The Foolish Agent

Chapter 91

"It was snowing heavily last night! We were afraid you'd get cold, so we didn't call you," Qingfeng explained awkwardly. Actually, they just wanted to be more responsible and didn't want her to worry about everything.

"Hmph! If you had said that three years ago, I would have believed you and been grateful for your thoughtfulness. But now we're walking in the snow in just a thin layer of clothing, and you didn't even worry about whether I'd be cold!" Leng Jie bluntly exposed. Then, she suddenly smiled strangely at Qingfeng, gestured towards the path to her right, and asked ambiguously:

"Hehe, you two sneaked out, you didn't go off to find some fun on that street, did you?"

Qingfeng's face darkened instantly. He glared at Leng Jie and then walked straight toward the temple.

"So stingy!" Leng Jie called out with a laugh to Qingfeng's retreating figure.

"Haha, you're not getting angry because I hit the nail on the head, are you?"

The breeze ignored him and kept walking forward.

It seems he's really angry! Leng Jie quickly jogged to catch up, leaping in front of Qing Feng. Qing Feng still showed no sign of stopping, so Leng Jie had no choice but to back away and say to him:

"Senior brother, did I really hit the nail on the head?"

Qingfeng abruptly stopped, snorted coldly, and questioned angrily:

"Hmph! Do you really think I'm that kind of person?"

"What kind of person?" Leng Jie feigned ignorance, asking in a completely serious tone:

"Senior brother, tell me what kind of people go to that street?"

"You!" Qingfeng was speechless with anger.

"Pfft!" Leng Jie couldn't help but laugh, but since they were on the street, their attire had already attracted the attention of many passersby. Not wanting to be seen as fools, Leng Jie quickly suppressed her laughter, covering her mouth and saying:

"I was just kidding! Don't take it so seriously, okay?"

"What kind of girl jokes about something like this!" Qingfeng reprimanded him sternly, displaying the authority of a senior brother.

"See! You finally revealed what you were thinking!" Leng Jie immediately seized on Qingfeng's words and retorted, "You just look down on me because I'm a woman, that's why you didn't include me, right?"

"You..." Qingfeng wanted to say, "You are a woman, after all!" But thinking of the consequences of saying that, he swallowed the words back. He changed the subject, saying, "We don't look down on you! It's just that..."

"I just feel it's too troublesome to discuss everything with me, a woman! You don't need to explain, I understand." Leng Jie coldly interrupted Qingfeng, retorting.

Qingfeng, whose thoughts had been exposed, was so embarrassed that he didn't know what to say.

“While I understand your macho mentality,” Leng Jie said seriously, “I don’t agree with it. The three of us are now a unit where we share both glory and loss. What we need is to work together. If you have this kind of mentality, there will be big problems. Take this matter for example. If I hadn’t thought of this, but you had but didn’t tell me, then there would definitely be problems.”

Qingfeng was speechless after Lengjie's words.

Leng Jie glanced at Qingfeng's unpleasant expression and shook her head, saying:

"Sigh! Forget it, it seems too much to ask you to talk about gender equality. Come on, come with me again." Pu Xie Lengjie turned and walked forward.

Gender equality? Qingfeng was taken aback! Since ancient times, men have been considered heaven and women earth. How could there be equality? Xiaojie's way of thinking made Qingfeng feel like he couldn't keep up with her, but now he had to catch up quickly.

Neither of them spoke, and they walked forward in silence. Leng Jie was carefully observing the terrain and its structure, and mentally planning her strategy. Qing Feng, on the other hand, silently watched Leng Jie's every move, including her every glance.

After walking along a quiet, chilly street for a short while, they reached a wide cobblestone road wide enough for three or four carriages to travel abreast. On either side of the road stood a row of tall pine trees, their verdant stems bent low by the weight of piled-up white snow. Occasionally, a gust of cold wind would blow, immediately accompanied by the soft rustling sound of snowballs hitting the ground. Beyond the pine trees lay a flat area covered in snow; from the occasional glimpse of pine needles, it was clear that this area had once been a grain field.

After walking another five or six miles, they rounded a bend in the mountain and could clearly see the temple's gate. The temple stood majestically on the mountainside at an altitude of about 500 meters, its deep red buildings magnificent and imposing, surrounded by a blanket of white snow. Looking up from below, one could vaguely see a dazzling spectacle rising from a white, icy world.

Upon reaching the mountain gate, a row of guards blocked their path.

"Halt! You are not allowed to move any further! The sacrificial ceremony is approaching, and His Majesty has already decreed that the palace be sealed off!"

"Senior brother!" Leng Jie looked up at Qingfeng, her eyes telling him, "This matter is entrusted to you!"

