Chapter 1671 – Conquering Nan Sheng, Killing An Huan (79)
Well, at least he managed to climb up to a feudal lord’s position; An had his faults, but he also had his shining points. One could not just write him off completely.
Leaving aside what that unfilial son did that contravened human ethics, his death’s impact on An was far more than just a green hat dilemma. With him gone, An lost his heir, and the only bloodline left was budding in the belly of the Xichang Princess.
The ministers didn’t even know if the child was a boy or a girl, and what talents they would possess; everything was uncertain, which inevitably left them feeling uneasy.
The only thing An had over Jiang Ji was an heir, while Jiang Ji had none.
Now that the heir was dead, and An was much older than Jiang Ji, he had lost the last of his advantages.
Thinking of this, An felt both pain and sorrow, unable to suppress the urge to drag the South Barbarian out for some corpse whipping due to the family he had eradicated.
If it weren’t for the South Barbarian’s rebellion and the downfall of Nan Sheng, he too could have had a happy family; how did he end up in such a bleak situation?
Every time he recalled the scene of his children meeting their end at the hands of the South Barbarian, he was so grief-stricken he couldn’t speak, hatred growing in his heart like wild grass.
Perhaps it was just bad luck lately, as one unfortunate event after another ganged up on him.
First, two hundred thousand stone of supplies were plundered by Jiang Ji, then his stepson bullied his concubine and committed suicide out of guilt, and now Hua Yuan had almost died to serve his master… And as if that wasn’t enough, their enemies were also ramping up their attacks, leaving An in a dire state.
The supply issue still wasn’t fully resolved, and the lack of provisions was spreading like wildfire, causing instability among the rank-and-file soldiers.
An clung to his usual scumbag style and turned to Lü Zheng for help, oblivious to the fact that Lü Zheng just wanted to curse.
Did he think Lü Zheng was a celestial being?
Could he conjure food out of thin air?
If he could, he’d be the first to drown An with provisions!
Lü Zheng’s anger burned fiercely, but being angry wouldn’t change reality; the crisis looming before him grew more intense.
Thus, Lü Zheng had no choice but to give An a “final ultimatum.”
He told An to hurry up and get Hua Yuan to replenish the supplies quickly. If they didn’t, everyone could just starve together!
“I’m really furious!”
Even a cup of cold water couldn’t extinguish the fire in his heart.
Because there had been so many troublesome matters recently, Lü Zheng’s energy was almost entirely consumed, causing him to overlook that his old schoolmate was someone who loved to cause trouble.
How could someone who enjoyed causing turmoil settle down?
An wasn’t a broad-minded person; he and Lü Zheng had different stances and opinions, and their conflicts were unavoidable. This was apparent from how An had recently favored Hua Yuan while sidelining Lü Zheng. An had plenty of grievances against Lü Zheng, and if Jiang Ji added fuel to the fire, it could very well push Lü Zheng to the brink.
Lü Zheng wasn’t the type to sit back and wait; if it came to that, who knew, he might just jump ship!
Jiang Ji didn’t mind if her old classmate defected to her side.
And so, Wei Ci once more witnessed his Lord working diligently at the desk to write a letter to his classmate, still as determined as ever to achieve his goals.
Since Jiang Ji didn’t dodge the topic of Wei Ci in her letter, he could see the lengthy, emotional words, each nearly echoing fond memories of their time studying at Langya Academy. She could go on and on about the same matter, using different phrases, turning three parts of fondness into ten.
Those in the dark would start to wonder if Lü Zheng and Jiang Ji were inseparable companions in their youth.
Recalling An’s temperament, Wei Ci felt even more sympathy for Lü Zheng.
This poor guy had probably been cursed with generations of bad luck, ending up with a Lord like An and a rival like Jiang Ji!
Oh… but before feeling sympathy, Wei Ci also had to spare a thought for his past self.
He and Lü Zheng were truly kindred spirits.
“Given Shaoyin’s temperament, he wouldn’t accept the Lord’s recruitment,” Wei Ci couldn’t help but remind, for Lü Zheng was a petty and vindictive fellow, and offending him so thoroughly would make future recruitment very difficult, “An’s personality completely differs from Lü Zheng’s; they were never on the same path. Even if the Lord didn’t interfere, they would inevitably turn against each other. Why put oneself through this?”
“Not all Lords in this world are as broad-minded and perceptive as I am,” Jiang Ji declared narcissistically. “An has never been a gentleman, and he’s not on the same path as Shaoyin. I want to use An to corner Shaoyin, pushing him out of An’s circle sooner rather than later. Time’s running out for me to keep dragging my feet with An, that jumping clown. It just so happens An’s in trouble now, so why not take the opportunity to let them collapse? Don’t you think Shaoyin is just too annoying? I wrote to him before, but he didn’t respond; I’ll just keep writing! As long as I have the time, I won’t believe An can sit still while Shaoyin does!”
Wei Ci: “…”
If Lü Zheng heard what Jiang Ji just said, he would absolutely cry!
“The capabilities of Shaoyin are known to both of us. Keeping him by An’s side does us no good.”
Wei Ci cleared his throat, “Though it’s the truth, the way the Lord presents it is hard for people to accept.”
To be honest, Wei Ci had been quite envious of Lü Zheng for a time.
Lü Zheng could approach her without reservations, chitchatting and becoming friends, while Wei Ci could only watch from a safe distance.
All that bitterness had to be swallowed alone, and no one was there to share.
Jiang Ji had no idea what Wei Ci was thinking, merely smiled and said, “With only Zixiao by my side, and Shaoyin absent, can you expect me to mimic him? Even if he knew what I was saying, he couldn’t have any objections. In the future, I will be his Lord, and he will be my subject. He may have had a chance to take revenge on me before, but now it’s the same.”
“Then, it may indeed be a good conclusion.”
Lü Zheng had a brutal ending in his past life.
If this life could have a perfect outcome, it would compensate for the regrets of the last.
If Lü Zheng ever found out about this dog-and-cat conversation between those two, he’d likely explode in rage.
Was there anyone more shameless than them?
Turns out, there wasn’t.
Jiang Ji was the textbook definition of a scoundrel, unmatched by anyone.
When Lü Zheng saw the letter Jiang Ji wrote to him nonchalantly land in An’s hands, a single thought popped into his mind.
That guy hasn’t given up on sowing discord yet?
Jiang Ji had written to Lü Zheng before; she not only penned letters herself but even sent Fang Zhi to lobby for her. Unfortunately, Lü Zheng remained steadfast and unmoved. This time, Jiang Ji hit him with a heavy dose of ambiguity, the letter dripping with flirtation… More importantly, this letter arrived just after An had suffered a defeat.
An’s face looked as grim as ink.
“Does Shaoyin have any explanation?”
Faced with An’s questioning, Lü Zheng didn’t even have the energy to get angry.
“It’s merely a clumsy attempt at sowing discord; it’s not like such things haven’t happened before. Based purely on this, the Lord doubts my loyalty?” Lü Zheng didn’t care to argue anymore; every time An doubted him it chipped away at any goodwill he had left toward him. “The letters from Liu Xi are gathering dust in the corner; I have never betrayed. Isn’t that proof of my loyalty?”
“Loyalty? If it were true loyalty, why didn’t you come clean about Fang Zhi’s matter?”
