Chapter 166

"Uncle!"

"Zhiyan! You finally returned! Uncle was worried all night! Are you okay? Sit down, sit down!" Wang Tai welcomed Wang Yang to sit down, then looked back: "Where is Wuqian?"

Wang Yang looked solemn: "Uncle, something happened."

"Ah?"

"We originally went to check the grain in the warehouse, but a group of people suddenly appeared halfway and kidnapped Wuqian!"

???

Wang Tai only felt it was unbelievable!

Are you telling a story here!!!!

"Uncle, besides being an important witness for us to frame the Prince of Badong, does Wuqian know anything else? For example, some things you did before, and what your purpose is in coming to Jingzhou? If so, then it's bad!"

Wang Tai's face gradually turned cold, looking at Wang Yang without speaking.

Wang Yang acted as if he didn't know, and said to himself: "Uncle, what should we do! Fabricating testimony, framing a prince, such a big crime, how can you and I bear it?"

Wang Tai sneered: "It's okay, Wuqian won't be captured."

Clang.

A short sword with gold patterns was thrown out of Wang Yang's sleeve.

Wang Tai's eyebrows twitched violently, his smile completely disappeared, as if covered by frost. His originally kind and friendly face now became cold and strange.

Wang Yang asked with concern: "Uncle, your complexion is not good, how about resting for a while?"

Wang Tai's gaze locked on Wang Yang's face, as if wanting to see through what was hidden behind this young face. His tone was cold and playful: "No need for rest, nephew is really 'taking pains'."

"Hey! Uncle, what are you saying! We are family, how can there be any taking pains or not? At that time, those people took Wuqian away to interrogate him, and then forced me, insisting that I say how Uncle instructed me to frame the Prince of Badong! They even wanted me to write it down as evidence for the court!"

Wang Tai stared at Wang Yang without moving, his gaze gloomily terrifying.

Wang Yang slapped his thigh, his expression stern: "Then could I say it?! Am I that kind of person? Uncle's affairs, I won't say a word! Want to frame my uncle? I'm the first to disagree! It's just that Wuqian... sigh, that kid doesn't seem to have any integrity..."

Hearing the word "Wuqian," the blood vessels on Wang Tai's forehead jumped, his breathing grew heavier, and he suddenly reached out to grab Wang Yang's wrist.

Wang Yang grabbed Wang Tai's hand with his backhand, his voice generous:

"But Uncle, don't worry! Even if the case breaks and I go to jail, I will absolutely not betray Uncle! I can push everything onto Wuqian! Oh, that won't work either! Everyone knows Wuqian is Uncle's guard! This identity is here, it's really hard to get rid of the connection!"

Wang Yang looked worried, his expression rich. Wang Tai looked numb and stiff, but seemed to be suppressing something. It was like boiling water being forcibly frozen.

"It's okay!" Wang Yang suddenly looked righteous, "Anyway, nephew will try his best to deal with them! If the sky falls, nephew will hold it up first! If I really can't hold it... but Uncle, you must hold on too, don't let me hold it up here, and then you confess first!"

Hearing these familiar words, Wang Tai's face became uglier and uglier, and the corners of his eyes twitched slightly twice.

I didn't expect that I have been hunting eagles all my life, but in the end, I was pecked in the eyes by this little eagle!!! It just so happens that this little beast got the advantage and still wants to sell well! He took the set of kind and friendly words I used back then and returned them exactly as they were! He didn't even blink when he told lies, he was much more damaging than me! He is so young and can act so well, isn't this a monster?

He took a deep breath, calmed his mood, and then made a mocking expression of not caring, twitched the corners of his mouth, and smiled:

"It's okay, Uncle is a genuine Langya Wang family member, a descendant of the Duke of Literature! No dirty water can be splashed on me! It's those lowly-surnamed bastards who think they are smart, those lowly thieves, who don't understand the foundation of the four words Langya Wang family at all! And they don't know my means and power! Think that by creating such a small matter, they can drag me into the water? Hehehehe! It's ridiculous! A mantis trying to stop a chariot! Thinking they can fight back, but in fact, it's just a dead end..."

Wang Yang's tone was painful, and he interrupted loudly: "Uncle! What time is it! There are no outsiders here, so stop pretending!"

???

Wang Tai was stunned. Although he didn't understand the last word, Wang Yang's tone made him feel a sense of failure: "You..."

"Wang Sengda and Xie Lingyun were both executed as noble sons of high families! In terms of talent, reputation, status, and family background, they were all much higher than Uncle! But their crimes were not as big as Uncle's! Uncle, you not only framed a prince, but also colluded with a prince—"

"Nonsense! What collusion with a prince?!!!"

Framing a prince, no matter who the person who instructed it is, the ultimate beneficiary should also be a prince. So Wang Yang's talk of collusion was originally just a guess, but when it fell into Wang Tai's ears, he couldn't help but suspect that the Poker Face had already leaked the secret.

In fact, it doesn't matter whether the Poker Face has leaked the secret now; what matters is that as long as the Poker Face is in Wang Yang's hands, there is a possibility of leaking the secret. Do you think a servant won't betray you? Is the word "think" credible? If he doesn't betray you in one day, what about two days? Three days? If he doesn't betray you for profit, what about torture? Trust is seemingly solid, but actually fragile. Without communication, without connection, suspicion will breed. Just like now, Wang Yang just said a random sentence, and Wang Tai's heart is already drumming. After all, how many people can 100% trust another person's 100% loyalty under extreme conditions?

