Chapter 1696 – The Conclusion of Hua Yuan (Part Five)
Lü Zheng was not one to just sit idly by, but age had dulled the sharpness of his words compared to his youth.
So, he mocked Jiang Pengji for her unsavory victory over An Huan, claiming it was all thanks to An Huan’s useless ally that she was in this position now.
Jiang Pengji twirled her chess piece, contemplating her next move to make Lü Zheng lose with more flair.
“I didn’t plant any spies next to An Huan.”
She thought Lü Zheng was accusing her of using spy tactics against An Huan.
Though that was a standard battle maneuver, quite advanced even, she flatly denied having done such a thing.
Lü Zheng recalled the aggravating Hua Yuan and the even more aggravating “Liu Xi” personality, smirking silently.
“Among An Huan’s bunch of misfits, you’re the only competent one. You can’t possibly be my spy; I haven’t done such a thing.” While Jiang Pengji defended herself, she also took a jab at Lü Zheng, continuing, “Moreover, luck is part of strength. If anyone should be blamed, it’s An Huan for his poor judgment in trusting the wrong people. How could you blame me for being too formidable and having a keen eye?”
Lü Zheng: “…”
The familiar taste of her sharp tongue and narcissism struck him.
“It’s not anyone else; it’s Hua Yuan.”
To prevent Jiang Pengji from further indulging in self-admiration and making him nauseous, he opted to clarify.
Jiang Pengji looked astonished.
Her memory was sharp; she of course knew who Hua Yuan was, that unfortunate soul with a split personality!
“Shao Yin, what you said is quite puzzling. I’ve only met Hua Yuan once; how could I sway him?”
Back then, Hua Yuan had met with Jiang Pengji to form an alliance on behalf of An Huan; what could Jiang Pengji accomplish in such a brief encounter?
Lü Zheng sighed, “Hua Yuan suffers from a split personality disorder.”
A perfectly good strategist turned out to be mentally unstable—how tragic!
Jiang Pengji felt that his words sounded eerily familiar.
Discreetly stealing a glance at Wei Ci, who had also told her something similar before.
“I know that; I felt something was off during our meet. His mind was a bit unhinged. So what?”
“When he has a breakdown, he imagines himself as ‘Liu Xi.’ If he envisions himself as you, how could he genuinely assist An Huan?”
Jiang Pengji paused in her moves.
“Which personality did that nutcase dream up?”
Lü Zheng didn’t understand, so Jiang Pengji rephrased her question.
“I mean, what does Hua Yuan think he is?”
Lü Zheng fell silent, merely letting his gaze rest on her.
The implication was clear.
After a moment of surprise, Jiang Pengji quickly accepted this set-up.
“So what? Even without Hua Yuan, I could solidly defeat An Huan this year.”
Lü Zheng remarked softly, “Arrogant.”
If Hua Yuan hadn’t intervened, he would be the one supporting An Huan.
Could he let Jiang Pengji crush An Huan’s defenses within a year?
Jiang Pengji grinned, “That’s called self-awareness. I never exaggerate my abilities.”
Lü Zheng couldn’t help but roll his eyes.
Though the “Liu Xi personality” had only been around for a short while, its destructiveness was impressive.
He still held firmly to the belief that Jiang Pengji had won thanks to her enemy’s bumbling ally.
Little did he know, in this life, he was living out the script of Wei Ci’s previous life.
Wei Ci would confidently assure them, the previous Emperor’s battle against Nan Sheng was the true definition of “winning by lying back.”
In the past, An Huan had insisted on exhausting all military resources to root out the Southern Barbarians. He won, but with heavy losses; ultimately, the Emperor—his neighbor—taking advantage of the situation. Wherever the army went, they barely met any resistance and crushed An Huan with overwhelming force. Wei Ci had reminisced less about the past, and upon glancing back, realized that An Huan in this life was faring worse than before.
Last life, he had at least died with dignity; this time, the Lord forced him onto the sacrificial altar for a slaughter.
After making her move, Jiang Pengji turned to Lü Zheng, “Hua Yuan hasn’t done anything disgusting, has he?”
Even if Hua Yuan’s personality was a figment of his imagination, the thought of what that persona did while claiming to be “Liu Xi” made Jiang Pengji uneasy. It hadn’t caused her any real harm, but it was certainly off-putting.
Just as she asked, another thought struck her.
Earlier, she had received intelligence that the Xichang royal siblings she had driven away were taken by An Huan, with one being gifted to Hua Yuan?
In an instant, Jiang Pengji’s face turned pale.
She wanted to personally hammer Hua Yuan to death—no one should stop her!
Just as she had made up her mind to find and punish Hua Yuan, he mysteriously vanished.
No, she wasn’t mistaken—he was genuinely missing.
Initially, no one paid much attention, but when the Old Steward noticed his master had been missing for two consecutive days, he dispatched someone to the government office for inquiries. It turned out they hadn’t seen Hua Yuan for a day or two either. The servants’ hearts skipped a beat as they hurriedly relayed the news to the Old Steward.
Every servant in the house was sent out to search, scouring the area, and finally found a tiny clue.
Some commoners reported seeing someone who closely resembled Hua Yuan stumbling out of the north gate of the city. Investigating further, the trail abruptly went cold soon after.
It was at this moment that everyone began to grasp a grave problem.
Hua Yuan… it seemed he wasn’t just pretending to be mad; he had truly lost his mind!
“What do we do now?”
Not only were Hua Yuan’s household servants flustered, but his former colleagues were panicking too. Those seasoned veterans, who thrived on scheming, straight-up called a ceasefire. They understood how much An Huan valued Hua Yuan, who possessed substantial military power. To gather forces and resist the incoming Jiang Pengji, they needed Hua Yuan intact. Now that he had completely gone mad, what were they supposed to do?
“What else can we do? Search! We’ll dig three feet into the ground if we must, but we will find him!”
Heaven favors the determined; after half a month, they still had no trace of Hua Yuan and instead stumbled upon various misleading clues, deploying people only to come up empty every time. Round and round they went, nearly overturning the earth, yet they hadn’t caught a glimpse of Hua Yuan. Honestly, if he wasn’t truly insane, they would suspect he’d laid down another trap.
With internal strife and external threats, they had to temporarily abandon the matter of Hua Yuan’s disappearance and focus on the coming conflict.
However, Jiang Pengji couldn’t care less about whether they were prepared to meet her in battle or not; she pushed forward without pause, overwhelming everything in her path. The loyal ministers under An Huan were certainly not blind; in fact, they were adept at self-preservation. They saw the tide had turned and Jiang Pengji was destined to win, so they planned to surrender to her before she broke down their gates with force.
Is surrendering shameful?
Of course not! It’s called following destiny!
That golden autumn, the gates of An Huan’s stronghold swung wide open, warmly welcoming their new ruler.
To show their sincerity, they presented Jiang Pengji with a “gift” of significant meaning.
Seeing the Xichang Princess, pregnant and ready to give birth, Jiang Pengji’s eyes shifted.
Using a pregnant woman, the late ruler’s posthumous child, to curry favor with the new lord? That move was just too cheeky!
Jiang Pengji smiled, but those who knew her well could see she was fuming.
