Water Margin: From a White-Robed Scholar to Donning the Yellow Robe

Chapter 136 Tensions Rise, Trouble Within

"So, how many Liangshan secrets did you leak to Fang La?"

Wang Lun's voice was cold, and he was clearly very angry.

Qiao'er knelt on the ground and said, "This servant is utterly loyal to the chieftain. Although I have corresponded with the Holy Lord, I have never revealed any secrets. Including..."

Wang Lun glared at him and shouted, "Speak!"

Qiao'er said, "Including the matter of the chieftain going to Jiangzhou to rescue Song Jiang, I know that the Holy Lord wanted to find an opportunity to assassinate the chieftain, but I never told the chieftain the time and route of his trip."

Wang Lun broke out in a cold sweat. He hadn't considered this when he went to Jiangzhou. Jiangnan was already Fang La's territory. If Qiao'er had revealed his whereabouts, Fang La would have laid a trap, and he would have been dead.

"Why did he want to kill me?" The only suspicious point is that Wang Lun and Fang La had no enmity at the time.

"In the letter, I told the Holy Lord that the chieftain had grown strong in Liangshan and had already occupied Jizhou. He... wanted to kill the chieftain and cause chaos in Liangshan."

Wang Lun suddenly realized that Fang La already harbored the intention to rebel. His goal must be to first occupy Jiangnan and then eliminate all forces. The rise of Liangshan had attracted Fang La's attention.

Once Wang Lun is dead, Fang La can exploit this situation to his advantage, and chaos at Liangshan will be inevitable. The imperial court has long coveted Liangshan, and if Liangshan falls into chaos, the court will either sit back and watch the two sides fight, or seize the opportunity to send troops to wipe out Liangshan in one fell swoop.

With the imperial court's attention focused on Liangshan, Fang La was left unattended, which gave him ample time to prepare.

Fortunately, Qiao'er did not betray herself.

"I have treated you well, and you have not betrayed me, so I will not pursue this matter. But if you try to take advantage of the jade plate, I will kill you immediately."

Wang Lun stood up, glanced at the dagger on the table, and said, "Do you know why I didn't kill you?"

Qiao'er knelt down and kowtowed, weeping, "I didn't know."

Wang Lun pointed at the dagger and said, "You put the dagger on the table with the hilt facing me, which means you didn't intend to kill me. If you had the hilt facing you so you could easily draw it, it means you wanted to kill me, and you would already be dead."

Qiao'er broke out in a cold sweat. She glanced at the dagger on the table and quickly said, "Thank you, Chief, for sparing my life."

She paused, then said, "The chieftain has been very kind to me, and I am unwilling to betray him. The Holy Lord has also treated me very well, and I am unwilling to betray him either. Now, Qiao'er has no choice but to die."

She reached for the dagger, pulled it out, and stabbed it into her own chest.

She moved quickly, but Wang Lun had already anticipated this. He reached out and grabbed Qiao'er, snatched the dagger, and said, "I don't want you to betray your Holy Lord. You don't only have death as your only option. You will continue as you were before, but I will definitely have people monitoring your surroundings."

Qiao'er burst into tears, never expecting that Wang Lun would still let her go.

Wang Lun left the courtyard, where Zhang Cheng and others were already waiting with knives, fearing that Wang Lun might encounter danger.

Upon seeing Wang Lun emerge, Zhang Cheng immediately stepped forward to pay his respects.

Wang Lun smiled and said, "Keep a close watch and don't make any rash moves."

Inside the room, Qiao'er remained kneeling on the floor, motionless for a long time. When her knees ached, she slowly got up, took a small box from under the bed, and opened it to find more than ten letters inside.

These are the letters she exchanged with Fang La during this period.

She stroked the letter, tears welling up and streaming down her face, dripping onto the envelope.

After a long while, the pile of letters turned to ashes in Qiao'er's hands and was burned to ashes.

The next morning, Qiao'er appeared in Wang Lun's room as usual, serving him as he changed clothes and washed up.

