Chapter 284: Good Courage

"We set up camp at the mouth of the gorge. They sent food, but we didn't dare to eat it rashly. Later, we saw there was mutton..." Chen Qingshan said this, glanced at Le Luo Luo, then leaned into Wang Yang's ear and spoke in a low voice.

A hint of a smile flashed in Wang Yang's eyes. He covered his mouth with his hand and whispered a few words.

I don't know what Wang Yang said, but after hearing it, the corners of Chen Qingshan's mouth couldn't stop curling upward. She held back her laughter and whispered something back to Wang Yang. This time it was Wang Yang's turn to laugh...

Le Luo Luo watched the two whispering and laughing with patience. After enduring for a while, he cleared his throat.

Wang and Chen both looked at Le Luo Luo.

Le Luo Luo forced a smile: "It's getting late. How about letting this young lady go rest first?"

Wang Yang said to Chen Qingshan: "Xiao Shan, you go first. I'll be there in a moment."

Chen Qingshan wanted to say something but stopped, then realized it might be inappropriate, so she immediately hid her emotions and nodded.

Wang Yang immediately asked: "What's wrong? It's okay, tell me."

Chen Qingshan whispered something to Wang Yang.

Wang Yang looked at Le Luo Luo and said unhappily:

"Hurry up and have your people return the spear to her! I am, after all, from the Langya Wang clan; no matter what, I wouldn't risk my life to come here and play at assassination. My life isn't that worthless. Besides, if I really wanted to get weapons, I could get them however I wanted; it's not like I'm missing a spear."

If Wang Yang had made such a request when they first met, Le Luo Luo wouldn't even have paid attention to him, let alone the request. Even if he had just displayed such an attitude, Le Luo Luo might have had him beaten out with sticks! But it was different now. In Le Luo Luo's eyes, Wang Yang was not just a Han envoy, but a key figure who could determine the survival of the tribe, a precious Gold Master who would make the tribe prosperous and wealthy in the future, and an important connection for the tribe and himself in the Han court!

Not to mention that this person's talent and schemes were unfathomable, and he had to rely on his assistance to deal with the Left and Right Haye. Unless it was a last resort, he absolutely could not offend him...

He couldn't afford to offend him...

Le Luo Luo said: "I did not order the weapons to be confiscated; it must have been the subordinates acting on their own. The young lady uses a spear? I will have it returned immediately!"

Wang Yang smiled: "Then many thanks."

Chen Qingshan tugged lightly on Wang Yang's sleeve. Wang Yang looked at Chen Qingshan, then suddenly realized and added: "And the sword."

Le Luo Luo called in the barbarian guards, ordered the return of Chen Qingshan's spear and sword, and had someone arrange accommodation.

Before long, two barbarian women came in and politely invited Chen Qingshan to rest. Wang Yang asked: "Are you hungry? Do you want a midnight snack?" Chen Qingshan shook her head very reservedly. After she left the tent, Wang Yang said: "Bring her a serving of pine nuts, chestnuts, and other snacks, and some mountain berry juice—put in extra honey."

Le Luo Luo had no choice but to call someone to arrange it again. After everything was settled, he dismissed the attendants and sat down, his tone carrying a hint of teasing:

"You really care about women; you even worry about what they eat. I can't compare at all."

Le Luo Luo's implication was that Wang Yang worrying about such trivial matters was truly not the behavior of a great man. It was just that he wanted to be on good terms with Wang Yang, so he spoke quite implicitly and did not directly ridicule him.

Wang Yang smiled:

"When the heart has surplus strength, one can attend to all things; when the spirit is lacking, one cannot even manage one's own affairs."

Le Luo Luo choked. Although he often labeled himself a great man and didn't take trivial matters to heart, he hadn't been able to "manage" his own survival. Thinking of this, the playfulness in his eyes vanished, replaced by a bit of genuine earnestness:

"Brother Wang's words are very true. The capable should do more work. Please, Brother Wang, teach me the third move."

"The third move is simple. After the cooperation is reached, I will invite the Left Haye to dinner."

"Dinner?"

"Yes, just find an excuse, say some polite things, eat some food, and drink some wine."

Le Luo Luo saw Wang Yang didn't continue and asked suspiciously: "That's it?"

"That's it."

This is a free gift, so naturally, it's the simplest and easiest to implement. Do you expect me to exert any effort...

Le Luo Luo didn't understand for a moment: "I don't understand..."

"You have to look at this third move in conjunction with the first and second moves. After the banquet ends, the Right Haye will ask the Left Haye what the Han envoy—that is, me—said to him. The Left Haye will naturally tell the truth, saying he didn't say anything, just some polite things. Do you think the Right Haye will believe him? Actually, it doesn't matter if he believes him or not. When the investiture comes down, the Right Haye will still ask the Left Haye if he privately reached any cooperation with me, and if I promised him anything. The Left Haye will naturally deny it. Once trade begins and the Left Haye's faction benefits greatly, guess what the Right Haye will think? My inviting the Left Haye to dinner and chatting is just planting a thorn in the Right Haye's heart. As suspicion grows, this thorn will pierce deeper and deeper. You just watch; by later on, the Right Haye won't even ask anymore..."

Le Luo Luo listened quietly. By the time he heard the end, he only felt that the candlelight in the tent carried a hint of chill.

This noble clan young master, who spoke and laughed with ease and had a lazy demeanor, had casually proposed three moves—moves that couldn't be used without him—that were interlocked and all aimed at the subtle points of the human heart. He had calculated the greed, suspicion, and jealousy in human nature clearly, without spending much effort or using any weapons, yet he had created unsealable cracks in the opponent's camp, which might even develop into mutual slaughter in the end. It was truly killing without seeing blood...

