Chapter 153: The Small Conical Gold Coin

Gao Qionghua stooped to pick up the object, hung it around her neck once more, and commanded with extreme tension, "Quick, quick, quick! Hide me in the well!"

Seeing what was hanging around her neck, Li Dong felt deeply shocked and stirred, but danger was right at hand, leaving no time for detailed interrogation. He accompanied Gao Qionghua to the edge of the well, creaked the windlass into motion, had her crouch inside the bucket, and lowered her rapidly into the shaft.

The well was a dry one, plunging some sixty feet deep. After lowering her safely to the bottom, Li Dong hoisted the bucket back up to the surface and restored everything to its original state. Without careful inspection, one could never tell it had been tampered with.

At that moment, the commotion of the approaching Sui garrison troops was still some distance away from Qionghua Hall. Taking advantage of the brief window before their arrival, Li Dong pulled out the small, conical gold nugget from his tunic, looking at it over and over. Reassuring himself that his eyes were not playing tricks on him and that he had indeed seen the exact same object around Gao Qionghua's neck, he quickly tucked the small gold nugget back into his bosom.

Soon, the noises drew closer—the clatter of weaponry and the chaotic sound of footsteps could be heard distinctly. Li Dong straightened his robes, composed himself, drew his meteorite sword, and strolled casually about the hall.

The one leading the approaching detachment was none other than Fei Qingnu, the Martial Guard General under Lai Hu'er, a man who had repeatedly clashed with him in intense conflicts yet had always been countered and subdued by him.

Seeing Li Dong appear inside Qionghua Hall, Fei Qingnu was greatly taken aback. He paused abruptly, his expression deeply hesitant as he weighed whether to retreat or advance.

"Come on in. Since we've already run into each other, what are you hesitating for?" Li Dong sheathed his sword behind his back, clasped his hands behind him, and said with a feigned, relaxed air.

Regaining his composure, Fei Qingnu finally stepped across the threshold of Qionghua Hall. He glanced left and right. Seeing the chaotic state of the ground both inside and outside the hall, with corpses scattered haphazardly, he surmised that Li Dong had slain them. Yet after killing these people, why hadn't he slipped away, choosing instead to linger here searching for something?

Guessing Fei Qingnu's thoughts, Li Dong remarked, "Does General Fei have any news of Eulji Mundeok and Sai Yuer? I have been searching for them for a long time."

Fei Qingnu's heart skipped a beat. How could he have guessed the exact thoughts running through my mind the very moment they occurred?

The fact that Fei Qingnu was secretly colluding with Eulji Mundeok was a confirmed secret known to only two people in the entire Sui army: Li Dong and Qin Qiong. Following the fall of Pyongyang, Fei Qingnu had been burning with anxiety, desperate to unearth where Eulji Mundeok was hiding so he could find and eliminate him. Only by silencing him permanently—leaving no living witness—could he put the matter to rest and thoroughly protect his own innocence. If anyone else beat him to it, Fei Qingnu's life would be hanging by a thread.

As a well-informed insider, Li Dong naturally understood all of this. Telling Fei Qingnu that he was searching for news of Eulji Mundeok was, in reality, an implicit threat and a spur to action: stop wondering what I am doing here, and figure out how to save your own skin first by tracking down Eulji Mundeok's whereabouts!

Fei Qingnu wore an extremely awkward expression. Just as he had begun to harbor suspicions about Li Dong, his path was completely blocked. Whom could he blame? He had only himself to blame for his momentary cowardice and disgraceful conduct, and an even greater blunder was falling into Li Dong's grip. What was most vexing and hateful was that he had no choice but to submit to him.

"I shall take my leave and search for Eulji Mundeok right away!" At that moment, anger toward Li Dong was gone from Fei Qingnu's heart. He dared not feel it! Instead, a sense of awe and reverence toward Li Dong had taken root—a reverence born out of the terror of having his scandalous secrets exposed. He offered pleasant words and ingratiating smiles: I won't provoke you, all right? I'll just stay out of your way, all right?

