Wei and Jin did not submit to Zhou

Chapter 141 Pressure Cooker

When Deng Ai was in Chengdu, he only worked in the palace, but lived outside the palace.

When Zhong Hui arrived, he even lived his daily life in the palace, which put Liu Shan, who had returned to the inner palace, in an awkward position.

Gone were the days of being surrounded by entourage and enjoying fine clothes and delicacies. The tiny palace was now the only place Liu Shan and his wives and concubines could move around.

Three meals a day were delivered by Zhong Hui's personal guards. He ate whatever was delivered to him without any complaints.

From the perspective of a prisoner, Liu Shan's treatment was not bad. He was well-fed and clothed, and lived in a palace. In addition to his bedroom, the palace also had a courtyard for activities and several side rooms for living.

From the emperor's perspective, Liu Shan's experience was extremely awkward and uncomfortable. Food that Liu Shan would never have even glanced at in the past was now being openly placed on the table for him to eat.

Anyway, he can eat whatever he wants. If he doesn't want to eat, Zhong Hui will send someone to take it away and feed it to the dogs. He'll know what to do after going hungry for three meals.

A few days later, one morning, Liu Shan woke up from a nightmare in which he dreamt that he died amidst the chaos of war. He was covered in cold sweat when he got up.

He's too lazy to even take care of his hair now.

Ever since that humiliating public dance that night, Liu Shan had given up on himself and no longer cared much about his personal appearance. After all, he was the ruler of a fallen kingdom, so it didn't matter whether he was clean or dirty.

Anyone can step on him!
Liu Shan, with disheveled hair, arrived at the reception room, which had also become his "study." He knelt before the desk and suddenly recalled the poem of varying lengths that he had seen some time ago.

One of the lines, "How much sorrow can one have? It's like a river of spring water flowing eastward," brought tears to Liu Shan's eyes.

He wiped away his tears with his sleeve, and suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a stack of letters under the paperweight on the table. One of them... looked quite unfamiliar!
Since returning to the palace, Liu Shan had nothing to do and no entertainment. He had read the letters on his desk many times over.

This reminded Liu Shan of the glory he had experienced when the Shu Kingdom still existed and he was the emperor.

Liu Shan carefully pulled out the paper, unfolded it, and saw that it read: "I wish Your Majesty would endure a few days of humiliation, for I wish to restore the state from peril to peace, and the sun and moon from darkness to light."

There was no signature, and the handwriting was stiff, each character looking like it had been carved from a mold, square and devoid of any distinctive features. But even without looking at these details, Liu Shan could guess who the letter belonged to.

Jiang Wei!

It can only be Jiang Wei!
There could be no one else but Jiang Wei!

So, even though the Shu Kingdom has fallen, there are still people who want to restore it!

Liu Shan couldn't help but sigh, suppressing his inner excitement. He calmly looked around, secretly wondering who had placed this note here.
Eunuchs in the palace?
The concubines in the imperial harem?
Or...someone from the Wei army?

"Could it be Liu Yue?"

Liu Shan murmured softly, suddenly recalling that when Shi Shouxin went to the palace to pay his respects to Zhong Hui last night, he also brought Liu Yue to the palace to visit his old father, and the two chatted for a long time.

At that time, Shi Shouxin was not with Liu Yue, but was waiting outside the bedroom, out of Liu Shan's sight.

Could it be that he put it there?

Recently, apart from Liu Yue who came, and the person who delivered the food, no one else has come.

Could it be that Shi Shouxin... has ulterior motives? Or has he joined forces with Jiang Wei?

But then I thought about it and realized it was impossible. How could such an important matter be entrusted to an outsider?
Perhaps Jiang Wei has an inside agent in the palace? With Jiang Wei's abilities, it wouldn't be a problem for him to plant a few people in the palace, right?
Liu Shan grew increasingly frightened, his mind a jumbled mess, feeling as if the darkness behind it all was unfathomable!
Liu Shan was unaware of the situation, dared not ask, and dared not conduct a large-scale investigation. He only knew that since Jiang Wei could leave a note here, Zhong Hui would also know what had happened on his side.

He felt that he could no longer completely trust anyone around him, including his concubines.

