Chapter 141 Li Xian's Calculation Path

"Seventh brother, how is the situation?"

Just as Li Xian was lost in thought, the carriage curtain behind him stirred, and Li Xian poked his head out, asking with a trace of hurried anxiety.

"Sixth brother, it's fine. Most of the villains have retreated, leaving only a stubborn holdout."

Li Xian glanced back at Li Xian and replied indifferently.

"Those scoundrels deserve to die, daring to assassinate this prince! I shall certainly report this to His Imperial Majesty and thoroughly investigate the mastermind behind this case!"

Hearing that the assassins had fled, Li Xian's panic instantly vanished, replaced by a surge of humiliation and anger. Gritting his teeth, he cursed with a vow of retribution.

"Hn."

Li Xian rarely bothered with Li Xian's nonsense. He grunted non-committally, turned his head, and looked not far away where two martial arts masters were locked in fierce combat. Unfortunately, despite Li Xian's exceptional eyesight, he could not make out the specifics of the duel. The dazzling array of movements only made his head spin and his eyes blur, forcing him to quickly look away.

"Hahaha... Scoundrel, where do you think you're going?"

Two fluttering figures wove around the shattered carriage like butterflies among flowers, accompanied by a continuous popping sound like roasted beans from rapid sword strikes. However, as time passed, the attacking master was clearly beginning to tire. Coupled with the fact that a large number of the prince's personal guards had now gathered close by, achieving the original objective was no longer feasible. Seeing this, the masked man had no heart to continue fighting. Feinting with a sword, he leaped up, intending to vault onto the roof. Unexpectedly, fast as he was, Yujizi was even faster. With a loud laugh, a sword swept across the air, landing a heavy blow squarely on the masked man's shoulder.

"Hmph!"

Though the masked man possessed formidable martial arts, taking such a heavy blow was undoubtedly painful. Yet, he was remarkably resilient. He merely let out a muffled grunt, his feet never missing a beat. With a flash of his figure, he scrambled onto the street's rooftop, and after a few bounds, vanished into the dim night...

"Reporting to the two Highnesses, the assassins have retreated. Our unit suffered three dead and thirty wounded. Failing to capture the culprit, this general is incompetent."

Following a busy sweep of the battlefield, Wang Mingyuan, his face full of shame, dragged his feet over to the two princes standing before the carriage, bowed, and reported in a deep voice.

"Hmph!"

Hearing that their side had suffered such heavy losses without a single capture, Li Xian's expression instantly darkened. Mindful that the fighters were all personal guards from the Prince of Zhou's estate, he could not easily vent his anger on the spot, so he could only let out a cold snort to signal his severe displeasure.

"General Wang has worked hard. Hear my command: double the compensation for all wounded and fallen brothers. General, go arrange the manpower, send the wounded back to the estate first, and we can discuss the rest later."

Li Xian was likewise extremely dissatisfied with the outcome, but he could not afford to chill the hearts of his loyal soldiers. Therefore, he replied with a gentle tone.

"This general obeys!"

Hearing Li Xian treat the soldiers with such kindness, Wang Mingyuan felt a moist warmth well up in his eyes. Without saying anything more, he bowed in compliance and hurried off to attend to the related matters.

"Seventh brother, this matter cannot simply rest here. Come, let us enter the palace and report this to His Majesty!"

Having suffered such a fright for no reason, Li Xian grew more resentful the more he thought about it. With a gloomy face, he stamped his foot and spoke bitterly.

"Very well. This matter requires His Majesty's decision. There is no time to delay; you and I shall make a trip into the palace right now."

An assassination attempt on imperial princes was no trivial matter; it could not be concealed. Besides, Li Xian had no intention of hiding it. He had already intended to use this opportunity to extract some favors from Emperor Gaozong. Hearing Li Xian put it this way, he naturally raised no objection. The two brothers reached a consensus, and the carriage procession quickly turned its formation around, heading toward the imperial city.

"Seventh brother, are you troubled by something?"

Inside the slowly advancing carriage, Li Xian passionately delivered a grand and lofty speech, but seeing no reaction from Li Xian, his voice trailed off. He cast a suspicious glance at Li Xian and probed tentatively.

"Hmph, to speak plainly to you, Sixth brother, this assassination came about under very strange circumstances. I can guess the outcome, but the process eludes me. I can't help feeling there is more to this than meets the eye."

Li Xian did not hide his thoughts. He nodded and replied with a heavy heart.

"Oh? What do you mean by that?"

Li Xian had not witnessed the entire battle firsthand and was thus unaware of the various shifts in the tide of the fight. Seeing Li Xian speak with such gravity, his interest was piqued. He widened his eyes and pressed for an explanation.

"Sixth brother, it is like this: ever since I captured Yan He, I felt the matter was not so simple. Therefore, I invited Daoist Master Yujizi to station himself at the estate simply as a precaution. I never expected misfortune to actually strike. During the battle, that gang of black-robed, masked ruffians..."

Li Xian recounted the whole sequence of events, including the subtle shifts during the combat. Pausing for a moment, he continued his analysis:

"From all these signs, I dare venture that the gang of black-robed, masked men and the peerless martial artist who appeared at the very end were definitely not from the same faction. Their motives for assassinating us are likely quite different, and there is certainly something fishy going on. In my view, the first wave of black-robed masked men attacked with ulterior motives, not truly intent on killing us. As for the master who appeared later, he was the one truly bent on silencing witnesses. Choosing to strike at that exact moment was probably not his original plan; rather, he simply couldn't resist showing off when he saw a worthy opponent."

