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Chapter 569: Return the Favor

In the story told to Gu Shenwei by King Rizhu, the second wife of the Khan was an unimportant person, and had made no acquaintances with the Seventh Prince of the Central Plain. However, Fang Wenshi had heard a different story from other people. Rumors were that she was so beautiful that the Seventh Prince and King Rizhu’s son had gotten into a terrible fight over her. After that, no one dared to marry her, except the Khan.

Less than a month after she married the Khan, she was named his second wife. Ever since then, she had been his favorite and had gained a high status in the court.

After talking with his Military Counselor, Gu Shenwei called Maid Lotus in and again asked her if New Moon Hall had a disciple in Norland. Maid Lotus’s answer was the same as the last time: “No, Norland has never been included in any plans of New Moon Hall.”

“Are you sure?” Gu Shenwei asked, a little surprised. Maid Lotus, like him, was a suspicious and cautious person. She did not usually give such a definite answer. After all, she had only been in New Moon Hall for a few years.

“As the Managing Master, one of my duties was to assist the Master in making plans. Believe me, I have seen the plans of New Moon Hall for the past 30 years and the next 10 years, and there is not a word about Norland in any of them,” she said.

Gu Shenwei could only believe Maid Lotus.

To prepare for the alliance with the second wife of the Khan, Fang Wenshi collected more information that day. All information indicated that she was a disciple of New Moon Hall. In addition, she was a passionate and lively woman who had shot tigers, organized large-scale banquets and even led an army of the Khan’s to suppress the rebellion.

Therefore, when she invited the queens and princesses from various countries in the Western Region to come together in Norland, the Norland people did not feel it was a strange thing. They were used to it, because this was exactly what she had always done.

The second wife of the Khan was certainly a little crazy, but her craziness was not like the unpredictable madness of New Moon Hall disciples. Rather, it was an excessive enthusiasm. Gu Shenwei suddenly thought of Shangguan Ru. If she had not changed her temperament, she would have been like this.

There was still no news about Shangguan Ru. Her kidnappers seemed to think that the time still had not come to give him a sign. Gu Shenwei would have liked to act immediately, but he had to solve the crisis of the Dragon Army first.

He needed help from Luo Ningcha, who was no longer living in the tent full of screens. As a “lady” of the Khan’s second wife — her new identity — she had moved to the Flower Camp. Gu Shenwei delegated the female officers from the Land of Fragrance to send gifts to her new residence to show his friendship.

There was no immediate response from Luo Ningcha or the Khan’s second wife. Gu Shenwei understood, due to their special position at the Court, that they must be cautious in their contact with the Dragon King. In the process of waiting, Gu Shenwei decided to invite Zhang Ji and Shangguan Yun to his encampment for dinner.

“Why shall we invite them?” Fang Wenshi asked, surprised because the two sides were in a state of war.

“We should show our manners, even to the enemy. They invited me at Tongtian Pass, and I should return the favor. Moreover, I want you to meet Zhang Ji and know him better,” Gu Shenwei explained.

Fang Wenshi nodded gravely, but rejected the idea in his heart. Fang Wenshi considered Zhang Ji a teacher in a worse position than him, who had only gotten appreciated at an old age. He did not think Zhang Ji would be better than him, and decided to show him some smart tricks during the dinner in front of the Dragon King.

Gu Shenwei had another purpose for the dinner. He had not mentioned it to Fang Wenshi, but he had switched his suspicion about who had kidnapped Shangguan Ru from the Norland lords to Golden Roc Fort.

Fu Yuan was a liar, but like all other liars, nine out of ten of his words were the truth. He had said that the lords of Norland did not want to have any connection with the Dragon King. Kidnapping the “Queen” of the Land of Fragrance would not only damage the reputation of Norland, but would also be considered a connection with the assassination of the Khan in the future.

Gu Shenwei felt that these words were reasonable, and then he suddenly realized that neither Shangguan Ru nor Old Man Mu were average people, but both had disappeared quietly. This might mean that the kidnapper had set a perfect trap, but it was more likely that the kidnapper was someone that Shangguan Ru and Old Man Mu knew personally.

Shangguan Yun and Zhang Ji accepted the invitation and came to the dinner that evening.

Just like the last time, there were only five people at the dinner, except Fang Wenshi was present this time instead of Maid Lotus. Shangguan Fei was an extra guest, the same as last time, but he looked listless and drank silently. He had been living miserably since he had gotten into the Qigong Deviation and did not sleep well.

Shangguan Yun appeared even more languid and bored, as if he had been forced to attend the dinner. He stared at his glass and did not touch the food.

“He hasn’t recovered from the blow,” said Zhang Ji, who had started drinking again since coming back from Tongtian Pass. He quaffed down a glass of wine and continued, “No one can stand being humiliated in public by a eunuch, let alone a King.”

Shangguan Yun sneered, “Of course, especially when the King has no one to help him save face.”

“A King does not need to save face,” Zhang Ji started to preach, as if he was strictly scolding a student who was misbehaving. “Saving face is for the weak. A king needs strength. With strength, you can control everything and earn people’s respect. Being humiliated is perseverance, and compromise is wisdom,” he went on.

Shangguan Yun smiled and said nothing. He seemed unconvinced, but did not want and dared not to argue.

From the way they talked, it looked like they had not heard about Fu Yuan’s confession, which Gu Shenwei deeply doubted.

Fang Wenshi had been observing them quietly, then commented, “‘Humiliation is perseverance, compromise is wisdom’. Well said, through the ages, the founding kings…”

His voice was loud enough, but Zhang Ji did not seem to hear him. Ignoring him, he turned to the Dragon King and asked, “I heard that you made challenges to the three lords of Norland?”

“Yes,” Gu Shenwei answered flatly.

