Chapter 341 But I'm not him

The sixth prince of Yan, at the age of sixteen, led troops to fight against the rebels in Shenbei Prefecture, repelled the attack of Nan Jing, defended the northwestern border, and brought back the seriously injured and wandering farmer sage Yan Manfeng.

People only knew that the Sixth Prince brought back the Sage Yan Manfeng, but they didn't know that he also brought back another person.

Dong Lanli followed her elder sister and brother into the palace and saw a scene after the court assembly ended, where everyone surrounded the Sixth Prince, who was wearing golden armor, to offer their congratulations.

Everyone present had a smile on their face, except that some of their smiles were fake and disgusting.

"Sixth Prince!" Princess Wangshu called out in a clear voice, rescuing the Sixth Prince from the crowd.

The young man turned around amidst the court officials. Although he was only sixteen years old, he was much taller than his peers. His skin was tanned from the battlefield, and he had deep-set eyes, a high nose, and was exceptionally handsome. He was aggressive, but his sharp phoenix eyes could easily curve into crescent moons when he smiled, appearing casual, amiable, and even a little naive.

"Su Su!" The Sixth Prince Yan Xuan called out to Princess Wangshu by her nickname affectionately, nodded politely to the people beside him, and then turned around and walked towards Princess Wangshu and her entourage.

From the distant corridor of Donglan, the young man dressed in the crown prince's red robe looked out and saw that after the sixth prince left, the people who had been surrounding him had cleverly rearranged themselves into two rows.

One team represented the Crown Prince of Yan, and the other team represented the Zhao clan, the maternal clan of the Sixth Prince.

Princess Wangshu asked, "Is the battlefield fun?"

"That's not a place to play around." The boy, who had been smiling innocently, stopped smiling and became serious. Yan Xuan looked at the girl and said, "You could lose your life there if you're not careful. I hope you never end up on the battlefield."

"Why are you taking this so seriously?" Princess Wangshu blinked. "What family of military strategists doesn't go to the battlefield?"

Yan Xuan shook his head and took the initiative to talk about something else: "Aunt is at Baixiangtang, I'll take you there."

After speaking, he looked at the two people standing behind him and greeted them patiently: "Yuheng, Ali."

Because of the power struggle between the Crown Prince and the Sixth Prince, the Eldest Princess has always remained neutral, so both sides want to win over her support.

Princess Wangshu was the only one who got along well with the Sixth Prince; Prince Yuheng and Donglan kept their distance from him on the surface.

Dong Lanli walked at the very back, occasionally looking up at the people chatting and laughing with her older sister in front of her, her gaze casually sweeping over the flower bushes and lake outside the corridor, her thoughts drifting.

A genius and young hero of the Yan royal family, he is an invincible warrior on the battlefield despite being a practitioner of Yin-Yang magic. He seems to be easily swayed by emotions, yet he insists on following a single path to the death.

Dong Lan's floating thoughts suddenly sank, and she abruptly turned around to look back.

Prince Yuheng asked in confusion, "Ali, what's wrong?"

"...It's nothing." Dong Lanli lowered her brows, her usually proud eyes now clouded with gloom.

It seemed like someone was calling him, but it wasn't him.

Bai Xiang Tang.

Dong Lanxun was pouring the medicinal soup into the two pots of fragrant orchids by the door when she saw the group of people coming in and smiled slightly.

"Father!" Princess Wangshu stepped forward, sniffed the medicine, and pinched her nose. "Why did you pour this medicine out?"

Dong Lanxun said, "The medicine that the Imperial Hospital gave to Yan Sheng seems to have some spoiled ingredients, so it can't be taken."

Princess Wangshu rolled her eyes and gritted her teeth: "These people have ill intentions!"

“Your mother is over there,” Dong Lanxun said, pointing them in the right direction.

“We’ve come to see Elder Yan,” Princess Wangshu said in a low voice. “His Highness the Sixth Prince told me.”

Dong Lanxun looked at Yan Xuan, who was standing to the side. Yan Xuan was a little embarrassed and pretended to be stupid while laughing.

