Chapter 64: The Astonishing Dark Agent

Jianlei was slightly startled, glanced at Jianni and Jianhong, and then bowed to Chai Xiao to reply.

"Young Lord, the three of us simply divided the work to execute your three-step plan of scouting, publishing, and releasing, especially focusing on the four essential principles."

"Time was too tight, so we could only focus on the most critical tasks first: recruiting journalists, painters, and editors!"

"As for anything else, we didn't do much extra. We can't say our performance was outstanding, and we wouldn't dare to dream of a reward!"

Chai Xiao smiled and clapped his hands.

"Splendid! Orderly, well-organized, and yet modest despite your achievements!"

"Vermilion Bird, Jianfeng, Jianyu, it’s not about knowing the goods, but comparing them. Are you convinced?"

Vermilion Bird, Jianfeng, and Jianyu felt a jolt in their hearts. They bowed and lowered their heads.

"We are convinced! We were like people trapped within Mount Lu, unable to see its true face. Thank you, Imperial Consort Yun and the Young Lord, for your guidance!"

Chai Xiao instructed Zhang Bao to fetch paper and ink.

Diocese of a brush heavily soaked in dark ink, he wrote three bold characters on a sheet of paper: "Merit Roll".

Those standing nearby watched, involuntarily stunned.

The handwriting of the Sovereign looked somewhat different from before.

It seemed a bit better-looking!

Could it be because the Grand Tutor had just instructed him in the running script, regular script, clerical script, and small seal script of the character "Zun"?

Had he improved so rapidly?

However, the character selected earlier as being better-written was in small seal script, and what he wrote now was not small seal script either!

Instead, it somewhat resembled the running-regular script of Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan, which was extremely popular in the former Great Tang Dynasty!

Was this little ancestor actually hiding his true skill in calligraphy?

Even the Grand Tutor, Su Zhongjing, felt a sense of strangeness.

When he saw that what Chai Xiao was holding in his hand was not a brush, but rather half a broken tree branch, a flash of brilliant light appeared in his eyes.

This brat had actually brought out the half-section "command baton" he used in the garden to devise countermeasures against the Second Prince's water-flooding of the Great Xu Royal City!

Moreover, he was actually using it to write.

Was he trying to emulate Great Yu, who used a wooden digging tool made from a branch to govern the realm?

Come to think of it, he had previously used ten leaves to arrange a tactical formation, and then used fourteen leaves to assign responsibilities to Vermilion Bird, the golden hairpins, and even Imperial Consort Yun.

Vaguely, he already possessed the grand demeanor of King Cheng of Zhou enfeoffing his younger brother with a paulownia leaf.

If he wanted to be Great Yu and King Cheng of Zhou, that meant he intended for Su Zhongjing to be Gaoyao and Duke Dan of Zhou.

Apart from Su Zhongjing, who was well-versed in military strategy and perceived the anomaly, Vermilion Bird—who shared military experiences with Yao Jin—also felt a stir in her heart.

She clearly remembered that just moments ago in the garden, when the Young Lord plotted to use the thirteen of them to impersonate the fictional "Princess Yanluan", he had used this very half-branch to sketch the likeness on the back of the city defense map using tea water.

When leading troops into battle, supreme commanders often favored different instruments for issuing commands.

Zhuge Liang and Zhou Yu of the Three Kingdoms favored goose-feather fans.

Jiang Ziya, who assisted Zhou in overthrowing Shang, favored a whip known as the "God-Striking Whip".

The Yellow Emperor held a battle-axe in one hand and a wooden plow in the other, unifying the Central Plains and founding Chinese civilization.

By writing the "Merit Roll" with half a tree branch, the Young Lord was already treating this martial arts matchmaking competition as a "war" to be commanded.

Could it be that he intended to use this half-branch to direct battles big and small, ultimately entering Great Qi and seizing the realm?

Chai Xiao, however, remained completely oblivious. He looked straight at Su Zhongjing, and seeing a trace of approval in his gaze, couldn't help but smile.

It was true that graduates from the command department of a military academy were accustomed to holding something in their hands.

However, in using a tree branch to write, he really hadn't thought that much about it.

Brushes were rarely used by him, and he had never quite grown accustomed to them; his calligraphy with them always turned out crooked.

But fountain pens and ballpoint pens were things he used frequently, and his handwriting with them was passable at best.

Therefore, using this half-branch just now had given him the familiar feel of a fountain pen.

Sure enough, the characters turned out much better-looking, didn't they?

Amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, Chai Xiao chuckled and asked Zhang Bao to use several sheets of paper to bind the "Merit Roll" into a booklet.

"On this first page, write: Jianlei, Jianni, and Jianhong have organized and divided their labor with great skill. Jianlei receives two merit points, while Jianni and Jianhong receive one point each."

"After this martial arts matchmaking competition concludes, rewards will be distributed based on merit!"

"Understood!"

Zhang Bao quickly jotted it down.

Jianlei and the other two bowed in gratitude.

