Dragon Tamer

After leaving Mingyuan Zhai, An Qingfeng closed the door slowly, maintaining a respectful expression.

As soon as the door had closed, the obsequious look on An Qingfeng’s face dissipated, replaced by traces of dissatisfaction and disdain.

“Zhu Minglang is clearly on his mind, yet he still pretends to be indifferent. In both the Miao Kingdom Palace and Qin City Garden, your attitude, Zhao Yu, was different. Wen Lingfei ignores you completely, and you are aloof with Li Caimo, displaying utter indifference.” An Qingfeng muttered disdainfully.

An Qingfeng was all too aware of what type of person Zhao Yu was.

Indeed, there were few things he cared about in this world. He could even appear magnanimous towards his enemies, but that was only because those enemies were, in fact, beneath his notice.

In the end, won’t it still be up to my Prince’s Mansion to deal with Zhu Minglang?

Zhu Minglang is fairly unique.

After all, he is the son of the Zhu Heavenly Officer. If we move against him, we must try to capture him alive. If we must kill him, then everything must be handled impeccably, so as not to leave any evidence that could be used against us by Zhu Gate. Otherwise, King An’s Mansion would face the insane wrath of the Zhu Heavenly Officer.

The previous attempts to probe Zhu Minglang were partly to determine if Zhu Minglang had the backing of any formidable masters from Zhu Clan Inner Court, and partially just to harass him. How could Zhao Yin Ge and Lu Mu, those two…

“It was you who harbored the intent to kill, yet in the end, my King An’s Mansion must carry the blame!” An Qingfeng sneered.

Capturing and killing are two different matters.

Given Zhu Gate’s current strength, the most our King An’s Mansion could dare to do is to capture Zhu Minglang alive and then use him as a bargaining chip to force the Zhu Heavenly Officer to submit.

If we actually killed him, even if King An’s Mansion could withstand Zhu Gate’s vengeance, it would likely be greatly weakened, which wouldn’t benefit us at all.

Of course, unless it can be done flawlessly…

…

After An Qingfeng had left, Prince Zhao Yu remained seated on the cushion.

All was silent around him, the darkness of the night deepened, and as a breeze rustled through, it stirred the leaves, causing a wave of rustling that was unfathomably comforting.

It was then that Prince Zhao Yu’s gaze fixed on the door curtain, as a figure glided in soundlessly and stood beside the tranquil lamp.

“An Qingfeng is making moves against Zhu Minglang, are you aware?” the person under the lamplight questioned.

“Of course, some of the actions were even instigated by me,” Prince Zhao Yu replied with a smile.

“Why?” the tone of the person under the lamplight grew a touch more intense.

“It befits my status. If I showed no animosity towards Zhu Minglang, how would An Qingfeng ever trust me? Zhu Wangxing, are you still doubting me? Since Empress Zhu entrusted me with the task of helping you eliminate King An’s influence both inside and outside Zhu Gate, I, Zhao Yu, will naturally put forth all my effort…” Prince Zhao Yu said earnestly.

Zhu Wangxing stepped from beneath the lamp and gave a slow, respectful bow, saying, “Far be it from me to presume; it’s only that Zhu Minglang’s sudden appearance took us by surprise, a matter we did not raise with the Zhu Heavenly Officer.”

“It’s only natural for the Zhu Heavenly Officer not to trust me. But Empress Zhu is akin to my own mother; if I were siding with King An’s Mansion, do you think my recent ennoblement would have gone smoothly? Would I still have a place in the Supreme Court Empire?” Prince Zhao Yu said.

“Then why would you incite An Qingfeng to act against Zhu Minglang?”

“Do you think, if I truly intended to act against Zhu Minglang, he would still be safe and sound at this moment?” Prince Zhao Yu retorted.

Zhu Wangxing pondered over these words carefully and felt that there was indeed some truth to what Prince Zhao Yu had said; with the current strength of Prince Zhao Yu, Zhu Minglang would not be able to withstand him.

“Four days from now, it’s the Fire Fetching Ritual. At that time, we might need to rely on the Prince’s power, after all, bringing any additional person would arouse suspicion from King An’s Mansion,” Zhu Wangxing said.

“Rest assured, everything will go according to the plan. The spies, insiders, and the experts they sent to sabotage the Fire Fetching Ritual—all will be caught in one fell swoop! After this, King An’s Mansion will be damaged and will no longer pose a threat to your Zhu Gate,” Prince Zhao Yu responded.

“Then I must thank the Prince for your strong support!” Zhu Wangxing bowed to the Prince.

“No need to mention it. After I am granted a title of nobility, I will still need the support of your Zhu Gate. Otherwise, the Crown Prince will banish me to the most remote areas or even send me to Li Chuan. I am simply trying to survive,” Prince Zhao Yu replied with a bow, expressing his humility.

At this moment, Zhao Yu was completely different from how he had been when communicating with An Qingfeng—steady, calm, humble, with none of a prince’s arrogance or presumption.

It seemed this was his true face.

…

…

Zhu Wangxing returned to the Little Inner Court.

He sat in the room, carefully contemplating the words that Prince Zhao Yu had spoken.

Not long ago, Zhu Wangxing had made a trip to the Imperial City.

Empress Zhu had introduced Prince Zhao Yu to him, stating that the Prince now needed the support of the Zhu Clan, and he could help them dispose of the spies, insiders, and traitors that King An’s Mansion had planted inside Zhu Gate.

Thus, earlier on, Zhu Wangxing had teamed up with Prince Zhao Yu, deliberately leaking the secret information about the Zhu Clan’s realm to people from King An’s Mansion, using this opportunity to inflict a heavy blow on them.

Everything was going smoothly. An Qingfeng, the third son of King An, had personally shown up. The unannounced arrival of Zhu Minglang, without so much as a greeting, had raised some concerns for Zhu Wangxing…

Fortunately, Zhu Minglang would not have too great an impact on the entire plan.

There were quite a few insiders in the Little Inner Court, and some had already betrayed them long ago. Zhu Wangxing had noticed this early on. If he didn’t take drastic measures, the Little Inner Court would be restricted everywhere and couldn’t really hope to thrive.

He hoped that this time, they could be thoroughly eradicated.

It would also be considered a great service to Zhu Gate, dealing a serious blow to King An’s Mansion.

Prince Zhao Yu was personally recommended by Empress Zhu. With Empress Zhu present, if Prince Zhao Yu were to side with King An’s Mansion, he would not fare well.

This gave Zhu Wangxing considerable peace of mind.

“Father, where did you go just now?” A pleasant and melodious voice rang out, and Zhu Rongrong came in carrying a plate of pastries.

“I just went for a walk to clear my head. After all, the Fire Fetching Ritual is approaching, and it’s inevitable that I have a lot on my mind,” Zhu Wangxing said, his face lightening up with a smile as he saw his daughter, and his eyes unconsciously revealed his deep affection for her.

“After so many years, can you really get nervous, Father?” Zhu Rongrong asked.

“After all, this is the ideal year. You know how long your father has been waiting for this year. The people of our Zhu Gate, if speaking nobly, call themselves Casting Masters, but in fact, we are just craftsmen. What prouder moment for a craftsman than to hear someone exclaim in awe, ‘Such a marvelous item, could it be the work of so-and-so!’ Ha ha, not many people knew about me, Zhu Wangxing, before, but after this year, it will be different. Our Qin City Inner Court will be different, and my castings will be different too…” Facing Zhu Rongrong, Zhu Wangxing suddenly opened up his heart.