Chapter 717: A Bunch of Incompetents
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
Finally, they managed to avoid the soldiers. Mengtai let out a sigh of relief and quietly instructed his subordinates, “Keep going forward, don’t look back, just act like visiting relatives, relax a bit.” Saying this, he smiled and chatted with the people beside him.
Meanwhile, Yuwen Cong was facing Xie Boheng, the Changshi of the Huan Wang’s Mansion, at the gate, “Changshi Xie, what’s going on here?”
Xie Boheng brought a group of heavily armed guards to surround the mansion, sneering, “Fifth Master, you are not being righteous.”
Yuwen Cong had hoped that Xie Boheng might just be paranoid or had some other issues, but upon hearing this, he tensed up. Still, he pretended to be calm and said, “What do you mean by that? I’m just visiting a friend. Is it not righteous to visit friends? So, Changshi Xie brought so many people here to arrest me?”
Xie Boheng sneered, “The Fifth Master has friends all over the world. The little postman outside Qi County is your friend, and there are also people in Yicheng who are your friends. Fifth Master, let’s not beat around the bush. While Huan Wang is not here, you might as well hand over that person. I’ll speak a few words for you in front of His Highness later, and this matter will be over. We can still be good friends. If you insist on being stubborn and eating alone, then don’t blame me for being impolite! His Highness is not someone to be trifled with. If he personally handles this matter, it won’t be as simple!”
To complement Xie Boheng’s words, the guards from the Huan Wang’s Mansion began banging their scabbards with their swords, making a loud noise that almost lifted the roof.
Seeing this scene, Mu Qing couldn’t help but feel a little nervous. What if things escalated? There would definitely be no good outcome on someone else’s turf. How did the news leak out?
Yuwen Cong remained fearless and gracefully invited Xie Boheng inside, “I don’t understand what Changshi Xie is saying. What do you mean by handing over that person, eating alone… Forget it, let’s not talk in circles. You can go in and see for yourself. After seeing it, let’s go to Huan Wang and explain everything.”
Xie Boheng waved his hand and ordered his men to search inside. He himself sneered and said to Yuwen Cong, “Fifth Master is good at pretending, and you are cunning. I knew it early on. We are allies. If I didn’t have full confidence, why would I do such a thing that hurts our relationship? Fifth Master, you’ve been exposed! Don’t force it anymore.”
“You’ve been exposed!” Why did this sound so familiar? Yuwen Cong furrowed his brows, and after thinking for a while, he suddenly realized. Wasn’t this the same thing he said to Mingzhu before? So he chuckled.
Xie Boheng had expected Yuwen Cong to be somewhat guilty for doing such things, but he didn’t expect him to be so composed. He became somewhat uncertain, wondering if he had made a mistake. Or perhaps the person had already been moved?
Seeing Xie Boheng’s uncertain expression, Yuwen Cong became even more pleased. He invited Xie Boheng inside for tea. Just then, the guards from Huan Wang’s Mansion dragged out a crying young woman and pushed her in front of Xie Boheng.
The woman was very beautiful and looked quite pure and clean, but she obviously couldn’t be someone like the Regent Wangei. At most, she could only be considered a young lady from an ordinary family. Seeing Yuwen Cong, she cried and threw herself into his arms, coquettishly saying, “Fifth Master, what’s going on? You’ve scared me.”
“It’s nothing, just a misunderstanding,” said Yuwen Cong as he embraced her, smiling faintly, then turned to Xie Boheng and asked, “Xie Changshi, is she the one you’re looking for? I won’t easily let this matter go. When Huan Wang returns, I will make sure to discuss it with him.”
Xie Boheng was very unwilling and sneered, “Seal off the entire city and search every household for me!”
Yuwen Cong gestured towards him and said, “Please.” Then he asked, “Where is Huan Wang? I would like to pay him a visit.”
Xie Boheng immediately replied, “His Highness is not here; he has gone out to inspect the defenses.”
Yuwen Cong persisted, “Where did he go? Will he be back tonight?”
Impatiently, Xie Boheng said, “I don’t know. This is a military matter. Please forgive me, Fifth Master.” With that, he turned and left, with several servants who had just been searched from the house under his custody.
These people have some knowledge of the situation. Mu Qing was greatly anxious, “Fifth Master, we can’t let them take her away like this.”
Yuwen Cong shook his head, “It’s okay, they’ll hole up and come out in a few days. They dare not speak recklessly.” The urgent task was to get Fu Mingzhu to a safe place before Xie Boheng sealed off the entire city. As for Huan Wang, it was unnecessary to guess that he had gone with Yuwen You.
After Yuwen You secretly entered Yicheng, although he hadn’t met him under Yuwen Qiang’s deliberate arrangements, he knew that this person was indeed very active. He used to be arrogant and complained all the time, but now he lowered his posture, thickened his skin, was generous, and held a secret decree from the Great Empress Dowager, making connections with the prominent families in Yicheng, which made Yuwen Qiang tempted.
Originally, fighting was not fun. It was mentally and physically exhausting, and one could lose their life in defeat. With the Great Empress Dowager in charge and promising so many benefits, without fighting and risking lives, just sitting back and watching could gain a lot of land and generous rewards. Only a fool wouldn’t do it.
Mu Qing also thought of this and complained softly, “Lately, Huan Wang has been neglecting us a lot. Could he be planning to turn against us? There have been fewer invitations, and no one likes to fight.”
Yuwen Cong sneered, “Halfway through a meal, if you don’t want to eat anymore, it depends on whether the host agrees or not.” He looked up at the birds in the sky and whispered, “If necessary, let Fu Mingzhu die at Yuwen Qiang’s hands and cut off his retreat!”
Mu Qing hurriedly said, “Didn’t you say she knows a lot of important things?”
Yuwen Cong rolled up his sleeves, “There’s a difference between true death and fake death. How to proceed depends on us. Let’s go, Mengtai should have sent her away by now.”
Just as the two were about to leave, someone rushed over in a panic, looking gray and defeated, “Fifth Master, it’s bad.”
Yuwen Cong frowned, “What’s wrong?”
The person said, “Under orders, I followed behind the carriage from a distance to prevent any suspicious people from following. At first, everything was smooth, and we were about to reach our destination when suddenly a group of people appeared. We didn’t have enough manpower and couldn’t handle them. Mengtai was killed… Seeing something amiss, I hurried back to report.”
Yuwen Cong took a deep breath. It turned out to be a mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Xie Boheng led people to catch up with them, but that was just the opponent’s first move. They sent the people away, and the opponent laid in ambush on the road to rob Fu Mingzhu. It was really frustrating. Yuwen Cong was furious and sarcastically said, “A bunch of incompetents.”
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
