LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 18 - Playing Along
Lu Ping couldn’t help but feel fortunate to have the simulator.
It was like a stripped-down search engine; although its information database wasn’t extensive, it was more than enough.
[When the Yan Marquis went to her fiefdom at the age of twelve, her elder sister, the Han Marquis, worried about the unrest in Yan, so she sent her retainer Zhang Hong to Yan under the pretext of a troop rotation, to secretly protect the Yan Marquis.]
This didn’t add up!
If Zhang Hong had come to Yan with Luo Jinlan, he should have been very close to her.
But it seemed like Luo Jinxuan trusted that Strategist Ji more.
“Yan Marquis?” Lu Ping called softly through the door.
Outside, Luo Jinlan was still sulking and didn’t hear Lu Ping calling her.
Lu Heng stepped forward to remind her, “Yan Marquis, the Grand Preceptor is calling you.”
Luo Jinlan huffed, “He wants to send me away when it suits him, and call me when it suits him? What does he take me for?”
Lu Ping raised his voice and called out again, “Yan Marquis?”
This time, Luo Jinlan heard him, and a smile immediately blossomed on her face as she lifted her skirt and ran up the steps to the hall. “What’s the matter?”
Lu Ping looked at Luo Jinlan and took a step back. “Yan Marquis, do you know Zhang Hong?”
“Yes, he was originally a military officer under my elder sister, the Han Marquis. Later, he came with me to Yan, saying it was on my sister’s orders to protect me,” Luo Jinlan replied, blinking her eyes.
“Then why didn’t he stay at the Yan Marquis Manor and instead went to the military camp?” Lu Ping asked.
Luo Jinlan glanced outside, then leaned in and whispered mysteriously, “I’ll tell you, but you mustn’t tell anyone else.”
From Luo Jinlan’s reaction, Lu Ping knew he had guessed correctly—there was indeed something more to this!
Lu Ping nodded. “Rest assured, Yan Marquis, I won’t tell a soul.”
Luo Jinlan whispered the reason Zhang Hong hadn’t stayed at the Yan Marquis Manor, “It was Strategist Ji! He said that royal kin aren’t like ordinary families. In ordinary families, sisters are supposed to help each other, but since my elder sister and I are both princesses, we’ll inevitably compete for power in the court in the future. He said Zhang Hong was actually sent by my sister to spy on me.”
“So you sent him to the military camp?”
Luo Jinlan nodded repeatedly. “Yes!”
Lu Ping frowned. “Then why did you trust Strategist Ji but not Zhang Hong?”
Luo Jinlan pouted. “Of course, Strategist Ji is trustworthy. He’s a distant relative of my uncle, so he’s also my elder. But Zhang Hong is unrelated to me. If it were you, who would you trust?”
A relative of Li Wenfu?
Now Lu Ping understood why Zhang Hong had died.
With Zhang Hong’s death, even if the Han Marquis didn’t hold a grudge, she would certainly harbor some resentment.
I sent someone to assist and protect you, and you killed my person?
If Luo Jinlan had directly killed Zhang Hong, it might have been better.
Luo Jinxuan could have chalked it up to Luo Jinlan’s naivety, being manipulated by a treacherous person.
Even if there was resentment, it wouldn’t be directed at Luo Jinlan.
But Zhang Hong happened to die at the critical moment of the rebellion.
As Lu Ping had questioned earlier, with Zhang Hong’s strategic acumen, he would have known the consequences of rebellion.
In other words, Zhang Hong had no motive to rebel.
The Han Marquis should also realize this.
The truth could only be that the rebellion was a sham, and someone used it as a pretext to frame Zhang Hong!
If Lu Ping had taken harsh measures against the rebels and executed the ringleaders, then Zhang Hong’s cause of death would be definitively closed, buried forever.
Who would care about the timing of a rebel’s death?
“What a vicious plan to sow discord!”
Given Lu Ping’s current relationship with the Han Marquis, even if Zhang Hong had indeed died at Lu Ping’s hands, the Han Marquis would likely forgive him.
But what about Luo Jinlan?
I sent someone to assist, and you, in collusion with outsiders, set up a trap to kill my aide?
The rarity of red-card retainers needed no further explanation.
If this plan succeeded, it might not lead to an open rift between the Han Marquis and the Yan Marquis, but it would certainly damage their relationship.
In the future, when the Han Marquis ascends to the throne and starts settling scores, this little fool of a Yan Marquis would definitely be on the list.
And by then, it would drag another person into the fray.
Luo Jinlan’s second sister, Luo Yingci, the Chu Marquis.
With Luo Yingci’s straightforward nature, she would never stand by and watch her sisters fight.
Plus, she had trained in martial arts since childhood and had considerable influence in the military. The court might well end up with a scenario where the sisters were at odds.
It had to be said—Li Wenfu was a cruel old fox!
Sowing discord among the princesses, destabilizing the court, and even colluding with the Di, intending to hand over the Yan region.
Lu Ping was so angry his teeth ached.
But it also ignited his competitive spirit.
“Old fox, take this…”
He was about to say, “take this strike,” but then remembered that his current simulation wasn’t of Lü Bu’s character.
“Yan Marquis, my initial strategy of encircling without attacking the rebels was actually to preserve your reputation, so others wouldn’t call you ruthless.”
Luo Jinlan’s heart fluttered.
So he was thinking of me all along?
But then Lu Ping’s tone shifted. “However, if we don’t kill a few to establish authority, others might underestimate us.”
“Good point, let’s do that,” Luo Jinlan agreed without hesitation.
Lu Ping nodded, a cunning glint in his eye. He strode to the door and opened it. “Has Strategist Ji returned?”
Strategist Ji had just returned to the Yan Marquis Manor after delivering supplies to the troops at Lishi Valley.
Hearing the call, he hurried forward. “What are your orders, Grand Preceptor?”
Lu Ping pretended to be in deep thought. “I’ve considered this carefully and believe that rebellion is a grave crime and cannot be lightly pardoned.”
The corners of Strategist Ji’s mouth twitched slightly, and his voice carried a barely noticeable tremor. “What does the Grand Preceptor propose?”
Lu Ping said, “Please convey my order to the rebels: those who surrender and leave the valley will be spared from execution but will be enslaved. Those who refuse to surrender will be burned out of Lishi Valley and slaughtered!”
“Understood!”
Strategist Ji readily accepted the order.
Meanwhile, Lu Heng, standing nearby, also felt a newfound respect for Lu Ping, thinking this was the decisiveness a commander should have.
However, just as Strategist Ji left, Lu Ping pulled Lu Heng aside and whispered something to him.
Lu Heng looked puzzled. “Why, Grand Preceptor?”
Lu Ping, annoyed, responded, “Are you questioning my orders?”
“I wouldn’t dare.”
As Lu Heng departed, he shook his head in confusion, unable to comprehend Lu Ping’s intentions.
I’m a general, yet he’s making me do such underhanded tasks?
Watching Lu Heng’s retreating figure, Lu Ping’s lips curled into a slight smile.
‘Li Wenfu, you want a battle of wits?’
‘I’ll grant your wish!’
‘Let’s see how you respond to this!’
“Although the Yan Marquis has been far away in Yan these past few years, Li Wenfu often mentions you. He talks about you all the time!” Lu Ping said, attempting to probe Luo Jinlan to gauge how many people Li Wenfu had planted in Yan.
“Of course, my uncle has always been the one who cared for me the most. He’s worried that I can’t handle the affairs of Yan alone, so he sent a lot of people to help me.”
“Oh? Who are these capable ministers? Before I left he asked me to visit a few of his old friends, but I was in such a rush that I forgot who he mentioned.”