Qingfeng gave her a reassuring look, then pulled out his identification token. He flashed it in front of the soldier and sternly commanded:

"Get out of the way!"

"This humble servant greets Your Highness the Crown Prince!" The head guard, upon seeing the token, immediately bowed and paid his respects. However, he showed no intention of backing down; instead, kneeling on the ground with his back ramrod straight, he said:

"By imperial decree, except for a few personnel who have received imperial edicts and are in charge of preparing for the sacrificial ceremony, everyone else must wait until the day of the ceremony to enter the hall."

"Hmph!" Qingfeng snorted coldly, about to lash out. Leng Jie quickly took his hand and shook it, signaling him not to act rashly. Then, she deliberately pouted angrily and muttered to herself in a coquettish voice:

"What? All they wanted to do was go to the temple to pray for the Emperor and Empress. The Emperor's uncle issued such an order without telling us, making us make a wasted trip."

A prince with a devilish reputation and a spoiled, unruly young lady! The guards' hearts pounded. They were all thinking they were doomed today; let them go and they'd be killed by the emperor later, refuse and they'd be killed right now. But what surprised them even more was that the young lady actually spoke up for them. She suddenly put on a helpless expression, took the prince's hand, and said calmly:

"Alright, senior brother, let's not make things difficult for these guards. Look how hard it is for them to guard this freezing weather. Bring me here after the divine sacrifice!"

The guards were dumbfounded. They suddenly felt that this young lady was as cute as a goddess enshrined in a temple!

Qingfeng was momentarily confused by Xiaojie's two completely different expressions, but he quickly understood her intention. He then played along, saying:

"As long as you don't feel wronged, that's fine."

"This is the Emperor's decree, how could I dare to be wronged!" Leng Jie muttered in a voice that everyone could hear, and then pulled Qingfeng back.

It wasn't until they reached the corner that Qingfeng spoke:

There were no checkpoints when we arrived last night.

Leng Jie thought for a moment and slowly replied:

"It seems the old emperor has discovered the second prince's actions and has taken measures."

"Yes, that means the second brother won't have the chance to do anything underhanded on the mountain!" Qingfeng nodded in agreement.

If the two of them didn't start fighting, how would they escape? Leng Jie looked at the empty snowfields on both sides of the road; there simply wasn't anywhere to start along the way! Finally, her gaze settled on the thick layer of snow piled up on either side of the road. She then nodded and muttered to herself:

"Hmm, perhaps we could give this a try?"

"Try what?" Qingfeng asked immediately.

Leng Jie withdrew her gaze and said to Qingfeng:

"Do you think if we create an opportunity for chaos for the Second Prince on the road, he would dare to turn the tables on us?"

"What kind of opportunity? The three of us will all be in the team then, what kind of chaos can we create?"

Leng Jie shrugged and smiled:

"Creating chaos is a piece of cake for me. The question is whether your brother has the guts to climb the ladder I've built for him?"

Chapter 121 Unexpected Gain

After Leng Jie and Qing Feng returned from the temple, she began preparations for the divine sacrifice war. Qing Feng was constantly summoned by the old emperor to participate in the preparations for the divine sacrifice under various pretexts, while Ying kept a close eye on the Xiping envoys in order to find a suitable opportunity to implement their second plan.

September 30th finally arrived, the day before the sacrificial ceremony. Whether it was divine intervention or not, to prepare for the grand ceremony the following day, it snowed heavily all day long, turning the entire Beifeng Imperial Palace into a white world.

In the back garden of Qingfeng Palace, Leng Jie had been squatting in the snow, playing with snowballs intently since lunchtime. A row of snowballs of roughly the same size were neatly arranged around her.

As dusk fell, a purple figure suddenly descended from the sky, landing beside Leng Jie. Excitedly, she exclaimed:

"Xiao Jie, I have finally lived up to your expectations and gotten things done."

Leng Jie stopped what she was doing and suddenly looked up. Her eyes lit up as she looked at Zi Ying, her surprise and delight immediately showing. She grinned and asked excitedly:

"Really? That's great! Tell me the details!"

Zi Ying was impatient; before Leng Jie could finish speaking, he began to start from the beginning:

"As usual, I kept a close eye on the Fifth Prince of Xiping. Because of the heavy snow today, the Fifth Prince hadn't gone out at all, and I had been drinking in a tavern across from the post station. Around noon, a man dressed in Xiping rode up to the post station in a panic, demanding to see the Fifth Prince, but the guard wouldn't announce his arrival. So he argued with the guard, and then the Fifth Prince's attendant happened to return from outside. After seeing the man from Xiping, he seemed quite surprised. Then he took the man inside."

To find out, I went to the roof of the Fifth Prince's house from behind the inn and waited there. Guess what I heard? "As he said this, Ying's usually expressionless face was filled with boundless joy, and he unusually kept Xiao Jie in suspense.

