Book 14: Chapter 29
Negotiator Ming (Part 1)
I slowly exhaled as a trail of sweat slid down my spine. How was I supposed to know she was so dangerous with a weapon? Who said she was a housewife? Bloody hell, Zuo Qiukuang must’ve trained his daughter into a weapon of a woman.
Frankly, I almost lost my life to my own carelessness. Zuo Suniang thought I was fearless of even an avalanche because I didn’t even envelop myself in true qi when her spear tip was a hair away from my face. Had she not stopped herself, I’d be bleeding similarly to a fountain from my face. She made the erroneous assumption based on the fact that I was able to defeat her steward in just three exchanges.
“You threatened me first, so please pardon my rudeness,” expressed Zuo Suniang, returning to her seat as though nothing happened.
I smiled. “Pay it no mind.”
She watched me for a while before resuming our conversation. “May I ask why you brought up the Champion White Princes?”
“Honest people do not lie. You have to tell the truth to me. If it were not for their support, how would you have the confidence to bring your son home without pandering to His Majesty? It is not a difficult situation to read. Like you, they seek gains. The difference is that their appetite is significantly bigger than yours. The difference between you and them is, His Majesty has no love for them, while he only means well for your family. This is a point I must make clear.”
“… His Majesty knows already?”
“No, and he will never know.”
Zuo Suniang unconsciously lowered her raised shoulders. If His Majesty knew about the alliance, even if he didn’t pursue the matter now, the bottled resentment would only bring misfortune down the road. In turn, she’d decisively choose to stand with the White Princes. Everything she plotted and coveted was for the sake of empowering her son to have a solid career and inherit a Prince status. Therefore, whoever had Li Muye, had the bargaining chips.
His Majesty’s promise to compensate Northern Wondrous Warrior Manor for their losses was treating a symptom, not a true solution to his actual goal. While it was unlikely, Zuo Suniang was in a position to have a foot in each team, and nobody could’ve done anything to stop her. The way forward was to give her a treat but also to suspend her off a cliff. Who better to achieve that than grandmaster negotiator Feizhen?
“I do apologise for threatening you with His Highness’ safety. Still, I hope you reconsider if the White Princes can give you more prestige than you receive at current. Furthermore, will they truly be successful? Their goal comes down to prestige, profits and protecting their status. Their motivations are the same, but the amount you each respectively demand is different. What big accomplishments does he who chases profit accomplish? Their goal is merely to shake up the imperial court; do you think they would truly revolt? Li Dynasty has stood the test of a century. Six Princes have grown into men. Deep roots give rise to flourishing leaves. How will they shake up the imperial court?
“Where do the White Princes get their prestige from? The imperial family. What would the world’s evaluation of them be if they bit the hand that fed them? His Majesty can’t remove them in one breath, and they cannot overturn the imperial court. At the end of the day, it boils down to who compromises more. Irrespective of who surrenders, though, you will not gain anything out of siding with the White Princes. Should the White Princes gain power, you will still be in the capital. Should they lose power, you will also still be in the capital. Would someone as wise as you fall for such an obvious trap?”
After mulling over what I told her, Zuo Suniang sighed. “His Majesty has a splendid son-in-law.”
“You flatter me, hehe. You actually made your decision already; you merely listened to me to show respect. For that, I wish to express my appreciation.”
Zuo Suniang giggled. “You sure like to tell jokes, Fuma. I must say I ought to aspire to have His Majesty’s sense of judgement.”
I flicked up my thumb. “You and Steward Zuo are the ones with good judgement. Had you turned me away at the door, this would not be possible.”
Zuo Suniang leaned back slightly. She sat as she would in a formal council meeting, but she was charming in her own way. Li Muye’s dad had good taste in women.
“So, what is it you seek from me, Fuma?”
I cleared my throat. “I wish you to do two things.”
“Speak without reserve.”
I raised up my index finger. “First, tell me what the White Princes are planning. When do they plan to enter the capital, how they intend to enter and how many are dispatched. Ideally, I would like to know their identities, as well. I will not ask where as it is your manor’s trump card, and you will probably not tell me, either.”
Although she didn’t answer, her silence was evidence that Northern Wondrous Warrior Manor did have a secret route to enter the imperial palace.
All three of His Majesty’s brothers were a handful. Wondrous Warrior coveted the throne, too. Unfortunately for him, he valiantly perished on the battlefield before he could make use of his preparations for the contest. Of those preparations, a secret path into the imperial palace was quite reasonable considering every member of the imperial family historically built themselves a secret passage. The first reason for constructing one was providing themselves with an escape route in case they were forced to abdicate. The second reason was to commit deeds that the public should’ve have otherwise not known about. Considering Northern Wondrous Warrior Manor’s secret passage led into the imperial palace, they were most likely planning to use it for the latter.
“No problem,” Zuo Suniang casually responded.
I extended my middle finger. “Second, return to Northern Wondrous Warrior Manor. That is all.”
Even the biggest idiot would realise that the alliance had fallen apart if Zuo Suniang’s family returned to Northern Wondrous Warrior Manor’s residence. The White Princes and Gongsun Chu tried to leverage Zuo Suniang’s despair and losses. Therefore, trying to pick a bone with Northern Wondrous Warrior Manor after they had their prestige restored would be shooting themselves in the foot. His Majesty would have to be intoxicated to not ride the momentum and crush those groups. Even if he wasn’t dirty enough to think of it, there was me. Sorry, I meant, even if His Majesty wasn’t smart enough to think of it, there was still me!
“No problem.”
I never expected negotiations to go so swimmingly. I reached out to shake her small hand and said, “Looking forward to working with you.”
Zuo Suniang instantly pulled her hand away, hurting my feelings.
“Your Highness, you are a heroine from the northern border. Such trivial things should not bother you.”
“Handshakes can wait.”
Huh? So we can shake on it?
“Our negotiations have not concluded.”
“Did you not accept my requests?”
“You have mentioned your demands, but I have yet to mention mine.”
She didn’t?
“You have more demands?”