Chapter 926 – The Rabbit and Sheep Poison Scheme (1)
When Mr. Yuanjing received the letter from the lady and learned that his son-in-law had been abducted by Huang Song, his heart skipped a beat.
On the side, Tang Yao noticed his teacher’s grim expression and thought something bad had happened at the Langya residence.
He asked with concern, but Mr. Yuanjing waved his hand, saying it was nothing, though his worried look was hard to hide.
A month later, far away in the Capital, Wei Ci also received news about Nie Xun falling under Huang Song‘s command.
At the same time, he got a private letter from his mentor, Mr. Yuanjing.
Wei Ci scanned the letter quickly, then flipped the paper to reveal someone’s birth chart.
The birth chart belonged to Nie Xun.
He took it seriously and calculated a divination based on this person’s details.
He recorded the results and sent them to Mr. Yuanjing.
Upon receiving the confidential message, Mr. Yuanjing quickly opened it to read.
After a while, he let out a long sigh.
“What a tragic fate!”
It was well-known that Nie Xun, having left the Nie Clan of Zhong Zhao to study in Langya, was searching for his roots.
Nie Xun had been kidnapped in infancy, bouncing between human traffickers, and by a twist of fate ended up lost in Zhong Zhao.
He didn’t know where he came from or who his biological parents were.
He had no idea whether he had been abandoned or forcibly separated from his birth parents.
Following the trail back to the traffickers, Nie Xun traveled extensively, but the last lead dried up at the Dongqing border.
Hearing that Mr. Yuanjing was incredibly accurate with divination, he went to Langya with a “why not try” mindset.
Mr. Yuanjing had done a reading for him, predicting that Nie Xun would meet his blood relatives in a few years.
This was meant to be a good omen, but in reality, it foretold disaster.
The divination indicated that Nie Xun would face a killing calamity involving his relatives.
Either Nie Xun would die, or a relative would die by his hand.
Mr. Yuanjing asked Wei Ci to help with the divination to find out which relative would meet their end by Nie Xun‘s hand.
Wei Ci performed the calculations several times, and all conclusions were the same.
The reading indicated “Qian,” meaning the relative who would die at Nie Xun‘s hands or be killed by him would be his biological father.
If Nie Xun remained a mere scholar, the chances of crossing paths with his father would be slim, allowing him to evade the infamy of patricide.
Now, however, encouraged by Huang Song to take up an official position, he would inevitably follow Huang Song to war up and down the land.
Who knows when he might unwittingly kill his own flesh and blood?
If this news were to get out, Nie Xun‘s reputation would be ruined forever.
Thus, Mr. Yuanjing could only sigh deeply about this tragic fate.
In the second year of Chengzong, in June.
Jiang Pengji was nineteen years old.
“Eldest Sister! Wait for your little brother!”
Liu Zhao rode a chestnut horse, frantically gripping the reins while trying to catch up with Jiang Pengji ahead of him.
It turned out he really didn’t have a knack for riding. After two years of riding lessons, he still only managed to keep the horse at a leisurely stroll.
Just then, the chestnut horse stepped into a hollow and stumbled forward.
Caught off guard, Liu Zhao‘s heart raced, and with no time for fancy moves, he shut his eyes, hoping not to land in a heap.
“Yah—”
The expected pain didn’t come; instead, he felt a tight grip around his waist as someone yanked him onto the horse.
“Eldest Sister!”
Liu Zhao opened his eyes, still in shock while awkwardly sitting on the horse’s back.
Jiang Pengji turned serious and dismounted, while the shaken Liu Zhao shakily slid off the horse.
“This horse—”
“Probably done for; its hoof is completely broken.”
Jiang Pengji crouched down to inspect, the chestnut horse looked up with moist eyes, trembling in pain.
Liu Zhao leaned in closer and saw that the horse’s front hoof was indeed twisted at an unnatural angle, already swelling with bruises.
“Who on earth dug such a hole here?!”
Liu Zhao was heartbroken, wanting to cry. This chestnut horse was one he had fought hard to obtain from Jiang Pengji, agreeing to numerous unequal terms and spending months barely meeting her standards.
After working so hard to finally get this fine steed, it was ruined by some pothole after just a few days.
Jiang Pengji’s expression turned stern as she summoned a Guard to take the chestnut horse back to the stable and see if it could be treated.
“This isn’t a man-made hole.”
Liu Zhao felt even more dejected; if it wasn’t man-made, it must have formed naturally, and his horse just happened to step into the unlucky spot?
“Ever heard of a clever rabbit having three burrows?” Jiang Pengji asked Liu Zhao.
“Eldest Sister, while I may not be the brightest bulb, surely I know about that much!” Liu Zhao waved the jade tassel hanging from his waist, “Wait a minute—are you saying this hole wasn’t dug by a person, but made by a wild rabbit?”
“Likely, so let’s make sure no races happen nearby and check for any rabbit holes.”
Liu Zhao declared, “Today I’ll have a whole rabbit feast, wipe out those pesky hole-digging critters!”
Thinking of his beloved horse, his heart bled.
Jiang Pengji smirked lightly, “Alright, I’ll dock Zixiao’s pay to prepare you a hearty rabbit feast.”
Liu Zhao was puzzled; what did his desire for a feast have to do with docking Wei Ci‘s pay?
It was now June, with plenty of pasture making wild rabbits hop about everywhere.
Careful searching meant even an archer like Liu Zhao could accidentally hit one.
The Guards all went to catch some, and within half an hour, they managed to snag over fifty wild rabbits.
Liu Zhao mumbled, “Even if I were to eat till bursting, there’s no way I could finish all this…”
Jiang Pengji had people roast the wild rabbits, saving five for herself and Liu Zhao, distributing the rest.
“Chongzhou’s borderlands are crawling with wild rabbits; there must be even more in the northern borders.”
Jiang Pengji chewed on a rabbit leg, gazing northward with a grin.
“Definitely! The rich pastures are up north, which is what draws those little bunnies.”
Liu Zhao, still dressed like a wealthy young master, pulled out his finely crafted silverware to eat rabbit meat, using a translucent jade plate. Liu Zhi had scolded him for his extravagance more than once and was thankful that he had a protective sister; his days were quite luxurious.
“Is that so—”
Jiang Pengji smiled with profound meaning.
Liu Zhao shook a bit as he sliced some rabbit meat into pieces, evenly seasoning them, then skewered them for roasting until they released delicious aromas.
“Eldest Sister, a little something special for you.”
“Glad I didn’t spoil you for nothing.”
After finishing the roasted rabbit, Jiang Pengji and the others returned to the Military Camp.
After three to four years of development, the northern borders gradually recovered from the Horse Plague impact, and several horse farms began producing warhorses.
In less than three years, they would be ready to march into the Central Plains.
Jiang Pengji wanted to seize the moment while the northern borders hadn’t caught their breath yet to press them into the grasslands.
Dongqing was already fragmented, with various lords leading their armies independently; the northern borders were not without the strength to dominate the Central Plains.
However, as long as Jiang Pengji was around, they could only dream.
Jiang Pengji strode into the main tent and said to those nearby, “Quickly summon the two Military Advisers, it’s urgent business to discuss.”
