Chapter 129.1

Thank you to an anonymous reader for the Ko-fi!

Editor: Sahloknir

As soon as he entered the palanquin, Shi Qing, who acted all pitiful in front of his parents like kneeling left him half dead, immediately sprang to life.

He didn’t mind that he was sitting on Jiang Bieyu’s lap either. In fact, he made himself comfortable before lifting the curtain and telling the servant following nearby to find out how Jiang Liye was doing.

The manservant soon brought back the news that Jiang Liye had spat out blood.

The little master laughed so hard that he almost fell out of Jiang Bieyu’s arms.

Luckily, Jiang Bieyu reacted quickly and scooped him back up before he fell.

Shi Qing was too busy laughing to notice how much he was wriggling about. He looked like he would roll around in Jiang Bieyu’s lap if he could.

Jiang Bieyu could only silently clasp his arms around the little master to make sure he didn’t fall.

“Hahahaha, Jiang Liye actually spat out blood. Seems like his temper isn’t all that good. Who would’ve thought he would get so angry from that little provocation of mine, hahahaha.”

The little master twisted and rolled with glee, laughing. He didn’t forget to praise Jiang Bieyu for his efforts either.

He sat up straight and turned to look at Jiang Bieyu.

When Shi Qing saw that the man was still as stoic and still as ever, he smiled and extended his hands.

Two soft, warm palms were then pressed against Jiang Bieyu’s cold, hard cheek.

Shi Qing tried to knead Jiang Bieyu’s face like a ball of dough, but there wasn’t enough fat on the man’s face for him to do so.

He could only touch Jiang Bieyu’s face while praising him—with a bit of condescension.

“You did well. I didn’t even have to ask you to tell those commoners to report it and make a big deal out of things.”

Jiang Bieyu was sitting down, and Shi Qing was almost completely in his lap. Therefore, he had to look down at Shi Qing.

So the man asked with downcast eyes in his hoarse and unpleasant voice, “If you could think of this plan to teach him a lesson today, why didn’t you use it before?”

Why did you only verbally spar with him previously?

You even risked getting drowned.

If Shi Qing had used his mind-bending ability to invert black and white before, how could Jiang Liye have acted so rampant for so long?

The joy on the little master’s face became less intense as his usual laziness returned. He shifted to a more comfortable position in Jiang Bieyu’s arms, his soft voice still sounding harmless.

“He’s still my brother-in-law at the end of the day. If he dies, wouldn’t that leave my sister a widow?”

Jiang Bieyu’s arms that were clasped tightly around Shi Qing stiffened for a moment.

He hadn’t thought of that before.

But it did make sense.

Shi Xi had married Jiang Liye. If Jiang Liye really died, a big family like the Jiang family would definitely not agree to her remarrying or returning to her own family.

Even if she was the first daughter of the Shi family, she would only be able to remain a widow for the rest of her life.

“If that’s the case, then why did you strike today?”

Shi Qing narrowed his eyes slightly. He raised his head to look up at the man who was looking down on him, reaching out to tap Jiang Bieyu on the nose.

“Are you stupid? First Jiang Liye cheated on my sister and compared her to a prostitute, and then he nearly killed me. It’s clear he has every intention to become more aggressive in mistreating my sister if he continues to be my brother-in-law.”

“Although Father and Mother love my sister, they wouldn’t agree to her getting a divorce no matter how terrible her life is. But by trying to harm me several times, Jiang Liye has forced their hand.”

Although this was a bit cruel, his words made sense in the current era.

If the Shi family were to allow divorce because of the Jiang family’s mistreatment of Shi Xi, it would only make people think that the Shi family were making a big deal over nothing. What else would you call slighting the Jiang family over one married out daughter?

But it was a different story when it came to Shi Qing.

This was their only son!

He was the future heir of the Shi family, not to mention Jiang Liye’s repeated attempts to slander and harm him, attempting to harm him was going too far.

Suspicion alone was enough justification for the other families in Crane City.

They would also think that the Jiang family was out of their minds.

What were they doing alienating their ally through marriage by allowing their juniors to bully the other family’s only heir? Were they trying to mess things up?!

Anyways, Shi Qing was definitely the best catalyst to force Shi Xi and Jiang Liye to divorce.

The little master became a bit down as he said, “Having your parents stand up for you as a married woman isn’t looked upon well either. If Father really spoke up on my sister’s behalf, other people in Crane City would surely run their mouths. My other sisters would have a hard time finding spouses too.”

