In Yu Lingxin’s view, Chao Ning had betrayed Jiang Nong.
Yes, he didn’t like Chao Ning—he felt Jiang Nong cared too much about him, and he resented the marital bond Chao Ning had shared with Jiang Nong in their previous life.
But he also had his own set of theories regarding Chao Ning.
“Since he was your former husband, he should guard you life after life, never shift his affections, never marry another, and have only you in his heart for all eternity.”
In short, even if Jiang Nong wasn’t with Chao Ning, Chao Ning still had to remain pining for her his entire life.
Yu Lingxin continued to spout his twisted logic.
“Wow!” Jiang Nong didn’t know what to say, and could only let out an exclamation of astonishment.
These unreasonable words were, for her, somewhat nostalgic.
Whenever she thought Yu Lingxin was becoming a little more normal, he would prove through his actions that this was not the case—quite the opposite, in fact!
Just a few days ago, she had thought Yu Lingxin was becoming gentler, more endearing, changing for the better. But today, he was acting up again. What exactly had a person gone through to undergo such a dramatic shift in mindset, becoming this shameless?
In Yu Lingxin’s mind, everyone owed him something. Everyone should live and die for him. He had even projected this mentality onto her.
Jiang Nong couldn’t change him, and reasoning was futile. How many times had she said it? Did Yu Lingxin ever listen?
She could only walk over, cup his chin in her hand, and rub it—like rubbing an obedient big dog: “Be good. Don’t be like this.”
Yu Lingxin’s heavy head rested in her palm, and he nudged her palm with his chin, his entire body softening: “You’re doing this again.”
Over the past year or so, Jiang Nong had long figured out a way to handle Yu Lingxin.
Reasoning was useless. Changing his thinking was impossible. Arguing was a losing battle. The gap between her and Yu Lingxin’s ways of thinking was no smaller than that between a human and a dog.
But if she treated Yu Lingxin like a dog, everything fell into place.
If he did wrong, a smack as a warning. If he did right, a pat on the head as a reward. If he was about to do something bad, a firm “No,” telling the puppy to behave.
Adjustments could be made depending on the situation, but based on Jiang Nong’s experiments, this method was both effective and effortless.
…
The day before the New Year’s banquet, envoys from all sides had gathered, yet Chao Ning was still nowhere to be seen.
There had already been private rumors that he had gone missing on the road here, and now the gossip grew even louder. Some troublemakers even widely spread word among the common folk that Chao Ning was dead, terrifying the people with talk of impending war. Who was behind this was all too obvious.
A small number also suspected that the Song and Jin Kingdoms were deliberately stoking tensions between the two nations.
When the banquet finally arrived, the Song envoy, who had been brewing his grievance for days, finally made his move. After scanning the room and once again seeing no sign of Chao Ning, he demanded: “I hear that the Ninth Prince of Dang was attacked and killed en route to your kingdom. Does the King of Tan have anything to say about this?”
“Pure nonsense. The realm is at peace—how could a prince have met with danger within our borders? Envoy, do not lend your ear to folk rumors.” Xunliang replied with a smile, answering on Yu Lingxin’s behalf.
“And who do you think you are? This is not for you to speak!” The Song envoy raised his voice, seizing the moment to attack. “This matter may be beneath me as a minor official, but Prince Chao Ning died within your borders—that is your failing. Yet now the streets are buzzing with talk that we assassinated him to sow discord between our nations. This concerns diplomatic relations between my country and Dang—how can I allow you to frame us?”
“Envoy, you are being far too rude!” Yu Lingxin looked at him with contempt. “I thought you were merely arrogant, but I did not expect you to be this foolish. With the New Year approaching, having you seated here is the Imperial Kitchen’s dereliction of duty! What evidence do you have that we are framing you? If you’re a pig, crawl back to your sty. If you’re a man, use your brain. Or does shaking your head just make all the water slosh around inside?”
