Chapter 284
Chapter 284
The criteria King Ning Yuanxian used to select his eunuchs were very simple. They had to be loyal, intelligent, and, moreover, in perfect sync with him at all times. Only those who knew what could and could not be said, and what could and could not be done, were chosen.
That low-ranking eunuch was certainly talented. He alone had managed to save the orchids that no one else could revive. With that one skill, he had earned a position serving in the king's study and had become the head of the junior eunuchs in the Hall of Benevolence. The king had turned a blind eye to his extortion of officials, but stealing from the palace to sell outside was unforgivable. And yet, the wretched fool not only leaked information to the Crown Prince but today, completely oblivious to the king’s intentions, tried to drive a wedge between them and get Shen Lang killed.
His crime was not knowing that the king was pleased with Shen Lang’s confrontation with the Su Clan. He didn't even realize that the king was the one who stood to gain the most if Shen Lang orchestrated the burning of the Ancestral Temple! While the war with the state of Nan’ou raged on, the grand army of the Four Tribes continued to pour into the country. The State of Jiang was trying to use this opportunity to extort an astronomical sum of gold and resources from the State of Yue, and the king was stalling, unwilling to give in. If he truly gave nothing, the King of Jiang would fly into a rage and stir up trouble. But with the Jiang envoys burning the Ancestral Temple, the king was provided with the perfect excuse and justification not to pay.
‘Marquis Su Nan, this incident is of your family’s own making, so you deal with the King of Jiang’s extortion. The Su Clan can pay that money in my stead. As for the Ancestral Temple burning, what’s burned is burned. The one who burned was Confucius; what does that have to do with me, Ning Yuanxian? It wasn’t my ancestor who burned.’
How could Shen Lang have dared to commit such a grave act as burning the Ancestral Temple here in the capital? It was because it aligned with the king’s interests. However, Shen Lang had acted recklessly, dragging the king to the front lines without his consent, trying to force an alliance to make the Su Clan bleed. Still, if he had truly acted against the king’s wishes, where would Shen Lang have gotten the soft armor to protect himself during the flogging? The low-ranking eunuch, failing to see through these matters, had repeatedly provoked the king and directly defied his will. That was why he had died so miserably. But his dying words had pushed Shen Lang into a deadly predicament.
‘Shen Lang? You have quite the nerve. A married man like you dares to take liberties with my daughter?’
The king continued to stare intently at Shen Lang’s palm. Shen Lang felt every hair on his body stand on end. He truly sensed the danger. Ning Yan spoke up.
“Father, Shen Lang didn’t touch me. He just patted my chest.”
Shen Lang was rendered speechless.
‘Please stop explaining things so strangely.’
Then, as if remembering something, Princess Ning Yan continued.
“That’s right, Father. Shen Lang treated my illness yesterday. I promised to repay his kindness, and he said he wants to be an official, seventh or eighth rank, it doesn’t matter. A position with power but no responsibilities. No need to go to the office every day—just a post with power and no obligations.”
Shen Lang wept internally.
‘I’m going to kill you. You big-breasted, empty-headed fool. Don’t just say whatever comes to mind.’
Having a tigress for an ally was quite useful, but at times, she could also be the death of you. The king looked at the foolish daughter he had sired with regret and waved his hand at her.
“You may leave. Go!”
“Yes! Shen Lang, if anything happens, just give a shout. I’ll come rushing in immediately. Don’t worry. There’s nothing I can’t handle in the capital.”
‘Just get out of here, you big-bottomed girl. You’re going to be the death of me.’
***
Just as Shen Lang was about to open his mouth and admit his guilt, the king spoke to him.
“Do not speak, and do not make excuses. One more time, and that hand of yours will not remain attached.”
“Yes.”
“Shen Lang, you are a clever man, a meticulous man, but you are not easy to handle!”
Caught for his indiscretion with Princess Ning Yan, Shen Lang felt so ashamed he wanted to bury his head in his trousers. The king’s words were a grave threat. The king wasn’t frightening when he was cursing. He wasn’t even frightening when he constantly said, “Do you think I can’t kill you?” But when he spoke calmly, that was when one should be afraid. His words meant, ‘Shen Lang, I like meticulous people, so I am rather fond of you. But that doesn’t mean I will forgive you for doing something worthy of death.’
This was probably how Cao Cao felt about Yang Xiu. Cao Cao admired his talent but disliked his personality. So, after tolerating him a few times, he eventually had him killed. Of course, Shen Lang was smarter than Yang Xiu; he wouldn't truly test the king’s limits, and he would constantly demonstrate his immense value to the king.
