Chapter 533: Untitled

Shao Sansheng went to see her off. When he returned and found the man in the hall standing with his eyes closed and saying nothing, he opened his mouth as if to speak, then stopped.

There was no need for him to say anything. Shao Pingbo had already turned and walked to the table. He reached out and opened the box.

Seeing the stack of gold notes and silver notes inside, he suddenly threw back his head and laughed.

“Hahaha...”

He laughed without stopping, until tears came to his eyes. Shaking his head, his face full of bitterness, he said, “So in their eyes, I am the sort of man who can be dismissed with a little money.”

“Eldest Young Master, don’t lower yourself to arguing with the Young Lady. She...”

“Argue over what? Her temperament takes after Father—stubborn to the bone. Father has always kept Prince Ning in his heart too. Does he know how much Mother helped from behind the scenes? Without Mother’s maneuvering, how would Father ever have caught Prince Ning’s attention?”

“Forget it. There is no point telling either father or daughter such things. Even if you lay everything bare before them, they will refuse to believe it and only think I am plotting something.”

Smack!

Shao Pingbo snapped the lid shut.

He raised a hand and covered his eyes for a moment. When he lowered it again, he breathed out slowly.

“You cannot discuss ice with a summer insect. Enough. Say no more.”

“Hao Zhen wrote to Niu Youdao. Nine times out of ten, Niu Youdao has already guessed I am in the Qi capital. It seems he truly is coming this way.”

“This place is no longer safe. Prepare to leave.”

Shao Sansheng asked, “Where will we go? Will you accept the Chancellor of Wei’s recruitment and go to the State of Wei?”

Shao Pingbo drew a handkerchief from his sleeve and wiped away the tears of laughter. He shook his head slightly.

“Wei is rich. Its scholar-officials crave ease and comfort. The resistance in men’s hearts alone would consume half my energy. It is not a place where effort will bear fruit.”

“The ruler of Wei is muddleheaded, consumed by pleasures and toys, with no ambition to advance. He is no enlightened sovereign. If Xuan Wei had not struggled to hold the state up all these years, Wei would already be tottering on the edge.”

“Xuan Wei and the ruler of Wei are elder sister and younger brother. However much he trusts her, there cannot be two suns in Heaven. A hidden calamity has already been planted within Wei.”

“Xuan Wei may be willing, but I am not. Wei is not the place for me to wield my abilities.”

Shao Sansheng nodded slowly, then asked, “Then does Eldest Young Master mean to consider Xiaoyue Pavilion...?”

Shao Pingbo raised a hand and cut him off.

“No matter what they are plotting, they have spent their lives doing the work of assassins and accumulated too many blood debts. After living so long in the dark, those who cannot see the light simply cannot see the light.”

“Do they truly think the states are fools?”

“Men who cannot be brought openly onto the stage will forever have to hide in the shadows. Whatever illicit ambitions they harbor are nothing more than self-delusion and wild fantasy. They can never become a true force.”

“How could I join ranks with people who cannot show their faces beneath Heaven?”

Shao Sansheng stared. “Then where does Eldest Young Master intend to go?”

Shao Pingbo slowly intoned, “Though the State of Jin is all skin and bones, it has the ambitions of tigers and wolves. It has room for me.”

“...” Shao Sansheng was momentarily speechless. Then, worried, he asked, “Will the Emperor of Jin accept Young Master?”

“Since I have made my decision, naturally I have a way.”

“There is no time left to waste. Find someone and contact Jin’s envoy as quickly as possible. Tell him there is urgent business and invite him here immediately.”

“When he comes, I will make them find a way to get me out of here.”

“Good!” Shao Sansheng immediately accepted the order and hurried away.

...

At dusk, four riders entered through the eastern city gate.

They were Niu Youdao, Guan Fangyi, Uncle Chen, and Old Thirteen, all in disguise.

They had not ridden flying mounts into the city. That would have been far too conspicuous.

Yuan Gang’s build was equally eye-catching, so he had simply remained in a secluded place outside the city to guard Yin’er and the flying mounts. If needed, he could also handle their extraction.

Seeing the familiar streets of the city again, Guan Fangyi and the others could not help feeling emotional.

The group made its way to a secluded place inside the city and met with one of Wuliang Mountain’s local eyes.

The result disappointed Niu Youdao.

They had not found Shao Pingbo.

Still, he did not blame them.

