Chapter 102
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“This kid really doesn’t know what’s good and bad for him,” the goatee man muttered. He didn’t want the uncooked duck to fly away. Turning to the leader, he said, “Let’s tie him up and take him back to the capital. Otherwise, who knows how much trouble we might encounter on this journey!”
The leader sensed that this wealthy boy came from a family of scholars and couldn’t bear to keep ill-gotten gains. Even if he decided to return the stolen property, the boy probably wouldn’t want to travel back to the capital with his brothers now.
This little guy shouldn’t be allowed to throw a tantrum anymore.
At the leader’s nod, the three brothers immediately brandished their clubs and surrounded the boy.
The man behind the Seventh Prince made the first move. The wooden stick aimed for the Seventh Prince’s back, but he effortlessly dodged the attack, using his heel to step on the attacker’s left foot.
The man couldn’t lift his left foot, and his body couldn’t come to a stop. He toppled forward, crashing onto the handle of a cargo cart, instantly blacking out.
The two on the right, witnessing this, swiftly rushed forward. One of them swung a club at the Seventh Prince’s face, resulting in a muffled “bang” as the stick landed on the head of the fallen brother from earlier. The Seventh Prince had lifted him by the back of his neck, inadvertently shielding him from the blows, causing him to lose consciousness completely.
The Seventh Prince kicked the unconscious man towards the approaching duo. They reached out to catch him, but received nothing but air. Seizing the opportunity, the Seventh Prince circled around and knocked them to the ground.
“Impressive!” Old Xu in the tree couldn’t help but applaud in a low voice.
The leader and Liu Sanhu were left dumbfounded. They hadn’t expected the boy to possess such skills, effortlessly defeating their three brothers barehanded.
The two individuals kicked down struggled to stand, no longer daring to rashly strike. They took a few steps back, awaiting the leader’s command before launching a simultaneous attack!
Astonishingly, the boy accurately anticipated the blind spots in the their attack. Effortlessly, he dodged and counterattacked.
In the blink of an eye, all five men were knocked to the ground.
Old Xu observed the boy standing alone under the tree, expressing his admiration, “Though his moves lack a specific pattern, it seems like he’s applying your Tai Chi Mental Cultivation Technique, Old Qiu. Do you know this kid?”
The Sword Saint remained silent.
Old Xu turned to him. “What’s wrong?”
The Sword Saint gazed at the boy under the tree and whispered, “It seems like he’s waiting for someone.”
In the next moment, the boy slowly turned his head and looked up, astonishingly directing his gaze toward their hiding spot!
“If you want to fight, come down.” Lu Qian stared expressionlessly at the two in the tree. “Your grandpa is in a hurry.”
“He’s spotted us.” Old Xu looked at the Sword Saint. “Doesn’t it seem like his perception is even stronger than yours? Did you teach him your techniques?”
The Sword Saint immediately adjusted his collar and ran his fingers through his hair.
The old man appeared quite serious. He only bothered about his appearance when trying to project a masterly demeanor.
Old Xu issued a warning, “This kid is discovered by me first! You can’t snatch my disciple!”
“He used my Tai Chi Mental Cultivation Technique,” the Sword Saint boasted, turning to Old Xu with a smirk, “It seems he already has a chosen mentor in his heart. Can’t force it, you—” He waved his hand at Old Xu, signaling him to gracefully leave and avoid embarrassment.
Thus, Lu Qian witnessed two old men gripping each other’s hair and ears, falling from the tree in a comical race to reach him.
“Let him decide for himself!” Old Xu, still holding the Sword Saint’s hair, stubbornly clung to his authority.
The Sword Saint, forced to lower his head, grumbled, “You let go first.”
“Count to three, and we both release!”
The two old men finally ceased their scuffle, resuming their lofty postures, then turned their attention to the boy—
But the boy had already led the horse-drawn carriage away.
“Hey! Stop!” Old Xu hurriedly caught up. “What’s with this attitude? Do you know who we are?”
Lu Qian didn’t spare him a glance.
This old man was just too talkative. Lu Qian was not good at communicating, especially with excessively verbose individuals. Now, there was another unfamiliar old man to contend with.
It felt like being surrounded by a hundred foes. His Highness was tense, eager to escape.
“If we don’t show some skill, this kid won’t take us two old guys seriously.” Old Xu briskly approached the youth, blocking his way, tapping the ground twice with his cane.
Lu Qian felt a slight vibration under his feet, a bit numb but unsure of the profound inner strength it implied. Nevertheless, he maintained an expressionless gaze on Old Xu.
Old Xu speculated that this kid hadn’t learned any serious martial arts. He raised his cane, pointing towards a small tree beside them, signaling the youth to pay attention.
Lu Qian glanced at the tree, finding nothing unusual.
Suddenly, Old Xu lifted his cane, thrusting a palm forward with a loud bang. The tree split in half from the middle, resembling broken and twisted noodles!
