Chapter 436: Striving to Achieve the KPI (Sixteen) [Seeking Monthly Tickets]
Su Shiyilu's expression changed repeatedly.
The final image is frozen in a somber and murderous moment.
After a long while, he exhaled a heavy breath.
He said, “Yes, dead people pose no threat… The Fifth Prince and the Seventh Prince have already shown their murderous intent towards me, and who knows which prince is standing behind them. As long as they want the throne, I will be a thorn in their side.”
Most importantly, he repeatedly urged the king to quickly establish the twelfth prince as the legitimate heir and weaken the power of the other princes, thus fundamentally offending them all. The current situation is either his death or theirs.
The words of his confidant exposed Su Shiyilu's long-standing worries, which further solidified his resolve.
"General, there is one more thing..."
The confidant hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back.
Su Shiyilu said, "Go ahead and tell me."
The confidant voiced his concern: "What if the King investigates the matter of the marriage alliance?"
Upon hearing this, Su Shiyilu remained silent for a long time.
He knew all too well that this was a troublesome matter.
As is his usual fiery temper, he laid it all out with the king, saying that his fifth and seventh princes had become quite capable, sabotaging the Ten Crows' plan against the Geng Kingdom for their own benefit, and almost costing him his old life; their intentions were despicable.
However, he currently has no conclusive evidence against the two individuals, nor are there any survivors. He is questioning the two powerful, adult princes based solely on the markings on their corpses. If he is not careful, he could find himself in a passive position and even drag the Queen and the Twelfth Prince into the mess.
At that time, the two princes would turn around and accuse Su Shiyi Lu of being old and frail, unable to keep up with the current situation, and even failing to escort a weak woman to Shiwu for a marriage alliance. What face did he have to occupy a high position?
Even if it doesn't shake his position, it's still disgusting enough. Su Shiyilu asked for a plan: "Then what do you suggest?"
The confidant whispered a suggestion: "Why not 'show weakness to the enemy'?"
"To feign weakness to the enemy?" Su Shiyilu murmured to himself.
The confidant said, "The art of war is to appear gentle and meet them with strength, to appear weak and take advantage of them with power. General, if I may be so disrespectful, His Majesty is getting old. Does he... does he really want to see a powerful minister like yourself act so recklessly and tyrannically?"
"presumptuous!"
Su Shiyilu let out a sharp shout.
The overwhelming aura caused his confidant to stagger back. Even seeing the murderous intent flashing in Su Shiyi's eyes, he gritted his teeth and said, "No matter how strong the alpha wolf is, it cannot withstand the passage of time and the aging of its body. To the current king, those princes are still young wolves that have not yet grown up. In comparison, you are the greatest threat! Has the general ever doubted the king?"
"Don't you want to live anymore?"
Su Shiyi Lu had murderous intent but did not make a move.
Because his trusted confidant had indeed hit his sore spot.
When the Ten Crows King was at the height of his power, he was confident he could suppress Su Shiyilu and didn't care how strong or arrogant this "brother" was. The two joined forces and swept through the various tribes of the Ten Crows. But, he was getting old!
As people age, it's not just their physical condition that declines, but also their self-confidence. It gradually brews and transforms into suspicion, a craving for the "security" they once scorned. My confidant's words were truly a wake-up call…
The person behind the two princes... why can't it be the Ten Crows King, who has long since ceased to be involved in affairs?
If that's the case, many doubts can be explained.
However, Su Shiyilu refused to believe it.
The trusted confidant seized the opportunity to kneel down and pledge his loyalty: "General, you saved my life from a pile of corpses. I will not utter a single complaint as to how you decide to punish me. But for your sake, General, some unpleasant words must be spoken!"
"What is this...?" Looking at his trusted confidant's sincere expression, he had many words he couldn't bring himself to say. After a long while, he raised his hand and waved it away, "You may leave. I will think about this matter some more..."
"only!"
The trusted confidant accepted the order and went to carry it out.
Only Su Shiyilu remained, reminiscing about the friendship between ruler and subject that might have been quietly eroded by the passage of time.
Stepping out of the tent, his confidant was already drenched in a cold sweat.
He had almost thought Su Shiyilu was going to kill him. After all, anyone who followed Su Shiyilu for a while would know just how loyal this superior was to the king. Telling him this was far more serious than stealing from his father.
"They're still alive..."
He touched his neck.
It took several attempts to convince myself that I was still alive.
The confidant returned to his tent, still shaken. He didn't do anything else but immediately went to see another person—a scholar, or more accurately, the eccentric man he had rescued. Although this man was poor, down-on-his-luck, and had many rules, he was undeniably capable. The confidant had risen to his position thanks to this man's advice on several occasions, his career progressing as smoothly as if he'd been given a cheat code.
These remarks were also made to me by the other party.
"Is the gentleman asleep?"
The tents were brightly lit with candles.
A male voice came from inside: "Not yet, come in."
The confidant immediately complained as he entered, "Sir, you almost got me into serious trouble this time. You didn't see what happened just now; the general almost killed me..."
The man smiled and poured himself a cup of tea.
He said sarcastically, "He's not dead yet, is he?"
The confidant worriedly said, "If he doesn't kill me this time, who knows if he'll kill me again next time he thinks of it. The general is known for his loyalty. Not to mention his subordinates, even his own son would be beaten half to death if he said anything bad about the king."
He hesitated for a long time before daring to say those words.
The man said, “Loyalty? It was true before, but people’s hearts are the most fickle things. Look, you’ve said so many treasonous things, yet your general hasn’t laid a finger on you. It’s clear his heart has changed.”
His confidant pondered it for a while and wholeheartedly agreed.
The man raised his teacup and said to him, "I'll offer you tea instead of wine to congratulate you on your future success."
The confidant was pleased to hear this.
It's like eating a huge ice cream cone on the hottest days of summer.
"Haha, this is all thanks to your brilliant strategy, sir."
Even trusted confidants dared not claim credit for themselves.
The two of them flattered each other, creating a harmonious atmosphere.
Before leaving, his confidant had someone send the gentleman over a hundred taels of gold, the full weight of which was acceptable. This gentleman appeared aloof, but deep down he loved those common, gold and white objects. This saved them the trouble of figuring out his preferences.
Looking at the neatly arranged gold ingots, the scholar stroked them one by one, as if admiring some rare treasure. After a while, he finally put them down one by one, got up and walked out of the tent. He stared at the heavy moonlight, lost in thought, his brows sometimes furrowing and sometimes relaxing.
After a while, a soft sigh drifted through the air.
"I consider this repayment for your life-saving grace."
The moonlight was still, and no one answered.
The scholar chuckled.
He turned back to his tent, laid out his brush and ink, dipped his brush in ink, and wrote an article that took shape over time.
After finishing writing, the scholar admired it for a moment.
He murmured with a sigh, "If you had read it, you would probably have said, 'It's well-written, but it's a eulogy...'"
[In memory of my dear friend Anwen]
(End of this chapter)
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