Chapter 82: Yan Rises a Foot, Pei Rises Ten Feet, a Spy Arrives in the Capital
Chapter 82: Chapter 82: Yan Rises a Foot, Pei Rises Ten Feet, a Spy Arrives in the Capital
"My respects, Baron of Pingyang!"
Chen Zhongyi knelt in greeting the moment he entered.
"Hahahaha, Standard-Bearer Chen, please, rise."
Pei Shaoqing laughed and made a gesture to help him up.
Chen Zhongyi rose and said with a smile, "Upon hearing of your Lordship’s promotion and ennoblement, this humble one was overjoyed. I came in a hurry today, so I will deliver my congratulatory gift another day."
’Damn it, it really pays to have a good father!’
Killing the Kaiyang Saint Heir was indeed a great achievement.
But Chen Zhongyi believed that if it had been him, the most he could have hoped for was a promotion to Hundred Households Commander. He couldn’t even dream of being ennobled.
He couldn’t count on his own father, so his only option was to cling to Pei Shaoqing’s coattails and give his son a head start in life.
"Gifts are for outsiders. There’s no need for such formalities between brothers," Pei Shaoqing said with a grin, waving his hand dismissively.
’With this ennoblement, I’m going to make another fortune.’
The gift-bearers from the city would surely be arriving in an endless stream.
Chen Zhongyi just kept a fawning smile on his face, not believing a single word Pei Shaoqing said. His years of experience as an official told him: the other party might refuse the gift, but he couldn’t afford not to give it.
Lord Pei might not remember who gave a gift.
But he would definitely remember who didn’t.
"Alright, let’s talk business." Pei Shaoqing’s expression turned serious as he said in a low voice, "Just now, the Heir of King Shu, Yan Sichen, came to demand someone from me. I refused, and he left in a huff. It’s highly likely he’ll try to break into the prison tonight to silence the witness."
"My lord, you have nothing to worry about. Wang Wu isn’t in the Jing’an Guard prison at all," Chen Zhongyi said with a light chuckle.
"I know." A playful smile appeared on Pei Shaoqing’s face. "I’m going to lay an ambush and catch him in the act."
He had deliberately provoked Yan Sichen just now to make him panic and rush to silence Wang Wu.
Since Yan Sichen had already come all the way to Tongzhou.
He couldn’t possibly have made the trip for nothing.
"My lord is brilliant!" Chen Zhongyi’s eyes lit up and his words quickened. "If we can catch Yan Sichen red-handed, he won’t be able to talk his way out of it."
Pei Shaoqing nodded slowly and added, "Yan Sichen’s strength is considerable. To ensure success, he will definitely make a move himself, so Lady Gongsun will participate in the ambush.
Also, we need to send people to keep a close watch on the three ’Three Yin Maidens’. Yan Sichen might send his men after them."
"Yes, sir!" Chen Zhongyi replied solemnly.
Pei Shaoqing gave another order, "Find out where they are staying and report back to me."
"Your humble one obeys!" Chen Zhongyi turned and left.
Meanwhile, Pei Shaoqing began to study the ten bolts of Ice Silk the Emperor had rewarded him with. Each was a different color, and even as raw materials, they felt exquisite to the touch.
’Whoever invented Ice Silk deserves to be canonized.’
Soon, Chen Zhongyi sent a messenger to report that Yan Sichen and his party had checked into the Hongbin Inn.
Pei Shaoqing immediately went to find General Li.
At that moment, General Li was patrolling the entrance to Xie Qingwu’s Alchemy Room. This was its new assignment.
Seeing Pei Shaoqing approach, General Li put on a serious expression on its chubby little face and reported, "Reporting to my lord! This subject has stood guard day and night and has not discovered any suspicious individuals."
"Mm, very good. Once my lady comes out of seclusion, I’ll reward you with dried fish," Pei Shaoqing said, deciding to dangle a reward.
"This subject does not want dried fish." General Li shook its round head, its eyes burning as it said, "Doesn’t my lord think that this subject, as a general, is missing something?"
"A sense of integrity?" Pei Shaoqing ventured.
General Li’s face darkened. "A suit of armor!"
Pei Shaoqing was stunned. ’A cat wants something like that?’
"My lord, this subject wants armor!" General Li stood up on its hind legs and looked at Pei Shaoqing, its eyes filled with longing.
’A great general charges onto the battlefield.
How can he not have a handsome suit of armor?’
"Fine, fine. I’ll have someone forge a suit of Grand General’s Golden Armor for my dear General Li," Pei Shaoqing agreed.
