Chapter 66 Successful Overthinking

"It has been placed inside; you need only present it to the Emperor, and His Highness will certainly reward you handsomely."

Looking at the confident speaker, Huo Weihua stood in his study with a solemn expression on his face.

The task at hand was a monumental undertaking that would earn him eternal infamy or immortal glory. If he succeeded, he might well secure the position of Senior Grand Secretary. At that time, he would no longer be merely the Minister of War, reduced to fawning and begging at Wei Zhongxian's feet!

The only concern was that this venture required staking the lives of his entire clan. As long as Tianqi swallowed the red pill before him, all would be well; even if discovered, Prince Xin would protect him. But if exposed prematurely, his entire clan would vanish with him.

Weighing the potential profits and risks in his mind for a moment, Huo Weihua ultimately reflected that the current suffering of the common people was entirely caused by the Emperor's favoritism toward Wei Zhongxian! Prince Xin was the true hope of the masses.

"Tell His Highness that I will surely accomplish this for him. I only hope that after ascending the throne, he will distance himself from the eunuchs, restore the imperial court, and rescue the people of our Great Ming from the depths of misery!" Huo Weihua spoke with utmost sincerity and solemnity.

The agent of Prince Xin nodded earnestly and said, "Rest assured! Isn't the very reason His Highness is moving against his beloved imperial brother for the sake of all under heaven? Before I came, His Highness stated that whether this endeavor succeeds without falling short at the finish line depends entirely on Lord Huo. If successful, you shall be the premier hero of this dynasty, and you will certainly not be treated unfairly!"

After a brief pause, he continued, "The hundreds of acres of fertile land in the capital region shall all belong to Lord Huo. His Highness also mentioned that having too many imperial estates is equivalent to contending with the people for profit, so a portion will be distributed to Lord Huo to consolidate your family's lands into a contiguous expanse, which can also be regarded as acting for the benefit of the people."

Huo Weihua brightened, let out a long breath, and said, "Please inform the Prince that I will find an opportunity to present the medicine as soon as possible. His Highness should also make preparations on his end, especially regarding Wei Zhongxian—he must not be allowed to suspect anything!"

"Rest assured, His Highness has his own plans for that."

Emerging from the back door of Huo Weihua's residence, the man wearing the uniform of the Five Cities兵马司 (Garrison Command) headed straight for the Prince Xin Mansion.

However, upon approaching, he found the area outside the Prince Xin Mansion dead silent, yet he instinctively felt something was amiss.

After waiting for a quarter of an hour, the man could no longer suppress his unease. He stepped out from behind a large tree, looked around and finding nothing unusual, approached the wall of the Prince Xin Mansion and vaulted over it.

Little did the man know that just as he departed, a head popped out from the tree he had been hiding behind, and another figure materialized in the street he had just traversed.

"Return and report to the Thousand-House Commander: an agent of Prince Xin went to the residence of Minister of War Huo Weihua, stayed for the duration of an incense stick, and returned to the Prince Xin Mansion by the same route," the following shadow reported.

The man in the tree descended immediately, concealed his presence in the dark night, and sprinted toward the Embroidered Uniform Guard's Northern Inspectorate.

Passing two squads of soldiers along the way, he flashed his token of the Embroidered Uniform Guard to bypass inspection and entered the Inspectorate compound.

The entrance had already been cleared, though the lingering stench of blood still rushed to the senses, causing the man to suppress a dry heave.

Inside the office formerly used by Xu Xianchun, three or four men lay resting. A young woman was preparing medicine while an elderly man bandaged their wounds.

Before the dim shadow wall, Wang Lu was examining documents under the lamplight.

The lamplight illuminated his profile. The bloodstains had been wiped away, and his eyes shone brightly, contrasting sharply with the drowsy men around him.

The exhilaration of power had driven Wang Lu to spend the time following the bloodshed organizing the personnel, supplies, and various covert agents of the Northern Inspectorate.

In addition, in accordance with the directives of Wei Zhongxian, Tian Ergeng, and others, he had arranged for a citywide curfew and surveillance of the Prince Xin Mansion.

"Commander, there is a development regarding the Prince Xin Mansion," the man said, dropping immediately to one knee.

Wang Lu lifted his gaze from the documents and looked at the man. "Speak. There are no outsiders here."

The man immediately reported what he had just witnessed.

Hearing this, Wang Lu smiled faintly at Lu Wenzhao and said with simulated astonishment, "To think that the notorious eunuch-faction member Huo Weihua is actually your man?"

"Now do you recognize our influence?" Lu Wenzhao asked, brimming with confidence.

Previously, Wang Lu's disrespect toward Prince Xin had seemed to him a result of the Prince hiding his strength for too long; now that Wang Lu knew Prince Xin's true power, he should show some fear.

