Cang Lan Dao - Chapter 29.3

Chapter 29.3
Xie Heng and Li Guiyu’s alliance, kill him —

Luo Wanqing didn’t move as she thought about the visitor. “Your master is Xiang Sizi?” She directly asked.

The girl nodded, then bent down and made a ‘please’ gesture towards the next teahouse, “Miss, please.”

Luo Wanqing raised her eyes to look at the teahouse. It was late at night, so the teahouse had already closed and was pitch black.

Luo Wanqing gazed and listened for a while; it seemed that there was someone on the second floor, and with a point of her toes, she directly went up to the second floor, leaped in through the window, and saw a young man sitting on his knees in front of the tea table. He appears to be in his early thirties, with a beautiful face and a cinnabar dot on his forehead, a male with a female face, born like a bodhisattva.

Luo Wanqing stared at the other party and spoke tentatively, “Xiang Sizi?”

“Miss Luo,” the other party smiled and raised his hand, “Sit.”

Luo Wanqing didn’t make a move and said, “What did you call me here for?”

“Some time ago, someone said that Jiuran ran away.” Xiang Sizi smoothly boiled tea; his tone was unbelievable, “I don’t dare to believe it. Jiuran is the most well-behaved child; how could she run away? Then I heard that Jiuran had killed all the assassins that the Feng Yu Pavilion had sent to kill Qin Jue. I thought Jiuran was pretending, but when I went to cut off the Lingnan’s team, I realized that it was true, ah.”

“Who told you that?” Luo Wanqing stared at Xiang Sizi, testing, “Zhao Yuyan?”

“That foodie couldn’t wait for her to run away.” Xiang Sizi snorted lightly, then bowed, “There are also people from the Feng Yu Pavilion in the prison. Jiuran is still too young. But don’t worry,” Xiang Sizi raised his head, lifted the teacup, and smiled, “Anyone who knew about these things was killed by Jiuran, except for me.”

“So?”

“Jiuran doesn’t want to live, but somebody must do the mission. She asked me for a favor: if you do what she has to do, I will take good care of your family for you; as long as you do this mission, whether it succeeds or fails, it won’t affect your family.” Xiang Sizi said, lowering his head to drink tea, “How’s that?”

“Where is my family?” Luo Wanqing stared at him.

Xiang Sizi sipped his tea but didn’t repress it, “Dongdu.”

Luo Wanqing’s eyes widened in disbelief. Dongdu? They were fugitives. How could they stay in Dongdu?

Xiang Sizi stared at her expression and smiled, “If you ask Zhang Jiuran’s help, your family will go into exile as fugitives. But I am different. I told your family that I was once your patient, and in return, I gave them new identities. Your brother can continue to take the imperial exams, and your mother can rebuild the medical center; how about that?” Xiang Sizi raised his head to look at Luo Wanqing and laughed, “Begging me is much better than begging Zhang Jiuran. “

“You’re so kind?” Skepticism filled Luo Wanqing. He was controlling her family members, not to say that they were locked up and controlled, but he would never let them go outside so loosely.

“Jiuran begged me.” Xiang Sizi seemed to remember something; his complexion was faint, “I had a master and disciple relationship with her. So, this request, I can still do it. But you dismiss the idea of saving them; they all have the Feng Yu Pavilion’s parasites planted on them; you can’t save Zhang Jiuran, and you can’t save them either.”

“You!”

“I’m not running a charity hall.” Xiang Sizi raised his eyes to look at her, like looking at an ant, “I don’t plant the parasites on you because it’s easy for Xie Heng to notice, and you’re better off approaching Xie Heng in your current capacity. The reason I’m here tonight is not to discuss with you; it’s to inform-“

Xiang Sizi’s voice turned solemn: “From today onwards, continue the mission of assassinating Xie Heng.”

Luo Wanqing didn’t say anything, only stared at the other party.

Xiang Sizi smiled, seemingly knowing her answer. “If you succeed, I’ll remove your family’s parasites, and you can reunited with your family.” Xiang Sizi lowered his head to drink tea and said faintly, “If you fail, you won’t implicate your family; how about it?”

Luo Wanqing didn’t say anything. She already expected these conditions. She pondered Xiang Sizi’s conditions, thinking about what else she needed to add. “I’m an ordinary person. If I kill the Master of the Inspection Department,” Luo Wanqing thought momentarily and raised her eyes to Xiang Sizi, “Can you save my life?”

“I can give your family a new identity. Of course, I can do the same for you.” Xiang Sizi raised his eyes, “As long as you aren’t captured and killed on the spot, I can save you.”

“Why should I trust you?”

“You should believe in yourself,” Xiang Sizi laughed softly, “If you can kill Xie Heng, not to mention me, the Empress wouldn’t be able to part with you, this piece of sword.”

Hearing Xiang Sizi pose the Empress straightforwardly, Luo Wanqing was slightly surprised, “Empress?”

“I know you’re hesitating,” Xiang Sizi’s chest was ready, “So, I’ll tell you some truth. Behind the Feng Yu Pavilion is Empress Wang. The Empress has two sons: the younger son is the Seventh Prince, Li Shangwen, the current Crown Prince, and the older son,” Xiang Sizi looked up and smiled lightly, “is your former fiancé, Jiang Shaoyan, also known as Li Guiyu.”

