Chapter 542: I Shouldn't Have Lied to You

Several lamps burned inside a pavilion room, filling it with bright light.

At the desk, Shao Pingbo wrote furiously with his brush, occasionally clenching one fist over his mouth to cough before lowering the brush and continuing.

Shao Sansheng came over and replaced his tea with a fresh hot cup.

His gaze fell on the document lying across the desk.

One bold title immediately caught the eye:

Strategy for Jin to Take All Under Heaven!

He looked again at Shao Pingbo, who kept coughing, and worry filled his face.

Shao Sansheng knew Eldest Young Master's physical condition well.

A chronic weakness had already taken root in his body.

He needed peaceful recuperation and could not afford to exhaust his mind too severely.

Back in Beizhou, retainer cultivators had helped regulate his condition, and spiritual pills had nourished him. The problem had therefore remained manageable.

After leaving Beizhou, such conveniences were no longer available.

Especially not after arriving here.

Under the lamplight, Shao Sansheng looked at the white already showing at Shao Pingbo's temples.

Then came another cough that tugged painfully at the heart.

Even in this state, he was still draining his mind and strength.

Shao Sansheng could not bear it.

“Eldest Young Master, your health matters. You've only just arrived. There is no need to exhaust yourself like this immediately. Rest for a while first.”

Shao Pingbo stopped writing and coughed twice more.

Then he shook his head.

“Time waits for no man.”

“We have no foundation whatsoever here. This place may not be safe either.”

“The news that we've come here cannot remain hidden for long. If we delay, others may find an opening to exploit.”

“This memorial must be presented to Taishu Xiong before daybreak tomorrow. He must see it as quickly as possible.”

Taishu Xiong was the current Emperor of Jin.

Shao Sansheng opened his mouth as though to speak, then stopped.

Were it not for his confidence in Eldest Young Master, he truly would have asked whether a single memorial could really secure them a foothold in Jin.

Taishu Xiong was no mediocre ruler who could be easily bewitched.

Beneath the lamps, Shao Pingbo coughed again.

After gathering his thoughts, he bent over the desk and resumed writing swiftly...

Dawn arrived.

The fine rain that had fallen throughout the night still had not stopped.

Mist blurred Heaven and Earth, shrouding the immense capital of Qi.

At the city gates, peddlers, laborers, carts, horses, and travelers flowed in and out.

Niu Youdao approached alone from outside the city.

He had altered his appearance, carried his sword on his back, and held an oiled-paper umbrella in one hand.

His pace was neither fast nor slow.

Calm and unhurried, seemingly untouched by the weather, he carried a faint air of quiet elegance.

Outside the walls, the roads had turned muddy beneath the rain.

Inside the city, the stone-paved streets had been washed clean.

Beneath the eaves of a shop, Guan Fangyi, also disguised, sheltered from the rain while waiting for Niu Youdao.

She had entered the city first and reestablished contact with Wuliang Mountain's local eyes.

One reason was to send someone out to meet Niu Youdao and help watch the flying mount.

Another was to have Wuliang Mountain rapidly contact their people in other regions and rebuild Niu Youdao's lines of communication.

News from Dachan Mountain was extremely important.

Niu Youdao needed to know the progress of events in Beizhou at the earliest possible moment, in case anything changed.

If something did change, he likewise needed to respond at once.

The intelligence network Niu Youdao had poured large sums into even when money was still tight was now increasingly proving his foresight.

The enormous amount spent on it every year showed its greatest value at times like this, allowing him to reconnect with distant places as quickly as possible.

With ample funds supporting it, Wuliang Mountain had also settled into its new role.

The sect had transformed completely from a small faction struggling between stronger powers for survival and profit.

Seeing Niu Youdao approaching through the rain, Guan Fangyi opened her own oiled-paper umbrella and walked over.

She fell into step beside him and said quietly, “Everything's arranged. It'll be delivered in half an hour.”

Niu Youdao gave a quiet sound of acknowledgment.

“Where are we going?” Guan Fangyi asked.

“You'll know when we get there.”

“What exactly are you planning?”

Guan Fangyi lowered her voice further.

“It's just the two of us. I'm frightened, you know.”

“You'll know when we arrive.”

“Bastard!”

Guan Fangyi gritted her teeth and spat the curse under her breath.

...

