Chapter 1373: Hearsay

At the Jin imperial palace, beside a lake, father-in-law and son-in-law strolled along the shore.

Shao Pingbo had no idea what Taishu Xiong wanted. He had come as usual to pay his respects when Taishu Xiong suddenly set aside the document in his hands and said they should go out for a walk.

A walk? The moment Shao Pingbo heard that, he knew the Emperor must have something he wanted to say to him, so he obediently came along.

"Some things have happened in the cultivation world recently. I imagine you've heard something about them?" Taishu Xiong finally turned the idle conversation toward the real subject.

Shao Pingbo asked, "May I ask which matter Your Majesty means?"

He had always addressed Taishu Xiong as "Your Majesty," never "Imperial Father." His identity as a senior court official came before his status as the Princess's husband.

Taishu Xiong shot him a sidelong glance. "Do I really need to spell it out for you? I hear you've had dealings with some cultivation sects as well. Don't tell me you don't even know what major events have happened lately in the cultivation world."

Shao Pingbo put on a look of sudden understanding. "Your Majesty means the affairs concerning Misty Pavilion?"

Taishu Xiong sighed with feeling. "Exactly. Misty Pavilion concerns all beneath Heaven. Now that it has undergone such enormous turmoil, who knows whether the war will be affected? The earlier freezing of the great war among Song, Han, and Yan is precedent enough. There are too many things I can barely see through at all, and that leaves me deeply uneasy. Do you have any thoughts?"

That was precisely why he had called this son-in-law out for a walk.

Taishu Xiong had no doubts about Shao Pingbo's ability. It had already been proven again and again. His single memorial, the Strategy for Jin to Take All Under Heaven, along with his formidable ability to operate and execute plans, had laid the foundations for Jin's present commanding position.

That vision and ability alone were enough to make Taishu Xiong seek his opinion carefully when faced with a murky situation like this.

Unfortunately, Shao Pingbo now seemed to have lost all interest in political affairs. He no longer offered plans or strategies and no longer sought advancement, forcing Taishu Xiong to take the initiative himself.

Thoughts?

There were some things Shao Pingbo understood perfectly well. Jia Wuqun's side had begun launching an offensive against the Nine Saints. At present, Shao Pingbo truly could not reveal anything, so he could only brush the question aside. "This subject has only heard a little. The information is incomplete, so I have no worthwhile judgment to offer."

He actually dared fob him off?

Taishu Xiong swept him with a cold glance, anger beginning to rise in his belly.

Back then he had overridden all objections to recruit this man, just as he had once overridden all objections to support Gao Pin. He had brought Shao Pingbo in because he hoped the man would play a major role, not because he wanted him loafing around.

If Shao Pingbo had not become his son-in-law, and if he were not at least devoted to the Imperial Academy and doing an excellent job there, Taishu Xiong would certainly have taught the fellow a lesson.

He knew perfectly well that this son-in-law possessed the ability to scheme for all beneath Heaven. His methods were ruthless and sharp: cut a road through mountains, throw bridges across rivers, and sweep aside whatever stood in his way. In peaceful times, such a man might be dangerous. But when the task was to pacify all beneath Heaven, he was exactly the kind of talent one needed.

To leave such a man managing nothing more than a single Imperial Academy was a grotesque waste. Yet Shao Pingbo himself seemed perfectly content with it, enjoying his leisurely freedom as though nothing could be better.

Simply outrageous!

What made an emperor? What made an enlightened ruler? Nothing more than the wisdom to recognize men and use them well.

Thoughts turned over rapidly in Taishu Xiong's mind before he abruptly changed the subject. "I hear you and Huan'er have been getting along quite well."

The words sounded like concern, but there was anger in his tone.

How could he not know how his daughter and son-in-law were living these days?

The couple were doing extremely well. Every day they were intimate and affectionate. Sometimes one painted while the other recited poetry; sometimes one played the qin while the other danced. At other times they roamed mountains and rivers together, living with enviable freedom and delight. His daughter looked as though she had fallen straight into a jar of honey.

The problems he had once worried about regarding his daughter's marriage and married life had all vanished.

As a father, Taishu Xiong was deeply pleased.

