Chapter 18 : The Mist

In the face of the news that his father had returned from the dead and his brother had been killed, Lan Xuan did not show much colour, as if he had long been aware of it. He glanced at Li Qingyan, whose face changed slightly, and the guards then realised that there were others in the room, and lowered their heads in panic, not knowing what to do.

Lanxuan slowly got up and asked, "What's the situation in the palace now?"

"Uh..." the guard was concerned about the other two people and mumbled, "The emperor is furious, when my subordinate left the palace the emperor was in the main hall with all the ministers."

Pei Si Yan groaned and opened her eyes to look around blankly, wanting to sit up helplessly the pain in her arm made her unable to move. Li Qingyan rushed forward to support her and said anxiously, "Miss, please lie down and don't move."

After Lan Xuan whispered a few words in his men's ears, the guards left in a hurry. He turned back and walked over to the bedside to arch his hand towards Pei Si Yan, "Why don't I hire a carriage to accompany Lord Wuban on a trip to the palace. The situation is urgent today, so I have to go."

Li Qingye naturally understood how much intrigue and wind and waves were contained behind this farce this afternoon, seeing that her young lady was seriously injured, she did not stop her, "I'm sorry for troubling Your Highness King Hui, I'm grateful."

"In the end, it's actually me who should be thanking Senior Wu Pan." Lanxuan laughed, his meaning unclear.

Pei Si Yan managed to sit up and asked, "What happened? I just seemed to hear in a daze that His Royal Highness was killed by the Emperor? But ... didn't the Emperor die?"

A hint of sarcasm was mixed in Lanxuan's bright eyes, and he said in what sounded like a light manner, "I'm afraid that Father is preparing for the enthronement of the Crown Prince, and that's why he intentionally planned today's events. Please, Lord Wuban, do not say these words of mine out."

"Seeing that you said it seems like the matter is confidential, why should you tell me?" Although the wound hurt, Pei Si Yan's mind gradually cleared and she looked up at King Hui without avoiding it.

The sound of horses' hooves rang out outside, Lan Xuan avoided answering Pei Si Yan's question, "Lord Wu Pan, can you walk?"

Pei Si Yan raises an eyebrow and says, "Fortunately, the injury is not to the leg, so it's not too much of a mess."

Lanxuan smiled faintly, which was exceptionally mesmerising under the candlelight. Together with Li Qingyan, he helped Pei Si Yan board the carriage outside the medical centre.

"I'll safely go into the palace with Lord Wuban, just bring someone to guard the palace gates." Lanxuan instructed Li Qingyan and lowered the curtain, the horseman raised the whip and drove away.

Inside the dark carriage, Pei Si Yan was curled up in a corner, her right hand pressed against the wound, her brow furrowed, and her white forehead was filled with fine beads of sweat. It seems that the bumps of the carriage made her wound more and more swollen and painful, and I don't know what kind of martial arts that killer practiced, able to scratch out three holes on a person's body that can quickly see the white bones, fortunately it didn't injure the tendons and veins, or else her left hand would be wasted.

Pei Si Yan was now not only concerned about the wound, but also remembered the assassin's mastermind and the Emperor's fraudulent death, as well as Lan Xuan's calm and self-contained one.

"I thank Your Highness King Hui for saving my life today, otherwise I would have never escaped." Pei Si Yan gritted her teeth, her voice so soft that it was almost inaudible.

Lanxuan shook his head, "No, as I said just now, it's me who should be thanking you."

"Why?"

"If it wasn't for your assassination and I happened to stumble upon it delaying the hour, otherwise I might now be lying dead in the palace like my brothers." Lanxuan said, raising his hand to caress the wound on his shoulder, looking at the woman beside him with a smile in his eyes, "You say, shouldn't I be thanking you?"

Pei Si Yan was about to say a few polite words when the carriage lurched and she didn't sit still to fall into Lan Xuan's arms. The firm/solid and warm embrace, her face instantly coloured with a large blush, feeling as if her nosebleed was about to flow out.

"Yeah, sorry." She was about to sit up when a hand on her shoulder embraced her firmly into her arms. Pei Si Yan raised her eyes to Lan Xuan in shock, what did this guy want to do?

"Thinking that although we've only met twice, but after experiencing life and death, we can be considered friends, right?" Lanxuan gazed down at the frail woman in his arms, the corner of his lips slightly hooked, "There are no outsiders in this carriage, let me, as a friend, lend my shoulder to the uncomfortable you to lean on it?"

Friend? What exactly is King Hui planning? Pei Si Yan's heart was suddenly puzzled, in the way of the other party's hospitality, and he was indeed unable to support, so he could only conform to snuggle in Lan Xuan's arms.

Pei Si Yan really can't help but be curious and asked, "Who is the emperor going to set up as the crown prince?"

