Schemes

Once people satisfied their material needs, they naturally sought higher-level spiritual pursuits—especially those high officials stationed on the frontiers and the scions of noble houses who had come merely to pad their credentials. And where the powerful had desires, bootlickers naturally arose below to indulge them. So it followed as a matter of course that in the scenic spots around Houting County, places styled as "outposts" were erected, though in truth they were luxurious estates and grand manors. Their interiors were lavishly appointed, home to countless handsome men and beautiful women. Beside Guangzhen County, one of the three border cities, lay just such a place known as Wanfang Garden. Yet due to the southward invasion of the Barbarians, the once-opulent waterside pavilions and towers here had all been reduced to ashes; only an elegant gazebo stood alone atop the mountain. Now, under a sky whirling with heavy snow, two figures stood inside that solitary pavilion. A man and a woman. The man possessed sword-like brows and starry eyes, exuding a striking martial presence. The woman had skin like jade and bones like snow. Her fur cloak was only half-draped, revealing a flawless, fragrant shoulder. The man held a weasel-hair brush, the ink sinking deep through the paper as characters blossomed across the sheet of Xuan paper. The brush paused. Smiling brightly, Nan Jinxi reached out to take the paper. A hint of awe shone in her beautiful eyes as she turned her head and chuckled. "Zhaoyuan, I only knew of your mastery over the zither before, but I never imagined your calligraphy could move like a soaring dragon too~" "A fox demon like you understands calligraphy?" "......" Nan Jinxi fell silent. Setting down the weasel-hair brush, Li Zhaoyuan chuckled softly. "The world deems the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting as elegant, and poetry and song as talent. This Prince learned them merely to cater to their tastes." Nan Jinxi tugged the plush fur cloak that had slipped to her elbow back over her shoulder, letting out a soft huff. "To cater to their tastes—or to deceive young maidens?" Li Zhaoyuan turned his head, his gaze calm. "Deceive young maidens? If this Prince truly had such leisure, it would not be an unpleasant pastime. But unfortunately, that is not the case. The gap between my imperial elder brother and me is far too vast; I can only make up for it with negligible trifles like these. Consider it my calling card—many of the old fogies eat it up." Nan Jinxi looked away, her lips curling into a faint pout. "Yet that little girl from the Secret Investigation Bureau..." "Rather than 'a woman beautifying herself for the one who pleases her,' this Prince is more inclined to believe that Xu Mengxi acts as 'a gentleman dying for the one who understands him.'" Li Zhaoyuan gazed placidly at the emotions in Nan Jinxi's eyes and murmured, "Your jealousy is quite tedious." "Heh." Nan Jinxi drew a deep breath, her chest stilling as she replied, "Fine. What did you mean earlier when you said they've started suspecting you? You won't be in danger, will you?" Li Zhaoyuan waved his hand with utter ease. "No. They have no evidence whatsoever; they are merely deducing based on common sense." "Deducing?" Nan Jinxi frowned. Seeing her concerned gaze, Li Zhaoyuan glanced casually toward Guangzhen County. "If Imperial Father's health were sound, this Prince would still have ample time to arrange, prepare, and close the gap between my elder brother and me. But unfortunately, Imperial Father does not have long to live. Given the present state of affairs, if this Prince wishes to prevail over my imperial elder brother, there are only two paths left: one is to cooperate with Duke Xu, and the second is to collude with the sects." Nan Jinxi asked out of the blue, "So... you really chose the second path?" "......" There was no answer. Li Zhaoyuan's starry eyes remained calm, but neither did he deny it. Amid the silence, Nan Jinxi sighed. Her tone softened slightly as she whispered, "You are always like this, knowing full well I will never betray you, Li Zhaoyuan. Just be direct. What do you want me to do for you?" Li Zhaoyuan slowly raised his eyes to gaze at Guangzhen County, looming faintly through the wind and snow, and murmured, "Mr. Zong and my imperial sister are preparing to head south. Houting County should have begun breaking camp today." Hearing this, Nan Jinxi gathered her skirts and sat upon a stone stool inside the pavilion. "The routed troops who fled north from the sects have basically all been absorbed by you. There is no need for Zong Qingsheng and Wuyuan to delay any longer." Li Zhaoyuan shook his head. "Yet there has still been no word from Marquis Wucheng. Provisions are currently sufficient; to be safe, they should wait for him." Nan Jinxi leaned back slightly, her bare, jade-like back indifferent to the cold as it rested lightly against the icy balustrade. "Didn't they bar you from attending military meetings? Could you have been deceived?" Li Zhaoyuan murmured, "This Prince has a few eyes and ears in Houting County. If Marquis Wucheng arrived in that vicinity, an army of a hundred thousand strong would never escape my notice. To rush south without waiting for him means they must have some other scheme." At those words, Nan Jinxi sat up a bit straighter, her delicate brows knitting. "The northern sects have now lost their three hundred thousand elites. With your Imperial Father and Xu Yinhe's appetites, they certainly would not pass up this opportunity. Could Marquis Wucheng have detoured south just like the Barbarians?" Li Zhaoyuan arched an eyebrow, a smile flitting across his eyes. "Are you saying... my Imperial Father and the rest will seize this chance to wage open war against the sects?" "Your Imperial Father might be unwilling, but that Chancellor Xu would never hesitate if given the chance," Nan Jinxi whispered. Li Zhaoyuan smiled faintly and nodded without concealing