Chapter 1238: The Marriage Is Called Off

Minister Steward Xue said in a deep voice, "Lord Shao, are you openly threatening us?"

"Threatening you?" Shao Pingbo shook his head slightly, as though the idea were amusing. "Lord Xue, if you want to condemn a man, you'll never lack a charge. Let us not speak like three-year-old children. I do not recall saying anything that could be called a threat."

The seven men understood his meaning.

What threat?

Who had heard one?

The testimony of the seven of them alone would hardly be trusted.

Lord Gong said, "I did not expect Lord Shao to be such a rogue."

Shao Pingbo ignored the remark and continued speaking on his own.

"Offering a little incense money is nothing unusual by itself."

"But the Seventh Princess suddenly entered court and handled affairs with the methods of a veteran minister who had spent years immersed in politics. Anyone could see that someone was instructing her from behind the scenes."

"Yet none of you showed the slightest suspicion. Instead, you immediately followed along and helped drive the matter forward."

"That is what makes this strange."

"My lords, can you explain why you cooperated so smoothly with Jia Wuqun, a spy from Song, in throwing the court into disorder?"

This was the most lethal point.

It was also the one the seven had no way to explain.

They could hardly say: We were simply trying to ruin Shao Pingbo.

Merely trying to ruin Shao Pingbo?

They had dragged the Princess into it as well.

Openly scheming against a senior court official was already enough to invite a capital charge. Worse, they had used an imperial princess as part of the scheme.

Lord Gong said in a low voice, "Shao Pingbo, stop spouting nonsense!"

Shao Pingbo paid him no heed and continued.

"Jia Wuqun incited and arranged the matter, yet all of you cooperated with him in remarkable harmony."

"That being the case, whether those incense payments were truly incense payments, or merely payments concealed beneath the name of incense offerings, is something that must be investigated carefully."

"Even if only to clear the names of my lords, both reason and propriety demand an investigation."

"Just now, I do not know which household's daughter it was, but her temper was impressive. Even after entering Black Prison, she still dared shout at the interrogators."

"The rules of Black Prison are simple. Man or woman, once brought inside, the first step is to strip the prisoner naked and search the body..."

"You dare!"

The ministers almost roared in unison.

Every one of them erupted in fury.

Some clenched their fists so tightly that their whole bodies trembled.

None of them knew which household's daughter Shao Pingbo meant, or whether the woman had already been stripped naked. Fear and rage surged through them together.

This was a man who had dared kill Zhao Gongquan's son.

What would he not dare do?

That single sword thrust in the Zhao Residence had indeed produced enormous intimidation.

None of these men now dared gamble on the hope that Shao Pingbo was merely bluffing.

Shao Pingbo said, "My lords may rest assured. Considering that these are relatives of senior court officials, the interrogators have not yet applied the 'rules.' For now, they are still trying to reason with them kindly."

"But people from official households are accustomed to throwing their weight around. Their tempers truly are not small."

"That much..." His gaze settled on Zhao Gongquan. "I already experienced personally at the Zhao Residence."

He had noticed from the moment Zhao Gongquan arrived that the man's eyes were filled with hatred whenever he looked at him.

At those words, Zhao Gongquan's fists clenched even tighter.

His lips trembled.

The grief and fury on his face could not be hidden.

The others understood perfectly well.

The murderer of his son was standing directly in front of him and even deliberately bringing the matter up to his face.

No father could easily endure such provocation.

Lord Gong feared he might lose control and grabbed his arm firmly.

Again and again, he squeezed it hard, signaling that this was not the moment for rash action.

Once they crossed this hurdle, there would be plenty of opportunities to settle accounts later.

Failing to provoke Zhao Gongquan into an outburst, Shao Pingbo continued, "Their tempers truly are impressive. Even after entering Blackwater Terrace, they still dare shout and curse."

"But Blackwater Terrace's rules are not decorations."

"I will give them half a day."

"I hope they use that time to calm themselves and cooperate properly with questioning."

"If, after half a day, they still maintain the same attitude, then regardless of whose relatives they are, matters can only be handled impartially."

"When that happens, I guarantee they will confess everything in full. I certainly will not disappoint my lords."