"Go then! When you have news of them, don't forget to let me know." In terms of troop strength, Fei Qingnu's forces were superior to Li Dong's. Yet, holding Fei Qingnu's weakness in his hands and serving by the Emperor's side, Li Dong issued orders to Fei Qingnu from a position of absolute superiority.

After turning and walking a few paces, Li Dong seemed to remember something and called out, "When you see Qin Qiong, Unclebao, don't forget to tell him I have matters to discuss with him."

Fei Qingnu's body gave a slight jolt. He acknowledged the command and hurried away without looking back.

Watching the receding detachment, Li Dong fell into deep contemplation.

Li Dong genuinely worried about the latent threat posed by Eulji Mundeok and Sai Yuer. Their minds were extraordinarily meticulous, making them the most formidable adversaries he had ever encountered in his life. If Sui's rule in Pyongyang was to proceed smoothly without major upheavals, these two had to be eradicated as soon as possible. Otherwise, with him in the light and them in the shadows, and given their intimate familiarity with every nook and cranny of this Goguryeo imperial palace, attempting to assassinate Emperor Yang of Sui in secret would be as effortless as Zhang Fei eating bean sprouts—a mere piece of cake.

As a personal guard to Emperor Yang, he shouldered the heavy responsibility of protecting the ruler's life. Perhaps Emperor Yang was not destined to be assassinated by Goguryeo assassins; his fate was written to die in Jiangdu, at the hands of Yuwen Huaji. Yet, any commotion stirred up by the Goguryeo people would still cause Li Dong endless anxiety.

Most importantly, his game of chess was yet unfinished, and Emperor Yang must not die at this juncture. As long as Emperor Yang lived, Li Dong, serving as his close personal bodyguard and favorite courtier, could effortlessly acquire all manner of intelligence reported from various regions of the Sui Empire—reports of rebellions, natural disasters, ministerial proposals, mutual accusations, and political infighting.

Once mastered, all of this could be manipulated and quietly orchestrated to his own advantage. Take Li Yuan, for instance, toward whom Emperor Yang harbored deep discontent. As a traveler from later generations who knew that Li Yuan would establish the Tang Dynasty after the Sui, Li Dong could use Emperor Yang's hand to suppress him. This was his most crucial political asset, possessing a lethality comparable to an army of half a million soldiers!

After Fei Qingnu left, Qionghua Hall was devoid of any living soul. Li Dong pulled out the small conical gold nugget, inspected it closely, and drifted into a trance for a long time.

It was not until Lu Laosan hurried over that Li Dong snapped back to reality.

Seeing Li Dong standing motionless in the middle of the hall like a clay sculpture, staring blankly, Lu Laosan gave a soft cough and said, "Commander Li, His Majesty summons you!"

"Oh... You go ahead, I will follow shortly," Li Dong replied, leisurely stowing the small gold nugget into his tunic.

Lu Laosan did not look too closely and turned to leave. He still felt a bit puzzled: he had clearly heard a woman screaming here just moments ago, so where had she gone? Why was he the only one here?

Li Dong walked over to the dry well in the courtyard and called down into the shaft, "I have matters to attend to, but I'll be right back. Make sure you don't make any noise, and don't mistakenly think I've abandoned you."

A woman's voice drifted up from the dry well: "Hmph, go on then. Don't forget, I still need to eat!"

Li Dong smiled. If she hadn't reminded him, he truly might have overlooked the matter. Back at the encampment, everyone's rations were fixed, and now an extra person had been added. Although she was a woman and wouldn't eat much, she was a princess after all—not like him, who could eat anything.

Now that the Goguryeo imperial palace had fallen, all kinds of delicacies were readily available, so she shouldn't have to suffer. Still, it would depend on her fortune; if he couldn't scrounge up any food for her, she would just have to eat his leftovers!

Ha! At this thought, Li Dong felt an inexplicable wave of amusement. Dignified as a princess, she would actually end up eating his leftovers! Ha, how could anyone keep a straight face at that?

What would Emperor Yang be doing at a time like this? Given his historical character, with countless beauties filling the Goguryeo imperial palace, this was precisely the moment for him to indulge his imperial pleasures to the utmost. If he wasn't out enjoying himself, why would he summon him?

harboring conjectures, Li Dong strode out of Qionghua Hall.