Martial Arts Crossover: My Wife is the Top Scholar

Chapter 109 Sending a pregnant woman to marry a foreign ruler, do you want to be like Lü Buwei?
The money wasn't wasted!

The saying "money can move mountains" is very accurate.

Li Zhaoting spent lavishly at Fanlou, not for Li Shishi, but to gather intelligence and analyze the behind-the-scenes owner of Fanlou based on those questions.

First, let's rule out the Yin Gui faction. Li Shishi's talent was more than enough to be a female official, so why would she become a courtesan?

Secondly, exclude spies from other races.

Finally, the Yin Gui Sect No. 2 and the Heavenly Mandate Sect were ruled out.

According to Li Zhaoting's investigation, Fanlou was a large-scale den of iniquity similar to Jilelou, whose main businesses included intelligence gathering, brokerage, auctions, medical treatment, and cleanup...

The first few items are normal.

The latter items are rare businesses in the business world.

Assassins are human, not ghosts. They can't succeed every time they try to assassinate someone. They need treatment when they get injured, but they don't dare to seek out miracle doctors, as it can easily ruin their health.

Fanlou offers medical treatment and cleaning services, specializing in treating injuries and cleaning up messes. Fanlou has two resident healers whose medical skills are extremely high.

The courtesan knew one of them.

This man is skilled in both medicine and poison, and he is greedy for money. As long as you give him money, there is no disease he cannot cure. When the courtesans of Fanlou accidentally contracted diseases, they all asked this divine doctor for treatment.

The miracle doctor's only rule is... money!

With money, even the most heinous crimes can be cured.

Without money, Li Shishi's request was out of the question.

This kind of miracle doctor is the most popular.

Regardless of origin, background, or injury, his medical skills are superb, his hands bring the dead back to life, and his medicine cures all ailments.

The only requirement is money.

What is money compared to life?
Another legendary healer, whom the courtier had never seen, was extremely mysterious and had almost never appeared in public. It was said that he was even more greedy for money, and that he only accepted gold for healing the sick and saving lives.

If they really had no money, they could go to Luoyun Nunnery outside the city to find an old woman to treat their illness. The old woman was a beggar who lived in Luoyun Nunnery. She was very skilled in medicine and did not treat high-ranking officials and nobles, but only poor people. Each consultation fee was a single red bean.

The assassin who killed the Goguryeo crown prince must have had connections with Fanlou and had purchased intelligence from them.

The question is, who is behind this?

The seventh prince, who benefits the most, is the most suspicious on the surface. This is used to subvert expectations and make people think that it is not him, so that he can inherit the throne with peace of mind.

The Khitan, Western Xia, Manchu, and Mongol Yuan dynasties—they would inevitably take action whenever there was an opportunity to stir up trouble.

What other clues are there?
Li Zhaoting closed his eyes and pondered.

Sometimes, when reasoning encounters difficulties, one can overcome cleverness with brute force. By conducting a large-scale investigation, thoroughly searching the Tongwen Guan (a local institution), the culprit can be found sooner or later.

This will slow down the investigation process.

The case won't end here.

The assassination of the Goguryeo crown prince was just the beginning.

There will definitely be more tricks to come.

At lunchtime, Tianxiang rushed over, picked up the bowl of mung bean porridge, drank it down in big gulps, caught her breath, and let out a satisfied burp.

"Hiccup~ Something happened at Tongwen Guan!"

"The Seventh Prince was assassinated?"

"How is that possible? After the Crown Prince was killed, the Seventh Prince lacked trust in those around him and used various excuses to stick close to my father and piggyback on his guards."

"Who died?"

"Five strangers were identified. Two were captured by imperial guards, and three were killed while resisting. The coroner has already examined them, and they were all assassins from the martial arts world."

Tianxiang said excitedly, "You'll never guess who hired these five assassins!"

Feng Suzhen laughed and said, "I guess they are assassins hired by the Seventh Prince to assassinate the Crown Prince."

Li Zhaoting added, "I guess these people were probably mixed in with the Goguryeo guards, and they slipped up during the search and were tricked out by the Eighth Prince."

