Chapter 1584: Gao Jiancheng Goes Even Further

Inside a waterside pavilion at Maolu Villa, Guo Man stood alone and waited nervously.

The Ghost Doctor's group had already arrived at Maolu Villa and settled into the guest courtyards outside. They were waiting to travel into the Fifth Domain together with Maolu Villa's people.

That was Niu Youdao's intention.

He wanted to leave the Ghost Doctor as one of Maolu Villa's foundations. Once everyone entered the Fifth Domain, the Ghost Doctor would no longer be able to separate himself completely from Maolu Villa.

After entering the Fifth Domain, Niu Youdao would no longer interfere in other people's affairs.

But before leaving, he intended to leave Maolu Villa with a sufficient base of strength.

Guo Man had been summoned secretly.

Knowing Niu Youdao wanted to see her made her extremely nervous.

She had never seen Niu Youdao's true face in person before, while his present standing was enough by itself to make her tremble.

Worse, she had no idea what kind of temper he possessed.

Before long, Niu Youdao appeared with Yun Ji.

Guo Man hurriedly bowed. "Guo Man greets Master Dao."

She had never seen the real man, but she had seen his disguised appearance before. The moment Niu Youdao appeared, she recognized him.

"No need for ceremony." Niu Youdao laughed and waved one hand, gesturing for her to sit.

She did not dare sit.

Niu Youdao did not force her.

After seating himself, he nodded repeatedly and praised her.

"I've finally met you in person. Guo Man, not bad. You've done very well these past years."

Guo Man hurriedly replied, "It was all because Master Dao instructed me well. Guo Man would not dare claim the credit."

"Good is good. Your contribution cannot be erased. There's no need to be modest."

"Do you know why I called you here this time?"

Guo Man looked uncertain. "Guo Man awaits Master Dao's instruction."

"There isn't any instruction. Merit should be rewarded."

"I don't know what reward would suit you, so tell me yourself. What do you want?"

So that was what this was about.

Guo Man hesitated, then shook her head. "This subordinate doesn't want anything."

Niu Youdao gave an exaggerated sound of surprise, then turned toward Yun Ji with a smile.

"Look at that. She's free of desires and wants now. How can that do?"

He turned back to Guo Man.

"There must be something you want. Say it. Ask freely. So long as it's something I can accomplish, I'll satisfy you as far as possible."

Guo Man bit her lip.

Under his encouraging gaze, she finally gathered the courage to force the words out.

"This subordinate doesn't want any reward."

"I only hope Mister Wuxin never learns that I was planted at his side."

"This subordinate wants to remain beside Mister Wuxin for real."

Niu Youdao froze.

Her words wound around enough that for a moment he did not quite understand.

Yun Ji smiled.

She seemed to grasp a woman's thoughts faster.

Leaning down, she whispered a few words into his ear.

Niu Youdao immediately laughed.

He laughed loudly, then nodded.

"Good. I'll grant it. Just as you wish!"

He turned to Yun Ji. "You handle this."

Yun Ji nodded. "All right."

Guo Man was delighted and cupped her hands. "Thank you, Master Dao!"

They chatted for a while longer.

After Guo Man took her leave, Niu Youdao rose and walked to the edge of the pond.

"Still no letter from Linghu Qiu?"

Yun Ji said, "No. He's already taken the Tiandi Sect's people to the Boundless Desert."

Niu Youdao clasped his hands behind his back and gazed into the distance.

Linghu Qiu was different from the other sworn brothers.

He neither came to see Niu Youdao nor sent a letter.

Niu Youdao had no idea what thoughts the man was carrying in his heart...

Time passed swiftly.

In the blink of an eye, the migration was nearing its end.

Roughly speaking, more than two million people had moved into the Fifth Domain, approaching three million in total.

Most of them were ordinary mortals.

Shang Chaozong had nearly finished constructing the framework for governing all beneath Heaven.

Calls for Shang Chaozong to proclaim himself emperor rose everywhere.

There were plenty of people eager to earn the merit of having supported his accession.

But Niu Youdao had not spoken, so Shang Chaozong did not dare ascend the supreme position on his own authority.

In truth, Shang Chaozong's position as Regent had already made him the central pivot of the realm's government.

Some people wanted to come to Maolu Villa as lobbyists.

Others even wanted to force the issue through death-remonstrance.

Shang Chaozong blocked them all.

He stationed troops around the approaches to Maolu Villa and forbade people from intruding casually and disturbing the villa.

Niu Youdao's continued silence left Shang Chaozong tormented by uncertainty.

