Chapter 365: Take Her Home

Within the inner imperial palace of the Qi capital, a long line of wedding gifts stretched across the square outside the court hall, some loaded on carts, others drawn by horses. All of them were betrothal gifts from the Huyan family.

The Emperor and Empress appeared together and walked once around the long procession of gift carts. Hao Yuntu wore a smile throughout. He was plainly very pleased and satisfied.

The Empress held the gift list in her hands. After reading through it, she frowned slightly. "Your Majesty, there is something I do not know whether I should say."

"If you want to say it, say it. If you don't, there's no need to force yourself." Hao Yuntu reached out and patted a chest on one of the carts.

The Empress still spoke. "The Huyan family has been somewhat discourteous."

Bu Xun, accompanying them nearby, could not help glancing up at her.

Hao Yuntu paused and turned back. "How so?"

Holding the gift list, the Empress said, "It isn't that I think the gifts are too meager. But our daughter is, after all, the Grand Princess, and she is marrying down into the Huyan family. I looked over this list carefully. There seems to be a great deal here, but in truth there is almost nothing of much value. It may not even compare with the betrothal gifts of some wealthy households. I am not greedy for wealth, but is the Huyan family unwilling even to make a proper show of it? Could they actually feel that this marriage wrongs their family?"

"You're thinking too much. I know the Huyan family's finances better than you do. They truly may not compare with an ordinary wealthy household." Hao Yuntu said this aloud, but still took the gift list and looked it over. Precisely because he knew the Huyan family's circumstances, he wanted to see the sincerity behind their gifts.

His gaze moved down the listed items and paused at the inconspicuous final entry. He nodded slightly and pointed to it. "Empress, do you know the history of this saber?"

The Empress leaned over to look. "The Morning Sun Saber? Isn't that simply the sort of ceremonial saber a military family would include among the gifts? Is there some story behind it?"

"A woman's narrow view! How could this saber possibly be compared with the betrothal gifts of those wealthy households you speak of?" Hao Yuntu waved toward the imperial palace around them. "This saber alone is worth my entire palace!"

The Empress stared at him in astonishment.

Hao Yuntu called, "Bu Xun, bring the saber!"

"Yes!" Bu Xun turned and left.

Before long, two eunuchs carried over a long saber. Its blade was covered in old scars and scratches, and the weapon itself looked thoroughly unremarkable. Only the red silk flower tied around it showed that it was indeed part of the betrothal gifts. Hao Yuntu took the saber in one hand.

Thud! He planted the metal cap at the end of its long hilt on the ground, then ran his fingers over the marks on the blade. "Back then, Huyan Wuhen was nothing more than a junior border officer commanding three thousand men. the State of Jin suddenly launched an invasion under cover of deception. The frontier troops were in desperate straits, while reinforcements from our side could not arrive in time. Huyan Wuhen used a stratagem to lure away most of the cultivators guarding the enemy commander. Then he breached a river embankment and released the floodwaters, routing the enemy army in a single stroke. As they withdrew, he personally led one thousand cavalry, with the support of several cultivators, in pursuit for dozens of li. They charged straight into tens of thousands of exhausted enemy remnants, and Huyan Wuhen personally slew the enemy commander in battle: Supreme General Tian Zixin of the State of Jin! That battle was a victory of the few over the many and brought glory to our state. The State of Jin's army of three hundred thousand collapsed, badly damaging the state's strength and leaving it unable to invade again for many years."

Hao Yuntu swept the long saber outward, bringing its edge across in front of the Empress. Startled, she hurried back several steps.

