Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Azheba felt that he had nothing to be ashamed of because he had never pledged allegiance to the Dragon King and he had also made it clear that the lord he served would always be Prince Duodun.
But he still couldn’t feel at ease when he walked out of the tent.
Duodun didn’t make a decision in front of the crowd. He had said that he needed to meet the Dragon King in person first. If it had been the former Azheba, he would have taken every word of the prince’s words to heart along with the rest of the company. But now, he couldn’t help thinking about the situation a little more. He vaguely realized that the prince had a strong hostility towards the Dragon King, and that his suggestion was likely to exacerbate that hostility.
From am objective point of view, Azheba felt that his proposal was blameless. For a person like the Dragon King, one could only choose between confrontation and attachment. Any vacillation would be easily seen through by the Dragon King.
The young king Shulitu had chosen to attach himself while Duodun was inclined to confront the Dragon King. Unknowingly, Azheba thought that the young king Shulitu might have made the better choice.
He repressed this rebellious thought and, after a short break, went to go see Shangguan Ru as a friend on a mission that he was unwilling to see through.
Duodun looked reckless, but he was actually a very careful and fastidious man. He saw Azheba and Shangguan Ru nodding to each other. Later on he asked, “You already know the woman of the Land of Fragrance?”
“Yes.” Azheba then recounted a general summary of how he had met Shangguan Ru in the prison of the Khan, arousing a series of whoops from his buddies and making Duodun more interested.
“I’m asking her to marry me. I want her to be my Chief Consort. What do you think?”
“No woman’s more suitable than her, but she’s not from the Norland.”
“It doesn’t matter. It might have been a problem in the past, but now the three big tribes of the consorts’ side can’t even protect themselves. They won’t be able to interfere with who I want to marry anymore. The only problem is that she doesn’t agree. Since you two are friends, go be a matchmaker for me.”
On the spur of the moment, Azheba had almost blurted out the relationship between Shangguan Ru and the Dragon King, but he held back because he had never been able to clearly understand that relationship. He couldn’t explain it especially when he was familiar with Duodun’s personality. Bringing it up would only make the prince more competitive and insistent on marrying Shangguan Ru.
Shangguan Ru had prepared the food and wine. “I thought that you’d forgotten about your friend. Drinking without eating hurts one’s stomach, but drinking without a friend’s company makes one sad… What else is there?”
“Drinking without a word hurts one’s feelings, and drinking without dancing impaires one’s body.” These were the few words that Azheba and his fellow officers often said when they drank. He did not expect Shangguan Ru to still remember them.
Azheba cheered up. The only regret he had right now was that there were other people present at the small banquet. Xu Xiaoyi and his two best drinkers insisted on a drinking competition with the guest from the prairie.
Xu Xiaoyi had a small gift similar to his elder sister’s in that he knew what kind of men he should be on guard against for the Dragon King. But he would not stay at the scene awkwardly like his sister. Instead, he did it naturally as if he just wanted to have a drink.
Azheba finally experienced the enthusiasm of the Western Regions people. Eating? There were all kinds of dishes on the table, more than half of which he didn’t even know the names of. Friends? After three cups of wine, Xu Xiaoyi and his two men had already confided in their Norland guest. Talking? The braggadocio of the people of the Western Regions was no poorer than that of the Norland people. Azheba felt like he was drinking with three great men who controlled the world. Dancing? Although Xu Xiaoyi and his men were far from good at it, they weren’t shy at all. They jumped around clumsily and wildly, which made Shangguan Ru laugh a lot.
Nearly four hours later, Azheba admitted his defeat and bent over the table. Xu Xiaoyi wasn’t that gullible, but he had already drunk too much and run out of steam, and unconsciously slipped under the table. His two underlings were already clutching the legs of the table and had fallen asleep, snoring peacefully.
Shangguan Ru turned out to be the one who drank the least among them, but she was also a little drunk now. As she held onto a bowl of wine, she blankly looked around and muttered, “Where’d everybody go?”
Azheba sat up and held onto the table to stabilize himself. If it had not borne a great responsibility, he would have also fallen asleep. “Too bad. I think I’ve ruined the reputation of the Norland people for drinking.”
