Chapter 153: Secure in His Backing

Everyone began making his own preparations. Niu Youdao beckoned Black Peony over again and pointed at his hair. “I need to change my appearance too, so people won’t recognize me. Help me put my hair up.”

He walked over and sat on a nearby rock.

Black Peony could barely suppress a smile. She found the comb she used herself, went behind him, and began arranging his hair. As she worked, she teased, “Master Dao, with the two of us acting this intimate, all tender and affectionate like lovers, aren’t you afraid people will misunderstand?”

“Misunderstand?” Niu Youdao scoffed. “You’ve already gone around telling people I watched you bathe. What greater misunderstanding could there be?”

Black Peony burst into giggles, her body shaking with laughter, her voice clear as silver bells. The others all cast strange looks their way. It was difficult not to suspect there was something going on between the two of them. Niu Youdao closed his eyes.

He thought of that ugly woman who used to comb his hair for him. She had truly been meticulous. He could feel gentleness and care in every single strand beneath her fingers. Her touch had been far better than this woman’s...

Qingshan Commandery.

Across the open country, army camps stretched one after another. Rows of anti-cavalry barricades stood in formation, banners snapped in the wind, and great standards bearing the character “Shang” billowed overhead.

At the mouth of a mountain pass barring the way ahead stood formidable fortifications. The garrison atop the walls watched the open country intently, while the men making their patrols all wore exhausted faces.

With the Jinzhou army of the State of Zhao pressing against the border, Nanzhou in the State of Yan had massed heavy forces for defense. Shang Chaozong had seized the opening to raise an army and demand redress, taking the whole of Qingshan Commandery in one sweep. The bulk of the defeated forces were now holding this pass. If it fell, the country behind it would open into flat, unobstructed ground, posing an enormous threat to Zhou Shouxian, Provincial Inspector of Nanzhou.

Shang Chaozong’s actions had set the various regional lords who commanded armies of their own stirring restlessly. The State of Yan could plunge into the flames of war at any moment. With danger both within and without, the imperial court had urgently sent men to negotiate. After several rounds of talks, Shang Chaozong suspended his offensive.

In truth, however, he was relying on troops borrowed from Guangyi Commandery. Even if he continued attacking, he no longer had the strength to occupy more territory.

In the distance, a column of cavalry came thundering toward the camp beneath a snapping banner marked “Feng.”

Feng Ruonan rode at the head, clad in full armor, a silver spear in hand and mounted on a white horse. More than a dozen sword-bearing cultivators followed behind her, with a thousand cavalry rumbling in their wake.

A horn sounded mournfully from the watchtower. The camp gates opened, and the anti-cavalry barricades were hauled aside.

A group hurried out of the central command tent. Shang Chaozong led them. Shang Shuqing, also dressed in armor, followed closely behind her elder brother. She wore no veil over her face. At a time like this, no one cared about such things.

Feng Ruonan charged into the camp and pulled up sharply. Her men split to either side behind her.

She leapt from the saddle, tossed her spear to a subordinate, and strode toward Shang Chaozong, who had come forward to receive her. Drawing the command arrow from her waist, she dropped to one knee and presented it in both hands.

“This subordinate has fortunately not failed her mission. The rebel troops in Si’an County have all been put down. I have come to report back to the Commander!”

Shang Chaozong accepted the command arrow and passed it to Lan Ruoting beside him. Then he reached down with both hands and helped Feng Ruonan to her feet.

Looking at the travel-worn woman before him, her face covered in dust, he said with feeling, “Madam, you’ve had a hard journey.”

The formalities were already complete. Under so many watching eyes, however, any hint of husband-and-wife tenderness made Feng Ruonan uncomfortable all over. Looking somewhat embarrassed, she shifted away from Shang Chaozong’s supporting hands.

“If the Commander has no further orders, allow this subordinate to withdraw.”

Shang Chaozong gave a dry laugh and somewhat stiffly lowered his hands.

Lan Ruoting quickly turned to the side. “Commandery Princess, please take the Princess Consort to rest.”

Shang Shuqing stepped forward and saluted. “Sister-in-law, you’ve worked hard. Come wash up.”

The moment she saw Shang Shuqing, Feng Ruonan immediately smiled. She took the initiative to hold her hand, and the two women walked away chatting and laughing.

In truth, ugliness had its advantages too. There was some reason behind the saying that the ugly were often blessed: at the very least, they were less likely to provoke another woman’s jealousy.

