Chapter 1487 – Cutting Nie Liang, Attacking Yang Tao, Sword Pointing to the World (Twenty-Six)
“That’s it, we’re done for! The streamer hates betrayal the most, and especially when it’s someone holding a bunch of confidential blueprints betraying her.”
“Hey, this isn’t betrayal at all! The guy has a boss, he’s basically just a spy. If he ignores his boss and works his fingers to the bone for the streamer, now that’s what would be weird, right? But still, this whole operation is downright disgusting.”
Don’t be fooled by the dried fish, whining about Jiang Pengji’s misfortunes. If she runs into bad luck, those dried fish will be even more explosive!
Let’s get one thing straight! This streamer is their ultimate commander among the five million dried fish! Nobody can bully her but them!
“Am I the only one worried about Zhang Ping and the others? Sure, a spy did this, but they also bear responsibility for the poor oversight. The lost blueprints are likely military secrets. This isn’t something easy to sweep under the rug.”
Since Zhang Ping and the others are all tech nerds and engineering students, they rarely interact with Jiang Pengji, so dried fish have seen them only a handful of times. Even so, they still quite like the trio, with fan clubs popping up organically in the community.
With the trio making such a major blunder, the dried fish are just feeling anxious for them.
When Bai Ning and the others pleaded for leniency, some dried fish chimed in to support, and a few even suggested crowdfunding to reduce their sentences.
But a few dried fish bigwigs saw things clearly.
“No way! The charge of poor oversight can be inflated or deflated; it all depends on what the streamer decides. Zhang Ping and the others weren’t colluding with the spy, and the streamer has always insisted on supporting tech development. She’ll most likely go easy on them.”
While the dried fish debated endlessly, Jiang Pengji also made her decision.
She fined Zhang Ping and the others a year’s salary as a light punishment, but also made them reflect on their actions and calculate their wrongdoings later.
For three workers with high salaries, this punishment was merely a drizzle in a storm.
Bai Ning let out a sigh of relief, deciding to stop pleading for his daughter, fearing it would backfire and incur the leader’s wrath.
He promptly shifted the topic, focusing on the spy named Shi Zhong, determined to capture him for questioning.
Expressionless, Jiang Pengji replied, “Catching him for questioning isn’t so easy! We haven’t even figured out whose man Shi Zhong is yet.”
Even though Feng Jin and Xu Ke immediately dispatched troops to pursue him, they were delayed for several days, and the golden opportunity had long passed.
Due to the lack of progress in the pursuit, orders went out to all checkpoints to be on the lookout for suspicious individuals.
Better to wrongfully capture a thousand than let one get away!
As news of Shi Zhong reached Jiang Pengji, there was still no word from any location about this spy, as if he had evaporated from the earth.
Everyone could only speculate on which warlord’s henchmen Shi Zhong might belong to based on the remaining clues.
Shi Zhong was a serious matter, but Jiang Pengji was at the front lines and had no extra energy to search for him like searching for a needle in a haystack.
After discussing for a bit, they dispersed. Wei Ci took a stroll outside before returning.
Jiang Pengji said, “Are you trying to fool yourself? Except for a few who are rather dim-witted, who doesn’t know that you and I have been conspiring together? Going out for a walk and coming back just makes it seem like you have something to hide, raising suspicions.”
Hearing “conspiring together,” Wei Ci felt his leader could use some cultural education.
“That guy named Shi Zhong, I know him.”
Wei Ci cleared his throat and briefly explained his intent.
“What? You know him? Why didn’t you say so earlier?” Jiang Pengji quickly deduced the reasoning. “Was it inconvenient to speak about?”
It made sense that it was inconvenient for Wei Ci to share, meaning he had known Shi Zhong from a past life.
“Indeed, there are inconvenient aspects; although we have no interaction in this life, I have met him a few times in the past life and know a bit about him.”
In this life, Wei Ci and Shi Zhong had no connection; he couldn’t just use some spiritual method to deceive others.
He continued, “Shi Zhong’s ancestral home is in Zhong Zhao’s trade state. Due to his less-than-attractive appearance and short stature, he was denied entry to the government.”
In this era, getting into the government wasn’t just about talent and connections; one’s appearance, height, whether they had disabilities, or blemishes were all taken into consideration. In short, if someone was unattractive, they had no qualifications for public service and would be stuck as an ordinary person for life. Even if there were alternate paths to officialdom, they likely wouldn’t receive any prominent treatment, leading a mediocrity without achieving anything significant.
Yes, this world obsessed with appearances is so harsh.
As a member of the “below-average aesthetics club,” Shi Zhong’s journey was naturally filled with bumps. Initially, he joined a local gentry house in the trade state, but due to his looks and lack of skills, he ended up sitting idle for a year until he was gently shown the door.
Shi Zhong could only seek another opportunity and eventually entered the Wei family in Bianzhou as a guest official after a friend’s introduction.
“The Wei family from Bianzhou? Isn’t that your ancestral homeland?”
Wei Ci nodded, “Yes, our ancestors did branch off from the Wei family in Bianzhou, ultimately settling in Langya County. However, that branch fell into misfortune. To protect the youth in the clan, this branch migrated back to Bianzhou ten years ago, and that was considered a way out.”
In his previous life, Wei Ci followed them back to Zhong Zhao at that time, but in this life, he refused, staying in Langya County with a few servants.
Jiang Pengji nodded, no longer interrupting.
Wei Ci continued, “The Wei family from Bianzhou produces many handsome men, and Shi Zhong’s talents and looks in that family are easy to imagine.”
Jiang Pengji glanced at Wei Ci’s face, thoroughly agreeing with the statement that “the Wei family produces many handsome men.”
“So, it stands to reason that the one who sent him as a spy was likely your elder brother?”
Jiang Pengji recalled that the Wei family was considered a first-class aristocracy in Bianzhou. Some years ago, the Nie family wasn’t as high in status as they are now and certainly didn’t have the power to send Wei family’s guest officials undercover. After thinking it through, she arrived at a possibility—Shi Zhong was sent by Wei Ying!
“What you think matches my guess,” Wei Ci replied. “In fact, Shi Zhong was indeed under my elder brother in his past life.”
Of course, the Shi Zhong in his previous life never had the chance to be a spy.
When the emperor attacked Zhong Zhao, Nie Liang had long since knelt down. Wei Ying was depressed for many years due to this and died at a young age, not even reaching fifty.
“Does Shi Zhong have any skills?”
Wei Ci chuckled, “Not many skills; he just has a good memory, writes quite well, and looks loyal on the outside. My elder brother in his past life valued this, which led to Shi Zhong staying nearby to assist with sorting documents and occasionally helping with minor corrections. Shi Zhong lived his life without any significant accomplishments, and his mother had a strong personality, forcing away several daughters-in-law, insisting on having her son marry someone of high status—”
Jiang Pengji frowned, “Who did Shi Zhong end up marrying?”
Wei Ci said, “The only daughter of General Bai Ning, Bai Yuexia.”
“What?! I may not know Bai Yuexia well, but I know she’s a strong-willed person. How could she possibly fancy someone like him?”
Even if she didn’t aim for someone equal, she wouldn’t choose to settle for Shi Zhong!
