Chapter 49: I'm Marrying Feng Ruonan?

After Peng Yulan left, Feng Lingbo paced the room for a while in thought before turning and calling, "Someone!"

A servant entered.

Feng Lingbo pointed at the secret letter on the desk. "Take this to Niu Youdao."

"Yes!"

The servant picked up the letter and left. For the time being, Niu Youdao had been lodged in a guest courtyard of the Commandery Governor's residence, under watch. By lamplight, Niu Youdao read the secret letter back and forth several times.

Wang Heng?

He had no idea who Wang Heng was. He neither knew the man nor had ever heard the name before. But from the part about escorting him back to the capital, it was not difficult to guess who wanted him harmed. Other than the Song clan, he had offended no one in the capital. That much was nothing. He had expected the Song clan to retaliate and was not surprised.

What interested him was Feng Lingbo showing him the letter in the first place. There were many implications behind the gesture, and naturally an element of intimidation among them.

"Looks like the Song clan already knows. It seems Tang Susu failed to fool them. That old woman has probably picked up a stone only to smash her own foot."

Niu Youdao casually handed the secret letter to Yuan Gang beside him.

After reading it several times, Yuan Gang asked, "Who's Wang Heng?"

Niu Youdao shook his head slightly. "Don't know. He must have some connection to the Song clan. Anyone who can send Feng Lingbo a message in that tone probably holds no small position. Ask around casually and we should be able to find out who he is."

Yuan Gang fell silent for a while, then suddenly ventured, "If the Song clan retaliates against the Shangqing Sect, could Tang Yi get dragged into it?"

Niu Youdao lowered his eyelids.

"Does that matter?"

Yuan Gang went quiet.

He said nothing more and held the paper over the candle flame until it burned... Night in the mountains was particularly desolate.

White mourning banners tied to bamboo poles drifted gently in the wind. Bonfires burned beside the rows of fresh graves. Shang Shuqing sat on the ground playing the qin, its mournful notes carrying sorrow. The dead were gone. The music was an offering to remember and mourn them.

Shang Chaozong stood nearby with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing into the indistinct landscape beneath the moonlight. Countless thoughts churned in his heart.

He remembered the days when his household had stood at the height of glory. In the blink of an eye, everything had fallen to this. Now they wandered like homeless dogs, never knowing when disaster might strike.

Those years inside the dark Imperial Prison had carved themselves into his bones. At times they still returned like nightmares. All those sudden changes and misfortunes had already come crashing over him.

He did not hate anyone.

If he blamed anyone, he blamed only himself for being incapable. More than anything, he felt lost—a drifting uncertainty about the road ahead. His younger sister sat before him playing the qin.

She was extraordinarily intelligent, gentle and virtuous, well read and accomplished. Qin, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and song—there was little she did not know. Yet life itself had forcibly tempered her into someone strong and courageous.

She had once been the sheltered daughter of a great household, accustomed to books and fine ink in her hands. Now a treasured sword hung at her waist as she endured a wandering life on horseback among men.

She never feared hardship.

She had never voiced a single complaint. Instead, she was often the one comforting and encouraging him, her elder brother.

Leaving aside the ugly birthmark on her face, by every other measure she should have been the sort of good woman men might search the world and never find.

Yet because he, her elder brother, lacked the ability to shoulder the burden, her life had been delayed and sacrificed. He felt ashamed before the spirits of their parents.

Then he looked at the personal guards scattered openly and secretly through the surrounding woods, keeping watch for him. Every one of them was a veteran of the battlefield.

Even though they could see no future and no light ahead, they had still left their families behind and followed him, staking everything on some unknown tomorrow. He knew perfectly well this loyalty was largely the legacy his father had left him. That only made him more uneasy.

He feared failing these men.

He had no idea where he could lead them. All he could do was keep telling himself:

Forward.

Forward!

Yet the future remained bleak.

Following Niu Youdao's instructions and putting on this show here did nothing to ease his heart. Niu Youdao's ambiguous, half-revealed way of doing things left him with no sense of security at all.

The night was long.

