Chapter 712 – The Flying Pot from the Sky (Part 4)
The strategists exchanged glances, inwardly marveling at Xu Pei’s cunning mind.
Talk about being ruthless with a heart as dark as night!
Plotted an assassination against Liu Xi all on his own; when the time comes, just toss the blame onto Xu Fei, and he can clear himself in an instant. Not only would it establish Xu Fei as a formidable enemy, but it would also completely tie the Liu father and son to Xu Pei’s war chariot, gaining him a good reputation.
Even if the Liu father and son fell out with Xu Pei, they wouldn’t turn to Xu Fei because of this black pot.
With that in mind, Xu Pei was the prime suspect with the strongest motive. He could easily be deemed the number one suspect.
Xu Fei stood firm, coldly huffing, and questioned the person beside him.
“Hmph, that hypocrite, what’s he doing now?”
“The Young Master is entertaining allies.”
“Eat, eat, eat! Hosting feasts all day with dancers and beauties, why doesn’t he just eat himself to death!” Xu Fei’s expression twisted slightly, laced with a hint of malevolence as he derisively remarked, “This cousin of mine is truly skilled, calling for royal aid with a troop of dancing girls and singers, presenting jewels and beautiful carriages… all for his own fame. And now, to set up this disgusting scheme to sully my name, how disgusting!”
One person beside him looked worried and cupped his hands, saying, “Lord, this is not the time for complaints. With the Liu father and son’s support, he’s rallying a host of forces. The position of alliance leader… it’s likely going to fall to the Young Master… our chance to contend is slim.”
Xu Fei’s anger flared, “I can see that.”
He believed he was no weaker than his cousin, but the guy’s showboating skills were on another level.
“What do you propose? It’d be best to drive a wedge between him and the Liu father and son.”
Xu Fei was furious—why should his cousin get what he couldn’t attain?
Using jewels and lovely maidens to entice talent and build reputation, what’s so impressive about that?
Someone spoke up, “That’s not feasible; doing so would only backfire.”
Xu Fei’s pent-up frustration was approaching its limit.
“That won’t work, this won’t work; then what should we do?”
The reply came, “Why not prepare a generous gift, have someone approach Liu Xi on behalf of the Young Master to apologize?”
Xu Fei was taken aback; clearly, it was Xu Pei’s wrongdoing, so why should he send a gift to apologize?
That person continued to analyze, “Lord, from the information we have, it appears Liu Xi and the Young Master haven’t gotten into any scandal, indicating that the Young Master has successfully framed you. If you explain yourself to Liu Xi now, it would only backfire and label you with the ‘silver-tongued deceiver’ notoriety. Given that, you might as well use the excuse of ‘the elder brother’s lack of oversight allowed an assassin to infiltrate, so I apologize on his behalf’ to connect with her, exposing some points of doubt. If Liu Xi isn’t foolish, she’ll surely investigate. What she discovers on her own will be far more credible than any words from others.”
If done correctly, Xu Pei might even drop the stone he lifted right on his own foot.
With that thought in mind, Xu Fei immediately instructed someone to prepare a generous gift and sent a capable subordinate to present it, to show their sincerity.
Jiang Pengji noted that Xu Fei and Xu Pei were quite the cousins; their imaginations were top-notch.
After sending off Xu Fei’s messenger, Yang Si and Feng Zhen stared at the pile of gifts that filled half the military tent, nearly popping their eyes out.
“What does this mean?”
Jiang Pengji laughed, “Most likely… the brothers are suspicious of each other.”
【Qingfeng Xueying】: Hahaha—tossing blame at each other with mutual suspicion? Is this an innovative operation?
【Zuiyun Maoyao】: Xu Fei doubts Xu Pei of staging the whole thing, and Xu Pei suspects Xu Fei of playing tricks behind the scenes… feels like a tongue twister.
【Saowu Jushi】: I don’t care if the brothers are tossing black pots at each other. At least our streamer is profiting, enjoying life!
Indeed, after all the commotion, the ultimate beneficiary turned out to be Jiang Pengji.
If the Xu brothers knew the truth, would they weep bitter tears?
“Something tells me today’s alliance meeting is going to be a battlefield of intense conflict…”
Jiang Pengji clicked her tongue as if reminiscing.
Yang Si and Feng Zhen exchanged glances, each seeing the helplessness in the other’s eyes.
Shameless!
If only their lord hadn’t orchestrated such a scheme, pulling a fast one; the brothers wouldn’t be causing such a ruckus.
Just as Jiang Pengji was about to wash up and change into a new outfit, a notice came in that Huang Song was visiting.
“I heard you were attacked in Xu Pei’s camp last night?”
This time, Huang Song didn’t bring Cheng Jing but instead brought Feng Jue, both dressed in casual wear, visiting in a personal capacity.
Jiang Pengji lazily greeted Feng Jue.
Then she said, “To die beneath a peony blossom is to be a gallant spirit; what does it matter if one is attacked?”
Huang Song: “…”
“Xu Pei originally had good intentions, wanting to send me that stunning dancer, but who would have thought the beauty was poisonous, truly a killer.”
Huang Song was rendered speechless; from his understanding of Liu Xi, although she liked beautiful women, she was always restrained. He still remembered back when the three of them were in the capital, they often lingered in brothels, yet Liu Xi never stayed over, merely content to listen to songs.
He had not expected that after so many years, Liu Xi had fallen as well, now a frivolous young master lost in the world of pleasures.
Feng Jue remarked, “You don’t strike me as a careless person; would you really indulge in a beauty sent by a stranger?”
Jiang Pengji replied, “Everyone can slip up, even a horse can stumble… I was just too careless; it was truly a perilous night…”
Huang Song laughed along, “Youthful impulse—what man doesn’t love beauty? But everything in moderation, don’t overdo it.”
Huang Song and Feng Jue had only come to check on her, satisfied that she was unharmed.
After a bit of small talk, just as Huang Song and Feng Jue were about to leave, Yang Si entered from outside carrying a stack of bamboo slips, pausing upon seeing there were guests inside.
Spotting Huang Song’s face, Yang Si’s heart skipped a beat.
One foot was inside the tent, one still outside, hesitating whether to enter or retreat.
“You… I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere…”
Huang Song had previously visited, but Feng Zhen and Yang Si were busy with camp matters, so they hadn’t met.
Yang Si fell into an awkward silence; he had definitely seen Huang Song before, but not recently.
Reflecting on the past, he had quit his service with Changshou Wang, leaving his old master with his book boy to fly off far away.
He had originally wanted to join Huang Song, to see if he was his true master, but who knew the doorkeeper at Huang Song’s residence bullied him, suppressing his letter. Later, Huang Song chased after him, and in a fit of pride, Yang Si had coldly rejected him and concocted a fake name.
Continuing north, he had stumbled into Wei Ci’s trap, slowly sinking into the abyss known as “overtime” orchestrated by Jiang Pengji and Wei Ci.
Looking back now, it was deeply sigh-inducing.
Had he simply joined Huang Song back then, maybe he wouldn’t be this exhausted now; at least Huang Song was much easier to deceive than Jiang Pengji.
Huang Song also recalled Yang Si’s identity, and with a half-smile, called out, “Master Zhao, it’s been a while since we last met; how have you been?”
Yang Si fell silent again; back then, to mess with Huang Song, he had claimed his surname was Zhao.