"I guess? Could it be that the King of Xiping suddenly died?" Leng Jie replied casually.

"Haha, even Xiao Jie can make mistakes sometimes!" Zi Ying laughed and teased.

"If I had my master's abilities, I could predict the future." Leng Jie raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Brother Ying, stop keeping me in suspense and tell me what good news you heard that surprised you so much that it changed your personality."

"Haha, although you didn't guess correctly on this point, you foresaw this two weeks ago. So, you should be considered to have learned most of your master's skills." Zi Ying laughed heartily.

"It turns out that the man was the imperial messenger of the Xiping Emperor. He came with a personal edict from their king. The edict urged the Fifth Prince to quickly borrow troops from Beifeng to relieve the siege. Because our Jinghe Emperor's army of over 100,000 men is almost at their capital. Haha, don't you think this is something to be happy about?"

"What?" Leng Jie jumped to her feet, excitedly grabbing Zi Ying's arms. She asked in surprise, "You didn't hear wrong, did you? It's the Emperor personally leading the army?"

“There’s no mistake. I heard the messenger say it with my own ears, and then the Fifth Prince repeated it,” Zi Ying replied with a smile. Suddenly, she noticed that Leng Jie not only didn’t smile, but instead looked worried. Zi Ying asked, puzzled:

"What is Xiaojie worried about?" Suddenly, he seemed to understand and said, "Don't worry, the Emperor will be fine."

"Of course he'll be fine, but Jingcheng will be in trouble," Leng Jie replied angrily.

"I'm afraid that by the time he takes over the Prince of Xiping's stronghold, his own stronghold will have already been taken by someone else. He knew perfectly well that the Crown Prince was waiting for an opportunity, yet he still left him an empty city. I really don't understand what he was thinking. Does Jinghe have no other generals besides him?"

The cold water poured on Zi Ying's head instantly froze his joy and excitement. He stood there stunned for a long time before managing to utter a sentence that even he himself could hardly believe:

"This... His Majesty will surely make proper arrangements in the court before setting off on the expedition, won't he?"

"Do you think there are any capable people in the court who can shoulder important responsibilities?" Leng Jie countered. Seeing that Zi Ying remained silent, Leng Jie whispered again:

"Unless he invites Prime Minister Leng back to take charge."

Leng Jie's words brought the sun to Zi Ying's eyes again, and he immediately clapped his hands and shouted:

"That's right! Isn't there Leng Xiang? The court officials didn't object to the Emperor's personal campaign, so maybe Leng Xiang has already returned to court!"

"I hope so!" Leng Jie shrugged and replied. Then she slowly squatted back down to continue her "work." After a while, seeing that Zi Ying still hadn't spoken, she urged:

"Brother Ying, continue! Tell me how you completed your mission?"

"Oh!" Zi Ying snapped out of her reverie and continued, "The Fifth Prince immediately wrote a letter and gave it to the messenger to take back. I waited on his usual route back and switched his letter with the one you prepared. Then I returned to the inn, just as the Fifth Prince was leaving. I followed him all the way to the residence of the Second Prince of Beifeng. I overheard him pleading with the Second Prince to persuade the old emperor to send troops to attack Jinghe. The Second Prince promised that if he succeeded tomorrow, he would immediately send troops to attack Jinghe. In a fit of anger, I poured all the poison you gave me into the Fifth Prince of Xiping's teacup."

Seeing that he had drunk it, I came back. The person who came to ask you to get treatment should be here soon!

"Heavens, you gave him all that mercury? That's so extravagant!" Leng Jie exclaimed in anguish, "Do you know how precious that stuff is?!"

"It's just a little poison, isn't it? He's a prince of a kingdom, what's wrong with using a little more? Look how heartbroken you are!" Zi Ying replied dismissively.

That was cinnabar she had stolen from the alchemy workshop with Qingfeng, carefully refined. There was only a tiny amount. She intended to take it back for other purposes. Because of the limited window, she gave the entire bottle to Ying, hoping he would use a small amount to deal with the Xiping envoy, making it difficult for Beifeng to clear himself of suspicion of murdering him. Now, although her goal had been achieved, all her hard work was gone; how could she not feel heartbroken!

Leng Jie glared hatefully at Zi Ying, and couldn't help but mutter a curse under her breath:

"Like emperor, like minister. They all act recklessly."

"Here I am." The shadow uttered these two words and vanished as it had come.

At this moment, a eunuch rushed in from outside, panting heavily, and shouted:

"Miss Leng! The Second Prince requests an audience!"

"Did he say anything?" Leng Jie asked without looking up, still doing her work.

The eunuch stopped respectfully in front of Leng Jie and replied: