Chapter 1575: The Stakes Are Enormous

At Xiaoyao Palace, Long Xiu looked over the document sent by Maolu Villa and could only sigh again and again.

"Nothing more than a petty man drunk on success," his disciple Yi Shu muttered from beside him, plainly dissatisfied.

Long Xiu shot her a cold glance. Bang! He suddenly slapped the table and stood, pointing at her. In the end, however, he flung his sleeve and let it go. Things had already reached this point, and he could no longer be bothered arguing with her. He merely reminded her, "Do you know whose faction will be strongest once we migrate into the Fifth Domain? Niu Youdao's! Xiaoyao Palace doesn't have a single Nascent Soul cultivator. Once we enter the Fifth Domain, we'll inevitably fall into the ranks of second-tier sects! Think about Gong Lince. What did he amount to before? Now even I have to watch his expression."

Yi Shu muttered, "Why do we have to listen to Niu Youdao?"

Long Xiu rebuked her furiously. "Fool! Right now, Niu Youdao is probably standing with sword drawn, looking in every direction for a chicken to kill as a warning to the monkeys. Whoever dares stick his head out now will immediately be struck by thunder!"

Yi Shu said, "That's exactly why this disciple says he's a petty man drunk on success. A shameless scoundrel like him somehow gets to look down upon all beneath Heaven. Who knows how many dishonorable things he's done? Sooner or later, retribution will find him!"

Long Xiu could no longer be bothered talking nonsense with her. He stroked his beard and pondered for a while, then glanced at this disciple again. In terms of appearance, she remained exceptionally beautiful.

His gaze shifted faintly as a thought took shape. Once they entered the Fifth Domain, perhaps he could have this disciple go apologize to Niu Youdao, then find some excuse for her to remain at Niu Youdao's side and serve him like an ox or horse.

Once the idea formed, Long Xiu sat down again, dipped his brush in ink, signed his name, and endorsed the document on behalf of Xiaoyao Palace...

Maolu Villa, together with the various powers beneath Heaven, issued a joint proclamation to the realm: from this day onward, cultivators beneath Heaven were forbidden from participating in secular warfare.

This effectively handed Shang Chaozong, who controlled a hundred thousand Crow Generals, an incomparable opportunity.

Once Song's Three Great Sects let go, Zi Pingxiu moved quickly. Song became the first state to surrender, formally and peacefully merging into Yan's territory without the slightest disorder.

Soon afterward, the war between Yan and Jin ceased as well. The Jin army laid down its weapons and surrendered, and Emperor Taishu Xiong personally presented Shang Chaozong with a letter of capitulation.

After accepting Jin's surrender, Shang Chaozong immediately ordered Luo Da'an to lead troops into the various parts of Jin and bring them under control.

Shang Chaozong then hurried back to Nanzhou. Handling the surrender of Song and Jin at the central command was secondary. His true purpose was to reach Maolu Villa and see Niu Youdao as quickly as possible.

Han clearly had no intention of giving up. Even knowing that Han could not possibly defeat Yan, it still refused to accept the outcome.

Cutting off a man's road to wealth was like killing his parents. Unless absolutely forced, how many people would willingly surrender their own interests?

Now that cultivators beneath Heaven could no longer participate in secular fighting and were forbidden from acting against ordinary people, certain interest groups in Han wanted to seize the opportunity to create disorder and fight for better terms. Even if surrender were unavoidable, they still wanted favorable conditions—perhaps territory and a fief, perhaps recognition as a regional lord.

Since the collapse of the Wu Dynasty, several centuries had passed without a transformation on this scale. New possibilities had appeared, but so had enormous upheaval and chaos. Many people wanted to profit while they could.

Amid such disorder, countless people fell into panic. Shang Chaozong was no exception.

From his perspective, Han was no longer a serious concern. The only question was how high a price would have to be paid.

The greatest problem now was Niu Youdao.

Niu Youdao had said before that he would hand the realm to him, but Shang Chaozong had never expected that day to arrive so quickly. The states had not even fought their wars to the end, yet the decisive moment had come racing toward him. Shang Chaozong had been caught completely unprepared.

At present, the force in his hands was the strongest among all the states. But Niu Youdao's final attitude was powerful enough to overturn everything.

If Niu Youdao suddenly formed some other intention, the whole situation could reverse at any moment. Who knew what he truly planned?

