Chapter 342: It's All a Misunderstanding

"Because he's low-key!" Niu Youdao stood and turned beneath the eaves, walking toward the study.

Guan Fangyi looked puzzled and rose to follow him.

"Keeping a low profile certainly has its advantages, but he never touches any trouble beyond the duties the court assigns him. What use is it to seek him out?"

"There are only a few reasons someone keeps a low profile." Niu Youdao paced slowly as he considered them aloud. "One: his ability is limited, he's incompetent, and he has no choice but to stay quiet. Two: the time isn't ripe, so he reads the situation, preserves himself, and waits. Three: he truly dislikes disputes and schemes and genuinely wants a quiet life."

He glanced back at her.

"Do you really think Prince Ying is so incompetent that he has to hide himself to this extent? If he were truly that useless, why would the court keep assigning him work? Wouldn't they be afraid he'd ruin it? From what you've said, you've never heard of him producing some flashy, spectacular success, but neither have you heard of him botching an assignment. Do you think it's easy to maintain that kind of middling record year after year?"

Guan Fangyi understood what he meant.

"You think Prince Ying is pretending to be low-key. But how do you know he isn't genuinely like that?"

Niu Youdao answered simply and decisively.

"He was born into the imperial clan. I don't believe a prince who knows how to conceal himself has no ambition for the throne. I'd sooner believe he's watching the situation and waiting for the right time. Sometimes, refusing to contend is itself a form of contention!"

Guan Fangyi nodded thoughtfully, then looked him up and down.

"You're so young. Where did you get so many crooked thoughts and twisted arguments? Even if you're right, he simply refuses to see you. There's nothing we can do about that."

Niu Youdao exhaled.

"The target has already moved. They've begun acting. I don't have time to keep wearing down Prince Ying. I need to meet him and speak with him as soon as possible. Help me deliver a letter to him!"

By then he had entered Guan Fangyi's study. She personally dripped water and ground the ink for him, curious to see what he intended to write. Niu Youdao stood beside the desk with his eyes closed for a moment. Then he opened them, took up the brush, dipped it in ink, and wrote in one unbroken flow:

"The realm is so fair that countless heroes vie to bow before it! How can it be left for rats to steal? Victory makes a king, defeat an outlaw; whether we meet or not rests on a single thought!"

"The realm is so fair that countless heroes vie to bow before it! The realm is so fair..." Standing beside him, Guan Fangyi repeated the opening words again and again. Her eyes gradually grew distant.

At last, her complicated gaze settled on Niu Youdao's face as he slowly laid down the brush. Niu Youdao lifted the sheet, blew the ink dry, and handed it to her. Guan Fangyi looked it over.

"That's all you're writing? You think this will make him see you?"

"We can only try."

"And if he still refuses?"

"Here in the capital, I dare move against him, but he doesn't dare move against me. If he still refuses, I'll immediately find some trouble for him!"

The two left the study and happened to run into Old Six Xu approaching.

"Eldest Sister. Master Dao!" Old Six Xu greeted them.

When speaking privately, he no longer avoided calling Guan Fangyi Eldest Sister in front of Niu Youdao. His form of address for Niu Youdao had changed too. Ever since the incident when Guan Fangyi caught him in the room with Hongxiu and Hongfu, everyone in Fufang Garden had started calling him Master Dao.

Guan Fangyi asked, "Something happened?"

"A group from Tianyu Sect has arrived outside. One of them claims to be Master Dao's sworn elder brother, Feng Entai. He wants to see Master Dao."

Niu Youdao blinked, then laughed.

"He made it back alive."

"You certainly have a lot of sworn brothers," Guan Fangyi said with a cold laugh.

Niu Youdao chuckled. "More brothers mean more roads."

"Naturally. For someone who even sleeps with his sworn brother's women, the more brothers the better."

"Pfft..." Old Six Xu immediately choked back a laugh.

Niu Youdao's face fell.

"Are you ever going to let that go? When did I sleep with anyone?"

Guan Fangyi waved toward Old Six Xu.