But the highest title he truly placed before the world was Emperor, and that identity and its concerns outweighed everything else. For that reason, he was extremely dissatisfied with Shao Pingbo's present state of lingering over private affection and letting heroic ambition grow short.

Extremely dissatisfied.

Nor was he alone.

Even Taishu Huan'er's mother had grown anxious. The Noble Consort hoped her son-in-law would wield great power and use that power to support her inside the palace. Better still if he could help her become Empress and mother of the realm. One powerful external ally or heavyweight minister was worth a thousand times more than flattering and currying favor with the Emperor inside the palace.

So she had repeatedly urged her daughter to make her husband strive upward. How could they waste such an excellent opportunity when the Emperor valued him so highly?

But Taishu Huan'er thought their present life could hardly be better. She had no desire at all for her husband to return to the front lines and risk his life. At Xiping Pass she had personally witnessed how brutal war could be. The past was unbearable to recall, and she did not want to be separated from her husband until they grew distant from one another.

She therefore had no intention whatsoever of obeying her parents on this matter.

Shao Pingbo said, "It is all thanks to Your Majesty's protection."

Taishu Xiong said, "Lord Shao, a woman's appetites can never truly be satisfied. Vanity is in a woman's nature. Huan'er is still young. Sooner or later, she will grow tired of everything before her now. As her husband, you should be planning for her future, and for the future of the sons and daughters the two of you may have. Tender affection between man and woman cannot fill an empty stomach."

He continued, "Huan'er may be my daughter, but there is no need to indulge her because of me, nor any need to wrong yourself because of me. If you take a liking to some woman and want to take a concubine or the like, so long as you know who the principal wife is, I have no objection. Household matters are small. Affairs of state come first. A man ought to know what matters and what does not. If he cannot distinguish the important from the trivial, sooner or later he will lose everything. Do you understand?"

Shao Pingbo said, "Yes. This subject will remember."

Some words were best stopped at the proper point.

The ruler and minister separated there.

After leaving the palace, Shao Pingbo went to one of the capital's grain depots. An Imperial Academy instructor was teaching students on site about methods for storing grain.

Shao Pingbo appeared to be there to observe the lesson. In truth, he had come to see Lan Ming.

Through secret arrangements, Lan Ming had now been placed in the grain depot as a minor clerk responsible for watching over the granaries. The work brought him into contact with few people and made him difficult to notice.

It was not that Shao Pingbo could not arrange somewhere better for him. He could even have placed Lan Ming among the people around himself. But Shao Pingbo would never allow Lan Ming to have any visible connection to him.

Finding an opportunity, Shao Pingbo pretended to ask about conditions at the granary, and the two stepped aside to talk.

What kind of man had Lan Ming once been? Forced to live this kind of life in a place like this, he was suffocating.

After listening to him complain, Shao Pingbo consoled him. "At least it's better than losing your life. Sir, what is the current situation inside Misty Pavilion?"

At that, Lan Ming sighed. "The recent incidents were that group's doing, weren't they? They're simply insane. Assassinating and abducting people on a large scale, throwing Misty Pavilion into utter turmoil. Nothing like this has ever happened in Misty Pavilion's entire history. They're completely losing their bearings!"

"That side has already drawn the sword and tasted blood. A grand move indeed!" Shao Pingbo sighed as well.

Even he had never imagined anyone would dare strike Misty Pavilion this fiercely. It was no different from openly provoking the Nine Saints and slapping them directly in the face. In the past, such a thing would have been unimaginable.

"But then again, isn't this exactly what you and I wanted to see? If the Nine Saints do not fall, you'll never be able to show yourself openly again."

Lan Ming raised a brow. "Even if the Nine Saints fall, aren't you afraid another group of Nine Saints will simply rise and replace them?"

Shao Pingbo smiled faintly. "No. If the Nine Saints truly fall, the people who overturned the table will inevitably turn on one another."

Lan Ming looked puzzled. "Why?"

The reason was simple.

Jia Wuqun had no desire to court death.

Shao Pingbo saw no need to explain. "I want to know more."

Lan Ming said, "That's basically all there is at the moment. Someone is carrying out large-scale sabotage against Misty Pavilion."