Looking up at the dark sky, Shang Chaozong found himself longing each night for dawn to come...

The night passed.

Morning light broke across the horizon.

Inside a rough shelter beside the graves, Shang Chaozong was dozing fully dressed, leaning at an angle. A burst of hurried footsteps made him snap awake. His hand instinctively seized the saber beside him. He looked up and saw one of his own men.

The personal guard cupped his hands. "Your Highness, several people have arrived outside the temple. They say they're from the residence of the Commandery Governor of Guangyi Commandery, and that the cultivator arranged for them to come."

Niu Youdao had brought them over?

Shang Chaozong's spirits immediately rose.

Before leaving, Niu Youdao had told them to delay here for several days if possible. Yet only a single day had passed and there was already news.

Shang Chaozong surged to his feet, only for one leg, numb from being folded too long, to nearly give way beneath him. He stamped hard several times to restore circulation before striding out. Before long, Shang Chaozong, Lan Ruoting, and Shang Shuqing led a group rapidly up the mountain.

The only reason they had all been staying below beside the graves instead of in the temple was because Niu Youdao had told them to put on a show of mourning the dead.

Following his instructions was really no more than treating a dead horse as though it might still be cured. Shounian stood outside Nanshan Temple's gate with four men waiting behind him. Seeing Shang Chaozong and the others approach from below, he was secretly puzzled. There were perfectly good buildings here. Why had they chosen to sleep in the woods?

Because Shang Shuqing had spent much of her youth secluded at home as a woman, she did not recognize Shounian. Shang Chaozong and Lan Ruoting did.

When Prince Ning was alive and commanding the armies of the State of Yan, Guangyi Commandery would send gifts during important festivals. The person who most often came on Feng Lingbo's behalf had been the Feng household's steward, Shounian—the very man before them.

Both men were surprised.

Feng Lingbo's own steward had actually come in person.

When they arrived, Shounian smiled, cupped his hands around his sword, and said, "This old servant greets Your Highness and Mr. Lan. This must be the Commandery Princess. This old servant offers his respects."

Shang Shuqing returned the courtesy gracefully. Shang Chaozong and Lan Ruoting merely cupped their fists in acknowledgment.

Lowering his hands, Lan Ruoting smiled. "Brother Shou, many years have passed, yet your bearing is unchanged."

Shounian inclined his head with a mild smile. "Mr. Lan flatters me."

Lan Ruoting asked, "Brother Shou, did Niu Youdao ask you to come?"

Shounian nodded. "I was ordered to come protect Your Highness."

Then doubt entered his expression.

"Was Niu Youdao not sent by Your Highness to meet the Commandery Governor?"

"Ah... yes, yes, of course."

Lan Ruoting laughed and nodded, answering vaguely. Niu Youdao's way of doing things was truly exasperating.

He never explained anything clearly.

They had no idea what he had discussed with Feng Lingbo, how he had discussed it, or what result he had actually achieved. One careless answer might ruin everything. They had found it almost impossible to believe Feng Lingbo would lend troops to Shang Chaozong. Yet judging from Shounian's presence here, Niu Youdao seemed actually to have succeeded.

Was that possible?

Had Feng Lingbo truly dared involve himself in this matter? Most maddening of all, Niu Youdao had not returned himself and had not even sent anyone who knew the situation to explain it. They barely knew what questions they could safely ask.

Shounian said, "Niu Youdao is temporarily staying at the Commandery Governor's residence awaiting Your Highness. Your Highness, this wilderness is dangerous and unsuitable for a long stay. Please return with this old servant to the commandery capital first. The Commandery Governor's escort force is already on the road. We should meet them along the way."

He extended a hand in invitation. This put Shang Chaozong's side in an awkward position. They had no idea whether leaving was the right thing to do.

Lan Ruoting thought briefly and was just about to probe for more information when someone came running up from below. It was one of the personal guards Niu Youdao had sent back with a message. Lan Ruoting and the others immediately brightened. They asked Shounian to wait a moment, then pulled the travel-worn guard aside.

Lan Ruoting could hardly wait.

"Did the cultivator send word?"

