Chapter 47: Pay Me Back

On the whole, Niu Youdao considered himself a fairly magnanimous man. It was not as though he had never endured humiliation and simply let it pass. But on certain matters, he could also be remarkably petty.

This was one of them.

Feng Ruonan had tried to kill him. Yuan Gang stepping in to stop her was perfectly reasonable. Yuan Gang had even been restrained, merely blocking her without doing anything more. There was nothing wrong with the old man coming out to mediate either. But there had been no need to slip in such a vicious hidden blow.

The man had called himself an "old servant." Clearly, he was a subordinate protecting his young mistress and standing up for her. Niu Youdao could understand the sentiment.

But Niu Youdao was not someone who simply swallowed whatever was handed to him. When he had asked whether the old man was tired of living, it had not been empty talk.

He could easily have used the matter of the hundred thousand Crow Generals to pressure Feng Lingbo into punishing the old man. At the very least, he could have forced an apology and made the old man lose face in front of everyone. But with the larger matter still unresolved, Niu Youdao did not want unnecessary complications. So he chose to yield for now. As for an apology, he did not need one.

He would remember this.

The small interlude seemed to have passed, but Feng Ruonan, still straining against the force restraining her, was not finished.

"Mother, I won't marry him! If I marry, I'll marry a man who can stand tall between Heaven and Earth. I will never marry a cowardly rat like Shang Chaozong who only knows how to cling to life!"

That made Niu Youdao unhappy.

How could he let this woman ruin the entire affair? Did she think she could simply refuse because she wanted to?

In any case, she was restrained and could neither move nor bite anyone. Niu Youdao walked up to her and asked in astonishment, "General, what makes you say that? Is there another man beneath Heaven who stands taller between Heaven and Earth than my prince?"

With one sentence, he had casually trampled every other man in the world beneath Shang Chaozong's feet. The men present were left rather speechless. Of course, none of them took the claim seriously. The corner of Feng Lingbo's mouth twitched.

Praise Shang Chaozong if you like, he thought. Is there really any need to belittle every other man along with him?

Niu Youdao had already disgusted even himself with the line. He certainly did not care what the other men thought.

"Fart!" Feng Ruonan spat at him crudely.

Peng Yulan looked somewhat embarrassed.

Her daughter might be a general, but she was still a young woman. Niu Youdao ignored the vulgarity. It was not as though he was the one marrying her.

Instead he raised his voice and demanded, "Has the general ever met my prince? How much do you actually know about him? If you have neither met nor understood him, on what grounds do you call him a cowardly rat clinging to life?"

Feng Ruonan spat, "Bah! Why would I want to meet him? Tell him to roll as far away as he can. Better yet, tell him never to appear before me. If I see him, I'll stab him dead with one spear! And you, you dog thief, you heartless, rotten dog thief..."

A torrent of abuse followed.

Being cursed a few times would not cost him a piece of flesh. Niu Youdao understood the feelings of someone making a last desperate struggle and did not bother taking offense. Then he suddenly shouted, drowning out Feng Ruonan's tirade.

"General, your judgment of His Highness is far too arbitrary! Do you know what it feels like to spend years locked inside the Imperial Prison? Worse, to face interrogation and torture every single day? After years of that, how many men beneath Heaven could rather die than yield and refuse to open their mouths? Of all the men I know, there is only my prince!"

He swept his gaze over the room and raised a thumb.

"To endure suffering without bending, with iron bones and an unyielding spine—that is a true man. That is a true hero! Facts speak for themselves, and time proves the truth. Such a man cannot be compared with those so-called heroes who only talk a good game!"

Then he turned back to Feng Ruonan.

"Does the general know what happened outside the gates of the capital? The gate commander deliberately humiliated His Highness. His Highness had only just emerged from prison, his body emaciated and sickly, yet before everyone present he drew his saber and cut that commander down on the spot! Beneath the Son of Heaven's very feet, how many people in this world would dare kill a gate commander without fear of death?"

He abruptly shouted the last question directly at Feng Ruonan.

"General, would you dare?"

Then he turned and challenged everyone else.

"Of all those present, who would dare do the same? If anyone would, step forward and let us see!"

