Chapter 903: This Old Man Cannot Refuse; I Can Only Act!

After thinking it over for a moment, Gong Lince had to admit that it did seem to be the case. For a time, he was left speechless.

He had always thought Niu Youdao's habit of swearing brotherhood was a joke. More than that, he had looked down on it. He believed most other people felt the same way.

But if what Yan Li had just described truly came to pass, would those who had treated it as a joke, himself included, still be able to laugh? Could they still call Niu Youdao's actions laughable? By then, the only thing worth laughing at would probably be their own ignorance.

Yan Li had opened his eyes today. Gong Lince turned to look at him, somewhat surprised. He knew Yan Li well. Since when had this fellow become so perceptive?

"It seems Junior Brother Yan has studied Elder Niu quite deeply," Gong Lince remarked.

Yan Li still wore a wry smile. "It isn't that I wanted to study him. I simply saw some things with my own eyes while I was with him in the Tiandu Secret Realm. Back then, Sha Rulai had already driven him into a dead end. Yet he came out alive. Not only alive, he even took first place! At the beginning, who could have believed he would finish first? They couldn't kill him even under those circumstances, and it wasn't brute force that kept him alive. I watched the whole process myself. There are still things that happened then that I cannot understand even now. Once, when there should have been absolutely no way for him to escape, nobody knew how he got away. Can a man like that be simple? To tell the truth, every move he makes now makes me suspicious. Everyone pressured him earlier, and I have serious doubts about whether we truly gained anything from it."

Gong Lince asked, "You think there is a problem?"

"I don't know whether there is a problem, and I can't see where one would be. It looked as though he had no choice." Yan Li hesitated, then continued, "This may sound unpleasant, but I suspect that even if all our brains were tied together, they might still not work as well as his. Would a man like him really take such a loss so easily? I seriously doubt it!"

Gong Lince frowned and fell silent...

Early the next morning, Guan Fangyi opened her door after washing and dressing. She was languidly waving a round fan and preening in her usual coquettish fashion when she saw Shang Shuqing standing alone in the courtyard, offering her an awkward greeting. Guan Fangyi paused, then glanced toward Niu Youdao's tightly shut door.

She smiled and nodded back, then hurried along the covered corridor to Niu Youdao's room.

After knocking and entering, she said to Niu Youdao, who was sitting cross-legged in meditation on the couch, "Master Dao, the Commandery Princess is waiting outside."

Niu Youdao opened his eyes and was silent for a moment. Then he rose and slowly walked over to sit before the dressing table.

Guan Fangyi immediately returned to the doorway and beckoned. "Commandery Princess, Master Dao is up."

Only then did Shang Shuqing walk beneath the eaves, climb the steps, gather her skirt, and enter. Seeing Niu Youdao already seated before the dressing table, she went over as though following an old routine, picked up the comb, and began arranging his hair.

Niu Youdao closed his eyes and sat quietly before the bronze mirror.

Guan Fangyi busied herself opening the windows one after another, stealing glances toward the dressing table from time to time. Once every window was open, she sauntered out as though nothing were amiss, swaying her waist and fanning herself.

Silence settled before the dressing table.

The familiar sensation of Shang Shuqing's hands moving through his hair was soothing to both body and mind. Niu Youdao kept his eyes closed and said nothing.

As she combed the smooth, silken hair in her hands, Shang Shuqing remembered how he had looked when he rescued her long ago, gravely wounded, his hair hanging loose. Emotion churned inside her, threatening again and again to slip beyond her control. She actually had many things she wanted to say. The feelings she had once laid bare before Shang Chaozong suddenly seemed like things she wanted to tell Niu Youdao himself.

But then she saw herself in the bronze mirror. Seeing that ugly face, her heart dimmed again, and in the end she still could not bring herself to speak. After holding everything back, all she managed was a soft question that broke the silence. "Master Dao, have your injuries fully healed?"

It was a pointless question, asked only because she had nothing else to say. When she first arrived, her sister-in-law Feng Ruonan had already asked him the same thing, and Niu Youdao had answered.

Niu Youdao gave a quiet "Mm." Slowly opening his eyes, he looked at her in the mirror and suddenly said, "Commandery Princess, you can't keep combing my hair like this forever."

Shang Shuqing's hands stiffened. She raised her eyes to the man in the mirror. "Am I not doing it well? If there is something wrong, you can tell me. I'll correct it."

Niu Youdao sighed. "That isn't what I mean. Commandery Princess, you're no longer young. If this continues and word gets out, it won't be good for you. It could affect your marriage prospects. It's time you married." He had already put it as tactfully as he could.

Then again, if Shang Shuqing had not looked the way she did, there were things he would simply have said outright. It was precisely because she looked the way she did that he was afraid being too direct would hurt her. A normal person might take a little blow and recover; someone whose circumstances were already abnormal might be crushed by it. That was why he had kept hesitating over whether to make a clean break.

Shang Shuqing lowered her head slightly. "Master Dao worries too much. Qing'er doesn't want to marry."

Niu Youdao said, "Commandery Princess, you're healthy and whole. You're a woman. How could you not want to marry?"

"I'm ugly. No one would want me. There is no point using status and position to force someone into it."

"I've heard of one man who wouldn't be forced. There is a General Li under the Prince who is said to be quite good. I believe the Princess Consort once tried to match the two of you. If he is a decent man, you could consider him." Niu Youdao knew the affairs of the Prince's residence like the back of his hand.

Shang Shuqing kept working on his hair. "I don't want to marry a man who has been married before!"

"..."

That one sentence left Niu Youdao with nothing to say. After a moment, he tried again. "There are plenty of unmarried men as well. Good men still exist. You can keep an eye out. If you find someone suitable, or someone you like, I'll personally act as matchmaker and make the match happen!"