"Let them in."

Before long, Feng Entai arrived with a group of Tianyu Sect disciples. When the sworn brothers saw each other again, whether their pleasure was genuine or not, they at least looked delighted on the surface. They clasped each other's arms and exchanged warm greetings.

Seeing Feng Entai's pale complexion, and that several Tianyu Sect disciples with him were plainly wounded, Niu Youdao could not help asking, "Eldest Brother, were you injured?"

"Only a minor wound!" Feng Entai sighed. "We ran into a pack of lunatics. We'd already thrown the thing to them, but they kept chasing us as though they wanted our lives. That made everyone else think the thing was still in our hands, so they joined the pursuit and hunted us the whole way. Forget it. Forget it."

He waved the matter away, bitterness written all over his face. Then his gaze landed on Guan Fangyi. He had plainly seen her before. He smiled.

"Hongniang of the Qi capital. Should I be calling you Sister-in-law now?"

The fact that he could say "Sister-in-law" made it obvious he had already heard the rumors.

Niu Youdao's expression twitched. Guan Fangyi waved her round fan and tilted her chin toward Niu Youdao.

"Brother Feng, you'll have to ask whether he's willing."

Feng Entai immediately turned to Niu Youdao.

"What's going on?"

"Rumor is a fearsome thing. You can't believe everything people say!" Niu Youdao brushed the matter aside with one sentence.

The truth and lies were all tangled together, and the affair concerned life and death. For the moment, it was not convenient to reveal the truth. Niu Youdao told them to go rest first. Feng Entai, however, showed no intention of leaving.

"Is there nowhere for us to stay here?"

Guan Fangyi said nothing. She turned her face aside as though she had not understood the question.

Niu Youdao said, "There are plenty of places to stay outside. This isn't my home."

Feng Entai immediately caught his arm and pulled him aside to speak privately.

"Don't think I know nothing just because I've only returned. I've already heard all about you and Hongniang. Fufang Garden is enormous. Giving us a single courtyard would be enough. And let me tell you something: the Sect Leader has spoken. From now on, regarding the warhorses, every one of us is to obey your deployment."

This latest affair had angered Peng Youzai almost beyond endurance. The trouble they had finally thrown away had been picked back up voluntarily by this junior brother of his, costing Tianyu Sect another group of disciples. Peng Youzai had lost all confidence in Feng Entai.

Unfortunately, none of the people capable of taking charge wanted to come to Qi. Instead, all of them spoke on Feng Entai's behalf and asked that he be given one more chance. Their reason for refusing was simple. The chances of success were too low.

If they came, failed, and returned, they would lose all face and authority within the sect. With sect rules hanging over their heads, they might even be punished. Unless there were absolutely no alternative, no one wanted to take this burning-hot burden into his own hands. Niu Youdao, by contrast, had encountered danger after danger in the Qi capital and survived every one of them. Not only was he still alive and well, he had even plucked Hongniang, that famous flower of the Qi capital.

So Peng Youzai ordered Feng Entai to stick close to Niu Youdao and obey all of his commands. It was the last-resort method of treating a dead horse as though it were still alive. If Niu Youdao truly had the ability to bring back the warhorses, naturally that would be excellent.

If he failed, Tianyu Sect could say that all its disciples had already been handed over for Niu Youdao to command. If the job still failed, whose responsibility was that? And after failing, did Niu Youdao still expect to demand a share of the liquor profits?

When both sides had arguments that sounded reasonable, in the end it would still be the larger fist that decided who was right. Of the two interests involved, Tianyu Sect intended to secure at least one.

Peng Youzai also believed Niu Youdao would not dare recklessly squander the lives of Tianyu Sect disciples unless he no longer intended to return to Qingshan Commandery. Niu Youdao raised his brows.

"Your Tianyu Sect people will actually obey my commands? Is that true?"

Feng Entai said solemnly, "Not one false word! Third Brother, whatever you tell us to do, we'll do... Of course, you can't force us to do something beyond our ability."

