pertwk Page 367
Page 367
"No matter how dissolute he may be, he is still a prince appointed by the Emperor during his reign, and he is my imperial brother!"
"If I don't want him to die, then he cannot die!"
The emperor, sitting at his desk, flew into a rage and slammed the official gazette he was holding onto the ground!
What a noble prince! He almost died at the hands of demons. It was a disgrace to the royal family if word got out. How could he not be furious!
Wei Zhongxian, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, who was standing beside the Emperor, chuckled softly, "Your Majesty, please calm down. His Highness Prince Xian has always been known for his absurdity. Fortunately, divine lightning struck down and vanquished the demons. It is a stroke of luck amidst misfortune."
“Wise Prince? Hmph!” The emperor seemed to have been touched on a sensitive spot. His expression changed abruptly, and his eyes turned fierce. “Back then, before Father Emperor had even established a crown prince, he couldn’t wait to bestow upon him the title of Wise Prince. Heh, what a fine title of Wise Prince! That was Father Emperor’s title when he was young.”
"This shows Father Emperor's intentions back then. If it weren't for that sudden illness, I don't know what my fate would be now."
Seeing that the emperor was in a bad mood, Wei Zhongxian quickly began to flatter him, "Your Majesty, why bother with the past? Prince Xian is now a useless piece of trash and poses no threat to you whatsoever."
Cao Zhengchun raised an eyebrow, glanced at Wei Zhongxian with the look of someone staring at a dead man, and then immediately lowered his head.
The next second, the emperor stared at Wei Zhongxian and said coldly, "If he is a good-for-nothing, then what am I, his elder brother? And what is our father?"
Seeing the emperor's voice growing increasingly icy, Wei Zhongxian immediately knelt down and said in extreme fear, "This servant misspoke!"
The emperor took a deep breath and instantly regained his usual composure. "Go down and receive fifty strokes of the cane. With your physique, you should be able to withstand it."
"Thank you for your great kindness, Your Majesty!" Wei Zhongxian kowtowed frantically, then silently withdrew from the imperial study and obediently went outside to receive his punishment.
Seeing his disheveled appearance, Cao Zhengchun sneered.
Even if the emperor hates it, it's his own business, how can a servant girl have the right to speak out!
Wei Zhongxian was promoted by Cao Zhengchun, but after he became the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, he ignored Cao Zhengchun and seemed to want to establish his own faction. Cao Zhengchun regarded him as a political enemy.
The more mistakes like today, the better for Wei Zhongxian!
"Cao Zhengchun!"
"The slave is here!"
"What do you think of my younger brother's luck?"
"His Highness is blessed with good fortune, but unfortunately, once he enters the gambling den, things will be a completely different story."
"Hahaha, the money he's lost since he was a kid is enough to open hundreds of gambling dens!"
"Your Majesty should advise Prince Xian."
"Forget it! His lifeblood is eating, drinking, gambling, and whoring; even if Father Emperor came, it wouldn't make a difference!"
At this point, cold sweat was already dripping down Cao Zhengchun's forehead. He dared not continue the conversation and silently prayed that the topic would end there.
However, after a brief silence, the emperor suddenly spoke, and his single sentence made Cao Zhengchun's heart pound.
"Do you think that demon was really killed by a divine lightning strike?"
When Cao Zhengchun came out of the Imperial Study, his back was soaked with sweat. He glanced back at the door with trepidation, then quickly left without looking back.
The entire Imperial Study was like a ferocious beast ready to devour its prey.
Among all the civil and military officials, only he and Wei Zhongxian knew the true nature of the current emperor; even the two marquises most trusted by the emperor were unaware of it.
Therefore, Cao Zhengchun only acts so cautiously when the two of them are alone with each other.
Most people thought that the emperor was weak-willed, easily swayed, and more fickle than a weather vane, supporting one person today and another tomorrow, making the power dynamics in the court as complex as a spider web.
But no one realized that the infighting among so many factions had not affected the emperor's power in the slightest...
Back at the Eastern Depot, Cao Zhengchun was still gripped by fear, the emperor's questions echoing in his ears: all these years, he had actually been in charge of monitoring Chu Yang.
Everyone in the capital knows that His Highness Prince Xian is always absurd, so what's the point of monitoring him?
As time went on, Cao Zhengchun grew tired of wasting his time on him.
Compared to a wise king who couldn't cause any trouble, he had far too many important enemies to deal with.
For example, Yu Huatian of the Western Depot and Zheng Dongliu, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, were his mortal enemies.
Not to mention that when the late emperor was alive, he had a conflict with the Iron-Blooded Marquis of the Dragon Guard Manor, making him an enemy on all sides.
I'm barely making ends meet myself, how can I have time to care about a useless person!
But at this moment, Cao Zhengchun gradually realized that the emperor had been making an example of Wei Zhongxian in the imperial study, and that he himself was the one being warned.
It's all because of the matter of the wise king!
You failed to handle the task I assigned you properly. Today, Wei Zhongxian is the one being punished, but tomorrow, you, Cao Zhengchun, will lose your head!
Thinking of this, Cao Zhengchun broke out in a cold sweat and felt extremely uneasy. He immediately ordered his servants to bring the head of the Eastern Depot.
About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.
