Chapter 022｜Conflicting in the Villa

When Li Jing figured out this, he was thoroughly enlightened

Prince Jin originally went south for the same purpose as the Crown Prince, but he disguised as a Turkish and behaved all in a personal manner. He checked the terrain, tried to gain people's support, looked for the ship drawings, and even ordered to capture and kill the Alone Star. For all these, Li Jing could accept them. The only issue that Li Jing could not suffered Li Jiang was that Prince Jin fluttered with Xiao Meiniang, and asked Lai Huer to escort her. It made Li Jing's heart ache as if pricked by needles.

What was worse, Xiao Meniang seemed not in any disliking of this "prince". Since they departed, how could he not think of her every day? Even if he was only a few steps away from her at the moment, he still felt so far away as thousands of waters and mountains ... She was a princess, and he was a Prince Jin, if what Wen Shihong said was true, it was very likely that he was himself among those "six people on the boat", but eacaped and hid halfway out of the boat, and continue to order Lai Hu'er to protect her!

There was another doubt in Li Jing's mind: Zhang Ke, Mei Niang, Qing Ni were all good at swimming, while Lai Huer had great martial arts, and grew up alongside the river, how could the green Wen Shi Hong capture them in the water?

Li Jing stopped his thoughts and forced himself to stop thinking. At least, Alone Star and A yue, whom he cared about the most, would not be in danger for the time being under the protection of the princess.

However, he was wrong, as he saw Xiao Mohe walked straight towards Xiao Meiniang while talking. This seemingly normal act of toasting greatly frightened Li Jing. Because, he saw a terrifying light from A Yue's clear eyes.

 Xiao Mohe raised the cup with his left hand and pressed the hilt of his sword with his right hand. He passed the wine cup forward, then drew out his sword and swiftly stabbed to her. Li Jing cried out in shock, yet the sword was stopped by another sword. It was Lai Huer.

This was out of everyone's expectation. Xiao Mohe first try failed, and had to turn back to his sword to fight with Lai Huer. Lai Huer focused on fighting back, but Xiao Mohe had heavy force and sword, and iron armour protection, after a few strokes, Lai Huer was in a disadvantageous position. With a noise of "ching", a piece of his sleeve was cut off by XiaoMoHuo, and Xiao Mohe's wine had not spilled out a bit.

"Stop!" Wen Zhongyuan stood up , drew his sword, and blocked between the two swords. .The three swords clashed, Lai Huer made a step back, Xiao Mohe made half a step back, and each had a ferocious glint in their eyes.

"I can't imagine that a great general of the State Chen would assassinate the Princess of Liang in public!" Wen Zhongyuan was furious, "Xiao Mohe, do you still have me in your eyes?"

 Xiao Mohe ignored him and coldly looked at the scared Xiao Meiniang: "I am not trying to assassinate Princess, but this girl beside Princess must die! The reason for this is most clear to Princess, no need for me to say more."

Xiao Meiniang hugged the shivering A Yue and fixed her mind, "Uncle ancestor, you have already killed all of the Shixing family, this girl is lonely and unsupported, and when she grows up she will be nothing more than an ordinary woman, she will never seek revenge, so just spare her ..."

 Xiao Mohe shook his head and said, "Your high Princess does not know, my emperor will never allow Chen Shuling (the king's uncle Shixing) to have any heirs left on earth."

Gao Sheng Dao had long been taunted, now he caught the opportunity to fight back, he left the seat and laughed: "General Xiao, you want to kill this girl, why not do it on the road? Could it be that killing her in Mr. Wen 's mansion could achieve the effect of 'killing one to warn a hundred?"

Even Li Jing could hear the intention of provocation in these words. Just as the words fell, he heard two 'pat pat', and found Gao Sheng Dao's cheeks swelled up. It turned out that in this instant, Xiao Mohe had already moved his hands and slapped him twice.

Gao Sheng Dao was a man of letters, how could he stand the blows of Xiao Moheo? At once, snot, tears, and blood, all gushed out.

Wen Zhongyuan was so angry that his eyes erupted with fire, and said sternly: "Xiao Yuanyin (Xiao Mohe's original name), if you want to kill someone, please leave my house before you do so! Swinging swords in my home, do you still have Wen Zhongyuan in your eyes?"

 Xiao Mohe gritted his teeth, returned his sword to its sheath, and said hatefully, "Good! For the sake of Mr. Wen, I'll leave you alive for now." He also turned back to glare at Lai Huer, "Congratulations, your high princess do have a good guard!"

