Chapter 1593 – Take Nan Sheng, Eliminate An Huan (Part 7)
Who was the most furious about Yan Lin’s schemes?
Of course, it wasn’t Jiang Pengji. Instead, it was Yang Si, who had been stomped on and exploited by Yan Lin.
“Why are you so mad? Look at you, you’ve ruined the wax that the servants struggled to finish!” Feng Zhen laughed, fanning himself with his golden-flecked fan. In recent days, he had been in high spirits, finding everything pleasing to the eye, even considering Yang Si quite handsome, “So what if you’ve been used? You do the same to Yan Lin more times than I can count. Shouldn’t he get a chance to counterattack? How petty!”
Yang Si halted his pacing, glaring with wide eyes, “This isn’t simple! Yan Lin thinks I’m just a three-year-old!”
Even though it was a spur-of-the-moment plan, Yan Lin’s schemes had no flaws. Despite his doubts, Yang Si couldn’t disregard the bigger picture.
Days passed, and the situation clarified; Yang Si’s initial suspicions were confirmed—he had indeed been plotted against.
Who was the mastermind behind it?
He could guess the name just by thinking with his toes.
Yan Lin set this trap, with the ultimate beneficiaries being Yang Tao and Yan Lin himself, yet it was Yang Si who suffered the blow.
Why say that?
Because it was Yang Si’s failure to monitor properly that had led to the messenger being sent with the “Yang Tao suspected of mutiny” message, causing the lord, Jiang Pengji, to make a misjudgment and misinterpret Yang Tao’s intentions. Even after sending another messenger two days later to correct the information, whatever the lord needed to know had already been learned.
According to a normal feudal lord’s reasoning, she would only conclude that Yang Si had mishandled things, rather than being outraged at how clever Yan Lin’s schemes were.
Yang Si had to swallow this bitter loss. Although this wasn’t Yan Lin’s main objective, he was indeed caught in the crossfire.
With his narrow-mindedness, this incident would leave Yang Si resentful toward Yan Lin for a lifetime.
“You don’t need to be this angry, just wait and see how the lord reacts,” Feng Zhen relished the show, for a while it was Yang Si watching him get duped by Yan Lin, and now it was finally Yang Si’s turn to be the one duped—what a joy it was, “What kind of person is our lord? You’ve followed her for ten years—shouldn’t you know? Yan Lin’s schemes may have been seen through long ago; there’s no need for you to worry.”
Feng Zhen’s words only deepened Yang Si’s irritation.
He was part of the lord’s intelligence team! Being toyed with by Yan Lin while the lord had seemingly caught on to the tricks meant what?
It meant that his advantage as a strategist was inferior to the lord’s, rendering him useless.
Yang Si snapped, “At this point, I don’t even hate Shaoyang anymore. After much thought, it’s your mouth that’s the most detestable, Feng Zi!”
Feng Zhen folded his fan, threw his hands up, and shrugged, as if saying, “What can you do about it?”
Yang Si: “…”
He felt his stomach churn.
The thought of having to work with both Feng Zhen and Yan Lin for decades made life seem unbearable.
Yang Si wasn’t alone in his discontent; the troops from Nan Sheng, engaged in battle, were also furious and cursing Yan Lin in secret.
They had agreed to a coordinated attack, but when they arrived, they found the city gates crawling with archers on high alert, leaving them dazed from the onset.
Unaware of the actual situation, seeing this setup made it obvious it was a trap. Logically, they should have retreated to ensure their safety, but they didn’t.
Thanks in no small part to Yan Lin’s ability to stretch the truth.
He claimed that the ten thousand of Yang Tao’s old troops had long been strategically relocated by that suspicious-minded Yang Si, leaving only a mere contingent of the aged and sick within the city. With a terrain that was easy to attack yet hard to defend, they could not pass up this chance. The troops from Nan Sheng were fooled by Yan Lin, attempting an attack.
As expected, the defenders were seasoned veterans, and they managed to hold the city, albeit with difficulty, on the first day.
On the second day, they also managed to fend off attacks narrowly, and the Nan Sheng troops were enraged by the situation.
Just as they were thinking of retreating, word from Yan Lin came through that a shipment of grain would arrive at midnight—this city was merely a transfer point. The Nan Sheng enemy troops, of course, didn’t believe it, yet that night, notifications came pouring in that a lot of grain barges were entering the city.
Qian Su had no idea Yan Lin’s ability to lie and mislead was this impressive, enticing the enemy with danger while they knew it was a trap, only to leap right in.
Initially, it was just Yan Lin deceiving them, but soon they were genuinely caught in the heat of battle and felt the urge to capture this city at all costs.
Before Jiang Pengji’s troops arrived, this self-directed and self-acted drama finally came to a close.
The most harmed weren’t Yang Si or Yan Lin, who were at odds. Instead, it was the troops from Nan Sheng, who were kept in the dark and ended up getting fatally trapped. Yang Si sent people to collect evidence, but he didn’t expect Yan Lin to operate so prudently, ensuring no incriminating evidence was left behind; even any letters had been destroyed.
Without witnesses or tangible evidence, Yang Si naturally couldn’t accuse Yan Lin of orchestrating this farce.
“You’re quite the schemer—”
Yang Si gritted his teeth and muttered. The anger burned inside him; if he could take Yan Lin, he really wanted to teach him a lesson.
Did Yan Si really think everyone could be outsmarted?
Yan Lin blinked innocently with eyes filled with righteous innocence, asking, “Could Messenger Yang explain why the enemy troops from Nan Sheng are at the city gates, yet the troops that should’ve focused on us haven’t come to aid? Is it that they didn’t receive the message, or was someone giving orders to deliberately delay?”
Yang Si gasped, his back teeth grinding in rhythm. This heartless Yan Lin clearly had suppressed the messages, detained the spies, and misled the supervising troops, only to have the audacity to turn the tables and insinuate that Yang Si was holding a grudge and delaying reinforcements?
This indictment was so heavy it could crush Yang Si! It would be hard for even Wei Ci to bear.
Yan Lin hadn’t completely committed to serving the lord yet, and here he was already making enemies?
Yang Si scoffed coldly, “You and I both know the true situation here. Stop pretending to be innocent and pitiful!”
Yan Lin still blinked with those innocent eyes, as if not understanding Yang Si’s implication.
The atmosphere exploded like firecrackers when they faced each other, leaving Yang Tao confused.
As Yang Si walked past, Yang Tao asked his buddy, “Wasn’t Shaoyang just getting along splendidly with Yang Jingrong? Why has it turned into this now…”
When Yang Tao decided to surrender, Yang Si, acting as the messenger, had brought Yan Lin along.
He had always thought Yan Lin and Yang Si shared a mutual understanding, but this meeting felt like the birth of rivalry.
Yan Lin smiled, “It’s just a tiny conflict; a personal visit for an apology in the future would resolve it. Zheng Ze doesn’t need to worry.”
“How can I not worry? I’ve heard Yang Si has an extremely…”
Yang Tao swallowed those two words.
Yang Si’s vengeful nature was known far and wide!
Not to mention, when Yang Si kicked the first lord, Changshou Wang, he nearly beat the man to a pulp—he was a ruthless one.
Yan Lin replied, “No worries, unless I end up with an absolute certainty for him to hold over me, otherwise, he won’t be able to touch me.”
How about this revenge?
If Jiang Pengji were a foolish and soft-hearted one, Yan Lin might need to worry, but she’s not, and even if Yang Si wanted to retaliate, he’d have to be cautious. After being a caretaker for so many years, Yan Lin’s skills might not be lacking; he surely could handle a mere Yang Si.
