I play the role of Jiajing in Zongwu: What crime have I committed?

Upon seeing this, Lin Chen immediately clutched his chest and exaggeratedly took two steps back.

"and many more!"

"Mei Changsu, Brother Su, I'm a man!"

"The way you're looking at me makes me feel like you're plotting something against me."

"You didn't go to Shu Prefecture for further studies, how did you pick up this habit!"

"Get lost, stop talking nonsense."

Mei Changsu was amused by Lin Chen's exaggerated performance and coughed with laughter, an unnatural flush rising on his pale face.

He clutched his chest and took a long time to catch his breath.

"I'm serious."

Mei Changsu said solemnly, "I would like to ask you for a favor: to challenge all the masters of the Liang Dynasty at the martial arts tournament during the New Year's celebration."

"what?"

Lin Chen snapped his folding fan shut, his brows furrowing instantly.

What do you want to do?

"Save Xiao Tingsheng."

"Xiao Tingsheng?"

Lin Chen was taken aback.

"Is that the posthumous child of Prince Qi?"

Mei Changsu nodded, a look of reminiscence appearing in his eyes.

"After Prince Qi was given poisoned wine, Prince Jing secretly saved his unborn child, hiding him in the inner palace as the descendant of an ordinary official convict."

"I must rescue him. This is not only to answer to my elder brother, Prince Qi, but also to fulfill my promise to Prince Jing."

At this point, Mei Changsu stood up, adjusted his fox fur coat, and walked to the window.

"Now that Prince Yu has become the crown prince, everyone in the world thinks that I, the genius, am doing my best to assist him."

"Prince Jing will never trust me again. Only by rescuing Xiao Tingsheng can I regain his trust."

"I see."

Lin Chen nodded thoughtfully.

"Then what do you want me to do?"

"Xiaomeng is not in the capital, and none of the Grandmasters in the court can rival you."

Mei Changsu laid out his entire plan.

"Once you defeat all the masters, the emperor will surely lose face."

"At that time, I will publicly state that only three children are needed to subdue you, thus making it perfectly reasonable to select Xiao Tingsheng from the Imperial Palace."

"As long as you pretend to be defeated when fighting with Tingsheng and the others, I can ask the emperor to pardon Xiao Tingsheng on the grounds that he has rendered great service to the court and saved the court's face."

"etc!!!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Chen's eyes widened in disbelief as he pointed to his head.

"You want me to pretend to lose to those three kids?"

"Yes!" Mei Changsu nodded.

Lin Chen exaggeratedly clutched his chest.

"Don't I have any pride?"

Mei Changsu looked at him earnestly: "Only you can help me now. This is the best chance to rescue Xiao Tingsheng."

Lin Chen shook his head, tapped his chin lightly with his folding fan, and suddenly smiled slyly.

"I wouldn't do something so shameful, but I can recommend someone for you."

"who?"

"Sima Shang!"

Chapter 166 I want you to wear

"Sima Shang?"

Mei Changsu's pupils suddenly contracted.

"You mean the eldest disciple of Lord Wu'an, Li Mu?"

"That Sima Shang, who decisively defeated 30,000 Qin troops with 3,000 cavalry in the Battle of Handan?"

Of course he knew who Sima Shang was.

Back then, when Qin general Wang He attacked Zhao, Sima Shang gained great fame during the Battle of Handan.

However, in the seventh year of King Zhao Qian's reign, Qin launched another major attack on Zhao. This time, Wang Jian led the soldiers of Shangdang Commandery straight down to Jingxing, while Yang Duanhe led the soldiers of Henan to besiege Handan, the capital of Zhao.

At that time, Zhao sent Li Mu to lead a large army to resist, and his disciple Sima Shang was the deputy general.

Unfortunately, Guo Kai, a favorite minister of the King of Zhao, accepted bribes from the Qin state and spread rumors that Li Mu and Sima Shang were plotting a rebellion.

Therefore, the King of Zhao replaced Li Mu and Sima Shang with Zhao Cong and Yan Ju.

The Zhao state suffered a major defeat in this battle.

Li Mu and Sima Shang also disappeared without a trace.

Lin Chen nodded slightly.

"It is indeed that Mr. Sima. You know Meng Zhi's background. He is from the Meng family of Qin, but he studied under Lord Wu'an, Li Mu."

"A few days ago, Mr. Sima made a special trip to Langya Pavilion to find me, hoping I could help him find out the truth behind General Meng Zhi's death."