The people Wuliang Mountain had planted here could currently do little more than serve as eyes or handle tasks when given a specific lead. They had not yet built up enough local manpower to conduct a broad search across a capital this vast.

After telling the contact to continue looking, Niu Youdao turned to Guan Fangyi.

“You people have more connections in this city. I’m counting on you.”

Guan Fangyi immediately signaled Old Thirteen.

He left at once and vanished into the streets and alleys.

“Contact Monkey immediately as well. Have him send messages to Hao Zhen and Xiaoyue Pavilion. Ask them directly where Shao Pingbo is.”

Niu Youdao continued laying out arrangements, attacking the search from several directions at once.

Once the messages had been sent, the group found a suitable inn and settled in.

...

At Prince Ying’s residence, Hao Zhen was dining with Shao Liuer. Their two sons were seated with them, while servants waited nearby.

Chief Steward Mu Jiu entered the hall.

He asked a servant for a warm damp towel, then walked to Hao Zhen and presented it.

Shao Liuer looked up.

She knew that when Mu Jiu suddenly behaved like this, there had to be some matter to report.

Hao Zhen wiped his mouth and hands, then rose and went outside.

Once they reached the courtyard, Mu Jiu took out a letter and offered it to him.

“Niu Youdao has sent another message. He is asking after Shao Pingbo’s whereabouts.”

“Another message so quickly?” Hao Zhen was somewhat surprised.

After reading the letter, he sighed. “Looks like he truly will not stop until Shao Pingbo is dead.”

He did not explicitly say how to handle it.

He merely returned the letter to Mu Jiu and turned away.

Mu Jiu immediately understood.

Niu Youdao had already given the Prince such enormous face. Refusing even this small request now would be indefensible and would amount to showing no sincerity in maintaining the relationship.

But Shao Pingbo was still the Prince’s elder brother-in-law.

It was not appropriate for Hao Zhen to openly betray him.

Some things did not need a master to say aloud.

Silence itself could be an answer.

Mu Jiu already knew what to do.

...

Night had fallen over Fufang Garden.

Yucang stood outside a pavilion, looking up at the sky.

Dugu Jing hurried over and presented a secret letter.

“Master, Niu Youdao is asking after Shao Pingbo’s whereabouts.”

Yucang answered with a question of his own. “Has Shao Pingbo replied to us?”

“Not yet.”

“Then ignore Niu Youdao.”

Yucang gave a cold snort.

“Wait until tomorrow morning. If Shao Pingbo still has not answered by then, give him a little color to look at. Otherwise he may forget how to distinguish good from bad.”

...

Inside the inn, Niu Youdao and Guan Fangyi were eating when Uncle Chen, who had been waiting for news, came over quickly.

He bent between the two and spoke in a low voice.

“Prince Ying’s residence has replied...”

“So he really is in the Qi capital.” Niu Youdao gave a cold snort.

He tossed down his chopsticks and rose.

“Good. He hasn’t run. Let’s go!”

Guan Fangyi hurriedly stood and caught his arm.

“Are you insane? That is a residence for foreign guests. There are cultivators assigned specifically to protect the place. It is not somewhere you can simply barge into and do as you please.”

“I know what I’m doing.”

Niu Youdao pulled free.

“We’re going to the imperial palace.”

Less than half an hour later, the three appeared outside the palace.

There was no possibility of simply walking in.

The guards stopped them, and cultivators appeared atop the gate tower, watching from above.

After the three waited outside for some time, the guard who had gone inside to report returned.

He pointed at Niu Youdao.

“You come with me. The other two remain outside.”

Guan Fangyi and Uncle Chen were not allowed in.

Only Niu Youdao was led through the narrow opening of a palace gate.

It was Niu Youdao’s first time entering the imperial palace of Qi.

The moment he passed the gate, the guard handed him over to a eunuch.

The eunuch did not take him far inside.

Instead, he led Niu Youdao to one of a row of rooms tucked into a corner of the palace and told him to wait there.

The furnishings were plain.

Several benches surrounded one table. It was probably a place where palace soldiers rested.

No one even served him tea.

The eunuch remained nearby to watch him.

After some time, Bu Xun appeared in the doorway.

Niu Youdao turned, rose, cupped his hands, and smiled.

“Chief Steward Bu, seeing you is no easy thing. It has been so long. I’ve missed you terribly.”

“Your mouth has grown sweeter.” Bu Xun smiled and walked in, looking him over.

“I heard you were still in Beizhou. Then you suddenly appeared here. I thought someone might be impersonating you.”

