Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Zhang Ji and Shangguan Yun’s big plan soon revealed itself.
It was not suitable for women to come along during the trip to Norland. Gu Shenwei chose Maid Lotus, Chu Nanping, Long Fanyun, and Shangguan Fei, along with 50 guards. Maid Lotus brought one-and-a-half New Moon Hall disciples.
The one disciple was Han Fen. Although she was talkative, she spared no effort delivering the Managing Master’s orders. Most of the time, she hid like Maid Lotus and showed up only when it was necessary.
The half-disciple was Han Xuan. Actually, nobody had asked her to come along. However, she saw no danger in letting Miss Ming Zhen stay alone in the royal palace, so she sneaked out for this adventure. Thus, without any prior consent or permission, she quietly joined the Dragon King’s procession on her horse. Many people had come to see them off, therefore no one paid much attention to her. The people thought she was merely sticking around because of her best friend, Han Fen.
At the Tongtian Pass, all of the well-wishers had returned, only she remained. Han Fen was touched, so she held Han Xuan’s hand and tried to persuade her. “Go back, we’ll separate here. The next time you go on a trip, I’ll accompany you farther than you have today.”
“Go back? To where? I’m going to Norland with you.”
Han Fen had a one-track mind, but she was a New Moon Hall disciple and following rules was in her blood. Han Xuan’s recklessness really shocked her. “But… but do the Dragon King and the Managing Master know?”
“Who knows? They’re smart, they can probably guess.”
Han Fen decided to report it, so she fetched Maid Lotus. In front of the New Moon Hall Managing Master, Han Xuan appeared more justified in explaining her recklessness. “No, I won’t go back. Look at your team, they’re all kids. I have to look after them. What if you push Han Fen into a fire and she doesn’t fight back? I’m the one who will save her!”
Maid Lotus had ditched her company in a mineshaft. Han Fen soon forgot about it, but Han Xuan was constantly upset about it.
Han Fen was both touched and shocked to the bone by her best friend’s kindness. Han Fen would not dream of being so disrespectful to the Managing Master.
More surprisingly, the Managing Master approved. “You’re a half-disciple of New Moon Hall. From now on, you obey my orders.”
“Normal orders, yes; into a fire, no.”
Maid Lotus did not take offense or give orders to her, but let Han Xuan wander on her own in the procession.
This half-disciple was more conspicuous than any other disciple. She failed to understand the rules or the necessity of concealing herself. She rode around on her horse and playfully plucked Han Fen from the team. Finally, if she was really bored, she would talk to whichever stranger, familiar or not, in the name of gathering intelligence.
Therefore, Han Xuan became out of tune with the messenger team. No one could see how this woman was necessary, but they never revealed an obvious surprise for the sake of the Dragon King.
However, it was the seemingly unwanted Han Xuan who discovered something strange in Golden Roc Fort’s team.
Actually, Golden Roc Fort did not bother to hide. Golden Roc Fort and the Dragon Army had seemingly reached a truce, yet they were like cats and dogs. They even avoided each others’ eyes to prevent any unnecessary speculation. Moreover, the two teams were separated by the Norland cavalry in between them. On the first day of the journey, Gu Shenwei did not obtain a single piece of information.
Nevertheless, Han Xuan was an exception. During her “intelligence gathering”, she first inspected her team of more than 50 people, then a few hundred Norland guard cavalrymen, who always teased her with “intelligence” that she could not quite understand. And Han Xuan had to cross through them to get into Golden Roc Fort’s team.
Soon after, she was kicked out. Thus, she rode up to the Dragon King’s side. “No wonder you hate Golden Roc Fort, they’re indeed lousy company.”
“Yes, they are.” Other people put up with Han Xuan for his sake, while the Dragon King himself had kept the strange woman because of Maid Lotus.
“Golden Roc Fort outnumbers us. There are 106 of them. But don’t worry; I can take four or five of them at one time. You and Maid Lotus can take five or six respectively. The odds are in our favor.
“We have a truce.”
“For real?” Han Xuan asked out loud. “I thought it was just a rumor. I’ve prepared all kinds of plots and schemes. And you just quit?”
It was only half a day since they left the Tongtian Pass and Gu Shenwei was beginning to think about ditching her. For example, he could tie her up and throw her into the grass in the middle of the night. Some passer-by would save her. And when she asked about it later, he would blame it on Golden Roc Fort.
“You can’t mess around with everything.” However, it could only be in his imagination. Han Xuan had shown her face in the Dragon King’s team. She probably could not make it to Xiaoyao Lake alive.
Han Xuan nodded seriously. “I see.”
“You’d better… go hide with Han Fen.”
“Why?”
“There are many men in the procession and the Norland men are up to no good. Aren’t you afraid?”
“What’s there to be afraid of? Moreover, there are many other women besides men in the team. Maid Lotus, Han Fen… and Golden Roc Fort women, plenty of them.”