"My second brother, right?" Lanxuan said, his gaze falling towards Pei Si Yan's wound, "He is the crown prince that his father values the most. I'm sure that before and after the enshrinement of the crown prince, not only Father Emperor, the ministers who support the second prince will also try to sweep away the opposing forces in the court."

Lanxuan felt the body in his arms tremble slightly, the smile at the corner of his lips intensified, his bright and luminous eyes glanced to the gap in the curtain, almost at the palace entrance.

"Almost there," he said softly to Pei Si Yan, "You wait for me in the car first, I'll go find two palace maids to help you to the main hall. Remember, don't mention what I said before." After saying that, he gently lifted her up and let her lean against the carriage wall in a comfortable position.

Pei Si Yan pulled on Lan Xuan's sleeve, "Since it's a secret, why did you tell me?"

Lanxuan came close to her face and said with a sigh, "Doesn't Wuban-sama feel that after today's events, we are very much like ..." The carriage stopped, and his words stopped there without saying any more, only dropping a meaningful look, and then turning back to jump off the carriage.

Pei Siyan looked at the blue pleasant elegant as bamboo-like back, biting his lips tightly, carefully speculate on his deep meaning.

The two palace maids that Lanxuan had found hurriedly ran to him, but Lanxuan was nowhere to be seen.

"Back to Lord Wuban's words, His Highness King Hui has already gone to the main hall." A palace maid said respectfully, "Please let the slave girl assist you over."

When Pei Si Yan entered the brightly lit hall, most of the officials were there, except for a few imperial princes, auxiliary ministers, and Imperial Master Feng, all of whom looked panicked and silent. The emperor who "died" in the afternoon was sitting peacefully on the dragon chair, his face was hard to see, as if someone had robbed his favourite thing, he kept hitting the armrests, every sound made the corners of the mouth of the officials twitch.

"I see the emperor, long live the emperor." Pei Si Yan knelt down and bowed in the centre of the hall, and the crowd looked at her arms wrapped in thick white veil in surprise.

The emperor impatiently glared at her, and when he saw the blood on the white veil he couldn't help but be stunned, "Wuban, your hand ..."

"Your Majesty, I encountered an assassin when I entered the palace and was slightly injured, so I was delayed in entering the palace." Pei Siyan said unhurriedly, glancing at Feng Taishi out of the corner of her eye.

Imperial Master Feng was calm and relaxed, without any unusual colour. If it wasn't that his acting was too good, it was that the killing came from someone else's instruction.

Pei Si Yan in the car thinking about it, want to kill themselves to silence either Feng Taishi, or defected to Feng Taishi Tantai family someone.

The temple was in an uproar, in the afternoon there was first a conspiracy farce, immediately after the witch Pan suffered an assassination, and then His Royal Highness was killed, the wind and waves of a wave, without stopping, it seems that the dynasty must set off a greater vibration.

"There is actually this matter?" The Emperor rose with a loud voice and swept his gaze across every official in the hall, his face becoming even more sombre.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Pei Si Yan retracted her gaze and replied, "The Imperial Prefect is already thoroughly investigating this matter, and I'm sure there will be results soon. Let the Emperor worry about it."

The Emperor frowned, "Minister of Justice, this matter is given to you to investigate, with a deadline of half a month!"

The Minister of Justice immediately jumped out of the ranks and bowed, "Yes, I obey the decree."

"Wu Pan, you go back and recuperate." The Emperor waved his hand wearily, today's events had really consumed too much of his spirit, and didn't want to be distracted by Pei Si Yan's matter any longer.

"Er ..." Pei Si Yan did not move, she wanted to stay in the temple to understand the "collapse event" before and after, so as to make plans for the future, "Emperor, my injuries There is no big problem ... the matter is important, I should stay here."

"Lord Wu Pan, look at your pale face, the injury is not light, right?" Wu Li spoke up, vaguely containing/containing a sense of gloating, "The holy grace favours you, you'd better go back to recuperate your injuries better/better! Honestly, where do you a yellow-haired girl know ..."

"Alright, alright!" The Emperor slapped the imperial case with an upset and interrupted Wu Li's words, "I don't see you having so much to say on weekdays, but now you're ridiculing Wu Pan? Tantai Yan, you go back. Later I will reward you with some tonic to your residence."

Pei Si Yan saw that the Emperor was resolute and could only thank him for his grace and retreated outside the palace. When she was almost at the door of the palace, she looked at Shen Zhongning and passed a look, the other party understood and nodded.

Only then did Pei Si Yan feel relieved and go out. Arriving at the palace gates, Li Qingye had already been waiting with a carriage for a long time, and as soon as he saw the young lady come out, he hurriedly greeted her.

