Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Shangguan Ru had arrived at just the right time. Shortly after her arrival, the Court Attendants Army closed the camp and forbade anyone else from entering. The senior generals at the frontline were brought back while the two hundred thousand cavalrymen remained in place.
“King Riyao wants to keep the Court Attendants Army all to himself so he won’t let the other lords enter the camp and take part in the selection of the new Commandant. Azheba and others are trying to work another way out,” said Liman, who was frequently coming and going from the tent as a message carrier.
Shangguan Ru had only brought a few people with her as she had also came to watch the war. When she heard of the great misfortune, she had hurried here as fast as she could. “The Commandant is a good person,” she said. She was probably the only guest who was sad about it.
Red Bat solemnly nodded at the Dragon King and pulled the tent curtain open with the help of another female soldier, and then stood guard at the door. On the surface, she was doing this to make it easier for Liman to get in and out, but actually, it was to avoid gossip.
Gu Shenwei was sitting on a low stool while he rested his elbows on his knees. He was facing the door and could see what was going on outside. Liman’s had some truth to it. The officers who held a position higher than centurion were all brewing up a storm. The ordinary soldiers, however, were indifferent to it all. They simply mourned the Commandant and paid no heed to the hurrying officers as if they were invisible ghosts.
“Good people are redundant at such times.” Gu Shenwei stared at a group of soldiers who were standing around the fallen flag with their head lowered. Although it was a little far away, Gu Shenwei could see that the soldiers were making occasional eye contact and someone seemed to be whispering secretively.
Shangguan Ru stood near the door, holding a wooden saber. She was also looking outside. Upon hearing the Dragon King’s words, she turned her head and smiled. “It’s really strange. I seemed to have known you were going to say something like that. You sound as if you have got a grudge against ‘good people.’”
Gu Shenwei disguised his anger with a cold look. He was very vulnerable to unnecessary emotional fluctuations in front of her. “Hatred has nothing to do with good and bad. Even heroes who help the poor have enemies. You said that the Commandant is a good person, but he’s dead. And as a result, the hundred thousand Court Attendants Army has become spoils of war. The Royal Court, which could have restored order, will fall back into chaos again. This is what ‘good people’ bring about. So now do you think that it’s more important to be a ‘good person’ or a strong person who’s not quite as good?”
Shangguan Ru, who had turned her head away and was still listening to him the whole time, turned around revealing that the smile on her face had faded away. “Do you also want the Royal Court to return to order?”
Gu Shenwei didn’t expect Shangguan Ru to be concerned about this. He paused a moment and answered, “No, at least not now.”
Lotus was his enemy, and her whole plan was crazy and unfounded. But the beginning of the plan had been no difference from Gu Shenwei’s. It was not surprising because much of Lotus’s idea was born from him.
Liman ran inside and interrupted their conversation. The situation was growing more and more urgent with the hour and he had no time to sigh with emotion, only able to do whatever he had to. “This is bad. Tuosai has gained the support of several captains. Not only did he prevent the other lords from entering the camp but he also decided to elect the new commandant right away. And now only ten captains and two vice-commandants will be able allowed to attend. The person that they’ll elect can only be Wucuo.”
Liman glanced back and said in a low voice, “Azheba and several others are ready to start a mutiny at any time.”
“Mutiny?” cried Shangguan Ru in a low voice, “but the soldiers don’t seem to want to be part of this.”
Liman shook his head, “Of course, they can’t get the ordinary soldiers involved. That would only make things worse. There are more than a hundred chiliarches and even more centurions in the Court Attendants Army who serve as the backbone of the force. As long as they can convince just thirty percent of them, the whole situation can be changed.”
Liman, who had just sighed at the split of the Norland, was deservedly excluding the ordinary soldiers from the decision-making circle. Hearing this, Gu Shenwei found it very interesting. “Tuosai has brought more than a thousand guards.”
“Tuosai will not dare act recklessly before he’s really in charge.”
“Beware of being retaliated against after the event is over. Even if your favorite captain Gulun is elected, he may not appreciate a group of officers who once offended their superior.”
Liman gloomily said, “It’s for this reason that many officers are unwilling to join our mutiny.”
“Then in this case, it’s better to ally with the enemy. The more officers get involved, the less retaliation they’ll receive afterward.”
“Ally with the enemy?”
“Forget about making Gulun the Commandant. Ask the other officers about what they think and add then all the people they support to the list, even if that person is a puppet of King Shengri.”
Liman obviously felt that the idea was not very reliable. He opened and closed his mouth several times as if he had many reasons to refute but in the end, did not say a single word. Instead, he hurried out of the tent to convey the Dragon King’s message to Azheba and the others.
Shangguan Ru looked on with great interest, and a smile appeared on her face again. “So that’s the Dragon King’s plans. I’d better keep that in mind.”
Gu Shenwei hummed in his heart. He wasn’t in a good mood because staying calm was becoming more and more difficult. “This is the only method available to the weak and humble. You’ll certainly feel strange about doing this.”
Shangguan Ru appeared apologetic and then heaved a sigh of relief. “You forget, my brother and I joined you at Xiaoyou Lake and have been fighting against Golden Roc Castle, so I am not surprised of the idea behind an ‘alliance with the enemy.’ It’s just that… I’m just… not used to it yet.”
