Chapter 30
Li Chengqian did not take the little prince's words to heart at all. He probably dreamed of a fairy in his sleep, and after waking up he could not distinguish between the dream and reality, so he thought he really saw a fairy.
Unexpectedly, early the next morning, the little prince ran into the Zichen Palace wrapped in thick clothes.
The young prince hugged Li Chenghuan's thigh and vowed: "Father, I saw an immortal last night."
Li Chengzhen led the little prince to sit down: "Good, dreaming of an immortal is a good omen."
The little prince frowned, noticing the adults' perfunctory response: "Yu'er saw it, she was wearing white clothes, as white as the moon."
Li Chengqian smiled and said, "Okay, okay."
The little prince twisted his body and said, "It flew out from the moon."
Everyone in the palace couldn't help laughing at the little prince's amusement.
Li Chengqian laughed: "This immortal still lives in the Moon Palace."
The little prince said: "Yu'er wants to see the immortal tonight."
Li Chenghuan touched the little prince's forehead and asked, "Did you read a story recently that said there are immortals living in the Moon Palace?"
"There are actually no immortals in the world. Those are just stories from the novels."
The little prince could tell that Li Chengqian didn't believe him at all, and he twisted his body in anger. He turned his butt towards his father and said in a decisive tone, "Yes, it is true!"
Li Chengqian didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Seeing that his father was still making fun of him, the little prince let go of Li Chenghuan's hand and went to play with Lin Nanjie.
Lin Nanzhen coaxed the little prince: "Little prince, if you see an immortal, then there is an immortal."
[Can the dog emperor coax people? ]
[Would any parent tell their child that Santa Claus is fake? ]
The little prince's face lit up immediately, and he kissed Lin Nanqi on the cheek.
"Hello, I want to play with you."
Li Chengqian: …
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the princes in Beijing came to pay their respects one after another, and a banquet was held in the evening for the princes and officials, so Li Chenghuan was still very busy that day.
By the time the banquet was over, it was already past midnight. Li Chenghuan was walking on the procession path, with the silver glow of moonlight draped over his shoulders.
At this moment, everything was silent. The moonlight and the snowflakes shone together, illuminating the vermilion palace walls. Li Chengqian enjoyed this rare moment of peace.
There was only Wang Dehai by his side, and Wang Dehai would never make a sound when he should be quiet.
Suddenly, a white dot appeared in his sight. The white dot became clearer and clearer, dancing down from the top of the corner tower.
Li Chengqian slowly widened his eyes.
Immortal!
The next morning, when Lin Nanli was on duty, he saw Li Chengqian staring at his desk, mumbling, "Immortal, it's an immortal."
"Wearing fluttering white clothes, holding a sword as cold as snow, with an unparalleled appearance, he is truly an immortal!"
Lin Nanjie: …
【I am crazy again.】
【His face was dull and he was talking nonsense.】
[Yesterday I said it was just a made-up story from a storybook, but today I took it seriously.]
【It is so fickle. 】
Yesterday, Lin Nanqi accompanied the little prince to wait for the immortal, but the little prince fell asleep after a short while. Today, he came to the Zichen Palace early again and heard Li Chengqian muttering the word "immortal".
When Li Chenghuan saw the little prince, his eyes lit up and he stepped forward quickly: "What did the immortal that Yu'er saw yesterday look like?"
The little prince blinked his eyes and said, "He was wearing white clothes and had a sword on his body."
Li Chengzhen blurted out: "Yes! It's the immortal! Father also saw him last night."
The little prince suddenly clenched his lips and let out a cry: "What a lie! Yesterday, my father said it was fake. Why didn't the immortal come to me but to my father? My father is so old now."
The longest sentence the young prince said in his life was to curse Li Chengqian.
Li Chengqian was a little unhappy.
The little prince also sobbed with a stern face.
The little prince pulled Lin Nanqi's sleeve and sobbed, "Father is lying."
