"Before that, I want you to tell me everything that happened in detail. Listen well, it's the process, which is all the trivial things that happened to you at that time. The more trivial it is, the better.”Wu Chijin had always thought that Prince Baiyu's exchange of the crown prince was not as straightforward as it seemed on the surface. He needed more information to make a judgment.
His suspicion came from the fact that since the Bai Tianji King had publicly announced his withdrawal from the next competition for the throne, the other six families did not need to make a move on the Bai Tianji family. Therefore, there must be another reason for the Bai Tianji family's destruction.
It was especially unbelievable that Prince Baiyu, who was thousands of miles away, had been replaced at the same time. Bai Tianji had six sons, but five of them died in a plague, leaving behind only one youngest son who had never shown his face in public. After this youngest son became the young master, he coincidentally met Fa Dan of the Crescent Country, and then he was coincidentally replaced on the way.
Wu Chijin believed in coincidence and fate, but he did not believe that the same thing could happen so many times before and after. His intuition told him that this could only be a meticulous design, and this design might be a huge conspiracy beyond imagination.
Just like how Wu Chijin had never believed that the deaths of the five sons of Bai Tianji were a coincidence. Did the other princes not know to be more cautious after the death of the first prince? Could it be that after two princes died, Bai Tianji still dared to send the other princes to their deaths?
If this was a conspiracy, then was the plague at the beginning of the year in the Seven Colors Kingdom also designed? If so, this conspiracy would be huge.
The plague caused countless casualties in the entire Seven Color Kingdom. The seven families suffered heavy losses at the same time. It could basically be ruled out that the six families were the ones who did it. Therefore, the death of the five princes had nothing to do with the struggle for the throne. So what was the reason for killing all five princes at the same time?
Wu Chijin's intuition told him that it was to make Prince Baiyu the young master. The twelve-year-old Prince Baiyu was young and inexperienced, and few people had seen him before. It was a good opportunity for those who wanted to seize the opportunity.
If Prince Baiyu became the young master, the Crescent Country's old king died, and the new king ascended the throne. Then, he invited the young masters of all the countries in the mountains to attend the Dharma Birth Ceremony, and Prince Baiyu was switched on the way. It seemed that the truth was about to be revealed.
Could it be that the death of the old King was also part of this conspiracy? Wu Chijin suddenly felt a chill down his spine. He thought that if the Crescent Country really had an enemy spy, perhaps the death of the old country ruler really had some hidden agenda.
No matter what, Xiao Bing was the first window in front of him. He had to open this window first and get a good look at him.
Xiao Bing spoke first. "That was seventeen years ago."”
"Seventeen years ago?" Wu Chijin asked in surprise.
"Yes, General Manager Mo came to find me seventeen years ago. At that time, I was on duty in the palace. Suddenly, someone came to inform me that my father had been tied up by the casino and was waiting for his family to take money to redeem him.
I thought to myself, Dad has always been an honest farmer and has never gambled in his life. Why is he tied up by the casino now? However, I couldn't think too much at that time. I gathered some money from a few brothers at the last minute and rushed to the casino to save my father.”
"Did you get a wife seventeen years ago?”Wu Chijin asked.
"I just got a wife. All the money is in my wife's hands. I don't have a single thing on me, so I have to gather money from my brothers to save her.”Xiao Bingxian continued,"When I arrived at the casino, I saw them hanging my father from the roof beam. Although he didn't suffer any physical pain, hanging him like this was quite a torture."
I was so angry that I said to them, is there no law here? Do you know who I am?
I want to use the name of the palace guard to scare them first. Perhaps it will be easier to talk later.”
Wu Chijin smiled and said," They all knew to inform you in the palace. Naturally, they already knew your identity. I'm afraid this scare was a waste of effort."”
"Exactly. In the casino, a man called Old Fish told me that the law is to pay back the money owed. If you don't pay back the money your father owes, I'll take the IOU to your boss and ask for this debt. Who's your boss? Isn't he the country's ruler? He was the law.
At that time, I thought that this matter couldn't be brought to the country's ruler, or else I wouldn't be able to continue being a servant in the palace.
So I asked my father anxiously, how could I owe them money? How much did he owe?
