Something was wrong!
Something had to be wrong somewhere!
Standing silently before Ba Song's corpse, Sun Shaozong's brow furrowed tighter and tighter.
Ba Song's death had been abrupt and resolute. At first glance, it seemed to fit the mindset of someone willing to die for eternal fame, but on closer examination, there were quite a few suspicious details.
When people like Jing Ke willingly went to their deaths, it was mostly out of loyalty and righteousness, to avoid implicating the one behind them.
Ba Song appeared to be the same on the surface, but don't forget that he had been after a name that would last through the ages, not loyalty or righteousness. Since he wasn't even afraid of death for the sake of his reputation, shouldn't he have displayed some heroic spirit first, then taken all the blame upon himself?
What was more, the identities of Ba Song and his accomplices had clearly been exposed. If he suddenly killed himself, it would only direct suspicion toward the officialdom of Qian Xiang Country.
How could that count as dying for his country? And how could it count as a scheme to sow discord?
Could it be...
A chill suddenly rose in Sun Shaozong's heart. Could Ba Song's attempt to assassinate Niu Yongxin have been intended to frame Qian Xiang Country from the very beginning?!
Once he thought of it that way, many of the doubts began to make sense.
For example, the assassins had infiltrated Qinglin Prefecture, gone into hiding, waited for a chance to strike, and planted someone to poison him, the commander of the guards... Every step had been carefully planned. Yet after succeeding, when they clearly had more than enough time to flee, they had instead returned to the place where they had originally been hiding. It was as if they had been blessed with an aura of stupidity!
After striking, whether successful or not, an assassin should flee immediately. Wasn't that common sense? Especially when their target had been an envoy from the Celestial Empire!
Based on the information at hand, even if these people had not fallen into their hands, they would inevitably have been hunted down later. When that happened, not only would their scheme to sow discord prove useless, it would definitely bring disaster upon Qian Xiang Country.
Besides, Ba Song was merely a Roving Swordsman from Qian Xiang Country, yet he had easily established a branch base in Qinglin Prefecture and had even planted an insider in the embassy kitchen... All these strange details could not be explained away by merely saying he had "spent his entire fortune"!
On the other hand, if all this had been a counterespionage scheme devised by Qian Xiang Country to annex Qian Xiang Country, then every suspicious detail had an answer!
No~
He couldn't keep thinking about this!
Sun Shaozong shuddered and hurriedly buried all his suspicions deep in his heart. This involved strategic interests between nations; the waters ran far too deep. His little shoulders could not bear such a burden. It was better to pretend he knew nothing.
At the very least, he absolutely could not reveal even the slightest sign of knowing anything in front of the Qianxiang People. Otherwise, he truly would be beyond redemption!
"Captain Sun!"
At that moment, a shout suddenly came from behind him, startling Sun Shaozong into a full-body twitch. Turning around, he saw Feng Xin hurrying back. As Feng Xin approached, he cried, "Some street patrol constables came outside. After I stopped them, it looks like they've already sent someone for reinforcements. Sir, if the Ministry of Justice sends a large force, we can't hold them off with just the few of us!"
"How can't we?"
Sun Shaozong snapped irritably, "The three of you stand at the gate with your blades drawn and refuse to let anyone in. Would the Qianxiang People really come to blows with Great Zhou over a few suspects who tried to assassinate Ambassador Niu?"
"Well... um..."
Feng Xin shrank back at the rebuke and muttered sheepishly, "What if they climb over the walls? And there's also a side gate. What if..."
As he spoke, seeing Sun Shaozong's expression growing darker and darker, he hurriedly changed the subject. With one shoulder lowered in a fawning posture, he asked solicitously, "Sir, you seemed rather troubled just now. Did something go wrong?"
The speculation about a counterespionage scheme was far too significant. How could Sun Shaozong dare tell him the truth?
So he brushed it off casually. "The lead assassin just killed himself. I'm worried that without our most important living witness, it won't be enough for us to make up for our offense with merit."