Lin Nan was caught in the middle and instantly broke out in a sweat.
[Ah, I shouldn't have said that the dog emperor was old and his eyes were blurry when I was coaxing the little prince yesterday.]
[And I also think that the dog emperor is lying...]
[After all, he is the emperor, so he likes to say that he is the emperor chosen by the immortals. Taizu even said that he was the incarnation of the Purple Star. ]
【The observatory wasted its time.】
[It is indeed a long and arduous journey to break free from feudal superstitions! 】
Li Chengqian: …
He said he saw it with his own eyes!
Lin Nanqi had no choice but to pull the little prince aside and whispered, "The emperor is just jealous that Your Highness has seen an immortal, but he hasn't. He is the emperor, so we should give him some face."
The little prince seemed to understand, nodded, and promised not to accuse his father of lying, and also swore not to betray Lin Nanjie.
Lin Nanqi breathed a sigh of relief.
【Ah, I'm so smart! 】
[He appeased the little prince and maintained the face of the dog emperor. ]
Li Chengqian also felt that he was quite childish and even argued with a child. He didn't know what Lin Nanqie had done to coax him, and he couldn't help but be curious.
The young prince walked up to Li Chenghuan hesitantly and pulled on his sleeve: "I know I was wrong. I apologize to my father."
Li Chengqian was very relieved that he was able to bend and stretch himself and did not bear a grudge against him.
"Okay, how could Father blame Yu'er?"
The young prince looked at Li Chenghuan's face, and after confirming that he was really not angry, he smiled and said, "Father, don't be jealous of me. I have seen it, and it is your turn to see it."
Li Chengqian: !!!
Lin Nanjie couldn't believe it: [Didn't I tell you not to say it? ]
Li Chengqian took a deep breath and said with a fake smile: "Father is not jealous, not jealous."
After seeing the little prince off, Lin Nanjie wanted to run along, but he was grabbed by the back of his collar and asked, "Where are you running to?"
Lin Nanjie only felt his heels go empty and he was lifted up in the air and turned in a direction, facing Li Chenghuan's face which was so close to him.
Lin Nanqi forced out a flattering smile: "May your Majesty be blessed with good health and happiness."
Li Chengqian gritted his teeth and said, "I am so angry at you that I am almost going to die. What nonsense did you say in front of Yu'er just now?"
Lin Nanjie pretended to be terrified and said, "Of course, I am advising the young prince to be filial and respect the emperor."
Sometimes Li Chenghuan just wanted to pry open Lin Nanjie's brain to see what strange things were inside.
"I really saw an immortal." Li Chengqian said weakly.
Lin Nanjie realized: [Are you asking me to go out and spread rumors? After all, someone has to spread the news that the emperor saw the immortal.]
【As a eunuch, am I not the best candidate? 】
After Lin Nanjie figured it out, he said respectfully, "Your Majesty is right. The descent of a fairy on the first day of the Lunar New Year is a very good omen!"
Li Chengqian let go with a cold expression: "Shut up and get out!"
Lin Nan fled quickly.
The next day, the news of the fairy falling from the sky in the palace spread like a tornado throughout the streets and alleys.
Si Nanhao came to the outer room to find Lin Nanjie, and said triumphantly: "Now all the people in the city know about the fairy falling from the sky. I specially mobilized my informants in the south of the city to ensure that the news spreads to every inch of the capital!"
Lin Nan gave a thumbs up: "That's awesome, well done!"
In the court, all civil and military officials congratulated him.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty. The descent of a fairy from heaven is a sign of good fortune. It is also the first day of the new year. God must be blessing Daqi with good weather, a strong national power, and a peaceful and happy life for the people!"
"The heavens are grateful for the emperor's sincerity and have sent down auspicious signs!"
"May God bless you all, and congratulations!"