Upon hearing this, Mei Changsu frowned slightly.

"Strange, why doesn't Mr. Sima come directly to Jinling to investigate?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Chen laughed and said, "Brother Su, have you forgotten that my uncle was Lin Xiangru, the former chief minister of the State of Zhao, and Lord Wu'an, Li Mu, had a close relationship with my uncle?"

"Now that Langya Pavilion is involved in the trade of intelligence, Mr. Sima, as Li Mu's personal disciple, naturally came to find me first when he first arrived in Daliang."

"I see."

Mei Changsu suddenly realized, a look of understanding flashing in his eyes.

How could he not know the significance of Sima Shang?

This person not only inherited Li Mu's military strategies, but also mastered superb martial arts skills.

He is stronger than Meng Zhi.

If he were to make a move, Xia Jiang and Zhuo Dingfeng would truly be no match for him.

Even Qinglong and his group wouldn't be a match for him in a one-on-one fight.

Is he trustworthy?

"Don't worry, Sima Shang is not only a fellow disciple of Meng Zhi, but also shares a life-or-death bond with him."

Mei Changsu nodded.

"Very well, since Mr. Sima is not from Liang, his actions will be more likely to incite Emperor Liang's resentment. However..."

"But what?"

"However, this plan can be changed to lure Qinglong and the others out."

"How to change?"

"Both you and Mr. Sima need to make a move..."

After a cup of tea, Lin Chen left the Su residence and, under the cover of night, quietly sneaked into the Suspended Mirror Bureau.

At this moment, Xia Jiang was sitting alone in his study, the candlelight illuminating his ever-changing expression.

The white paper spread out on the table shows the current power of Crown Prince Xiao Jinghuan in the court.

His fingers tapped the table unconsciously, a hint of murderous intent flashing in his eyes.

Because of Xie Yu's affair, he had become a mortal enemy of Xiao Jinghuan.

If Xiao Jinghuan were to truly ascend to the throne, he would surely suffer the consequences.

Just as he was deep in thought, he suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck.

The Grandmaster's intuition made him instinctively dodge to the side.

Whoosh!

A gleaming throwing knife grazed past his forehead.

Xia Jiang turned around and saw that the throwing knife was deeply embedded in the wall behind him, the tip of the knife still trembling slightly.

Who is it?

He roared and leaped up like lightning.

He shattered the roof tiles with a single blow.

He soared into the sky like a roc spreading its wings and landed on the roof ridge.

Unfortunately, there was no one around, only the silent night.

"Master, what happened?"

Hearing the noise on the roof, Xia Chun and Xia Dong immediately rushed over with their swords.

The two landed in the courtyard one after the other, cautiously looking around.

Xia Jiang was silent for a moment, then said calmly, "It's alright, you may all leave now."

Xia Dong wanted to say something, but Xia Chun gently tugged at his sleeve.

The two exchanged a glance and had no choice but to bow and retreat.

After the two left, Xia Jiang returned to his study with a gloomy face.

He removed the throwing knife from the wall and discovered that there was a piece of paper wrapped around the blade.

It slowly unfolds, revealing a line of text written on it.

"The Eastern Depot has four grandmasters—Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise—in charge, aiming to completely replace the Suspended Mirror Bureau."

"If Chief Xia does not wish for the Suspended Mirror Bureau's foundation to be destroyed, we hope he will lend his full support during the New Year's Ceremony..."

Xia Jiang couldn't help but gasp after reading it.

The spies of the Suspended Mirror Bureau are spread all over the world, and he had heard about some of the things that happened in Southern Chu.

But he never expected that the Eastern Depot would have four Grandmasters.

No wonder the emperor relied more and more on the Eastern Depot.

If this continues, the Suspended Mirror Bureau might really be completely abolished, just as the letter says.

Xia Jiang's expression grew increasingly serious.

The Suspended Mirror Bureau was established during the reign of Emperor Taizu and has stood firm for many years.

However, the functions of the Eastern Depot completely overlap with those of the Suspended Mirror Bureau. If the Eastern Depot grows too large, the Suspended Mirror Bureau will likely be overwhelmed.

Perhaps in the future I will only be able to fawn over those eunuchs.

No.

Absolutely not.

A cold glint flashed in Xia Jiang's eyes as he stared at the note in his hand again.

But who are these people, and why are they targeting the Eastern Depot?

He didn't believe that the person who secretly delivered the message with a flying knife was genuinely there to help him.