His gaze landed directly on Feng Lingbo.

"Would the Commandery Governor dare?"

Feng Lingbo nearly rolled his eyes. He wanted to say that Shang Chaozong had probably dared precisely because he was certain the present emperor had no intention of killing him yet. Niu Youdao, however, had already turned back to Feng Ruonan and raised his thumb again.

"That is a hot-blooded man. That is a true man who stands tall between Heaven and Earth! Not some imaginary hero the general has invented in her own head. Imagination is useless. The facts are right in front of you. Why pretend not to see them? Why discard what is near and real to chase some distant fantasy?"

For a moment, Feng Ruonan was actually thrown off by his torrent of words and failed to find a way around the argument. Niu Youdao turned and walked up to Peng Yulan.

"My prince is a hereditary noble. His father, Prince Ning, shook the realm with his name. Even the present emperor feared him to some degree. His Highness may have been stripped of his princely title, but he is still a proper Commandery Prince. If your honored daughter marries His Highness, she will become his lawful principal wife—a Princess Consort in her own right. How many women beneath Heaven can enjoy such dazzling rank and honor? With the four words 'son of Prince Ning' alone, could His Highness possibly be beneath your daughter? These words come from the bottom of my heart. I hope Madam will judge them fairly!"

Princess Consort?

The title flashed through Peng Yulan's mind. She gave Feng Lingbo a sidelong glance, then waved toward the old man.

"Take her away for now and keep watch over her."

The old man immediately pushed Feng Ruonan by the shoulder and led her out. Feng Ruonan finally came back to herself, but her body was not under her own control.

She twisted her head around and shouted, "Mother, I won't marry! I won't marry him! That villain is a swindler! A swindler! How can you believe anything a swindler says? Mother... Niu Youdao, pay me back! Pay me back..."

She vanished from sight, but her demands for repayment continued echoing down the corridor. Yuan Gang stood expressionless, though his brows moved twice. Peng Yulan found that odd as well.

She asked Niu Youdao, "What is this about paying her back?"

Now that was awkward.

Niu Youdao laughed cheerfully.

"Your honored daughter and I are old acquaintances, as it happens. Years ago, when I was still young and had not yet entered the Shangqing Sect, I was drifting downstream while seeking my path and happened to meet her. She nearly shot me dead with an arrow. Afterward, she kindly gave me an inscribed token and told me to come seek her in the future if I ever needed somewhere to go. As for the money... well, it's embarrassing. My purse was somewhat light, somewhat light. I borrowed a little from your honored daughter. I'll repay it later. I certainly will!"

He deliberately blurred the details.

Peng Yulan suddenly understood.

She seemed to remember hearing something about a chance meeting on a river years ago. She had never heard anything about borrowed money, but how much could a destitute young man possibly have borrowed?

Feng Lingbo cut in.

"Enough. Stop talking about useless things. Let's discuss the real matter. If you cannot produce what is written on that gift list, why should I marry my daughter to Shang Chaozong?"

The fact that he could say such a thing at all meant that he already believed the hundred thousand Crow Generals existed. Niu Youdao pointed into the distance.

"The thing lies within His Highness's fief, in Canglu County of Qingshan Commandery. That is precisely the hidden reason the present emperor is forcing His Highness to return to Canglu County!"

Feng Lingbo narrowed his eyes.

"If the present emperor already knows where it is, would he really wait for me to go take it?"

Niu Youdao replied, "If it were so easy to find, His Highness would have died inside the Imperial Prison long ago. Why would he still be alive today? This matter is no small thing. When Prince Ning refined those Crow Generals, the secrecy involved can easily be imagined. Even after His Highness reaches Canglu County, he will still have to search slowly."

Feng Lingbo said, "If even he has to search slowly, what use do I have for him? I can go search myself—"

He stopped halfway through.

Niu Youdao was looking at him with a smile that was not quite a smile.

Feng Lingbo fell silent.

The man had already made the point earlier. Shut Shang Chaozong out and try searching alone, and the matter of the hundred thousand Crow Generals would immediately be exposed to the entire world. That was a consequence Feng Lingbo could not bear. After thinking for a moment, he changed tack.

