Chapter 812: Strategies Devised in the Tent! (1/2)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
”Yes, Your Highness!”
Lu Ting gave a solemn and subservient bow.
Lu Ting did not go back with the others to King Song's residence, instead stopping midway and returning to the official residence provided to him by the Imperial Court. After closing the door, he was left alone in the hall, with the only illumination being the dim light peeking in through the shuttered windows. After pausing for a moment, Lu Ting finally opened the letter in his bosom.
King Song's judgment had been correct. Wang Chong had not only written to a letter to him, but also to Lu Ting as well.
'To Academic and Teacher Lu, respectful greetings from Student Wang Chong…'
Upon opening the letter, he was immediately greeted by that familiar and twisted handwriting.
”This handwriting is just as awful as ever!”
Lu Ting felt all his tension wash away as he saw the words, and he could barely suppress his laughter.
”Already the Young Marquis, the Son of Heaven's disciple, a master of strategy, yet you can't spend a little time practicing your handwriting? Would anyone believe that this was a letter written by a marquis, and one who was a descendant of the revered and sagely minister Duke Jiu?”
Lu Ting's critical comments belied the warmth he felt in his heart. Of all the people that Lu Ting had interacted with, whether they made their name early or late, only Wang Chong had been able to maintain his original intentions, preserve his loyal heart. It was said that one could see what a person was like from how they wrote, and it was obvious from Wang Chong's handwriting that he was still the one that Lu Ting had first met with.
Lu Ting began to read the letter again.
The contents of the letter were very simple. Other than the matters related to King Song, Wang Chong had also included one other request. He hoped that Lu Ting could use his formidable forgery skills to make a copy of Fumeng Lingcha's oath of fealty to that prince, imitating the red seal of the Qixi Protectorate as well, and then deliver this copy to the prince.
Only this would prevent that prince from being alarmed and suspicious.
Wang Chong wanted everything to proceed along its original course. He wanted both Fumeng Lingcha and that prince to continue their secretive correspondence, but with that crucial original oath of fealty safe in King Song's hands.
”Haaa, Fumeng Lingcha, you should have just been satisfied with your Protector-General position. But now, you want to support that prince onto the throne, change the government, and then build up your own independent territory in the future. This is unprecedented, and His Highness King Song won't tolerate this, nor will the Great Tang allow this. More importantly, you shouldn't have provoked that man!”
Lu Ting shook his head and sighed as he unrolled a sheet of paper and placed it on the table. Taking up a brush, he took out Fumeng Lingcha's oath of fealty and placed it to the right side of the table. After thinking for a few moments, he began to write, his brush dancing across the paper.
A few moments later, an exact replica of the letter had appeared on the table. If it weren't for the fact that the ink on the left copy was still wet and there was no seal, it would be impossible to distinguish the forgery from the real.
After finishing the copy, Lu Ting immediately opened a secret compartment, in which lay a Protector-General seal that he had prepared in advance. Once the ink on the letter had dried a little, he stamped the letter with the seal.
”This should be enough.”
Lu Ting gave a sigh of relief.
As an academic, and one with ties to King Song, Lu Ting was able to enter many places, and he had a deep understanding of the jade seals used by the Protector-Generals of the empire. These were special seals that were impossible to completely duplicate, but it was still possible to create a seal that was almost completely identical.
At the very least, while Lu Ting had seen several Protector-General seals, that person deep within the palace had never seen one before. Someone of Lu Ting's abilities could easily deceive that man.
Creeeeak!
At this moment, the door to the hall was pushed open, letting in a ray of light and casting a massive shadow onto the floor. The old butler, his hands enclosed within his sleeves, slowly walked over, a leisurely expression on his face. Even at this distance, Lu Ting couldn't hear his footsteps or sense his aura. He was truly like a nonexistent ghost.
”How is it? Is it ready?” the old butler asked in his low and hoarse voice.
”Mm.”
Lu Ting nodded, apparently unsurprised by the old butler's appearance.
”Good.”
The old butler glanced at the letter on the table and nodded.
”His Highness is an Imperial Prince of the Great Tang, a member of the imperial household, so it's best not to inform him of this matter. I presume this is why that child Wang Chong wrote the letter to you. Leave the next part up to me. I will find an appropriate Hu to deliver the letter to that prince.”
”Mm.”