On the way back, Yi Mu looked closely at Xu Zang. He had eaten and drunk his fill, played to his heart's content, and was already asleep beside him.
Despite his large size, he likes to curl up into a ball when he sleeps, with his brows slightly furrowed, indicating a strong sense of insecurity.
He looks like a heartless fool.
But around the time after the New Year, during the Lantern Festival, they went down the mountain to play and an accident happened.
Five people died in the town, men, women, and children. They had come to the town to do business two years ago, and on the day of the Lantern Festival, they were found dead in the alley, their tendons and bones severed.
Further ahead, every year, bandits from the sea would come to the town. Quite coincidentally, it seemed they had anticipated that Xu Zang would come down the mountain, and they would lie in ambush early in the morning, just waiting for him to come down the mountain to give him a fatal blow.
Besides the highly skilled martial artist Nie San, Xu Zang also had secret guards left behind by his master.
Those imperial lackeys posing as pirates are not a threat, but in the last two years, they've become increasingly adept at their tricks.
And Xu Zang seems to be getting stronger every day.
Yi Mu stared at the man at his feet. Yes, even if he pretended to be crazy, he had grown into a strong and slender man.
The old emperor's health was deteriorating day by day, and he repeatedly urged the emperor to hold a coming-of-age ceremony for the crown prince under the pretext of doing so. In fact, those who were paying attention knew that His Majesty was about to establish an heir apparent.
His Highness the Crown Prince is mentally challenged; there is absolutely no way he could ascend to that position.
Of the remaining princes, only the third prince, Xu Lian, and the seventh prince, Xu Heng, are most likely to inherit the throne.
The two princes, one skilled in literature and the other in martial arts, respectively ruled over most of the court and the frontier battlefields.
The emperor's order for Xu Zang to return at this time was clearly intended to distract his two sons, allowing him to linger on the throne for a few more days.
He wouldn't be dethroned by his two ambitious sons before his reign was even over.
To put it bluntly, Xu Zang was just a shield.
What a ruthless father.
After Xu Zang was sent up the mountain, there was little contact between him and the palace.
Since Xu Zang still bore the title of Crown Prince, the authorities ignored him and let him perish on his own.
Fortunately, the brothers in the same sect had a good relationship. If they had encountered someone with a bad heart, the silly prince would probably have been tortured to death long ago.
In recent years, Yi Mu has had a bold conjecture.
He suspected that Xu Zang, that silly boy, was pretending to be stupid.
His mother was born in Xiliang and was the apple of the eye of the King of Xiliang. For the sake of peace between the two countries, the King sent his most beloved princess to Xu Kingdom to be the Queen.
The princess of Xiliang was extremely beautiful, but she was not favored by the current emperor.
Not long after the emperor and empress's wedding, the emperor married the daughter of the prime minister, his childhood sweetheart, as his imperial concubine.
A royal marriage ruined the happiness of many. The concubines were at odds, the emperor favored his concubines over his wife, and ultimately the empress died with resentment.
Without his mother's protection, the young crown prince was disliked by his father and bullied by the palace servants. When he was ten years old, he fell seriously ill and became delirious with fever.
After being elevated to Empress, the Imperial Concubine suggested to the Emperor that the Crown Prince be sent to Mount Fuyang, ostensibly as a tranquil place with beautiful mountains and clear waters, which would be more conducive to self-cultivation.
They couldn't even tolerate a ten-year-old mentally challenged child.
People from all walks of life advised the emperor that the empress was jealous and that he should never listen to her slander.
Despite the objections of the crowd, the emperor issued a ruthless imperial edict, sending the crown prince to the mountains.
Yi Mu's suspicion that Xu Zang was feigning ignorance was not unreasonable.
This fool may seem to know nothing, but he is wise beyond his years and knows how to retreat in order to advance. He will never suffer in silence.
Xiao Qing always said that Xu Zang, that brat, was even smarter than the monkeys on the mountainside.
Furthermore, over the years, Xu Zang has dodged all the open and covert attacks.
The imperial court sent top-notch experts, and even with Nie San and the secret guards blocking their way, it was impossible for them to escape unscathed. Yet Xu Zang managed to evade them all.
The carriage moved forward slowly, and the luminous pearl inside was covered with a cloth, so only a soft light shone down.
Yi Mu scrutinized Xu Zang's angular face, his expression gradually turning sinister.
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