Chapter 173 of Volume 1

  Tang Yin naturally understood Deng Mingyang's feelings, and he said: "Since I said that I won't let the respected lady lose out, I will definitely keep my word. Mingyang, what do you have to worry about?"

  Deng Mingyang bit his lip and hesitated for a moment before reluctantly nodding in agreement, letting the servant go and invite his wife out.

  Deng Mingyang's wife is much younger than him, only twenty-five or six years old, and she looks elegant and beautiful. Although not stunning, her gentle and soft appearance still has a unique charm.

  Tang Yin looked at it and nodded secretly, while his mind was racing with thoughts, a plan was also gradually taking shape in his heart.

  He pulled Deng Mingyang, whispering in his ear, and Deng Mingyang nodded while listening. When Tang Yin finished speaking, he curled up the corner of his mouth and asked doubtfully: "General, won't there be any accidents?"

  "Haha!" Tang Yin laughed and said: "Don't worry, with me here, taking Zhong Sang's life is as easy as turning over one's hand."

  "Alright! I'll listen to my elders." Deng Mingyang steeled himself and decided to take this risk. If it succeeded, he believed that Tang Yin's character would never treat him unfairly, and whether he could make a name for himself in the future depended on this one move.

  Tang Yin and Deng Mingyang conspired, then he left first, but left Shangguan Yuanrang behind, under the pretext of assisting Deng Mingyang, in fact, to monitor him. After all, the two had not seen each other for a year, and Tang Yin was also afraid that Deng Mingyang would be timid and ruin things, changing his mind at the critical moment and betraying himself, as this matter was of great importance, he could not help but be careful.

  He returned to Yue Zijie's home and immediately had Yue Zijie prepare a horse carriage. The latter did not understand what he meant, and asked in doubt: "Sir, how many carriages do you want me to prepare?"

  "At least two hundred, one hundred in the city and one hundred outside." Tang Yin said seriously.

  "Ah? Do you need so many horse-drawn carriages?!" Yue Zijie's mouth was agape in surprise.

  "Is it really that difficult?" Tang Yin raised an eyebrow and asked back.

  "No, no, no!" Yue Zijie shook his head repeatedly and said: "Give me two days, sir, I will definitely get it done!"

  "Hmm!" Tang Yin nodded in satisfaction and said: "All the expenses will be counted on my head, when we return to Tianyuan County, I'll repay you double."

  "Ah, sir is really too polite." Yue Zijie said with a smile all over his face. Although he said so, in his heart he was relieved, after all, the cost of preparing 200 horse-drawn carriages was not small, and it would be hard for him to take out so much money at once, but hearing that Tang Yin was willing to repay double, he was naturally very happy.

  After handing over these things to Yue Zijie, Tang Yin called in Cheng Jin and Lu Fang to discuss the specific details of the action with them.

  Tang Yin's plan was simple: first, he would lure Zhong Sang to Deng Mingyang's house and kill him, then disguise himself as Zhong Sang and go to the Zhong mansion to fetch people. After fetching everyone from the Liang, Wu, and Zi Yang families, he would load them onto a carriage and send it to Yue Zijie's house, where they would be secretly transferred outside the city through a hidden passage. Tang Yin had instructed the archers led by Cheng Jin to stay in the city to assist him, while the gate guests led by Lu Fang were all left outside the city, preparing the carriages so that as soon as their side emerged from the underground tunnel, they could directly get on the carriage and leave Yancheng for Tianyuan Prefecture.

  His plan was made in such a way, but whether things would go smoothly according to his plan is uncertain.

  After listening, Cheng Jin and Lu Fang both took a deep breath, the two were silent for a moment, and suddenly said in unison: "How can Master disguise himself as Zhong Sang? The difference between his body shape and appearance is too great, it's possible... that he will be exposed!"

  Tang Yin's heart was already made up, he looked up and smiled, saying: "I have my own way." He paused for a moment.

  He gazed deeply and muttered with a smile: "It may not have been possible before, but it's absolutely possible now."

  "Huh?" Cheng Mian and Lu Fang exchanged a glance, both feeling perplexed, no matter how hard they thought, they couldn't understand what method Tang Yin was referring to.

  Things are going according to Tang Yin's plan. Yuezijie is busy collecting carriages everywhere, and let's talk about Deng Mingyang for now.

  That day, Deng Mingyang changed into casual clothes and went out for a stroll with his wife. By their side was a dark-skinned servant, who was none other than Shangguan Yuanran.

  The three of them arrived in the downtown area and intentionally or unintentionally strolled around the Zhong Mansion.

  The Zhong Mansion is located in the heart of Yancheng, surrounded by bustling streets with many large and small shops. Now, Zhong Tian and his family have moved into the Wang Palace, and the Zhong Mansion has been converted into a prison to hold Wang Yan's heavy minister. The surrounding area is heavily guarded, and all the original merchants have been driven away. Those who cannot leave have also closed their businesses for half of the year.

  After strolling around here, the three of them slowed down their pace and entered the few remaining shops to take a look around, intentionally dragging out time.

  Before long, it was high noon, and the main gate of the Bell Mansion swung open. A group of officials in red armor walked out, with a young man in casual attire standing among them. He looked to be around thirty years old, with a pale face, no beard or mustache, thin eyebrows, small eyes, and an unsteady gaze that seemed to slant to one side. At first glance, it was clear he was a frivolous person.

  This young man is Zhong Tian's nephew, Zhong Sang.

  Seeing Zhong Sang coming out, Deng Mingyang's spirit was lifted, and he quietly pulled his wife's sleeve, then gave a wink to Yuan Lang, before quickly walking out of the shop with a smile on his face.

