Chapter 51
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During the Cold Dew season, at noon in the dining hall, Zhao Yuan was calmly picking pebbles out of his rice.
“Dong, dong, dong…”
The clanging sound was like a lost soul, and the bells of the temples and monasteries nearby rang out continuously, echoing through the sky as if it was the only sound left in the world.
After everyone was shocked, they suddenly realized what had happened. Guo, the Chief Sacrificial Official, stumbled in quickly and stood in front of the hall, hoarsely saying, “The Emperor has passed away and ascended to heaven. His will is for Qin Wang to inherit the throne. During the mourning period, classes will be suspended in the Pan Palace and all matters will be discussed after one hundred days.”
Qin Wang Shizi was the first to rush out of the room.
Guo Shen had no intention of scolding him and turned around to head towards the Dacheng Hall. Most of the students followed him, spontaneously heading towards the main hall to offer incense and pay their respects.
Zhao Yuan was the last to leave. The mourning bells had already rung, and although he had long anticipated that the alliance between Dian Nan and Qin Wang would leave Li Yi with no chance of winning, he was not as calm as he had thought when it finally came to an end. If he hadn’t forced himself to kneel in the hall, he might have disregarded everything and gone to see Li Yi.
Thinking of Li Yi’s situation, his chest suddenly began to ache uncontrollably, and large drops of sweat rolled down his forehead. He struggled to stand up and avoid the crowd, and it wasn’t until after a half-night of agony in his sleeping quarters that he began to feel a little better.
Zhao Xi hurriedly sent for a physician, but even the doctor couldn’t make sense of what was happening. He only suggested that it might be a strange illness and feared that it was the root left by the previous epidemic that had now flared up again.
Zhao Yuan couldn’t stand the quack doctor’s nonsense, but he also knew that his body was in a bit of trouble. However, he didn’t have the time to worry about it now.
Since Qin Wang had ascended the throne, what would he do with Li Yi?
One hundred days later, Pan Palace reopened, and Zhao Yuan saw Li Yi again. He was no longer the Crown Grandson but only Yin Wang.
Li Di, Qin Wang Shizi, was appointed as Lu Wang and was known for his kindness and humility.
Looking at the four characters “kindness and humility” recorded in the news, Zhao Yuan almost laughed out loud. These words were probably taken from the edict that was issued when Li Yi was appointed as a prince back then.
Since Li Yi was no longer the Crown Grandson, he was no longer taught by the great Confucian scholars in the palace. From the day Pan Palace reopened, he was placed under the same education system as the other royal princes and their descendants.
On the day Li Di received his title as Lu Wang, he went to Pan Palace to request Bai Yucong.
Not to mention that Li Yi despised his shameless behavior, even Zhao Yuan did not want to give in to his request. He stood outside the stable washing and grooming Bai Yucong, while the horse played with him. Li Yi stood nearby, laughing and hiding from the water. Both of them and the horse were oblivious to the messengers sent by Li Di to retrieve the horse.
These servants who were sent over saw that their Old master had ascended the throne and their own master had become a prince, so they became arrogant and thought they could teach the Shizi a lesson if he didn’t give them face.
These servants all rolled up their sleeves, thinking they could easily handle this young man with their limited martial arts skills. But to their surprise, after just two or three exchanges, Zhao Yuan had knocked them down and they were left looking for their teeth all over the ground.
Li Yi had been a little worried when he saw Zhao Yuan being surrounded and attacked by a group of big men, but now he couldn’t help laughing and clapping his hands on the side, saying, “How can Lu Wang be praised by the Emperor as ‘kindness and humility’ and yet resort to such bullying tactics? A gentleman does not rob others of their glory. It must be you little people who flatter and kowtow to curry favor.”
Zhao Yuan easily defeated the last one and looked at Li Yi in surprise. He had never thought that this gentle-looking man could be so sharp-tongued.
The morning light fell on Li Yi, sweeping away the haze on his face in recent days, and his appearance was as bright and shining as ever, which was the Li Yi that Zhao Yuan recognized.
But unfortunately, Li Di had no idea what “kindness and humility” meant since childhood, and he didn’t appreciate Li Yi’s flattering words.
The next day, His Highness Lu Wang led his men to the stable to kill again. Li Yi only saw the brocade clothes swaying in the distance. Li Di hadn’t even been made Crown Prince yet, but he dared to swagger around with the imperial guards… Suddenly, Li Yi understood why Qin Wang ascended to the throne but only made him Lu Wang.
The imperial guards were not like the ordinary servants who came to the stable yesterday. Zhao Yuan did not resist and was pressed down on a long bench.
Li Di sat down proudly with the eunuchs serving him, sneered at Zhao Yuan and said coldly, “I am a kind and generous person. The number of times you have offended me in the past is enough to strip you of your title as heir. But now, I will teach you a lesson so that you will never dare to offend me again.”
Zhao Yuan looked at Li Di as if he were looking at an idiot. Dian Nan Wang had just helped Qin Wang cross the river, and the new emperor’s position had not yet stabilized, but his beloved son was about to demolish the bridge.
It was all because Li Di was too stupid to understand his father’s intentions and didn’t disclose any of the confidential information to him.
Li Di saw that his threats did not make Zhao Yuan show any fear, but instead look at him disdainfully. The offended Lu Wang couldn’t wait any longer and stood up, pointing and shouting, “Hit him! Without my orders, no one is allowed to stop!” Such an order meant that they should beat him until he was disabled, even in the palace.
Li Yi was originally just going to give Li Di a reprimand as per his words, but somehow Li Di was provoked by Zhao Yuan, and now he was completely determined to beat him to death.
Seeing the imperial guards hitting Zhao Yuan one after another, Zhao Yuan endured silently as if his body was not made of flesh and blood.
