Chapter 9: Designing Dissension, What is Black and What is White

Shang Yuwan and Zhang Jiuquan exchanged two moves on the chessboard. She deliberately lowered her chess skills, resulting in a tie between the two of them for a while.

Zhang Jiuqun used to be a wild man. He learned martial arts secretly when he was a teenager and only knew some local tricks. He really couldn't play chess and didn't know how to use troops. He could only listen to the general's orders and fight wherever he was told.

Shang Junhu taught all children, regardless of gender, the art of war, deployment of troops, weapons, and other miscellaneous knowledge. Shang Yuwan had to learn these since he was young, and he learned them very well. He was often praised by Shang Junhu, who said that the Shang family had produced a female general who would be able to win battles for Dayu in the future.

Shang Yuwan sneered in his heart as he looked at Zhang Jiuquan holding the white chess piece and thinking secretly.

Zhang Jiuquan can now play a few chess moves, which are all what her father taught her when she was young. She has not made any progress over the years.

"May I know your name, young lady? What do you want from me, Zhang?"

"To be honest," Shang Yuwan said with a smile, "my daughter wants some silver."

Zhang Jiuquan raised his eyes and his gaze fell on Cheng Yishui's face behind Shang Yuwan.

When he saw that face, hatred rose in his heart.

"You are greedy for that guy's money. Aren't you afraid that Zhang will report you?"

"oh?"

Shang Yuwan looked surprised, then sneered, "The general is sitting cross-legged with my daughter playing chess. Aren't you afraid that it will get out and make those gentlemen suspicious?"

Zhang Jiuquan's eyes darkened when he heard this. After a moment, he said, "Go on."

Shang Yuwan dropped a piece, his eyes cold, "The general is a smart man, he certainly doesn't want to be abandoned."

Zhang Jiuquan didn't have much patience. He slammed the desk and said, "I don't like beating around the bush. Just get straight to the point!"

Cheng Yishui was about to step forward, but Shang Yuwan raised his hand to stop him.

"Don't worry, General. I'll explain everything to you."

Zhang Jiuquan glared at Cheng Yishui who retreated to his original position, threw away the black chess piece, raised one leg, and supported his knee with one hand.

"The Crown Prince used the General and the Prime Minister as bait. Although I don't know who they are looking for or why they made such a big move, it is not a blessing for the people of Yanmen to see such a distinguished figure as the General become a discarded pawn."

Shang Yuwan also stopped playing chess, and the eyes behind the black veil looked directly at Zhang Jiuquan.

"General, you are a straightforward man, so I won't try to be cunning. I hope you will forgive me for speaking so bluntly. I want the silver you sent me. It belongs to me."

"A full 100,000 taels of silver, you think you can swallow it?" Zhang Jiuquan snorted coldly, "Even if I help you, how can you help me? The Prime Minister is powerful, and you want more than just silver. Do you have a grudge against the Zhao family?"

Shang Yuwan replied, "To be honest, the Zhao family does have a grudge against my daughter."

Zhang Jiuquan didn't say anything, and motioned Shang Yuwan to continue.

"Because of the Zhao family, someone in my daughter's family is seriously ill. I went to someone to get medicine but I was short of money. I had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure."

Zhang Jiuquan curled his lips and said, "Tell me, how can you help me?"

Shang Yuwan stretched out two fingers and tapped the desk.

"The Prime Minister has extorted a lot of money from the people in recent years, right? That's how he got the 100,000 taels of silver. I'm not mistaken, am I? If this were to get out, what would His Majesty think?"

"If it gets out, Zhang might not survive."

Shang Yuwan quickly followed up, "But what if the general himself leaks the information?"

"......" Zhang Jiuquan lowered his head a little, his eyes rolling up involuntarily, "Then the prince..."

"Isn't it that the Crown Prince discovered the corrupt officials, and the General, unable to bear the brunt of such despicable people, came forward to denounce them?"

"...Interesting. What about the silver?"

Shang Yuwan spread his hands and said innocently, "Who knows where Prime Minister Hua has gone?"

Zhang Jiuquan fell silent and said nothing.

Shang Yuwan continued, "Since we are both abandoned, why not use the other one to buy yourself a chance of survival? If you are lucky, you will have a smooth road ahead."

Zhang Jiuquan looked at Cheng Yishui, "What's that girl like?"