"This is the very saber that took Tian Zixin's head! Huyan Wuhen became famous in a single battle. The late emperor personally summoned him, took this saber from his own hands, and flourished it before an army of hundreds of thousands in celebration. He praised it as a treasured saber that safeguarded the state! On the spot, the late emperor issued an edict granting Huyan Wuhen a heavy reward and ordered him to establish the Valiant Cavalry. That is how today's Valiant Cavalry came into being. Empress, this treasured saber charged into battle for our Great Qi, held back foreign enemies, and slew an enemy commander. How can it be compared with the betrothal gifts of wealthy households? Without this saber, how many such households might have seen their families destroyed and their homes ruined? The gifts of ten thousand wealthy households could not equal it! This is the Huyan family's heirloom. They have even brought out their family treasure as a betrothal gift. That is true sincerity. And you still think the gifts are too light?"

The Empress had truly known none of this history. Embarrassment immediately crossed her face. "Your Majesty is right. I was shortsighted."

With the saber planted before him, Hao Yuntu looked at it and asked, "Bu Xun, how can a Supreme General be without a saber?"

Bu Xun froze. He did not understand what the Emperor meant and had no idea how to answer, so he waited.

Hao Yuntu gave him a sidelong glance. "The Supreme General has offered a treasured saber of the state as his betrothal gift. I should return the gesture. Summon the finest craftsmen. I want the finest treasured saber beneath Heaven forged and presented to the Supreme General. May sovereign and subject never fail one another!"

"Yes!" Bu Xun answered. He accepted the saber Hao Yuntu handed him, then passed it to the eunuchs behind him and told them to put it away carefully.

As they left the procession of betrothal gifts, the Empress asked again, "Your Majesty, please find some time to see Qingqing. She's making an enormous fuss. Even I can't persuade her."

"Then keep persuading her. I've already accepted the Huyan family's betrothal gifts. There is no going back. There are some matters in which I can indulge her nonsense, and some in which she has no say. I do not want any farce on the day of the wedding."

"Empress, you govern the inner palace. You must do your utmost. If you enjoy the privileges of being Empress, you must also shoulder the Empress's responsibilities and obligations. If you are unwilling to bear that responsibility, you may tell me."

The words were spoken lightly, but the Empress's heart jolted. She forced a smile. "I understand. I will not disappoint Your Majesty."

"Good. I still have matters to attend to. Discuss the details of the wedding with Bu Xun." Hao Yuntu left after saying this.

Bu Xun bowed slightly toward the Empress and followed him away. On the road, a burly eunuch appeared and waited at an intersection. He was the same eunuch who had captured Linghu Qiu.

Bu Xun stopped briefly. After listening to the man's quiet report, he gave several instructions in reply, then left and quickly caught up with Hao Yuntu once more.

Walking at the Emperor's side, he reported, "Your Majesty, Niu Youdao did not obey the order to return to the capital. He fled instead. By now, he should have left the State of Qi."

Hao Yuntu stopped and turned. "What happened?"

Bu Xun smiled bitterly. "At one of the western ranch posts, people from the Office of Investigation intercepted Niu Youdao. At first, everything was fine. Who could have expected that once night fell, he would suddenly set the ranch on fire? He used the chaos to slip away during the night. His whereabouts are unknown."

The corner of Hao Yuntu's mouth twitched. Niu Youdao escaping was a small matter. The embarrassing part was that Hao Yuntu had failed to accomplish what he had promised Mr. Yucang. Mr. Yucang might not pursue the matter, but it still cost the Emperor some face.

Still, something struck him as strange. "He ran off with the warhorses?"

Hao Yuntu had issued an imperial order summoning a cultivator from outside Qi back to the capital, and he knew perfectly well that treating an outsider as someone he could order about was not entirely reasonable. He had relied on one thing. Niu Youdao had come to Qi for warhorses. As long as the warhorses were held back, Niu Youdao would naturally have to obey.

Bu Xun also found the matter strange. "He doesn't seem to have put any effort into the warhorses at all. Recently, none of the ranches have suffered any large-scale loss of horses outside our control."

Hao Yuntu asked, "Didn't he come for warhorses?"