The personal guard nodded repeatedly. "The cultivator said the major affair looks promising—nine chances out of ten. He told Your Highness and the others to return with the people from Guangyi Commandery. For now, he isn't in a position to come here himself and is waiting for Your Highness in the commandery capital."

Nine chances out of ten?

The three were instantly invigorated.

Had he really borrowed the troops? It was almost impossible to believe. Heavens, what exactly had Niu Youdao done? Bright light flashed repeatedly through Shang Shuqing's eyes beneath her veil.

Shang Chaozong struck one fist into his palm in excitement, as though a beam of light had suddenly appeared in the darkness.

Lan Ruoting, greatly encouraged, asked with concern, "Is the cultivator all right? Nothing unexpected happened to him?"

"The cultivator is fine. The marriage proposal is going very smoothly."

"Uh..."

Lan Ruoting froze and blinked, wondering whether he had heard incorrectly.

"Marriage proposal?" Shang Chaozong asked suspiciously. "Whose marriage?"

Shang Shuqing looked equally startled beneath her veil.

Had he really said marriage?

The personal guard asked in confusion, "Isn't Your Highness going to marry the daughter of the Commandery Governor of Guangyi Commandery?"

He had assumed everything Niu Youdao was doing had been arranged by Shang Chaozong. But judging from the reactions of the prince and the others, that did not seem to be the case. Shang Chaozong pointed at himself incredulously.

"This prince is marrying Feng Lingbo's daughter?"

The guard nodded blankly, the look in his eyes almost asking, Aren't you?

Shang Chaozong asked again, "The cultivator said that?"

"The cultivator has already done it. The betrothal gifts have been delivered to the Feng family, and it was publicly announced that Your Highness intends to marry Feng Lingbo's daughter."

Shang Shuqing and Lan Ruoting looked at one another. Why did this suddenly feel so chaotic?

Shang Chaozong asked again in disbelief, "I'm marrying Feng Lingbo's daughter? Which daughter of Feng Lingbo am I marrying?"

The guard realized the problem might be much larger than he had thought.

He answered hesitantly, "Your Highness, does Feng Lingbo have several daughters? Of course... of course it's..."

He remembered the scene outside the Commandery Governor's residence when they had been guarding the betrothal gifts. Feng Ruonan had stormed over in fury.

After the men saw what she looked like with their own eyes, they had even privately sighed on the prince's behalf.

"Feng Ruonan?" Shang Chaozong's eyes widened. "I'm marrying Feng Ruonan?"

Borrowing troops had somehow turned into marrying Feng Ruonan?

He stared blankly.

"How is that possible? This 'major affair looks promising, nine chances out of ten'—you mean the marriage?"

"..."

The personal guard had nothing to say.

He slowly nodded.

Yes.

Shang Shuqing and Lan Ruoting were somewhat stupefied as well.

Marry Feng Ruonan?

That somehow sounded even less plausible than borrowing troops from Feng Lingbo. Why would Feng Lingbo marry away his own daughter, one of Guangyi Commandery's principal generals, to Shang Chaozong? Lan Ruoting pointed at the guard.

"Tell us exactly what happened. Start from the beginning and leave nothing out."

"When we reached Guangyi Commandery, we first stayed at an inn. The cultivator immediately ordered us to investigate where Feng Lingbo and Feng Ruonan were..."

The guard recounted everything in detail. How they had gathered information after reaching the commandery capital. How Niu Youdao went to the military camp. How he somehow came back from the camp with a chest of gold coins.

How they had then purchased betrothal gifts on a grand scale and delivered them to the Commandery Governor's residence. How Yuan Gang had publicly announced the happy news. How Yuan Gang and Niu Youdao entered the residence and afterward passed messages back out. By the time the three had heard the entire story, they were completely speechless. What part of any of this looked like an attempt to borrow troops?

Judging from the rhythm of events from the moment Niu Youdao entered the commandery capital, he had plainly gone there from the start to propose a marriage.

"Utter nonsense!"

Shang Chaozong finally exploded.

His face alternated between red and pale with anger.

[End of Chapter 49]