“You could have just chosen not to answer. Why go off at me…?”
I guess Li Fangzhang didn’t need to answer my questions after he gave me an earful. Even if someone had the balls to pose as the reigning Emperor, I doubt they’d be sick in the head enough to learn his emotions.
“Duke Ming, I am glad I found you. The heavens are on our empire’s side.”
When you could shameless say that after spitting over three hundred lines in someone’s face, you knew you were speaking to the real reigning Emperor.
“Let me test you.” There was hope in His Majesty’s eyes.
You know, your act might be rewarding if it was your daughters or Boss Shen was performing it, but you are giving it the opposite effect…
“It’s been one thing after the next in the capital recently, but do you know what the biggest and scariest one is?”
“Of course!”
His Majesty beamed. “Speak!”
“A bunch of shameless hoodlums beat me up! Your Majesty, are you just going to take this? Your trusted, reliable Duke Daluo was assaulted. Their audacity is almost on par with Qilin Guards. Please lend me three thousand city guards. I shall go subdue those crooks that are blasph-”
“Zip it. That’s your personal vendetta, so you sort it out yourself. The imperial court pays you to serve the people; don’t exploit public resources for your own gains.”
“I do not have an issue with serving the people, but who will serve me?”
“You must make your own happiness. Only a few days ago, my ladies beat me so badly that I ran like a rat crawling into a h-, I meant, like a dragon to water! Did I ever whine about it? Did I ever call them unreasonable? Did I ever say women are tigers? Did I ever gripe that both of them are attacking me no matter who I try to talk to? I kept it all to myself, buried it deep within myself; not a word, not a letter was ever mentioned. When I met you, I discussed the nation first, did I not?”
“Oh… So this big and scary matter you mentioned is your wives assaulting you?!”
“Nonsense! Didn’t I just say I’d never bring those things up?! I’m talking about the White Princes’ emissaries entering the capital!”
“Oh, that.”
“Of course that.”
“Where do I come into all this?”
His Majesty gave me a glare.
“For what reason have you come to, uh, seek, uh, but your subject not the man for the job. Your subject cannot render any assistance to you.”
If anything, I want to borrow your The Ultimate Three for a few months to bodyguard me. Baima is a good choice. He has brains, cunningness, power in his hands, quick legs, money and, most importantly, pulls no punches. I’d like to see someone start with me while he’s protecting me.
“You are too modest, Duke Ming. You are my Knowledgeable Star.”
“No, no, no, you misunderstand. At most, I am handsome and cool. I am a far cry from Knowledgeable Star.”
“Such modesty.”
“You misunderstand, Your Majesty. You see… This is not something I have any place in, is it?”
“Why?”
Because… I… can’t fight at the moment.
“You would not lend me a hand when I need it most? I assume you know that the balance between the White Princes puts many lives at stack. One erroneous judgement is all it takes to cost hundreds and thousands of lives.”
“The issue is not your subject’s willingness to help you.”
“What is the issue, then?”
That I can’t beat them!
If I still had my abilities, I could run if I didn’t have to fight. Now, I was dying just trying to run. If I had to fend off those ruthless, conniving white pieces of faeces, I might as end myself and shorten the misery.
“Your subject will not take the job even if you offer a Prince rank.”
“You make it sound like I would. Spare me the drivel. Either give me an idea or I’ll strip you of your duke rank.”
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Where is your honour?! You give me a dodgy Radish Duke title when I nearly lost my life subduing a dragon and capturing Nieyao for you, and now you even want to strip me of that rank?!
“Your subject will not accept even if you strip him of his duke rank!”
“Y-y-you son of a…!” Emperor Yuansheng heaved a big breath.
It was odd to me to see His Majesty hesitating to speak. He personally travelled to Huzhou to convince Luo Ming to surrender, which meant that he had desired to diminish the seven’s power. Now that he had succeeded in his first step, he was sure to have felt the remainder’s reaction. In the worst case scenario, he should’ve been prepared for war, yet he was saying that hundreds and thousands of lives were at stake?
Wait…
“Your Majesty, has something happened in the imperial court?”
His Majesty jolted.