"If I truly agree to this marriage alliance, the moment I send troops into Canglu County, the present emperor will probably realize I already know this secret!"

Niu Youdao spread his hands.

"So what? The present chaos within and beyond Great Yan was created by his own hand. Does he dare openly break with the Commandery Governor now? If he did, he would have removed you long ago. Is he not afraid of outside enemies seizing the opportunity to invade amid internal disorder? He cannot make this matter public either. If the surrounding states learn that Great Yan contains something like the hundred thousand Crow Generals, the inevitable result will be a combined attack from every direction. Great Yan would perish! And once the present emperor knows the Commandery Governor already holds this secret in his hands, he will instead become wary of driving you too far. With that leverage in your grasp, Guangyi Commandery becomes more secure, not less. At the very least, the imperial court will not dare attack you lightly. This is a matter that achieves two gains with one move. There is no need for the Commandery Governor to hesitate. You should decide quickly!"

Feng Lingbo stroked his short beard and fell into thought. Peng Yulan poured cold water over the argument.

"'Son of Prince Ning' sounds impressive enough, but don't tell me you know nothing of Prince Ning's extreme views while he was alive. Cultivators beneath Heaven all resented Prince Ning. If the Tianyu Sect accepts his son, where does that leave us?"

Niu Youdao turned toward her at once, as though newly filled with energy, and countered without hesitation.

"Madam is a heroine among women. Why speak with the narrow view of an ordinary housewife? Was Prince Ning a fool? A famous general who had survived countless battlefields—would such a man casually place himself in a losing position? Even if he truly held such extreme ideas, under ordinary circumstances would Madam believe Prince Ning would proclaim them openly? Outsiders may not understand, but my prince was inside the matter and understands its causes very well. Madam need only think carefully about what happened at the time. The late emperor clearly favored Prince Ning. In the eyes of many, Prince Ning succeeding to the throne was already nearly certain. Yet precisely then, the claim suddenly appeared that Prince Ning intended to oppose all cultivators beneath Heaven. Does Madam not find that suspicious? Afterward, the late emperor first came under enormous pressure. I imagine the Tianyu Sect was among those applying it. Then the late emperor suddenly passed away without any warning. His death itself was suspicious. Immediately afterward came a posthumous edict passing the throne to the present emperor, and the entire situation reversed. Who ultimately benefited? There may be no hard evidence, but anyone who isn't a fool can guess who engineered the whole affair."

Niu Youdao turned and swept his gaze across the cultivators in the hall. He assumed they were all Tianyu Sect disciples.

"The father's position does not mean the son must inherit it. Even if human hearts are difficult to read, we can set that aside for now. So long as the Tianyu Sect is willing to accept Commandery Prince Yongping, you need only announce publicly that he has abandoned his father's position. Whether others believe it or not, the Tianyu Sect's strength is there for all to see. No one will fight the Tianyu Sect to mutual destruction over a prince whose glory has already faded. It simply would not be worth the price. The only real concern is that the present emperor might mobilize the cultivation sects within the State of Yan to jointly pressure the Tianyu Sect. But once the Tianyu Sect has the leverage of the hundred thousand Crow Generals in its hands, the present emperor cannot bear the consequences of that secret being exposed. Would he dare push the Tianyu Sect so far? So Madam's concern is, in truth, no concern at all!"

He flicked his sleeve, looking as though the matter were genuinely beneath consideration. Then he turned back toward Feng Lingbo.

"There is another advantage. The Commandery Governor can use this opportunity to test whether the hundred thousand Crow Generals are real. If the present emperor dares mobilize an army against Guangyi Commandery and rally the sects to force the Tianyu Sect's hand, then the hundred thousand Crow Generals are certainly nothing but a fabricated story. At that point, the Commandery Governor may abandon His Highness whenever he likes. Even if you kill him, we will have no grounds for complaint. But if the emperor does not dare... Then I imagine there is no need for me to explain his concerns any further."

Niu Youdao cupped his hands toward husband and wife.

"My prince's sincerity in wishing to marry your honored daughter is genuine. I hope the Commandery Governor and Madam will grant the marriage!"

[End of Chapter 47]