Chapter 1341 – Blood Oath Alliance (II)
Everyone, unlike Wei Ci, who understood Jiang Pengji’s “future,” failed to see the hidden calculations within. Just based on the content of the agreement, their leader hadn’t lost anything. Given this premise, as long as Huang Song kept his word, sparing his life wasn’t a problem.
Jiang Pengji asked, “Does anyone have any objections?”
The crowd had no significant opinions.
If they did, it was mostly that the prohibition on three generations entering government service felt a bit too short.
The term “three generations” on the agreement referred to Huang Song, his son, and his grandson. That guy had already married and had children; his kids were several years old. By the time his great-grandchildren grew up, it wouldn’t be long at all, which made everyone worry that this timeline was too tight.
However, after considering the timing, by the time Huang Song’s great-grandchildren entered service, he would have long been laid to rest, and there wouldn’t be any old ministers left.
Thinking about it this way, the ban on three generations entering service was still acceptable.
Their leader allowing Huang Song to live didn’t mean he intended for this lineage to be barred from service forever; that would be showing grace while looking for trouble.
Seeing the younger nobles so reasonable, Jiang Pengji felt satisfied and instructed someone to prepare for the alliance ceremony.
She had formed alliances numerous times, but most of them were just verbal agreements. A blood oath was different.
The audience in the live stream thought the oath involved dripping blood into a wine cup and drinking it down.
In reality, it meant smearing the blood of livestock on their lips to signify their sincerity and determination for the alliance.
For a drama, the former had a stronger visual impact.
Yesterday, Jiang Pengji ended her live stream early, so the idle viewers had no idea of the details of her late-night snack and alliance discussion with Huang Song. Today, as they tuned in, they were shocked by the unfolding story, with many expressing doubt and concern.
【Xiao Pen】: Host, you’re planning to breach the contract, right? Can you guarantee that Huang Song’s descendants won’t secretly cause trouble?
In a historical romance novel, the character of Huang Song’s descendants would definitely be the male lead.
His ancestors failed to seize the world from the royal family, and the royal family, pretending to be benevolent, offered favors to soothe the masses, forcing the descendants to succumb to reality. In the male lead’s generation, he stood out as the one the tyrant emperor envied and despised, constantly wary of suppression from the emperor. The male lead and the female lead would be in a romance while lying low, building their strength, and after much struggle, overthrow the royal family to take their place.
This kind of plot had left the audience bored, raising concerns about any potential chaos from Huang Song’s descendants, suggesting it might be better to eradicate any threats completely.
【Gu Gu Gu Gu】: While indiscriminate slaughter is wrong, the host should also think about herself and future generations; keeping Huang Song around is indeed dangerous.
【Cafeteria Auntie】: A blood oath is very serious; both sides won’t easily breach the covenant, and they also need to sign a physical contract. For example, during the Long March, a certain marshal used blood oaths to guarantee mutual non-aggression with minority groups.
Don’t underestimate the spirit of contracts in ancient times—it was quite admirable.
If it were just a verbal agreement, it would rely on personal morality to fulfill the promise, leading to more breaches.
However, Jiang Pengji was determined to put all the terms into practice; alongside the blood oath, there was an added process of formalizing the agreement.
Black and white on paper, with the agreement as proof, who would actively choose to breach it?
Han Yu and Cheng Jing, acting as officiants, checked both agreements to ensure the terms were identical and without discrepancies.
After their inspection, Han Yu read aloud to inform the gathering of ministers and soldiers about the content of the agreement.
“If there are no objections, we will sign it.”
Huang Song sighed, “Naturally not.”
He dipped his pen into the bright red ink and eagerly signed his name at the end of the agreement, pressing his personal seal as well.
That wasn’t enough; they still needed to leave their handprints on the agreement.
Jiang Pengji expressionlessly drew a dagger and made a cut on her palm, clenching her fist to let the blood fill her palm.
Huang Song, witnessing her boldness, silently abandoned his “delicate” act of using ink.
With no sharp tool at hand, he had to borrow her dagger.
The agreement was made in two copies: one for Jiang Pengji and one for Huang Song.
Jiang Pengji dipped her finger in a bowl filled with livestock blood, smeared it on her lips, and Huang Song followed suit.
Feeling pleased, she said, “With the agreement signed, it looks like our plan to dinner together when we reach our sixties isn’t impossible.”
Huang Song thought to himself that he had the fate of a long-lived man, but this person in front of him might not be so fortunate.
However, if he dared utter this thought, the crowd behind Jiang Pengji would surely beat him to a pulp.
Under the pressure of survival instinct, Huang Song could only swallow his inner thoughts.
The agreement was signed, but things wouldn’t be so easily concluded.
Thinking of Cheng Jing and the others, Huang Song let out a long sigh, feeling he had let down their high hopes and expectations.
“My Lord, why must it come to this—” Yuan Chong had his injuries treated, but due to his movements, the bandage turned red with blood again. Without regard for this, he continued, “It’s all because I am incompetent and couldn’t protect you properly, leading to you…”
Tears welled up in Yuan Chong’s eyes as he thought about his beloved lord’s experiences.
If it weren’t for his incompetence, unable to shake off the pursuers, how could their lord have fallen into Liu Xi’s hands?
Huang Song quickly interrupted Yuan Chong, raising his hand to help him up.
There were many warriors from the Yuan family, each with their thoughts, but there were also those with sincere loyalty.
Huang Song felt he owed Yuan Chong; how could it be Yuan Chong who owed him?
“Heng Shu, what are you talking about?”
Huang Song let out a bitter laugh.
The more Yuan Chong spoke, the guiltier Huang Song felt. As their leader, he had burdens far too heavy, fears he might never repay in this lifetime.
After much coaxing, he finally settled Yuan Chong down, but the sadness only intensified, and everyone looked as if they were mourning.
Huang Song exchanged glances with Feng Jue from a distance, the latter’s expression dark and cold.
“My Lord, have you thought about what to do next?”
A certain strategist asked Huang Song, his voice a bit hoarse.
Huang Song replied, “Lan Ting is a person of his word; since we made a blood oath, he won’t easily breach it. I’m not worried about myself; rather, I’m more concerned about you all. You are in your prime, and you can’t just retreat now, wasting all your talents!”
For someone with ambition and aspirations, wasting time is the cruelest punishment.
Huang Song was not someone who couldn’t afford to lose. He didn’t mind old ministers surrendering to Jiang Pengji.
As the saying goes, even parents sometimes remarry; why should lords and subjects be any different?
Hearing this, the crowd felt even sadder, with some even bursting into tears.
Huang Song wasn’t completely selfless; he had his own little schemes. Since the agreement stated that Huang Song’s male descendants couldn’t enter service, he could only find ways to train his daughters. If the old ministers surrendered to Jiang Pengji, they would be the most natural support for his daughter in the court!
His experiences from childhood taught Huang Song that fame and reputation are all fleeting; only strength earns respect.
Jiang Pengji might grant him a hereditary title for three generations in the future, but that would just be a name without power. Whether others choose to respect you depends entirely on their will; if they don’t wish to show respect, you can only accept it. As the head of the family, Huang Song naturally couldn’t let his family face such humiliation.
Thus, he needed to start planning slowly.
Unbeknownst to him, all his reactions were within Jiang Pengji’s calculations.
