had been hiding the jade pendant, and now that something went wrong, he pushed the blame onto himself. This Wei Lihu was really shameless.
Yuan Shirong did not dare to quarrel with Wei Lihu, so he could only hold back his anger and said, "It was too short a time, and I did not see clearly. Didn't Mr. Zhou interrogate Xiao Hu's son before? They stole Xiao Xia's jade pendant. I thought it was this one, but I didn't expect that the King of Han had replaced it with a fake one!"
"wrong!"
Wei Lihu shook his head. "The jade pendant that the King of Han got was a fake one, so Xiao Xia and Li Min didn't show up. The King of Han must have discovered that it was a fake jade pendant, so he took advantage of it and deliberately passed the news to us so that we can use the jade pendant."
Wei Lihu suddenly felt a chill in his spine. The question now was how could he explain this to the Crown Prince?
The emperor was ill and recuperating, and all the officials returned to their own ships, leaving them with nothing to do for the time being.
Crown Prince Yang Yong also returned and took his own boat. The crown prince's character was originally silent and quiet, but after a serious illness twenty years ago, he seemed to have suddenly changed into a different person. He became eloquent and good at observing people's words and expressions, and he fooled the emperor and the queen around. His lust also turned into a need to continue his offspring.
Yang Yong had a powerful aide named Zhang Yunqiu, who was very good at giving advice.
He smiled and said to Yang Yong, "Your Highness, the emperor restored the title of King of Shu Yang Xiu very suddenly. He did it with an imperial decree without any sign beforehand, but it was like thunder to Yang Guang. He talked about going on a tour to Jiangdu for almost a year and sent the King of Han to make advance preparations, but we only heard thunder but no rain. Until now, Yang Guang's throne has not been restored, which means that the emperor has not made up his mind and there is still a possibility of a reversal. In fact, many things are just a matter of thought. If we deal with it properly, maybe it will end up in nothing and Yang Guang will still return to Luoyang."
Yang Yong was silent for a moment and said, "With the princess as the guard, it's probably difficult. Father only mentioned that he wanted to see Xiao Xia after I left, which shows that Father has always been dissatisfied with me for assassinating Xiao Xia. I was afraid that I would make things worse and deepen Father's disgust with me."
Zhang Yunqiu nodded. "Your Highness is right to worry. This matter is indeed very risky, but we can create an opportunity for the King of Han to make trouble. Isn't Wei Lihu instigating Xiao Xia to attack the King of Han? This is indeed an opportunity to drag the princess into the water. Your Highness can urge them to implement it as soon as possible."
Yang Yong nodded, turned around and ordered: "Go find the second young master for me!"
..........
At nightfall, a distinguished guest came to the residence of the Jiangdu governor. The young man in brocade robe at the beginning of the year appeared again. The manipulator of the assassination on the canal at the beginning of the year was actually the second son of Crown Prince Yang Yong, Prince Pingyuan Yang Yu. He was shrewd, decisive, and ruthless, making him Yang Yong's most capable right-hand man.
Yang Yu asked, "Envoy Wei, my father asked me to ask you, how is the plan you mentioned before being implemented? Has the other party taken the bait?" The governor Wei Lihu was sweating profusely. He only hated himself for being nosy and sending someone to tell the prince about the plan.
How to explain it to him now?
Wei Lihu had no choice but to kneel down and apologize, "I was careless for a moment, and the jade pendant I used as bait turned out to be fake. Xiao Xia and Li Min can't take the risk of going to the King of Han again."
Yang Yu said coldly: "In other words, your plan has been discovered?"
"I am a lowly official and stupid, and I am willing to be severely punished by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"
Yang Yu glared at him and gritted his teeth, "Father is counting on you to succeed. It's too late to consider other plans now. You've missed Father's opportunity!"
Wei Lihu kowtowed with sweat all over his forehead, "I am guilty! I am willing to be punished!"
"Humph!"
Yang Yu snorted heavily, turned around and left. Wei Lihu sat on the ground limply, wondering if His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would forgive him this time.
…………
As soon as Yang Lihua returned to her boat, her second brother Yang Guang came up to her and asked, "Sister, how is our father?"
Yang Lihua smiled and said, "It's not a big problem. It's just a slight cold. I'll be fine after two days of rest."
Yang Guang breathed a sigh of relief and asked in a low voice, "Father has not yet announced my restoration. What is the problem?"
Yang Lihua said calmly, "Haven't you figured it out yet? Today, the Emperor took the initiative to mention that he has a grandson in Jiangdu."
Yang Guang was stunned. "Big sister, what you mean is that father has to see Xia'er before he can let me be restored to the throne?"
Yang Lihua nodded. "The one who tied the bell must untie it. You were demoted because of him, and you have to start with him to be restored. Only when your father accepts this grandson can you completely get over it."
"What if Father doesn't accept it?"
"If the emperor does not accept, you will still be restored to the throne, but the thorn in his heart cannot be removed, and you can never expect to regain the trust he once had."
Yang Guang nodded silently, and after a while he said, "Sister, I want to see him!"
Yang Lihua smiled and said, "You are finally willing to see your son. Okay! I will arrange it for you."
………….
A carriage, escorted by several mounted warriors, arrived at the dock on the Yangtze River.
These are all the newly built Jiangdu Yangtze River docks. There are seven in total, two official docks and the other five are intended to be sold to the private sector. The fight for five business quotas is actually a fight for these five docks.
Xiao Xia and Li Min were sitting in the carriage. Li Min was fiddling with Xiao Xia's jade pendant in his hands and couldn't help wanting to laugh several times. He really wanted to see the other person's expression after discovering that it was a fake jade pendant.
This guy is really good! He planned it out early.
Li Min returned the jade pendant to Xiao Xia and said with a smile, "Don't be too nervous when you meet the princess later. She is your aunt. You lived in the princess's mansion for a few months. The princess likes you very much. If Empress Dugu hadn't forbidden you to stay in Chang'an, the princess would have kept you in the mansion."
Xiao Xia nodded silently and asked again: "Does she know that I have lost my memory?"
"She knows. Xiao Cong told her. Your father should also know. Don't take this little problem to heart."
The carriage slowly stopped in front of a large ship, where two palace maids were already waiting.
Li Min and Xiao Xia got off the carriage, and two palace maids came forward and curtseyed, "Greetings, Master!"
"Is Her Royal Highness the Princess here?" Li Min asked with a smile.
"Her Royal Highness the Princess is already waiting!"
Li Min turned around and winked at Xiao Xia, then took him onto the boat.
Stepping onto the ship, Xiao Xia saw from afar a beautiful middle-aged woman in palace dress standing on the deck, looking at him with a smile.
Li Min quickly stepped forward and saluted, "Mother-in-law, Xiao Xia is here."
(End of this chapter)