Chapter 150

150

The Ninth Prince lost face and looked very unhappy.

Today he just wanted to present a gift to the Emperor and send the princess to the palace. The Emperor will hold a banquet another day and he will attend. He cannot leave the capital for the time being and has to stay at the embassy.

However, the ninth prince of the neighboring country did not behave as a defeated country should, and he caused a lot of trouble in just a few days, such as quarreling and fighting with people in the streets, and not paying for meals and food. When asked about it, he said that his sister was married to the emperor, and the emperor was his brother-in-law, so why should he pay for things?

The emperor has been obsessed with the beauty of the princess from a neighboring country recently, and he doesn't care about the little troubles of the ninth prince from the neighboring country. He asks people to follow him and help pay for whatever he likes.

But it was also the emperor's indulgence that made the Ninth Prince more and more daring. One day, the Ninth Prince even stopped Yuanbao on his way home from get off work.

Yuanbao knew from the way he was dressed that he was not a native of the country, so he took several steps back. The wild dog blocked their way and growled at the man.

The result was that the two groups started fighting. The ninth prince of the neighboring country brought his guards, who were also carrying knives. The onlookers wanted to help, but when they saw that they had knives, they did not dare to step forward.

But someone ran to report to the police, and the officers and soldiers could not arrive for a while, so the wild dog was pinned to the ground and beaten with a bloody head by several of them.

Wild Dog also injured two people, but there were too many people on the other side, and he was overwhelmed by them.

When the ninth prince of the neighboring country heard that they had reported the matter to the police, he knew that the matter had become a big deal, but he was a man who cared a lot about his reputation and he was already trapped here, so it was impossible for him to just leave.

He originally just wanted to tease Yuanbao with a few frivolous words, and it would be even better if he could touch his little hands and face, but now so many people were watching, and he thought that since he had already reported the matter to the police, he might as well just snatch the person back and make himself feel good, so that he wouldn't lose out if he was caught later.

Moreover, he is the ninth prince of a neighboring country, and Yuanbao is just an ordinary citizen. His sister has just entered the palace, and the emperor is obsessed with his sister's appearance. For the sake of his sister, the emperor always has to give him face and cannot take his life even if he is punished.

He was somewhat confused about his situation and position, and actually asked his men to kidnap Yuanbao and take him home.

Just then a carriage stopped in front of them. Yang Shiming opened the curtain first, frowned at the Yuanbao that they had hijacked, took out a bow and arrow from the carriage and aimed at the ninth prince of the neighboring country.

He originally did not bring a bow and arrow when he went out, but when he was taking a walk with Yuanbao that day, Yuanbao praised Shao Hui for being so awesome, as he could have hunted such a big deer while just going out for a walk.

Yang Shiming told Yuanbao that he had also learned riding and archery. The academy had this subject. Even civil servants had to know something about riding and archery, and it was counted in their grades, but the proportion was relatively low.

Others just muddled through to pass the test, and many of them forgot how to draw the bow after finishing the test. However, Yang Shiming was persistent in everything he did. If he was going to do something, he would do it to the extreme. He really succeeded and could hit the bull's eye eight out of ten times.

However, he had no chance to use it after he became an official. His colleagues also said that since it would not be used, why should they take the exam or learn it, as they did not want to be military generals.

But this is a rule left by our ancestors. At that time, there was war and there were not enough people, so civil servants were forced to go to the battlefield, and this rule was passed down.

Then Yuan Bao asked him if he could still hit the target every time. I will go to his house one day to show him how to play the bow and teach him.

Yang Shiming was quite busy some time ago, and Yuanbao was also busy making perfume, so the two of them couldn't spend time together. Today, he finally had some time, so he took a bow and arrow to Yuanbao's place, and ended up encountering this kind of thing.

He was also thankful that he could draw a bow, so he now had a weapon to fight against the Ninth Prince of the neighboring country.

The ninth prince of the neighboring country had seen Yang Shiming and said, "Why, you are a civil servant, and you still want to fight with us? Can you draw the bow? Don't let the arrow fall at your feet and be laughed at by others."

"You are an envoy sent by the defeated country, yet you dare to be so arrogant and oppress the people in our country. Do you think we are afraid of you? And we dare not care about you? Or do you deliberately do such things to provoke us? Today I will avenge the people." Yang Shiming said, and he drew his bow and shot an arrow amid the cheers of the people around him. With a "whoosh", the arrow pierced the neck of the ninth prince of the neighboring country.

When the Ninth Prince died, his eyes widened and he looked in the direction of Yang Shiming in disbelief. He didn't expect that Yang Shiming would dare to kill him directly.

"Good! Good kill!" The people around applauded and cheered.

Yang Shiming bowed to the people around him and said, "What happened today was done by me alone. I am willing to be punished, but I don't want to swallow this anger."

