Chapter 12

The farce came to an end when the little maid, unable to bear the tense atmosphere in the reception hall any longer, lifted her skirt and hurried to the Governor’s Mansion to fetch Shu Jinjin.

Shu Jinjin arrived promptly and, upon entering the room, was taken aback.

The young lord and Marquis Wei Heng were nowhere to be seen, but surprisingly, both bore several fresh bruises on their faces.

It seemed the young lord, realizing he couldn’t win, had taken refuge behind Mu Guanghan’s back. “Darling Ahan, forget it, don’t bother with him. Look at how stingy and petty he is. If he won’t give it, he won’t—Lozhou is not lacking. Whatever you want, your husband will provide!”

Wei Liuyi gritted his teeth, his expression sullen.

Shu Jinjin was speechless.

She naturally began by feigning stern reproach toward her young lord, tugging at his ear. “In Lozhou, hospitality is always humble and courteous. How can the young lord behave so recklessly toward an esteemed guest?”

Then, pretending to show concern toward Wei Liuyi, she said, “Marquis Wei Heng, I am as close to Li Gouling as a sister. She sent a letter asking me to take good care of you. Now that things have come to this, how am I to explain?”

Wei Liuyi clenched his teeth. “No need… I will return to Weiheng today.”

“Ah?” Shao Xiaoling clapped his hands with glee. “Well then, no need to see you off!”

Wei Liuyi gave a bitter smile.

Once a gentle lover, he was now devoid of any softness. Even when willing to surrender all dignity and humble himself to the point of abandoning his lineage to roam the world with him, it meant nothing.

His heart felt hollowed out, waves of cold washing over him. Summoning his last strength, he hurried out of the reception hall as if fleeing.

...

Mu Guanghan watched his retreating figure thoughtfully.

Shao Xiaoling was displeased and reached out to grab him.

Though he usually disliked the Moonlight City Lord’s tendency to smile without cause, he disliked it even more when he looked so despondent around such a person.

“Stop looking! That bastard is worthless. Hearing what he did to you before makes my blood boil. Always claiming he was wrong, yet refusing to pay, such hypocrisy is contemptible!”

“Alright, alright, I know you’ve suffered before. What I said earlier is true — everything in Lozhou is yours. If he won’t give it to you, I will.”

Mu Guanghan was speechless.

“Young lord, why do you think I went through all that trouble just now to ask Weiheng for those 800,000 dan of grain?”

Shao Xiaoling blinked in confusion. “Huh?”

“...Isn’t it because your Lozhou army is too small and short on supplies to continue fighting?”

What else could it be? Did I plan to eat 800,000 dan of grain myself?

“Oh,” Shao Xiaoling muttered.

The summer heat pressed on, cicadas chirping outside the window.

After a while, Shao Xiaoling frowned, a bit aggrieved. “But it’s not entirely my fault about the shortage. Six months ago, it was still my father managing Lozhou. And for the last six months, it’s been Nan Zhi. If you’re dissatisfied, go blame them.”

Mu Guanghan was speechless.

The young lord was sharp, indeed. He could cause a headache with his words at any time.

“How did you get from what I said just now that I was blaming you?”

Shao Xiaoling stubbornly replied, “Isn’t the implication that I wasted the government’s silver in my younger days, living a dissipated life, which is why we’re short on money and supplies now?”

Mu Guanghan said nothing.

“Though I didn’t mean it that way, young lord, if you think so and are willing to shoulder the responsibility and reform yourself, it will be a blessing for the people of Lozhou.”

“You!”

The two began bickering.

Such was the recent scene in the Marquis’s mansion. Though the Moonlight City Lord was outwardly carefree and magnanimous, the young lord’s skill at stoking fires was unmatched.

Shu Jinjin was speechless.

But who quarrels and yet clearly enjoys it?

Her foolish little brother had been calling someone an “ugly monster” just days ago, yet now his eyes shone as if about to overflow.

As the steward official of the Governor’s Mansion, Shu Jinjin believed the Moonlight City Lord was already “settled” with Nan Zhi. Seeing Shao Xiaoling so intimate with him now gave her a strange feeling, as if she had stumbled upon a hidden affair between her younger uncle and his elder sister-in-law — awkward and uncomfortable.

In summary, she decided it was best to look away and leave quickly.

But after only a few steps, Mu Guanghan called out.

“Miss Jinjin, please wait!”

“I have something important to discuss with the young lord and Miss Jinjin.”

...

After a cup of tea, inside the Marquis’s inner chamber.

Mu Guanghan closed the doors and windows, sent the servants away, lowered his voice, and said, “Miss Jinjin mentioned that Li Gouling of Weiheng is like a sister to her. Guanghan wants to ask...”

