Chapter 629 Self-recommendation
Zhao Yuan is a royal relative, and although he holds the title of second-rank Tianji Marquis, it is a completely nominal position. He only commands the Dongfu Wuge, which is not even a government office. Apart from that, he has no real power at all.

In the court, which can truly influence national affairs, Zhao Yuan has no place to stand at all.

Therefore, when Luo Tianjin and Shen Dongshan had a secret meeting, it was quite appropriate to call him the "coach" who trained military officers.

A second-rank "coach" holds less power than even a local county magistrate.

After all, the county magistrate is the parent official, in charge of the life and death of the people in the county. As the Marquis of Tianji, Zhao Yuan's power is limited to the Tianji Pavilion. Except for the Ten Young Guards and the Golden Sword Captain, Zhao Yuan has no power to dispatch anyone else.

As for the courtesy shown to him by other officials, most of them were out of respect for his status as a royal relative and awe of his "second-rank" official title. The former did not dare to despise the royal family, and the latter did not dare to overstep the boundaries of official system.

Zhao Yuan spent almost half his life as Marquis of Tianji. No matter how diligently he performed his duties and how devoted he was, he was never able to gain the emperor's respect.

Even so, Zhao Yuan still had great ambitions and regarded the rise and fall of the Song Dynasty as his own responsibility. He fantasized that one day his talents would be favored by the emperor, and then he would be able to make a breakthrough and soar to the sky, and find his own place in the golden palace of the imperial palace.

Over the years, Zhao Yuan never missed any opportunity to make merit. In other words, he never missed any opportunity to show off.

Unfortunately, Tianji Pavilion was under the jurisdiction of the East Palace and was responsible for all secret tasks that could not be seen in public. Even though it was highly praised by the Prime Minister, it had no chance to take credit in front of the Emperor.

Now, fortunately, the Prime Minister favored him and strongly recommended him to the Emperor, and he was finally given the important task of recruiting the imperial envoy. For Zhao Yuan, this was undoubtedly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

He has been waiting for this for decades.

Because of this, Zhao Yuan's trip to Luoyang was bound to help the emperor solve a huge problem and make an unprecedented contribution. If he missed the opportunity and returned empty-handed, perhaps he would never be able to make a name for himself again in his life.

In addition, since it concerns the life and death of the Song Dynasty and the safety of the world, it is even more impossible for Zhao Yuan to retreat in the face of danger.

Because of this, Zhao Yuan ignored Liu Xunyi's worries and insisted on doing it regardless of everything.

In fact, Zhao Yuan was also worried. He was not anxious. But the arrow was on the string and had to be shot, so he could only pretend to be calm and put on a forced smile.

When Liu Xunyi left Danfeng Garden with mixed feelings, Zhao Yuan ordered Qin Wei and Qiu Han to leave first, and he stayed alone in the pavilion in the middle of the lake to meditate.

As the night deepened and a cold wind blew, Zhao Yuan was the only one left in the pavilion in the middle of the lake.

At this moment, he sat at the table like a deflated ball, with a tired face and melancholy eyes. He was completely different from the "Tianji Hou" who had just walked with a sluggish look and acted independently.

The moonlight in the sky was dim, the candlelight in the pavilion was flickering, it was pitch black underwater, and all around was quiet and silent.

Unconsciously, a thin mist rose on the lake, covering Zhao Yuan's eyes and making the surrounding lakeshore gradually become hazy and unclear.

At this moment, Zhao Yuan seemed to be in a deserted fairyland. He no longer needed to pretend, so his body and mind were greatly relieved and relaxed.

"call!"

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew in from the lake. The winter chill mixed with the moisture from the lake water instantly extinguished the candle on the table, plunging the pavilion in the middle of the lake into darkness.

The sudden gust of evil wind was so chilling and biting that Zhao Yuan couldn't help but shiver, and he subconsciously wrapped his cloak tighter.

When Zhao Yuan relit the extinguished candle, a figure as black as ink and as tall as a gun suddenly appeared in the pavilion in the middle of the lake.

Noticing the uninvited guest, Zhao Yuan's eyes suddenly changed, and he looked sideways hurriedly, only to see that the man used a trick of shape-shifting and flashed in front of Zhao Yuan like a ghost.

"who?"

With a cold shout, Zhao Yuan suddenly rose from the stone bench, retreated three feet, and stood face to face with the man in black, confronting him.