Shangguan Ru looked down for a moment before saying, “Haha, you won. The three of them are sleeping under the table.”
“I’m here to seek a marriage alliance for Prince Duodun.” Azheba said as he looked straight at Shangguan Ru. He thought that some of the words would be easier to say when he was drunk, but it turned out to be even more difficult because this wasn’t what he really wanted to say.
“Hasn’t he given up yet?” Shangguan Ru emptied her bowl and thought for a while with her head tilted. “There’s something I always forget to say. Actually, I’m already married.”
“What?” Azheba bounced up, slipped, and nearly fell on his head. To hide his embarrassment, he anxiously grabbed a wine bowl and sat down. “How… When?”
“Hmm, about two years ago. His name was Meng Mingshi.”
Azheba was completely unfamiliar with this name. “He… Where’s he now?”
Shangguan Ru thought for a while and then said with a smile, “He was killed by the Dragon King.”
Azheba was dumbfounded. The relationship between the Dragon King and Shangguan Ru had already been complicated in his eyes, and now it was even more abstruse. “The Dragon King killed… Why… You… This…”
Shangguan Ru wasn’t as intoxicated as she was earlier, but she really wanted to express her feelings this time. “You want to ask why the Dragon King didn’t marry me?”
Azheba was astonished by Shangguan Ru’s bold words. “Yes, since… The Dragon King was willing to kill for you.”
“That’s because my father was the one to order the slaughter of the Dragon King’s family and I personally killed his best friend. He dared not marry me for fear that it would placate the hatred in his heart,” Shangguan Ru answered calmly, suddenly feeling a little more relaxed.
Azheba could feel the bitterness and sorrow in her words and suddenly felt a heroic spirit well up in his heart. “Allow me to talk to the Dragon King. Do not lose love because of hate because that will only make one lose their bow and arrow after losing their treasured horse. The prairie men never fear marrying the enemy’s daughter.”
“You have forgotten your task,” Shangguan Ru remarked with a smile. It was hard to explain the entangled and complex relation between her and the Dragon King in one or two words. And the Dragon King was also not a person who could be persuaded with one or two words.
Frustrated, Azheba bowed his head. “May I say a word to you as a friend?”
“Of course.”
“Love is temporary, but the power lasts forever. It doesn’t matter who you love. I believe that the Dragon King would marry anyone for power, and you… You should marry Prince Duodun and become the Chief Consort. Then you’ll have your own army and won’t be restrained by anyone, let alone…”
“Just have a drink,” Shangguan Ru interrupted. “Power is not for everyone. Today I might have to marry someone for power and tomorrow I might have to kill for it. What follows next will just be a series of betrayals. I know that that’s a kind of ability that everyone longs for, but I really can’t do it. It’s not because I’m soft-hearted or kind, it’s just that… I’m incompetent, or maybe too lazy.”
Azheba’s heart flipped upside-down. He was almost about to reveal the whole truth, but held himself back at the last moment. “I understand. Is there anything I can do for you then?”
“Forget what I said before. It was all drunk talk and you shouldn’t take it seriously. If you really want to help me, then make Duodun give up. If you have any more energy left after that, then help me find Shaomin. She’s my niece, and I promised to take her back to the Land of Fragrance.”
Azheba nodded solemnly, feeling both respect and sympathy for her as he left.
Duodun made an exception and summoned Azheba alone without letting anyone else join their meeting. “We two are going to talk about something secret.” Hearing this, his friends all grinned and winked at each other.
“She still refuses?” asked Duodun.
“Yes, she said…”
“It’s okay. I’ll keep trying. She can’t get away. Never mind, it’s not her that I wanted to talk to you about.”
Azheba looked at the prince in surprise and suddenly realized that this was all merely a cover-up. In this way, Duodun could talk to him in private without arousing the jealousy of his fellow partners.
“Yes, please go ahead, Your Highness.”
“Hmm.” Duodun kept silent for a while before continuing, “I have always trusted you more than anyone else. This is why I left you in the Royal Court. I’m thousands of miles away so I had to appoint a trusted friend who could work independently.”