If I were to hazard a guess, someone in the imperial court must’ve been getting in the way of his war preparations because, if he couldn’t prepare for war, he was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
His Majesty sighed. “I’ll be frank. Because the White Princes just sent their scions into the capital to take the imperial exams, more than half of the high-ranking vassals oppose stripping the White Princes of their powers. They believe that the White Princes didn’t mind sending their children into the capital after Luo Sword Manor relinquished their privileges own their accord because the remainder want to mend relationships. They argue that, even if the White Princes had any faults in the past, this is an opportunity to convince them to change their ways.”
“And you believe their viewpoint is wrong?”
“That is a foregone conclusion. If they had any sense of remorse, they wouldn’t send their descendants into the capital while allowing unorthodox factions to enter Jiangnan. How long has it been, yet hundreds of unorthodox factions are returning to active status? How many factions were silently serving the White Princes? Those seven only have to change their clothes to be part of the unorthodox factions. How many ministers in the imperial court do you think they’re bribing? Those ministers will shield the White Princes to protect their own benefits. You think I’m totally in the dark?
“The war to wrestle power from the seven has only continued to grow harder. Had Brother Luo not relinquished his rights and Huzhou, we’d never have this rare opportunity to go on the offensive. If I don’t achieve something, his efforts would’ve been for naught. Further, if the White Princes can get through this, they will disregard me and my future descendants. How will we stop them then?”
I shrugged. “As the sovereign of the nation, you could abuse your ‘Me, me, me’ power.”
His Majesty smiled bitterly. “People follow the example their leader sets. Let’s say I force them to acquiesce. When it comes to implementing policies, how do we guarantee they will follow them faithfully? This war against them isn’t a war I can win alone. You’re probably about to argue that the imperial court is strong enough to not fear the seven forming an alliance. While true in theory, it’s meaningless unless we are united. The longer we prolong this standoff, the more the people suffer, which is not what I want.”
“I understand now.”
“In that cas-”
“In that case, I should stay even further away from it!”
“Huh?”
Don’t “Huh?” me! You’re skipping the filleting and going straight to draining their blood. The only thing you’re doing is motivating them to do something sooner. This is the sort of war that won’t cease until bones are seen. Aren’t I just putting myself in greater danger? No thanks.
“Who else can I count on if not you? You are the best among thousands of my elites. Surely you have the intellect and tactical mind to think of something.”
“Tactical, you say…? Well…”
“This is not the time to be modest. Your shifu is a man smart enough to nearly transcend mankind. Surely he passed on some of his knowledge.
Hmm… You might be right there.
When I was eight, nine… no, six, I was still atrocious at martial arts. Shifu said there was no shortage of idiots in the world and developing pure brute strength was pointless. He told me to watch him in action, then started teaching me how to get under people’s skin… although I ended up becoming his victim once I grew up. After being his victim hundreds of times, I learnt his approaches well enough to reverse it on him several times. I couldn’t recall when the last time was, but… I dudn’t think he even knew about it yet. Does this count as being tactical?
Has Shifu ever mentioned how to tackle the types like the Seven Champion White Princes? Wait, why am I reminiscing? I need to be cautious and stay away from high-risk activities!
“Your Majesty, you must be hungry. I left some food in the bales of hay. I will go fetch them now. Please wait a moment.”
“Eh? Wait, don’t go! Give me an idea!”
And so, I went back into the bales of hay.
There was no way I was getting involved in that matter, or I’d be public enemy in Jiangnan. As I contemplated how to turn down His Majesty, my vision suddenly went black.
Night has fallen already?
***
His Majesty paced back and forth, but Ming Feizhen never returned. Once his patience ran dry, he looked inside to find Ming Feizhen nowhere in sight. There was only enough room for a few people to hide, and the interior space was visible at a glance, which could only mean one thing.
“Ming Feizhen! You have the nerve to stand me up?! I hope you’re ready for what’s coming!”
***
Whoever picked me up after obstructing my vision had decent qinggong. After all, leaping over ten metres in one jump was no joke, not to mention moving light enough to not alert His Majesty. The weakest one between the duo was head and shoulders above Tang Ye’s level, and I had never seen the internal discipline they utilised.
They sealed my accupoints. Therefore, I could neither move nor speak. When they noticed I was still conscious, they knife handed me on the neck, but I did manage to hear, “This is the person our leader wants? This is all he’s capable of? How our Fiends’ Genesis has fallen,” before passing out.
Fiends’ Genesis?
Glossary
Knowledgeable Star – the nickname of military strategist Wu Yong from Water Margin.
