High Martial Arts Three Kingdoms: The Incompetent Strategist

"No need, don't come in and disturb my good time." Tang Ke's voice was urgent and forceful, even a little breathless.

The madam understood immediately and said with a smile, "Then please take it easy, sir. Just let me know if you need anything. I'll take my leave now."

The people facing off inside the room, who were extremely tense, were both amused and exasperated by her antics, and they all stopped fighting.

"Why don't you leave?" After a long silence between the two, Tang Ke finally couldn't help but speak.

Dong Ruyun sneered, her eyes blazing: "All land under heaven belongs to the king. We assassinated the tyrannical emperor, and the entire opera troupe is wiped out except for me. Where in the world can I find refuge? Where can I go?"

Upon hearing this, Tang Ke's thoughts were complicated: "If I had known this would happen, why did I insist on going against the imperial court?"

"When officials force the people to rebel, the people have no choice but to rebel. You have been in the Taiping Dao for many years, working tirelessly to fight against the imperial court. Don't you understand?"

After a moment of silence, Tang Ke sighed and said, "I have long since left the Way of Peace. What you want to do is none of my business. Tell me, why did you bring me here? Let me make it clear first, I don't have the ability to save Ma Yuanyi."

“He was prepared to die before he went, so there’s no need to worry. We’ve already seen your letter forged by Zhang Rang. We have the same goal; we just want you to do us a favor.”

"You know that I was the one who delivered Feng Xu's reply?"

"Of course, otherwise do you think we've lost our minds? Do you think we'd let such a big matter be led by the nose by a letter from an unknown source? You want to get rid of the Ten Attendants, we have the same goal."

Tang Ke suddenly realized that Ma Yuanyi and his group were simply putting themselves into the game. They would take advantage of this opportunity to assassinate Emperor Ling of Han. If they succeeded, it would greatly benefit the uprising that was about to begin. Even if they failed, they could take the opportunity to get rid of Zhang Rang, the notorious leader of the Ten Attendants.

"So what else do you want me to do? If you just want to get rid of the Ten Attendants, Zhang Rang will be finished once Ma Yuanyi hands over that letter."

Dong Ruyun chuckled and said, "It's not that simple. You can't even imagine how much Emperor Ling of Han trusted the Ten Attendants. Trying to bring down Zhang Rang with just a letter from an unknown source is just wishful thinking. I wonder which genius came up with this terrible idea."

Tang Ke couldn't help but blush. He hadn't hoped the plan would succeed in the first place, but being attacked so directly still made him feel a little embarrassed.

“This letter is with us now. Since you can find someone to imitate his handwriting, you can probably also find a way to stamp it with his seal. Then bury this letter in his yard. That way, his treason will be confirmed, and he won’t be able to clear his name no matter what.”

Dong Ruyun took the letter out from her sleeve and placed it on the tea table.

Tang Ke asked doubtfully, "You should know that I have fallen out with the Taiping Dao. Right now, there are Imperial Guards outside. Aren't you afraid I'll call them in to arrest people?"

"Then I can only blame my bad luck in entrusting myself to the wrong person!" Dong Ruyun exaggeratedly lay down on the table and made a crying gesture.

"Hey, that's enough! I feel like I'm the victim now! Who knows what you did to me after you got me drunk? Now you've made me a suspect too. If it weren't for Her Majesty the Empress vouching for me, I would be undergoing all sorts of torture by the cruel officials of the Han Dynasty right now, along with your accomplice."

Dong Ruyun gestured exaggeratedly with her hands: "Then when you die, I will erect a monument for you, inscribed with the words 'Tomb of Tang Ke, husband of Dong Ruyun, a believer of the Way of Peace'."

"Thank you!" Tang Ke put the letter into his pocket, turned around and was about to leave. According to the normal timeline, He Jin and others would agree to Ma Yuanyi opening the city gates in two days. They had to steal Zhang Rang's seal and hide the letter within nine days, so there wasn't much time.

Dong Ruyun grabbed his hand and pulled him back to sit down. Tang Ke frowned and said, "What, you still want a night of passion at a time of crisis?"

"Get out of here. If you go out now, you'll inevitably arouse suspicion. Rest here for a while. Senior Sister Zhang Chu has gone to Zhang Rang's residence to investigate several times. Let me tell you the details first."

"So Zhang Chu, that freak, failed to steal the seal, and now you want me to do it?" Tang Keteng suddenly stood up. "How about we change our approach? Let's not get Zhang Rang involved. I don't think Feng Xu is any better. Why don't we take care of him instead?"

Dong Ruyun was both amused and exasperated: "Are you out of your mind? Feng Xu is a member of our Taiping Dao."

"Hmm~" He was about to speak when Dong Ruyun pulled him into her arms...

"General Cao, why hasn't our Lord Tang come out yet after being inside for so long? Is he really that capable?"

"How would I know? Ask him yourself later!" Cao Hong replied irritably. He was very unhappy with the treatment he received while Tang Ke was enjoying himself inside, while he was left out in the cold.

Too expensive! Otherwise, I'd rather go in and have some fun.

Just as he was calculating in his mind how much money he should spend to go in and have fun, he finally saw the madam accompanying Tang Ke as they slowly walked out of the store.

"Ziyou, how was it? Did you find anything?" Cao Hong wanted to slap himself twice after asking the question. His question was completely unnecessary. If he hadn't found anything, would he have played from noon until sunset?

"Hmm? Not bad, we've got an important lead!" Tang Ke mounted his horse, pointed at Cao Hong, and said to the madam, "This gentleman is in charge of settling the bill."

After saying that, he spurred his horse and rode away, leaving Cao Hong standing there in a daze.

Amidst the swirling dust, Cao Hong finally snapped out of his daze, staring at the smiling madam.

"You beast! I didn't even dare to go in to play, no, I didn't even dare to go in to investigate clues."

Tang Ke galloped for more than two miles before reining in his horse and slowing down when he saw that no imperial guards were following. He felt that something was amiss.

Dong Ruyun must be hiding something. Eliminating Zhang Rang would not benefit the Taiping Dao. If the Taiping Dao really wanted to overthrow the court, it should have let it decay instead of trying to cure it.

Judging from Feng Xu's efforts to stop their assassination attempt, he doesn't seem to be part of their group, or at least he doesn't support them doing so.

"Ziyou, Ziyou, stop! You're really not being fair. I didn't even dare to go in and play myself, and you spent hundreds of taels of silver. You have to pay me back."

Cao Hong finally caught up and leaped to block Tang Ke's horse, extending his hand impatiently to demand money.

Tang Ke slapped his hand without any politeness: "Play? How dare you say that? Do you know how hard it is for me to sacrifice my body to find clues in those brothels?"

"Bullshit, I already asked. The madam said you went in and went straight to the attic, where you spent several hours making love with their most popular girl. You beast!"

"That's why I said you're shallow," Tang Ke reprimanded seriously. "Look at us, we've been searching like headless flies all day, what progress have we made? I've sold my body to find inspiration in this lowly place. Look, I'm already brimming with ideas and have figured out how to handle this!"