Tianxiang slumped dejectedly at the dining table.

How come you two are so smart?

"Because we are a couple."

Is Fanlou fun?

"Stinky Hero, we're such good friends now, you don't want to watch me get beaten to death by the Eighth Prince, do you?"

"My father can't beat you!"

"He even dared to attack the emperor!"

"You can run!"

“The monk may escape, but the temple cannot.”

"Alright, alright, I won't ask anymore. You're not a very straightforward person. When we were drinking together, you swore you'd marry the Fairy of Jingzhai, the demoness from the Demonic Sect, and the Fourth Princess of the Demonic Cult all at once, and I praised your boldness. How come you're so cowardly now? Aren't we brothers?"

They were so familiar with each other that they put their arms around each other's shoulders.

Feng Suzhen made the sounds of a lion or tiger guarding its food.

Lan Fenghuang toyed with a silkworm between her fingertips.

The five rats buried their heads in their rice bowls, rummaging through them noisily, never raising their heads.

Mei Zhu patted her chest and said, "Let them marry! My master is as handsome as Pan An, and he's both talented in literature and martial arts. It's their good fortune to marry them all. Once they're in the house, they'd better behave themselves. My young lady is the first wife!"

Lan Fenghuang rolled her eyes at Mei Zhu, seemingly looking for a way to strike, when she suddenly felt a chill down her spine. She then noticed Feng Suzhen looking at her with a half-smile. Without hesitation, Lan Fenghuang lowered her head, tacitly agreeing with Mei Zhu's words.

There's no way to beat them.

Feng Suzhen used poison; she possessed the Ice Silkworm Gu.

In the martial arts contest, Feng Suzhen completely crushed Lan Fenghuang.

In terms of talent, Lan Fenghuang is roughly equivalent to Mei Chaofeng.

The Five Poisons Sect's methods of controlling beasts and poisons are mostly based on music, which are completely countered by the Demon-Subduing Qin (a type of zither).

"Li Zhaoting, what do you plan to do?"

"Let's go check out the Tongwen Guan (School of Combined Learning)."

"Who are you looking at?"

"Guard Captain Cui Guanghao."

"Li Zhaoting, you are skilled in swordsmanship. Would you like to try the Goguryeo swordsmanship that has been passed down for hundreds of years?"

"Of course I do!"

The greatest glory of Goguryeo's martial arts world was during the Sui and Tang dynasties.

In that era, there were five great masters in the world.

One of the Demonic Sect members, the "Evil King" Shi Zhixuan.

One of the most prominent families, Song Que, known as "Heavenly Blade".

A Turk, "Martial Master" Bi Xuan.

Ning Daoqi, a Buddhist monk, is known as a "recluse."

The last one is Fu Cailin, the master swordsman of Goguryeo and a master of Go. He learned swordsmanship from Go. When Yang Guang launched his three campaigns against Goguryeo, Fu Cailin led his disciples to resist Yang Guang. His status in Goguryeo was roughly equivalent to Guo Jing in the Condor Heroes era. Unfortunately, after Fu Cailin's lifespan ended, the Goguryeo martial arts world never recovered.

Even the Yijian Sect, founded by Fu Cailin, has declined to this day, with few talented disciples.

The east corner is lost, and the mulberry elm is harvested.

The art of swordsmanship is derived from Go (Weiqi). In order to master the art of swordsmanship, one must diligently practice Go skills.

Over centuries of inheritance and development, Goguryeo cultivated many Go masters. From the perspective of Go alone, Goguryeo's Go players were by no means inferior to those of the Central Plains.

Of course, Goguryeo's competitive spirit has always been an international joke. In order to win, they would come up with all sorts of bizarre strategies, such as "Bian Zhi's move".

Did we truly win by winning in this way?
Without a pure heart for chess, how can one unleash the art of chess and swordsmanship? The decline of the chess and swordsmanship sect was not only due to a lack of talent, but also because their minds had changed.

