Flower Stealing Master

Chapter 293: Different reactions

Looking at Kangxi's slumped figure, Song Qingshu suddenly felt a sense of sadness. After all, they had known each other for so long, and they more or less appreciated certain qualities in each other. It's a pity that the two were destined not to be friends. (G: This is what I like about our MC, he stays human, not a terminator with rocket fuel in his veins.)

He took out another mask he had prepared from his bosom, and carefully pasted it on Kangxi's face. Then he quickly exchanged their clothes, and finally carefully confirmed that there were no flaws before calling for the people to come in.

When Duo Long rushed in with the imperial guards, he saw the corpses all over the ground, then looked at the now disguised Kangxi weakly lying on the floor, and broke out in cold sweat, "This official came late to save the Emperor! I have committed a crime guilty of execution"

Seeing his former colleague kneeling respectfully on the ground, Song Qingshu suddenly felt very strange, and calmly said, "Song Qingshu had evil intentions and wanted to assassinate Us. Fortunately, these few loyal subordinates desperately tried to save me. A master made a move, and he was killed on the spot.”

“Hmph, We valued him so much in vain! It turns out that he had joined the court for the purpose of assassinating Us one day!”

“Heed Our order! Song Qingshu's body is to be dragged to the yard and burned, and then his ashes will be scattered. Declare this to the world, so that the hatred in Our heart can be dispelled."

Glancing at “Song Qingshu” who was now lying in a pool of blood, Duo Long's expression became extremely strange, and he could not stop himself from cursing in his heart, ‘With Song Qingshu's martial arts, if he really wanted to kill you, could these people stop him?’

Then recalling that Oboi had also died in the same mysterious way, Duo Long didn't dare to ask more questions, but it was inevitable that he would feel sad when on of his long time colleagues died.

Duo Long quickly waved his hand and ordered the guards to drag "Song Qingshu’s” body of out. Looking at the long blood stains on the ground, Duo Long's face trembled, "May I know how the Emperor wants deal with it the Cult Master Su who came back with Song… Song Qingshu?”

"Su Quan?" Song Qingshu fell into silence. He planned to keep this matter secret from everyone, and a slight leak could lead to an irreversible ending. Although he had a close relationship with Su Quan, Song Qingshu still couldn't figure out what that woman was thinking, so naturally he didn't dare tell her the truth.

But if he didn’t do anything, the Emperors subordinates might try to kill her by association, "The Mystic Dragon Cult is still very important to the court, so you should go to appease Cult Master Su. Song Qingshu's attempted assassination is just a personal act and has nothing to do with her. We are very tired. You leave first."

"Hey, this official will prepare more guards outside, so the Emperor can rest assured." Duo Long slowly retreated, and as he was closing the door, he couldn't help but take another glance inside. For some reason, he had a feeling that there was something wrong with the situation just now, but he couldn't find anything specific. In the end, he just helplessly shook his head, took it as him being too shocked by what happened just now.

*****

Soon, everyone in Prince Bao's Palace heard about what had happened.

Su Quan felt dizzy for a moment and almost couldn't stand still. She could only see Duo Long's mouth opening and closing, but she couldn't hear what he was saying at all. There was only one thought going back and forth in her mind, ‘He is dead, he is dead? How can he die with such high level of martial arts?’

"Song…Where is Song Qingshu's body, I want to see it." Su Quan stared at Duo Long in a daze.

A look of embarrassment appeared on Duo Long's face, "The Emperor has ordered that Song Qingshu’s body is to be burned, and no one is allowed to see him."

"Burned?" Su Quan felt the blood in her whole body freeze all of a sudden. She couldn't hold on any longer, and fell to the ground.

Duo Long hurriedly asked the maid to help Su Quan up, and seeing that she broken down in despair, he let out a long sigh, "Cult Master Su, it is clear that you have an unusual relationship with Master Song. It's just that Master Song has committed a heinous crime this time. So it would be better for Cult Master Su to leave this place as soon as possible."

Recalling his friendship with Song Qingshu, Duo Long couldn't bear to harm his woman, so he hinted that Su Quan should go back to the Mystic Dragon Cult as soon as possible, as Kangxi could change his mind anytime in the current situation.