Wang Lu smiled. "I know. To survive in this world, one needs strength and backing, and you certainly have strength. However, what do you suppose would happen if I reported this matter to the Chief Eunuch?"

"It would be useless." Lu Wenzhao showed no fear. "Putting aside whether Huo Weihua would confess, ask yourself if Wei Zhongxian would dare to make a move against Prince Xin. In the entire realm, the Emperor has only one younger brother. If Wei Zhongxian dared to strike, neither the Emperor nor the officials would stand for it!"

"Oh~" Wang Lu nodded. "That is the truth. Wei Zhongxian took Prince Xin's token yet has not gone to question him to this day, which shows he is already looking for a fallback option. Too bad Prince Xin will not accept him."

"Indeed," Lu Wenzhao said. "Because he is the chief culprit behind the devastation of the common people. His Highness is wise and benevolent, and he will never let him go. But you are different."

"Me? Ha! How am I different? Am I not currently working for the Chief Eunuch?" Wang Lu smiled.

"You killed Xu Xianchun, which means you are working for His Highness. Although you claim to dislike the Prince, I can see that you are merely worried His Highness might discard the hawk once the hare is caught."

Lu Wenzhao asserted with certainty, "Xu Xianchun and Tian Ergeng served villains as fathers and acted as tigers' accomplices; killing them is essentially working for His Highness. Furthermore, I inspected Lord Xu's wounds—they were inflicted by my junior sister's white-tasseled spear."

"That means my junior sister is actually working under your command. Since my junior sister is in your hands, Beizhai is presumably with you as well. If you truly wished harm upon His Highness, you would have taken my junior sister and the others to Wei Zhongxian long ago instead of waiting until now."

Wang Lu felt like applauding Lu Wenzhao. He nodded slightly and said, "A fine analysis. But you also saw that token of Prince Xin left at the scene. What do you make of that?"

"If I guessed correctly, that is your true scheme. Your real target was not Xu Xianchun—or rather, Xu Xianchun was just convenient. Your true target should be—"

"Wei Zhongxian."

As Lu Wenzhao finished speaking, he stared fixedly into Wang Lu's eyes, attempting to read his inner thoughts.

Wang Lu the corners of his mouth curled into a faint smile. "Go tell His Highness that the token is bait, but His Highness must pay a personal visit to Wei Zhongxian—whether to prevent Wei Zhongxian from striking first, or to finish him off."

Thinking to himself that his guess was correct, Lu Wenzhao relaxed and said, "Understood."

"Lord, these medicines must be taken daily; this one is for internal use, and this one for external application." After bandaging Yue Qian's wound, the old man took the medicine from his daughter's hands and approached.

At this moment, the old man's legs were trembling, and his voice carried a distinct quiver.

Wang Lu smiled. "You shall stay here for the time being to avoid any danger."

"My Lord!"

The old man dropped heavily to his knees, kowtowing his head against the ground as he pleaded, "This humble old man heard nothing! I beg the Lord to spare my life! I beg the Lord to spare my life..."

Wang Lu wanted to ensure they harbored no extraneous thoughts, which was why he had allowed them to overhear everything.

Seeing the old man nearly kowtowing until he bled, Wang Lu looked at the bewildered Zhang Yan and said, "Yan'er, help your father up."

The old man's face was smeared with blood from kowtowing, though the freshly prepared medicine could at least be put to use.

These two were the father-daughter duo from the apothecary who would later cross paths with Ding Xian, later renamed Jin Yichuan.

Wang Lu had tracked them down long ago; the Huanhuan Pill used previously had also been prepared by this old man.

This time, Wang Lu intended to absorb them directly into his fold, assigning the old man to work in the medical hall of the Northern Inspectorate.

As for Zhang Yan, he would soon find out whether she was truly as tender and lovely as rumored.

After Zhang Yan consoled her father for a long while, the old man finally calmed down.

Wang Lu looked at the man who had delivered the report earlier and instructed, "Take Doctor Zhang and them to the rear chambers to rest."

Lu Wenzhao coughed. "Shall I go attend to my duties then?"

Wang Lu smiled. "We are equals in rank; go ahead if you wish."

Lu Wenzhao walked straight out, while Yue Qian and the others smilingly escorted Old Man Zhang away.

The old man cast a reluctant, heartbroken glance at his daughter, but ultimately said nothing.

Once they left, they closed the door behind them.

Zhang Yan looked at Wang Lu, her worried expression suddenly replaced by a smile.

"Look at how you frightened my father! Why did you need to let him know about these things?" Zhang Yan stepped closer to Wang Lu and smiled.

"Otherwise, he would always be thinking of running away. This way, he will behave; he knows the consequences of trying to flee," Wang Lu said, standing up.