Sure enough, within two days, the news reached Huo Yuyan’s ears.
He heard that after he had a private conversation with Huo Wujiu that day, Huo Wujiu returned to Jingwang’s palace. But it didn’t take long before they broke up. It was said that when he came out, he also slammed the door of the main courtyard.
After that, Huo Wujiu simply did not go back to the palace and stayed in the military camp the whole day. In a couple of days, his men sent Jingwang out from the palace in a carriage. It was said that he was going to Suzhou for a relaxing trip.
Those who followed him were just eunuchs who used to accompany him. Because Huo Wujiu didn’t care about him, there were few bodyguards accompanying him.
Huo Yuyan received the tip in his hand and smiled faintly.
“Go and assign some people. Don’t leave a clue behind,” Huo Yuyan instructed the eunuch at his side.
“I understand.” The eunuch bowed and smiled meaningfully.
“Don’t worry, Your Highness, Jiangnan has just been pacified, and there are many people who are discontented with their lot. How many pairs of eyes are watching the carriages that go out from the palace? There’s no need to especially send some people to carry out the did. That man may not necessarily survive through it.”
Huo Yuyan glanced at him lightly, smiled and did not say a word.
Lin’an was still peaceful.
Huo Yuyan did not forget what Huo Wujiu entrusted him to do that day.
Even if Huo Wujiu was tired of Jingwang, he was more or less a former bedmate. If there was no one to immediately replace him, there was no guarantee that Huo Wujiu would not let him return afterwards, but it wouldn’t be hard to give up on a dead man.
Therefore, in the past few days, Huo Yuyan’s eunuchs have also been inquiring around to find some girls who weren’t from the most prestigious family backgrounds but have excellent looks.
After a few days, he gathered a lot of paintings of the ladies in Lin’an City. Hearing that Huo Wujiu had been in the army all the time, Huo Yuyan sent people to send those scrolls to the army camp.
The eunuch who sent the paintings had been gone for a long time before returning to report the completion of his task.
“What did Huo Wujiu say?” Seeing him return, Huo Yuyan asked.
But the eunuch said, “Your Highness, this servant didn’t see General Huo.”
Huo Yuyan frowned at his words, and his expression went cold: “What happened? Where did he go?”
The eunuch returned, “I asked, but the soldiers in the barracks did not say where he went. They only said that General Huo was busy.”
Huo Yuyan put down the dossier in his hand, and his expression turned somewhat condensed.
He pondered for a moment and suddenly asked, “Has he not left the military camp these days?”
The eunuch shook his head: “Yes, accordingly.”
Huo Yuyan’s brows became deeper and deeper.
That was not quite right.
Originally, there were not many affairs in the army right now, so he shouldn’t be so busy to this extent. On the first few days he only thought it was because Huo Wujiu wanted to avoid Jingwang, but in the following days, Jingwang had already left. Why was Huo Wujiu still burrowed in the middle of the military camp without coming out?
Unless… he was playing the empty city ruse.
“Someone, come here,” he ordered solemnly. “Quickly go to the barracks, and send an order to let Huo Wujiu enter the palace immediately. I have something important to discuss with him.”
Immediately, a guard stepped forward to took his order and hurried out of the palace.
Time passed bit by bit, but the bodyguard who was instructed to summon Huo Wujiu never came back. The more Huo Yuyan waited, the more anxious he became. Half an hour later, he finally couldn’t sit still.
Huo Wujiu left without saying goodbye and left Lin’an quietly. What could he be doing?
Huo Yuyan stood up and paced back and forth in the palace, thinking over the events of the previous days from beginning to end. All of a sudden, he seemed to recall something.
Immediately, some clues popped out of what should have been logical.
His heart missed a beat.
“Quick, send an order.” He turned around quickly and instructed the eunuch who was close to him. “Let those forces sent to Suzhou stop immediately and return to Lin’an to receive their orders.”
The eunuch didn’t know what his master was up to, but seeing how anxious he was, he hurriedly answered and went out.
But just as he stepped out of the main door of the palace, a guard abruptly rushed in and blocked him straight back.
The guard did not care about him. He hurried around him, ran to Huo Yuyan’s front and kneeled down with bang.
“Your Highness, bad news, Your Highness!” The guard’s voice was shaky.
“What happened?” Huo Yuyan frowned and looked down at him.
The guard didn’t even bother to wipe the sweat from his forehead and replied urgently, “There’s a huge chaos in Lin’an City!”
“Why?” Huo Yuyan took two steps forward.
“Yes… it’s the news from Suzhou! General Huo went to Suzhou to do something for you, but on the way there, assassins attacked the carriage the General was in! There were dozens of dangerous assassins, and although General Huo barely escaped, he was still wounded!”
“…Huo Wujiu?”
Huo Yuyan’s mind was blank. He felt as if he was dreaming.
“Yes…! And… a token was found from the killers. It’s from your guard, Your Highness! The identities and the appearances of those assassins who died in the assassination have also been checked… They are indeed your escort. There’s no mistake! The news has spread all over the regions of Jiangnan. Moreover, all civilian and military officers at court, as well the commoners are saying that you are ungrateful, leaving your benefactor in the lurch. You actually wanted to assassinate General Hou!”
Huo Yuyan’s eyes widened. He stared closely at the guard who was kneeling on the ground, almost curled up in place.
That’s impossible…The one who went to Jiangnan was obviously Jiang Suizhou, and the total number of assassins he sent was only ten. They neither had such a formidable momentum, nor was the task aimed at Huo Wujiu at all.
Huo Yuyan was stunned in place, then suddenly raised his head.
There was a clear blue sky outside the window, but he seemed to see a giant net, slowly tightening.
...Huo Wujiu obviously planned all of these!
Want to read more chapters and support us? Please consider becoming a patron to read up to 4 chapters in advance!
