Chapter 250
Book 22 Chapter 09 - Hard To Distinguish Between Leader And Follower
Slapping Xiang Shaolong’s fake potbelly, Li Yuan chortled: "If not for your equally shocked expression when you laid your eyes on me, as I first laid my eyes on you, I may be tricked by this fake potbelly. Your looks have indeed changed a lot."
Xiang Shaolong confessed: "Of course I would be shocked; because there is a chance that you will betray me."
Li Yuan was offended: "I, Li Yuan, will never be such a despicable fellow. If we were fairly engaged in war, I would not be the least upset if I lose or die. But how can I sabotage you when you are obviously at a disadvantage?"
Xiang Shaolong sighed, recalling Lord Longyang’s betrayal. But for some reason, he is unwilling to brand this friend as a despicable cad.
Li Yuan was taken aback: "Looking at your expression, it seems you were once betrayed by an old friend."
Glancing at the wide roads of the Qi Capital outside the carriage window, Xiang Shaolong’s heart is in turmoil and he did not know what to say.
In the past, his trust in Li Yuan is way lower than his trust in Lord Longyang.
But Li Yuan can maintain this camaraderie is partly because Li Yuan is from the State of Chu. He does not feel the pressure of a direct Qin invasion unlike the three States of Zhao, Han and Wei.
Li Yuan stretched out his hand, hugging Xiang Shaolong’s shoulder and revealed: "I met Han Chuang this afternoon and he is still grateful to you for setting him free at the risk of your own life. He told me he had wanted to help you when you were on the run but his hands are tied and cannot defy his King. I believe he is bluffing. This fellow indulges in wine, 5ex, money and ego, leading a repugnant lifestyle. He could be saying one thing and yet doing another."
Seeing Xiang Shaolong’s disillusioned appearance, he went on: "Shaolong is exceedingly gifted. Even when you lose the battle, you lost beautifully and evaded the extensive manhunt by the States of Zhao, Wei and Han. Presently, everyone thinks that you are back at Zhongmou. Who could possibly imagine that you have miraculously become the manager of the top beauty Feng Fei and have made your way to Lin Zi?"
Picking himself up, Xiang Shaolong questioned: "Why did you make time to come all the way here?"
Li Yuan chuckled: "You should be able to guess what is going on! Qi did not partic.i.p.ate in the two allied attacks and even create trouble for us. As a result, the Five States are now collaborating to support Second Prince Tian Jian to become the next King of Qi, using this opportunity to topple First Prince Tian Sheng and Tian Dan’s syndicate. I visited Zongsun Long precisely for this purpose."
Xiang Shaolong reasoned: "Based on your theory, Lu Buwei must have come here to support Tian Dan."
His eyes flas.h.i.+ng with extreme coldness, Li Yuan coldly snorted: "Lu Buwei still thinks he is living in his past glorious days. He must be dreaming. Everybody knows that the most influential man in Qin is you, Shaolong. Ha! Are you aware that you can soon travel wherever you want without concealing your true ident.i.ty?"
Xiang Shaolong was astonished: "What do you mean?"
Li Yuan exhaled a breath of air: "The five states alliance has lost heavily to Shaolong’s army and are unable to continue fighting. Thus, we are forced to seek truce and every State is secretly sending messengers to sign a peace treaty with Qin, hoping not be a target of an invasion. Regarding this matter, Shaolong must lend Little Brother (me) a helping hand."
Xiang Shaolong declared: "Even without you bringing it up, I will still do my best to help you. Seriously speaking, even if they threaten to kill me, I will never lead an invading army."
Li Yuan praised: "Shaolong is Shaolong indeed. Otherwise, there is no way Han Chuang can be freed!"
Xiang Shaolong bitterly smiled: "Even if the treaty is signed, there are still many people after my life."
Li Yuan guffawed: "When the treaty is finalized, you can openly reveal your ident.i.ty, telling everyone where you are. I guarantee no one will dare to touch you. Everyone knows you are Yingzheng’s most respected teacher and anyone who offends you is asking for his country to be invaded."
