Chapter 021｜Friends and Foes

Li Jing was surprised, and Wen Zhongyuan and Xiao Mohuo were even more shocked.

At this moment, these four people had all become drenched in water. Although Zhang Ke and Lai Huer were tied up, their faces were still calm; Xiao Meiniang's beautiful face was red from the cold and her body was slightly shivering; Qing Ni was skimming her small mouth with a defiant face.

Wen Zhongyuan hurriedly came forward to greet him, "The prince's maternal uncle, my son is young and ignorant, I hope to beg forgiveness for disturbing you!"

Zhang Ke just came back to his foot from death , when he saw Wen Zhongyuan, he was a little bit settled: "So ... it is the Mr. Wen! I am not harmed, but the princess was frightened ..."

Only then did Wen Zhongyuan know that this stunning beauty was the Princess of Liang, and hurriedly pulled a hand of Wen Shihong, and knelt down together, "Wen Zhongyuan, taking my son Wen Shihong, pay our respect to the Princess! We didn't mean to offend you, it's our guilt ..."

Xiao Meiniang looked around the crowd, her eyes gently glancing over Li Jing's face without any surprise, and said lightly, " Let it be. Does Mr Wen have a dressing room here?"

Wen Zhongyuan then recognized that at this late autumn after drenching into the water, a strong man may still manage, but for a female it was too difficult to endure, so he hurriedly ordered the maid to help Xiao Meniang and Qing Ni into a room for dressing; and demanded Wen Shi Hong to untie the ropes binding Zhang Ke and Lai Huer's, and another male servant to help them re-dressing.

Wen Shihong broke into trouble and stayed on the spot for a while. Wen Zhongyuan shouted at him: ''You rebellious son, how dare you! How could the Princess of Liang, the prince's maternal uncle, be a spy of the Sui State? If you did not do anything wrong, how could you have caused such a big trouble? Tell me the truth!"

Wen Shihong lowered his head and mumbled, "To answer you, my father, I, as your son, truly did nothing wrong. Late last night, I received a report that, there were six people in the westbound riverboat secret discussing, they said ... said ..." He looked up at the crowd, momentarily do not know whether to speak.

Wen Zhongyuan said angrily, "Uncle Xiao is not an outsider, besides, my Wen family has always done things openly and honestly, just speak straightforward!"

Wen Shihong had to continue, "They say that an effort should be made to uncover the secrets of our Lushan shipyard... they also said that our Wen family have the so-called shipbuilding drawings ... Upon receiving the report, I immediately dispatched a fast boat to follow them. Tonight their ship arrived in the mouth of the river, I led more than ten guys chiseled their ship and sank it, and captured ... captured ..."

"Stop talking!" Wen Zhongyuan flicked his sleeve robe and paused, "Even if you don't know the prince's maternal uncle, you can't chisel the boat for evil! Did the other passengers on the boat already fall overboard and die?"

"There are no other guests." Wen Shi Hong fixed his mind, "It is a fast boat, starting from Qichang (present day Hubei Wuxue), the boatman is one of us. When the ship travelled to the middle of the journey, the shipowner sent the boatman to ride back from the land road, which is ..."

 Xiao Mohe suddenly interjected, "My nephew, you said that the boatman said there were six people on the boat, but now there are only four, and where are the other two now?"

"Those two are my maid, and I have ordered them to disembark to ride back to Jiangling." A delicate voice responded.

Li Jing took a look and saw that Xiao Meniang had already finished changing her clothes, her white clothes fluttering like a fairy, returning to the hall, followed by Qing Ni. Then, Zhang Ke and Lai Huer returned to the hall after changing their clothes.

Xiao Meiniang walked behind Li Jing and said, "Brother Mu, where is your little brother?"

Li Jing was about to reply when Xiao Mohe rolled his eyes and cupped his fists, '' Xiao Mohe pays my respect to the Princess. I heard that the you are sick, I wonder if you are feeling better? This little brother said that he and the Princess just met on the road, he was not a medicine boy."

Xiao Meiniang raised her willow-leaf eyebrow: ''Great General, in terms of seniority, this princess here should call you grand uncle, how can you speak so casually?

The Mu Brothers, Master Sheng Can and I did meet on the road, , even with you my grand uncle we were considered to be a road encounter. Can't someone who passes by on the road serve medicine for this princess?"

These few words were watertight, Li Jing was secretly convinced, and immediately rose to salute: ''Mu Li pays my respect to the Princess. Thanks to Mr. Xie's great effort, I was rescued when the ship caught fire. My brother and I have been looking around for the princess, I did not expect to meet you here tonight, thank God for blessing the princess unharmed ..." said this his eyes turn red, he seemed very excited.

