Did The Young Prince’s Kingdom Get Destroyed Today? Chapter 25

Chapter 25

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Although Ling Rui hadn’t drunk the red bean soup, his belly was still full. Being jolted around by his uncle’s running, he soon felt unwell.

“Uncle, I’m going to throw up.”

As soon as Ling Rui said this, Murong Xu came to an abrupt stop.

When Ling Rui had earlier asked him to slow down, he had already changed his hold, letting the little one sit on his shoulders.

“How can you feel like throwing up sitting on uncle’s shoulders?” Murong Xu took him down and, seeing his uncomfortable expression, hesitated before saying, “Little Seven, I’ll take you to the General’s Mansion first, alright?”

“No.”

Ling Rui shook his head, clutching Murong Xu tightly: “Uncle, you run.”

His little face was determined: “I won’t throw up.”

Murong Xu: “…”

Unable to send him away and in a hurry to get to Guang County, Murong Xu looked around before renting a horse-drawn carriage. He placed the little one inside and then drove the carriage hastily towards the outskirts.

“Little Seven, if you get carsick, just sleep in the carriage. If you sleep, you won’t feel sick.”

When renting the carriage, Murong Xu also bought several quilts, laying them thickly inside the carriage.

Ling Rui’s little body could roll around on the quilts.

The carriage seemed to jolt even more.

Lying on the quilts, Ling Rui rolled passively. Though he closed his eyes tightly, he couldn’t fall asleep.

After a long time with his eyes shut, the carriage stopped.

Murong Xu took out a signal flare and fired it into the sky.

Though he and Ling Chen hadn’t agreed on any signals in advance, he believed that with their tacit understanding, Ling Chen would know he was there upon seeing the flare and would respond.

But after waiting a while, there was no response from Ling Chen.

“D*mn, could your big brother really be in danger?”

He regretted not coming with Ling Chen today.

In the carriage, dizzy from the jolting, Ling Rui heard Murong Xu’s words, but his little face was blank, temporarily unable to think.

“On the other hand, your big brother has many hidden guards with him.”

Murong Xu didn’t want to think too pessimistically. He parked the carriage, tied the horse to a tree, and took the little one out.

He planned to follow the path and look for traces of Ling Chen.

Focused on his search, he didn’t realize that Ah Wu had been gone for a long time.

After about an hour, the sky began to darken.

Ling Rui, feeling nervous in the dim light, clung tightly to Murong Xu’s neck, whispering, “Uncle, I’m scared.”

He was a bit afraid of the dark.

Murong Xu comforted him: “What’s there to be scared of? Uncle is here. Do you know how brave uncle was when he went to the border? Once, uncle led a troop into enemy territory at night and killed their prince.”

Murong Xu talked about his experiences fighting the enemy, and the little one listened wide-eyed.

After telling his own stories, Murong Xu spoke about his older sister, the General.

She was twenty-five, unmarried, and childless.

She had guarded the border for ten years, during which she had been wounded and bled countless times.

The bounty on her head from the enemy started at a hundred taels of gold and eventually reached ten thousand taels. Her life was valued so highly that it could buy two cities.

Thanks to her, the ten cities at the border were now safe, unlike before when they couldn’t even protect their lives.

Before the Murong family guarded the border, the nomads not only stole food and supplies but also massacred cities.

“Auntie is amazing.”

Ling Rui had heard many stories about his aunt from Noble Consort Yi’s bedtime tales, and now hearing them from his uncle, he clapped his little hands in admiration.

He could listen to his aunt’s stories a hundred times!

Seeing the little one’s face relax, Murong Xu also quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

After a while, they suddenly heard beastly growls nearby.

Ling Rui’s eyes widened as he looked in the direction of the growls: “It’s Ah Wu!”

Murong Xu recognized Ah Wu’s voice too, his expression serious. He used his qing gong skill to leap towards the sound.

He quickly found Ah Wu.

The ground was littered with corpses, and under a large tree, Ling Chen was leaning against the trunk, his chest still bleeding. His face was pale, and he was pressing tightly on his chest.

“Murong Xu, there really were refugees!”

