Martial King's Retired Life-Chapter 121Book 15:

“Uncle, Your Majesty! Yiren has an urgent report!”

His Majesty recomposed himself, gave Shen Yiren a doting look and then sighed. “I know what you want to tell me. I apologise for the interruption, Eminent Monk Mianhua. As you are a monk, I will not withhold this family problem from you. Yiren, I ruminated over it very carefully. I accepted Shu Rong’s request after exhaustive deliberation. Why else do you think I approved of his request?”

The imperial court universally believed that Shen Clan’s members would serve Liu Shan Men, except that they assumed it would be Shen Yiren who ran the bureau until Shen Kuang placed first in the imperial exams. Reactions were mixed. Some people were surprised Shen Kuang embodied such wisdom, while others mocked him for taking up the pen when he was born into a family of martial artists. Upon learning of his decision to join the Qilin Guards, people were confused as to what a scholar could offer them. From a martial arts perspective, considering Wang Muren’s strict and petty personality, he would have demanded Shen Kuang start from the bottom. From a scholastic perspective, the Qilin Guards hardly had any civil servants among their ranks. Most importantly, was he not betraying his clan with his decision? Only Shen Yiren understood Shen Kuang’s intentions.

It finally occurred to Shen Yiren what Shen Kuang meant that night; he wanted to take some of the burden off her shoulders so that she had more control over her life. If it were up to her, she would have rather been without her martial prowess, detective knacks or official post if it meant her parents could come back to unite with them. If she could have had one wish granted, it would have been to return to when her parents were still with them.

Even if the Qilin Guards did not give Shen Kuang a hard time, there was no guarantee that others would not. Given there were people who could assassinate her father in the capital, what could her powerless brother have done to protect himself?

Knowing that His Majesty doted on them, Shen Kuang could very well have fooled His Majesty to go confront Liu Shan Men’s strongest foe on his own. Though there was no doubting Shen Kuang’s potential and competence, he was too young and inexperienced to match Wang Muren. Alas, His Majesty shook his head even after hearing Shen Yiren out.

“I shared your thoughts a few days ago. I don’t want an old friend’s son to risk his life, not to mention that it’s the northern border of all places. I would never be able to forgive myself should any mishap befall him, but I realised I was worried about nothing when Captain Yi and Eminent Monk Mianhua came here. I have underestimated Shu Rong. Yiren, do you know what he has achieved? If it were not for your supposedly frail brother, the imperial court and Suzhou would still be in a deadlock. Thank you, Eminent Monk.”

Mianhua filled His Majesty in on Shen Kuang’s contributions to Liaoliao’s capture in Suzhou. Had it not been for Shen Kuang, Mianhua still would have been in the dark about Xunfeng’s death and still blindly believed his “shizun”. For that reason, he was genuinely grateful to Shen Kuang. Since Mianhua did not hesitate to share Shen Kuang’s involvement, His Majesty intended to have Mianhua provide a testimony in support of his decision. Thus, Mianhua magnified Shen Kuang’s credit to the point that Shen Yiren was not sure if the person in question was even her brother. Only once His Majesty harrumphed and mumbled that he had convinced her did Mianhua stop.

Following her own analysis, Shen Yiren concluded that it was indeed plausible. She had lost sleep over the possibility that Cold Mountain Temple would be the spark that triggered a large-scale war, so she was glad that, not only did Cold Mountain Temple surrender, but her brother was also the brain behind its success. That said, she still had apprehensions.

“Even so, Kuang’er… Is it not fine for him to stay at Liu Shan Men? There is no reason for him to join the Qilin Guards.”

“I agree, but he told me, ‘A man must put his career and the country at the forefront. He cannot let his personal reasons impact the greater good. This one is Shen Wuzheng’s son and your nephew. He has a duty to do Shen Clan and you proud. Furthermore, how can a man show he is a man without stepping onto a battlefield? Your Majesty, please permit this one to join the frontline at Jinyong.’”

“H-he requested a post at Jinyong of his own accord?”

Jinyong and the Qilin Guards were associated, but they were not the same concept. The Qilin Guards could be considered a military force, but Jinyong was virtually a synonym for death. However, that also made it a synonym for heroism. Nobody could impeach Baima despite him showing no regards for anybody in the imperial court, and the Qilin Guards reigned supreme with His Majesty’s tacit permission precisely owing to the Qilin Guards in the north.

“Yiren, your brother is an adult now. He will lead Shen Clan upon return.”

***

No matter where he went, Shen Kuang had to deal with people congratulating him fervently. Although his contributions to Suzhou’s events could not be publicised, His Majesty made an exception and instated him as one of the Qilin Guards’ vice-captains. He was the first and likely last person to ever convert from civil servant to military member in such a conspicuous manner. News travelled even faster at Daren Academy, which was why officials oftentimes tried to obtain news from them.

After endlessly thanking people, Shen Kuang finally arrived at his destination and knocked.

“Who is it?”

“Shu Rong.”

“Come in.”

