Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Fang Wenshi lived in a huge house near the Royal Palace and was not lacking anything. Despite that, he was still cooped up indoors, bemoaning his fate. He felt that he had been forgotten, which was even worse than being imprisoned in Jade City.
The Dragon King returned, but the people he relied on the most now did not include his Military Counselor from the Great Snowmountain. Rather, he now relied on the lowly military official, Zhong Heng, and the surrendered General from Golden Roc Fort, Dugu Xian.
Even though the enemy was now before them, Fang Wenshi unexpectedly remained idle all day. Nobody seemed to be bothered to ask about his ideas. The Dragon King no longer asked for his advice seriously, and even the Golden Roc killers seemed to think that he was worthless – none of them even attempted to assassinate him.
The phrase “serving a master is like accompanying a tiger” kept flashing through Fang Wenshi’s mind. He was sure that his fate was coming to an end before he even accomplished his goals.
Occasionally, Fang Wenshi would self-reflect. During these times, he felt that he had to take some responsibility for the fact that the army of the Great Snowmountain was stranded hundreds of kilometers away, and that the Dragon King’s plan for domination never really took off.
It was Fang Wenshi who had suggested they try to gain passage through Shu-lik and join forces with the Central Plain while entering into a temporary ceasefire with Golden Roc Fort. The plan was supposed to be all-encompassing, but they were only successful with the first half of it, and they ended up being beaten terribly. He was a counselor, but he had underestimated the Supreme King’s ambition and deviation. As such, he was caught unprepared, and it was an unforgivable mistake.
At the same time, he felt that the Dragon King had made an even bigger mistake. After all, he was only a scholar from a village in the Western Region, having only gotten to know about Golden Roc Fort through rumors, but the Dragon King was actually from Stone Castle. He had seen the Supreme King before and should have known what to expect.
These thoughts were his way of consoling himself, but he never planed to tell anyone else about them.
The Dragon King was not the only one to give him the cold shoulder.
After the failed ‘coup’, the Xu siblings snubbed him, as if it was all his fault. Fang Wenshi was hurt by it, but he still believed that Zhong Heng would have surrendered if it were not for the Dragon King’s timely return. To him, the Prime Minister was unprincipled and opportunistic, and anyone could buy his loyalty at the right price.
As for the Princess, Fang Wenshi could feel his heart ache everytime he thought of her. News of the upcoming grand wedding between her and the Dragon King spread to him, and he was restless the entire night. He tossed and turned, taking turns to persuade, admonish and provoke himself. He kept having the urge to do something bad.
Fang Wenshi was shocked with himself. He was already over 30, but still indulging in teenage fantasies.
Still, he could not stop thinking about her. Every expression and action of hers was imprinted on his brain, and he was unable to erase them.
What was most surprising was that Fang Wenshi had only met the Princess a grand total of three times.
He first encountered the Princess when she was urged by Xu Yanwei to make a public appearance. He stayed by her side only five steps away from her, and he could smell her unique and delicate fragrance everytime he took a deep breath. That said, he dared not to be too indecent and took very slow breaths to prolong the sweet fragrance, so the scent memory would remain in his heart forever.
After the incident, someone teased him for blushing, but the truth was that he was red in the face from trying to hold his breath.
The second time Fang Wenshi met the Princess was when he entered the palace to meet Xu Yanwei for a discussion of their “coup” plan. The Princess was present, but she only observed the discussion quietly. Whenever her gaze fell upon the Military Counselor’s face, she would quickly turn away.
Fang Wenshi thought that she portrayed the ideal poise and attitude of a Royal Princess. She listened, but did not comment, allowing her subjects to debate freely. He approved of her behavior as the perfect mediator while still allowing everyone to perform at the same time.
Fang Wenshi felt the Princess’s strong influence, and that was why he insisted on the coup and spent so much effort to persuade the Xu siblings. It was partly because he wanted to showcase his abilities in the Princess’s presence.
