Chapter 55 (This last part is a separate, unrelated sentence and can be omitted.)

Sugan's previous thin appearance was indeed due to the long journey. After staying at the Prince's Mansion for a while, she visibly gained weight and grew taller.

Seventeen looked on with envy. He had grown taller than last year, but he was still not as tall as Sugan.

Sugan is seventeen this year, the same age as him. The two of them are always chattering together, making the palace quite lively.

Mingyue, sword in hand, leaned against the wall in the distance, watching the two noisy teenagers on the grass in front of her, her eyes filled with a myriad of thoughts.

Long Zhaoming walked up from behind, fanning himself, and said in a low voice, "Little Seventeen seems to have become much more lively."

Mingyue gave a faint "hmm," and Long Zhaoming leaned forward with a cheeky grin, saying, "People of the same age have a lot to talk about. Oh dear, I wonder what will happen between Seventeen and you... Hey hey hey hey don't kick me!"

Long Zhaoming fled in a sorry state. Seventeen was attracted by the commotion and turned around to look, where he met Mingyue's gaze.

When their eyes met, Mingyue's direct and naked gaze made Seventeen feel itchy all over, a tingling sensation running from the top of her head to her tailbone.

Yue-ge has almost never hidden his feelings for her... Seventeen thought to himself, and casually blocked the hand chop that Sugan was about to strike.

Although Seventeen's kung fu wasn't considered very good, he was only ranked in the Dark Guard Camp. If he went outside, there wouldn't be many people who could match his skills.

He didn't know how to face Yue Ge's overwhelming affection. The other party made almost no attempt to hide it, whether in their daily interactions or in other aspects, she was blatantly telling Seventeen.

But his identity was special. What did it mean to be a secret guard following His Majesty? They were shadows who could never see the light of day. Even if they pushed him out, it was only for the sake of the plan.

When the plan is over, he will still stand behind that person.

People like them live a life of constant danger, and one day an order could send them to the wilderness to die. They'd be lucky to even get a proper burial.

Seventeen sighed softly, and only when he looked at the spear pressed against his face did he finally come to his senses.

"what's on your mind?"

Suga Kanichi stared intently at Seventeen, who was clearly distracted. Despite his distraction, he still managed to parry Suga's attack.

With his spear standing upright on the ground, Sugan had completely changed from his dirty and disheveled appearance when he first arrived. He now exuded a dignified and imposing air, and he was sure to grow into a dashing young man in the future.

"nothing."

Seventeen shook his head, put the sword back in its sheath, glanced at the sky just beginning to darken, and said, "That's enough for today, let's go back and have dinner."

Sugan nodded and followed in his footsteps, her golden eyes fixed on the back of the person in front of her, as if she wanted to etch it into her mind so that she would never forget it for all eternity.

Mingyue watched them practice for as long as they did so. He himself had feelings for Seventeen, so he could naturally see Sugan's feelings for him as well.

However, this kid is still young and can't quite distinguish his own thoughts.

However, this made Mingyue extremely jealous.

The three returned to the Prince's residence, where the Prince's uncle greeted them with a smile and took their outer robes from them, saying in a gentle voice, "His Highness is already waiting at the flower pavilion. Please go directly there after you return."

Seventeen thanked him and waved to Uncle Wang with a smile. Mingyue looked down at him from the side, her expression relaxed and happy.

The four sat in a flower pavilion surrounded by sheer curtains. The pavilion truly lived up to its name, as it was filled with various flowers, many of which were already in full bloom and vying for attention as summer approached.

Long Zhaoming was engrossed in reading a storybook when he heard footsteps. He shoved the book under the stool and chuckled, "You're back?"

Seventeen suddenly realized that she and Mingyue were not sent to protect His Highness at all, but rather to enjoy themselves.

Looking back at the bright moon, the other party seemed perfectly justified.

The four of them ate and chatted, and before they knew it, it was getting dark.

Sugan and her seventeen-year-old sister were tired after a long day. After dinner, they started to feel sleepy, burping, and their two little heads were almost touching.

Seeing Mingyue's gloomy expression, Long Zhaoming quickly called out to his servants, "Little Seventeen, if you are tired, you should go and rest early. Mingyue, don't leave, stay and have a few drinks with me."

Mingyue glanced at him without saying anything, which was obviously an admission.

Seventeen stood up, yawned again, and dragged the drowsy Sugan back.

