Besides lying down, I also know a little about power struggles

Chapter 119: No one else can be trusted except you

The night wind blew through the treetops, making sparse sounds.

Feng Twelve stopped and his robe fluttered gently in the wind.

"Yes."

Fang Tong's heart sank: "Are you leading troops to attack Sui Yongdao?"

This was the best outcome she could have expected.

"No." Feng Twelve said.

Fang Tong held the skirt with both hands and squeezed it tightly: "You are not allowed to lead the troops?"

The bad premonition became stronger and stronger.

Feng Twelve turned around and said, "Your Majesty has appointed me as an imperial envoy to go to Luozhou to issue an imperial decree to investigate the crime."

Fang Tong took a deep breath and met his eyes in disbelief.

This was the worst possible outcome she could have deduced.

She thought she was overthinking it. Sui Yongdao controlled the Beihe Army and would never surrender easily. If the emperor wanted to capture him, he should send a large army. However, the emperor refused to mobilize and sent Feng Twelve to die.

Is his son so worthless?
Fang Tong didn't believe that Sui Yongdao would treat Feng Twelve well. The practice of not killing envoys when two armies are fighting only applies to gentlemen. Since ancient times, many envoys have been killed.

Sui Yongdao dared to help King Ping in rebellion, so what else could he not do?

"Why?" Fang Tong twisted the belt in her hand tightly, "Why do we have to send an imperial envoy?"

"Because Your Majesty wants to take down Sui Yongdao at the lowest cost." Feng Twelve said calmly.

"What if Sui Yongdao refuses to plead guilty and leads the Beihe Army to disobey the emperor's order?" Fang Tong asked, "If you are the imperial envoy, he will probably kill you as a sacrifice."

Feng Twelve smiled and said, "You even know how to offer sacrifices to the flag. You've learned a lot."

"I knew it before," Fang Tong said with a stern face, "If we don't send troops now, we will still send troops in the future. Why should we sacrifice one more person?"

“Because I have to have a legitimate reason to do so.” Feng Twelve said.

"King Ping is plotting rebellion, isn't that famous enough?"

"Not enough." Feng Twelve's answer was calm and cruel. "The rebellion of King Ping will not be recorded in the history books. It will become a rumor in the wild history at most."

"Why?" Fang Tong couldn't figure it out, "Does the emperor still have a father-son relationship with him?"

If so, Feng Twelve is also a prince, why doesn't the emperor care about him?
Feng Twelve saw that she was anxious, and a layer of warmth appeared in his eyes.

The hairpin on Fang Tong's head swayed gently in the wind, and the thin pendant was entangled with her hair. Feng Twelve moved his fingers, then curled them up and retracted them.

He turned his eyes and looked at the glittering water surface.

"Your Majesty has been a king for many years and has never had any blemish. If the world knew that his son forced the emperor to abdicate, his efforts over the past few decades would be in vain." Feng Twelve's voice was like a quietly flowing river, neither fast nor slow. "Sui Yongdao saved his life in the past, and such a meritorious official cannot be disposed of casually."

"So you have to be sacrificed?" Fang Tong couldn't accept it. "If Sui Yongdao kills you, if he kills a prince, his merits will be written off. The emperor no longer owes him anything, and he can send troops to attack with confidence."

Feng Twelve smiled approvingly: "Yes."

Fang Tong bit her lower lip.

For the first time, she felt a strong sense of anger. The emperor wanted to be a wise ruler and protect his own reputation, and he was willing to exchange his own son for it.

Is this still a wise ruler?

Perhaps to the people who live and work in peace and contentment, he is, but to the people around him and to Feng Twelve, they are just stepping stones on his road to becoming a wise ruler.

This was the first time Fang Tong felt that the palace was so disgusting.

Just as everyone knows that political struggles are complicated and cruel, but as outsiders, they only treat them as topics of conversation after dinner. Only those who are in the game truly understand that once lost, there is no recovery.

Fang Tong lowered her head. The ribbon in her hand had been twisted into a knot. She didn't know what to say, and anything she said would be in vain.

A hand reached out, held her fingers, and loosened the ribbon between her fingers. "It's just a long journey," Feng Twelve said, "It's not the end of the road yet."

He looked at the white marks on her fingers, rubbed them lightly with his thumb, and let go of her hand: "You don't have to worry about me."

"I'm not worried." Fang Tong said subconsciously, "I'm just angry."

"Well," Feng Twelve laughed softly, "This is the first time I see you so angry."

"You're not angry?" Fang Tong clenched his fists. "Are you happy to be used as a pawn?"

"I'm used to it." Feng Twelve said.

Fang Tong pursed his lips.

"That's what makes me even angrier."

In modern times, if an employee encounters a tricky boss, he can resign; if he encounters a perverted Party A, Party B can also reluctantly refuse the order.

But under the imperial power, Feng Twelve had no power to say no.

What's even more ironic is that if he was just an ordinary official, such danger would not have befallen him, but as a prince, he naturally became the object of sacrifice.

That emperor is truly selfless, Fang Tong thought sarcastically.

"Don't be angry." Feng Twelve said, "Being angry won't change anything."

Fang Tong remained silent.

Feng Twelve looked at her and suddenly changed the subject: "What do you think of Ming He?"

Fang Tong glanced at him, not understanding why he asked this. Could it be that he wanted to calm her down?

She slowly let out a long breath: "This is my first time dealing with Shopkeeper Ming, so it's hard to judge her character, but she must be a good business person."

"She is born to be a business person," Feng Twelve said, "The several shops under her name will soon expand and recruit more staff."

Fang Tong said "hmm", somewhat absent-mindedly.

"You said you would settle the accounts." Feng Twelve said again.

Fang Tong was stunned, then reacted: "You brought me to Tianyixuan today, do you want me to work in her shop?"

"No," Feng Twelve's answer was unexpected. "I just thought that you would be busy in the future. If you want to do business, you can ask her for advice. If you encounter any trouble, you can also look for her."

Fang Tong stopped talking.

She really didn't know what to say.

Everything Feng Twelve did today seemed to be arranging her future life for her. He gave her money and things, and made connections for her. No one had ever done these things for her before.

This was the first time in Fang Tong's life that he felt worried about by others.

She couldn't describe the feeling in her heart. It was like eating an unripe green orange, so sour that she wanted to cry, but she could also taste a little sweetness.

"You don't have to worry about this for me," she looked away, "If I ever get into trouble, I'll just come to you."

"Why must it be me?" Feng Twelve seemed not to understand what she meant.

Fang Tong was still immersed in the bitterness of the mood, and said in a muffled voice: "Although I don't want to say this, but in Dazhao... apart from you, there is no one else I can trust."

The sound of the wind seemed to have stopped, and the fishing lights in the distance went out one by one, leaving only the pale white moonlight between heaven and earth.

Feng Twelve looked at her and didn't say anything.

Such silence spread like the night, so long that even the moonlight became dim.

"Seal twelve."

Fang Tong suddenly called him, his voice solemn: "I'll go with you."