The art of Yi Jian is a highly emotional martial art. Fu Cailin spent his entire life pursuing harmony between man and nature and striving for perfection. Only with the ultimate emotional sensitivity and a pure and righteous mind can the power of Yi Jian be unleashed.

The situation is similar in the Central Plains martial arts world.

Playing clever tricks may bring temporary success.

All renowned martial artists have earned their reputations through fighting with their fists and swords. Whether someone has real skill or not, you can prove it by throwing punches and getting into a fight; fancy moves will only make you a laughingstock. There is another way to master the art of swordsmanship.

If the brain is not pure enough, then one must win by absolute computing power. This requires an extremely intelligent brain with super computing power, reaching the level of Wang Yuyan.

Li Zhaoting can practice chess and sword techniques.

Li Zhaoting was cunning and shrewd, but when he used his sword, he was completely focused and had no distracting thoughts.

Li Zhaoting's brain processes information extremely quickly, allowing him to defeat Wang Yuyan in close combat.

The two approaches, when combined, can be used as a reference.

With Li Zhaoting's talent, he could extract the essence of the Yi Jian technique in at most twenty moves.

……

Tongwen Hall.

The Eighth Prince is comforting the Princess.

The Crown Prince was assassinated, and five of the Seventh Prince's guards were assassins. No matter how many unspeakable difficulties the Princess had, she had to take charge of the affairs at this moment, and she was sweating profusely with anxiety.

Li Zhaoting glanced at the princess a few times, then coldly looked at the Seventh Prince: "Seventh Prince, Goguryeo sent a pregnant woman to marry into the Song Dynasty. Is that an insult to the Song Dynasty?"

As soon as this statement came out, there was an uproar around him.

Fortunately, there weren't many people around, only the Eighth Prince, the Seventh Prince, Cui Guanghao, the Princess of Peace, Li Zhaoting, Feng Suzhen, and Tianxiang.

The guards were all stationed outside.

Before the princess could say anything, Li Zhaoting grabbed her wrist: "Whether I'm right or not, the imperial physician can verify it by taking her pulse. Princess, I'm saving you one last bit of face. Please tell me the truth."

Cui Guanghao angrily said, "Li Zhaoting, you are a famous scholar of the Song Dynasty. How can you humiliate women? You can ask me anything. You are interrogating the princess who is to be married off. This is against morality and etiquette. Is this the etiquette of the Song Dynasty?"

"Etiquette and law are for reasonable people. Goguryeo sent a pregnant woman to marry a foreign ruler. What are you trying to do? Are you trying to insult the Song Dynasty royal family, or are you plotting to seize the crown prince's position?"

Li Zhaoting pressed on relentlessly, aiming to destroy not only the person but also their spirit.

The Eighth Prince said in a deep voice, "Princess, this matter concerns the diplomatic relations between our two countries. Please make sure you explain it clearly."

Upon hearing this, the princess wept helplessly.

Cui Guanghao, barely suppressing his anger, said, "Do you really want to know the truth about this? Now that things have come to this, we have to say what we should and shouldn't say."

The princess's child was the crown prince of Goguryeo.

The Goguryeo crown prince was a womanizer. One night, he went berserk and forcibly raped the princess who was to be married off to him. To make matters worse, the princess became pregnant with the crown prince's child.

These words shocked everyone even more.

First, he angrily denounced the Goguryeo crown prince for his audacity.

Secondly, he was angry at the deception of the Goguryeo delegation.

The princess deserves sympathy for being insulted, but isn't it naive of her to try to cover it up?
If this were in Goguryeo, the princess could choose to conceal the scandal to prevent it from being exposed.

However, she was a princess sent for a political marriage.

Do you want to become like Lü Buwei?

Do you know what happened to Lü Buwei in the end?
Another point is that in this era, cousins ​​are acceptable, for example: Zhang Wuji and Yin Li, Li Xunhuan and Lin Shiyin, Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu.

The princess and the crown prince are not cousins; they are first cousins, sharing the closest blood relation.

Such behavior is akin to that of a beast.

the last point.