Liu Shan carefully placed the note close to his body, then nervously looked around. Finding that no eunuchs had noticed him, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

If Zhong Hui finds this note, the consequences will be unimaginable!

……

Late at night, in Chengdu, at the Fei residence—no, the Fei family has now been driven to live on a farm in the suburbs; this place is now the Shi residence!
At this very moment, Shi Shouxin was in the study that Fei Yi had used, chatting with someone who turned out to be Chen Shou.

With some concern, he pulled a letter from his sleeve—the very letter Jiang Wei had written to Liu Shan! The difference was that this letter was handwritten by Jiang Wei himself; the handwriting was clearly legible.

"Didn't I tell you to keep this letter? Why are you giving it back to me?"

Shi Shouxin looked at Chen Shou and asked with a half-smile.

Chen Shou was assigned by Zhong Hui to work in the palace to organize documents and archives, since the people in the Wei army were not familiar with the situation.

So Jiang Wei asked Chen Shou to find a way to deliver his letter to Liu Shan.

Unfortunately, Chen Shou turned left as soon as he left and went to find Shi Shouxin, asking him for advice on how to "handle" the letter.

It wasn't because Chen Shou had a rebellious streak, but because if this matter were to be exposed, it wouldn't just be losing one person's head, it would be losing the head of an entire family!

The matter was of utmost importance, and Chen Shou dared not gamble. Or rather, he could not bear the consequences.

However, Shi Shouxin's response was also unexpected. He ordered Li Liang to copy the letter with his left hand, and then returned it to Chen Shou, telling him that he could go back and report to Jiang Wei. He would find a way to give the copy to Liu Shan.

Use a method that leaves no name and no evidence.

After much deliberation, Chen Shou felt that keeping the letter in his possession would only bring trouble, and it was better to hand it over as soon as possible. So he went to find Shi Shouxin again and presented Jiang Wei's letter with both hands.

"If you ever have the opportunity to serve in the imperial court or write history books in the future, remember to include this passage."

Jiang Boyue wanted to save the country, but he didn't know how, and he had already done his best.

There's a big difference between not doing something and failing to accomplish something.

Shi Shouxin sighed and said that he did not intend to use the letter to blackmail Jiang Wei.

Upon hearing this, Chen Shou nodded silently, pushed the letter in front of Shi Shouxin, and then respectfully bowed to this highly respected and powerful military supervisor in the Wei army.

Chen Shou said with some emotion, "Supervisor Shi, you are different from the others in the Wei army. Although I don't trust a word of those people, I believe what you say!"

"They all have one head and two hands, so what's the difference?"

Shi Shouxin chuckled casually, not taking it seriously. Such flattery is best left unsaid; taking it literally would be a mistake.

"Commander Shi, I am not trying to flatter you, but it would be better if you kept this letter."

If I get searched, that would be terrible.

Furthermore, you will be the one to vindicate Jiang Boyue in the future; your words will carry more weight.

The letter is in my hands. At that time, I am a nobody, and even if I speak, no one will believe me.

"You will always rise to a high position, I am absolutely certain." Chen Shou refused to accept the letter no matter what, so Shi Shouxin had no choice but to tuck it into his sleeve, nodding to him and saying, "It's getting late, you should go back and rest. Don't publicize this matter."

The reason he changed the note was simply that Jiang Wei was a bit careless in his actions, and in order to make Liu Shan recognize it, he actually left his own handwriting.

If Zhong Hui found out about this, the whole show would be ruined. Left with no other option, Shi Shouxin could only try to plug the leak for Jiang Wei.

Even if the note is discovered and Zhong Hui finds out, without any evidence, Jiang Wei can simply insist that he didn't know anything about it.

The fact that Jiang Wei was suspected but there was no concrete evidence would only lead Zhong Hui to loosen his grip on Shi Shouxin and delegate more power to him.

Therefore, regardless of whether he wins or loses in this matter, Shi Shouxin is the beneficiary.

"Understood, thank you, Inspector Shi. When I return to report, I will tell you that I have burned the original note."

Chen Shou said in a deep voice, "This is what Shi Shouxin had previously instructed me to do."

"That's good, so that Jiang Boyue won't have to worry."

As he spoke, Shi Shouxin escorted Chen Shou to the door. Only after watching Chen Shou's figure disappear into the night did he return to his bedroom.

