Chapter 221 Zhuge Jiangnan and Poisonous Fox (1/2)

Zhuge Jiangnan looked at the handkerchief, which gave him a sad complexion and ray of grief in his eyes. Then, all of a sudden, he burst into laughter, but he laughed with great loneliness, as well as some frustration. He did not explain but asked directly, “How is Master Long going to punish me? According to Master Long’s usual punishment of traitors, I presumably am sure not to end well.”

Lord Long said in a deep voice, “Don’t you want to make any excuses for yourself?”

Zhuge Jiangnan laughed with a little sorrow. “Obviously, you’ve come here to bring me to trial, which gives me no space to justify myself. Furthermore, what kind of explanation can I give to dispel the suspicion in your heart? I have no idea about the handkerchief. If you have the mind to beat your dog, you will easily find your stick.”

Lord Long sighed and said, “Like you have said, perhaps I will not believe whatever you say anymore. However, I, Lord Long, am not a man with little emotion, so I will not kill you, for you have saved our four lives and helped me to walk so far. But from now on, I still hope that you can stay at Zhuge Mansion to spend your old days, and you cannot go out of the mansion without my permission.”

Lord Long stood up, walked to the door step by step, and then stretched out his hand to grab the handle. With a squeaky sound, he opened the door of the study easily and then stepped out, disappearing into the study.

Lord Long took the step, which meant he would break up with Zhuge Jiangnan.

Zhuge Jiangnan sat there, and suddenly he seemed to have aged greatly. He started to grope around on the desk and then he opened several drawers to rummage through them. Finally, he found out a pipe and a pack of pipe tobacco, which he hadn’t smoked for a very long time. He hadn’t touched the pipe again since his coming to Shangyang to mastermind schemes for Lord Long because he thought he had to concentrate his attention at all times, keep his mind clear, and achieve his utmost self-control.

It was a pity… that he was lost in the end. He had schemed thousands of times, but he underestimated others while overestimating himself. He thought Lord Long had highly respected him and Lord Long had treated him as Liu Bei dealt with Zhuge Kongming. (Note: two leading features in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, famous for their close relationship.) However, Lord Long was not Liu Bei and he was not Kongming.

Compared with Kongming, he was not so clear-headed that he didn’t find a wise lord. He only saw Lord Long with great physical strength, the air of a lord all over his body, and full of ambition in his heart. But he never noticed that in spite of a woman’s kindness in his heart, Lord Long had no tolerance for others, just like Xiang Yu in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

He became quite calm after he took a deep breath of smoke, the haze coiling up before his eyes, and behind it, his face showed inexplicable sadness.

After a while of smoking, his pipe tobacco had burnt out while Zhuge Jiangnan was still stupefied quietly without being aware of it.

Not knowing how long it took, Zhuge Jiangnan finally came back to his senses. He picked up the handset on the desk, making a call, and said to it, “Come to my study.”

After hanging up the phone, Zhuge Jiangnan rested in his armchair with his body slightly leaning backward and his eyes indistinctly revealing a little arrogance.

Very soon, the sound of a knock on the door came, and Zhuge Jiangnan gently said, “Come in.”

With a squeaky sound, the door was opened, and Poisonous Fox stepped in from outside, keeping his head down. After walking to the desk, he said with a respectful attitude, “Master.”

“Erm, sit down and let’s talk.”

Poisonous Fox sat on the sofa with great respect.

Zhuge Jiangnan watched him and asked, “Why don’t you dare to look at me? Is it because you feel guilty about doing something harmful to me?”

Poisonous Fox felt a shake of his body, raising his head hastily, and looked at Zhuge Jiangnan. He wanted to justify himself, but he realized that Zhuge Jiangnan had seen through him, which made any of his excuses useless. At last, he had to sigh and said with bitter laughter, “How did Master see that?”

“I found out not by seeing, but by guessing,” said Zhuge Jiangnan. “In my mansion, it is you two fellow disciples who can run off with my handkerchief without any notice. Your senior fellow disciple, Jiang Wu, who has learned positive things from me, is good at the whole situation but bad at schemes. You have learned the negative sides from me, which makes you an expert in scheming others. It couldn’t be any more normal for you to steal the handkerchief away to scheme against me.”

Zhuge Jiangnan continued to say, “You have schemed Lord Long so deeply that you even outdo your master in this aspect. You know how to make Lord Long suspect me, yet knowing that he won’t kill me. Well, well, Poisonous Fox, you make me proud of you.”

Poisonous Fox said bitterly, “Master.”

“There is no need to say more. I am not blaming you, truly not. A person who is good at schemes must avoid the fetters of emotion as the greatest taboo. You can even plot against me, which naturally gives me no worry in this aspect, so I can put my mind at ease.” Zhuge Jiangnan looked at Poisonous Fox and said, with doubts on his face, “I am only unaware of who has come up with this idea, because according to my understanding of you, I know you wouldn’t have done this if there is no one behind to push you. What’s more, you must have found the right master. Could it be said that you have met with Jiang Zihou? Does he dare come to Shangyang City to see you?”

Poisonous Fox shook his head and said, “The person is not Jiang Zihou.”

“It is not Jiang Zihou? Then who is it?”

“Xiao Bing.”

Zhuge Jiangnan showed surprise on his face but then relief when he thought it over. “No wonder… no wonder… I saw that he was not ordinary at first sight, but I didn’t imagine that he could go so far to the point where you, a proud and arrogant man, even submitted yourself to him. His current influence is… Forget it. I believe you have a better vision than me.”