HCB Chapter 272: Who plots against whom?
Chapter 272: Who plots against whom?
Yu Wan walked through the bustling crowd and headed towards a relatively secluded alley outside Huangjue Temple.
She could feel those people following her like shadows, her footsteps deliberately light, yet she dared not lose them.
After entering the alley, Yu Wan slowed her pace, her eyes quickly scanning the surroundings, looking for a favorable position.
The alley was flanked by high walls, and the ground was covered with snow. Only at the end was there a half-closed, dilapidated wooden door.
A soft whistle came from behind the wooden door.
Yu Wan loosened her fists slightly at her sides and stopped walking forward.
Behind her, the men who had been following her exchanged glances as she entered the alley, then quickened their pace to follow her in.
The leader was a burly man with a hideous scar on his face. Seeing that Yu Wan seemed to have nowhere to go, he waved his hand, and the men behind him surrounded Yu Wan.
Upon seeing this, Yu Wan's face instantly showed a look of panic.
"Who are you? What do you want to do?"
Her expression was terrified, and her voice trembled slightly.
The scarred man lowered his guard upon seeing this and sneered, "Someone wants your help. Come with me!"
Yu Wan shook her head in alarm, "No, I don't know you. Don't come any closer, or I'll call for help!"
The scarred man sneered, "Call for help? Hahaha, you try calling out then and see if anyone pays any attention to you."
Yu Wan was immediately terrified and her eyes turned red.
"I don't know you, please let me go..."
As she spoke, she backed away in fear.
Seeing this, the scarred man exchanged glances with the others, and they all moved closer to Yu Wan.
Yu Wan retreated to the base of the wall until she had nowhere left to retreat.
The scarred man said menacingly, "If you know what's good for you, come with us and you'll avoid suffering!"
As he spoke, he reached out and grabbed at Yu Wan.
Just then, the fear and shock on Yu Wan's face suddenly vanished. She curled her lips into a smile, raised her right hand, and flung it forward.
She quickly held her breath.
A cloud of pale pink dust dispersed, and before the men could react, they collapsed one after another.
The scarred man hadn't inhaled much of the powder, so he didn't collapse immediately. He covered his mouth and nose with his hand, glaring at Yu Wan with ferocious eyes, "You...you used dirty tricks..."
He forced out a few words through gritted teeth.
He reached out to grab Yu Wan, but his legs went weak and his body gradually became out of control.
Yu Wan looked at the scarred man in front of her who was still putting on a brave face, her smile widening, but her eyes were devoid of warmth. "What, are you surprised?"
"You're allowed to scheme against me, but I'm not allowed to scheme against you?" Yu Wan raised an eyebrow slightly. "Tell me, who sent you?"
Although the scarred man collapsed to the ground, he kept his eyes open and stubbornly said, "Don't dream about it, I won't tell..."
Yu Wan took two steps forward, squatted down, picked up a sharp stone from the ground, and tossed it around in her hand a few times.
"It seems you won't cry until you see the coffin."
"You should know the most, and we should be able to get a lot out of you."
Yu Wan squatted down next to him with a smile, "Do you think I would let you pass out so easily?"
As she spoke, she brought the stone close to the scarred man's face and gently stroked it across his cheek. The cold touch made the scarred man shiver.
"If you don't tell the truth, I'll use this pebble to cut your neck. I've studied medicine, and I know where to cut to make someone bleed out slowly and die..."
"You're just doing a job for money, why risk your life? Right?"
Yu Wan's voice was soft, yet carried an undeniable threat.
Large beads of sweat appeared on the scarred man's forehead. He felt the sharp stones cut his neck and finally realized that the seemingly frail woman in front of him was not joking.
After hesitating for a moment, he finally spoke: "It was...it was Lord Wang from the Ministry of Rites. Lord Wang sent us to kidnap you..."
"Wang Ling, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites?"
"Yes, it's him!"
"What does he want to do?!"
The man hesitated for a moment, then slowly uttered a sentence.
As Yu Wan listened to the end, the stone in her hand almost embedded itself in the man's neck.
"Miss, please spare my life! I've told you everything I need to say! Please, spare my life!"
Yu Wan closed her eyes, coldly tossed the stone in her hand aside, and whistled.
The next moment, two men in black emerged from behind the wooden door that had been shaking, and respectfully said to Yu Wan, "Madam Yun, what are your orders?"
These two were secret guards assigned to Yun Shang by Prince Chen.
After Yun Shang took charge of the Winter Festival, Prince Chen gave Yun Shang ten secret guards, and now Yun Shang is the master of these ten secret guards.
Yu Wan knew from the beginning that Yun Shang had left four secret guards to protect her, Shen Shi, and Yun Xi, which is why she dared to set up the trap with herself.
Moreover, she anticipated that Prince Yong would take some action at today's winter festival and had already made preparations.
She not only carried antidotes, but also poison and several kinds of sleeping pills. If anyone dared to mess with her, she could let them taste the latest sleeping pills from Elder Feng!
The scarred man looked at the two men in black who had suddenly appeared, and a look of fear flashed across his face.
The woman in front of me was clearly prepared!
Yu Wan dusted off her hands, stood up, and said to the two men in black, "Lord Wang has meticulously prepared such a performance, so we certainly can't let him down. Do as I say..."
Yu Wan left the alley alone and rejoined the bustling crowd, finding Shen Shi and Yun Xi.
When Shen and Yunxi saw that she had finally returned, they breathed a sigh of relief.
Madam Shen looked up and glanced behind her. "Yu Niang, where did you go to relieve yourself? Why did you take so long? Xi'er and I almost couldn't resist looking for you."
Yu Wan smiled and comforted Shen Shi, "Mother-in-law, don't worry, it's just that there were too many people, so it took a little longer."
Shen thought about it and realized it made sense.
A toilet area has been set up outside Huangjue Temple for worshippers, but it will be quite crowded today due to the large number of people.
Holding one child in each hand, Madam Shen said with a smile, "There are a lot of people today, so the three of us, mother and daughter, must stay close together and not get lost."
Yunxi clung tightly to Shen's arm and said coquettishly, "Mother, don't worry, my sister-in-law and I will definitely hold you tight."
At 9:00 AM, the winter festival officially begins.
With a long, drawn-out horn call, the surrounding noise seemed to be paused.
Surrounded by his court officials, Emperor Wenjing ascended the altar.
He was dressed in black and gold ceremonial robes, wearing a crown, with a dignified and solemn expression, exuding imperial majesty in every gesture.
Following closely behind him were the princes, and then officials from the Ministry of Rites carrying various sacrificial implements.
Yun Shang, as the chief officiant, held the sacrificial text to be read in this ceremony.
The master of ceremonies shouted, "Kneel—"
The people below the stage knelt down and shouted "Long live the Emperor!"
"Read the eulogy—"
Yun Shang walked up to the sacrificial altar and solemnly read the sacrificial text.
His voice was loud and clear, each word carrying immense weight and traveling far in the cool air.
The words of the eulogy are elegant and simple, full of reverence for heaven and earth and the gods, as well as prayers for peace, prosperity and good weather in the Great Zhao Kingdom.
"Our Great Zhao, by the grace of Heaven, and with the protection of our ancestors, we offer sacrifices to the divine spirits on this winter's day, when auspicious snow heralds a bountiful harvest..."