Chapter 118
Chapter 118
“Greetings, Aunt. Greetings, Uncle!”
Su Jianting, the heir to the Marquis of Zhenyuan, performed his courtesies without the slightest neglect. Count Xuanwu nodded to save him face, but the Countess, showing no regard for her own nephew's dignity, met him with a cold expression.
“Have some tea,” Count Xuanwu offered.
“Yes.”
Su Jianting sat and picked up his teacup. He didn't seem offended by their attitude, but rather troubled by the chilly atmosphere. A moment later, Mulan entered the main hall. A flicker of complex emotions crossed Su Jianting’s eyes. His cousin was once destined to be his wife. A woman of her grace and beauty was rare in this world. To think that she was now another man’s wife was truly… He then glanced at Shen Lang, who stood beside Mulan. Su Jianting had already heard many stories about this live-in son-in-law. Su Jianting rose from his seat and clasped his hands in a salute toward them.
“Brother-in-law, Cousin, it has been a long time.”
“Cousin,” Mulan replied.
Shen Lang, who had never been one for pleasantries, did not greet him. But every hair on his body stood on end, for Su Jianting was incredibly handsome. When Shen Lang assessed another man's looks, he tended to mentally dock them by thirty percent. Even so, he had to admit that Su Jianting was nearly as handsome as himself.
Unable to bear the awkwardness any longer, the Countess spoke to her nephew.
“Su Jianting, I haven’t had the chance to congratulate your father. He has been appointed Grand Marshal of the Pacification Army, returning to the center of power, has he not? I heard that after receiving the imperial decree, he left for the capital without a moment's delay, departing that very night.”
“I am ashamed before you, Aunt.”
Count Xuanwu asked him, “What brings you here this time?”
“Grandmother has not seen you or Cousin for a long time and misses you dearly. She sent me specifically to invite you and Cousin to our home to stay for a while. Furthermore, Grandmother has heard that Cousin’s husband is a man of exceptional talent and wishes to meet him.”
Su Jianting looked at Shen Lang as he extended the invitation, but the reply came from the Countess.
“There is no need… If I am to die, I will die in the Count of Xuanwu’s Estate. I have no intention of fleeing to your Marquis of Zhenyuan’s Estate to escape disaster. In life, I am a member of the Jin Clan, and in death, I will be a ghost of the Jin Clan.”
“Grandmother is old. You were always her most cherished daughter, Aunt. Recently, she sheds tears whenever she thinks of you.”
“From the moment your Marquis of Zhenyuan’s Estate made its choice, I no longer considered myself a daughter of the Su Clan. Go back and tell Grandmother that Su Peipei is already dead.”
“Aunt, when the family broke the engagement back then, I was far away…”
The Countess cut him off and said flatly, “Su Jianting, do not misunderstand. It was our Jin Clan that first tore up the marriage contract.”
“Yes!” Su Jianting replied, bowing his head.
The Countess said to him, “If there is nothing else, you may leave. We have not prepared dinner for you.”
“There is one more matter.”
“Speak.”
“I have heard that my cousin’s equestrian skills are formidable, and her swordsmanship is even more so. I would like to receive her guidance.”
Mulan was about to refuse, but Shen Lang looked at her and nodded.
“Very well. Let us go to the garden.”
***
In the garden, Jin Mulan and Su Jianting stood ten feet apart.
“Please!”
“Please!”
They drew their swords in unison. The grace emanating from their blades was beyond words. They moved so fast that Shen Lang’s eyes couldn't follow. What looked like a single thrust was, in reality, seventeen distinct movements. Even to a martial arts layman like Shen Lang, it was clear that Mulan had truly reached the pinnacle of her craft.
He had no idea how much stronger she had become since she killed Tian Heng. That day, when she had taken down four assassins with a single strike, she had used only fifty percent of her power. When she had killed Tian Heng in one breath, she had used only seventy percent. But now, Mulan was using nearly one hundred and twenty percent of her strength. A great shower of sparks erupted as their two swords clashed. Su Jianting landed like a great goose, while Mulan touched down as lightly as a butterfly.
