Chapter 722: Deceiving with Their Own Methods (I)

"Where are people?"

"A private room on the second floor."

Under the guidance of the sergeant, Xu Guangsheng came to a teahouse on the street.

As dusk approaches, the teahouse's business gradually becomes prosperous, with groups of people coming and going upstairs and downstairs, making it very lively.

The soldier led Xu Guangsheng to the private room on the second floor. When Xu Guangsheng was about to push the door open, he suddenly had an idea and his outstretched hands hovered in the air.

"General, why don't you go in?"

"What's your name?" Xu Guangsheng raised his eyebrows and asked with interest, "How old are you?"

"I am Wang Gui, and I am twenty-one this year."

"Wang Gui, do you know the person inside?" Xu Guangsheng pointed towards the door and looked at Wang Gui with a meaningful look.

"I don't know him." Wang Gui looked confused.

"Oh!" Xu Guangsheng took out a silver ingot from his arms and handed it to Wang Gui, saying, "Go downstairs and get a pot of good tea. Drink the tea while waiting for me. We will go back together later."

"General, a pot of tea doesn't cost that much..."

"The rest is yours."

After saying this, Xu Guangsheng waved his hand to send the ecstatic Wang Gui downstairs, then he calmed down, pushed the door and walked into the private room.

"Guangsheng, come on! The tea is ready. You've come just in time."

As soon as he entered the door, he was greeted warmly, which caught Xu Guangsheng off guard and he couldn't help but be stunned.

"Tingxiang? Master Zhu?" After distinguishing the two people in front of him, Xu Guangsheng's face immediately showed a look of disbelief, "Are they really you?"

"Why? Didn't your subordinates tell you?" Si Kongzhu said with a smile, "Or do you have other relatives in Junzhou?"

"That's not what I meant..." Xu Guangsheng was speechless for a moment, and said in confusion, "What I meant is... you dared to find an unfamiliar person to tip off, and asked me to meet you in public. What if someone finds out..."

"You and I are brothers, so what if we are discovered?" Lu Tingxiang poured a cup of tea for Xu Guangsheng without haste, and said with a faint smile, "If you have done nothing wrong, why should you be afraid of ghosts knocking on your door? Come, sit down and have a cup of tea to moisten your throat."

"Tingxiang, you have always been cautious in doing things. Why are you so... abrupt today?" Although he kept complaining, Xu Guangsheng still sat down opposite Lu Tingxiang obediently, took a sip from the teacup, and said, "You should know that Su He and Liu Xunyi are not easy to deal with..."

"Su He and I have no grudges, why would he bother me?" Lu Tingxiang pretended to be puzzled. "As for Liu Xunyi, given his current situation, he can't even hide from me, so how dare he appear in front of me? I came to Junzhou to visit an old friend, and I learned that you were passing by here to escort your family, so I asked you out for a cup of tea and a chat. Is this also a crime?"

"Old friend?" Xu Guangsheng was stunned. "What old friend?"

"Mr. Rong, the father-in-law of the prefect of Junzhou, is an old friend of my father." Lu Tingxiang said with a calm smile, "Therefore, my coming to Junzhou is not a secret, but everyone knows it. Tomorrow night, Mr. Rong will host a family dinner to entertain me, and the prefect of Junzhou will also be there."

"Tomorrow night?" Xu Guangsheng seemed to have sensed something from Lu Tingxiang's words, but he couldn't figure it out for a moment, so he hesitated and said, "Did you... really happen to meet me in Junzhou?"

"Of course..." Lu Tingxiang put the teacup back on the table, turned to look at Si Kongzhu and smiled, and then said, "Of course not! I came to Junzhou specifically to find you."

"hiss!"

Xu Guangsheng said to himself, "As expected," and his expression gradually became solemn.

"Guangsheng, given our relationship, there's no need for polite conversation. So, I won't beat around the bush with you and will get straight to the point."

While talking, Lu Tingxiang took out a piece of bamboo paper from his sleeve. There were some patterns drawn on it, like a simple map. "What is this?"

"A map of the Qinling Mountains." Lu Tingxiang spread out the bamboo paper on the table, and then pointed to a "人"-shaped pattern and said, "This is Yunya Town, and it is also where you will stay tomorrow. Yunya Town is different from Junzhou. It is a small mountain town with only dozens of households. There are no proper inns in it. There are only three simple hotels for you to rest. Interestingly, the three hotels are located at the three corners of the "人"-shaped street, named North Street Store, West Street Store, and East Street Store. Among them, North Street leads directly to the Qinling Mountains, while West Street and East Street lead to Jinzhou and Junzhou respectively. In other words, according to your route, you will enter Yunya Town from East Street tomorrow, and enter Qinling Mountains along North Street the day after tomorrow, right?"

"You should have read the invitation. Why are you asking when you already know the answer?" Xu Guangsheng said with a wry smile, "Tingxiang, what do you want to do? Just tell me!"

"You have over a thousand people, so it's impossible for all of you to stay in one inn. For safety reasons, you must occupy all three inns." Lu Tingxiang said calmly, "Of the three inns, the safest one is the North Street inn. There is no one in the Qinling wilderness, and no one is likely to disturb you in the middle of the night. If others want to get close to the North Street inn, they must pass through the East and West Streets. Therefore, you must arrange for the princess and An Chen to stay in the North Street inn. As for the East Street inn and the West Street inn, they will be heavily guarded to support each other and protect the safety of the North Street inn."