"Logically, he should have. From the situation as it stands, there are only two possibilities. Either he secretly prepared a batch of warhorses long ago by accumulating them little by little, or he has hidden himself and never actually left, and is still preparing something for the warhorses. But concealing the feeding of such a large number of horses would be extremely difficult with the Office of Investigation's eyes spread across the regions. Thousands upon thousands of horses cannot be sustained on some tiny patch of grassland. They require a vast area for grazing. If he stockpiled fodder in secret, then unless he began preparing a very long time ago, a sudden accumulation on that scale would also have been difficult to conceal."

Hao Yuntu asked, "Then why did he run?"

Bu Xun replied, "His recent behavior has been rather strange. Considering Linghu Qiu's identity as a Xiaoyue Pavilion man, I wonder whether the matter is connected to Xiaoyue Pavilion. What exactly was Xiaoyue Pavilion's purpose in placing Linghu Qiu beside Niu Youdao? Linghu Qiu should know something, but he refuses to open his mouth unless he sees Niu Youdao. This old servant is considering whether to use his own Spirit-Torment Pill on him."

At the mention of Xiaoyue Pavilion, Hao Yuntu asked, "Any progress on those disciples of the three major sects who were killed?"

Bu Xun said, "It's still the same. We found only the bodies and their belongings. Every one of them was silenced. They did not even spare the Goldenwings accompanying them. No one knows what actually happened. Leaving the fifteen dead disciples aside, the sudden loss of three flying mounts alone was no small blow to the three major sects."

Under a star-filled sky, a ship drove onward through the waves. Guan Fangyi knocked on the door to Niu Youdao's cabin. When she entered, she found him standing before the window with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing out at the sea. Black Peony's body still lay quietly on the couch nearby.

There were words Guan Fangyi had not known whether she should say. Several days had already passed, however, and she finally decided she had to remind him.

"Master Dao!" Guan Fangyi called in a deliberately playful tone. She rarely addressed him so properly.

Niu Youdao did not turn around. "What is it? Speak."

Guan Fangyi stood beside the body and looked down at it. She sighed. "Master Dao, about Miss Peony... I know you're grieving."

Niu Youdao cut her off at once. "What am I grieving about?"

"Aren't you grieving? Everyone has the seven emotions and six desires, joy and anger, sorrow and happiness. No one will laugh at you for admitting grief."

Niu Youdao shook his head. "I've ridden the jianghu roads through wind and rain and seen too many meetings and partings, too much life and death. I'm long used to it. I'm not grieving. Grief serves no purpose. If you insist on calling it grief, then perhaps I am."

"Fine. We won't argue over whether you're grieving. But Qingshan Commandery is far too distant, and we don't even know how long we'll be drifting at sea. We can't keep Miss Peony like this indefinitely."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Before she died, Miss Peony herself said drifting on the sea was quite pleasant, that she liked it. Perhaps you should consider fulfilling that wish. Letting the blue sea become her final resting place wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing."

She had put it delicately.

What she meant was that Niu Youdao should give Black Peony a sea burial. Some realities had to be faced. The journey was too long. Eventually the body would... There was no need to spell out the unpleasant part. Niu Youdao turned around and walked to the couch. He looked down at Black Peony's peaceful face.

"You are wrong. She didn't like drifting on the sea. She spent nearly her whole life drifting. After she followed me, she finally had a home where she could put down roots. Qingshan Commandery is her home."

"She drifted while she was alive. How could I let her keep drifting after death?"

"I'm taking her home. No one will stop me. No one can stop me. I will take her back. I will take her home."

Guan Fangyi stared at him and bit her lip. After he had said that much, she found herself utterly unable to answer. Not a single word came. In the end, she lowered her head and left in silence. Niu Youdao sat beside the couch and gently pressed one palm against Black Peony's chest. As he circulated the Qiankun Art, a faint layer of frost appeared over Black Peony's cheeks. Her expression remained serene, preserving the same peaceful face with which she had left this world.

[End of Chapter 365]