"Tell someone to wait here for Shen Zhongning, as soon as you see someone immediately invite them to the mansion," Pei Si Yan instructed irritably, boarding the carriage, "Li Qingye, I have something very important to say to you, come into the carriage."

After adjusting a comfortable position, Pei Si Yan couldn't wait to speak, completely forgetting about the painful wounds, "Who do you think the assassin sent out?"

Li Qingye vigilantly looked through the gap in the curtain to check the situation on the street and said, "The various forces in the dynasty are in the light and in the dark, it's not easy to say."

"It is also ... not necessarily the Feng Taishi, there may be others who look at me in a bad light." Pei Siyan nodded, before her mind was on Feng Taishi, forgetting about the enemies hiding in the dark, "The emperor gave the case to the Minister of Justice to investigate, which faction is he?"

"Neither faction, has always maintained a neutral attitude."

"Then how is His Highness King Hui's behaviour?"

Li Qingye glanced at Pei Si Yan without thinking, "His Highness King Hui treats people modestly and is bland and low-key, although he has made many achievements in the imperial government, but because of his character and his birth mother he is not valued by all parties."

It seems that King Hui might really be a good candidate ... Pei Siyan secretly pondered, and asked, "How much can he be trusted?"

Silence fell in the carriage as a small moth fluttered its wings under the dimly lit lantern, sparing no effort to pounce on the deadly light.

"Subordinate does not know." Li Qingyan spat out four words.

"It seems to me that His Highness King Hui has the intention of forming an alliance with me, otherwise why did he say those words?" Pei Si Yan looked out of his mind at a certain location within the carriage and muttered, "One is a prince with no hope of inheriting the throne, and the other is an auxiliary minister with a high position but weak power, both are isolated and helpless types of people. If they were to form an alliance, how much benefit would each receive? The one who sets up the lord of the country, ze can bequeath it to future generations ah ..."

Li Qingyan listened quietly, Pei Si Yan's last sentence caused his brows to knit up again.

"Forget it," Pei Si Yan heavily slapped his thigh, "It's better to feel out today's matter before making other plans. Why are there so many annoying things ...," she yawned, just lifting her hand she drew a cold breath, the pain that cut through her bones made her groan continuously and she almost didn't pass out.

If she travelled to a place where magic and sorcery flew together, how good would it be to "wah-la-wah-la" recite an incantation, and the wound automatically healed. Although there is a "witch" in the title, but it is a pity that the donkey kicked in the head of Emperor Taizu in order to show that he is "the Jade Emperor sent down to the mortal world to save the lives of the common people", deliberately so that the sealing of meritorious ministers, and has nothing to do with the magic spells.

Returning to the mansion, the assassination matter had already spread, Pei Si Yan returned to Shide Xuan after a glance in front of people. Although she was tired, the pain made her not sleepy at all, lying on the lounge chair in the study waiting for Shen Zhongning to come over. Li Qingye strengthened the guards in the mansion went, Yun Qi opened the meal, Pei Si Yan felt that every time she moved the wound hurt more, she would rather starve than eat.

Almost to the hour, Shen Zhongning finally appeared in the study. Not waiting for someone to take a breath, Pei Si Yan opened her mouth and asked about the afternoon.

Shen Zhongning looked agitated and stood on the edge of the recliner without sitting down, ''As soon as the false news of the Emperor's death came out, when my humble servant rushed to the palace, the palace gates were tightly closed and a lot of people had gathered. I heard that His Royal Highness the Third Prince and His Royal Highness the Fifth Prince has brought people to break into the palace exams, and soon after ... the palace door opened wide, the emperor appeared, ordered people to carry out the corpse of His Royal Highness, said that their intentions are not good, it is unfaithful and unfilial, and gave them the crime of death. The accomplices were executed together."

Pei Si Yan asked, "They wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to plot against the throne?"

"Yes. The Emperor also made it a point to clarify that the fake death matter was a rumour, and that someone had deliberately taken advantage of his seclusion to pay homage to the Buddha to spread the rumour. The Emperor was furious over this and ordered a strict investigation into the mastermind."

Pei Si Yan was confused, she remembered Lan Xuan saying that the farce was clearly planned out by the Emperor, how did it become a rumour again? Come to think of it, it was more likely that Lanxuan was just guessing. But the Emperor's words were full of holes, which side was the truth?

"How did the Emperor suddenly want to close the door? Did you find out who instructed you? Isn't it said that a tiger's poison doesn't eat its son, the emperor even endured to kill his own son?" Speaking of this, Pei Si Yan again thought that Lan Xuan was telling the truth.

"It was said that he had a nightmare during his lunch break and his mind was disturbed so he wanted to shut down for three days. The main culprit has yet to be found out, some people think it's one of the remaining imperial sons. Miss, after all, it's about the throne, what does affection count for." Shen Zhongning patiently explained one by one.