Ling Chen’s pale face, whether from blood loss or intense emotion, showed hatred as he stared at the refugees’ bodies: “But they’re all dead.”

According to what he had heard, these refugees came from the north.

After a disaster, the court sent food, but these people, impatient for their share, resorted to robbery. After stealing the food, they fled and somehow ended up here, even attempting to attack the capital.

Such boldness seemed insane, and Ling Chen’s first reaction upon hearing it was disbelief.

Seeing these people firsthand, Ling Chen realized there truly are such brainless people in the world.

The ground was littered with the corpses of refugees.

Murong Xu put the little one down, and as soon as he did, the little one ran off to the side to find a leaf he had spotted earlier.

In the dim moonlight, finding things was troublesome.

Ling Rui squatted on the ground, carefully sifting through the grass with his small hands. After a while, he found the familiar leaf, pulled it off, shook off the dust, and put it into his mouth.

The juice from the leaf was so bitter that Ling Rui’s face scrunched up.

He spat out the chewed leaf and ran over to apply it to Ling Chen’s wound. “It can stop the bleeding.”

As soon as the leaf was applied, the bleeding stopped immediately.

Not only did it stop the bleeding, but it also alleviated some of the pain.

Ling Chen looked at the wound, then at Ling Rui, puzzled. “Little Seven, how do you know about this?”

Ling Rui, still spitting out the bitter taste, looked up and wiped his mouth. “I’ve seen it before.”

Both he and Ah Wu knew about herbs.

Seeing that Ling Chen’s wound was doing better after the treatment, Murong Xu stood up and began inspecting the corpses. “These are indeed refugees. Ling Chen, where did they come from?”

“Shanjiang.”

“They’ve come quite a distance.”

Murong Xu continued to examine the bodies, growing more puzzled. “Ling Chen, what happened to their faces? Why do they all look like this?”

The faces of these people were mutilated, and it seemed more likely they had done it to themselves.

Ling Chen didn’t know either.

Murong Xu continued his inspection, and this time he found a wooden hairpin carved with a simple pattern on one of the bodies.

Besides the hairpin, one person had a piece of white paper on them.

Murong Xu took out the paper and asked Ling Chen, puzzled, “Why would they carry paper?”

Ling Chen replied, “I don’t know.”

Murong Xu looked at the paper and the hairpin. He kept the hairpin, rolled up the paper, and took it with him.

That night, news spread that Ling Chen had been attacked.

Before returning to the palace with his brother, Ling Rui spent some time with Ah Wu. Holding his chubby face, he said dejectedly, “Ah Wu, my premonition was late.”

The danger he had foreseen yesterday didn’t happen then but occurred today.

Ah Wu comforted him, saying softly, “It wasn’t that your premonition was late. He’s been in danger these past two days. Yesterday, your little uncle was there, so he avoided the danger.”

Today, without Murong Xu, Ling Chen couldn’t avoid it.

Ling Rui, though comforted, still looked worried.

Ah Wu didn’t feel much about Ling Chen’s danger. Having spent time in the Great Qing palace, he was accustomed to witnessing the schemes and plots of many people daily.

Currently, facing danger, what he naturally thought of was—

There were people who didn’t want Ling Chen to have it so easy.

In other words, Ling Chen was the eldest prince, his mother was the Empress, and his future as the Crown Prince was virtually set in stone.

However, having already become the Crown Prince and frequently targeted, Ah Wu, the Crown Prince of Great Qing, scoffed at the idea of a “set in stone” position. The position of Crown Prince was not as easy to maintain as others might think.

In secret, countless people were coveting it.

If Ling Chen had had a conflict with Murong Xu before this incident, then Murong Xu and the entire Murong Mansion would definitely be in trouble.

“Ah Wu, who’s hurting big brother?” Ling Rui asked.

Ah Wu shook his head. He didn’t know the Qi Chao’s royal family well enough to pinpoint who it might be.

It could be another prince, someone plotting rebellion, or even the still-young emperor of Qi Chao.

However, according to Ling Rui, their Father was a good man and unlikely to harm his own son to retain power.