 Lai Huer put away his sword, without saying a word, and stood behind Xiao Meiniang.

Xiao Meiniang quickly regained her composure and gently patted A yue's shoulder, "My dear A Yue, don't be afraid. With me your elder sister here, you are all safe."Only then did Wen Zhongyuan straighten his clothes and return to his seat, and his tone eased a bit: "General Xiao, Shixing's case, I also heard about it. I tried to overturn the throne, for the crime he committed, he deserved death. You were ordered to exterminate his family, it was not your fault. However, this girl is only three or four years old, through all those hardships and dangers, she did not die, it is the will of God, but you pull out your sword in public to kill, if there were any news spread out, your reputation will be stained."

 Xiao Mohe said angrily: "Earlier, I wanted to bring her back to Chien-k'ang to reply my duties, however, the princess insisted on protecting her. I am no more than a rude man who cares nothing of fancy reputation. I just wanted to kill her with a sword strike, I don't mind any gossip."

Xiao Meiniang laughed coldly and said: ''Speaking of this word 'Shixing' (with a meaning of start to thrive), it was actually 'Beginning of Chaos' for Liang. General Xiao's father was originally the assistant of the magistrate Shixing County in Liang, loyal to the Liang family. Twenty years ago, Chen Baxian took advantage of Hou Jing's chaos and grabbed the throne, and the Great General Xiao was invincible bravery, yet he changed his allegiance ,and joined the Chen clan in exchange for glory and wealth. Even treason you dare to commit, how would you be afraid of people talking about killing a little child?"

 Xiao Mohe indeed joined the Chen State for glory and wealth. I In his early years, he was guilty for that, and then gradually he forgot about it. Tonight Xiao Meniang uncovered his scars, he looked extremely terrible.

He forced himself to hold back his anger and said aloud: ''A good general chooses his master to serve, just as a good bird chooses a tree to nest. Receiving the lord's bounty, one must serve the lord with loyalty. As an envoy of Great Chen, I am obligated to share the Lord's worries, how can I change my mind because of a verbal dispute?"

Xiao Meiniang turned her dark pupils a few times: "I know that the Great General is acting under your king's decree, and it would be very difficult to let A Yue go, so why don't you just tell the truth and put the blame on this Princess, saying that I had already taken A Yue as a servant. In this way, the great general can be honored for integrity, complete your mission to the king of Chen State, is it not perfect?"

 Xiao Mohe shook his head, "Spare this girl? never!"

Xiao Meiniang said, "Great General Xiao, you can't kill A Yue tonight. Mr. Wen won't allow you to commit murder, and this Princess won't allow you to act recklessly."

 Xiao Mohe laughed coldly: ''I respected you and addressed you as a princess, do you really consider yourself a princess? If Emperor Liang loved you, why would he send you to the prince's maternal uncle Zhang to suffer? He didn't even allow you to live in the palace? You said again and again "this princess" and "this princess", where is your palace? Is it a thatched cottage by the river?"

These words hurt Xiao Meniang. Her father Xiao Kui was superstitious about the sorcery of astrology, and at the time of her birth, Empress Zhang had a difficult time delivering her, so she ordered the officer of Scryer to have her birthdate calculated in detail, and found it inauspicious, and if she lived in the palace, there would be a disaster.

Empress Zhang wanted to drown her, but her father refused, and ordered his sixth brother, Lord Dongping Xiao Ji to adopt her. In less than one year, Xiao Ji suddenly died, then the king and empress was more convinced of Xiao Meiniang's inauspicious destiny. At that time, the Xiao royal family did not dare to adopt Meiniang.

Zhang Ke and his sister, Empress Zhang, were at odds from a young age, and although he was appointed to some positions, he could only live by the river, he was not different from an common civilian. When he heard about this, he went to see his sister and pledged to adopt Meiniang. The King and Empress immediately agreed. After a few years, Zhang Ke's wife Lady Li fell ill and died, so it was rumoured that Xiao Meiniang was the reincarnation of a jinx, and all of them tried to avoid her, and the royal family even avoided her like the plague. Therefore, Mei Niang was subjected to a lot of taunts and bullying from her childhood, and no one treated her as a princess at all.

 Xiao Mohe revealed this matter to show that he knew Liang as clear as the palm of his hand, and secondly, he was certain that Xiao Meiniang would not dare to act out after being exposed. Nevertheless, Xiao Meniang laughed and said, "If Great General Xiao decides that I am fake, you can chop off my head and offer it as a tribute to the Liang King, perhaps it will also be beneficial in allying with Liang ."

