An Eight-year-old Princess novel Chapter 1318

Ling Ziyue sneered, "From Deer City to here, we have been in the State of Xia for more than a few months. We have walked through countless cities and villages in the State of Xia all the way. There was no problem before. Why do they suddenly feel uncomfortable of the journey this time?"

"It's just the emperor of the State of Xia or the Empress who tries to threaten us. Basically, they want to make it clear to us that this is their territory and we have to be obedient. Otherwise, they have a lot of ways to control us."

Another man smashed the table and made a huge "bang" sound. He widened his eyes and shouted defiantly, "Damn, how could we just be sitting ducks and let them set us up like this?"

"Of course not." Ling Ziyue pursed his lips and said, "but we can pretend to be trapped. Let's just play along and pretend that we are intimidated and lay low for a period of time. And then we shall see who laugh at last."

He paused for a while and then confidently chuckled, "it all depends who is more manipulative."

Their little conversation in the tavern was clearly heard by Yun Shang. She was playing with the sand tray by herself. Hearing his last words, she curled up her lips silently and whispered, "That's right. It all depends who is more manipulative."

She looked carefully at her sand tray and the pawns in it as if she was in deep thoughts. Then she pushed one of the pawns a few steps towards the gate of the city on the sand tray and said quietly, "There is a saying in the Art of War: right timing, place and men are the three essential elements of winning a battle. Losing one of them may lead to defeats. Judging by what they have now, the winning chance is quite slim. First of all, they don't have a good place and don't even have the right timing. At their best, they might have the right men for the battle."

She tilted her head and smiled, "but sadly, there are only a few of them. And even if they have the best men for the job, I will find a way to destroy them."

Hearing Yun Shang's words, Qian Zhuo quickly added, "I've found out the details of the envoys from the State of Youyue and the State of Yihai. The ones from the State of Youyue is Ling Ziyue and his general minister Gong Yu. The escorting females are Lady Gong Sijia and the eighth princess Ling Lanyu."

She continued, "As for the envoys of the the State of Yihai, they are prince Qian Yifan, Vice Minister Shan Xian. The escorting females are the forth princess Qian Hutong and Lady Qian Jinyu."

Then Qian Zhuo took out a pamphlet and said, "Take a look at this. We have written down everything we know about the temperament and preferences of these envoys and the ladies. But we really don't know much about the two states. To be honest, we haven't dealt much with the State of Youyue or the State of Yihai. What we know is only what they show after they come to the State of Xia. I don't know if things are really what they seem to be."

Yun Shang nodded, "it doesn't matter whether it's true or not. Be it true or not, we can still make good use of it if we are smart enough."

She took over the pamphlet and looked through it for a while. Then she closed the pamphlet carelessly and chuckled, "So, among the envoys sent by the two states, the most honorable one is called Ling Ziyue, but the most composed one is the Vice Minister of the State of Yihai, by the name Shan Xian?"

"Yes, that's exactly what we get from our informants."

Yun Shang lowered her eyelids and thought for a while. Then she put pamphlet away and asked,"Do they usually move around together?"

"They move around together most of the time, however, since they come from two different states, we can often see them act separately."

"That's good." Yun Shang nodded, "I had made up my mind that I wouldn't go out of the palace before the Wanshou Festival party. But now, it's time for me to go out."

"Out of the palace?" Qian Zhuo was slightly surprised by her directive. She blinked her eyes and asked, "Your Highness, are you leaving the palace to attend the affairs of these envoys?"

"Yes."

"What do you plan to do, Your Highness?" Qian Zhuo's face was full of curiosity.

Yun Shang lowered her eyes and chuckled, "Well, it's a secret for the time being. You'll know soon."

Then she straightened her face and quickly said, "Send someone to help me do some investigation first." As she took another look at the names in the pamphlet, Yun Shang added, "Especially this Vice Minister Shan Xian, pay attention to where he frequently visits. Or, when he is about to go somewhere, come and inform me in advance. I would like to meet him. We shall wait and see."

Qian Zhuo was even more curious, she opened her mouth and wanted to ask more question but Yun Shang simply turned her head away to hide her grin. Seeing her empress wanted to keep her in suspense, Qian Zhuo had no choice but to pout, "Your Highness is so tricky."

Her little protest didn't make Yun Shang reveal her plan. She simply curled up her lips and didn't say anything about what she was going to do.

On the second day, news came from outside the palace that Shan Xian had booked a private room in one of the renowned theatres and would go there later this afternoon for a show.