Chapter 727: 724 : Safety and Danger_1

Chapter 727: 724 Chapter: Safety and Danger_1

“Mr. Li will naturally investigate. After all, if Old Fang and Mr. Ren are unwilling to help, Mr. Li can only bring the witness to the Crown Prince himself! Princess of Zhen, Bai Qingyan… broke my younger brother’s legs. My father can endure it, but as his elder brother, I… cannot just let it go as if nothing happened.” Li Mingrui already had his reasons prepared.

“Minister Li is a good brother!” Ren Shijie timely chimed in, praising Li Mingrui.

Li Mingrui smiled and nodded at Ren Shijie. “I know Old Fang has already sent someone to capture the one from Shuoyang and bring them to Dadu City. This prison guard… was also captured by my men for Old Fang and Mr. Ren. They are just outside. Old Fang and Mr. Ren can take them away any time! Just one thing… I hope Mr. Ren and Old Fang won’t stand up for me in front of the Crown Prince! If my father finds out… that I have opposed the Princess of Zhen behind his back, I will surely be punished by the family rules.”

Old Fang let out a low laugh. “Minister Li doesn’t want such credit?”

Li Mingrui shook his head. “I am just venting my anger. Old Fang and Mr. Ren need more merit in front of the Crown Prince than I do. Cooperation means mutual benefit. If all the benefits go to me after Old Fang and Mr. Ren have worked so hard, they would be reluctant to cooperate with me in the future, wouldn’t they?”

Li Mingrui pretended not to know that Old Fang already hated Bai Qingyan to the core, presenting the matter as mutual gain, which made Old Fang drop his guard.

“Minister Li isn’t greedy.” Old Fang’s brows and eyes showed a hint of a smile.

“I always know when to stop.” Li Mingrui raised the teacup in front of him. “Then, let me use tea instead of wine to wish Old Fang and Mr. Ren more trust from the Crown Prince because of this matter. In the future, should you rise to high positions, please remember to extend a helping hand to me.”

Old Fang raised his teacup. “Minister Li is too modest. Your father is the current Left Prime Minister. Your future… is limitless!”

After Old Fang and Ren Shijie left with Wang Qiulu and the prison guard, the counselor in white spoke to Li Mingrui. “Young master, our spies reported that Fu Ruoxi did indeed meet the Princess of Zhen. It seems that Fu Ruoxi must have informed the Princess of Zhen about Wang Qiulu entering King Liang’s mansion. I was worried that if Fu Ruoxi wasn’t the Princess of Zhen’s person, no one would inform the Princess of Zhen about Wang Qiulu entering King Liang’s mansion.”

Li Mingrui gave a low laugh, lightly tapping his palm with the bone fan in his hand. “Do you think the Princess of Zhen doesn’t have spies watching King Liang’s mansion? The fact that she could take precautions before King Liang and King Xian conspired to rebel proves at least… that there are spies for the Princess of Zhen outside King Liang’s mansion!”

“Young master…” The counselor in white’s face changed. “Could it be that the Princess of Zhen has also sent people to monitor us?”

Li Mingrui laughed out loud, pointing his fan at the old man standing inside the door. “Do you know the old man has a unique skill? He can identify people by listening to their footsteps and recognize their positions. If someone were watching us, the old man would have noticed it long ago.”

The counselor in white finally breathed a sigh of relief, smiling gently along with Li Mingrui. “I didn’t expect it! Fu Ruoxi is indeed working for the Princess of Zhen!”

“Back when the Princess of Zhen was at the Anping Camp, she could have killed Fu Ruoxi. But she only took one of his arms and spared him! Later, Madam Fu also went to the Princess of Zhen’s mansion for help! Then… after the Princess of Zhen visited Fu Ruoxi in prison, he exposed the Empress! Later, during the chaos at Wude Gate… Fu Ruoxi was just ‘coincidentally’ saved by the Bai family guard and led twenty thousand soldiers stationed outside the capital to save the Emperor?”

“The Princess of Zhen is not someone who is soft-hearted and reckless. If Fu Ruoxi wasn’t her person, if she wasn’t completely confident in him, how would she dare to let him lead twenty thousand Anping Army soldiers into the city to save the Emperor?” Li Mingrui’s smile grew even brighter. “It’s a pity though, Fu Ruoxi and the Princess of Zhen easily deceived the Emperor and the Crown Prince, along with everyone else!”

“But they couldn’t escape young master’s keen insight!” The counselor in white laughed and bowed deeply to Li Mingrui. “So, next, we should send someone to inform the Princess of Zhen about Wang Qiulu’s dealings with King Liang. This way, the matter will be disassociated from young master, and even if something happens at the Princess of Zhen’s mansion, she won’t blame young master.”

“Hmm, don’t send a letter. Just dispatch someone to convey the message!” Li Mingrui’s brows and eyes were full of smiles. He planned to gradually undermine Bai Qingyan’s trust with the Crown Prince. Once the eminent Lord Shoushan and Master Tan, who were highly respected and skilled in calligraphy, were out of the picture, and his family’s arranged calligraphy experts gained fame in Dadu, the authenticity of the letters between Bai Qingyan’s father and the Second Prince would be determined by him, Li Mingrui.

He had gone through so much trouble to lay out his plan. In the future… the letters in the Princess of Zhen’s hands wouldn’t be a threat anymore.

The counselor in white squinted and pondered. “Young master, will Wang Qiulu truly testify that it was the Princess of Zhen’s people who rescued him for the sake of Liu Ruofu?”

“Wang Qiulu is a love-stricken fool! Back then, he disobeyed King Xian’s orders and led troops to kill the Princess of Zhen, all for Liu Ruofu. Now he knows that the supposedly dead Liu Ruofu is alive and well in King Liang’s mansion and under my control. Naturally, he will follow my commands! If he doesn’t do as I say… Liu Ruofu won’t survive!” Li Mingrui’s brows and eyes smiled.

“A hero succumbs to a beauty. The first beauty of Jin, Princess of Nandu, Liu Ruofu, will certainly make Wang Qiulu bow willingly. Yet now that Liu Ruofu’s face is ruined, will he still care about her safety?” The counselor in white was still a bit worried.

“It’s obvious you’ve never experienced love!” Li Mingrui laughed and then turned to instruct the silver-haired old man to watch over the mansion carefully. He then got into a carriage and returned to Li Mansion.

Liu Ruofu was indeed dead. Li Mingrui had merely saved Liu Ruofu’s personal maid out of luck, learned about Liu Ruofu and Wang Qiulu, and found someone who resembled Liu Ruofu in appearance. He then disfigured and destroyed the voice of this person, training her under Liu Ruofu’s personal maid, making her eight parts similar to Liu Ruofu in speech and behavior.

Later, when the time was right, Li Mingrui informed Wang Qiulu that Liu Ruofu was still alive, arranging a brief meeting for them, making Wang Qiulu believe that Liu Ruofu was not dead.

In this way, Li Mingrui could use Wang Qiulu to deal with the Princess of Zhen.

Li Mingrui’s former master Du Zhiwei had taught him that killing was the foolish choice. The best tactics were both overt and covert schemes… and targeting the heart!

·

That night, Bai Jinxiu didn’t return. She stayed at Qinghui Courtyard. Just then, they received a report from the Hidden Guard stationed outside the Crown Prince’s residence, saying that the Crown Princess Consort gave birth.