Chapter 1162: This method is super effective (2/2)

Long Feiye only stared at her, speechless. His original plans were to listen to all the plans of the generals before picking one amongst them. But Han Yunxi’s idea was even better! He didn’t have to give any orders or make any choices. All he had to do was show their stance and let the underlings vie amongst themselves. Whoever had the skills to make the Western Zhou army surrender would be charge of managing its affairs thereon.

Of course, the most important point was that Long Feiye wouldn’t need to express his views on this matter at all, leaving his intentions inscrutable to his subordinates vying with each other for his attention. If the master of a household wanted to stabilize his position, he had to be impartial; the same went for a sovereign of a nation.

Naturally, it was impossible for anyone to be truly impartial. Whether it was a single incident or matters of state, no true impartiality existed. Nor was a pure neutral stance the best way to rule a country. Now with hundreds of incidents and the whole chessboard poised for a reshuffle, the battle between factions had already turned turbulent. What Long Feiye needed to do now was to take a middling stance and keep his thoughts and preferences private.

“What are you looking at? Did I say the wrong thing?” Han Yunxi asked.

Long Feiye smiled wordlessly, three parts helpless and seven parts doting.[2]

“Say something! What are you smiling for?” Han Yunxi fretted. He should understand what I’m getting at!

“It’s really a shame you’re not ascending the throne as an emperor yourself,” Long Feiye said sincerely.

Han Yunxi gave a start before she grinned. “I prefer to have your babies instead.”

Without a word, Long Feiye rose and walked out of the room. Soon enough, Han Yunxi heard him instructing Xu Donglin to give orders to the Baili battalion stationed in Tianning to find a quiet place for setting up camp. They were to also set up a tent and provide adequate water and rations. Zhao mama would be sent over ahead of time to make arrangements for the servants.

The weight on Han Yunxi’s chest finally lifted as she began to imagine her future days. That night, Long Feiye stayed by her bedside while the couple poured over the letters. Gradually, she trailed off into a peaceful sleep.

--

Late at night, Gu Qishao was jolted awake because Gu Beiyue had materialized out of thin air to take his pulse by his bedside.

“What are you doing?!” Gu Qishao retracted his arm, on guard.

“You promised the princess beforehand that you’d let me take a good look once we returned to Medical City. She and His Highness were asking all about it this afternoon,” Gu Beiyue said seriously.

“Even if they asked you in the afternoon, you didn’t have to drop by in the middle of the night!” Gu Qishao huffed.

“When else could I find you if not now?” Gu Beiyue rebutted.

“Tomorrow morning! I want to sleep tonight, so I won’t be seeing you out,” Gu Qishao was in good enough spirits to show a slight smile.

It’d be strange if I could find you tomorrow! Gu Beiyue hadn’t been able to find Gu Qishao that morning, so after coming back from Clearbreeze Peak in the afternoon, he’d kept searching until night fell. If he hadn’t found Gu Qishao in his rooms tonight, he would have assumed the man had gone missing again.

“I’m only taking your pulse, so it won’t affect your rest. Go sleep,” Gu Beiyue said gently.

Gu Qishao’s smile dropped as his voice turned cold. “Gu Beiyue, are you getting lost or not?”

Gu Beiyue simply grabbed Gu Qishao’s wrist without a word. Gu Qishao knocked him aside and prepared to flee. In two somersaults, he was at the door. “Bye!”

Gu Beiyue didn’t chase after him. “Qishao,” he said, “If you can’t abide by your promise to the princess, I’ll have no choice but to trouble her with the news.”

Gu Qishao froze. Then he insisted, word by word, “I’m fine! I won’t die!”

“Go tell that to the princess yourself.” As Gu Beiyue spoke, he suddenly appeared by Gu Qishao’s side and gripped him by the shoulder. This time, Gu Qishao couldn’t break free no matter how he tried, so he was forced to submit. Without a word, he turned impatiently towards his room and sat down, offering Gu Beiyue his arm.

Gu Beiyue took his pulse for a long time and kept feeling that something was wrong, but couldn’t figure out what. He asked, “Qishao, your pulse is very unique, different from normal humans. It’s impossible for me to get a proper reading. Have you been feeling any more hunger pangs in the past two days?”

“How could I be hungry when your medical academy serves such good food?” Gu Qishao retorted.

“Then what about exhaustion? Do you still feel out of energy?” Gu Beiyue asked next.

1. Reminder that this was the Li Clan’s adherents within the ranks that rebelled, not Chu Tianyin’s original revolt.

2. Isn’t it interesting how Chinese expressions like to take comparisons out of ten? In English we’d use “half hopeless, half doting” but here it’s a clear 30/70 percent divide. You’ll see this in similar expressions of other novels too.