The fact that Jiang You was an advisor to Ying Ziqi remained a secret to this day, known to very few people. But this person before him could accurately state that he was Ying Ziqi's man and even knew his name was Jiang You with a single utterance. He knew this man's background was far from ordinary.
Upon hearing this, Li Jin raised an eyebrow and said, "Lord Jiang, your statement is quite strange, isn't it? You should know who I am. Haven't you been secretly sending people to investigate our whereabouts in Zhuzhou? So why is it that now that I appear before you, you don't recognize me?"
Jiang You widened his eyes in disbelief and said, "Investigating... You... You are the Seventh Prince's man?"
"What Third Prince, Seventh Prince?" Chen Manzhou said with a dark expression, "Lord Jiang, aren't you from the Seventh Prince's side? How did you inexplicably become the Third Prince's man?"
Chen Manzhou was not a fool. How could he not understand by now that he had been deceived?
Chen Manzhou had abandoned his wealthy and prestigious position as the County Magistrate of Zhuzhou because he believed the prince backing Jiang You was the Empress's adopted son. He had hoped that by serving this prince in such a remote place, he could gamble on securing a more promising future.
Who would have thought.
The whole thing was a deception from the very beginning.
Chen Manzhou was the County Magistrate of Zhuzhou who pretended to have been driven away by the common people and then defected to serve the 'Seventh Prince'.
Jiang You quickly suppressed the unease in his heart and warned, "Lord Chen, to be frank, although the Seventh Prince is the Empress's adopted son, he is actually not favored by the Emperor at all and is a useless good-for-nothing. The Third Prince is different, he has always been heavily relied upon by the Emperor. Lord Chen, you should think carefully."
The meaning of Jiang You's words was clear: he wanted Chen Manzhou to know that Ying Yuan only had the empty title of being the Empress's adopted son, which was utterly useless.
"So in Third Imperial Brother's eyes, I am just a good-for-nothing."
Ying Yuan, standing together with Li Jin, spoke up coldly.
Third Imperial Brother?
These words caused a huge shock.
Ying Yuan's words successfully stunned Jiang You and Chen Manzhou, their eyes filled with utter disbelief.
Jiang You was the first to react, his face turning livid as he said, "Impossible. I once saw the Seventh Prince. You are definitely not him."
"Then have you ever seen the heir apparent of the Prince of Dingbei?"
Ying Yuan signaled for Jiang You to look at Li Jin, ignoring his skepticism.
"Of course I have." Compared to Ying Yuan, who stayed in the palace year-round, Jiang You had more opportunities to see Li Jin. Moreover, a few years ago, Ying Ziqi had even ordered him to tail Li Jin.
Ying Yuan said with a faint, mocking smile, revealing Li Jin's identity, "He is the heir apparent of the Prince of Dingbei, Li Jin."
"You're trying to deceive me. How could the heir of the Prince of Dingbei be... He... he... he..." As Jiang You watched Li Jin suddenly remove the disguise on his face, revealing his true face to everyone, he couldn't help but gasp sharply.
Actually, Ying Yuan would have preferred to remove the disguise from his own face, but the mark on his forehead was still there. After thinking it over, Ying Yuan reluctantly gave up on the idea.
Chen Manzhou's face also turned very unpleasant: Li Jin, Li Jin, isn't that the name of the heir apparent of the Prince of Dingbei? No wonder his name sounded familiar to me. I can't just wait for death. If I don't do something now, it will be too late.
"You people are impersonating a prince and a heir of the prince, a crime of the utmost severity. Today, I will deal with you." Having said this, Chen Manzhou took out a package of a specialized grey powder from his clothes and threw it towards Li Jin and the others.
Chen Manzhou had not forgotten how he had treated Li Jin before. If Li Jin were to settle accounts later, he would certainly not escape. He decided to fully commit himself to the Third Prince's faction, since he was already considered one of their men anyway.
"Everyone, stand still and don't move."
Li Jin had noticed something was off with Chen Manzhou the moment he put his hand into his clothes and had long been prepared. Thus, the moment the grey powder was thrown, Li Jin reacted first, using his wide sleeve to sweep the grey powder back towards Chen Manzhou, making him suffer the consequences of his own actions.
"No…"
Chen Manzhou hadn't expected Li Jin to react so quickly. Caught off guard, he inhaled a significant amount of the grey powder, and his entire complexion immediately became dreadful, followed by him rolling on the ground in agony.
Watching Chen Manzhou's reaction, Ying Yuan's expression sank.
Thankfully, Li Jin reacted quickly just now; otherwise, the three of us would be the ones lying on the ground.
Li Jin suddenly looked at Jiang You and said, "Jiang You, why did the Third Prince use the Seventh Prince's name to commit these heinous acts?"
Knowing full well that the common people of Zhuzhou were in dire straits, yet still taking advantage of the situation to loot—if that isn't heinous, then what is?
"Ahem…" Jiang You coughed and said righteously, "Since ancient times, those who achieve great things do not bother with minor morals. Every single thing the Third Prince has done is for a greater righteousness, for the sake of the common people. They should feel honored to be able to sacrifice for this cause."
"What an 'honor'." Li Jin's smile held a trace of barely perceptible coldness. "So... you used corvee labor as a pretext to arrest people in various villages in Zhuzhou, also because of the 'greater righteousness' you spoke of?"
"How do you know that?" Jiang You's expression was full of disbelief.
I have kept the matter of raising a private army very secret, never entrusting it to others. How could it have been leaked?