Last night, a light rain sprinkled in the courtyard.

Under the corridor of the Xie residence, a person lowered their head, cupped their hands, and stood solemnly.

Xie Xinghan's voice came from inside the room: "... deliver it to my father's hands personally. If you delay the time, or if it passes through a second person's hands, then don't blame me..."

The person immediately said: "I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare. This lowly one will set off now and will certainly not delay the master's affairs."

Xie Xinghan held a cup and drank tea. Xiao Ning stepped forward and said: "The horses and dry rations are all prepared. You go straight out the door and don't need to speak to anyone else."

"Yes, this lowly one takes his leave."

After the person retreated, another entered.

Xie Xinghan said:

"You set off immediately. Take a boat along the Zhang River to Bian County, pass through Yongning Commandery to leave Jingzhou. After leaving the territory, find an inn in Changshou (the border between Yingzhou and Jingzhou, belonging to Yingzhou) to stay. Pay attention to the Jing-Ying road at all times. Once you discover the post road is blocked, merchants are cut off, or the Jingzhou border troops have unusual movements, report immediately to the Yingzhou government for preparation, and then ride fast to report to Jiankang. If there is no abnormality, you just keep staying there until I send someone to find you."

"Yes."

Xiao Ning went out of the room, gave the person a bag of money, and repeated the instructions she had given the previous person. The person took the order and left.

Xiao Ning returned to Xie Xinghan's side and saw her mistress frowning, looking worried, and said weakly:

"Mistress, why don't we... also go back to Jiankang?"

Xie Xinghan was startled when she heard this, then smiled and said:

"I am just taking precautions; things haven't reached that point yet..."

Wang Yang should be a person from the Donggong, or at least has contact with the Donggong, otherwise he wouldn't always go to the Ruyi Pavilion. But even if he is related to the Donggong, the relationship shouldn't be too deep, or rather, he hasn't been heavily used by the Crown Prince yet, otherwise he wouldn't even know Sister Xiao's identity and would have to come to probe me.

Xie Xie Niangzi Xie and Wang Yang coming to Jingzhou are likely both targeting the Prince of Badong. The Prince of Badong learned of Wang Yang's identity, so he used the diplomatic mission as a pretext to strike at Wang Yang; however, this is an act against the Crown Prince, not an attempt at rebellion. Yet Wang Yang has long been prepared, perhaps having guessed the Prince of Badong's intentions, but he held back without acting, perhaps to seize leverage over the Prince of Badong? The Prince of Badong originally had no intention of rebelling, but once the crime of colluding with barbarians to intercept the diplomatic mission is confirmed, how he will react is hard to say...

"Do this: send someone to notify the manor in Yong'an, let them tidy up over there, and we will go over in these few days for a short stay."

Xie Xinghan thought about it and still felt that the Prince of Badong wouldn't rebel, but being cautious was never wrong.

Yong'an belongs to the jurisdiction of Nanping Commandery. Although it is also within Jingzhou, it is still some distance from Jiangling. Once there is news of Wang Yang, it can also be received in time.

【The blue arrow is the route Xie Xinghan told the second subordinate to take; the yellow line is the destination, which is also the border between Jingzhou and Yingzhou; the green line is the place Xie Xinghan plans to go.】

Xiao Ning said worriedly: "That manor over there is a bit simple; will Mistress be able to get used to living there?"

"It's fine, let's live there and see. If it doesn't work, we'll buy a house; just treat it as going to Nanping Commandery for a vacation."

"Vacation?"

"Oh, it means going to a place to spend a holiday. Haven't you heard of 'Roman Holiday'? Oh, I forgot, you definitely haven't heard of it. It's fine, I'll teach you these words slowly later."

Xie Xinghan lifted her chin prettily, her expression unfathomable, yet carrying a hint of casual indifference.

Xiao Ning: (￣. ￣)

In the side courtyard of the Jiangling County government office, the people had been cleared out, leaving only an old clerk guarding the door of the morgue, looking dim-sighted.

Before long, a person wearing a black cloak came out of the morgue, covering their mouth and nose with a black silk handkerchief, followed by a man wearing an eye patch, holding a long sword in his arms.

The old clerk hurriedly lowered his head, not daring to look at the two.

"Reach out your hand," the person in the cloak said.

The old clerk bowed and extended both hands, his palms covered in thick calluses trembling slightly. He heard a muffled sound, and a heavy bag landed in his palm, weighing his wrists down. The copper coins in the bag were squeezed tightly together, making a cold, hard friction sound, like autumn rain hitting a pile of withered leaves.

The person in the cloak said: "Buy him a good coffin, and keep the rest of the money for yourself. If the wind leaks, then you can buy a coffin for yourself too."

The old clerk trembled and knelt to kowtow, not saying a word. In the old clerk's view, at such a time, the less said, the more appropriate.

The two left the county government office and got into a carriage. Wang Tai took off his hood, showing neither grief nor joy, just murmuring:

"The last step has been filled. We are going back to Jiankang."

The man with the eye patch asked: "Can you be sure it's him?"

"It should be. Although the face cannot be seen and the clothes are mostly rotten, the location is correct. That day, the little beast brought Wu Qian to the Linjiang Warehouse. I said we had been looking for so long, how could there be no clues? Although I had doubts, I didn't dare to believe it... This little beast really has good courage, daring to kill the person directly, and coming to talk to me with nothing in his hands. If it were me, I definitely wouldn't dare to do so. This person is indeed a character. If he were really born in the Wang family, he would be extraordinary. It's a pity, it's a pity..." ===== CHAPTER 285 =====