Chapter 1251: Proposing Marriage

At that, Shao Sansheng grew worried. "Can their word be trusted? What if Young Master yields, but they refuse to honor their promise?"

Shao Pingbo said, "Do you think His Majesty doesn't know what's going on? The Princess has been pushed back and forth like an object. Do you think His Majesty is pleased about that? Let them try breaking their promise. For the time being, they won't dare move against those students again. As for the future... only after I obtain a certain degree of authority will I have room to maneuver."

Shao Sansheng's expression dimmed. "Given the situation now, who knows when that day will come."

Shao Pingbo said, "What happened this time isn't necessarily bad for those students either. They've been tempered for years. After going through this as well, they should understand how to protect themselves carefully and not let others seize handles against them so easily. A setback teaches wisdom. That isn't necessarily a bad thing."

"Sometimes a bad thing can be turned into a good one. Before this, Jin only accepted and placed them because of the face I carried when I defected here, yet they have suffered exclusion all along. Now this affair has created an opportunity for them. I can use the momentum to push them directly before His Majesty."

"But Young Master, you..." Shao Sansheng's eyes reddened again. He meant that Shao Pingbo had suffered far too much humiliation for the sake of those students.

Shao Pingbo said, "I already told you, this may not be a bad thing. I will let His Majesty see another side of matters, and I can open another road for myself as well. It may help dissolve the present situation where I stand against the entire court. Remaining enemies with these people forever is not to my advantage."

"In the end, I can only blame myself for what happened this time. I was too anxious. Jia Wuqun appeared too suddenly, and I couldn't determine what later moves he had prepared. To cut off the danger, I counterattacked too hastily. After circling around, everything has returned to its starting point, and I've once again quarreled with the entire court. One losing move after another!"

Shao Sansheng said, "Eldest Young Master has endured so much humiliation to save these students. This old servant worries that people with malicious intent may now have seen Young Master's weakness. That Jia Wuqun, for example. What if he keeps attacking those students?"

"Weakness?" Shao Pingbo said. "If they kill every one of them, does that threaten me? Or if they arrest every one of them?"

"Those people are all officials of Jin's court. If another state can casually do something like that, then Jin can do the same in return. Once everyone breaks the rules, no one can continue playing. You're thinking too much."

"Let's return to the residence first. After I bathe and change clothes, I'll enter the palace to see His Majesty."

Seeing that Eldest Young Master seemed to have truly calmed down and made up his mind, Shao Sansheng felt considerably more at ease.

On the way back, whenever they encountered wandering beggars dragging entire families through the streets, the gifts originally brought to the Zhao Residence were handed out one by one.

After returning home, bathing, changing clothes, and treating his injuries, the Shao Residence carriage set out again and headed straight for the imperial palace.

Before entering the imperial study, Shao Pingbo encountered Tao Lue waiting outside.

"Chief Steward Tao." Shao Pingbo greeted him respectfully.

"Lord Shao." Tao Lue cupped his hands in return, then suddenly made a show of surprise. "Lord Shao, what happened to you?"

Zhao Gongquan had been grieving the loss of his son, with the enemy standing directly before him, so his blows had been heavy. The palm marks on Shao Pingbo's face were especially obvious. Shao Pingbo had deliberately refused to let the cultivators remove them.

He smiled. He did not believe Tao Lue truly had no idea what had happened.

"Nothing much. Chief Steward Tao personally instructed me to calm matters and avoid further trouble. I did not dare disobey, so I went to the Zhao Residence to apologize."

"Lord Zhao's grief at losing his son was caused by me. His anger was understandable. He merely had me kneel for a while before the memorial tablet, slapped me twice, and struck me on the head with a teacup."

"Lord Zhao was still fairly restrained. This sword did not take my life."

He tugged his collar aside and showed Tao Lue the cut on his neck.

The corner of Tao Lue's mouth twitched. He said nothing about it directly and merely sighed. "Lord Shao, don't resent this old servant. This old servant was only delivering a message. Calming matters was His Majesty's intention."

"With war underway, Lord Shao should also understand His Majesty's difficulties. You have been wronged."

Shao Pingbo said, "I understand. I brought it upon myself."

