Chapter 617: Changes in the Armpits (I)

At dawn, Luo Tianjin sat upright in the study. He did not move at all and did not utter a word the entire night. He was as quiet as a sculpture.

The candle has burned out, and the weak flame seems to be using up its last bit of strength to release the precarious remaining light, which makes people feel pity and sigh.

After a sleepless night and filled with sorrow and sadness, Luo Tianjin looked extremely haggard.

From beginning to end, Xie Xuan has been silently accompanying her without any regrets.

"Ugh!"

Suddenly, Luo Tianjin, who had been silent all night, let out a long sigh, which cheered up the worried Xie Xuan. He hurriedly took two steps forward, pricked up his ears and listened carefully, fearing that he would miss any of Luo Tianjin's instructions.

"Ling Xiaoxiao... cough cough!"

Luo Tianjin's voice was hoarse and tired, and due to his dry throat, he couldn't help coughing as soon as he spoke.

Seeing this, Xie Xuan hurriedly poured tea and water and handed it to him.

Luo Tianjin cast a grateful look at him and said, "I've thought about it over and over again. There can only be one reason why Ling Xiaoxiao and Zhao Yuan met secretly. It's... to deal with me."

Xie Xuan had expected this, but Luo Tianjin and Ling Xiaoxiao were husband and wife after all, so he held the thought of "persuading reconciliation rather than separation" and said hesitantly: "Could there be any misunderstanding in this matter? For example... Madam met with Zhao Yuan in private to persuade him to leave Luoyang City as soon as possible and relieve the worries of the Palace Master."

Luo Tianjin raised his eyes and stared at Xie Xuan, who had a complicated expression, and sneered, "I'm afraid even you don't believe what you just said!"

"This……"

"The only outcome for anyone who betrays me is death!" Luo Tianjin said in a deep voice, "No matter who it is, I will never tolerate it!"

"Hiss!" Seeing that Luo Tianjin really wanted to kill Ling Xiaoxiao, Xie Xuan couldn't help but take a breath of cold air and hurriedly advised, "Palace Master, this is absolutely not allowed. Even if you don't care about the relationship between you two as husband and wife for more than 20 years, and the relationship between Xuan'er and Yu'er and her as mother and son, you should also consider the feelings of Wudang Sect and Taoist Qingfeng. Regardless of how respected Wudang is in the martial arts world, just talking about the relationship between you and Taoist Qingfeng as master and disciple, how can you do this?"

"Yes!" Xie Xuan's words made Luo Tianjin collapse in his chair like a deflated ball. He responded weakly, "Ling Xiaoxiao is too involved. I... can't kill her. If something happens to Ling Xiaoxiao, what will happen next is not under our control at all."

"The Lord of the Mansion is wise!" Xie Xuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief and nodded repeatedly, "Madam must have been impulsive and definitely not sincerely against the Lord of the Mansion. In my opinion, we only need to send more people to carefully monitor Madam's every move and prevent her from having any contact with Zhao Yuan again."

"This is the second thing that makes me unhappy." Luo Tianjin's expression changed, and he said seriously, "Ling Xiaoxiao has been under house arrest for many days. She has never left the house, and she has never met Zhao Yuan before. How did the two of them collude with each other? How did Zhao Yuan know that Ling Xiaoxiao would go to Xiangyun Silk Shop? If you say it's a coincidence, I won't believe it even if you kill me."

Xie Xuan was shocked: "The Palace Master means... someone is secretly helping them to connect?"

"Other than that, I can't think of a second possibility." Luo Tianjin's face was as dark as water, and his tone became more and more sinister. "The time, place, and way of meeting were all in order, and they deliberately avoided the eyes and ears of outsiders. Even a fool would know that this was the result of careful planning, and it was definitely not an accidental encounter."

"This……"

Luo Tianjin's words imply that there is a spy of Zhao Yuan hidden in Prince Xian's Mansion.

This matter was of great importance, and Xie Xuan did not dare to speculate. He could only look at Luo Tianjin in astonishment and wait for him to continue.