Su Jianting clasped his hands and said, “Cousin, thank you for going easy on me!”
Mulan said nothing.
“Cousin, I once dueled with Tang Yan of the Count of Jinhai’s Estate, the man they call the Martial Zealot, and I lost! He used a technique called ‘Meteor from Beyond the Heavens,’ and I could not parry it. We fought ten times, and not once could I withstand it.”
He clasped his hands toward Shen Lang and Mulan and said, “Brother-in-law, Cousin, I will take my leave now!”
Su Jianting left the estate, and an icy displeasure surfaced on Mulan’s face. Shen Lang stepped forward and gently pulled her into his arms. Tears welled up in Mulan’s eyes. She hugged Shen Lang and said in a choked voice, “Husband, I lost.”
Shen Lang took her hand and saw blood trickling from her palm. Moreover, her internal energy seemed to be in turmoil, suggesting she had suffered internal injuries. Shen Lang kissed her hand and stroked her hair.
“In the past, I would not have lost. But I have to master both swordsmanship and equestrian combat. That is why I lost to him.”
At that moment, before Shen Lang, Mulan seemed as petulant as a child. But what she said was true. Martial arts were divided into two types: one for the battlefield and one for the martial world. The latter was suited for individual combat, while the former was for large-scale battles. Most people specialized in one. Nangong Ping, the heir to the Marquis of Zhenbei, focused on battlefield arts, while Tang Yan of the Count of Jinhai’s Estate focused on personal combat. Mulan pressed her face against Shen Lang’s chest and said in a fragile voice, “Husband, if I cannot even defeat Su Jianting, how can I possibly defeat Tang Yan, the so-called Martial Zealot? If I lose to him, it will be one loss in our three contests. What if we lose Gold Mountain Island forever because of it? I will become a disgrace to the family. I have not fought Tang Yan myself, but my swordsmanship is likely two levels below his.”
Shen Lang’s heart ached. He kissed her earlobe and said tenderly, “My love, do you trust me?”
“I do. In my heart, Husband, there is nothing you cannot do.”
She lifted her head, her beautiful, jet-black eyes glistening with tears. They were as stunning as the stars in the sky.
“Then I give you my guarantee. You will absolutely win your fight against Tang Yan! And we will absolutely win the dispute over Gold Mountain Island!”
Then, Shen Lang said with a smile, “Wife, there is something I haven’t told you.”
“What is it?”
“I am going to make you the greatest master in the world. In the future, if anyone dares to mess with me, you can beat them until they wet themselves.”
“Alright.” Mulan nodded vigorously.
“But what if Big Dummy becomes the greatest master in the world later?”
“Then we will just have to cripple half of his martial arts.”
“Ugh! What kind of talk is that?”
Shen Lang pleaded in a low voice, “Wife, do you still close the window when you bathe at night?”
Mulan pretended not to hear. Her silence was a tacit admission that she did not.
“Wife, I’m already… hard.”
Mulan suddenly stomped her foot, turned her head, and broke free from his embrace. She hated it most when her husband was like this. Every time they shared a sweet moment, he would always say something crude. Other couples would court each other by reciting poetry under the moon or in a field of flowers, but her husband always turned their romantic conversations into something lewd. Thanks to him, the once pure and innocent Mulan now knew practically everything. In the end, her theoretical knowledge had become more extensive than that of most middle-aged women with years of practical experience. A single word from her husband could teach her more than a decade in the marital bed.
After Mulan left, Shen Lang gazed in the direction Su Jianting had gone. Until now, Shen Lang had faced many enemies. Most of them had been crushed before they even had a chance to fight back properly. But this Su Jianting seemed to be a discerning foe.
His actions today did not seem entirely hostile. Not only was he refined and polite, but he had also voluntarily challenged Mulan to a duel. He was showing her that her skills were far inferior to Tang Yan's, that fighting was hopeless. But the more refined and polite he acted, the more it revealed his overwhelming sense of superiority. He probably saw everyone else as a fool. As always, that saying held true.
‘Anyone who acts more arrogant than I, Shen Lang, deserves to die!’