At that time, my father didn't say a word. He just kept crying and didn't say anything.”
"Who were in the casino at that time? Do you know anyone?" Wu Chijin asked.
"No, other than that Old Fish, who is the old manager of the casino, everyone in the palace knows this person, but I don't really know Old Fish.”Xiao Bing continued,"After I put dad down and let him feel a little more comfortable, he started to talk about the reason."
The owner of his father's farm wanted to move back to his hometown, so he wanted to end the business in the city, including the land his father planted outside the city. The owner asked his father if he was willing to buy this land. If his father was willing, the owner was willing to sell it for two gold coins for five gold coins. It was a reward for his father's hard work for so many years.
His father thought that even if this piece of land wasn't worth five gold coins, it was worth at least four gold coins. Even if he didn't use this land to grow it himself, he would still be able to sell it to someone else for a large sum of money. There was no reason not to buy it.
But here came the problem. Where was his father going to gather the two gold coins? He thought for a moment and went to discuss with the manager of the owner's house whether he could pay a small deposit first and make up the balance within a year. Otherwise, not only would the land be returned to the owner, but the deposit would also be gone.”
Wu Chijin smiled and said,"Your father is really good at business. He doesn't look like a farmer who has been farming for his entire life."”
Xiao Bing smiled bitterly and said,"Pavilion Master Wu, don't laugh at my father. If he wasn't greedy for this, he wouldn't have caused so much trouble."
After the manager heard this, he directly told my father that he wanted to use a small deposit to get this land first, then sell it to others at the market price, and then use that money to pay the rest, right? Tell me how much cash you have to make a decision first.
Father thought to himself," My mother has probably saved up half a gold over the years. That's my father and mother's coffin money. As for me, because I just got married, I probably don't have much left on me. As for the dowry jewelry for my daughter-in-law, it's not even half a gold. No matter how you add it up, it can't even make up two gold."
The manager heard my father say that he could only gather one gold at most, so he made a bad move to my father. He asked him to gamble. It was a big or small bet. The chances of winning or losing were the same. If he won one round, he would have enough money to buy the land.
My father is an honest man. After hearing what the manager said, he went home and stole my mother and my wife's money. Then, he went to the casino to bet.”
"Of course I lost?" Wu Chijin asked.
"If I had just lost that gold, it wouldn't have mattered. Although my salary was small, my family could live frugally. Who knew that father would lose that gold? Afraid that mother and my wife would blame him, he borrowed some money from the casino to recoup his losses. In the end, he lost more and more. In the end, he owed the casino 60 gold.
Even if I were to spend my entire life's salary, I wouldn't be able to pay off these sixty gold coins. I really don't know how he lost.”
Wu Chijin smiled and said,"Can't you tell that your father designed it for someone?" He was just a farmer. Why would the casino lend him so much money? Even if you added your salary, you would only be able to earn 10 to 20 gold coins in your lifetime. The casino was willing to lend him so much money because they were calculating something other than money.”
Xiao Bing nodded,"I thought so too, but it was too late." At that time, Old Fish from the casino told me that on account of me being a guard in the palace and working for the country's ruler, 60 gold coins would be considered 50 gold coins and I would pay it back in 10 days. If I couldn't pay it back in 10 days, then they would have to go to the country's ruler to seek justice.
Regardless of whether it was fifty or sixty gold, I couldn't even afford to pay a single gold back then. When the manager of the boss saw that my father didn't continue with the matter of how he bought the land, he asked my father what was going on. My father could only tell the truth.
The manager said that the boss had a friend who had a good relationship with the casino, so I should ask him for help. Thus, I got to know Manager Mo.
General Manager Mo is really resourceful. He brought my father and me to meet Old Yu from the casino. They talked about some Jianghu matters that we didn't understand. General Manager Mo gave Old Yu a dagger that seemed to be old. He said that the dagger was a keepsake of the North Sea Saber God. Anyone who held the dagger could ask the North Sea Saber God to do something for him. Later, General Manager Mo used the dagger to pay off the sixty gold that my father owed.
Not only that, he even gave my father a gold from his own pocket to make up for the money he stole from my mother and my wife. At that time, my father and I were really grateful to General Manager Mo.