“Your Highness, you shouldn’t have told her,” Dong Lanxun said calmly to Yan Xuan. “The fewer people who know about this, the better.”

Yan Xuan looked as if he knew he was wrong, and lowered his head, saying, "I thought Su Su was also Elder Yan's student, so she should know, and... I believe Su Su."

Dong Lanxun went to visit Princess Shu: "The Sixth Prince trusts you, but you told others?"

Just as Prince Yuheng was about to speak up for his sister, Princess Wangshu said, "I also believe in my brothers!"

Dong Lanxun said, "Su Su."

"After this, I will never reveal Elder Yan's whereabouts to anyone, even if it means my death!" Princess Wangshu immediately raised her hand and swore.

Dong Lanli said unhappily, "Can you please stop saying such things?"

The older sister always liked to swear an oath with her life, and ultimately died to uphold her vow.

Princess Wangshu glared at him.

Yan Xuan stepped forward and apologized again. Dong Lanxun didn't know what else to say, so he waved his hand and let them leave.

In the most secluded courtyard of Baixiangtang, a strong smell of bitter medicine permeated the air. The maids carrying the medicine stood in the outer room, not daring to go in.

When Dong Lanli and her entourage entered, they heard the voice of the Eldest Princess coming from inside the room. Princess Wangshu, who was walking at the front, immediately stopped and made a shushing gesture to the people behind her.

The woman in the room said coldly, "You are the Sixth Prince's teacher and the former Prime Minister of Yan who committed the crime of treason. It is fortunate that you are not dead. Now that you have changed your identity, you should honestly teach the Sixth Prince."

The old man on the bed coughed, covering his mouth. He raised his gray eyes and stared intently at the princess. He said in a hoarse voice, "The crime of treason... wasn't it you who pushed me from behind that led to this crime?"

The eldest princess said, "When you used this method to deal with my brother, I said that you would have this day too."

The old man's slightly hunched back trembled slightly, and his tone grew increasingly low: "Now the Crown Prince's faction is extremely wary of the Sixth Prince. In order to consolidate their own position, they are willing to cooperate with foreign powers. Do you still intend to target the Sixth Prince because of those past events? If you cooperate with the Sixth Prince..."

Why did you target my brother back then?

“I believe he harbors rebellious intentions,” the old man said. “Even now, I have no doubt about my judgment.”

Gongsun Xi asked with a smile, "And what is your judgment of me?"

The old man was taken aback.

Gongsun Xi said, "The next Prince of Yan can be either the Crown Prince or the Sixth Prince, but it absolutely cannot be you."

The old man gave a wry smile; how could he possibly have such thoughts?

He closed his eyes, softened his tone, and lowered his stance as he tried to persuade him again: "Now you have half of the military power in Yandu. The Sixth Prince is a rare and promising talent. Unlike the Crown Prince, he will not collude with outsiders for his own benefit."

"Even if you want to avenge your brother, you can't just stand by and watch the Yan Kingdom fall into Qingyang's hands."

Gongsun Xi replied, “The State of Yan belongs to the people of Yan, teacher, but you are no longer a person of Yan.”

“This is the last time I’ll call you that. You want me to cooperate with you unless you bring my brother’s wife and daughter back to life.”

As Gongsun Xi walked out, he left behind his last words: "If you continue to stay in Yandu, the Crown Prince's people will find you sooner or later. Given your relationship with the Sixth Prince, they will cause him a lot of trouble."

Sitting on the bed, Zhao Yuxiang silently gazed in the direction the princess had left.

The Sixth Prince's maternal clan is the Zhao family. Although he is also a member of the Zhao family, he is only a member of a remote collateral branch. In his youth, he was ambitious and worked his way up in the officialdom and the lower classes, eventually becoming the Chancellor of Yan. He was a powerful and influential minister who was a contemporary of Empress Dowager Zhao.

They share a common goal, but have different ways of doing things.

The state of Yan has become what it is today, which is inseparable from its own complex internal strife. The constant internal purges, reshuffling, and major reshuffling bring new storms, and the cycle continues.

Even the eldest princess eventually chose to oppose him because of the hatred that could not be eliminated.