"I have asked Shen Dongshan. In addition to the shopkeeper and the clerk, there were only five people from the Xianwang Mansion who appeared in Xiangyun Silk Shop that day." Luo Tianjin's eyes were shining. He slowly raised his right hand and counted the names one by one, "Ling Xiaoxiao, Luo Ningyu, Liu Xunyi, Xu Heng, Ling Qing. Among them, Ling Xiaoxiao and Zhao Yuan met by chance, so she is not a traitor hiding in the dark. The remaining four people... any one of them is possible."

"Yu'er is impossible." Xie Xuan quickly corrected, "She is the mansion master's precious daughter. She has been considerate and caring since she was young. How could she collude with outsiders to murder the mansion master?"

"She won't harm me, but there's no guarantee that she won't be used by others." Luo Tianjin said in a serious tone, "This girl may be a little shrewd in front of outsiders, but she is often pitifully naive in front of her own people."

"The mansion master is talking about... Madam?"

"The person who used Yu'er wasn't Ling Xiaoxiao." Luo Tianjin said confidently, "Although Ling Xiaoxiao has a vicious mind, she loves her two children very much. As the saying goes, 'even a tiger won't eat its own cubs.' I think Ling Xiaoxiao knows the danger of this matter, so she won't drag Yu'er into it."

"Not Madam? Then..."

"That day, the person who begged me to let Ling Xiaoxiao out of the house was Yu'er." Luo Tianjin seemed to be thinking about something, and he told his thoughts slowly and steadily, "In other words, Yu'er was determined to take Ling Xiaoxiao out of the house, and her real intention was to facilitate a meeting between Ling Xiaoxiao and Zhao Yuan. If Yu'er was used by someone, then the person who used her was undoubtedly a traitor hiding in the dark to help Zhao and Ling get together, and this person must have been to Xiangyun Silk Shop, but he didn't expect that Xiangyun Silk Shop was actually Shen Dongshan's business."

"In that case, there are only Liu Xunyi, Xu Heng, and Ling Qing left." Xie Xuan analyzed, "Among the three, Xu Heng and Ling Qing are of humble status. They were only given temporary orders that day and had no chance to make arrangements in advance. Moreover, they have little contact with the young lady, and the young lady will never be driven by them..."

Having said this, Xie Xuan's face gradually turned ugly, his rapid-fire words became hesitant and increasingly vague.

However, Luo Tianjin's eyes were full of brilliance. He stared at the troubled Xie Xuan without blinking, and urged him with interest: "Go on!"

"In this case, the only people left who are truly capable, have the opportunity, and are confident of making this happen are... only..."

"Only Liu Xunyi is left!" Luo Tianjin said resolutely, "Yu'er is infatuated with him and has no guard against him at all. He only needs to coax her a little and he can play Yu'er in the palm of his hand, and she will be willing to let him do whatever he wants."

"Snapped!"

When Luo Tianjin said the last sentence, he crushed the teacup in his hand out of anger or shame.

"This..." Xie Xuan's mind went blank, and he couldn't believe it. "But... why did he do this? What good would it do to Liu Xunyi to secretly communicate with Zhao Yuan and Ling Xiaoxiao?"

"Why? I can give you ten thousand reasons!" Luo Tianjin's voice was not loud, but his tone was unusually low. "For promotion, for loyalty to the country, for abiding by the morality in his heart, for maintaining the so-called orthodoxy of the Han people... In short, with Liu Xunyi's personality, it is not surprising that he did such a thing. Since Zhao Yuan recruited the amnesty, everyone in the mansion has almost the same attitude, and they all sneered at the recruitment and disdained it. Only... Liu Xunyi!" "Yes!" Xie Xuan recalled, "Thinking carefully, Liu Xunyi did say some good things for Zhao Yuan intentionally or unintentionally."

"In fact, on the first day Zhao Yuan arrived in Luoyang City, I noticed that Liu Xunyi was restless and wavering. But I never expected that he would be so bold and reckless as to betray me!"

Luo Tianjin's last sentence was almost squeezed out from between his teeth, which showed his disappointment and anger towards Liu Xunyi.

