Guanliang silently cursed his own miscalculation.
He really should have thought this through earlier.
Someone who could get their hands on the marshal's personal belongings, could they possibly be an ordinary person?
Since they weren't ordinary, then hiding their true identity, having others negotiate on their behalf, and collecting items through intermediaries, wasn't that perfectly normal?
So then, here was the problem.
Should he refute what the helmsman had just said?
Could he even refute it?
If he stated his real thoughts outright, how would this group react?
They would definitely start questioning his motives right away.
They'd wonder why he, the chief strategist, was holding the marshal's clothes and trading them for the marshal's used medical waste.
And if he didn't have a reason that could stand up to scrutiny… they would just report the whole thing straight to the marshal.
And what would the marshal do then? He would definitely notice something was off.
He wouldn't expose it directly. Instead, he'd seize the opportunity to ruthlessly mess with Guanliang.
The marshal would put on that fake look of surprise, pretend to comfort him, and say a bunch of deliberately aggravating, psychologically damaging things.
The same way he bullied Hua, he'd bully Guanliang like that too.
Guanliang immediately turned his head to look at Commission Head.
This Commission Head, who claimed to be "of average talent," had blended perfectly into this group of fanatics, completely oblivious to Guanliang's gaze.
If only it were a different group. If only it weren't these people, people who had seen Guanliang before and knew who he was.
Then Guanliang could have smoothly exchanged for the medical waste, or even directly demanded it from them in the marshal's name.
He made his decision quickly.
Guanliang swallowed his humiliation, nodded to everyone, and smiled.
General Yaoqing was still stuck in shock, taking a long time to come back to his senses.
The Sky-Faring Division helmsman was the first to move closer. The others quickly followed, closing the distance around Guanliang.
The helmsman was a fair-skinned, beautiful foxian woman. Having dealt with all kinds of people, she was extremely good at seeing things from others' perspectives.
The chief strategist and the marshal had known each other for a long time, if this ever got back to the marshal… the chief strategist would surely feel very awkward, right?
The helmsman put on an "I get it" expression and immediately patted her chest, assuring Guanliang, "Relax, we all understand. Xianzhou people admiring the marshal is as natural as breathing. We'll help you keep this secret."
Everyone else nodded at Guanliang in unison.
Guanliang, "..."
Being stared at by all of them, he could only force a smile.
All eyes were fixed on him. The helmsman spoke first and asked, "What kinds of clothes does the marshal usually like to wear?"
Guanliang, "…Round-collared robes."
After a pause, he added what he'd stuffed into the suitcase.
"And all kinds of outerwear."
The helmsman nodded thoughtfully. After asking that, she stepped back, making room for the others.
Guanliang was terrified that someone might ask something crossing the line.
Even when he'd directly gone head-to-head with his idiot boss, he hadn't been this nervous.
For a while, Guanliang was on edge, doing his best to maintain a smile while answering their questions one by one.
Thankfully, most of them were quite restrained. They just asked about the marshal's preferences, and once they got their answers, they didn't press further, neatly giving their spot to the next person.
Guanliang finally let out a breath of relief and turned his gaze to the last person.
The head of the Ten Lords Commission nodded slightly and asked, "The marshal… has he ever fought anyone? Interrogated anyone?"
As soon as the others heard this, they all held their breath and looked at Guanliang.
Guanliang didn't understand why and answered hesitantly, "Other than assassins, he hasn't laid a hand on anyone, and he hasn't interrogated anyone either."
Please. He was the marshal.
If the marshal had to personally interrogate people… then the Ten Lords Commission might as well disband on the spot.
After that, they exchanged glances, and the conversation suddenly veered off in a direction Guanliang had never imagined.
Standing to the side, Guanliang listened as they spouted outrageous remarks, each one hitting him like a shock.
'So you're telling me that when the marshal slaps you, you really won't dodge at all?!'
Guanliang listened in a daze. Maybe his brain's self-protection mechanism kicked in, because he completely forgot what they were saying after that.
Still unsatisfied, everyone went back to praising the marshal as usual. One by one, they finished, and finally turned their eyes to the silent Guanliang.
Guanliang struggled to keep smiling.
What? You want him to praise the marshal against his conscience? No way. Absolutely not.
A flash of inspiration struck him. He deliberately put on a cheerful expression and said with a smile, "I'm different from you all. I can say these things to the marshal directly, to his face."
The group instantly fell silent.
Judging by their expressions, Guanliang guessed they were cursing him pretty viciously in their heads.
He patted the suitcase at his side and reminded them, "The marshal's medical..."
He swallowed the word "waste" with great difficulty and changed his wording mid-sentence.
"The marshal's medical supplies. I'm exchanging his clothes with you for them..."
Everyone cooperated very well, quickly handing over the medical supplies they'd brought.
Guanliang packed all the waste into the suitcase.
The helmsman closest to him hugged the clothes, huddling with the other women and whispering among themselves.
Guanliang closed the suitcase and walked over to the helmsman.
After some thought, he realized that among the marshal's female subordinates, not a single one had ever confessed to him.
Since the marshal refused to let subordinates find a partner for him… what if a subordinate confessed directly? Would he accept?
Guanliang asked bluntly, "What you feel for the marshal, romantic love?"
If it was, then maybe he could help play matchmaker.
The women were all stunned. They exclaimed, "…How would we dare! How could we ever be worthy of even thinking about the marshal?!"
The helmsman's fox ears shot straight up.
She frowned and said, "How should I put it… it's not that the marshal lacks charm. On the contrary, he has too much. Even if we say something inappropriate, he'd just smile and not take it to heart. If we act cute with him, he'll only indulge us more."
"Whether it's admiring him or falling in love with him, it's as easy as breathing. But… if we really did fall in love with him and confessed, that would feel like a kind of desecration instead…"
General Yaoqing had no idea when he'd come over, but he nodded along and added, "I really can't imagine what the marshal would look like in a relationship."
The helmsman said something outrageous, "Yeah. We all see him as daddy. How could we possibly have any improper thoughts?"
Guanliang thought to himself that it seemed the marshal wasn't going to find a partner on the Xianzhou.
He'd have to wait until the marshal left the Xianzhou someday.
As they were about to part, General Yaoqing and the helmsman held up a number to Guanliang and said, "This amount, do you have any more?"
Guanliang, "..."
Even Guanliang, whose assets were too many to count, couldn't help hesitating when he saw that number.
Should he sell a few more pieces? Just treat it as compensation for emotional damage from being taken out by fanatics.
Wait… this time, he wasn't here to make money. He was here to deal with medical waste.
The helmsman smiled and said, "What if we add another zero?"
Guanliang, "…We'll see. If I have any, I'll contact you."
Marshal, the loose change from selling your stuff has more zeros than your savings ever did.
Guanliang's feelings were incredibly complicated. After dealing with the medical waste, he went back to working for the marshal as usual.
A few days later, Zero suddenly said, "Is it just my imagination? I feel like… I'm missing quite a few pieces of clothing."
Guanliang lowered his eyes and continued organizing the documents in his hands.
"…Are you?"