Chapter 115: Almost Having a Banquet

Wang Jing indeed thought so. No matter what reason Cai Yong had to speak up for Dong Zhuo, the matter itself was completely wrong and there was no way to whitewash it.

Dong Zhuo killed people in order to fight for power. This behavior had already violated the laws and rules and pushed the world into turmoil and unrest. What's more, Dong Zhuo also allowed his troops to plunder the local area, causing the tragic deaths of many innocent people.

Cai Yong exonerated Dong Zhuo simply because he himself had received favors from Dong Zhuo. This mistake was simply outrageous and even unforgivable for the tens of thousands of innocent people who died.

But to kill Cai Yong for this reason was a bit too much. After all, there should be a limit to punishing people for their words.

Wang Yun's angry expression eased a little, but when he heard that Wang Jing still wanted to stop him from killing Cai Yong, his expression became angry again: "Why can't I kill him?"

Wang Jing sat upright and said to Wang Yun earnestly, "Father, if you want to punish Cai Zhonglang, you should follow the law. How can you put him in jail and put him to death just because he said something wrong?"

Wang Yun was stubborn and still refused to let Cai Yong go, so he argued: "If I don't kill him, wouldn't it be the same as telling the world that anyone can commit this heinous crime?"

Wang Jing shook his head: "Father, please listen to me. Cai Zhonglang did make a mistake, but there are big mistakes and small mistakes, and there are minor and serious crimes. Now he just made a slip of the tongue, which is only a minor mistake. Father, are you going to sentence him to death? Where does this put the court's laws? Even if you want to warn the world, you shouldn't do it in this way."

These words finally moved Wang Yun.

Wang Jing did not emphasize Cai Yong's "innocence", but made it clear in advance that he was indeed "wrong".

This partially dissipated Wang Yun's resistance, and then he explained the adverse effects of executing Cai Yong from the perspective of national law, and finally succeeded in persuading Wang Yun.

"Well, what should we do now?"

Wang Yun's tense nerves finally relaxed at this moment.

Wang Jing knew that Wang Yun was a sincere person and he did not kill Cai Yong to eliminate dissidents. He just felt resentful and thought that Cai Yong was an ungrateful person.

Now that Wang Yun's knot was untied, Wang Jing took the opportunity to suggest, "Cai Zhonglang has committed a crime, and he must be punished. Otherwise, how can he be a role model for the world? But the punishment should not be too severe, otherwise we would be no different from Dong Zhuo and his ilk in terms of talking about criminals. It would be better to give Cai Yong a light punishment and a big warning, and dismiss him from his post and strip him of his title, so as to serve as a warning to the world."

Dismissal from office and deprivation of title, for ordinary people, such punishment is no different from death penalty.

However, for Cai Yong, the actual loss was almost zero.

After all, his official position was given by Dong Zhuo, and his title was also conferred by Dong Zhuo. By now, he had long been just an idler with neither real power nor fiefdom.

Now that I have lost my reputation but saved my life, I can only say that it is not a loss.

Wang Yun vented his anger and stopped dwelling on the matter. He waved his hand in a disinterested manner and said, "Okay, I'll do as you say."

Seeing that Wang Yun finally made concessions, Wang Jing secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

When Wang Jing returned to West Garden, it was already evening.

Unexpectedly, Cai Yan was still waiting here. As for Yuan Ying and Huang Xin, they had been taken away by their families, so the person accompanying Cai Yan at this time was Zou.

Now that she was with Wang Jing, her life was quite comfortable. She wore silk and satin, with a little makeup on her smooth face. She lived a life of luxury, which was much better than following Zhang Ji and living in fear.

Zou was beautiful and Cai Yan was elegant. The two girls sat side by side, talking about music theory and playing the piano at the same time. It was not boring at all. Instead, they got along well and became closer.

"My sister's piano playing is so pleasant and touching."

"Sister's pipa is the one with lingering sound that makes people admire it."

It was rare that both of them were proficient in music and understood each other's talents. Just as they were chatting happily, Wang Jing came back.

"Husband, you have worked hard."

Zou, who was already Wang Jing's concubine, was at an age when she could feel warmth and warmth. She delicately stepped forward to take off Wang Jing's coat, and then with a pair of charming eyes that could kill people, she first glanced at Wang Jing, and then glanced at Cai Yan, who was both expectant and nervous. Her eyes were meaningful. She covered her red lips lightly and smiled softly at the two of them: "I suddenly remembered that I have other things to do, so I won't disturb my husband and sister Zhaoji."

She was not a jealous woman, and even thought it would be nice to have a sister at home who could discuss music with her, so she deliberately tried to bring Wang Jing and Cai Yan together.