Li Jing did miss the princess sincerely, at this time his true feelings convinced Xiao Mohe better. Xiao Meiniang said, "Where is your little brother?"

Li Jing said, "My little brother is too young to be seated here ..."

Xiao Meiniang glanced at Wen Zhongyuan: "Mr Wen, according to traditional rules, women are not allowed to be seated either, so I think I'd better be excused."

Wen Zhongyuan hurriedly paid his courtesies, "The Princess is of royal identity, how dare I be inattentive? I will re-arrange the seats, please take a seat of honor."

Xiao Meiniang said, "In that case, tonight there will be no distinction between master and servant, and my meal will be served in your house." Li Jing found that this Xiao Meniang behaved very differently on different occasions, especially on such solemn occasions, and was born with a sense of non-negotiable authority.

So Wen Zhongyuan ordered to reopen the banquet and ordered to bring Alone Star and A Yue in. Xiao Meiniang held each with one hand, squatted down and kissed A yue's forehead, comforting her, "Ah Xing and A Yue, don't be afraid, while I am here, no one dares to bully you."

 Xiao Mohe's face became extremely awkward. This A Yue was the daughter of Shixing Lord, and he was the one who personally led the troops to slaughter his entire family, even if Chen Shubao-the king of Chen State no longer investigate this matter, he could not leave the root of the trouble behind. However, Xiao Meiniang was the real princess of Liang, and at this time, she suddenly appeared and even protected this girl, making him very embarrassed. He has advanced martial skills and was accompanied by soldiers in armor, so he chose to temporarily restrain himself and not act impulsively. However, for the matter of Little Alone Star as a medicine boy, Xiao Mohe was extremely suspicious, so he said: "Your highness said that Master Seng Can cured your disease and sent a medicine boy to serve you, so there is no suspicion. However, an elder medicine boy is still possible, this little medicine boy is only four years old, his eating and living have to be served by others, is your highness not afraid that he will burn himself when he decocts the medicine?"

Only then did Li Jing feel that Xiao Mohe appeared to be brash, but was actually as meticulous to hair-like issues. When he worried that Xiao Meniang could not cope, he heard her voice: " Great general, you do not understand the way of diagnosis and treatment, so you see it ridiculous. When I was young, coldness invaded into my internal organs. Although Master Sengcan helped to stabilize my condition but I need long-term medical treatment, among which there must be urine from a three-to-five-years old boy as a pharmaceutical primer, for three times within ten days lasting three years. This is the way to cure my diseases thoroughly. So the master sent two children, the elder child for decoction, the younger one to provide auxiliary medicine, what is unusual of that?"

Li Jing was even more in awe of Xiao Meiniang's quick wits, so far as to respond to Xiao Mohe with a child's urine.

 Xiao Moheo laughed, "Three to five year old kids are everywhere to find, Why must your highness insist on having him by your side?"

Xiao Meiniang said angrily: ''Great General, do you have to restrict even the matters of my medical treatment? I have a difficult condition, and the time to take medicine is often in the morning and the evening. In the middle of the night, where do you want me to find a kid?"

 Xiao Mohe opened his mouth to retort, but there were no strong words, so he could only hide it with a strong smile.

Before the reopening of the banquet, Xiao Meiniang consoled Xie Kangtu. Xie Kangtu then told her roughly what had happened after the separation.

After the banquet was reopened, Wen Zhongyuan reintroduced himself and seated the guests and hosts. Xiao Meiniang sat in the first place, followed by Xiao Mohe Zhang Ke, Wen Zhongyuan, Gao Sheng Dao, Xie Kangtu, Puzhao, Lai Huer, Wen Shihong, Qing Ni, and Li Jing at the end of the table. Xiao Meiniang placed the two children on her side and sat down, busy picking out food to feed A yue.

 Little A Yue quickly waved her hands and said she was full.

Wen Zhongyuan as the host, found the scene a bit unorthodox, but he did not reveal that, so he raised his cup t to address open the table: "Tonight the humble house welcome honorable guests, especially the Princess of Liang State as the most honored.

My son Shihong, being young and uneducated, offended the princess and the prince's maternal uncle, I am here to make apologies.

General Xiao and the Princess were originally a family, I wish Chen State and Liang State goodwill for generations to come. Let's toast together." Saying so, he drank it all in one go.

Gao Sheng Dao had been depressed after being captured, so earlier he had drank a few cups of wine, his face turning flushed, at this time under the drive of wine, he said: "I have a word, I do not know whether it is proper to speak or not to..." Before he finished, Xiao Meiniang interrupted him: "Then do not Speak."

Everyone was stunned, then smiled heartily. Li Jing knew that Xiao Meiniang was fast-talking, and even Xiao Moheo could not win her, so if Gao Shengdao wants to argue, he was most probably not her match.

