Flower Stealing Master

“Tang Kuo Bian?” Huang Rong suddenly recalled the man she had severely injured with her dog-beating staff technique. “It seems I struck his spine—he’ll probably never be able to stand again for the rest of his life.”

Song Qingshu gave a bitter smile and replied, “Not only will he be unable to stand, but the only consolation is that he’ll never have to worry about it again… because he’s already dead.”

“Dead?” Huang Rong gasped. “I don’t think I struck him that hard!”

“It wasn’t because of you—it was someone else…” Then Song Qingshu briefly recounted how Wanyan Liang had dispatched assassins to murder Tang Kuo Bian.

“The Jin people are like dogs biting each other—they deserve it!” Huang Rong said bitterly. This plan had failed mainly because they’d fallen into the treacherous trap laid by Tang Kuo Bian and Wanyan Liang. Seeing the enemy reduced to such a state, how could she not be pleased?

“They really are fighting like rabid dogs, but having Wanyan Liang’s family dominate the scene isn’t necessarily a good thing.” Song Qingshu smiled ambiguously at her outburst.

Huang Rong’s brow furrowed. “Since Wanyan Liang wants to k!ll him, isn’t your impersonation of Tang Kuo Bian just like sending a lamb into the tiger’s den?”

Song Qingshu smiled faintly. “Wanyan Liang does indeed wish to kill him, but Tang Kuo Bian holds a unique status in the Jin state, and his family’s influence is enormous. That means Wanyan Liang must act covertly. Last time, because of your assassination attempt, he could pin all the blame on you. But if ‘Tang Kuo Bian’ returns in broad daylight, it will be difficult for him to strike.”

Huang Rong had always been clever, though lacking the broader vision and experience of high-ranking officials. As soon as Song Qingshu explained, she quickly grasped the subtlety. “Exactly—if Tang Kuo Bian were to swagger back to his mansion, Wanyan Liang wouldn’t kill him. Instead, he’d send extra guards to protect him, so that any mishap wouldn’t be mistaken for murder.”

“But…” Huang Rong suddenly hesitated as a key question came to mind. “Tang Kuo Bian isn’t some reclusive hermit. In this city, no fewer than eight hundred people know him—and Wanyan Liang is even more familiar with him. How on earth can you possibly pull off the impersonation?”

Song Qingshu’s smile deepened as he replied coolly, “Rong’er, with your illustrious family background, you should be familiar with human skin masks. I’ve long since removed Tang Kuo Bian’s face. To impersonate him, all it takes is a bit of caution—it’s not difficult at all.”

He didn’t tell her the truth. In fact, he didn’t really need any human skin mask at all—his art of disguise was his greatest secret, one that affected the fates of many. Although he had now become physically intimate with Huang Rong, he was far from ready to reveal all his secrets.

“A human skin mask!” Huang Rong’s face went pale, and she looked visibly repulsed. “Isn’t that just too cruel?”

Song Qingshu merely chuckled. “Besides, Tang Kuo Bian is already dead—he won’t suffer any more. And by using his identity, if the day ever comes when I avenge him, he’ll be grateful to me before he even knows it.”

“Alright, alright—I can never win an argument with you.” Huang Rong chided. “But even if you disguise yourself as Tang Kuo Bian, how will you obtain the antidote?”

“Didn’t I just say? I’ll, as ‘Tang Kuo Bian,’ deliberately take the same poison.” Song Qingshu replied.

Huang Rong shook her head, uncertainty clear in her tone. “Although Wanyan Liang doesn’t dare to strike Tang Kuo Bian openly, if the man becomes poisoned, Wanyan Liang will have every opportunity to eliminate him—and then pin everything on the poisoning.”

As if he had anticipated her question, Song Qingshu gave an enigmatic smile. “That’s exactly why I cannot return on my own—I need you to escort me back…”

“Ah?” Huang Rong was even more confused.

“It’s simple,” he explained. “I’ll, in the guise of Tang Kuo Bian, pretend to fall into your hands. Then, in order to save your husband, you’ll inject my body with his poisonous blood so that I, too, become stricken with the same lethal toxin. After that, you’ll boldly confront them and demand an eye-for-an-eye—insisting that Wanyan Liang hand over the antidote. That way, ‘Tang Kuo Bian’ can live; if he refuses, then let ‘Tang Kuo Bian’ die as a substitute for your husband!”

“Brilliant!” Huang Rong’s eyes lit up instantly. Even though Wanyan Liang longed for Tang Kuo Bian to die a thousand times over, if he refused to provide the antidote in full view of everyone, he’d be blamed for Tang Kuo Bian’s death. Though his power was immense, Tang Kuo Bian was, after all, the imperial son-in-law, and the Tang Kuo family was one of the top families in Jin. In that case, Wanyan Liang wouldn’t be able to withstand the ensuing repercussions. He’d almost certainly agree to hand over the antidote—and in doing so, curry an enormous favor with both the imperial court and the Tang Kuo family.

“Only that… the antidote in Wanyan Liang’s possession is a fake. Even if we got it, it wouldn’t work.” Huang Rong’s expression darkened once again.

Song Qingshu reached out and ruffled her hair. “Rong’er, you’re overthinking it. Think it through—though Wanyan Liang doesn’t know the antidote is fake, Ouyang Feng is well aware of everything. Unless he’s willing to risk the truth about the fake antidote coming to light and openly breaking with Wanyan Liang, he will undoubtedly swap it out midway and deliver the real antidote to ‘Tang Kuo Bian.’”