Tao Lue offered no judgment on the affair. He had no wish to say too much about court politics. Instead, he extended one hand. "His Majesty knew you were coming and is waiting inside."

"Many thanks." Shao Pingbo cupped his hands.

The two entered the imperial study one after the other.

After the formal greetings, Taishu Xiong looked up from behind his desk and froze when he saw Shao Pingbo's condition.

He rose, walked around the desk, and came directly before him. "Zhao Gongquan did this?"

Shao Pingbo said, "This subject was careless and ran into something."

Taishu Xiong gave a cold snort. "Weren't you supposed to be very bold? Now it was just something you accidentally ran into?"

Shao Pingbo said, "Everything that happened was because this subject handled matters poorly. I cannot blame anyone else. So wasn't it simply something I carelessly ran into?"

Taishu Xiong said, "Zhao Gongquan's temper is not small. To think he actually dared beat an official of the imperial court..."

Then he paused and added, "Then again, you killed his son. No one could easily endure that."

Shao Pingbo said, "That matter is already past."

Taishu Xiong raised an eyebrow. "Past? Was apologizing enough? He agreed to let you go?"

Shao Pingbo said, "Whether he will let this subject go, I do not know. But he agreed to spare the group of students I brought from Beizhou."

Taishu Xiong snorted. "When those men become stubborn, they won't even spare Us. What condition did they demand before agreeing to let your people go?"

"Marry the Seventh Princess."

"What?" Taishu Xiong reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. He erupted in fury. "Bastards! What do they take Our daughter for? Some object they can throw wherever they please? Back and forth, again and again—what do they take Us for?"

Beside him, Tao Lue frowned as well.

Shao Pingbo cupped his hands. "Your Majesty, this subject respectfully asks that Your Majesty grant the Seventh Princess in marriage to this subject!"

That was like pouring oil onto a fire.

Taishu Xiong shouted, "Shao Pingbo! You were the one who refused to marry her, and now you still dare open your mouth? Do you truly think Our daughter can be humiliated however you please?"

What followed was a torrent of abuse.

His finger nearly jabbed Shao Pingbo directly in the forehead.

Shao Pingbo lowered his head and remained silent, allowing the Emperor to curse him as much as he pleased.

Only after Taishu Xiong had exhausted most of his vocabulary and vented most of his anger did Tao Lue present a cup of tea.

After one mouthful, Taishu Xiong finally calmed completely.

He thought of the crux of the matter and asked, "You agreed to their condition because you wanted to protect that group of students from Beizhou?"

Shao Pingbo said, "Not merely because they are students from Beizhou. They were once Beizhou's hope for strength and prosperity."

"When this subject was forced to flee Beizhou, I still did everything possible to bring them with me because I wanted to preserve that hope!"

"Beizhou's hope for strength and prosperity?" Taishu Xiong was slightly taken aback. Suspicion entered his voice. "As far as We know, they're only a group of young men in their twenties. How did they become Beizhou's hope for prosperity?"

Shao Pingbo said, "Qu Pingfang entered the academy at twenty. At twenty-one, he took charge of dredging the entire Tongluan Canal in Beizhou."

"He coordinated the conscription of laborers and the commanderies and cities along the canal, keeping everything orderly from beginning to end."

"Under Beizhou's very limited finances at the time, excluding men who fell ill or died of old age, total deaths and injuries among the laborers did not exceed one hundred."

"In only three years, he successfully dredged the entire Tongluan Canal, which crosses Beizhou and winds for a thousand li."

"He rendered great service to Beizhou's river transport and to the irrigation of farmland in both north and south."

Taishu Xiong was shocked.

Outsiders might not understand what that meant, but as the Emperor of a state, he understood very well.

Dredging a waterway a thousand li long would be difficult even with Jin's finances, much less the resources of a mere Beizhou.

A project of that scale normally consumed human lives by the thousands or tens of thousands.

Yet deaths and injuries among the laborers had remained below one hundred?

And it had taken only three years?

Those sounded like simple numbers, but hidden behind them were countless complicated matters.

That level of coordination was extraordinary.

Whatever else might be said, this Qu Pingfang was unquestionably a talent in waterworks administration.