What a talent for twisting the truth and confusing the masses. Most of the rumors circulating were about Chao Ning’s death—few mentioned Song and Jin. Those rumors were likely spread by the envoy’s own people, just so they could seize this opportunity to make trouble today.
The Imperial Kitchen fell under the Court of the Imperial Treasury, responsible for the royal meals. During festivals, slaughtering sheep, cattle, and pigs was their job. So Yu Lingxin was calling him a pig!
Stifled laughter rippled through the banquet. The envoy was stung by Yu Lingxin’s contemptuous gaze.
Tan could not possibly accept such slander. The civil officials of Tan, throwing all dignity and decorum to the wind, rose one after another and joined Yu Lingxin in disparaging the envoy—not only to clear Tan of blame, but also to ridicule the Song envoy soundly.
The group volleyed words back and forth. A civil official’s pen was a blade, and his mouth a spear. No matter how eloquent the Song envoy was, he could not withstand a mob flinging mud—they even pinned the theft of two sheep from Tan’s border last year on him.
“What would I want with two sheep?! You—you!”
Compared to the civil officials’ cutting words, the military officers’ barbs went straight for the throat.
A burly, dark-skinned man grinned: “To eat, what else?”
Outrageous! Absolutely unreasonable! A pack of scoundrels! Yu Lingxin was the king of scoundrels, and his ministers were little scoundrels! Since when did a ruler behave like this? Leading the charge in insulting others, with his courtiers following suit—disgusting!
“Envoy, why be so angry? They’re only speaking. Why not be magnanimous? Since you’ve done nothing wrong, why get upset?” Jiang Nong was not equipped for this kind of scene. She lacked Yu Lingxin’s talent for shamelessness, so all she could do was offer a soothing word of comfort.
Her attempt at smoothing things over backfired—as soon as she tried to mediate, it was as if she were confirming something was truly amiss. The Song envoy’s pent-up fury erupted, his entire body flushing crimson as he lost all reason. No matter how frantically the Jin envoy beside him signaled with his eyes, he couldn’t see a thing. He bellowed in rage: “How dare you insult me! How dare you! I am an envoy of Song, representing the dignity of our sovereign! Prince Chao Ning died within your borders—of course you want to shift the blame to others, unwilling to bear the guilt yourselves! Wouldn’t you naturally pin this on us? And within your territory, who else has the means to spread such rumors?”
“We have already sent word back to our kingdom, and our sovereign has written to the King of Dang. Your Tan Kingdom has murdered a prince, ruined diplomatic relations, and insulted an envoy. Song and Jin shall answer Heaven’s mandate and march against your Tan Kingdom!”
He spoke with such conviction because he was certain Chao Ning was dead. The shadow guards who had assassinated Chao Ning had sent word to him, along with a blood-stained handkerchief and a personal token belonging to Chao Ning.
The Jin envoy’s heart sank—he sensed trouble. This was not the time to say such things, but the Song envoy, provoked, had already lost all coherence. Yet if they didn’t strike now, when would they? Last year, Yu Lingxin had humiliated them in public, dismembering their spies planted in Tan and sending the pieces back to them in crates.
Crates reeking of bloody flesh had been lined up before them—proof enough of this young king’s wild ambition and arrogance. If they didn’t cut him down while he was still weak, he would surely become a menace.
Their original plans had already been thrown into disarray. The Jin envoy had little time to deliberate. Though hesitant, he still chose to side with Song—but left himself some wiggle room: “Lord of Tan, you have indeed acted dishonorably in this matter. Jin is not one to swallow its pride either. The death of Prince Chao Ning is a grave affair; I must return and report this to my sovereign.”
“Excellent, excellent,” Yu Lingxin clapped his hands in mock admiration, a smile playing at his lips. “You envoys truly have foresight, like gods who can divine the future. With just a few words, you’ve already decided Chao Ning’s fate. But I have never once acknowledged that Chao Ning is dead. Where exactly did you hear such news?”
