Chapter 1087 – Turmoil Resurfaces (Part 3)
Nie Xun and Meng Heng’s issues were resolved smoothly, but that didn’t mean the past was truly cleared away; only the parties involved knew the truth.
Huang Song was somewhat resentful.
Who told Nie Xun to pull the wool over everyone’s eyes first?
Although Huang Song didn’t show it externally, Nie Xun was shrewd enough to sense the slight bitterness beneath the surface.
Watching Meng Heng come over every few days only added to Nie Xun’s mixed feelings.
He had a thought that he couldn’t decide whether to voice or not!
“Aren’t you afraid Liu Xi will get suspicious?”
Nie Xun finally couldn’t help but probe.
“If Heng distances himself from you, only then will the lord suspect something. Our relationship is clear, no need to hide it, lest others take advantage of the situation,” Meng Heng replied with a bitter smile, as if harboring a deep secret.
By conventional logic, it made sense for long-lost brothers to become closer, not cut ties completely after recognizing one another.
Before they recognized each other, their relationship wasn’t bad; now, with a layer of blood relation added, it made zero sense to drift apart.
Nie Xun had no retort for this answer.
Meng Heng was like sticky candy, impossible to shake off before, and now that he had managed to, he’d only end up getting his hands sticky.
Right now, the most troublesome matter wasn’t personal emotions, but the movements outside the Zhanjiang Pass and Yumen Pass.
After the Meng Residence was raided, the correspondence between Meng Zhan and the Zhong Zhao Nie Clan, as well as the Beiyuan Yi Clan, was exposed. Not only did the Meng Clan find themselves in hot water again, but the severe situation at the borders was laid before Jiang Pengji and Huang Song—if the two factions fought, it would only allow others to reap the benefits. The best course of action was for both families to continue their alliance, watch over each other, and deter Zhong Zhao Nie Clan and Beiyuan Yi Clan from making any rash moves.
When Feng Jue visited Jiang Pengji with Huang Song’s intentions, she remained unfazed, while the audience went ballistic.
【Sui Ge】: I have followed this live stream for years, but it’s the first time I feel so frustrated—it’s the host who’s truly aggrieved, not getting private space to lick their wounds, and Huang Song has the audacity to come asking to ally with the host to fight enemies—this face is wider than the sky!
【Shen Jia】: The recent live streams have been quite stifled. Although we managed to reclaim some ground from Meng Zhan, it still feels unsatisfactory.
【Fei Fei Fei】: The host’s ultimate move takes too long to charge—
【Jun Tang Huo Guo】: Calm down, has there ever been less competition in history? Think about our Boss Cao, for being a lecher and playing around with the widow of Zhang Xiu’s uncle, he led to Zhang Xiu switching sides, with his eldest son Cao Ang, nephew Cao Anmin, and the general Dian Wei all dead. In the end? Did Boss Cao not cherish the strategical advice of the cunning Jia Xu, who was the only one among his many advisors to die of old age? The grievances the host faces now don’t even measure up to one ten-thousandth of Boss Cao’s—so it’s not that bad!
【Old Driver Alliance】: #Nose Picking, the host wouldn’t go after a widower living in a lowered position at home—
As the audience rambled on, the topic veered way off track.
Jiang Pengji remained calm and collected, utterly unaffected. Feng Jue, seeing the big picture, hoped the two families would bury past grudges and defend the territory of Dongqing, waving the banner of righteousness; naturally, she wouldn’t dismantle the platform. Even if Huang Song didn’t bring it up, Jiang Pengji would propose reinforcing their alliance.
Now that Huang Song took the initiative, the effect was even better.
This persuasion was unnaturally smooth, leaving Feng Jue with an ominous premonition.
Upon relaying the message back to Huang Song, he also sensed something was off.
He paced back and forth, almost wearing a hole in the floor.