"Master Zhao, don't panic. I came here specially to visit you and I have no ill intentions."

After saying that, the man in black slowly raised his head, and under the candlelight, a strange face wearing a golden mask was revealed.

Zhao Yuan frowned and asked hesitantly, "Who are you?"

"I am the Holy Lord of Longxiang Mountain, Yun Zhuiyue!" Yun Zhuiyue responded calmly, but his voice was dry and harsh, making people feel very uncomfortable. "Lord Zhao should have heard of me."

Zhao Yuan had certainly heard of Yun Zhuiyue's name. Not only did he know that Yun Zhuiyue was the Holy Lord of Longxiang Mountain, he also knew that Yun Zhuiyue had a complicated emotional entanglement with Luo Tianjin and Xiao Zhirou.

"Saint Lord Yun?"

Seeing Yun Zhuiyue's calm demeanor and no intention of attacking, Zhao Yuan gradually let down his guard and asked suspiciously, "I don't know you at all. What can I do for you?"

"Although we have never met before, we now have a common enemy." Yun Zhuiyue said calmly, "Luo Tianjin is plotting a rebellion. As an imperial envoy, you will not tolerate him. And I also want him to die without a burial place."

"hiss!"

Luo Tianjin was plotting a rebellion, this was a huge secret that Zhao Yuan had never mentioned to outsiders. Now that Yun Zhuiyue blurted it out, how could Zhao Yuan not be shocked?

In addition to being surprised, another thought popped up in Zhao Yuan's mind: the person in front of him might not be the real Yun Zhuiyue, but a spy sent by Luo Tianjin to test him.

Thinking of this, Zhao Yuan couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, and asked calmly: "How did you know that Luo Tianjin was plotting a rebellion? This matter can be big or small. If there is no real evidence, I advise you not to make false statements, so as not to... bring disaster upon yourself."

"Master Zhao, why do you have to ask when you already know the answer?" Yun Zhuiyue sneered, "You have just met Liu Xunyi, and you must be very disappointed with his performance." "Hiss!"

With just these words, Zhao Yuan's heart skipped a beat, and the blood in his body instantly turned cold. Instantly, his hair stood on end, his scalp was numb, and the expression on his face was indescribably horrified.

The hidden meaning in Yun Zhuiyue's words seemed to indicate that he was well aware of the relationship between Zhao Yuan and Liu Xunyi.

"What did you say?" Zhao Yuan stared at Yun Zhuiyue, who remained calm, with a calm tone without any emotion, "I don't understand what you mean."

"Just now I advised you not to ask questions when you already know the answer. Why are you pretending to be ignorant now?" Yun Zhuiyue laughed hoarsely, "Liu Xunyi is an insider planted by the court in the Xianwang Mansion. Do I need to remind you of this?"

"Nonsense, it's just nonsense..."

"If Lord Zhao doesn't believe me, he should believe the secret letter you received." Yun Zhuiyue waved her hand nonchalantly, "If I hadn't sent someone to deliver the secret letter to Lord Zhao's bedside, how would Lord Zhao have known about the conspiracy between Luo Tianjin and the Young Prince of Qin to rebel?"

"hiss!"

As soon as these words came out, Zhao Yuan took a deep breath.

At this moment, he had already secretly determined in his heart that the person in front of him might not be the real Yun Zhuiyue, but he was definitely not a spy sent by Luo Tianjin.

"You sent someone to deliver the letter?" Zhao Yuan was not eager to verify Yun Zhuiyue's identity, but asked in a subtle way, "So, the person who originally sent the letter... is in your hands?"

"If you want to ask about Yan Bugui's whereabouts, you can just speak directly. Why beat around the bush?" Yun Zhuiyue said, "In the past few days, you have been trying to find out Yan Bugui's whereabouts. I guess... you are asked by Ling Xiaoxiao."

Yun Zhuiyue's frankness surprised Zhao Yuan. He looked at Yun Zhuiyue doubtfully and asked tentatively, "I didn't expect that Saint Yun knew so many secrets?"

"Lord Zhao, do you doubt my identity or my intentions?" Yun Zhuiyue asked back.

“I doubt both of them.” Zhao Yuan said meaningfully, “But since you know the secret between Ling Xiaoxiao and me, and you also know the whereabouts of Yan Bugui, I think it must be Yun Zhuiyue. Compared to your identity, I am more suspicious of your intentions now.”

"What do you mean by that?"

