Chapter 1252: He Was Probably Silenced

Taishu Xiong returned to himself, then suddenly added, "Whether We admit it or not, some people went too far this time. They crossed the line."

"He actually dared drag Our daughter out merely to vent his anger at someone else..."

"Does he think Our daughter is worth less than his son?"

"Tao Lue, it's time you showed him a little color as well!"

Tao Lue bowed. "This old servant understands."

...

At morning court the next day, Shao Pingbo appeared.

His arrival should have caused a stir.

Instead, the court was strangely calm.

If anything, there were quite a few faint, half-hidden smiles.

Once most affairs had been discussed, Shao Pingbo stepped forward and formally asked for the marriage.

Naturally, there was no resistance.

Voices of approval filled the court, and the matter was settled just like that.

When the ministers had first supported the marriage, they had claimed it was to restore the Seventh Princess's chastity.

When they later opposed it, they had called it a conspiracy by an enemy state.

Now they supported it again because Shao Pingbo's sincere feelings supposedly had nothing to do with any foreign conspiracy.

In short, whether the words were upright or inverted, they were the ones speaking them.

Taishu Xiong was somewhat annoyed.

The court factions he normally kept balancing against one another had suddenly joined hands, and he did not like it.

That was not what an Emperor wanted to see.

Fortunately, he understood that they had united only over this one affair.

And in the end, the affair itself had been stirred up by his own hand.

As for the wedding date, that was no longer something Shao Pingbo could decide for himself. Others would naturally discuss and select an auspicious day.

Once the result came out here, the cases involving those students soon reached entirely different conclusions as well.

It was just like when Shao Pingbo had previously thrown certain officials' family members into Black Prison.

Once his objective had been achieved, the investigation into their incense offerings to the Fire God Temple suddenly became clear.

They had merely been incense offerings.

Nothing else was involved.

Now the students were likewise found innocent and restored to their original posts.

Matters that could be treated as large or small were reduced from large to small, then from small to nothing.

Those students had never truly entered the eyes of certain people in the first place.

They had been targeted only to strike down Shao Pingbo's arrogance after his previous victory and to show the people below that those great ministers still had the upper hand.

For the time being, they had simply been unable to find any other handle against Shao Pingbo.

Who could have expected the move to produce an unexpected result?

Shao Pingbo actually cared that much about them.

Since they could not prevent the Emperor from raising Shao Pingbo into power, then naturally they would use this opportunity, while Shao Pingbo was yielding, to win back the previous round.

It restored their face, vented their anger, and showed everyone beneath them that they had not lost.

As for those students, they were still far from becoming a true force.

In the eyes of those senior officials, they were nothing more than little shrimp.

Letting them go was worthwhile if it achieved the larger objective.

In the end, it was merely a struggle among great officials in court, while the people below suffered an undeserved calamity.

After court dispersed, the news reached Noble Consort Lan.

She was stunned.

Even she could no longer understand what all this back-and-forth was supposed to mean.

She did not know whether she should be happy or worried, nor whether the matter might change yet again.

Under the amused gazes of many men, Shao Pingbo left alone.

Court Chamberlain Zhao Gongquan, meanwhile, "happened" to encounter Chief Steward of the Inner Palace Tao Lue.

Zhao Gongquan had only just cupped his hands in greeting when Tao Lue cried, "Oh! Lord Zhao. This old servant must apologize to you."

With that, he lifted the hem of his robe and actually began lowering himself as though to kneel.

Zhao Gongquan was badly startled.

He could not possibly accept such a thing and hurriedly reached out to stop him.

The two young eunuchs accompanying Tao Lue were equally frightened and quickly supported him from both sides.

But Tao Lue insisted on kneeling.

Zhao Gongquan desperately held him upright and asked in alarm, "Chief Steward Tao, what is the meaning of this?"

Tao Lue sighed. "Ah, it is all because this old servant failed to discipline his people properly."

"Although Shao Pingbo is an official of the imperial court, he currently has no substantive post and is still serving temporarily with Blackwater Terrace."

"In the end, he is still one of Blackwater Terrace's people."

"I heard that foolish fellow went to Lord Zhao's residence again yesterday and disturbed you."

"This old servant truly feels uneasy about it."

"I have come to apologize and beg Lord Zhao, as a great man, not to hold the faults of a petty one against me."

Zhao Gongquan immediately gave an awkward laugh. "This has nothing to do with Chief Steward Tao. Nothing to do with you at all."

Tao Lue said, "It truly is because this old servant failed to discipline him."

