Chapter 44 Assassination 4
The west warm room of Daming Palace.

It’s brightly lit here too.

Under the light, the emperor was sitting cross-legged on the couch, counting beads in his hands and reciting Buddhist scriptures silently.

The door curtain was lifted and Xia Shouzhong walked in.

Xia Shouzhong said softly, “Your Majesty, everything has been dealt with at the Chang’an Right Gate.”

The emperor said “hmm” and continued to recite the scriptures.

Xia Shouzhong: “The Third Prince is still young after all. How could the sundial and the clock both have problems at the same time?” He said, holding up a bowl of hot tea, “Grand Emperor, have a sip of hot tea.”

The emperor then opened his eyes, placed his rosary on the couch, took a sip of tea, and said with a smile: “If this kid doesn’t take action, it’s fine. Once he takes action, he will go straight to Huanglong. If Li Hu dies, the prince will never have the opportunity to control the military power again.”

Xia Shouzhong sighed and said: “What a pity!”

The Emperor shook his head and said, “With the support of military power, the Crown Prince can compete with the Second Prince and allow the Third Prince to accumulate strength in secret.”

Xia Shouzhong nodded.

The Emperor suddenly remembered: “I heard that the Fourth Prince hangs out with those monks all day long?”

Xia Shouzhong smiled: “If this kind of thing is written in a play, everyone who reads it will think it is made up. You said that a prince actually kept a group of monks in his mansion, eating vegetarian food and chanting Buddha all day long, without any desires or requests. I really don’t know what he was thinking?!”

The Emperor smiled and said, “At such a young age, you know how to protect yourself. None of the sons born to this evildoer are simple!”

Xia Shouzhong was startled: “Do we need someone to watch us secretly?”

The emperor’s eyes flashed: “Let’s talk about it later. The people who assassinated Li Hu have not been caught. There must be another group of people to help. Find them.”

Xia Shouzhong: “Yes.” He bowed and walked out.

The person who rescued the leader of Qinglong Hall was none other than Bai Hongzhi.

There was a light on in the main room in the backyard of a restaurant.

Outside the door, several strong men stood there, holding knives in their hands.

Suddenly, a coughing sound came from the bedroom.

The leader of Qinglong Hall sat on a recliner, holding Bai Hongzhi’s hand and coughing violently.

The elderly steward quickly brought the spittoon over and put it to his lips.

After coughing, the Qinglong Hall Master gave a bitter smile and said, “I have been practicing martial arts since I was young. With the sword in my hand, I have traveled the world for more than ten years without encountering an opponent. I didn’t expect to fall into the hands of a young man, cough cough cough cough.”

Bai Hongzhi immediately patted him on the back: “When you are in the martial arts world, you may encounter vicious opponents.”

The head of the Qinglong Hall shook his head: “A real man should be able to win as well as lose!” At this point, he sighed, “The Right Protector is right. What we lack from the imperial court is not only weapons and equipment, but there is a big gap in all aspects. By the way, what are your plans for the future?”

Bai Hongzhi: “Revenge.” Without hiding anything, he revealed his plan.

The leader of Qinglong Hall was truly shocked and looked at Bai Hongzhi in astonishment.

Bai Hongzhi: “Li Hu is just a knife in the hands of the dog emperor. Our real enemy is the emperor and the Dashun Dynasty! Only by destroying the Dashun Dynasty can we take revenge.”

Hearing this, the Qinglong Hall Master was shocked again.

Bai Hongzhi continued, “Back then, the Jurchens were able to use the peasant army to drag down the Ming Dynasty. We can also use the Jurchens to drag down the Dashun Dynasty. Without the elite troops suppressing the nine borders and the garrison troops in the capital, we can easily defeat the provincial patrol camps. The third year of Shaoxing. It has been more than 600 years. It is time for our White Lotus Sect to rule the world.”

The leader of Qinglong Hall looked at Bai Hongzhi, but his heart was in turmoil.

Bai Hongzhi: “Uncle, there will be a struggle for power within the royal family. The ministers will have to make a choice whether they are willing or not. The chaos in the government will cause the court’s control over the local areas to continue to decline. God is helping us!”

The leader of the Qinglong Hall was silent for a moment, then said, “But we are carrying the banner of ‘Anti-Shun and Restoration of Ming'”

Bai Hongzhi: “We once carried the banner of ‘Anti-Ming and Restoration of Yuan Dynasty’.”

The head of the Qinglong Hall looked at him deeply and said weakly: “It’s too early to say this now. Our losses this time are very heavy. It will take three to five years to recover our strength.”

Bai Hongzhi shook his head: “It won’t take that long. We can recover our strength next year.”

