Chapter 1231: Willing to Marry

"Lord Shao, you should rest quietly and recuperate." One of the Blackwater Terrace attendants stepped forward to offer the reminder.

Shao Pingbo nodded in thanks. "I feel a little stifled. I'm only going for a walk." He waved a hand, signaling that there was no need to follow.

The man stopped. Master and servant walked away at an unhurried pace. Patrols crisscrossed the camp from time to time, some passing directly beside them, while flying mounts could be seen circling through the dimly brightening sky overhead, guarding against anyone approaching from the air.

They stopped near a crude watchtower on a sloping rise and looked out over the sprawling interconnected camps of the army. After a stretch of silence, Shao Pingbo slowly said, "I have exhausted heart and blood for the State of Jin, yet the people in Jin's court will not tolerate me."

Shao Sansheng studied him. Only after confirming that his emotions had truly settled did he dare speak. "Eldest Young Master, you absolutely cannot agree to marry the Seventh Princess!"

Strictly speaking, he was only a servant and had no right to interfere in his master's marriage. But he truly could not bear this. If it had merely been a marriage involving some ordinary common household, that would have been one thing. But the affair of the Seventh Princess had already drawn the eyes of all under Heaven. If Eldest Young Master married her, he would never again be able to hold his head high. And Eldest Young Master was already someone who thought too deeply, exhausting both mind and spirit. He could not withstand excessive shock. If he were forced to carry such a burden for years on end, how could he endure it?

Shao Pingbo said, "How am I supposed to refuse? You saw what happened in court. That whole crowd is waiting for me to refuse! Every one of the hundred officials already promised His Majesty and the Princess that so long as the Princess wished to marry, their households would be willing to take her. Am I alone supposed to refuse? The moment I do, they will pounce like starving wolves. Their accusations will drown me. Everything I have painstakingly built will turn to nothing. No matter how great my merits, they will use their mouths to erase every reward I deserve! Even if His Majesty wishes to raise me up in the future, this affair will remain a weapon for them to attack me with. They will use it again and again!"

Shao Sansheng said, "Eldest Young Master has worked like a hound and horse in His Majesty's service. You should appeal to His Majesty!"

Shao Pingbo sighed. "Useless. The momentum has already formed. Even His Majesty cannot stop it. Do you think that account of what happened in court came from Blackwater Terrace? It came from His Majesty. He sent it so I could decide for myself. Even he is powerless."

Shao Sansheng said bitterly, "Eldest Young Master, you cannot marry the Seventh Princess. You have exhausted yourself for Jin, yet Jin treats you like this. Better to leave and be done with it!"

Shao Pingbo said, "Look around. Do you think we can still leave?"

At those words, Shao Sansheng immediately began paying closer attention to their surroundings. He discovered that men from Blackwater Terrace were following at a neither-near-nor-far distance, while other indistinct gazes watched them from every direction. Only then did he understand why Eldest Young Master had insisted on coming outside for a walk.

Shao Pingbo said, "Stop looking around. Jin has already reformulated its grand strategy. It intends to build its strength and crush the enemy through sheer momentum. At least for now, I am no longer that important to them. If I dare run, they will kill me without the slightest hesitation."

Shao Sansheng's grief turned to anger. "Eldest Young Master has spared no effort, only to receive this in return. It's hateful! Is there truly no other way?"

"I have considered several. The best would be for the Seventh Princess to die. The second would be for Gao Pin to use the war as leverage to extricate me. Another would be to ask the shopkeeper for help and have him use his influence with Qiyun Sect to interfere in court."

Hearing that there were still options, Shao Sansheng immediately asked, "How do we get rid of the Seventh Princess?"

Shao Pingbo said, "The Seventh Princess barged into court. First she used imperial authority to force the hundred officials to loosen their tongues. Then she turned around and used the weight of the hundred officials to force His Majesty. She maneuvered the entire court from within the command tent, as it were. Is that something a girl in her teens could devise on her own? There must be someone behind her who understands court politics intimately, someone old and calculating, inciting and instructing her."

