Chapter 1262: All His Edge Concealed

News that Jin's Seventh Princess and Shao Pingbo were about to hold their grand wedding had already spread throughout the realm.

The wedding date was close.

Although Shao Pingbo had publicly declared that Taishu Huan'er was innocent, how many people truly believed it?

Inside the Provincial Inspector's residence in Beizhou, Shao Dengyun shut himself in his room and said nothing.

His steward, Yang Shuang, remained at his side.

After a long silence, Yang Shuang cautiously asked, "Master cannot conveniently attend in person. Why not let this old servant deliver a congratulatory gift on Master's behalf?"

"A congratulatory gift? You still want me to send a congratulatory gift?"

Shao Dengyun gave a cold laugh.

"I'm already showing restraint by not sending him a coffin!"

Then he raised his face and let out a long sigh.

"Shameful. That unfilial wretch has shamed his ancestors!"

The Shao family could now be counted among the great and prominent households.

What had happened to Taishu Huan'er was known almost everywhere.

Rumor even said Shao Pingbo himself had caused her disgrace.

In the end, he had picked up a rock only to smash his own foot and become the greatest of jokes.

For a woman like that to marry into the Shao family was something Shao Dengyun's own values simply could not accept.

The moment the news came out, he had been too ashamed even to face people.

Father and son might have appeared to sever their relationship long ago, but a scandal like this still inevitably spread to Shao Dengyun.

There was no avoiding the whispers behind his back.

Shao Liuer was no exception.

Among the women of Qi's imperial household, some used the affair as a joke and pointed at her behind her back.

Shao Liuer likewise sent no congratulatory gift.

Whatever the relationship between brother and sister, Jin and Qi were mortal enemies now and the two states were at war.

There was little she could do.

More importantly, certain matters were no longer secrets.

After the poisoning of the Qi imperial household, word had spread that the Office of Investigation had tried to arrest Shao Pingbo.

Rumor said there was an eight or nine in ten chance that Shao Pingbo had been behind the poisoning.

Having a brother like that placed enormous pressure on Shao Liuer.

She endured no small amount of mockery and sarcasm from the imperial women around her.

By now, Shao Liuer hated Shao Pingbo as well.

He had poisoned people without even sparing her own husband.

She no longer believed his lies about arranging her marriage into Qi for her own good.

...

A princess's grand wedding drew officials from throughout the court to offer congratulations.

The entire Jin capital became extraordinarily lively.

After all the elaborate rites were finally completed, there remained the wedding night and the bridal chamber.

At last, every ceremony quieted.

Inside the bridal chamber, the newly married couple sat side by side.

The bride looked delicate and lovely.

Shao Pingbo, by contrast, did not seem suited to robes in overly bright festive colors.

In truth, Shao Pingbo was no longer young.

He was roughly of an age with Noble Consort Lan.

Of course, he was much younger than Chen Changgong, and far better-looking besides.

When it came to appearance, a rough old soldier of Chen Changgong's age simply could not compare with Shao Pingbo.

Taishu Huan'er could not describe what she felt.

There was some nervousness and unease, and also the strange sensation of being inside a dream.

After so many reversals, turns, and complications, she had truly ended up marrying Shao Pingbo.

By the glow of the wedding candles, Shao Pingbo suddenly asked, "Princess, do you hate me?"

Taishu Huan'er immediately shot back, "Then are you sincerely willing to marry me?"

Shao Pingbo said, "If you do not hate me, then I will treat you sincerely."

Taishu Huan'er bit her lower lip with white teeth and said nothing.

...

The next morning, Shao Pingbo emerged from the bridal chamber holding Taishu Huan'er's hand.

Congratulations sounded all around them.

Under countless gazes, the new bride's face was filled with bashful sweetness.

In a single night, she had been thoroughly won over.

No one knew what tender words she had heard, but she seemed to have let go of the past.

Shao Sansheng watched with a complicated expression.

He did not quite understand what Eldest Young Master was thinking.

But at least from appearances, Eldest Young Master treated the Seventh Princess extremely well.

And Shao Pingbo truly had put thought into Taishu Huan'er.

He had to.

He had already paid such an enormous price.

His present objective was to sweep away every internal danger and prevent himself from ever again being attacked from front and rear at the same time.

How could Taishu Huan'er possibly be his match?

Once Shao Pingbo genuinely turned his mind toward winning her over, settling her down was no difficulty at all.

Everyone throughout the residence came to pay respects to the new mistress of the house.