Faced with a Niu Youdao whose single word could determine who possessed all beneath Heaven, Shang Chaozong urgently wanted an audience.

Faced with a Maolu Villa whose single word could determine the ownership of the realm, Shang Chaozong could spare no attention for anything else. He had to go.

Meng Shanming and Lan Ruoting felt the same way, as did every civil and military official of the Shang faction. All hoped Shang Chaozong would make absolutely certain to stabilize Maolu Villa and, above all, stabilize Niu Youdao.

Quite a few people even volunteered to go personally to Maolu Villa as matchmakers and help arrange Shang Shuqing's marriage to Niu Youdao.

Now that Shang Shuqing had become so beautiful, those proposing the match felt far more confident.

The only drawback was that Shang Shuqing seemed a little old. Some even hinted that so long as the greater situation could be secured and stabilized, it would not be unacceptable for Shang Shuqing to become a concubine.

In the end, Meng Shanming and Lan Ruoting rejected the matchmaking proposal. They felt such a tactic would be useless on Niu Youdao. The intention behind it was far too obvious, and they feared it might instead make him look down on them or, with one careless move, produce the opposite result.

In short, faced with stakes this enormous, even Shang Chaozong could no longer remain calm. He was excited, uneasy, and extraordinarily tense.

Especially after learning that people from the powers of every state kept traveling to Maolu Villa to pay Niu Youdao visits, Shang Chaozong grew increasingly anxious. He could barely sleep at night and had no appetite for anything he ate.

His party hurried back to Nanzhou, arriving at dusk.

A flock of crows settled across the rooftops of the princely residence.

Princess Consort Feng Ruonan came out to receive them.

After Shang Shuqing had paid her respects, Shang Chaozong smiled at her. "Qing'er, rest early tonight. Tomorrow, come with me to Maolu Villa."

"Mm." Shang Shuqing nodded, secretly delighted. She too wanted to reach Maolu Villa as soon as possible.

Once she left, Shang Chaozong immediately pulled Feng Ruonan into their room, where husband and wife whispered privately for a long time.

After dinner, Feng Ruonan took the initiative to visit Shang Shuqing.

The moment they met, she praised her. "Qing'er truly is as beautiful as a heavenly immortal now."

She showered Shang Shuqing with praise until the younger woman flushed scarlet with embarrassment and lowered her head. "Not at all. Sister-in-law, please stop teasing Qing'er."

Feng Ruonan drew close as though they could not possibly be more intimate. Taking Shang Shuqing by the hand, she asked, "Qing'er, I heard you and Master Dao have gotten together?"

Shang Shuqing grew even more embarrassed. "Sister-in-law, don't listen to other people's nonsense. There's no such thing."

Feng Ruonan's expression turned serious. "Qing'er, this is not something to joke about. Quite a few people saw Master Dao acting very affectionate with you with their own eyes."

"Our Shang clan is an upright household. We have to set an example for the people of Yan. If an ambiguous relationship like this spreads outside, it won't be proper."

"Whatever is going on, shouldn't it be made clear? Qing'er, tell your sister-in-law plainly. What exactly does Master Dao intend toward you?"

Shang Shuqing was embarrassed and troubled. She lowered her head and shook it. "I don't know."

"Crows! Crows!" Outside the door, Yin'er tossed another chicken-leg bone up toward the roof.

Feng Ruonan glanced back and sighed. "That gluttonous girl."

Then she looked back at Shang Shuqing. "Qing'er, has Master Dao truly never revealed even the slightest hint of his intentions to you?"

After hearing Shang Chaozong's explanation, Feng Ruonan had become nervous too. This question concerned who would possess the realm. The stakes were simply too enormous, affecting the future of an entire chain of people tied to Nanzhou. Even she could no longer afford not to care.

Shang Shuqing remained silent.

Feng Ruonan hurriedly said, "Your sister-in-law isn't an outsider. Have I ever harmed you? There's no one else here. It's just private talk between sisters-in-law. Don't worry. I won't tell anyone."

Shang Shuqing hesitated, then said, "I'm not certain either. Master Dao only said he would give me an explanation."

Feng Ruonan asked, "What kind of explanation?"

Shang Shuqing shook her head. "I don't know."

Feng Ruonan thought for a moment, then asked again, "Qing'er, then tell your sister-in-law the truth. Are you willing to be with Master Dao?"

