"Uproot them entirely?" A grave outside Thatched Cottage Manor surfaced in Guan Fangyi's mind. She asked, "Did Dawn Moon Pavilion fail to help you in the secret realm?"
Niu Youdao said, "Let's judge matters on their merits—one thing is one thing. Would they have helped me if I held no value for them? Looking at a small corner, they helped me; looking at the whole board, it was cooperation, mutual exploitation. It cannot be called help. As for those who truly helped me, I will remember them myself!"
Guan Fangyi sighed. "It seems you have never forgotten how Black Peony died. Daoist Master, you have always been quite magnanimous. Why can't you let this go this time?"
Niu Youdao's voice carried no emotion. "Matchmaker, I am a man. A woman died saving me. I can never repay that debt; I can only give the dead an explanation. I am not someone who clings to everything without letting go. What can pass should naturally be left in the past. But can this pass? Dawn Moon Pavilion may cooperate with me now, but that does not mean we can cooperate forever. They will not stop once the uprising succeeds, and how could Southern Prefecture dare decline? Sooner or later, conflict will arise between us."
The Song Capital court was abuzz with discussion over Yan Kingdom's declaration of war against Zhao Kingdom.
Song Emperor Mu Zhuozhen sat high above, listening to court affairs with a distracted expression. He seemed absent-minded, yet his thoughts were still turning over the discussion he had held with several ministers earlier in the imperial study.
True confidential matters would not be discussed in court. It was far too easy for secrets to leak.
When word had first arrived from Thatched Cottage Manor in Yan Kingdom, he had