*****

In another courtyard of the palace, Xia Qingqing vomited a mouthful of blood, her eyes went lax, and she muttered to herself, "I know you must have tried to assassinate Kangxi for me. It's all my fault, it's all my fault. Brother Song, I killed you…"

Xia Qingqing lay on the bed and broke down in tears.

Not long after, she suddenly sat up. Her face seemed extremely pale, as she slowly drew out her sword. Then she resolutely slashed on her neck with a sorrowful smile on her face.

Thuttt!

Xia Qingqing's grip went numb, and she was no longer able hold the sword in her hand. Then she looked up out of the window in amazement, "Who is it!"

When she ran out, she didn’t find anyone. So she had no choice but to return to the room with a heart full of doubts. However, Xia Qingqing finally regained her senses due to this interruption. She tightly pursed her lips, and made up her mind, ‘No, I can't just die like this. Brother Song, walk slowly on Yellow Springs Road, and don't drink the Meng Po Soup, I will come to accompany you as soon as I kill Kangxi!’

[G: In Chinese mythology, the road through which the dead enters the underworld is called Huang Quan Road (黄泉路), or Yellow Springs Road. Then there would be a lady giving soup to everyone passing by. The lady is called Meng Po (孟婆). The soup is called Meng Po Tang (孟婆汤), or soup of forgetfulness. After drinking the soup, the dead will forget everything they did before death and will be ready to be reincarnated.]

Song Qingshu, who was hiding in the yard, couldn't help but wipe off his cold sweat. Fortunately, he secretly came to take a look at her, otherwise it would’ve caused a huge tragedy!

However, Song Qingshu never expected that Xia Qingqing would choose to die in the name of love. When he thought that after Yuan Chengzhi's death, her first reaction was to get revenge, he felt a little joy in his heart besides being stunned.

*****

In the next few days, in order to avoid being seen through by the people around him, Song Qingshu used the excuse of recuperating his injuries to stay in a secluded place and study the memorials while he was at it.

Unexpectedly, after going through a few documents, Song Qingshu’s head began to ache from the obscure ancient language, and he threw the memorial away in anger.

"What is the Emperor worried about?"

He suddenly heard melodious female voice.

Song Qingshu looked up and saw that Ma Chunhua had bent down to pick up the memorial, which surprised him quite a lot, "Who let you in?"

"I specially made a bowl of sweet-scented osmanthus and lotus seed soup for the Emperor…" Seeing Kangxi looking at her with a cold face, Ma Chunhua felt a chill in her heart. She finally realized that the other party had never cared about her, and said with a lonely face, "Since the Emperor doesn't I like it, I'll take my leave first."

Then she left with tears streaming down her eyes.

Seeing Ma Chunhua's sorrowful expression as she left, Song Qingshu let out a sigh.

Ma Chunhua was very close to Kangxi. So if they spent time together, it was possible that she would see the flaws in his disguise. He could have chosen to kill her to get rid of the trouble, but Song Qingshu was, after all, not such a cruel and cold-blooded person, so he had no choice but to drive Ma Chunhua away.

"Duo Long!" Song Qingshu called out in a deep voice.

"This official is here!" Duo Long ran inside in a panic and knelt on the ground.

"You let that woman enter my room?" Song Qingshu asked coldly.

"This official has sinned! I thought that the Emperor seemed to be in a bad mood recently, so maybe Lady Ma…"

Before he could even finish speaking, he was interrupted by Song Qingshu, "From now on, no one is allowed to come in without my order."

"As you wish!" Duo Long regretted his decision quite a lot. As a person close to Kangxi, he was more or less aware of the ambiguous relationship between Ma Chunhua and Kangxi. What's more, he knew that after returning to the Capital, Kangxi planned to canonize Ma Chunhua as Concubine Hui. So he let her in on his own initiative to help the future imperial concubine and make a good impression. But who knew that he would be kicked by the horse instead!

"Did the generals that Prince Bao sent out to fight against the Mystic Dragon Cult come back?" Song Qingshu asked.