anything. "Indeed." Nan Jinxi's slender fingers tightened abruptly. "You... the Great Yan imperial court is going to declare war on the domestic sects?" Li Zhaoyuan shook his head gently and let out an almost mournful sigh. "No, of course not. The moment those three hundred thousand elites of the northern sects were wiped out, they were already abandoned." Nan Jinxi's voice carried a trace of disbelief. "Who told you that? Would the sects elsewhere simply sit by and watch the northern sects be destroyed by your imperial court?" Li Zhaoyuan narrowed his starry eyes and nodded. "How I know does not matter, but such is the reality." "How is that possible?!" Nan Jinxi blurted out, her crisp voice pitching slightly higher. "Once the Barbarians are eliminated and the northern sects wiped out, the world's sects will no longer hold the upper hand against your court!" "Nanxi, the court is divided into the imperial clan and the Chancellor's estate." "......" The vast world was silent beneath the wind and snow. Li Zhaoyuan tapped his fingertips lightly against the stone table inside the pavilion. "At any other time, the sects would certainly rise en masse to attack. But not now, because Imperial Father does not have long to live. With the Barbarians exterminated, the northern sects destroyed, and the overall strength of the sects severely undermined, the Chancellor's estate... naturally becomes the greatest enemy of our imperial clan." Saying this, Li Zhaoyuan sighed softly. "Old friends who stood side by side for most of their lives toward a shared goal, only to draw blades against each other at life's end... Heh. Imperial authority reigns supreme above all." With those words, a breath of quiet fell. Li Zhaoyuan collected his composure and lowered his voice. "Very well, none of that matters to us right now. What matters is that Marquis Wucheng is not in the army, which conveniently suits what I wish to entrust to you." Hearing this, Nan Jinxi realized what Li Zhaoyuan intended. "You want me to kill someone?" she asked softly. "Yes." "......" A complex look flickered through Nan Jinxi's alluring fox eyes. Biting her lower lip, she gave a light smile. "You know I will never refuse you... Speak. Who is it?" Li Zhaoyuan parted his thin lips. In a gentle voice devoid of any inflection, he uttered two names. Silence fell abruptly. Nan Jinxi lowered her eyes. "Why?" "Why what?" "What good does killing the two of them do you?" "......" Li Zhaoyuan rose slowly to his feet, staring into the endless swirling snow. "The former cannot be used by me and shares the same mother as my eldest brother. If she stands by him, I will have no hope of turning the tables in this lifetime. As for the latter... even if he merely stood on the shoulders of his forebears, to orchestrate the current situation with his own hands makes him quite a figure. Great Yan cannot permit a second Xu Yinhe to rise—not even the mere possibility of one." Nan Jinxi was quiet for a long while before suddenly asking, "Have you considered the consequences?" "Consequences?" Li Zhaoyuan let out a soft laugh, turning his gaze back to her. "What consequences?" "......" Nan Jinxi suddenly fell silent. No one knew of the relationship between the two of them. With her identity, the blame would solely fall upon Guyuan. Looking at the familiar face of the man before her, her voice turned slightly raspy. "Very well... I'll go. However, within the military array, Li Qingyan's strength is too great; I can only attempt to kill Xu Changtian." Li Zhaoyuan lifted a hand within his sleeve, seemingly intending to caress her cheek, but he held back and merely said in a flat tone, "Even if your innate talent as a Snow Spirit Fox allows you to slip into the army, it is impossible for you to kill either of them. Thus, this Prince is not asking you to assassinate them by force." "......" Puzzlement surfaced in Nan Jinxi's eyes. "You mean you want me to inform those sect commanders that their home sects are about to be destroyed?" As long as the news spread, the northern sects would inevitably mount a desperate death-struggle. By then, utilizing the Barbarians' strength to ensure Li Qingyan and Xu Changtian died amid the chaos would not be difficult. Li Zhaoyuan frowned slightly. "Though there is a chance in doing so, it would bring a hundred harms and not a single benefit to my Great Yan." "......" Nan Jinxi pressed her lips together, watching Li Zhaoyuan and awaiting his next words. With a flick of his finger, an ancient bronze mirror appeared in the palm of Li Zhaoyuan's hand. He said softly, "This ancient bronze mirror is an extraordinary treasure this Prince obtained while traveling the world. Use it to kill Xu Changtian and Li Qingyan by the hand of the Barbarians." Perplexed, Nan Jinxi reached out to take the bronze mirror, but in the next instant, her pupils shrank slightly. Spatial fluctuations... Just then, Li Zhaoyuan gently grasped her hand and admonished her word by word, "Remember, you must wait until the Barbarians are on the verge of collapse before using this. Only then will you have a chance to escape amid the chaos." Nan Jinxi lowered her gaze to look at his large hand, then suddenly asked out of nowhere, "If I die on this journey, will you grieve?" Li Zhaoyuan's fingers trembled slightly, and he released his grip. His long hair drifted gently in the snowy wind. "If that truly comes to pass, this Prince ought not to have the right to grieve for you, Jinxi." Nan Jinxi slowly rose from the pavilion, her fox eyes casting a cold glance at the man. "If you want to deceive me with affection, deceive me thoroughly; if you want to use me as a chess piece, be more cold-blooded. Li Zhaoyuan, the way you are right now truly disappoints me." "......" Li Zhaoyuan fell silent, saying nothing. Nan Jinxi bit her lip hard, but all the words she wished to speak ultimately dissolved into a soft sigh. Together with her slender figure, she scattered into swirling snow, vanishing into the horizon.