Gao Sheng Dao did not get angry, instead he laughed, ''Princess, what I am saying happens to be related to Your Highness. Mr Wen claimed to be a citizen of the Chen State when Great General Xiao entered the estate earlier; now that Princess Liang is here, Mr Wen is bowing down and claiming to be a subject. May I ask Mr Wen, which country are you really from?"

Wen Zhongyuan said with a straight face: "Mr Gao, I am from both Chen and Liang. In fact, Liang and Chen were originally a family, but then the governors behaved unproperly , so Chen and Liang split into two separate states but the state officials are mostly the former dynasty veterans. Born in Qingjiang, I had no official position. Wen family make a living by fishing, hunting and farming in Qingjiang, now we still belong to the Liang State. Twenty years ago, I went along the river to make a living, and finally landed here. Therefore, my roots are in Liang and mybody is in Chen, so when I meet the Princess of Liang, Of course, I should consider myself as one of Liang State's subject, is there anything wrong?"

Gao Sheng Dao was unforgiving: "Just now, I heard Mr Wen say that your dockyard is on the other side of the river, in Lushan. The northern part of the river is under the jurisdiction of the Great Sui, in that case, Mr Wen is also a subject of the Great Sui?"

This reasoning is a bit far-fetched, Wen Zhongyuan was a moment speechless.

Xiao Meiniang said, "Mr Gao was originally a prisoner, and it was Great General Xiao and Mr Wen who allowed you to list your seat. The honor was not yours, but on your father prime minister. According to you, if you are now in the boundaries of the State of Chen, you are a native of the State of Chen; if you are being escorted to the Turkic khanates, you are a Turkic ?"

The crowd almost laughed out loud, but they all forced themselves to hold back. How do they know, this Xiao Meiniang suffered from childhood, she often had to debate with village girls, fisherwomen. Usually three or five people simply cannot out-debate her.

Gao Sheng Dao, however, did not think so, and continued: "Just now, Mr Wen said that Princess is also probing the ship drawing. Since Mr Wen is a Liang's subject, wouldn't it be better for the Princess to let Mr Wen release the shipbuilding drawings at her command? Why do you still need to sneak around to find it?"

 Xiao Mohe was about to be annoyed, but this was precisely the words for him to say the doubts in his heart, so he shut up and waited to see what would happen.

Xiao Meiniang said, "I am a woman, what do I do with shipbuilding drawings? If there were dish recipes, I might be more interested.

Mr Gao is a Zhuzuolang, the National History Compilater of the Sui State, you should be well versed in history and economics, however, what Mr Gao said was full of flaws even for a three year old kid - even though Mr Wen really has the shipbuilding drawings, how could we four has the ability to find them?

Just now, Mr Wen introduced Mr. Gao, he specially honored you - you led hundreds of Sui's secret agents to the south, many of them are highly skilled Kongfu masters, but failed to find the shipbuilding drawings, the four of us sitting on the boat can get it within reach? Besides, the chaos of the country has already been settled, we Liang in Jiangling, have only three states, without enough money to fight for the throne, nor ambition to conquer, what do we need these things for? Mr. Wen also said that Liang and Chen are one family, is it possible that Mr. Gao is worried that Liang will build boats and ships and sail the fleet to Ch'ang-an City of Sui?"

When Qing Ni heard her master say this, she couldn't help but laugh with a "pfft": "It would be fun if this boat could sail away from across the land and head towards Chang'an."

Wen Zhongyuan said, "The princess is joking. The world is now and then divided and united, and it is our ordinary people who suffer. I still hope that all states can live together in friendship, stop the war, and return a peaceful world to the people."

 Xiao Mohe said, "What Zhong Yuan said is very true. Sui was first established, the people are eager for peace, but in Sui State people like Mr. Gao acts as the main warring agitation, with intention to defeat Chen. For several times we addressed peaceful negotiations, but the effect was poor. The North and South have been divided for a long time, and the situation has long been settled. If the stable situation is continued, each party will be benefited, but if it is broken, then both parties will be hurt. I'm not hiding anything from you, but this time I've been ordered to travel west towards Liang State. Although territory of Liang state has been sharply reduced, but they have the same origin with great Chen State, the same firm believer in Buddhism, generous governance, and great friendship with Sui, so hope that Liang State can think of the lives of all the people, mediate and promote the long alliance between Chen and Sui, for the benefit of all."

Li Jing then understood, Xiao Mohe westbound was by the Chen emperor's order, bearing the diplomatic mission to Jiangling. And this Wen Zhongyuan, seemingly a man of cloth, but was actually a party of great power, no wonder Xiao Mohe regards him with great respect.

