Flower Stealing Master

Chapter 79: A friend of Princess Changping

Donʼt blame Song Qingshu for being a little crafty and forceful, he gave them the same three strategies from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

In his previous life, Song Qingshu had a lesson called ”The Art of Suggestions” while doing his MBA. It mentioned that even if you think your ideas are good, don’t present them directly, but tactfully mix a few bad ones. This will create options. Then leave those options for your audience to choose.

Don’t underestimate this method. Due to the weakness of human nature, this would give your opponent an illusion that the final decision was his choice, and he would be very happy to implement it, completely unaware that his choice was actually yours from the start.

Sure enough, after listening to Song Qingshuʼs third strategy, Situ Boleiʼs attention returned to the second strategy.

”Old hero, in fact, there are ways to solve the two points you are worried about now.” Song Qingshu tactfully spoke a few words when he saw the man muttering to himself and considering his gains and losses.

”Please advise.” Situ Boleiʼs eyes couldnʼt help but flash up.

”Tomorrow night, the guards in the Qing military camp will be slack. You can choose from a dozen powerful and trusted martial artists to bypass the perimeter defenses of the Qing army and go straight to the tent of the commander-in-chief, then kill him by surprise.” Song Qingshuʼs eyes flashed with an inexplicable light.

”How do you know that the guards of the Qing army will be relaxed tomorrow?” Situ Bolei was not stupid. He couldnʼt help but suspect that this guy was a spy sent by the Qing army. He probably wanted to lure him to go there and then kill everyone.

”You donʼt need to believe me, but if you miss tomorrowʼs opportunity. Iʼm afraid you will have to stay at Wangwu Mountain forever.” Song Qingshu smiled faintly, looked at the old man’s suspicious eyes, and sneered, ”You donʼt have to guess anything. It’s really easy for me to kill you, so why would I go through so much trouble? Without a leader to lead them, even a horde of dragons would scatter like a mass of sand. I am afraid that they will be easily wiped out by your forces after that.”

Situ Boleiʼs face sank, but he also knew that the other party was telling the truth. When one considers the situation, this man really didnʼt have any reason to deceive him.

”But this old man heard that in addition to the 3000 cavalry under the Qing armyʼs command, there are also the Imperial Guards and two top masters. If we go there alone, I am afraid that we will be sending sheep to the tigerʼs mouth.” Situ Bolei couldnʼt help but frown when he thought about this matter.

”Yes, you will definitely be caught, there is no mistake about that.” Song Qingshu smiled strangely.

”What!” Zeng Rou, who had been silent all the time, became angry at once, ”Are you here to deceive us?” Situ Bolei also stared at him suspiciously.

”There is no other way out for your Wangwu Sect if you don’t do this.” Song Qingshu said with a wry smile, ”Otherwise you can only run away in embarrassment, and it will not sound good once it spreads in the wulin.”

”We will have gained face, but our heads wonʼt be saved.” Situ Bolei snorted coldly.

”Donʼt worry, you two, listen to me slowly.” Song Qingshu quickly explained, ”When you act, you only need to bring one or two people who are afraid of death. After some complex circumstances, the commander of the Qing army will naturally let you go. Before you act, remember to tell everyone in the Wangwu Sect to divide the disciples into groups and leave Wangwu Mountain in the dark. The Qing army will also turn a blind eye to all this.”

”If he catches us, why would he release us?” Situ Burei said in utter disbelief.

”I have my own way to make him let you go.” Song Qingshu spoke with an inexplicable confidence in his tone.

”Bullsh*it!” Zeng Rou wrinkled her nose, turned her head and pulled Situ Burei, ”Master, donʼt listen to this bad guy. He doesn’t even dare to show his face, and is so crafty, he surely doesn’t have any good intentions.”

Situ Bolei nodded, then looked at Song Qingshu and asked, ”Who is your Excellency and why do you want to help me and the Wangwu Sect? If you donʼt make it clear, Iʼm afraid that I wonʼt have the confidence to act according to your suggestion.”

”I wear a mask because I fear that if your disciples see my appearance, they will reveal some flaws tomorrow.” Song Qingshu reached out and took off the mask and threw it aside, ”I donʼt need to hide anything from the two of you.”