“You would not flatter me without cause. Speak. What is it?”

Niu Youdao tipped his chin toward the attendants behind him.

Bu Xun raised a hand over his shoulder and flicked it once.

Everyone irrelevant immediately withdrew.

Niu Youdao did not sit, nor did he invite Bu Xun to sit.

He was in a hurry and went straight to the point.

“Chief Steward, I won’t waste words. Nothing that happens in this capital escapes your eyes. Shao Pingbo has come to the Qi capital. You know that, don’t you?”

Bu Xun gave him a smile that was not quite a smile.

“You truly refuse to let him go.”

“Why must the two of you insist on being at each other’s throats?”

“Last time, you seized his warhorses. He has not even come looking for you to settle that account, has he?”

Niu Youdao said, “I’ll speak plainly. I have a blood feud with him.”

“Do me a favor. Let me borrow his head.”

Bu Xun said, “You came all the way into the imperial palace to make such an enormous joke with me. Do you think that is appropriate?”

“Beizhou!” Niu Youdao’s voice struck like iron.

“If you do not want Beizhou to descend into chaos, then give me his head.”

His horizons and understanding were no longer what they had once been.

He now understood what Bu Xun had meant years ago when he told Niu Youdao to keep Shang Chaozong from stirring up trouble in Nanzhou.

Put plainly, Qi currently needed the four eastern states to remain stable.

Otherwise, that tiger in Jin might come out and take another bite.

Bu Xun pretended not to understand.

“If Shao Pingbo dies, would Beizhou not descend into chaos even faster?”

Niu Youdao replied, “He fled here. I drove him out of Beizhou.”

“To tell you the truth, Shao Dengyun is already under my control. His life is in my hands right now.”

“So it depends on which one Chief Steward wishes to preserve.”

“With your eyes and ears, I refuse to believe you know nothing about what is happening in Beizhou.”

Bu Xun said, “Should I take this to mean you have recklessly come here to threaten me?”

Niu Youdao quickly waved both hands.

“Absolutely not!”

“I’m telling you the truth. He has tried to kill me more than once or twice.”

“This time he sent men to Myriad Beasts Sect to assassinate me and even colluded with Tianyu Sect to kill me.”

“Because of that, Tianyu Sect has already lost an Elder at Myriad Beasts Sect.”

“He has forced me into a dead end.”

“I never expected Shao Pingbo to escape either.”

“But now that he has, I have no choice.”

“If I cannot catch him, I can only kill Shao Dengyun and throw Beizhou into chaos, severing the foundation of power Shao Pingbo can rely on.”

“I cannot allow him to retain the influence of an entire province and continue using it to strike at me.”

“With Chief Steward’s eyes and ears, I imagine you have already reached your own judgment about many of these matters. There is no need for me to keep explaining.”

Bu Xun frowned. “Shao Pingbo is Princess Consort Ying’s elder brother. How can he simply be killed without cause?”

“That is easy.”

Niu Youdao answered immediately.

“Chief Steward need only quietly withdraw the people protecting him. Naturally, someone else will deal with him.”

“Chief Steward, perhaps I should remind you of one more thing.”

“Shao Pingbo colluded with Tianyu Sect to move against me.”

“If anything happens to me, Beizhou will not be the only place thrown into chaos. Nanzhou will become unstable too.”

“If north and south erupt at the same time, Yan itself may fall into serious trouble.”

“Shao Pingbo is already a homeless dog.”

“Is preserving one Shao Pingbo really worth that price?”

...

Inside the imperial study, Bu Xun entered.

When Hao Yuntu, seated beneath the lamplight reviewing memorials, tossed aside the one in his hand, Bu Xun stepped close and murmured several words into his ear.

Hao Yuntu set down his brush and fell silent.

After a long while, he sighed.

“Shao Pingbo is a talented man. Truly a pity.”

“But that fellow is no peaceful soul. If we keep him around, who knows what he might incite Hao Zhen to do.”

He turned toward Bu Xun again.

“You remember that affair with Mr. Yucang taking a disciple, don’t you?”

“This sovereign lost an enormous amount of face over that.”

“Now this brat has delivered himself to our door. Conveniently enough, we can give Mr. Yucang an explanation.”

Bu Xun bent slightly and smiled.

“Yes.”

Not long afterward, a burly eunuch led more than a dozen men and accompanied Niu Youdao out of the imperial palace.

[End of Chapter 533]