Gu Fang Bu Zi Shang

Volume 1, Chapter 16

“King.” Pingting bowed after stepping lightly into the Bei Mo Royal Residence’s main hall.

The Bei Mo King did not take offense when Pingting did not bow the most respectful way possible. Instead, he laughed. “You may get up. Yangfeng seems to really like you, My Lady, saying that you can shoo away the invading Dong Lin soldiers, is that true?”

Pingting sighed. If the Bei Mo King didn’t hesitate when calling her ‘My Lady’, it meant that the situation in the army wasn’t so good, so Bei Mo could only beg a fallen star like her. Could she really defeat Chu Beijie?

She was clearly distressed, but it was already too late. Pingting could see the hopeful eyes of Yangfeng who stood in front of her. “Your humble servant shall do her best,” she said softly.

“Thanks to My Lady’s words, Bei Mo now has hope.” The Bei Mo King exchanged a look with Yangfeng before clapping his hands and cheering. His face then softened slightly. He spoke in a humble tone. “The army is in immediate danger; Dong Lin armies are approaching Kanbu. What will be My Lady’s plans?”

Ever since Pingting decided to help Bei Mo, she had been studying Bei Mo maps at night, giving a quick, preliminary analysis over possible formations and tactics. She had not, however, known that the Dong Lin army had reached Kanbu so she was slightly surprised. “So the Bei Mo army has already been forced to the closest outer village? How come the messengers that have come back don’t know about that?”

All of the information she knew came from Yangfeng, so she could not help but to look at her. Yangfeng hadn’t known about this either; her face was pale as she shook her head no at Pingting.

The Bei Mo King gave a wry smile. “It was in the recent report late last night. The people of Bei Yali are afraid so I stopped the news from spreading. Luckily we have Ze Yin, or it’d be much worse. We should be able to secure Kanbu for a little longer under the command of Ze Yin but even he will not last much longer.” The ruler unclenched his hands and sighed towards the ceiling. His eyes then flickered over to Pingting.

Pingting returned Bei Mo’s stare, nodding to show she understood. “No wonder King is willing to use a foreigner like me.” The situation was much worse than she had originally thought. Chu Beijie really deserved his title as Dong Lin’s fiercest general.

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She felt flustered, but she knew that something had to be done, or Yangfeng’s unborn child would have no father. She forced herself to calm down, closed her eyes and thought hard.

The Bei Mo King and Yangfeng knew that she was thinking very hard. They did not make a sound, just quietly waited.

It was so silent in the main hall that it was difficult to breathe.

After a while, Pingting slowly opened her bright eyes which seemed to be full of new-found confidence. She smiled at Yangfeng then spun around to the Bei Mo King. “Maybe there is something I can do, but I need King’s full support.”

The Bei Mo King remembered Yangfeng’s prior words. Without a trace of hesitation, he said, “My Lady can make as many requests as needed, be it money or materials.”

“Good, then I’d like to ask King to tell me the truth. Does Bei Mo have a spy on the Dong Lin King’s side?”

Bei Mo suddenly went silent, he’d only thought that Pingting would take frontline command of the army, not ask something like this. During times of wars, opposing countries always had spies, so that some confidential information could be obtained. But each country was careful with their spies, while cautious of others around them being spies of other countries. Though not many were sent at a time, the best was always sent and they were always the country’s biggest secret.

Pingting could see the Bei Mo King’s hesitation, so she explained herself. “I, your humble servant, do not mean to pry too much. It’s just that this plan needs to be carried out by the people close to the Dong Lin King. King does not need to tell me the names of the spies, just tell me whether or not anyone can get close to the Dong Lin King’s food.”

“Eh!” Yangfeng exclaimed, “Don’t tell me Pingting wants to poison the Dong Lin King?”

The Bei Mo King frowned, “That won’t work. Sorry to say My Lady, I do actually have one or two people beside the Dong Lin King. Occasionally, they do have access to his food. However, all Kings nowadays have precautionary guidelines to prevent their food being poisoned and specialists to check for poison before consumption. Even if my people tamper the food, it will never reach the Dong Lin King’s mouth. It’ll be a useless attempt, and they’ll know that there are spies in their residence.”

