Adoption brings disaster

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince originally wanted to use a strategy to take me away from the capital, but he didn't expect that His Royal Highness Prince Yong was so stubborn. At once, the Crown Prince used all his means, and it became difficult for him to make any further plans.

The prince had no choice but to take the initiative and sent Wubusha to kill His Royal Highness Prince Yong.

Fortunately, His Royal Highness Prince Yong was an expert in martial arts. He noticed something unusual and took me to a private residence in time.

After entering the house, His Royal Highness Prince Yong took me straight to the bamboo forest in the backyard. There was a secret passage under the rockery in the bamboo forest. It took less than a cup of tea to walk in the secret passage, and then we came out to a small river.

In fact, it cannot be said to be a river. Scholars like elegance, and their residences must have pavilions, towers, and even plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum.

Merchants pursue profit, and when they see someone interested, naturally there will be brokers to bring water in from outside the city, and then it will flow to each mansion and courtyard. This river comes from outside the city and flows through each house and mansion.

His Royal Highness Prince Yong did not explain, but pulled out two pieces of wood from a hidden place. After opening the top, there was enough space for one person inside. His Royal Highness Prince Yong and I lay down on one piece of wood, closed the wood from the inside, and let it float down the river.

In the darkness, people's perception of time is somewhat distorted. I felt like I had been drifting for more than half an hour before being salvaged, but I didn't expect that it had only been drifting for half an incense stick of time.

After leaving the wood, there is another unremarkable house. The yard is very old and small, full of fallen leaves. No one has cleaned it for a long time, and it also emits a rotten smell.

This smell is not pleasant, but compared to the strange smell coming from all directions, it is still good.

The house was already in tatters, with only a few pieces of paper left on the window, firmly clinging to the window and refusing to be blown away by the wind.

The door had been broken for a long time, and it miraculously sprouted something when it fell to the ground. There were still some tiles on the roof, but they would probably all fall off and shatter into pieces in the next few days.

When I entered the house, I saw an old beggar slumped on the ground, cooking some strange things in a broken clay pot.

If it were a normal day, I would have vomited just by looking at this green thing, but today I was so hungry that I actually thought this green thing smelled a little fragrant.

When the old beggar saw us coming in, he moved to the side and made room for us.

There was a big hole where the old beggar was sitting, and wind was blowing into the room. The old beggar didn't even greet us and started to eat heartily.

His Royal Highness Prince Yong didn't mind the dirtiness when he saw it. He just pulled me to sit opposite the old beggar, then picked up a branch and fiddled with the fire from time to time, just like he was killing time when he was bored camping in the wild.

Prince Yong fiddled with the pot casually for a while. Seeing this, the old beggar excitedly put down the broken pot, bowed respectfully, and whispered, "May your highness be well."

They connected right away without saying a word. I was a little confused for a moment and really didn't understand how they connected.

I looked at the branches that His Royal Highness Prince Yong had thrown into the fire, and a thought came to my mind. I asked weakly, "You weren't playing with the fire just now, but were actually speaking in code?"

I could clearly sense that His Royal Highness Prince Yong was beginning to lose patience with me, but he still explained, "It's not a code word, it's a form of martial arts. You think I'm just playing around, but in his eyes, it's a different story. If you're interested, I'll teach you once the dust settles."

In this damn high martial arts world, I always feel like a country bumpkin who knows nothing. I think His Royal Highness Prince Yong probably thinks the same way.

I felt a little bored for a moment, so I was about to lie down on the grass pile next to me to rest. The old beggar said quickly, "Your Highness Qianqiu has a body worth a thousand gold and jade, how can you sleep in a place like this? Come with me quickly, so we can talk somewhere else.

It would be best to have a better place to rest, and this place doesn't really look like a place to talk.

We followed the old beggar out of the big hole and found another dilapidated yard, but it was much better than the previous one. Although the weeds in the yard didn't look good, the smell of green grass was much better than the smell of dead branches and leaves.

There is a dry well next to the yard, which has long been covered by weeds. If the old beggar hadn't taken me there, I would never have been able to find it.