Azheba blushed as he said, “Sorry to let you down, Your Highness. I…”
“No, don’t be. The current situation is actually very good. Half of the Western Regions is under my control. The child supported by the Dragon King will fight with Luoluo. No matter who wins, it’ll be good for me. Even the fact that the Dragon King only brought ten thousand horsemen to the Western Regions is a good thing after I gave it a second thought. At least I can choose how to deal with it freely.”
“But I can take no credit for any of these things.”
“Hehe, you’re too modest. If it weren’t for your efforts, then the Dragon King wouldn’t have only brought ten thousand men with him.”
Azheba ventured to ask, “Rumor has it that Your Highness is allied with the Golden Roc Castle and the remnants of King Rizhu’s troops. And those several thousands of horsemen of King Rizhu even besieged the Dragon King a month ago.”
“That rumor is true.” Duodun wouldn’t lie to the person he trusted the most. “But that was then and this is now. The Dragon King has won over a hundred thousands soldiers. By comparison, the remnants of King Rizhu’s troops don’t have much power left. The killers of Golden Roc Castle can be used occasionally, but they won’t be of much help in the competition for the prairie. I’ve already written a letter to the Dragon King explaining all this and I believe that he will understand, too.”
“Is Your Majesty going to truly ally with the Dragon King?” Azheba was very surprised because these moves ran completely counter to the impression he had had from the last meeting.
“I read the Second Consort’s letter and thought of some new ideas. The alliance with the Dragon King will come at a great cost. You know, I won’t bow to anyone, not even momentarily. But the Second Consort promised me that the Dragon King has no ambition of annexing the Norland. She said that the Dragon King knows very well the attitude of the Norland people and would not humiliate himself in vain attempts.”
“Judging from the Dragon King’s attitude towards the little king Shulitu, he does understand the importance of the Khan’s bloodline.”
“And according to his position in the family hierarchy, Shulitu is my grandson, right?”
“Yes.”
“This child is the key to all our problems.”
Azheba was surprised. He did not expect that the prince would attach so much importance to the little puppet.
“Help the weak and restrain the strong. This is the best way to fight for power. This is also what the Dragon King is doing. He wants to ally with me, but also leave some room for maneuvering.”
“Shulitu has a lot of potentials, but… The Dragon King should know very well that Shulitu’s no match for Prince Luoluo. If he wants the full support of the Norland, his only choice is to ally with Your Highness because only Your Highness can compete with Luoluo.”
Duodun smiled. “Everyone thinks so. But have you ever thought that the Dragon King does not need the support of the whole Norland? If his goal is only the Western Regions, then just half of the Norland will be enough.”
“Half?”
“Mmm. Let the Norland split in two, with Luoluo occupying the East and Shulitu the West. With the support of just half of the Norland, he can still easily sweep across the Western Regions. Meanwhile, it’ll be easier to control. That’s the Dragon King’s plan.”
Azheba said for a while and said, “Right. Your Highness is right. I was so foolish as to not see through it.”
“You are not stupid. It’s just that you were considering it from a different perspective. But do not tell the others about it, as I have a plan to verify the truth.”
Azheba knew that Duodun was about to assign him tasks so he listened attentively.
“Find a chance to offer my advice to the Dragon King. Tell him that I’m willing to trade the 70,000 horsemen of the Western Regions for the 150,000 soldiers of the Royal Court under the sole condition that he gives me the head of Shulitu.”
“Using the few to trade for the many, this…” Azheba thought that the Dragon King would certainly not agree.
“What were the original terms? Lending him 100,000 soldiers? But now I’m not lending but rather giving him. And I’ll even cede to him a large piece of land on the northern and western side of Heaven’s Pass so that he’ll have a place to graze his horses. Isn’t that enough?”
“In that case, the Dragon King should be tempted.”
“If the Dragon King still refuses…”
Azheba knelt on one leg and said, “That means that the Dragon King has other plans for Your Highness. Please rest assured, Your Highness. The Second Consort and I will strike first if that happens.”
“There’s no hurry. Wait for my orders. I’d rather hold onto the hope that the Dragon King is not that ambitious and will accept my suggestion.” Duodun helped Azheba up, knowing that he had regained the heart of his favorite officer. “Now let’s talk about that woman. Let’s make a bet to see who can get her first. All in fair play; I won’t use my status to oppress you.”
Duodun winked. Heart thumping, Azheba knelt down once again.