“What do you mean?” This passage was beyond Luo Wanqing’s comprehension. Did they use her relationship with Li Guiyu and tell her that behind the Feng Yu Pavilion was Li Guiyu’s mother to make her willing to work for her?

“She never liked Li Guiyu since he was young. Five years ago, when Beirong negotiated for peace, she allowed Li Guiyu to offer himself as a hostage to bring an alliance between the two countries. This action made everyone in the world praise her for teaching her son well; after that, when the Third Highness disappeared, the entire court thought he was dead. The Emperor took pity on her for losing her son, and the courtiers thought that she could raise a wise lord, and together they elected the Seventh Prince as the Crown Prince, and she became the Empress.”

“So?”

“So, don’t you understand?” Xiang Sizi raised his eyes, “They obtained the position of the Crown Prince and the Empress after stepping on Li Guiyu’s life; the Crown Prince’s position is already solid. Do you think that the Empress still needs Li Guiyu to come back? If he returns, it will be difficult for the Empress to have peace in her heart.”

Luo Wanqing didn’t say anything as she digested the contents of Xiang Sizi’s words.

Five years ago, the Empress allowed Li Guiyu to offer himself as a hostage; five years ago, Li Guiyu was only a fifteen-year-old teenager, and if she remembered correctly, rumor has it that this imperial son, with his pure heart and agility, had always been a popular candidate for the crown prince. The outside world has always said that Li Guiyu voluntarily became a hostage. Still, listening to Xiang Sizi’s words, the Empress towards this noble character of her son was very jealous, so jealous that she did not even want him to return. Why? Thinking about Jiang Shaoyan’s character, did he voluntarily become a hostage?

“Did the Empress trick him into becoming a hostage?” Luo Wanqing speculated and asked. When Xiang Sizi gave a beat, Luo Wanqing understood a few points: “The matter of going to be a hostage is not something he volunteered for; it’s the Empress who tricked him; what did she promise him?” She promised him, so now that Li Guiyu returned, what came back was not just a son but also a debtor. That was why the Empress was so frightened.

Xiang Sizi did not say more, only said, “This is not important; you just need to know that the Empress and you are on the same page. Li Guiyu has harmed your father; remember that. Li Guiyu’s methods are exceptional; you can’t kill him alone. He joined the Zheng Clan and has a good reputation in the court. The Emperor feels sorry for him and loves him very much. Now Xie Heng intends to use Qin Jue’s case against the Wang Clan; he wants to ally with Xie Heng. If Xie Heng agrees to assist him,” Xiang Sizi raised his eyes, staring at Luo Wanqing, “he’ll rise smoothly. Do you understand?”

“So you guys want me to kill Xie Heng?” Luo Wanqing understood what Xiang Sizi wanted.

Xiang Sizi laughed: “Yes, Xie Heng is a thorn in the Empress’ heart. If you kill Xie Heng, she will allow you to kill Li Guiyu. You switched identities with Jiuran in Yangzhou Prison and entered the Inspection Department, isn’t just for this?”

Luo Wanqing didn’t say anything, but Xiang Sizi seemed to know her decision already and said softly, “If you still don’t believe me, in a couple of days, Li Guiyu should be visiting Xie Heng, so you might as well listen to what they have to say.”

“Choose the Empress; your family will be safe and sound; you can avenge your family’s death.”

“But if you choose the Inspection Department …… “Xiang Sizi snorted, “Then you will watch Li Guiyu and Zheng Biyue married, perhaps, be able to get the throne and become the world’s ruler! If you have such breadth of mind, then I admire you. It’s just that, on your father’s grave, he would have hated to have given birth to a daughter like you.” Hearing these words, Luo Wanqing violently clenched her fists.

At this moment, a fine scuffle suddenly came from outside.

Xiang Sizi turned his head to look and said softly, “Tsk, someone has followed you here.” With that, he stood up and walked outside, stating, “Go back and think about it; if you want to see me again, order three cups of Biluochun in this teahouse.”

Luo Wanqing didn’t say anything. The person before her opened the door and disappeared into the long corridor.

Luo Wanqing stayed in the room momentarily, turned around, and went out, pacing towards the medical center. Not far away was the sound of fighting and killing; she ignored it, went to the medical center to find a doctor, and exchanged the gold beads with the horse; she then led the horse and walked back. As she walked, she pondered over Xiang Sizi’s words.

Xie Heng and Li Guiyu alliance —
In that dream, Xie Heng indeed helped Li Guiyu. But Xiang Sizi was also the person who harmed Zhang Jiuran. Is he a good person? Can she trust Xiang Sizi’s words?

Luo Wanqing frowned as she walked down the long street and heard a voice with a laugh coming from ahead, “It’s the middle of the night. Where did you go? To fetch a horse?”

Luo Wanqing looked up at the words and saw the lazy youth in a mask wearing a white wide-sleeved robe with a red rope around his waist, carrying a warm-colored lamp in his hand.

When Luo Wanqing saw the other party, she couldn’t help but glance toward the teahouse and spoke directly, “Where did you come from?”

Cui Heng raised his hand, pointed toward the teahouse, and earnestly said, “Followed your trail, but when I got over there, I encountered a few bad guys and lost you.” Saying that, Cui Heng looked up and down, raised his hand, and pulled up Luo Wanqing’s hair that fell on the side of her face, lowered his eyes, and whispered, “Going out with disheveled hair, not suitable to see people.”

Luo Wanqing raised her eyes at his words. Cui Heng cocked his head and said mildly, “Right?”