Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
At this moment, inside the palace, Sun Liang led a group of soldiers and retrieved a large number of letters from Sun Yong's study. These letters were all correspondence between Sun Yong and some high-ranking officials of the Hua Xing Empire, including many details on how to incite Sun Yong to commit patricide and fratricide, as well as how to eliminate Liu Yong'an and his family.
Additionally, there were agreements in which Sun Yong promised to provide benefits to the Hua Xing Empire, one of which was to double the annual tribute amount. The more Sun Liang read these letters, the angrier he became, ultimately deciding to hand over all the letters to the Department of Punishment.
With these pieces of evidence, it was no problem for Sun Liang to determine Sun Yong's guilt. Initially, Sun Liang had considered sparing Sun Yong's life since they were brothers, but after reviewing the letters, he abandoned that thought.
After the morning court session that day, Ma Weiwu returned to his general's residence with his men. Although his official rank had been reduced by three levels, the New Majesty Sun Liang had not mentioned confiscating his home. This residence had been gifted to Ma Weiwu by the Old Emperor, and Sun Liang found it inappropriate to take it back.
Upon returning to his study, he immediately instructed his subordinates to summon his advisor and wife. Shortly after, a woman and two men entered the room. The woman was Ma Weiwu's current wife, Qian Clan, while the two men were both around twenty years old. One was Ma Weiwu's Third Young Master, Ma Sanbao, and the other was Dong Ning. Since following Ma Sanbao last time, Dong Ning quickly established himself as an indispensable advisor by using his intellect.
As Dong Ning grew older, his vision and knowledge expanded significantly. Now just over twenty years old, Dong Ning had gained the trust of both Ma Weiwu and Madam Qian and had been promoted to become Ma Weiwu's personal advisor.
The three were puzzled by Ma Weiwu's poor demeanor upon returning home. Madam Qian asked first, "My lord, what happened? Why do you look so troubled? Is something wrong?"
Ma Weiwu sighed deeply. "Sigh, something big has happened."
Dong Ning chimed in from the side: "My lord, I heard cries for blood on the streets today. I even sent someone to investigate; could it be that something happened in the palace?"
Ma Weiwu nodded. "His Majesty Sun Yong has been captured; his throne has been abolished."
At this moment, all three were taken aback. "What? How could this happen? Who has such power? A dynasty has changed in just one morning," exclaimed Ma Sanbao.
"The one who captured Sun Yong is none other than his brother, the former Third Prince Sun Liang. And you won't believe who led the charge into the palace."
"Please enlighten us; I truly cannot guess who could have such capability to seize the palace so swiftly and capture the emperor," Dong Ning asked from the side.
"You all know this person and have some grievances with him."
Dong Ning's eyes shifted as he thought: "My lord, are you referring to Liu Guanfeng from the Liu Family?"
Ma Weiwu nodded, "It seems I made the right choice in selecting you as my Advisor. You figured it out so quickly."
"How could it be him? Where did he get so many people? Has he been recruiting soldiers all these years? But how could he afford that?" Ma Sanbao still had some doubts about his father's words.
"I don't know about that, but I do know that today's Liu Guanfeng is no longer the little brat I could easily crush back then."
"Sir, has he made any moves against you?"
"Not yet, but as a former accomplice of Sun Yong, even though I managed to position myself correctly this time, Sun Liang only demoted me by three ranks."
"If that's the case, why did you call us here?"
"I called you here today to help me brainstorm ideas on how to handle the situation. I've thought about it; just because they aren't causing me trouble now doesn't mean they won't in the future. The Liu Family currently holds immense power in the court. Besides Liu Guanfeng, both of his brothers have been appointed generals by Sun Liang. If this continues, I definitely won't have a good outcome in their hands. After all, I was the one who led the raid on their family."
Dong Ning, standing to the side, smiled slightly, "Sir, I just want to know if you intend to continue like this or if you want to reclaim your former position as a general, or even aim for a higher office?"
Hearing this, Ma Weiwu's eyes lit up, "Who would want to continue like this? Who doesn't want to be above one and below ten thousand? Tell me what ideas you have."
"Do you still remember when people from the Hua Xing Empire came here and sought you out individually?"
"Of course I remember. At that time, I was the only general in the court, and I had almost all the soldiers in the country under my command. So when they came, they paid special attention to me; otherwise, Sanbao wouldn't have risen to an Intermediate Knight rank in just a few years."
"Exactly. I believe you kept a way to contact them back then?"
"Yes, they sent Old Man a Messenger. I heard that this kind of creature only exists in distant island nations; it's a magical beast used for sending messages with incredible speed. Why do you ask about this?"
"Don't rush, Sir. I just wanted to say that since you can contact them, why not reach out? Our Ma Family has reached a dead end, and His Majesty Sun Yong has been captured. At this time, the Hua Xing Empire cannot ignore us.
All you need to do is write a letter and embellish the situation as much as possible. It would be best if it could shock the people of Hua Xing; after that, you won't need to worry about anything else. Everything will naturally be taken care of." After saying this, Dong Ning quietly stood beside Ma Weiwu as if nothing had happened.