The people also heard that the emperor had recently taken in that foreign woman and had been doting on her, and had also condoned the ninth prince of the neighboring country to do these extraordinary things. They were very dissatisfied with the emperor's behavior, and now when they heard that Yang Shiming was going to receive punishment, they all shouted, "Lord Yang is not guilty" and "Lord Yang is a hero."

Yang Shiming did not do this in a rash manner. He wanted to save Yuanbao and vent his anger for Yuanbao, but he also wanted to persuade the emperor not to indulge in beauty.

Their Majesty is usually a wise ruler, but no matter how rational he is, he will lose his mind in front of beauty, as if he is in love. However, he does not love beautiful women, strictly speaking, he is obsessed with beauty.

The last time he saw Shen Yuntang, he also had evil thoughts.

Whispering Wind

Fortunately, I stopped the evil thoughts in time and did not make a big mistake.

Although the concubines in the harem would fight with each other on normal days, it had no impact on the political affairs in the court. However, this time the princess from the neighboring country was different.

Her beauty surpassed all the other concubines in the harem. It was the first time the emperor saw such a beauty, so he was inevitably a little obsessed. The beauty whispered in his ear every day, so he turned a blind eye to what the ninth prince did.

Now the emperor is only indulging the ninth prince of a neighboring country. If he continues to indulge in neighboring countries' affairs in the future, the consequences can be imagined.

But the ministers didn’t know how to persuade the emperor. After all, the princess had only been in the palace for a few days, and they could just wait until the emperor got tired of her.

However, Yang Shiming believed that these were all conspiracies and tricks of neighboring countries. If they were not stopped, they would definitely cause some trouble.

Besides, if he didn't kill the ninth prince of the neighboring country today, he wouldn't be able to save Yuanbao. Even if he died today, it would be worth it.

When Yang's mother learned about this, she cursed Yuanbao for being an evildoer and letting her son suffer such a thing. If her son died, she would definitely kill Yuanbao to avenge Yang Shiming.

When the emperor learned about this, he was very angry. The reason for his anger was not that Yang Shiming had no way to explain himself for killing the ninth prince of the neighboring country, but that the neighboring country was originally a defeated country and he was not afraid of those people. However, when the princess found out about this, she cried in front of him several times and he felt very distressed. Yang Shiming actually made the beautiful woman cry, which was a heinous crime.

He ordered the arrest of Yang Shiming, but was stopped by the empress dowager. The empress dowager was so angry that she ordered people to lock up the princess of the neighboring country and not let the emperor meet her, so that the emperor could calm down.

When the emperor could not see the princess's face, his mind could be a little calmer. The ninth prince of the neighboring country molested Yuanbao, who was his cousin and his own relative. Yang Shiming was helping him by saving Yuanbao. In addition, the people and officials spoke for Yang Shiming, so the emperor could not convict him.

Not only should they not be convicted, they should not be punished either, and rewards should be given instead, so that the people can be reassured.

He promoted Yang Shiming from the fourth rank to the third rank, and praised Yang Shiming in the newspaper, saying that the Ninth Prince came to pay tribute as a defeated country but bullied the people, and Lord Yang had done a good thing for the country and the people.

The neighboring country had already been defeated in the war, and this time they sent a princess over to marry the emperor. The princess was also a spy sent by them. They did not expect the Ninth Prince to be so stupid as to cause such a big incident. They were afraid that fighting would break out again because of the Ninth Prince, so they could only keep their tails between their legs and send a lot of good things, begging the emperor to calm down.

When Yang Shiming returned home, he was not punished but was promoted. However, his mother still did not look at him well. "Why didn't you think about it before you did it? You still have a mother to take care of. Fortunately, nothing happened this time. If something happened, how would I live? Is that Yuanbao the only thing in your mind?"

"I am not only doing this for Yuanbao, but also for the court and the people. If there is such a thing next time, I will stand up and persuade Your Majesty with my death." Yang Shiming decided what kind of official he would be after he started studying. "In my heart, the emperor comes first, and then my parents. I can't ignore the emperor for you and watch him go astray and let the people suffer."

Yang's mother originally wanted to use filial piety to pressure him, but she didn't expect that he would use the emperor to pressure her first. Although Yang's mother had never been educated, she had heard that loyalty to the emperor came before filial piety. She couldn't condemn Yang Shiming for anything. "I see that you are not thinking about His Majesty and the people, but about Yuanbao. You lost your mind because of a man. You can see that His Majesty lost his mind because of a woman, but why can't you see that you lost your mind because of a man?"

Yang Shiming said seriously, "Mother, be careful with your words."

Yang's mother also knew that it was not good to say bad things about the emperor, but there was no one in the room now.

"Mom, can't we just be like we used to be in the countryside?" Yang Shiming still missed his childhood. When he was young, he and his mother had a lot to talk about, and he would tell her everything he learned in school when he got back.

Mother would listen to him talk while mending clothes. Sometimes she would tell him stories, some of which she had heard from her parents, some from the villagers, or stories from her childhood.