"I remember the last time the Mongolian envoys came to win over the Lord of the Palace, Liu Xunyi lost all respect and turned against Chagan and others in public..." Xie Xuan sighed, "Thinking about it today, this boy is really loyal. Fortunately, the Lord of the Palace did not tell him about the uprising, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous."

"Although Liu Xunyi doesn't know about the uprising, Ling Xiaoxiao knows it very well." Luo Tianjin's eyes widened and he gritted his teeth as he said, "If Ling Xiaoxiao tells Zhao Yuan about our plan, it will be a huge trouble."

"No way?" Xie Xuan secretly smacked his lips and said in relief, "Zhao Yuan came to visit the day before yesterday and didn't show any abnormality. I think... he probably didn't know anything about our plan."

"Perhaps it's a strategy of playing hard to get." Luo Tianjin interrupted worriedly, "Zhao Yuan knows all about my rebellion, but for the sake of the overall situation, he pretends to know nothing. The purpose is to paralyze our nerves and wait for the imperial court's reinforcements."

"Don't be afraid of a thousand things, just be prepared for the unexpected." Xie Xuan echoed, "We must be prepared for this."

"This Liu Xunyi keeps getting in trouble with me. It really annoys me!"

"The Lord likes him because he is genuine and unpretentious." Xie Xuan said with a wry smile, "It is his nature that he intends to promote the amnesty, and it does not mean that he is unfaithful to the Lord. What's more, he will marry Yu'er soon, and you will be a family in the future. How can the Lord ruin such a good marriage because of such a small matter?"

“Alas!” Luo Tianjin was both angry and helpless, and sighed repeatedly, “Luo Ningyu, ah Luo Ningyu, you really make me worry. If it weren’t for her, how could I indulge Liu Xunyi again and again.”

At this point, Luo Tianjin and Xie Xuan looked at each other and said self-deprecatingly, "But there is no other way. She is my only precious daughter. As I said before, you can beat and scold Liu Xunyi, but you can't kill him. If he dies, Yu'er will be very sad."

Xie Xuan nodded with empathy and advised, "Forget it! Although Liu Xunyi made mistakes, his heart is not bad and his crime does not deserve death. For Yu'er, the Palace Master should just turn a blind eye to this matter."

"What else?" Luo Tianjin didn't know whether to laugh or cry, feeling very helpless.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

Before they finished speaking, there was a low knock on the door, interrupting their thoughts.

"who?"

"I am Xunzhen."

"Miss Xunzhen?" Xie Xuan was startled and asked suspiciously, "It's still dark, why are you knocking on the door?"

"I have something important to report to Lord Luo." Xunzhen's voice sounded again, "It concerns the life and death of the Xianwang Mansion. I hope Lord Luo will open the door to meet you."

Hearing this, Xie Xuan frowned slightly, and turned his hesitant gaze to Luo Tianjin, as if asking what he thought.

Luo Tianjin thought for a moment, then nodded slowly.

"squeak!"

With a slight sound, the door opened, and Xunzhen, who also had not slept all night, appeared in front of Xie Xuan and Luo Tianjin.

Looking at Xunzhen, who had a cold and resolute look in his eyes, Luo Tianjin instantly suppressed his worries, smiled, and asked, "What's so urgent?"

"This is about a person, a person who is very important to Lord Luo." Xunzhen said quietly, "Therefore, before I speak, I would like to ask Lord Luo two questions first."

"Please speak!" Seeing Xunzhen being so serious, Luo Tianjin became more and more curious.

"Does Lord Luo believe me?"

"Of course I believe you!" Luo Tianjin replied seriously, "If I don't believe you, how can I work with the young king of Qin to achieve great things?"

"What if someone obstructs the great cause of Lord Luo and Prince Shao Qin?"

"Whoever dares to stop me will be my mortal enemy."

"Very good!" Xunzhen looked relieved, and said, "I will now tell Palace Master Luo a secret, a secret that will make Palace Master Luo extremely sad."

Hearing this, Luo Tianjin finally realized the seriousness of the matter. The smile on his face gradually froze, and his expression became heavy and uneasy.

"Secret about whom?"

"Your son-in-law... Liu Xunyi!"

……

(End of this chapter)