Chapter 163: 163. Settle the accounts first (Second update)
Translator: 549690339
After leaving the palace, Qi Jun drove the two of them home before taking his leave.
It had just passed noon.
As soon as Qi Jun left, Chang’an arrived on the scene.
This time, he came openly, carrying out Duanmu Chen’s orders to inform Su Liang that he was to enter the palace at the third quarter of the evening.
“Master asked me to inquire, how confident is Miss Su?” Chang’an asked. After careful consideration, Su Liang gave his answer, “I’ll Imow after tonight.”
Chang’an: …What a great sense of humor, haha.
After Chang’an left, Su Liang took a nap to recharge his energy.
After waking up, he began preparing the “equipment” needed for tonight: weapons, poison, healing medicine, and so on.
He hoped they wouldn’t be needed, but he had to bring everything just in case.
Dinner was sour soup dumplings. Ning Jing, who was skilled at making dumplings, designed a new shape – a four-pointed star…
Su Liang sincerely praised, “These are really well made. Next time, do you want to learn to cook other dishes? I can teach you?”
Ning Jing shook her head, “No.”
After thinking about it, according to their division of labor, if Su Liang were to teach Ning Jing how to cook, he would have to wash dishes and clean up, which seemed like more work and not worthwhile.
Forget about it, then.
“Are you going tonight?” Su Liang asked.
Ning Jing shook his head again, “No.”
“That’s right, you don’t really have to go,” Su Liang said. “After the successful hostage exchange, the emperor will surely arrange for a master to apprehend Gu Ling.”
When Su Liang was about to return to his room after dinner, he heard Ning Jing say, “Don’t let Nian Jincheng die.”
Su Liang nodded, “I’ll do my best.’
Though it seemed everything was under control, and he could even be considered the “mastermind” behind the scenes, Su Liang was not clear about Yan Shiba’s plan, nor Duanmu Yi’s covert arrangements.
In order to avoid unexpected situations from arising, he needed to be extremely cautious in his response.
Carrying a medicine box would be inconvenient, so Su Liang wore a crossbody bag, but there was nothing important inside. The truly important items were hidden throughout his body.
The moon was bright, and the stars were sparse.
Su Liang rode out alone in the direction of the Imperial Palace.
When he arrived at the palace gate, he heard the sound of horse hooves and saw Lin Bojun riding towards him when he turned around.
“Xiaoliang!” Lin Bojun dismounted, looked at Su Liang’s outfit, and said, “Let’s
The two entered the palace without seeing Duanmu Yi, and were arranged to wait in the Side Palace of the Imperial Study. Minister Gong served them tea.
About a quarter of an hour later, Duanmu Chen arrived.
“There’s no need to be overly courteous, you two,” Duanmu Chen waved his hand. “The empress dowager is unwell, so the emperor entrusted me with full responsibility for rescuing the fifth prince. If you have any ideas, you can still bring them up now.”
Lin Bojun and Su Liang exchanged glances, both shaking their heads.
There were, indeed, questions, but some things were useless to ask.
“Tonight’s matter is up to you two. You must ensure the safe return of the fifth prince!” Duanmu Chen’s expression was solemn.
Su Liang actually doubted whether Duanmu Chen truly hoped for Duanmu Che to return alive, but, helpless as he was, if Duanmu Che encountered any problems, he might be punished by Duanmu Yi.
“Has Nian Ruxue, who cheated in the Military Exam, been caught yet?” Su
Liang suddenly asked.
Duanmu Chen shook his head, “A warrant has been issued to all the states and counties.”
“I still don’t understand. Why did Nian Ruting testify against Nian Jincheng? This seems to have no benefit for her,” Su Liang said.
This topic was worth discussing since many people were puzzled by it.
“It’s not a problem to tell the two of you. Nian Ruting is a lunatic. After her plan was exposed, she claimed that she should have been Gu Ling’s fiancée. The betrothal between the Nian and Gu families was due to a misunderstanding by Lady Gu who thought Nian Ruxue saved her, but it was actually Nian Ruting who saved her,” Duanmu Chen explained.
This was the first time Su Liang had heard of this. Because someone never mentioned anything about the Gu family and always spoke ill of Nian Ruxue.
“Nian Ruting confessed two things. First, that Nian Jincheng was still in collusion with Gu Ling, and second, that she should be Gu Ling’s fiancée,” Duanmu Chen snorted. “I originally thought she was insane, but after thinking about it, it seems this woman hopes both matters will be publicized. If Gu Ling comes to save Nian Jincheng, he might also save her. It’s clear she really wants to be with Gu Ling.”
Su Liang: …I must say, after learning about Nian Ruting, I asked a certain someone if they knew her, and they shook their head, saying they didn’t know her…
Su Liang couldn’t understand how some unrequited love could be so persistent. Perhaps it was because of a certain Great God’s overwhelming charm?
It was obvious that if what Nian Ruting said was true, Nian Ruxue must have schemed to steal her marriage back then, and she still naively considered Nian Ruxue her confidant, doing everything for her.
How pitiful and hateful.
“Why wasn’t the matter made public?” Su Liang asked Duanmu Chen.
Duanmu Chen sighed lightly, “If she and Nian Jincheng are both useful to Gu Ling, it’s better to use them separately. Just like this time, if Nian Jincheng is rescued, the matter with Nian Ruting and Gu Ling can be publicized later to see if Gu Ling will come and save her as well.”
Su Liang wanted to say that Duanmu Yi and Duanmu Chen had beautiful fantasies and a certain degree of rationality. Unfortunately, that was destined not to happen.
The reason why Duanmu Chen would talk to Su Liang and Lin Bojun about something that was temporarily not public was that after tonight, it would no longer be a secret.