After the crisis of trust between the two was resolved, everything returned to normal, and Qiao'er served Wang Lun even more attentively.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Jeju Island, Song Jiang, the military agricultural commissioner, was inspecting the fields with Li Kui. He chatted warmly with the soldiers who were harvesting crops, showing a friendly and approachable demeanor.

In this respect alone, Wang Lun is inferior to him.

When the weather was hot, Song Jiang even paid out of his own pocket to buy seasonal fruits for everyone to eat.

This drew applause and praise from both the soldiers stationed in the fields and the common people.

After completing a day's inspection, Song Jiang, with his pigeon-toed gait, returned to Jizhou City with his follower Li Kui.

The soldiers at the city gate had long been familiar with Song Jiang. When Song Jiang passed by, he greeted each soldier and could accurately call out each soldier's name. They even made an appointment to drink and make merry at Cuiyue Tower in a few days.

This was what Song Jiang often did during this period: during the day, he would go out to inspect the farmland and do the tasks assigned by Wang Lun; when he returned at night, he would drink fine wine and chat about life with the leaders and lower-ranking officers he knew in Liangshan.

Although the four armies had already set out, there were not many leaders left in the city. Even so, Song Jiang had already drunk wine with many people, except for Yang Zhi, Wu Song, Shi Xiu, Shi Qian, and Zhu Gui.

These men were all Wang Lun's confidants, and even when Song Jiang invited them, none of them came out to drink with him.

Song Jiang had some thoughts in his mind, especially about Wu Song.

He and Wu Song had become sworn brothers when they lived at Chai Jin's mansion. At that time, Song Jiang treated Wu Song very well, and he only thought of Wu Song as a somewhat capable Jianghu person. He never expected that Wu Song would have the ability to fight tigers.

He never expected that Wu Song, who was clearly his sworn brother, was now Wang Lun's confidant and the captain of Wang Lun's private guard.

Song Jiang showed great kindness to Wu Song, so what did Wang Lun do?

Wang Lun only saved Wu Da and found a wife for Wu Song, yet Wu Song became devoted to Wang Lun?

Song Jiang was very depressed, but his depression vanished as soon as he entered Jizhou with Li Kui.

He had also made plans to drink with people that night, including Dai Zong and Hua Rong, and he especially insisted that Hua Rong invite Pang Wanchun as well.

Dai Zong traveled thousands of miles to save Song Jiang, demonstrating his deep sense of loyalty.

Hua Rong also met Song Jiang in the beginning. Although Hua Rong later came to Liangshan and was highly valued by Wang Lun, he was still very enthusiastic towards Song Jiang.

Dai Zong is currently in the Liangshan Intelligence Bureau, and as one of the three leaders of the bureau, he wields considerable power.

Hua Rong and Pang Wanchun command the cavalry archery army, a force of three thousand men, all highly skilled in martial arts, making it arguably the strongest force currently in Jeju.

If I could get to know Pang Wanchun through Hua Rong...

Song Jiang, all smiles, led Li Kui, hands behind his back, and sauntered to Cuiyue Tower.

Cuiyue Tower was the largest brothel in Jizhou. Song Jiang had become a regular customer there recently. The madam greeted him warmly and led him to a private room that had been reserved for him.

This private room was the most secluded, and it was Song Jiang's private room during this period.

Song Jiang entered the room, ordered a series of fine wines and dishes, and then sat down with Li Kui to wait patiently.

Before long, Dai Zong arrived first. Upon seeing Song Jiang, he greeted him warmly, "Brother Gongming, I've been so busy with official duties lately that it's been several days since we last met."

Song Jiang warmly invited Dai Zong to sit down, and then heard Dai Zong whisper, "Brother, are you acquainted with Liu Tang?"

Song Jiang was taken aback. He was naturally familiar with Liu Tang, and seeing Dai Zong's serious expression, and considering Dai Zong's current status, he couldn't help but be startled and asked, "What's wrong?"

Dai Zong sighed and said, "He's in big trouble."

Song Jiang felt a sudden unease. If Liu Tang was currently with the army, what serious trouble could he possibly be in? It must be that some of his past misdeeds had been discovered.