He had no idea whether Niu Youdao had formed some other intention.

He could not have other people say it for him, and he himself could hardly say it either.

He could not exactly run to Niu Youdao and declare that he was tired of waiting.

If Niu Youdao had never promised him anything in the first place, that would have been one matter.

But after making the promise and then delaying the final decision, Niu Youdao had instead placed Shang Chaozong in an awkward position.

At this delicate moment, a suitable person finally came up the mountain.

Meng Shanming arrived.

Naturally, he had found an excuse to come.

Niu Youdao's student Xia Lingpei had long wanted to pay his respects to his teacher, so Meng Shanming came while bringing Zhuang Hong and her son with him.

It had to be said that Meng Shanming was a suitable lobbyist.

Niu Youdao still treated him with considerable respect and personally went to the villa gate to receive him.

Xia Lingpei was beside himself with excitement.

His teacher had now truly become an extraordinary figure beneath Heaven.

The young man was so emotional he nearly dropped to his knees the moment they met.

The group entered the waterside pavilion and sat down.

After some casual conversation, the others withdrew.

Only then did Meng Shanming reveal why he had come.

"Master Dao, a snake without a head cannot move, and soldiers without a commander fall into chaos."

"The secular world still needs a leader to govern it."

"Does Master Dao have someone in mind to stand at the head?"

Niu Youdao smiled. "Didn't I already tell the Princess Consort whom I favor? Did the Princess Consort not tell His Highness?"

The aged Meng Shanming froze.

The war against Jin had been manageable, especially with a hundred thousand Crow Generals assisting.

The war against Han had cost him much more effort.

He had grown visibly older, and the signs of a man in his twilight years could no longer be concealed.

Niu Youdao personally poured him tea.

"I told the Princess Consort that I would trade this realm for His Highness's sister."

"Could it be that His Highness refuses?"

Meng Shanming already knew about this.

He merely pretended to be hearing it for the first time.

He gave a sound of realization and asked, "Has Master Dao already formally settled your relationship with the Commandery Princess?"

The two of them still had not confirmed their status.

No one knew whether the matter had succeeded or failed.

Shang Chaozong had tested the waters several times, while Shang Shuqing always said their relationship had not reached that point.

In other words, the exchange Niu Youdao proposed had not been completed.

What was Shang Chaozong supposed to do?

He could hardly make it too obvious in front of Niu Youdao that he intended to exchange his own sister for the realm.

Shang Chaozong could comfort himself with the thought that he was also acting for his sister's good, but if the matter had not been settled, then it had not been settled.

Niu Youdao said, "So long as His Highness agrees, the rest is a private matter between the Commandery Princess and me. No one else needs to trouble themselves over it."

Meng Shanming visibly let out a heavy breath of relief.

"Master Dao may hold such intentions, but the people beneath Heaven do not know them."

"If Maolu Villa were to make its position public, it would stabilize the hearts of the people and greatly benefit the realm's recovery as soon as possible."

"Master Dao has moved the cultivators beneath Heaven into the Fifth Domain. That alone shows Master Dao's concern for all living beings."

With that, he cupped his hands.

"This old man presumptuously begs Master Dao: for the sake of the common people beneath Heaven, please stabilize people's hearts as quickly as possible."

Niu Youdao nodded slowly.

"Some matters are not necessarily bad when left unspoken."

"It makes it easier for His Highness to observe what thoughts various people harbor."

"But since Marshal Meng has personally asked, very well."

"At His Highness's next court assembly, I will send someone to the court and formally urge His Highness to ascend the supreme position as soon as possible."

Meng Shanming suddenly understood.

So that had been part of the reason.

But now that Niu Youdao had agreed, he was overjoyed.

"This old man thanks Master Dao on behalf of His Highness and on behalf of the common people beneath Heaven!"

Niu Youdao waved one hand and gestured toward the cup.

"Drink your tea."

Meng Shanming thanked him.

What he did not know was that Niu Youdao's delay had another layer of intent.

Perhaps that intent could even be called somewhat despicable.

The only reason was that Niu Youdao had not yet sought Shang Shuqing's final confirmation.

He wanted to delay things.

He wanted Shang Shuqing to see clearly what Shang Chaozong intended, making it easier for her to sever her attachment and easier for Niu Youdao to spirit her away.

Naturally, this was not something he could ever admit to Shang Shuqing.

It seemed to be having some effect.

Shang Shuqing had appeared briefly to welcome Meng Shanming, then made an excuse and withdrew.

She appeared to have guessed the real reason for his visit and did not want to face it...