He could withstand it, but Li Yi couldn’t. “Your Highness, please calm down,” Li Yi quickly stepped forward, bowing deeply with his head lowered respectfully, “If the Shizi has made a mistake, Guo Jijiu will punish him. Please Your Highness, withdraw the order.”
This was still in Pan Palace. Even if your title is higher than a Shizi now, everyone is still young and should not cross the line of private punishment.
Li Di was obviously very pleased with Li Yi’s attitude. He thought “even you now have a day of asking me for something’, but he just shook his head expressionlessly.
Seeing that Li Di had no intention of stopping, blood was already on the boards. The cracking sound was endless. Li Yi’s figure was even faster than his thoughts, and he directly pounced on Zhao Yuan.
The imperial guards immediately stopped hitting Zhao Yuan and looked at Li Di.
Li Di had already jumped up. No one cared about him. They thought that he was a fake prince.
“Who dares to stop, that is his own mistake! Hit him together!” Li Di shouted.
The imperial guards hesitated. The one being hit was the Crown Grandson they had protected for more than ten years. He was still the prince. How could they hit him?
Li Di became furious and scolded the eunuchs around him, “Whoever does not obey my command, I will hold them responsible! If anyone does not hit him, I will chop off their hands and throw them out of the imperial guards!”
With such harsh words, even old relationships could not outweigh the threats of the new emperor’s legitimate son. Li Yi immediately groaned after being hit by a board.
Seeing someone take the lead in using force, it was obvious what would happen next. Those boards were falling densely, and Li Yi closed his eyes and waited. Suddenly, he was pulled to the side.
When he opened his eyes to look, Zhao Yuan had risen and broke several boards flying towards him with his bare hands, and he stood in front of Li Yi like a fierce god.
“It has nothing to do with Your Highness, whoever wants to hurt him, they will have to get past me first!”
“Rebelled, rebelled! Take them all down for me! Do you want to wait until these two traitors laid their hands on me before you act?!”
Zhao Yuan picked up the broken plank and held it tightly, shielding Li Yi behind him.
As the situation spiraled out of control, Li Yi showed his heroic side and laughed loudly, ignoring the people around him as he whispered to Zhao Yuan, “Staying with me? Don’t you regret it?”
Zhao Yuan’s heart was stirred by his words, and he had just experienced the feeling of someone willing to risk their life to protect him. He chuckled and replied, “I am willing.”
In reality, he was in great pain, feeling like he was burning up from within, and he wished to vent his anger with a bloody massacre.
Li Yi also revealed a dagger from his chest. He had been granted permission to carry a weapon by Emperor Guanghua since he was ten years old, except when he was in the presence of the Emperor.
The members of the Imperial Guards saw the two men’s posture and knew they would not surrender without a fight, so they rushed up without hesitation.
Zhao Yuan was barely able to hold his ground against five opponents. Li Yi knew only a few defensive techniques and would not last long if he really fought. But he had a weapon in hand and did not care about his own life, counting on the Imperial Guards’ unwillingness to harm him. However, his skills were not good enough to make this plan work.
The guards wanted to capture Zhao Yuan first and did not fear that Li Yi would not surrender so the men focused their efforts on the Shizi.
Li Yi saw that this was not a viable strategy and shouted, “Don’t mind me, to capture a thief, capture the ringleader first!”
Zhao Yuan understood his intentions from the start, but had been trying to protect Li Yi. Now that things had escalated to the point of no return, his decisive and ruthless side emerged.
Although the others heard Li Yi’s cry for the Shizi, they were still wary and cautious. But Zhao Yuan suddenly revealed his true skills, dodged and attacked, snatched a weapon from one of the guards, and then launched a surprise attack on Li Di.
Li Di had never seen such a fierce Shizi, who cut down several people in his way and charged at him. He panicked and retreated, but soon stumbled and fell to the ground.
When Zhao Yuan caught up to Li Di, Li Yi had already fallen into the hands of the Imperial Guards.
They had anticipated this situation early on and remained calm.
Zhao Yuan stepped on Li Di’s right hand, raising the blade to reach his neck.
Lu Wang desperately tried to avoid it, but was unable to do so due to Zhao Yuan’s hold on his hand, causing him to cry out in pain. Seeing the gleaming blade before him, he wanted to ask for help, but the others were afraid that Zhao Yuan would really hurt him and didn’t dare to approach.
Li Di saw that there was no help, and became anxious and scared, crying and sobbing.
Zhao Yuan smirked and looked over at Li Yi, raising his eyebrows and pointing at Li Di’s pitiful appearance, asking, “What do you think?”
Li Yi was amused by him and laughed as if he was watching a show.
The two young men were surrounded by imperial guards, court officials, and attendants, yet they were unharmed.
Li Yi only regretted that his hands were tied and he couldn’t applaud. “Well done! We’ve just about broken even.”
Just as Zhao Yuan was about to force Li Di to release Li Yi, Lu Wang felt the cold blade against his face, causing him to shiver in fear. He was afraid that Zhao Yuan would really harm him, and if he were disfigured, he would have no more relationship with the emperor.
Fighting and capturing was one thing, but if any noble saw blood, it would be another matter entirely.
Everyone gradually closed in on Zhao Yuan, shrinking the circle around him, and the atmosphere became tense.
Finally, Guo Jijiu arrived with a large group of academy officials.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Li Yi and Zhao Yuan looked at each other and received a sense of calm from each other’s eyes. The key to resolving this crisis had finally arrived.
Author’s note: Zhao Yuan: Huan An, am I handsome or not?
Li Yi (with starry eyes), tiptoed closer, but didn’t say anything…
Zhao Yuan suddenly felt something soft on his lips and was petrified.
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