Chapter 116 The Entangled Struggle Between Ink and White Turns to Ashes
The midday sun shone brightly on the palace eaves. Xiao Yun burst into the hall like a dark cloud. Xiao Yan put down his teacup, glanced one last time at the unfinished game on the table with Yang Xiao, and then turned to look at Xiao Yun.
"Sister, I have always treated you with sincerity. Why are you so biased towards an outsider, someone who has been our enemy for a long time and could betray us at any moment!"
Xiao Yan looked calmly at Xiao Yun and smiled helplessly, "Why aren't you arguing with me about becoming emperor now, but instead you're playing the sentimental card?"
"She's just a surrendered general, what right does she have to speak to us like that! She keeps talking about morality and social customs, but isn't she herself a traitor with impure intentions?"
"Even if her heart wasn't pure, you forced her to come." Xiao Yan sneered, no longer looking at the furious Xiao Yun. His gaze shifted back to the "general" on the chessboard, which was under attack. He lightly tapped the board with his fingertips. "You framed her for the fabricated crime of regicide, and she was unjustly beaten with fifty lashes and almost lost her life. What, do you want her to experience what it feels like to bear the same crime as me?"
Xiao Yun clenched his fist and pointed to the door, "But she's going to fight Bai Ming. They're already in high spirits. What if Yang Xiao turns around and attacks us instead..."
Xiao Yan smiled upon hearing this, "Do you know why she's not afraid of you?"
Xiao Yun frowned, taken aback, then honestly replied, "Because her father and brothers are here. If we harm her, Yang Zhen and Yang Song will surely rebel?"
"Then think about it, if she surrenders to the enemy in the face of battle, wouldn't her family become your leverage?" Xiao Yan stood up with a smile. "Being controlled is mutual. Who can escape unscathed when trapped in battle?" As she spoke, she leaned against the table, looking at the unfinished game of chess, and picked up the red "cannon" that was gathering momentum to examine it.
“The so-called trump cards have all been laid out in the open, and they are mutually restraining each other. How could they not conspire for profit? It’s just that they lack a few reasons to open their hearts to each other.” She placed the chess piece on another part of the chessboard, and the situation of the red pieces was instantly reversed.
Xiao Yun frowned as she looked at the situation that had been turned around. "But Bai Ming has a very close relationship with her. What if..."
Before he could finish speaking, Jia Ding, who was standing guard to the side, stepped forward and bowed, saying, "General, please allow me to report a few things."
Xiao Yun was about to reprimand him when he saw Xiao Yan smile and raise his chin at him.
Jia Ding nodded and bowed, saying, "In my opinion, Yang Xiao has already severed all ties with Bai Ming."
"Oh?" Xiao Yan looked at Jia Ding with interest. "What do you mean?"
"When Yang Xiao was seriously injured by torture, Bai Ming visited her, but she was determined not to listen to Bai Ming and even fought with him. In the end, she kicked Bai Ming to the ground and even pulled out a soldier's knife and held it to his neck."
"Is that so?" Xiao Yan frowned upon hearing this, her heart sinking. She clenched her fist and sighed deeply. "Well, are you relieved now?"
Seeing Xiao Yun remain silent, she raised her hand to rub her temples and looked at the bright sun outside the window. "She really is..." Xiao Yan murmured, then shook her head, turned to look at Xiao Yun, and lightly tapped the chessboard with her fingertips. "What is a strategy? This is it. She uses herself as a gamble to wager the world in this game of chess. If she wins, she will exchange her life for the prosperity of the world; if she loses, she will fight the enemy to the death and perish together."
Looking at the unfinished game at her side, a smile involuntarily appeared on her face. "In terms of taking the game seriously, I can be considered a gambler myself. She's just entered this game, yet she's managed to overwhelm me without any chance to fight back. She truly deserves to be called a strategist."
Looking at Xiao Yan's approving expression, Xiao Yun said with dissatisfaction, "If you value her so much, why do you disregard my feelings and even abandon the benefactor who helped us rise to prominence in the past?"
Xiao Yan smiled upon hearing this, "You say I value her, but I would say I admire her. She can use all her skills to carve out a bloody path for her beliefs, and she goes straight for justice with a dignified and unrestrained spirit, without any regrets."
