Chapter 1035: Hold on, catch a turtle in a jar (1/2)

Jun Yixie’s soldiers had received this letter in secret after they finished inspection of Su Xiaoyu’s courtyard. Someone had literally stuffed it into their hands. Inside was only written two lines: There’s a spy in Tiger’s Den. East and West Qin have formed an alliance and will rescue the hostages come spring while leading a punitive expedition north.

Although the message was short, it revealed the truth at the den. Even the stupidest Jun Yixie could figure out that he’d been tricked by Ning Cheng!

“What a Ning Cheng! He was screwing with this lord!” Jun Yixie threw the letter onto his table with enough force to create cracks in the wood. If East and West Qin had formed an alliance and were heading up north in spring, that meant all of their skirmishes in the past few months were sham--a play meant for him. How could any of this be possible with Ning Cheng’s orders, too? He had kept close watch on the man, so who else besides Bai Yuqiao could have delivered the message on Ning Cheng’s behalf?

Jun Yixie was furious beyond belief. This had to be the biggest loss and stumble of his lifetime. It was nothing but pure humiliation! He rushed out of the tent and headed for Ning Cheng’s quarters. Nothing would quell his temper beyond slaying the man!

“Master! Master, stop!”

Jun Yixie’s retainer chased after him and even had the daring to grab him by the hand.

“Seeking death?!” Jun Yixie whirled on him with cold eyes.

“Master, you can kill Ning Cheng now, but what about Han Yunxi and Long Feiye?” the retainer murmured. His name was Hao San (郝三),[1] a man who had followed Jun Yixie for over a decade. Although he was a mere aide, he had seen and experienced much at his master’s side and gradually grew more intelligent. Like the eunuch to an emperor, he would often give Jun Yixie suggestions and good ideas.

Hao San’s words calmed Jun Yixie down. He realized that the ploy against him involved not only Ning Cheng, but his backers Long Feiye and Han Yunxi. Seeing this, Hao San hastily added, “Master, talk inside the tent. Though it’s a crisis, this is also a chance!”

Indeed, if this dangerous situation was used to his advantage, he might even get Han Yunxi and Long Feiye in one shot. Without a word, Jun Yixie returned to his tent and neatly put the message away, then asked, “What’s the intention of the person who delivered this letter?”

Before coming up with a counter-strategy, Jun Yixie naturally needed to understand the intentions of the sender. That was because it was none other than Uncle Cheng who had delivered the leak! Besides Jin Zi, whose origins were unclear, Jun Yixie had long figured out the backgrounds of all his hostages, Naturally, he knew Uncle Cheng’s relation to Ning Cheng.

Why would he betray his master?

He didn’t want to know the details, but he had to make sure whether this Uncle Cheng’s letter was wholly trustworthy! After a pause, Jun Yixie said, “Send someone to Tiger’s Den and keep an eye on Bai Yuqiao! Remember, don’t startle the snake in the grass.”

Hao San immediately went to put the orders in effect. As expected, a few days later one of Jun Yixie’s men intercepted a letter from Bai Yuqiao to Three-Way Black Market. Opening it up, Jun Yixie found nothing but a page of numbers. It was impossible for him to understand the contents of such code.

“Master, it’s very possible this is a Di Clan code. It should have been written by Ning Jing. How about...we find Uncle Cheng to check it out?”

“Heheh, this lord will make a personal trip!” Jun Yixie said icily.

For the sake of keeping things under wraps, nothing changed at Tiger’s Den. Bai Yuqiao had no idea that her letter had already fallen into Jun Yixie’s hands.

“If master leaves the army so abruptly, it’s inevitable that Ning Cheng will get suspicious. How about...this subordinate go in your place?” Hao San asked.

Jun Yixie weighed the options before agreeing. He would pay sporadic visits to Ning Cheng’s tent these days to invite him for drinks and discuss war strategies. For now, he was holding back his temper to preserve his strength by waiting. Once he had made sure of everything, he would lure both Han Yunxi and Long Feiye here and catch them like a turtle in a jar--easy prey! He didn’t mind killing Ning Cheng right before their eyes when the time came.

He’d wait!

--

Back at Three-Way Black Market, everyone knew Uncle Cheng had the greatest objections towards Han Yunxi, but no one could predict that he’d expose the secret and betray Ning Cheng. Thus, no one was worried over the plight of Ning Jing’s group yet.

Meanwhile, Long Feiye didn’t fault Tang Li for issuing false orders and chasing off Baili Yuanlong’s group. He didn’t so much as speak on the matter, so no one else was aware of it besides Xu Donglin and Han Yunxi. For one thing, the crime for stealing a command token to issue orders was severe. If it was exposed, the idle members of the East Qin faction would raise a row. For another, Myriad Merchant Hall would never let their son-in-law Tang Li roam about freely in the Di Clan after finding out the news.

Thus, Long Feiye delayed his meeting with the Di Clan delegation while debating his final decision on the northern expedition. Over the past few days, he never brought up the topic and split his time between urgent dispatches and drinking tea in Gu Beiyue’s courtyard or playing chess. Gu Beiyue had enough tact not to bring it up, either. Han Yunxi ended up sitting on a swing by their side, watching them from a distance in her fox-fur lined robes.