Chapter 392: Not Good, We've Fallen Into a Trap
Xiao Changmin's stance was clear—he had compromised with Xiao Changtai.
Half for Shen Yingluo's sake, and half to prevent Xiao Huayong from eliminating Xiao Changtai. With one less person now, he found himself at a greater disadvantage.
Xiao Huayong smiled and nodded before turning to leave. Xiao Changmin respectfully escorted him out of Zhao Wang's residence. As Xiao Huayong descended the steps, he paused on the final stone stair: "Second Brother, do not become the next Fourth Brother."
If he could push Xiao Changtai to this point, he could certainly do the same to Xiao Changmin.
Xiao Changmin acted as if he hadn't heard: "Farewell, Your Highness the Crown Prince."
Only when the sound of carriage wheels faded into the distance did Xiao Changmin straighten up. His face grew cold inch by inch as the sunlight disappeared.
"Your Highness, should we..."
"No need. Just have someone keep a close watch on Second Brother," Xiao Huayong raised his hand to stop Tianyuan. "Let's see how capable Fourth Brother truly is!"
After leaving Zhao Wang's residence, Xiao Changtai returned to his hiding place. Li Yanyan knew of this location but couldn't visit. Their meetings were arranged at a residence near the Eastern Tower, where Li Yanyan was already waiting. Her letter had also been delivered to Xiao Changtai's lodging.
After capturing Ye Wantang, Li Yanyan had sent a letter to Xiao Changtai. This letter had been swapped out by Xiao Huayong. Given Xiao Changtai's previous disregard for her letters, Li Yanyan assumed he was stubbornly holding out when she received no reply. She was certain Xiao Changtai would enter the capital within five days, convinced he held some genuine affection for Ye Wantang.
Sure enough, Xiao Changtai arrived in the capital within three days. Though she didn't know why he went to Zhao Wang's residence, Li Yanyan paid no mind to Xiao Changtai's affairs.
This time, her letter to Xiao Changtai made no mention of Ye Wantang. In Li Yanyan's view, since Xiao Changtai had come for Ye Wantang and knew she was in her hands, there was no need to be aggressive and repeatedly remind him, risking his anger.
Xiao Changtai was extremely irritated with Li Yanyan. Unaware that she was being used by Xiao Huayong, he also wanted to meet with her to clarify matters and inform her that their communication method had been compromised.
Xiao Changtai didn't take extensive precautions for this meeting because Li Yanyan hadn't told him about encountering Shen Xihe after their secret meeting on the Lantern Festival. To Li Yanyan, this seemed trivial, and she didn't know that Shen Xihe could identify people by scent and had reported this to Xiao Huayong. Xiao Huayong had long since sent people to investigate the area around the Eastern Tower.
With Cui Jinbai at the Dali Temple, investigating capital residences was extremely convenient, with countless methods to avoid raising suspicion.
Just as Xiao Huayong's carriage departed from the Wang residence, he received news: "Your Highness, the Princess Consort of Dai has gone to the Qian residence."
The Qian residence was their secret meeting place, purchased by someone named Qian.
A slight smile touched Xiao Huayong's lips: "Let's go find Third Brother."
By the time Xiao Changtai arrived at the Qian residence, dusk was falling. Li Yanyan had already eaten dinner there, and his slow arrival genuinely annoyed her: "Fourth Brother, you're truly hard to get hold of."
"Do you understand how critical the situation is?" Xiao Changtai was equally irritated by her sarcastic tone. "If I didn't have important matters to discuss, do you think I would come see you?"
Li Yanyan looked somewhat puzzled: "What matters?""In the future, change the method of contacting me. I will consider how to establish contact over the next few days and then inform you. Our previous method has already been discovered by the Crown Prince," Xiao Changtai said coldly.
"How do you know it was discovered by the Crown Prince?" Li Yanyan asked.
"Three days ago, the letter you sent to the imperial mausoleum was intercepted. What my people retrieved was a booklet." The moment he recalled the contents of that booklet, Xiao Changtai felt uneasy. He had always considered himself cold-blooded and cruel, but he never imagined Xiao Huayong would prove truly terrifying. How could anyone depict such scenes? "It detailed the gruesome death of Munuha..."
"Wait." Li Yanyan interrupted Xiao Changtai, "Are you saying you never received the letter I sent you three days ago? Instead, you received a pictorial record, and this record was given to you by the Crown Prince?"
"Yes," Xiao Changtai replied coldly.
Li Yanyan's expression shifted dramatically: "This is bad! We've fallen into a trap!"
Alright, alright, I was wrong. I'll obediently accept your criticisms—feel free to leave comments, just please don't give negative ratings over this.
I'll make up for the missed updates. I genuinely had matters to attend to today, though it's hard to explain. Saying too much might make you think: This author always has so many trivial issues.
Sigh... I won't make promises for tomorrow, but if I can update more, I'll definitely post the maximum possible.
(End of Chapter)
OpenNovel