This is Wang Yang's plan.

Doesn't Wang Tai hold his handle? Good, then I will also hold Wang Tai's handle.

Wang Tai instructed him to frame the Prince of Badong, which itself is a handle, but a handle without solid evidence is not a handle. So what to do?

So he had to lead Wang Tai to make a move, and then grab Wang Tai's hand, so he would have a handle!

But grabbing a handle requires time and opportunity. After the Dragon Boat Festival, Wang Yang faced the situation of being silenced, unable to protect himself, let alone counterattack?

When the cunning rabbit dies, the running dog is cooked.

If you don't want to be cooked, you have to release a new rabbit.

Therefore, Wang Yang offered the Prince of Badong the strategy of the Ever-Normal Granary, and then used the warehouse the Prince of Badong rented for him to make a fuss, fabricating the illusion that the Prince of Badong stole official grain, attracting Wang Tai to chase after it. Such a chase would lead into Wang Yang's trap and be caught by the handle.

And the biggest role of a handle is deterrence. On the day the handle is announced, the handle will no longer be a handle.

So Wang Yang killed the Poker Face decisively. The benefit of doing so is to minimize the possibility of Wang Tai finding the Poker Face and breaking the handle. The disadvantage is that when Wang Tai goes crazy and wants to perish with Wang Yang, Wang Yang cannot come up with effective countermeasures.

For Wang Yang, the former is more important.

The true essence of nuclear deterrence is to make the other side believe that you have nuclear weapons and dare to launch them, so whether the Poker Face is dead or alive doesn't matter much, as long as Wang Tai believes the Poker Face is in Wang Yang's hands, that is enough.

As for the latter, if it really reaches the point of perishing together, then whether Wang Yang dies alone or drags Wang Tai along, based on Wang Yang's character, the impact is really not big.

Because he wants to live, not to drag one more person along when he dies.

Wang Yang comforted: "Uncle, don't worry! Collusion is not what nephew said, it must be Wuqian biting randomly! But in the matter of the Prince of Badong, as long as nephew doesn't cooperate, they will lack a key link! Uncle, don't worry, nephew has already written a confession in advance and handed it to a friend for safekeeping. Once something happens to nephew, this confession will be revealed to the world! At that time, they, and that treacherous servant who betrayed you, will all be implicated by me, and not one will escape!"

Not one will escape...

Good, good, good...

Then I am really too relieved...

Wang Tai looked at Wang Yang's righteous and filial appearance, only feeling his chest stuffy, with a feeling of wanting to vomit blood.

He supported the couch with his hand and gritted his teeth: "Nephew has worked hard, nephew, you really have taken pains..."

Wang Yang waved his hand: "We are family! Not hard! I for Uncle! Uncle for me! Both are taking pains!"

Wang Tai took a few deep breaths, his tone softened a lot: "Nephew, look, if you don't have anything else, just—"

"Uncle, I almost forgot."

Wang Yang shouted: "Come in."

"Come in what?"

Outside the quiet courtyard, footsteps approached from far to near.

Wang Tai's face changed, and he immediately shouted: "Someone!"

The gate was pushed open, and what came in was not a guard, but a group of Confucian scholars.

In groups, there were more than twenty of them!

Chen Qingshan followed at the end of the team, holding her sword and leaning against the door, nodding to Wang Yang.

Wang Tai was already in a mess, and when he saw that his relationship with Wang Yang was exposed in front of so many people, he immediately lost color!

How dare this little beast!!!

He stood up abruptly, pointing at Wang Yang: "You—"

Wang Yang also stood up quickly: "Uncle! They are all students who study the 'Classic of History' diligently. They originally agreed with nephew to study the 'Classic of History' at the commandery school. But nephew came to visit Uncle today and couldn't spare the time, so I had to borrow Uncle's place to discuss learning, and also ask Uncle to give some guidance, and arrange some food. It's not troublesome, right?"

The Confucian scholars bowed to Wang Tai together: "Greetings to Mr. Zhongtong!"

Wang Tai only felt the world go black. When his figure was unstable, he was supported by a hand. He turned his head and saw Wang Yang's worried expression: "Uncle, are you okay?"

Wang Tai didn't want to have any connection with Wang Yang in front of so many people, so he simply fell onto Wang Yang and pretended to faint.

The students let out a low sigh of concern, and Wang Yang shouted: "This is Uncle's old illness acting up! Everyone disperse! I am proficient in acupuncture! Hurry and get me needles! I want to perform acupuncture for my uncle!"

Hearing that Wang Yang wanted to perform acupuncture, Wang Tai was so scared that he shivered. This little beast was surprisingly bold, lied without a draft, and was also insidious. If he let him prick a few needles, would that be okay? He immediately woke up and opened his eyes, not wanting to delay for a moment: "Zhiyan, Uncle is fine, just need to be quiet for a while..."

——————

Note: Draft is an ancient term. "Book of Wei: Self-Preface": "The edict tried to collect it as a book of Fengshan, and when the pen was put down, it was completed without a draft."