The two young men walked hand in hand, their backs looking exceptionally harmonious. Mingyue gazed at her reflection in the cup, lost in thought.

"Brother, come on?"

Long Zhaoming raised an eyebrow, took out a jar of wine from the side, and introduced it to him with a happy expression: "This is a jar of fine wine, hard to buy even if you have money!"

The moon remained silent, letting him pour clear wine into his cup. The rich, sweet aroma instantly filled his nostrils; it was indeed a fine wine.

"Any movement over there today?"

Mingyue took a sip; it was spicy yet left a lingering fragrance on her lips and teeth. She wondered if she could bring some back to Yejing.

"Yes, they are not behaving themselves. It must be because the Xie family is pressuring them, so they have to speed things up."

Long Zhaoming smiled, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.

The Xie family has soldiers but no bloodline, while the Zhou family has bloodline but few soldiers.

He couldn't help but wonder what the Zhou family would do.

The previous incident involving Consort Ling and the Wei family had already severely damaged his strength, and now, Long Zhaoming has come to his senses.

“I didn’t understand before. Since they were trying to win me over and put me on the throne, why didn’t they want me to be a puppet? It was like… motivating me.”

Speaking of the past, Long Zhaoming looked puzzled: "Whether it's old stories from the previous dynasty or folk tales, they all say that if you want to rebel, you need a puppet emperor so that you can secretly hold power behind the scenes. Now I understand."

His brows and eyes relaxed, and if Seventeen were still alive, he would have noticed that Long Zhaoming at this moment looked exactly like his elder brother.

“What they want is not a puppet emperor, but a wise ruler, but what they want is a wise ruler who can tolerate powerful families.”

The Zhou, Wei, Xie, and Chen families are all prominent clans in Yejing. Throughout history, they have produced countless important officials. It is no exaggeration to say that the world is divided equally between these four families and the Long family.

But the current emperor is not pleased.

The powerful families had far-reaching influence, almost to the point that ordinary people couldn't even lift their heads.

Most officials in the capital came from these four families. If they encountered someone brave and resourceful, it would be quite pleasant. However, if they encountered someone like the Wei family, it would be quite troublesome.

Therefore, the first thing Emperor Jing did after ascending the throne was to ruthlessly eliminate a bunch of corrupt officials from powerful families and quickly promote his own group of young officials in the capital.

But as long as the ties of powerful families remain, there is no peace.

Emperor Jing then devised a plan: if the powerful clans were unbreakable, then let them be defeated from within.

It would be difficult for him to deal with the four major families on his own, but dealing with them one by one would be time-consuming and laborious, and the Great Jing would not only face internal troubles but also external threats.

This kind of thing is absolutely not allowed to happen, so they simply took a risky step.

If the Wei family is targeted first, other powerful families will definitely find a way to retaliate if they are unwilling. What methods might they come up with?

It's nothing more than changing the ruler.

The Zhou family chose Long Zhaoming, a carefree prince from Jiangnan whose relationship with the current emperor was sometimes good and sometimes bad. They were somewhat unsure of his intentions and initially only tested him.

They tentatively discovered that this prince seemed to have ambitions as well, and their own thoughts began to stir.

The Zhou family is not actually suited to power; what they want is stability. If Long Zhaoming can ascend the throne and the Zhou family assists him, the Zhou family will surely have unlimited glory in the future!

However, Long Zhaoming was too lazy, and the Zhou family hesitated, unsure whether they should trust this prince who smiled like a fox.

At this time, Emperor Jing gave them another push by putting the secret guards in the open, which was almost a declaration of war against the aristocratic families!

The current emperor dislikes aristocratic families and has his own power base; if the secret guards were to gain power...

Just as they were planning to proceed steadily with the next step of their plan, Emperor Jing suddenly fell seriously ill. Although no news of his illness had been sent out, they could not believe that such a strong and decisive man could be brought down by a simple illness. It could only mean that something was amiss in the palace.

Therefore, the Zhou family also took a risky step, taking the initiative to extend an olive branch to Seventeen, or rather, to coerce and entice him.

In their eyes, Seventeen was just a young boy, and having heard that Emperor Jing trained his secret guards to be strict and cruel, he might already have a slight rebellious intention. They only needed to provoke him a little, and with the prince behind him, they could easily bring him under their command by intimidating him. At that time, they would have both open power and hidden arrows, so why not?

