Chapter 188: Wu Taimei Wrote Zhao Cheng’an Over a Dozen ’Love Letters

"My name is Su Wu. And what might I call you, young man?"

"Rong Jin."

Su Wu asked in surprise, "What is your relationship to the Rong Family of Yan Hill?"

Xiao Yang replied, "A relative so distant it doesn’t even count."

Su Wu smiled. "You’re an interesting one, young man. Are you from Liangzhou?"

Xiao Yang looked at Su Wu, fighting the urge to retort, ’You’re pretty interesting yourself.’

’I never thought I’d come to Liangzhou and immediately meet the legendary Su Wu. What a coincidence.’

’He seems strange, but he’s not quite what I imagined.’

"I used to live in Luoyan City, but my family moved to Jinzhou for business. With the situation there now... well, everyone knows how it is. My parents told me to come to Liangzhou and lie low for a bit. I’ll go back once things have stabilized."

After she finished, Xiao Yang looked Su Wu up and down. "Judging by your bearing, you don’t seem like you’re from Liangzhou."

Su Wu said, "My ancestral home is in the Capital City. I came here for certain reasons and have now settled in Yizhou. It’s actually more stable there than Liangzhou. If you have the time, you should go for a visit."

Xiao Yang said, "We’ll see."

They exchanged empty pleasantries, and as they chatted, the conversation drifted to the scroll painting.

Xiao Yang remained adamant in her disdain. "It’s so ugly I can’t bear to look at it."

Su Wu replied, "This scroll was sent from the Capital City. Prince Kang saw it with his own eyes and confirmed it’s at least eighty percent accurate. It can’t be a fake."

Xiao Yang said, "The Emperor is in Luoyan City right now. Why not just go have a look and find out?"

Su Wu countered, "Luoyan City isn’t so easy to get into right now. Plus, the Emperor is under heavy guard. Even if we went, we wouldn’t necessarily be able to see him."

Xiao Yang nodded. "You have a point."

After two cups of tea, Su Wu rose to leave. Before he went, he offered a Jade Button. "I am temporarily staying at the Governor Mansion. If you run into any trouble, you can use this token to find me."

Xiao Yang quickly refused. "How could I possibly trouble you?"

Yan’er said proudly, "My master is a kind man. Don’t be so ungrateful."

"Yan’er, that’s enough," Su Wu chided, then smiled at Xiao Yang. "I feel an instant kinship with you, young brother. If you don’t mind, you can call me Brother Su. And if you ever visit Yizhou, you must allow me to be your host and treat you well."

Since he’d put it that way, it would have been rude to refuse again.

Xiao Yang took the token. "In that case, thank you, Brother Su."

Su Wu rose and departed, carrying himself like a graceful, banished Immortal. ’That whole pretentious act is on par with Meng Xuechen’s, though his is much more forced.’

Xiao Yang crooked her finger, and Ling Ji bent down.

"Your Majesty?"

Xiao Yang’s gaze remained fixed in the direction Su Wu had left. "When you looked at him, did you notice if he was glowing?"

Ling Ji’s eyes widened slightly. "Your Majesty, how can he possibly compare to the Young Master?"

She hadn’t seen the man glow; instead, she suspected Xiao Yang had taken a liking to him.

’That look in Her Majesty’s eyes... surely it’s nothing, right?’

Xiao Yang chuckled. "I’m not interested in him. It’s just that he gave me a very strange feeling."

’It’s one thing for your eyes to light up, for a room to feel brighter, when you see a face as truly perfect and stunning as Mu Yunlian’s. But Su Wu’s looks are just decent, yet he seems to generate his own light. It’s just bizarre.’

Xiao Yang had observed just now that when the waiter brought their tea, his attitude was perfectly normal. Although he was surprised by the attractiveness of the people at the table, he didn’t have that wondrous look of someone seeing a glowing object.

’So, am I the only one who saw it?’

Xiao Yang figured this was a question only Xie Liuzheng’s system could answer.

Xiao Yang looked at the Jade Button from Su Wu. ’With him showing up here, there’s no need to investigate the assassination attempt anymore. It was almost certainly his handiwork.’

