Novel Full Chapter 4 – Confidential Matter That Is Not A Secret
Book 6 Chapter 4 – Confidential Matter That Is Not A Secret
Kou Zhong slipped out the window and came back. Dejected, he said, “Those two damn fart useless. Now most of the people in our gang have scattered away, leaving only about a hundred men. We hope that when Du Fuwei, or perhaps Li Zitong come to attack, we can be their contact on the inside so that we can avenge Bangzhu, the Senior.”
Kou Zhong’s eyes lit up; lowering his voice, he asked, “Have you elected new Bangzhu?”
Gui Xiliang sighed and said, “Elect what ghost Bangzhu? Right now we are like a sheet of loose sand, we are only waiting for the muddleheaded ruler’s death, and then we’ll hold an assembly in Danyang, to look at the possibility of electing the new Bangzhu.”
Meanwhile they have reached the end of the alley, ahead was another big street. Gui Xiliang halted his steps and said, “I shall not come out to the light. Do you remember that guy, Xing Rong’s house? I am hiding in there.”
Chapter 4, Part 2
Kou Zhong casually asked, “How’s Yan Laoda?”
“You still have the nerve to ask about him?” Gui Xiliang said, “I don’t know what kind of thing the two of you stole from some government official, you implicated more than a hundred people; since then, no one has seen them. I heard it has something to do with Yuwen Huaji; is that right?”
Kou Zhong heaved a deep sigh and said, “Don’t worry! I guarantee that Yuwen Huaji won’t have too many days to live. That muddleheaded ruler will soon open him up with a saber.”
Gui Xiliang snorted disdainfully, “Your dead character has never changed. Yuwen Huaji basically never has any regards toward that muddleheaded ruler; before his death, Bangzhu had a very good relationship with him, he even said that Yuwen Huaji even dare to steal the muddleheaded ruler’s women.”
Kou Zhong’s countenance changed, “Do you know which one he stole?” he asked.
“Naturally the most beautiful one,” Gui Xiliang replied, “Otherwise, why would he risk his life to steal her? Do you think he dislike having a long life?”
Kou Zhong groaned inwardly; the most beautiful women by Yang Guang’s side were Xiao Fei and Zhu Fei [reminder: fei means imperial concubine]. Zhu Fei was Baling Bang people, so there shouldn’t be any problem. But if it were Xiao Fei, then Yuwen Huaji should know that he and Xu Ziling have come to Jiangdu especially to do harm to him.
The more he thought, the more he was alarmed; no longer in the mood to chitchat with this guy, he hurried away.
Xu Ziling was waiting for Kou Zhong, empty-handed. The latter asked in surprise, “The clothes?”
Xu Ziling indignantly said, “All satin garments and used clothing stores have been looted bare; they all closed down their businesses for good. Everybody said that wherever the muddleheaded ruler went, there wouldn’t be law and order in that place. Failing the people’s heart like this, I really wish to kill him with one punch. Huh? Why is your countenance so unsightly?”
Kou Zhong craned his neck out to look around, a squad of Sui troops has just passed by. Lowering his voice he said, “Did you see anything different about those Sui troops?”
Xu Ziling thought he was still referring to the men that Dugu Sheng sent to catch them. “Nothing different to me,” he replied, “In my opinion, currently the morale of the troops is in a mess, even if there is any order from above, they won’t necessarily do it wholeheartedly.”
Kou Zhong sighed and said, “What I am worried about is not that matter, rather, Yuwen Huaji might have received information about his unfavorable situation. Quick! Let’s go find Su Jie, I’ll tell you along the way!”
Xiang Yushan proved himself to be a scholar of ability and wisdom; the safe house was at the outskirt just south of the city, not far from the Yangtze River. If any problem arose, it would be very convenient to escape either via the water or on land.
On the outside, it was no different than an ordinary family mansion, but it was actually Baling Bang’s secret hideout.
By the time the two boys stepped into the courtyard, they immediately felt something was unusual. One of Baling Bang leaders told them in low voice, “Dugu Sheng and Fei Yun are here.”
Kou Zhong had already guessed that they would, so he simply laughed aloud and calmly and boldly he strode into the hall.
Xu Ziling, who was following behind him, had a strange feeling; formerly this good brother of his was just a kid, but facing such a tough enemy he had shown his able side.
Dugu Sheng grandly sat in the middle of the hall, on his side were Xiang Yushan, Susu and Big Sister Xiao, on the other side was the ill-countenanced Fei Yun. Only Yun Yuzhen was not present.
On either side stood five, six big men wearing embroidered robe, with just one glance it was clear that these men were martial art masters of the Imperial Bodyguards.
Dugu Sheng’s eyes were flickering sharply as he shouted with heavy voice, “What do you two think you are doing?”
Kou Zhong leisurely halted his steps, his eyes swept across the hall, and he giggled and said, “We, two brothers, also want to know what do you think you are doing? You lightly scolded us as slaves, and locked us up as prisoners. Hey! Let’s have everybody judge fairly between us.”
Xiang Yushan cast a deeply concerned glance toward Susu, who was so scared that her face was devoid of any color; he stood up and said, “It’s good that Kou Xiong and Xu Xiong came back, this is just a little misunderstanding. Come! Sit down and let’s talk.”
Fei Yun was putting on an air of big official; he slapped the armrest and shouted, “What misunderstanding? Yushan, you sit down, let’s clear up this matter first.”
Noticing Susu was scared, Xu Ziling empathized with her; letting out a cold laugh, he said, “I don’t understand why you are still nagging endlessly; the smart thing to do right now is immediately slip away, if you tarry much longer, I am afraid it will be too late.”