Long Zhaoming waved his fan. It was getting hot, and his elder brother no longer stopped him from waving his fan. He was in a good mood.

"The news has come back. The Zhou family can't hold back any longer. The Xie family hasn't come to the capital yet. The Zhou family has the upper hand for now and may soon storm the palace."

Mingyue's expression darkened slightly. Looking at the full moon in the sky, she suddenly felt a sense of disorientation; it was the fifteenth of January again.

"Brother, if you want to return soon, you need to prepare quickly. The Xie family is pressing you relentlessly, and the two sides have reached a point of irreconcilable conflict."

Mingyue remained silent for a while, then slowly said, "Be careful lately."

Long Zhaoming: ?

Then it dawned on him: "The Xie family would target me?"

"Be careful. We'll leave Seventeen to you. He and Xiao Mowen can protect you."

Mingyue took another sip of wine; it was somewhat spicy, but left a sweet aftertaste.

He has a high alcohol tolerance, one could say he can drink a thousand cups without getting drunk, but tonight, looking at this full moon, he seems somewhat intoxicated.

"Don't worry, the Zhou family has been testing me recently. Once the Xie family has cornered them, they will definitely attack Yejing while simultaneously ordering me to return to the capital as soon as possible."

Long Zhaoming stroked his chin, thinking that if the Zhou family had seen him standing with his elder brother back then, their expressions would have been quite unpleasant.

Mingyue stood up and said with a smile, "Don't drink too much, I'll go back and rest first."

＊

A raindrop landed on the eaves, followed by a series of pattering raindrops that pelted the eaves like beads before crashing to the ground.

It landed on the bluestone slab, splashing up pretty little water droplets, and also landed on the blue paper umbrella.

Long Zhaoming looked up at the rain curtain, feeling somewhat uneasy.

Today was an invitation from an old friend. After sending the invitation, he originally intended to visit, but since he had not seen him since returning from Yejing, Long Zhaoming took the initiative to accept the invitation.

"Your Highness, where is that friend?"

Seventeen put away her umbrella and stood under the eaves, looking at the continuous rain and mist. The rain was really heavy today, and there were hardly any people on the street. All you could hear was the sound of the rain pattering.

"It's a private room on the second floor, let's go up."

Mingyue also put away her umbrella, glanced back at the rain, and followed Long Zhaoming into the restaurant.

Xiao Mowen did not follow; he had to stay at the Prince's residence to guard the house.

Pushing open the door to the familiar private room on the second floor, Long Zhaoming smiled and said, "Brother Yuan, it's been a long time."

The man he addressed as Brother Yuan quickly stood up and bowed, saying, "Your Highness has arrived. Please have a seat."

Long Zhaoming sat down with a cheerful smile, glanced outside, his expression darkened slightly, but he quickly regained his composure.

Jing Yuan seemed a little nervous, constantly rubbing his whitened sleeves, and Long Zhaoming took in his actions.

"Brother Yuan, how have you been these days?"

He smiled, as if he hadn't noticed anything, and exchanged pleasantries like an old friend.

Jing Yuan chuckled awkwardly, "It's...it's alright...Why did Your Highness come in person? Please...please allow this humble subject to enter the residence..."

"Ah, Brother Yuan is a close friend of mine. It was truly unavoidable that I couldn't have him come today. Uncle Wang fell ill some time ago, and without him to manage the household, it's really..."

Long Zhaoming's expression was indescribable, while Jing Yuan gave a stiff smile, still rubbing his faded sleeves.

"How is your mother? Do you have enough medicine? Do you need me to send some more?"

Jingyuan was taken aback by those words and waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "No, no, no need! Mother, Mother is much better now."

"Is that so? That would be perfect, hahaha..."

Long Zhaoming, seemingly oblivious to Jing Yuan's unease, poured himself a cup of tea, only to hear Jing Yuan stammer, "Your Highness... perhaps... perhaps we should go inside the manor..."

"Hmm? Why is Brother Jingyuan so determined to go to the Prince's mansion?"

Long Zhaoming tilted his head in confusion, his fox-like eyes staring straight at the person in front of him, as if they could see right through him.

Jing Yuan met his gaze, his mind churning with memories of the past. No matter what, this prince had always been sincere towards him...

"Your Highness! Get out of here immediately!"

Just as Jing Yuan finished speaking, a sharp arrow shot in from outside, piercing through the paper window as thin as a cicada's wing, heading straight for Long Zhaoming.