Chapter 214

Wang Yang raised his folding fan:

"Your Highness registered this batch of goods under my name, wasn't it to cover people's eyes and ears? Now that Liu Yin has made such a scene, everyone knows these goods are mine! The government also has a record! Who else could have any suspicion?"

"Furthermore, I even used Liu Tan to handle the cargo manifests and official permits, giving this batch of goods a legitimate path!"

"This is equivalent to using the Hedong Liu clan as a guarantee!"

"When the time comes to ship the goods openly and honestly, there will be absolutely no entanglement with Your Highness; isn't that good?!"

"I have already investigated that the market price for silk in Yongzhou is very good right now, and it is close to Jingzhou; once the goods are ready, Your Highness can directly use the manifests and permits I have handled to sell the silk to Yongzhou, and I guarantee it will be a matter of course; Your Highness only needs to sit and collect the money; how much trouble does this save in the middle?"

This was the benefit of Wang Yang's clever strategy to clear the mines earlier.

If he hadn't paved the way in advance, using the "private feud framework" to dispel the Prince of Badong's suspicion, the Prince of Badong would inevitably have had further associations this time; after all, the fake play Wang Yang arranged was to transport silk to the barbarians. Now that Wang Yang had presented the arrangements for the official permits and manifests, appearing to be sincerely considering the business for the Prince of Badong, the effect of this "dispelling suspicion" was even better.

Hearing the end, the Prince of Badong's face cleared slightly, and he snorted coldly: "So your meaning is, not only are you without fault, but you have merit instead?"

Wang Yang was resolute and unquestionable: "Of course!"

The Prince of Badong pointed at Wang Yang and glared:

"You still dare to say that! Liu Yin is the Prince's brother's man! Now that such a thing has happened, where do you put the Prince's brother's face? If the Prince's brother comes to question me, how do you expect me to answer?!"

"The one who made the Prince of Luling lose face is not me, and even less Your Highness, but that dog raised by the Prince of Luling himself!"

"The dog went mad and bit people, stirring up unrest in the courtyard; this is because the owner didn't tie it up well; can you blame anyone else?"

"So the Prince of Luling will not only not question Your Highness, but will instead have to apologize to Your Highness! But this is not the most important thing!"

Wang Yang became more excited as he spoke:

"The most important thing is that I helped Your Highness take down the secret inspector Wu Xiuzhi!"

"This person is hated by Your Highness, right? How many malicious reports has he made against Your Highness?"

"This time he colluded with Liu Yin and joined forces to make a move; is he targeting me?"

"He is like Xiang Zhuang dancing with his sword, aiming at the Prince of Pei!"

"I used this case to trap both of them; now the Chief Clerk and the secret inspector are both awaiting punishment!"

"Within Jingzhou, Your Highness's power is the most prosperous!"

"Whose merit is this?!"

"It's enough that Your Highness doesn't recount my merit, but you actually come to question me! Saying things about stabbing people with a saber tip!"

"My heart is cold!!!!"

Wang Yang pounded his chest, his expression sorrowful and indignant! He had the appearance of being loyal but suspected, pure but slandered!

He took a deep breath, his voice low:

"I set up this trap indeed to protect myself."

"But beyond self-preservation, I have tried my best to plan for Your Highness!"

"I didn't expect that such sincerity would be met with these words from Your Highness..."

After speaking, he smiled bitterly and shook his head, his expression desolate.

His figure appeared exceptionally lonely in the hall, like a fallen leaf drifting with the wind, with no one to care.

Wang Yang knew the acting was over the top.

But what he wanted was for the acting to be over the top!

If it weren't over the top, it would be fake; if it weren't over the top, it would mean he had truly buried his resentment in his heart.

Borrowing the Prince of Badong's saber and then blaming the Prince of Badong for failing his loyalty, failing to distinguish merit from fault—that would be ungrateful! That would be affectation!

The over-the-top acting fit the persona Wang Yang had consistently maintained in front of the Prince of Badong; it was more worldly and more real, and by using an exaggerated and playful way, it diluted the tension and opposition just now, better narrowing the distance with the Prince of Badong.

This was clearly setting a trap for you, but you wouldn't be very angry, because once a trap is made clear, it ceases to be a trap. Once deception is carried out with great fanfare, it no longer constitutes deception.

Of course, this was a deeper level of trap and deception. It's just that after most people see through one layer, they lose their guard, thinking the other person's little thoughts are seen clearly by themselves; in reality, they have only seen a layer of illusion.

Seeing that Wang Yang seemed to be brewing tears, the Prince of Badong really couldn't watch anymore and waved his hand:

"Alright, alright, that's enough; if this Prince weren't protecting you, could you still be 'sincere' here?"

What protecting me? You were forced to protect me, plus you were just going with the flow.

Wang Yang knew when to stop and, borrowing the slope to descend, immediately bowed: "Many thanks, Your Highness, I..."

The Prince of Badong interrupted Wang Yang's words:

"Eh! Gratitude must be sincere! Don't thank me with empty words! For your sake, I arrested the Chief Clerk and offended my brother; tell me, how will you thank me?"

Wang Yang closed his fan, pointed back at his chest, his expression serious:

"I use a foolproof strategy, a thousand kinds of enthusiasm, unyielding perseverance, ten-tenths of thoroughness, plus a heart of loyalty! To thank Your Highness for your grace in protecting me!"