Shao Pingbo asked, "What about inside the Sacred Realm? I want to know something about the situation there."

Lan Ming shook his head. "The interior of the Sacred Realm has been reorganized. Wuliang Garden and the other locations as well. Personnel on guard duty were all reassigned. The people I had placed at the entrances and exits to pass information were reassigned too. Now I can't enter the Sacred Realm to establish new arrangements, so it's difficult for me to learn what is happening inside in a timely fashion."

Shao Pingbo frowned at that.

"There's something I need from you. Give me every secret concerning Jin officials that you can get your hands on. I need to begin laying out some arrangements. It'll also make it easier to keep you concealed."

...

Guests had arrived at Myriad Beasts Sect.

Distinguished guests.

Guan Jitai of Lingxiao Pavilion, Qu Fan of Blood God Hall, and Wu Chengyu of Heaven-Splitting Palace—the Sect Leaders of Song's Three Great Sects—had all come in person.

Xi Haitang, Sect Leader of Myriad Beasts Sect, personally received them. At the guests' request, he accompanied them strolling through the sect's mountain scenery.

Of course he knew sightseeing was not the true purpose of their visit.

Sure enough, after they reached a secluded place with no one around, Guan Jitai casually said, "Brother Xi, rumors outside say the Nine Saints are preparing to make the sect leaders of the major sects personally serve as supervisors. Have you heard anything about that?"

Xi Haitang laughed. "I've heard it. But there's a condition attached. That only happens if the supervisory personnel our sects sent to Misty Pavilion prove useless. If they perform well, naturally there is no need for us to take their places."

Qu Fan said, "Perform well? How do you know whether your people are performing well? Your man is trapped inside the Sacred Realm. Don't tell me you have some way to communicate with people inside."

Xi Haitang said, "Brother Qu is joking. How could I have contact with the inside of the Sacred Realm? If I really can't avoid going in, then there's nothing to be done. Besides, I happen to hold a small lead concerning one of the cases. If things truly become unavoidable and I have to enter, I imagine I should still be able to muddle through."

Guan Jitai, Qu Fan, and Wu Chengyu exchanged looks.

The very reason the three had come was to band together for warmth and find a way to cooperate.

Some sects outside Song had been extremely forceful in their supervisory work and had already dug out internal problems within Misty Pavilion again and again, producing gratifying results.

Other people were producing gratifying results.

That meant the three of them were suffering.

If they truly ended up being sent in as supervisors themselves, the possible consequences were frightening.

All three had already grown anxious and repeatedly pressed their own sects' personnel stationed in Misty Pavilion to work harder. But what good did urging them do? If there was nothing to find, there was nothing to find. Surely they could not fabricate accusations without evidence.

Now, hearing that Xi Haitang actually possessed a lead, all three felt an itch in their hearts.

Wu Chengyu said, "Brother Xi, our sects have been together in Song for many years and our relations have been decent enough. When the time comes to share what one has, I hope you won't be stingy. Otherwise, if something happens, I'm afraid none of us will live easily. Wouldn't you agree?"

Xi Haitang asked in return, "Brother Wu, are you threatening me?"

Guan Jitai raised a hand. "You misunderstand. That isn't what he means. We merely feel that the supervisory personnel we sent to Misty Pavilion aren't fools either, and they certainly are working desperately hard. Yet why can other sects uncover results, while even Brother Xi can get hold of some lead concerning a case? We sincerely seek instruction."

Qu Fan nodded repeatedly. "Exactly. Exactly!"

Xi Haitang glanced around, then chuckled. "Working desperately hard? Have they truly been working desperately hard? Misty Pavilion personnel have been disappearing or being killed again and again lately. I hear some people have been driven desperate by the Nine Saints and are urgently digging for leads by such means... Hearsay. That's all I've heard. A little hearsay. It can't be taken as truth, it can't be taken as truth!"

Hearsay?

Guan Jitai, Qu Fan, and Wu Chengyu all jolted.

Their gazes crossed.

It was as though cold water had been poured over their heads and suddenly cleared their minds.

Understanding dawned.

[End of Chapter 1373]