"Ah, judging by your detailed account, Seventh brother, it must indeed be so. Could it be..."

Li Xian was naturally very clever. After a brief moment of thought, he concluded that Li Xian's words were true. Following this line of analysis, his expression instantly turned unpleasant. A fierce light flashed violently in his eyes, resembling a beast poised to devour someone.

"Correct, the situation is precisely as Sixth brother imagines. Crown Prince Elder Brother making such a move at this time is truly despicable. He calculated that even if you and I guessed the answer, we would still be unable to do anything to him."

Li Xian took a deep breath, his expression solemn as he took over the conversation.

"Hmph, I wouldn't be so sure about that! This prince will not let that scoundrel off!"

Li Xian had already harbored suspicions, and once Li Xian laid out the facts plainly, he had no doubts left. His handsome face twisted instantly, and he let out a low, gritting growl. The anger within him erupted uncontrollably, his eyes filled with a chilling murderous intent.

"Sixth brother, right now you and I are in a dangerous position and must not act rashly. Otherwise, if you strike a snake and fail to kill it, you will suffer its bite. Making enemies on all fronts is not something a wise man would do."

The reason Li Xian revealed his analytical conclusions at this moment was naturally not to incite Li Xian into reckless action. On the contrary, what Li Xian feared most was that Li Xian would lash out blindly upon learning the details. Seeing Li Xian bare his murderous intent, Li Xian inwardly smiled bitterly and hurriedly stepped in to dissuade him.

"Hmph, the villain is shameless! I, I..."

Li Xian naturally knew that in the current political climate, he and his brother appeared to hold immense power, but in reality, they were sitting on a volcano. A single misstep could turn them into sacrificial lambs in the power struggle among various factions. Furthermore, he was well aware that his current strength was not yet sufficient to replace Li Li. To secure opportunities for future development, he even had to rely on Li Li to keep Empress Wu's boundless ambitions in check. Naturally, he could not strike at Li Li at this moment. Moreover, since they failed to capture any living tongues during this skirmish, it would be difficult to bring down the opponent based purely on conjecture. Yet the suffocating foul air in his chest refused to dissipate, leaving him trembling all over with anger.

"Sixth brother, there will be other days. The saying 'a gentleman takes ten years to exact revenge' exists for a reason. Dealing with the immediate matter is what's important. In my view, today's assassination encounter is actually the key to cracking the Dali Temple case, and we can make good use of it."

What Li Xian feared was blind action from Li Xian; he cared little about his mood swings. Seeing that Li Xian was merely venting his anger without insisting on immediate retaliation, he felt somewhat reassured and smoothly continued his persuasion.

"Ah, if Seventh brother has any insights, please lay them all out in detail. My mind is already in turmoil right now, and I have no patience for guessing riddles."

Knowing his own intellect fell far short of Li Xian's and too lazy to rack his brain further, Li Xian spoke in a deep voice.

"Sixth brother, I only have a rough preliminary idea, which can hardly be called foolproof. Everything still requires Sixth brother to make the final executive decision."

Li Xian smiled faintly, adopting a humble demeanor.

"Go ahead, speak. Your elder brother has his own judgment."

Hearing Li Xian put it that way, Li Xian felt quite pleased. His tense face finally relaxed as he waved a hand and commanded with a grand air.

"Sixth brother, use your discernment. The Dali Temple arson case appears simple, but in reality, it is deeply complex and obscure. If my judgment is correct, by now all leads have likely been severed. Even with Di Renjie's brilliance, at most he can only investigate that the fire was man-made. As for the arson suspects—heh, they are likely already in the underworld by now, and Chen Renhao, who was implicated in the case, probably won't escape alive either. This case is bound to become an unsolved mystery. If you and I brothers doggedly pursue this case, we will surely be led into an unsolvable maze. Once time drags on, there will surely be petty men making mischief before His Father. Under their slander, even if you and I are fearless, it will cause us great inconvenience. Now that the assassination case has emerged, it is precisely our golden opportunity to break the deadlock! The key to all this lies in His Father's wrath!"

Li Xian already had a well-thought-out plan in his mind. As these words flowed out, they were exceptionally clear and orderly. Not only did he analyze the situation thoroughly, but he also pointed out the key to solving the puzzle without holding anything back.

"His Father's wrath? Hmm..."

Li Xian naturally agreed with Li Xian's analysis, yet he felt a lingering unwillingness. In Li Xian's view, presiding over the Dali Temple case this time was a prime opportunity for him to make a name for himself across the realm, as well as a fantastic chance to establish a firm footing in the imperial court. He truly did not want to wrap it up so hastily. Furthermore, Li Xian did not want to swallow the humiliation of this assassination in vain. If he could instigate Emperor Gaozong to issue a decree for a thorough investigation, perhaps he could implicate both the Crown Prince and Empress Wu, achieving two birds with one stone. Li Xian was genuinely reluctant to use this incident merely to hastily close the Dali Temple case. However, unable to weigh all the pros and cons clearly for the moment, his brow tightened, and he sank deep into thought...