To which Pingting calmly replied, “That wouldn’t be a problem if the poison isn’t detectable.”

“A poison like that exists?”

“It’s not exactly a poison; it’s more like an anaesthetic.” Pingting laughed, “It’s a formula I came up with myself some time ago, you can put it into food and most inspection methods can’t detect it. Adults can be in a coma for more than ten days and the pulse is much weaker, like the person is dying away slowly, but they’ll wake up after some time.”

“If it can pass the inspections, then all problems are solved,” The Bei Mo King enthused, “I would have never imagined you’d be this clever! How long do you need to make this anaesthetic?”

“It’s mainly made up of a variety of herbs, but we don’t have time. We have to force the Dong Lin King into a coma before they conquer Kanbu,” Pingting answered thoughtfully and then she added, “I should be able to make it in a day.”

“Good!” The Bei Mo King smiled, “If the Dong Lin King suddenly falls unconscious, the Dong Lin Royal House would definitely fall into chaos because there will be a fight for the throne. Chu Beijie would have to retreat and return home by then.” He laughed but soon sighed as if he thought of something else.

Yangfeng didn’t understand, but Pingting did. She smiled slightly in response, “King is probably sighing over the effectiveness of this anaesthetic since it only lasts for about ten days. If there was a fatal poison that could pass the inspections, wouldn’t the Dong Lin King be exterminated for once?” That was exactly what the Bei Mo King was thinking and she sighed as well. “I’ve spent a long of time and effort, trying to improve this formula, but it’s never been able to fully kill someone. If I could do it, Gui Le wouldn’t be torn apart by Dong Lin. Maybe it’s God’s will. If I could make such poison, maybe every country would face threats instead of the promise of peace.”

Yangfeng listened carefully and she thought of Ze Yin back in Kanbu, fighting. Her heart hurt, she couldn’t help but whisper, “Why must good people fight and kill?”

The King of Bei Mo was still a King after all. He immediately, in the most practical way possible, returned to the original topic. “After the anaesthetic is made and is transported, Kanbu will be in a dangerous situation…What would My Lady do then?”

“That’s right, King.” Pingting had guessed that the Bei Mo King would ask that. “We should first send people around the Dong Lin soldiers and spread rumours that there is an internal war in the Dong Lin royal family and the Dong Lin King is very sick. Chu Beijie will eventually hear the rumours but will not take them very seriously at first. However, there’ll definitely be official messengers from Dong Lin. This will confirm that the Dong Lin King is in a coma and force Chu Beijie to retreat.”

Bei Mo King’s eyes shone as he praised. “My Lady, that really is a powerful, comprehensive plan. It attacks the enemy both physically and psychologically.”

“King flatters me.” Pingting lowered her eyes, in politeness. “On the other hand, if Dong Lin attacks through the Kanbu’s defence line first, the enemy troops will attack Bei Yali. If that happens, I’m afraid that the official messengers won’t be able to reach Chu Beijie by then. That’s why King must order some troops to stay around Bei Yali just to give Chu Beijie the impression that Bei Yali won’t be easy enough to conquer in a short time.”

“I don’t know anyone else more suitable to the task than you, My Lady.” At this, the Bei Mo King hesitated before taking the long prepared the flag of command. The Bei Mo King stared at the person before him, one who was about to become the highest army commander but looked very much like a weak woman. In a deep voice he said, “Be careful My Lady. Bei Mo’s fate is in your hands now, My Lady.”

Yangfeng took a deep breath of cold air and walked towards Pingting. “I’ll send Ze Yin a letter, telling him about you. With him around, you won’t encounter the pain of soldiers not listening to your commands.”

Pingting’s hands closed around the flag of command. She was silent, thoughts already flying over to Kanbu. How could she not be nervous? She was about to see Chu Beijie again. Only this time, they would be separated by thousands of horses, men, and bloodstained fields - it was time for confrontation.

Translation Notes

Flag of command/command flag: Most kings don’t go to war, so they choose someone on behalf of them.