Cai Yan's beautiful face was as rosy as a peach. She was at an age when she was prone to romance. However, Cai Yong's life or death was uncertain. She was concerned about her father's safety and had no mood to talk about love. When she saw Wang Jing, she immediately asked about the progress of the matter: "Yuan Xu, my father..."

Wang Jing saw that Cai Yan was getting impatient, so he said to her bluntly: "Even though the death penalty has been spared, the punishment for which he was sentenced to life cannot be avoided. Cai Zhonglang made an inappropriate remark after all. Therefore, although I can persuade my father to spare his death penalty, I am afraid that he will lose his official position and title."

As a close friend, Wang Jing put it clearly and directly. After all, such a wrong political stance would result in death no matter which dynasty it was in.

Wang Jing had already made great efforts to save Cai Yong's life.

Although Cai Yan had little political knowledge, she understood that it was not easy to save her life. As for her father losing his official position and title, Cai Yan was open-minded and replied in an open-minded tone: "Fame, wealth and honor are just external things. If they are gone, they are gone. As long as my father is safe, that's all."

"I'm relieved that you can figure it out."

"Thank you so much Yuan Xu for your help this time. I will never forget this great favor."

Cai Yan stood up and bowed towards Wang Jingying. Her delicate figure and virtuous temperament were really pleasing to the eye no matter how you looked at her.

Wang Jing smiled and stepped forward to help her up: "Haha, if Zhao Ji wants to repay you, it's easy. The Shangsi Festival is coming, and we will meet outside the city for an outing. It would be great if we could hear a fairy song."

Shangsi Festival is commonly known as March 3rd. Before the Han Dynasty, it was set as the Si day in early March, and later fixed on the third day of the third month in the lunar calendar. It originally originated from the witchcraft activity of using orchid soup to ward off evil spirits.

Orchids were used as spiritual objects and had the characteristic of having a charming fragrance. The ancients had to fast before holding major sacrificial ceremonies, which included the best bathing method at the time, "orchid bathing."

People go to the waterside to bathe together, which is called "祓禊". Later, sacrificial banquets, spring outings in the suburbs and other activities were added. It is considered a relatively important festival.

In response, Cai Yan readily agreed: "Okay."

"Then it's a deal."

Afterwards, Wang Jing took Cai Yan to the prison to rescue the person. The two of them rode in a horse-drawn carriage, and the wooden wheels rolled over the stone road, making a crisp sound that spread farther and farther in the night.

At this time, the prison warden of Luoyang Prison received the order and respectfully led several jailers to the cell where Cai Yong was imprisoned, saying in a flattering manner, "Cai Zhonglang, good news, you are fine now."

In the single room, Cai Yong was writing a suicide note with his brush. He was stunned when he heard the words: "Is this... a mistake?"

The jailer smiled and said, "Alas, what are you talking about, Cai Zhonglang? The document has been issued, how could there be any mistakes?"

As the saying goes, it is easier to get things done if you have someone in the court. Although Wang Jing is not the nominal leader of the New Party at the moment, his father Wang Yun is. What's more, Wang Jing has tens of thousands of Northern Army soldiers under his command, and his men are strong and powerful.

Therefore, the people under him naturally acted swiftly and decisively on the matter that the father and son had agreed upon. The edict to pardon Cai Yong was written overnight, and even had Liu Xie's seal on it.

The jailer was glad that he had not offended Cai Yong these days. Now he was even more eager for this big boss to leave as soon as possible, so that nothing would happen in prison and he would be implicated.

After walking out of the prison, Cai Yong looked up at the bright moon in the sky with mixed feelings: "How come I came out alive and well?"

Just as Cai Yong was about to embark on the journey home, he suddenly sensed a murderous intent coming from behind him. The cold wind blew the branches and leaves on both sides of the street, making a rustling sound.

Cai Yong held up a pen in his hand, frowned, and stood solemnly, shouting in a cold voice: "You sneaky person, why don't you show up?"

"As expected of you, you are a master of Confucianism. In terms of martial arts cultivation, your strength is comparable to that of a master who has entered the fifth realm. Your Confucianism has been cultivated to a superb level."

Three men in black slowly emerged from the shadows. Their aura was profound and if Cai Yong had not reached the highest level of spiritual cultivation, it would have been difficult to detect their presence.

There was murderous intent in his eyes, and it was obvious that he had no good intentions.

Cai Yong was on high alert, shouting, "Who ordered you to do this? How dare you kill people right under the emperor's feet!"

