Chapter 531: Sudden Awakening

Suppressing the countless thoughts stirring in her heart, Tang Yi said, “I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve met Niu Youdao. Almost everything I know about him comes from rumors outside...”

She suddenly noticed Xuan Wei looking at her rather strangely and felt somewhat awkward herself.

Xuan Wei smiled. “Before he left the mountain to assist Shang Chaozong, wasn’t he confined by Shangqing Sect for five years? What sort of person was he during those years? Could you tell me a little?”

“During those five years, I actually saw him only a few times. Perhaps once a year, and never for long...” As she said it, Tang Yi herself fell into something of a daze.

Yes. After treating him like that, what right had she had to seek him out later and demand that he help her?

Xuan Wei was somewhat speechless. She exchanged a glance with Ximen Qingkong.

It seemed Shangqing Sect truly had treated Niu Youdao very “generously” back then. No wonder Niu Youdao had refused outright to involve himself with Shangqing Sect until Zhao Xiongge stepped forward and forced him to give the sect a hand.

Xuan Wei had asked about the circumstances leading up to Tang Yi’s arrival, and Tang Yi had hidden nothing. She explained everything, taking special care to say that Zhao Xiongge had pressured Niu Youdao into helping.

That too had been part of Niu Youdao’s instructions before she came. He had specifically told her to explain it that way.

“Confinement can be understood.” Xuan Wei smiled, dissolving the awkwardness, then changed the subject. “What about Shao Pingbo?”

Tang Yi shook her head with a bitter smile. “Shao Pingbo never placed Shangqing Sect in any important position. In Beizhou, Shangqing Sect was little more than a group of errand runners. We never came into contact with core affairs, so I actually know very little about him.”

Xuan Wei looked at her and smiled without speaking.

Inside, she could only sigh.

A sect like this had somehow received help from two disciples it had driven away and, by relying on them, managed to make its way here. Who knew what sort of accumulated blessings Shangqing Sect possessed?

Since Tang Yi did not know, Xuan Wei stopped asking. She changed the subject again. “Have you chosen a site yet?”

“We’re still looking.”

“Mm. It’s an important matter. Better to be cautious. By the way, I hear word of your repudiating your husband has already been released?”

“Yes.” Tang Yi nodded.

That too had been Niu Youdao’s instruction.

It was not enough for the two sides privately to know the truth. Niu Youdao had insisted she make the matter public, using that as one of the conditions of their exchange.

Xuan Wei gave a quiet sound of acknowledgment.

It was not that she thought this should not be done. She merely felt it seemed somewhat rushed.

After Tang Yi left, Xuan Wei paced back and forth for a while, then said thoughtfully, “Shao Pingbo possesses great talent. If the State of Wei could obtain such a man, it would be like adding wings to a tiger.”

“In the past, he established himself as a regional lord. Nothing we offered could have recruited him. Now that he has fallen into difficulty, this is precisely the best opportunity.”

Ximen Qingkong said, “You want to recruit him before you’ve even figured out what happened?”

“This should be done sooner rather than later. If we wait, someone else may seize him first.” Xuan Wei said, “Whatever the circumstances, we can first test his attitude, then respond accordingly.”

Ximen Qingkong asked, “And if Niu Youdao truly insists on hunting him to the end? You intend to intervene and stop him?”

Xuan Wei lifted her chin toward the doorway through which Tang Yi had just left. “Didn’t he just come to owe me a favor?”

“Since I need it now, I can have him repay it now.”

“Zhao Xiongge should still be watching over Shangqing Sect. If Niu Youdao isn’t afraid of trouble, he can try refusing.”

...

In the bamboo grove, Dugu Jing came walking quickly and stopped beside Yucang, who was meditating with his eyes closed.

“Shao Pingbo is hiding inside the State Guest Residence and refuses to come out. People from Qi’s three great sects are guarding him. We can’t make contact.”

Yucang slowly opened his eyes and gave a cold snort. “All that talk about influencing the situation in the Qi capital was merely an excuse to break free.”

“Once he’d used us, he immediately wanted to keep his distance. What a wolf-hearted, dog-lunged thing...”

“And he truly is formidable. We practically had him in our hands, yet he still slipped away. We watched with our eyes wide open while he played us for fools!”

“Then again, if he didn’t have some ability, I wouldn’t value him.”

Dugu Jing said, “I’ll arrange another attempt to make contact.”

“There’s no need to twist ourselves into knots. Playing schemes with a man like this will only tie us up in our own schemes.” Yucang said, “Have someone write him a letter directly and state our intention plainly.”