Niu Youdao gave two dry, cold chuckles. He had already guessed seventy or eighty percent of what Tianyu Sect was thinking. But there was nothing he could do about it.

The people who truly held the strongest say in Qingshan Commandery were still Tianyu Sect. Refusing them was not really an option. In the end, he had Guan Fangyi give the Tianyu Sect disciples a courtyard where they could settle. Feng Entai had barely left when Old Six Xu returned again.

"Master Dao, Linghu Qiu is back. Hongxiu and Hongfu are with him. Shall we let them in?"

His gaze shifted toward Guan Fangyi.

A mocking smile had already appeared on her face, but before she could speak, Niu Youdao said, "Tell him Hongniang is unhappy and won't let them in."

Seeing Guan Fangyi had no objection, Old Six Xu turned and left to carry out the order.

Guan Fangyi said sourly, "Why refuse to let them in? Afraid Linghu Qiu will demand an accounting from you?"

"I don't know whether Xiaoyue Pavilion has actually made up its mind to move against Wei Chu. Why should I meet him? So I can give him another chance to act against me?"

Guan Fangyi fell silent briefly.

"What if Xiaoyue Pavilion has already made up its mind?"

Niu Youdao asked in return, "Estimate something for me. If I hired someone to kill Wei Chu, how much would it cost?"

Guan Fangyi thought about it.

"A great deal. At least a million gold coins as the opening price. Given Wei Chu's identity and background, demanding several million would be entirely possible."

Niu Youdao spread his hands.

"I can't even produce the money for my food and daily expenses right now. You're paying for all of it. If he opens his mouth and demands a fortune, where am I supposed to find that kind of money for him?"

"..."

Guan Fangyi froze. Before long, Old Six Xu returned once more.

"Linghu Qiu spoke to me by voice transmission. He said the matter Master Dao wanted handled has already been completed. He wants to speak with you face-to-face."

Niu Youdao said, "Tell him that after I pleaded with Hongniang, she agreed to let him enter alone. Hongxiu and Hongfu are not allowed in."

"So now this old lady has become the shield for your romantic debts!" Guan Fangyi said with contempt.

She did not refuse, however. Old Six Xu left again. A short while later, Linghu Qiu came striding over. He arrived in a fury. The moment he saw Niu Youdao, he exploded.

"Third Brother, what do you mean by this? You dared take liberties with Hongxiu and Hongfu while I was away!"

Niu Youdao hurriedly waved both hands.

"Absolutely not!"

"Then why were the two of them driven out?"

Guan Fangyi snorted.

"I drove them out! Those two shameless sluts tried to seduce my man. Was I supposed to keep them here?"

"Seduce who? Him?" Linghu Qiu pointed at the visibly embarrassed Niu Youdao, then demanded, "Third Brother, I don't need to remind you what designs you've always had on Hongxiu and Hongfu. Put your hand on your conscience and answer me: would Hongxiu and Hongfu need to seduce you?"

Niu Youdao laughed dryly.

"Misunderstanding. Misunderstanding. It's all a misunderstanding."

"Bullshit misunderstanding!" Guan Fangyi erupted. She pointed at Niu Youdao's nose and cursed him viciously. "Your hands were already inside their clothes, and you even pulled down their trousers. Do you think this old lady is blind?"

The moment he heard that their trousers had even been pulled down, Linghu Qiu's face turned green. Then Guan Fangyi spun around and pointed at his nose too.

"When the upper beam is crooked, the lower beams go crooked with it. If you can raise two shameless sluts like those, you're no good either! And you still dare come here shouting at me? Get out! You're not welcome here!"

Linghu Qiu pointed at Niu Youdao.

"You owe me an explanation for what happened today!"

"I didn't do anything. What explanation am I supposed to give you?" Niu Youdao refused to admit a thing even if beaten to death.

Each side had its own argument, and the scene instantly dissolved into chaos.

"Someone!" Guan Fangyi suddenly shouted.

Several figures immediately flashed over. She pointed at Linghu Qiu.

"Throw him out!"

[End of Chapter 342]