The man in black sneered, "Dead man, why ask so many questions? I wanted you to die quietly in prison tonight, but I never thought you would be pardoned."

Zheng~
While they were talking, the other two men in black who had not spoken a word suddenly took action.

The three of them worked in perfect harmony. One of them used soothing and calm words to paralyze Cai Yong, distract his attention, and interfere with his perception and judgment.

The other two people who were accompanying him took the opportunity to draw their swords. They drew their swords from their sheaths, and the cold light reflected on the moonlight. The sharp edges instantly intertwined into a web of death, covering Cai Yong.

The moonlight was bright and the sword was sharp. Cai Yong was struck by the cold light and his hair stood on end. He exclaimed, "The Moon Hidden Heavenly Sword Formation? Are you assassins sent by the Hidden Sect of the Military Academy?"

The Hidden School of Military Strategists is a mysterious school of military strategists that reveres the military lord Chi You. Although it does not belong to any of the four schools of military strategists, its strength should not be underestimated.

Especially the assassins trained by the Hidden Sect, they are often elusive and hard to guard against.

In a hurry, Cai Yong quickly displayed his unique skills of spiritual cultivation.

He just picked up the brush and wrote with ink. Every stroke contained the profound swordsmanship. In an instant, the sword energy crisscrossed and turned into iron and silver hooks, colliding with the opponent's sword energy.

The swords collided with each other, and the clanging sound continued. The surrounding scenery suddenly became dazzling, and dozens of sword marks about an inch deep were carved on the solid wall.

Even trees as thick as bowls were cut in half!
The first round of joint attack from the two black-clad assassins was cleverly resolved by Cai Yong using his unique skills.

The leading black-clad man was slightly surprised, but he still calmly clapped his hands and praised: "The Feibai Sword Posture is indeed ingenious and the dynamic combination of magic skills is well-deserved. Master Cai is worthy of his reputation."

"What a pity... Without the blessing of the official spirit, how much effect can you exert even if you have the spiritual cultivation of the Grandmaster level?"

Zheng~
As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of swords rang out again.

Cai Yong was startled. Before he saw the sword coming, the wolf-hair jade brush in his hand was cut into two pieces. The wolf hair flew all over the sky, making him break out in a cold sweat.

"It cannot be seen, and it is unknown what it touches when it is moved. It is endless and passes through things without them noticing! The famous sword Han Guang, one of the three swords of the Shang Emperor!"

"Haha, you do have some knowledge."

The assassin held the hilt of the sword, and under the moonlight, the blade was faintly visible. It was the Han Guang Sword, one of the three swords of Emperor Shang, and as famous as the two famous swords handed down from generation to generation, Cheng Ying and Xiao Lian!
This sword is not only extremely sharp, but also made of a special material, transparent and colorless. The invisible sword energy it stimulates is even more difficult to defend against, making it a top-notch assassination weapon in the world.

Cai Yong used his finger as a pen, urging the power of his thoughts to transform into a dense sword energy to protect his body. He looked at the enemy with a serious expression: "The Three Swords of the Shang Emperor have disappeared since the Spring and Autumn Period. I never thought that they would fall into the hands of the Hidden Sect. I have no grudges against the military strategists, so why do you have to take my life?"

"you guess?"

Zheng~
The sharp sword energy whizzed over, invisible and intangible, yet sharp and intimidating.

The power of Han Guang is unstoppable!
Cai Yong hurriedly used the "Flying White Sword Posture". He moved his arms together, and used his fingers as pens, his thoughts as ink, and the tip of the pen turned into the tip of a sword. He used calligraphy as sword technique. In an instant, he put down the pen, turned the pen, hid the tip, hid the head, protected the tail, used quick momentum, skimming momentum, rough momentum, and horizontal scales, showing the magic of the nine postures of Feibai.

Write with force!

Follow the trend!

Hide the head and protect the tail!

The sword moves contain calligraphy techniques, and there are traces of white in the strokes, as if they were written with a dry brush, with thousands of threads connected and continuous.

The sword energy of both sides was like a violent storm. When the sword energy stopped, the ground beneath their feet was already covered with scars, with sword marks crisscrossing and stone slabs shattered. The surrounding trees suffered an unexpected disaster and were cut in half.

Cai Yong's sleeves were torn and his arms were bleeding profusely. It was obvious that he had suffered a great loss in the previous attack.

The black-clad assassin relied on his magic weapon to make it difficult for Cai Yong to resist.

Just when Cai Yong was dying, a whistling sound came from the sky, and a blazing flame tore through the night sky, brilliant and glorious, like a phoenix spreading its wings and covering the world with its feathers.

"Ok!"