"Qu Pingfang..." Taishu Xiong murmured, committing the name firmly to memory.

He tilted his head slightly and gave Tao Lue a look.

Tao Lue nodded faintly.

He understood. His Majesty wanted him to remember the name.

Shao Pingbo continued.

"Cao Si was sent down at nineteen to train in the small town of Guandu in Beizhou. At twenty, he was already presiding over the town's administration."

"He eradicated an epidemic, established schools, repaired the docks, and used Guandu Town's favorable river position to develop trade."

"In only two years, he transformed a small town of a little over two hundred people into a thriving hub of more than three thousand. The population increased year after year, merchants came and went without end, and the townspeople settled into stable livelihoods."

"Young and old alike had work. Whether farming or taking odd jobs, everyone had some means to feed himself."

"Two years later, this subject promoted him to County Magistrate."

"He made broad use of refugees and settled them properly, brought the county's abandoned land back under cultivation, employed capable men without narrow prejudice, stabilized farming and sericulture, and placed importance on merchants and trade."

"Refugees who arrived no longer wished to leave."

"That small county prospered at astonishing speed, its population rising rapidly. The tax revenue it turned over doubled every half-year!"

"Xie Ji'an excels at criminal cases. Beginning in a small town and eventually reaching commandery-level responsibilities, he solved cases with extraordinary acuity and cleared countless wrongful judgments. Wherever he served, lawbreakers and malicious troublemakers trembled in fear..."

"Qiao Shen excels at commercial administration..."

Name after name came from Shao Pingbo's mouth.

For each one, he could recount his particular strengths as though reading from the palm of his own hand.

Shao Pingbo spoke fluently.

Taishu Xiong stroked his beard and listened with increasing attention, his eyes flickering constantly.

When Shao Pingbo finally finished, Taishu Xiong returned to himself and asked, "Where did you find all these people?"

Shao Pingbo said, "They were all students selected from the academies established in Beizhou back then."

"After these years of tempering and practical experience, they are already ready for use."

"If they die because of a struggle in court, this subject truly cannot bear it."

Taishu Xiong asked, "Establishing schools was enough to select people like these?"

Shao Pingbo said, "The habits of the world have long become corrupt and decrepit. Back then, this subject had no capable men to use in Beizhou. I had no choice but to train new people, shape new customs, and select useful talent from among them."

Taishu Xiong's gaze became complicated.

For the sake of protecting these men, this fellow had actually been willing to endure such humiliation.

It was not that Taishu Xiong despised his own daughter.

There were simply facts that had to be faced.

His daughter had already become what she had become. Marrying her to Shao Pingbo truly would be a tremendous humiliation to him.

Otherwise, why had Shao Pingbo resisted so violently before?

"For the sake of protecting these people, you think you can wrong Our daughter again and again?" Taishu Xiong asked through clenched teeth.

Shao Pingbo said, "This subject cannot escape responsibility for the Seventh Princess ending up as she has today."

"If Your Majesty is willing to grant her in marriage, this subject will treat her sincerely and well. I will never dare let her suffer the slightest grievance."

Taishu Xiong fell silent.

After weighing the gains and losses for some time, he finally spoke slowly.

"Huan'er has already suffered enough humiliation."

"We hope you will keep your word."

"If you do not, We will not spare you!"

Shao Pingbo cupped his hands and bowed deeply. "Thank you, Your Majesty, for granting this wish!"

Taishu Xiong waved impatiently for him to leave.

After Shao Pingbo withdrew, Taishu Xiong paced back and forth for a while, heaving several long sighs.

Then he suddenly asked, "Tao Lue, did you remember all the names he just mentioned?"

"Uh..." Tao Lue looked embarrassed. "Your Majesty, he rattled off a whole string of them. This old servant only heard them once and did not remember every name."

"But there are only so many of them. We can ask afterward."

Taishu Xiong said, "Send men to investigate and see whether what he said is true."

"Yes!" Tao Lue accepted the order.

"Corrupt and decrepit... train new people, shape new customs, select useful men..." Taishu Xiong murmured to himself.

Tao Lue's ears were sharp.

Hearing those words, his heart jumped.

[End of Chapter 1251]