Shang Shuqing immediately became shy again. "Sister-in-law, Qing'er has been traveling a long way and is tired. I want to rest."

Feng Ruonan was firmly pushed out through the door.

She hesitated outside for a moment, then hurried back to Shang Chaozong.

Husband and wife spent much of the night in quiet discussion...

...

At Maolu Villa, Niu Youdao summoned Yuan Gang, Guan Fangyi, and Yun Ji before him.

Seeing how serious he looked, Guan Fangyi asked with some impatience, "What is it?"

Niu Youdao told them solemnly, "Starting tomorrow, I'm going into seclusion for one or two months. I'll leave the matters before us to the three of you. Handle everything according to the arrangements I've already given."

One or two months in seclusion?

Yuan Gang and Yun Ji were merely suspicious. Guan Fangyi's eyes, however, lit up. "You're finally going into seclusion to break through?"

Niu Youdao smiled and nodded.

Yuan Gang and Yun Ji immediately understood.

He was going into seclusion to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm.

Both nodded and accepted the task. The three quickly divided responsibilities among themselves, arranging shifts to oversee the villa and protect Niu Youdao while he cultivated.

They had only just finished when all four suddenly turned toward the distant sky.

A dark, dense mass of cloud was drifting toward them.

Guan Fangyi laughed. "Looks like the Commandery Princess is here."

She was right.

Shang Shuqing had indeed arrived.

With her were Zhao Xiongge, Shang Chaozong, Feng Ruonan, and several others riding a handful of flying mounts.

Feng Ruonan had come personally, and she had even brought her son Shang Zhaomin.

When the two sides met, everyone except Zhao Xiongge naturally paid their respects.

"Dao Dao."

Yin'er had no patience for so many rules. She immediately ran over, caught Niu Youdao by the sleeve, and informed him with a very serious look, "Hungry!"

Niu Youdao laughed.

His gaze then settled on Shang Shuqing's face for a moment, bringing a shy flush to her cheeks.

Seeing Yin'er and Shang Shuqing together, he could not help remembering the strand of Li Ge's consciousness he had seen.

The question he had still wanted to ask Li Ge back then had actually concerned Yin'er. He had wanted to ask whether Yin'er's eyes possessed some special ability.

After seeing Li Ge's appearance, he seemed to understand why Yin'er had always been so close to Shang Shuqing.

Yuan Gang was staring at Shang Shuqing's face too.

The image in his mind was likewise Li Ge.

Niu Youdao set the thought aside for now and smiled at Shang Chaozong. "Your Highness is burdened with endless affairs. If something comes up, a message is enough. There was no need to make the trip personally."

Shang Chaozong hurriedly replied, "Master Dao's migration of every cultivator beneath Heaven has shaken the entire realm. This prince does not know how best to cooperate without causing problems, so I came personally to ask Master Dao for instructions."

Since he was already here, Niu Youdao said no more about it.

His gaze shifted to Shang Zhaomin. "The Young Prince came too."

Feng Ruonan smiled. "Before, he was too young to remember anything. By the time he could recognize people, Master Dao had already gone into hiding. To this day, he still doesn't know what Master Dao looks like, so I brought him specially to meet you."

With that, she immediately pushed the child lightly from behind. "Zhaomin, this is Master Dao. Master Dao himself chose your name."

"He named you in the hope that you would grow into someone of worth. Hurry and pay your respects."

Shang Zhaomin immediately stepped forward. "Min'er greets Master Dao and thanks Master Dao for bestowing my name. Min'er will not fail Master Dao's expectations. When I grow up, I will devote myself to serving the people."

Niu Youdao burst into laughter. "Good, good, good! As expected, you're a sensible child. In the blink of an eye, you've grown this big."

Delighted, he reached out and patted the boy's head.

Seeing that their son had pleased Niu Youdao, Shang Chaozong and Feng Ruonan exchanged a glance, quietly pleased themselves.

Afterward, Shang Zhaomin greeted Yuan Gang and the others one by one.

His every movement was courteous, his speech proper and well-formed. He appeared intelligent, quick-witted, and endearing, leaving the adults quite pleased.

In truth, quite a few of those words had been drilled into him again and again by Shang Chaozong and Feng Ruonan before they came.

[End of Chapter 1575]