The Phoenix is Back - Chapter 197

Chapter 197 Northwest Ma City
Suddenly, he frowned. Just as he was about to speak, a person walked out from behind the screen.

“Prince Tuli, how are you?” The person smiled and walked over step by step.

The moment he saw that face, he felt that the blood in his body was flowing backwards. He jumped up from his chair and subconsciously said, “Are you … are you a human or a ghost?”

As soon as he spoke, he realized that he had said the wrong thing.

Sure enough, the man smiled faintly. Then, he calmly sat down on a chair beside him. His sharp eyebrows raised slightly, and his voice sounded with a trace of ridicule. “Does the prince think that I am a human or a ghost?”

Suddenly, he leaned on the chair and sat back down. However, the fear in his heart still hadn’t dissipated. He curled his lips stiffly and said, “Your Highness the Swallow King is always unexpected.”

He said why the Chen Clan suddenly contacted them, it was originally because of this!

“Isn’t the prince also unexpected to this king?” As Chu Xizhi spoke, he raised his hand and poured a cup of tea for Tuli and himself. A strange light flashed across his deep eyes.

“Your Highness King Yan is joking. What’s so unexpected about Little Wang?” Suddenly, he unnaturally pulled the corner of his lips, then reached out to pick up the teacup to conceal the uneasiness that had arisen in his heart for no reason.

“Does the Prince think this prince is joking?” Chu Xizhi raised his eyebrows and smiled as he looked at Tu Li.

There was a faint light floating in his eyes. With a single glance, a guilty conscience arose in his heart.

Could it be that Chu Xizhi knew something?

But now, he could only bravely say, “Isn’t His Highness King Yan joking with Little Wang?” After he finished speaking, Chu Xizhi’s gaze still did not move away from him. His faint gaze seemed to have penetrated everything, causing him to feel somewhat restless.

Looking at Tu Li’s guilty expression, Chu Xizhi suddenly smiled and finally withdrew his gaze. “Of course this king is joking with the prince. Did the prince take it seriously just now?”

As soon as Chu Xizhi’s words were spoken, he suddenly let out a long sigh of relief. He hurriedly followed Chu Xizhi’s words and said with a smile, “How could it be?”

Chu Xizhi looked at Tu Li and the smile on his face deepened.

King Baokang, Tuli’s father, learned of his death. He immediately sent people to secretly ask Chu Yanzhi for help. Even if he could not obtain Chu Yanzhi’s help, he hoped that Chu Yanzhi would not interfere in the imperial power struggle in the Northern Desert. He also promised that if he took power in the future, the Northern Desert would be willing to mine gold with Great Yue. He even handed over the evidence of Xi Yang colluding with the Northern Desert to Chu Yanzhi in exchange. Afterwards, Chu Yanzhi did as their father and son wished. He did not interfere in the matter of the Northern Desert. However, their father and son did not expect that he, who was already dead, would still be alive.

“Actually, I have something to discuss with the Prince when we invite him here this time.”

“Your Highness, please speak.” Suddenly, he looked at Chu Xizhi with a smile.

Since the Chen Clan had received Chu Xizhi’s order to invite them over to discuss this matter, then they would definitely have to help them.

Chu Xizhi smiled, “Just as the prince thought, this king will naturally help King Baokang seize the throne, but …”

Hearing the answer that satisfied him, the smile on his face suddenly became even brighter. “Your Highness, if you have any requests, just say it directly. As long as Xiao Wang can do it, he will definitely not decline.”

Chu Xizhi curled his lips, and his cold voice sounded word by word, “Actually, it’s not difficult. This king wants the horse market in the northwest.”

Suddenly, his hand that was holding the teacup trembled and a few drops of hot tea splashed onto his hand. However, he seemed to have not noticed at all, “Wang, Wang Ye, what did you say?”

“I think it’s not difficult for the prince.” Chu Xizhi smiled and said abruptly.

“This … Your Highness, Little Wang still needs to discuss this matter with your father. Look …” Suddenly, he slowly placed the teacup in his hand back on the table and said to Chu Xizhi with a tentative tone.

Today was different from the past. Although Chu Xizhi was still alive, Chu Yanzhi had already been crowned the Crown Prince. In this competition, King Yan Chu Xizhi had already lost. If they helped him seize the horse farm in the northwest, wouldn’t they offend the Crown Prince of Great Yue? Although Chu Yanzhi had once stood on the side of Prime Minister Treasure King, he had now agreed to remain neutral. If they rashly offended him? If he defected to help Prime Minister Treasure King, wouldn’t they have a stronger enemy? If this was the case, wouldn’t their gains outweigh their losses?

Chu Xizhi looked at Tu Li and suddenly laughed, “The Prince shouldn’t really believe that he won’t interfere in your Northern Desert, right?”

“Your Highness King Yan, what you mean is …”

Chu Xizhi curled his lips and smiled, “Does the Prince think that you are the only ones secretly sending people to Great Yue? In the end, if he wants to interfere in the matter of the Northern Desert, it depends on which of the Precious Prime Minister King Bao Kang’s benefits are greater.” At this point, Chu Xizhi smiled again. “I don’t know what benefits Prince Bao Kang has promised. However, Prince Bao Xiang has already sent the contract he wrote to the Eastern Palace. It is said that Prince Bao Kang has already given the Qilian Mountain area to Great Yue.”

“What! How dare he!” Suddenly, he was so shocked that he bounced up. He looked at Chu Xizhi with an expression of disbelief. One had to know that the Qilian Mountain was the largest golden vein in the Northern Desert. How could the Prime Minister of Treasures dare to give this mountain to Great Yue like this! But when he thought about it carefully, he felt that something was wrong. “May I ask Your Highness, how did Your Highness find out about such a secret matter?”