Recently, Su Liang had been in the spotlight and there were always suspicions that Duanmu Chen knew her from before, which is why Duanmu Chen did not share the matter with her in a timely manner. He felt it had nothing to do with her and did not need to make any unnecessary moves.
“I didn’t see General Man Ya today.” Su Liang said.
Duanmu Chen snorted lightly, “She said she was sick from the environmental change.”
“Why didn’t she ask me to treat her?” Su Liang casually said.
The departure time was approaching, but Nian Jincheng was still nowhere to be seen.
Duanmu Chen explained, “To play it safe and prevent the other party from ambushing along the way, someone will secretly bring Nian Jincheng over. When you both reach Wangxiang Mountain, you’ll be able to meet him.”
Su Liang and Lin Bojun left the Imperial Palace without encountering any trouble and smoothly reached the bottom of Wangxiang Mountain, where they met Nian Jincheng.
It was Huang Bo, a subordinate of Duanmu Che, who brought him there.
Nian Jincheng had cleaned himself up, his face was unharmed except for the sickly pallor. It was as if he had been put to sleep by sedatives.
Lin Bojun carried Nian Jincheng on his back.
Huang Bo sighed deeply, “Miss Su, too many things have happened recently. If my Master has done anything wrong, please don’t take it to heart. Considering our previous relationship, you must save him!”
Upon hearing this, Su Liang’s face turned cold, “I know you are eager to save your Master, but there is no need to say this. I will do my best to fulfill the Imperial mission.”
With those words, Su Liang and Lin Bojun took a shortcut up the mountain.
Huang Bo’s words seemed to imply suspicions that Su Liang would take advantage of the recent conflict with Duanmu Che and deliberately worsen the situation.
Although Su Liang didn’t think Huang Bo had the heart to trip her up at this time.
But there must be other ears nearby listening, all reporting back to Duanmu Yi.
Wangxiang mountain was tall and steep; there was no path for carriages or horses. It was a long walk up the mountain, especially with Lin Bojun carrying a person.
Su Liang and Lin Bojun reached the top of the mountain with Nian Jincheng just a quarter of an hour before midnight.
The wind howled.
An ancient pine tree with twisted branches on the edge of the cliff was adorned with a red lantern gleaming blood-red in the dim night.
“Second Brother Lin, no matter what happens next, don’t rush forward,” Su Liang whispered.
Lin Bojun furrowed his brow, but now wasn’t the time to argue, and he acknowledged Su Liang’s intelligence and nodded to listen to her advice.
Midnight arrived.
Lin Bojun was still carrying Nian Jincheng when he suddenly felt a cold gust, followed by a woman’s voice from not far away, “Hehe, did you bring the person I want?”
Lin Bojun’s face tensed up!
But Su Liang’s heart loosened. It was Yan Shiba; that was good. She was afraid that Yan Shiba would assign the task to an assassin who didn’t know her, which would be troublesome.
“May I ask if the 5th Prince is well?” Su Liang asked loudly.
Yan Shiba, who was about to emerge from behind a large rock with her mask on, paused for a moment and then revealed half of her body. The silver ghost mask shone coldly under the moonlight as she chuckled, “He is fine! I want to verify the goods. Let me see Nian Jincheng.” Lin Bojun took a step forward, “He’s right here.”
“I want to talk to him,” Yan Shiba snorted.
“We want to hear the 5th Prince’s voice too,” Su Liang said coldly.
“Alright!” Yan Shiba vanished, and after a moment, a crisp slap echoed from behind the rock, “Speak! Your father sent someone to save you!” “Who?” Duanmu Che’s voice was weak.
“Your Highness the 5th Prince, I’m Su Liang,” Su Liang said.
Duanmu Che was overjoyed, “You came to save me?”
Yan Shiba raised her hand and slapped him twice more, “One sentence was enough, and you dared to chat! Shut up!”
Duanmu Che fell to the ground, his eyes burning with anger, desperate to tear Yan Shiba apart!
“Let Nian Jincheng speak!” Yan Shiba yelled, “You two better not make any rash moves and follow my instructions. Otherwise, I can’t guarantee that the 5th Prince you take back won’t be missing something.”
Su Liang fed Nian Jincheng a pill and as he slowly woke, Lin Bojun whispered the situation into his ear.
Nian Jincheng looked at Su Liang and was somewhat bewildered.
The ones who saved him could only be arranged by Ning Jing and Su Liang. Whv was Su Liane here to save Duanmu Che?
Nian Jincheng’s mind was foggy, and he couldn’t figure it out for a moment. Seeing Su Liang’s presence, he decided to trust her, stopped thinking too much, and said, “I am Nian Jincheng.”
“Xiao Nian, did you get hit?” Yan Shiba asked.
Nian Jincheng looked confused, but then saw Su Liang give him a look, so he replied, “Yes.”
“Do you remember how many times you were hit and where you were hit?” Yan
Shiba asked again.
Nian Jincheng replied, “I remember.”
Yan Shiba let out a cold jeer, “That’s good! You can slowly tell me, and I’ll return the favor on Duanmu Che’s body! Let’s clear the debts before discussing exchanging hostages ! ”
Su Liang quickly said, “No!”
“Little girl, you have two choices. First, let me vent my anger, and I won’t hit too much. I’ll just hit back what my Xiao Nian has suffered. Second, I’ll cut off Duanmu Che’s lineage directly.. Looking at his cowardly state, it shouldn’t make any difference!” As Yan Shiba spoke, she whipped Duanmu Che again, “I assume you choose the first option, but if you change your mind and want the second option, just let me know, haha!”
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