Ma Weiwu did not respond immediately; he was carefully contemplating what Dong Ning had just said. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that Dong Ning was right. If he really sent out the letter and received no response, he could still continue to serve as an official in the Starfall Kingdom. At worst, he would just have to keep a low profile in the future. However, if the Hua Xing Empire took action, the situation could change dramatically. With his own informant, he could rescue Sun Yong from prison and become a hero. At that point, he would have significant influence in the Starfall Kingdom.
However, Ma Weiwu was a cunning old fox. He nodded at Ma Sanbao and Dong Ning: "Let me think it over. I still have something to discuss with my wife; you two can leave for now."
"Father, I take my leave," said Ma Sanbao, and both he and Dong Ning turned and exited Ma Weiwu's study. As soon as they stepped out, Ma Sanbao turned back to Dong Ning and said:
"That kid is really lucky. He has survived several attempts on his life, and unexpectedly, in just a few years, this Salty Fish has turned his fortunes around and even stirred up trouble for the throne."
"Third Young Master, don't be so troubled. Rest assured, as long as Old General adopts my plan, I guarantee that kid won't enjoy his luck for long."
"Dong Ning, how can you be so confident?"
"That's simple. We cannot compete with the Hua Xing Empire, but why must the Hua Xing Empire obey the Eastern Dragon Empire?"
"The military strength of the Hua Xing Empire is too formidable; we can't match them."
"You are only half right. Their military strength is just one aspect."
"One aspect? What is the other aspect?"
"Look at our highest combat power in the Starfall Kingdom. It should be the two guards beside His Majesty and your father, General Ma. Both of these guards were sent by the Hua Xing Empire. This means that our reluctance to confront the Hua Xing Empire primarily stems from our lack of top-tier combat strength. Our highest combat power is only Advanced Knight, while the highest combat power of the Hua Xing Empire consists of powerful Divine Knights. If we in the Starfall Kingdom were to engage with the Hua Xing Empire, even if we had an advantage in numbers, who could stop a Divine-Level Expert sent to assassinate the emperor?"
Ma Sanbao nodded: "So that's how it is. It seems that as long as the Hua Xing Empire is willing to send people, we have a chance to turn things around."
"Third Young Master, even if Liu Guanfeng is impressive, he is still just a young man in his twenties. Even if he is a martial arts genius, reaching the level of an Advanced Knight would be his limit. How could he possibly contend with a Divine Knight? If the Hua Xing Empire sends a single Divine Knight, we can just sit back and watch as Liu Guanfeng gets killed."
"Advisor is indeed an expert. Today I'm in a good mood; let's go drink together." After saying this, Ma Sanbao put his arm around Dong Ning's shoulder, and they both left the residence of General Ma.
At this moment in Ma Weiwu's study, only he and Madam Qian remained. "Madam, what do you think about what Dong Ning proposed?"
"After Lord Dong Ning made his suggestion, I thought for a long time as well. This might be our last opportunity. Success means being above one person and below ten thousand, while failure will remain unknown as long as we don't speak of it. At that time, we can simply deny everything and live a low-profile life. This way, we can say we are engaging in a no-cost business. Why not do it?"
Ma Weiwu nodded, "Madam, you and I are on the same page. Then I will write to Mr. Xiahou Zhongtian right away and ask him to inform the Emperor of the Hua Xing Empire."
"Lord, you go ahead with your work. I will get you a bowl of bird's nest soup."
"Thank you, Madam."
After saying this, Madam Qian stepped out of the study. Soon after, Ma Weiwu finished writing the letter to Xiahou Zhongtian. He then twisted the pen holder on his desk with one hand, and a creaking sound followed as a passage appeared behind him in the bookshelf. Ma Weiwu turned and walked into the passage, returning shortly after with a birdcage in hand.
When Ma Weiwu opened the blue cloth covering the birdcage, a palm-sized bird appeared inside. If Liu Guanfeng were present, he would certainly recognize this small bird as a unique species from the past on the continent—Messenger. Liu Guanfeng had used it before.
Ma Weiwu rolled up his letter and wrapped it in animal skin to prevent it from getting wet in the rain. He then took the Messenger to the courtyard. After checking that no one was around, he threw it into the air. The Messenger flapped its wings vigorously and soared into the sky, quickly flying towards the Hua Xing Empire, its tiny figure disappearing into the horizon.
Seeing the little bird vanish into the sky, Ma Weiwu smiled and turned back to his study. Just when he felt that everything was foolproof, several dark figures around Ma Weiwu's residence also took to the air, heading straight for the direction of the Messenger.
These individuals were spies left by Liu Guanfeng around Ma Weiwu's general mansion. They were part of Liu Guanfeng's secretly trained flying squadron. All members of this flying squadron rode flying mounts, and their captain had gained recognition from Chimera.
The entire squad was divided into Chimera Royal Guard, Griffin Squadron, Thunder Eagle Squadron, and Gale Vulture Reconnaissance Team. The members assigned by Liu Guanfeng to guard Ma Weiwu's residence were from the Thunder Eagle Squadron and Gale Vulture Reconnaissance Team; all their mounts were known for their speed.
As these shadowy figures flew out towards Ma Weiwu's mansion, they also released their mounts. To avoid drawing attention, all their mounts were only about the size of ordinary cats or dogs when they took off, making them less conspicuous at first. However, once they reached the sky, all the magical beasts transformed into their normal sizes. Seven or eight flying mounts darted towards the fleeing Messenger.
Comment 0 Comment Count