Cao Shaoqin, looking travel-worn, walked in from outside, knelt on one knee, clasped his hands in a fist and bowed respectfully to Cao Zhengchun.
Cao Shaoqin's father was Cao Zhengchun's elder brother. During the famine, the Cao family kept the eldest son to carry on the family line and sent the second son to the palace. Unexpectedly, Cao Zhengchun thrived in the palace.
Seeing Cao Zhengchun gain power, the Cao family immediately wanted to curry favor with him. However, Cao Zhengchun was a ruthless man who gave his family a difficult choice: if they wanted to establish a relationship, they had to send the Cao family's only son to the palace to accompany him.
This family were all ruthless. Cao Zhengchun's elder brother and father agreed without hesitation, so Cao Shaoqin entered the palace at a very young age and was trained by Cao Zhengchun, eventually becoming the head of the Eastern Depot.
Cao Zhengchun, without reservation, passed on the complete Tiangang Boy Skill to his nephew.
Cao Shaoqin was exceptionally talented and loved to study swordsmanship. He was extremely ruthless and merciless in his attacks. Combined with the powerful defense of the Heavenly Gang Child Skill, he had no weaknesses in either offense or defense. Among the two factories and one guard, there were very few people who could defeat him.
Ma Jinliang, the head of the West Depot, was also skilled with a sword, and even wielded two swords. The two had a lot of private rivalry, but Cao Shaoqin usually had the upper hand.
"I wonder what business Uncle has with Shaoqin?"
"You are going out on a trip, and you must personally bring His Highness the Prince back to the capital. Remember! I said personally!"
"Uncle, why did the Prince Xian leave the capital for no reason?"
"I heard she was tricked out by the eldest daughter of the Guo family. That brat is always clamoring to roam the martial arts world, but her kung fu isn't even close to her father's toe. If it weren't for her father's sake, I would have killed her!"
"Uncle, please calm down. Our Eastern Depot has already made enemies on all sides. It would be unwise to antagonize Guo Bujing as well."
"Hmph! You don't even need to tell me that. Guo is a smart man. He never makes enemies, and he never shows his emotions. He does whatever the Emperor orders him to do. He's truly impeccable..."
"My uncle once said that honest people are the most terrifying when they get angry."
After giving his orders for a while, Cao Zhengchun was about to wave Cao Shaoqin away when a thought suddenly flashed through his mind, and he asked, "Do you think that after all these years, His Highness Prince Xian might have hidden something?"
Cao Shaoqin paused for a moment, then shook his head decisively and said, "I have seen His Highness Prince Xian practice his skills. To be honest, he has absolutely no talent. In addition, His Highness is naturally lazy and only practices for a few days a month at most. It is already a miracle that he has even mastered the basics of the Surging Waves Palm."
Hearing this, Cao Zhengchun finally felt relieved, and his tense demeanor eased. His tone became more casual, "Then hurry up and go. Remember, no matter who tries to stop you, only the Eastern Depot can bring the Prince Xian back to the capital!"
"Nephew understands!" Cao Shaoqin bowed and turned to leave, his cloak fluttering in the wind.
When the Eastern Depot made its move, its arch-rival, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, followed suit. Naturally, their actions could not be kept secret from the Western Depot, which was responsible for overseeing them.
Suddenly, the small capital city became bustling with unpredictable events.
Beizhen Fusi.
A plaque with the inscription "Justice resides in the hearts of the people" hangs in the center of the lobby.
Zheng Dongliu stood with his hands behind his back, gazing intently at the plaque, when a commander entered from outside.
"Commander, Cao Shaoqin and Ma Jinliang have already left the capital. Should we send people over as well?"
"Let Commander Zuo go watch the show."
"This subordinate will go and inform Commander Zuo immediately."
"Wait! Tell Li Gexiao too."
"My lord... Brother Li is no longer a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. It's not appropriate to do this."
"Whether Li Gexiao is a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard or not is up to me!"
Amid Zheng Dongliu's furious roar, the unfortunate commander fled as fast as he could, as if his backside was on fire.
Qixia Town.
Chu Yang slept for a whole day and didn't come out of the back room until almost evening.
A familiar shout came from the lobby.
"It's one thing to act recklessly all the time, but this time you almost got someone killed!"
"Let me tell you, if you are killed by demons, you deserve to die, but don't implicate other innocent people!"
Harsh words pierced Guo Furong's heart like a sharp sword.
She thought her father would comfort her, but instead she only heard ridicule and mockery.
Guo Furong knelt on the ground and wept softly, while the people around her dared not utter a word.
Guo Bujing was so angry because Guo Furong had dragged Chu Yang into this. If the Prince Xian died in Qixia Town, it wouldn't be an exaggeration for the entire Guo family to be executed.
The only thing that made Guo Bujing feel gratified was that Guo Furong was willing to sacrifice herself to save others at the last moment, at least she didn't embarrass him.
And Chu Yang...
He had always looked down on this ignorant and incompetent prince, but after hearing what happened last night, he couldn't help but feel shocked.
Just as Guo Bujing was about to teach Guo Furong a lesson, Chu Yang was already standing in the hall, looking at him with a smile.
Guo Bujing was about to bow when he saw Chu Yang shake his head slightly, so he immediately changed his actions.
Only the experienced Bai Zhantang noticed this scene and was immediately shocked!