Having the genes of a demon king, I never intended to be a kept man.

“Four or five hundred…” Nightsong gasped. “Good heavens, such a large vampire force has infiltrated human territory so silently, without any warning from the Wall. What are the Night Watch and the Imperial Army up to?”

Xia Xiyao asked nervously, "What should we do now? Report our location to the Empire and call for reinforcements?"

Although Ye Ge and the others had their communication watches taken away, their system still had communication functions.

“No,” Night Song said. “I don’t want to contact the Empire for the time being.”

"Why?" Xia Xiyao asked, puzzled.

"Because I suspect there's a conspiracy involved."

"conspiracy?"

“Oh, I wasn’t talking about vampires. The appearance of these vampire troops was probably just an accident.” Ye Ge paused. “I was talking about Bao Bingqing.”

"What happened to Baobingqing?"

"Don't you guys think Bao Bingqing's attitude towards me is a bit too polite?"

Xia Xiyao thought for a moment: "Hmm... is it because he wants to facilitate cooperation with your Ye family?"

“Yes, that’s it.” Ye Ge said, “These past few days, although the people in Dark City haven’t made things too difficult for you, you’ve only been allowed to move around within the residential area, which is basically equivalent to being under house arrest. But I’ve been getting very close to Bao Bingqing and can move freely within Dark City. Just think about what Long Ying, Nangong Qiuyue, and Instructor Scarface will think?”

Gao Shenxue seemed to immediately realize: "They will definitely have some suspicions, thinking that you have reached some kind of deal with Bao Bingqing, and they will even think that it is related to the Dark Blood, because your Ye family controls the trade along the Great Wall border."

“Yes,” Ye Ge said calmly. “Long Ying is the ninth princess of the empire, Nangong Qiuyue is the sister of the Night Watchman’s Director, Scarface is an instructor at the War Academy, and Jiang Xiaoming and the others are also students at the War Academy… Each of their identities makes them excellent ‘witnesses’.”

"Although Bao Bingqing said he would erase their memories of the past few days before they left, think about it: what would happen if their memories weren't erased and they were allowed to return to the mainland with such suspicions?"

Gao Shenxue's expression changed: "You mean, this is a pre-planned frame-up? Bao Bingqing never intended to cooperate with your Ye family in the first place? His purpose was to frame the Ye family for being tainted by dark blood?"

Xia Xiyao also looked surprised: "Huh? This...why is this? Why would he do this?"

Night Song: "Of course it wasn't him who wanted to do it; there's someone else behind it all."

Xia Xiyao asked innocently, "Someone else? Who is it?"

Ye Ge closed her eyes, placed a finger on her forehead, and gently tapped her brow: "Let me guess..."

"If I were to put myself in their shoes, and I were the mastermind behind everything... I would have Bao Bingqing deliberately show Ye Ge special hospitality and respect in front of Long Ying and the others, take Ye Ge on a tour of Dark City, show him the factories, laboratories, and city-state construction, so that Long Ying and Nangong Qiuyue would become suspicious. But this is only the first step."

"The second step is that I will arrange for someone to claim that they are an undercover agent planted next to Bao Bingqing, and go to inform Long Ying or Nangong, so that they can confirm their suspicions."

"The third step is to spread some rumors so that Long Ying and the others will 'accidentally' hear some gossip and confirm their suspicions."

Gao Shenxue frowned.

Xia Xiyao looked completely bewildered, her eyes seemingly filled with mosquito coils, utterly confused and disoriented: "Wait...wait a minute...what is this? I still don't understand...Xiao Ye, could you say it again?"

Night Song: "..."

"Who would do such a thing?" Gao Shenxue asked seriously.

"There are quite a few people who have grudges against the Ye family," Ye Ge said. "But now, the royal family has 'reconciled' with the Ye family, and the Ye family is at the height of its power. Under these circumstances, who would dare to do something like this..."

Ye Ge paused, then gave a cold laugh: "The only one I can think of is Duke Wang En."

“Duke Wang En…” Xia Xiyao tilted her head: “Speaking of which, what grudge does this Duke Wang En have against your Ye family? Why does he insist on making trouble for you?”

"I don't know, I heard it was a feud from my grandfather's generation."

"Hmm..." Xia Xiyao thought for a moment and suggested, "Should we go and explain to Long Ying and the others now?"

“Explaining is useless; they have to believe it.” Ye Ge shrugged. “Just saying it won’t do any good.”

Xia Xiyao: "Oh..."

"Moreover, I wasn't actually finished speaking," Ye Ge said slowly. "If I were the mastermind, I could have been even more ruthless and cruel."

Gao Shenxue: "What do you mean?"

“If I were the mastermind, I would have the informant return the communication watch to Long Ying or Nangong, and have them immediately report this to the Empire and the Night Watch.” Ye Ge paused here, then his gaze darkened: “Then, I would kill them all to silence them, leaving no one alive! In the end, I would pin everything on Ye Ge.”

"Long Ying is the ninth princess of the empire, and Nangong Qiuyue is the sister of the Night Watchman's chief."

"What if those two are silenced because they 'discovered' Ye Ge's deal with Bao Bingqing..."

Gao Shenxue's expression turned grave. He continued, "Then the empire will inevitably be left with only one path: a complete break with the Ye family. War between the royal family and the Ye family will be unavoidable, and no one can stop it..."

“That’s right, Xue’er is smart.”

"..."

"Ruthless, truly ruthless." Ye Ge sighed, saying slowly, "The person who devised this scheme is a truly treacherous, cunning, despicable, and shameless bastard..."

"..."

Gao Shenxue paused for a moment, then said, "If everything is as you predict, how do you plan to break this deadlock?"

Ye Ge smiled and said, "Perhaps I don't even need to break this situation."

Gao Shenxue: "What do you mean?"

“I don’t think Princess Longying is that stupid… right?” Ye Ge stroked his chin and pondered, “She’s a person with an intelligence score of 11, after all. If she can’t even think of this kind of scheme, then she’s wasted.”

Gao Shenxue thought for a moment and then asked, "What if they choose Nangong Qiuyue as the target of their instigation?"

“That makes it even simpler,” Night Song said. “There’s a saying you might have heard before.”

"What?"

"Idiots beat experts."

"?"

(picture)