At Fufang Garden, a plainly dressed old man carrying an umbrella approached the gate with a cloth bundle in one hand, looking around uncertainly.

A man immediately appeared at the entrance.

“What do you want?”

The old man raised the bundle.

“Someone asked me to deliver this gift to Mr. Yucang.”

The man frowned. “Who sent it?”

The old fellow turned his head, then gave a surprised sound.

“He was following behind me just now.”

The man stepped out through the gate and looked toward the street in the direction the old fellow indicated.

An occasional passerby moved through the rain, but nothing appeared unusual.

He turned back and held out a hand.

“Give it to me.”

The old man meekly passed over the bundle.

As their hands met, the man suddenly seized his wrist and sent spiritual power through him to investigate.

After confirming that the old fellow truly was not a cultivator, merely an ordinary man, he released him, accepted the package, and waved him away.

He knew perfectly well that if the person behind this delivery intended to conceal his identity, there would be nothing useful to discover from the courier.

Carrying the cloth bundle inside, he turned into a pavilion off to one side and opened it.

Naturally, no unknown package would be carried straight to Mr. Yucang without inspection.

Especially not something of uncertain origin.

They first had to determine exactly what it contained.

Inside the cloth bundle was a lacquered box.

The man opened it cautiously, guarding against hidden mechanisms.

The lid came up.

Nothing happened.

There was no trap.

What lay inside, however, was unexpected.

A human head.

And a letter.

The man's brows tightened.

He picked up the letter, then lifted the head for a closer look.

The instant he recognized the face, his expression changed violently.

He slammed the lid shut, lifted the box, and hurried away.

...

Outside the imperial palace, Niu Youdao stood beneath his umbrella waiting for the man who had gone inside to report his arrival.

From a distant corner, Guan Fangyi watched while keeping herself hidden.

She had no idea why Niu Youdao had come running back to the imperial palace again.

Did he intend to ask the Qi court to help wipe them out?

How could the Qi court possibly do such a thing?

Some evidence might be enough for you personally to know what happened.

That did not mean outsiders would accept it as proof.

You say those assassins belonged to Yucang, so they belonged to Yucang?

What status did Yucang possess?

How could the Qi court move against him recklessly?

And if they did involve the court, would that not be inviting trouble upon themselves?

The matter touched too many important interests.

Would Qi still let them leave afterward?

Niu Youdao understood the advantages and dangers as well as anyone.

Guan Fangyi did not believe he could be that foolish.

That was precisely why she could not figure out what medicine he had hidden in his gourd this time.

A palace guard emerged and led Niu Youdao inside.

Within the palace, another eunuch took over and brought him to the same simple row-house room as last time, a resting place for palace guards.

He did not wait very long.

Footsteps sounded.

Bu Xun appeared and walked inside.

This time, he had come fairly quickly.

He too found the situation strange.

Niu Youdao had only just left. Why had he come back again?

What did he want now?

“You haven't come back with another problem, have you?” Bu Xun asked the moment they met.

“Don't tell me Shao Pingbo is still hiding somewhere in the city.”

Niu Youdao tipped his chin toward the men behind him.

Bu Xun casually flicked one hand.

The attendants immediately withdrew.

Once only the two remained, Niu Youdao chuckled.

“Shao Pingbo? He's been gone this long already. I advise you not to keep hoping you'll catch him.”

Bu Xun moved to one side and sat upright on a bench, both hands resting on his knees.

“You never come looking for me without a reason.”

“Speak. What are you trying to use me for this time?”

Niu Youdao sat down opposite him.

“Use you? That's an ugly way to put it.”

“In the Qi capital, I might dare make use of anyone else, but never you.”

“Stop circling around the point.” Bu Xun said.

“You come when you want, leave when you want. This imperial palace is practically becoming your home.”

“Just say what you came to say.”

“If you can't give me a proper reason this time, I may have to show you a little color.”

“Such a large home is more than I'm fortunate enough to enjoy.”

Niu Youdao laughed.

“And there's no need for color. I'm not opening a dye shop.”

Then the smile abruptly vanished.

His voice turned solemn.

“Chief Steward, I was wrong.”

Bu Xun froze.

Then he broke into amusement.

“You come running here first thing in the morning and admit fault the moment we meet?”

“That doesn't sound like you.”

“What did you do wrong? What's this about?”

“I shouldn't have lied to you.”