When Gongsun Xi came out, she took her children who had been eavesdropping with her. The three of them dared not resist and silently followed their mother away.

Yan Xuan went in alone to see Zhao Yuxiang.

The boy brought the bowl of medicine to the bedside and silently handed it to the patient.

Zhao Yuxiang glanced at the well-behaved boy, his heart clenched, and he reached out with trembling hands to take it.

“Teacher,” Yan Xuan said, “it’s alright, there’s no need to beg Auntie. Just give me some more time, I can do it.”

After Zhao Yuxiang finished drinking the medicine, he started coughing.

The boy reached out and gently patted the old man's back to help his frail body catch its breath.

Once a powerful figure second only to the emperor, Prime Minister Yan can now only work here as a teacher incognito, hiding his true name and being called Old Man Yan.

The boy said, "Moreover, without Ali's help this time, I would have had a hard time being confident. Before we set off, Ali explained the rules of Qimen Dunjia to me and gave me a mechanical ball cage, which prevented me from being trapped by those military formations on the battlefield."

Zhao Yuxiang was stunned. The face of the princess's talentless youngest son flashed before his eyes. "Donglanli helped you?"

Yan Xuan nodded: "Ali should have inherited the prince consort's talent in mechanical arts. Those large military formations were easily broken through by the mechanical cages he gave her."

As he finished speaking, his words carried a hint of regret.

Zhao Yuxiang had not expected that the young boy would have such abilities.

At this moment, Dong Lanli followed her mother outside. The bright sunshine fell on the hems of her mother's and elder sister's skirts, dazzling the shimmering water beside them.

The older sister cautiously asked her mother if she was angry. Her mother glanced at her but didn't say anything. The older sister then reached out and took her mother's hand, shaking it gently and coaxing her in a coquettish tone.

I don't know what she said, but the mother couldn't help but laugh.

"Senior brother!"

Dong Lan suddenly stopped.

He didn't turn back this time.

Dong Lanli continued to gaze at the three people walking ahead, her pupils reflecting the face of her mother, who was smiling with her elder sister.

"Senior brother!"

The voice in the void, seemingly calling to someone unknown, reached his ears.

But I am not him.

Donglan continued walking forward as her mother turned to look at her.

The torrential rain in the valley stirred up falling rocks, making a whooshing sound. Yu Sui looked up and saw that they were quite close to her, but she only glanced at them before continuing forward.

Liang Zhen wanted to observe a little longer, but Zhang Guanyi said, "Give the Ice Butterfly to her."

“What if she summons someone? Can you guarantee that Mei Liangyu won’t hurt her?” Liang Zhen said. “That would also be dangerous for Nangong Sui.”

“Avoidance isn’t the problem; sometimes you just need to make things clear,” Zhang Guanyi said.

Liang Zhen sighed, "Senior brother, there are many people in the world who turn love into hatred."

“We are ultimately outsiders, incomparable.” Zhang Guanyi spoke with a mature air despite his youthful face, which sounded somewhat strange. “Leave the choice to them.”

Before Liang Zhen could stop him, Zhang Guanyi waved his hand and eliminated the barrier in front of him.

Yu Sui looked up and saw a boy in a straw raincoat sitting on a rock in front of her. He looked unfamiliar, but the young man standing next to him looked familiar.

"Dean Liang..."

"Your senior brother is right here!" Zhang Guanyi interrupted Yu Sui loudly as she opened her mouth, stood up and pointed at the ice butterfly, "If you can wake Mei Liangyu from her butterfly dream, then take your senior brother with you!"

The sound of the downpour mingled with Zhang Guanyi's voice, leaving Yu Sui confused, but she subconsciously looked down towards the stream. In the firelight, the ice butterflies perched on the grass shone brilliantly.

Zhang Guanyi stood on the rock, hands on his hips, and snorted, "Your senior brother accidentally wandered into this place and fought with me, so I trapped him in the Butterfly Dream Barrier. Only close friends and loved ones with a deep bond with him can awaken him. If you are confident, give it a try!"

Liang Zhen: "..."

How dare you say that to your family and friends?