Seeing Shi Shouxin enter, Liu Yue excitedly walked over, hugged him, and kissed him. The two rolled around on the bed and got straight to the point.

For some reason, Liu Yue was particularly excited tonight, completely immersed in the pleasure of sex. The two played until midnight before falling into a deep sleep in each other's arms.

……

Boom boom boom!
In the darkness, someone knocked on the bedroom door.

Shi Shouxin moved Liu Yue, who had slumped limply in his arms, to the side and covered her with a blanket to conceal her exposed skin. He then dressed and opened the door.

I felt an indescribable fatigue.

I had a great time tonight, so naturally I need a good night's sleep afterwards. Anyone would be tired if they were woken up. I must say, this princess of Shu knows how to enjoy herself; she knows how to make herself feel better and enjoys it immensely.

Seeing that it was Li Liang knocking on the door, Shi Shouxin yawned and asked, "Can't we talk about it tomorrow?"

"Commander Shi, we can't talk about this tomorrow. Qiao Zhou's apprentice, Du Zhen, is requesting an audience, saying he has urgent business to discuss!"

Li Liang lowered his voice and said.

Qiao Zhou was not a particularly remarkable person.

However, the people standing behind him were not simple; they were a group, even a sizable one.

"Go and have a look."

Shi Shouxin nodded and followed Li Liang into the study. Shi Shouxin had met Du Zhen once before when he was with Qian Hong, so it wasn't their first meeting.

"It's the middle of the night, just say what you need to say."

Shi Shouxin spoke directly, without beating around the bush.

"Tonight, Jiang Wei sent people to contact the families of Guan, Zhang, Jiang, Fei, and other former officials of Shu."

They discussed the possibility of a joint uprising.

Du Zhen was fine when he didn't speak, but what he said was truly terrifying.

Does Zhong Hui know about this?

Shi Shouxin didn't say anything else, but directly pointed out the key point.

"It's uncertain, but Jiang Wei will likely tell Zhong Hui that the target of the joint uprising is not Zhong Hui himself!"

Du Zhen, fearing that Shi Shouxin might not understand the situation, emphasized it again.

Zhong Hui's interests were not the same as those of the more than 100,000 Wei soldiers; in many ways, they were even opposite!

Therefore, Zhong Hui was not worried about Jiang Wei contacting former Shu officials in Chengdu, as these people posed a far less threat than Hu Lie and others.

"Is Jiang Wei calling on those former officials of Shu to add their elite private armies and confidants to the new army?"

Shi Shouxin countered with a question.

Du Zhen nodded. He had to admit that Shi Shouxin was a sensible person who understood things immediately.

Such a big move was known even to Qiao Zhou, so it's impossible that Zhong Hui didn't know. Perhaps it was Zhong Hui who instructed Jiang Wei to do it.

However, this must be kept secret from Wei generals, including people like Shi Shouxin! Once they find out that the former officials of Shu are colluding, those 100,000-plus Wei troops are not to be trifled with!

At this moment, Qiao Zhou actually sent someone to deliver the message. It must be said that this pledge of allegiance was delivered at a very opportune time. The surrender faction is always very opportunistic; once they find one ship unstable, they will try to find the next one.

“Very good. Go back and tell your teacher Qiao Zhou that I have protected his life. Whether he is in Shu or in Luoyang in the future, I will ensure that he will not be punished.”

This news is very important.

Shi Shouxin looked at Du Zhen and solemnly assured him.

Although Shi Shouxin had guessed many things, guessing and having solid evidence are still different.

"Then I'll go back and report now."

After saying this, Du Zhen got up to leave, but Shi Shouxin stopped him.

"Leave at dawn to avoid revealing your identity. Qiao Zhou lives in the suburbs, while you live in the city with Qian Hong, which is common knowledge. If you leave the city at night, it would be bad if you were caught."

Shi Shouxin waved his hand gently, indicating that Du Zhen should stay there for the night before leaving.

The jobs they're doing now are things where you could lose your head if you're not careful; you really can't afford to be careless!

The two chatted in the study until dawn before Shi Shouxin saw Du Zhen off from the mansion.

After he left, Shi Shouxin's face turned ashen.

He seemed to see the water in the pot, slowly steaming.

(End of this chapter)