Words Strategize for the World

Fang Wei discovered that Lai Fengwu had not returned home all night. Before he could figure out what was going on, a noisy commotion broke out outside.

As Fang Wei stepped out of the room, he saw the captain leading a group of people toward him.

"Fang Wei, where are your subordinates?"

Before the group even arrived, one of the men behind the captain spoke loudly.

Lai Fengwu must have escaped last night, but we don't know where she went.

Looking at the group of people in front of me, the key now is to get through this hurdle first.

"Sir, what business do you have with my subordinate? I just opened the door to go in and find him when you arrived. He must still be sleeping; I'll go and wake him now."

The captain glanced at Fang Wei, then gave a wink to the person who had just spoken.

"Hmph, I think that's unnecessary. I'll go and call him myself."

After speaking, the man walked quickly past Fang Weichao towards Feng Wu's room. A short while later, a report was heard.

"Sir, there is no one in the room. Moreover, the blankets are neatly made, indicating that no one stayed there last night."

After listening, the captain said with a frosty expression, "Fang Wei, I, Han Jiang, have treated you well, haven't I? Where are your subordinates? If you hand them over now, I might let bygones be bygones."

Lai Fengwu has already left, and they don't know why she left. Also, if they had confirmed last night that the so-called assassin was Lai Fengwu, they wouldn't have waited until this morning to come.

These two points show that they are unaware of the situation. If I admit it now, it would be tantamount to confessing without being asked.

Thinking about this, Fang Wei knew how to deal with it.

"My lord, I am innocent in this matter. I have a limited alcohol tolerance, and I drank too much last night. I fell asleep as soon as I got back. I only just found out that Lai Fengwu is missing."

Fang Wei said with a wronged expression.

Han Jiang stared intently at Fang Wei, trying to glean something from his face. But he was destined to be disappointed.

Han Jiang only had suspicions; he didn't know who the person was last night. Now, Fang Wei's innocent expression made him wonder if he had made a mistake.

However, now that it has been discovered that the person from last night was Fang Wei's subordinate, even if it was a mistake, he cannot escape responsibility.

Regardless of right or wrong, let's arrest him first and test him out.

"Guards, arrest Fang Wei!"

After Captain Han Jiang finished speaking, two men emerged from behind him and immediately grabbed Fang Wei.

"My lord, I am innocent. I had no idea that Lai Fengwu left me. This is so unfair to me."

Fang Wei looked flustered, but wasn't worried. Han Jiang currently had no clear evidence, only speculation, so even if he were arrested, his life wouldn't be in danger.

The two men quickly arrested Fang Wei and took him away.

Fang Wei had been pretending all along, putting on a convincing act, and now he needed to gain Han Jiang's trust. Even if he harbored doubts, he couldn't allow Han Jiang to find an opportunity to continue doubting him.

Fang Wei was taken to a room in the Zhang family's house, and soon after, he was bound and put on a horse-drawn carriage.

Before noon, Fang Wei, inside the carriage, heard the sound of the supply corps moving about.

Sure enough, after catching up with the supply battalion, Fang Wei was transferred to another carriage and continued onward.

After setting up camp that night, Fang Wei was taken to a tent and tied up.

Not long after he was tied up and taken into the tent, the person who had spoken to him in the morning came in and stood in front of Fang Wei, staring at him as he walked back and forth.

"Hmph, Fang Yashi, not bad. You actually condone your subordinates deserting. Very well, I'll let you taste what it's like to be a deserter."

Before Fang Wei could explain, a whip lashed out with a whooshing sound.

"Was it you who made that kid leave? Did you have some ulterior motive?"

One lash followed by another.

"Oh, you're quite tolerant. Good, good, good."

Fang Wei had only ever seen people being whipped on TV before; now he was finally experiencing the pain of being whipped.

The whip struck my body, first with a stinging pain, then with a burning pain that was hard to bear.

Fang Wei could endure the first lash, but he couldn't bear the second and third.

"Haha, I thought you were so tough, but it turns out you're just like this. It hurts, doesn't it? Hahaha, it hurts so much, doesn't it? Tell me, did you make that kid leave? What were you up to?"

Despite the pain, Fang Wei remained rational. This was clearly Han Jiang's trick to deceive him.

Fang Wei simply remained silent, clenching his teeth tightly.

Seeing that Fang Wei remained silent, the other party continued to whip him while mocking him.

However, after lashing him more than ten times, the other party stopped. He muttered a few angry words and left.

Fang Wei silently cursed Han Jiang and all the women who had hit him.

Fang Wei was in pain all over his body; it was obvious without even looking that he was covered in wounds.

Fortunately, the beatings didn't continue, otherwise he was afraid he wouldn't have been able to withstand them.

For the rest of the night, Fang Wei was bound inside his tent. The constant pain kept him awake.

The next morning, the man who was whipping Fang Wei came in and transferred him to the carriage, ignoring Fang Wei's injuries.

It wasn't until they had set up camp that evening that someone came to check on Fang Wei's injuries and helped apply medicine.

After applying the medicine, Fang Wei was not tied up again, but was taken to Han Jiang's camp.

Inside the tent, just like last time, Han Jiang sat in the head seat, with several people Fang Wei had seen before sitting below him, including the man who had whipped him.

As soon as Fang Wei entered, Han Jiang, who was sitting at the head of the table, said, "Scholar Fang, I am truly sorry. Military affairs have been very busy, and I'm sorry to have troubled you."

Fang Wei looked at Han Jiang's hypocritical and shameless face and wished he could kill him on the spot.

However, being at the mercy of others, Fang Wei had no choice but to temporarily yield.

"Lord Han, it's just a minor injury, nothing serious. It's alright, it's alright."

Knowing that the other party was faking it, Fang Wei had no choice but to play along.

Han Jiang burst into laughter upon hearing Fang Wei's words. After comforting and encouraging Fang Wei for a while, his so-called colleagues, who were supposedly there to encourage him, came over to offer him a toast. Even the man who had whipped him came over to apologize repeatedly.

The atmosphere seemed lively, but a noticeable sense of distance was still present.

Fang Wei also gave perfunctory replies, citing his injury and inability to hold his liquor as reasons for refusing to drink.

After they had drunk enough wine, Han Jiang spoke again: "Sir Fang, I see that your military rank is infantry commander, but you only have 5 men under your command, and now one of them has deserted. Why don't I send a few soldiers to protect your safety?"

Han Jiang is indeed cunning; his protection is a pretense, his real intention is surveillance. But now he has no choice.

"I am truly grateful for Lord Han's concern for me."

Fang Wei himself felt utterly hypocritical, but he still had that much awareness. As long as he could stop Han Jiang's plan, that would be the greatest victory. The little grievances he felt now were nothing at all.

After leaving the captain's tent, six soldiers began to follow Fang Wei.

Fang Wei knew that his days ahead were going to be very difficult. Now, his every move was under Han Jiang's control, and he could no longer plot any schemes.

When they returned to the camp, Niu San and the other two came over and kept asking Fang Wei where he had gone.

To appease Niu San and the other two, Fang Wei simply said that he had military duties and had temporarily left for two days.