Gu Shenwei held onto his reins. “Golden Roc Fort women?”
“Yes, one, two, three… seven of them in total, all wearing men’s clothes. They drove me away immediately. However, the moment I approached them, I smelled women. Immediately, I thought that it must be a lady and her six servants. After all, Golden Roc Fort is richer than Gulping Wind Gorge, so six servants for a lady, very lavish!”
Shangguan Fei was also riding along with them. Hearing Han Xuan’s words, he looked the Dragon King in the eye and nodded, signaling that he would find out more about it.
In the evening, Shangguan Fei rode close by the Golden Roc Fort team under the guise of expressing gratitude for the party the previous night. He insisted on throwing a party for them as well when they arrived at the Khan’s royal court. After that, he got what he needed.
“Han Xuan’s right. She’s got a better nose than most of the men. You know who that woman is?” Shangguan Fei asked jokingly because he had been following the king for a long time and started to think that maybe he could act a little relaxed.
Gu Shenwei already had somewhat of an idea. “The Supreme King’s daughter is too old for a political marriage, maybe he sent one of his granddaughters.”
It was easy for the Dragon King to guess since political marriages were pretty normal. Shangguan Fei felt a little disappointed. “It’s my elder brother’s daughter, about 16 or 17 years old. I remember that she’s just a little younger than me. Well, I don’t know which old man she’ll be given to. I wish it won’t be the Khan, with half of his body already in the grave.”
Shangguan Fei showed sympathy for his family. Gu Shenwei was surprised and gazed at Shangguan Fei thoughtfully.
“Don’t get me wrong.” Shangguan Fei blushed as though it was something shameful. “It’s just that… elder brother died a tragic death. His children… might be better off marrying people in Norland.”
Shangguan Fei and Gu Shenwei had driven the dagger together into Young Master Shangguan Chui’s heart. Shangguan Fei never felt sorry about killing people, but he seemed to be unable to let go of Shangguan Chui’s death.
Shangguan Fei’s sympathy lasted only briefly. He could not even control his own life; he had no intention of interfering in somebody else’s. “Well, again it’s getting connected through marriage. It’s been long-standing, and apparently, it’s effective. Can Your Majesty guess who Zhang Ji is sucking up to?”
Gu Shenwei shook his head. Before Fang Wenshi fed him with more information about Norland, he did not want to judge arbitrarily. That would be misleading.
“Women… I don’t understand how women can be so powerful. Can one guarantee his loyalty after marrying the Supreme King’s granddaughter?” Shangguan Fei shook his head in doubt, casting his eyes over Long Fanyun nearby.
The fact was women were not that powerful. Most of the time, they were special gifts, tokens of trust. What connected the two parties remained unknown to the world, so people had to focus on women and marriages.
Gu Shenwei was getting more interested in Zhang Ji’s “big plan”.
It had only been the first day. The trip to Norland would take them nearly 20 days, so there was plenty of time for them to spy on each other.
The Norland people lived near brooks and grasslands, they did not build cities. And where the Khan lived was the “royal court”, like other countries’ capitals.
Norland and the Central Plains were on the verge of a war. So to protect the bed-ridden Khan, the royal court was set in the center of the grasslands, away from the borders.
There were about 500 Norland cavalrymen leading the way. Regardless of having women in the team, they rode fast. It was not that they were anxious, but they had to hurry to reach the next supply point on the same day.
A so-called supply point was just a temporary village in Norland. The villagers who received them warmly held the Khan’s flag.
Gu Shenwei soon discovered that what Du Guxian said was right. Although there were many ethnic groups and different languages, all of them worshipped the Khan royals. Everywhere they went, the Khan’s flag was carefully preserved. Herdsmen often came from far away and worshipped the flag, praying for the Khan’s health and the well-being of their cows and sheep.
The chief of the Norland cavalry was a leader of 1,000 soldiers. He also took great pride in his mother being one of the Khans and talked a lot about it, which always made the villagers jealous.
Troops that were made up of people like that were really unlikely to become traitors, let alone pledge loyalty to other royal families.
Thus, it left having a puppet as the only choice. The Supreme King’s granddaughter was probably marrying a puppet of Golden Roc Fort.
Gu Shenwei had a puppet also; however, Wei Song had provided the candidate. Thus, at the end of the day, it was the Central Plains’ puppet.
He hoped that Fang Wenshi had built the military base during the past months. He refrained from confessing everything in letters and intended to discuss the matter in person.
Considering the herdsmen’s worship toward the Khan, Gu Shenwei decided that assassination would be a bad idea. Once word got out, no matter how large the Dragon Army was, it would be devoured by the much larger Norland cavalry. A safer way would be for the Khan to die naturally.
Before finding out about Norland, Gu Shenwei’s plan would remain like scattered pearls. In the end, he would need a practical thread to string them together.
Just a few of them would be sufficient, and Gu Shenwei was convinced that no one could guess his intentions, not even Zhang Ji.