Chu Xi smiled and leisurely picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip of tea. “Doesn’t the Prince think this question is very stupid?”

Suddenly, his thick eyebrows rose, and a look of displeasure surged out of his eyes.

“This king thinks that this king’s ability to sit here and talk to the prince has proved everything.” Chu Xizhi raised his eyes to look at Tu Li. His pair of slender and long eyes flickered with a faint light, and his entire body emitted a calm and unhurried aura of a king. He could not see the embarrassment and disappointment that a defeated person deserved in the slightest.

Seeing Chu Xizhi like this, Suddenly, Li started to waver.

The Swallow King was resurrected from the dead, while the former Prince Shenwang was crowned the Crown Prince. Dayue was like a muddy puddle of water that he couldn’t see through or guess. However, he couldn’t get out because he realized that they had already waded into the muddy puddle of water from the moment his father promised the Swallow King.

If what Chu Xizhi said was true, then if Chu Yanzhi really intended to help King Baokang, regardless of whether their father and son succeeded or failed, the entire Northern Desert would probably be in danger and could be swallowed by the Great Yue at any time.

Thinking of this, Tuli broke out in a cold sweat. “Then, how does Little Wang know that His Highness King Yan will speak like the Crown Prince of Dayue?”

Chu Xizhi frowned and looked at Tu Li. His gaze made people feel that the question he had just asked was very stupid.

“What exactly made the prince think that this prince would be like Chu Yanzhi?” Chu Xizhi curled his lips and said with a hint of ridicule, “Chu Yanzhi needs a large amount of silver to nurture his soldiers and bribe people, but do you think this king also needs it?”

Suddenly, Chen Mubai was stunned. Before he could speak, he suddenly raised his hand to touch the tip of his nose and cleared his throat.

“Your Highness, you’re treating our Chen Clan like a money bag!”

The moment Chen Mubai opened his mouth, he suddenly came to a sudden realization.

Indeed, the Chen Clan, the richest merchant in Jiangnan, was indeed not short of money behind the Swallow King, but even if he was not short of money, would he be harboring evil intentions towards them?

‘”Your Highness, do you really think that the Northern Desert is a popular place for everyone to covet? Yes, there are indeed many gold mines underground in the Northern Desert, but what’s the use of hiding under the yellow sand? Do you think this king will spend a lot of manpower and material resources to travel to the Northern Desert for the gold? Even if this king really has such thoughts, it will still be this time.” Chu Xizhi coldly looked at Tuli. “Since Prince Tuli is so worried about this king, then this king has nothing to say. Actually, this king does not have to be from the Northern Desert. In the end, the horse market in the northwest has long been in this king’s possession. However, this king’s current status is inconvenient for me to step forward.”

Seeing Chu Xizhi’s cold face, he suddenly panicked. He hurriedly said softly, “Your Highness, Little Wang is stupid. Please forgive me if you offend Your Highness.” After saying that, he stood up and walked in front of Chu Xizhi. He raised his left hand and bowed to Chu Xizhi. He said, “I wonder what Your Highness is planning to do with Little Wang?”

Indeed, as Chu Xizhi had said, even if he really coveted the Northern Desert like Chu Yanzhi, it was not now. Moreover, if King Baokang had secretly colluded with Chu Yanzhi, then the situation between him and his father would not be too good. Therefore, he had to obtain the help of the Chen Clan and seize the opportunity before King Baokang made any moves.

Chu Xizhi looked at Tu Li and the corner of his lips hooked, “The prince doesn’t need to do anything. He just needs to show his face in the northwest at the right time.”

These words left him completely confused. However, when he saw the evil smile on the corner of Chu Xizhi’s lips, he felt a sense of fear towards the man in front of him. He even faintly felt that the man in front of him was playing a game of chess. Whether it was him or Beimo, they were only pawns on his chessboard.

After sending Tu Li away, Chen Mubai saw Chu Xizhi half-leaning against the pillar in the courtyard, slightly raising his head. His deep gaze stared at the sky above his head without moving. He did not know what he was thinking. Even Chen Mubai stood beside him for a long time, but he did not realize it.

To be able to make His Highness King Yan so absent-minded, other than his cousin Xiao Xiwei, there was no second thought in the world.

Looking at the disappointment in Chu Xizhi’s eyes, Chen Mubai sighed softly in his heart.

It was true that Chu Xizhi could calculate the hearts of the people in the world, but there was only one person that he had never had the slightest intention of using her. Everyone said that the Imperial Clan was heartless, but the man in front of them seemed to be an exception.

“Ah Mu, Li Bo said that there are traces of roe deer on the mountain recently. Look, why don’t we go hunting on the mountain later?” Chen Mubai walked over to Chu Xizhi and patted him on the shoulder.

Chu Xizhi looked down at Chen Mubai and raised his eyebrows. “Are you so bored?”

Boring.

Chen Mubai almost flew over with a white eye. If he wasn’t afraid that he would feel sorry for himself, wouldn’t he want to distract him from this matter? Alright, in the end, he didn’t appreciate it at all.

“Then Your Highness, for the sake of the grass dwellers being so bored, can you kindly help me resolve my doubts?” Chen Mubai took a step back and bowed towards Chu Xizhi.

Chu Xizhi gave him a faint glance and immediately turned his gaze away.

Chen Mubai curled his lips and said, “What is His Highness’s plan on the Northwest?”

If he only allowed Tuli to show his face in the northwest, then why would he have to expend so much effort to invite Tuli here?