“Whose idea was that? It was a really bad one,” Zhang Ji replied.

Fang Wenshi felt awkward at being interrupted. His face turned red. Although he did not like the Dragon King’s approach at the beginning, he decided to speak for him. He suppressed his anger, shook his head and said, “No, no. It’s a coup — a clever move.”

Zhang Ji seemed to notice the Military Counselor of the Dragon King for the first time. He looked Fang Wenshi up and down, picked up his glass with his long fingers, took a sip, tasted it for a while, and then asked coldly, “What’s so good about it?”

Fang Wenshi knew the principle of “compromise is wisdom”. He had said similar phrases to people before. But these principles were only useful to kings or those who want to be kings. He was just a military counselor – an ordinary person. To compromise, he would lose and be humiliated, so instead, he fought back.

“First, the Dragon King was invited to come to Norland, but stilll hasn’t been able to meet the Khan due to obstructions by several lords. The winners of the Tournament of the Royal Court are likely to be received by the Khan,” Fang Wenshi began.

“Second, Norland advocates force. The winner can gain respect and support from the people,” he continued.

“Third, some people have spread rumors that the Dragon King has secretly colluded with other forces of Norland to plot an assassination of the Khan. The Dragon King has challenged the three lords to show the world, especially the Khan, that the rumor is not true,” Fang Wenshi concluded.

Even Gu Shenwei could not have said it better than the Military Counselor. Fang Wenshi was pleased with himself and wanted to continue listing more of the Dragon King’s good ideas. Then Shangguan Yun, who had been indolent, suddenly clapped his hands and said, “What a good speech. Why didn’t I realize it was such a good idea? What do you think, Mr. Zhang?”

Zhang Ji only stared at the Dragon King and then asked, “Sir, would you rather me be polite or honest?”

“Mr. Zhang, please be straightforward,” said Gu Shenwei.

Zhang Ji nodded, and then turned to Fang Wenshi and said, “Are you going to let the Dragon King take part in the tournament in person?”

“Of course. Dragon King’s kung fu…” began Fang Wenshi.

He was interrupted by Zhang Ji again.

“Fool!” shouted Zhang Ji.

Fang Wenshi was taken aback, almost throwing his cup of wine into his opponent’s face. He suppressed his anger and asked, “Well sir, you were, indeed, straightforward. Can you explain why this is a bad idea? Don’t you think the Dragon King’s kung fu is good?”

“First, the Dragon King’s a killer. He’s good at assassination, not kung fu competitions,” said Zhang Ji.

Fang Wenshi wanted to debate, but he changed his mind and just hummed. He did not know much about kung fu and could not tell the difference between assassinations and tournaments. So, he did not have any good arguments to support his opinion, but he still believed in the Dragon King.

“Second, although by challenging the three lords the Dragon King could sever the connection with the forces of Norland, it would also confirm the rumor that the Dragon King was bought and paid for by the Central Plain. The better the Dragon King’s kung fu is, the more suspicion he will garner,” he continued.

“That’s not so,” Fang Wenshi said, shaking his head violently. He had a lot more to say about this.

Zhang Ji had been a teacher for more than ten years, so he was not easy to interrupt. Before Fang Wenshi could say anything else, Zhang Ji quickly finished his speech, “Third and last, it is the worst idea to let the Dragon King compete in person.”

“Why is that?” Shangguan Yun asked next, not giving Fang Wenshi the chance to talk.

“There are a lot of races during the Tournament of the Royal Court. For example, the horse race, the dog race, the soldiers’ competition and the warriors’ competition. Though winners of each race will be awarded titles and fortunes, the real beneficiaries are their masters. When people talk about the race, they will not mention the competitors’ names, but who their masters are,” Zhang Ji said.

“So what? After the Dragon King wins…” began Fang Wenshi.

“Well, haven’t you learned anything during your days in Norland? Don’t you understand that warriors, like horses, dogs and soldiers, are all pawns of noble people? Have you heard any lord take part in the competition in person? If the Dragon King participates in the competition, he will surely win the title of warrior, but he will lose his precarious status as a king. Don’t you think that’s a stupid idea?” asked Zhang Ji.

Fang Wenshi was speechless. He did not care about the first two points. However, Zhang Ji had made a good argument for the third point, which he had missed before. Although the Norland people advocated forces, it was just a kind of affection for fine horses and fierce dogs. Young nobles might try their skills in a tournament, but real lords would never dare to compete in person.

But Fang Wenshi still did not want to throw in the towel.

“Sir, you’ve made valid arguments. I’m convinced,” he said.

“Don’t mention it,” Zhang Ji said, picking up his cup and taking a sip.

“I got your point, sir. You mean the Dragon King should give up the tournament and flee from Norland. This sounds familiar to me. Oh, I remember now… The eunuch who almost married a Shangguan woman and quarreled with the Cloud King put forth a similar suggestion. It seems that you two think alike,” Fang Wenshi said.

Gu Shenwei silently complimented his Military Counseler in his heart. Yes, Zhang Ji’s purpose was the same as Fu Yuan’s, only more tactful and reasonable.

Zhang Ji devoted himself to wine tasting and did not even raise his head. Shangguan Yun, the King of Zhang Ji, had to step in to help. “Fu Yuan has met the Dragon King? The eunuch was crafty. The Dragon King should have been careful of him. But the good thing is that his life was short and he can never harm anyone again,” he said.

Fang Wenshi was taken aback. “What does that mean?” he asked.

“He’s dead,” Shangguan Yun said. He had been languid all night, as if waiting for this moment. Suddenly he changed from a messy drinker back to the great Cloud King. “It just happened. The women of the Shangguan family bring bad luck. I’m sure the Dragon King probably feels the same way,” he said.

Gu Shenwei finally got a clear signal about the whereabouts of Shangguan Ru.