The night, like a thick and smooth piece of black silk, gently enveloped the entire Qingyang City.
The Wang Clan estate was brightly lit.
Inside Wang Teng's study, he was pacing back and forth with some agitation. The candlelight cast his shadow on the wall, stretching it into a distorted shape, like a trapped, anxious beast.
On the desk in front of him lay a piece of intelligence from the clan's secret agents, which detailed the earth-shattering changes that had occurred within the Zhuge Clan in the past few days.
Zhuge Ming's death, like a giant boulder, had stirred up a monstrous wave in the calm lake of his heart.
He couldn't figure it out.
He really couldn't figure out how Zhuge Ming, who in his eyes was deep-scheming, acted with prudence, and could even be called an ally, could have fallen so easily. And it was in a nearly humiliating way, being framed and having his reputation ruined.
Behind all of this, it all pointed to a name he was most unwilling to face — Zhuge Xuan.
Could that guy, whom he had personally crippled, really, with just his brain, be able to devise strategies from his sickbed and overthrow an elder with real power?
This was simply a fantasy!
"A cripple... how could a cripple..." he muttered to himself, his eyes full of doubt and unwillingness.
Ever since the Qingyang Banquet, although he had successfully crippled Zhuge Xuan, in the eyes of his father, the Wang Clan Head Wang De, what he got was not praise, but a stern reprimand.
"Foolish! Impulsive!"
"You only sought a moment's pleasure, but you have created a mortal enemy for our Wang Clan who will not rest until one of us is dead!"
"Even a lion uses its full strength to catch a rabbit! Since you made a move, why didn't you do it cleanly and cut the grass and remove the roots?!"
His father's angry shouts still echoed in his ears.
He knew his father was right. Leaving Zhuge Xuan as a scourge was ultimately a hidden danger. But at that time, he was intoxicated by the pleasure of revenge. He only wanted to see Zhuge Xuan live in pain, to enjoy the wonderful taste of trampling a genius under his feet, but he had overlooked the most crucial point.
A thinking tiger, even if it has lost its claws and teeth, is far more dangerous than a stupid pig that can only roar.
Knock knock.
The study door was knocked on lightly.
"Come in," Wang Teng shouted impatiently.
A servant entered in response, holding a bowl of freshly stewed lotus seed soup. "Young Master, it's late, you should rest. This was specially prepared for you by the kitchen at the lady's instruction."
Wang Teng glanced at the bowl of fragrant dessert, the agitation in his heart not easing in the slightest. He waved his hand and said, "Just put it there, I have no appetite."
"Yes," the servant dared not say more, carefully placed the lotus seed soup on the table, and then bowed and retreated.
The study returned to silence.
Wang Teng walked to the desk and looked at the intelligence report, his eyes growing more and more gloomy. He had a strong intuition that this internal strife in the Zhuge Clan was by no means as simple as it appeared on the surface. Behind it, there must be a deeper secret that he did not know.
But what could it be?
He was baffled, feeling as if he had been shrouded in an invisible net. Everything was strange, yet he couldn't grasp any actual clues.
He picked up the bowl of lotus seed soup and drank two mouthfuls absent-mindedly, only feeling that the cloying sweetness in his mouth made him even more irritable. He slammed the bowl heavily on the table, and the splashed soup wet a few sheets of Xuan paper on the table.
"Damn it!" he cursed in a low voice and casually picked up a relatively clean sheet of paper to wipe the stains on the table.
Just then, his fingers inadvertently touched a cold and hard object.
Hm?
Wang Teng's movement paused.
He moved the few soaked sheets of Xuan paper aside, and a jet-black jade pendant, about half the size of a palm, appeared before his eyes.
The style of this jade pendant was extremely archaic, with some cloud patterns carved on it that he had never seen before. It was cool to the touch, and its material was neither gold nor jade. It was unknown what it was made of.
"What is this?" Wang Teng frowned, picked up the jade pendant, and examined it carefully under the candlelight.
He was sure that this thing was definitely not his. His study was cleaned by a dedicated person every day. Apart from himself, it was impossible for a second person to place something here without a sound.
Could it be... that some servant accidentally dropped it while cleaning?
No.
Wang Teng's eyes suddenly became alert.
He stood up abruptly, walked to the door, and locked the study door tightly from the inside. Then, he quickly returned to the desk and clenched the black jade pendant tightly in his palm.
A chill ran from his spine to the top of his head.
This was not dropped!
This was... deliberately placed here by someone!
Who was it?
Who had such great ability to sneak into the heavily guarded Wang Clan estate, and even into his, the Young Master's, study, and leave this jade pendant without a trace?
And what was this person's purpose?
A demonstration of power? A warning? Or...
An even more terrifying thought grew wildly in his mind.
Framing him!
Wang Teng's breathing became rapid.
He suddenly thought of Zhuge Ming's death.
On what grounds did Zhuge Yuan convict Zhuge Ming? On the basis of the so-called "human and material evidence"! Those servants who suddenly turned against him, those letters and jade pendants that appeared out of thin air!
If... if this jade pendant was "discovered" in his study.
And this jade pendant happened to be a relic of Zhuge Ming, or a token related to some major case...
Then he, Wang Teng, and his Wang Clan, wouldn't they be...
Wang Teng dared not think any further. He felt as if all the blood in his body was about to freeze.
He stared intently at the black jade pendant in his hand, as if it were not an inanimate object, but a venomous snake that would prey on someone at any moment!
This was a trap!
A most vicious trap aimed at him, at the Wang Clan!
And the person who could set such a trap...
"ZHUGE XUAN!!!"
A low growl like that of a wild beast came from the depths of Wang Teng's throat. He slammed the jade pendant in his hand fiercely onto the ground!
However, the expected sound of shattering jade did not come.
The black jade pendant collided with the hard bluestone floor, only making a dull "thud" sound, and then lay there intact, as if silently mocking his impotent rage.
Wang Teng gasped for breath, his chest heaving violently.
Fear.
An unprecedented, bone-deep fear gripped his heart tightly.
He discovered for the first time how childish and ridiculous the schemes he was so proud of were compared to that cripple in the wheelchair.
The other party didn't even need to do it himself. Just a small jade pendant, a simple setup, could put him in a position of eternal damnation!
What should he do now?
Destroy the jade pendant? No, the material of this jade pendant was special and could not be easily destroyed. Besides, who knew if the other party had a backup plan?
Give the jade pendant to his father? And then what? Tell him that this jade pendant was placed in his study by someone sent by Zhuge Xuan without anyone knowing? Who would believe it? And who could prove it? This would only make him look more like a fool with a guilty conscience!
Throw it away? Even worse! Who knew if the other party had left any special tracking marks on this jade pendant!
He felt as if he had been locked in a transparent cage. He could see the danger, but he couldn't find any escape route.
"No... I can't just sit here and wait to die..."
A crazed light flickered in Wang Teng's eyes.
Since he couldn't escape this trap, the only way was to... find a way to splash this dirty water onto someone else!
He stared intently at the black jade pendant on the ground, and an equally vicious thought slowly took shape in his mind.
The tricks that Zhuge Xuan could use, why couldn't he, Wang Teng, use them too?
He slowly bent down and picked up the cold jade pendant again.
He looked at the strange cloud patterns on the jade pendant, a ferocious and resolute smile appearing on his face.
"Li Jianye..."
He spat out this name in a low voice.
"My best 'ally'..."
"This generous gift, it seems, can only be... accepted by you on my behalf."