Timely Intervention
Abels quietly grumbled, “I thought you could hear everything within twenty-five kilometres with Interlinked Hearts!”
“I’m not the old me right now… What about you? How can a master thief lack vigilance?!”
“I’ll bet anything Tianhu covered their traces. Else, I would’ve picked up on them.”
“That Craphu again!”
A-Lan placed her hands no her hips. “You two still not done, is that right?”
Well, that was the end of my conversation with Abels.
“Hoho, let’s leave it at that. They must have been joking. I believe they did not mean it.” Maybe His Majesty felt sympathy for us because he had been in a similar situation. Whatever the case, I couldn’t be more thankful for his timing. “We have important business today. Whether you want to bludgeon or butcher them, leave it for another day.”
My gaze for His Majesty read, “Your Majesty, you’ve only adjourned our penance! We’re not safe yet! Abels and A-Lan share the same bed, but Boss will flatten me!”
“Enough. Look where you are!” exclaimed Emperor Yuansheng.
“Today’s decisions will be historical. I must record the details.” Tianhu brought out a brush and paper to start writing. “As a spy, I must record important events.”
Tianhu wrote, “Princess A-Lan can’t compare to a strand of Ming Feizhen’s hair. Shen Yiren’s child inherits the ‘Ming’ surname. Her child’s father is an employee at Liu Shan Men. Previous records mention guessing who he is.”
Why are you recorded that nonsense instead of Morcher’s restoration?! Which corrupt magazine are you the editor for?! Also, why the hell are you writing ambiguous stuff when it’s clear where you’re pointing your finger?!
Tianhu continued writing, “Ming Feizhen is the father of Shen Yiren’s child.”
Being explicit isn’t any better! The problem isn’t your delivery but the authenticity of your information!
A-Lan: “Hero Ming, you sure are an interesting man. Three serves of radish juice and my husband has abandoned me. May I see which strand of hair of yours is so impressive?”
“It was only a joke, Sister-in-law. It would be better for you to not look.”
Whilst writing, Tianhu mumbled, “He also has a strand of hair he cannot show.”
Your Majesty, do something about him! He’s writing some scary stuff! Are his notes really going to make it into history books?! People will smear your generation for breeding mad men if you don’t stop him!”
Long Zaitian went up to His Majesty to whisper, “Your Majesty, the eleven sovereigns have arrived.”
Emperor Yuansheng went into business mode. “Princess, Brother Bodhi, uh, please get up first.”
Once we were standing again (I jumped on the bandwagon, though I did eat three liver shots – courtesy of Boss Shen), Emperor Yuansheng continued, “Princess, Brother Bodhi, Morcher’s restoration or failure thereof rides on today’s conference. While I could exert my influence and power to enact Morcher’s restoration, at the end of the day, Morcher does belong to Xiacang Anxi. You speak the same language as the eleven states and share the same ancestry. You can divide land, but you cannot divide people.
“Princess A-Lan, you will have to interact with them once you have restored your state. You would not sever your ties with them on the first day of your state’s establishment, would you? I understand there is bad blood between you and that, whether directly or indirectly, you lost family members to them. Still, as a sovereign, there are some whims you cannot indulge in.”
A-Lan expressed, “Thank you for sharing your wisdom. I have settled with myself. The death of my family is my personal affair, not Morcher’s. I have no reason and cannot sacrifice my people for my own vendetta. I will personally settle my personal scores, hahaha. Else, I would be putting Beijiang’s ‘River Monster’ title to shame.”
Abels gently took hold of A-Lan’s hand, and she gently squeezed his. Nothing was truer than the warmth of their touch and their reflections in each other’s eyes were.
“Morcher’s royal family is blessed to have someone as considerate as you as their ruler,” complimented Emperor Yuansheng. “If you can set aside your grudges, then you are already halfway there.”
A-Lan shook her head. “You cannot be complacent, Your Majesty. I parted with Xiacang Anxi at a young age and went on the run until reaching Tiezhen Kingdom. There was never a time where I was an avenger. They are the ones with demons in them; I am not the one refusing to work with them. Even if I am willing to hold my hand out, there is no guarantee they will take it.”
Simply put, those culpable in the fall of Morcher’s royal family wouldn’t permit Morcher to rise again. It wasn’t a power struggle but a bloodfest. Plus, who wouldn’t fear a power that had the Central Plain’s imperial court backing them? Needless to say, Emperor Yuansheng was cognisant of the problem.
Emperor Yuansheng conveyed, “Frankly, I do not know how to resolve today’s challenges peacefully. They persist that I am overstepping my boundaries, and they are not wrong. Should I intervene in today’s debate, I will prove that I am interfering in Nanjiang’s affairs. In the case that I do not attend, though, there will be no party to mediate. If it is only you and Brother Bodhi, you will struggle to advance. Speaking of which, I recall Earl Ming is not on bad terms with several rulers.”
I expected His Majesty to bring me into the talks based off the fact that he waited for me to wake up. Problem was, among those I was familiar with, one was a young lass and another was a conniving fox who was the type to make others do his bidding. Additionally, they weren’t Morcher’s opposition. Those opposing Morcher were the people I had yet to meet.
Emperor Yuansheng heaved a big breath upon learning of my connections. “As it stands, we can only tackle one challenge at a time. Try to debate on your own. Worst comes to worst, I will show myself.”
Notwithstanding his offer to help, Emperor Yuansheng’s intervention would either be disregarded or become the catalyst for talks to break down. Nevertheless, nobody had a better idea.
Song Ou cantered in to tell His Majesty by the ear, “The envoy from the capital has arrived, Your Majesty.”
“Now of all times?” Emperor Yuansheng genuinely looked taken aback. For some reason unbeknownst to me, he glared daggers at me prior to inquiring, “How many of them are here? Who dispatched them?”
“Not many. They have a letter from His Highness Green Prince to travel, but we do not know who sent him, nor does he have any tokens.”
“How can we prove the imperial court sent him, then?”
“Because… Wenhua Palace’s Prime Minister Li personally came.”
“Prime Minister Li, you say?”
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