Perfect Encounter - Chapter 107.2

PROOFREAD BY AFREANA

Chapter 107.2

Moonlight Lake was a scenic spot in Fu’an County with a natural round shape. Once, a poet in the nearby mountains saw the bright moon in the sky, shining on the ground like a plate of water from a distance, and then wrote a poem in praise of it. Fu’an County’s Moonlight Lake was thus named.

Now was the beginning of February, the lake was cold, and not a good time to visit, so there were few tourists. Tang Xuan stood at the edge of the lake to see, far away, one or two small boats on the surface of the water, lightly swinging. He walked along the lake, passing two soliciting boats without stopping, continued to walk, and finally stopped when he saw another soliciting boat.

Tang Xuan walked over, and the boatman asked him, “Is the gentleman traveling to the lake?” He saw the wine and food in Tang Xuan’s hands and smiled again, “Watching the sunset and dusk on the lake while drinking fine wine couldn’t be more pleasant.”

Tang Xuan didn’t refuse and got on the boat. The boatman cranked up the paddle and quickly slid onto the lake. Tang Xuan watched the constable on the shore watching the boat go away while secretly laughing in his heart. He pretended not to have noticed someone watching and sat down on the boat’s bow, looking at the lake.

After a while, the boat reached the center of the lake. There were no other boats around, it was empty and quiet, except for the boatman’s shaking pulp creaking sound. So, Tang Xuan went inside the cabin.

In the cabin, Qian Pei was sitting inside, resting his eyes. Only when he heard Tang Xuan sit down did he open them.

Tang Xuan looked at the table. There was already wine and food. He then opened the ones he brought and put them together, nonchalantly eating them.

Qian Pei smiled and asked him, “Yao Kun went to see you?”

“Right. With Master Qian’s good tactics, the Governor was furious.”

Qian Pei laughed loudly, “As I said, he will do whatever I want him to do.”

Tang Xuan ate a few mouthfuls of food and said tentatively, ”Since he’s so useful, can we have the Lord Governor follow our orders as well? When the front line is at war, there is a need for someone to take care of the back end as well. If we work together inside and outside, things will be much better.”

“Isn’t that exactly what’s happening now?”

“But this time, we’ve already pissed off the Governor. He’s planning to deal with you, Master Qian. Not only is Master Qian in jeopardy, but he is also watching me closely and has sent someone to track me from Zhonglan City to Fu’an County. If we don’t stabilize him, he’ll fight with us and target us at every turn, and it won’t be the same as before.”

Qian Pei didn’t say anything.

Tang Xuan added, “Having an evil An Ruochen who won’t let us go is already a problem, and then having a governor who clamps down on us at every turn will make it inconvenient to do anything in this Pingnan County.”

Qian Pei said, “When the war starts on the frontline, we will capture An Ruochen, and Long Teng’s end will not be enough to fear. Once the inspector arrives, Yao Kun will have his hands tied and won’t be able to protect himself, so there will be nothing inconvenient for us.”

“That is extremely true. But before these things are in order, we must confirm we don’t cause any complications.”

“Complication like your imprisonment?”

Tang Xuan was quite offended by the ridicule, but he held his tongue and replied, “Yes.”

Qian Pei asked, “Did Yao Kun tell you his plans?”

“He wishes to take your life.”

Qian Pei laughed out loud and asked again, “How did you answer?”

“Naturally agreed.” Tang Xuan scorned, “Otherwise, you’d have to collect my body for me and still not be able to say anything. Then your son would have to collect your body for you, and he wouldn’t be able to do anything about it either. Of course, I had to use this delaying tactic. I needed to come out to discuss this with you. Anxious rabbit will bite. Yao Kun is angry this time. He’s been putting up with you for years. How come he can’t help it this time?”

“What dirty deeds he has done, he knows very well in his heart. Before, I didn’t need to say anything, he naturally avoided it. But this time, I couldn’t let you be exposed in jail, so I let him understand the consequences of disobedience. It’s normal for him to be anxious and angry. After all, it’s been ten or twenty years, and when you’ve been an official for a long time, you think you’re powerful.”

Tang Xuan asked, “Then how do we cope?”

Qian Pei asked back, “What do you mean?”

Tang Xuan had a plan in mind, but at this time, he still had to pretend to think before saying, “To prevent variables, before everything is in order, we should still stabilize Yao Kun. He is a smart person. Before he released me, he did not ask me for information on the organization, staff arrangement, and plans. He knew that if I did not answer, the transaction would fail. He is a good official who loves the people, so his family and Pingnan County people are his soft spot. He has two conditions; one is to kill you, and the other is to take care of the safety of Pingnan when the war starts, and it is better to fight from Mao County. With anything else, he is willing to cooperate.”

