Chapter 729: Selling Everyone Out, Again and Again

Deep within the imperial palace of the Song capital, a woman in palace dress sat quietly before a bright mirror at her dressing table, like an elegant white lotus at rest.

A group of palace maids attended her. They tried to arrange her hair; she shook her head. They tried to paint her brows; she shook her head. They tried to adorn her with jewelry; again she shook her head.

She wanted none of it.

Her long hair hung over her shoulders, her face bare of powder, as she quietly looked at herself in the mirror.

Even without makeup, her peerless beauty was impossible to conceal. She was still breathtakingly beautiful. Only the faint fragility in her bright eyes stirred pity in anyone who saw it.

Her name was Aque, the consort most favored by Emperor Mu Zhuozhen of Song, the woman rumored to have gathered all the imperial palace's favor onto herself.

Her refusal of everything left the maids deeply uneasy. One after another, they secretly glanced toward the man half-hidden behind a hanging curtain to the side.

Mu Zhuozhen raised a hand and waved.

The maids quietly withdrew.

Aque rose as well and walked gracefully away. When she passed Mu Zhuozhen, she seemed not to see him at all.

Mu Zhuozhen suddenly caught her by the arm. Pain filled his face. "Que'er, the one suffering most is me. More than two million soldiers' lives are at stake. If I refuse, everyone inside and outside the palace will say you brought ruin to the state and disaster to the people. They will force you to your death. I have no choice!"

Faced with Shang Jianxiong's outrageous demand, and after confirming that Meng Shanming would obey the agreement, Song had ultimately compromised. Mu Zhuozhen agreed to hand over the woman he loved most.

Yan, in turn, made concessions on the other terms. The demand for one hundred million gold coins became thirty million. The demand for one hundred thousand cartloads of grain became thirty thousand.

Aque's clear, melodious voice sounded softly. "Que'er understands. Your Majesty has no choice."

Mu Zhuozhen asked, "Do you hate me?"

Aque did not say whether she hated him or not. "Seventy million gold coins, seventy thousand cartloads of grain, and the lives of two million soldiers. Que'er never imagined I was worth so much."

As she spoke, she tried to pull her arm free.

Mu Zhuozhen instead dragged her into his embrace and tried to kiss her fiercely.

Aque pushed against him and quietly said, "Some people say Que'er brought ruin to the state and disaster to the people. Seventy million gold coins, seventy thousand cartloads of grain, and the lives of two million soldiers. From this day forward, Que'er owes Great Song nothing."

Mu Zhuozhen went rigid.

Aque stepped free of his arms and quietly walked away while he stood there staring after her.

"Que'er, I swear to Heaven that one day I will bring you back!" Mu Zhuozhen suddenly roared.

Aque did not look back.

Outside the doorway, Mo Gao, Chief Steward of the Inner Palace, bent at the waist in a deep bow, his eyes glistening with tears.

Bare-faced and unadorned, Aque took not a single piece of Song jewelry with her. She refused even the maids prepared to accompany her.

Apart from the clothes on her body, the only thing she accepted was a gauze-veiled hat handed to her by Mo Gao to conceal her face.

Then she left with cultivators aboard a large flying mount, rising into the sky.

She left cleanly, carrying nothing away, exactly as she had said.

She owed Song nothing anymore.

Nor was there any great commotion over her departure. She was quietly sent away just like that.

It was not an honorable matter to begin with, so there had never been any intention of letting too many people know. Yan had also promised to keep the matter secret.

But it would be strange indeed if Shang Jianxiong did not make sure all under Heaven eventually heard of it.

Even knowing the matter could never truly be concealed from the world, Song still had to send her away quietly. There was no possibility of doing so with great fanfare.

Standing beneath the eaves, Mu Zhuozhen watched the black speck in the sky vanish into the distance. His heart felt as though it were being cut apart. Closing his eyes, he murmured, "Que'er has flown away..."

...

"Great General, Marshal Meng's military order has arrived."

