Chapter 33: Slay
Qin Sang's face lit up with joy. "Isn't that perfect? Brother Liu, you may not know, but I just received a message from General Wang Liu outside the city. Due to the rough mountain roads, he’ll be delayed by two days. Let’s proceed as you suggested. Send word to General Mu that we’ll act according to plan the day after tomorrow, and open the city gates at dawn the following day."
Seeing Liu Ji and his subordinates' uncertainty in response to his words, Qin Sang secretly sneered.
The Blood-Clad Tower wasn’t a unified force. The tower’s leader, Black Crane Sage, had four protectors under him: Elder Yue, Grass-Head Immortal, White-Robed Scholar, and Red Embroidered Lady. These four operated independently and often had disagreements.
Both he and Elder Yue only followed the orders of the Dongyang Lady.
Red Embroidered Lady was a close confidant of the eldest prince. Qin Sang had met her once and suspected that this flirtatious woman might be the prince’s lover.
Grass-Head Immortal was a direct subordinate of the third prince from the royal manor and was considered the weakest faction within the Blood-Clad Tower. To Qin Sang, this seemed more like a token position.
The White-Robed Scholar, on the other hand, was a trusted aide of Black Crane Sage, and Liu Ji was one of his men.
One probing sentence had indeed revealed Liu Ji's hidden agenda. If Wang Liu and Liu Ji were colluding, it meant that Black Crane Sage was likely leaning towards the eldest prince, which was bad news for the Dongyang Lady’s faction.
In the Dongyang King’s manor, there were four princes with the right to inherit. The eldest prince was, of course, the most prominent, but of the other three, the third prince was the most powerful, though even he couldn't threaten the eldest's position.