“In these chaotic times, those who have the biggest military force control everything. Even if our Shi family is a big name in Crane City, we can’t stop people from speaking ill of us, because we have no forces. They look down on us for being merchants already.”

The more he spoke, the angrier he became. Who knew if he was angry with the world or with Jiang Liye for increasingly taking advantage of this to act out.

The huffy little master punched Jiang Bieyu’s chest.

But the blow didn’t hurt Jiang Bieyu at all. He just said, “Although the Shi family has a lot of money, even they wouldn’t be able to get away with interfering with military affairs. Now that you’ve vented your anger, don’t say such things again.”

Jiang Bieyu may outwardly appear the same as ever, but he was actually paying close attention to their surroundings as he spoke to the little master.

After all, this kind of topic was somewhat sensitive.

After making sure that no one could overhear them around the palanquin, Jiang Bieyu continued, “Don’t say such things again in the future. If word gets out, big trouble may come for the Shi family.”

He was right.

The person who governed Crane City had always been a cautious man. He guarded his military power like a dragon guarded its treasure.

He had no problem showing favour to people like the Shi family, who offered him plenty of money and provisions. But letting them amass forces under his watch?

You must be dreaming!

To put it nicely, Jiang Bieyu’s words were well-intentioned advice. In more blunt terms, they were malicious speculation.

Normally, Jiang Bieyu would never say such things to others.

But today, perhaps it was because he had watched Shi Qing teach Jiang Liye a lesson in such a proud and vivacious way…

Perhaps it was because of how the little master, who had obtained overwhelming victory outside, was still so reliant on him in the palanquin…

Perhaps it was because of how the little master’s huffy demeanour made his heart soften…

Regardless of the reason, his words just came out before he knew it.

Even Jiang Bieyu himself froze for a moment afterwards.

He took a look at Shi Qing to gauge his mood. As expected, there was a bit of displeasure in the little master’s eyes.

Of course Shi Qing knew it was impossible for anyone to amass forces in Crane City. But he baulked at the way Jiang Bieyu spoke to him like he was an ignorant child. Defiance immediately flashed across his face.

He stopped rolling around and sat up straight, looking Jiang Bieyu right in the eye as a deluge of soft words poured from his mouth.

“Do you really think I don’t have a plan? There’s chaos everywhere, but it’s not impossible to make a name for yourself. In the south, a group of commoners hold the flag. They have a lot of people, but they’re barely literate at best. They know little about the overall situation, battle tactics or supply chains. The only reason they’ve been able to hold on until now is because of the sheer size of their forces.”

“No matter whose side you’re on, that group is like a sitting duck. A ticket straight to the table with all the big shots. If someone defeats them, they would be in a position to invade the neighbouring King Yubei’s territory. That king is old and seriously ill, and his sons are scrabbling over who will be heir. If someone could take advantage of their distraction and seize the capital, that’s another easy win.”

Jiang Bieyu’s hand on the little master’s waist jerked violently.

A pair of light-coloured eyes slowly darkened as they looked at Shi Qing.

Jiang Bieyu had considered these things as well.

But he had always buried these thoughts in his heart, without saying a word to anyone.

Never did he think he would hear them from the mouth of Shi Qing, who should be a naive and pampered city young master.

The man spoke, his hoarse voice unpleasant but strangely very reassuring to hear, “That’s just talk on paper. To make it happen, financial resources, manpower, and all kinds of schemes are necessary. Can you really fulfill all those conditions?”

“Especially financial resources. Your father had to be very cautious to get to where he is today. If he knew you were planning to rebel, would he offer his support?”

When Jiang Bieyu said this, he saw that the little master immediately deflate like a puffer fish. It was like all the energy had been sapped from his body again.

He leaned lazily into the tall man’s arms and said tiredly, “Father has always been timid and will definitely not help me. He might even sabotage my efforts when the time comes.”

“And I’m the only son of the Shi family. There’s no way I’ll be able to go onto the battlefield in this lifetime. I can’t even leave the sight of Crane City and my father and mother.”

So just as Jiang Bieyu said, it was all talk.

The little master seemed very frustrated as he leaned against the man’s chest. He vented his anger on Jiang Bieyu.

Punches rained down on his body.

The kitten was furious.

“If only I had military might! I would’ve ordered my subordinates to tie up Jiang Liye and force him to apologize to my sister!”

He had little strength to begin with, not to mention every part of him was soft due to his pampered upbringing. To Jiang Bieyu, it was like a cloud was hitting him.

But the blows didn’t touch his body.

Rather, they struck straight on his heart.