She had already regained her composure and turned to look at Xiao Yun. "Look at us, climbing over the corpses of others to get ahead, doing such unfilial and disloyal things, stained with filth we can't shake off. And you," she pointed at Xiao Yun, "are even more deeply mired in the mire, unable to extricate yourself. To be honest, look at us, and then look at Zhong Li'an. It's clear at a glance who is right and who is wrong."
“Sister, why don’t you understand me?” Xiao Yun suddenly became anxious, frowning as she shouted at Xiao Yan, “Have you forgotten all the humiliations we suffered in our childhood? It was the powerful and the common people! They were the ones who ruined us! A runaway palace maid with an illegitimate child and an adopted child, she was scorned by thousands and cursed by tens of thousands, and finally died tragically on the street.” Xiao Yun took a deep breath, “If it weren’t for Lord Ji, we would have died long ago.”
Xiao Yan said coldly, "So what do you want? To become emperor and repay all the humiliations you suffered as a child? Or to be above all others and enjoy the supreme status of your childhood bullies!" She stood up as she spoke, "You have always been driven by your temper, only caring about your own pleasure, and you have no idea what the common people and the country are all about!"
"If I don't follow my own will, am I supposed to follow others?" Xiao Yun shouted at Xiao Yan from the center of the hall. "We finally managed to turn the tables and become the masters, so why should we waste our energy on a bunch of ignorant ants? Why should we live such a timid and submissive life! Those snobbish people should have died long ago, so why are you suppressing me in every way because of them!"
Xiao Yun pointed directly at Xiao Yan, "You keep talking about justice and responsibility, but since you came to power, have you ever seen anyone who helped you dominate the harem? The emperor just died and you immediately took Yang Zhen hostage and used Yang Song, completely disregarding the ministers who went to great lengths to help you! You're wholeheartedly devoted to that charlatan Lu Qi and Yang Song, whom you persuaded, and now there's Yang Xiao..." Xiao Yun looked at Xiao Yan with a deflated expression, "Have you ever considered those who rose with you?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan couldn't help but smile. She sat down, leaned back, and glanced at Xiao Yun. "Not letting you become emperor means abandoning you? Don't you have any idea what those people are plotting? In their eyes, there's no such thing as friendship. And look at you, Xiao Yun. When the world was in chaos and I was rebuilding my power, what were you doing? Stirring up trouble everywhere and making yourself disliked by everyone. With all this scheming, have you ever succeeded even once?"
"Ignoring the overall situation, you first plotted to collude with Nanyang and tricked Zhongli An into attending the Hongmen Banquet; then you instigated Jiangnan to break the alliance, resulting in the death of a great general on the battlefield; finally, you even assassinated and provoked Yang Xiao to take the blame... You know how united their army is, yet you still provoked them time and time again without considering the consequences. Now that Yang Xiao has been driven to desperation by you and has come to seek refuge, you are full of suspicion and unwilling to give him an important position."
Xiao Yan laughed angrily, "Xiao Yun, how are you any different from that tyrant now?"
"Alright, Xiao Yan, aren't you a gambler? I'll gamble with you!" Xiao Yun said loudly, "If Yang Xiao doesn't collude with the enemy in this battle and fights it seriously, I will no longer make things difficult for her... no, I will no longer provoke the entire Yang family. As for you, Xiao Yan, after this battle, we'll go our separate ways and see who has the last laugh."
He slammed his fist on Xiao Yan's table in a fit of rage, causing the teacup and chess pieces to tremble. "We'll see," he said.
Xiao Yan looked up at Xiao Yun's departing figure, shook her head helplessly, picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip, only to find that the fresh tea had already gone cold. She frowned and tossed the tea aside.
She picked up the "general" on the chessboard, leaned back in her chair, and caught a glimpse of Jia Ding, who was pacing around in circles, unsure whether to advance or retreat.
Xiao Yan smiled and raised his chin at him, "I say, why didn't you go with your general?"
"This..." Jia Ding hesitated before stepping forward and kneeling before Xiao Yan, pleading, "Your Highness, please understand, of the three people General Xiao sent to Jizhou, only I survived. He then pinned the blame for the failed assassination attempt on Zhongli An on me. General Yang is also at odds with him, so he used this as an excuse to make things difficult for me in every way..."
