Chapter 222: Manipulation

The crisp, piercing sound of a shattered teacup filled the air. Xiao Baoyue immediately rose, turning her back to Wang Yang, and called out: "Someone, clean this up."

Two maids entered, swiftly swept the floor clean, then slipped away in silence.

Xiao Baoyue quickly composed her expression, turned back, and smiled sweetly:

"I spent half the morning copying the Shiyao Lun—never thought my wrist would grow so weak I couldn't even hold a teacup."

Wang Yang pressed his palm to his forehead:

"Miss Xiao, your acting is terribly crude..."

Xiao Baoyue's eyes grew blank:

"Who is Miss Xiao? Acting? What is acting?"

Wang Yang felt so awkward for her he couldn't even look.

"Miss Xiao, are you really going to play it this way?"

Xiao Baoyue clenched her palm tightly with her fingers, forcing herself to say:

"I don't understand your words, sir. Why do you keep calling me Miss Xiao?"

Wang Yang fell silent, then spoke plainly:

"Because the Marquis of Marquis Marquis Xichang is surnamed Xiao, so you are too."

Xiao Baoyue wore an absurd expression, as if she were barely holding back laughter:

"That's even stranger. What does the Marquis of Marquis Marquis Xichang's surname have to do with me? Though I have indeed met the Marquis, and I know her daughter..."

At this, Xiao Baoyue drew a breath, her gaze suddenly sharp with surprise as she looked at Wang Yang:

"You don't think I'm the Marquis of Marquis Marquis Xichang's daughter, do you?"

Wang Yang gazed at Xiao Baoyue, his eyes brimming with mischievous amusement, and said slowly:

"I never said daughter..."

Xiao Baoyue's expression froze, then she forced a light laugh, her tone laced with mockery:

"If you're going to—"

Wang Yang's face twisted in disgust, cutting her off:

"Stop. Stop. I can't watch anymore! Miss Xiao, the essence of acting is naturalness—because naturalness means truth. Only by giving a natural reaction can you make others believe your performance is real—"

Xiao Baoyue still struggled: "If you insist on treating me as—"

Wang Yang smiled: "Look, your reaction now is unnatural. What is unnatural? It's anything that contradicts your past behavior or the logic of the moment. To act, you must first become the role. Imagine this: if your true identity were not Miss Xiao, and I mistakenly thought you were her—what would your reaction be?"

Xiao Baoyue froze.

"Your reaction from the start was wrong. The teacup falling—I'll grant you, that was shock. But what followed was unbearable. Standing up and turning away? Fine, at least you knew you couldn't hide your emotions and tried to conceal them. But your reason for standing was absurd! Do you need to stand to call someone to clean? And that smile after you stood—too forced! When someone tries to hide emotion and realizes an expression might betray them, they immediately cut it off. That interruption is called a squelched expression—or 'broken expression'..."

Xiao Baoyue:???

"What's 'squelched expression'? What language is that?" Xiao Baoyue asked, bewildered.

Xiao Baoyue had not yet realized that between them, an unspoken lesson had already begun.

Wang Yang deliberately ignored her question, casting her a cool glance before continuing:

"For example, when I said 'I never said daughter,' your expression stiffened—that's a broken expression. Once it appears, people usually mask it with another—most commonly a smile. A genuine smile lasts four to five seconds—four to five breaths—like this."

As he spoke, Wang Yang gave Xiao Baoyue a slight smile.

For no reason she could name, Xiao Baoyue instinctively averted her gaze and smile, lifting her hand to adjust the golden phoenix hairpin in her hair.

Wang Yang watched her closely:

"If a smile lasts longer than that, it's likely a mask for hidden emotion—or a false one. Emotions leak not just through expressions, but through actions too. Your current gesture? It means you're nervous."

Xiao Baoyue immediately dropped her hand, adopting a look of disdain:

"Hmph! Why would I be nervous?"

Wang Yang, as if studying some rare artifact, interlaced his fingers beneath his chin and stared into her eyes, murmuring:

"Yes. I'd like to ask you too—why are you nervous..."

Xiao Baoyue's cheeks warmed slightly.

What... what did he mean?

She had never felt this before. He seemed unfathomable, impenetrable. Before him, she felt utterly exposed, completely predicted. She was unsettled—but more confused:

"Who are you? Where did you learn all this?"

At first, Xiao Baoyue hadn't cared about Wang Yang's identity—she'd merely seen him as a disposable pawn. But this pawn kept surprising her. She grew curious. Then she was forced to take him seriously—even in some ways having to look up to him.