’It probably won’t cost much Silver Coin anyway.’
"Thank you, my lord!" General Li was instantly overjoyed and asked, "Does my lord have any other commands?"
"Have your cats watch the guests in Room Heaven Three of the Hongbin Inn, especially the young man in brocade leading them. I want to know what they say and what they do," Pei Shaoqing said flatly.
’Although I’ve already predicted Yan Sichen’s next move, I still want to plant a few feline listening devices and trackers on him, just to be absolutely certain.’
"Yes, sir!" General Li accepted the order, rising to its hind legs and patting its chest. "This subject is willing to personally lead the team."
"Permission granted," Pei Shaoqing decreed, his words like gold.
General Li accepted its orders and departed.
Watching the calico cat’s scurrying figure, Pei Shaoqing suddenly thought of the three-flower cat leading the grand expedition.
’I wonder if they’ve arrived safely?’
「At that very moment, at the East Gate of Celestial Capital City.」
Beneath the towering city wall, three dust-covered cats sat in a row, tilting their heads up to gaze at the gate.
In the middle was General Li’s beloved consort, the three-flower cat.
After nearly a month of arduous travel—crossing mountains and rivers, and hitching rides on people’s carriages—they had finally reached the Capital City.
Before entering the city, the three-flower cat had its two subordinates throw away the packs they were carrying on their backs.
It was to avoid being seen and attracting attention.
After nearly a month of experience, the three-flower cat’s Spiritual Wisdom had clearly increased significantly compared to when it was in Tongzhou.
"Meow." The three-flower cat let out a cry, got up, and started walking through the city gate. The other two cats hurried to follow.
About half an hour later, a shriek came from the back kitchen of a tavern: "Damn it all! What kind of reincarnated, starved bastard stole my stewed chicken and pork knuckle!"
In the adjacent alley, the three cats, full and content with greasy mouths, bathed in the sunlight. They were sprawled out languidly on the ground, exposing their fuzzy little bellies.
"Meow, meow, meow." The three-flower cat meowed several times at its two subordinates, indicating that the food at the tavern they had just robbed was quite good, and that the two of them should make their base here.
The two lean white cats, whose muscular outlines were faintly visible, meowed and nodded in agreement.
The three-flower cat then lifted a paw, pointed at one of the cats, and meowed, ordering it to rest here for a day and then immediately set off. It was to follow their route back and pass the message of their safe arrival to the cats at the nearest relay station.
The message would be passed from one station to the next until it reached General Li, and then their lord would naturally know that the intelligence line had been successfully established.
After arranging things for its two subordinates, the three-flower cat left on its own. It needed to find a water source to bathe first. Once its fur was dry, it would sneak into the Imperial Palace to get close to Noble Consort Wan.
’After all, to successfully seduce a woman,
one first has to take care of one’s appearance.’
...............
「Tongzhou, Hongbin Inn.」
In Room Heaven Three, just as Pei Shaoqing had expected, Yan Sichen was laying out his plan for the night.
However, there was one part that differed from Pei Shaoqing’s prediction. Yan Sichen said calmly, "Tonight, we’ll split into two groups. Commander Zhou, you take three men to the Jing’an Guard prison to kill Wang Wu and silence him. I myself will take two men to abduct those three lucky-to-be-alive Three Yin Maidens."
He guessed that Pei Shaoqing would surely anticipate his attempt on the prison and would lay an ambush in advance.
Therefore, he had no real hope of killing Wang Wu.
Sending his men there was merely a diversion to confuse Pei Shaoqing.
He, on the other hand, would personally abduct the three Three Yin Maidens. As long as he could greatly increase that dead ghost’s power, he could then order it to come to Tongzhou and kill both Wang Wu and Pei Shaoqing.
When a ghost kills someone, no one would suspect him.
Of course, if Commander Zhou actually managed to kill Wang Wu and silence him tonight, that would be for the best.
As far as he knew, the strongest person under Pei Shaoqing’s command was Liu Yuheng of the Iron Sword Sect. By splitting their forces tonight, they would surely make it difficult for her to handle both fronts.
"Yes, Heir!" replied the tall Commander Zhou, who had a small mustache, with utmost respect.
He was the deputy commander of Yan Sichen’s Hidden Guards.
Early Stage Wandering Dragon Realm.
Yan Sichen gave a solemn instruction, "If the situation becomes untenable, your own safety is the priority."
"Yes!" Commander Zhou nodded gravely.
Yan Sichen’s plan was a good one.
But Pei Shaoqing found out about it very quickly.