“Do you have any way to lure her alone to Lozhou without raising suspicion?”

Shu Jinjin was stunned.

A weight settled on her shoulders. Mu Guanghan disregarded propriety, placing one hand on Shao Xiaoling’s shoulder and the other on hers, drawing them both close, lowering his voice further.

“I’m thinking, while Wei Liuyi hasn’t left yet, we shouldn’t miss the chance... We might as well secretly detain all of them!”

Good grief.

Shu Jinjin remained composed, but Shao Xiaoling shouted loudly beside her, “What did you say?!”

“Shh!!!”

Shao Xiaoling hushed her. “What did you say?”

Mu Guanghan and Shu Jinjin raised their eyebrows at him.

He was dumbfounded.

As a state marquis, even if he never boasted about his integrity, detaining another marquis who came to visit and offer gifts was utterly treacherous and dishonorable.

Moreover, Lozhou and Weiheng had been friendly since their forefathers’ time, with no enmity.

He disliked Wei Liuyi, but in this past half-year, while other states like Yizhou, Ningwan, Xiliang, and Dongze had all extended claws toward Lozhou, only Weiheng refrained from adding insult to injury.

Mu Guanghan nodded. “Exactly because Lozhou and Weiheng have always been good neighbors, detaining him secretly would be less likely to arouse suspicion.”

“...”

“Of course, detaining Wei Liuyi alone is useless. We must also trick Li Gouling here as soon as possible. After that, if we act swiftly to reclaim the city and bring back the Grand Governor, dealing with Weiheng will be easy.”

Shao Xiaoling still looked incredulous.

After a long pause, he stammered, “Although, with how Wei Liuyi treated you, your desire for revenge is understandable.”

“But I really didn’t expect your hatred to run this deep!!!”

To attack Weiheng and seize another’s fief was tantamount to desecrating ancestral graves for a hereditary marquis—more painful than killing Wei Liuyi outright.

Mu Guanghan said, “Young lord, I swear this matter has nothing to do with any personal grudge against Wei Liuyi.”

“It’s strictly business.”

“After all, if Lozhou is to prosper, Weiheng must be subdued sooner or later.”

“Better sooner than later. I think... Nan Zhi and I are on the same page about this.”

...

After saying this, Mu Guanghan looked at Shu Jinjin.

Shao Xiaoling was still stunned.

Shu Jinjin nodded. “Indeed, Nan Zhi thinks so as well.”

“Young lord, please don’t blame me for bringing up painful memories, but the decades-long friendship between our marquis and the Marquis of Yizhou, Ying Zu, was never expected to be betrayed. Yet look at what happened.”

“In these turbulent times, friendships are worthless.”

“Besides, look at Wei Liuyi — his reckless behavior during this visit shows that although he has refrained from striking Lozhou for half a year, who knows what he might do next?”

“Our northern expedition mobilizes all of Lozhou’s troops for a gamble. The province’s defenses will be left empty. If Wei Liuyi returns to Weiheng and colludes with Yizhou, Dongze, or Xiliang, our army will be caught in a pincer, doomed without a burial place.”

“That’s why Nan Zhi only dared to lead a small force north and ended up trapped in Shatang.”

Shao Xiaoling said, “...So that’s the truth.”

Nan Zhi’s concern for him and the province’s safety was why she was stranded at the border.

Shu Jinjin nodded. “It’s only been six months. Having learned from past mistakes, Lozhou has paid a heavy price. No matter what, we cannot afford to repeat it.”

“Even if it means betraying past friendships, we must heed the Moonlight City Lord’s advice to detain Wei Liuyi. Better to betray the world first than be betrayed.”

...

Mu Guanghan’s original intention was to rope Weiheng in and share the prize, to be on the same side.

He never wanted to detain the Marquis of Weiheng.

He had hoped that by borrowing troops and grain, and negotiating shared interests before the war, they could bind Weiheng and Lozhou tightly together and avoid trouble at home.

But after living among them for a year, he understood Wei Liuyi.

Asking Wei Liuyi to lend troops and grain was impossible—no matter how much one appealed to his emotions or promised benefits, it was futile.

Because Wei Liuyi truly loved his people like his own children.

“Every grain and scrap in Weiheng is the hard-earned wealth of the people, and every soldier is a son or husband. He cannot give them up for you alone...” Though it sounded like a hollow excuse, coming from Wei Liuyi, it might not be entirely so.

During his year in Weiheng, Mu Guanghan witnessed how hard Wei Liuyi worked to be a good marquis.

