Chapter 170
Book 15 Chapter 12 - The Revival Of Prestige
The events that unfolded after the recovery of the Dian King's Mansion totally exceeded the expectations of Xiang Shaolong and the rest. The first to arrive and congratulate them was Lord Chunshen, followed by the maids, servants and warriors of the Dian King's Mansion who had been recently expelled. They were then followed by the representatives and even kings of each va.s.sal state who had come for King Xiaolie's funeral, the envoys of each o the Eastern states, and finally the famous generals and chancellors who had esteemed the Zhuang family all along. This kept Madam Zhuang and Xiang Shaolong busy with incessant receptions and parties.
At dusk, the Empress Dowager Li Yanyan summoned Madam Zhuang and Zhuang Baoyi, but did not include Xiang Shalolong. Xiang Shaolong knew that he had been successful in raising the power and prestige of the Zhuang family. With ease of mind, he left Madam Zhuang the mother and son under the escort of Lord Chunshen to enter the palace for the meeting with Li Yanyan and her two plus year-old crown prince. Fortunately, the two You sisters remained to receive and entertain the guests, reducing the chances for a slip-up on his part. As they were beginning to get dizzy and confused with the volume of guests, a servant announced: "Lord Longyang from Wei seeks an audience!" Xiang Shaolong was delighted and after exhorting the You sisters to continue entertaining the other guests, instructed the servant to usher Lord Longyang into the inner hall.
Lord Longyang was puzzled at this arrangement and could only stare blankly on seeing Xiang Shaolong once he arrived inside. Xiang Shaolong rose from his seat and welcomed him, saying: "This time I have fooled you again!" Lord Longyang could not believe it and widened his 'graceful eyes', and in a small voice said: "Xiang Shaolong!" Xiang Shaolong pulled him to a seat in a corner and laughed, saying: "Who else could it be?"
Lord Longyang delightedly said: "You know that Tian Dan has arrived here!" Xiang Shaolong smiled and nodded.
Lord Longyang sighed and said: "You have the ability to know everything about heaven and earth. The last time it was Dong Horse Fanatic, now it is Wan Ruiguang. You've caused me to be worried for you. When I arrived here three days ago to discover Tian Dan flaunting himself spiritedly, I thought you had been killed by him!"
Xiang Shaolong then explained everything, not knowing why he trusts this 'boyfriend' wholeheartedly. Lord Longyang is finally aware of Tian Dan's escape using a body double. In a flash of realization, he said: "No wonder the Liu brothers, Dan Chu and the others have all disappeared. I must say, though, you can be proud of yourself, having caused him to be so frightened as to slip away so ignominiously!"
Xiang Shaolong asked: "Is the Lord here to attend King Xiaolie's funeral?" Lord Longyang replied: "Of course it is so on the the surface, but in reality I hope to wrest the Chu people from Tian Dan's hands. We now know that Tian Dan, Li Yuan and Lu Buwei have made a secret pact to divide the whole world between themselves."
Xiang Shaolong said: "If the Lord helps me to kill Tian Dan, wouldn't it solve all problems?" Lord Longyang thought that this was reasonable, and nodding, he said: "If you can restore the crown prince of Dian to his throne, you will teach the Chu people to think twice about having malicious intents. Though the situation is so complicated! Eventually we will still need to deal with your Qin state, isn't this a great contradiction?" Xiang Shaolong replied: "That is a problem for the future. If we do not deal with Lu Buwei's plot, we will face immediate catastrophe. Therefore killing Tian Dan will definitely be beneficial for you and for me.
Lord Longyang forced a bitter smile and said: "I am afraid that under heaven, there is only one Xiang Shaolong that I cannot refuse. Soon you will be seeing a lot of old friends too!"
Xiang Shaolong said: "Thats got to be Han Chuang, right?" Lord Longyang said: "This person Han Chuang is not very reliable, its better not to reveal yourself to him, else he might betray you under certain circ.u.mstances."
Xiang Shaolong then asked about Zhao Ya. Lord Longyang said: "She has already followed your family members back to Xianyang. The crown prince has expended a lot of effort to do this because all along, Han Jing was not willing to let her go. Once women get jealous, they disregard the bigger picture."
This was a big weight off Xiang Shaolong's mind. Following up, he asked: "Who else is here from each country?" Lord Longyang counted on his fingers and replied: "From Zhao, it is Guo Kai. This guy is now highly favored. With him messing around, I think Lian Po will soon lose his position."
Xiang Shaolong knew that for him to be so certain, there must have been some affair behind in his words. He couldn't help but give a gloomy sigh, but his hands were tied.
Lord Longyang continued: "From Wei, it should be Prince Dan. Nonetheless it is certainly odd that to date there has been no news of him." Xiang Shaolong was also unable to figure this out. If Prince Dan's men had sent news using swift horses from the Wei border to Shouchun, they would have arrived seventy days before he did. There was no reason for the lack of news.
All the envoys had to make official correspondence before arriving. If there was as yet no news of Prince Dan, it was possible that he would not be able to arrive in time for the funeral in half a month.
Xiang Shaolong asked: "Did Qin send anyone?" Lord Longyang replied: "Qin has always had a close relations.h.i.+p with Chu, not to mention that it was a rare time of peace, of course they will send someone. The odd thing, however, is that the person sent is not Lu Buwei, but Premier Xu Xian."
Xiang Shaolong's heart was jolted, with a faint feeling of unease.
Lord Longyang was astounded and said: "Is there any problem? Why did Shaolong's expression turn so ugly?" Xiang Shaolong relied: "I do not yet know what is the problem. Could the Lord do me a favor? Find out which route Xu Xian is taking to Shouchun. This is an urgent matter."
Lord Longyang understood immediately and his color began to change, saying: "I will dispatch people to do this immediately. If they are pa.s.sing through my Great Wei, I will send soldiers to protect him. Humph! This could be a plot to implicate my Great Wei."
Xiang Shaolong hadn't thought of this point. It did not matter whether Xu Xian chose to go through Han or Wei, if Lu Buwei caused him to be a.s.sa.s.sinated in either country, a tempest would ensue. Lu Buwei could then send the Army to attack Han or Wei.
He did not