Chapter Seventy: Supporting Heels, Striking the Balance of Power, and Unleashing Wrath
"I never expected Lord Xie to have such refined tastes," Zhong Lishuo looked up at Qin Yi and said casually with a smile, "Then why don't you quickly invite him in to liven up the drinking mood for the master, and also to broaden my horizons?"
Upon hearing this, Jie Liang finally felt relieved. He smiled and nodded, "Alright," then turned to Chen Rang and winked, "Then let's quickly invite them in."
As Chen Rang clapped his hands twice, the sound of string and bamboo instruments slowly rose, and a group of dancers rushed in from the doorway with light steps. All of them wore wide robes and high-heeled boots, dancing like butterflies to the beat of the drums. Their flowing sleeves fluttered in the air, dazzling the eyes. In an instant, the atmosphere of peace and prosperity filled the entire room.
Seeing this, Zhong Lishuo nodded and chuckled. He propped himself up on his heel with one hand, pretending to be relaxed and comfortable, and gently tapped his fingertips on his raised knee.
“Attending this banquet is like being in a fairyland.” Zhong Lishuo turned around and smiled at Jie Liang, but found that he kept gripping the wine glass in his hand and staring intently at the lead dancer.
It wasn't until Zhong Lishuo coughed lightly that he snapped out of his daze, nodded with a fawning smile at Zhong Lishuo, and then awkwardly turned his head away.
Zhong Lishuo followed his gaze to the dancer, and saw that the person seemed to understand Jie Liang's intentions and was slowly approaching Zhong Lishuo.
Suddenly, the bright flute music was mixed with the low whistling of the xiao, the zither and lute sounded clear and resonant, and the drumbeats became more and more urgent, creating a sense of a building about to collapse in the wind and rain.
Zhong Lishuo's expression suddenly darkened, and the smile on his face remained frozen. He moved his hand, which was resting on the heel, a little further, and gripped the edge of the heel.
But then he saw Jie Liang's hand, which was holding the wine glass, hovering in mid-air, unsure of what to do. He frowned and looked at Chen Rang beside him, who was constantly winking at the dancer, as if he was encouraging her to do something.
Zhong Lishuo sneered, then looked up at the dancer who was swaying in front of him. The dancer's hand, hidden under his sleeve, was already on his waist, and his gaze was fixed on Jie Liang, like an arrow ready to be released.
Zhong Lishuo tightened his grip on the heel.
Only when Jie Liang finally made up his mind did he nod slightly. He gripped the wine glass, closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and suddenly flung his hand, smashing the wine glass straight to the ground.
In an instant, the sounds of string and wind instruments vanished, and the entire room fell silent. One could even hear the sound of unfinished wine sloshing in the cup.
The next moment, the sound of the wine glass shattering resounded like thunder throughout Nanyang. The dancer rushed to Zhong Lishuo like lightning, threw out a dagger, and stabbed him fiercely.
Jie Liang seemed unable to bear such a bloody scene. He shrank back, closed his eyes tightly, and anxiously awaited the expected screams.
But instead of a scream, a gust of wind swept past him.
With a loud clang, Jie Liang looked up sharply and saw that the dagger in the hand was stuck straight into his table.
He was so frightened that his legs went weak and he collapsed to the ground. The next moment, the actor, his face covered in blood, crashed down in front of him.
He looked up in disbelief and saw that Zhongli Shuo had already stood up, with one foot on the table and the other hand swinging his heel at the actors who had pulled out daggers.
Chaos erupted in the hall, filled with the sounds of shattering dishes and the wails of the performers. Zhongli Shuo's heel instantly transformed into a weapon, whistling through the air as it hurled itself at the performers' faces. Moments later, the performers scattered, covering their heads and fleeing in terror, leaving behind only a scene of utter devastation.
The hall fell silent again, but shouts continued outside the window.
Zhong Lishuo glanced disdainfully at the actor slumped on the ground, then twirled the blood-stained heel in his hand and walked step by step over the debris on the ground toward Jie Liang and Chen Rang, who were huddled to the side.
