Chapter 188: No Other Way
Zhu Qiqi waited in the pavilion until the sun began to set. Gazing at the dim, golden light of the setting sun, she became so bored that she started picking leaves from the roadside. She absentmindedly plucked each yellowing leaf, not caring whether they were actually withered or dead; she was simply looking for a way to kill time.
As they waited, before she had completely destroyed all the roadside flowers and plants, the person they were waiting for finally came out and saved the remaining flowers and plants.
Ignoring Wuqing, who had come out with her, Zhu Qiqi didn't even see him. She pushed past the sword-wielding boy guarding the door, grabbed Xie Huailing's hand, felt her porcelain-like body temperature, and saw that no one was serving her. Her heart felt like it was being pricked by needles, and she felt terrible: "Huailing, why didn't you bring anyone with you? You're finally out..."
Zhu Qiqi wanted to ask if the Divine Marquis's Mansion had bullied her. Ever since the incident with Jin Buhuan, who "acted bravely for justice," Zhu Qiqi had become wary of everyone with a good reputation, never daring to trust them easily. Even knowing Xie Huailing's intelligence, she was worried that she might be taken advantage of, and she became paranoid. She then said, "Why are you so cold? It's frighteningly cold. Have you been standing outside in the wind the whole time? How could we let you stand there like that?"
Seeing that she was a little too flustered, Xie Huailing felt both touched and amused, and reminded her, "I've always been this cold."
"..." Zhu Qiqi blushed deeply, her cheeks flushing red, which then spread to her limbs. She shook off the man's hand, realizing that Xie Huailing was alright. She felt shy and said, "You should have said so earlier! You made me worry for nothing, really."
Not wanting to deal with Wuqing, Zhu Qiqi went to Xie Huailing's side after saying that, patted her twice in annoyance, and then looked Wuqing up and down through half a Xie Huailing.
There was no tense atmosphere between the two people who emerged from the pavilion; they were certainly not about to fight to the death. Wuqing was looking at Xie Huailing, his eyes filled with unpredictable emotions, which inexplicably reminded Zhu Qiqi of the clouds on a drizzly day. She pulled Xie Huailing's hand, urging him to hurry up.
Xie Huailing listened to Zhu Qiqi's words. Sometimes she was willing to indulge Zhu Qiqi's temper. She said, "I will go back first today. When Zhuge Shenhou confirms the truth of the information I have given him and decides whether or not to gamble with me, I will ask the chief constable to inform me."
He said "okay" without any emotion, as if he had a few more words to say, but he hesitated and stopped, leaving him standing there like a lilac bush, his heart filled with something, futilely spreading his fragrance.
Zhu Qiqi put her arm around Xie Huailing's and leaned against it as soon as they got in the car. She thought Xie Huailing was too thin, just like Xie Huailing thought Su Mengzhen was too uncomfortable. But the difference was that even if Zhu Qiqi felt uncomfortable, she would still press her head against Xie Huailing's shoulder, acting like they were the best of friends in the world.
She kept rambling on and on: "I went to see Bai Feifei before I left. Bai Feifei said you would definitely come back safely. I thought she wasn't worried about you. It turns out she was right, which is a good thing. Shen Lang said the same thing. He said you must have a way. You refused to come with me and just stayed in your room writing. I don't know what you're writing... Are you really alright now?"
“To say there’s nothing wrong, there’s definitely something wrong, but it’s not quite over yet.” Xie Huailing said slowly, her eyes slightly closed, her face buried in the shadows of the carriage. “We’ll still have to meet a few more times, things aren’t over yet. But if there’s something wrong, according to your definition of ‘something wrong,’ it certainly won’t be this serious.”
"Really?" Zhu Qiqi blinked. She had always been a very curious girl. "What are you going to bet on? Wait, can you tell me?"
Xie Huailing opened one eye, looked at her, and said everything without saying a word: What are you thinking? Of course, I can't tell you.
Zhu Qiqi bit her lip, perhaps a little annoyed. But she quickly came to her senses, smiled again, and leaned closer, saying, "Then I won't ask anymore, I'll believe you. But you're not allowed to lie to me just so I won't worry."
Xie Huailing said, "Don't worry, you don't have that much influence."
Zhu Qiqi glared at her again, really wanting to stomp on her foot, but in the end she didn't move her leg.
.
Although he was only required to write a travelogue, Shen Lang's task was quite heavy. Literary creation has always been a difficult task, especially given that his travelogue contained some crucial elements. Shen Lang wrote several versions of just the beginning, and was so busy that he didn't even have time to pick up Zhu Qiqi when she returned, so he asked Xiongmao'er to do it for him.
The relationship between Xiongmao'er and these two is also complicated. On one hand, he likes Zhu Qiqi, he has liked her from the first moment he saw her. On the other hand, he likes his friend Shen Lang, and the more he gets to know him, the more he likes him. This leads to him strangely getting along with the group without being too out of place. He feels that although he can't be with Zhu Qiqi, Zhu Qiqi and Shen Lang are a perfect match. In a sense, this kind of mentality is quite remarkable.
Ultimately, Xiongmao'er wasn't familiar with Xie Huailing, so he only greeted her briefly. However, because of Wang Lianhua, he looked hesitant and wanted to ask her something but was too embarrassed to speak.
Even when he spoke, Xie Huailing pretended not to hear him and ignored his strange behavior. Just then, Bai Feifei arrived, said a few words, and took Xie Huailing away.