The palace maids and eunuchs who had accompanied her had received instructions from Noble Consort Lan and distributed generous red packets.

Shao Pingbo likewise had Shao Sansheng give red packets to the people Taishu Huan'er had brought with her, those who would remain here to serve her in the future.

Their side was much more modest than Noble Consort Lan's.

Shao Pingbo simply did not have much money.

Of course, with Shao Pingbo's vision and ability, making money would never have been difficult.

His ambitions simply did not lie there.

After dealing with matters at the residence, the newlyweds left and headed for the imperial palace.

Before they had even entered, the palace already knew they were on the way.

Inside, both Taishu Xiong and Noble Consort Lan had followed every development from beginning to end.

Both wanted to know how Shao Pingbo was treating their daughter.

They had received reports that Taishu Huan'er was doing very well, but neither could completely set aside his or her worry.

Only after seeing Taishu Huan'er in person, seeing the shy happiness on their daughter's face, did Emperor and Noble Consort finally relax.

The secret reports from below had not been false.

Seeing his daughter happy removed one burden from Taishu Xiong's heart.

Beyond being Emperor, he was still a father.

He was genuinely gratified and bestowed lavish rewards.

The Empress gave gifts as well.

Noble Consort Lan smiled until she could barely close her mouth.

The more she looked at her son-in-law, the more satisfied she became.

She was also afraid that if she displeased him, he might mistreat her daughter, so there was no need to describe how attentively she received him.

Afterward, she ordered yet another pile of gifts sent to the Shao Residence.

Of course, what kind of man was Taishu Xiong?

He still suspected that Shao Pingbo might be putting on an act.

He ordered Blackwater Terrace to monitor the couple in secret.

At the same time, by making use of Taishu Huan'er, Shao Pingbo finally pushed Taishu Xiong into moving against one of the court ministers.

The target he selected was Court Chamberlain Zhao Gongquan.

Privately, Shao Pingbo and Zhao Gongquan carried the blood feud of a murdered son between them.

That grievance would be extremely difficult to resolve.

And now the Emperor's daughter had married Shao Pingbo.

Publicly, there was also the account from the previous time the ministers had forced the palace.

Taishu Xiong had been holding that anger in his belly for a long time and had long wanted to make an example of someone.

Zhao Gongquan never imagined that forcing a marriage would ultimately bring a fatal calamity down upon himself.

Only a few days after the princess's wedding, Blackwater Terrace gathered evidence of several of Zhao Gongquan's crimes and passed it to his political enemies.

Blackwater Terrace itself could not conveniently step forward and make the accusation.

The moment the evidence was exposed, the entire court shook.

Zhao Gongquan was thrown into prison in chains, and the Zhao Residence was confiscated.

Someone from Qiyun Sect came forward to plead for mercy.

But Taishu Xiong, who had produced irrefutable evidence, had Qiyun Sect's own Sect Leader Taishu Feihua standing behind him.

The crimes had already been exposed openly before the court.

How could they simply protect Zhao Gongquan under those circumstances?

If even that could be ignored, what use were rules at all?

In the end, the man who came forward could save only his own daughter and maternal grandson, taking them back to Qiyun Sect to be cared for.

Everyone else was executed.

Shao Pingbo wanted to dissolve the hostile relationship between himself and the entire court.

Only the blood feud between himself and Zhao Gongquan could not be untangled.

To remove future trouble, he eliminated him.

...

In the days that followed, Shao Pingbo and Taishu Huan'er were so intimate and affectionate that others could hardly look on without envy.

They rode out together to enjoy the scenery.

They went boating together.

They read together.

They played the qin together.

Shao Pingbo even personally stood beside Taishu Huan'er and guided her hand as he taught her to paint.

They were nearly inseparable from morning to night.

Shao Pingbo seemed to have become another man entirely, as though he had sunk into a land of tender pleasures.

How could Taishu Huan'er withstand methods like his?

She was so happy she scarcely knew which way was north.

Even the imperial women who had originally hoped to watch her become a joke found themselves envious instead.

But with things like this, Taishu Xiong began to feel depressed.

He had treated Shao Pingbo as a pillar of the state and expected service worthy of a pillar of the state in return.

The Strategy for Jin to Take All Under Heaven had never left his mind.

Yet the man who had presented that strategy now spent every day immersed in affection and refused to go to the front.

He showed no desire to serve the court.

What exactly was this supposed to mean?