“Thank you.”

Shen Kuang politely shut the door behind him and then ambled over to Principal Huang. Holding his hands in a propitious salute, he bowed his head. “Greetings, Teacher. This one is here to bid farewell.”

“Mm, it has been set?”

“Yes, His Majesty has approved. This one will be departing this month.”

“Mm.” Huang Yuzao set his brush down and stared at his closed-door student.

Though Huang Yuzao saw traces of Shen Wuzheng on Shen Kuang, he could tell they were distinctly different. He, like his mother, hated evil even more his mother did. The majority of Shen Kuang’s motivation to arrest Liaoliao was to avenge Yu Sihe. When he approached Huang Yuzao and requested tutelage, he said, “I can help you avenge your teacher. Please take me as your student,” Huang Yuzao saw his mother in him. If he was as indifferent to people around him as he thought he was, he would not have chosen to go to Jinyong.

“Why did you insist on being my disciple if you want to go to Jinyong? From the moment I took you under my wing, I wanted to pass on my martial arts to you so that you could succeed me as the next leader of Confucianism. I mentioned it to His Majesty; it is not just me saying it.”

Shen Kuang smiled. “Whoever says the leader of Confucianism does not mean what he says is just a fool.”

“Am I your comic relief?”

“This one is not making fun of you. The reality is that this one is still young. Without any accomplishments to his name, the leadership role would not carry any weight. Moreover… this one has a vengeance to pursue. He would have lived a life in vain if he cannot avenge his parents.”

“… All of this is for the sake of your sister, isn’t it?”

“… Yes. She has given up too much for this one. As a man, he should not be hiding away but shielding his sister. If he cannot protect a woman of Shen Clan as a man of Shen Clan, he does not deserve to be part of Shen Clan.”

Huang Yuzao heaved a breath. “You know, you saying that is enough for your sister to give me earfuls for three years straight. I shall not stop you since you have made up your mind. Howbeit, I still want to know… how did you defeat Liaoliao? Those were not things that are easy to dig up. Hey, why are you in such a hurry to leave? Hey! Hey! Ah, fine. This old man can’t catch you with these legs anyway. Hmph.”

As he watched Shen Kuang shrink into the distance, he cracked a smile to himself. “He’s a good kid… but he’s a bit rash. Jinyong is not an accommodating place.”

***

Ming Feizhen left Dongpo in a hurry. To him, it was a brisk walk. To others, he was a gust of wind. He arrived at Daren Academy at the same time Shen Kuang left Huang Yuzao’s room, resulting in him kicking dirt into Shen Kuang’s eyes.

Shen Kuang thought his sister arrived when he felt the malice and unease from Ming Feizhen. When they were kids, his sister would beat him after every argument. On account of Jinyong’s threat, he deemed it best to not bid her farewell in person, lest he arrive there pre-injured. As such, he rushed home to pack his luggage and immediately made haste for Jinyong before his sister returned. As for Ming Feizhen, he was akin to an arrow with tunnel vision, missing Shen Kuang entirely.

In one hand, Jin Zhaoying had a cake. In her other hand, she held the book she was reading, giggling to herself whenever she read something interesting. Upon seeing Ming Feizhen show up out of the blue, she jerked herself back. “Hey! What’s your deal, walking without making a sound? Aaaah! The grease from the cake has dripped onto my book!”

“I don’t have time for your games!” Ming Feizhen pulled Jin Zhaoying over by her wrist, making her grimace and cry out as her wrist turned red.

“What are you doing?!” thundered the maids who rushed over to aid their master.

Before they could say another word, Ming Feizhen knocked them all out with a vacuum palm strike. “Call Jingan out!”

Jin Zhaoying had never seen Ming Feizhen so mad. Technically, she had hardly ever seen anyone angry throughout her life, let alone someone who could easily take out her maids get mad.

“Wh-what are you talking about?! H-how do I call… I really don’t know! And I can’t c-“

“Cut the crap. What is the meaning of this?!” Ming Feizhen hurled the imperial edict in his hand to the ground. “Look at it for yourself!”

“Shu… Rong is joining the QIlin Guards…”

“I’m talking about the third edict!”

The third edict stated that, due to the numerous troubling factors in Hangzhou, such as Fiends’ Genesis being active there and there being traces of their headquarters being located there, and it being a zone without a ruler. The White Princes were not causing trouble there. However, the government’s forces were unlikely able to match the martial community’s forces there. In summary, His Majesty classified Hangzhou as an unsafe area and therefore summoned Princess Jingan back to the capital.

Ever since marrying him four years ago, Princess Jingan was restricted to the exterior of the imperial palace, so she was unable to pull any strings in the capital. It was self-evident that her being summoned back to the capital was no coincidence.

“What you said… about family being the most important. Is this what you meant?”

“Why not ask me yourself instead of asking someone else, Fuma?”

Ming Feizhen felt a chill down his spine upon hearing the voice behind him. He turned around to see his wife smiling at him.

“I’m back.”

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