Walking up the stairs of the brothel, shoulder to shoulder. Layer upon layer of gilded glass descends, shimmering with the night sky. If you look a little longer, you see the endless tides of night rising. The carved round windows can now cast reflections, and later they will become frames that depict the night scene, embedding the silver moon in the wooden frames.
But all that's left now is the setting sun, and Bai Feifei is stepping on the evening glow: "So, your plan is almost complete. All that's left is for the Divine Marquis's Mansion to follow your instructions, find the trail, and then finalize the bet with you."
Xie Huailing walked up beside her and said, "You could say that, it's pretty much the same."
Bai Feifei asked, "What kind of reminder did you give?"
"A simple reminder, not worth mentioning." Xie Huailing glossed over it lightly, the lighter the touch, the more profound it was. "Just have them investigate whether the Emperor really has a plan to secretly contact the Jin Kingdom, as I said."
She had often scolded people before, so Bai Feifei's next words came out very naturally. She looked down on people who were incompetent, and even the emperor was someone she looked down on even more: "The emperor betrayed the country?"
"Hiss... Genius!" Xie Huailing thought about it and realized that Bai Feifei was right.
"That's somewhat the idea, but he probably thinks he's being clever. The emperor plans to ally with the Jin dynasty, break the alliance with the Liao dynasty, and launch a joint attack on the Liao dynasty," she added.
Bai Feifei still couldn't understand the fool, and never tried to understand him. The fool could only make her frown and ruin her beautiful face: "The peasant uprising has not been completely quelled, disaster relief and poverty alleviation have not been put on the agenda, the conflicts between the Jianghu gangs in Bianjing City are still unresolved, and the national strength is even more severely depleted. What is he doing all this for?"
Xie Huailing explained softly, and the two went up another floor. She said to Bai Feifei, "That's why he needs a war. Feifei, if Jinfeng Xiyu Tower were as destitute as the Song Dynasty, what would you do most?"
Without hesitation, Bai Feifei made a judgment: "Tighten up power, gather forces from all sides to attack the Seven Holy Alliances of Mitian first, use the Seven Holy Alliances of Mitian's wealth and power to fill the gap, and then use this struggle to dilute the conflicts and infighting within the building."
Without Xie Huailing needing to say anything more, Bai Feifei understood Xie Huailing's meaning after she finished speaking.
"Fool." She couldn't hold back, nor did she need to; the disrespectful word came out as easily as splashing water.
Xie Huailing continued upwards, his clothes fluttering in the twilight: "The best way to reduce a conflict is to create a bigger one. So he chose a war to divert attention from the contradictions between the people and the court and the imperial power. At the same time, he also believed that allying with the Jin to attack the Liao was a sure thing. Destroying the Liao would not only avenge the previous humiliation, but also absorb the Liao's wealth, reclaim the Yan and Yun lands, and replenish the national treasury."
"If he succeeds, he will leave a mark on history books, suppress internal strife, and demonstrate his talent and ability. Internal strife and all other problems will be easily solved."
Bai Feifei found it utterly ridiculous and said, "He doesn't have that kind of ability."
“Yes, he didn’t,” Xie Huailing said calmly. “But he thought he did, and he thought the Song Dynasty did. He knew that public opinion was against the Song Dynasty and that the Song Dynasty was in trouble, but he didn’t know that the precipice was already in front of him. A useless person with no political talent, whose understanding of the national situation came from reports by ‘loyal ministers’, was about to send his decisions to the death of the Song Dynasty.”
Even if they win, the weakness and corruption of the Song Dynasty will be exposed. What awaits the Song Dynasty then? It is obvious.
Bai Feifei didn't believe Zhuge Zheng couldn't have thought of these things, since she herself could. She pondered for a moment, then asked, "Your plan is that after Zhuge Zheng learns all this, he will come to you for a bet, and you will convince him with facts and win the bet?"
Xie Huailing raised his hand in front of Bai Feifei and made a slightly exaggerated finger-wagging gesture, pretending to be mysterious: "That's not right."
She said, "Zhuge Zheng will not gamble with me."
Bai Feifei's gaze was drawn to the finger, then moved to her face. She continued, "That's 300,000 lives. As long as he knows this and truly sees a one in ten thousand chance that my words might come true, he won't gamble."
That's 300,000 lives, a tragedy that Zhuge Zhengwo has never witnessed before.
"Even if there is only one in ten thousand chance, he only has one option—to admit defeat."
Bai Feifei's eyes flickered, and she asked, "But even so, he might not necessarily side with the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion. I know you don't want the Divine Marquis's Mansion to just stand by and watch. But you also need to understand that he might make an effort to stop it."
"But what good would it do to stop him? He's been watching this good-for-nothing on the throne for more than a year or two. In the past, he prioritized the stability of the nation, but what about now? Once he discovers the unusual movements of the countries beyond the Great Wall, he'll realize that the situation can no longer tolerate a good-for-nothing in power. Stupidity can happen once, but it can happen countless times. Once it affects the common people, it's utter destruction." Xie Huailing said slowly, each word slower than the last. "When I said he doesn't know how to gamble, I wasn't just referring to gambling with me."
Three hundred thousand lives, or three million, how many people can bear that burden?
It could even be said that Xie Huailing was morally blackmailing Zhuge Zhengwo. After her bet revealed this possibility, it linked Zhuge Zhengwo's choice with the lives of 300,000 people. And having reached this point, what other path did Zhuge Zhengwo have left?
This was her entire plan, this was all she intended to do.
Xie Huailing was in an extremely good mood. She turned to look at Bai Feifei, her joy beyond words. She simply said, "Zhao Song is finished."
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