Chapter 293: The Sovereign's Mind Is Hard to Fathom

Lady Pei's words were unpleasant, but Niu Youdao understood that she was telling the truth. Here in the Qi capital, if the emperor wanted him not to see tomorrow's sun, it would take only a single sentence.

Niu Youdao flipped through the documents in his hands. "Peony, ask Linghu Qiu and Feng Entai to come over."

"Yes!" Black Peony answered.

Lady Pei said, "Does a matter like this really need other people involved?"

Black Peony stopped at the sound of that and looked toward Niu Youdao.

Niu Youdao patted the documents in his hand. "This is the first time I've ever seen something like this. How do I know whether it's genuine?"

Lady Pei chuckled. "Would I really need to bring you a fake? If His Majesty truly wanted to deal with you, would he need to go through all this trouble?"

That was precisely what left Niu Youdao conflicted. This benefit had fallen from the sky so suddenly that he found it hard to believe. He wanted to give it up, yet it was also true that if the emperor intended to deal with him, there was no need for such twists and turns. Niu Youdao was standing right here on the emperor's own ground. Dealing with him would be far too easy. If he was simply overthinking things, abandoning something this valuable would be a terrible pity.

In the end, Niu Youdao still waved Black Peony onward and had her summon the two men. Before long, Linghu Qiu and Feng Entai arrived. Seeing Lady Pei there, both looked questioningly toward Niu Youdao.

Niu Youdao casually handed them the documents. "The emperor of Qi intends to honor the princess's promises. I've never seen these things before. Take a look and tell me whether they're genuine."

The moment the two men saw what had been placed in their hands, both were astonished. The princess had casually blurted out one hundred thousand horses during the day, and now the thing had actually materialized! Feng Entai was even more excited. His eyes were practically shining as he examined the documents. Unfortunately, neither man had ever seen such papers before either.

Under normal circumstances, warhorse exit permits issued by the court of the State of Qi were used in transactions between states. Most cultivators had never laid eyes on one.

Lady Pei watched the uncertainty on their faces and shook her head. "There is truly no need to doubt them. They cannot be fake, and there would be no point in giving you false ones just to fool you."

Linghu Qiu asked Niu Youdao, "Little Brother, what exactly is going on?"

"The princess owes me money and made me a promise. His Majesty wants to settle both matters through a compromise..." Niu Youdao briefly explained the situation.

After listening, Feng Entai said, "Demanding two million gold coins and one hundred thousand warhorses from a princess really would be excessive. I think this compromise is acceptable."

Niu Youdao had been wavering between the two choices. Hearing that, he asked, "Elder Brother Feng thinks I should accept?"

Feng Entai said, "Whether they're genuine or not, we can find someone capable of verifying them afterward. Agreeing now doesn't cost you anything."

Niu Youdao had thought the same thing, but the benefit had arrived so suddenly that he remained wary.

He turned to Linghu Qiu. "What does Elder Brother think?"

Linghu Qiu hesitated. "Little Brother, you'll have to think this through carefully yourself."

He had doubts too. On a matter this large, he did not dare casually give advice. None of them could tell what the emperor truly intended. They had never dealt with a figure on an emperor's level before. The room fell completely silent.

At last, Lady Pei broke the stillness. "Brother Niu, the palace doesn't have the patience to keep waiting. They're still waiting for my reply."

Niu Youdao remained hesitant, unable to decide.

Feng Entai said, "Little Brother, agree to it. As long as you settle this matter, your task here in the State of Qi is complete. Tianyu Sect will take responsibility for transporting the horses once they leave the State of Qi."

He knew Niu Youdao was afraid of the risk and therefore reluctant to agree. Niu Youdao froze. He had not expected Feng Entai to suddenly say something like that.

His head snapped around. "Can your position represent Tianyu Sect?"

This was something he had to clarify. He needed the benefits from the liquor profit-sharing arrangement to satisfy the interests of the three sects, and he also needed them to support Wuliang Mountain's intelligence network.

"The sect sent me here to take charge. I have authority to make decisions on the sect's behalf as circumstances require. You should know that. There's no need to doubt it!" Feng Entai raised the permits in his hand.

"But I have two conditions. First, these documents must be genuine. Second, all of them must be handed over to Tianyu Sect to dispose of as we see fit!"

As long as the exit permits were real, he wanted every one of them. Tianyu Sect had sent him to take charge of this affair. So much time had passed, vast sums of money had been spent, and quite a few men had been lost. He already felt too ashamed to face the sect. But if he could bring these permits back into Tianyu Sect's hands, everything that followed would become far easier.

Why?

The logic was simple. Exit permits for one hundred thousand warhorses were leverage in themselves. Tianyu Sect could use them as the price for opening the route all the way home. East of the State of Qi lay the State of Zhao. All they had to do was settle the powers controlling the regions through which the horses would pass.

They had permits for one hundred thousand warhorses. If they gave away fifty thousand horses' worth of that quota to open the necessary connections, would that not be enough?

If even that failed, then transporting only twenty thousand horses home would still do. Could they not give away the remaining eighty thousand horses' worth of quota and use it to open the road? Everyone knew that buying warhorses inside the State of Qi was not actually very expensive. The real difficulty lay in getting them across the State of Qi's border. That was the point the State of Qi controlled with the strength of the entire state.

Most of the enormous cost of warhorses came from getting them out of the State of Qi. The herders who actually raised and sold the horses earned only the small share. Most of the profit was taken by those with power and influence. So with permits for one hundred thousand warhorses in hand, Tianyu Sect would possess its greatest bargaining chip. The sect could personally negotiate with every power along the route. It was a windfall falling straight into their laps. Why would those factions refuse?