I knew that I wouldn't be able to pay back so much money in this lifetime, so I could only learn from that North Sea Saber God and tell Manager Mo that no matter what I need in this life, I, Mr. Xiao Bing, would die without regrets.”
"What is the background of this General Manager Mo?”Wu Chijin asked.
"At that time, General Manager Mo was about fifty or sixty years old. He had a head full of white hair and was half a head shorter than me. I reckon that his body was not in good condition these years and his back was a little hunched.
He said that his boss was in the fur business, and he just helped his boss with some chores, so he often traveled around. For example, he only stayed in the Seven Colors Kingdom for about ten days a year. Every time he came, he would come to my house for a meal and give some money to my father to spend. He was a very polite and generous person.”
"Who does this General Manager Mo follow when he goes in and out?”Wu Chijin asked.
"He has always been an old servant. He is probably a few years younger than General Manager Mo, but his body is much more handsome and taller than mine.”
"Did he say where he was from?”Wu Chijin continued to ask.
"He said he was from the north, but I heard his accent as if he came from the east. He even smiled and said that northerners came from all over the world. How could I hear all their accents?”Wu Chijin nodded, indicating for Xiao Bing to continue.
"Just like that, we met once a year and had a meal together for more than ten years. Until last year, General Manager Mo came to my house for a meal like in previous years. He asked me how I was doing in the palace.
I said, it's still like that, neither high nor low, barely living.
He smiled and said," Why is he still a follower after working for more than ten years? When will he be able to return the fifty gold?" Then, he said that he would go to the palace to help me clear the way. No matter what, he would at least get a guard commander. He couldn't be a follower until he died.
At that time, I thought to myself,'It's easy for you to say that you can get me a guard commander just by going to the palace. I guess the old mister drank too much and is bragging.'
I didn't expect that in just two days, General Manager Mo would let someone tell me that there was no vacancy for the position of Guard Commander, only the position of Deputy Commander. He asked me to be more lenient.”
"This General Manager Mo sounds quite capable. He has a knack for the position of the palace guard commander.”Wu Chijin said with a smile.
"Exactly. His casual words are worth more than ten years of hard work in the palace.
For this reason, my father and I specially invited General Manager Mo to a restaurant for a meal to thank him for his help. It was that night that he told me that because his master had some business dealings with the palace and had a good relationship with them, such a small matter was not worth mentioning. Later, he even said that his boss might need my help with his business in the future. Naturally, I agreed.”
"Are you talking about the fake Young Master?" Wu Chijin asked.
"Yes, I am. Last winter was the first time General Manager Mo came to the Seven Color Kingdom in winter. It was also the first time he came to the Seven Color Kingdom twice a year. I still remember that he brought three carts full of gifts to my house. In order to store his gifts, I even borrowed a warehouse from my neighbor.
The first thing General Manager Mo did when he sat down was to place a few gold bars on the table. He then said that his boss had something to ask of him, and the gold bars on the table were the deposit.
I was shocked when I saw so many gold bars. What did he want me to do for him?
General Manager Mo continued," It's not a big deal. He just wants me to fight for the position of Prince Baiyu's guard."”
"Prince Baiyu?" Wu Chijin tried to confirm.
" Yes, I thought to myself, I'm now the deputy commander of the king's guards, but now I'm the deputy commander of Prince Baiyu's guards. Isn't this like water flowing downward?"
General Manager Mo probably saw through my thoughts, so he told me that his boss heard some news from the palace. Next year, the king will let Prince Baiyu be the young master. If you follow Prince Baiyu now, you will have a chance to turn things around.
At that time, I thought that the First Prince was highly regarded by the King. Even without the First Prince, the other princes were all very outstanding. No matter what, Prince Baiyu would not be the Young Master.
However, General Manager Mo continued to say," Even if Prince Baiyu doesn't become the young master, or you still don't have a chance to make a comeback, these gold bars should be enough to compensate you. Once you help me in the future, my boss will give you double the gold bars as a token of appreciation. Is that enough?"”
"No one can refuse such conditions.”Wu Chi stretched his body and said embarrassedly.
" Of course. Prince Baiyu is still young and doesn't need to run around often. It's easy to be the commander of his guards, so I agreed to their request on the spot.”
