Chapter 792: The Phoenix Seeks His Mate

Yun Huan felt thoroughly awkward.

It was as though he had pressed a warm face against someone else's cold backside.

These people were certainly realistic enough.

Niu Youdao sighed inwardly and turned to console him.

"Don't take it to heart."

Yun Huan smiled bitterly. "Given their identities and positions, it's normal for them to think I'm not qualified to stand as an equal with them."

"Just treat it as a matter of appearances."

Niu Youdao patted his arm.

"Absurd!"

Yun Ji, standing nearby, rebuked them with a single word and walked away toward Wu Zhaoxing.

Niu Youdao and Yun Huan both looked after her.

Being caught in the middle themselves, neither had quite understood the situation yet.

Once the two followed over, Wu Zhaoxing finally finished taking a long breath toward the sky and turned around.

He clicked his tongue at Niu Youdao.

"You're the impressive one after all. Killing without drawing blood!"

Niu Youdao did not understand the deeper meaning.

He only assumed Wu Zhaoxing was talking about the sworn-brotherhood arrangement.

"Under circumstances like these, it's best to strengthen the relationship as much as possible."

Wu Zhaoxing shook his head.

"Hong Gaitian really does have no filter on his mouth, and he really is arrogant."

"But when you don't strike, you don't strike at all. The moment you do, all four demons, devils, ghosts, and monsters fall to you at once—and they lose without even having a temper left!"

Niu Youdao looked suspicious.

He had no idea what Wu Zhaoxing was trying to say.

"Yun Ji is formidable..."

Wu Zhaoxing pointed toward Yun Ji and explained how their relationships had just changed.

"Absurd!"

Yun Ji spat the word again.

Niu Youdao and Yun Huan understood at once.

Only now did they realize why those four fellows had suddenly fled.

Both turned their heads and began searching the surroundings with their eyes.

After a moment, even Niu Youdao did not know whether to laugh or cry.

He truly had not done it deliberately.

When he arranged the sworn-brotherhood matter earlier, the relationship between Yun Ji and Yun Huan had never once crossed his mind.

Yun Huan looked back at his mother, his expression rather marvelous.

Wu Zhaoxing wanted to laugh but held himself back.

He could tell Niu Youdao had done it unintentionally.

Still, something puzzled him.

"Does swearing brotherhood like this really mean anything? Do you think they'll take it seriously?"

Niu Youdao understood what he meant.

But different people saw things differently.

He answered, "There's no need to force it. When false is taken as true, the true itself becomes false; where nothing becomes something, something returns to nothing."

The words sounded somewhat winding, yet there was a certain depth to them.

The three fell into thought.

...

"Sir, how likely do you think Master Dao is to return?"

Outside the Hall of Martial Valor, the guards who normally stood watch had all been dismissed some distance away.

Shang Shuqing arrived, heard the voice from inside, and instinctively stopped beyond the doorway.

The Hall of Martial Valor was a crucial center for military affairs.

It was not a place just anyone could enter at will.

Shang Shuqing was one of the few who could come and go freely.

After Shang Chaozong's question came Lan Ruoting's voice.

"Your Highness, no one can say. But the danger is real."

Shang Chaozong said, "Maolu Villa may have stabilized the situation for now, but I have no confidence in this at all."

Lan Ruoting replied, "It isn't only Your Highness who lacks confidence. I'm afraid even Maolu Villa itself has none."

"According to reports, the people from Liuxian Sect, Fuyun Sect, and Lingxiu Mountain have been growing rather close to Dachan Mountain recently. They seem to be currying favor, probably because they want to leave themselves a road of retreat."

"Your Highness, forgive me for saying something unpleasant, but no matter how this ultimately ends, we have to prepare in advance. We cannot wait until matters are upon us and then scramble in confusion."

Shang Chaozong said, "That is exactly my intention. I simply don't know Marshal Meng's attitude."

"The secret letter we sent him still has no reply."

"Military dispatches pass back and forth every day without obstruction. It's impossible that he didn't receive it."

"I truly don't know what Marshal Meng means."

Lan Ruoting said, "Your Highness, Marshal Meng's refusal to state a position is itself a position."

"His meaning is that Your Highness should decide for yourself."