The cane whirled back into the old man’s hand. He turned around, arrogantly looking at the youth. “How about that?”
“What does the big grandpa wants?” Lu Qian instantly surrendered.
Old Xu chuckled. “I just want to ask about your intentions.”
Lu Qian eyed him cautiously. “What?”
Old Xu tapped the ground with his cane. “Do you want to learn martial arts from me?”
The Sword Saint rushed over, seizing the opportunity to intervene, “First, tell us what martial arts you want to learn. Do you prefer the elegant longsword, or the beggar’s wooden staff?”
This description of the options could be considered quite biased.
Lu Qian wasn’t swayed by the multiple-choice question. He countered the two old men, “Who are you people?”
The two old men exchanged a smile. Old Xu replied, “We’re wanderers of the martial world.”
Lu Qian: “Why do you live in a borderland outside the tribal settlements?”
The Sword Saint raised an eyebrow. “To escape the mundane world.”
Lu Qian couldn’t comprehend why ordinary people would abandon the bustling capital for such an isolated place.
Usually, only fugitives sought to escape the world. So, His Highness cautiously asked the two old men, “Have you committed any crimes?”
The Sword Saint laughed. “Sort of. People like us often run afoul of the law, enjoying freedom on the border.”
“And you?” Old Xu asked the youth, “Why, at such a young age, have you become a wanderer here?”
Faced with two self-proclaimed lawbreakers of the martial world, His Highness felt a bit uneasy.
A man typically couldn’t afford to lose his presence in such a situation. Therefore, Lu Qian narrowed his eyes, adopting a threatening demeanor. “Your grandpa is a wanted criminal.”
The old men were taken aback. “A wanted criminal? What did you do?”
Faced with this crucial question, Lu Qian believed he had to proclaim a fearsome crime to showcase his ferocity. So—
“Massacre.”
Lu Qian, with a cold and ruthless demeanor, played the role of a homicidal maniac. “And you? What crimes have you committed?”
Both old men were dumbfounded.
Old Xu weakly responded, “We… we avoided conscription.”
“And didn’t pay land taxes,” the Sword Saint, not well-versed in royal laws, came up with another charge to save face.
Lu Qian: “……”
A moment of awkward silence ensued.
Evading conscription justified fleeing to the borderlands? And randomly chopping down trees?
If His Highness weren’t caught off guard, he would never have misjudged the pace of boasting.
His Highness, playing the role of a murderous maniac, angrily pulled the cart and left!
•••
The appearance of the Crown Prince disrupted everyone’s plans.
No one in the military camp knew about the Crown Prince’s secret return to the palace.
Having learned the situation from Xue Yao, the Crown Prince, to stabilize the overall situation, claimed he and the Fifth Prince had planned a coordinated attack on the remnants of the Khitan forces — one overt, one covert. He was captured by the Khitans but managed to escape during their chaotic retreat last night.
As expected by the Crown Prince, the Northwestern Governor-General immediately distanced himself from the Tong family.
The Crown Prince’s faction represented legitimacy. As long as he was alive, the Third Prince had no chance to contend for the throne.
The Northwestern Governor-General shifted his allegiance, leaving Tong Ningzhao isolated and hesitant to make any rash moves.
The Crown Prince first went to the tent to visit Father Emperor.
After scrutinizing for a while, he recognized the frail figure on the bed as his own Father Emperor. The Crown Prince was overwhelmed with grief.
Hearing from the imperial physician that the Emperor had been in a deep sleep and was unlikely to recover in the harsh conditions of the military camp, the Crown Prince swiftly ordered the Emperor’s safe return to the capital.
The Third Prince objected, stating that Father Emperor’s condition was severe and couldn’t endure the jostling of the journey.
Leaving the Emperor in the military camp meant awaiting death. As the physician stated, the Emperor’s injuries weren’t severe. He had been poisoned by a Khitan arrow. There was a slim chance of recovery if transported back to the capital, but the journey might also be fatal. Only the Crown Prince dared to take on such responsibility.
After commanding the Northwest Governor-General to lead troops in escorting the Emperor, the Crown Prince instructed Tong Ningzhao to withdraw his forces back to Guangdong. Only the Forbidden Army would remain in the war zone, facing off against the Khitan remnants.
However, the Third Prince refused to surrender the military seal, insisting that Father Emperor had not given the order to withdraw, and retreating would be seen as desertion.
The Crown Prince knew that staying on the border was futile. Exchanging hostages was no longer an option as the whereabouts of the Khitan Prince were unknown.
The Third Prince claimed that Seventh Brother fled in the heat of battle, releasing the hostage and causing chaos in the camp.
In reality, the Khitan Prince wasn’t released by the Seventh Prince.
The incident occurred three nights ago.
The Third Prince planned to kill the Khitan Prince, leak the information, and force the Khitans to kill the Fifth Prince and the Crown Prince to eliminate future threats.
