“Huaijin.” Ji Mian was growing impatient, and it looked like he was about to raise his leg and kick the door.
Only then did Song Chuyi sit up from the couch. “Ji Wumei, do not kick the door.”
Although if it were kicked down, Ji Mian would be responsible for reinstalling it, she still did not want to change a door panel every day.
The moment the door opened, Ji Mian could hardly wait and rushed inside. “Where is the beauty?”
“Have you and Nan Yunsi never seen a beauty in your lives?” Song Chuyi yawned and walked toward the inner chamber.
“It is precisely because I have seen the beauty of a beauty that I long for her so madly.” Ji Mian chuckled and ran into the room ahead of Song Chuyi.
Ji Mian glanced at the sallow, thin child on the couch, then immediately began searching the room everywhere. “Where is the beauty?”
Song Chuyi knelt facing the small table, raised a hand to pour herself a cup of water, and pointed at the couch with her chin.
“This is the beauty?” Ji Mian did not know that Nan Qi had never seen any so-called beauty at all, and said in disbelief, “Yunsi’s recent tastes are truly out of the ordinary.”
“When have they ever been ordinary?” Song Chuyi took a sip of water and shivered all over from the cold.
Ji Mian naturally heard the sarcasm in Song Chuyi’s words and smiled in agreement. “That is true. By the way, we did not go to the last political discussion meeting. Are you going to today’s debate meeting? You have just arrived, so it would be good to meet the scholars of Puyang.”
“I am not going.” Song Chuyi refused without hesitation.
Participants in the debate had to have their own views, and those who disagreed with a view would raise a debate with the person who held it. Although only a few people knew of her views on destroying the state, if someone happened to raise a debate against her, she feared it would spread immediately, and by then it would be impossible to cover up even if she wanted to.
Ji Mian thought for a moment and also understood Song Chuyi’s meaning. “I said it before, you are too impulsive. This kind of speech cannot be made public.”
Song Chuyi smiled faintly. Those who understood would know her intent; those who did not would think her reckless.
In fact, this matter did carry a certain degree of gamble. To plot great things, even if one proceeded cautiously step by step, there was still a certain risk. Where in the world was there a truly foolproof plan?
Once the words about the way to destroy a state spread, Song Chuyi would inevitably become famous. It could be foreseen that what followed would be attacks from various schools of thought. These were still secondary. The most important point was that the theory of destroying states violated morality and righteousness. Even if the rulers of the seven states all harbored ambitions of hegemony, who would dare openly declare to the world that they wanted to destroy the other six states? If Song Chuyi’s way of destroying states were propagated, then employing her would be equivalent to proclaiming that intention to the world.
This might not necessarily put Song Chuyi in a fatal position, but it would certainly make her future path full of obstacles.
“Huaijin, why are you picking up a child? The Longgu Residence will give you servants and maids in a few days.” Ji Mian thought Song Chuyi wanted to raise one herself because she had no one to serve her.
Song Chuyi looked at the child on the couch and was silent for a moment before saying, “Because he is a beauty.”
Seeing her serious expression, Ji Mian did not think she was joking. He carefully examined that sallow little face, looking it over again and again, but did not find anything attractive about it.
The reason Song Chuyi wanted to save him was actually because of his intense will to live. In that kind of desperate situation, he was not necessarily the only one still breathing, yet only he maintained the last trace of clarity, his small hands clutching the wooden board desperately. Even though doing so was useless, at least he had struggled before death.
That drive never to give up until reaching the point of death moved Song Chuyi. She liked tenacious people.
“Are you really not going?” Ji Mian asked. Seeing that Song Chuyi had no intention of changing her mind, he said, “Then I will not go either.”
Ji Mian was just about to speak when he heard a young man’s voice outside the door say, “Master Huaijin, the general requests your presence.”
Song Chuyi grabbed some clothing from beside the couch, putting it on as she walked out. “Did he say what it was about?”
Opening the door, Song Chuyi saw a young man of sixteen or seventeen, handsome and fair-skinned, but not the one who usually relayed messages.
“In reply to you, Master, he did not say.” The young man bowed.
Song Chuyi straightened the lapels of her garment, raised a hand to casually comb through her hair a few times, and then scooped water from the bucket in the corridor to rinse her mouth and wash her face.
To the young man, it felt like the blink of an eye before Song Chuyi was already standing before him, refreshed and clear-headed.
Ji Mian heard that Song Chuyi was going to the front courtyard, so he came out. “I am going out of the residence to enjoy myself.”
Song Chuyi nodded. “Let us go together.”
Ji Mian looked carefully at Song Chuyi. Although her hair had been combed, it was still very messy. Her looks, though passable, could not be called especially good-looking…
Fortunately, at the moment she seemed perfectly normal. Ji Mian let out a breath of relief. Now, seeing Song Chuyi up close, he did not feel that strange sensation that had flashed by yesterday.
Song Chuyi naturally did not know what Ji Mian was thinking. She walked to the door of Zi Ya and Zi Zhao’s room. “Zi Ya, take good care of that child.”
Song Chuyi had once instructed Zi Ya not to appear easily before outsiders, so she only answered from inside the door, “Yes.”
The two went together to the front courtyard. Ji Mian went out of the residence alone, while Song Chuyi followed a maidservant into the main hall.
Longgu Qing was dressed in a cloth robe. His usual stern expression now carried a faint smile, making him seem much more amiable.
“General.” Song Chuyi cupped her hands in salute.
“Please take the seat of honor,” Longgu Qing said.
Song Chuyi thought to herself that the plan to deal with Wei would not show any effect for a while. Longgu Qing was treating her so gently, probably because of the matter with Longgu Buwang.
Sure enough, as soon as Song Chuyi sat down, she heard Longgu Qing say, “I heard that yesterday that unruly brat Buwang was completely docile toward you. It truly comforts my heart.”
Longgu Buwang was not exactly unbearably stubborn. He had a quick mind, but was extremely rebellious and always went against the wishes of his elders. Anything his elders thought was good for him, he would refuse outright. One after another, the teachers invited for him were driven away by him, and it looked as though he would waste his youth. This had almost become a burden on Longgu Qing’s mind. Yesterday’s matter made him very happy, and he immediately ordered a reward for Song Chuyi.
“The young master is extraordinarily gifted and has his own calculations of gain and loss in his heart. General, rest assured. It is simply that me and the young master have a natural affinity. I will certainly teach him everything she knows.” Song Chuyi said a few earnest polite words.
“Good.” Longgu Qing slightly restrained his smile and then said, “Master Huaijin, the luggage for your visit to Qin has all been prepared. When do you plan to set out?”
Song Chuyi said without the slightest hesitation, “The sooner the better.”
After all, it was still unknown whether there would be danger on the road. The journey alone would take more than a month. It would be best to take advantage of this wave of condemnation before it passed to persuade Qin to send troops.
Longgu Qing meant the same, but what he mainly wanted to say was not this. “I want you to take Buwang with you.”
“This matter is full of dangers and is not suitable for taking risks.” Song Chuyi tactfully refused. Although she felt she could certainly make Longgu Buwang docile, she did not have the time or energy to spend on a rebellious youth.
“It would be good for him to be tempered. Please do not decline, Master Huaijin.” Longgu Qing acted as if he had not understood Song Chuyi’s meaning.
