Chapter 1250: I Ran Into Something!

Only after the dizziness from the blow to his head gradually passed did Shao Pingbo calmly speak again.

"Lord Zhao, I cannot have taken this beating and abuse for nothing. Can we talk calmly now?"

What did he mean, he could not have suffered it for nothing?

Zhao Gongquan's anger had already eased somewhat after drawing blood. But the moment he heard those words, the fury surged back up.

The man had killed his son, yet still dared say such a thing before his son's memorial tablet.

Unable to contain himself, Zhao Gongquan abruptly strode toward a sword rack beside the hall.

Shing!

He drew a treasured sword and turned back.

Shao Sansheng was horrified and began scrambling to his feet.

How could he allow this?

But Shao Pingbo seized him and held him down with all his strength.

A flash of sword-light.

The blade came to rest across Shao Pingbo's neck.

Zhao Gongquan's chest rose and fell rapidly.

The hand gripping the sword trembled with rage.

Yet that fatal cut simply would not fall.

The killer of his son was kneeling directly before him, hands restrained by his own will. Zhao Gongquan could kill him at any moment with a single stroke.

And yet he could not bring himself to do it.

To Shao Sansheng, the situation was terrifyingly dangerous.

His young master had crossed countless storms and survived them all. If he died here at this man's hand, would that not be capsizing in a gutter after surviving the open sea?

Shao Sansheng struggled.

Shao Pingbo held him firmly and said calmly, "Old Shao, don't be nervous."

"Lord Zhao has spent years in court. He understands better than anyone what can be done and what cannot."

"He is not like me, reckless and impulsive."

"I am an official of the imperial court. Blackwater Terrace personnel are standing just outside. If I die here, Lord Zhao will have to pay with his own life."

"And Lord Zhao's life is far more valuable than mine!"

Seeing that Zhao Gongquan truly did not dare strike, Shao Sansheng finally settled somewhat.

What he did not notice was that the blade had already nicked Shao Pingbo's neck, and blood had begun to seep out.

Shao Pingbo tilted his head slightly and looked at Zhao Gongquan from the corner of his eye.

"Lord Zhao, my life is right here."

"If you wish to kill me and repay your son's life with mine, I have no complaint. Go ahead."

"If you do not dare kill me, then please put the sword down and let us speak properly."

"With it sitting there like this, I find it rather uncomfortable."

Zhao Gongquan's face twisted.

For a long while, he struggled inwardly.

In the end, he slowly raised the sword away.

He wanted to kill Shao Pingbo.

Of course he wanted to.

It was not that he lacked the desire.

He simply did not dare.

Killing an imperial official over a private grudge was no small offense, especially an official of Shao Pingbo's rank, a great frontier official in status.

Zhao Gongquan could not bear that responsibility.

And there was another reason Shao Pingbo's rank mattered.

Shao Pingbo currently held rank but no real office.

The moment the Emperor placed him in an important position matching that rank, someone else of equivalent standing would inevitably be displaced, or at the very least have power divided away.

Who would be displaced?

Whose authority would be cut?

The Emperor would never reveal such a thing in advance.

Shao Pingbo therefore hung over certain heads like a sword, ready to fall at any moment.

That was why so many people had joined together to suppress him.

Killing Shao Pingbo would certainly feel satisfying.

But the handle it would give his political enemies was enough to send Zhao Gongquan himself to death.

The same people who had joined forces with him before and were now joining forces with him against Shao Pingbo did so only because they shared a common objective.

The moment that objective vanished, those very allies could turn their blades on Zhao Gongquan without hesitation.

The crime of murdering a high-ranking imperial official would be enough to overturn him in an instant.

"I don't dare kill you!" Zhao Gongquan sneered.

His gaze then shifted toward Shao Sansheng.

"But this steward of yours seems rather good."

Killing Shao Pingbo was something he did not dare.

Killing a servant, however, was another matter entirely.

His son exchanged for one servant?

Even His Majesty would have to understand and could hardly blame him too severely.

When Zhao Gongquan began stepping toward him, Shao Sansheng's heart tightened.

Shao Pingbo suddenly rose to his feet.

"Lord Zhao, if you dare injure even one finger of his, then treat everything I did today as though it never happened."

"I will fight you to the death."

"If you dare kill him, I will make the entire Zhao household accompany him in burial!"

Shao Sansheng's heart surged with emotion.

He rose as well.

Zhao Gongquan walked up and tapped the flat of the sword against Shao Pingbo's shoulder.

"You already knelt down to beg me, and now you still dare threaten me?"

"Borrowing His Majesty's backing to throw your weight around is one thing."

