Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Except for the great defeat experienced by the Tsing Yi army and their greatest nemesis the Red Lotus group, the change in powers in Fengyi county didn’t attract a lot of attention. In the north, things remained quiet. Conversely, in the south, wars had already broken out and it created a domino effect.

Prince Changshou sent the body of Liu Huan, Liu She’s daughter, back to Chongzhou. He initially wanted to use this opportunity to rope in Liu She to his side and support him with military might. But who knew Liu She would respond apathetically. After receiving his daughter’s coffin, he never made any response.

Liu She’s cold response made Prince Changshou extremely angry; the hatred in his heart gradually increased but he also started looking at Liu She in a bad light. He cannot touch Liu She for the time being, he can only wait till he ascends the throne to exact his revenge.

Except, even if Prince Changshou devises a plan to sow discord between the Emperor and Huang Song’s master and servant relationship and get Huang Song out of the picture, and instead establishes him as the county chief of Diyang District, he still cannot successfully gain control over the desirable Chenzhou. Neither will he be able to achieve his goal to get his brother, the Emperor, to abdicate the throne to him.

Why is this so?

Because the head strategist in his camp has job-hopped!

Speaking of which, it is necessary to mention Prince Changshou’s increasing arrogance, the revelation of his true nature.

Ever since the last time when Liu She – under the influence of his emotions which he lost control in front of his strategists – secretly dispatched his man to deliver a letter to Prince Changshou, affording him the knowledge that Liu Huan, Liu She’s daughter, is Prince Changshou’s biological daughter. Afterwards, when the war reached a stalemate situation, Prince Changshou blamed it on the incompetency of this strategist. Disregarding the fact that he embarrassed him multiple times, when the military generals questioned if the strategist’s schemes were viable, Prince Changshou continued to make matters worse from the side.

Thus, he completely offended all those capable strategists in his camp. It is fine to provoke an average person, there’re no issues. Anyway, an average person isn’t a threat to him, and neither is Prince Changshou afraid. However, he had to offend a petty strategist who remembers one’s wrongdoings. Critically, this strategist has brains, so how awkward it must be. Before the Master strategist went job-hopping, he devised a scheme against Prince Changshou causing him to experience a severe mishap in a battle against Chenzhou. His army suffered a great loss and their fighting spirits were dampened. Precisely because of this, it rescued Chenzhou’s threatened might, allowing them to take a breather and counterattack their enemies.

Nonetheless, this strategist is very intelligent; before he did something wrong, he didn’t identify himself. He conveniently blamed it on another person.

After successfully shirking the responsibility on the grounds of being given the “cold-treatment” by Prince Changshou and the “small grievance” he endured, he was poached elsewhere and left. Prince Changshou was too embarrassed to get angry.

In the short term, he can only look longingly but helplessly at Chenzhou. There’s no way to deal a deathblow to it. When he suffered a defeat at war, Prince Changshou remembered this adorable master strategist. Then he flippantly sent his guard to shout for him.

The tent was completely empty, the military strategist already left with his belongings long ago. He even left behind a letter with the contents, of course not words such as, “I am leaving because you, you ungrateful one who have let me down. I will not serve you anymore.” Instead, he made an outcry about how his elderly and sickly mother was severely ill and her days are nearing their end. Thus, as a filial child, he wanted to return home to serve his mother and to pay his last respects.

Reading the contents of this mournful letter including his desire to exercise filial piety, naturally Prince Changshou couldn’t vent his anger regardless of how infuriated he was. Let alone admit he was the one at fault for giving the master strategist the cold shoulder. Moreover, he didn’t even know if the strategist’s mother was gravely ill.

At present, the strategist left to pay his filial piety to his elderly, sickly mother who is bed-ridden. Prince Changshou felt he should send an extravagant gift to him to express his sincerity. At that point, Prince Changshou is unaware that his strategist hasn’t left temporarily, he has taken flight to a distant land. Moreover, he is unaware that his defeat at the frontiers was also manipulated by his strategist. It is better that he is clueless about the situation because when he finds out, he will have the desire the eat him raw.

He never thought of running after him, firstly, he would be embarrassed. After he lost the war, he then hurriedly sought the strategist he gave the cold-shoulder to for months, as if he can’t bear to leave him, where will he hide his face? Secondly, he has many talents under him, so what is losing this one?

Naturally, he doesn’t lack for other strategists. Therefore, let him go pay his filial piety to his elderly mother and after he returns from there, he will be demoted from his position. Prince Changshou conveniently threw his bamboo scrolled letter to the side, then he ordered his other strategists to convene to prepare to discuss the aftermath of the situation.

What about the strategist who secretly left three days ago?

He had already taken his pageboy and half a carriage full of books away. These are volumes of books that he copied using bamboo papers supplied by Prince Changshou.

Don’t underestimate the volumes because they only occupied half the carriage and they could fit into one or two chests. However, if they were bamboo scrolls, then they probably cannot fit into even 20 horse carriages.

Although Prince Changshou isn’t a great person, when he is kind to others, he is truly good. Since he knew this head strategist liked reading, he invested in his hobby with much sincerity, presenting him with extensive volumes of precious books. This strategist also saw through Prince Changshou’s character; since he knew he couldn’t work under him for long, shouldn’t he spend his time to copy these books?

His pageboy steering the carriage asked, “Master, where are we headed?”

The master strategist was reading extensively within the carriage and without much consideration, he replied, “Anywhere is fine, just not the south.”

At the south lies the battlegrounds between Prince Changshou and the imperial family of Dongqing. Now that he has suffered a great loss, his original advantage has disintegrated into naught. Both sides are on equal standing now and they have a long way to go. If he continues to stay in the south, what if he meets with Prince Changshou’s mighty forces?

Indeed, the master strategist just used “caring for his sickly mother” as an excuse. Truthfully, he doesn’t even know who his biological mother is. He lived in various households while his teachers raised him to adulthood.

Based on his teacher’s sayings, his biological mother may be from a brothel because he was discovered in that location. He was wrapped in swaddling clothes and was deemed wealthy, unlike those children born to poor households. Nevertheless, this is unnecessary digging up of the past as the master strategist doesn’t care.

With a nervous look, the pageboy remarked as he was rushing along the roads, “There must be a place to settle, we can’t be journeying mindlessly, right? We are living in chaotic times, I heard since Nansheng was exterminated, the world is in distress. The feudal lords are arising, even Dongqing is constantly in chaos. If we run around blindly, trouble will come upon us.”

The master strategist impatiently opened wide the curtains of the carriage and said with a frown, “In the past, only your master was a busybody and a nag. Now it’s your turn, why are you blaming me? I will leave the decision to you to go wherever you wish?”

The pageboy’s expression turned bitter, where else is there such a hard to please master?

Thinking through the question, he said, “Didn’t the master hold this guy named Huang something in high regards, I heard he has already been demoted to Diyang district. Your servant remembers Diyang district is in Haozhou’s Maode county and it’s near the north, far from the centre of the warzone in the south. Moreover, it is also not close to the chaotic battlegrounds in the north. Let’s head there.”

The master strategist rolled up his scroll of book then lightly tapped the back of his pageboy’s head.

“I knew you were a petty man, are you trying to cause the death of your master?”