Inside, there was actually a rather neat small courtyard.
Flowers and plants were planted all along the edges. Under the shade of a tree on the left, there was a stone table, on which all kinds of small wickerwork were laid out.
A man in an indigo short - sleeved linen robe was sitting beside the table, weaving a bamboo basket with his hands.
There was a wicker chair beside him, padded with a cushion. A small black cat was lying on it. At this moment, its eyes were wide open as it warily stared at Xiao Jingnan.
"The heir apparent is truly bold," a deep voice rang out. The man in the linen robe didn't even raise his head, his skinny fingers deftly moving through the wicker. "You dare to break into my Ghost - Wailing Path alone."
Xiao Jingnan's expression remained unchanged. He clasped his fists and bowed. "The national advisor is joking. I've come here rashly this time because I really have something important to discuss. Please forgive my rudeness."
"National advisor... I'm just a useless old man," the man in the linen robe turned his face, showing a dark and rough face like old tree bark.
His extremely short - cropped hair clung tightly to his scalp. The graying stubble was like withered grass covered in a thin layer of frost in the cold winter. The most terrifying thing was the scar, slanting down from his left eyebrow arch, looking like a hideous centipede lying on his face, making it even more startling.
"Seventeen years ago, your father sneaked into the capital of our Anluo Kingdom and assassinated our king, causing great chaos in our country..." A fierce look flashed in his narrow eyes. "And now, you even dare to come?"
Actually, it wasn't the Prince of Ning who assassinated the King of Anluo seventeen years ago, but Xiao Jingnan's third elder brother.
Twenty - two years ago, during a battle between the two armies, the eldest son of the Xiao family was captured and tortured to death by the old king of Anluo. The third elder brother bided his time for five years and finally found an opportunity to sneak into the capital of Anluo to avenge his elder brother.
However, this single stab not only took the life of the old king of Anluo but also disrupted the country's stability. The two princes of Anluo fought each other, causing blood to flow like rivers in the capital.
Finally, the second prince emerged victorious from this great chaos, and the throne changed hands.
When the new king ascended the throne, naturally, there was a new set of officials.
The national advisor, Ananda, was not tolerated by the new king and fled the capital like a stray dog.
After that, he founded the Ghost - Wailing Path...
However, Xiao Jingnan didn't intend to explain this misunderstanding.
There was already a deep - seated hatred between the Great Sheng and Anluo. Whether it was his third elder brother or his father who did it didn't really matter.
"If the national advisor just wants to bring up old scores, then it's a waste of my painstaking journey from afar," Xiao Jingnan said, with the corners of his lips slightly curving up and a glint in his eyes. "Now, I have an opportunity that can help the national advisor take back Anluo. I wonder if the national advisor wants it? Or rather... dares to take it?"
The sunlight was dim, as if there was an invisible veil separating it, casting the small courtyard in a quiet shadow.
The black cat jumped onto the stone table with a meow, knocking over the bamboo basket on the table. The bamboo strips and wicker scattered all over the ground, making a rattling sound as they landed between the two of them.
After a while, Ananda slowly bent down to pick up the wicker on the ground. "The heir apparent is joking. Anluo already has a king. Why would it need an old man like me to take it back?"
"Really?" Xiao Jingnan's fingers gently brushed across his own eyebrow arch as he smiled meaningfully. "I thought the national advisor wanted to avenge that stab wound."
Seventeen years ago, when the second prince, Chaophraya, ascended the throne, he immediately began a major purge in the court, killing all the old officials around his father and elder brother.
The scar on Ananda's face was left from that time.
Apart from this scar, that bloody palace coup also took the lives of his wife and daughter. He still remembered the scene of his loved ones lying in a pool of blood to this day.
And he himself had gone from being a high - ranking national advisor to a rat in the gutter, and had since been reduced to living in hiding in the Ghost - Wailing Path in Yanchuan.
...
It was precisely because he knew about the deep - seated hatred between Ananda and the current King of Anluo that Xiao Jingnan dared to come here risking his life to discuss this "deal" with him.
Veins popped out on Ananda's forehead, and his breathing became heavy.
The scar on his eyebrow arch turned an abnormal purplish - red in the pale sunlight, looking as if it had come to life and even more hideous.
"What... do you plan to do, heir apparent?" Ananda calmed his breathing and slowly sat down, picking up the black cat in his arms.
"It's very simple," Xiao Jingnan's voice was gentle, like a beautiful jade emitting a cold light in the sunlight. "You help me take back the six southern border cities, and I'll help you ascend to the throne of Anluo."
Ananda sneered coldly. "The heir apparent is asking me to betray my country?"
"Betray my country? Oh, sorry... I thought that cooperating with the Great Sheng Dynasty was the common practice in Anluo these days," Xiao Jingnan said as he also sat down beside the stone table, casually picking up a wicker to play with. At the same time, he slowly told Ananda how Chaophraya had colluded with Empress Dowager Kang and deliberately instigated this southern border war.
"Empress Dowager Kang wants to take this opportunity to reduce General Feng's prestige and gather military power, so she has to ensure a great victory for Anluo."
"If she really succeeds, Chaophraya's influence will surely reach new heights. By then, the Ghost - Wailing Path of the national advisor may well be buried in the vast mountains and forests of Yanchuan."
"Moreover..." Xiao Jingnan changed the subject. "I remember that the eldest prince of Anluo back then was the national advisor's son - in - law, right?"
"If Chaophraya hadn't resorted to insidious means and launched a palace coup, the national advisor would have already been the father - in - law of the King of Anluo, second only to the king himself."
"All your hard work and your own flesh and blood were destroyed by the butcher's knife of a shameless villain... Does the national advisor really not want revenge?"
Ananda lowered his head and said nothing, but his whole body trembled slightly. His skinny big hand dug into the fur of the black cat. The black cat meowed in pain and jumped down to run away.
"The one who killed our king back then was from the Great Sheng..." Ananda's eyes were red and his voice was hoarse. "As long as I can defeat the Great Sheng..."
"Defeat the Great Sheng? Does the national advisor really think so?"
Xiao Jingnan smiled faintly and shook his head. "Shou'an City is steep and easy to defend but difficult to attack. If this negotiation between me and the national advisor fails, General Feng will only defend the city and not attack. Although he won't be able to win, he definitely won't lose either."
"If things really develop to that point, if Chaophraya still wants to win, he will have to send more troops to Yanchuan. By then, will the Ghost - Wailing Path of the national advisor still be able to live in peace in Yanchuan City?"
"I'm afraid the national advisor won't be able to be this local overlord for long..."
Ananda suddenly raised his head, his voice turning sharply cold. "Are you threatening me?"
"Absolutely not," Xiao Jingnan said calmly. "I just want to discuss a deal with the national advisor."
A deal?
Indeed, it was a deal.
Those who steal a hook are executed, while those who steal a state become marquises.
This was a big deal that could cause a regime change in both the Great Sheng and Anluo.
In the amber - colored tea soup, two faces with their own hidden agendas were reflected.
A spider quietly dropped from the treetop, seemingly looking for a place to weave a brand - new web.