Inside the central command tent, a military order was delivered. After reading it, Fuzhou Provincial Inspector Xin Mao immediately ordered, "Assemble the army. Withdraw at once!"

"Yes!" The generals accepted the order and left.

Only then did Zu Ande, Elder of Lingjian Mountain, ask, "Has the fighting at the Dongyu River ended?"

Xin Mao said, "It never started at all. The court's negotiations with Song have already produced a result. Song paid a price. Emperor Mu Zhuozhen even sent his favorite consort to His Majesty as a gift. Our court, for its part, sent the Crown Prince to Song as a hostage. The two states will ally against Han. Marshal Meng is obeying the court's decree and preparing to let Luo Zhao's forces return. Under the agreement, our force is to withdraw first so Song can send grain and supplies through to replenish Luo Zhao's army."

Zu Ande gave a startled sound. "How did it become this? Weren't we supposed to cripple Luo Zhao's forces? If Song is allowed to preserve substantial strength, then Han will naturally pinch the softer persimmon. If it cannot easily move against Song, it may turn on Yan instead. What is Meng Shanming doing? We paid such an enormous price to create this situation, and now the strategy he set down has changed?"

Xin Mao handed him the military order and said, "Hasn't Marshal Meng left our force behind? He makes it very clear. We are to see whether Wu Gongling moves. If Wu Gongling crosses into Song and pursues Luo Zhao, then we withdraw according to plan. Luo Zhao's men are exhausted and short of grain. They cannot move quickly. If Wu Gongling does not pursue, then we will seize an opportunity to provoke a clash and turn back at once. We are not to stop until Luo Zhao's force has been reduced by at least one million men!"

"Oh! So that's how it is." After reading the instructions, Zu Ande nodded repeatedly. Then he hesitated. "But the Crown Prince has already been sent over as a hostage to serve as the foundation of the alliance between the two states. If we truly attack, the Crown Prince's life may be in danger!"

Xin Mao gave a cold laugh. "Elder Zu, to us, does that matter?"

Zu Ande's brows lifted slightly.

He said no more.

...

"How is the grain aid from Wei coming along?"

Beside the river, Meng Shanming asked from his wheelchair.

Gong Lince replied, "It is still on the sea route. It should reach Yan within a few days. They will still land in Nanzhou."

"Leave one-third for Nanzhou."

Gong Lince had no objection. That condition had been agreed long ago. "As for Song's reparations this time, the court turned them all over to Wei and Qi to repay our debts."

"Song was willing to give fifty million gold coins and fifty thousand cartloads of grain, yet His Majesty preferred to demand less in exchange for that woman. Don't any of you find that absurd?" Meng Shanming asked coldly.

Gong Lince gave a bitter smile and shook his head without answering.

Meng Shanming looked away from him and turned his gaze toward the surging river, his mood heavy.

This affair had made one thing clear.

In the eyes of Yan's three major sects, Shang Jianxiong's power within Yan still carried considerable weight. It was not something anyone could easily replace.

From the three major sects' standpoint, Meng Shanming could understand it as well. Given Yan's present condition, they did not want fresh internal disorder. Shang Jianxiong had insisted on this matter to the death, so in the end the three major sects had compromised.

"Marshal, everything is ready." Zhang Hu came forward to report.

Expressionless, Meng Shanming said, "Cross the river."

At his order, the Yan army formally began crossing the Dongyu River and returning to Yan territory.

Luo Zhao's forces did the same.

One side moved upstream while the other returned downstream. Neither interfered with the other.

...

Inside a pavilion, Hui Qingping sat upright while Wu Gongling refused to behave himself. As he wandered beside her, he could not resist reaching out to tease her chin.

Smack!

Hui Qingping slapped his hand away.

The two might already be husband and wife, but this was broad daylight. Wu Gongling might have no shame, but she still did.

She had not held back much. The blow made Wu Gongling bare his teeth in pain.

Acting Sect Leader Shan Dongxing of Tongxian Pavilion entered the courtyard just in time to see it. He was torn between laughter and tears.