"I’m surprised. I didn’t think this guy was so cunning," Pei Shaoqing said, somewhat taken aback.
After all, from his brief encounter with Yan Sichen, he had gotten the impression that the man was an impatient brute.
If he hadn’t found out in advance, Yan Sichen might have actually succeeded. But since he already knew, Yan Sichen could only blame his own bad luck.
However, this brought another problem.
He was short on manpower.
According to Ye Yu, Yan Sichen was at the Early Stage of the Wandering Dragon Realm.
Four of the guards with him were in the Qi Condensation Realm.
He didn’t know about the other three, as they hadn’t acted.
However, Pei Shaoqing figured that since Commander Zhou was in charge, he was most likely also in the Wandering Dragon Realm.
He could leave Yan Sichen to Liu Yuheng, and have Zhao Zilan and Ye Hanshuang take some people to assist.
But what about Commander Zhou’s group?
Even if Wang Wu wasn’t in the prison, he couldn’t let them come and go as they pleased. What would become of the Jing’an Guard’s reputation?
It would be best to capture him. After all, as a high-ranking lackey, he definitely knew more than Wang Wu.
But that led to another problem. He was at the peak of the Qi Condensation Realm, leading a group of Body Refining Realm subordinates. Even with the help of the Breaking Gang Crossbows, there was no way they could take down Commander Zhou.
So, he had to call for outside help.
It was just a pity that the Saintess hadn’t finished her preparations.
Then Pei Shaoqing suddenly thought of County Magistrate Wang.
Of course, he certainly didn’t expect County Magistrate Wang, who was also at the peak of Qi Condensation like himself, to be able to capture Commander Zhou alive.
Instead, he recalled that County Magistrate Wang had mentioned last time that a Holy Envoy from the Holy Hall was in Tongzhou. And judging by his awed tone back then, this Holy Envoy was probably also in the Wandering Dragon Realm.
’If they had the Holy Envoy’s help, plus myself and County Magistrate Wang, wouldn’t defeating Commander Zhou be a piece of cake?’
’As for why the Holy Envoy would help him?’
’That would be County Magistrate Wang’s headache.’
’In any case, given how guilty Old Wang feels toward me right now, if I make this request, he will definitely find a way to get it done.’
Acting on the thought, he immediately left for the County Government Office.
He deliberately didn’t have himself announced and walked straight into the inner hall.
"Brother Pei, what brings you here?"
County Magistrate Wang was surprised and delighted to see Pei Shaoqing. Ever since the last incident, he had been filled with guilt and hadn’t dared to contact him.
"I need your help with something." Pei Shaoqing casually found a chair, sat down, and spoke as if it were his right.
Far from being angry, County Magistrate Wang was pleased. He quickly stood up to pour tea for him personally, readily agreeing, "Brother Pei, just say the word. No matter what it is, I’ll definitely help."
He hadn’t slept well these past few days, and now he finally had a chance to atone for his deep-seated guilt.
"What is the cultivation level of the Holy Envoy who came to Tongzhou?"
County Magistrate Wang was puzzled as to why he was asking this, but he answered truthfully, "He has been in the Wandering Dragon Realm for many years."
"Tonight, an expert will try to break someone out of the Hundred Households prison. I hope you can get this Holy Envoy to help capture him," Pei Shaoqing said, getting straight to the point.
"This..." County Magistrate Wang froze, stammering, "Brother Pei, I’m willing to help personally with this matter, but how can I persuade the Holy Envoy? We can’t just directly expose our... collaboration, can we?"
"Of course we can’t expose it. Anyway, you just promised to help. What, you can’t do it?" Pei Shaoqing’s expression had already soured, and he made a show of getting up to leave.
He was like a master of emotional manipulation, constantly toying with the honest man.
"Wait!" Quick as a flash, Old Wang grabbed his arm and said through gritted teeth, "I’ll figure something out."
’Pei Shaoqing was still willing to ask him for help, which meant he had truly forgiven his despicable actions from a few days ago.’
’How could he possibly disappoint him now?’
"My thanks," Pei Shaoqing said nonchalantly.
Old Wang broke into a smile. "I haven’t yet congratulated you on being ennobled for your merits at such a young age, Baron of Pingyang."
"I earned it," Pei Shaoqing said dismissively.
This familiar air of arrogance greatly cheered Old Wang up.
After Pei Shaoqing took his leave, his face immediately clouded over again. ’How was he supposed to persuade the Holy Envoy?’
’Wait!’
’He suddenly had an idea of how to handle it.’