The chaos and noise outside the door made them tremble like leaves, while Zhong Lishuo's slow footsteps acted like drumbeats, manipulating their heartbeats.
Jie Liang's limbs went limp. Looking at the figures that kept appearing on the window, and then at Zhong Lishuo's figure moving forward step by step, he couldn't help but lean against the wall, with nowhere to retreat.
"Lord Xie, you've certainly broadened my horizons today." Zhongli Shuo chuckled, then stepped on Xie Liang's desk, causing the official seal to tremble slightly.
His smile vanished, and he abruptly raised his heel, pointing it at Jie Liang's face, shouting angrily, "Is this your so-called way of treating guests?"
In an instant, Jie Liang was so frightened that he dared not breathe. His breath caught in his throat, and he stared intently at the heel that could never be used as a weapon, as if the wooden lump had already hit his head.
The next moment, the chaos outside the window gradually subsided. Jie Liang just caught his breath when he heard a "bang," which startled him.
The door, which had been closed at some point, was suddenly kicked open and bounced back and forth. Then, a female general in a red robe walked into the room against the light, crossed her arms, and looked him up and down as if she had come to take his life.
Upon entering, Yang Xiao looked at the mess in front of her and Zhong Lishuo holding up his heel, and burst out laughing, "Why didn't you just smash him?"
Zhong Lishuo then dropped his cold expression and reverted to his usual lively and cheerful demeanor. "That won't do. If it gets smashed to death, I won't be able to explain it to my brother." He smiled and raised his hand, handing the heel to Yang Xiao.
"Wow," Yang Xiao laughed, holding Zhong Lishuo's heel brace. "This thing can be used as a weapon? That's really weird." She weighed the heel brace in her hand with interest before turning her gaze to Jie Liang, who was already out of his mind. She tossed her head at him and said, "Let's go, wait for me to help you?"
She looked at the still-shaken Jie Liang and couldn't help but sneer. She put down the heel paddle she was holding, clapped her hands, and saw the soldiers of the Eagle Squad rushing in from outside the door, hurriedly carrying Jie Liang and Chen Rang out.
She looked at Mu Fei who followed her in, and couldn't help but laugh and toss her head to call him over, "You, use the skill you had when you spread the word in the army about the lord climbing the tree, and spread the word about the scoundrel that this corrupt official did."
Upon hearing this, Mu Fei smiled playfully and clasped his hands in a fist salute, "Yes, sir."
Zhong Lishuo took the gun from Zhang Ping, looked around, and then turned to Yang Xiao with a puzzled expression. "Hey, Lingyu, what's going on in the city?"
Yang Xiao picked up the seal and walked out of the room, waving his hand with a smile and saying, "There are too many back channels in this prefecture. I was afraid that reinforcements would flood into the prefecture. So, I sent a message to Zhao Qing two days in advance, asking him to launch an attack on the city when the actors entered the court."
"I see." Zhong Lishuo nodded in understanding, followed Yang Xiao out the door, and couldn't help but laugh: "You don't know, when Jie Liang was greeting me at the city gate, he almost pulled up the drawbridge when he saw it was me."
Yang Xiao shook her head, unable to suppress a laugh. She raised her hand to interrupt, "Don't tell me yet. You should tell the lord about these funny stories when you see him. Just the part about you hitting someone with your heel is enough to talk about for an hour."
Upon hearing this, Zhong Lishuo burst into laughter. Yang Xiao sighed and stepped out the door. She looked up and saw that Bai Ming had already finished getting ready and was sitting quietly on his horse, holding Yang Xiao's red-brimmed horse by the hand.
"Bai Ming!" Yang Xiao saw Bai Ming and happily took two steps forward, throwing the official seal in her hand into his arms. She then took the reins from his hand and mounted her horse. "Why did you bring Chi Lian along?"
"Take it easy, no rush." Bai Ming chuckled as he watched Yang Xiao's excited figure. "I brought it along because I was worried you wouldn't get used to working with the other warhorses."
He looked at the seal he was holding, then looked up at Yang Xiao with a smile, "This time, it's all thanks to you for sending me a message in advance. As soon as the signal was given in the city, I led my troops to attack the city. All the soldiers in the city were drawn to my location and had no time to pay attention to Yude."