He avoided war, treated people kindly, cared for the people’s hardships, valued the wealth of the people, and even kept his mansion simple.

Such a man could be reasoned with in a conversation about pros and cons, but borrowing troops was impossible. Even if one borrowed only one soldier, Wei Liuyi would feel ashamed before the orphans and widows.

So Mu Guanghan resorted to provocation to pressure him.

Unfortunately, he overestimated his standing in Wei Liuyi’s heart, and it still didn’t work.

...

Detaining him was the only option left, but that had its own problems.

Mu Guanghan was not afraid of internal strife between the two states or difficulty explaining to King Nanyue.

He was more worried that Li Gouling, known for her alertness, might not be easily tricked into coming.

If they failed to detain her as well, with her reputation, she could raise an army and declare war on Lozhou alone—turning the plan into a complete disaster.

Shu Jinjin also felt the pressure.

“If the City Lord just wants to talk with A Ling face to face, I can always mediate. But if you want to detain her, A Ling is highly skilled in martial arts. If she escapes, that would be terrible!”

Mu Guanghan sighed.

This wouldn’t work, that wouldn’t work.

But letting Wei Liuyi go was like releasing a tiger back to the mountain.

Originally, Mu Guanghan thought him a gentleman: gentle, refined, and mild.

But this “gentleman” consistently surprised him and was downright mad on this visit. He simply could not be trusted.

What to do?

Wait.

Mu Guanghan muttered, “How could I be so foolish?”

He had been blind from the start—why waste so much effort trying to reason with the obstinate Wei Liuyi?

If you can’t reach the top man, talk to the real power behind him!

...

In the following days, Shao Xiaoling stayed in Anmu, collaborating with the General’s Mansion and various officials to coordinate grain supplies and vigorously prepare Lozhou’s affairs for war.

Mu Guanghan, accompanied by Chu Danxi and Shu Jinjin, went to the border between the two states to meet Li Gouling.

The Southern Yue realm comprised one prefecture and four states: Moqian Prefecture, Yizhou, Lozhou, Weiheng, and Ningwan.

In theory, the marquises of Yizhou, Lozhou, Weiheng, and Ningwan were all local governors under the Nanyue King in Moqian Prefecture.

But the world was in chaos.

The Marquis of Yizhou had betrayed decades of friendship by defecting to Xiliang.

The Marquis of Ningwan ignored the King’s summons, secretly expanding his territory and corresponding with Dongze’s Ji Sanyi as sworn brothers.

Even Shao Xiaoling’s own father, the former ruler of Lozhou, though proclaiming himself a loyal subject of the Emperor, secretly maintained his own forces and lay low with patience.

In short, among the four states of Southern Yue, three marquises harbored ambitions of power.

Only Wei Liuyi of Weiheng truly saw himself as a local governor, focusing solely on his own modest lands, caring for his people, valuing agriculture, and whole-heartedly loyal to Southern Yue and the court.

If he had been born in a peaceful and prosperous age, he would be an impeccable marquis.

But in turbulent times, he was like a boat rowing against the current—if he did not advance, he would retreat.

Being kind and benevolent and content with a small domain could not ensure survival.

Wei Liuyi, though not a second-generation heir like Shao Xiaoling, had a fatal flaw: he completely lacked a strategic vision.

During the year Mu Guanghan spent there, Weiheng was attacked three times by Xiliang.

Xiliang never bothered with pretense.

They just attacked.

Low on supplies, short on soldiers, coveted fertile land, coveted river transport routes—if they wanted to expand, they attacked. Passing through the territory, they attacked.

If they wanted to unify the world, sooner or later, they would attack you.

Better to attack early than late.

But even after three attacks, they couldn’t wake Wei Liuyi.

He even went to petition the Xiliang King Yan Zhi, hoping the long-dead Emperor could deliver justice.

The lord was weak and benevolent; his capable and farsighted subordinates had mostly fled.

Now, beside him remained only his childhood friend, the valiant General Li Gouling, and mostly kind but blindly loyal men.

To Mu Guanghan, Li Gouling was the only person in Weiheng who was both cultured and martial and possessed strategic vision.

Only she had repeatedly tried and failed to persuade Wei Liuyi to train troops, stockpile grain, and expand externally.

Only she trained the soldiers well and coordinated skillfully with Mu Guanghan in the three battles against Xiliang.

She was clear-headed.

Mu Guanghan met her at the border and discussed pros and cons. Indeed, she understood immediately.

Unfortunately, no one in Weiheng understood her, leaving her frustrated despite her high position.

Mu Guanghan sighed.

What a waste.

Maybe it was time to consider a change of master?