Qian Pei sneered, “He doesn’t even know what we’re going to do.”

“Of course. We don’t need to let him know either. Just let him think he is doing it. As long as he cooperates and turns a blind eye until the inspector comes, we’ll drag it out until it’s done, and then there’s nothing more for him to do.”

Qian Pei asked, “The war is easy to discuss. If we fight, there will be more room for negotiation. But, the first condition. The matter of taking my life, how will you explain yourself to Yao Kun?”

Tang Xuan said, “You will go up to the mountains to hunt and pretend to be dragged away by wild beasts, but in reality, you will leave for a short while, and when I report it to Yao Kun, I will tell him that I arranged it, stabilizing him so that he would deal with An Ruochen first, and hold Long Teng in check.”

“As soon as you take this step, you will be pulled in by him as one of his own. He will continue to ask you for further details, asking who has been contacted at various places and what has been done. If you want to deal with An Ruochen and want him to hold Long Teng back, he will naturally have all sorts of reasons to push back. He deliberately let you take a few steps, and you walked into his trap. How can you be sure that he will listen to you?”

“I have a handle on him in my hand. Besides, it’s always worth taking a risk. I’m not a fool. I’m keeping my vigilance around him. I’ll naturally be careful to cope with what he asks me and what he wants me to do. There’s also someone in the government office to pick up the slack, and I’m aware of every move he makes to dish out his plans.”

Tang Xuan looked at Qian Pei’s face and added. “The worst-case scenario is that he recognizes our plan, and everything goes back to what it was. We’re not exactly at a disadvantage.”

Qian Pei bowed in deep thought and said a moment later, “You have a point. I hadn’t thought he would be enraged to such an extent that he would want to take my life. If you come out without making any movement, he will not stop.”

Tang Xuan busily said, “Indeed.”

Qian Pei poured a glass of wine for himself and Tang Xuan: “Then, let it be settled. I’ll think about the matter of feigning death. Come, drink a cup of wine first, Mr. Suffer In Prison.”

Tang Xuan was hungry. The prison food couldn’t fill the stomach. Now, this meal was considered an actual meal. Tang Xuan saw Qian Pei willing to cooperate and felt very happy, drinking several cups of wine and eating several dishes.

After a while, Qian Pei looked out through the porthole and said, “The sun is setting.” He walked out and stood at the bow to look at the scenery.

Tang Xuan followed him out and stood by his side to watch together. The sun has indeed gone down, a touch of orange-red in the sky, somewhat melancholic.

Qian Pei seemed to be mesmerized and looked worried. Tang Xuan advised: “Master Qian, don’t worry. The feigned death thing is only a temporary plan. Master Qian only needs to go outside the city to have some fun and then come back. Yao Kun has already entered the trap and won’t get out.”

Qian Pei turned to look at him and said, “I’m not bothered.” Before the words left his mouth, he released a sudden forceful push.

The boat was small, and its bow narrow. Tang Xuan and Qian Pei stood side by side on the edge. Tang Xuan was also defenseless, never expecting that Qian Pei would suddenly take this action. At that moment, Tang Xuan was shocked and fell into the water with a thud.

“What are you doing?” Tang Xuan shouted, his arms paddling, wanting to get back on the boat. After moving twice, suddenly his body sank violently! Somehow, his feet were entangled in something, pulling him towards the depths of the lake.

Tang Xuan was shocked, and only then did he realize the danger. He looked down. Someone pulled on his feet, and in a flash, another person slid in behind him, clamping down on his arms and pinching his neck to stop him from struggling.

Tang Xuan gurgled while taking in several mouthfuls of water, struggling, but in the end, he was pulled down and gradually lost strength.

Qian Pei calmly watched Tang Xuan struggle while sinking, coldly saying to his shadow in the water: ”I risked my life to save you from prison, not to listen to your instructions. The longer you stay in jail, the greater the chance of revealing yourself. It’s not that you’re in danger yourself. It’s that you’ll drag everyone else down with you. You don’t get it. You think you’re so important. You fell for Yao Kun’s trap, but I’m unwilling to fall for yours.”

The lake gradually calmed as Tang Xuan sank. Qian Pei smiled, “How many times have I said, don’t belittle me? Min Dongping was like this, you are like this, and Yao Kun is also like this. Good. If there is no movement, Yao Kun will not stop, so let’s make some noise for him. Slap him a few times to make him understand the situation.”