#206 - Ning Yongnian's layout
“Your Majesty, this...”
On the high platform, Li Huaizhong's face was filled with shock when he saw the old monk who had suddenly appeared.
Throughout the entire Da Ning, only a handful of people recognized this monk. Apart from a few old fellows from the Buddhist sect, he was one of them.
Monk Jing Yuan.
He was once the most talented disciple of the Lotus Temple, but later secretly practiced evil arts. It was said that he was secretly executed, but in reality, he escaped and disappeared ever since.
In fact, if it weren't for the Buddhist staff in the old monk's hand, engraved with inscriptions, Li Huaizhong would not have recognized him at this moment.
“Your Majesty, is this person Jing Yuan?”
“Yes.”
“Then why would he...”
“Naturally, it was arranged by Us.”
Ning Yongnian chuckled and said, “Old Li, do you know why I had you tell Wei Changtian about the Liu family's conspiracy in advance?”
“This servant dares not presume...”
Li Huaizhong composed himself, lowered his head, and replied, “However, in this servant's humble opinion, Your Majesty must want to incite a life-and-death struggle between the Liu and Wei families.”
“That's only one reason. If that were the only reason, wouldn't it be better to let the Liu family kill Wei Changtian?”
Ning Yongnian shook his head with interest.
“Guess again.”
“...”
Li Huaizhong frowned and thought for a moment, then tentatively asked, “Could it be that Your Majesty wants to drag the Buddhist sect into this as well?”
“Hahaha, that's exactly it.”
Ning Yongnian seemed somewhat pleased. “You also know about the evil arts that Jing Yuan practices. He needs women as cauldrons, and those with the Heavenly Yin Body are the best.”
“We used Long Que as bait, and he will definitely come here today to snatch her.”
“...”
Li Huaizhong knew that Long Que, or rather You Jia, possessed the Heavenly Yin Body.
No wonder Ning Yongnian had arranged for You Jia to infiltrate Wei Changtian's side before. It turned out he was waiting for this very moment.
However, this also proved from the side that Ning Yongnian could not actually command Jing Yuan. Otherwise, he wouldn't need to go through so many twists and turns to create conflict between the Buddhist sect and the Wei family.
“Your Majesty, this servant still doesn't understand some things.”
Silently lamenting the emperor's ruthlessness, Li Huaizhong softly asked, “But Jing Yuan has already been expelled from the Lotus Temple. Even if he clashes with Wei Changtian and the others tonight, even if he kills Wei Changtian, what does it have to do with the Buddhist sect?”
“What does it have to do with the Buddhist sect?”
Ning Yongnian calmly said, “Old Li, how many people in the world know that Jing Yuan is not dead?”
“Very few.”
“Although Jing Yuan practices evil arts, aren't his every move and stance from the Lotus Temple?”
“They are from the Lotus Temple.”
“Then how can you say that he is not a member of the Buddhist sect?”
Ning Yongnian's face was hidden in the darkness, but his calm voice sent a chill down Li Huaizhong's spine in an instant.
Xu Shixing was dead. Although the Xu family had not made any moves yet, they would rebel sooner or later.
Wei Changtian had killed Liu Yuanshan, and the conflict between the Liu and Wei families was also inevitable.
Therefore, the only thorn in Ning Yongnian's side was the Buddhist sect.
And in order to drag the Buddhist sect into this great chaos, this Son of Heaven had actually carried out such a complex plan.
Since he couldn't infiltrate the Buddhist sect with his forces, he would start with Jing Yuan, a disgraced monk from the Lotus Temple.
First, he arranged for You Jia to be by Wei Changtian's side, and then used You Jia as bait to lure Jing Yuan into conflict with Wei Changtian.
It was not difficult to see from the previous "Killing Phase" incident that the Wei family valued Wei Changtian, their only son, very much. Therefore, once this was done, Ning Yongnian only needed to add a little fuel to the fire, and Wei Xianzhishen would definitely "seek personal revenge" and storm the Lotus Temple for an explanation.
Of course, the old monks of the Lotus Temple would definitely say that Jing Yuan had already been expelled from the Buddhist sect.
But would Wei Xianzhishen necessarily believe it?
Who knew if Ning Yongnian had any deeper plans hidden?
And as long as the Wei family went to war with the Buddhist sect, forming a chaotic situation between the Liu, Wei, Xu, and Buddhist families, this Son of Heaven of Da Ning would definitely be the one who laughed last.
However, all of this still required a prerequisite.
“...”
Taking a deep breath, Li Huaizhong asked the last question.
“Your Majesty, forgive this servant's ignorance, but what if Wei Changtian hands over Long Que?”
“...”
“Then We will lose a capable assassin.”
Ning Yongnian was silent for a moment, his expression indifferent.
Of course, he knew You Jia's feelings for him, but to him, the latter was just an excellent assassin.
What's more...
“Old Li, let's make a bet.”
Ning Yongnian suddenly slowly stood up, a faint smile on his lips.
“He killed a prime minister for a maidservant, and five second-rank officials for a courtesan...”
“With Wei Changtian's character, he will definitely not hand her over.”
“If you don't believe it, then just watch.”
“...”
At the heart of Sun and Moon Lake.
Wei Changtian was inevitably stunned when he realized that the old monk on the opposite side had come for You Jia.
“Senior, you came tonight...for her?”
“Yes.”
Jing Yuan nodded slightly and repeated, “As long as Young Master Wei hands over this person, we will leave.”
“...”
Suddenly a group of monks appeared to demand a woman, and at this critical moment, something about this matter felt wrong no matter how he thought about it.
But before Wei Changtian could ponder it carefully, a trembling voice suddenly rang out from behind him.
“Wei, Young Master Wei, don't...”
“Please, please don't hand me over to them...”
The speaker was naturally You Jia, and as soon as she said these words, the eyes of everyone around them instantly focused on her.
Clearly, You Jia knew what her fate would be once she fell into the hands of these wandering monks.
“You girl, what is going on?”
Wei Changtian glanced at Jing Yuan, who had not yet made a move, and frowned, asking, “What is the entanglement between you and them?”
“I, I...”
You Jia looked at Wei Changtian with tearful eyes, but did not explain, only repeating in an almost begging tone.
“Don't, I, I will be tortured to death by them...”
“No, don't...”
“...”
Seeing You Jia's appearance, Xu Qingwan immediately went over and gently hugged her, while biting her lip and silently looking at Wei Changtian.
Although Little Xu Comrade did not speak, Wei Changtian understood her meaning.
No matter what, You Jia had once saved her life.
No longer pursuing the details, Wei Changtian sighed softly and looked back at Jing Yuan.
“Senior, what if I don't hand her over?”
“Don't hand her over?”
Jing Yuan suddenly raised the Buddhist staff in his hand with a ferocious smile and heavily slammed it on the surface of the lake beneath his feet.
“Splash!!!”
The originally calm and waveless surface of the water suddenly stirred up huge waves, and in the next second, it gathered into a huge water dragon, ten zhang tall, beside Jing Yuan!
“Second Grade!!”
Liang Zhen shouted out loud at the first moment, and Qin Zhengqiu's pupils also shrank, already ready to attack at any time.
However, Jing Yuan did not attack immediately, but just stood there and looked at Wei Changtian, as if waiting for his final answer.
Or rather, everyone, holding their own different purposes, was waiting for Wei Changtian's answer.
The moonlight shone down, and life and death were in the balance.
Standing in the center of countless gazes, Wei Changtian lowered his head and was silent for a long time, then suddenly turned his head to look at You Jia again, and ordered in a tone devoid of any emotion:
“Look up, look at me.”
