Chapter 46
As the sky darkened, a few clear bird calls came from behind the intertwined leaves. The sound penetrated the window and penetrated into the room.
In the ears of those who are half asleep.
Behind the curtains of the inner bedroom, Cheng Zi sat up and stretched himself, then turned to look at the fat little white man Wei Zhi who was still sleeping soundly beside him.
Today he will set out south with Prince Yu.
When Wei Zhi learned that he was leaving, the one who was most reluctant to let him go was him. Last night, he insisted on sleeping with him no matter what.
Cheng Zi raised the corners of his lips slightly and stretched out his finger to poke Wei Zhi's round face. It was white and tender, and it felt really good. As if just poking the face wasn't fun enough, Cheng Zi slapped Wei Zhi's round butt.
"Little lazy bum, it's time to get up and practice martial arts!"
Wei Zhi, who was woken up by the slap, rubbed his sleepy eyes blankly and said to Cheng Zi in a coquettish manner: "Brother is leaving today, do you want to practice today too?"
Wei Zhi's coquettishness was always effective, but there were two people in Prince Yu's mansion who were immune to it. One was Wei Yan, and the other was Cheng Zi. When it came time to be strict with Wei Zhi, these two people were unyielding.
Cheng Zi forcibly pulled Wei Zhi up, who still wanted to stay in bed, and watched him put on his clothes slowly as if he was playing tricks. After Cheng Zi had finished packing and the servant had brought in water for washing his face, Wei Zhi finally put on his inner clothes.
Little scoundrel.
Cheng Zi sighed inwardly, walked to the table and lit an incense stick: "If you don't finish it within half an incense stick, you will have to practice for an extra half hour today."
When Wei Zhi heard this, his eyes widened in shock.
Cheng Zi smiled slightly: "I mean what I say."
This was not a lie. Although Wei Zhi was young, he knew Cheng Zi's temper. He didn't dare to dawdle any longer and dressed as quickly as possible. Before half an incense stick burned out, Wei Zhi finished washing up, puffed out his chest, and stood straight in front of Cheng Zi.
Cheng Zi had already put away his things neatly and was waiting for little Wei Zhi. He stroked Wei Zhi's hair and encouraged him, "Well done. Let's go, first practice horse stance for an hour, and then practice footwork for another hour."
"Okay." Wei Zhi responded in a baby voice. He stopped acting like a spoiled child and ran to the yard to start practicing morning lessons.
Cheng Zi said, "After I leave, don't forget your daily martial arts training. You must practice morning and night. I'll ask your sister to keep a close eye on you. Don't even think about slacking off."
As he was speaking, a slim figure appeared at the gate of the courtyard.
The dim and hazy morning light softly enveloped Wei Zhen, diluting the coldness emanating from her and adding a little gentleness.
Her skin was whiter than snow, her eyebrows were like willow leaves, her lips were red, and her dark eyes were smiling. This made Cheng Zi's breath stop and even his heartbeat quickened. He jumped in front of the man in two steps and couldn't help grinning: "Why are you here so early?"
"Come and take a look." Wei Yan said, "Since you're leaving today, maybe you can just skip Ah Zhi's morning class."
Cheng Zi turned his head and gestured for her to look at Wei Zhi who was doing horse stance in the yard.
"I'm leaving today. Don't you have anything to tell me?" Cheng Zi's heart was full of anticipation.
Ah Lu came to him alone early in the morning, presumably because she had something to say to him. What would she say? Would she urge him to be careful on the road? Or would she urge him to protect Prince Yu? Or would she respond to the feelings he had confessed that day?
Once his thoughts started to wander, they became difficult to control. Cheng Zi's heartbeat became faster, and his gaze towards Wei Yan became more eager.
"Just came to take a look, nothing much to say."
As Wei Xi finished her words, she saw Cheng Zi wilting visibly, a look that made her feel a bit pitiful. So she thought for a moment, composed her words, and continued, "You said before that you accompanied father on the salt inspection not because of the imperial decree, but for me."
Cheng Zimeng raised his head, anticipation igniting in his bright eyes.
Wei Yan felt like he was a big dog at this moment, and couldn't help but reach out and touch Cheng Zi's forehead: "Then for my sake, come back safely."
Wei Yu's hands weren't as delicate and soft as those of other girls. Years of martial arts training had left a thin layer of calluses on her fingertips. To others, these calluses might be uncomfortable, but to Cheng Zi, they were their common ground, a bond that connected them.
The girl's body temperature came from his palm. The warm feeling did not seem to be caressing his forehead, but rather his heart, making him almost hear his own heartbeat.
Seeing Cheng Zi standing there in a daze, Wei Xi smiled. When he was about to withdraw his hand, Cheng Zi grabbed his wrist.
This action can be said to be going too far.
The person standing there in a daze now turned into Wei Yan.
The slender, white wrist was easily encircled in Cheng Zi's palm. The boy's palm was burning, and Wei Yan felt a burning sensation on her wrist.
Even Wei Xun, who was always calm, was a little panicked at this moment. He wanted to pull his hand back, but Cheng Zi held it even tighter.
"Let go." Wei Yan chuckled.
However, Cheng Zi not only did not let go, but instead held Wei Yan's hand and moved it to his chest, allowing Wei Yan to feel his unusual heartbeat.
"Ah'lu, I swear to my heart that I will protect Prince Yu and return safely."
Wei Zhi, who was standing by, listened to the conversation between his brother and sister, tilting his head, confused.
