Chapter 567: Inferior to a femme fatale (2/2)
Besides West Liang City, Tianan City was also very interested in Long Feiye’s pending visit to Western Zhou. Long Tianmo couldn’t even sit still and went to personally visit General Mu’s estate.
“What does the Duke of Qin mean by this?”
“Zhen long wanted to invite him to Tianan, but you two found every way possible to stop me. Now look, he’s going to Western Zhou. The Chu Clan should be proud of themselves by now!”
Mu Qingwu stood quietly on one side, while General Mu respectfully offered Long Tianmo a cup of tea. “Your Majesty, the Duke of Qin is visiting Western Zhou, not Tianning. Please keep calm.”
“What’s the difference between him going to Western Zhou or Tianning?” Long Tianmo asked back.
“Father, such things… The Duke of Qin’s actions really are rather unexpected,” Mu Qingwu agreed with Long Tianmo.
“Emperor Kang Cheng didn’t fear the Chu Clan taking the throne in Tianning when he agreed to the marriage alliance. If Tianning falls into Western Zhou’s hands one day and befriends the Duke of Qin, we’ll be the target of public criticism by all!” Long Tianmo said angrily.
His reasoning wasn’t wrong. The Chu Clan controlled half of the military power in Western Zhou. Emperor Kang Cheng had allowed their daughter to marry into Tianning, which proved that he was confident in his own power to quell the Chu Clan. Thus, anything the Chu Clan won in Tianning must go to Western Zhou in the end. Once Western Zhou staked claims on the ten counties in northwest Tianning, then befriended the Duke of Qin, Tianan City would be forced to face a foe three times as strong.
Long Tianmo had yet to stabilize the foundations of his fledgling kingdom. How could he ever hope to withstand such pressure? Naturally, he felt panicked.
But Great General Mu wasn’t concerned at all. “Your Majesty, don’t be impatient. It’s not even too late to act on the matter after the Duke of Qin’s gone to Western Zhou. As this old official sees it, his sudden visit must have a reason. This old official asks that Your Majesty heed me one more time.”
Long Tianmo didn’t understand. Great General Mu had always been hot-headed and impulsive. The best example came from the past, when he’d outright lashed Han Yunxi with his whip. But somehow, he was able to remain calmer than anyone else when it came to matters of state. Was his old personality all a sham?
Of course, he’d never give voice to his suspicions. Currently, he still trusted Great General Mu since the Mu Clan was his sole source of strength. Great General Mu’s rational calm had been the right choice in multiple major issues of the past. But this time, Long Tianmo couldn’t keep calm. He was about to speak up when Mu Qingwu beat him to it.
“This soldier remembered something. In the past when the Duke of Qin refused the marriage alliance with Western Zhou, Tianhui used no end of sacrifices to play down the issue. A man with a temper like Emperor Kang Cheng’s would never invite the Duke of Qin on his own initiative. And knowing what we do about the Duke of Qin himself…it’s no guarantee that he’s going for a friendly chat.”
Actually, Mu Qingwu was thinking about Han Yunxi when he spoke these words. Long Tianmo’s thoughts wandered to her as well. It had been a long time since either of them had seen that woman.
Mu Qingwu’s words were successful in calming Long Tianmo down. Great General Mu looked on with dissatisfaction from the side, but couldn’t do anything about it. After saying a few more words, he simply changed the topic. “Your Majesty…you’re getting on in years as well. You should consider the issue of begetting heirs.”
Long Tianmo had yet to take a single concubine since establishing his reign. Mu Liuyue was his only woman. With her as his empress, his mother, the insane Empress Li, naturally became empress dowager. As a filial son, Long Tianmo was nothing but docile and obedient before his mad mother, who had taken a fancy to making Mu Liuyue serve by her side. But how easy was it to wait on a crazy woman? Mu Liuyue suffered nothing but grievances all day long!
Her father and brother had urged her repeatedly to think about having children, but she still didn’t have the guts to tell them that Long Tianmo hadn’t touched her at all.
“Mm, Zhen will think over the issue!” Long Tianmo replied coldly. He was in no mood to continue the conversation and soon left.
As of now, the situation in Cloud Realm Continent was still stable. But a single move from Long Feiye had already sent ripples of fear amongst the various powers. Even Northern Li’s Emperor Ruishi1 was secretly keeping tabs on further developments. However, instead of consulting with his Ministry of War, he found Jun Yixie’s master Ban Yanqing instead.
As the leader of Cloud Realm Continent’s strongest military force, Emperor Ruishi wore armor all year round even though he never appeared on the battlefields. He was approaching 50 years old, but hardly looked old or weak. A heroic, domineering aura surrounded him like a vigorous tiger, his eyes sharp and ready to kill. He was like a heavenly warrior incarnate!
In contrast, the man dressed in gray robes before him seemed like a drifting cloud or untamed stork, free from worldly concerns. Still, Ban Yanqing’s languid air was more than enough to suppress Emperor Ruishi’s overbearing presence, because what laid beneath him was…hidden depths enough to make a man tremble with fear.
“Tianning’s Duke of Qin is nothing short of a calamity!” This wasn’t the first time Emperor Ruishi had judged Long Feiye like this. For years, Western Zhou and Tianning had joined hands to resist Northern Li’s crack horsemen in the south. Now Tianning had been broken up into three factions in the north and south, their relations with Western Zhou unclear. Emperor Ruishi was waiting for his chance to conquer the south as well. Circumstances were finally starting to turn in his favor. Of course he couldn’t let Long Feiye disturb his plans.
“Let him sow disaster as he will. In the end, the threat from one man can’t compare to the schemes of a single femme fatale. Your Majesty only needs to wait and watch a good show,” Bai Yanqing said with a smile.
Emperor Ruishi was no sapling like Long Tianmo. He laughed out loud and exclaimed, “A femme fatale? Interesting! Very interesting! Zhen will wait and watch!”
As for the beauty in question—that was probably someone only he and Bai Yanqing knew. By the time Jun Yixie entered the room, the two older men had already fallen silent. Various parties across the continent were all waiting for Long Feiye and Han Yunxi to visit Western Zhou.
On this day, they were indeed travelling north, but had chosen to use the small roads instead of the main thoroughfares for Tang Li’s sake. Aunt Ru and Tang Zijin had finally started suspecting Long Feiye of harboring Tang Li after being tricked by multiple false trails. They never expected Tang Li to run off into the most dangerous possible place for shelter.
Despite this, they still failed to track down Long Feiye and Han Yunxi even though they knew the pair was heading for Western Zhou. In the end, it was Tang Li’s fiancée’s clan who sniffed them out instead. Because they didn’t want to stir up any extra trouble, the group chose to hide away.
“Hey, what’s your fiancée’s background?” Han Yunxi asked with curiosity.
1. Emperor Ruishi (睿式皇帝) – Rui means “astute, perspicacious, farsighted,” Shi is “martial, military.”