807 Broken Bows, Broken Knives, and Broken Dreams (2/2)

The noise and gossip in the street outside the palace did not affect the quiet inside it.

Ning Que said to Chao Xiaoshu, ”Do you still want to talk to her now?”

After a few moments of silence, he said, ”We've seen her, so there's no need to talk.”

”Then wait for me for a moment.”

Ning Que said, ”I've just thought of something I would like to discuss with her.”

The terrace was quiet. The snow on the lake had gotten colder and thicker. Xiao Man was taken to bed by his servant. Tonight, he saw such a bloody scene. He didn't know if he could fall asleep.

Ning Que put down his walking stick. It was a little difficult to sit at his desk. He reached out his hand to take the cold tea in front of Li Yu. He took two sips to soothe his throat and said, ”Actually, I really don't want to call you a fool.”

Li Yu looked at the tea and asked, ”Are you tired of calling me a fool?”

Ning Que replied, ”Stay in this garden quietly. Though the scenery is dull, it's still better than death. You should understand this. Why can't you give up fighting?”

”I've said it before: Between dying of old age or being killed, I prefer the latter. And Hua Shanyue showed no regard to his own life in trying to save mine. What else can I do? How could I tell you this?”

Li Yu looked at him and said sarcastically, ”In the imperial study that night, you told me I would see your coldness eventually. Then you killed Hun Yuan in the palace. Will you now continue to show your coldness? If you want to kill me, you better be direct with it. Don't use excuses like calling me a fool.”

Ning Que said, ”I want to call you a fool not because of what happened tonight, but because you still seemed confident that I wouldn't kill you.”

Li Yu said, ”If you really wanted to kill me, you wouldn't stay here and say these things to me.”

Ning Que shook his head and said, ”It would be very simple to kill you. Not killing you is the hard part. But this kind of trouble is not what you're thinking.”

Li Yu kept her gaze on Ning Que, but she didn't say anything.

Ning Que looked at her beautiful face as if he had seen the maid holding Xiao Man listening to a fairy tale by the bonfire many years ago and said, ”It seems that you have figured out many things lately.”

Li Yu kept her silence.

Ning Que continued, ”There is nothing of value worth holding on to in this world. Whether it be Xiao Man's birth, or your influence from your time in the grassland, neither will affect the decision the Empress and I have made.”

Li Yu stared at his eyes, her hands shaking in her sleeves. She knew Ning Que could read her thoughts and reasoning. She didn't expect for him to remain so calm after finding these things out.

Now the whole world was fighting the Tang Empire, except for the West-Hill Divine Palace. Only the Golden Palace's cavalry moving their way southward could threaten the Tang Empire. If they wanted to completely shut down this threat from the north, Xiao Man's birth and her influence in the golden tent seemed to be of importance.

Because of these reasons, she knew the Academy and the imperial court would keep her.

”Actually, you're not wrong. But the Academy and the imperial court wouldn't likely do that. Especially when I found out you wanted to keep these as bargaining chips.”

Ning Que looked at her and said, ”I can still eat a pig, if the butcher who slaughtered the pig is dead. If the Headmaster is gone, the Academy is still strong enough on its own. They are without enemies. I already had a plan for the vast Wilderness of the Golden Palace. It would be better if I had your help. But if not, I could still get the final victory.”

Li Yu looked at him with raised eyebrows and said, ”Even if many people die?”

Ning Que said, ”As long as those who die are not Tang people.”

Li Yu thought of some possibilities. She changed her expression slightly and sadly said, ”It seems like the Tang Empire doesn't need Xiao Man and me. Did you make a plan before the war started?”

Ning Que never thought she could've guessed what he had done to the Golden Palace just from a few sentences. He said, ”It looks like you are no fool in this respect.”

Li Yu said wryly, ”That means I'm still a fool in other respects.”

Ning Que replied, ”Yes.”

The army left. The street in front of the Princess' Palace eventually quieted down. The snow that had been trampled until it became muddy water could not return to its clean white look in a short time.

Ning Que and Chao Xiaoshu were walking on the street. They stepped on the muddied snow, making a crunching sound beneath their feet.

”Killing or not killing, you need to solve this problem eventually.” Chao Xiaoshu said, ”After all, she's the favorite daughter of the king. If we don't have to kill her, it's better not to kill her.”