Chapter 4648 — Playing Along

At this, Yan Xinlan suddenly started as she took in Ning Xuefei's peculiar expression. Thinking of what was already settled for the birthday banquet to come, she wondered—could this girl be hoping to use this chance to convey her feelings to Wei Zhao?

"Aunt Yan, I say this woman is suspicious. Seize her and interrogate her rigorously, implicate her whole clan, and see whether she is lying! I want to know just who has the gall to come to a gathering like this and frame the North Island's envoy—this is an attempt to sow discord between our West Island and the North Island, and we must not take it lightly." Ning Xuefei's tone carried a hint of frost.

At those words the temperature in the hall plummeted several degrees. Ning Xuefei might be naive and sweet by nature, but she was, after all, the chosen heir to the West Island, and here her word carried absolute authority.

Yan Xinlan was taken aback. Her prejudice against Wei Zhao came purely from her distaste for libertines of his sort—she feared Ning Xuefei was growing too close to him and would be taken in by the rogue. But now that Ning Xuefei had spoken up for Wei Zhao in front of everyone, she could hardly contradict her publicly; otherwise outsiders would take it as discord among the West Island's leaders, and that would spell real trouble.

"Guards!" At Yan Xinlan's command, two imperial guards stepped forward at once. Both were women, but clad in full armor they cut an imposing, murderous figure; and to serve in the island lord's palace, their strength was naturally nothing to sneeze at. Seeing this menacing approach, the woman who had sprung up to frame Wei Zhao promptly wet herself in terror.

"Say something, quickly! Didn't you promise me it would be fine—that as long as I played along, I could..." the woman cried, turning to Kang Jingming in a panic. She had taken this role purely to earn a few spirit jades; never once had she imagined she would be risking her life.

But before she could finish, Kang Jingming rushed forward recklessly and kicked her square in the head. The blow knocked every tooth from her mouth. "You vile wretch, don't you dare slander others with your filthy lies!" he roared. "I see it now—you must be a spy sent by another island! Not content with trying to sow discord between our North Island and the West Island, now that your scheme to frame my senior brother Wei Zhao has failed, you turn around and frame me instead. What a vicious, venomous heart you have!"

"Mmmph, mmmph..." Her mouth full of blood, the woman could not utter a word after Kang Jingming's kick. Hair disheveled, she collapsed to the ground howling in agony, glaring at him with such venom that she seemed ready to devour his flesh and gnaw his bones—except that by now there was nothing left for her to do.

Kang Jingming's reaction had been swift, to be sure, and at first hearing his explanation might even hold up. But most of those present were sharp-eyed, and all of them knew that by this point the truth was plain. Whatever unsavory tricks lay behind it, one thing at least was certain: Wei Zhao had been wronged and framed.

"Envoy Lin, how do you think this should be handled?" Yan Xinlan knew Wei Zhao had been wronged, and she felt a measure of guilt. Besides, in both fairness and courtesy, the matter ought to be left to Wei Zhao himself to decide—he was, after all, the sole victim—and for the sake of relations between the two islands, he deserved a satisfactory accounting.

Wei Zhao glanced at the woman cowering on the ground, then at Kang Jingming, who was eager to paper things over, and said with a faint smile, "When in the host's house, follow the host's customs. Your island's people are naturally yours to deal with; I have no objection. Besides, I have suffered no loss."

"Good. To show such magnanimity at such a young age is truly rare!" Yan Xinlan could not help but regard Wei Zhao more highly. She turned to the guards and instructed, "Take her away. Give her a warning, then let her go."

Yan Xinlan had no intention of digging deeper. She could tell the woman was most likely a fallen woman of the streets—otherwise she would never have come to do such a thing.

Women of that trade were pitiable to begin with, and on the West Island they were looked down upon by other women more than anywhere; no one would take up such work unless driven to the very end. Yan Xinlan did not wish to make things hard for her.

Kang Jingming heaved a sigh of relief at the sight. Since Yan Xinlan had no mind to probe further, he was naturally off the hook—he had escaped disaster after all. In any case, without evidence, Wei Zhao could hardly move against him on mere suspicion.

Thus the farce came to an end. Kang Jingming, rattled and relieved in equal measure, slunk back to Xu Lingchong's side with a sheepish look, head down, not daring to meet anyone's eyes.

Xu Lingchong, by contrast, was thoroughly glum. Today's failure was not Kang Jingming's fault; as he saw it, the plan had been all but flawless, and the effect had been within a hair's breadth of complete. If not for Ning Xuefei suddenly sticking her oar in, that wretch Wei Zhao would by now be cursed by all and sundry, branded a true scoundrel and faithless lover!

This Ning Xuefei was far too partial! To go to such lengths to clear Wei Zhao's name—that would never do. He must think of another way at once; he absolutely could not let her grow close to Wei Zhao. At this rate, the whole West Island would before long become the Wei family's property...

Xu Lingchong wore a look of helpless resignation, while Kang Jingming was speechless. Even Yan Xinlan, the deputy island lord, had flown into a rage just now, and yet Ning Xuefei had reversed it all with a few words. What rotten luck!

"Young Master Xu, your subordinate has failed in his duty and disappointed you," Kang Jingming could only lower his voice and beg forgiveness. He had boasted too confidently before, and now he truly had no face left to meet Xu Lingchong's eyes.

"This time it is not your fault. The fault lies only in our failing to anticipate how partial Ning Xuefei would be to Wei Zhao. If she really were involved with him, shouldn't her first reaction to such a thing be to demand an accounting? At the very least she should have asked some questions first—how could she protect Wei Zhao without asking a single one?" Xu Lingchong stroked his chin and smiled bitterly.

"A woman's mind is too hard to fathom. Young Master Xu, what do we do now? Should we hurry and think up another scheme?" Kang Jingming asked.

"Yes. This matter cannot be dragged out too long. Once Wei Zhao and Ning Xuefei truly get together, it will be too late." Xu Lingchong nodded, then went on, "But not today. After an incident like this they will surely be on their guard, and a second attempt would easily betray its flaws. We will think of something once we are back—and next time there must be no slip-ups whatsoever."

"Indeed. For now that is all we can do." Kang Jingming nodded helplessly, even as fresh wicked schemes began to brew in his belly...

After such a farce, the atmosphere of the welcome banquet remained strange throughout, never recovering its former warmth. It came to a hasty close shortly afterward, and everyone returned to their rooms to rest.

Wei Zhao would have liked to linger a while longer with Han Jingyi, but seeing how late it had grown, it would be rather unseemly for a man like him to remain in the island lord's palace. He had no choice but to return to the envoy's residence first, and wait until broad daylight the next day to seek out Han Jingyi and the others. (To be continued.) xh118R1052