Chapter 48: Another Wave of Turbulence

  The weather in South Chu is just as changeable, cold and gloomy, yet still raining heavily. Xia tore off half of her sleeve, revealing a smooth and delicate back, on the butterfly bone of her shoulder blade, an arrow was still stuck inside, the fresh blood on the surface had dried up, a dark red patch.

  He picked up the wine jug with one hand, held it in his mouth, and then spat it all out onto the dagger. The wine was strong, what Yang Feng usually drank every day. He picked up the dagger, turned his head, and cut down on the wound on his shoulder blade without hesitation.

  "Hmm..."

  A short, muffled hum arose from within the tent. Yang Feng leaned against his silver spear and sat on a rock outside the tent, his face as calm as water, lost in thought.

  "Ding!" A crisp sound, followed by the clanging of iron hitting the ground. Yang Feng furrowed his brow, lifted the curtain, and saw that in a pool of blood, Qing Xia was lying on the ground with a dagger still clutched in her hand, her eyes tightly shut, having fainted.

  She was given good medicine, carefully bandaged, and cleaned of bloodstains. By the time everything was done, night had fallen.

  The main account is on the other side, and after Chu Li's return, he did not directly return to the palace, but instead came to the military camp. One by one, snowflake-like documents were issued without mercy. This wounded old tiger finally began a new round of counterattack in desperate situations.

  A month ago, the 13th King colluded with Xiao Gui Fei to rebel and was arrested and detained in the Da Si Fu Temple. Although it cannot be proven that today's incident is the doing of the 13th King, Chu Li still used this as an excuse to conduct a thorough purge of the 13th King's followers. In less than two years since his return to the country, the 13th King had been secretly plotting in Southern Chu for over thirty years, with deep roots and a solid foundation, his followers spread throughout the land. Without a legitimate reason, it would be difficult to openly execute him. Using the crime of attempting to assassinate the Crown Prince, the 13th King's deep waters were suddenly turned upside down.

  In the afternoon, the 13th King's mansion was searched and seized, without even a trial, all the male members of the household were beheaded on the spot, on the grounds of resisting arrest. More than 40 people from the party faction in the court were arrested, involving tens of thousands of family members and relatives. The large temples and the Eastern City Heavenly Prison were overcrowded, filled with wailing and crying sounds. The news was quietly blocked, and some military generals under the 13th King who were far away on the border were urgently summoned to the palace. The Imperial Guard was hastily deployed with 3 million soldiers to guard the imperial city. The entire Southern Chu was suddenly in a state of panic, due to the chain reaction caused by the disappearance of Chu for one night, which sent chills down people's spines. Everyone in the capital was terrified and restless, and the common people dared not venture out of their homes.

  Taking advantage of the great chaos in Southern Chu, other countries were secretly watching and waiting, not daring to make any rash moves. It was not without reason that Chuli Xuan launched a coup at this time, purging the imperial family's power. The Western Yan Hui, the Crown Prince of Qi, the elder of the Southern Border tribe, the heads of the coastal vassal states and others were all gathered in the capital of Southern Chu, waiting for Chuli's enthronement ceremony. With these powerful hostages in hand, no country dared to make any rash moves.

  On the very night when the city gate was closed, the Qin envoy finally arrived. All those who were supposed to come had all arrived, and Shengdu of Southern Chu temporarily became the most complicated and most dangerous place in the world.

  For Qing Xia to settle everything, Yang Feng hugged a pile of blood-stained clothes and walked out of the camp. As soon as he stepped out, he coincidentally bumped into Lin Mu Bai, the newly appointed Taigong of the Imperial Secretariat, who had just taken office. When Yang Feng was transferred from the Green Camp Army to the Imperial Guard, he had met Lin Mu Bai once before. With a faint smile, he greeted him and said: "Congratulations, Lord Lin, on your promotion."

  "Oh, it's Lord Yang. How come you're living here too?" Lin Mubai wore a three-piece official robe, looking quite different with a radiant and spirited appearance, less foolish and more heroic.

  "Yes, what can I do for you?"

  "Your Highness wants me to take a look at Xia Shuaiwei, how is his injury?"

  Yang Feng's eyebrows slightly raised, and he calmly said: "The medicine has been applied and bandaged. He is already asleep."

  "In that case, I'll go back and report. Maybe next time I can come visit you again, Lord Yang." After some small talk, Lin Mubai turned around and left. Yang Feng watched his figure disappear, let out a heavy sigh, and was about to leave when he saw the corner of the curtain slowly drop down, revealing a white jade-like hand that slowly withdrew back inside.

  What is arsenic to one person is honey to another. Although the assassination caused a stir in the imperial court and was widely discussed, there were not a few people who benefited from it.

  Yang Feng, facing a great enemy, commanded calmly and jumped three ranks to become the supervisor of the Imperial Guard. In contrast, Xia Qing, the greatest contributor in this event, did not receive any substantial reward, but was only promoted from being an outer guard of the Black Armor Guard to becoming Chu Li's personal bodyguard, after three days of rest due to injury, he officially took office.

  Outside the gate, Xu Shangwei led the black-clad guards to surround the camp, and it was impossible to escape unless they fought hard. Qing Xia put on a close-fitting black guard uniform and didn't apply makeup as usual, walking out with a plain face. Xu Quan had no expression of daze, took Qing Xia directly into the central military tent.

  Chu Li wore a white cotton robe, without armor or weapons, but still had a hint of sharpness like a knife. He was carefully painting a picture, and even when Qing Xia entered, he didn't lift his head. Xu Shang Wei respectfully bowed and retreated. Qing Xia stood aside, quietly waiting for the arrival of the storm.