Dugu Sheng understood his implication, he raised his hand to stop Fei Yun, who was about to flare out in anger, and spoke in heavy voice, “Can Xu Xiongdi speak a bit more clearly?”
Kou Zhong spoke up, “I just heard information that one of His Highness favorite concubines has secret ties with Yuwen Huaji. Therefore, our secret plan is no longer a secret. If you were Yuwen Huaji, what would you do?”
Everybody’s countenance changed immediately.
Suppressing his anger, Fei Yun asked, “Where did you get the information from? Do you know which imperial concubine?”
“From Zhuhua Bang people,” Kou Zhong replied, “I heard that the late Bangzhu was Yuwen Huaji’s man, and that’s how I learned about the incident.”
Fei Yun was seething with anger, “Turns out it’s that thief who did not know how to appreciate favors.”
From the tone of his voice, it was obvious that if the death of Zhuhua Bang’s late Bangzhu was not directly related to him, he must have had some connection with it.
Dugu Sheng turned to one of his men, “Zhu Ming, did you see anything unusual with Yuwen Clan’s troop’s activity today?”
The tall and thin Zhu Ming shook his head and replied, “We have been closely monitoring Yuwen Huaji, Yuwen Shiji and Yuchi Sheng’s men, we did not see anything unusual.”
Dugu Sheng breathed a sigh of relief; he said, “Wind from an empty cave cannot be without any cause. Moreover, Yuwen Huaji has always had free access to the Imperial Palace, so this matter is highly possible. Fortunately, Laofu [lit. old man, referring to self] has been well-prepared; in the next two days, I have strict order that no one is to leave the Palace …”
Xu Ziling cut him off, “Now it’s not the time to comfort ourselves; didn’t you see that last night our men managed to slip out of the Palace? If one of those men cast his lot with Yuwen Huaji, plus the secret information from that unknown imperial concubine spy, Yuwen Huaji should have a clear picture of his unfavorable situation.”
Big Sister Xiao joined in, “Who currently holds power over the military?”
Dugu Sheng replied, “All His Highness’ personal bodyguards have been with Laofu for many years, more or less there shouldn’t be any problem. However, whether they are harboring some disloyal thought, or perhaps they have been bought, even Laofu does not dare to guarantee.”
Fei Yun added, “Other than personal bodyguards, there are also Jiangdu’s own garrison and the Imperial Guards that are coming with His Highness. The former is under Yuchi Sheng’s command, the latter under Sima Dekan. Yuwen Huaji and Yuwen Shiji do not have direct authority over military affair.”
The tone of his voice softened as he said, “This official is slightly mistaken, hereby I sincerely apologize to two Xiao Xiongdi. This matter should not be delayed, we must take advantage before Yuwen Huaji finds out about it to strike first and gain the upper hand; pull the Yuwen family’s root from Jiangdu, otherwise it will cause no end of trouble. Would two gentlemen immediately come with this official to have an audience with His Highness? His Highness’ sacred self has already returned to the royal city.”
Xiang Yushan also urged, “Two Dage must use this opportunity to avenge your benevolent master’s big enmity, before Yuwen Huaji finds out about this matter, act fast; otherwise, if you miss this opportunity, there won’t be any second chance.”
Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, “So there is really no sign of troop movement or any rebellion?”
Hearing the tone of his voice, everybody was startled.
Susu could not help asking, “Xiao Zhong, what do you have in mind? Quickly speak up!”
Xu Ziling’s intelligence was on par with Kou Zhong, he understood immediately. “How many men did Sima Dekan take to pursue Dou Xian? When did he leave?” he asked.
Dugu Sheng was shaken, “Do you think he is going to rebel?” he asked.
Kou Zhong said, “Soldiers and officers ran away, he will take the blame. Does he have good relationship with Yuwen Huaji?”
Zhu Ming’s countenance changed; he said, “Before Commander set off this morning, he stopped by Zongguan mansion to see Yuwen Huaji and Yuchi Sheng.”
Fei Yun stood up abruptly. “That’s not right!” his voice trembled, “He has no reason to bring twenty-thousand men just to pursue Dou Xian’s several hundred men.”
Xu Ziling said, “His pursuit of Dou Xian is just an empty threat. In my opinion, no later than tonight, he will lead the troops back to join Yuchi Sheng and Yuwen Huaji’s troops to kill their way into the Imperial Palace.”
Fei Yun’s countenance became extremely unsightly, “This is extremely urgent,” he said anxiously, “We must enter the Palace immediately to report to His Highness.”
“Hold on!” Kou Zhong shouted, “We are willing to accompany you braving this danger, but you must let our Jiejie leave Jiangdu first, so that we won’t have any fears of trouble in the rear.”
Dugu Sheng and Fei Yun exchanged glances; they hesitated and were unable to make decision. Without Susu, if these two boys employed some tricks and slip away again, they would have no way of finding them back, plus currently time was not on their side.
“No!” Susu mournfully said, “I will wait for you and we will leave together.”
Kou Zhong smiled wryly and said, “Then if something bad happens, nobody will be able to leave. I am afraid that for Yuwen Huaji, this house is no longer a secret.”
Xiang Yushan patted his chest as a guarantee and said to Dugu Sheng and Fei Yun, “My two Dage are men who dare to do and dare to take responsibility, plus they have deep enmity against Yuwen Huaji. Two Daren can rest assured.”
Dugu Sheng reluctantly nodded his approval.
Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling bade their farewell to Susu. Only after handing her over to Xiang Yushan did they enter the ‘How do you catch the tiger cub without entering the tiger's lair?’ frame of mind, and followed Dugu Sheng and Fei Yun back into the city.