Pausing for a while, he added: "During the period when n.o.body knows if you are dead or alive, Yingzheng blew his top and gave the order to launch a full scale invasion against Zhao. While Li Mu is busy engaging Zhongmou City, Huan Qi, Yang Duanhe, Meng Wu and Meng Tian attacked Zhao relentlessly, taking no prisoners, inflicting heavy damage and occupying a large piece of territory. With regards to this attack, Wei and Han chose not to offer any a.s.sistance. (Empress) Hanjing, Guo Kai and their conspirators are now regretting their earlier support of Po Hu, which has indirectly resulted in their predicament."
Xiang Shaolong felt bad about causing so much trouble but there is nothing he can do.
Li Yuan suddenly cheered: "From Shaolong’s point of view, should we cause Lu Buwei to never set foot again in Xianyang? The people of Qi may protect him but we can always lay an ambush, killing him and every single one of his companions."
Xiang Shaolong is greatly moved but recognizes the fact that Lu Buwei will surely survive. In a deep voice, he advocated: "Lu Buwei’s days are numbered. We need not bother ourselves with him. Moreover, no one will want Lu Buwei to die within his territory. We should focus our energies on toppling Tian Dan."
When he heard Tian Dan’s name, Li Yuan became boiling mad. He furiously swore: "Tian Dan once collaborated with Lord Chunshen to harm me, I will definitely make him pay for what he did to me."
Lowering his voice, he smugly divulged: "The reason King Xiang stripped Tian Sheng of his Crown Prince t.i.tle is because his beloved concubine Lady Ning accused Tian Sheng of harboring malicious intentions against her. Ha! Can Shaolong guess who is Lady Ning? She is Lady Qingxiu’s sister."
Xiang Shaolong finally saw the big picture and deduced it to be a scheme cooked up to discredit Tian Sheng. Li Yuan is sharing such a piece of critical information with him, exhibiting his utmost trust in him, Xiang Shaolong.
Li Yuan continued: "I don’t think you have forgotten who is Lady Qingxiu right? She met you when she made a trip to Xianyang and she specially made a trip here as well. She has moved into the palace while I am staying at the villa beside yours."
Xiang Shaolong obviously will not forget this lady who has zero interest in all men, including himself. He did not foresee that all his acquaintances are unexpectedly gathered together in Lin Zi.
Li Yuan joked: "Shaolong should have tried Feng Fei by now!"
Xiang Shaolong waved him off: "Don’t make wild guesses. There is nothing between the two of us. But I will require Brother Li’s a.s.sistance on this matter. Besides Zongsun Long, Lu Buwei is harbouring ulterior motives against her."
Li Yuan is elated: "That is easy. Once we returned to Chu, we will be invulnerable."
Xiang Shaolong seriously advised: "Brother Li must not belittle our enemies. Lu Buwei and Tian Dan are not easy to deal with. For all you know, they will come up with a scheme and allow Tian Sheng to instantly become the new King of Qi."
His expression turning solemn, Li Yuan nodded: "Shaolong is right. I am not giving enough credit to my enemies."
Seeing that Tingsong Villa is within reach, Xiang Shaolong recommended: "It is better to let me off the carriage here. I want to keep a low profile."
Li Yuan unwillingly pleaded: "Can we fix another appointment where we can catch up? I would like to know how you happen to end up here and even became Feng Fei’s manager in the process."
Xiang Shaolong mused: "Tomorrow is out of the question. I will contact you again!"
After both men decided on a communication method, Xiang Shaolong got off the carriage.
When Xiang Shaolong stepped into Tingsong Villa, the family warriors on sentry duty came to attention in a respectful manner. Their att.i.tude towards him is completely different from before.
Xiang Shaolong clearly knew the reason for the change. One of them reported: "Lei Yun’er and the others have just been sent here and they are only slightly bruised. Master Shen is really great to make Zongsun Long release them obediently."
Xiang Shaolong questioned: "Is Mistress (Feng Fei) back?"
Another family warrior bowed: "She has been back for half an hour. She had given instructions for you to