Chen Yanzhi took out a memorial with several thousand words on it and read aloud: "Since the emperor ascended the throne, the border wars have gradually subsided, and the people have been resting and living in peace and contentment... This time, God has favored Daqi, which is a blessing for us officials and the people! I will definitely work hard for Daqi until my death!"
All the civil and military officials knelt down and kowtowed: "We will do our utmost and will not stop until our death!"
Listening to the orderly voices of the ministers below, Li Chengqi felt numb.
Lin Nanjie, who was listening in the corridor, raised his chin and said, "It's pretty fast, I used a little bit of my connections."
[Mr. Chen is really reliable. Not only did he notify other adults, he also rushed out an article overnight. It's amazing! ]
Li Chengqian took a deep breath and raised his hands: "I am very pleased. My dear ministers, please stand up."
Li Chenghuan never expected that Lin Nanjie didn't understand a single word he said. Didn't he tell her to shut up?
Forget it, forget it. Li Chenghuan was not in the mood to think about it.
It was only the first day of the new year, but he felt like half of the year was already over. Otherwise, why would he feel like he was another year older?
After the court session, Lin Nanjie followed Li Chenghuan back to the Purple Palace to serve writing materials. In the afternoon, he was ready to go off duty and go to eat with Si Nanhao.
Li Chenghuan suddenly said, "You stay."
Lin Nanqi asked: "Does the emperor have any instructions?"
Li Chengqian: "Wait for the immortal at night."
Lin Nanqi: [???]
-
At night, Lin Nanjie followed Li Chengqi to the corner tower, and only then did she understand what Li Chengqi meant by "wait".
Behind Li Chenghuan were twenty or thirty imperial guards, each of whom was agile and skilled in martial arts, and they were all lying in ambush around the corner tower.
Lin Nanjie suddenly realized: [So they are catching an immortal? Oh no, this is the scene of catching an assassin, right? ]
[I thought the dog emperor was really bewitched by the immortal.]
In the dark night, Li Chengqian looked back, speechless.
Could it be that he is a tyrant who believes in immortality?
Then his eyes narrowed and he looked sharply towards the corner tower.
Lin Nanjie stood behind Li Chenghuan cautiously and calculated the time: [It is now 15:00. It was around this time when we sent the little prince back to the East Palace that day.]
Lin Nanjie raised his head, but his sight was blocked by Li Chengqian, so he could only see his broad and tall back. Li Chengqian's clear and sharp eyes looked at the corner tower in the night sky, like a wild wolf lying in ambush in the dark, waiting for the target to appear with a focused gaze.
At this time, the palace passage between the corner tower and Gyeongbokgung Palace was quiet, the night was silent, only the clouds were slowly moving, and Lin Nanjie couldn't help but hold his breath.
The corners that the moonlight could not reach were dark and cold, with only the palace lanterns shining tremblingly, like looking at flowers in the mist. After looking for a long time, I felt that there was something hidden everywhere.
Lin Nanjie stood closely behind Li Chenghuan, hiding her voice.
Suddenly, a dark shadow jumped out from the corner wall. Lin Nanjie was startled and shrank back, subconsciously grabbing Li Chenghuan's sleeve.
Then I heard a "chi chi chi" sound.
Lin Nanjie wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. It turned out to be a little mouse.
“I am here.”
At this moment, Li Chenghuan's low voice came to my ears.
Lin Nanqi quickly looked up and saw a white shadow flying out from the corner of the golden glazed tiles.
"Chase!" The commander of the imperial guards gave a low order, and twenty or thirty imperial guards immediately chased in the direction of the white shadow.
And Li Chengqi's speed is even faster.
Lin Nan lagged behind by a distance and followed closely behind, hurrying up and trying his best to catch up.
"Wait, wait for me!"
Lin Nanjie finally caught up. He was panting as if he had just finished a 3,000-meter run. He stood breathlessly against the wall. When he looked up, he saw the three big characters "Yifang Palace".