Martial King's Retired Life

Book 16: Chapter 8

Shifu once told me a story revolving around a triple-layer strategy.

Aeons ago, there lived an unparalleled strategist. No matter what the monarch consulted him on, he answered with unshakable confidence and was always prepared well ahead of time. He would ask the monarch, “Your subject has three plans. Would you be willing to accept them?” He then proceeded to offer an ideal plan that was impossible to deploy. He then suggested a plan that was realistic, but the monarch was not too willing to accept it. Finally, he recommended an idea that was unacceptable. The monarch would almost exclusively select the second plan that did not promise the most ideal outcome each time.

When I naively asked why the monarch forced himself to accept the less-than-ideal suggestion, Shifu answered with a chuckle, “That’s what makes the strategist wise. If you only offer up one ordinary suggestion, isn’t that the same as telling the monarch that you’re just trying to cruise by? The onus of picking from three choices, though, lies with the monarch. Moreover, it was the only option in the first place; he just had no opportunity to compromise without sacrificing his reputation. Paving an escape route for the monarch is the strategist’s responsibility.”

I barely understood the explanation, but I bobbed my head. “Sly.”

“Their fault for falling for the tricks of cultured folks.”

That was when I understood that “cultured folks” were incapable of much more than causing trouble. The story of the triple-layer strategy made me wary. Besides feeling Su Xiao’s ideas were sketchy, I only felt that they were sketchy.

“Don’t look at me like that, Big Brother Ming. I’m cultured.”

See?

Su Xiao proceeded to reel off his idea with earnest, while Tang Ye looked as if he had not been constipated for the last three days.

“What’s so good about this idea?” I voiced.

“Is it worse than you taking a beating?” Su Xiao replied.

“Uh…”

“Since you’ve accepted it, I’m going to go make preparations!”

Hey, wait!

As I watched Su Xiao bolt off, I told Tang Ye, “Keep your eyes on Su Xiao. Don’t let others become his victims.”

“If I could do that, why would I need you to train me?”

“You… have a point.” I scanned Tang Ye and then said, “Keep your eyes on the others. Don’t let others become his victims.”

“That I can do.”

I gazed up at the clouds once Tang Ye followed after Su Xiao. Something made me feel unsettled, but I could not put my finger on it.

“Brother Feizhen.”

“Lass?” I spun around to see Lass Yu, whom I had forgotten I promised to catch up with after the long meeting.

Lass Yu strolled over from the garden to the corridor. “Are you done with your meeting?” she cheerfully asked.

“Yeah, we just finished. Sorry to keep you waiting.”

I, for some reason, started to feel tense once we were alone. Interactions with her had never been stressful since she was so pure; however, I somewhat felt apologetic as we just had a meeting on how to dupe her mentor.

Wait a second. It’s shifu’s fault. I’m just going with the momentum. At most, I just added the cherry on top. Shifu is to blame for the rest.

Lass Yu brushed her hair and asked, “Mr. Ming is unwilling to marry Shifu, isn’t he?”

Huh?

“Huh?” The question dropped so suddenly that I voiced my thoughts. “Wh-wh-what do you mean? Why would he be? You know my shifu better than that, right? He’s trustworthy. He and Matriarch Zi harbour strong feelings for each other. Besides, even if something doesn’t go awry, like he suddenly gets nervous or shy, I’m here, aren’t I? A shifu’s marriage has always been his pupil’s undertaking, hahaha. He doesn’t get a say. Rest assured. I’ll tie him up and kidnap him if that’s what it takes.”

After being stared at for a long while, I crumbled and lowered my head. “Uhm…”

“I expected as much,” remarked Yu Feiyuan, not showing any emotional attachment.

“You expected it?”

How did she improve so much in such a short time? This doesn’t add up. I wouldn’t be surprised if Young Shiyi understood something so complicated, but Lass Yu?

“When I met Mr. Ming many years ago, I asked him if he would be willing to marry Shifu.”

I had no idea Shifu enlightened Lass Yu and gave her an answer from way back. Only someone as pure as her could have asked a question so directly. I sure would not have been able to. Neither Shifu nor I had any embarrassing secrets. Given what I knew about his philandering history, I would have mocked myself for asking that question.

Looking me straight in the eye, Lass Yu continued, “He smiled and answered, ‘No’.”

He said that?! Were you always so gusty, Shifu?! If you’re so tough, stop making me deal with your philandering debts! Do you know how hard it is on me?!

“But I knew that he didn’t mean it,” added Lass Yu.

“You knew that, too?”

Lass Yu gave me a nod and then a sweet smile. “Because you taught me that, when a person wears a sad expression, what they say is likely the opposite of what they actually think.”

Lass Yu suddenly caressed my face. “Brother Feizhen, Mr. Ming wore the same expression as you ten years ago. I’m quite sure he didn’t mean what he said. He just… had restrictions… right?”

Words failed me. I had never… seen Shifu’s sad expression. I could not imagine what sort of dilemma he had to be in for him to force himself to tell such a pure girl that fib.

“Don’t worry. As I said, I’ll kidnap him if it’s the last thing I do,” I promised.

“Uhm, I trust you.”

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