"What's next? Is it time?" Wu Chijin thought to himself," This General Manager Mo was actually able to start preparing the wires seventeen years ago for the fake Prince Baiyu. This is definitely not a small matter."
Wu Chijin tried his best to recall what had happened in the Seven Color Nation and the Crescent Moon Nation seventeen years ago. Although seventeen years was not a short period of time, Wu Chijin remembered that the countries in the mountains had all gone smoothly in those years. Nothing major had happened. Therefore, he could not guess why General Manager Mo had made such a big move.
Xiao Bingxian continued,"In September this year, the plague in the Seven Color Nation had just passed, and General Manager Mo came again." This time, he brought the promised thanks. After dinner, he brought me to the hall to drink. Just as I was drinking, General Manager Mo said that his boss still needed my help with something. The reward this time was even more generous.
With the experience from last time, I didn't even ask anything and agreed. I didn't even sweat a drop of sweat when I helped him last time. Just the fact that Prince Baiyu had become the young master made me have to thank Steward Mo and his boss properly.
Then, General Manager Mo said," A few days ago, the ruler of the Crescent Country passed away, and the new ruler is about to succeed the throne. The ceremony will probably be held in December. At that time, Prince Baiyu will definitely be representing the Seven Colors Kingdom to the Crescent Country. The boss will arrange for you to be the commander of the guards of the diplomatic mission. This is the time for you to hold your head high."
At that time, I was full of gratitude to General Manager Mo and his boss. I even said that no matter what they wanted me to help them with, I would definitely go through fire and water. I didn't expect General Manager Mo to really want me to go through fire and water.”
Wu Chijin nodded his head, thinking that this was truly a very long-term plan. If they had not been waiting for the day the old king passed away seventeen years ago, they would have waited seventeen years and finally could not wait any longer.
Xiao Bingxian continued,"Manager Mo first took out a few gold bars, and then said that after the matter was done, he would give me five times the amount as a reward."
Although I was a little drunk at that time, the five times reward made me sober up on the spot. I thought to myself, what kind of favor is this? It's actually worth so many gold bars.
General Manager Mo continued," While I'm escorting Prince Baiyu there, they will bring a child who is about the same age as Prince Baiyu to me. Then, they will let me take that child as Prince Baiyu and bring him into the Crescent Moon Kingdom."
I was so frightened that I was completely awake. I immediately said that I couldn't. There were so many members of the diplomatic mission. This matter couldn't be hidden from others.
General Manager Mo continued," Don't worry. By then, the entire diplomatic mission will be taken care of by us. You just need to bring the child safely to the Crescent Country and make them believe in Prince Baiyu's identity."
At that time, my hands and legs were already weak. I pushed the gold bars on the table to General Manager Mo and said,"This is a capital crime. How many heads do I have? I really can't help you with this matter. How about this? I'll return the gold bars you gave me previously."”
"Now you know that there's no such thing as a free lunch. I reckon that you are not the only person they are looking for. If you suddenly die in these seventeen years, or get kicked out of the palace, then their plans for so long will be in vain.”Wu Chijin said with a smile.
"Pavilion Master Wu is indeed a divine schemer. Then General Manager Mo continued to say that if you don't want to help, it's fine. They have other people in the palace who can take over this job. However, since I already know this information, in order to avoid unnecessary complications, I can only never reveal this secret.
I was scared and said that I didn't dare to. Even if you kill me, I wouldn't dare to tell anyone about this.
General Manager Mo said that only the dead would not reveal the secret. Who knows if I get drunk one day or have a knife to my neck? I can't guarantee that the secret will be kept. Not only that, but my family may also reveal the secret. They all know that my boss predicted that Prince Baiyu would become the young master. This matter will be exposed one day.
When I heard that General Manager Mo had even implicated my family, I hurriedly kowtowed to him and promised that my family would definitely keep this secret and would not divulge a single word until death.
However, General Manager Mo said coldly. He had been in Jianghu for decades and only believed that the dead would not leak secrets. He did not want to talk about the ghost of the living keeping secrets.