"I do not know who that person is. But someone capable of arranging this may already be waiting for me to strike at the Seventh Princess. Before I identify my opponent, before I know how he has laid his pieces, making a move against her could mean walking straight into a trap. That option cannot be used for now."

"In truth, the best person to move against the Seventh Princess and resolve this affair would be His Majesty himself. Before the war began, when I was still important enough, His Majesty might have killed the Seventh Princess for my sake. But now... am I supposed to submit a memorial asking His Majesty to kill his own daughter?"

Shao Sansheng said, "Then go ask Grand Marshal Gao."

"Gao Pin has already made his position perfectly clear. By telling me Jin's newly decided grand strategy, he was also telling me that, to him, I am no longer indispensable. He will not offend the entire court for my sake. Unless I first lay out arrangements that can pressure him, he will not agree to help. And the people in court will not give me time to arrange things slowly."

"Whoever designed this struck at an exquisite point. Ruthless, steady, precise. He left me no room to breathe and gave me no time at all."

"There was no warning beforehand, so I had no defense prepared. By the time I reacted, it was already too late. I was already struggling inside the net!"

Shao Sansheng said, "Then we can only ask the shopkeeper for help."

Shao Pingbo nodded. "For now, yes. But this affair has caused too much commotion. Any abnormal movement would be easy for the Misty Pavilion to notice. I fear even the shopkeeper may not dare intervene. Still, matters have reached this point, so we have to try. Contact him. Ask him to use his power either to kill the Seventh Princess or to influence Qiyun Sect and interfere in court. Let him choose whichever of the two methods he thinks is better."

"All right. I'll contact him immediately."

Shao Pingbo continued, "As I said, this affair has drawn too much attention. I judge the chances of the shopkeeper intervening to be low. He may refuse to help. The shopkeeper is extremely important to me. If he truly has no confidence, I cannot force him. Nor do I want anything to happen to him. If he is exposed, I will inevitably be implicated as well. That would mean utter ruin. By then, even keeping our lives may be impossible."

Shao Sansheng asked, "Then Eldest Young Master means...?"

"Prepare another hand. If he refuses to help directly, then ask him to do something else: find out who my opponent is! Something going wrong is not frightening. The most frightening thing is not even knowing who your opponent is. This person is too dangerous. Find him, and I can guard against him."

"Once I have established my footing, I will eliminate this person! Also have the shopkeeper pay attention to which people in court are leading the attacks against me... If I want any peace in the future, I will have to eliminate a group of them and frighten the rest."

He turned toward Shao Sansheng. "These matters are not suitable for Blackwater Terrace to investigate, and I have no other force of my own to use. I can only trouble the shopkeeper."

Shao Sansheng nodded. "Understood!"

Looking toward the steadily brightening horizon, Shao Pingbo sighed. "I thought I could finally breathe after Niu Youdao died... I want to see which man in court has struck me so ruthlessly. To think such a figure was hidden in the court and I never detected the slightest trace beforehand!" A vicious light flashed in his eyes.

At the mention of Niu Youdao, Shao Sansheng's expression dimmed slightly.

That Niu Youdao had once ruined Eldest Young Master's name and reputation, angering him until he coughed blood. Now another person had emerged who also meant to destroy his name and reputation, and had likewise driven him to cough blood.

When Niu Youdao was trapped inside the Sacred Realm and Eldest Young Master emerged from hiding, he had encountered no worthy opponent and had been overturning clouds and rain all the way. Who could have imagined that the moment Niu Youdao died, another troublemaker would appear?

"Eldest Young Master, where are we going now?" Shao Sansheng asked gloomily, wanting to prepare in advance.

Shao Pingbo said, "With something like this happening, I have no mind for anything else. Until this hidden danger is resolved, I can do nothing. For now, we are going nowhere. Since I am unwell, I can delay replying to His Majesty for a time. We will remain here for a few days and wait for news from the shopkeeper before deciding. Go contact him at once."