"If we're talking about real ability, you're still far from enough."

Shao Pingbo said, "If Lord Zhao has no sincerity whatsoever in discussing the matter, I will leave immediately."

"But the account for this kneeling, these beatings, and these insults—I will collect it in full."

"Within half a year, I guarantee the Zhao household will be exterminated to the last person."

"Not even a chicken or dog will remain!"

Zhao Gongquan was so angry that he laughed instead. "What the hell are you?"

"You still dare talk tough?"

"If you have the ability, leave right now. Why kneel down and beg me in the first place?"

Shao Pingbo said, "I truly am nothing remarkable."

"But when I governed Beizhou, resisting Han in the north and Yan in the south with the strength of a single province, I met plenty of Court Chamberlains like Lord Zhao."

"I never regarded them as anything worth fearing."

"Do you truly want to see how the Zhao Residence ends up exterminated?"

At the mention of that past, Zhao Gongquan's heart tightened slightly.

But standing before his son's memorial tablet, he refused to show weakness.

"Then leave!"

Shao Pingbo asked, "Has Lord Zhao truly thought this through?"

Zhao Gongquan pointed toward the door. "Get out!"

Shao Pingbo said, "Aren't you afraid that once I step outside, I will immediately summon Blackwater Terrace personnel and have the Zhao Residence searched and seized?"

Zhao Gongquan chuckled. "Search my home?"

"Do you think Blackwater Terrace belongs to your family?"

"Trying to frighten this old man with the kind of words you'd use on a three-year-old—Lord Shao, how childish can you be?"

Shao Pingbo said, "There is one thing I should remind Lord Zhao of."

"I am still counted among Blackwater Terrace's people."

"Blackwater Terrace belongs to Chief Steward Tao."

"Inside this capital, no one dares casually make a move against its people."

"If I walk out looking like this after being beaten so badly by Lord Zhao, it will be rather ugly."

He slowly turned his head and stared directly into Zhao Gongquan's eyes.

"Blackwater Terrace personnel have never been humiliated like this in the Jin capital, especially someone of my rank."

"Chief Steward Tao will be displeased."

"Lord Zhao, this amounts to refusing Chief Steward Tao face. It amounts to slapping Chief Steward Tao across the face."

"Have you considered the consequences?"

"If Blackwater Terrace truly wanted to bring Lord Zhao down, it might take some effort, but it would hardly be impossible."

"If I wanted to vent this anger, saying I could immediately confiscate your entire household may be an exaggeration."

"But bringing men here, arresting a few culprits, and taking them back to Blackwater Terrace would be no problem at all."

"As for whether they would still come out alive afterward, I cannot guarantee that."

"Confiscating property is boring."

"I prefer killing people."

"Last time in Black Prison, I regretted not having the Zhao household's women stripped naked."

"This time, I would like to try."

Zhao Gongquan erupted in fury.

His beard and hair trembled.

"You dare!"

He had never imagined that beating this bastard to vent his rage would itself hand Shao Pingbo another troublesome lever.

Shao Pingbo said, "Lord Zhao, I allowed you to beat and curse me like this. I even knelt before your son's memorial tablet to apologize."

"I came with sincerity."

"So let us stop circling around it."

"What will it take for you to let my people go?"

"Name your price, and we can discuss it."

"Let your people go?" Zhao Gongquan froze.

Then he quickly calmed.

A cold chuckle escaped him.

So that was it.

He had already suspected this man had come because of those people. He simply had not expected Shao Pingbo to voluntarily come and suffer humiliation for the sake of such insignificant figures.

Zhao Gongquan's gaze flickered.

The sword in his hand slowly lowered until its point rested on the floor.

"Name a price?"

"What price could you possibly pay?"

"You live under another's roof, with neither real authority nor power."

"How much salary can you possibly have?"

"And if I tell you to cut your own throat, you certainly won't agree."

Shao Pingbo said, "State your conditions."

"If they can be discussed, we discuss them. If not, then so be it."

"Conditions?" Zhao Gongquan raised one eyebrow thoughtfully.

Then he suddenly turned his head.

His gaze fell on his son's memorial tablet.

Remembering how his son had died, he slowly stroked his beard and gave a cold hum.

"Lord Shao, it isn't this old man criticizing you."

"The Seventh Princess was willing to marry down to you."

"How many men could beg for such fortune and never obtain it?"

"Yet you insist on refusing to appreciate it."

"As a subject who eats the sovereign's grain, should you not share the sovereign's worries?"

"How could you refuse to help restore the Seventh Princess's chastity?"

"It would be a good thing accomplishing two ends at once!"