 Xiao Mohe was at a loss as to how to respond for a moment.

Wen Zhongyuan said: "The princess is the second daughter of the current Liang king, it is known to all. Only because of a strange disease since childhood, she was not able live in the palace, so Zhang Ke specially set up thatched cottage in the riverside for the Princess to recuperate, it's not as what the general guessed; she did not lose favor from the king. Now the world-famous Sengcan monk rescued her, and sent a medicine boy as attendant, d in a few days she will be fully recovered and return to the palace. General Xiao's trip to the west is focused on making allies with Liang, so it seems inappropriate to offend the Princess. Today the Princess is here, with the honor of all our friends, it is better to drink wine and sing songs. Great General, what do you say?"

 Xiao Mohe was aware and took advantage of the situation, so he cuddled his fist and said, "What Brother Zhongyuan said is very true, it is me who is reckless and has stirred up everyone's excitement, I apologise!" He then returned to his seat to drink.

Wen Zhongyuan clapped thrice, the drums and music in the hall resumed, and eight thin-waisted beauties danced with the music. All the people raised their cups s frequently, as if nothing happened just now.

That night, Wen Zhongyuan arranged everyone's accommodation. The Huanghu Villa had many rooms, and there were both male and female attendants to lead them into the guest rooms. A Yue was certainly with the princess, Li Jing carryied Xie Kangtu, held Alone Star, and wen to live in the backyard room. Xiao Mohe stayed in the hall, seemingly to have something important to discuss with Wen Zhongyuan.

It was late at night. The waning moon shone in through the window, and there was some vague light in the room, but it was hard to see clearly. Xie Kangtu lay on the couch and whispered to Li Jing, who was unable to sleep, "Little brother, I guess the Wushan Fisherwoman will come to rescue us tonight. But Xiao Mohe brought all the good men, I am afraid that it is difficult to be all safe...."

Li Jing's heart was overjoyed. For three days, he had been holding a grudge against the Wushan Fisherwoman. "Thank you, Mr. Xie, as long as I can rescue Little Brother and A Yue, it doesn't matter if I live."

Xie Kangtu said, "Although they two are kids, but it involves the two royal families of Sui and Chen, it is really difficult. That day when the lady left us, she did not mean to abandon us, nor was she afraid of enemies, but it was because that she could not guarantee that the safety of you, I and the two children."

Li Jing said, "Boat Owner , if the lady warrior and Brother Gu come to the rescue us tonight, wouldn't it be the same?"

"It's different." Xie Kangtu said, "Earlier it was in Jiangzhou, now it's in Jiangxia. Although they are both in the boundaries of the Chen State, but 'Jiangxia Mengchang' is quite moralistic, and will not listen to Xiao Mohe's story just because he has an old relationship with him. Moreover, in Jiangzhou, A Yue was in danger, but now A Yue has the princess's protection, and will not be in danger for a while. The main trouble is you, little brother. Therefore, if the lady warrior comes to the rescue, she would first save Alone Star, as for you, you do not even have to consider escaping ..."

"What about you, Mr. Xie?" Li Jing's mission was to escort Alone Star to Shuzhong, and his own safety was never considered. However, along the way, Xie Kangtu had sacrificed himself for others, which had moved him extremely.

"I'm an invalid, what can anyone do to me?" Xie Kangtu said, "They won't kill me. Regardless of the Sui State and Chen State, for the time being, they won't ..."

"Or, could it be that the shipbuilding drawings really exist ..." Li Jing lowered his voice as if inaudible.

"Little brother, you are really smart." Xie Kangtu did not comment.

"If the boat owner doesn't have the shipbuilding drawings, how can he be alive at this time?" A voice came in, almost scaring Li Jing to fall off the couch.

Xie Kangtu did not move. Only a slight sound was heard, and the room's panelling wall moved lightly, opening a door. A tall figure burrowed through the door and stood in front of the couch.

"Don't worry, Mr. Xie, the courtyard is filled with our men, no one is allowed to approach." The person who came was none other than Wen Zhongyuan.

"Mr. Wen, can we leave now?" Xie Kangtu sat up.

Wen Zhongyuan said, "I have already agreed with the Wushan Fisherwoman that I can only save Mr. Xie and Alone Star, and if little brother MU Li leaves, Xiao Mohe will definitely search the dark room."