He had only said it in passing, but Feng Xin took it seriously. Rubbing his hands, he muttered with a miserable expression, "What are we supposed to do now?! Lord Niu is Duke Zhen Guo's legitimate grandson. His elder brother, Niu Jizong, inherited the title of First-Rank Earl, while his elder sister is the retired emperor's favored consort. On top of that, the Four Princes and Eight Dukes have always acted as one. If any of them says something unfavorable before His Majesty, we'll be finished!"
These Four Princes and Eight Dukes seemed to be an alliance among Great Zhou's foremost aristocratic clans. At one point, they had even occupied half the imperial court, though their influence had greatly diminished in recent years as the founding heroes passed away one after another.
But a centipede remained alive even after death. Even if the Four Princes and Eight Dukes were no longer as powerful as before, they still had more than enough power to deal with insignificant people like them. Thinking of it that way, merely making up for their offense with merit did seem rather unreliable.
It looked like he needed to come up with some extra measures!
After pondering briefly, Sun Shaozong immediately had an idea. He ordered, "Forget it. Since we can't stop them, let the Ministry of Justice people come in. Let them take these remaining assassins back for interrogation."
Then, catching sight of Ruan Rong nearby, he hastily added, "That way, Prefect Ruan can also be freed and return home sooner."
At his words, sweetness spread from Ruan Rong's ears straight to her heart. She gave Sun Shaozong a graceful Wanfu Greeting. "Thank you, Brother Sun."
Feng Xin, however, was extremely reluctant. Though he did not dare openly object, he came closer and muttered, "Sir, we went through so much trouble to capture these assassins. Are we really just going to hand them over to those Qianxiang People?"
"What else can we do?"
Sun Shaozong shot him a glare and said righteously, "We are currently awaiting punishment for our offenses and must remain at the embassy for the court's decision. These assassins can only be escorted to Great Zhou by the officials of Qian Xiang Country."
"Th-this..."
Feng Xin still refused to let it go, but he did not know how to persuade Sun Shaozong. As he stammered, Sun Shaozong pulled him close and quietly instructed, "They can have the prisoners, but the reputation must be ours! Pick a few eloquent brothers and have them escort the prisoners to the Ministry of Justice. So long as there are enough commoners watching along the way, leave one man behind to spread word of what happened today. Remember, don't exaggerate too much. Just embellish it a little!"
After hesitating, he added, "It would be best to come up with a few slogans beforehand, the simple and catchy sort. Something like 'Captain Sun Solves a Strange Case in Half a Day.' Also, make sure to emphasize that we did this to avenge Lord Niu. Never mention anything about 'making up for our offenses with merit.'"
Hearing this, Feng Xin was instantly overjoyed and thumped his chest. "Rest assured, sir! I guarantee everyone in Qinglin Prefecture will know how... will know how wise and valiant you are!"
With that, he eagerly went to choose the men.
The method Sun Shaozong had thought of was precisely leveraging foreigners for influence!
Though Qian Xiang Country could not compare to the great Western powers, it was still the strongest nation in the southern frontier. If praise from the Qianxiang People for the guards spread to Shuntian Prefecture along with the convoy escorting the assassins, would the court still have the nerve to punish them severely?
Of course, public opinion alone was hardly reliable. After all, in this day and age, commoners were worth less than dogs, much less the people of a tributary state.
So Sun Shaozong planned to find a high-ranking official from Qian Xiang Country and borrow his prestige as well.
If even the public pressure of "friendly nations being shocked" could not make the court change its mind, then he would likely have no choice but to take Feng Xin and the others into the wilderness and become bandits!
And that was precisely why Sun Shaozong intended to remain in Qian Xiang Country under the pretext of awaiting punishment. The trip to escort the assassins there and back would provide at least two or three months of breathing room, enough for Sun Shaozong to arrange an escape plan.
The contract had been submitted.
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