“I don’t know, but you are safe, and that’s what matters.”

Ah Wu, as always, was only concerned about Ling Rui’s safety, not others’.

They huddled together, and after a moment, Ah Wu added, “Little Seven, you must stay safe. If you face danger you can’t handle, tell me.”

“Mm!”

Ling Rui snuggled against him, agreeing.

While they talked, Murong Xu was busy writing down everything that had happened recently. He sent this letter to the border, addressed to his older sister, General Murong Xue.

His sister was brave, resourceful, and the most admired by all the younger siblings. Even the proud second sister, Murong Yi, would be obedient and well-behaved in front of her.

Sending the letter, Murong Xu felt a bit more at ease.

As night deepened, Ling Rui and Ling Chen returned to the palace. The corpses in Guang County were taken away by the Ministry of Justice.

The Shilang of the Ministry of Justice himself came to collect the bodies.

With the bodies taken away and Ling Chen, the victim, sent back to the palace, the entire Imperial Hospital was alarmed.

The Empress, losing her usual calm demeanor, stayed by Ling Chen’s side the entire night.

During this time, the third prince, Ling Yi, also came but was persuaded to return by the palace servants shortly after because of his poor health.

The Emperor also visited once. After looking at his injured son on the sickbed, he declared coldly, “I will not spare anyone who dares harm Chen Er!”

That night, unrest spread from the empress’s palace to others as well.

Except for Fenghua Palace, which remained largely unaffected.

Noble Consort Yi had Ling Rui drink warm goat milk before bed, reassured him that Ling Chen was fine, and told him stories.

With these usual routines, she managed to coax the unwilling-to-sleep little one until his eyelids grew heavy.

Once the little one was completely asleep, Noble Consort Yi tucked him in and then leaned over to kiss his little face.

“If I had known it would be so dangerous for the Eldest Prince to go out, I wouldn’t have let Little Seven follow him.”

Noble Consort Yi didn’t like the empress, and naturally, she didn’t have much affection for her children.

She was certain the Empress felt the same way about her own child.

“Next time, keep an eye on him and make sure Little Seven doesn’t get too close to the Eldest Prince.”

“Yes.”

Ji Yan, who was still by the bedside, bowed her head and responded.

The next morning, when Ling Rui wanted to visit his older brother, Noble Consort Yi stopped him.

He looked at Noble Consort Yi with longing eyes, but before he could plead to see his brother, he saw his little uncle.

His little uncle brought some bad news.

Ah Wu was leaving.

Even though Ah Wu had mentioned several times that he would leave and had comforted him in advance, Ling Rui was still heartbroken when he heard the news. No one could console him.

He hardly ate all day, which made Noble Consort Yi anxious. She sent a message to Murong Xu, asking him to bring Ah Wu over.

Her Fenghua Palace could handle one crying child, so accommodating Ah Wu shouldn’t be an issue.

But Murong Xu replied, “Ah Wu won’t stay in the palace.”

If Ah Wu wanted to stay, he would have done so long ago.

For several days, Ling Rui was in a bad mood.

Unlike Ling Fu, who could eat three bowls of rice when happy and four when sad, Ling Rui struggled to eat even one bowl when he was upset.

Over these days, Ling Chen, who was recovering, was nourished with so many bowls of tonic soup that his complexion became rosy and healthy.

In contrast, Ling Rui, who wasn’t even sick, lost several pounds.

Fortunately, Ah Wu’s letter arrived just in time. As Noble Consort Yi read the letter to him, she also fed him.

This time, he finally ate a bit more.

Ling Rui’s appetite improved, and Ling Chen’s health also got better.

Without Noble Consort Yi having to say anything, Ling Chen didn’t take Ling Rui out of the palace again. He had nothing urgent outside and only needed to continue recuperating.

The matter of the refugees was handed over to the Ministry of Justice and was still under investigation.

The false accusations against Murong Xu hadn’t been resolved yet, and the key person, Young Master Wang, was still missing. But Murong Xu’s birthday was approaching, so he arranged for Liu Fener to watch the birthday banquet discreetly to see if Young Master Wang or the impostor Murong Xu would appear.

