Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress

Chapter 234: Chapter 232: Assassination_1

Chapter 234: Chapter 232: Assassination_1

Old Fang nodded, his tone firm. “In this way, Xiliang can inform other nations that our Jin Kingdom is too greedy. During the peace negotiations, when the two countries couldn’t agree, Jin sent assassins to kill their peace envoy King Yan in anger. With this excuse, Xiliang can seek aid from other countries and come back to wage war against our Jin Kingdom!”

“What Old Fang said is not impossible…” Zhang Duanrui nodded.

“But since the peace treaty has already been signed, what is Xiliang stirring up now? It can’t be that they felt they didn’t gain enough from the treaty and thus went to assassinate this King Yan, can it?” Zhen Zeping couldn’t understand. “Our Jin Kingdom won the war. If we find the treaty unsuitable, we can just continue fighting. Who would believe that a victorious nation would go through such convoluted schemes?”

“Then it must be that they plan to use his injury as an excuse to try to calm the situation!” Old Fang spoke slowly.

The group outside the Crown Prince’s tent discussed heatedly, but Bai Qingyan and the generals of the Bai family understood the situation clearly and kept silent.

Qin Shangzhi, Old Fang, and General Zhang Duanrui continued their discussion incessantly. Bai Qingyan stood quietly to the side, carefully contemplating the purpose of Li Zhijie’s visit.

She thought… Li Zhijie must not dare to tell the Crown Prince that the reason the Huying Camp and those assassins went to Qiushan Pass was to rescue Bai Qingyun, whom he held captive.

Even if Li Zhijie revealed this matter today, it was too late. He hadn’t mentioned having the Bai family member in his hand during yesterday’s peace negotiations and only brought it up today. Given the Crown Prince’s suspicious nature, what would he think?! He would naturally believe that Xiliang was trying to dissociate itself from those assassins in Jin attire and stir distrust between Jin’s monarch and his ministers.

“We are merely guessing here. It’s better to go with the Crown Prince to see the Xiliang King Yan and find out his real intention!” Zhang Duanrui’s fist tightened beside him.

“General Zhang is right. There’s no point in guessing here. Since King Yan has already arrived at the camp, meeting him will reveal his intention. Why guess?”

The Crown Prince, dressed neatly in a cloak, came out of the tent. Everyone hurriedly bowed and saluted.

“No need for formalities. Let’s go see what this King Yan is up to!”

The Crown Prince frowned as he led the way out of the camp, showing no intention of inviting King Yan Li Zhijie in.

Bai Qingyan followed the Crown Prince, her eyes half-lowered as they walked towards the camp gate.

At this moment, the Crown Prince held no goodwill towards Li Zhijie. How dare the envoy of a defeated nation cause such trouble during peace negotiations? Not letting people sleep peacefully even for a moment.

The gate of the Jin Army’s camp slowly opened. Dressed in a black cloak, Li Zhijie lifted his gaze and, supported by Lu Tianzhuo, walked to the front of the camp. He respectfully bowed even before the Crown Prince appeared, humbling himself greatly.

Li Zhijie’s attitude slightly lessened the Crown Prince’s anger. He clenched his hand behind his back, frowning, and said, “King Yan, you come to our Jin Army camp covered in blood. What do you intend?”

Supported by Lu Tianzhuo, Li Zhijie straightened up but did not answer the Crown Prince. Instead, his gaze fell on Bai Qingyan, hiding the sharpness in his eyes behind a black, intense gaze, feigning anger.

“General Bai, does our king have any deep hatred with you that you would lead your Huying Camp soldiers, who frighten the nations, and these assassins to kill me after the peace treaty was signed?”

Li Zhijie pointed at the corpses on the carriage, thinking he would catch Bai Qingyan off guard.

Cheng Yuanzhi’s heart was in his throat, his teeth clenched, gripping the hilt of his sword at his waist.

On the contrary, Bai Qingyan herself felt a weight lift off her heart upon hearing Li Zhijie’s words.

She chuckled softly. “So, it turns out King Yan made such a big scene just to target me.”

The Crown Prince narrowed his cold eyes, his gaze sweeping over the Huying Camp soldiers and the corpses of the assassins in Jin attire, before turning to meet Bai Qingyan’s steady, smiling eyes.

She slightly nodded to the Crown Prince, seemingly indicating that he shouldn’t get angry and should first listen to what Li Zhijie had to say.

The Crown Prince lightly rubbed his hand behind his back, feeling he had vaguely guessed what Li Zhijie was attempting. He shifted his gaze back. “King Yan means General Bai led the elite soldiers of the Huying Camp and these assassins to kill you?”

Seeing the interaction between Bai Qingyan and the Crown Prince, Li Zhijie felt uneasy. He could only brace himself and said, “Probably someone doesn’t want to see the two countries sign a treaty, fearing the commander’s seal will be taken back and military power lost once the fighting stops. So they staged this incomplete assassination on me with Jin’s Huying Camp elite soldiers and these assassins! Otherwise, with General Bai’s Shooting Sun Bow, how could I survive under his hand! Isn’t that right, General Bai?”

Bai Qingyan only smiled without speaking, understanding that Li Zhijie was implying she feared losing her military power and thus intentionally led the Huying Camp in a staged assassination attempt.

It seemed Li Zhijie’s real purpose was to sow discord between her and the Crown Prince, making the Crown Prince believe she was selfishly holding onto military power at the expense of Jin’s interests, even harboring treacherous intentions to weaken Jin and strengthen the Bai family army during the invasion.

Coincidentally, before she led the Huying Camp to Qiushan Pass, she had handed over the commander’s seal promptly to fully demonstrate her allegiance to the Crown Prince. She hadn’t expected Li Zhijie to bring up the commander’s seal, though.

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This unintended move clarified Li Zhijie’s intention to sow suspicion among Jin’s court against the victorious generals who defeated Xiliang, revealing his motive to incite mistrust.

“King Yan’s words have the intention of sowing discord between our Jin’s monarch and ministers!” Zhang Duanrui’s fiery eyes stared at King Yan coldly.

At this point, whether it was the Crown Prince, Old Fang, Qin Shangzhi, these counselors, or Generals like Zhang Duanrui, all understood what Li Zhijie intended by bringing the bodies of the Huying Camp elite soldiers and assassins to the Jin Army camp.

If previously, Li Zhijie in the peace negotiation tent had repeatedly postponed talks to frame Jin Kingdom for attempting to kill Xiliang’s peace envoy after failed negotiations to seek other countries’ aid to attack Jin, then now, after Bai Qingyan, on the Crown Prince’s order, uncovered Li Zhijie’s plans at Qiushan Pass, he exploited the situation for a staged accusation. He came personally with injuries to demand justice, intending to sow discord within Jin’s court.

Bai Qingyan, being the biggest hero in Jin’s victory over Xiliang, made Xiliang fear Jin having such a talented general, so creating discord was their logical move.

Yet, human plans cannot match divine ones. The Crown Prince knew best… The commander’s seal was timely handed over by Bai Qingyan after the peace treaty was signed. Not only that, but Bai Qingyan also confided to him about her poor health and inability to lead the Bai family army, handing them over to him while making painstaking arrangements for his future military needs.

Such a person could never be the despicable individual Li Zhijie depicted—one who clung to power at the expense of their motherland’s interests.