When Gao Sheng Dao heard this, his already reddened eyes suddenly glowed, and he said with a straight face, "Sui is also a believer in Buddhism, and it was precisely because my emperor was concerned about the living that he pacified the north and established a new state. If Chen State has the sincerity to make peace, I can submit a report according to the facts and do my best for the peace between the two countries."

 Xiao Mohe said: ''Mr. Gao, the fact that I did not kill you shows our sincerity of the peace negotiation. However, even if I let you go back to Ch'ang-an immediately, you can't make the peace treaty with your own strength. However, if we have Zhong Yuan's help, the situation will be very different."

Gao Sheng Dao was rejected, and felt very unconvinced inside, so he said with a forced smile, "Could it be that I carry no weight in the peace talks? And Mr. Wen is rich in wealth and has more resources?"

 Xiao Mohe said with a straight face, "You are the Prime Minister's son, naturally you have the weight, but that is not enough. Prime Minister Gao will not and ignore the affairs of the state, because of your life, besides the Sui State has a surname of Yang, not Gao."

Gao Sheng Dao said angrily: "I hate it when people call me a Prime Minister son! My position as a Zhuzuolang, National History Compilation, was not granted by my father, but by the Emperor! I didn't go south by my father's order either, but to serve the country! Xiao Mohe, you have humiliated me several times, why don't you just chop me up and see if the Sui generals and soldiers will chop you up and feed you to the dogs!"

What Xiao Mohe wanted was for him to get angry. At that moment, he smiled faintly: ''You are finally close to telling the truth.

It is better to let me say it for you - although you are the eldest son of Gao Prime Minister, but your allegiance is to another person, that is, Yang Yong, the Crown Prince of Sui state.

The crown prince is anxious to build up his significant contribution

 to protect the position of the Crown Prince, because behind the crown prince there are four brothers, if there is no significant contribution, the inherit place is difficult to protect. Therefore, the Crown prince gathered courtiers, on one side he tried to build a new town in Ch'ang-an, on the other side he sent people south to steal secrets, waiting for the opportunity to attack other cities. However, Yang Yong uses people improperly, although you are from a noble background, but you don't have your father's great talent, you were caught before you make any movement, and you don't know even the reasons when you are imprisoned, it is really shameful for the Gao Prime Minister!"

"You ..." Gao Sheng Dao's face was green and purple, the hand holding up the cup shaking slightly, "So you, the great general, even sent spies to scout around . ...Your reputation as a general does not match reality!"

 Xiao Moheo laughed, ''Military strategy is about the combination of feint and tricks. Mr Gao will raise spies, why wouldn't me? To tell you the truth, this time your mission down south is not only by the Crown Prince's disciples, but also accompanied by the Prince of Jin's private team. Only this Jin Prince Yang Guang has more brains than Yang Yong, and does things extremely secretly, but I am in charge of the safety and security of Great Chen, how can I let you Sui people do whatever you want?"

When Li Jing heard this, he realised that Gao Sheng Dao's backer was the Crown Prince, no wonder he was so arrogant. However, it was unknown why the Prince of Jin had also sent his men south in secret. Suddenly, Li Jing's mind flashed through Yang She's plea for forgiveness to the Wushan fisherwoman before he was killed - "I beg you to let me off ... I will report to the Jin ... "At that time, Li Jing did not care, at this time with a flash, the word "Jin" and "Prince of Jin Yang Guang" was connected.

It seemed that this Yang She as Yang Su's subordinates may not be false, but certainly he took the orders of Prince of Jin to cut off the legs of Xie Kangtu, beheading the boat brothers. When he travelled down the river to the east, he naturally searched for Alone Star and killed or captured Yang Jian's bastard son!

Thinking of this, Li Jing's head buzzed, and he couldn't hear a single word of what Xiao Mohuo and the others on the table.

He was already very smart, at this time he concentrated and connected Gao Sheng Dao's "ignorance" of Alone Star all along the way, which proved that the Crown Prince, and Prince of Jin were actually aware of Alone Star's whereabouts. Gao Sheng Dao met Alone Star in the Jiangzhou boat company, maybe the Crown Prince had secretly told him to pay attention before he set out south, so when Gao Sheng Dao let go of the Wushan fisherwoman in the Jiangzhou company, he only kept Alone Star!

But how did the Prince of Jin recognise the Alone Star? Why did Yang She look so panic in the temple? Suddenly, Li Jing's mind flashed out the appearance of Prince Yi Huang, and then linked it to the gentleman's promise between Lai Huer and himself, all the doubts were solved in an instant - this Prince Yi Huang was none other than the Prince of Jin, Yang Guang! The word "Yi Huang" was just a split of the word "Yang" (杨) Guang (廣). (Note: in Chinese character, the right part of Yang 杨 was Yi 易, and the under part of Guang 廣 was Huang 黄).