The last time they met was when the Dragon King announced that he would marry the Princess. No one wanted to break the news to the King or the Princess, so the thankless task eventually fell upon Fang Wenshi.
The King was his usual enigmatic self, so Fang Wenshi took his leave after only speaking a little with him. The counselor did not pity him in the least.
It was a different story when he met the Princess. She did not seem as majestic or poised as she had during their first and second encounters. This time, she showed a part of her true self to the Military Counselor, whom she had only met twice before.
She was afraid and insulted at the same time, but she did not speak mysteriously like her brother. Instead, she chose to accept reality with extremely strong self-control and a sense of duty.
No matter what, she would be the Queen someday, controlling the Stone Kingdom, while the young girl from the Great Snowmountain would eventually have to return back to her snowy homeland.
“Everyone has their own version of what sort of man the Dragon King really is. Can you tell me honestly, Military Counselor?” she asked.
Fang Wenshi’s heart was beating very fast and he wanted to tell her the truth immediately, but he did not know where to begin. “The Dragon King… is a person fated to accomplish great hings,”he said.
There was a lot of hidden meaning inside his statement, one of them referring to the fact that the Dragon King would not be moved by any woman. Fang Wenshi nearly told the Princess about Shangguan Ru, but he controlled himself from doing so in the end. The Dragon King had not done anything improper, so there was no cause to upset the Princess any further.
Fang Wenshi felt heavy-hearted when he left the Royal Palace. He was full of pity for the Princess, and was unaware that he had displayed too much emotion during their meeting. Xu Yanwei, who was next to the Princess all the while, had taken notice of it, though.
“You are a counselor,” he told himself when he reached his room. “What you are after is a career for yourself and an official title. Forget the Princess and start thinking about how to build up the Dragon King’s might,” he thought.
When Gu Shenwei came to visit, the counselor forced himself to think about their grand plan for the future.
“Dragon King, you’ve come at the right time. I have a bold plan that could possibly break the stalemate and allow our army to advance all the way up to Golden Roc Fort,” he said.
Fang Wenshi looked haggard, his eyes were red and swollen, and his hair was unkempt. He looked like a beggar, but his excitement made him seem as if he had just unearthed some treasure that everyone else was coveting.
At that moment, Gu Shenwei knew that Xu Yanwei was right when she warned him about the counselor being madly in love.
For no particular reason, Gu Shenwei felt a little amused. Fang Wenshi sounded so certain when counselling him to not allow love to constrain him or derail his ambitions, but when it came to the counselor himself, he behaved exactly like a young man who had fallen in love for the first time.
“Right, what good idea have you come up with this time, military counselor?” asked Gu Shenwei.
“I want to understand something. We are about to engage in a huge battle with Golden Roc Fort, and we have to win at all costs. But what happens after the victory? Golden Roc Fort has the support of Norland and will not be destroyed after one battle. It could even gather more troops. Hence, we have to find a better solution,” said Fang Wenshi.
Gu Shenwei was more concerned about how he should go about winning the impending battle, but Fang Wenshi had, indeed, brought up a crucial point about their future. “What do you think we should do, Military Counselor? Should we borrow soldiers from the Central Plain, too?” he asked.
Fang Wenshi shook his head seriously. “The major forces that dictate the situation in the Western Region are the Central Plain and Norland. Both us and Golden Roc Fort have made a grave mistake by choosing to side with one of those two forces. In the eyes of the Central Plain and Norland, both of us are just tools to be discarded once we’re no longer useful,” he explained.
Fang Wenshi had spent a lot of effort to forget about the Princess, and he needed to understand certain things. “We may not be successful in trying to get reinforcements from the Central Plain. Besides, it’s always better to seek help from closer sources. Why don’t we turn to Norland for assistance?” he proposed.
It was indeed a bold move — too bold, in fact. So much so that Gu Shenwei even began to suspect that the Military Counselor might have become foolish.
