Chapter 1492 – Defeating Nie Liang and Attacking Yang Tao, Sword Aimed at the World (31)
“Th-thank you.”
The Salty Fish Euro Empress suddenly got shy; she felt this was the best gift she had ever received, instantly giving the entire wedding profound meaning.
“I was initially thinking of having a Western-style wedding, but I’ve changed my mind now. How should I send you the wedding dress photos?”
“It seems they can’t be sent,” Jiang Pengji replied casually. “However, even without wedding dress photos, I believe you are definitely a beautiful girl and will be the most stunning bride on your wedding day. Also, I must apologize for Zixiao’s actions. His behavior just now was due to caution and wanting to protect me. If he has offended you in any way, please don’t take it to heart, forgive him.”
The Salty Fish Euro Empress’s cheeks turned crimson as she covered her face with her hands, shyly saying, “Actually, I was at fault first, and the apology should be directed to Wei Ci. After all, that title was indeed offensive to him. Nothing has happened yet, and I haven’t been hurt. Host, I find you to be even better than I imagined. If you weren’t a girl, I would really want to switch the groom!”
That last sentence was what she truly wanted to express.
The host was warm, charming, handsome, beautiful, and responsible! Thank goodness she was a girl; otherwise, she’d be tempted to kick her fiancé to the curb.
“I’ve heard similar things many times before,” Jiang Pengji chuckled, “Thankfully, I can fight; otherwise, I would have been beaten to a pulp by a team already.”
“Not having enough charm and wanting to attack a rival in love is basically admitting you’re not as good as them,” the Salty Fish Euro Empress shook her head, then quickly changed the topic. “I suddenly remembered something; sending me such a precious gift will make others green with envy.”
Jiang Pengji glanced at the barrage of comments exploding in the livestream, then solemnly told the Salty Fish.
“They’re in an uproar; they’re all envious and hateful, and some even plan to send you daggers.”
The Salty Fish Euro Empress gleefully replied, “That’s great! I can open a knife shop without needing to stock up!”
Jiang Pengji had a very good impression of this optimistic Salty Fish.
However, due to the issue of their identities, she couldn’t pay too much attention to her.
Jiang Pengji arranged for some good food for the Salty Fish, calculating that by the time she finished eating, it would be time for her to head back.
The food in the military wasn’t the best, but the Salty Fish Euro Empress finished it with great grace, leaving with an entire set of headdresses and several gifts from her idols back to her own world. Meanwhile, Jiang Pengji wasn’t currently in the mood to care about the uproar on the Salty Fish’s side.
“How is Shi Zhong’s memory? Since he has perfect recall, he should be able to reproduce the drawings even without the original, right?”
Even though they had retrieved the blueprints, Shi Zhong had run back to Nie Liang’s base; keeping him around was ultimately a disaster.
Wei Ci comforted, “This matter isn’t too concerning; not to mention whether Shi Zhong can recreate the blueprints, how much time do you think it takes for mass casting? I just sent someone to inquire about that bandit; under duress, the bandit revealed everything. He mentioned he had chopped Shi Zhong on the hand, cheek, collarbone, and shoulder. With such injuries, even if he doesn’t die, it could take half his life; if the injuries were deeper…”
It would be difficult to hold a pen; how could he draw intricate details?
Jiang Pengji felt a bit relieved upon hearing this.
Suddenly, she became curious about what reaction Nie Liang would have.
Shi Zhong, their chess piece, was utterly useless now; they gained nothing from trying to catch a chicken and ended up with a loss, and even if Shi Zhong wasn’t sent by Nie Liang, he would likely still be quite frustrated.
Just as Jiang Pengji had guessed, Nie Liang was indeed feeling very frustrated right now; if it weren’t for his restraint, he might have exploded.
Wei Ying said apologetically, “It was my failure to act; if I had sent someone to support earlier, perhaps—”
Nie Liang interrupted him, sighing in his heart, “Forget it, even heaven is helping Liu Xi; what can we do? Shi Zhong faced no pursuers on his way, yet he happened to encounter bandits while crossing the mountains; it must be—perhaps this is fate.”
When luck is on your side, everything goes smoothly; when luck is down, even drinking cool tea can get stuck in your teeth.
Wei Ying was filled with self-reproach.
This was his oversight. If he had been more cautious and sent someone to assist Shi Zhong, perhaps the outcome would have been different.
Nie Liang asked, “How is Shi Zhong’s injury now?”
He remembered Zishun saying that Shi Zhong had perfect recall, so losing the blueprints was no big deal; as long as he was alive, he could rewrite them from memory.
Wei Ying sighed lightly, “Not so good; the military doctor said his right hand was injured by a chopper and he won’t be able to write in the short term, the wound on his cheek is deep, and he will surely lose the left eye; the shoulder wound extends to the collarbone and is difficult to heal, very prone to reopening.”
That Shi Zhong was alive was a miracle in itself; for the time being, other matters were out of reach.
Nie Liang was silent for quite a while after hearing this.
However, neither of the two knew about Shi Zhong’s determination to climb higher.
If the right hand couldn’t hold a pen, he would use his left; if the left eye was blind, he would just open his right eye; if the shoulder wound couldn’t be moved, he would draw while lying down…
He had endured humiliation for so many years for a chance to advance; how could he give up halfway?
In fact, during those years he was undercover in the Woodworking Workshop, he had thought about just turning traitor, but that thought didn’t last long. After all, the Woodworking Workshop was merely a clean government office; even if Jiang Pengji valued it highly, those inside almost entirely refrained from politics.
Zhang Ping, one of the three heads of the Woodworking Workshop, had indeed served for two years, but that was due to Jiang Pengji lacking talent and needing to recruit strong men.
Zhang Ping and others enjoyed good treatment, but they had no real power, or rather, the Woodworking Workshop was a department without authority.
Staying in this place, no matter how hard he tried, Shi Zhong could only climb to the position of someone like Zhang Ping.
Without real power, what was the point of a high status?
However, Shi Zhong was right-handed; drawing with his left hand would be clumsy—how could he create those exquisite and detailed blueprints?
After a few days of futile effort, he hadn’t seen any progress.
At this time, Jiang Pengji had already completed the arrangements, with several batches of supplies arriving in succession.
“We can’t keep being so stiff; we should find a way to break through.”
Qi Guanrang said, “Nie Liang hasn’t been willing to battle for several days now; this is already the fourth time he has put up a no-fight sign.”
Even though Nie Liang had put up a no-fight sign, Jiang Pengji could still choose to attack.
But since they were holed up in their camp, with over two hundred thousand troops stationed, and Jiang Pengji also had to defend Zhanjiang Pass, it wasn’t possible for her to dedicate all her efforts to an attack.
Therefore, with them hanging a no-fight sign, she could only watch and be frustrated.
“For dealing with this situation, there are only two methods. The first is to cause them trouble, and the second is to create trouble if there’s none.”
Qi Guanrang glanced at the Lord, knowing she had a lot of odd theories.
Someone suggested, “How about sneaking a night raid?”
Jiang Pengji responded, “Over a thousand people sneaking into the camp of their twenty-thousand-strong army? We won’t hurt anyone; we can only disturb their sweet dreams.”
That idea was terrible.
However—
Disturb their sweet dreams?
Nie Liang was currently in a weak state; he should be unable to withstand turbulence.
Bai Ning said, “This subordinate has a plan.”
Jiang Pengji replied, “Let’s hear it.”
Bai Ning was fully determined to achieve results now since the blame for not managing his daughter had not been lifted yet.