Meng Shanming returned the next day.

Once Shang Chaozong received the definite answer, he was overjoyed.

As expected, Marshal Meng had been the most effective person to send.

Shang Chaozong was enormously grateful to him.

Niu Youdao also kept his word.

He truly sent someone personally to attend Shang Chaozong's court assembly.

That person represented Niu Youdao and represented Maolu Villa, formally urging Shang Chaozong to ascend the supreme position quickly in order to stabilize the hearts of the people beneath Heaven.

The Shang faction was ecstatic.

Its senior officials immediately began pleading with Shang Chaozong to ascend the throne as soon as possible.

Faced with such overwhelming enthusiasm, Shang Chaozong naturally found it difficult to refuse.

The moment Shang Chaozong relented, the hall erupted in cheers.

Shang Yongzhong was the first to jump out again, loudly petitioning for the site of the imperial capital to be established, his speech impassioned and vigorous.

Quite a few people had already made plans regarding where the capital should be.

In the end, they chose the former capital of the State of Qin.

Much of the framework had already been built beforehand.

Now that the final decision was made, implementation moved quickly and with tremendous momentum...

Inside Nanzhou's prefectural city, numerous senior officials were busy preparing to relocate to the new capital.

At the Zi Residence, Jia Wuqun invited Zi Pingxiu—now exalted as the Right Chancellor of Yan—to sit with him.

The Left Chancellor was Gao Jiancheng.

Jia Wuqun did not waste words.

He took up his brush and wrote a line:

Chancellor, you have overturned the rulers of two dynasties. How can you remain in the chancellor's seat at court? Retire early and you may call it withdrawing after success. You can preserve wealth and honor for the rest of your life while leaving a road for your descendants. Lan Ruoting is the choice of the people's hopes. If Chancellor moves against the tide, you will not withstand the sharp edge of his rising wings. Refuse to withdraw and disaster will surely follow. You should retire!

Zi Pingxiu stroked his beard and said nothing.

A man who had tasted authority naturally found it difficult to abandon it so decisively.

In the end, however, Jia Wuqun persuaded him.

Zi Pingxiu spent the entire night revising and writing a memorial.

Yet at the court assembly the next day, he discovered that Left Chancellor Gao Jiancheng had not appeared at all.

Instead, Gao Jiancheng had sent someone else to submit a memorial in his place.

He claimed he had fallen the previous night, realized he was old and no longer possessed the necessary energy, and requested retirement.

Zi Pingxiu was speechless.

He discovered that Gao Jiancheng had gone even further.

The man had simply washed his hands of the matter and stopped coming altogether.

Zi Pingxiu, by comparison, had foolishly still shown up at court.

He had moved one step too late.

For a while, he did not dare take out his own memorial.

Gao Jiancheng had just suffered a fall and requested retirement.

If Zi Pingxiu immediately followed by asking to resign as well, with both Left and Right Chancellors seeking retirement at the same time, what would that look like?

Wouldn't it be far too obvious?

Would people think they were dissatisfied with Shang Chaozong's coming accession?

Zi Pingxiu had no choice but to keep the memorial hidden in his sleeve.

At least for the short term, he did not dare submit it.

But Gao Jiancheng's actions truly had awakened him.

Zi Pingxiu's mind was now made up.

He no longer had any lingering attachment to authority...

Since Gao Jiancheng had supposedly fallen, many people naturally came to visit him.

Shang Chaozong even came personally and asked Zhao Xiongge to help diagnose and treat him.

There was little wrong externally.

Such injuries were easy to treat.

The problem was that Gao Jiancheng's mind had become muddled.

He was confused and dazed, and overnight he had reached the point where he could not even recognize people.

If he insisted on being muddleheaded, then no matter how profound Zhao Xiongge's cultivation was, there was no way to cure him.

With his mind in such a state, continuing to force him to serve as an official would obviously be unreasonable.

Even those who wanted to speak on his behalf and persuade him to remain had no idea how they could open their mouths.

Zi Pingxiu came to visit as well.

Sitting beside the sickbed, he dismissed everyone else.

Then he leaned close to Gao Jiancheng's ear and whispered, "Brother Gao, there are no outsiders here. There's no need to keep acting in front of me."

"Mm? Mmm..."

Gao Jiancheng's speech remained indistinct, his gaze unfocused.

No matter what Zi Pingxiu said, he could not make the man become lucid.

Zi Pingxiu grew furious.

With an angry sweep of his sleeve, he left in a huff.

[End of Chapter 1584]