A bucket of cold water doused them from head to toe, chilling both envoys to the bone.
It suddenly dawned on them that throughout the heated exchange, Yu Lingxin had only spoken of folk rumors—he had never actually confirmed Chao Ning’s death. Could it be that the man was still alive?
The Song envoy’s face cycled from pale to purple to pale again. He had received Chao Ning’s personal token—how could Chao Ning not be dead?
“No need to speculate further!” Chao Ning’s voice rang out from behind, echoing through the vast hall with resounding force, carrying an unmistakable sharpness. “Since they were so certain this humble one was dead, spread rumors throughout the streets, and chose this moment to press charges, even colluding with Jin to stir up a four-nation war—their intentions are as clear as daylight!”
Like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, envoys and ministers alike turned to look behind them. There stood Chao Ning, hale and whole, striding calmly into the hall to salute Yu Lingxin and Jiang Nong with clasped hands.
The officials of Tan all breathed a private sigh of relief, inwardly gleeful, and swiftly joined Chao Ning in pressing charges against the Song envoy.
“When did our sovereign ever say Prince Chao Ning was dead? Yet you spoke with such certainty, so eager that you’ve already sent word back to your kingdom. Does this not prove, point by point, that you are the ones behind this!”
“What more do you have to say, Song envoy!”
“Plotting to murder a prince and incite war—your two kingdoms are not without guilt!”
The Jin envoy scrambled to distance himself: “I said nothing of consequence just now—only harbored doubts instigated by the Song envoy. I am truly wronged. I acted rashly and am willing to offer Tan a thousand taels of gold to quell its anger.”
He was slippery enough that no one could pin anything on him.
The Song envoy had lost all his earlier arrogance. Cold sweat broke out instantly, his face turning green as if his very gall had ruptured in fear. He stammered in explanation: “No, no—I was set up! What evidence do you have?”
“Evidence?” Chao Ning raised his hand, revealing a cyan emblem. “Do you dare say this isn’t from your Song Kingdom? I fought those assassins for a long time, barely escaping with my life, and seized this token from them. They even tried to set the forest ablaze—if not for Wei Xiao’s timely arrival, nearby villagers would have been caught in the disaster.”
With that, he flung it toward the Song envoy. The wooden token hit the floor and shattered into pieces. The envoy scrambled to piece it together, his hands trembling, only to find burn marks on the fragments—but it was unmistakably of Song origin.
‘Idiots! A pack of idiots! Which one of them left a trail!’
The Song envoy trembled, his mind a complete blank. He could do nothing but cry out his innocence.
He had been played by Yu Lingxin! Played by Yu Lingxin and Chao Ning in cahoots!
The earlier quarrel had been designed to make him lose his reason and insist that Chao Ning was dead. Then Chao Ning appeared at this very moment, playing off Yu Lingxin perfectly, sealing his fate completely.
No way out! No room for defense! The evidence was ironclad!
Yu Lingxin gave him no chance to resist. He ordered the man taken to the Supreme Court, not forgetting one last cold taunt: “I too shall write a letter to the King of Dang, explaining the full story. You Song people aren’t the only ones who know how to write.”
Amid the chaos, Xunliang slipped down from the dais, tucked the shattered wooden token into his sleeve, and directed the inner eunuchs to clean up the spilled wine.
Everyone was watching this farce. Jiang Nong caught Xunliang’s movements from the corner of her eye and silently looked away.
It seemed Yu Lingxin had laid another trap and snared his prey.
Deliberately provoking the quarrel to muddle the envoys’ thoughts and throw them off balance. The wooden token was most likely a forgery, and the burning of the forest was also fake—just embellishments to add credibility and seal the Song Kingdom’s guilt. In the panic of the moment, with charred fragments scattered, even the King of Song himself might not have been able to tell real from fake.
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