Silence is the most dreadful thing in the air.
Song Chengyuan and Sheng Jiangli locked eyes, their gazes like two flames clashing in mid - air.
Neither was willing to yield, each trying to fathom the other.
After a long while, it was Song Chengyuan who finally broke the silence first.
Suddenly, Song Chengyuan burst into loud laughter.
He reached out and slapped Sheng Jiangli hard on the shoulder!
Sheng Jiangli stood firm after the slap and also burst into laughter.
The two laughed as if they had a silent understanding, seemingly reaching a new alliance and tacit agreement.
As he laughed, Song Chengyuan cursed silently in his heart.
Sheng Jiangli was truly a wolf from the northern frontier of Yan, a ruthless one that devoured people without spitting out the bones!
He wondered if the information Sheng Jiangli had just revealed was true or false!
This man didn't even care about his adoptive father's family!
This man was hard to control!
As he laughed, Sheng Jiangli also cursed silently in his heart.
The Crown Prince was indeed a crazy heir apparent, a heartless one!
All he knew was to threaten people by holding the lives of their families hostage!
One day, he would surely kill this crazy bastard!
Song Chengyuan stopped laughing and said, "It's not that I won't let you see Lan Guifan. It's just that he's too important... General Sheng, your intelligence and anti - tracking abilities are feared even by the Jinyiwei. I have to be on guard."
Song Chengyuan almost said it explicitly.
He was guarding against Sheng Jiangli's attempt to rescue Lan Guifan.
Sheng Jiangli knew when to stop pushing. He no longer insisted and said, "Since Your Highness is worried, how about we discuss this matter again when I have the terms for surrender another day?"
"General Sheng is straightforward. I actually have something that needs your advice right now."
"Your Highness, please speak."
Song Chengyuan narrowed his eyes slightly. "When my fourth younger brother entered the capital this time, I originally planned to let him defy the imperial edict so that Father would be angry. Then I would impeach him and prevent him from returning to Yanjing."
Sheng Jiangli smiled. "It's my dereliction of duty that I failed to stop the Prince of Yan from delaying his entry into the capital. Instead, he even achieved great merits."
Just thinking about this made Song Chengyuan headache. "My fourth younger brother has achieved merits. He will return to Yan soon. These days, there has been unrest in the border areas. My fourth younger brother is determined to find a way to start a war with the Tartars."
Sheng Jiangli nodded. "You're right. The Hu cavalry also sent me a message. There have been continuous small and large conflicts between the Yan army and the Tartars on the border recently. It seems that they are deliberately provoking the Tartars to send troops. The Prince of Yan is eager to return to Yan to fight."
"Humph!" Song Chengyuan punched the table. His expression was distorted and panicked. "I will never allow him to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun!"
Sheng Jiangli raised his eyebrows. "If he achieves this unparalleled merit, his prestige among the people and officials of Daye will be unmatched. Even if the Emperor doesn't change the heir apparent, Your Highness will be constrained by him and have to obey him after ascending the throne."
"The stories of Cao Mengde and the Sima family holding the emperor hostage to order the princes are bloody lessons. Your Highness must be on guard!"
Song Chengyuan suddenly felt a sense of kindred spirit.
He looked at Sheng Jiangli and was deeply touched.
Everyone in the court criticized him for being crazy and intent on killing virtuous officials.
But they didn't know that the virtuous official he feared the most was his fourth younger brother.
He was lacking in talent and learning. Having a fierce tiger like Song Yinghuai by his side was like having a blood - thirsty beast ready to devour him at any moment.
With Song Yinghuai around, he couldn't sleep or eat peacefully.
"General Sheng, do you have any brilliant plans?" Song Chengyuan looked at him. "As long as we can find a way to delay my fourth younger brother's return to Yan and prevent the war between the two countries..."
Song Chengyuan pretended to shed two crocodile tears. "I'm also thinking about the people of the two countries! Once the war starts, the people will suffer. I'd rather never recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun than let the people of Daye suffer. My fourth younger brother... he doesn't understand my good intentions!"
Sheng Jiangli despised him in his heart.
Song Chengyuan claimed to be thinking about the people of Daye on the surface, but in fact, he was just trying to maintain his position as the Crown Prince.
Otherwise, why would he order the closure of the thirteen city gates of the capital and shoot innocent people outside the city?
Sheng Jiangli's eyes flashed, and he hooked his lips into a faint smile. "Your Highness, I actually have a way."