Then, he told me that if I helped his boss, the money I got would be enough for my family to live in luxury for a few lifetimes. When the time came, I could bring my family to any country to live in. His boss would help me settle it, and I wouldn't be able to find him in the Seven Colored Kingdom in the future.
He continued to say that while we were drinking, his boss had already sent someone to bring my family to a safe place to serve them. He was waiting for me to bring them home to enjoy the time.
I knew that if I rejected General Manager Mo, my entire family would be doomed. If I agree to General Manager Mo's request, even though I'm still doomed, at least I'll be the only one who dies. At least my family can still take the gold bars and live a good life. In the end, I can only agree.”
"Did he say who the child was?" Wu Chijin asked.
"No, I haven't. General Manager Mo had only said one thing about the child, which was that the child was far more valuable than Prince Baiyu.”
"That child is much more valuable than Prince Baiyu?”Wu Chijin was highly interested in this sentence. The other party had been struggling for 17 years just to send this child, who was more valuable than Prince Baiyu, to the Crescent Country. Who was this child? What was the purpose of sending this child to the Crescent Country? Luo Xiaoyuan had accidentally replaced that child. Where was that child now? Could it be that other than Luo Xiaoyuan, there was another Three Absolutes?
"Where is the real Prince Baiyu?" Wu Chijin asked.
" He was probably killed by General Manager Mo and the others. How could they keep the real Prince Baiyu? What if he suddenly came out to identify the fake Prince Baiyu?"”Xiao Bing shook his head.
"You knew beforehand that the royal family of the Seven Colors Kingdom would be exterminated?”Wu Chijin asked seriously.
"General Manager Mo didn't say it explicitly, but that's what he meant. Only in this way can the identity of the fake Prince Baiyu be completely verified.
To be honest, I also thought that if I really wanted to die without any evidence, I wouldn't be able to avoid death. It's just that I couldn't turn back.”Xiao Bingxian said helplessly.
"Tell me, how did you enter the Crescent Country?”Wu Chijin asked.
"General Manager Mo specifically told us to let the Crescent Country believe that Prince Baiyu was really forced into a corner, so he sent someone else to kill us. So we have to make some noise along the way so that everyone can help prove this matter.
"That's why I chose the Five Beast Kingdom to help me. Because I have a personal relationship with Prince Mu Tong, he definitely won't stand by and watch when such a thing happens.”
"Wood Copper Prince? I just met him not long ago. Why didn't he mention this to me?”Wu Chijin asked doubtfully.
"Because when I went to the Five Beast Nation to ask for help, I heard that he was drunk. It was a Vice Commander of the Five Beast Nation who escorted us up the mountain.”
Wu Chijin nodded and said,"And then?"“
"After we went all the way up the mountain, we hid in the snow outside until your country's Tong…Tong Daren came to find us. We followed him to the Crescent Country.”
Wu Chijin continued to ask,"Tell me how Daqing found you?" Tell me in detail."
"General Manager Mo has already told us that as long as we take Prince Baiyu and escape in the direction of the Crescent Country, there will naturally be people who will come and find us.
At that time, we hid in the snow beside the mountain road. Because the ground was covered in snow, it was the safest to hide in the snow.”
"Are you hiding in the snow? "What time is that?" Wu Chijin asked in confusion.
"Probably around Yinmao. Prince Baiyu and I dug a snow hole in the snow to hide. The brothers from the Five Beast Kingdom also hid near us to prevent the remaining assassins from finding us again.”
"Since you were hiding in the snow, how did Qing Kingdom find you?”Wu Chijin asked.
"I don't know about that. At first, I didn't dare to show myself because I suddenly heard Lord Tong calling our names. It wasn't until he said that General Manager Mo asked him to come and pick us up that I knew that he was one of us and dared to show myself.”
"When you appeared, were the Five Beast Kingdom's guards still there?”Wu Chijin asked suspiciously.
"No, they left at some point.”
Wu Chijin nodded and asked,"Did General Manager Mo tell you what to do after you bring the fake prince into the Crescent Country?"”
"General Manager Mo told us to make the Crescent Country believe that he is Prince Baiyu no matter what, and then find a way to make the Crescent Country protect him and keep him in the Crescent Country.
General Manager Mo also said, also said…"
"What else did he say?" Wu Chijin asked.