Gu Shenwei’s anger vanished into thin air. When they had been exchanging letters back and forth at the Xiaoyao Lake like they were rallying balls, he was completely trusting of Shangguan Ru and had even placed the last hope of the decisive battle on her. But when he met her in person he always felt that she was an enemy rather than a partner.
This was not fair to Shangguan Ru, nor to the dead rocs.
Gu Shenwei’s mood fluctuated again but he firmly suppressed it at last. “I’m very used to it. It’s what I have done so far to live on. Big Snow Mountain, Tuo Nengya, the Land of Fragrance, the Xiaoyao Lake, Golden Roc Castle, and the queen I married; all of that was for an alliance. I am the most treacherous person in this world.”
Gu Shenwei was proud when he said this.
Shangguan Ru seemed influenced by him as her eyes were shining too now. But she shook her head and said, “No, you are not. Because you protect all of your allies. There aren’t many people in the world who can do that. Third Brother’s killers are under your command now but you haven’t taken advantage of this chance to get rid of them.”
“I will.”
“But you won’t as long as the alliance is not over, so you are not treacherous at all.” Shangguan Ru’s eyes became more and more bright. “Everyone admired you when you were willing to stand up for your dozen or so subordinates in the forbidden zone of the Royal Court.”
“I was willing to stand up because I knew… Anyway, it was a risky but not dangerous decision.”
“No matter what, you are not the bad guy that you think you are. I know that you’ve killed a lot of people but you’ve never killed innocent people without reason. You are not Old Man Mu.”
Old Man Mu coughed twice outside. He was now a faithful follower of the good girl.
Shangguan Ru smiled. “You are not the former Old Man Mu. You don’t kill for pleasure.”
Gu Shenwei vaguely felt that a net was falling around him which made him suddenly grow alert. “If you are pleading for Golden Roc Castle, it’s too late.”
Shangguan Ru was stunned. She looked down and tried to distinguish between her ideas and what she had just said. And she suddenly realized that she actually did have that hope somewhere in the back of her mind. It was a sweet dream, a dream she had never dared to even recognize, but sometimes she couldn’t help and try to achieve it.
Liman excitedly rushed in like a swirl of wind, blowing away the faint sense of embarrassment in the air. “They were successful. At least seventy chiliarches and five hundred centurions are willing to join the mutiny.”
There was no more need to say what would happen next. Outside of the tents, groups of military officers were moving toward the main tent but no one was armed in order to avoid any further criticism.
The soldiers seemed to have anticipated this and hung their heads lower, ignoring the officers who passed by.
“Very smooth.” Liman looked at the Dragon King with admiration. “It turns out that not only did Azheba and his fellow officers form a group, but there are also at least three or four larger groups. They found the leader and are now coming in easily. It won’t be so easy for Tuosai to get what he wants today. Does Azheba wants to ask the Dragon King as to what should they do next?”
Tuosai’s desire to elect a man of his own to be Commandant was hard to achieve, and so was Azheba and his fellow officers’ desire. Gulun was now just one of the candidates and didn’t have an absolute advantage.
“What about Azheba’s idea?” Gu Shenwei had no intention in being a military counselor for a group of officers.
“He has decided to continue leading the alliance’s strategy and will work to win over several captains and the officers under them with the position of vice-commandant.”
“Very good.”
Liman steadfastly nodded as if he had completely forgotten his emotional sigh of the split of the Norland.
He was just about to leave when Gu Shenwei stopped him. “Wait, the alliance with the other officers went very smoothly?”
“Very smoothly. And almost without needing any persuasion. It seemed like everyone was against Tuosai. Heh, he didn’t have that many supporters among the officers that are ranked lower than the chiliarches.”
“Be aware of the group of officers with the most initiative. They may be the next big enemy.”
Liman was surprised again. He nodded again and hurried out of the tent.
Gu Shenwei looked at Shangguan Ru and said, “See, you are wrong. Tuosai and I are allies but I just don’t want to help or protect him.”
“The one allied with Tuosai is the Second Consort, not you.” Shangguan Ru had gotten rid of the entangled mess in her heart. “Everybody knows that Tuosai is jealous of you and desires to kill you.”
A gleam of cunning flashed in the Second Consort’s eyes. “Eighth Sister-in-law is really capable.”
“She’s a stupid woman who thinks she’s capable.”
Shangguan Ru laughed out loud. “Men all like stupid women and often fall into the hands of stupid women.”
“Don’t speak as if you know about this kind of thing. That’s what Xu Yanwei would say.”
Shangguan Ru seemed to suddenly understand. “I wouldn’t have realized if didn’t mention it, but… That is exactly what Xu Yanwei told me. She said…” She stopped in time but her face had turned a little red.
Gu Shenwei didn’t pry any further. What surprised him was that the officers’ mutiny outside was a matter of life and death to him but he wasn’t nervous at all and also did not want to go out and check. He liked staying inside the tent.
“How long has it been? This seems to be the longest conversation we’ve ever had.” Shangguan Ru turned around to look at the soldiers who were still mourning in silence, her head slightly tilted to one side, leaving Gu Shenwei a solitary figure.
The noise in the distance suddenly arrived. It was a mixture of anger and grief, and immediately awakened Gu Shenwei from a newly-formed dream.
The mutiny plotted by the officers did not seem to have worked out well.