Qinglong Hall Master: “Oh?”

Bai Hongzhi: “As the old saying goes, ‘A winter’s warmth or coldness can be determined by the Beginning of Winter.’ This year’s Beginning of Winter is a rainy day, so the following winter will be very cold, with frequent snowfalls and snowstorms in the north. Next year’s peach blossom flood in the Yellow River will be even more severe than the summer flood. We can tell whether it will be warm or cold by just a little effort.” The Qinglong Hall Master was startled and suddenly started coughing violently.

Bai Hongzhi: “Medicine! Bring me the medicine!”

The elderly steward quickly brought in a bowl of medicine.

The Qinglong Hall Master took a deep breath, took the medicine and drank it in one gulp.

Qinglong Hall Master: “Don’t do this. You don’t know what the Yellow River bursting its dike means! The adverse effects of the Yellow River bursting its dike are not one-time, but very long-term. After the flood, there will be a great plague, followed by a great famine. The land covered by mud and sand will take years to recover and millions of people will be affected. This cause and effect is too great.

Besides, the Central Plains is our foundation and cannot be destroyed! Do you understand?”

Bai Hongzhi blinked his eyes and said evasively: “In fact, the current situation is far from the point of ‘killing one thousand enemies and losing eight hundred of our own’. There is really no need to risk the world’s disapproval. In addition, the court has not yet accumulated a lot of resources and is waiting for the right time.”

The Qinglong Hall Master was secretly shocked when he heard this.

Bai Hongzhi: “Uncle, just rest and recover here with me. We can discuss revenge slowly.”

The head of the Qinglong Hall said: “Okay. Send someone to report this to the Right Protector tomorrow and ask him to be careful of the court’s retaliation.”

Bai Hongzhi paused and said, “Uncle, please keep it a secret for me.”

Qinglong Hall Master: “Master, don’t they know you are alive?”

Bai Hongzhi nodded.

The Qinglong Hall Master looked at him deeply, then nodded: “Okay!”

Bai Hongzhi bowed to him and said, “My nephew is leaving now.” Then he walked out.

Looking at his back, the Qinglong Hall Master showed a complicated expression, shook his head, and murmured: “I don’t know whether it is a blessing or a curse.”

After seeing off Jia Zhen, Jia Lian and others, Li Hu returned to his study.

Two letters from the Crown Prince and Dai Quan were placed side by side on the desk.

Li Hu was quite satisfied with the result. Apart from owing someone a favor, he suffered no loss and avoided a big trouble.

Without the Northern Pacification Office, Captain Qiu lost the capital to make trouble, and most importantly, he lost the trust of the emperor.

Everyone likes to beat a drowning dog, and Li Hu has no reason not to like it. However, drowning dogs can be divided into different levels. Qiu Duwei’s drowning dog really can’t be beaten, beating the dog is bullying the owner!
Not only can we not fight him, but we must also give in to him and let him continue to be arrogant and domineering. Only in this way can the emperor hate him and forget their past friendship. Only then will it be the time to take action.

Of course, this is not only Li Hu’s idea, but also the prince’s idea.

Li Hu finally understood why the imperial guards at the right gate of Chang’an did not support him.

The sundial and clock at the right gate of Chang’an were both a quarter of an hour fast, causing the right gate of Chang’an to be locked prematurely.

Dai Quan also suspected that it was the emperor emeritus, but unfortunately there was no evidence.

At this time, Li San came in with a letter and bowed to Li Hu: “Second Master, this is a letter from the Imperial Household Department.”

Li Hu took the letter, tore it open and read it, then laughed. Lin Daiyu’s boat had already passed Tai’an Prefecture and would probably arrive in Beijing around the twelfth lunar month.

Folding the letter, Li Hu said, “Uncle San, how are you doing with the things I asked you to prepare?”

Li San: “The garden will be finished in a day or two. The maids and servants have also been arranged to live in. However…”

Li Hu: “What’s wrong?”

Li San: “There are still a few things missing in Miss Lin’s room.” He took out a piece of paper from his arms.

Li Hu took it and looked at it, frowning: “Why is the bed not prepared?”

Li San smiled bitterly: “Second Master, you don’t know that the daughters of wealthy families sleep on step-out beds, not bunk beds. I can’t find a suitable one at the moment.”

Li Hu looked at the paper again, thought for a while, and said, “I’ll find a way. By the way, the prince gave me a carriage, which will be delivered tomorrow morning.”

Li San: “Yes.” He answered and walked out.

Li Hu also walked out, looking at the starry sky, hoping that nothing unexpected would happen next.
(End of this chapter)