  Before he could get close, the guards surrounding Zhong San had already blocked his way and asked cautiously: "Who is it?"

  Deng Mingyang ignored the guards and waved his hand at Zhong Sang in the crowd, "General Zhong, what a coincidence, I didn't expect to run into you here."

  Zhong Tian heard the voice and was stunned for a moment, turning his head to look at Deng Mingyang, asking in doubt: "Who are you?????"

  "I am Deng Mingyang, the chiliarch of the sixth legion of the Second Army."

  "Oh! It's you!" Upon hearing Deng Mingyang say this, Zhong Sang suddenly remembered him. He waved his hand to signal the guards around him to retreat, then looked at Deng Mingyang with a slanted gaze as he ran up to him, and asked with a smile: "Deng Qianjun, what brings you here today?"

  He didn't have much impression of Deng Mingyang, only knowing that there was such a person. In his impression, this person was very timid and he didn't think Deng Mingyang would do anything out of line here.

  "Here, I didn't expect to run into General Zhong, what a coincidence! What a coincidence!" As he spoke, he turned his head and beckoned to his wife to come over and pay her respects to Mrs. Zhong.

  "Oh, I see!" Zhong Sang didn't pay much attention to it either, just politely nodded and then casually glanced at Deng Mingyang's wife.

  When he saw Mrs. Deng's appearance, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he couldn't help but secretly exclaim in his heart: What a beautiful woman!

  Because he didn't have much of a relationship with Deng Mingyang and looked down on this humble position of Qianfu Zhang, Zhong Sang originally wanted to leave, but after seeing Deng Mingyang's wife, the leg that had stepped out halfway retracted, his eyes without any evasion, staring straight at Mrs. Deng.

  Mrs. Deng had never been treated so rudely by a man before, and she couldn't help but blush with shame, lowering her head and not daring to look into Zhong Sang's eyes, saying in a soft voice: "I've seen the general"

  Her voice was very small, but it gave people a kind of weak and delicate feeling. Zhong Sang looked more and more unbearable, standing there, even forgetting to exchange gifts.

  Deng Mingyang saw it with his own eyes, secretly gritting his teeth, but there was no expression on his face, as if he didn't know anything, and smiled at Zhong Sang: "General Zhong is busy with official business, I won't disturb you."

  It wasn't until then that Zhong Sang suddenly came back to his senses, shaking his head repeatedly and saying "Not yet, not yet." As he spoke, he glanced over at Deng Fu Ren. Although this woman was not as beautiful as Wu Mei or Wu Ying, her features were still exceptional, and she exuded a delicate weakness from deep within her bones that made one want to take her in their arms.

  "General Zhong, I'll take my leave now!" Seeing General Zhong's interest had been piqued and his task was half accomplished, Deng Mingyang pretended to want to leave.

  "Wait!"

  Deng Mingyang's foot had not yet stepped out when Zhong Sang rushed to intercept him, the latter looking puzzled and asked: "General, is there something else?"

  Zhong Sang laughed and said, "Since we've run into each other, why rush off? If General Deng doesn't have anything important to attend to at noon, how about bringing your wife along and we'll all go to the wine house for a meal, my treat?"

  Deng Mingyang secretly laughed to himself. Usually, Zhong Sang's eyes would be on the top of his head, and Xi Meng would scold him. He wouldn't even look at someone like himself, let alone invite him out for a meal. Today, he was blinded by lust and seeking death, so it wasn't anyone else's fault! Thinking this, Deng Mingyang's face turned difficult to look at, and he said: "It's like that, but noon is not possible, there are guests at home. How about this, tomorrow night I'll be the host and entertain General Zhong at my place?"

  "This..."

  Without giving Zhong Sangsi a chance to think, Deng Mingyang immediately added another sentence: "At that time, I and the general will drink until we are drunk!"

  Upon hearing the four words "Zui Fang Xiu", Zhong Sang took another glance at Madam Deng beside Deng Mingyang, and immediately smiled, saying: "Alright, I'll definitely visit your residence tomorrow night to pay my respects."

  "I am honored to await your arrival, General! I also hope that you will promote me in the future!"

  "Haha——" Hearing this, Zhong Sang felt even more at ease, throwing his head back and laughing loudly, saying repeatedly: "Good, good!" So that's it, how coincidental that Deng Mingyang happened to meet himself, turns out it was to help him out. Then, he bringing his wife out today might also be intentional. Thinking of this, the smile on Zhong Sang's face deepened even more.

  The next day, in the evening, Zhong Sang came as scheduled.

  This time he brought only a dozen or so personal bodyguards. Deng Mingyang came out to greet him and warmly invited Zhong Sang into the mansion.

  Compared with ordinary people's families, Zheng Mingyang's home is not small, but in Zhong Sang's eyes, it's too simple.

  Entering the house and looking around, he didn't see Deng Mingyang's wife. He felt greatly disappointed and exchanged a few words with Deng Mingyang before asking: "Where is your wife?"

  Preparing food in the kitchen.

  "Ah? Zhong Sang waved his hand and said, 'No need to be so troublesome, as long as there's wine it's fine.' As long as there's wine, he can get Deng Mingyang drunk, this is what Zhong Sang really meant."

  "Ha ha!" Deng Mingyang hurriedly laughed and said: "General Zhong's noble presence, how could I dare to neglect it?" As he spoke, he also took out a package of silver from his bosom and stuffed it into Zhong Sang's hand, smiling apologetically and saying: "The humble man's future prospects will still have to rely heavily on General Zhong."