After entering the dry well, the old beggar pressed the mechanism, and a secret passage less than one meter high appeared in front of us. We struggled through the secret passage and finally came to a secret room.

I recalled the mechanisms designed along the way, and I can only say that it's a good thing that I just want to be a rich and idle person. If I really fight with this group of people who are full of tricks, I can only survive as an opening song at best.

The secret room was fully equipped with bedding and food. I guess someone replaced them every once in a while. The old beggar found a suitable piece of clothing for His Royal Highness Prince Yong and helped me lie down. Then they started talking.

This underground secret room was unventilated and damp, and the quilt was wet and had a smell. Although I was very sleepy, I couldn't fall asleep. I could only close my eyes and listen to them talk.

"I'm glad Your Highness is alright. I heard you were caught red-handed this afternoon while trying to assassinate the Crown Prince and have been imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice." The old beggar said with concern, "I had intended to go to the prison tonight, but I didn't expect Your Highness to arrive first. You're truly amazing, escaping from the prison. It's truly the Prince's blessing."

"The person who was arrested was not me. It was just a show put on by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the Thousand Killers," His Royal Highness Prince Yong said. "What's the situation outside now? Tell me in detail."

Upon hearing this, the old beggar became agitated again and said, "After I heard that you were arrested, I sent all the young beggars out to gather information. However, as Your Highness knows, there aren't many beggars in the capital, and this matter needs to be kept secret, so I didn't expect to find out any useful information. But I didn't expect that what these young beggars said when they came back would make me almost die of anger."

I found the old beggar's gnashing of teeth a bit funny, but I didn't dare laugh. I had to endure it and listen to him continue talking.

The old beggar continued, "Guess what? These young beggars came back and told me that the capital is no different from before. No high-ranking officials are flocking to the palace, and no gangsters are taking the opportunity to cause trouble. All the government offices are closed, as if they are deaf and blind."

The old beggar was clearly furious. He beat his chest and stamped his feet for a long moment before adding, "These generals usually speak so nicely, saying they're willing to die for Your Highness. But today, they dare not even utter a single word. And those guys who call themselves loyal ministers are so opportunistic. Not a single one of them has come out to speak a word for Your Highness."

..............................

The old beggar was cursing to himself, but His Royal Highness Prince Yong didn't care about these things. He just stroked his chin, thought for a moment and said, "Everyone in the capital is staying indoors. Is there anything left out?"

"It's definitely not lost," the old beggar said with his eyes wide open. "I originally thought these little beggars weren't careful and might have seen it wrong or just said something out of fun. But I went to check it out myself this afternoon. The gates of the residences of officials above the fourth rank were all locked tightly. Even the guards who were supposed to protect the houses were gone."

"Above the fourth rank." His Royal Highness Prince Yong continued to stroke his chin and thought.

The old beggar didn't notice this, but continued, "Master, you know me well. I don't have any other skills, but I am good at concealment and light work. I sneaked in quietly. Every house had its doors closed, and they ate and slept soundly. These heartless people didn't even think about you, Your Highness, suffering in the prison of the Ministry of Justice."

After hearing this, even I noticed something was wrong, let alone His Royal Highness Prince Yong. His Royal Highness Prince Yong also looked at the old beggar and said, "Go and do something for me. Do it secretly so that no one can catch you."

When the old beggar heard that there was something to do, he immediately became motivated. After hearing about His Royal Highness Prince Yong, he rushed out in a hurry.

As soon as the old beggar left, His Royal Highness Prince Yong looked at me and said, "What do you think of this matter, Qianqiu?"

I naturally knew what His Royal Highness Prince Yong meant, and I said, "This matter is very strange. No matter how cold-hearted these dignitaries are, or how they chase fame and fortune, they can't escape human nature."

I gathered the quilt and continued, "These ministers might be able to act calm and composed when they're outside, but they're definitely a bit panicked when they get home. If what the old beggar said is true, with such a big incident happening, and every household is quiet and can eat quietly, then it can only mean one thing: they can only stay in the mansion and do nothing else."

"I think so too, but what could have happened that could make these people cooperate so well and stay indoors and keep silent?" His Royal Highness Prince Yong asked with a smile.