“The personality of Lan Ting, if I were to put it nicely, is serious; if I were to be blunt, she’s nitpicking and vengeful—having suffered such a huge loss, the more generous she appears, the more uneasy I feel. I can’t shake the feeling she’s hiding a trump card,” Huang Song said uneasily, but scouts’ reports came back being that whether it was the five thousand elite in Meng Jun or the army stationed at Qian Yan Pass, they were all keeping to themselves.
Feng Jue thought the same way.
Who could blame them? Jiang Pengji had left a deep-seated shadow in their minds from her youth, making it hard not to be overly cautious.
“Speaking of Cheng Yun—how’s he getting along with Meng Heng?”
Feng Jue said, “Their relationship is one of gentlemanly friendship; the lord mustn’t listen to any idle words from the former school officer and ruin the harmonious relationship among the civil and military officials under him.”
What kind of temperament did Yuan Xin have, always keeping an eye on Nie Xun without letting go?
Even the most loyal person can’t withstand such suspicion, the more Yuan Xin acted like this, the further he pushed Nie Xun away.
Thinking of this, Feng Jue found a growing resentment towards Yuan Xin.
A dignified military general, not thinking of vanquishing enemies with loyalty, yet fixated on such trifles—his vision and horizons seemingly too narrow.
Huang Song gave a vague response, but whether he was absorbing it, only he knew.
Before Nie Xun’s true origins were exposed, Huang Song had trusted him completely, never wavering despite Yuan Xin’s constant nagging.
Since discovering Nie Xun had intentions of deceit, Huang Song’s side was left with a bit of resentment. This speck of resentment was tiny, yet it was the seed of doubt, embedding deeply within. Yuan Xin’s frequent reports became the best nourishment for that seed, promising it would someday grow into a towering tree.
Watching Nie Xun hurtling headlong into the abyss, Wei Ci’s heart ached for Yang Si even more.
What connection did the two have?
In the past life, Yang Si was gradually estranged and harmed by the lord, only to be recruited in desperation.
“Speaking of Jing Rong, shouldn’t good news be on the way from his side soon?”
Jiang Pengji had been in Meng Jun for a while now.
No matter how good this place was, it was still Huang Song’s territory; the danger level went without saying.
Her refusal to move was certainly to cover for Yang Si and Dian Yin.
In ancient times, information transmission was slow, even with a rapid five-hundred-mile rush, it still required time.
Chenzhou and Cangzhou were separated by the rapid Song River; as long as this key path was controlled beforehand, messages would be delayed.
Once Huang Song received news of Yang Si and Dian Yin stationed at Chenzhou, the situation would pretty much be set.
She was keen to see who would be the one left at a loss in the end!
Meng Zhan bore the crime of regicide to clear the path for Huang Song, while the one who’d harvest the fruits would definitely be her, Jiang Pengji!
Wei Ci snapped back to reality, “Considering the time, it should be almost here.”
Jiang Pengji sipped her fragrant tea, grinning like a cunning fox.
“Jing Rong won’t disappoint me.”
Wei Ci hovered nearby, feelings mixed.
In both lives, Yang Si had never managed to escape the clutches of the lord, indicating it was a fated relationship.
“The timing is still too rushed—”
Wei Ci couldn’t help but speak a good word for Yang Si.
If Yang Si failed to meet the expected goals, she hoped Jiang Pengji would be lenient.
After all, Yang Si had suffered enough.
Being suddenly dispatched to Hujun for years, spending long hours negotiating with the crafty Han Yu under Xu Pei, and now needing to lead troops thousands of miles to support Chenzhou, he had to be quick, efficient, and leaves no trace so as not to let Huang Song catch wind of it in advance—
He truly had a hard life.
Little did anyone expect, before Yang Si’s message arrived, the envoy from Zhong Zhao Nie Clan had already come first.
“Fortunately, the envoy from Beiyuan Yi Clan is still on the road; otherwise, a meeting between the two families would turn into a battlefield.”
Meng Zhan had also dug his own grave, promising Cangzhou to two bigshots while turning around to hand it over to a third party.
If the two families learned the truth, wouldn’t all hell break loose?
