Chapter 25: Arrogance
After galloping for three hours, Jin Sui was both tired and hungry, but Han Xing and the others seemed tireless, their faces solemn, only wanting to rescue their companions as soon as possible.
She didn’t dare to complain of fatigue; playing the role of King Li required a regal demeanor, and she didn’t want to fail on the first day.
When Han Xing gave her water, she secretly added some sugar water to replenish her energy.
Jiang Nansheng served as the Huai Prefecture garrison commander, and beyond Huai Prefecture lay the Sixteen Prefectures of Yandi. It was no wonder Prince Yu wanted Jiang Nansheng to intercept the Black Feather Camp.
During the previous dynasty, the Sixteen Prefectures of Yandi were occupied by border foreign races. Although the current dynasty had reclaimed them, there were many local tyrants and gentry, and imperial officials had very little authority there.
If Prince Yu had ordered the interception by military officers from Yandi, the news would likely have spread quickly, and he would have been branded with the reputation of killing his brother.
Jin Sui let out a cold laugh; compared to the royal family, Madam Zheng and Jiang Youzhi were good people.
They clearly wished for the other’s death but dared not admit it, resorting to sending people to kill them in secret.
Perhaps when the news of King Li’s death reached Chang’an, Prince Yu and the Empress would cry more sorrowfully than anyone else.
Upon seeing the Huai Prefecture city wall, Han Xing quickly said, “Your Highness, allow this subordinate to summon Jiang Nansheng.”
Jin Sui raised her hand to stop him. Jiang Nansheng had clearly sided with Prince Yu, and might even take a desperate risk to kill her and these soldiers.
Then, he could pull off a deception, fabricating that King Li died at the hands of bandits.
“Knock on the gate right here and have Jiang Nansheng come to greet this King! If he dares not, the entire Huai Prefecture officialdom can testify that he committed insubordination.”
Hmph, she didn’t believe it; did Prince Yu and Jiang Nansheng dare to silence the entire population of Huai Prefecture?
“Hei Hu, bang the gong and shout loudly, tell Jiang Nansheng to get out!”
Hei Hu raised the mallet in his hand, took a deep breath, and then turned to ask Jin Sui, “How many times should I shout?”
Jin Sui: …
She seemed to understand the ‘Hei Hu user manual’ now. Indeed, if used well, this fellow was a capable assistant.
“Shout three times first.”
Hei Hu had no further questions. While banging the gong, he shouted three times at the top of his lungs:
“Jiang Nansheng, get out!”
Instantly, soldiers on the Huai Prefecture city wall drew their bows and nocked their arrows, aiming at their group.
Jin Sui then said to Hei Hu, “Shout three more times: ‘Jiang Nansheng, do you intend to murder King Li?'”
Hei Hu, as expected, repeated the words verbatim, shouting three times, truly an excellent repeater and megaphone.
At this moment, Jiang Nansheng, inside the city, heard the commotion outside. While leading his men towards the city wall, he quietly ordered:
“Quick, send a message to Commander Huo.”
He couldn’t help but curse:
“Truly useless! This general has already detained the Black Feather Camp, and they still let King Li escape the Xiaohan Mountain Range alive.”
A peregrine falcon flew out of Huai Prefecture City, soaring into the sky, and then headed towards the Xiaohan Mountain Range.
It was already close to dusk, and the figures of Jin Sui and her group outside the city were stretched extremely long by the setting sun.
Perhaps it was her imposing aura, but none of the soldiers and officials on the Huai Prefecture city wall suspected she was a fake King Li!
This was the consequence of the underdeveloped information network of this era; the royal family would not commission portraits of its members to be distributed everywhere.
They would even deliberately conceal their appearances from the public to prevent assassination attempts.
Many local officials had only visited Chang’an during their Imperial Examination year and never returned afterward.
When King Li was the Crown Prince, he spent little time in Chang’an, mostly in military camps, leading to these officials not recognizing him.
This resulted in them recognizing the seal rather than the person, giving Jin Sui the opportunity to impersonate him.
When Jiang Nansheng ascended the city wall to confront Jin Sui, Jin Sui questioned him first:
“Jiang Nansheng, who gave you the audacity to detain this King’s Personal Guards!”
After speaking, she said to Hei Hu, “Shout it once.”
Hei Hu immediately bellowed with his hoarse voice, loud enough for half the city to hear.