The black-clad assassin holding the famous sword Han Guang immediately abandoned Cai Yong and returned his sword to defend.

There was a loud clang, and the assassin held the sword across his chest, successfully blocking the brilliant blow. However, the powerful force still caused his palm to crack, and blood gushed out. He flew back several feet before landing on the ground.

Thumb~thump~thump~
Three footprints were forcibly trampled on the stone road under his feet. Feeling the boiling blood in his body, the black-clothed assassin stared at the direction where the sword energy came from with a scorching gaze. He exhaled heavily and said, "The power of the Huangyu Lie Sword is indeed domineering."

Wang Jing and Cai Yan arrived together and rescued Cai Yong at great risk.

"Father!"

Cai Yan stepped forward to support Cai Yong, who was already unsteady on his feet, and hurriedly checked his injuries.

As for Wang Jing, he held the Hongming Knife and confronted the three assassins: "You can take my knife and survive, so you are worthy of leaving your name behind."

The assassin in black took a look at the Hongming Knife in Wang Jing's hand, knowing that it was too late to do anything, so he did not want to argue any further: "Since it is Marquis Qi in person, how dare we act rashly? See you later."

"Did I tell you to leave?"

Wang Jing attacked angrily, using his knife and sword to slash out fiercely.

Divine Feather Sword Scripture!

The divine rainbow leads the way!
He split the mountain with his sword and moved forward fearlessly. This move was extremely fierce, containing the boundless momentum of the victory of the brave when two meet in a narrow road, and it enveloped all the three assassins in black.

Faced with the surging sword force, the three of them hurriedly used the Hidden Moon Heavenly Luo Sword Formation, using a combined attack tactic to deal with this extremely ferocious sword.

However, the assassination sword technique is good at hiding and its moves are swift and fierce. Facing Wang Jing's grand and domineering sword, it is ultimately useless.

Among the three, only the assassin holding the famous sword Han Guang was able to fight his way out with the sharp and boundless sword in his hand. The other two were directly engulfed by the raging fire and burned to ashes.

Fearing that there might be other accomplices, Wang Jing did not continue to pursue them, but stayed with Cai Yong and Cai Yan to prevent anything from happening to them.

At this time, Wang Jing was also frowning. Cai Yong was assassinated. If he had not arrived early, the blame would have fallen on the New Party.

Who did this?
"Zhao Ji, let me escort you back to the mansion."

Cai Yan wanted to refuse, but if Wang Jing hadn't been there, Cai Yong would have been in danger, so she finally nodded and agreed: "Then I'll trouble you."

After sending Cai Yan and her daughter back home, Wang Jing said goodbye and left.

After some treatment, Cai Yong was out of danger, but he looked quite haggard.

Cai Yan personally fed Cai Yong medicine, but the tears on her face could not stop flowing out: "Father."

"I'm sorry for making you worried, Soji."

Cai Yong, who had just escaped from the gates of hell, was filled with emotion when he saw that the person who extended a helping hand to him was Wang Jing.

If it were not for Wang Jing, he would still be Dong Zhuo's guest of honor, holding a high position and enjoying unlimited glory.

But if Wang Jing had not worked hard for him, helped him escape from prison, and saved his life today, he would probably be a corpse by now.

Looking at his crying little daughter in his arms, Cai Yong couldn't help but feel distressed. During the time he was in prison, his daughter must have suffered a lot: "Zhao Ji, you have worked so hard these days."

Cai Yan wiped the tears from her eyes, sat up straight, and said earnestly: "Father, you should focus on writing books and biographies in the future, and don't get involved in these things anymore."

Cai Yong thought of the past few years that he could not bear to recall, and felt a little bored. He realized that he was not suitable for being an official after all, and it would be better for him to study hard.

Otherwise, who knows if I will say something wrong someday, and then will I still have the same luck as I have today?

Then Cai Yong thought of his daughter's marriage and couldn't help but sigh: "Alas, the Hedong Wei family originally intended to come to propose marriage, but it was because of your father that your life event was delayed."

Now everyone believes that Cai Yong offended Wang Yun and his political future is completely ruined. Although Cai Yan's image as a talented woman still exists, it has no appeal to the real top wealthy families.

Cai Yan didn't feel sorry about this: "Father, you don't have to do this. I don't like Wei Zhongdao anyway. Besides, this opportunity to see the true face of the Wei family may not be a bad thing."

The appearance of Wang Jing changed the life trajectories of many people. Zhang Liao did not follow Lu Bu, and Cai Yan did not marry the short-lived Wei Zhongdao. Everything began to move forward in an unknown direction.

(End of this chapter)