"To hell with ...," Pei Si Yan muttered.

She was about to go crazy, dynastic intrigues and battles and whatnot were still a bit difficult and arduous for her. In the past, when she was in the company, she did sales and such, her eloquence and adaptability were still okay, and she was fine with dealing with trivial matters. But the problem is, she has always been an ordinary small staff, even the company's internal high-level those things only slightly seen, and now his turn is the most difficult intrigue struggle in the country's major events, she feels that she is in front of a large pile of entangled into a ball of wool need to be sorted out in detail.

Li Qingye quietly returned to the study, her eyes swept back and forth between Pei Si Yan and Shen Zhongning several times, her gaze finally landing on the dark red piece of white veil, "Miss, it's getting late."

Pei Si Yan rubbed her temples and said, "Big brother, it's too late for the road to be safe, you can stay in the mansion for the night."

That "big brother" made Shen Zhongning flattered, although his father was the Duke of the Protectorate, but the real power has long been hollowed out, faded out of the imperial government for many years, and he himself is only a small official. Although the two families are friends, but after the death of Shen Shuzhe relationship faded a lot, did not expect the new witch Pan succeeded each other's intention to pull together more and more obvious. Right now, the relationship over the years had allowed the only one their Shen family could look up to was the Tantai family, and as the saying goes, all for one and one for all.

"Many thanks, Miss." Shen Zhongning said his thanks and went to the guest room along with Yun Shan.

Yun Qi painfully held Pei Si Yan's right hand, "Miss, the doctor is waiting outside, change the medicine and also rest early, so that the wound can heal fast."

Pei Si Yan's head was throbbing with pain, but she still didn't want to sleep, only after a long time did she say to Li Qingyan, "It doesn't matter who told the truth and who lied, what matters is using each other ... If our strength grows while embracing His Highness, the King of Hui, as the emperor, how many benefits do you think we can reap? "

"But His Highness King Hui has the slimmest of hopes, miss you really intend to ..."

"Yes, the slimmer the hope, the more entrenched our relationship can be, the more benefits the future emperor can promise the Tantai family, and the one who establishes the country's lord, the ze can be left behind for generations to come. If we go and embrace the prince who will easily get the throne as if it was a bag of tricks, without much use and favour or friendship, how can we be given benefits in the future?"

Pei Siyan had begun to plan for this on the day of the succession ceremony, the second prince as a popular candidate for the throne was bound to have a huge amount of power behind him. The other princes as contenders would also have forces of their own size, and she, a latecomer, would not be able to intervene no matter what. So why not support the most hopeless, without any power support Hui Wang Lanxuan?

Once the matter came to fruition, the benefits would be incalculable.

If it fails, it can only show that she really does not have the ability, it would be better to go to hell reincarnation, ruffling the burden who likes to toss who toss to go.

Even if Lanxuan told a lie today, what's the harm? Since the other party has already thrown out the olive branch, and she also has this intention, why not catch it along the way? A lost opportunity might be hard to wait for again.

Li Qingye's face had a different look and did not agree with Pei Si Yan's idea, ''Miss, please think twice before you act! His Highness King Hui doesn't necessarily intend to get involved in the battle for the throne."

The pain from her wound had already numbed, Pei Si Yan felt herself regaining more strength and patiently argued, "King Hui is also preparing to enter the palace today, have you forgotten? And I'm injured it's perfectly fine to send someone to inform, but he had to bring me into the palace and talk things out with me in the carriage ..." She suddenly remembered the incident where Lan Xuan had carried herself into his arms, and a red haze rose on her face.

Pei Si Yan coughed twice and continued, "These two things are enough to prove that he's biding his time and intends to take the throne! Eunuch Feng and a certain shadowy force have already struck, do we still want to sit back and wait for death? There must be a strong backer to preserve the power of our Tantai family!"

"But in doing so, it appears that His Highness King Hui is extremely deep in his city, and his true intentions are difficult to fathom."

"Too conservative that's drawing a blank ah ..." Pei Siyan sighed, she had a deep understanding - work that moment was too conservative and too unsolicited, as a result, many opportunities were missed, indirectly led himself back to the "old home".

"But you can't be too impulsive," Li Qingyan said while trying the temperature of the soup, "Miss, the soup prepared by the doctor for you can reduce the pain of the wound."

Yun Qi took the bowl and fed it to Pei Si Yan one mouthful at a time. The medicine took effect very quickly, Pei Si Yan felt as if her arm wasn't her own, she didn't feel a thing.

She exhaled a long breath, finally feeling sleepy, "You're right, I seem to trust others too easily ... Let's wait and see for a while before deciding."