Suddenly he felt her grip tighten in his hair, tugging painfully at his scalp. Her breathing behind him also turned unsteady. He heard Shang Shuqing ask in a trembling voice, "If Qing'er names someone, will Master Dao really make the match happen?"

The moment she said it, Niu Youdao sensed danger. He gave a dry cough. "I was being foolish. Matters like this require both sides to be willing. They cannot be forced. How could I possibly guarantee that a match will happen? I misspoke." The words carried a second meaning.

Shang Shuqing lowered her head again and resumed combing his long hair. In a low voice she said, "Thank you for your concern, Master Dao. I don't want to marry!"

"..."

What else could Niu Youdao say?

After a while, Shang Shuqing suddenly asked, "Master Dao, is there a woman you like?"

"Yes."

Shang Shuqing bit her lip with pearly teeth and asked timidly, "May Qing'er know who she is?"

"I don't want to say. I haven't seen her in a very long time." Niu Youdao murmured the words and slowly closed his eyes again, saying no more.

...

A door opened. Fan Zhuan, the steward waiting in the courtyard, immediately went to the entrance. Inside, two beautiful young women were helping Gao Jiancheng straighten the clothes he had just put on after rising. Fan Zhuan did not intrude.

"Your Excellency!" He stood at the doorway and gave a small nod.

Gao Jiancheng understood that something had happened and waved for the two women to withdraw.

Only then did Fan Zhuan enter. He drew a secret letter from inside his belt. "A letter from Master Dao."

News that Niu Youdao had become an Elder of Zijin Cave had already reached them. Gao Jiancheng had even sighed over it, realizing that his earlier worries had been unnecessary. That man had prepared a fallback long ago and had no fear of conflict with Yan's three major sects.

After reading the letter, Gao Jiancheng walked to a candle stand and personally burned it. Watching the flames consume the paper in his hand, he frowned deeply.

Fan Zhuan, who had already read the letter, came to his side and said quietly, "Your Excellency, I'm afraid this won't be easy."

Gao Jiancheng tossed away the ashes and paced with his hands behind his back. At last he stopped, closed his eyes to think for a while, then opened them and narrowed his gaze. "He has always taken great care to protect our side. He would not activate us lightly unless the matter were important. Since he has spoken, it must be urgent. This old man cannot refuse. I can only act!"

With that, he turned and walked out.

After breakfast, he left the residence in a carriage and headed straight for the imperial city to attend morning court.

In the great hall, beneath the emperor, he stood at the head of the officials.

Once the officials had finished deliberating and court had been dismissed, Gao Jiancheng had a eunuch announce him and requested a private audience with Emperor Shang Jianxiong.

Inside the imperial study, ruler and minister met face-to-face. Shang Jianxiong was in a foul mood, and it showed plainly on his face.

Gao Jiancheng asked, "Is Your Majesty troubled because Niu Youdao has become an Elder of Zijin Cave?"

Shang Jianxiong slapped the armrest beside the imperial desk as he rose. He came around the desk and paced to Gao Jiancheng's side, his face grim. "That Niu villain has transformed himself in the blink of an eye. With his present identity and standing, moving against him will be even harder. There is almost no opportunity left at all. And with him backing Shang Chaozong..." He shook his head. "A grave threat!"

Gao Jiancheng lowered his voice. "Just because we cannot move against him does not mean the three major sects cannot do it themselves."

Shang Jianxiong's interest was immediately piqued. "What insight does the Grand Minister of Works have?"

Gao Jiancheng said, "This old minister has received word that Peng Youzai, Sect Leader of Tianyu Sect, went from Beizhou to Zijin Cave. He has already met Niu Youdao, with Prince Yong's Princess Consort accompanying him. Peng Youzai also accepted a valuable gift from Niu Youdao. The two sides should already be wearing the same pair of trousers."

Shang Jianxiong did not understand. "I know about this. So what? We are powerless to do anything!"

Gao Jiancheng said, "There are quite a few officials in Beizhou who were sent there by the court. Over the past few years, we have received many memorials accusing those officials of crimes. We can send people to follow the records and verify each charge one by one, then leak the evidence of their crimes to Shao Dengyun."

Shang Jianxiong was even more puzzled. "Why leak it to Shao Dengyun?"

"Peng Youzai and Shao Dengyun have both become Niu Youdao's men. How can one allow another to snore beside one's own bed? So long as they have a reason to act, Beizhou may very well move to purge the officials sent there by the court."

"Would Beizhou dare act rashly? Those men all have ties, more or less, to the three major sects..." Shang Jianxiong stopped mid-sentence, seeming to understand something. "Grand Minister, you mean..."

Gao Jiancheng nodded. "If they do nothing, everything remains as it is and we lose nothing. If they act, they will sharpen the conflict between that Niu villain and the three major sects. One incident may not be enough to make them turn on each other, but afterward we can seize opportunities to add a few more. Sooner or later, the three major sects and that Niu villain will fall out completely!"

Shang Jianxiong hesitated. "If they really act, won't that benefit the Niu villain by giving him the chance to gain complete control of Beizhou?"

Gao Jiancheng said, "Your Majesty, Shao Dengyun and Peng Youzai have both become the Niu villain's men. With the two of them jointly controlling it, Beizhou is already Niu Youdao's Beizhou! Since that is so, we may as well use the opportunity and see whether we can injure the interests of certain people within the three major sects, setting those people and Niu Youdao against each other like fire and water."

Shang Jianxiong raised his brows slightly, the corner of his eye twitching. He studied the old minister before him a little longer. This old fellow was ruthless enough. To avenge his son's murder, he was actually willing to sacrifice the lives of so many court officials.

Still, the idea suited Shang Jianxiong perfectly...

[End of Chapter 903]