"If they are so obedient, it means that their weaknesses have been exploited. People's weaknesses are just a few points, but to control so many people at the same time, it can only be family members, or more likely the children. But how did the prince and others control the situation? Does Shigemitsu have any ideas?" I also said with a smile.

His Royal Highness Prince Yong was adept at political manipulation and naturally understood the key points. He said, "There is only one faction in the capital that can be so quiet and powerful."

His Royal Highness Prince Yong and I exchanged a smile and said in unison, "People from the Jianghu."

"I don't know if I helped His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, or if he had planned it all along. Everyone was assassinating high-ranking officials, and civil and military officials were hiring each other to kill. Everyone was in danger and sought martial arts masters to come to the capital for protection. This chain of events led to one thing after another. If it was all planned long ago, it would be incredible."

"Whether it's a plan or not, we'll know once the old beggar returns." His Royal Highness Prince Yong was not in a hurry, and said with a confident look, "On the way here, I noticed that the moonlight tonight is extremely beautiful. Qianqiu can't sleep anyway, so why don't we go see the moon together? It's been years since we last saw the moon together."

Living in this place is indeed not very comfortable. It is also a good suggestion to go out and look at the moon and relax the tense mood.

But I had already lain down and didn't really want to get up again. However, His Royal Highness Prince Yong didn't discuss it with me anymore, he just informed me. As soon as he finished speaking, he picked me up with the quilt and carried me out horizontally from the other side which was easier to walk. No more mentioning.

After going out, I was in a pavilion, which was very similar to the pavilion that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was in this morning. Maybe this is the aesthetic taste of the craftsmen, but this is not a big deal.

I wrapped myself in a quilt and leaned against His Royal Highness Prince Yong, and asked the question I had been wanting to ask today.

"I see you're not panicking at all. Could it be that you have some other tricks up your sleeve? Your situation isn't good right now. If His Royal Highness the Crown Prince proves your guilt and takes this opportunity to ascend the throne, what will you do?"

His Royal Highness Prince Yong laughed and said, "Two dragons fight, one dies and the other turns into a dragon. As long as I am alive, even if he ascends the throne, no one will recognize his throne."

I didn't understand what he was saying at all. Seeing my confusion, His Royal Highness Prince Yong pointed to the moon in the sky and said, "Do you see the two stars next to the moon? One is blue and the other is red."

Anyone with normal vision can spot this unusual star at a glance. When Prince Yong saw me spot it, he continued, "This is the destiny star for me and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Unless one of us dies, these two stars will always be on either side of the moon, and anyone can see them clearly."

"It's so magical." As a materialistic fighter, although I have experienced traveling to another world, I still don't believe in such things.

"That's not magical enough. What's even more amazing is that the brilliance of a star changes depending on the state of its owner." King Yong pointed to the blue star and said, "The blue star is me. Before, my brilliance was as bright as the moon. But today, I'm injured, and my brilliance has dimmed, even surpassing the red one."

After listening to Prince Yong's explanation, I finally understood why everyone knew that His Royal Highness Prince Yong would win. So this is how they came to this conclusion.

Seeing that I understood, His Royal Highness Prince Yong explained, "Just now you asked me why I wasn't panicking at all. Firstly, it's because His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has already burned his boats and crossed the river. If he can't deal with me in the capital, using someone's weakness as a threat will quickly backfire on him.

After saying this, His Royal Highness Prince Yong smiled slyly and said, "Secondly, my grandfather left me some troops, all hidden in the suburbs of the capital. As long as I leave the capital, I can gather a crowd and rise up. By then, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will definitely not be my opponent. What do I have to be afraid of?"

After hearing what Chongguang said, I felt much more at ease. But in fact, we all know in our hearts that the prince is also very clear about these things. He cannot be so naive as to think that Prince Yong has no backup plan at all.

Now that his true intentions have been exposed, the prince will definitely not let us leave the capital so easily.

But now all these are useless. It's just a matter of fighting back. There's no point in getting anxious now. The best way is to rest up and think of a solution slowly.

Predict what will happen in the future, and listen to the next decomposition.