Murong Xu’s birthday banquet wasn’t organized by the Murong family.

Emperor Ling cherished Noble Consort Yi, so he cared deeply for Murong Xu. A few years ago, the Emperor had decreed that the palace would host Murong Xu’s birthday banquet.

With the palace hosting the banquet, many people of status would attend, and the person who deceived Liu Fener might be among them.

There was still some time before the birthday banquet. During this period, Ling Rui stayed in the palace and resumed his studies.

Murong Xu occasionally visited him but not frequently.

He no longer mentioned taking Ling Rui to live at the general’s residence.

In her reply, his elder sister, Murong Xue, explained that the refugees probably disfigured themselves to avoid implicating their relatives, considering the many laws of collective punishment.

After explaining the refugees’ situation, Murong Xue wrote at length about Murong Xu’s matters.

She advised that if no clues were found after thorough investigation, it was better to drop the matter and not waste further energy.

Murong Xue also cautioned against getting too close to the Seventh Prince, advising caution.

Lastly, she wished him to be careful and stay safe.

After receiving the letter, Murong Xu read it for a long time, then fell silent for a long time.

Though intelligent, he was still young and couldn’t match his elder sister’s wisdom.

He could vaguely guess that he was caught in a plot but didn’t know who the mastermind was or if someone was planning a rebellion.

His elder sister advised against pursuing the matter further to prevent him from getting more deeply involved.

Holding the letter from across the mountains and rivers, Murong Xu clutched it for a long time before putting it away.

Then, he cautiously resumed investigating the plot.

Ling Rui, unaware of his uncle’s many concerns, sat in the classroom with a pitiful face, almost crying as he looked at his older brothers and sisters.

“I don’t believe it; today I’ll make sure you understand.”

The Fourth Prince, who usually didn’t pay much attention to Ling Rui, was now rolling up his sleeves, his handsome face twisted in frustration. “I’ll explain it one more time, and you’d better listen carefully!”

After finishing, he pointed at the paper in front of Ling Rui and explained the arithmetic problem again.

When he finished, he asked, “What is ten plus ten?”

Ling Rui counted on his little fingers for a while, then tearfully said, “Ten.”

The Fourth Prince: “…”

The Fourth Prince roared, “How is it ten?! Ten fingers plus ten fingers, how is it still ten?!”

Frightened by his outburst, Ling Rui started crying even harder.

Right in front of the Fourth Prince, he began counting his fingers again. There were ten fingers, and he counted twice, getting two tens.

On the third count, he still ended up with ten fingers.

The Fourth Prince was at his wit’s end.

After staring at the small and pitiful Little Seven for a few seconds, he bypassed Little Seven and grabbed the guilty-looking Ling Fu behind him, spanking him hard.

“It’s all your fault! Who thought it was a good idea to let you teach him?!”

As the most notorious underachiever in the school, Ling Fu covered his butt and ran away to avoid more hits from his fourth brother.

The other princes and princesses watched the Fourth Prince beating the chubby Ling Fu with indifference, even with cold expressions.

The reason was simple: before the Fourth Prince lost his patience, they had all taken turns teaching Little Seven, each to no avail.

Little Seven is very smart; he memorizes things quickly and recognizes characters rapidly, looking like a little prodigy.

But when it comes to arithmetic, he was initially taught by Ling Fu.

Now, no one can correct Little Seven’s arithmetic skills.

Sitting on his chair, Ling Rui watched as his sixth brother got spanked. He raised his hand to wipe his tears and, with a sob in his voice, asked his older brothers and sisters, “Is Little Seven stupid?”

The princes and princesses looked at his tear-streaked face and collectively fell silent for a moment before unanimously replying, “No, you’re not.”

Ling Rui didn’t believe them. He pointed to the arithmetic problem he had just done and said, “Ten plus ten equals ten.”

The Fifth Princess, Ling Ning, was speechless.

Ling Ning looked at his little face, then at the problem, and finally said with difficulty, “Saying it equals ten isn’t entirely wrong.”

As long as Little Seven wouldn’t cry, she would try to prove that ten plus ten equals ten.

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