The corner of Bu Xun's mouth twitched.

Niu Youdao being this honest made him almost afraid to believe it.

He suddenly had the feeling of a weasel paying a New Year's visit to a chicken.

Nothing good could possibly be behind it.

Still, he could not resist asking, “What did you lie to me about?”

“Those two poems were actually written by me.”

“...”

Bu Xun was briefly speechless.

Then he asked, “What difference does it make whether you wrote them?”

“Didn't you already refuse Mr. Yucang?”

“What? Have you truly decided you want to teach the imperial princes and grandsons?”

“If you're genuinely willing to hand the imperial princes and grandsons over for me to train, and you're not afraid I'll teach them crooked, I don't object.”

Niu Youdao continued, “Chief Steward, what I mean is that I thought about it carefully on the road.”

“Mr. Yucang is a man of immense virtue and prestige.”

“For him to think highly of me is giving me face.”

“To have the opportunity to form such a connection...”

He waved one hand.

“Fine. Let me put it plainly.”

“I regret refusing him.”

“I am willing to become the teacher of Mr. Yucang's nephew.”

Bu Xun did not know whether to laugh or cry.

“Is it appropriate to change your mind like this?”

“Aren't you openly telling him you were lying before?”

“Besides, if you're willing, then go do it.”

“You know the road to Fufang Garden. Go find him yourself.”

“You know Fufang Garden even better than I do, don't you?”

“Why run into the palace and come looking for me?”

“Do you truly think I sit around all day with nothing to do except accompany you in nonsense?”

“You truly have no objection?” Niu Youdao asked.

Bu Xun stared at him.

“This is between the two of you. What objection would I have?”

“Good.”

Niu Youdao rose and cupped his hands.

“Then, Chief Steward, I'll go now.”

“Forgive the disturbance. Farewell!”

He turned to leave.

“Wait!”

Bu Xun raised a hand and called him back.

He stood and looked at Niu Youdao suspiciously.

“You ran all the way here just to ask my permission for this?”

“Why does that sound wrong to me?”

Niu Youdao gave an awkward laugh.

“I was afraid Mr. Yucang might misunderstand you.”

“Misunderstand me?” Bu Xun looked baffled. “Misunderstand what?”

“Think about it.”

Niu Youdao explained patiently.

“The last time, you were present and I refused him, right?”

“This time, you're not present and I suddenly agree.”

“Wouldn't that make it very easy for someone to misunderstand?”

“...”

Bu Xun was left speechless.

Now he understood what Niu Youdao meant.

It could make Yucang suspect that Bu Xun, or even the imperial palace itself, had interfered behind the scenes last time.

Thinking it through, there really was some logic to it.

If this bastard went alone, perhaps certain things truly would become difficult to explain.

Not long afterward, a carriage left the imperial palace with several plainclothes guards accompanying it.

Bu Xun had left the palace again.

Once more, he was accompanying Niu Youdao to Fufang Garden.

As the carriage rocked gently along, Bu Xun looked at Niu Youdao from time to time, feeling increasingly strange.

How had the Chief Steward of the Inner Palace of the dignified State of Qi somehow turned into this fellow's errand-running attendant?

They had not gone far beyond the palace gates when Niu Youdao suddenly said, “Stop for a moment.”

Bu Xun snapped, “Do you ever run out of things to do?”

“There's one more person.”

Niu Youdao lifted the carriage curtain and waved toward Guan Fangyi in the distance.

Guan Fangyi approached.

After a brief delay at the guards, she was allowed into the carriage.

The moment she saw Bu Xun seated inside, she became visibly cautious and sat down quietly to one side.

She had spent many years in the Qi capital.

Of course she knew how great Bu Xun's authority was.

Calling him one beneath one man and above ten thousand within this city would not be much of an exaggeration.

On some instinctive level, she had always been intimidated by his power.

“We're all on the same side here. There's no need to keep hiding anything. Take it off.”

Niu Youdao gestured for Guan Fangyi to remove her false face.

Bu Xun gave a faint cold snort, as though asking who exactly was on the same side as Niu Youdao.

Then Guan Fangyi peeled away the disguise and revealed her true face.

The corner of Bu Xun's mouth tightened.

His tone turned oddly sour.

“You two truly are an inseparable pair, roosting and flying together wherever you go!”

[End of Chapter 542]