He cupped his hands toward the seven men.

"My lords, I still need to go persuade your families. I will not keep you company any longer. Forgive me for not seeing you off."

Censor Li said, "Lord Shao, we came to visit the prisoners. Allow us to go inside and see them!"

Shao Pingbo said, "Lord Li jests. This is Jin's intelligence institution. It handles state secrets. It is not some ordinary yamen prison."

"There is no such thing as visiting prisoners here."

"I trust there is no need for me to explain the principle."

"My lords, please return. Do not delay the important matter at morning court tomorrow."

Lord Li sneered and pointed at him. "I advise you not to act recklessly!"

Shao Pingbo replied, "So long as no one forces me to act recklessly, naturally I will not. My lords, forgive me for not seeing you off."

"Humph!" Lord Li flung his sleeve and left.

The others departed as well, every face taut.

Shao Pingbo watched the group leave.

Shao Sansheng moved closer and asked, "Eldest Young Master, if they cooperate, are we truly just going to release their families like this?"

"If we do, we will lose the hostages in our hands. Once that leverage is gone, I fear they will immediately counterattack."

Shao Pingbo said, "Do you think I want to let them go?"

"I do not."

"And I suspect the branches in those households connected to the Taishu clan do not want me to release them either. They are probably hoping I kill off the other branches for them."

"If that were not the case, do you think the Taishu clan's cultivators would have remained so quiet? They would have chased us down not long after the arrests."

Shao Sansheng nodded.

He understood the logic the moment he heard it.

Inside a great household, each branch preferred fewer rivals from the others.

Hadn't the Shao household itself once been the same?

Eldest Young Master understood that more deeply than most.

Shao Sansheng muttered, "Right. They want to kill with a borrowed blade."

Shao Pingbo sighed. "But it is not up to me."

"His Majesty helping me this far is already repayment for my previous contributions. Or perhaps he simply wanted to vent some anger of his own. He has no desire to make the affair too large."

Shao Sansheng said bitterly, "They were trying to drive Eldest Young Master into a dead end. Even after this, they may not let you go."

"To release them so easily is far too cheap."

"If it were me, I would use this trail of treason and enemy collusion to seize the seven men themselves, throw them into prison, and torture them first. At the very least, it would let us vent some anger!"

From his position, Shao Pingbo was everything.

He had watched Eldest Young Master cough blood after being driven to fury by these people.

He could not swallow that grievance.

Shao Pingbo said, "Do you think I do not want to seize them as well?"

"Not only those seven. I would like to seize every man in court who kicked me while I was down and vent my anger properly."

"But I cannot do that."

"If I seize the entire court, His Majesty will be the first to refuse."

"Without His Majesty backing me, can this affair continue?"

"Even these seven cannot be arrested."

"If I throw them into prison, then tomorrow at morning court, who will lead the officials in pressing for my marriage to be canceled?"

"This is not Beizhou, which I managed for years. We have no foundation here."

"In many matters, our hands are tied. Even if I cannot swallow this anger, I can only swallow it for now."

"This time, we owe the shopkeeper greatly. Without him quickly uncovering the truth behind the affair, I fear I might already have married the Seventh Princess before we even understood what had happened."

"By the time we finally understood, everything would have been too late."

Shao Sansheng nodded in agreement.

Given the situation at the time, once His Majesty sent the court account through Blackwater Terrace, they had understood what the Emperor meant.

There was no possibility Shao Pingbo could order Blackwater Terrace to investigate Noble Consort Lan and her daughter.

Even if he tried, Blackwater Terrace might not obey an order to investigate an imperial consort and princess.

"Jia Wuqun..." Shao Pingbo narrowed his eyes.

His voice slowed.

"Now I truly am worried about this man."

"I hope the shopkeeper can succeed quickly. Otherwise, Jia Wuqun will certainly become a future threat."

"With such a great disturbance erupting in Jin's court, the Misty Pavilion should already be paying attention to Jia Wuqun's movements."

"If the shopkeeper uses that momentum, locating him quickly should not be difficult."

...

Another morning arrived.

Inside the Jin court, affairs of state, war, and all under Heaven were discussed as usual.