Li Jin narrowed his eyes slightly. "It seems I guessed correctly."
"You tricked me into talking?"
Jiang You's shock quickly turned to anger. If looks could kill, Li Jin would have been sliced to pieces hundreds of times over by now.
"Raising a private army?"
Li Jin didn't answer but instead asked another question, throwing out another bombshell.
Jiang You's pupils immediately contracted, and he said through gritted teeth, "None of your business."
Damn it, how did he guess correctly again?
Once might be a coincidence, but twice is definitely suspicious.
Li Jin raised an eyebrow. "Judging by your reaction, I've guessed correctly again."
The reason Li Jin guessed Jiang You's other purpose so quickly was precisely because in his previous life, Jiang You was responsible for recruiting troops and buying horses for Ying Ziqi. Therefore, after Li Jin inquired about the situation in Liujia Village and combined it with the fact that the person who came here was Jiang You, it wasn't difficult to guess his purpose.
But there was one thing Li Jin only truly found out in this life.
That was the origin of Ying Ziqi's soldiers. In his previous life, Li Jin was also curious about how Ying Ziqi had so many private soldiers and asked about it. However, at that time, Ying Ziqi told Li Jin that these people had all come to pledge their allegiance to him.
However...
However, he soon discovered it had all been a deception. These men had not pledged their allegiance willingly; they had been coerced. When Li Jin later questioned them in private, their stories were identical, likely because they feared Ying Ziqi would retaliate against their families.
"Heir Li, a wise man submits to circumstances. If you were to pledge your allegiance to the Third Prince now, the Third Prince would certainly not hold past grievances against you and would employ you importantly." Jiang You, knowing his current situation was dangerous, immediately changed his approach and tried to persuade Li Jin, saying, "Otherwise, if you keep following this useless Seventh Prince, it will only bury your talents. He might even push you out in times of danger."
Jiang You said this intentionally in front of Ying Yuan. His purpose was simple: besides wanting to win Li Jin over, he also wanted to drive a wedge between Li Jin and Ying Yuan.
Ying Yuan stepped on Jiang You's chest and said coldly, "A-Jin will not pledge allegiance to Ying Ziqi."
"Ahem…" Jiang You immediately coughed in discomfort. "What use is pledging allegiance to a good-for-nothing like you... Cough... cough, cough, cough... Everyone at court knows that if it weren't for Heir Li helping you back then, you would never have become the Empress's adopted son."
Ying Yuan suddenly laughed.
"Cough, cough, cough... cough... What are you laughing at... cough..."
Jiang You had thought these words would gradually deepen Ying Yuan's resentment towards Li Jin. After all, no matter what, Ying Yuan was a prince. How could he not mind being said to have attained his current position relying on the power of a mere subject?
However, Ying Yuan's unexpected reaction left Jiang You completely bewildered.
Ying Yuan turned to look at Li Jin and said, word by word, "Yes, everything I have was gained with A-Jin's help. So I will repay A-Jin with everything I can, even if it costs me my life."
All these years, Ying Yuan had never forgotten this vow.
Li Jin shook his head. "No, your life is very important. You must not say such inauspicious words again."
"Alright."
Ying Yuan nodded solemnly.
Jiang You was directly dumbfounded by the scene before him.
Clearly, he was trying to drive a wedge between Li Jin and Ying Yuan. Why did they seem even closer instead?
"You..."
"You talk too much." Li Jin didn't give Jiang You a chance to continue speaking. He straightforwardly knocked him unconscious. "Yunting, tie him up and take him back first. He still has his uses."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Zhou Yunting nodded to Li Jin and immediately bound Jiang You tightly.
Seeing Jiang You's fate, Chen Manzhou broke out in a cold sweat and begged for mercy, "Spare me... I beg you to spare my life. I... What I did just now was also forced! Seventh Prince, Heir Li, I beg you to spare my wretched life. I promise I will never set foot in Zhuzhou again."
Ying Yuan coldly listed Chen Manzhou's crimes: "Embezzling the disaster relief food previously distributed to the common people, was that forced? Maliciously raising the price of salt, was that forced? Privately accepting bribes, was that forced? Taking advantage of the chaos to seize official land for yourself, was that forced?"
These matters were discovered by Ying Yuan through the people provided by Gu Rushuang. They were the evil deeds committed by Chen Manzhou before he fled.
"Yes... It was forced." Chen Manzhou refused to repent. "I also wanted to be a good official, but... but the Third Prince forced me to pledge allegiance to him, even using tactics that ruined my reputation. I had no choice but to obey!"
"Save those words to explain to the common people of Zhuzhou."
Having said that, Ying Yuan immediately tore off a piece of Chen Manzhou's sleeve, rolled it into a cloth ball, stuffed it into Chen Manzhou's mouth, and then tied him up securely.
Chen Manzhou, already suffering from his own poison, felt even worse.
After dealing with Jiang You, Zhou Yunting walked up behind Li Jin, cupped his hands, and said, "Your Highness, what about the remaining people? Should we deal with them all together?"
"Tie them all up. I will help too."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"I'll help as well."
The dosage of the drug Zhou Yunting used to deal with them this time was very heavy. By the time they had tied up everyone in the fort, loaded them onto the carriage, and taken them away, no one had woken up.
Watching his subordinates being tied up one after another, Chen Manzhou wanted to wake them up to save himself, but he himself had a cloth stuffed in his mouth. Even if he wanted to shout, he couldn't make a sound.
No comments:
Post a Comment