At first, he had thought Wu Gongling was merely joking. No one imagined this bastard would actually succeed and truly get Hui Qingping into his hands.

Shan Dongxing himself had been one of the witnesses at their wedding. For the sake of secrecy, it had indeed been extremely simple: only a few tables of wine and food, followed by the two bowing to Heaven and Earth.

The wedding itself did not seem particularly important.

According to the Tongxian Pavilion disciples responsible for protecting Wu Gongling, he had already consummated matters before the wedding. He had emerged from the bridal chamber injured and gone looking for Tongxian Pavilion people to treat him.

Lately, it seemed as though he entered the bridal chamber every day.

Shan Dongxing truly had to admire Wu Gongling.

And he had to admire Hui Qingping too. How could she endure a man like this?

"Great General. Madam." Shan Dongxing appeared and greeted them.

Hui Qingping still had not adjusted to being addressed as "Madam." Her face immediately turned cold.

Wu Gongling, however, understood the look Shan Dongxing gave him. He turned, took Shan Dongxing with him, and left.

Once they reached a secluded place, Shan Dongxing teased him. "The Great General's complexion hasn't looked very good lately. You should exercise some restraint!"

Wu Gongling chuckled. Lowering his voice, he asked, "What is it?"

Shan Dongxing lowered his voice as well. "Meng Shanming sent a letter. He wants us to cross the river and attack immediately. Otherwise, Xin Mao's troops will change course and come for us instead. He says what he says, he will do."

"Fuck!" Wu Gongling spat. "Every last one of them thinks I'm easy to bully. Just wait!"

That was what he said, but he was still somewhat afraid of Meng Shanming.

The scenes of Meng Shanming slaughtering his way through Song had left Wu Gongling's scalp tingling. Now the old marshal was willing to give him a road to survival and let him get out of Yan immediately. Wu Gongling had no reason to refuse.

For the sake of protecting himself, this man would use any means necessary.

The moment Jin Jue contacted him, Wu Gongling turned around and contacted Meng Shanming, selling Jin Jue out.

While bargaining with Jin Jue, he was simultaneously bargaining with Meng Shanming.

Jin Jue had underestimated the depth of his shamelessness.

More precisely, Jin Jue had underestimated how deeply Wu Gongling feared Meng Shanming.

Wu Gongling had once spent many years under Meng Shanming and knew exactly what kind of man he was. If a traitor to the state like him ceased to have value, Meng Shanming would certainly deal with him.

The means he used might have been despicable, but they had allowed him to survive a war between two states.

Otherwise, after Meng Shanming destroyed Song's river-defense forces, he would certainly have sent one force to eliminate Wu Gongling first.

Instead, Wu Gongling had successfully made Meng Shanming temporarily forget his existence, and Meng Shanming had led all his forces into Song to wreak havoc.

And in truth, Jin Jue was hardly the only person Wu Gongling had sold out.

Immediately afterward, he sold Meng Shanming out too, secretly bargaining with the Song court behind his back.

First he had to stabilize every side.

Which promises he would actually keep, and whose orders he would ultimately obey, would depend on how the war developed.

Despicable though it was, Shan Dongxing had to admit the bastard possessed real ability.

He had maneuvered among several great powers until now without losing his life, and had even turned himself into a key piece in their struggle.

...

"He's crossing the river? He hasn't even fought yet and he's already crossing?" Jin Jue was stunned. He quickly took the intelligence report and read it.

The reporting general said, "Yes. Luo Zhao's entire force has crossed the river and returned to Song territory. Meng Shanming did not obstruct them."

Just then, another report came from outside. A man entered and announced, "Wu Gongling has learned that Luo Zhao's forces crossed the river. He is assembling his men and beginning his own crossing, preparing to pursue Luo Zhao!"

"What?" Jin Jue tossed down the report in his hand and took the new one. After reading it, he frowned. "Has that bastard gone mad? Luo Zhao's more than two million exhausted troops can be ignored, but Xin Mao's army has not withdrawn yet. Is Wu Gongling trying to run straight into them and die? No..."

[End of Chapter 729]