How could the Commander admit to failings as a father? He had no choice but to go along with Jinren’s words and say, “Look at my memory — the illness has left me quite muddled.”

Jinren smiled. “Does the Commander recall now? If Hui Cun’s daughter can be married to the Commander’s son, it would be a great joy for both countries alike. From then on, our two nations’ cooperation can be even closer and proceed without obstacle.”

Jinren’s words were unmistakably a reminder to the Commander of what this union would bring to Bei Di — nothing but endless advantages without a single drawback.

The Commander was too shrewd not to hear it, and what’s more, Prince Jinren had already made his meaning this explicit. If the Commander failed to express his agreement now, it would be tantamount to disrespecting the royal family, and might even provoke Jinren’s anger and cause a falling-out.

These thoughts flew through the Commander’s mind in an instant, and they transformed into a warm smile upon his face. “Your Highness is quite right. This is indeed a great joy for both our nations. I’ve just been a bit muddled from the illness — it hasn’t slipped my mind at all.”

Jinren gave a slight smile as well, his narrow eyes curving gently closed. “Commander, might I meet with Shi Guang? I’ve heard from Hui Cun that he, like your other son, is a truly capable and promising young man. I’d like to assess this future son-in-law on Hui Cun’s behalf — if the Commander doesn’t mind?”

The Commander’s gaze moved to Shi Ting. From his father’s eyes, Shi Ting had already read his intention.

He knew — everything was beyond reversal. The Commander had already decided to release Shi Guang.

“Understood. I’ll go make the arrangements.” Shi Ting said and, with a slight nod toward Jinren, turned and left.

In the dark and damp prison, Shi Guang had a private cell. This cell had a window, and the washroom and sleeping quarters were separated independently. The Commander had not instructed anyone to treat him harshly — apart from being confined, with a narrow room and no freedom, his daily necessities and three meals a day were all provided at a high standard.

When Shi Ting arrived, Shi Guang was sitting in a chair reading a book. At the sound of the door opening, he didn’t even look up — he simply continued to turn the pages.

Shi Ting sat down across from him and glanced at the book he was reading: a volume of miscellaneous essays and fiction.

“Second Brother has a taste for this kind of book?”

Shi Guang said, “Nothing particular — just passing the time.”

Shi Guang also didn’t ask why Shi Ting had come, and casually flipped through the pages as though he couldn’t care less.

“Second Brother kept his engagement rather well-hidden.”

Shi Guang looked up at that, set down his book, and raised an eyebrow with a slight smile. “Back when Seventh Brother and Yan Qing were pulling off your secret affair, didn’t you also keep it tightly concealed? And I, at that time, was nothing but a laughingstock.”

“When did you establish a connection with Jinren?”

“A long time ago.” Shi Guang blinked. “Like Seventh Brother, I like to leave myself a way out. Qian Lan was always an unreliable woman — once she failed, I’d be utterly finished. So I had to think of a plan that covered all possibilities.”

“You should be well aware of the Di people’s ambitions.”

Shi Guang laughed coldly. “I recall that at the last meeting, you were the one who said we should temporarily maintain a cooperative relationship with the Di people. So why are you now questioning me about their ambitions? Seventh Brother — are you trying to set up a virtuous facade while living otherwise?”

“That was a short-term expedient, and the so-called cooperation was only on the surface.”

“You needn’t lecture me with these grand principles. You can cooperate with the Di people — why can’t I? Your cooperation is superficial, which means mine must somehow be deep and genuine?”

“Jinren’s objective is obvious — he wants you to help him solve the trouble of the Dagu Mountain bandits.” Shi Ting frowned. “If the Dagu Mountain problem is resolved, vast quantities of minerals will flow continuously into the Di Kingdom. Those are the resources of our Xin Kingdom — we should not be making free contributions to their nation.”

Shi Guang lowered his head and gave a quiet smile. “Seventh Brother, do you still not understand me after all this time? What you call national justice and righteousness — to my eyes, it’s not worth a single copper. What I want…”

He raised his hand and placed it on Shi Ting’s shoulder, patting it twice with measured force. “Is the position you’re sitting in right now.”

Shi Guang withdrew his hand. “So spare me your grand principles — they’re useless.”

Shi Ting looked at him and said nothing.

“It was the Commander who sent you here to take me out, wasn’t it?” Shi Guang glanced at the clock on the wall. “Calculating the timing, Prince Jinren should be arriving about now. He must be eager to meet me. Seventh Brother — I won’t hide it from you — Jinren and I have already met twice, and he even complimented my skill at chess.”

“You don’t actually have any feelings for Ling’ai.” Shi Ting said coldly. “And you know very well that Hui Cun would never agree.”

“The people I choose to marry are never the ones I’m fond of. I marry them for one reason only — gain.” Shi Guang said, and then he suddenly looked at Shi Ting, his gaze thick with derisive mockery. “Oh, I just remembered — that Ling’ai seems to be Yan Qing’s friend, and your subordinate’s girlfriend. What a pity. The devoted hearts cannot become life’s companions. But there’s nothing to be done about it — who told her to be born into Hui Cun’s household? Who told her she must become a sacrificial piece on the board of politics? This is her fate, and she must accept it.”