Li Jing thought also true. The kung fu of the Wushan fisherwoman was clear to Xiao Mohe, and it was reasonable for her and Gu Musheng to save one, but rescuing the three people would make Wen Zhongyuan suspectable.

Xie Kangtu made an instant decision, "Good. As you have arranged."

The plan was set, and the Wushan Fisherwoman, Gu Musheng, indeed came out from behind the door. She was carrying a black cloth bag and looked like she was carrying one person. Gu Musheng did not say anything, carrying Xie Kangtu on his back and holding Alone Star, he walked into the tunnel.

Wen Zhongyuan closed the mechanical control device and gently opened the door of the room, standing in the courtyard, he loudly scolded the villa guards: "All of you, keep your eyes open, the Princess and the Great General are resting, beware of assassins!" The guards nodded their heads. Immediately, Wen Zhongyuan's voice came faintly from other courtyards and faded away.

The Wushan Fisherwoman did not move a bit. At this time, she heard that Wen Zhongyuan had gone far away, and quietly said to Li Jing: "I guess that Xiao Mohe will come to intercept us. You follow me to the top of rooms, and then jump down to to let the guards catch you, do not fight back, and then you just follow the Princess. When you arrive at Jiangling, find an opportunity to escape and find me in Wushan mountain. Remember, at Wushan mountain, don't break through the stone trap, just wait for someone to lead you to the mountain."

Li Jing agreed. Thinking that Wushan fisherwoman had saved him several times, he knelt down and kowtowed.

The Wushan Fisherwoman's sleeve robe flicked, making Li Jing unable to kneel down . "Don't be dilly-dally, Move." After saying that, she got up and gently pushed open the door, pulled Li Jing's right hand and leapt upwards. Li Jing felt that his body was lightly lifted, as if he was travelling in the clouds, he instantly reached the roof of the house.

The guards on duty in the courtyard sensed something strange and shouted. Suddenly, a figure appeared on the roof, fighting with the Wushan Fisherwoman. Through the vague moonlight, Li Jing roughly distinguished that it was Master Puzhao. After a few moves, Puzhao gradually lost the upper hand, and rushed towards Li Jing, clasping Li's pulse. The Wushan fisherwoman, however, like a ghost, leapt to the opposite roof and disappeared.

Puzhao lifted Li Jing and jumped down to the roof. Pine oil torches lit up in the courtyard, Wen Zhongyuan was ordering to search for assassins, for a time the whole Villa was crowed, with people rushing back and fro, shouting, as if facing a great enemy, making noises for about half a hour. 

Xiao Mohe naturally did not take off his armour to rest, and came to see Wen Zhongyuan at this time, asking him to count the number of people, and then return to the hall to discuss.

Soon, the guests and hosts gathered in the hall again. Except Xie Kangtu and Alone Star, the rest were all there. Little A Yue had long since fallen asleep, at this time she was lying on Xiao Meiniang's shoulder, drooling from the corner of her mouth, this flurry of activity didn't even wake her up.

 Xiao Moheo asked Puzhao, " Master, is it true that the Wushan fisherwoman is the one who fought with you?"

Puzhao replied: "Although I didn't see clearly under the dim moon, but most likely it was her. However, she managed to escape while carrying a person on her back, I'm deeply ashamed."

 Xiao Mohe said, "Master, you don't have to blame yourself. This woman's martial arts is so strong that it is rare in the world, Even I am no match with her". She took one away, you captured one, it's a draw." After saying that, he stared at Li Jing and shouted, "How come exactly? Confess truthfully, and you will be spared the pains of flesh and blood!"

Li Jing knew that Alone Star and the Mr. Xie had already escaped, and he felt very relieved, however, on the face he still pretended to be innocent: "I was sleeping, suddenly the lady warrior broke into the house, pulling me up and left ..."

 Xiao Moheo asked, "There were three people in your room, the Wushan fisherwoman carried away one, and pulled up another, what about the third person?"

Li Jing shook his head, "I don't know."

Wen Zhongyuan said, "Little brother, you are lying. As far as I was informed, there were two assassins that came in tonight. The one who sneaked into the room was not one, but two. You must tell me, who was the other one."

Li Jing could only bow his head and say, "That one is Gu ...."

Suddenly, a voice from outside the hall said, "It was not two coming tonight, but three."

The crowd was startled. The door to the hall was pushed open, Hua Qingfeng barged into the hall with a person in his hands.