Feng Ruonan had always treated Shang Shuqing well. At times she even went slightly out of her way to flatter her, making a point of acting as though beauty or ugliness did not matter, afraid that one careless word might hurt her.

The longer Feng Ruonan knew Shang Shuqing, the more she pitied her. Character, talent, temperament, figure—what part of her was not first-rate? Yet all of it had been ruined by a single face.

How unfair Heaven was!

Every time Feng Ruonan looked at Shang Shuqing, she found herself thinking that Heaven had actually treated her rather well.

Not long after this side had settled down, movement came from the mountain pass as well.

The great gates opened with a low, groaning rumble. Soldiers rapidly dragged aside the barricades outside, and more than a dozen riders burst out, racing down the rugged mountain road toward the army camps spread across the plain. At their head rode Ga Miaoshui.

A black cloak streamed behind him. His temples were graying, his face was pale and clean, and his eyes were dark and brooding.

He was not only one of the Yan Emperor’s personal eunuchs, but also Director of Imperial Carriage Office. He was also one of the negotiators Yanjing had sent this time. The riders stopped outside the army camp.

Only after their arrival was reported did they all dismount and receive permission to enter.

The moment they passed through the camp gates, their meridians were sealed and restrictions placed upon them before they were allowed farther inside. They were then escorted directly to the central command tent.

Inside, a curtain had been lowered over the military campaign map hanging on display. Shang Chaozong sat at the head.

Bai Yao stood guard beside him with his sword held in his arms, while several other Tianyu Sect disciples watched the visitors like tigers eyeing prey.

Whatever else might have happened, Shang Chaozong’s imperial-clan status still remained and had not been stripped away. After Ga Miaoshui and the others entered, they all cupped their hands in salute.

“Greetings, Commandery Prince.”

Shang Chaozong said heavily, “There is no point continuing these talks. My conditions are what they are. Accept them and this ends here. Refuse, and we meet on the battlefield!”

Ga Miaoshui straightened. “Your Highness, it is impossible for the court to accept everything you demand. If all your conditions were granted and the other lords followed your example, Yan would immediately be plunged into fire and water!”

“If you won’t accept them, what is there left to discuss?”

“The capital has already given me its final line,” Ga Miaoshui replied. “Punishing Zhou Shouxian is absolutely impossible. Qingshan Commandery can be placed under Your Highness’s administration, and the court can issue an imperial decree formally appointing you, but openly proclaiming the matter beneath Heaven is absolutely out of the question. Aside from those two points, the court accepts your other conditions. This is as far as it can yield.”

“If Your Highness insists on pressing further and forcing the imperial court to lose all face, then the court will have no choice but to meet you on the battlefield. When that happens, we shall see just how long this little force of yours can hold out!”

Rustle!

Shang Chaozong abruptly rose, glaring at him in fury.

Lan Ruoting hurried forward to mediate. He cupped his hands and said, “Your Highness, His Majesty is still your paternal uncle. Since His Majesty has already taken a step back, perhaps Your Highness might also take one step back for the sake of kinship within the imperial clan.”

After much persuasion, a war seemed to come to an end just like that. The two sides signed an agreement, each retaining one copy.

The Tianyu Sect cultivators who witnessed the scene could not hide their delight. Tianyu Sect’s sphere of influence had expanded again. They had swallowed an entire commandery in one bite!

Ga Miaoshui slowly put away his copy of the agreement, his expression far from pleasant.

He stared at Shang Chaozong. “There are some things one should know when to stop. If this continues until Great Yan collapses, that will do Your Highness no good either. The common man is innocent; it is the jade he carries that brings him guilt. If there is a next time, the court will not keep yielding forever.”

“Your Highness should carefully weigh the consequences. You ought to understand what I mean.”

Lan Ruoting smiled. “Eunuch Ga is referring to the hundred thousand Crow Generals?”

The moment those words were spoken, Ga Miaoshui’s and Bai Yao’s expressions changed at the same time.

Neither had expected Lan Ruoting to speak such a secret openly in public. How could something like this be mentioned carelessly? Shang Chaozong, on the other hand, remained perfectly calm.

Lan Ruoting suddenly burst into laughter. “Eunuch Ga, now that matters have reached this point, we may as well lay some things bare. Back then, His Highness was framed and thrown into the imperial prison. You know better than I do what the consequences would have been. Someone wanted His Highness dead!”