  "Is the wound healed?" A low, muffled voice suddenly echoed in the air, Chu Li lowered his head, and his black hair slid down from his shoulder to the long table. The wide sleeve of his robe swept across the desk, and the white cotton cloth had a softness that was completely inconsistent with his temperament.

  Qing Xia no longer disguised her voice, wanting to change a person's appearance and voice is simple, but changing one's familiarity with another person is extremely difficult. After this night and day of interaction, Qing Xia had already anticipated that Chu Li would investigate her identity. Even if he was only suspicious at the time, after returning to the main camp and searching through the so-called "Qing Xia" data, her true form would be revealed immediately. A soft voice echoed faintly in the warm air of the main camp, Qing Xia said in a low voice: "It's been a long time."

  "The barracks are too noisy and not suitable for recovery. I've found a quiet little place in the south of the city, you can go take a look later and see if you like it."

  "Your Highness, are you planning to put me under house arrest?" The slender woman raised an eyebrow and slowly lifted her head.

  "Could I possibly keep you locked up?"

  "The residence of the Crown Prince is located in the southern part of the city, and he doesn't mind that I am on intimate terms with him, so why should I betray the great Chu?"

  "You won't," Chu Li said lightly, as if they were discussing something trivial. "If you wanted to do it, last night was your best chance."

  "In three days' time, it will be my enthronement ceremony. All matters will have a conclusion and an end after the ceremony. You may leave first."

  Qing Xia looked at Chu Li, who was wearing a white cotton robe, and felt that this person was almost two different people from the one in the dense forest last night. She slowly turned around, lifted the curtain of the tent, and was about to leave when Chu Li's voice sounded flatly behind her: "Don't try to escape again."

  Your eyebrows rose slightly in summer, you said don't escape, must I obediently listen to you?

  "Yang Feng is a talented and promising young man with great potential for leadership, don't ruin his future."

  A basin of cold water was poured over her head, and Qing Xia's body trembled slightly before she walked out with large strides. The small pavilion in the middle of the lake was a villa of the King of Huainan Prefecture. After the fall of the 13th prince, Xiao Guifei lost power, and if not for being the birth mother of Chu Li, she might have followed the 13th prince to the Yellow Springs long ago. As the youngest son of Xiao Guifei, the King of Huainan Prefecture was weak and sickly, not participating in politics, but he couldn't avoid being affected by the fall of his family and was exiled to a remote place called Luli City. It was said that he was sent there to recover from illness in a warm place, but in reality, he was driven out of the capital and stripped of power.

  Everyone in the world knows that Chu Li and his younger brother have never been close. The Empress Dowager favored one over the other, several times putting the life of her youngest son above that of her eldest. But fate has turned full circle: now that Chu Li is on the throne, wielding great power over Southern Chu, the Empress Dowager is under house arrest in the rear palace, and the 13th Prince is dead, the King of Huainan, who had always hidden behind his mother's wings, naturally fell from the clouds into the mud.

  Huainan King had not yet left, and the industries under his name had already been taken back by the court for more than half. Qing Xia moved into this famous quiet place in Shengdu, leaning on the pavilion by the water, wearing a thick fur coat, drowsy and about to fall asleep.

  "Miss, go inside and sleep, it's cold here." Hongying stood aside, Xiao Yatou was only fourteen years old, looking very young and naive, usually speaking carefully, not even daring to speak loudly. All the servants in this separate courtyard were bought back by Chuli from families with a clean background outside the palace, without any imperial background. On the first day of entering the mansion, they were informed that if anything happened to Qingxia, everyone here would have to accompany her in burial.

  Chu Li was very good at grasping people's thoughts and knew how to tie down Qing Xia's footsteps in the most effective way. Tomorrow was Chu Li's coronation ceremony, and everything was proceeding quietly behind the scenes. Qing Xia stood up and walked towards the inner hall as instructed.

  Hongying saw Qingxia return to her room and let out a big sigh of relief, following behind Qingxia, carrying the warmer, happily trailing behind.

  "Get out of the way! Who dares to block my path!" A loud and arrogant voice suddenly rang out, Qing Xia's eyebrows furrowed, and a chaotic footsteps quickly approached this direction.

  "Haha, I knew it, you're definitely that sly fox again!"

  Jia Yun's face was full of pride, wearing a purple long gown, looking elegant and noble, dazzling to the eye. He held a horse whip in his hand, shaking it back and forth while loudly shouting at Qing Xia.

  Qing Xia slowly turned her head, her eyes flashing with a cold glare at the Princess of Nan Chu who had suffered countless hardships at her hands yet still refused to repent. Jia Yun felt a chill run down her spine as she was stared at by Qing Xia and took a slight step back, her face suddenly turning pale.

  She gave her a once-over with a sidelong glance, and Qing Xia lost interest in arguing with the child, turning to head towards the inner hall.

  "Hmph, you'd better not show off here, wait till my Prince brother catches and beheads every one of your followers, see how arrogant you'll be then!" Jiayun shouted loudly with all her might, but her voice betrayed a clear lack of confidence.

  "You..." Qing Xia paused slightly and slowly turned her head, her eyes fixed on Jia Yun as she thought for a moment before speaking slowly: "What do you mean?"

  "You don't know yet, my brother the crown prince has gone to Huguo Temple to pray for blessings from our ancestors and has been waiting for two days for tomorrow's enthronement ceremony. Those friends of yours have all been caught by the authorities at Dasi Yuan and will be severely punished. Zhu sister won't let you off, just wait for your death."

  A hand suddenly reached out and tightly grasped Jiayun's neck, a cold voice saying: "You'd better explain yourself clearly."