Judging from Cui Guanghao's behavior just now, he and the princess are lovers, and they are mutually in love.

Cui Guanghao loudly explained, "Yes! The princess and I are indeed in love, but we have never done anything out of line. I understand the principles of family, country, and the world. Marriage alliance can bring peace, so what am I to you!"

The Eighth Prince closed his eyes and pondered.

This matter has indeed blown up.

It was even more explosive than I imagined.

The Goguryeo delegation came from Gotham, right?

It has produced even more talented individuals than Arkham.

Chief Envoy: A human-shaped teddy bear, a disciple of Slaanesh;

Deputy Envoy: The elder brother bids farewell while the younger brother laughs; their ambitions are great, but their talents are limited

Bodyguard: He harbors a one-sided love for the princess, enduring it with unwavering patience;

Princess: Unrequited love for her bodyguard, and pregnant;

Are they here to discuss cooperation, or to declare war? Do you really think the Song Dynasty is cowardly?
When facing the Liao, Jin, and Mongol Yuan dynasties, the Song Dynasty could choose to back down. But when facing Goguryeo, it was undoubtedly a superior nation, capable of causing millions to die in a fit of rage.

But then again.

Cui Guanghao made a very good point.

The Song Dynasty needs allies.

The Eighth Prince said in a deep voice, "I will tell His Majesty about this matter in detail. Let's leave it at that for today. I don't want this matter to get out. Please take care of yourselves."

The Eighth Prince hurried to the palace.

Li Zhaoting suddenly asked, "Princess, where is your maid? I don't see her."

"A maid? Is there a problem with that?"

"Of course there is a problem!"

Li Zhaoting formed a sword shape with his fingers, and a sword aura shot towards the dark figure outside. With a "crash," the window was blasted open by the sword aura, revealing a little maid.

The princess's personal maid.

At this point, he had completely become a different person.

With bright eyes and white teeth, she has large eyes and an indescribable charm between her brows, as well as the pure and quiet innocence unique to young girls, making her captivating to all who see her.

Feng Suzhen and Li Zhaoting blocked the young beauty's path, one in front and one behind. Li Zhaoting asked, "Now that you have nowhere to retreat, can you tell me your name?"

"crow."

Which assassin organization do you belong to?

Even if I told you, you wouldn't know.

"You should be from the capital, so you should know that there are two devils in the Ministry of Justice's prison. If you don't want to fall into the hands of the hard-working and unyielding, you'd better confess obediently."

Ren Lao Ren Yuan is an uncle and nephew who specialize in torture and interrogation techniques and have created many cruel methods.

No matter how tough the enemy was, they would be tormented into a pile of mud in their hands. At least two or three hundred heroes died at their hands.

They only liked to torture people and disliked forming cliques or fabricating charges. They were completely different from Suo Yuanli and Lai Junchen. Relying on their notorious reputation, they lived a very comfortable life, even more carefree than Jin Jiuling.

Upon hearing the name of the hardworking and dedicated assassin, a sense of fear arose in his heart. Li Zhaoting gave him a wink, and Feng Suzhen beckoned with her finger, causing the Demon-Subduing Zither to attack his brain.

"Zheng!"

The assassin fell into a coma.

Li Zhaoting seized the opportunity to make his move.

The fingers move swiftly like the wind, with the force of lightning.

The assassin was immobilized by Li Zhaoting, who also stole his personal belongings, most importantly a waist tag with the words "Mingli" on it, indicating it came from the Mingli Hall of Western Xia.

The Western Xia had two special institutions.

First is Yipintang, which is responsible for recruiting top experts.

Secondly, there is the Mingli Hall, which is responsible for intelligence gathering, infiltration and assassination, sowing discord, and using one enemy to devour another.

"The Mingli Hall of Western Xia?"

"You... let me go..."

"You are not a member of Minglitang!"

"I……"

"You're a spy from the Liao Kingdom's Pacification Commission! Curious how I knew? Your teammates told me! The Liao Kingdom's Pacification Commission is most skilled at using honey traps!"

(End of this chapter)