"By refusing to involve himself, he leaves us a road back toward Master Dao's side as well, so matters don't become impossible to settle."

Silence fell inside the hall.

Outside, Shang Shuqing's five fingers clenched and unclenched repeatedly.

At last she could no longer endure it.

She appeared in the doorway, stepped directly over the threshold, and walked inside.

Shang Chaozong and Lan Ruoting both jumped.

Seeing it was her, they relaxed.

"Commandery Princess."

Lan Ruoting cupped his hands in greeting.

Shang Chaozong smiled. "Qing'er, you're here."

Shang Shuqing's expression was ugly.

"Brother, I heard everything."

Shang Chaozong and Lan Ruoting exchanged an awkward look.

Shang Chaozong said slowly, "There's nothing about you we don't trust. Just pretend you heard nothing."

Grief and anger appeared in Shang Shuqing's voice.

"Brother. Sir. How can you do this?"

"Do you know what you're doing?"

"This is tearing down the bridge after crossing the river!"

Lan Ruoting remained silent.

Shang Chaozong frowned slightly. "Qing'er, it isn't as serious as you're making it sound."

"How is it not serious?"

Her voice was pained.

"Brother, perhaps others don't know, but don't you know how we came all this way?"

"When we first fled the capital, what were we planning?"

"We feared the court might kill us at any moment. We were preparing to flee overseas through a secret route, like homeless dogs, spending every day in terror!"

"Brother. Sir. Who helped us establish ourselves in Canglu County?"

"Who risked himself to persuade Jinzhou to support us in taking two commanderies?"

"Who provided the money that let us recover, rebuild, and strengthen ourselves?"

"Who obtained great numbers of warhorses so we could expand our military?"

"Who turned the tide during Tianyumen's purge and helped Brother seize control of Nanzhou?"

"Who helped us survive one crisis after another when Nanzhou faced threats from both within and without?"

"And who, for Brother's ideal of defending Great Yan, defeated Myriad Beasts Sect's surprise force?"

"Brother. Sir. There are countless other things as well."

"Master Dao exhausted his heart and strength for us. He has done far too much for us and sacrificed far too much."

"Yet Master Dao has never asked us for anything."

"He has never taken so much as a needle or thread from Nanzhou."

"Who in all Nanzhou doesn't know we owe Master Dao?"

"Even outsiders know that without Master Dao, there would be no Nanzhou as it exists today."

"And how are we repaying him?"

"Is this how we're going to repay him?"

"Brother. Sir. Have you considered whether all of Nanzhou would accept us doing this?"

"Even if no one dares speak, how will everyone in Nanzhou look at us afterward?"

Her words left both men heavy-hearted.

Shang Chaozong said sternly, "Qing'er, are you afraid other people won't hear you? Lower your voice."

The guards outside had been sent farther away precisely because the two men did not want anyone overhearing them.

A single letter from Maolu Villa had exposed their secret meeting with Xiaoyao Palace.

They already knew Maolu Villa had eyes and ears beside them.

Shang Shuqing shook her head.

Her voice lowered somewhat, but the anguish in it did not.

"Brother. Sir. People have to act with conscience!"

"Master Dao's life and death are still unknown, yet we're taking advantage of his absence to tear down what he built."

"Can we really do such a thing?"

"If we are this heartless and disloyal even toward someone who has shown us such enormous kindness, then what others return to us in the future will inevitably be the same heartlessness and disloyalty!"

Shang Chaozong said, "Qing'er, then tell me this."

"What do we do if Master Dao cannot return?"

"You and I may disregard our own lives, but what about the lives and families of all those soldiers throughout Nanzhou?"

"Can you stand by and watch them be purged in blood?"

"Can you watch their families be destroyed?"

"With one order from me, so many brothers have gone through fire and water and bled across battlefields."

"How many died wrapped in horsehide?"

"Those who leapt into Rolling Dragon Gorge did not even leave corpses behind!"

"How many families were left with widows and orphans?"

"Do you expect someone else to support all those widows and orphans?"

"How are those old people, children, and women supposed to live afterward?"

"They fought east and west for me, Shang Chaozong, for Nanzhou, for Great Yan, and died far from home."

"You've seen those widows and orphans weeping themselves nearly to death because they could not even see the bodies."

"They were willing to die to defend their homes and state."