“We need only one answer.”

“Ask him whether he will submit to us or not!”

...

Inside Prince Ying’s residence, Shao Liuer, serene and gentle in appearance, entered Hao Zhen’s study.

A short couch had been placed inside. Hao Zhen lay on his side reading a book. Someone unaware of the circumstances might have mistaken the posture for laziness.

Shao Liuer sat sideways at the edge of the couch and placed both hands on Hao Zhen’s leg, gently kneading it.

Softly, she asked, “Your Highness summoned this consort?”

Hao Zhen’s fingers reached the edge of the book. He drew a sheet of paper from between the pages and casually held it out.

Shao Liuer accepted it with both hands and began to read.

The letter said:

“Though I poured all my efforts into Beizhou and fell short at the final step, however unwilling I may be, Your Highness has spoken, and I naturally must stop in repayment.”

“As for Shao Dengyun, I, Niu, give Your Highness my word: I will let him go here and now.”

“But how much does Your Highness truly know of Shao Pingbo?”

“Your Highness may cherish talent, but I must still offer a warning.”

“Shao Pingbo bears the heart of a snake and scorpion. To disregard his former lord makes him disloyal. He killed his mother and murdered his elder brother without so much as blinking. His viciousness is beyond measure.”

“This time, to escape, he knew danger was coming yet did not warn his father. He used his own father as a smokescreen and fled alone, abandoning him in peril. Such a heart deserves execution.”

“If Your Highness employs a man so disloyal and unfilial, so devoid of benevolence and righteousness, recognizing neither ruler nor father, have you considered how His Majesty will view it?”

“I know this creature deeply. His heart is venomous. He is heartless and without righteousness, no man who remembers a lord’s favor. He harbors ambitions of kingship and hegemony; Beizhou’s self-rule proves as much.”

“If Your Highness takes him in, he will surely turn and bite the hand that shelters him.”

“Once near Your Highness, he will inevitably seek his own advantage. To elevate the offspring of his younger sister, he will certainly slaughter Your Highness’s two sons.”

“Do the lives of your sons not concern Your Highness?”

“I have said all I can. I ask Your Highness to think three times.”

“If Your Highness nevertheless decides upon this course, I, Niu, will stop and abide by your decision. I will not break my word.”

“Respectfully, Niu Youdao.”

The contents truly made Shao Liuer’s heart leap with fright.

Yet her gaze eventually stopped on the name signed at the end.

She had never met this man, but he was hardly a stranger to her.

She had been present when Lu Shengzhong was captured and had even matched wits with him. One could say Lu Shengzhong had indirectly died by her hand.

Because of that affair, she knew Tan Yaoxian had been used by men sent by Niu Youdao.

Regardless of whether Tan Yaoxian had been used, there was one thing she knew clearly.

Tan Yaoxian was a man without much cunning. His feelings for her had been absolutely sincere.

Priceless treasures are easy to seek; a faithful lover is hard to find.

The memory of Tan Yaoxian leaving in tears to protect her had always pierced her heart like a knife.

That foolish man could not even protect himself, yet he had still thought only of protecting her.

So she could not forgive Shao Pingbo for killing the man she loved.

And there was another person she could not forgive either: the original culprit behind it all, Niu Youdao.

“This letter was written by that Niu Youdao from Nanzhou in the State of Yan?” Shao Liuer asked softly.

Hao Zhen appeared absorbed in his book. He gave a quiet sound of acknowledgment, then asked, “What do you think of his assessment of your elder brother?”

Shao Liuer was silent for a while. “Your Highness has your own judgment.”

“Why should I let an outsider’s words cloud my ears?” Hao Zhen said. “I want to hear your view.”

Shao Liuer considered her answer carefully. “It is true.”

The eyelids Hao Zhen had lowered behind his book snapped open.

He shifted the volume aside slightly, revealing a sharp gaze fixed upon her.

“He is your elder brother. Even you judge him this way?”

Shao Liuer stood, first lowering herself in a half-curtsy before answering.

“After reading the letter, this consort understands that Your Highness must already have pleaded on behalf of Father and Elder Brother.”

“Your Highness did these things silently and showed such consideration for this consort. I am moved to tears.”

“If I still concealed selfish thoughts now, I would neither eat nor sleep in peace and would have no face to meet Your Highness.”

“What Your Highness has done has made one thing clearer to me.”

“So long as Your Highness prospers, naturally you will look after the Shao family as well.”