’And he’s staying at the Governor Mansion, which means one thing: the Liangzhou governor has also been won over.’

Liangzhou and Luoyan City were less than two hundred li apart, half a day’s journey on a fast horse.

’Clearly, they’re preparing to launch a sneak attack on me from behind.’

’The assassins were the first step. They failed. So, what’s their next move?’

Ye Shao went out to do some digging, and to his surprise, he actually came back with something.

"That man appeared at the Governor Mansion. He’s a steward there."

Seeing that Xiao Yang showed no reaction, Ye Shao asked in surprise, "Don’t tell me you already knew, Your Majesty?"

Xiao Yang explained, "Zhao Cheng’an’s strategist, Su Wu, has appeared here. The Liangzhou governor, Gong Tao, has been persuaded to switch his allegiance. They likely want to pass through Liangzhou to launch a sneak attack on Luoyan City."

Ye Shao said, "Then we must hurry back and put the troops on alert."

Leaning her head on her hand, Xiao Yang gave him a cool, lazy look. "And why are they going to Luoyan City?"

Ye Shao replied without a second thought, "To assassinate Your Majesty, of course. To throw the world into chaos so they can seize the opportunity to rise up and contend for the Imperial Power."

Xiao Yang nodded. "Uh-huh. And so?"

And so?

Ye Shao didn’t understand at first, but after a moment’s pause, it dawned on him.

’They’re going to Luoyan City to kill the Emperor... but the Emperor isn’t even in Luoyan City!’

The corner of Ye Shao’s mouth twitched. Marquis Wucheng’s men were being played for fools, and the people in Luoyan City were truly unlucky.

’Who would have thought the reigning Emperor would come charging into the rebel camp all by herself? You couldn’t find another emperor this unafraid of death and this good at causing trouble even if you scoured the history books.’

"So, what do you plan to do now?"

Xiao Yang said, "I hear the pickled vegetable pancakes in Yizhou are a local specialty. Let’s go get some."

Ye Shao: "..." ’Pickled vegetable pancakes? Isn’t that just serving ourselves up to the rebels on a platter?’

"At least let me send a message back to Luoyan City."

He was afraid that one wrong move would make him a villain condemned throughout history.

Xiao Yang said, "Don’t worry. I left a letter for my uncle before I left, and I’ve been leaving trail markers along the way. It’ll be fine."

Ye Shao didn’t trust the Emperor in the slightest right now, but there was nothing he could do.

As evening fell, they decided they couldn’t set out today and would go tomorrow instead.

They had just finished their meal and were about to look around when they suddenly saw a group of people ride out on horseback. In the middle of the group was a figure in white—unmistakably Su Wu.

Xiao Yang made up her mind in an instant.

"Follow them."

Su Wu had about a hundred men with him. The sky was gradually darkening—the perfect time to pull the same trick twice.

Pull them down, knock them out, and strip their clothes.

As the night grew deeper, only the men at the front held torches. Those in the rear could barely keep up, so no one noticed that three people at the back had been swapped out.

After riding for a full hour, they finally reached a town.

Su Wu led his men to rendezvous with another group, and only then did Xiao Yang and her companions finally understand what was going on.

Marquis Wucheng, Zhao Cheng’an, had been kidnapped.

The Danzhou Governor, Wu Taimei, had written more than ten ’love letters’ to Zhao Cheng’an. In the letters, he praised Zhao Cheng’an to the heavens, pouring his heart out with utmost sincerity, expressing his desire to back a winning horse and earn a promotion.

He bitterly complained that the Emperor only made him work without giving him rewards or promotions, and that he wanted to find a new, enlightened master to secure a brighter future for himself.

While Su Wu was taking his men to make a move on the Emperor, Zhao Cheng’an had been lured to Dan State by Wu Taimei. Who could have known it was a trap? He was kidnapped the moment he arrived.

Now, Su Wu had received the news and was rushing over through the night to figure out a way to rescue Zhao Cheng’an.

Xiao Yang: "..." ’That crafty bastard.’