Chapter 521, Fetal Movement (2)
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Mingzhu felt both embarrassed and frustrated, about to find an excuse for herself when she suddenly felt that strange sensation again. This time, it didn’t feel like bubbles popping, but more like a little fish swimming happily from her belly. Although the movement was subtle, she felt it distinctly.
She dared not move, looked at Yuwen Chu with teary eyes, almost about to cry out loud. Yuwen Chu also felt it, staring dumbfounded at Mingzhu, then burst into laughter, “So it’s not your intestines moving.”
Seeing his silly expression, Mingzhu couldn’t help but lightly hit him twice, complaining, “You’re so mean, bullying me like this.” Then she turned away and whispered, “Let me cry for a while.”
Yuwen Chu knew she was overwhelmed with joy, so he hugged her in his arms, not disturbing her. Mingzhu soon stopped crying. She held Yuwen Chu’s hand and placed it on her abdomen, hoping to feel that heartwarming sensation again, but the little one inside seemed to have fallen asleep and stopped moving.
Yuwen Chu ordered Mingzhu to sleep immediately, “Since there’s a first and second time, there will naturally be a third and fourth time. You must sleep now, don’t delay anymore. I heard that the child follows the Royal Mother. If you eat and sleep well now, he will eat and sleep well in the future. If you’re restless, don’t blame him for being restless in the future.”
Mingzhu dared not disobey, obediently closed her eyes and fell asleep.
When dawn approached, Wei Tiande lightly knocked on the window. Yuwen Chu woke up alertly, got up quietly, and walked out of bed.
Jing Song was waiting for him outside the courtyard of Yinghui Hall. Seeing him coming, Jing Song looked very embarrassed and guilty, “We found the secret chamber, and we threw the explosives in, but from the looks of Linan Wang, there doesn’t seem to be much anxiety. It seems like we’ve missed the target.”
It seems that Yuwen You is not that simple either, but that’s normal. His father probably left some backhands for him. Yuwen Chu patted Jing Song’s shoulder reassuringly and said solemnly, “It’s okay, even if it’s destined. Did anyone get injured?”
“No.” Jing Song gave him a very affirmative answer, lowering his voice, “There’s an unexpected gain. We killed two and captured one alive. They are not from Linan Wang’s mansion, they are all skilled, speaking with a northern accent, probably from Zhongshan Wang’s side. They are now being detained in the prison. Does Your Highness want to go and see?”
Yuwen Chu stepped forward, “You handle the interrogation, I’ll listen in from the secret room.”
Jing Song led the way while whispering, “They’re like desperate criminals, hiding poison in their teeth. Fortunately, we found it, otherwise we would have lost a clue.”
“I received news about the wheelchair diagram, and others might have received it too. If I’m not mistaken, Jiang Shanshan has probably fallen into the hands of Zhongshan Wang. If we encounter her in the future, we’ll kill her if the opportunity is right, but if not, there’s no need to waste energy specifically looking for her.” Yuwen Chu remained calm, “Teacher Zhu has planted so many pieces in this capital, even in my mansion, let alone Linan Wang’s mansion? I suspect that there must be spies from Zhongshan Wang among the trusted people around Linan Wang. That’s the fundamental reason for our failure.”
He comforted Jing Song, “You don’t need to blame yourself too much. Zhongshan Wang is several decades older than me. When I was still a child, he already had immense power. After so many years of operation, he still has a strong backup plan. Winning one round temporarily is nothing. What matters is who wins in the end. Even if he has the best weapons, there are many instances recorded in history where the weak defeated the strong.”
Yuwen Chu didn’t blame Jing Song, but Jing Song felt even more ashamed, swearing to do things well and not disappoint His Highness again, “Yes, Your Highness.”
Mingzhu felt like someone was watching her in her sleep, which scared her awake. When she looked, it was already bright outside, and Yuwen Chu was sitting by the bed watching over her. She touched her chest and said, “What’s wrong? You scared me.”
Yuwen Chu said solemnly, “There’s something I need to tell you. First, the operation failed, and Jiang Shanshan should have fallen into the hands of Zhongshan Wang by now. Second, besides Teacher Zhu, there’s someone else you need to know about. Yuwen Cong, the fifth son of Zhongshan Wang, is cunning and deceitful. He is currently hiding in the capital city with an unknown identity. So you need to be careful.”
Yuwen Cong? Mingzhu thought it over and confirmed that she didn’t even know this person’s name in her past life, let alone anything else about him. Just loafing around waiting for death was definitely not the way to go! After a deep self-examination, she said, “Was this information obtained by His Highness last night?”
Yuwen Chu nodded, “Yes, last night Jing Song and his men captured someone, and I managed to extract this from him. There’s another piece of information that’s more advantageous to us. Yuwen Cong is ambitious, he has conflicts with Teacher Zhu, and he really wants to replace Zhongshan Wang Shizi.”
When enemies have conflicts, that’s their opportunity. This time, Fu Mingzheng’s assassination attempt on Zhongshan Wang Shizi will surely succeed, and perhaps it will even provide an opportunity for a fierce battle among Zhongshan Wang’s several sons, thereby weakening Zhongshan Wang’s power.
Mingzhu reminded him, “Once Zhongshan Wang Shizi dies, Zhongshan Wang will surely seek revenge. We should have Ban Jian make a batch of lightweight and portable crossbow arrows for the guards. And the carriage needs reinforcement too.”
A hint of amusement appeared in Yuwen Chu’s eyes. “I’ve already instructed someone to do it.”
Despite the rare good weather, Linan Wang’s mansion was in ruins, with smoke billowing and the flames still flickering among the yet-to-be extinguished fires.
Yuwen You stood with a gloomy face in front of the ruins, his anger rising rapidly. The Wusun Princess knelt beside him, covering her mouth, despairingly watching the rubble before her, silently shedding tears. The house where she had stayed just yesterday, the marriage bed she had lain on, the furs, silks, herbs, and jewels she had brought from the Wusun, her exquisite Wangfei robes, all turned to ashes in the inferno that descended from the sky.
“Your Highness, why does our mansion keep catching fire one after another? And what was that loud noise coming from underground? The ground was shaking, I couldn’t even stand steady.” The Wusun Princess couldn’t help but ask softly, clutching Yuwen You’s sleeve, “Could it be that we offended the true god? A disaster from heaven…”
Hearing her question like this, the maids and matrons nearby all paled in panic, recalling the gruesome corpse in the lotus pond and the inexplicable disappearance of Jiang Shanshan. Although they didn’t dare to discuss it in front of the master, their eyes and expressions revealed their fear.
What true god, what disaster from heaven? Clearly, it’s a man-made disaster, right? This is targeted. It’s aimed at the secret chamber where Jiang Shanshan is hidden. Yuwen You was so angry that he almost spat out a mouthful of old blood. He glared at the Wusun Princess with a dark face, gritted his teeth and said, “Shut up! This is man-made disaster. Someone has a grudge against me and deliberately wants to harm me.”
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