Chapter 229: Letter of Challenge (I)
Long said everything he could to apologize and he looked so pitiful, so s.h.i.+ finally forgave him for what he had done.
As for Liu⦠no one knew how he convinced Ouyang.
Anyway, the final result was that Liu agreed to cooperate and Ouyang didnât object⦠although he looked very bad!
When Long met Liu, he also looked⦠a little sad.
He couldnât blame anyone else because it was all his fault that his empress got angry with him and they almost fell out.
When Liu saw how bad Long looked, he knew that Long must have been scolded. So he raised his eyebrows and said with a smile, âWhy are you looking at me like that? I didnât abandon you.â
Long glared at Liu and snorted. âCome here. Letâs discuss how to attract that guy.â
Long planned to use Liu as bait and they definitely needed to take concrete actions.
Otherwise, the philanderer wouldnât be attracted easily, would he?
First of all, Liu had to use a false ident.i.tyâ¦
With Song Qingtianâs help, that wouldnât be a problem.
Soon, Liu had a new ident.i.ty as a young man from a big family. The master of the house was Lord w.a.n.g and Liu was regarded as the third son of his.
This young master just came back after finis.h.i.+ng school in another place.
Ouyang couldnât keep a secret, so he was forbidden to partic.i.p.ate in this action. No one knew what Liu said to him and he didnât object. He was very angry though.
Now that Ouyang had agreed, Liu moved to Lord w.a.n.gâs mansion.
That afternoon, Liu began to wander around the city under the guidance of a servant.
Liu was stunningly beautiful. As he swaggered through the streets, a lot of people were attracted by him.
During just half a day, at least eight men went to flirt with Liu. Luckily, his servant was very powerful. Those men who got close to him were all beaten black and blue and thrown out one by one.
Long and s.h.i.+ were looking at Liu on the second floor of a teahouse. Seeing that Liu was accosted by another playboy, Long couldnât help laughing while pounding the table.
s.h.i.+ glanced at him and didnât say anything.
âHe deserves it.â Long gloated over Liuâs encounter.
s.h.i.+ said calmly, âOh really?â
âYes, he deserves it,â Long said firmly.
s.h.i.+ pursed his lips and sipped the tea. The tea in the teahouse couldnât be compared with that in the palace. Therefore, s.h.i.+ put it down after taking a sip.
Later, that servant, who was actually a Shadow Guardian, drove another playboy away.
Long watched them happily.
s.h.i.+ didnât pay much attention to that.
Long said softly, âIf it goes on like this⦠Tut. Iâm sure Liu Suifeng will attract wide attention.â
s.h.i.+ took a look at Long, and then looked at the sky outside.
âItâs getting dark. Shall we go back?â
âOkay.â Long agreed with a smile and then got up. âLetâs go.â
s.h.i.+ followedâ¦
When they got out of the teahouse, Long laughed and wanted to say something to s.h.i.+.
Suddenly, Long felt someone was peeping at him at the back and it made him uneasy, so he stopped laughing and turned his head in doubtâ¦
âWhatâs the matter?â s.h.i.+ did not notice anything unusual, so he asked.
Long shook his head. âNothing⦠I just have the feeling that someoneâs looking at me.â
s.h.i.+ became alert. He also looked around, but didnât find anything.
Long patted himself on the back of the head. âMaybe Iâm too sensitive. Letâs go. Qingzhou, letâs go back.â
âMhmm.â s.h.i.+ nodded.
On their way back, Long stopped feeling uneasy, so he thought that he had thought too much earlierâ¦
The next two days, Liu kept swaggering around the city.
During this period of time, s.h.i.+ had ordered the Shadow Guardians to get rid of all the people on the list.
This afternoon, Long couldnât help but say, âQingzhou, itâs been three days. Neither the philanderer nor Song Cailian appeared. What if it goes on like this? We canât waste too much time here.â
s.h.i.+ looked very serious. âRight.â
Long held s.h.i.+âs hand. âDo you have any other ideas?â
s.h.i.+ shook his head slowly. âThere is no other solution to this matter. If they donât show up, we canât do anything.â
After a pause, Long said, âPerhaps theyâre afraid of us, so they havenât taken action. How about we pretend to leave and come back secretly later?â
s.h.i.+ was slightly stunned.
Long said, âThe philanderer hasnât appeared and we donât have much time. I think we can only try this way.â
s.h.i.+ finally nodded. âYes, we can give it a try. Wait another day. If nothing happens before tomorrow afternoon, we will leave.â
âMhmm,â Long responded, âItâs quite peaceful in the imperial palace⦠I think many ministers have guessed that the emperor there is a fake⦠Some time ago, several ministers wanted to make trouble for us. Those people sallied out in full strength to attack us, but they still failed. On the contrary, after all the people on the list were exterminated, the ministers in the court became very obedient.â
s.h.i.+ nodded. âAs long as weâre alive and keep dealing with evil people, those who are restless will know their place sooner or later.â
âRight.â Long smiled. âI just donât know if those people will fancy themselves smart and act accordingly.â
âOh?â s.h.i.+ didnât understand. âWhat do you mean?â
âThose ministers must have done something. I guess they still want to fight against us because they think we wonât let them go anyways. What do you think?â
Hearing that, s.h.i.+ shook his head slowly. âIf they think so, the palace will not be so peaceful now. It will be turbulent.â
Long curled his lips. When he was just about to say something, they received a letter coming from the palace.
The message stunned Long and he looked very serious.
s.h.i.+ realized that something must have happened, so he hurriedly asked, âWhat happened?â
Long handed the letter to him.
s.h.i.+ opened it and began to read. It also stunned him and he couldnât help saying, âLady Shan⦠was killed.â
Long pursed his lips. âYes. Sheâs⦠dead.â
âZhang Yuan examined her body and found she was poisoned to death. It was not some special poison, but a.r.s.enic,â s.h.i.+ said slowly, âLady Shan had a lover and kept hiding him in her palace. The Shadow Guardians didnât expose them and wanted to find more clues, but they didnât expect this to happen.â
Long sighed. âThis woman⦠had only herself to blame⦠But Qingzhou, Iâm afraid her death will cause a little turbulence in the imperial palace. At least, her family wonât let it go easily.â
âNow itâs the Shadow Guardians and several influential ministers who are dealing with political affairs. Iâm afraid they wonât be able to stop Lady Shanâs family.â
âRight.â Long narrowed his eyes. âSomething might happen in the palace.â
âAre you going back first?â Asked s.h.i.+.
Long shook his head. âI donât have the time.â
s.h.i.+ thought about it. âThatâs right. Lady Shan has been dead for nearly two days. Itâs too late for us to receive the news. It will take four days to go back even if we travel at top speed⦠Itâs really late. Letâs just stay here and see what they will do.â
âThatâs right.â Long nodded. âLetâs see what her family can do. Whatâs more, since Lady Shan colluded with others, I donât think her family is innocent. Think what happened to Lady Rou⦠I want to see how those people will choose.â
s.h.i.+ looked at Long and said slowly, âBoth of them are dead⦠There are only some low-ranking concubines left in the harem. Itâll be easy to deal with them.â
Long smiled after hearing that. âRight.â