The moment those words left his mouth, Shao Sansheng's breathing grew rapid.

He understood immediately what Zhao Gongquan's condition was.

Nervous, he stared at Shao Pingbo, unsure how he would respond.

Shao Pingbo's cheeks tightened.

His Adam's apple shifted several times.

At last, he sneered. "Absurd!"

"If I marry the Seventh Princess, that somehow proves her chastity?"

Zhao Gongquan stroked his beard leisurely. "Whether it proves anything is one matter."

"Whether you are willing to share the sovereign's worries is another."

Shao Pingbo pressed his lips tightly together for a while.

Then he suddenly asked, "That's your only condition?"

Zhao Gongquan turned his head and smiled savagely. "That is the only condition."

Shao Pingbo said, "Even if you agree, will the other lords listen to you?"

Zhao Gongquan said, "The others care far more about Lord Shao than they do about those little shrimps."

"So long as Lord Shao is willing to share the sovereign's worries, this old man can give you their agreement on the rest."

Shao Pingbo asked, "When will they be released?"

Zhao Gongquan said, "That depends on when you formally ask His Majesty for the marriage."

"If you can appear in morning court tomorrow and ask His Majesty for the Seventh Princess's hand, this old man guarantees every one of your people will be safe and sound within three days."

"If you delay too long and they have already been dealt with according to law, then this old man will be powerless to help."

Shao Pingbo said, "I want them declared innocent and restored to their original posts!"

Zhao Gongquan replied, "Do you truly think that would be difficult for the assembled officials of the court?"

"It would take only a sentence."

"The people below will naturally discover other cases of dereliction of duty and find someone else to punish."

Shao Pingbo clenched his teeth.

Then he abruptly said, "Fine!"

"Tomorrow morning, I will enter court and ask for the marriage!"

With that, he swept his cloak around, turned, and strode away.

Shao Sansheng followed quickly, his face filled with grief and indignation.

Still holding the sword, Zhao Gongquan walked to the doorway and called cheerfully after them, "Lord Shao, have a safe journey. Forgive this old man for not seeing you farther!"

He felt enormously pleased.

The moment Shao Pingbo left the courtyard, the two Blackwater Terrace men waiting outside saw the palm marks on his face, the tea stains covering his clothes, blood across half his face, and the cut on his neck.

Both were shocked.

"My lord, what happened?"

Shao Pingbo kept walking and answered only, "I ran into something."

How could someone "run into something" and end up looking like that?

One of the men immediately said in anger, "My lord, if something happened, why didn't you call out?"

"Blackwater Terrace guards the capital within and controls intelligence throughout the realm beyond. Who dares act recklessly against us?"

"For Lord Zhao to behave like this—does he truly place no regard on the Old Ancestor?"

Shao Pingbo said nothing more.

But in his condition, he drew plenty of pointing and whispering along the way.

Servants from other parts of the Zhao Residence even came over to watch the excitement.

"Wasn't he supposed to be so arrogant?"

"He only knows how to bully people below him. In front of Master, doesn't he still end up like this?"

Mocking comments followed one after another.

Shao Pingbo remained perfectly calm.

The two Blackwater Terrace men, however, clenched their teeth as they walked beside him, forced to endure every taunt.

Once Shao Pingbo reached the front gate of the Zhao Residence, he quickly climbed into the carriage.

Then came a crash from behind.

He looked back.

The gifts he had brought on his visit had been thrown out by the Zhao household servants.

Shao Pingbo merely glanced at them, lifted the carriage curtain, and climbed inside.

"Pick them up. Don't waste them."

"If we encounter starving refugees on the road, give the things to them."

Shao Sansheng turned back and gathered the gifts.

He even brushed the dust from them.

Only after wiping away his tears did he climb onto the carriage.

His petty, miserly appearance, unwilling to abandon even rejected gifts, immediately drew a burst of loud laughter from the servants crowded around the Zhao Residence gate.

The two Blackwater Terrace men mounted their horses and looked coldly toward the crowd.

One put two fingers to his mouth and whistled sharply.

A group of men immediately emerged from all around and surrounded the carriage as an escort.

The last time Shao Pingbo had come, he had ridden in with murderous momentum.

This time, he came and left by carriage, keeping an extraordinarily low profile.

Inside the swaying carriage, Shao Sansheng could no longer hold himself back.

"Eldest Young Master, if you have a way to seize members of their household and threaten them through Black Prison, why agree to such a humiliating condition?"

With his eyes closed, Shao Pingbo slowly answered, "The others refuse to spare those students."

"What use would it be to threaten this one household?"

"It would only make those students suffer more and die faster."

[End of Chapter 1250]