As for Shen Lang touching Princess Ning Yan, in the king's view, Ning Yan was twenty-four, had been married, and called herself a widow; her reputation was already in tatters. So, she had somewhat given up on herself. Of course, the king knew Princess Ning Yan was very pure, but a foolish purity… it was best not to mention it. Naturally, if Shen Lang had actually slept with Ning Yan, the king would never have tolerated him.
‘If you dare to sleep with Ning Yan, do not resent my blade when it strikes you down.’
***
Silence fell between Shen Lang and the king. The king then thought of Su Nan. When that man knelt, it was as if he had no bones, always prostrating himself on the floor in a most servile posture, as if he were about to lick his shoes. But that old fox was constantly vying for power with Ning Yuanxian. And Su Nan had, on several occasions, subtly gained the upper hand.
The throne was not an easy seat to occupy. The Crown Prince and the Third Prince, Ning Qi, were fighting impatiently to ascend the throne, but could they even handle these cunning and treacherous ministers? The best kind of minister for them would be a steady man like Jin Zhuo. The man before him, Shen Lang, also appeared humble and obedient… but this one was another cunning young fox.
“Do you know what happened in the court today?”
The king asked in a testing tone. This was the first time the king had shown interest in Shen Lang’s talent.
“The Crown Prince and the Third Prince must have tried to become Your Majesty’s blades, to impeach Marquis Su Nan.”
“Indeed.”
The king was inwardly disappointed.
“But Marquis Su Nan, that cunning and treacherous old fox, would have struck first, using the tactic of feigned retreat. He would have voluntarily confessed to all his crimes, both those he committed and those he did not, asking to return to his hometown to be buried and voluntarily resigning from his post.”
The king’s eyes brightened slightly, and he sat up to listen properly.
“Su Nan, though he appears weak and completely subservient to the king’s will, is in fact a decisive and bold man. He would have voluntarily proposed to execute the Jiang envoys who burned the Ancestral Temple. Not only that, he would have offered to take all responsibility and appease the King of Jiang’s wrath. The Su Clan would have offered to pay a great price to placate the State of Jiang, to prevent the King of Jiang from causing trouble or making a scene on the Nan’ou battlefield.”
The king was inwardly astonished, marveling at his talent.
“But he would have made one condition: to appoint this humble student as the envoy to the State of Jiang, intending to use the King of Jiang’s hand to kill me!”
As the king took a sip of tea, Shen Lang briefly closed his eyes, hiding the look of pride at his own brilliance.
‘This man’s talent is truly astonishing. He has neither seen nor heard what happened in the court, yet he speaks of it as if he were there, without a single mistake. This isn't a guess; it's an analysis. Remarkable!’
“Su Nan did propose that condition. Do you wish to go?”
“This student wishes to go to the State of Jiang as an envoy!”
The king even felt as if Shen Lang had been waiting to say those exact words. It seemed he had planned this far, even before the temple was burned, and had anticipated this very outcome.
“The Jiang envoys who burned the Ancestral Temple are all to be executed according to the law, beheaded, and their heads displayed to the public. And when you go as an envoy to the State of Jiang, you are to take their dozen or so severed heads with you.”
“This servant understands.”
‘You shameless brat. Calling yourself a servant? Are you asking me for an official post? Well, you can’t go to Jiang as an envoy with no status, so you do need a title.’
“Not only that, you are to have the King of Jiang write a letter of apology and also have him build an ancestral temple for the sages of Yue within the borders of Jiang.”
‘What? That condition too? That’s harder than ascending to the heavens!’
The people of Jiang believed in the Sky God, so they had only the Snow Mountain Divine Temple within their borders and would never tolerate another. The temple was built on the Snow Mountain because they believed being on the highest peak brought them closer to the Sky God. To ask the King of Jiang to build a temple for the sages of Yue in his territory? That was harder than ascending to the heavens.
Shen Lang thought for a long moment, then nodded and said, “I will do it!”
The king was perplexed.
‘He… agrees to that too? Isn’t that clearly an impossible task?’
An envoy who goes to the State of Jiang with a dozen heads of their people faces only one outcome: certain death, no matter who they are. Everyone knew the King of Jiang and the Su Clan were in league. For Shen Lang, who held a grudge against the Su Clan, to go there would mean an even more miserable death. He would be flayed, his tendons pulled out, brutally boiled, and eaten. And he still agreed to go, knowing all this.
“Shen Lang, matters of state are not a game.”
“This servant is perfectly serious and can even write a military pledge.”
‘What’s the point of a military pledge? If you fail, you’ll be torn to pieces in the State of Jiang. It won’t even be my turn, Ning Yuanxian’s, to kill you.’
“Tell us. Why are you so eager to go to the State of Jiang as an envoy?”
“To destroy the Su Clan.”
Those words again. To destroy the Su Clan, the State of Jiang could not be left untouched.