“Elder Brother’s thoughts are dark and unpredictable. Even I fear him, and I fear still more that he may bring calamity upon Your Highness.”

“If Prince Ying’s residence is unstable, how could I have any ground beneath my own feet?”

“Only if Your Highness is well can I be well.”

“As the common saying goes, marry a chicken and follow the chicken, marry a dog and follow the dog.”

“Your Highness is the foundation on which this consort now stands. I dare not hide Elder Brother’s true character from you.”

Tears were already circling in her eyes, and her voice carried a faint choke.

She looked painfully vulnerable.

Hao Zhen threw down the book and stood. Taking her face between both hands, he said with emotion, “I understand the Princess Consort’s heart. I was the one who put you in a difficult position.”

Shao Liuer gently shook her head.

Hao Zhen said, “Then let us do this. Since he is your elder brother, I will not make things difficult for him.”

“Take some wealth and give it to him. Let him seek his own road from here.”

“As for the future, a brother this vicious is better left unseen.”

“What do you think?”

Tears streamed down Shao Liuer’s face as she nodded. “This consort will follow Your Highness’s arrangement.”

Hao Zhen gently wiped away her tears...

After Shao Liuer left, Mu Jiu, Che Buchi, Gao Jianhou, and Xie Longfei entered one after another, watching Hao Zhen’s reaction.

Hao Zhen lowered his head and looked at the letter in his hand.

When he first read it, he himself had been frightened afterward by what might have happened.

Never mind the danger to his two sons. The single line—

“If Your Highness employs a man so disloyal and unfilial, so devoid of benevolence and righteousness, recognizing neither ruler nor father, have you considered how His Majesty will view it?”

—had been enough to make his heart pound.

Without Niu Youdao’s dissection of the matter in the letter, he had not realized that Shao Pingbo had used his own father as cover, abandoning him in danger so he himself could flee.

Thinking it over, that possibility was entirely plausible.

That one line alone meant Hao Zhen could never dare employ Shao Pingbo now.

As for letting Shao Liuer read the letter, he had not actually wanted her judgment.

He had wanted to use the opportunity to test where she stood.

“Fortunately, I asked and received Niu Youdao’s reply. It brought me to a sudden awakening. Otherwise, I would have ruined a major affair of my own!” Hao Zhen lifted his face and released a long breath.

The others all cupped their hands and bowed. “We were foolish!”

Hao Zhen shook the letter in his hand. “Niu Youdao at least appears to be a man who keeps his word.”

“At the very least, after receiving my letter, he agreed not to move against Shao Dengyun.”

“He spent so much effort acting against the Shao clan. He must have poured considerable blood and sweat into it.”

“If he truly stops merely because he received my letter, then I accept this favor from him.”

...

“Mr. Shao, there is a letter for Young Master Shao.”

At the courtyard gate, an attendant from the State Guest Residence appeared and called inside.

Hearing him, Shao Sansheng emerged. He went to the gate and accepted the letter.

Seeing that it was sealed and bore no writing on either front or back, he asked, “Who delivered it?”

The attendant replied, “A very unfamiliar face. I don’t know who it was.”

Shao Sansheng casually took a silver coin from his sleeve and gave it to him.

The attendant immediately beamed and thanked him.

Shao Pingbo had also appeared beneath the eaves after hearing the call.

When Shao Sansheng returned, he asked, “Whose letter?”

“There’s no name on the envelope.” Shao Sansheng answered as he opened it.

Shao Pingbo closed his eyes, then gave a cold snort. “Nine chances out of ten, this has something to do with Xiaoyue Pavilion.”

Shao Sansheng withdrew the letter and read it.

Then he raised his head wordlessly. “Eldest Young Master’s judgment is uncanny. It really is from them.”

Shao Pingbo opened his eyes. “Sending a letter directly here at a time like this—apart from those things that cannot see the light of day, who else would it be?”

“There’s nothing strange about it. I’m afraid they harbor no good intentions.”

“They want to recruit Eldest Young Master and have you place yourself under them,” Shao Sansheng said quietly.

He held the letter out in front of Shao Pingbo so he could read it without touching it.

Since they already knew Xiaoyue Pavilion harbored ill intentions, Shao Sansheng dared not let Shao Pingbo touch an unexamined letter directly.

Xiaoyue Pavilion had far too many strange methods.

An organization devoted to assassination was sometimes genuinely impossible to guard against.

As Shao Pingbo read the letter, contempt gradually appeared across his face.

He was plainly disdainful.

[End of Chapter 531]