Suspicions 4

The Second Ducal Prince's face was grim as he expelled a long breath from his lungs. To think that he needed a lesson in the handling of prisoners. And from his mother, no less. That was enough to make him fall silent, and look away from her. He would have to reevaluate everything, it seemed.

Then again, he told himself, his father had probably not thought of it either. After all, he was still holding onto Zhou Jinhu in the Palace Dungeons, rather than putting him up in some easier to assail spot. That would have made it a little easier, to entice other Zhao Family supporters to come for their ally.

His mother took another sip of tea, and nodded in his direction with a slight smile on her lips. "You have a nasty habit of letting your concerns show on your face, my dear. That is going to cost you, if you ever get to play in your father's court. Do not worry. I have already spoken to Butler Jin. Your Fatty Zhou has been shifted to the Palace Gatehouse already."

He understood what that meant at once. So she had already some plan in motion, to play with the Zhao Family agents that were still in the City. And who had news of what had just taken place, less than a day ago.

"Ah. You don't think that we should hang onto him then?"

The Duchess turned her nose up at the suggestion. "I was considering the possibility to confronting your sister with him, if she dares to show her face back here. But this would gain us more information," she replied with a crooked grin.

Li Sanlang shook his head vehemently at his mother. "That would only provoke the Zhao Family in the Capital, and we do not want that. Fatty Zhou back to him would make them more cautious, since they would be able to check with him, to find out how much we have learned. That might buy us some time."

The Duchess agreed, although her eyes flashed with a murderous light. "A pity. I had hoped to crush him under my foot, to send my stepdaughter a proper message. I have been far to kind to her it seems," she purred as she reached for her teacup.

The Second Ducal Prince shuddered a little, as he promptly lifted the teapot and refilled her cup. He had always been a little frightened of his mother, but he only just realized that he had been underestimating her. She was no different from his grandmother, and was just as violent when she had to be.

"I had never wanted you to join the struggle for your father's position, and have been content to let you throw yourself into your fun and games. Getting such friends as you have on your side has reassured me somewhat, and with Qin Feng added to the mix ... Well, I am rather confident that you would not be at much of a risk. If you are careful."

Li Sanlang looked up to see his mother gazing at him. With a clear warning in her eyes. And he could guess what she was going to say, even before her lips moved again:

"All that has changed, given what we now know. And the actions that have been taken against you. Even if all these separate actions were taken independently, and were not part of a greater scheme, it should be obvious - even to you! You are at risk!

"So perhaps you should consider what you are going to about it."

*

A good distance to the North, the subject of the Duchess' conversation with her son had just woken up from a rather restless sleep within her own carriage. Given the fact that she had forced her own people to move well past the time when they should have taken setting up a more comfortable camp, her complaints were largely ignored by the one who had taken over the whole contingent.

To give him his due credit, Li Changtian had managed to push his sister's weary Bodyguard to settle into what could be called a rudimentary military-styled camp, with all the necessary bits and pieces that covered its defenses. Unfortunately, they had to do without it came to the comforts that his older sister was accustomed to.

Yet, it was rather obvious, from the way that he rushed through his meal and rode off to check on the surroundings, that he was avoiding his sister's ceaseless complaints. It seemed that even the First Ducal Prince had his limitations, when dealing with his own sister. Or, it might be that he was truly concerned about what was going on, back in Yanyun City.

Of course, if Li Xiuxuan, the Eldest of the Duke of the Westland's children, knew what her stepmother had been saying about her at that moment, she would have been more than a little frightened. And would probably be thankful that she was under the protection of her younger brother, who had a handful of experts at his side. Not to mention the fact that her luxurious carriage that was sitting at the side of the road, a good way to the North of Yanyun City.

And hopefully, beyond the reach of her stepmother.

The Duke's Heir, Li Changtian, on the other hand, would probably be amused if he knew what the Duchess and her son were discussing. He knew for a fact that his sister was nothing like the scheming, highly-intelligent woman who was using her idiocy as a disguise. She was a bloody fool! And he knew it better than anyone else!

He blamed his mother for that, to tell the truth. His birth mother had doted on the two of them ever since they were born, but she had kept up her pampering of Li Xiuxuan even when Li Changtian had been dragged off by his father. He was the Heir, after all, and was put through the harsh training in the martial and academic arts.

That had opened his eyes to a great many things, and led him to despise his own mother and sister. The former for indulging the latter. At an age when other girls were learning the Arts, and figuring out how to handle their families' accounts and such, she was still being pampered with toys, and dressed up like a frivolous doll!

And it seemed her husband was not treating her any differently. They had been married for close to ten years, and he was still indulging her, as far as Li Changtian could see. Since he knew her husband, and how ambitious he was, the Ducal Heir was not surprised to note how his sister was merely being treated like a show-piece. And only brought out once in a while, to show off the Zhao Family's wide-reaching connections.

As far as Li Changtian could tell, the couple wasn't even sleeping together. And since that is the case, there was hardly any point in waiting for a nephew or a niece, was there?

Little wonder then, that she had gotten herself into this sort of mess!

* * *