366. The Arrival of Huhe Huangcheng (II)

Translator: Storm in a Teacup

Emperor Zhou’s birthday was still half a month away. This day, Fang was summoned to the imperial palace and Emperor Zhou secretly met him in the imperial study. This time, Fang stayed there for a whole hour.

When Fang came out, he looked quite calm, but there seemed to be something hidden in his eyes.

Was it joy? Or solemnity? Or the determination to fight hard?

The eunuchs and maids outside the room didn’t dare to take a closer look. They all knew that the current fourth prince… might well be the next emperor!

The fourth prince was gentle and polite, and never put on airs, so they actually liked him very much.

Once Fang returned to the mansion, he went to meet Long.

Long found that Fang looked a little strange, so he narrowed his eyes. “What’s the matter? Is there anything wrong?”

“Someone from Northern Barbarians came in secret. My dear father asked me to receive him.”

“Northern Barbarians?” Long frowned. “Who is that guy?”

“Their crown prince, the future emperor. Northern Barbarians acts differently from Eastern Darkness in this aspect. Their crown prince has been determined and cultivated since childhood. If there is no major accident, he’ll be the only crown prince and the next emperor.”

Naturally, Long also knew the basic information about Northern Barbarians, so he nodded.

“Why did their crown prince come here?”

“On behalf of their emperor, he came to form an alliance with Eastern Darkness and carry out a plan.”

“What plan?” Long asked at once, with a premonition.

“About the holy object.”

Long’s eyes flashed with coldness. “That evil object, right?”

“Yes.” Fang nodded. “Although the poisons and poisonous creatures that appeared in our place were made by the crown prince, everything was actually planned by Emperor Zhou. We didn’t know it before, just thinking that it was planned by the several princes.”

Long snorted contemptuously. “This old fox. It’s really him.”

“Yes. Emperor Zhou told me that the plan can still be carried out. We have dealt with most of the forces of Eastern Darkness over there, but the people from Northern Barbarians who stay in ambush haven’t been eliminated yet. Although there are not so many people, most of them are staying at the borders on both sides. Therefore, it’s best to poison all of the soldiers there. As long as the soldiers are poisoned, then the border defense of Heaven Dragon will collapse. If Eastern Darkness and Northern Barbarians join forces again, then… Heaven Dragon will surely be defeated. This is what Emperor Zhou told me.”

Long’s eyes suddenly filled with coldness. “He’s got a good plan.”

“Right, it’s well-planned… What Emperor Zhou asked me to do is to first contact Huhe Huangcheng, the crown prince of Northern Barbarians, and determine the detailed plan. Then, I’ll go to the border to cooperate with him, so that the army of Heaven Dragon can be eliminated.”

Long clenched his fists.

Fang continued softly, “It’s said that Huhe Huangcheng came here secretly, firstly to show his sincerity, and secondly, to give something newly developed by Northern Barbarians, which is a very rare poison. This kind of poison can be put in water sources and people will be infected when they contact each other. Most importantly, you won’t feel anything wrong when you’re just poisoned. When there are symptoms, you will feel that you just have a cold. After several days, you will have no strength at all. If the soldiers at the borders have no strength, how can they fight battles?”

With every word of Fang, Long looked increasingly worse.

“Huhe Huangcheng said that the people from Northern Barbarians who have been placed in the borders on both sides are all from death squads. Once they receive the order, they will be the first batch to be poisoned. Emperor Zhou asked me to have a good talk with Huhe Huangcheng and get a clear picture of everything. I’d better know his deployment at the borders. Then, I’ll leave with him. Time is running out.”

Long took a deep breath.

At this time, s.h.i.+ came in from the outside.

s.h.i.+ wasn’t there when Fang came to see Long earlier and he just came back.

As soon as he came in, he found that they looked strange, so he hurriedly asked, “What happened?”

Long told him about the crown prince of Northern Barbarians.

s.h.i.+’s eyes, which turned a little red, flashed with anger.

After a while, s.h.i.+ said slowly, “We must find a way to get the poison first, and then send it to Liu Suifeng, so that he can work out the antidote soon.”

Long took a deep breath and nodded.

After a short silence, Fang said, “It’ll be a little difficult. That poison is a powerful weapon brought by Huhe Huangcheng and he wouldn’t hand it over so easily. Emperor Zhou said that Huhe Huangcheng insisted on showing its effect on the battlefield, and he also agreed.”

Long and s.h.i.+ frowned at the same time.

After a while, Long said, “Then we can only take a dangerous move.”

Fang and s.h.i.+ turned to look at him at the same time. “What does that mean?”

Fang continued, “To steal it?”

“We can’t steal it. Since Emperor Zhou asked you to do it this time, he must want to test you. Perhaps, he also wants to attack you. If the poison of their crown prince is missing once you get the information, Emperor Zhou will doubt you. How would this work?”

Fang frowned. “What should we do then?”

Long said slowly, “You can go to meet Emperor Zhou fair and square, telling him that you doubt Huhe Huangcheng’s sincerity. Beside, you can make use of the envoys from Northern Barbarians who have gone to my palace.”

After thinking for a short while, Fang understood.

“We only need to express our doubt in front of Emperor Zhou and ask for reasonable verification. He won’t disagree. Isn’t he afraid that Northern Barbarians is setting a trap for him and they actually want to ally with us?”

s.h.i.+ thought for a while and nodded. “This is a good idea, but the details need to be perfected.”

“Right. Let’s think about it carefully,” Long also said, “There must be no flaws. Especially you, Fang Shuoyang, when you meet Emperor Zhou, you must be upright and confident. You should look him in the eye to let him know that you really think so, rather than playing tricks.”

Fang nodded. “Yes, I understand.”

Therefore, the three of them began to discuss the details carefully. After four hours of discussion, Fang immediately went to the imperial palace to meet the emperor.