Chapter 65: Farewell

Niu Youdao knew Yuan Gang carried a certain attachment within him, a mark left by the intense collective life he had once lived and an experience Yuan Gang took pride in. At times that attachment could seem stubbornly old-fashioned, but Niu Youdao did not consider it a bad thing. On the contrary, he regarded it as precious, perhaps the most valuable thing Yuan Gang possessed, and he was willing to help him preserve it. He did not want it slowly eroded and changed simply because Yuan Gang followed him.

Do enough things that leave your conscience uneasy, and sooner or later you stop caring. Niu Youdao did not want to see Yuan Gang become another version of himself. That was why he protected that part of him.

Put plainly, Niu Youdao had never intended to submit himself to the Shang siblings in the first place. Winning his wholehearted loyalty would not be so easy.

Shang Shuqing hesitated, wanting very much to say what he had done was wrong. But she was an exceptionally sensitive and perceptive woman, and she sensed a deeper meaning beneath his question. She wavered. Niu Youdao, however, pressed her again, almost forcing an answer.

"Does the Commandery Princess believe I was wrong?"

Faced with him, Shang Shuqing ultimately yielded.

"Master Dao wasn't wrong. You did it for my brother and me."

Niu Youdao was almost speechless. He would rather she had stood firm. Then both sides could have declared their accounts settled, severed all ties, and he could have taken Yuan Gang and walked away on the spot. Instead, he had the strange feeling that the two brothers had been caught by this woman.

It had been the same at Nanshan Temple. She had been the one who kept them there. It was as though the two of them were steel forged a hundred times, only to soften in her hands into something that could wind around a finger. They could neither stay hard nor quite turn soft. Women are more troublesome than men, Niu Youdao muttered inwardly. He spread his hands.

"If that's the case, is there any need to keep asking?"

Shang Shuqing sighed inwardly, then changed her phrasing.

"Feng Ruonan already knows someone drugged her. How is my brother supposed to live with her after this?"

Niu Youdao brightened at once. He plucked the flower from behind his ear and held it beneath his nose.

"Commandery Princess, you worry too much. So long as the main direction doesn't go astray, that's enough. How His Highness gets along with his wife is his own business. If it's a blessing, His Highness enjoys it. If it's suffering, His Highness endures it. Why should we care that much? Where in this world does everything go exactly as one wishes? Everyone runs into a few rough patches sooner or later. Isn't that so?"

He had never thought there was anything terribly wrong with Shang Chaozong getting beaten by his own wife anyway. It was not Niu Youdao taking the beating. Shang Shuqing was silent for a moment, then smiled helplessly.

"Master Dao, if word of this gets out, how is my brother supposed to face people?"

Niu Youdao asked, "Would anyone on our side spread it?"

"Of course not."

Niu Youdao opened both hands.

"Then do you think the Feng family will spread it after they learn what happened? Feng Ruonan is strong-willed. Rest assured, at most she'll think of some way to get revenge. She won't publicize this, not one word. We won't say anything. The Feng family won't say anything. Feng Ruonan herself can't afford that humiliation, so she won't say anything either. What is there to worry about? And even taking ten thousand steps back, suppose it somehow leaks. It's private amusement between husband and wife. They can make whatever trouble they like in their own bedchamber. What business is it of anyone else? Even if His Highness drugs her a few more times, who can interfere? Not even the Heavenly King himself has that right. Does the Commandery Princess really need to worry about His Highness losing face over this?"

Shang Shuqing sighed softly. She suddenly felt rather foolish for coming. Something she had regarded as terribly serious did not seem to count as anything at all in this man's eyes. There had been no need to bring it up. Saying it changed nothing. He had done it and simply did not care. She dropped the subject and let her gaze fall on the half sack of soybeans.

"Master Dao, what are you doing with all these soybeans?"

"Ha. Yuan Gang got greedy and wants me to make him something good to eat."

Niu Youdao pointed first at Yuan Gang, then at the soybeans.