“I had no choice but to maneuver in the capital and manufacture the pretense of the ‘hundred thousand Crow Generals.’ Without that, His Highness might never have left the imperial prison alive!”

Ga Miaoshui’s eyes narrowed sharply. His cheek twitched hard. With a sweep of his cloak, he turned and strode away.

Just before leaving the tent, he stopped and suddenly looked back, his sharp gaze fixed on Shang Chaozong.

He remembered what Song Jiuming had once said atop the city gate tower. Releasing a tiger back into the mountains!

After Ga Miaoshui departed, Bai Yao spoke from where he stood with his sword in his arms.

“Mister Lan, what did those words just now mean? Why do I find myself unable to understand them?”

Lan Ruoting slowly turned toward him. “The meaning is very simple. The hundred thousand Crow Generals were a pretense from the beginning. They never existed!”

“His Highness fell into danger in the capital and had no choice but to find a way out. Even after leaving the capital, he could hardly escape the court’s murderous hand. To obtain your esteemed sect’s support, we had no choice but to use a stratagem to borrow troops.”

“Everything from then until today’s capture of Qingshan Commandery was designed from the beginning!”

Bai Yao’s expression turned ugly as well. Tianyu Sect had been played!

He slowly walked up to Shang Chaozong. “Your Highness, some jokes cannot be made carelessly.”

Shang Chaozong remained expressionless and silent.

Lan Ruoting stepped forward. “Cultivator Bai! Has Tianyu Sect suffered any loss? None whatsoever. On the contrary, it has gained an enormous benefit. What is wrong with having His Highness hold this commandery for Tianyu Sect?”

“In ability, His Highness is no worse than Feng Lingbo. After all these years, has Feng Lingbo ever had the ability to expand Tianyu Sect’s sphere of influence? His Highness came to Canglu County only a few months ago and has already presented your sect with an entire commandery. If Tianyu Sect does not want such a capable man, there are plenty of sects beneath Heaven that will fight to have him!”

“As for kinship, Feng Lingbo is Sect Leader Peng’s son-in-law, while His Highness is Sect Leader Peng’s grandson-in-law. Both belong to the same family. Why distinguish between them?”

“And His Highness possesses something Feng Lingbo cannot match: he is a member of Great Yan’s imperial clan. There are matters in which that gives him rightful standing.”

“Taking another step back, Cultivator Bai also knows Jinzhou’s conditions. Without His Highness, no one can keep Qingshan Commandery under control.”

“His Highness is willing to serve Tianyu Sect. Why not ask your sect whether it is willing to give His Highness that opportunity?”

Whether Tianyu Sect would give him that opportunity, Bai Yao did not know. Nor was it a decision he could make.

Without instructions from the sect, he did not dare do anything to Shang Chaozong. But he could see one thing clearly.

The reason Shang Chaozong’s side dared lay its cards on the table so openly today was because it was secure in its backing. Bai Yao slowly turned and walked away, his face taut.

The other Tianyu Sect disciples exchanged looks. They too departed with expressions of shock and uncertainty. Not long afterward, Shang Shuqing entered.

Feng Ruonan was bathing and washing away the dust of the road, so Shang Shuqing had returned.

“I saw that Cultivator Bai’s expression was poor just now. Did the talks with the court fail?” she asked with concern, a trace of anxiety in her eyes.

Shang Chaozong sighed. “The talks succeeded... We laid the matter of the Crow Generals bare before Tianyu Sect.”

Shang Shuqing fell silent. Now she understood why Bai Yao’s face had looked so ugly.

Lan Ruoting suddenly smiled. “Whatever else may be said, the greater situation is settled. There should be no more major changes. Now that Qingshan Commandery has been taken, Feng Lingbo will find it difficult to restrain Your Highness again.”

“Your Highness finally possesses a true foothold of your own. A new beginning. This is cause for celebration!”

“Scheming to marry Sister-in-law, borrowing troops from Guangyi Commandery, establishing a foothold in Canglu County, risking danger in Jinzhou, turning the tide and bringing about the alliance—only after all of that could Qingshan Commandery be absorbed so smoothly today,” Shang Shuqing reminded them softly.

Both men fell silent at those words and slowly nodded.

Shang Chaozong sighed with feeling. “Master Dao’s contribution is beyond measure!”

Shang Shuqing walked quietly to the entrance of the tent and looked out at the vast, hazy sky.

“We haven’t heard from him for so long. I wonder how he is...”

[End of Chapter 153]