Calamity Messenger

Chapter 127 - 103: The Wolf Fox Subdues the Chancellor

There were sounds from the side, and Shang Xinlei turned her head to see Yan Qing sitting down next to her. Before she could speak, Yan Qing asked first: "And then?"

"What then?" Shang Xinlei was somewhat exasperated, "Do you take me for a storyteller?"

"Will the Imperial Family confiscate your family’s assets and annihilate them because of tonight’s incident?"

"How is that possible? The Shang Family is one of the seven great families. At most, it would expedite my father’s resignation."

"If that’s the case, how do you plan to make up for your mistakes?"

Shang Xinlei hesitated slightly, then after a moment of silence, said: "From now on, I will follow my father’s arrangements and no longer act on my own."

Yan Qing supported his chin: "What else? Isn’t that what you should do? That’s not compensation, just a child’s playful apology after making trouble."

"Don’t make it sound so easy!" Shang Xinlei couldn’t help but argue loudly, "Is the current situation something I can resolve just by myself? If there was something I could do, I would have done it long ago!"

"Did you really exert yourself fully? Use all your intelligence and try every method you could think of?" Yan Qing’s tone was calm, but there was an odd sarcasm: "Assassinating the Emperor was your only solution? Easier than confronting your father face to face?"

"Things aren’t that simple——"

"You all made things too complicated," Yan Qing interrupted her, "Your understanding of your father isn’t even as deep as what Mouse Monk told me, yet you can clearly see from your father’s arrangements that he values you. So why not dare to talk to him about your true thoughts? Have you really talked to him about not wanting Qian Gongyu to suffer injustice? Have you really rebelled against his arrangements?"

Shang Xinlei’s fists hardened; if she hadn’t been recovering from injuries, she might have fought with Yan Qing: "Would you do something knowing it can’t succeed? Knowing full well there are Foundation Establishment Messengers beside the Emperor, would you still attempt to assassinate him? I’ve been Shang Xuanwen’s daughter for so many years, do you think I haven’t tried to resist? I tried, and so did my brothers, but the result was failure, failure, failure!"

"Father will only do what he thinks is right and never accept anyone’s opinion!"

"Honestly, I don’t understand your past," Yan Qing admitted his ignorance, "My understanding of Shang Xuanwen comes entirely from Mouse Monk’s observations and experiences. In my view, Shang Xuanwen is already sick; he has seen Hell and believes he lives in it, only interacting with everyone according to the court’s princely-subordination logic; he is the prince, everyone else is subordinate. He has isolated himself into a solitary figure."

"You said Shang Xuanwen allegedly has the ability to hear the voices of the heart, I can clearly tell you, he indeed has. The little thoughts, fears, terror, disgust during your conversations with him cannot escape his ears. He knows you and Qian Gongyu are friends, which is why he tailored a ’taming’ plan specifically for Qian Gongyu."

"Then why are you questioning me!?" Shang Xinlei couldn’t hold back upon hearing this, "I don’t need to utter a word; my father already knows how much I value Qian Gongyu, yet he still wants to do this!"

"Because your father has no friends," Yan Qing said, "To him, understanding friendship equals loyal subordinates. I mentioned he isn’t the Emperor, yet he is also a solitary man."

Shang Xinlei was stunned.

"The only kind of person Shang Xuanwen can chat with is someone like Mouse Monk with a sincere heart. But even sincere people aren’t allowed to stay long, for fear they may someday become ’ordinary people’," Yan Qing said, "He has no friends, and he won’t trust anyone, adhering instead to his Art of Governing People rather than allowing for mistakes. You said Qian Gongyu is your friend, so Shang Xuanwen fulfills your wish by converting Qian Gongyu into your loyal subordinate—this is perhaps the closest to friendship in his cognition."

"Are you suggesting that everything my father does is for my good?" After a long silence, Shang Xinlei asked with a low spirit, "Is it that the only person truly self-righteous here is me?"

"Of course not," Yan Qing rose and said, "Indeed, good intentions can also result in bad actions. Sometimes those who love you most hurt you deepest. What I mean is, you’ve chosen the wrong enemy; your real adversary shouldn’t be the Emperor but your father."

"Ah?" Shang Xinlei felt as if she misheard, was Yan Qing advising her to commit patricide?

"If children don’t resist, parents might persist in thinking their children won’t ever mature. It’s not only that parents should educate children, but children should also educate parents. Power is constant; if you want the authority to control your own life, you must raise the flag of rebellion and reclaim it from your father’s hands." Yan Qing spoke in a relaxed tone, as if discussing issues in children’s education: "You need to educate your father properly."

Me?

To educate Shang Xuanwen, who has been a bureaucrat for thirty years, Chancellor of Daliang, Patriarch of the Shang Family?

Yan Qing squatted in front of the bewildered Shang Xinlei, teased: "You dared to assassinate the Emperor; are you saying you don’t dare to revolt against your father? You lack even the courage to scold him with a ’old freak, mind your own business’?"

"Not that I don’t, but..."

"If he were to marry you off for your own good, would you still shyly consent?"

"Of course not!"

"It’s better to resist early than later; when encountering a matter of principle, there’ll be no room to retreat then. Educating children should start with discipline early; educating parents is the same." Yan Qing stood up and said, "Moreover, you’ve already ensured invincibility, knowing your father loves you."

He reached out to rearrange Shang Xinlei’s Red Snake Scarf around her neck, "Be careful here."