Chapter 275: The Strategist

The hero’s banquet King Xian had planned was in three days.

Three days. And King Xian had at least fifty to sixty thousand troops.

After some thought, Xiao Li went to find Rong Qing. Their plans needed a slight adjustment.

When Rong Qing heard the Empress wanted to act alone, there was no way he would agree.

Xiao Li said, "General Rong, this is an imperial order."

Seeing Rong Qing’s reluctant nod, Xiao Li added, "Ziyue will stay by my side. If anything happens, I’ll run. I won’t confront them head-on."

After Rong Qing left, Xiao Li had Ziyue continue to stake out the Prince Xian Mansion.

Aside from King Xian’s rebellion, Xiao Li hadn’t forgotten her true objective. She was looking for Xu Nianqing, and she had a gut feeling that scoundrel would be somewhere near the King.

The Prince Xian Mansion was much larger than a typical manor. While not as opulent as the Prince Mansions in the capital, it was still a grand estate for such a remote area.

However, the Prince Xian Mansion was now bustling with people, a place of many eyes and ears. With numerous guards on watch and on patrol, moving about unnoticed would be quite difficult.

Xiao Li wanted to confirm Xu Nianqing’s presence without taking any risks. After a moment’s thought, she sent a blank letter into the mansion.

The gate guards of the Prince Xian Mansion saw the name "Xu Nianqing" on the letter and, just as she expected, took it inside.

That was all the confirmation Xiao Li needed. Xu Nianqing was here.

’Now that I know he’s tied to King Xian, this makes things much simpler. I can catch them all in one fell swoop.’

’I have the power to crush them all. Why would I risk a solo assassination?’

King Xian wanted to rebel, and Xu Nianqing just happened to be mixed up with him. It was simply perfect.

"Miss, what are you doing here?"

You might not find love around the corner, but you’ll almost certainly run into trouble.

Xiao Li’s feelings upon seeing Jiang Zhou could be summed up in two words: bad news.

She turned to leave, her face cold. But Jiang Zhou, delighted to see her again, hurried to catch up. "Miss, my name is Jiang Zhou. Might I ask for yours?"

Xiao Li drew her blade without hesitation, her voice a low threat. "Get lost!"

Jiang Zhou glanced at the blade’s cold glint and remarked with admiration, "A fine weapon."

He then smiled at Xiao Li. "Miss, I mean no harm. Our meeting must be fate. Could I invite you for a cup of tea?"

Xiao Li lashed out with a kick, which Jiang Zhou dodged. She immediately started to walk away. Jiang Zhou chased after her without thinking and was met with a solid kick from Xiao Li for his trouble.

"Oof!"

The kick sent Jiang Zhou flying. He staggered to his feet, but he wasn’t angry. He watched Xiao Li’s retreating back, rubbing his stomach with a laugh. "Miss, you sure pack a punch."

Just after kicking Jiang Zhou, Xiao Li turned to see Lu Ling standing at the mouth of the alley.

’One surprise after another today.’

She suppressed her presence and walked past him, her eyes fixed straight ahead.

"Wait."

Lu Ling raised a hand to stop her, his expression dark. "You hit someone and just walk away, Miss?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa..." Jiang Zhou immediately came over and pulled him back. "Lu Ling, it’s not her fault. I was the one who blocked her path first."

After pulling Lu Ling back, he smiled apologetically at Xiao Li. "I’m sorry, we were rude. Please forgive us, Miss. I truly meant no harm. If we should meet again, I hope you’ll tell me your name."

Without a word, Xiao Li walked away, her face an icy mask.

Lu Ling frowned. "You’re interested in her?"

Jiang Zhou coughed. "Don’t be ridiculous. I just want to get to know her, maybe make a friend."

Lu Ling shot back, "Do I look blind?"

Jiang Zhou was at a loss for words. "It’s not that serious. For now, I really do just want to get to know her."

He didn’t get a reply for a long moment. When he looked up, he saw Lu Ling staring intently in the direction she had disappeared.

Lu Ling’s expression made Jiang Zhou’s heart pound. "Hey, what’s with that look? The girl didn’t do anything to you."

Lu Ling said thoughtfully, "She... gives me a sense of familiarity, but I can’t quite place it..."

Jiang Zhou asked, "You don’t think you’ve met before?"

Lu Ling shook his head. "I’m not sure."

Jiang Zhou said, "Well, if you can’t place it, don’t worry about it. I’ll get her name the next time we meet, and you can puzzle it out then."

----

On the day of King Xian’s hero’s banquet, Xiao Li went with Ziyue.

It was so crowded that many people couldn’t find a spot. Ziyue wrapped an arm around Xiao Li’s waist and leaped onto a rooftop. The position was distant, but it offered an excellent view.

The venue was a martial arts arena, shaped like a funnel. Tiers of stone steps, five levels high, surrounded a central fighting pit that was about ten feet deep.

In the center of the pit stood an enormous cage. Inside, a large, powerful tiger with fierce, upturned eyes paced restlessly.

Men outside the cage splashed fresh blood onto the ground. Smelling it, the tiger grew even more agitated, desperate to break out and tear something apart.

People were strange. One on one, a person facing a tiger would be scared witless. But in a crowd, even if the tiger were a hundred times more ferocious, they only felt a thrill of excitement.

"Gods, it’s a real tiger! And it’s huge!"

"Who could possibly fight that thing?"

"How did King Xian even catch it? That’s incredible."

"I heard King Xian’s advisor caught it with a trap. And he’s just some frail scholar, too."

"Wow, a scholar did that?"

"Hey, the man uses his brain. You think he’s some brute like us who only knows how to fight and kill?"

Xiao Li listened to the chatter from below, a cold smirk touching her lips. The scholar they were talking about was, as it happened, none other than Xu Nianqing.

That scoundrel had supposedly first encountered King Xian’s son by chance, and had even offended the young man. He ended up making a bet that he could capture a live tiger without a single person being harmed.

In the end, his scheme succeeded. He captured the tiger, earning the deep admiration and respect of King Xian’s son, who then recommended him to his father.

From then on, he became King Xian’s chief strategist, and now the King follows his every word.

This so-called hero’s banquet was also his idea.

Xiao Li had stayed today precisely to see what he was plotting.

Ziyue returned from a quick patrol. "Sister, King Xian hasn’t arrived yet, and I haven’t seen those men in silver armor."

Xiao Li watched the crowd below, her brow suddenly furrowing. "King Xian is creating this spectacle to cover for foreign soldiers entering the city. I fear this banquet is merely a distraction from his true purpose."

「Nearly an hour passed.」

Finally, a group of guards in silver armor emerged, flanking several figures.

In the center was a portly, middle-aged man with a large belly—King Xian himself. He was flanked by two young men.

One, dressed in fine brocade, was King Xian’s eldest son. The other, clad in white robes, had a scholarly and refined air. Even from a distance, Xiao Li knew it was Xu Nianqing. She would never mistake him for anyone else.

Xiao Li’s gaze swept past the men in silver armor and finally settled on Xu Nianqing.

’The incident with the Silver Armor Guards, the disappearance of Prince Wei... he must be involved in all of it.’

’As expected of someone with the memories of an Emperor. His schemes and intellect are far superior to the likes of Liu Xueyin and Lu Yanzhi.’

’It makes sense. If he didn’t have real skill, why would the consciousness of the world have chosen him to "set things right"?’

’Someone with mediocre abilities could never take the throne from me.’