"Another day I'll make something new. I'll invite the Commandery Princess to taste it too."

What could possibly be made from soybeans? Steam them? Boil them? Stew them with meat? Roast them for snacks?

Shang Shuqing considered the "something new" he had mentioned, then nodded.

"All right. Then I have good fortune in food to look forward to. Another day, I'll see what Master Dao's cooking is like."

"I guarantee the Commandery Princess will be satisfied!"

Niu Youdao agreed readily, then turned toward Yuan Gang.

"If you want good food in the future, keep your eyes open. Pay attention to seasonings and gather whatever you find."

After living in this world for several years, Niu Youdao had noticed that its range of seasonings was rather limited. Naturally, that was connected to the relatively simple cooking methods here. Yuan Gang nodded. Speaking of food inevitably led to breakfast. Shang Chaozong and Shang Shuqing, Lan Ruoting, Niu Youdao, and Yuan Gang usually ate together. Once they had all sat down, Niu Youdao could not resist teasing Shang Chaozong at the head of the table.

"Your Highness, how did your face end up bruised and swollen like that?"

Shang Chaozong had originally been supposed to visit the Feng Residence with Feng Ruonan that morning, but after being beaten into this state, he was too embarrassed to show himself. He had made an excuse, claiming he felt slightly unwell. The Feng family had been very understanding and sent back word telling him to rest properly. Shang Chaozong rolled his eyes.

"Master Dao, why ask when you already know?"

Niu Youdao grinned.

"Something seems missing. Why isn't the Princess Consort taking breakfast with us?"

Aside from Yuan Gang, whose face remained expressionless, and Shang Chaozong, who looked miserable, the others could barely suppress their amusement. While they were still eating, a personal guard came from outside and called Lan Ruoting away for a moment.

When Lan Ruoting returned and sat down, he said to Niu Youdao, "Master Dao, that Yuan Fang borrowed a set of clothes from one of the personal guards."

"Clothes?"

Niu Youdao looked up from the flatbread he was biting into.

"What does he need clothes for?"

Lan Ruoting replied, "He said Brother Yuan's fists and feet ruined several of the changes of clothes he'd been given. He had nothing suitable left, so he borrowed a set to wear."

Niu Youdao gave an acknowledging sound and nodded.

"If he needs a set of clothes, let him borrow one."

Lan Ruoting smiled and said nothing more. He had only mentioned it so Niu Youdao would know what was happening, in case the bear demon was plotting something.

"Your Highness, why did you leave your wife behind when taking breakfast?"

Feng Ruonan's voice suddenly sounded from outside. Then she appeared in the doorway, murder in her eyes. Everyone inside rose one after another. Shang Shuqing came over and saluted.

"Sister-in-law."

Lan Ruoting and the others saluted as well.

"Princess Consort."

Feng Ruonan ignored them and walked directly to Shang Chaozong. She stopped face-to-face with him, visibly a little taller. Her hands slowly clenched into fists, giving the impression she might smash one into Shang Chaozong's face at any moment. Shang Chaozong remained highly alert while trying to preserve his dignity.

"Since you're here, sit and eat with us."

"I was only asking. I've already eaten."

Feng Ruonan looked around.

"I'd like to walk around and have a look. Your Highness has no objection, I assume?"

"As you please."

Feng Ruonan did not stand on ceremony. Taking Wenli with her, she inspected every room in the building, then went back outside. Before long, another personal guard came to report that the Princess Consort was barging into places all over the estate, apparently searching for something.

That night, Feng Ruonan repeatedly sent people to urge Shang Chaozong to return to the bridal chamber and sleep. Shang Chaozong invented excuse after excuse and absolutely refused to spend the night there... However far one escorts a loved one, parting must come at last. Several li outside Guangyi Commandery's capital, beside a long roadside pavilion, Peng Yulan wept as she waved farewell to her daughter. Feng Lingbo stood silently watching the departing column, a touch of desolation on his face beneath the chaos of the age.