Blackwater Terrace's arrests the previous day had caused considerable commotion.

Yet all the ministers concentrated solely on official business.

Not one person mentioned the arrests or asked about them.

The seven ministers involved had plainly slept poorly.

Every one forced himself to remain alert.

High above, Taishu Xiong saw everything clearly.

The previous night, those seven men had met repeatedly with other court officials.

Blackwater Terrace had tracked all of it.

Taishu Xiong already knew roughly what would happen at morning court.

He was waiting.

Once the main affairs of state had more or less been discussed and court was preparing to disperse, one official suddenly stepped forward and cupped his hands.

"Your Majesty, this subject learned last night that the reason the Seventh Princess named Provincial Inspector of Beizhou Lord Shao as the man she wished to marry was because a spy from Song deceived her from behind the scenes."

"Blackwater Terrace is presently investigating the matter."

"May this subject ask whether the report is true?"

Taishu Xiong answered calmly, "It is true."

Another official immediately stepped out and raised his voice. "This subject asks that the marriage be canceled!"

Taishu Xiong said, "The Princess's marriage was discussed and settled by the court. How can it be overturned like a child's game?"

Another man stepped forward. "Your Majesty, since we now know that the affair was engineered by a spy from Song, the marriage absolutely cannot continue!"

Another followed. "This subject seconds the proposal! Enemy spies must have some hidden objective. If the marriage continues, it may harm the state!"

Another stepped forward. "This subject seconds the proposal! Knowing it is an enemy scheme, how can we continue walking into it? Knowing it is an enemy trap, how can we keep jumping inside?"

Another said, "This subject seconds the proposal! The marriage should be terminated immediately."

Another followed. "This subject seconds the proposal! Your Majesty, the marriage of sons and daughters is a small matter. Affairs of state come first. We must not allow this to harm the state!"

"This subject seconds the proposal!"

"This subject seconds the proposal!"

Officials began stepping forward one after another.

Only after the momentum had nearly fully formed did Zhao Gongquan and the other six also voice their support.

In the end, nearly the entire court strongly opposed the marriage under the banner of resisting an enemy-state conspiracy.

The foremost senior ministers briefly exchanged glances.

They still did not state a position.

When the court had forced the marriage, they had remained silent.

Now that the court wanted to overturn it, they remained silent again.

Of course, Zhao Gongquan and the other six belonged to their various political factions and had visited them separately the previous night.

They had explained the full truth.

One could say they had gone to beg for help.

Without the tacit approval of these foremost ministers, there would never have been today's overwhelming chorus in court.

Taishu Xiong sneered inwardly.

Outwardly, however, his voice remained full of imperial authority.

"Since all of you have recognized this as a conspiracy by an enemy state, We will follow the will of the court."

"Approved!"

With that, he rose and swept his sleeve as he departed.

"Your Majesty is wise!" the officials praised in unison.

...

In the capital of Qi, inside a quiet little courtyard, several potted flowers and plants had been left behind by the landlord.

Bathed in the morning sun, Jia Wuqun stood before a low stack of bricks and reached out to pluck weeds from one of the pots. His expression was tranquil and composed.

Yuan Cong stood beneath the eaves, watching his every movement.

Whenever the slightest sound came from outside the courtyard, his gaze immediately snapped toward it.

Beside a well, Wei Duo used magical power to draw water.

He soaked the clothes and used his cultivation to agitate the water and wash them clean, then used his power again to remove most of the moisture before hanging them on a line to dry in the sun.

The little courtyard had only been rented temporarily.

It was not far from the residence of the Ghost Doctor's disciple, separated by only a single street.

After arriving, Jia Wuqun had already walked once through the area near that residence.

He noticed people keeping watch there and did not approach again.

For now, he made no move.

He was waiting.

Waiting for news from the Jin capital.

Only after that news arrived would he decide the next step of his plan.

The sound of a carriage suddenly came from outside.

Then it stopped.

It seemed to have halted directly before the courtyard gate.

Yuan Cong's gaze instantly locked in that direction.

At the same time, he flashed out from beneath the eaves and appeared at Jia Wuqun's side, alert and ready.

[End of Chapter 1238]