Zeng Rou always thought that he would be a wicked looking bad guy. How could she know that the face under the mask was so good-looking; her face flushed, she lowered her head and stared at her feet in a daze.

”Tomorrow?” Situ Bolei was startled, ”Are you a member of the Qing army.”

”This humble one is Song Qingshu. I am one of the two Qing court masters you mentioned just now.” Song Qingshu shrugged and said with a wry smile.

Zeng Rou raised her head in surprise, thinking in her heart, ‘He is actually one of the two martial arts masters who have been terrorizing the martial arts factions in several provinces, but he is obviously so young, not much older than me…’

”Why is Master Song helping the Wangwu Sect?” Situ Bolei was even more puzzled.

”In the past, the old hero Situ was loyal to the Ming Dynasty. You did not even hesitate to give up your glory and wealth, left the King of Pingxi, and returned to the mountain forest. Coincidentally, this humble one and the former Princess Changping of Ming Dynasty are…” Song Qingshu paused deliberately, his expression showed a little hesitation, ”We are close friends. When I saw that you were in distress, this Song would naturally not stand idly and do nothing.” (Goblin: Someone give this guy an Oscar or something! Princess Changping is the title of Ajiu. She was introduced in chapter 53, 54, and 55.)

Listening to his ambiguous tone, Situ Burei was surprised, ‘Could it be that he and the princess are lovers? But, it is clearly rumored in the wulin that the princess likes the Golden Serpent King.’

However, when he thought about the fickle minds of youngsters these days, he showed an expression of understanding. ”It turns out that Young Master Song and the princess have that kind of relationship. Just now this old man has offended you, so I hope Young Master Song will not take it to heart.”

Hearing what Song Qingshu said, Zeng Rou fell in a daze, but suddenly she felt a trace of anger, ‘Since he has a lover, why did he treat me like that just now!?’

”General Situ is being polite.” Song Qingshu changed to the official title of the Ming Dynasty. Situ Bolei was extremely flattered. ”This Song now bears the humiliation and bows down to the Qing court, just to take the opportunity to preserve the remaining power of the Ming Dynasty. Donʼt worry. This Song has a way to keep you safe and sound tomorrow.”

The reason why Song Qingshu was so confident was because he knew that Wei Xiaobao was a hall master of the Heaven and Earth Society, and he will definitely try to let the Wangwu Sect go, and with his help, it’ll not be a problem to make things go according to his plot.

Moreover, Wei Xiaobao couldnʼt tell anyone about his identity as a hall master of the Heaven and Earth Society, so in the eyes of Situ Bolei and others, Song Qingshu was the one that helped them avoid this catastrophe.

Song Qingshu was never satisfied with being a small fry in the Qing Court, he was a very prideful person. So of course, he would never get tired of this act of selling mercy and buying peopleʼs hearts.

However, borrowing a chicken to lay eggs also needed to have its own path to success, so Wangwu Sect’s forces had to be included in Song Qingshu’s plan.

”Well, since Young Master Song is a friend of the princess, I believe it wonʼt hurt us. So this old man will bet on you this time.” Situ Bolei thought for a while and finally made a decision.

Song Qingshu was overjoyed and quickly discussed some details of tomorrowʼs actions with him.

*****

The next day, Wei Xiaobao called various officers to discuss the matters of Wangwu Sect. There were no shortage of competent people in the Army Camp, and they discussed a lot of ways to attack the mountains, but it was a pity that they were all rejected by Wei Xiaobao because of the heavy damage to the Camp.

Song Qingshu understood Wei Xiaobaoʼs thoughts. He couldnʼt help but smile knowingly when he watched these people so eager to find a way, ”This Song has a way. You can win against the Wangwu Sect without losing your soldiers and generals.”

”Brother Song, say it quickly!” Wei Xiaobao thought in his heart, ‘I hope that it wonʼt really be too effective of a plan, otherwise it will be difficult for me to accept it.’

Goblin: I feel like a roadkill!

Anyways…hereʼs another chapter. Enjoy and thank you all for your support. If you enjoy my translation please consider becoming a patron at Patreon!