"Lord Zhao, you discipline people well. You should help this old servant properly discipline these disobedient fellows."

No matter how Zhao Gongquan listened, something about those words felt wrong.

A chill crept into his heart.

He hurriedly said, "Chief Steward Tao, you speak too seriously. Far too seriously."

Tao Lue asked, "Then Lord Zhao is willing to forgive this old servant?"

"This..." Zhao Gongquan was speechless.

He tried to explain. "Chief Steward Tao, Shao Pingbo is Shao Pingbo and Blackwater Terrace is Blackwater Terrace. They are two different matters."

Tao Lue said meaningfully, "But at present he is, after all, one of Blackwater Terrace's people."

"Ah, forget it. Since Lord Zhao does not hold it against us, this old servant thanks you."

"Lord Zhao is busy with official affairs. This old servant will not disturb you further."

Zhao Gongquan was desperate for the subject to end and hurriedly cupped his hands. "Chief Steward Tao, take care!"

Tao Lue bowed slightly, turned, and left.

But as he walked away, he loudly berated the two young eunuchs following him.

"Find every man who accompanied Lord Shao yesterday when he went to the Court Chamberlain's residence to cause trouble."

"Thirty strokes of the rod for each!"

"And pass the word down. Tell our men to remember this well."

"Is Lord Zhao's residence a place where they may act wild?"

"In the future, whenever they see anyone from the Court Chamberlain's household, they are to open their eyes wide and take a detour!"

"Yes!" the two eunuchs answered.

Zhao Gongquan, who had just been about to turn away, froze.

He understood.

Those words were not truly meant as a warning to Tao Lue's subordinates.

They had been spoken for him to hear.

He understood something else as well.

Yesterday, he had beaten Shao Pingbo and angered this old creature in the palace.

Shao Pingbo wore the skin of Blackwater Terrace.

Tao Lue most likely believed Zhao Gongquan had shown him no regard and slapped him in the face as well.

What did it mean to say that whenever they saw anyone from the Court Chamberlain's residence, they were to open their eyes wide?

A chill ran through Zhao Gongquan.

At times, great ministers like them did not necessarily fear the Emperor.

After all, rules and institutions still stood between ruler and minister.

But a man like Tao Lue was different.

Rules were only something he observed on the surface.

Outwardly, he followed them more carefully than anyone.

Behind the scenes, he did not necessarily follow any rules at all.

And Tao Lue held Blackwater Terrace in his hands.

That was Jin's intelligence organization, vast in reach and deeply infiltrated throughout the realm.

Who knew how much material it held on people?

So long as it did not interfere in court politics, that was one thing.

But if Blackwater Terrace truly fixed its attention on Zhao Gongquan, a man like him would find it difficult to withstand.

He was alarmed, but he was also angry.

Shao Pingbo had been using his Blackwater Terrace identity to commit evil!

Blackwater Terrace personnel had gone into the Zhao Residence and killed someone.

The dead man had even been Zhao Gongquan's own son.

Tao Lue had pretended not to know anything.

Had anyone in the entire court seized on Shao Pingbo's Blackwater Terrace identity and made an issue of it?

Now Zhao Gongquan had merely administered a small lesson, and Tao Lue was already preparing to turn hostile?

"Chief Steward Tao! Chief Steward Tao, please wait!"

Coming back to himself, Zhao Gongquan suddenly shouted and chased after him.

They needed to have a proper talk.

...

"Shao Pingbo proposed the marriage himself?"

Deep within the mountain forest, Niu Youdao looked astonished after receiving the latest news from the Jin capital.

Jia Wuqun wrote across Yuan Cong's back.

"To protect that group of students."

Niu Youdao shook the report in his hand and burst out laughing. "After circling around, everything has returned to the starting point. Sir truly calculates with divine precision. Admirable!"

Jia Wuqun smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"I was equally surprised. It was only a convenient strike against him. I never expected Shao to yield because of it."

"Although matters have circled back to the original objective, the Misty Pavilion's intervention means the original plan can no longer continue."

Niu Youdao nodded slightly.

He looked at the message again and muttered, "Students... students..."

He truly had not expected Shao Pingbo to yield for the sake of those men.

That did not seem like Shao Pingbo's style.

A group of people whom Shao Pingbo valued to such an extent had now genuinely caught Niu Youdao's attention.

Before this, he had never regarded them as worth noticing.

He intended to arrange for people to watch them afterward.

Another Goldenwing descended.