She had assumed he was a man risen from the wilds, blessed with unusual fortune, like Su Qin or Zhang Yi. But even Su Qin and Zhang Yi had teachers. Even geniuses who mastered the world through books—what book teaches the duration of a smile? What book teaches broken expressions?? Confucius's disciple Zhuge Zhuge Zhuge Liang, hidden in Nanyang, knew the affairs of the world—but even the Wu Hou couldn't learn a language from a book alone. What language was he just speaking?

Xiao Baoyue had considered investigating Wang Yang's identity—but without leads, it was impossible. The only clue was the testimony of those border guards. But the "Northern Spy" nonsense was clearly his fabrication. The men who appeared with him were now dead, with no witnesses. More importantly, her influence in Jingzhou was extremely limited—she had neither the energy to investigate nor the courage to draw unwanted attention, which might expose her trail.

Not investigating didn't matter. She came to Jingzhou to play chess. As long as the piece reached the position she needed, why care where it came from? It was just a pawn—discard it after use. But she couldn't help being curious. She couldn't help being puzzled. So though she knew Wang Yang wouldn't answer, she still asked: "Who are you? Where did you learn all this?"

Wang Yang gave no answer. Instead, he asked:

"Do you want to learn?"

Xiao Baoyue looked at him, a look of confusion on her face.

Wang Yang met her gaze, serious: "If you do, I can teach you."

Xiao Baoyue's face lit up with instinctive delight—then she snapped back, slapping the table in fury: "How dare you manipulate me!"

Xiao Baoyue's wording was imprecise. What Wang Yang had done was manipulation.

To manipulate, you first need a relationship.

A single person has no relationship. Relationships form only between two or more people—trade, friendship, superior-subordinate, etc. Each relationship carries influence and persuasion. Small as choosing a restaurant, large as deciding whether to declare war on a neighboring state. When someone uses influence and persuasion to guide decisions and control outcomes, manipulation occurs.

The core logic of manipulation is gain and loss. Those who desire gain may be lured. Those who fear loss may be pulled. Through repeated lure and pull, they step into the trap.

Since Wang Yang "entered the hall," he had repeatedly plunged Xiao Baoyue into emotional turmoil, applying psychological pressure. When lessons displeased him, he interrupted them without mercy, forcing Xiao Baoyue to oscillate between wanting his instruction (gain) and fearing its cessation (loss), gradually shifting her into a passive, weaker position.

Wang Yang also kept offering new bait—first the strategy for pacifying the barbarians, then history, now psychology. If needed, he would offer more—only he controlled the pace. Fortunately, Wang Yang excelled at pacing.

His goal was to establish and steadily strengthen his psychological advantage over Xiao Baoyue.

Through words and expressions, he guided her emotions and reactions, drawing her unconsciously into his rhythm, influencing her thoughts, seizing initiative in their relationship—all for self-preservation.

There was no choice. Their natural inequality was absolute. Had he not advanced step by step, he might not even have the right to sit and speak with her now.

At first, Xiao Baoyue, relying on her power and status, had utterly ignored Wang Yang—she only wanted to turn him into a obedient servant.

But Wang Yang, through wit and talent, gradually forced her to the negotiating table—and finally sat down across from her.

This was a prolonged, bloodless war. Victory lay not in sword and spear, but in the struggle of hearts.

Though Xiao Baoyue lacked finesse in human dealings, she was intelligent. She had long sensed Wang Yang was playing tricks. But sensing it was one thing—falling into it was another. Just now, she accused him of manipulation—but even she couldn't say when it began, or how long it had lasted. And now that she'd called it out—was she truly free of it? Hadn't her emotional chaos, her loss of composure, only made her more vulnerable to his manipulation?!

Xiao Baoyue suddenly felt afraid. But this long-forgotten fear didn't unnerve her—it made her calm, clear-headed.

She steadied herself, rebuilt her mental defenses, and quickly identified the flaw in her identity. She paused, then said:

"My identity was leaked by that fool Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xie Xie Niangzi Xie Xinghan, wasn't it? Because I warned you twice not to flirt with noblewomen, you guessed it was her... But you dared not tell her about your false surname, so you must have extracted it through questioning. Clever. But have you forgotten one question—"

Xiao Baoyue's aura had transformed completely. She stared at Wang Yang, her gaze dangerous and oppressive:

"What good is cleverness if you're dead?"

Wang Yang calmly withdrew a scroll from his sleeve, flicked his wrist—and the first page unfurled, cutting off Xiao Baoyue's gaze.

The deadly resolve gathering in Xiao Baoyue's sultry eyes shattered into stunned confusion, for the first page bore eight large characters:

"My Affairs with Miss Xiao."

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Note: On "squelched expression," see Paul Ekman's *Telling Lies: Clues to Deceit in the Marketplace, Politics, and Marriage*, Chapter Five. Ekman is a "star scholar" with pioneering contributions to lie detection; the TV series *Lie to Me* drew heavily on his research.