Shi Guang extended his hand, intending to pat Shi Ting on the shoulder again, but Shi Ting caught his wrist. Shi Ting said in an icy voice: “For the sake of the Young Marshal’s position, how many people’s lives have you sacrificed? How many people’s lives have you upended? And you can still sit there so comfortably and spit out your sarcasm?”

“So what? You speak of righteousness and virtue — you’re the savior of the world. So tell me, are you willing to hand over the Young Marshal’s position to me? If you do, those people won’t need to be sacrificed. That Ling’ai won’t have to marry me. She and your subordinate can grow old together in peace.”

Shi Ting shook off his hand, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. “This position — I’m willing to yield it to whoever is truly suited for it. But that person is not you. Because the moment it falls into your hands, the number of people sacrificed will not decrease — it will only grow greater and greater. I am right here, and this position will not move. You are more than welcome to come at me with everything you have and see whether you are truly capable of taking it.”

Shi Guang’s eyes narrowed, a flash of brilliant light shooting from them. “Very well then — Seventh Brother, just wait and see.”

The two men of near-equal height faced each other in stark opposition, the gaze each turned on the other carrying a trace of killing intent. The chill radiating from their bodies made the already dim and gloomy cell feel all the colder.

“Young Marshal, it’s time to go.” The prison warden finished processing the paperwork and interrupted the standoff between the two men.

Shi Ting withdrew his gaze and stepped past Shi Guang with long strides. “Second Brother — congratulations on your release.”

Shi Guang gave a cold laugh and fell into step behind Shi Ting.

The meeting between Shi Guang and Prince Jinren was entirely harmonious. Jinren showed every sign of genuine admiration for Shi Guang, and under ordinary circumstances the Commander would have felt quite pleased and proud — but Shi Guang’s past conduct was like a thorn lodged in the Commander’s heart. Without that thorn removed, he simply could not bring himself to accept Shi Guang.

Shi Ting sat on a sofa to one side, watching coldly as Jinren and Shi Guang chatted with evident delight, while the Commander beside them wore an expression of intermittent awkwardness. He thought the whole scene — with everyone harboring their own private agenda — looked rather absurd and laughable.

That evening, the Commander hosted a banquet for Prince Jinren’s party in the ballroom. Prince Jinren specifically requested that Shi Guang remain by his side, frequently whispering to him, his manner warm and accommodating.

Shi Ting, meanwhile, kept his attention entirely on the performance on stage, completely indifferent to the affairs of those around him.

Since Prince Jinren clearly intended to signal his admiration for Shi Guang to everyone present, Shi Ting was not about to go press his warm face against a cold backside. Nor did he have any inclination to do so.

On stage, several dancers in silver-glinting outfits were performing to the music. The music played for a while, and then Shi Ting noticed the opening melody repeated itself once. The dancing women exchanged a few looks of mild surprise, yet continued dancing through the repetition.

When the music started a third time, a girl finally walked out from backstage. She wore a small white Western-style dress, with a hat on her head; the white net veil attached to the hat concealed the upper half of her face.

The girl’s face bore minimal makeup — only red lips — and it was precisely this absence of excessive cosmetics that gave her a remarkably natural quality.

Shi Ting could tell the girl was nervous; she appeared to be performing on stage for the first time.

The music continued, and the girl picked up the microphone in front of her. The moment she opened her mouth, the entire room fell silent in astonishment.

Because the lyrics she sang were not in the Xin Kingdom tongue, nor in the Di Kingdom tongue — they came from the Gaoli Kingdom.

Gaoli Kingdom was extremely isolated, almost entirely cut off from the outside world. There were no Gaoli people in Shun Cheng, and their language had certainly not spread here. Very few people had ever actually heard the Gaoli tongue spoken.

Shi Ting listened for quite some time before he guessed it was Gaoli speech.

And within that Gaoli speech, it seemed there were also fragments of another foreign language woven in.

The musical tempo was lively and bright, and the girl sang while dancing along with the music, her youthful and spirited energy filling the entire ballroom in an instant.

Although the audience couldn’t understand the lyrics, that was no obstacle to their appreciation. Prince Jinren in particular seemed to lose himself watching the girl — his gaze had drifted away entirely.

When the song finally ended and the girl bowed to close her performance, Jinren seemed to wake from a dream.

Shi Guang had observed Jinren’s reaction throughout, and said: “Does Your Highness find it pleasing?”

“Pleasing, novel, and impossible to forget once heard.” Jinren made no effort to restrain his praise. “From which country does this song come?”

Shi Guang said, “It should be a song from the Gaoli Kingdom.”

“She sings it so beautifully — is she a Gaoli person?”

Seeing Jinren’s interest, Shi Guang smiled and said, “Allow me to have someone invite her over, and Your Highness can ask her directly.”

Jinren gave a slight smile, highly satisfied with Shi Guang’s perceptiveness and accommodation.

He was royalty — he was accustomed to the fawning and flattery of those around him. In his eyes, it was entirely fitting that others should flatter and please him. So he liked Shi Guang and did not like Shi Ting.

Shi Ting was too cold — he didn’t orbit Jinren the way Shi Guang did, and he didn’t even manage a smile.

If Bei Di were truly to be governed by someone like him, it would become more and more difficult for the Di Kingdom to cooperate with Bei Di. Therefore, Jinren was absolutely determined to support someone he could use and control.

Shi Guang — without question — was the ideal candidate.