Inside the imperial palace's vermilion walls, amidst its numerous halls, the sage was enjoying breakfast with the empress when a palace attendant arrived to announce, "Your Majesty, news has arrived from Xiangzhou."
The chief eunuch who served the saint took the letter from the palace servant and handed it to the saint.
The sage picked it up, a smile on his lips, and ordered: "Summon the Crown Prince to an audience, and summon all officials to the palace."
This was the second time since the beginning of the new year that officials had been summoned on a day not normally reserved for court meetings. In the main hall, officials discussed the situation, many lamenting that this year might not be a peaceful one.
"Look at His Royal Highness the Crown Prince." An official gestured to his colleagues to look at Wei Zhen, who was standing at the head of the group. "Something must have happened today. Even His Royal Highness the Crown Prince looks so gloomy."
Wei Zhen was indeed worried. He knew the reason for today's sudden court meeting earlier than anyone else present.
Early this morning, Xiangzhou sent the date and route of the uprising that had been agreed upon with the King of Chu.
Just yesterday, the King of Chu in Pingzhou rebelled against the court.
Although he knew that the King of Chu's rebellion was inevitable, Wei Zhen couldn't help but feel distressed when he heard the news. Now he was most worried about Chu Miaomiao.
The King of Chu rebelled, Miaomiao, what would happen?
"Your Majesty has arrived—"
The eunuch's shrill voice echoed through the hall, and the ministers returned to their seats, stood in awe, and shouted, "Your Majesty!" The sage slowly entered the hall, ascended the throne, and asked the ministers to excuse themselves from the formalities.
"Today's court meeting is about important matters to inform you all," the sage said. "News has just arrived that the King of Chu in Pingzhou has rebelled."
When the news came out, all the ministers were shocked and looked at each other with disbelief in their eyes.
"The King of Chu's actions have disturbed the peace of the world. His rebellion against the imperial court is disloyalty, and his disregard for the principles of the ruler and his subjects is unrighteousness. Such a disloyal and unrighteous person must be punished by the whole world."
The ministers responded: "Your Majesty is absolutely right."
"I order the Crown Prince to command the troops, and all military officers and soldiers are to obey the Crown Prince's orders."
A eunuch had already presented the crown prince with a lacquer tray, with a tiger talisman crouching inside. The tiger talisman, symbolizing military power, was now in Wei Zhen's hands.
Throughout history, the importance of military power is self-evident. Emperor Gaozu rose to power through military exploits, carving out a niche amidst turbulent times and laying the foundation for his present empire. Regardless of the successive dynasties, military power remained firmly in the hands of the emperor, rarely delegated to anyone else, not even the legitimate heir to the throne.
But now, the sage has actually granted the tiger talisman to the crown prince! As long as the tiger talisman is in place, all generals will obey military orders, regardless of whether the person giving the order is the emperor or not.
In a sense, military orders are even greater than royal orders.
The appearance of the tiger talisman not only surprised the ministers, but also caught Wei Zhen himself off guard. He knew he would be accompanying the army on this campaign to quell the rebellion, and he had previously discussed with Jiang Weiqiu and Xu Zizheng the possibility that the sage might grant him the title of military supervisor.
But he hadn't expected the sage to hand him the tiger talisman directly. With the tiger talisman, he would be the actual commander of the war to quell the rebellion. If he developed other ideas after the rebellion was quelled, with the army at his disposal, the sage in the capital would be in danger.
As his mind raced, Wei Zhen calmed down. He realized this might be another test of the Saint's trust in him.
He must take this test.
Wei Zhen bowed respectfully to express his gratitude and solemnly accepted the tiger talisman: "I will definitely live up to your Majesty's expectations!"
After the court meeting, Wei Zhen hurriedly summoned his two companions, some officials from the Eastern Palace, and various military governors to discuss how to quell the rebellion.
The advantage now was that the King of Chu was unaware that the court had already received news of his rebellion, and that Yuan Zhen, the governor of Xiangzhou, who appeared to be collaborating with the King of Chu, was actually a close confidant of the emperor. The King of Chu's planned marching route had already been laid out on Wei Zhen's desk.
Marks were made on the open map, and civil and military officials gathered in the study of the East Palace to discuss issues such as military strength, selection of generals, and transportation of food and fodder for a whole day. When the night sky was full of stars, everyone hurriedly left. Without even a rest, they began to make various preparations for the army to set out.
The stars are shining, the night is silent, and people who are unaware of the changes in the world have fallen asleep. Among the palaces in the East Palace, only the study is still lit with a dim light.
In the study, Wei Zhen looked tired. He let out a long breath, closed his eyes, and gently rubbed his eyebrows with his slender jade fingers.
Now, he can finally calm down for a while and take some time to think about what to do with Miaomiao.
The King of Chu rebelled, and Chu Miaomiao and Chu Canglang in the capital city became hostages. No one was unaware of the fate of the hostages.
Thinking of this, Wei Zhen's expression darkened a little.
Suppressing the rebellion was paramount. Every day the war continued would cause greater harm to the court and the people. He would have to lead his army to war the day after tomorrow at the latest. If he left the capital at that time, what would Miaomiao do?
He should have hidden Miaomiao earlier, in a place where even a saint could not find her, to protect her safety temporarily. However, the King of Chu's rebellion was so sudden that he was caught off guard.
Just as he was having a headache, there was a knock on the study door. Wei Zhenyun came in, and it was the flustered Prince's steward.
"Your Highness, something happened at Chu Manor in the suburbs of Beijing."
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