“It’s all thanks to our tacit understanding,” Yang Xiao smiled and nodded at him. “I’ve already had Mu Fei spread the word. This time, even if he grows wings, he won’t be able to escape being condemned by everyone.”
“You two are chatting,” Zhong Lishuo said, leading Fei Mo on horseback from the courtyard. He looked up at Yang Xiao with a smile, “Did you do what I asked you to do?”
Upon hearing this, Yang Xiao crossed her arms indignantly, "You don't trust me? We've already paid half the money for the jade. I'll take you to see it in a bit."
She looked at Bai Ming, who was completely bewildered beside her, and couldn't help but smile and shake her head, then explained the whole story to him.
Seeing this, Zhong Lishuo pointed at Bai Ming with concern, "Hey, Zhao Qing, this is a surprise I prepared for Tong Xi, so don't let it slip."
"Don't worry," Bai Ming smiled and shook his head, "I'll pretend I didn't hear anything. But speaking of this..." A thought suddenly popped into his mind. He turned to look at Yang Xiao, about to say something, but Yang Xiao abruptly interrupted him.
“Speaking of which,” Yang Xiao nodded and smiled, then nodded mysteriously at Bai Ming, “stretch out your hand.”
Bai Ming was taken aback, then handed the official seal in his hand to Zhong Lishuo and obediently extended his hand.
The next moment, a delicate little box appeared in Bai Ming's hand.
"This is..." Bai Ming's eyes flashed with surprise and joy. He looked up at Yang Xiao, "Ah Xiao, you..."
Yang Xiao smiled and moved closer to him, "Why did you call me? Hurry up and open it."
As the lid of the box was lifted, a pure white jade pendant with a hint of gold appeared before Bai Ming's eyes. "A jade pendant?" He carefully took out the jade pendant, placed it in his palm, and examined it as if it were a precious treasure.
"Wearing jade brings peace and safety; I spotted it at first sight. What do you think?" Yang Xiao leaned closer to him, glancing sideways to meet his gaze. "Do you like it?"
Bai Ming gently stroked the lion pattern on it with his thumb, looked up and met Yang Xiao's smiling eyes, feeling a warmth in his heart, "How could I not like it?"
“Tsk…” Zhong Lishuo, who was standing to the side, looked at the jade pendant in Bai Ming’s hand and was about to make a joke when he was overwhelmed by the color of the jade pendant.
"You have a good eye. It suits Zhaoqing quite well." He smiled at Yang Xiao and nodded. "As expected, I'm good at choosing people. I should have entrusted this jade selection to you."
Bai Ming held the jade pendant with great affection, then gently clenched it in his hand, placed it against his chest, closed his eyes, and let out a long breath. He then looked at Yang Xiao with deep affection and said, "Thank you, Xiao."
"Why are you talking to me about thanks?" Yang Xiao smiled and shook her head at Bai Ming. "Just consider it a keepsake of our love token. Anyway, I'm glad you like it."
Upon hearing this, Bai Ming chuckled and nodded, then paused as if suddenly remembering something, looking up at Yang Xiao, "Speaking of this token of love, I should have given it to you, why is it that..."
Seeing this, Yang Xiao couldn't help but smile. She twirled the silver spear in her hand, and the gleaming tip of the spear, reflecting the sunlight, was immediately placed in front of the two of them. "According to you," Yang Xiao looked up at Bai Ming with a smile, "wouldn't it seem like it has no official status?"
The group burst into laughter. Bai Ming smiled and nodded at Yang Xiao, the jade pendant in his hand already warmed by his touch. He held the smooth, warm jade pendant in his hand, saying, "Then I'll accept it without any guilt."
“You should have accepted it without any guilt.” Yang Xiao smiled and patted his shoulder, then turned to look at Zhong Lishuo, a figure immediately appearing in her mind. “Let’s go, let’s go to the city and take a look.”
She pulled on the reins, glanced at the city gate, and couldn't help but smile.
I wonder what a sorry state that arrogant fellow is in now.
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