The Prince of Badong laughed and scolded:

"You brat, stop talking nonsense with me! I am not the Prince of Jingling; I don't buy that! How about this..."

He extended a finger:

"One million. You pay one million coins as a thank-you gift for this Prince's help."

Oh my god!

This is turning the world upside down!!!

I haven't scammed you yet, and you're already scamming me?

The Prince of Badong looked at Wang Yang and said seriously:

"This isn't much, right? Just from the silk business I gave you, how much have you earned? You also set up a tender and made quite a bit. How much is your Langya Wang clan life worth? Are you not even willing to pay one million?"

Wang Yang laughed heartily:

"Easy! Your Highness is generous, and I, Wang Yang, am not bad either! One million is no problem! By the way, Your Highness, then I took down the Chief Clerk and trapped the secret inspector, clearing two evils for Your Highness in one fell swoop; for such great merit, Your Highness rewarding me with two million coins, that's not much, right?"

The Prince of Badong glared:

"Two million? Are you dreaming! Why don't you ask for twenty million?!"

"Twenty million is not impossible—"

The Prince of Badong immediately said: "No, no! Not a single coin!"

Wang Yang sighed: "Your Highness, look, you're not generous here, so I can't be generous either!"

The Prince of Badong didn't believe he couldn't fleece anything from Wang Yang!

He waved his hand:

"How about this, don't talk about two million, and I won't talk about one million; I mobilized the Prince's residence's guards and personal army to break into the county prison, and that's how I saved you; you should at least pay the military expenses for the troops, right? One price, you give me five hundred thousand! And this matter will be settled!"

Wang Yang flicked his folding fan:

"How about this, Your Highness, don't talk about five hundred thousand, and I won't talk about two million; I used myself as bait and personally entered the county prison, and that's how I fished out Liu Yin and Wu Xiuzhi; for this merit earned by risking my life, Your Highness should at least reward me, right? No bargaining, Your Highness gives me one million, and this merit will be rewarded!"

The Prince of Badong was annoyed: "Not a chance! Don't even think about it!"

"Your Highness, don't be angry, it's not worth it. Military expenses five hundred thousand, reward for merit one million, Your Highness should owe me five hundred thousand—"

The Prince of Badong was anxious and just about to speak when he saw Wang Yang with a look of righteousness:

"But I don't want this five hundred thousand! Your Highness, just help me order two sets of the 'Ten-Thousand-Coin Chopstick Dishes' from the Fragrant Snow Pavilion and have them sent to my house; that will count as calming my shock."

The Prince of Badong was stunned; this damn Langya Wang clan has produced a genius; he himself has to sigh at this shameless skill!

His mouth twitched: "So you brat are not willing to part with a single hair! Borrowing my saber to kill, and after it's done, I still have to treat you to a meal???"

Wang Yang said magnanimously: "If Your Highness wants to come and eat, you can too."

The Prince of Badong gasped, his eyebrows raised, his body leaning back, just about to get angry, when suddenly his expression relaxed, and he smiled wickedly:

"How about this, let's bet on the 'Ten-Thousand-Coin Chopstick Dishes'; I'll set a question, if you can answer it, I'll give you two sets; if you can't answer it, you give me two sets."

Wang Yang was speechless: "Again?"

The Prince of Badong was extremely excited: "Come, come! This Prince doesn't believe it! I can't win even one round?!"

He looked around, his gaze falling on the long ring-pommel saber beside his seat. Immediately, his mouth curled up, he grabbed the long saber, turned the scabbard in his hand, and with a 'click', stood it on the ground.

He looked at Wang Yang, his eyes provocative, his smile triumphant:

"You can come over and fight this Prince, or you can lobby this Prince; as long as you can make this Prince take this saber out of its scabbard, you win!"

Wang Yang opened his eyes wide: "What kind of question is this?!"

The Prince of Badong became even more triumphant: "Just this! If you can't do it, you lose! Don't play dirty, hurry up and order the food for this Prince! I want to eat Fragrant Snow Pavilion tonight!"

"There's no time limit on this question! Is it within three days or what? At least there should be some explanation."

The Prince of Badong looked at Wang Yang, his smile intense:

"No matter the explanation, you're going to lose! Even if you set a month, it's useless! This saber is sealed by this Prince, and I won't use it under any circumstances; it's not like I only have this one saber, hahahaha!"

Wang Yang blinked, his face carrying a look of pride:

"This question is unfair, but although it is difficult to make Your Highness draw the saber, if it were changed to making Your Highness take the initiative to put the saber back into the scabbard, that would be very easy!"

The Prince of Badong was curious:

"Oh! Then this Prince wants to see how you can make me put the saber back into the scabbard!"

The Prince of Badong drew the saber: "Come, come, today this Prince will make you lose with conviction; try making me put it back!"

At worst, this saber will just never be sheathed; what can he do to me!

The Prince of Badong felt he was sure to win this time.

Wang Yang drew an elegant arc in the air with the handle of his fan, pointed at the long saber, and smiled:

"Your Highness, didn't I just make you take the initiative to draw the saber?"

The Prince of Badong was stunned, then flew into a rage, and immediately sheathed the saber: "Doesn't count, doesn't count! You're cheating!"

Wang Yang flicked his wrist, unfolded his folding fan, and smiled leisurely: "Your Highness, I just made you take the initiative to put the saber back."

The Prince of Badong was dumbfounded.