Chapter 148
Xue Jin'an and the Third Prince parted ways at the palace gate. The Third Prince wanted to go to Zhaoyang Palace with Xue Jin'an, but Xue Jin'an ruthlessly refused, saying, "There is a 99% chance that you will harass Fuling and force her to fight you. Fuling will 100% hide as soon as she sees you. It will be troublesome if you find her, and it will also be troublesome if you don't find her."
Xue Jin'an refused to cause trouble.
The third prince pouted in dissatisfaction, trying to salvage the situation, "Do you really think that your third brother is less important than those eunuchs and palace maids?"
"Yes." Xue Jin'an nodded without hesitation, and anticipating the Third Prince's reaction, he effectively nipped his madness in the bud. "Give up. I won't fight you. Instead of chasing me, why don't you just sit on that road and cry, holding your lame leg? That's a place that all the palaces pass through. Many people will see you. You can accuse me of abusing and bullying a disabled person. Soon someone will talk to me and beg me to take you out to play. I think it's more than 50% likely that I'll agree."
"Playing the victim is much more effective than you chasing me while you're limping." Xue Jin paused, then said the last thing, which was also the main reason he said such a long string of words, "If you play the victim, you'll only lose face for yourself, but if you chase me, I'll also end up trending on social media."
Xue Jin'an didn't want to get caught up in another melon-eating scandal, especially one that would be laughed at by otaku as "silly news trying to boost year-end performance." Even code-based life has its pride sometimes.
Third Prince: "..."
Although it was the first time the Third Prince had heard the term "hot search," he guessed from the context that it meant popular topics of conversation.
The Third Prince was probably used to being rebuffed, and this time he reacted quickly and even managed to retort: "Seventh Brother, although I am glad that you have always treated me like a normal person, sometimes I still hope that you can give me some of the humane care that is due to disabled people."
Xue Jin'an attempted to carry out the order, and after thinking for a moment, he said, "Do you need me to send you a wheelchair?"
"What is that?" The Third Prince asked curiously. After hearing Xue Jin'an's description, he became very interested and asked, "How do you make a chair that can move?"
The Third Prince thought that his mother, who often traveled by sedan chair, would definitely like it. Moreover, the wheelchair required manual operation of the wheels, and his mother was always being tricked by that brat Xue Liuguang. She should use that time to exercise so that when Xue Liuguang's true colors were exposed, she could swing her arm and slap him away to avenge being tricked.
Even if she couldn't defeat Xue Liuguang, when she grew old and her beauty faded, and she could only play mahjong with the other disfavored concubines like the Imperial Noble Consort, Consort De, and Consort Shu, wouldn't she be able to slam her cards louder than everyone else? When they were tearing each other apart at the mahjong table, with the arm strength she gained from turning her wheelchair around, taking down several concubines in the harem would be a piece of cake!
The Third Prince thought his idea was flawless and brilliant, and that his mother would be overjoyed if she knew. In reality, when Consort Xian received the wheelchair and heard the Third Prince's smug self-praise, she almost swung the wheelchair and smashed it over his head.
The reason she didn't smash it wasn't because she loved her son so much, but because the wheelchair was made of solid wood and was so heavy that she couldn't budge it even when she tried. Consort Xian was so angry that she laughed. That night, she ordered the kitchen to cook a table of dishes that the Third Prince didn't like and forced him to eat them.
Although Consort Xian disliked the gift, it didn't stop her from sitting on it and having it pushed around to show off. She even showed it off at Cining Palace. Then, Xue Jin'an received a subtle hint from the Empress Dowager to show her filial piety.
Later on, wheelchairs became popular among the elite circles in Beijing, becoming a fashionable item for wives to test their filial piety.
Of course, that's a story for later. Right now, Xue Jin'an has just exported the structural diagram of the wheelchair to the Third Prince.
The Third Prince left with the blueprints, and Xue Jin'an also returned to Zhaoyang Palace smoothly and discreetly. Lingzhi stood at the door to greet him and handed him the hot soup that had been prepared in advance. "Your Highness, it is easy to catch a cold during the change of seasons. Please drink some hot soup to warm yourself up."
Before Xue Jin'an could drink it, Lingzhi leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Eunuch Li from His Majesty's side came by today, seemingly to interrogate us. Fortunately, Eunuch Lu was here too, so nothing bad happened."
The place where Xue Jin'an attacked the Eighth Prince was the only route that all the palaces took. There were few people passing by in the early morning, but there were still some. Fortunately, Fu Lu's intelligence network was extensive. Not long after the incident, probably as soon as Xue Jin'an left the palace, someone relayed the news to Zhaoyang Palace. Fu Lu received the note even earlier than the secret guards who had specially rushed back to inform him.
Fu Lu vaguely sensed that this matter was difficult to handle, so he immediately sought advice from Lingzhi, the most intelligent among them. Lingzhi had thought things through and felt that the matter of the Eighth Prince's injury could be put aside for now. She was just afraid that someone might glean something from Xue Jin'an's whereabouts and that the Emperor would find out.