"I see," Xiao Yan chuckled a few times, then leaned down to look at Jia Ding. "Are you still willing to be with him?"
Jia Ding was taken aback, then shook his head tremblingly.
"Go find Yang Xiao." Xiao Yan picked up a teacup and handed it to the side. The sensible palace maid took it with both hands and replaced it with a cup of hot tea.
Jia Ding looked at Xiao Yan with a hesitant expression, then bowed and said, "I will go find General Yang now."
Seeing Xiao Yan wave his hand, he hurriedly turned around and walked out of the hall. But as soon as he stepped out, he unconsciously stopped in his tracks.
Go find Yang Xiao...
The scene of his confrontation with Yang Xiao immediately flashed into his mind.
Now that Yang Xiao has fully recovered, for him to go looking for her is no different from courting death.
He glanced timidly back at the majestic Zhu Yang Palace, then thought of Xiao Yun's fierce and menacing face.
Cold sweat broke out on his forehead. Jia Ding gritted his teeth, hardened his heart, and strode toward Yang Xiao's residence.
-
“If this formation rotates like this, then the gate of life should be…” Yang Xiao rubbed her hair while gesturing on the map with her fingers, “I’ve run this place three times and there’s absolutely no problem. If an ambush is launched from this path… there’s no way to break through.” She murmured softly, shaking her head and sighing.
It was already Frost's Descent, and the day of the duel with Bai Ming was drawing ever closer. Yang Xiao put away the blueprints, frowned, and looked out the window at the bare branches that had long since lost all their leaves, when suddenly she heard a commotion. She had just gotten up and put away her military treatise when she saw a maid outside the tent saying, "General, General Jia Ding requests an audience."
"Oh?" Yang Xiao strode forward and suddenly lifted the curtain, the bamboo blind nearly brushing against Jia Ding's face. Yang Xiao pressed closer to him, "Why did you decide to see me today? Could it be... that you've been asked by someone to come and spy on me again?"
As she spoke, she clenched her fists to loosen her muscles.
Jia Ding, still trying to maintain the same composure he had shown in Jizhou, awkwardly said, "It was His Highness Xiao Yan who sent me to assist you..."
Before he could finish speaking, Yang Xiao nodded and smiled, "When did you follow Xiao Yan again? When I submitted a memorial to Xiao Yan before, you tried every means to stop me, insisting that I surrender to Xiao Yun behind Xiao Yan's back..." She turned her shoulder and stared at Jia Ding, "What are your intentions?"
Seeing Yang Xiao's posture, Jia Ding couldn't help but step back and said, "If you don't believe my intentions, you can go and verify with His Highness yourself."
Yang Xiao couldn't help but laugh. "Times have changed. When have you ever seen me need a two-faced person like you to help me?"
As Yang Xiao drew ever closer, Jia Ding's eyes darted around. Suddenly, a familiar yet terrifying figure appeared before him. He couldn't care less about anything else and rushed towards Xiao Yan, crying out, "Your Highness, save me!" He quickly bowed and said, "I hope Your Highness will explain the situation to dispel the general's doubts."
Xiao Yan glanced at Jia Ding with a smile, then walked straight towards Yang Xiao, "Why do you need others to explain your own affairs?"
Yang Xiao smiled and clasped her hands in response, "It was just a few words of intimidation, who knew he would be so easily scolded."
"This place is a mixed bag; the so-called obedient servants are all trained," Xiao Yan said to Yang Xiao with a smile.
“I see,” Yang Xiao nodded thoughtfully. “Today is different from before. My injuries are almost healed now. If I were to attack you now…” She walked towards Jia Ding, watching him retreat repeatedly. “Weren’t you quite imposing back then?” Then she chuckled and turned back to Xiao Yan. “Never mind, I’m not careful. I might kill him.”
Xiao Yan couldn't help but smile, "Today is Frost's Descent, have a couple of drinks with me."
"Frost's Descent?"
"Let's go." Before Yang Xiao could even react, Xiao Yan grabbed her arm with a smile and dragged her to Zhu Yang Palace without saying a word.
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