Masquerade in Bridal Attire and Marry the Prince

208. A Newly Devised Scheme

Translator: Bryan

When he heard her mention the child, Yuxing Wei couldn’t help but squint. It surprised him that he had forgotten the contingency plan. He concealed the impatience in his eyes and smiled, “Please take good care of your health, Mother. Now that Father has released you, you should make sure my unborn brother has all the nourishment he needs.”

Noble Lady Xiao was delighted by his words. She took Yuxing Wei by the hand and had a good long talk with him before swaggering out of the room with her handmaids. When she was gone, Yuxing Wei summoned his most trusted subordinate and asked, “Have you confirmed it? Are Yuxing Tianrui and Du Chuyue indeed not in the palace anymore?”

“Your Highness, the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess are indeed no longer in the imperial palace. I’ve been having someone stake out that palace for days. Many servants were sent out for procurement, and the court physicians visited that place quite often. Judging from the pomp, the ones staying in that place are undoubtedly the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess. I roped in someone working for the Imperial Hospital and had him stake out the imperial palace. That residence is the only place they can be in.”

After hearing the detailed report, Yuxing Wei sighed in relief. He lowered his head and began to ponder, trying to figure out a way to have his father allow him to get more involved in state affairs. He had almost fully recovered. If he kept staying idly in the palace, the courtiers might make unfavorable remarks about him.

“Your Highness, I have a suggestion. Would you like to hear it?” That man had been observing Yuxing Wei’s countenance all along. Having noticed the vexed look on Yuxing Wei’s face, he couldn’t help but break the silence.

“Go ahead. If it proves helpful, I’ll reward you.” Yuxing Wei had poached this man, and this man had been serving him for many years. Therefore, Yuxing Wei believed he was trustworthy.

On hearing his words, the aide hurriedly stepped closer to Yuxing Wei and said, “Actually, Your Highness forgot that there’s an opportunity to prove your competence by rendering meritorious service.” Yuxing Wei couldn’t help but frown. The south was suffering from drought and poor harvest. Because of this matter alone, the Emperor was very displeased with Manlou. Naturally, he didn’t want to get involved in the troublesome situation.

And then there were also some trivialities concerning the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Rites. If he handled those things, he would only make sure nobody could blame him for anything, and he wouldn’t be able to impress anybody. “Stop talking in riddles. If you got something to say, say it.”

“Your Highness have forgotten that the attempted assassination of the Crown Prince and the fire in the East palace are still being investigated. If the three departments fail to find out anything and Your Highness can catch the culprits, you would be the big hero of the whole country!” The aide beamed at Yuxing Wei. If he were a beautiful woman, Yuxing Wei might have found the scene enjoyable. However, the man was shifty-looking and rather ugly.

Yuxing Wei’s attention was focused on the aide’s suggestion and he didn’t pay any regard to the man’s looks. “That might not be a bad idea, but the big fire burnt all traces. If even the three departments can’t find any clues, how am I supposed to get the job done?”

“Your Highness, you don’t need to find any evidence. Did Your Highness forget how Manlou was exposed during the Wulin Assembly?” The aide slowly confided his plan, but he couldn’t help sneaking a glance at Yuxing Wei’s face.

Yuxing Wei had to admit that the aide’s words were quite enlightening. At that time, nobody could say for sure that Manlou was the mastermind, but after he kicked up a stink, the Emperor’s displeasure with Manlou had indeed been intensified considerably. That, coupled with the subsequent granary robbery, had caused the situation to escalate.

Yuxing Wei felt that he could take his cue from the leader of Sect Luo, scapegoat someone or just directly fabricate a “truth”! The common folk never wanted the truth anyway. They just want an outcome! And the one who gave them that would be the hero!

“That’s right. It seems you’ve improved somewhat after serving me for such a long time.” Having figured out a solution, Yuxing Wei naturally was very happy. He promptly gave his bracelet to the aide as a reward, who took it with a delighted beam. “Would you like me to make some arrangements right away? Do you have any good ideas, Your Highness?”

Yuxing Wei nodded. “Of course, since we’ve decided to do it, we’ll have to go big and have Ashina Fei know I’m not a fool. I’m just cooperating with them. They really think I rely on them for everything?”

“Please keep your voice down, Your Highness.” On hearing Yuxing Wei bluffly make that remark, the aide immediately tensed. Fortunately, all those in the vicinity were on their side. Still, the aide broke out in a cold sweat.

The two of them discussed the plan in the room for a long time, but no one noticed that a shadowy figure quietly walked away from under the window facing west.

Meanwhile, Yuxing Tianrui and his army had been progressing smoothly. They were making a rapid march, and they also needed to circumvent densely populated towns. Therefore, they had took quite some detours. Fortunately, Yuxing Tianrui had made adequate preparations so they hadn’t lost any men so far.

“Your Highness, there is a village ahead. On either side of it is a mountainous road. If we detour around the village, I’m afraid it’ll take us half a month longer to get to the destination. Moreover, there’s miasma in the forest both in the morning and at night. It’s very dangerous to camp in there.”

A deputy general reported to Yuxing Tianrui. They had detoured around all places they could detour around. Therefore, not many people knew there was such a large army marching across Shenglan country quickly. Although some common folk had seen the troops, the places they lived in were rural backwaters where news spread very slowly, so they just believed that it was a common detachment, suspecting nothing.

Yuxing Tianrui took out the map and read it carefully. Having checked that there was indeed no other way, he instructed with an inclination of his head, “Put away all weapons. Nobody make trouble for the locals after entering the village! Violation of any sort is punishable by immediate decapitation! If any civilian asks about us, tell them this is a detachment of new recruits. Do not disclose anything else! And nobody drinks today!”

A series of instructions were sent out, and all the deputy generals followed the orders. They had been serving under Yuxing Tianrui for a long time, and they naturally knew that Yuxing Tianrui always covered all the bases. As long as they relayed the instructions to all their subordinates and cautioned them to be extra careful tonight, there shouldn’t be any trouble.

At the sight of so many soldiers passing by, the common folks in the village panicked somewhat. Because of the forests on both sides, this village had always been a sleepy backwater, and the villagers relied heavily on natural resources for survival. Occasionally, some of them would travel to distant towns to do business, but they were few and far between.

Before long, the old village headman was summoned. “May I ask why you’re passing by Zhangjia Village, sir? Is there anything I can do for you?”

There was naturally no need for Yuxing Tianrui to intervene personally. A Left Deputy General walked over to the old man and said in a very friendly tone, “Nice to meet you. These are new recruits. His Majesty gave the order for them to be dispatched to the borders so the veterans there can go back home to be reunited with their family. We’re just passing by, and we need to spend the night here.”

On hearing that they just wanted to spend the night in the village and would leave the next day and that they were not here to press-gang his people, the village headman breathed a sigh of relief. “I understand it’s official business, sir.”