The Fourth Prince openly supported the Third Prince’s plot but struggled with sleep after returning to his tent.
Before dawn, the Khitan Prince would face execution. The Fourth Prince couldn’t shake the images of his Eldest Brother and Fifth Brother being beheaded and abused by the Khitans.
Consort Xi’s previous plea to the Emperor secured Noble Lady Yi’s inclusion in the imperial procession. Hence, the Fourth Prince and his mother spent the past decade with dignity in the palace. There was no need to curry favor with the Third Prince desperately, and his relationships with a few brothers were tolerable.
Although Eldest Brother never showed favoritism to the Fourth Prince in front of the Empress, privately, their relationship wasn’t bad. Even six years ago, when discussing the enfeoffment, it was Eldest Brother who privately mentioned it to Father Emperor. Otherwise, when Old Seventh became Prince Ning, the Fourth Prince might not have received a title.
Thinking of his Eldest Brother’s usual care, the Fourth Prince sneaked out in the dead of night, heading to a secret camp, where he released the Khitan Prince.
While releasing the captive, the Fourth Prince demanded the return of the Crown Prince and the Fifth Prince. The Khitan Prince swore to the heavens in his halting Chinese that he would fulfill this request.
The Fourth Prince had no choice but to trust. Otherwise, when daylight arrived, if the Third Prince killed the Khitan Prince, the Eldest Prince and the Fifth Prince would be doomed.
However, three days after the Khitan Prince left, there was still no sign of the Fifth Prince, but the Crown Prince returned.
With no hostage to exchange, the Fifth Prince couldn’t be retrieved. The garrison couldn’t withdraw entirely.
The Crown Prince insisted on leaving only the Forbidden Army, having the Northwest Army escort Father Emperor back to the capital for treatment without delay.
The Third Prince adamantly refused, and in their argument, he uttered the words from his heart, “Eldest Brother, you are no longer the Crown Prince.”
The brothers continued their heated dispute in the Emperor’s large tent, miraculously waking the Emperor.
Upon hearing the Emperor cough, everyone froze. It wasn’t until the second cough that they turned to face the Emperor.
The Crown Prince hurried to the bedside. “Father Emperor!”
The Emperor was drastically different from his last lucid moment, with sunken cheeks, parched and purple lips, poisoned throughout his organs.
His eyes, covered in a layer of ash-like film, gazed steadily at the Crown Prince for a long time before slowly murmuring, “Jinan has returned… good, good.”
“Father Emperor… This son deserves a thousand deaths…” The Crown Prince felt immense guilt, unable to express it at this moment. He could only hold back tears, gripping Father Emperor’s hand, kneeling without rising.
The Emperor’s response was extremely sluggish, taking a long while before weakly acknowledging, “I am guilty.”
The Crown Prince looked at Father Emperor, and those around assumed the Emperor was about to entrust final matters.
The Emperor gazed into the void, murmuring as if in a trance, “I thought there was plenty of time to slowly make amends… Jinan…”
The Emperor’s hazy gaze returned to the Crown Prince’s face.
“I am here!” The Crown Prince leaned in.
The Emperor numbly stared at his eldest son for a while, as if trying to see another person’s shadow on his son’s face.
“Show me your smile. In my dreams, I always see your Mother Empress crying. It’s been a long time since I saw your Mother Empress smile at me.”
The Crown Prince hesitated for a moment, then forced out a smile worse than crying, comforting Father Emperor, “Mother Empress misses Father Emperor. Today, I will escort Father Emperor back to the palace.”
The Emperor seemed not to hear what he said, muttering in a daze, “Back when she gave birth to you, she wasn’t this cold. At that time, I promised her: the empire first, you and your mother second. Later, I broke that promise. I knew she held grievances, so I let her vent on the concubines.”
“Father Emperor has been exceptionally kind to Mother Empress and this son!” The Crown Prince, burdened by childhood grievances against Father Emperor, believed Father Emperor must know.
The Emperor calmly said, “I treated Consort Xi and Old Seventh the best. Your Mother Empress knows.”
The Crown Prince found an excuse for Father Emperor, “Seventh Brother is clever and amiable, worthy of Father Emperor’s favor.”
“You don’t blame me?”
The Crown Prince vigorously shook his head.
The Emperor smiled. “Old Seventh is the child I like the most.”
The Crown Prince immediately nodded in agreement.
The Emperor, with an unprecedented seriousness, looked at him and told the Crown Prince word by word, “You are the child who makes me the proudest.”
The Crown Prince, holding back tears, finally couldn’t contain it anymore. “Father Emperor!”
“You are too loyal, which is a virtue but also the weakness of an emperor. It makes you easily understood and manipulated by court officials. Jinan, being a virtuous minister suits you better than being a wise ruler.” The Emperor looked at him. “It’s better to be known for loyalty than wisdom.”
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