"That's true." Xu Guangsheng could not deny it. "Sui Zuo and I have already reached a consensus on this matter. Tomorrow night, the princess, An Chen, Su He, Liu Xunyi, Ding Qinghong, Sui Zuo, Feng Tianba, 400 Mongolian cavalry and 50 guards from the prime minister's residence will stay at the North Street Inn. I will lead 300 guards to guard the West Street Inn, and Tao Amu will lead 400 Mongolian cavalry to guard the East Street Inn."

"That's great." Lu Tingxiang was listening to Xu Guangsheng's deployment while marking on the map with a brush, and said absentmindedly, "My plan for you is basically the same, except for Liu Xunyi's arrangement."

"What do you mean?" Xu Guangsheng asked in astonishment, "Do you want to attack Liu Xunyi tomorrow night?"

"Tomorrow night, you must not let Liu Xunyi stay in the North Street store under any circumstances. You must let him stay with you in the West Street store." Lu Tingxiang did not answer Xu Guangsheng's question.

"Why?" Xu Guangsheng asked, "Tingxiang, aren't you going to a banquet with the governor of Junzhou tomorrow night? Why are you..."

"I will indeed be in Junzhou tomorrow night, but that won't stop me from dealing with Liu Xunyi." Lu Tingxiang smiled in a secretive manner, "Guangsheng, you have to remember three things. First, tomorrow night a group of people will enter Yunya Town from the West Street you are guarding. Don't stop them, just let them pass. Second, when this group of people enters Yunya Town, you will lead them to capture Liu Xunyi, dead or alive, and you must not let him escape. Then, someone will help you deal with him. Third, tomorrow night there will be a huge fight in Yunya Town. No matter what you hear? No matter what happens in the North Street Store and the East Street Store? Don't lead your people to help, just stay put and wait for dawn."

"This..." Xu Guangsheng was horrified. Lu Tingxiang's seemingly ordinary words made him tremble with fear and his hair stood on end. "Tingxiang, what exactly is your plan? If you want to deal with Liu Xunyi, you can just do it at the West Street store. Why did you let me let a group of people enter Yunya Town? Also, how many people are you talking about? Where did they come from? What do they want to do in Yunya Town? Why did the fight happen?"

"Guangsheng!" Sikong Zhu interrupted Xu Guangsheng's rapid-fire speech and said quietly, "You just need to follow the young master's plan. As for other matters, you don't need to ask any more questions."

"No!" Xu Guangsheng shook his head repeatedly like a rattle. "If you treat me as your own family, then explain everything to me. At least... let me know what will happen in Yunya Town tomorrow night?"

Hearing this, Lu Tingxiang and Sikong Zhu looked at each other, both with a hint of hesitation on their faces.

"Tingxiang, your target is not just Liu Xunyi, right?" Although Lu Tingxiang did not say a word, Xu Guangsheng had already vaguely smelled a hint of danger, "Your target is someone else? Who is it? Could it be the Mongolians?"

"I can tell you." Lu Tingxiang said bluntly under Xu Guangsheng's anxious gaze, "Tomorrow night, I just want to kill Liu Xunyi, but for various reasons, it is inconvenient for me to do it myself. So, I asked a friend to help me get rid of Liu Xunyi."

"Help?" Xu Guangsheng thought, "It shouldn't be for no reason, right?"

"That's right!" Lu Tingxiang said frankly, "The condition for him to help me is to borrow the 'travel card' and your convenience, and solve his two stumbling blocks at the same time."

"Gulp!" Xu Guangsheng swallowed hard, feeling increasingly nervous, and stammered, "Which two stumbling blocks are they?"

"'Princess of the Song Dynasty' Zhao Xin, 'Mongolian King of Hexi'."

"hiss!"

Lu Tingxiang's words were like a thunderbolt, striking Xu Guangsheng on the top of his head. His soul flew away and his spirit scattered into the sky. He was so shocked that he couldn't speak for a long time.

"Guangsheng, I have arranged a way out for you, which can ensure your prosperity and wealth, and a bright future. You don't have to worry." Lu Tingxiang knew Xu Guangsheng's worries, so he softened his tone and comforted him, "The Song Dynasty is in danger and will perish sooner or later. Even if it makes peace with Mongolia, it can only delay it for a while, not forever. Therefore, if you continue to work for the Emperor of Song, you will end up dead. Rather than perish together, it is better to turn to the light and pave a way out for yourself in advance."

"Tingxiang, you are... forcing me to rebel?" Xu Guangsheng was timid and pale, "Do you know that 'once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back'? Assassinating the princess and disrupting the marriage will inevitably lead to a war between Song and Mongolia... Once I participate in this matter, not only will there be no room for turning back, but I will also be branded as a perverse and traitor for fame, and my descendants will not be able to hold their heads up for generations..."

Facing Xu Guangsheng's worries, Lu Tingxiang couldn't help but show disdain on his face and chuckled, "Since ancient times, 'the winner is the king and the loser is the thief'. Soon the Song Dynasty will be destroyed, so why should we talk about eternal infamy?"

"Really?" Xu Guangsheng suddenly raised his head, staring at the serious Lu Tingxiang with his tiger eyes, and asked with a smile, "What about you? If you are not worried about bearing the eternal infamy, why did you ask others to do it? If you really have no scruples, why do you deliberately go to the banquet with the governor of Junzhou tomorrow night? You made such careful arrangements and found an alibi for yourself. Aren't you worried that the truth will be revealed? Aren't you trying to preserve your 'innocence'? Tingxiang, I admit that I am not as smart as you, but I am not a fool. I don't want to be used by others, and I don't want to... be someone else's scapegoat!"

When Lu Tingxiang's thoughts were exposed by Xu Guangsheng's words, he felt a chill in his heart and his face gradually became gloomy.

……

(End of this chapter)