Shang Yuwan didn't seem panicked at all. "I've been looking for evidence against the Zhao family and accidentally found something on the general. That's why we had that scene last night. I brought people here to apologize to the general."

Cheng Yishui suppressed the urge to roll his eyes, stepped forward and bowed, "I apologize for any offense last night, General. I hope you will forgive me."

Zhang Jiuquan stared at Cheng Yishui and snorted coldly.

He suddenly changed the subject: "Who is this girl?"

Shang Yuwan smiled and asked, "General, do you really want to know?"

Zhang Jiuquan nodded.

Shang Yuwan chuckled, "Wan'er."

Zhang Jiu's whole body trembled.

Shang Yuwan deliberately emphasized the word "Wan", and the eyes behind the black veil were full of mockery and hatred, "I am Wan'er."

Zhang Jiuquan suddenly grabbed the chessboard, and it seemed that he wanted to knock her veil off.

In a flash, Cheng Yishui cut the chessboard in half with a knife, and a long sword was placed on Zhang Jiuqun's neck.

"Don't move."

Lu Heying was wearing a mask, and the long sword on Zhang Jiuquan's neck was the one in his hand.

The accident happened suddenly, and the chess pieces were scattered all over the floor, but Shang Yuwan remained calm.

"What's wrong, General? Are you feeling unwell?"

Zhang Jiuquan only saw the lower half of Shang Yuwan's face just now, but he still recognized that she was not the child he knew.

He remained silent for a long time, and finally reached into his pocket and took out a token with the word "Zhang" engraved on it.

Zhang Jiuquan pushed the token towards Shang Yuwan.

"Take it."

Zhang Jiuquan suppressed his heavier breathing and tried hard to maintain his original state so that Shang Yuwan would not notice anything.

"Take this token. No matter what you want to do, Li Zixi will obey you when he sees it."

Shang Yuwan put the token into his sleeve as if nothing had happened, "Thank you, General."

"It's getting late, I won't bother you anymore."

Shang Yuwan took his men to say goodbye and left. Zhang Jiuquan reminded them, "Leave the same way you came. We have spies in the mansion."

Shang Yuwan and others agreed after hearing this, and they didn't think of going back in a swagger.

On the way back, Shang Yuwan thought that the operation went quite smoothly. He had thought it would take a whole night of verbal battles.

In Shang Yuwan's memory, Zhang Jiuquan was a stubborn person.

"By the way, deputy host."

Lu Heying put the mask on his waist at this time, and turned his head when he heard it, "What's wrong?"

"What's in the secret room?"

Lu Heying was silent for three breaths, then said, "Some weapons used by children, an old set..."

"The armor of General Zhenxi."

Shang Yuwan's pupils shrank.

"There are also sixteen jars of daughter's wine, and some dowries from other women. There is nothing else related to the matter we are investigating."

“…”

Shang Yuwan turned her head away, holding back her tears, and never spoke again. After arriving at the Laixiang Medical Clinic, she said goodbye to Lu Heying and returned to her room alone.

Lu Heying keenly noticed that something was wrong, but said nothing. She asked Cheng Yishui to find Ju Gongcheng to remove the human skin mask, and then she went to find Xiao Qingxu.

Looking at the flickering candlelight in the room, he knew that this person would not go to bed until he waited for him.

Lu Heying climbed in through the window, sat down skillfully and poured herself a glass of water.

"Don't worry, she's fine. She's just in a bad mood and went back to sleep by herself."

Lu Heying told Xiao Qingxu everything he had seen and heard, as well as the information Cheng Yishui had told him. In the end, he just sighed.

"Aying, you should go and get some rest too. We will be leaving at dawn."

Lu Heying also noticed something wrong with this person, but he was not a talkative person, so he stood up and said goodbye.

"Whenever you are willing to tell me, I will come to you again, brother."

Xiao Qingxu's face looked somewhat desolate under the candlelight. He smiled helplessly and said, "Thank you."

Shang Yuwan knew she had more important things to do after dawn, so she returned to her room, took a modified version of the Ecstasy Potion, and fell asleep in tears. Meanwhile, Zhang Jiuquan entered the secret room, his rough hands carefully stroking the armor.

Ever since the general's death, he has often had a wishful dream.

If one day his body could be hung at the city gate for public display, would the general, in his netherworld... forgive him?