Song Chengyuan immediately became interested. "I'm all ears!"
"Your Highness should know the position of Lan Jinshu in the heart of the Prince of Yan. This Prince of Yan has always been cold - hearted, but he has risked his life several times to rescue Lan Jinshu."
Song Chengyuan pondered. "You mean... use Lan Jinshu to delay my fourth younger brother's return to Yan?"
"Exactly."
Sheng Jiangli threw away the writing brush in his hand and unfolded the beauty painting he had just finished.
The beauty in the painting had eyebrows like silver moons, eyes like autumn waters, and a graceful figure. She was so beautiful that one's heart would flutter.
Who else could it be but Caiyu?
Sheng Jiangli looked at Caiyu in the painting. His eyes seemed to see the real person through the portrait. A trace of tenderness flashed across his eyes, and then it was covered by his iron - blooded look.
"Your Highness, reveal the true identity of Miss Lan the Third to the Prince of Yan!"
"If the Prince of Yan knows that Miss Lan the Third is a wanted criminal appointed by the Emperor, Your Highness won't have to worry about not being able to control the Prince of Yan!"
"If he knows that Miss Lan the Third is following Your Highness's orders for the sake of Young Master Lan, he will surely be trapped by his own feelings for Miss Lan the Third, won't he?"
Song Chengyuan was stunned for a long time before he finally realized it, as if being suddenly enlightened.
"Hahaha!" Song Chengyuan threw his head back and laughed, with a hint of sickly madness. "General Sheng! You're truly the lone wolf of Daye who has penetrated deep into the border areas! Your intelligence is on par with that of my fourth younger brother... With your help, why should I worry about not taking down my proud fourth younger brother?"
Before Sheng Jiangli left the Crown Prince's Mansion, he was stopped by Lu Baiwei.
Her crazy and vicious gaze shot at Sheng Jiangli like cold needles. "I don't know when I offended General Sheng?"
Sheng Jiangli looked at her eyes that were somewhat similar to Caiyu's and showed a smile. His eyes were as cold as ice, and his white teeth were clearly visible, showing their sharpness.
"Your Ladyship, you shouldn't have provoked the beauty I like. You made her unhappy."
"You..."
Lu Baiwei watched Sheng Jiangli's back as he strode away, shocked.
"Caiyu?" Lu Baiwei's expression was ferocious, and she sneered. "She's just my substitute. Are you all falling in love with her?"
Not long after Sheng Jiangli walked out of the Crown Prince's Mansion, Suobude greeted him.
"General, did you see Young Master Lan?"
Sheng Jiangli shook his head, looking a bit tired. "No. The Crown Prince is too vigilant. Even though I told him about the feud between the Sheng family and the Lan family, he still refused to take me to see Fan'er... I didn't dare to push too hard, so I had to give up for the time being."
"Then, what should we do?" Suobude hesitated. "Although the Emperor has promoted you to the deputy commander of the garrison in the capital, everyone knows that the Hu cavalry in Kaiping is the most important. The Emperor will still transfer you back to the border areas soon."
Sheng Jiangli smiled casually. "Don't be in a hurry. I haven't left yet! There will always be opportunities... Moreover, I gave the Crown Prince a bad idea. I told him to use the true identity of Miss Shu'er to threaten the Prince of Yan and try to keep the Prince of Yan in the capital."
Suobude: "Ah?"
Sheng Jiangli was in a good mood at the moment and was very patient.
"I can't make the Crown Prince reveal Fan'er's whereabouts for the time being, but the Prince of Yan may have other ways! As long as he knows Miss Shu'er's true identity and that she is being controlled by others..."
"Surely the Prince of Yan won't just watch his woman being threatened by others, right?"
Suobude nodded stupidly. "It makes sense, it makes sense... But if the Prince of Yan stays in the capital, how can he go back to fight the Tartars? There has been a lot of commotion in the border areas recently!"
Sheng Jiangli watched the willow branches swaying on both sides of the street and smiled even more happily.
"Who said he's going to start a war?"
"With the Prince of Yan's character, if he really wanted to start a war, how could he let his subordinates play around in the border areas?"
"The new Tartar king's foundation is unstable. He won't send troops unless he has to. In the border areas, he would rather give up two cities than face the Yan army in a head - on battle."
"I think the Prince of Yan just wants to make the newly - enthroned Tartar king face internal and external troubles and ask our Daye for help!"