So long as Tianyu Sect carefully controlled the number of horses moved in each batch, the local powers would understand that even betraying them and seizing the current batch would earn less than the benefits Tianyu Sect had promised. Then Tianyu Sect could wait until the horses had safely passed through before delivering the promised benefits. Naturally, the route would remain open all the way. With the powers along the road guaranteeing passage, traveling overland would actually be safer than going by sea.

The price would be enormous, but the price itself had come to them for nothing. Even if Feng Entai brought back only twenty thousand warhorses, that was still twice the ten thousand Shang Chaozong needed.

At the same time, Tianyu Sect could save the huge sums it otherwise would have spent inside the State of Qi and along the route. If he returned with that result, he would not merely escape blame. He would have earned merit. How could exit permits for one hundred thousand warhorses fail to move him?

Niu Youdao considered the matter briefly, then said slowly, "Since Elder Brother Feng is willing to say this, I have nothing more to add. But don't blame me for speaking unpleasantly."

"You are not Sect Leader Peng. Words spoken with nothing but your own mouth don't carry enough weight. I need this put down on paper as proof."

"And both of us must immediately send messages home so everyone there knows about your decision. I don't want arguments after the fact."

Feng Entai's expression grew solemn.

He slowly nodded. "Naturally. Since I've made this decision, I'll bear the responsibility for it."

Since Feng Entai was willing to step forward and shoulder the risk, Niu Youdao instead relaxed.

He turned to Lady Pei and nodded. "Good! Then it's settled. Bring brush, ink, paper, and inkstone."

"Yes!" Black Peony answered and left.

The writing materials were quickly brought over. Niu Youdao took up the brush and wrote down the terms they had agreed upon.

His accounts with Hao Qingqing would be settled in full, and any promise Hao Qingqing made to him in the future would carry no validity.

Watching from the side, Feng Entai added, "You should include another clause: all this applies only if the exit permits are genuine."

Niu Youdao paused with the brush in hand and looked toward Lady Pei.

Lady Pei nodded. "That's acceptable."

Niu Youdao therefore added Feng Entai's condition. Once the document was complete, he signed it and affixed his mark. At Lady Pei's direction, he also pressed down his fingerprint and palmprint. Lady Pei examined the agreement and confirmed there was no problem. Then she put it away and took her leave.

"Gentlemen, thank you for the trouble. I still need to return and report back. I'll say farewell here."

After seeing the guests off, Niu Youdao and Feng Entai signed another agreement between themselves. In the end, all ten warhorse exit permits were handed to Feng Entai.

To be honest, permits for one hundred thousand warhorses were not the same as one hundred thousand actual horses, but they were unquestionably extremely valuable. For someone who urgently needed them, their value could not even be measured purely in money. Giving them away to Tianyu Sect for nothing left Niu Youdao somewhat reluctant. But he could look at things clearly. Without really doing anything, he could secure the liquor profit-sharing arrangement and avoid all the trouble that would follow. There was nothing bad about that either.

Being too greedy was not necessarily a good thing... Outside the residence, Lady Pei and Chai Fei stepped into the night and flew directly over the rooftops of the capital. They landed outside the imperial palace.

Just before they entered through the palace gate, Chai Fei finally could not resist asking, "Senior Sister, exit permits for one hundred thousand warhorses are no small matter. What does His Majesty mean by doing this?"

Lady Pei sighed. "I don't know either. The sovereign's mind is hard to fathom. We only need to do as we're told."

The two approached the palace gate, displayed their passage tokens, and entered...

Back at the residence, Feng Entai and Niu Youdao finished settling everything between them. Both released Goldenwings carrying reports back home. Then Feng Entai tucked away the ten permits and took his leave first. He no longer had the mind to remain here socializing.

Linghu Qiu watched Feng Entai depart and muttered, "I imagine he'll immediately send another message to Tianyu Sect explaining his plan in detail and telling them how to cooperate."

He glanced sideways at Niu Youdao, who was still frowning.

"You don't need to worry so much. As long as those permits for one hundred thousand warhorses are genuine, using them to open the necessary connections and bring ten thousand horses back to Qingshan Commandery will be far too easy."

"Once the horses leave Qi, there basically won't be any serious problem afterward."

"Feng Entai must have understood that too. That's why he made this decision."

"Let's hope so." Niu Youdao sighed.

No matter how he looked at the whole affair, something felt wrong. Yet no matter how much he thought about it, he could not imagine why the emperor of the State of Qi would need to go through such elaborate twists and turns to target him. Niu Youdao had never reached an emperor's height. He knew none of the causes or consequences surrounding the decision and had no intelligence to use as reference. There was simply no basis from which he could make a judgment.

The more he thought, the less at ease he felt.

At last he asked, "Elder Brother, what kind of man is the emperor of the State of Qi?"

Linghu Qiu understood what he meant and chuckled. "What qualifications would I have to associate with the emperors of the various states? I've never even seen Hao Yuntu's face. At most I've heard a few rumors. How could I know what sort of man he truly is?"

"But one thing is certain. He isn't the muddleheaded ruler you're imagining, the kind who would do something foolish. He certainly doesn't act recklessly like that Grand Princess."

"And he's definitely stronger than the emperor of Yan."

"Just look at Yan, beset by troubles within and enemies without, then look at Qi's stable situation. Could an incompetent ruler maintain a state like this?"

Niu Youdao shook his head. "When you put it that way, shouldn't I be even more worried?"

"The sovereign's mind is hard to fathom. We don't have a single clue. Besides, matters have already reached this point. Thinking too much won't help." Linghu Qiu patted his shoulder.

"Get some rest. I'm heading back."

He left with his broad sleeves swaying behind him.

[End of Chapter 293]