"Reporting to the Emperor! Li Shiyao, Hailan Cha, and Zhao Hui has heard that Hongli is dead, and their family members are in Shengjing. Although they were a little hesitant after receiving the order to surrender, they all surrendered in the end. Now they are waiting in Shengjing for further orders from the Emperor."

"Where are Agui and Fu Heng?" Song Qingshu had been cooking up the plan to replace Kangxi for a long time, and he had already gathered all the relevant information.

Hongli had five generals who held military power. Li Shiyao and others were sent to conquer the Mystic Dragon Cult. Agui and Fu Heng had a higher status and stayed on the northern border to guard against any unexpected Mongolian movements.

"Lord Suo has gone to recruit them. With Lord Suo's ability, there should be no problem on that front." Dou Long replied.

Thinking of the clever Suo Etu, Song Qingshu smiled knowingly. That man was perfect for this kind of thing.

"How much progress did Prince Kang Jieshu make regarding the current situation?" After living as the Emperor these few days, Song Qingshu had slowly figured out Kangxi's overall arrangements.

"Under the unremitting efforts of Prince Kang, we have fully grasped Shengjing, and most of the remnants of Hongli have been cleaned up. The few fish that had slipped through the net have failed to cause any big waves." During this period, Duo Long had cooperated with Prince Kang many times, so he naturally knew about these matters very clearly.

"Hongli has been running Shengjing for decades, and his power can't be eradicated so easily. We can't stay in Shengjing forever, so let Prince Kang stay in Shengjing to frighten the small fries, and after Suo Etu comes back he will be responsible for handling the government affairs of Shengjing."

Song Qingshu had just replaced Kangxi not too long ago, so he naturally didn't want the Qing Empire to immediately fall apart. At the same time, he was worried that people familiar with Kangxi would notice the flaws in his disguise, so he deliberately transferred Prince Kang and Suo Etu, two of Kangxi's confidantes, away from his side. As for Duo Long, it would seem too abrupt to suddenly transfer him as he was the chief of the imperial guards. So, he had to bide his time.

After meeting and comforting Li Shiyao and other generals in the army one after another, Song Qingshu finally had the chance to relax. But as the situation in Shengjing gradually stabilized, Song Qingshu's return to the Capital was getting closer and closer.

Compared to Shengjing, there were more people in the Capital who were familiar with Kangxi, and it would also increase the possibility of his disguise to be seen through. But the ministers in the court kept urging him to return to Yanjing with one memorial after another.

Song Qingshu knew that delaying anymore was not an option, so he had to leave Prince Kang and Suo Etu to organize the situation in the north and went back to Yanjing with Duo Long and others. Of course, Ma Chunhua and Xia Qingqing also returned with him.

As for Su Quan, she found a reason to go back to the Mystic Dragon Cult. Song Qingshu gave his approval and signaled to Duo Long to let her go.

Song Qingshu naturally wanted to bring Xia Qingqing along, but he didn't really want to bring along Ma Chunhua, the time bomb. It's a pity that Kangxi had already announced that she would be concubine Hui.

During this period of time, the news that Song Qingshu had failed to assassinate Kangxi spread all over the world.

*****

Wudang Mountains.

Zhang Sanfeng looked at Song Yuanqiao and sighed, "That kid Qingshu… I thought he had gone astray, and as his martial arts was getting better and better, I even thought of leaving the mountain to clean up our mistake. Little did I know that he was planning to do such a heroic thing. He didn’t hesitate to get into the mud, and clear the way for our people. Although he failed in the end, it was still enough to be considered a heroic deed. I really failed to see through it as his Grandmaster.” (G: Song Yuanqiao is Song Qingshu's father and one of the Seven Heroes of Wudang)

*****

Mount Emei.

Zhou Zhiruo locked herself in her room, and frantically the whipped out the White Python Whip, shattering the items in the room to pieces!

*****

Yunnan, Five Poisons Cult.

Zhong Ling and Qu Feiyan broke down in tears. Dongfang Muxue stood with her hands behind her back and looked in the direction of Yanjing, her expression as cold as ice.

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