Chapter 844 It’s a last resort
"Good! As the saying goes, 'If a man does not work for himself, he will be punished by heaven and earth.' Today, you have not been fettered by worldly emotions. You know how to remove the fuel to stop the boiling water and cut the weeds to remove the roots. Only in this way can you stand invincible. I really did not make a mistake in you. As long as you can overcome your inner demons and survive this disaster, your future... will be limitless."

"Master Qian, is it possible that... there is no room for easing this matter?"

"You already know the pros and cons. If Liu Xunyi doesn't die, you will have endless troubles. Why are you asking now when you already know the answer?"

"Your Excellency wants me to kill him?"

"can you do it?"

"I……"

"You can't do it, and you can't do it. Because Liu Xunyi is still a fourth-rank captain today, the 'Song Dynasty's envoy' appointed by the emperor, and he has just made great contributions to the court in Mobei, and he is currently in the limelight. What right do you have to kill him? In what name do you kill him? Even if you create an accident, and Lord Jia slanders and instigates in front of the emperor afterwards, how will you end up?"

"This... Forgive my ignorance, I don't know what you mean..."

"To get rid of Liu Xunyi, we must do it legitimately. We must follow the laws of the court, but we must not cause criticism from the people. The most difficult part is undoubtedly finding a crime to kill him."

"It's not difficult to find faults in him, but it's probably not easy to sentence him to death."

"Liu Xunyi's moral integrity is not lost, so it is not easy to convict him. I have been thinking hard for many days but still can't come up with a solution. However, God will not let down those who work hard. Tonight, the emperor urgently summoned me to the palace... It is precisely related to Liu Xunyi. We can take this opportunity to send him to a place of no return, and he will never be able to turn over in his life."

"Dare to ask..."

"No need to ask more questions, so that you don't get sympathetic and reveal your true colors in front of Liu Xunyi."

"So...what does your Excellency want me to do?"

"Two things! First, continue to monitor Liu Xunyi's every move, but don't let him get suspicious. Second, no matter what trouble Liu Xunyi encounters next, you must turn a blind eye. I will not let you kill your good brother with your own hands because you value friendship and loyalty, but at least... you can't become an obstacle for others to kill him."

……

On his way back to Tianji Pavilion after leaving the Privy Council, Qin Wei's mind kept echoing with his conversation with Lord Qian. Every word was like a sword piercing deeply into his heart, causing him to feel a mixture of emotions.

Qin Wei had repeatedly begged Lord Qian to come up with a foolproof plan to save Liu Xunyi's life. Unfortunately, Lord Qian's ruthless answers time and time again made him discouraged and hopeless.

The current situation in Lin'an City can be described as "quiet as a virgin, swift as a rabbit".

Although on the surface Qin Wei and Liu Xunyi have not yet reached the point of becoming enemies and a fight to the death, with the appearance of Qiu Han and Ding Chou, a serious threat that could bring Qin Wei back to his original form has gradually surfaced.

Once Lord Jia notices any disturbance, or Liu Xunyi learns the truth about the East Palace being purged and the Prime Minister and Zhao Yuan being in trouble, the current stable situation will surely collapse. Chaos is about to break out, and it will turn the world upside down with a devastating force, and it will be out of control.

By then, it would be impossible for Qin Wei to weigh the pros and cons as slowly and calmly as he does today.

The first to strike is the strongest, the last to strike will suffer. This simple truth does not need anyone to remind him, Qin Wei's mind is as clear as a mirror.

If Liu Xunyi was like him, willing to ignore everything for her own fame and fortune, and even sell out her own conscience, Qin Wei would not be so entangled. The two of them could just work together and prosper together.

It’s a pity that Liu Xunyi and Qin Wei are not the same kind of people at heart.

He is the kind of stubborn person who would rather die than live in disgrace. He is a madman who is considered by others to be "harmful to others without benefiting himself". He is a foolish official who sticks to the principle of loyalty to the emperor and can repay evil with kindness to the court again and again. He is a freak who will repay a favor, is inflexible, and is even willing to risk his life for a dead person.

The country is easy to change, but the nature is hard to change.

Qin Wei and Liu Xunyi had known each other since childhood, and he knew Liu Xunyi's temperament very well, so he did not pull him to join the Western Mansion and betray Zhao Yuan too early.

Qin Wei knew that Liu Xunyi would never accept his betrayal of Dongfu and Zhao Yuan. Even if he had a thousand reasons, he could not convince Liu Xunyi to join him in the conspiracy.

It never happened in the past, it never happens now, and it never will happen in the future.

No matter how their identities change or how their circumstances change, the ending will not change. The day Liu Xunyi learned the truth was the day when the brothers broke up.

It is also because of this that even though Qin Wei is now in a high position and even has enough reasons to have close contacts with the West Mansion, he still dares not confess his past scandals to Liu Xunyi.

After all, deep down in his heart, Qin Wei never wanted to lose his only "relative".

Qin Wei is not a fool, he knows that the truth will come out. He strongly recommended Liu Xunyi and took care of him in every way, but it was nothing more than a self-deception, hoping that Liu Xunyi would never know about his evil deeds, or when Liu Xunyi knew about it, he would be deeply moved by his sincerity and kindness and could not bear to turn against his brother.

However, things did not go as planned. Before Qin Wei could "persuade" Liu Xunyi little by little, the truth was revealed.

With complex emotions that could not be expressed in words, Qin Wei returned to Tianji Pavilion under the protection of Tulong, Tuhu and others.

