Wild Daoist frowned in thought for a long while before saying, "Although Prince Qi's people infiltrated the literary gathering, the one who tried to assassinate you may not necessarily have been sent by Prince Qi."
As he spoke, he glanced at Su Ziji. Su Ziji gave an "Oh," signaling him to continue.
"First, Prince Qi has no need to do this now. Though Prince Qi is violent-tempered, he is no fool. Assassinating a prince in public would break the rules and provoke the Emperor's fury. It would only let others reap the fisherman's profit, with no benefit at all to Prince Qi."
"Even taking ten thousand steps back, even if there are grounds for suspicion, this assassin was far too poor."
"The assassin's martial arts would rank somewhere between first- and second-rate in the martial world. He would normally count as an expert, but for assassinating my lord, this was simply too shabby."
"Would the mighty Prince Qi's Residence really have only this sort of goods? Even I find it hard to believe."
"I believe there is something suspicious about this. Perhaps the true mastermind intends to sow discord between you and Prince Qi."
At this point, Wild Daoist gave a bitter smile.
"Even so, I fear both we and Prince Qi will have to swallow this loss in silence."
Su Ziji rose and faced the cabin window. Outside, the light was very dim, with only the lanterns on the dock providing illumination. In the hazy gloom, ghostly figures seemed to lurk, and he could not help frowning.
Even if everyone knew that Prince Dai and Prince Qi had long been at odds and had practically torn their faces apart in court, verbal sparring and armed conflict were still vastly different. Openly tripping someone up and secretly sending men to