Mounted on horseback, Feng Ruonan repeatedly looked back toward her parents beside the pavilion and toward the familiar city walls beyond them. Sorrow filled her heart. She had passed in and out of that city countless times, never once feeling anything like this.

Whether she had wanted to marry Shang Chaozong or not, this departure felt different. For the first time, she truly realized that she was now a married woman.

The marriage alliance had only ever been a means to an end. Both sides knew there were more important matters to handle, and personal affection had to yield before larger affairs.

After the wedding, there was little time for elaborate ceremony. They rested in the commandery capital for only a single day before Shang Chaozong took his brothers, his newly wedded wife, and the rest of his people and departed. Compared with the group that had journeyed all the way from the capital, their traveling force was now much larger. Five hundred cavalry had been added: Feng Ruonan's own personal guard.

Across Guangyi Commandery, Feng Lingbo commanded one hundred thousand elite troops, including five thousand cavalry. This time he had assigned five hundred cavalry to Feng Ruonan, along with four thousand infantry. On the surface, all of these troops had been "lent" to Shang Chaozong.

In reality, everyone understood that military authority remained in Feng Ruonan's hands. Without her orders, Shang Chaozong could not command so much as a single soldier. The number of troops lent to him might not be especially large, but their significance was anything but small. Feng Lingbo's daughter was in the column. So was Feng Lingbo's son-in-law. The soldiers themselves belonged to Feng Lingbo as well. Anyone who wanted to attack them would first have to consider the consequences.

Counting Shang Chaozong's own personal guards, the mounted column now numbered close to a thousand. The four thousand infantry had not been assigned from the capital itself. Traveling with infantry would have slowed the journey too much.

Feng Lingbo's second son, Feng Ruojie, who guarded a strategic position in western Guangyi Commandery, had already received military orders. When Shang Chaozong's party passed through, Feng Ruojie would directly assign four thousand troops to Feng Ruonan for the journey into Qingshan Commandery. Guangyi Commandery would later send Feng Ruojie another four thousand to replace them.

Feng Lingbo had already notified Qingshan Commandery and demanded passage, saying he bore no hostile intent. His stated reason was that he was merely escorting his daughter and son-in-law. Whether those troops would withdraw after reaching Canglu County was another matter entirely.

Faced with that excuse, Qingshan Commandery could do little. Feng Lingbo had enough strength to resist the imperial court itself. Qingshan Commandery had no power to stop him. The imperial court, meanwhile, changed its mind.

An imperial envoy was sent with an edict ordering Shang Chaozong not to proceed to Canglu County after all. He was to return to the capital, supposedly because the court had another appointment for him.

But the tiger had already left its cage, and the flood dragon had entered the sea. How could either be shut away again so easily?

Taking a detour would cost the imperial messenger too much time. Yet whenever those carrying the edict entered Guangyi Commandery, they somehow disappeared for no apparent reason. For the time being, the decree simply could not reach Shang Chaozong. And even if it did, Shang Chaozong would never acknowledge it. Naturally, this was Feng Lingbo's handiwork. The more urgently the court behaved, the more convinced Feng Lingbo became that the hundred thousand Crow Generals truly existed. He began treating the matter with even greater seriousness.

After receiving the news, the Tianyu Sect sent still more cultivators to reinforce the group. Feng Ruonan had only five hundred cavalry among her personal guard, but the number of cultivators accompanying her had already reached thirty. Bai Yao had also been transferred away from the Commandery Governor's residence and now personally led a group of fellow disciples to protect the party. None of the accumulated wedding gifts or baggage accompanied the newlyweds.

The people would travel first. Feng Lingbo would later send men to escort the gifts and other belongings after them. Once the commandery capital had fallen far behind, Feng Ruonan gathered in her emotions and spoke to Wenli and Wenxin beside her.

"Go. Find that man with the big white beard for me. Once you find him, don't make a sound."

[End of Chapter 65]