Due to the siege by the Jibei Army, Ning Ze had not visited Zhang Mao in the dungeon for a full day and a half.
"He must be! He can’t run away anyway. If the city falls, he will die with it." Ning Ze had made up his mind not to let him go, "I’m going to find him now. For the next round of siege, I’ll take him with me. I’m not afraid of him stabbing me in the back, but he seems to be pretty good at martial arts. He’s been living off us for so many days, and we didn’t even torture him. He’s more useful than me."
After saying this, he really did go.
Madam Marquis looked at his hurrying figure, thinking about how this child had grown up through several life-and-death experiences, making him somewhat responsible now, which greatly comforted her heart.
Ning Ze arrived at the dungeon, looking at the dark guards guarding the dungeon, thinking it was such a waste of manpower. If these people were out there defending the city with him and his older brother, his older brother probably would not have been so badly injured. He might not have been injured at all, nor would he have burdened his brother into saving him.
He entered the dungeon, and saw Zhang Mao eating. The food was quite generous, three dishes and one soup.
He no longer had him tied to a pillar, but rather locked him with a thick iron chain, allowing for a certain range of movement.
So, at this moment, Zhang Mao was eating, dragging a heavy iron chain.
Ning Ze arrived, a strong smell of blood followed; Zhang Mao paused and looked up at him.
Ning Ze was envious, "You’re really enjoying yourself. I haven’t eaten all day out of hunger, and yet you’re well-fed."
No matter how chaotic the outside was, the kitchen of Marquis Nanping’s Residence, managed by Madam Marquis’s housekeeper, was still orderly, ensuring three meals a day. It’s just that he and Ning Chi, among others, didn’t feel like eating at all.
But here, with Zhang Mao, because Ning Ze had instructed, it was still delivered on time.
Zhang Mao put down his bowl, "The Jibei Army has started the siege?"
"They’ve attacked twice." Ning Ze said: "If they come for the third time tonight, Nanping City will not hold."
He looked at Zhang Mao, "You understand, right? This could be your last meal before beheading."
Zhang Mao remained silent.
Ning Ze pointed at his arm, "Look at me, this arm of mine was almost hacked off. Even people like me are on the City Building killing enemies. Next, my mother said, if we couldn’t endure, she would lead the women to the City Building as well. But you know, how much strength do women have? More likely than not, they wouldn’t harm the Jibei Army at all. Essentially, they’re going up there to be meat shields and getting killed. After all, not all women are as capable as Lady Su Qi."
"If they attack for the third time tonight, Nanping City will be breached before dawn." Ning Ze sat on the ground across from him, telling him, "Keep eating!"
Zhang Mao picked up his chopsticks again and continued to eat.
Ning Ze watched him, "You can still eat? Are you very happy? After all, the Jibei Army is your Zhang Family’s army."
Zhang Mao did not respond.
Ning Ze said, "It’s useless to be happy in your heart. Before my death, when the city falls, you will also die with me. Even if the Jibei Army breaks into Nanping City, they can’t save you. In the future, no matter what happens to the Zhang Family, you will be a powerless ghost."
Zhang Mao remained silent.
Ning Ze was tired of talking, sitting on the ground, watching him eat. If there was more than one bowl and one pair of chopsticks here, he would probably not be able to resist grabbing the chopsticks and eating with him, seeing him eat so satisfyingly.
When Ning Ze came over, Zhang Mao had already eaten half. Not long after Ning Ze finished speaking, Zhang Mao had finished all the food.
Then, he put down the chopsticks and asked Ning Ze, "Why are you looking for me instead of resting when you’re tired?"
"Just to chat with you." Ning Ze impulsively came to find Zhang Mao. He wanted to drag him to the city wall to kill Jibei soldiers, but after his arrival, he had no further ideas. He couldn’t discern whether his desire to side with Su Rong was genuine or not. What if he turned the blade towards him and his elder brother once they brought him to the city wall?
You just can’t bet on it.
Ning Ze sighed, "I don’t know when the poison made by Lady Su Qi will take effect. If it doesn’t affect by tonight, we’re all done."
Zhang Mao asked, "What kind of poison?"
"It’s poison thrown into the river outside the city to mess with the Jibei Army’s water supply." Ning Ze wasn’t afraid to tell him, "After all, how can the small number of soldiers in Nanping City right now compete with two hundred thousand soldiers? Lady Su Qi sent a message saying that using this method can delay for a few days. The people inside the city have stopped using well water and only rely on their own stored water. But the Jibei Army outside the city doesn’t know."
Zhang Mao’s face changed, "Two hundred thousand soldiers, all poisoned...to death?"
"So what if they all die?" Ning Ze looked at his changed face, "It seems like your claims of allegiance to Lady Su Qi were false. You changed your face as soon as you heard that she poisoned the water."
He was considering whether to kill Zhang Mao now.
Zhang Mao’s face became pale and complicated, "Although they are the Jibei Army, they are also soldiers of Daliang. Moreover, two hundred thousand. How could she... How could she do it? Just for the several tens of thousands of people in Nanping City?"
"Oh, you’re talking about this." Ning Ze sighed with relief. "You still have some conscience. To tell you the truth, Lady Su Qi isn’t that inhumane. The poison she used is called ’soft tendon powder’, non-fatal, but it will make people too weak to hold a knife."
Zhang Mao’s face recovered, "So you were trying to scare me."
Ning Ze rolled his eyes, "I was trying to see if you, as a member of the Zhang Family, still have a heart of conscience." He sneered, "You do have it, but probably not much. After all, these years, you, as a legitimate son of the Zhang Family, have done countless things for your father’s ambition, right? If it weren’t for your downfall in Eighteen Camps when you came to Nanping, you would be the one besieging the city now."
"Yes." Zhang Mao didn’t deny it, "So, I have no choice. From the moment I was captured, I was no longer part of the Zhang Family. Zhang Mao was as good as dead."
Ning Ze liked what he said. He patted his buttocks and stood up, "Alright then, let’s wait until tomorrow morning to see the result. If I die on the city wall and the news comes back, someone here will kill you. If Lady Su Qi really delays the Jibei Army outside, and we all survive, then we’ll discuss what happens next."
Zhang Mao nodded slowly.
When Ning Ze left the dungeon and the dungeon door closed, Zhang Mao leaned against the pillar and closed his eyes.
He wasn’t stupid; on the contrary, he had his own cleverness. He vaguely guessed why Ning Ze had come to find him. It couldn’t have been because he was tired of killing and came to chat with him. If he had that time, he might as well get some sleep.
He probably wanted to tie him to the city wall again, either to deter the Jibei Army or to make use of him in some way. But after seeing him, he changed his mind. Plainly put, he didn’t dare to use him, didn’t dare to believe that he truly wanted to side with Su Rong.
Little did he know, he truly did want to side with Su Rong.
A captured legitimate son of the Zhang Family was already a lost cause. The path of his life, as the descendant of the Zhang Family, had ended the moment he was captured. There was no other option for him, he could either die, or follow Su Rong to Nanchu. There were no other paths.
So, if Ning Ze truly trusted him to be of some help, he would also spare no effort.
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