"Yes!" Shao Sansheng accepted the order.

Some things unfolded exactly as Shao Pingbo expected.

The shopkeeper indeed felt the commotion was too great and too many eyes were watching. He refused to use the Misty Pavilion's power to assassinate the Seventh Princess, much less manipulate Qiyun Sect into interfering with the matter. Either action would expose too many flaws.

But investigating who was secretly striking at Shao Pingbo was no problem.

All the shopkeeper needed to do was subtly steer the Misty Pavilion's attention toward the affair. The Misty Pavilion would naturally investigate the truth, and the shopkeeper could simply obtain the resulting intelligence along the way.

Meanwhile, Shao Pingbo used his poor health as an excuse and delayed giving Taishu Xiong an answer.

Taishu Xiong did not press him.

The people in court, however, kept pressing Taishu Xiong. They suspected Shao Pingbo was pretending to be ill in order to evade the marriage, while Taishu Xiong could hardly tell them that the message he sent had angered Shao Pingbo into coughing blood.

At last, one minister personally traveled to the front on behalf of the court to inquire after Shao Pingbo's illness. He also conveyed the court's "good intentions" and asked Shao Pingbo what he thought, forcing him to state his position.

Shao Pingbo could not even pretend to be gravely ill. The visiting minister had brought cultivators, who examined him and confirmed that although his body had suffered some damage, proper recuperation meant there was nothing seriously wrong.

Pressed for an answer, Shao Pingbo forced a smile and emphatically declared that Taishu Huan'er was innocent. To be honored by the Princess marrying down to him would be his good fortune. If His Majesty and the Princess were willing, then he was willing to marry her!

The minister who had come to visit his sickbed left wearing a strange smile.

Inside the tent, Shao Pingbo fell into another bout of violent coughing. After cultivators used their arts to suppress the attack and smooth his breathing, he quieted again and sat there without a word, somewhat lost in thought.

He remembered the scene when he had met Taishu Huan'er in that farmhouse.

She had said the Emperor owed her one condition.

She had said she would not let Shao Pingbo off in the future!

At the time, Shao Pingbo had paid no attention to the threat.

Who could have imagined Taishu Huan'er's words would become prophecy?

Before departing, the minister who had come to visit Shao Pingbo naturally went to take leave of Grand Marshal Gao Pin.

Gao Pin personally saw him out of the command tent with a broad smile.

Once the guest had gone, Gao Pin's gaze shifted toward the nearby tent. He murmured, "He agreed... Good. This is best."

After returning to court, the visiting minister reported Shao Pingbo's position.

The entire court rejoiced and offered congratulations to His Majesty.

Taishu Xiong tried to use Shao Pingbo's illness as an excuse, saying there was no need to discuss the marriage until he recovered.

The minister who had visited him, however, insisted that Shao Pingbo had already recovered and was merely recuperating. If His Majesty did not believe it, Shao Pingbo could be summoned back to the capital to recuperate under everyone's eyes.

Taishu Xiong then tried another excuse: with war underway, it was inappropriate to arrange a wedding.

The ministers immediately argued that precisely because the state was at war, restoring the Princess's chastity would dispel rumors and bolster military morale. It would accomplish two things at once. One argument followed another, each wrapped in perfect logic.

The truth was simple.

Everyone had already felt how strongly Taishu Xiong intended to support Shao Pingbo.

Their interests had therefore aligned.

Even those who had always spoken on Taishu Xiong's side could feel Shao Pingbo threatening their own positions. None of them intended to allow him to replace them.

They did not care in the least whether Shao Pingbo was still sick.

The very next day, they selected an auspicious wedding date and submitted it to the throne.

Faced with the unanimous position of the entire court, Taishu Xiong could only approve.

But once he returned to the imperial study, he immediately smashed something.

Being forced into submission by the entire court was difficult to swallow.

This tendency could not be allowed to grow.

Once the battlefield situation stabilized, he intended to find an opportunity to settle accounts with that crowd.

[End of Chapter 1231]