Jiang Nansheng was furious. He held absolute sway in Huai Prefecture; how dare this Abandoned Crown Prince show him such disrespect!
“This general did not detain King Li’s Personal Guards; this general detained mutinous soldiers who deserted the camp without authorization!”
Jin Sui laughed up to the sky and raised the bronze seal, shouting:
“Is the Prefect of Huai Prefecture present? Jiang Nansheng has illegally detained this King’s soldiers. If you do not give this King an explanation, this King will not leave!”
“If you do not release this King’s Personal Guards, this King will set up camp outside Huai Prefecture City.”
“Heh, then Yandi is desolate, no need to go! This Huai Prefecture is beautiful with its clear waters and green mountains, perfect for this King to reside in.”
Hei Hu was unwilling to shout this and instead said aggrievedly, “Your Highness, Yandi is also very good, please don’t go!”
Han Xing raised his hand and slapped the back of his head: “Silence!”
Hei Hu became even more aggrieved, but Jin Sui almost burst out laughing, feeling that Hei Hu’s simplemindedness was all due to Han Xing’s beatings.
When the people on the city wall clearly saw the bronze seal, a group of officials began to discuss amongst themselves.
Of course, they were all wondering in their hearts why King Li’s actions were so different from the rumors.
The rumors described the Crown Prince as brilliant, outstanding, calm in the face of adversity, and benevolent.
However, the King Li before them acted too ostentatiously and was rude and unreasonable.
Had becoming King Li, exiled to the border, caused his temperament to change drastically from being second only to the Crown Prince?
Jiang Nansheng was originally contemplating how to kill King Li to gain favor with Prince Yu and the Empress. The best method would be to kill him quietly outside the city.
But under the current circumstances, with that big black guy’s shouts, half the city had heard.
If he died in Huai Prefecture, he would not be able to escape responsibility.
Just then, Jin Sui seemed to read his mind and said, “Does Jiang Nansheng intend to kill this King to gain favor with your master?”
“Do you think the Emperor will spare you if you kill this King? Do you think your master can save your life?”
“Hmph, officials of Huai Prefecture, listen up. Do you want to collude with Jiang Nansheng and harm a prince of Great Xia?
Or release my Personal Guards? Choose yourselves!”
Jiang Nansheng said urgently:
“How can King Li slander people? When has this general ever intended to harm you? This general is merely detaining border guards who deserted, in accordance with the law.”
Jin Sui waved her hand: “This King has no time for your nonsense, release them quickly!”
Jiang Nansheng intended to stall for time until Commander Huo arrived.
Meanwhile, Commander Huo, who was still searching for King Li’s corpse in the deep mountains, received a secret letter and was greatly alarmed.
He found it unbelievable; they had personally seen King Li jump off the cliff, so how could he be outside Huai Prefecture City in less than half a day?
Regardless of the truth, he had to rush to Huai Prefecture as soon as possible. He immediately blew a signal, and everyone stopped searching the mountains and quickly gathered.
Upon hearing this whistle, Grandpa Ling and the other two hiding in the cave breathed a sigh of relief.
Gu Changxiao, who had already woken up and heard Grandpa Ling explain Jin Sui’s plan.
He sighed softly and said:
“I wonder what method the Little Taoist Priest used to lure the enemies away? We must find the Little Taoist Priest as soon as possible, otherwise, he will be in mortal danger.”
Upon hearing this, Jin An was about to cry again. The child still felt that everything was his fault.
It was all because he had been willful and wandered into the mountains, was captured by bandits, which triggered the subsequent series of events.
Grandpa Ling quickly comforted him, “Grandpa’s divination is very accurate; your brother will definitely return safely.”
Grandpa Ling, being so experienced, had long seen that Gu Changxiao’s identity was not simple. Seeing that he had gained some trust, he tentatively asked:
“May I ask why those constables are pursuing Young Master Gu?”
Gu Changxiao, however, fell silent. After a long while, he said:
“Please forgive this humble one, Daoist Priest, for not being able to tell the truth. I guarantee that I will find the Little Taoist Priest and reunite you and your grandson.”
Grandpa Ling knew he couldn’t rush things. In any case, Gu Changxiao was seriously injured, and Jin Sui had used his identity, so the three were destined to flee together.
He still didn’t believe it; this old Taoist priest would not be able to uncover your true identity on this journey!
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