Huang Rong seemed unaccustomed to his unexpectedly intimate gesture. She instinctively shrank away and cast a complex look at him. She had to admit that although his plan sounded extremely dangerous, its chance of success was equally high. After all, what sort of man was he? On one hand, a despicable, shameless bastard; on the other, a man worthy of admiration…

“But then you too will be poisoned…” Huang Rong began, then hesitated.

Song Qingshu looked at her tenderly and said in a voice full of charm, “Great Hero Guo is a hero of our age, admired by the people across the land—I, too, hold him in high esteem. But admiration is one thing; if saving him meant risking my life to such an extent, I would never do it. Rong’er, you know very well whom I’m doing this for.”

Huang Rong’s heart was thrown into turmoil. She instinctively averted her gaze, unwilling to meet his burning eyes. “Th-thank you.”

Song Qingshu gave a self-mocking smile. “Rong’er, I suspect that beneath your thanks, there’s still a lot of resentment.”

Huang Rong fell silent. To claim she felt no resentment would be a lie—not only had he taken advantage of her, but he’d also toyed with her right in front of her husband. There had even been a time when she had contemplated, in the midst of his ecstasy, the idea of both of them per!shing together! 

But a woman’s heart is as unfathomable as the depths of the sea; even Huang Rong herself wasn’t sure what she truly felt.

*****

The next morning, as Wanyan Liang surveyed the notice brought in by his subordinates, his face darkened to a terrifying degree. 

The notice—written in Huang Rong’s tone—declared that Tang Kuo Bian was now in her custody and warned: if he wanted the man to live, Wanyan Liang had until nightfall to hand over the antidote; otherwise, Tang Kuo Bian would never see the sun again!

Wanyan Liang wasn’t angry out of concern for Tang Kuo Bian’s safety—he didn’t care whether the man lived or died. His only concern was that the notice had been plastered all over Kaifeng City!

“Find out—how could so many notices be posted in one night? There must be countless traitors from the Beggar’s Sect lurking in the city!” he roared furiously at his subordinates.

After his men scurried away trembling, he still felt unsatisfied. He casually picked up a teacup and smashed it on the ground. “Who can tell me how Tang Kuo Bian ended up in Huang Rong’s hands?”

At first, he had resolved to kill Tang Kuo Bian and had specially dispatched a team of trusted assassins to silence him. Those assassins were highly skilled, and Tang Kuo Bian was already badly injured. He had thought the task would be easy—but who would have expected that the entire team would be wiped out, and that Tang Kuo Bian would vanish without a trace?

In the days following, he had sent out a large number of men to track Tang Kuo Bian’s whereabouts, yet not a scrap of news came through. Just as Wanyan Liang was beginning to console himself that Tang Kuo Bian might indeed be dead, he discovered that the man had, against all odds, fallen into Huang Rong’s custody!

Wanyan Liang wasn’t particularly bothered by Huang Rong’s threat. His sole concern was whether Tang Kuo Bian even knew who had originally tried to kill him.

“In fact, Your Highness need not be so troubled. Since Huang Rong is demanding the antidote, why not just give her a fake antidote? Not only can we eliminate the major threat posed by Guo Jing, but we can also take the opportunity to silence Tang Kuo Bian—and pin everything on Huang Rong.”

At that moment, Ouyang Feng suddenly spoke up. Among those present, none was more eager to see Guo Jing thwarted than he. Moreover, given that the antidote Wanyan Liang had received earlier was faulty, he was anxious that Wanyan Liang might actually agree to her terms, so he hurriedly interjected.

“No way!” Wanyan Liang snapped. “This matter has already caused an uproar throughout the city. If Tang Kuo Bian dies, everyone will point fingers at me. Besides, my political rivals in the court won’t let this opportunity pass, and with the Tang Kuo family’s inevitable revenge… I simply cannot take that risk.”

There was, in fact, another reason he didn’t mention. He had originally planned to quietly eliminate Tang Kuo Bian and then, with a warm and sunny demeanor, appear at the side of the other party’s delicate wife, Gebi. With his skillful ways of handling women—and by taking advantage of her grief over losing her husband—seducing her both b0dy and soul would have been no difficulty at all. 

The mere thought of Gebi, completely unaware and subtly enjoying herself in the loins of her husband’s enemy, made Wanyan Liang tremble with excitement. But should Gebi ever suspect that he was the one who k!lled her husband, all of his plans would vanish in an instant. He simply could not allow even the slightest flaw in his scheme to seduce her.

“Ouyang, the tactic of using a fake antidote is no good at all. That little wench, Huang Rong, is full of devious schemes and cunning beyond compare,” Qiu Qianren grumbled, still seething from having been repeatedly bested by her. “The reason she had Tang Kuo Bian take the same poison was precisely to guard against this move. Once she gets the antidote, she’ll certainly force Tang Kuo Bian to take it first.”

“So, will we really just meekly hand over the antidote to her?” Ouyang Feng’s eyes flickered as he muttered, his face dark and unreadable.

“Enough,” Wanyan Liang snorted. “Since Huang Rong wants the antidote, give it to her. I intend to rescue Tang Kuo Bian in a grand and magnificent fashion—leaving the entire court of civil and military officials speechless! However, though Huang Rong may be capable of obtaining the antidote, she isn’t necessarily able to take it away. Master Ouyang, Master Murong, Master Qiu—I require all of you to work together this time. Under no circumstances must we let Huang Rong escape again!”

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