"If I cannot even protect the families they left behind, how am I supposed to answer the brothers who died for me?"

Shang Shuqing's eyes reddened.

She bit her lip and said nothing.

Lan Ruoting gave a soft sigh.

Shang Chaozong stepped forward and placed both hands on her shoulders.

"Qing'er, the one who truly makes the decision is me."

"The one who will truly bear the infamy is also me."

"No one is more conflicted than I am."

"No one suffers more from this than I do."

"But as commander, I cannot gamble the lives and families of so many people on luck."

"I must prepare for the possibility that Master Dao does not return."

"Otherwise, I am not fit to command them."

"Qing'er, this is not tearing down Master Dao's bridge."

"The person least willing to undermine Master Dao is me."

"There are some things no one feels more deeply than I do."

"Look across the entire cultivation world. No cultivator has ever treated us with the tolerance Master Dao has."

"Nor will you find a second cultivator who cares as much as he does about the livelihood and governance of ordinary people."

"He is the only one who truly takes the suffering of the people seriously rather than seeing the common folk of Nanzhou as ants."

"Only while Master Dao remains can Nanzhou recover quickly after war."

"Replace him with someone else and it won't work."

"Others will only seize and extract. They will only make the postwar situation worse."

"And only with Master Dao standing behind me can I freely use my hands and feet to govern all of this!"

"Qing'er, I'm not dismantling what Master Dao built."

"But circumstances force us to adapt."

"We cannot keep fighting those people to the bitter end."

"We have to ease the relationship between both sides."

With matters explained to this point, what more could Shang Shuqing say?

She remained silent for a long while.

Then she placed the box she was carrying on the table.

"This. Help me return it to General Li."

She had come here for precisely this matter.

She had never expected to stumble upon Shang Chaozong and Lan Ruoting's secret discussion.

"What is it?"

Shang Chaozong picked up the box and opened it.

A beautifully crafted golden bracelet lay on velvet inside.

He closed the box and pushed it back into her hands.

"General Li offered it with sincere intentions. Why must you refuse?"

Shang Shuqing placed the box on the table again.

"I know Sister-in-law met with him. Is there any point doing this?"

"However ugly I may be, there is no need to use power to pressure someone into marrying me."

Shang Chaozong hurriedly waved his hand.

"Qing'er, you've misunderstood."

"Your sister-in-law did not meet him to propose marriage for you, and there was absolutely no attempt to force him."

"Li Ye came to me on his own and asked me to give my blessing."

"I couldn't say much myself, and I didn't understand his intentions, so I asked your sister-in-law to speak with him and learn the situation."

"It is absolutely not what you think."

Shang Shuqing asked, "With his present rank and position, is he afraid he can't find a suitable match?"

The implication was obvious.

What sort of woman could he not find?

Why would he need to seek out an ugly woman like her?

Shang Chaozong waved his hand again.

"You're truly thinking too much."

"I know what's in your heart, and I don't want to wrong you."

"If I hadn't understood the situation clearly, I wouldn't be willing to match the two of you either."

"He is a widower, after all."

"However little your brother may amount to, and however imperfect my own sister may be, I would never lightly marry you off to a man taking a second wife."

"I wouldn't wrong you that way."

"After your sister-in-law spoke with him, he finally explained the truth."

"He's seven or eight years older than you, but when he was still a young man, he served as one of Father's personal guards."

"He was often at our home in those days."

"You could say he watched you grow up."

"He said other people don't understand, but he knows exactly how good you are."

"He said there are few women in this world more outstanding than you."

"He said you're a bright pearl covered in dust."

"Before, he felt unworthy of you and never dared speak."

"Only after earning merit in this war and receiving promotion did he finally gather the courage to ask."

"Your sister-in-law asked him directly about your appearance."

"He answered openly."

"He said you are accomplished in qin, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and that you are intelligent."

"Whether in figure or in what lies within, few women can compare with you."

"He truly does not care about your face."

"What he values is everything good about you beyond your appearance."

"He said that if he could have that good fortune, it would be his blessing."

"He said he would treat you well for the rest of his life."

"I know what kind of man Li Ye is."

"You know too."

"For him to say such things, they cannot be false."

"He truly likes you."

[End of Chapter 792]