Although it was the emperor's initiative to suggest that Xue Jin'an go to the Imperial Guard, the imperial decree had not yet been issued, yet Xue Jin'an had already rushed to the military camp. This blatant ambition made it hard for the emperor not to have any doubts, and it was uncertain how things would end.
Lingzhi felt that she had to take precautions, so after thinking it over, she went to Cining Palace to see the Empress Dowager and told her about the matter. Of course, she concealed the fact that she was seeking protection because she was worried about being exposed and had made the decision on her own. Instead, she implied that it was Xue Jin'an's idea.
This wasn't about shifting blame; on the contrary, it was about Xue Jin'an showing loyalty to the Empress Dowager and gaining favor. There's a difference between being forced to seek help and proactively explaining one's itinerary to sincerely seek cooperation.
The Empress Dowager clearly found this approach appealing and didn't dwell on the vagued details. She coughed, her voice slightly hoarse, "In that case, Lu Bingzhu, you will accompany me. Tell the Emperor that this is my will—cough cough—"
The Empress Dowager was coughing quite badly, so Granny Su quickly took out some cough medicine from her bosom, poured some into a teacup, added hot water to dissolve it, and served it to the Empress Dowager.
After drinking the medicine and recovering for a while, the Empress Dowager's cough finally stopped, and her voice became clearer. She said in a calm tone, "I find Xiao Qi pleasing to the eye and want to treat him well. This is no problem. If the Emperor is determined to cause trouble, he doesn't need to make things difficult for a child. He can deal with me instead."
The Empress Dowager was clearly taking responsibility for the matter directly. Lingzhi immediately kowtowed to express her gratitude, but when she looked up, she couldn't help but look directly at the Empress Dowager's face, her worry and concern undisguised. She hesitated before asking, "Are you alright?"
"Please forgive my overstepping my bounds, but His Highness is very worried about you," Lingzhi said.
The Empress Dowager felt a warmth in her heart. "Now, the only one who truly cares about my health is Xiao Qi." As for the others, they all wish for his death. Otherwise, she would have been sick with a cold for many days without getting better. Granny Su went to the Imperial Hospital to invite him several times, but the best doctor, Hu, was never there. There were only a few doctors.
"I don't have so many rules here, there's no need for kneeling." She asked Granny Su to help Lingzhi up and said, "Tell your prince to rest assured, although I am old, my heart is not dead. The more those people pressure me, the more I will not give an inch."
In that instant, this woman, who already had one foot buried in the earth and whose life was nearing its end, regained the vigor and sharpness of her former days when she held power on her frail face. Her eyes were clear and firm, and she said, "I can hold on."
As it turned out, Lingzhi's worries were correct. The emperor was indeed unhappy after learning of Xue Jin'an's movements. However, there was one thing Lingzhi hadn't predicted: the emperor didn't care about the Eighth Prince at all. As a result, the conflict between the Seventh and Eighth Princes and the fact that the Eighth Prince was hospitalized in the Imperial Hospital were forgotten by the emperor as soon as they were mentioned, and he didn't take it to heart at all.
It was Commander Wei. After being ousted from the training ground by the Third Prince, he came to the palace to report the Seventh Prince's affairs to the Emperor. The Emperor was furious and immediately ordered Li Hechun to go to Zhaoyang Palace to arrest him.
As soon as Li Hechun entered Zhaoyang Palace, he didn't say a word. When he looked up, he saw his master Lu Bingzhu's face. Immediately, his already wrinkled face became even more wrinkled, and his whole face was filled with bitterness.
Lu Bingzhu went to see the Emperor with the Empress Dowager's words, and in the end, the matter was left unresolved.
Lingzhi was very satisfied with the outcome of this matter. After all, the emperor's anger could cause the deaths of millions. If Li Hechun had come to arrest them, they would not have had an easy time, even if they did not die. The emperor was wary of the seventh prince, but he would not take them, the palace maids and eunuchs, seriously. They were just slaves and had no human rights. If they were beaten to death, so be it.
Lingzhi's only concern was: "Will His Majesty dislike Your Highness because of this matter?"
She worried that if the emperor knew about the close connection between Xue Jin'an and the Empress Dowager, he would directly categorize Xue Jin'an as part of the Empress Dowager's camp and then take drastic measures against him.
Xue Jin'an shook his head, reassuring her, "The more competitors there are at this time, the less likely he is to give up."
The Empress Dowager's words were somewhat suggestive, leading the Emperor to believe that she was only interested in Xue Jin'an and wanted to groom him. Furthermore, since Xue Jin'an moved into Zhaoyang Palace, the two had almost no interaction—at least on the surface.
Xue Jin'an had been careful since he first thought about cooperating with the Empress Dowager, making sure the Emperor didn't find out that they had reached a private agreement. Every time he met the Empress Dowager, he would sneak over the wall late at night, so no one knew.