Noble Consort Lan also grew uneasy.

Naturally, she wanted her son-in-law to rise high and wield great authority so he could become someone she and her daughter might rely upon.

If he suddenly lost all ambition, what were they supposed to do?

Tao Lue made several trips to the Shao Residence, dropping hints and reminders.

It was time to get back to work.

Shao Pingbo politely declined on the grounds of poor health.

He simply refused to work.

What could anyone do to him?

He had already married Taishu Huan'er, and Taishu Xiong could not easily lose his temper with him for the moment.

Taishu Huan'er, pushed out to serve as his shield, heard that her husband had exhausted himself at the front until he coughed blood.

She was frightened badly.

She became the first person to refuse to let her husband return to the front.

Taishu Xiong and Noble Consort Lan had originally wanted her to persuade Shao Pingbo.

Persuade him of what?

Taishu Huan'er thought their life exactly as it was now seemed wonderful.

Later, Noble Consort Lan personally tried to persuade Shao Pingbo as well, hinting that he should show more ambition.

Shao Pingbo listened politely.

Then he went right back to doing whatever he pleased.

Whenever he had free time, he took Taishu Huan'er with him to visit the residences of the great ministers at court.

Those ministers originally had no desire to deal with him.

But one might dislike Shao Pingbo.

One could hardly openly snub a princess.

They might privately think little of Taishu Huan'er, but outwardly proper etiquette still had to be observed.

Whenever he visited one of their residences, Shao Pingbo would bare his heart.

He had decided to become nothing more than a carefree imperial son-in-law.

Even if he rendered merit, he would accept no power for it.

He only hoped the lords of the court would support that choice.

If Shao Pingbo was willing to give up contending with them for authority, the ministers were naturally delighted to see it.

If there was no struggle of interests between them, why make the Emperor unhappy for no reason?

Relations between both sides warmed rapidly.

Before long, old grievances had been cast aside and invitations went back and forth frequently.

But how could something like this escape Blackwater Terrace's eyes?

When Taishu Xiong learned of it, he flew into a rage and summoned Shao Pingbo into the palace for a furious scolding.

Shao Pingbo pleaded repeated bouts of coughing blood and the exhaustion of his mind and spirit.

Afterward, he even encouraged Taishu Huan'er to go into the palace and cry on his behalf.

Faced with the man who had just married his own daughter, Taishu Xiong discovered he actually had no way to deal with him.

Shao Pingbo had concealed every trace of his edge.

When the news reached Niu Youdao, he could not understand what game Shao Pingbo was playing.

Court politics were not his strength, so he went to ask Jia Wuqun.

Jia Wuqun could not understand Shao Pingbo's purpose either.

One thing was obvious.

By marrying Taishu Huan'er, Shao Pingbo had rapidly settled his internal conflicts.

Trying to mobilize forces within Jin against Shao Pingbo again would now be extremely difficult.

No one in Jin was willing to keep fighting him anymore.

But it was equally true that Shao Pingbo had given up power.

Because of that, even Jia Wuqun could not make sense of it.

All they could do was continue watching.

...

Family affairs, affairs of state, affairs beneath Heaven.

Gao Pin used the lull in the confrontation to finish sweeping away every wavering force in Wei and completely stabilize his rear.

At the same time, another massive Jin force finished assembling and officially began marching toward the front.

The pressure on Huyan Wuhen became enormous.

Yet Gao Pin's strict defensive posture remained something he could not break through.

Inside the central army tent, Huyan Wuhen stood before a map and finally made up his mind.

His finger came down heavily on one point along the Qi defensive line.

With that single tap of his finger, the fates of many people changed.

The Qi army prepared a banquet and invited the ministers of Wei to attend.

Huyan Wuhen himself had extended the invitation.

None of them dared refuse.

There had been ordinary dealings between both sides all along, so the Wei ministers came without defenses raised.

The moment everyone had arrived, the Qi army suddenly struck.

Men hidden in advance surged in from all sides.

In an instant, blades and axes were pressed against the Wei ministers.

Tables and stools overturned everywhere.

Shouts of alarm filled the tent.

The ministers of Wei stared around in terror.

Then the tent flap lifted.

At last, the host of the banquet appeared.

Huyan Wuhen stepped out at an unhurried pace, dressed in battle armor.

One hand rested on the treasured sword at his waist.

His cold gaze swept across everyone present.

He did not need to show anger to inspire awe.

[End of Chapter 1262]