Without waiting for the Dragon King to begin asking, Fang Wenshi started to explain excitedly. “Norland doesn’t really intend to create a powerful force in the Western Region. It only wants to use Golden Roc Fort to reduce some of the Central Plain’s power. Now that it has been defeated in the Xiaoyao Lake, its value is non-existent. Norland will still support the Supreme King when left with no other choice, but what if we offer it an option?” said Fang Wenshi.
Gu Shenwei was a little moved and seemed to have forgotten why he had visited. “Wouldn’t Norland be distrustful of the Great Snowmountain?” he asked.
“Why would they be? You and the Great Snowmountain have done Norland no harm, Dragon King. Allying ourselves with the Central Plain was always only a marriage of convenience. Now that the Central Plain’s influence has diminished and it’s restraining itself, it’s only normal for us to switch sides. Norland is a big nation, so these kinds of things are normal to them,” said Fang Wenshi.
Gu Shenwei lowered his head and thought carefully about it. The counselor volunteered himself for the task, saying, “Send me to Norland, Dragon King. I can’t help you win by remaining here, but I still have a slick tongue. At the very least, I can sow discord between Norland and Golden Roc Fort.”
“There’s no harm in trying,” Gu Shenwei replied. He was from the Central Plain, but had left when he was around 10 years old. Like Dugu Xian, he did not harbor any strong feelings for his homeland.
“But you have to win the battle, Dragon King. If you lose, there’s no point to this, even if I manage to persuade them,” said Fang Wenshi.
“Of course, I’ll win. Even if Golden Roc Fort sends tens of thousands of its troops over, I’ll prevail,” Gu Shenwei said, confidently.
The Dragon King was being a little boastful, but it made Fang Wenshi very happy. After all, it was necessary for someone planning for dominion to be a little bit of a jerk. “I’ll set off tomorrow and take the long way westwards to Norland. I won’t need too many men… two or three followers will suffice. But I’ll need money — lots of it, in fact. Kings are always occupied with the amount of territory they rule over, while those by their sides always love money. I have to be introduced before I can establish relationships with the powerful ministers of Norland. If I can get summoned by the Khan for a meeting, the task will be 70 to 80 percent complete…” Fang Wenshi said.
Gu Shenwei was a little surprised that Fang Wenshi was so keen to head to Norland. Afterward, he finally came to understand the counselor’s true intention – he could not shake himself from the pains of love and would rather be far away from the source of his pain.
“You’re a little overly eager, Military Counselor. My wedding falls on the day after tomorrow, and no matter what, you should attend it before setting off,” Gu Shenwei said.
“The task at hand can’t wait. While I can always make up for not attending your wedding, it’s better for us to change Norland’s stance as soon as possible,” argued Fang Wenshi.
“We shouldn’t rush. You’ve said yourself, Counselor, that if the Great Snowmountain doesn’t win the upcoming battle, it’s no use for you to go to Norland. And the battle is still some time away,” said Gu Shenwei.
“I have to make a lot of preparations beforehand. Even bribing the flunkies will take a few months,” Fang Wenshi said. He was insistent. All of a sudden, he realized something, and his red and swollen eyes showed his fright. “You’ve come for something today, Dragon King, haven’t you?” he asked.
His “bold plan” was created no more than four hours ago, and he had not mentioned it to anyone else. The Dragon King was definitely not here because of it.
“Right, it’s about the Princess,” Gu Shenwei replied calmly. His gaze, however, turned cold.
Fang Wenshi’s heart skipped a beat. He was at a loss for words. He wanted to both deny everything as well as explain himself, but he could not voice out his thoughts. Finally, he gave up trying to resist after being under the harsh glare of the Dragon King for a while. “I… am guilty, Dragon King. Punish me as you see fit,” he said.
His excitement suddenly left him, and he sat dejectedly on the chair, waiting to be on the receiving end of the Dragon King’s rage. He had violated nearly every code of conduct a counselor and subject should observe, and he felt that he deserved whatever punishment was coming his way.
