Ji Feihua noticed the change in his expression and asked softly, "What are you thinking?"
Hu Xiaotian hid nothing. In a low voice, he told Ji Feihua his suspicions.
"That's quite possible," Ji Feihua said. "But why would he have you accompany him to Heavenly Dragon Temple?"
"I'm baffled myself," Hu Xiaotian said. "I haven't had much to do with the Old Emperor." He had never even met Hong Beimo. Why would those two scheme against him?
"Long Xuan'en is an old hand at deep-laid schemes. He wouldn't bring you along for no reason." Ji Feihua pondered for a moment before lowering his voice. "To escape his present predicament, he must rely on the Jinling Xu Family's help. Could his real purpose in bringing you to Heavenly Dragon Temple be to send the Xu Family a signal?"
Hu Xiaotian said nothing, but his thoughts ran along the same lines. After Ji Feihua told him that story from years ago, he suddenly realized that the Chu Family, the Xu Family, and the imperial family were bound by tangled ties that could neither be severed nor unraveled.
"Long Xuan'en is finally going to move against the Jinling Xu Family," Ji Feihua said.
"He publicly claims he wants to borrow grain from the Xu Family," Hu Xiaotian said. "His real aim is to make them give him access to their overseas trade route."
Ji Feihua chuckled. "Old Madam Xu may not agree."
Hu Xiaotian was slightly taken aback. How could Ji Feihua sound so certain? He suddenly remembered that Ji Feihua had sent his mother back to Jinling and entrusted her with a letter for his grandmother. Had he already considered this possibility?
"Although I wanted to destroy the Long clan, I never intended to destroy Great Kang," Ji Feihua said. "Even without