activa-t Chapter 67 Joining
Chapter 67 Joining
The Ninth Prince rolled his eyes at him, didn't reply, and just plopped down on the bamboo recliner where Yin'e had just been lying, and started fanning himself.
The bamboo chair creaked under his weight, sinking deeper as if it were about to collapse.
Fuquan quickly stepped forward, poured him a cup of tea, and presented it with both hands.
Lao Jiu took it, tilted his head back, drank it all in one gulp, and then handed it to Fu Quan: "Another cup, please."
Each of them was followed by a person: Zhao, the steward of the ninth brother, and Hu, the steward of the eighth brother; both were the people they trusted most.
"Eighth Brother, Ninth Brother, you've arrived!" Yin'e greeted them with a smile and a warm tone.
The Ninth Prince placed his teacup on the table, leaned back in his recliner, and looked up at Yin'e with an impatient expression.
"Tenth Brother, what exactly are you up to? You're being so secretive, sending someone to say you have 'something important to discuss,' without saying what it is."
I just got back from the government office, barely had time to sit down, and you summoned me here.
He paused, then looked Yin'e up and down: "You haven't gotten into trouble again, have you? Will I and Eighth Brother have to clean up your mess?"
Lao Ba didn't rush to speak. Instead, he walked to the window, gently lifted a corner of the gauze curtain, and glanced outside.
He frowned slightly, lowered the gauze curtain, turned around, and looked at Yin'e.
Yin'e stepped forward and reached out to pull the Ninth Prince up from the recliner.
Old Nine reluctantly stood up, muttering, "Gently, gently, my arm is fragile."
Yin'e ignored him, moved the recliner to the window, adjusted its position, and then sat down, crossing his legs.
He raised his head, looked at the eighth and ninth brothers, and his gaze swept over their faces.
"Today, of course, I'm doing the errand that the myna bird assigned me."
The air in the room seemed to freeze suddenly.
Old Nine's complaining expression froze instantly, his mouth slightly open and his eyes wide open.
He glanced at Yin'e, then at the Eighth Prince, his lips moved a few times, but he didn't say anything.
Lao Ba's expression also changed.
He had assumed that Yin'e had sent someone to invite the two of them over simply to have tea and chat.
He never dreamed that Yin'e would utter the words "errand".
He frowned, looking at Yin'e with a sharp gaze.
"Tenth brother, you mean..." He didn't finish his sentence because he wasn't sure if his guess was correct.
Was the "job" that Yin'e mentioned the same "job" he was thinking of?
Was it that "task" he had casually assigned in the study a few days ago, a task he hadn't expected Lao Shi to be able to accomplish?
Yin'e stood up from the recliner, walked to the window, and pulled back the gauze curtains to let the sunlight in.
The light was so bright that Lao Jiu couldn't help but squint.
Yin'e turned around, his back to the window, and the sunlight behind him spread out a golden curtain.
His face was hidden in the shadows, making his expression impossible to see, but the light in his eyes was brighter than the sunlight outside the window.
"That's right, tonight I'm going to 'set fire' to Juxianju and wipe out the Crown Prince's entire network!"
"A dot?" Yinzhi's brows furrowed. "How do you mean by 'dot'?"
Yin'e turned around, facing the window, and stretched out a finger, pointing straight at the three-story building outside the window.
"It's the literal meaning of 'dot.' I'm going to set it on fire and burn down this harmful den of drugs."
The study was quiet for a moment.
Even the cicadas chirping outside the window seemed to be choked and stopped abruptly.
Yinzhi's expression changed instantly.
It felt like someone had poured a bucket of cold water over my head; my face turned white all the way down to the roots of my neck.
"Nonsense! Absolutely not! This is arson, a serious crime! This is the capital, right under the emperor's nose, how dare you set fire to a shop?"
If this gets out of hand and reaches Father Emperor, you'll be in deep trouble!
"Brother Ba, you're right." He nodded, his tone sincere. "Arson is a serious crime, I know that better than anyone."
But this matter is bound to get to the top. And that's exactly what I want—for it to get to the top.
Lao Ba's gaze sharpened, and his brows furrowed even more deeply.
"Are you crazy?" Ninth Brother finally couldn't hold back anymore. He staggered up to Yin'e, stared at him, his eyes full of disbelief. "Tenth Brother, don't tell me you're serious."
"You burned down Juxianju. Do you think the Crown Prince won't investigate? Do you think the Shuntian Prefecture won't investigate? Do you think the Ministry of Justice won't investigate? Do you think the Nine Gates Commander won't investigate? Do you think the capital is a grassland, where you can just burn it down and run away? Do you think you can escape?"
Yin'e was not intimidated by his imposing manner.
He reached out and patted Lao Jiu on the shoulder.
"Ninth Brother, don't worry, don't worry, I have made full preparations."
The eighth and ninth brothers exchanged a glance.
"What is the specific plan?" Lao Ba's voice returned to calm.
"I already have an inside man who has infiltrated their ranks."
"Tonight, my inside man will lure Gao Mengyuan to Juxianju. Gao Mengyuan has already taken the bait."
He took a folded piece of paper out of his sleeve, unfolded it, and laid it on the table.
A simple topographical map was drawn on the paper, clearly marking the location of Juxianju, the surrounding alleys, several retreat routes, and the patrol routes of the night patrol team with a brush.
The eighth and ninth brothers huddled together, looking down at the picture, their brows furrowing involuntarily.
"I invited my two elder brothers here today not only to watch this grand show, but also because I need my eighth brother to lend me some people."
The eighth prince raised his head and met Yin'e's gaze.
He looked into Yin'e's eyes, and there was no madness in them, only a sense of certainty and composure.
Old Nine remained silent.
His mind was racing.
The tenth prince is trying to tie the entire Eighth Prince's faction together.
Whether the burning of Juxianju succeeds or not, this matter cannot be kept secret.
If those two brothers show up here today, and if Lao Ba agrees to lend them people, then this fire was started by the Eighth Prince's party together.
If we succeed, everyone shares the credit; if we fail, no one can escape responsibility.
The tenth brother is forcing them to board the ship.
Lao Ba had obviously thought of this as well.
He lowered his head, staring at the picture on the table, his fingers tapping lightly on the armrest.
"Whom do you want to borrow?" Lao Ba asked.
"Tusihai, the Zuo Ling of the Plain White Banner, is on duty tonight. Just make sure he keeps a close eye on Juxianju during his night patrol."
After the fire started, he ordered his men to help put it out. But most importantly, not a single person who escaped from Juxianju should be allowed to leave.
"Take them all!"
Another silence followed.
Old Eight finally stood up slowly, took a jade pendant from his waist, and then raised his head and said, "Old Hu."
The eighth brother handed over the jade pendant.
Butler Hu accepted it with both hands, holding it carefully, waiting for further instructions.
"Go and find Tusihai, the captain of the Plain White Banner, and do as the Tenth Prince just instructed."
Butler Hu bowed slightly, without asking a single question.
He carefully put the jade pendant into his sleeve, turned around and left.
Lao Ba sat back down in his chair, picked up the cup of tea on the table that had gone cold, and took a sip.
The tea was bitter, but he didn't frown. He just slowly swallowed it, then put down the teacup and looked at Yin'e.
"Tenth brother," his voice regained its usual gentle tone, "Eighth brother is betting everything on you this time."
Yin'e looked at him and nodded slightly.
"Don't worry, myna, this fire won't get you."