roccoschili Chapter 109 Inviting the Enemy into the Trap
Chapter 109 Inviting the Enemy into the Trap
Chapter 109 Inviting the Enemy into the Trap
"Separate the people."
Liu Bian tucked the small piece of paper with the words "Wuwei" inside into his sleeve.
"The steward of the Prince's mansion is responsible for securing one room."
"The two eunuchs were interrogated separately."
"As for this clerk," he paused, his gaze falling on the pale-faced young man in the corner whose legs were so weak he could barely stand, "keep him for now."
Cao Cao nodded.
"This person is the most timid and the most afraid of death. People who are afraid of death are most likely to let their mouths slip."
In fact, Liu Bian did not intend to continue asking questions.
We've asked most of the questions we needed to.
Pressing them any further would only expose the few dirty words they have inside, which might not be useful. What's truly useful isn't what these people say, but what's outside their mouths—the hidden hand that has already extended its reach from Luoyang to Wuwei.
He looked at the greeting card that had been opened on the table, and his gaze gradually darkened.
Using Empress Dowager Dong's name.
They borrowed the gate of the Prince of Chenliu's residence.
They borrowed the fire from the urgent report from Liangzhou.
The next step forward would be to leverage the power of external forces.
This line is definitely not as shallow as just a few stewards, eunuchs, and clerks.
"Your Highness."
Xun was already standing by the door at some point, his voice low, "The area outside the Prince's mansion has been cleared according to your instructions."
A new copy of the attendance register for tonight has been made, not from the old register of the Prince's residence.
Liu Bian nodded.
"Let's talk about it when we get back to the East Palace."
It was late at night.
The lights in the side hall of the East Palace were still on, and all the palace servants and eunuchs had been dismissed, leaving only a tall lamp on the table, illuminating half the room with flickering light.
Liu Bian placed the interlayered paper on the table.
Xun Yu and Cao Cao sat facing each other on either side, their eyes fixed on those two words.
Wuwei.
After a moment of silence, Cao Cao spoke first.
"If Your Highness delivers this directly to His Majesty today, the entire Prince's residence network will be turned upside down tomorrow."
"But that's all we can do," Liu said.
Cao Cao's eyes flickered slightly.
Liu Bian raised his hand and tapped the paper.
"These people are just lowly errand boys running errands for others. If we drag them all out and put this paper on Father Emperor's desk, it will certainly shake the court immediately, but if the person behind it shrinks back, the thread will break."
"Moreover, once the matter reaches the Emperor's court, Empress Dowager Dong, the Prince of Chenliu's residence, and Changle Palace will all be involved."
Liu Bian paused, then continued, "What troubles Father Emperor most right now is Liangzhou. Dong Zhuo was just dispatched there, and the court has just made its decision. If we submit this letter now, what will he think?"
Cao Cao remained silent.
Xun Yu continued, "He would feel that the Crown Prince is eyeing military power."
"At that time, investigating cases will no longer be about investigating cases, but about political infighting."
At this point, Xun Yu's eyes flashed with a sharp light as he looked at Liu Bian.
"Is Your Highness trying to fish along the line?"
"good."
Liu Bian tapped on the table, but his gaze showed no sign of relaxation.
"Since this line of communication relies on greeting cards and connections to the Prince's residence, it means that they were still on the move and hadn't broken off. The people interrogated tonight are just a small leak along the way. The people who actually delivered the message, received the letter, and took over the operation are probably still unaware of what has happened in the Prince's residence."
Cao Cao nodded: "If that's the case, then we can indeed put together a plan."
"What does Your Highness intend to do?"
Liu Bian reached out and turned the greeting card over, his fingers gently pressing on the corner of the paper.
"The items were intercepted from the Prince's residence, but the people there didn't know we had intercepted them."
"The letter was double-layered. The inner page was picked out, but the outer greeting card was still there. The handwriting was the same, and the paper was the same. Fold it back and seal it. You can't see any flaws."
He paused for a moment, then said, "Put it back and let it go the way it came. Let's see who it ends up with."
Xun frowned: "Your Highness, this is too risky. What if we miss—"
—
"We can't let anything slip by," Liu argued. "We've detained the people, we've got the accounts, and we already know those two words on the letter."
Even if they discover something's wrong, we already have our trump card in our hands.
He looked at Cao Cao.
"Those prisoners can't all be put to death. The clerk is the most timid and easily frightened, so keep him alive as a witness."
"On the surface, they are still making it seem like a retrial, but in reality, they are leaving a loophole so that outsiders will think that the Prince's Mansion has only caught a few treacherous people and hasn't gotten to the root of the problem yet."
"Mengde".
Cao Cao cupped his hands in greeting: "Your Majesty, I have men lying in wait outside, to capture the person by following the trail."
"good."
Liu Bian looked at him and said, "Well, you can go in person then."
Xun then spoke up.
"Your Highness, if the opponent accepts this strategy, what will you do next?"
"Once we accept the call, we'll be able to see who's actually connected to that connection."
"What if you don't answer?"
Liu Bian remained silent for a moment.
"They're not answering—" he muttered, then suddenly chuckled, "Then they're just waiting."
As midnight approached, the people in the Eastern Palace began to move silently.
Forged greeting cards are not difficult to make.
The Prince of Chenliu's residence already exchanged greetings daily, and the paper, ink, handwriting, tone, and even the glue used to seal the letters all had established patterns. The real challenge was not creating a letter that looked like the real thing, but making it "look like the real thing without being deliberate."
After Liu Bian finished revising it, he showed it to Xun Yu.
After confirming that everything was correct, it was handed over to Cao Cao.
"Put it back the way it came."
"Not too fast, not too slow."
"It makes it seem like it was just a moment late, like any other time."
Cao Cao accepted the order and left.
The night outside the palace was dark and even the wind seemed to be suppressed.
Liu Bian sat alone at the desk, remaining motionless for a long time.
On the corner of the table were a few pages of an old book that had been brought back from the Prince's mansion during the day.
Those signatures and doorplates on the document may seem like trivial matters, but these seemingly insignificant things are what, through a single hand, sewed Luoyang and Liangzhou together.
Liu Bian stared at the lamplight for a while, then suddenly raised his hand, folded the interlayered paper back up, and put it into his sleeve.
"Your Highness."
There were footsteps outside the door.
It is Xun or.
"We have news from Empress Dowager Dong's side."
"explain."
"The Empress Dowager did not get angry with the people in the Prince's residence again, nor did she inquire further about the case."
"Instead, she brought several elderly people with her, saying they were there to take care of the Prince of Chenliu. Those elderly people had been by her side for over ten years."
Liu Bian looked up at Xun Huo.
"What about Liu Xie?"
"The Prince of Chenliu did not leave his courtyard today. The Empress Dowager sent someone to tell him that it has been cold these past few days and that he should stay indoors and not wander around."
After listening, Liu Bian's eyes flickered.
"She's on guard against me."
"Yes," Xun said bluntly, "but it's not just about guarding against His Highness."
"Now that today's events have occurred, the Empress Dowager should have seen through it all. Someone is using her name and the Prince's residence to do their bidding. Now that she's sending her old cronies back, firstly, she wants to keep a tight grip on the Prince of Chenliu, and secondly—" Xun Huo paused for a moment, "she also wants to replace the eyes in the Prince's residence with her own people."
Liu Bian gave a soft "hmm," his tone revealing neither joy nor anger.
"Alright."
"If she doesn't make any move at all, it would seem fake."
Just then, Cao Cao entered the hall.
"Your Highness, the letter has been sent out."
"Is there any movement?"
Cao Cao did not answer immediately, but only frowned.
"It's too quiet."
Liu Bian looked up.
"I have buried all the people I arranged along the original route. But since I left the Prince's residence, there have been far fewer people, not to mention those who came to receive the message, even the idlers who usually loiter around those alleyways have disappeared."
"Like—"
He paused for a moment before saying the more fitting sentence.
"It's like someone cleared the road beforehand."
The atmosphere in the side hall became slightly somber.
Xun looked at him and asked, "Is someone in the Prince's mansion leaking information?"
19
"Not necessarily." Cao Cao shook his head. "It's possible that although the arrests were suppressed tonight, some news still got out. But I have a feeling it's not just about hiding from the storm."