At that time, my mother always smiled when she saw him, but since she came to the capital, she seldom smiled at him. She would give him advice on everything he did, saying that what he did was wrong and that he should do it that way, as if she disliked him in everything.

After Yang's mother came to Beijing, she had some free time and wanted to find something to do. Secondly, Yang Shiming was now an official, so she always wanted to use various ways to make Yang Shiming listen to her to prove that her mother's authority still existed. Even if something was stupid, she would make Yang Shiming listen to her and let her know that Yang Shiming still obeyed her. Only in this way could she feel safe.

Yang Shiming, however, was tormented by her sense of security and wanted to escape.

When Yang's mother heard that he wanted to do the same as he did in the village, she thought he was going to resign again and tried to persuade him for a long time. Yang Shiming sighed and went back to the house.

Newspapers are now published every two weeks, and all over the country are reporting on Yang Shiming's deeds. After hearing about Yang Shiming's deeds, many people said they were happy. When they heard that Yang Shiming was Cheng Yeran's senior brother, they said it was no wonder.

Half a month later, the news anchor reported new content. People had not yet heard enough about Yang Shiming's story, so many storytellers told the story of Yang Shiming in teahouses, and they adapted it to be even more dramatic, and every show was packed.

However, Wild Dog was frustrated because of what happened last time. He always thought that he was stronger than Yang Shiming and that he could protect Yuanbao, which he did on weekdays. But Yang Shiming was just a weak scholar, who could do nothing except reading books, reciting poems and fishing. If I encounter danger, I would probably be the first to run away.

In the end, when faced with danger, it was the weak scholar Yang Shiming who saved Yuanbao. He only had courage and brute force, and when others had real swords and guns, he had no place to use his brute force.

His injury had not yet healed, but he went to find Shao Hui. He couldn't speak, but Shao Hui knew what he meant.

Before, Yuanbao asked Ye Gou to learn martial arts from Shao Hui. He found Liu Ya and Lin Yu to talk to him, and Lin Yu went to find Shao Hui. Shao Hui agreed, but Ye Gou refused to go.

Now that he has been severely beaten, he has changed his mind and wants to learn martial arts. And not only does he want to learn martial arts, he also wants to join the army.

Although Wild Dog is a mute, he is not that stupid. He has always stayed by Yuanbao's side, and Yuanbao treated him as his younger brother. He also heard Yuanbao say that he wanted to give Yang Shiming a chance because Yang Shiming was an official, had talent and social status, and he also wanted to make some military achievements in the barracks. With social status, Yuanbao would no longer treat him as his younger brother, and he also wanted to win over Yuanbao.

Yang Shiming was worried that Yuanbao would have psychological trauma because of that incident, so he went to find Yuanbao and brought a jar of good wine.

Yuan Bao saw him coming over with wine and asked him, "Why didn't you bring your bow and arrow? You said you would teach me how to shoot arrows, why did you break your promise?"

Ordinary people would be scared when seeing a dead person, and that person was shot to death by a bow and arrow. He was worried that Yuanbao would think of the scene of that day.

Yuan Bao also guessed his thoughts, "Take the bow and arrow and teach me, I'm not that timid."

Yuanbao paused for a moment and said, "I am actually a little timid. When the wild dog was at home, I always thought I was the one who kept him company. But now that he has left, I realize that he was the one who kept me company. I am quite scared when he is not at home."

Yang Shiming thought for a moment and said, "If you are afraid, I can move in with you."

If it were normal days, it would be nothing for two men to say such things, but now both of them know that Yang Shiming likes Yuanbao, so there is another layer of meaning in these words.

If Yuanbao agreed to his request, it would not only mean that he would move in, but also that he would agree to another meaning. Yuanbao was very cautious and did not answer directly. Instead, he asked him, "Won't your mother be scared when she's home alone?"

"It's not that I won't go back forever. Besides, I have maids and servants at home who can take care of her." Yang Shiming moved to a bigger house, with several times more servants and several times more salary. Yang's mother didn't have to do anything and could just enjoy wealth and glory every day.

"I have servants at home, and I am not alone. You don't have to come to accompany me." Yuan Bao looked at him and thought of Yang Shiming's resolute bow that day. "Or are you worried that I would be scared and want to come to accompany me? Is it true that you have other thoughts? Lord Yang, I didn't expect that someone as upright as you would say such indecent words?"

"Are all lovers in this world not serious?" Yang Shiming asked Yuanbao what Cheng Yeran said that day, which stumped Yuanbao.

Yuanbao hesitated for a while and couldn't make up his mind immediately. He was not a boy, and they were both men. How could they compare with the lovers in the world?

Yuanbao thought that if one of them was a man and the other was a boy, they would have gotten married at this age under the urging of their elders. After getting married, it was natural for them to live together. But now there was no one to urge him or help him make a decision. He could only make the decision by himself, and it was not easy to make the decision. "You should bring the bow and arrow over first and teach me how to draw the bow and shoot the arrow."