"You just said that we have a common enemy. What exactly do you mean?" Zhao Yuan pretended to be confused. "Do you also want to kill Luo Tianjin?"

"Who is Lord Zhao? I'm sure you've already known the grievances between me and Luo Tianjin. Why do you have to test me?" Yun Zhuiyue said with a smile, "My intention is very simple, which is to get rid of Luo Tianjin."

"You want to borrow a knife to kill someone?"

"If it's a case of borrowing a knife to kill someone, I can just hide in the dark and wait and see what happens. Why would I come here and recommend myself to you, sir?"

"This..." Zhao Yuan pondered, "I don't understand what you mean..."

"Master Zhao should be aware of Luo Tianjin's strength. It will be difficult for you to accomplish anything if you only rely on Ling Xiaoxiao and Liu Xunyi." Yun Zhuiyue said confidently, "And I can lend a helping hand when necessary. After all, one more person to help means a better chance of success."

"Similarly, the more people know our plan, the more dangerous it will be." Zhao Yuan shook his head and said, "If you want me to believe you, you must tell me the truth. Why are you helping me?"

"I'm not trying to help you. I'm just worried that you won't be able to kill Luo Tianjin." Yun Zhuiyue didn't hold back on her words. "My goal is very simple, which is to kill Luo Tianjin. As for who does it, I don't care."

Hearing this, Zhao Yuan and Yun Zhuiyue looked at each other, as if they were testing each other's background.

"I know a little about the feud between Saint Lord Yun and Luo Tianjin." Finally, Zhao Yuan's expression eased and he was the first to break the silence. "I understand that you want to kill Luo Tianjin. But I want to know what Saint Lord Yun wants to gain from this."

"It's not about getting, it's about taking it back!" Yun Zhuiyue said coldly, "Take back everything that should have belonged to me but was taken away by Luo Tianjin."

"I understand!" Zhao Yuan nodded gently, then picked up a cup of tea and handed it to Yun Zhuiyue, smiling lightly, "Since you and I have the same goal, we can certainly join forces. Tonight, I will use tea instead of wine to express my gratitude to the Holy Lord Yun on behalf of the emperor and the court. After the matter is accomplished, I will report to the court and reward the Holy Lord Yun and the disciples of Longxiang Mountain generously."

"In that case, Yun would like to thank you first."

"That's right!" Zhao Yuan's expression changed, and he thought, "Yan Bugui is Ling Xiaoxiao's confidant. Now that we are all in the same boat, then..."

"Don't worry, Yan Bugui's life is safe." Yun Zhuiyue interrupted, "But now, I can't let her go back."

"Why?"

"Ling Xiaoxiao is bent on killing Xiao Zhirou. Please tell Ling Xiaoxiao to stop her plans to take Xiao Zhirou. Otherwise, don't blame me for being ruthless." Yun Zhuiyue said quietly, "Xiao Zhirou and Clan Leader Teng were invited to come here and will arrive in Luoyang City soon. This is the territory of the Xianwang Mansion. Ling Xiaoxiao is like a fish in water here. I am worried that she will harm Xiao Zhirou. Therefore, I want to use Yan Bugui as a hostage. After Xiao Zhirou leaves safely, I will let her go."

"Saint Lord Yun may not know that Ling Xiaoxiao has now been placed under house arrest by Luo Tianjin in the Xianwang Mansion. Even if she wants to harm Valley Lord Xiao, I'm afraid she doesn't have the ability to do so..."

"It seems that Lord Zhao is not well-informed." Yun Zhuiyue sneered, "Wudang disciples have arrived in Luoyang City this evening. How dare Luo Tianjin keep Ling Xiaoxiao under house arrest to save the reputation of Wudang Sect? If my guess is correct, Ling Xiaoxiao will be able to swagger in the market tomorrow morning, and she will just have a few more Xianwang Mansion's 'tails' behind her. Lord Zhao is a smart man. Since he knows that we are in the same boat, he should understand the principle of taking care of both ends. If one end sinks and the other end is light, the boat is bound to capsize."

"you……"

"Don't be anxious, sir. You can take your time to think about it. There is a mass grave on the outskirts of Luoyang. If you trust me, you can come to the mass grave to find me at any time. It's getting late today, so I'll take my leave first."

After saying this, Yun Zhuiyue gave Zhao Yuan a mysterious smile, threw the teacup on the table, and disappeared into the night fog.

……

(End of this chapter)