"An idle man?"
"What idle man?"
"You wanted to become an idle man?"
Shen Tang took a sip of wine and fired off three questions in a row.
Her tone was so casual and natural that even Zhai Le began to doubt himself. He looked at his childhood friend with a complicated expression. "I know your difficulties, and you should know mine. I don't deserve the Duke of State title, which ranks alongside a prince's. If you're willing, you can give it directly to my daughter instead. You've met her before. After going through a few things, she's settled down and become much steadier. And since she's a woman, you can put her to use if you ever need to. Whatever happens, though, please don't be too hard on her, for the sake of our childhood friendship."
He was speaking entirely from a father's perspective, considering what was best for his children.
This was an arrangement Zhai Le had considered long and hard.
If he had lost to anyone else, then to protect his wife, children, and the rest of his family, he would probably have had to do the sensible thing and kill himself. That would have extinguished the old Qu state's loyalists' hopes for good and let their new ruler employ them without reservations. But the victor was Shen Tang. She wasn't cruel or ungrateful, and she was powerful enough to regard every scheme, open or hidden, as nothing. She could keep both friend and foe in hand.
Call it confidence or arrogance.
Either way, it was a good thing for Zhai Le.
Because it was Shen Tang, he could accept surrendering.
The people of Qu would not be treated poorly, and Qu's officials needn't fear a massacre. The Zhai clan, as Qu's royal house, wouldn't have to