At this time, the sun rises in the east and the sky is bright.

"Greetings to the Marquis!"

After entering the Tianji Pavilion, Qin Wei did not return to his room to rest, but came to the outside of Liu Xunyi's courtyard as if possessed by a ghost.

At this moment, two sly-looking captains with golden swords had been "guarding" here all night.

"Master Liu...does he have any instructions?" "My Lord, Master Liu has been sleeping in his room and has not gotten up yet. He has not ordered us to do anything."

"Oh!"

Qin Wei agreed absentmindedly, stepped into the courtyard and went straight to Liu Xunyi's room.

However, when he arrived at the door, he suddenly hesitated, and his hand, which was about to knock on the door, hung stiffly in mid-air.

In this way, Qin Wei stood outside Liu Xunyi's door for a whole incense stick of time.

Tulong, Tuhu, Chu Mao and other golden sword lieutenants were waiting silently in the courtyard, looking at Qin Wei's desolate and lonely back, they were all surprised and looked at each other.

I don’t know how much time has passed, Qin Wei, who is in a state of confusion, suddenly turns around and walks out of the yard with big strides, regardless of the astonishment of Tulong, Tuhu and others.

"Chu Mao, take your men to continue guarding outside the courtyard. Be careful not to alert the enemy."

"rest assured."

After giving a hurried instruction, Tulong and Tuhu quickly chased after Qin Wei.

Chu Mao took a deep look at Liu Xunyi's room, then waved gently to the golden sword captains who remained in the yard, and the group tiptoed out of the yard.

In the blink of an eye, the small courtyard where a dozen people had just gathered became empty again.

However, Liu Xunyi in the room was not asleep as they imagined, but was sitting at the table in neat clothes and full of energy. He held a cup of warm tea in his hand, and stared at the closed door with a pair of bright eyes, as still as a wooden sculpture from beginning to end, without moving a muscle.

"They're gone!"

Suddenly, a slightly trembling voice sounded quietly from beside Liu Xunyi. When he slowly turned his head, a man with a serious expression and sweat on his forehead suddenly appeared.

That person was actually Li Haitang.

He was so silent that he seemed unable to suppress his inner tension. His legs shook uncontrollably and he kept swallowing his saliva.

It turned out that Li Haitang sneaked into Tianji Pavilion before dawn to ask Liu Xunyi about Ding Chou and Qiu Han. Unexpectedly, Qin Wei suddenly came to visit when they were talking happily.

Just now, Qin Wei was standing outside the door, while Liu Xunyi and Li Haitang were sitting inside. There was only a door between the two sides, and any slight mistake would lead to a fight that could not be resolved.

Fortunately, Qin Wei chose to leave after hesitating for a long time, which made Liu Xunyi and Li Haitang, whose hearts were in their throats, breathe a sigh of relief.

The two people who were surrounded by danger subconsciously looked at each other, both of them were still frightened and had bitter expressions on their faces.

"Brother Liu, it seems that this Lord Qin... is not a good person." Li Haitang said quietly, "When I sneaked in just now, I found that there were people guarding outside the courtyard. They didn't seem to be protecting you, but more like... monitoring you."

"I will handle the matter here myself, you don't have to worry." Liu Xunyi seemed not to want to dwell on Qin Wei's topic any more, and said absentmindedly, "Please take care of Qiu Han and Ding Chou for me."

"It's a small matter." Li Haitang agreed happily, and then changed the subject and lowered his voice again. "Just now we were talking about the Wudang Sect Leader Qingfeng appearing in Lin'an City. What do you think, Brother Liu? The secret code of the Xianwang Mansion that you found outside the city... could it be related to Qingfeng?"

"It's really unexpected that Qingfeng would dare to take the risk alone." Liu Xunyi frowned and pondered, "Maybe... he came for me."

"Not likely!" Li Haitang was skeptical. "I have been secretly monitoring them these past few days, and Qingfeng hardly leaves the inn. If his target is Brother Liu, he should seize the opportunity and make a quick decision. Why waste time? After all, the Lin'an government has been investigating people from the underworld very strictly recently. The longer he stays here, the more likely he is to get into trouble."

"That makes sense." Liu Xunyi could not deny it and pondered carefully, "The disciples of the Xianwang Mansion hiding outside the city should be related to Qingfeng. Maybe they have other plans..."

At this point, Liu Xunyi suddenly had an idea and reminded, "Oh, right! When Qiu Han and Ding Chou were ambushed, it was a group of masked men of unknown origin who came to their rescue. The leader was a woman. If you have a chance... help me find out about this group of people."

"no problem……"

"We can investigate this slowly." Liu Xunyi said seriously, "The most urgent thing is for you to keep a close eye on Qingfeng for me. I want to see what he is up to."

"it is good!"

Li Haitang obeyed Liu Xunyi's orders, which made Liu Xunyi very grateful. He added, "Qin Wei may come back, so we should not stay here for long. I will go out to distract the outsiders, and you find a chance to leave. Be careful. Also, don't sneak into Tianji Pavilion on your own next time. If we are discovered, we will be in trouble."

"How can I find you?"

"Don't look for me, wait for me to look for you."

"Oh well!"

Looking at the reluctant Li Haitang, Liu Xunyi sighed and said nothing more.

He drank the tea in one gulp, stood up and walked to the door. He looked back at Li Haitang, who was worried and hesitant to speak, and gave him a comforting smile. Then he calmed down and slowly opened the door.

……

(End of this chapter)