Zhao Henian arrived at Yijin Garden and upon seeing Luo Wei standing at the study door to greet him, he opened with, “Xiao Wei, you are still the same.”
Luo Wei touched his face, smiling as he ushered Zhao Henian into the room.
Zhao Henian, who didn’t perceive much change in Luo Wei, instinctively regarded him as the third son of the Luo family again. He said to Luo Wei, “Come, let me have a look at you.”
“Uncle Zhao,” Luo Wei gestured for Zhao Henian to sit down and said, “I asked Uncle Zhao to come because I need your help.”
Zhao Henian quickly asked Luo Wei, “What is the matter? Has someone bullied you?”
Luo Wei frowned and said, “This time, besides Uncle Zhao, I don’t know who else I can turn to.”
“What is the matter? Just tell me,” Zhao Henian urged.
Luo Wei lowered his voice and said, “Have you heard about the massacre of the Chang family in Lingnan?”
Zhao Henian said, “Yes, in the entire Great Zhou, who wouldn’t know?”
“It was His Majesty who killed them,” Luo Wei said quickly.
Zhao Henian nearly jumped out of his seat, “What did you say?!”
Luo Wei pressed Zhao Henian’s hand resting on the tea table and said, “His Majesty killed them. The Ministry of Justice has identified Long Yi, the former leader of the Dragon Cavalry, as the culprit.”
“Long Yi? Isn’t he the bastard who tried to assassinate you?” Zhao Henian asked upon hearing the name.
“You knew about this too?”
“Wealth deep in the mountains have distant connections1,” Zhao Henian said, “I know about the affairs in the capital.”
“The attempt on my life by Long Yi was just a cover,” Luo Wei said. “I realized that later. Otherwise, with his abilities as a Dragon Cavalry Guard, how could he stab me and not cause me some serious injury?”
“What’s the motive behind this?” Zhao Henian, unlike Luo Zhiqiu, had never liked Long Xuan. Whatever bad things Luo Wei said about Long Xuan, this old man would believe them.
“It’s not the time to discuss this now,” Luo Wei obviously understood Zhao Henian’s mindset and said, “I heard that many generals in Chang Ling’s army used to be Uncle Zhao’s subordinates?”
“Yes,” Zhao Henian said. “Xiao Wei, what do you plan to do?”
“If Chang Ling really rebels,” Luo Wei said, “can Uncle Zhao regain control of those troops under his command?”
“Is this boy from the Chang family really going to rebel?!”
“I’m not sure yet, but I need to be prepared,” Luo Wei said. “Uncle Zhao’s visit to the capital this time is to inquire about the situation in Chang Ling’s army. I don’t want to wait until Chang Ling forces his way into the palace.”
“Xiao Wei,” Zhao Henian hesitated at this moment. “You, you aren’t planning to…” Zhao Henian couldn’t bring himself to say “rebel.”
“If Chang Ling behaves himself, we will be fine,” Luo Wei just smiled. “With Uncle Zhao here to keep things in check, I can also be at ease.”
“This kid,” Zhao Henian chuckled. “What do you take me for? A gatekeeper?”
Luo Wei smiled bitterly in his heart. Zhao Henian’s arrival was really timely. After knowing about Long Xiang’s death, who knew what Empress Dowager Liu would do. She had always been close to the Chang siblings, and it was hard to ensure that Chang Ling wouldn’t be manipulated by her. It was was no longer a matter of Chang Ling being immobile, but he now had to guard himself against Chang Ling attacking him. After all, it was he who incited Long Xiang to go to Southern Zhao, and Empress Dowager Liu would not fail to remember it.
Luo Wei and Zhao Henian were talking when Xie Yu and Minister Wang arrived at Yi Jin Garden. Upon seeing Zhao Henian seated, both of their faces lit up as if they had seen a savior.
“What’s going on with you two?” Zhao Henian, familiar with both of them, asked at once, “Is the Chang kid really planning to rebel?”
Xie Yu immediately looked at Luo Wei with a reproachful gaze. At this point, this person was still thinking about his grudge with the Chang family.
“Uncle Zhao,” Luo Wei gestured for Xie Yu and Minister Wang to sit down, then turned to Zhao Henian and said, “There’s something else I haven’t had the chance to tell you.”
Zhao Henian asked, “What else is there?”
Luo Wei said, “Prince Yu Long Xiang met with an accident at Linshui Pass in Southern Zhao and died in Wuzhou City.”
Zhao Henian almost jumped up again. This kid should have told him this kind of thing as soon as they met! “Did, did your second brother have anything to do with this?” Zhao Henian didn’t care about Long Xiang; he only cared about Luo Ze. Luo Ze mustn’t get involved in this matter again!
“My second brother wasn’t at Linshui Pass,” Luo Wei said. “He had nothing to do with this.”
“Why would a good person like that die?” After hearing that Luo Ze had nothing to do with Long Xiang’s death, Zhao Henian relaxed and asked about Long Xiang, “Was he also assassinated?”
“It was an accident,” Xie Yu spoke up at this moment. “Prince Yu’s death was just an accident.”
“What did you find out?” Luo Wei asked Xie Yu and Minister Wang.
“It was Gao Zhu,” Xie Yu said.
The name sounded familiar to Luo Wei. “I feel like I’ve heard this name before.”
“He’s the brother of a concubine in Prince Yu’s mansion,” Minister Wang said.
“Was he hiding the battle report?” Luo Wei asked as he was thinking, when did he hear this name?
“It was him who received the battle report that day,” Xie Yu said. “We used torture on him.”
“Did he confess?” Luo Wei asked.
“No,” Xie Yu said. “He only replied with three words: I don’t know.”
“When did he receive the battle report?” Luo Wei asked again.
Minister Wang reported the date.
As Luo Wei thought about it, his expression turned cold. Zhao Fu seemed to have told him that day that Gao Zhu had visited Empress Dowager Liu.
“What did you think of?” Xie Yu noticed Luo Wei’s strange expression and hurriedly asked.
“That day, Gao Zhu visited Empress Dowager Liu,” Luo Wei said. “Do you think this is just a coincidence?”
Xie Yu and Minister Wang were both stunned and dared not speculate further along Luo Wei’s line of thought.
“What are you talking about?” Zhao Henian was completely baffled.
Suddenly, Luo Wei burst into laughter. This world is truly ridiculous! It’s laughable to the extreme!
Xie Yu’s face turned pale. “Perhaps it’s just a coincidence.”
“The battle report came from Southern Zhao and was sealed with five flames,” Luo Wei said, still smiling. “There definitely wasn’t any mention of Prince Yu’s critical condition on the envelope. They must have thought it was an urgent report seeking reinforcements for my second brother! Those damn bastards, they wanted to harm my second brother!” The smile on Luo Wei’s face suddenly disappeared, and he swept the teapot and fruit plate off the tea table with a flick of his hand.
“No,” Zhao Henian grabbed Luo Wei’s hand as he was about to smash more things. “What exactly happened?”
Xie Yu explained the situation, and Zhao Henian, who had become indifferent to taking lives after so many years of warfare, was also stunned.
“What, what should we do?” Minister Wang asked Luo Wei.
- It might be an idiom but I couldn’t find it with my research. I think the meaning is that even in seclusion, if you have wealth you will still have useful connections in the mundane world. ↩︎
Boundless Dao 
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