Wei Duo removed the letter and was about to decode it when he discovered that it was an open letter requiring no deciphering.

He immediately brought it over.

Niu Youdao accepted it, glanced through it, and smiled. "This should be a letter from the Chancellor to Sir."

He handed it over casually.

Jia Wuqun quickly took it and read.

There was no signature and no name anywhere in the letter.

It merely discussed household matters in the tone of an ordinary family's idle chatter.

But Jia Wuqun understood the meaning hidden inside.

Zi Pingxiu did not know what had happened.

People from Nanzhou had arrived and arranged for his dependents to leave first under the pretext of going out to travel.

The writer had left no name, but Jia Wuqun recognized Zi Pingxiu's handwriting at a glance.

The letter had been deliberately kept vague in case an open message was intercepted.

He could also see that Nanzhou truly had begun making preparations to withdraw the Zi household secretly.

If anything changed, they would be able to disappear quickly.

Seeing that the promise was no longer merely verbal but had already been put into action, Jia Wuqun finally relaxed completely.

He bowed once more to Niu Youdao in thanks.

This time the gratitude was heartfelt.

He knew Nanzhou was taking a far greater risk by doing this than it would have taken by simply silencing the Zi household.

Afterward, Jia Wuqun wanted to send a reply to Zi Pingxiu, both to reassure him and to make sure he cooperated without worry.

Niu Youdao approved.

By nightfall, another message arrived from Nanzhou.

After reading it, Niu Youdao temporarily left the hidden refuge.

Around midnight, he appeared beside a river outside a city.

A fishing boat was moored along the bank.

An old fisherman sat alone at the bow.

Without waiting to be invited, Niu Youdao stepped aboard.

The fisherman planted his bamboo pole against the bank and pushed.

The boat drifted lazily away from shore and out toward the middle of the river.

Only after confirming no one was nearby did Niu Youdao sit down.

"Why did you come personally?"

The fisherman said, "I happened to be out on business. Arranging for someone else would only have been more troublesome, so I came by on the way."

"There is progress on the matter you asked me to investigate."

"Within the region shown on the map you provided, people really have gone missing."

"Three Misty Pavilion personnel have disappeared recently."

"There has been some movement over it. Misty Pavilion personnel around the Qi capital are searching for them."

The visitor was Sha Rulai.

Niu Youdao looked surprised. "Three? I only have two here."

Sha Rulai said, "One is named Bian Qiu'an. Another is Lu Wei. Both were Misty Pavilion personnel stationed in the region around the Qi capital."

"The third is Qin Yaoguang. He held somewhat higher status. He was the manager of one of the Misty Pavilion's nine money houses in the Qi capital."

Niu Youdao asked, "What did the three look like?"

"I don't know their appearances."

"But based on the circumstances you provided, together with what I know of how the Misty Pavilion works, the three should have belonged to the same chain."

"Qin Yaoguang was probably the handler above the other two."

Niu Youdao frowned. "A man from a money house should only be responsible for the money house's affairs. How could he be the handler above those two?"

"That is precisely the problem."

"The two men you described probably did not act on instructions from the official handler within their assigned jurisdiction."

"Someone was probably using them privately."

"After those two disappeared, Qin Yaoguang was probably silenced."

Niu Youdao's expression sharpened. "This isn't something to joke about. Can you be certain?"

Sha Rulai said, "Judging from the time Bian Qiu'an and Lu Wei disappeared, they should indeed be the two men you're looking for."

"As for whether Qin Yaoguang was silenced, if you insist on absolute confirmation, then no, I cannot say it with certainty."

"But if he truly was silenced, then this becomes interesting."

"When the time comes, think of a way to see whether you can dig out the person behind Shao Pingbo."

Niu Youdao said, "If someone really silenced him, then we've already startled the snake by striking the grass. Digging the person out easily will be difficult. We'll see how things develop."

Then he asked, "By the way, has Wuliang Garden lifted its lockdown?"

"No."

Sha Rulai looked at him strangely. "Why do you keep worrying about Wuliang Garden? Don't tell me you're plotting to get your hands on the Wuliang Fruits?"

"You're thinking too much." Niu Youdao shook his head.

He was not plotting to obtain the Wuliang Fruits at all.

His plan had changed because he had unexpectedly run into Lü Wushuang outside the Sacred Realm.

Now Ao Feng could not get out.

Niu Youdao guessed Ao Feng was living every day like a year.

He was worried something might go wrong on Ao Feng's side.

[End of Chapter 1252]