"He said that the most important thing is to make Wu Chijin believe it. As long as Wu Chijin believes it, the entire Crescent Country will believe it.”
"What do you mean?" Wu Chijin asked in confusion. General Manager Mo thought that the most important thing was to make him believe that there was no problem. But why did the entire Crescent Country believe it as long as Wu Chijin believed it?
General Manager Mo must think that Pavilion Master Wu is the only one who can see through all this. As long as Pavilion Master Wu believes that Prince Baiyu is real…"
Wu Chijin interrupted Xiao Bingxian and said,"What method did he ask you to use to convince me that the child is the real Prince Baiyu?"”
"General Manager Mo asked me to find someone who can prove my identity, and then use this foundation to prove that my words represent the Crescent Country.”
"How did you find You Tianlang?”Wu Chijin asked carefully.
"Sir You and I have met many times before. I have followed the country leader to the Crescent Country many times. Although I have never spoken to Sir You, I believe that he must remember me.”
"Didn't General Manager Mo ask you to look for him, or did Daren take the initiative to look for you?”Wu Chijin continued to ask.
"No, no. I thought about it for a long time before deciding to look for Sir You. Other than Sir You, I have a few other candidates, but I heard that Sir You has a very good memory, so I decided to look for Sir You.”
Wu Chijin almost suspected You Tianlang. From what Xiao Bingxian said, the scope of this matter was getting bigger and bigger. Whether it was the Crescent Country or the Wanshan Country, the other party's forces were intertwined in any possible or impossible place.
Just like those guards from the Qing Kingdom and the Five Beast Kingdom, their identities as spies were exposed so easily. The other party clearly wanted to expose their identities for me to see and make me focus my attention on them. This should be to cover up the identities of the other spies. This meant that they had so many spies hidden in the Crescent Country that they could abandon them at will.
Including the fact that General Manager Mo had said that as long as he could hide it from Wu Chijin, no one in the entire Crescent Country would suspect him. Apart from the 5,000 Crescent Army soldiers and nearly 1,000 civil officials, why did he think that none of these 1,000 people would be able to see through his flaws? Moreover, there were many loopholes in this plan. Unless there were many of their people among the thousands of people, they would not turn a blind eye to these loopholes.
"Did General Manager Mo tell you who to look for in Crescent Country? Or do something?" Wu Chijin continued to ask.
"No, I haven't. General Manager Mo said that as long as the Crescent Country was willing to protect Prince Baiyu, he would not care about anything else.”
Wu Chijin nodded his head heavily. Xiao Bingxian's words indirectly proved the extent of the other party's infiltration in the Crescent Country. Moreover, this person, no, these people might be people who could move the eyes of others, because it was impossible for an insignificant person to make General Manager Mo so confident.
"Alright, I'll do it. Do you have anything else to say?" Wu Chijin asked.
"That's about it. I've told you everything I remember.”
"Do you know what the most important thing is?”Wu Chijin said.
"Please explain, Pavilion Master Wu."
"Immediately go to the Concierges and ask for help. Prince Baiyu, whom you had escorted to the Crescent Country to seek shelter, suddenly disappeared. Of course, you had to go crazy to find Prince Baiyu and make it known to everyone in the Crescent Country and all the countries in the mountains.”Wu Chijin said.
"What do you mean?" Xiao Bing said.
"Because if you can't find Prince Baiyu, you will die.
" As the Commander of the Seven Color Kingdom's guards, the young master of the Seven Color Kingdom that you were protecting has disappeared into thin air. In addition, the Bai Se Family has been destroyed at the same time. You won't be able to escape the suspicion of colluding with the enemy and killing your master. You will die.
The mastermind ordered you to escort the fake Prince Baiyu into the Crescent Moon Kingdom. Now that he's gone missing, you've lost your value and will die.
Therefore, you must make the disappearance of Prince Baiyu known to everyone, and then the Crescent Country will come forward to imprison you and investigate you as a suspect. Firstly, you will be protected. As long as you stay in the Crescent Country, at least I can guarantee your safety. Secondly, you must request the Seven Colors Country to delay the establishment of a new ruler before the White Family Massacre Case is solved to prevent anyone from rebelling and usurping the throne.”
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