***
At the Count of Jing'an's Estate.
“Damn it, they’re all cowards.”
Count Jing'an, Wu Zhaozhong, was furious. Unbefitting a nobleman, he swore incessantly.
“Marquis Zhenyuan, Su Nan, is a coward, a petty man, a scoundrel who should be torn to shreds! I’ve never seen such a weak marquis. Even a dog wouldn’t be as obedient as you. The King issues a decree, and you immediately wag your tail and run off to the capital to take up a post. Don’t you know it’s customary to refuse three times? Even a dog eating shit wouldn’t be as eager as you!”
Their current situation was like that of a corpse on the savanna, circled by vultures. When the Count of Xuanwu’s Estate fell, there were three factions ready to feast on the remains: the New Government Faction, the Marquis of Zhenbei’s Estate, and the Count of Jinhai’s Estate. Among them, the Count of Jing'an’s Estate was close enough to Xuanwu Province to rush in and tear off a piece. Other families could only watch, wanting to join but unable to.
But now, Marquis Zhenyuan, Su Nan, had accepted the decree and headed to the capital to assume his military post. This was as good as telling the world, “Although my family is related to the Count of Xuanwu’s Estate by marriage, we are, in fact, uninvolved. Pay me no mind and do as you please.”
The old noble families understood the wisdom of knowing that when the lips are gone, the teeth grow cold, and had intended to offer a helping hand to the Count of Xuanwu’s Estate. But then the Marquis of Zhenbei’s Estate had petitioned the King to send their private army to the Southern Commandery to quell the rebellion. This was tantamount to handing the King a sword.
The Marquis of Zhenyuan was essentially threatening them, saying, ‘If any of you dare to step out of line, I will cut you down in the King’s name.’ Despicable, shameless! Before the Count of Xuanwu’s Estate had even fallen, countless vultures were already circling the sky, preparing to divide the Jin Clan’s corpse.
The Count of Jing'an said in a cold voice, “I, the Count of Jing'an, will take half of the Wangya Island salt pans. Anyone who tries to snatch that piece of meat from me will have to do it over my dead body. Viscount Zhu Nanting? What kind of dog or cat dares to fight me for meat? Who does he think he is?”
“Go to Lin Zhuo and tell him to act even more insanely, more viciously. Tell him not to be afraid of who dies, who he kills, or even if war breaks out. Don’t just make a small fuss; cross the line, attack. It’s fine to even start a small-scale war.”
The heir to the Count of Jing'an’s Estate, Wu Yuanhua, frowned and said, “Although the troops of the Yanshan Chiliarchy are elites, I fear they are not enough to face the cavalry of the Count of Xuanwu’s Estate.”
Count Jing'an, Wu Zhaozhong, hesitated for a moment before slamming his fist on the table. “Secretly send the family’s masters into the army to bolster Lin Zhuo’s ranks. Tell Lin Zhuo he must use overwhelming numbers against a smaller foe. If he encounters any small cavalry patrols from the Count of Xuanwu’s Estate, he is to wipe them all out.”
“And capture them! The more of Count Xuanwu’s private soldiers we capture, the better. Then hang them upside down for all to see. We must show everyone that our Count of Jing'an’s Estate made the greatest contribution to this campaign, so that when the spoils are divided, we get the biggest piece of meat.”
His heir, Wu Yuanhua, replied, “Understood!”
Less than an hour later, a hundred elite cavalrymen galloped out, racing toward Xuanwu Province. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. When an old noble family fell, how much profit would there be to gain? The King would take the large piece, and they would take a smaller one. If he missed this chance, the Count of Jing'an felt he could never forgive himself.
Last time, when the Count of Dongjiang’s Estate fell, many grew fat from the spoils, but the Count of Jing'an’s Estate was too far away to partake. Now that it was the Count of Xuanwu’s turn, if he didn’t manage to snatch a bite, even the heavens would think him a fool.
‘So, don’t you dare call me unsightly for eating so greedily, Wu Zhaozhong. And don’t you dare be jealous, hahaha!’