The emperor has invested too much in Xue Jin'an, whether actively or passively. With the added burden of sunk costs, he lacks the courage to cut his losses in time. In the end, he will become like a frog being slowly boiled in water, unable to jump out of the pot when he realizes something is wrong.
"Don't worry, nothing will happen." Xue Jin'an reassured Lingzhi, and the two entered the side hall. The candlelight flickered, and someone was silently leaning against the windowsill, watching them with a ghostly gaze. When Xue Jin'an finally noticed them, they spoke, their voice sounding like a lonely husband in his empty room, sending chills down one's spine.
"Master, how cruel you are!" He spoke with that same tone.
Xue Jin'an launched the little rocket expressionlessly, clearing away any excess emotional baggage, and said ruthlessly, "Speak properly, or I'll beat you up."
Cui Zui immediately dropped his playful expression, but his eyes still held a hint of resentment. "Master—"
Cui Zui had just uttered a title when he was interrupted by the voice of a eunuch announcing from outside. A strange eunuch cheerfully announced, "This servant, Xiao Dao, has come on the orders of His Highness the Third Prince to deliver a gift to His Highness the Seventh Prince!"
"Why would you give a gift out of the blue?" Xue Jin'an was baffled. He was in a bad mood after being interrupted. He lifted his clothes and walked briskly out. "I want to see what this is all about."
Once outside, Cui Zui fell silent.
The Third Prince sent over a cartload of weapons forged from fine iron, including swords, spears, halberds, and all eighteen martial arts techniques. The weapons gleamed coldly and could cut hair like mud, clearly high-quality. Among them was a set of exquisite and small crossbows that could be strapped to the wrist as concealed weapons and a longbow made of jet-black ebony. Cui Zui's eyes immediately fell on the longbow and he couldn't look away, his eyes filled with desire.
In addition, the Third Prince's gifts also included a complete set of soft armor. Although it was not the legendary golden silk soft armor that was impervious to water, fire, swords, and spears, the material was still quite good, and ordinary weapons could not penetrate its protection.
In any case, it's much better than the only set of basic equipment for Northwest Army soldiers that Xue Jin'an had, which was sent remotely by Helian Cheng—rattan armor.
"What happened? Why such a big commotion?" Cui Zui asked curiously, struggling to pull his gaze away from the ebony longbow.
Xue Jin'an, however, guessed something and gave a hint: "The Eighth Prince."
It was indeed related to the Eighth Prince.
When the Third Prince returned to the Princes' quarters, he didn't see Xue Liuguang, who was always haunting him. He asked around and learned that the Eighth Prince was lying on his back, missing several ounces of flesh. He was afraid it would take at least ten days to half a month to recover, and the perpetrator was none other than the Seventh Prince.
The Third Prince was overjoyed and, without saying a word, sent all his most beloved and precious things to Xue Jin'an. He had originally wanted to send him military books, but the chief eunuch sent by Consort Xian quickly stopped him.
"My Third Prince, if you keep sending them like this, they'll have to be packed up and sent to sleep in Zhaoyang Palace!" The head eunuch was extremely worried.
“I’m happy to.” The Third Prince grinned, making no attempt to hide his malice towards the Eighth Prince. “I’m happy to see Xue Liuguang in trouble. He’d better stay away from me from now on. I can’t beat him up. There’s still my Seventh Brother. I’m with my Seventh Brother now.”
"What?! Your Highness, you're going to join the Imperial Guard?!" The head eunuch nearly fainted on the spot upon hearing this.
"What? The Third Prince went too?" Cui Zui was even more resentful, especially after hearing about what happened at the Imperial Guard camp today. He immediately shouted, "Master, shouldn't you say something? Why can't I go? I want to go too! I want to go too!"
Cui Zui glanced at the ground, clearly intending to lie down and roll around on it.
Cui Zui had made up his mind. He would throw a tantrum and act cute today to go to the Imperial Guard with his master. He didn't care if he was a lackey or a lowly soldier; he just wanted to stay by his master's side and would never let any ill-intentioned princes take his place!
“The Imperial Guard is not suitable for you.” Cui Zui is a commander-in-chief who excels in large-scale battles. Placing him in the comfortable Imperial Guard would only ruin him. Xue Jin’an never intended for him to go to the Imperial Guard. “However, you can command them in battle and gain experience there.”
Before Cui Zui could even feel disappointed, he heard this and immediately became excited, asking, "Who is the opponent?"
"Helian Cheng." Xue Jin'an planned to put the Northwest Army and the Imperial Guard together to hone their skills. Of course, the Northwest Army could only field the two hundred weakest members of the entire army, otherwise the Imperial Guard would have no chance at all.
It's incredibly cruel. Even if the Imperial Guards were to face the worst two hundred men from the Northwest Army, the outcome would still be more losses than wins.
Cui Zui hesitated, then asked, "...Me, attack Helian Cheng? Again?"
Master, what was wrong with my posture when I failed last time? Did I fail to make you realize my true strength?
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