The others looked on with deep envy and were greatly inspired, each and every one of them eager to try their hand.

Imperial Consort Yun and Su Zhongjing were both gently clapping their hands.

This little ancestor—who knew when he had suddenly become enlightened—had used only a single sheet of paper and three characters to achieve such a tremendous effect in boosting morale.

They always said that anyone skilled in the art of reward and punishment was bound to be an enlightened sovereign of the world, and it was truly so!

This kid was aiming to become a figure akin to the founding Emperor Taizu of Great Qi or Emperor Taizong of Great Tang!

Just at that moment, a series of "coo-coo-coo" bird calls rang out.

A mottled gray-and-white pigeon flew past at high speed.

Chai Xiao glanced at Vermilion Bird.

Vermilion Bird's expression shifted slightly. Because she was wearing princess ceremonial robes and carrying no weapons or hidden projectiles, in her anxiety she took three steps in two, picked up a pebble from the courtyard, and flung her hand forward.

"Whoosh!"

The pebble shot forth like lightning, striking the pigeon accurately and squarely.

"Chirp!"

The pigeon let out a miserable screech, beating its wings frantically. It wobbled precariously, yet instead of falling, it beat its wings with all its might and flew off into the distance.

"Damn it!"

Vermilion Bird cursed under her breath, feeling utterly helpless.

To everyone's surprise, Zhang Bao at that moment placed his fingers to his lips and let out a long, sharp whistle.

"Shrrrt!"

Five or six youths in lightweight attire suddenly rushed out from beside the courtyard, wielding slingshots and snapping off shots.

"Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!"

Struck by at least three iron pellets, the pigeon plummeted backward like a kite with a broken string.

"Got it!"

Zhang Bao waved his hand, and the youths rushed forward, picking up the pigeon as if they had stumbled upon a lump of gold, and brought it forward cupped in their hands.

With his sharp eyes, Zhang Bao immediately noticed a small bamboo tube strapped to the pigeon's leg.

"Sovereign, this really is a message-carrying bird. It seems the person receiving the message is not far away."

Chai Xiao nodded.

"Open it and take a look!"

Zhang Bao acknowledged the order, untied the bamboo tube, gently pulled it open, shook out a rolled slip of paper from inside, and unfolded it completely.

Imperial Consort Yun and Su Zhongjing, standing nearby, also leaned in to look.

There were only four characters written on it.

"Recognized. Do not reply."

Imperial Consort Yun asked a question.

"What does this mean?"

Su Zhongjing pointed to a bird drawn beside the text.

"That doesn't look like a pigeon at all!"

Suddenly, someone dropped to their knees with a heavy thud!

It was none other than Vermilion Bird, still clad in her princess ceremonial robes.

"That drawing is of the divine bird, the Vermilion Bird!"

"I am a guilty subject who has committed the crime of deceiving the sovereign."

"The Young Lord discovered early this morning that a Western Regions messenger pigeon was transmitting a message and ordered me to strike it down. But I harbored lingering hopes, thinking only to wound it."

"Little did I expect that the Young Lord had made backup arrangements to shoot it down."

"Raising Western Regions messenger pigeons and using them to transmit messages back and forth is a unique, secret technique of Shangqing Temple on Mount Taibai, where I studied in my youth."

"I previously had no idea that my two masters had emerged from seclusion."

"It wasn't until yesterday, upon receiving a transmission, that I learned the Second Prince captured my junior sister—the adopted daughter whom my two masters regard as the apple of their eye."

"Driven to a corner and left with no alternative, my two masters had no choice but to devise strategies for the Second Prince."

"Even so, I had a prior agreement with them: harbor no divided loyalties, and serve no second master."

"Therefore, I sent two messages in total."

"The first was to declare my stance, and the second was to ask whether we could acknowledge each other, while also informing the Young Lord that he had already taken notice of the messenger pigeons and intended to establish his own transmission network."

Imperial Consort Yun stamped her foot repeatedly.

"You! You! You!"

After uttering those three "you"s, she found herself utterly unable to speak another word.

Su Zhongjing's face was as dark as water as he posed a question.

"Who are your two masters?"

Vermilion Bird replied.

"They usually pay no heed to worldly affairs, living like untethered cranes and wild geese. They possess great talent but hold no official posts. Ordinary people simply consider them eccentric and refer to them as the Black and White Oddities."

Su Zhongjing was startled.

Doubtless they were Lü Xuanming and Lü Sumei, descendants of Lü Meng, the renowned Three Kingdoms general who captured Jingzhou by crossing the river in white civilian clothes!

Vermilion Bird was stunned.

"You actually know of them?"

Su Zhongjing let out a long sigh.

"Such great talents, yet coerced by others—what a pity!"

Unexpectedly, Chai Xiao reached out and helped Vermilion Bird to her feet.

"You did nothing wrong. You are not to blame!"

Everyone froze, as if struck by a bolt of lightning.

Even this was acceptable?