Game Theory
Sang Zhao invited Xiao Zhichang to take a walk in the nearby woods, "Would Your Highness like to join me?"
The waiter next to him tried to stop him, but was dismissed by his master.
Xiao Zhichang rested his left hand lightly on the attendant's sword. "Immortal Sang has been a benefactor to me, a man of such integrity and virtue," the sword rang as it went into its sheath. "Why should I be on guard?"
The waiter had no choice but to leave, secretly thinking to himself: Your Highness, you threatened that junior sister just half an incense stick ago, you have to be careful now.
The two strolled together along the country lanes, and Sang Zhao told him about the stories of Shixi Village that he had heard from Lin Yun in the past few days.
"...They traveled for a long time before finally finding this 'place' that the rebels dared not set foot in."
Xiao Zhichang listened absentmindedly, and after he finished speaking, he sighed, "How pitiful. However, why did you go through all this trouble, Immortal Master? Are you perhaps afraid that I will make things difficult for those poor people?" He put away his folding fan, tapped his palm lightly, and waited for Sang Zhao's reply.
"All living beings suffer." Sang Zhao stopped beating around the bush. "I hope Your Highness will not add any new sorrows to your life."
The esteemed Crown Prince displayed his hands to him, scoffing, "Difficult? I have never made things difficult for them. The household deed they requested was obtained by me. Immortal Master, you have misunderstood; it is truly heartbreaking." He remained as unreliable as ever.
He strolled leisurely with his hands behind his back, ignoring Sang Zhao who was standing there dumbfounded.
Suddenly, she turned around.
“Those in high positions only care about the word 'big' in everything they see and desire. Heaven and earth are the chessboard, how can they care about a grain of sand in the corner of the board?” As Xiao Zhichang said this, he turned the jade ring on his hand, as if he were playing with the world.
His words puzzled Sang Zhao even more: "If even sand cannot be tolerated, this chessboard is likely to collapse."
His tone was calm and did not imply any questioning; he was merely expressing his doubts, yet it caused the person in front of him to change their expression.
The man in brocade chuckled, "Does Immortal Sang know this?"
He leaned closer to Sang Zhao, his mockery intensifying. “If the chessboard collapses, a craftsman can rebuild it. But this gravel—” he gently brushed the dust off Sang Zhao’s shoulder, “is most likely to irritate the eyes of the player.”
Sang Zhao was about to continue arguing when he suddenly heard the sound of a dry branch breaking overhead. In the instant he turned and pushed the prince aside, his sword had already sliced off a tree trunk.
The armored guards were hanging upside down on another branch.
"Excellent swordsmanship!" A muffled laugh escaped Xiao Zhichang's lips. "It's just that Immortal Sang is too paranoid. This person is merely my secret guard."
He snapped his fingers, and the man disappeared into the woods.
"Your lightness skill is quite impressive, not much worse than the sword control technique of the Jingyin Sect." His tone seemed to have a hidden meaning, yet it also sounded like he was simply joking.
Sang Zhao maintained his gentle, smiling demeanor, but his imposing presence remained undiminished. "Since Your Highness is familiar with my sect's sword-controlling techniques..."
“You also know that the Jingyin Sect is protective of its own.” Xiao Zhichang interrupted, his expression suddenly becoming serious.
Suddenly, the familiar accent of someone calling for Sangzhao to have his meal drifted from the cooking smoke.
The cultivator took a half step back, bowed, and took his leave. "The Jingyin Sect's rules state: Disciples do not enter into the games of the mortal world." As he turned, his spring robe billowed like waves. "And I will not do it again—"
"Pawn".
In the end, Xiao Zhichang was defeated in their confrontation. He waved his hand and called out to Sang Zhao's disappearing figure, "I will obey the Immortal Master."
Sang Zhao's purpose in this conversation was very clear: the people of the Jingyin Sect do not participate in worldly affairs. This is a promise given by the royal family, and it is also a principle that he, as the crown prince, must abide by.
His previous deliberate involvement in the Jingyin Sect's scheme had already displeased them, not to mention his exploitation and threats against his personal disciples.
Thinking of the letter that was burned after being read, Xiao Zhichang murmured, "It's not that I wanted to drag you into this mess."
When he was completely out of sight, he waved, signaling to the people in the shadows.
The Xuanjia guards who had just disappeared reappeared beside him, and Xiao Zhichang said sarcastically, "You cultivators are truly terrifying."
If Lin Yun were here, she would definitely recognize this bodyguard as the "physician" who appeared at the teahouse that day.
“Sang Zhao is known for his good temper. If you’re afraid of even his ‘gentleman’s sword,’ don’t even think about borrowing this ‘bloodthirsty blade’ from the cultivation world.” The young cultivator leaned against a tree, twirling a bracelet between his fingers, with obvious sword marks on his sleeve.
He gently touched the torn sleeve; these words were, of course, meant to bluff the prince of the mortal realm.
Xiao Zhichang tossed the other bracelet over.
“Wasn’t this all arranged by you?” Xiao Zhichang retorted sharply. Now that the cooperation had ended and both sides had achieved their goals, he was no longer in a weak position or being at someone else’s beck and call.
Two strings of wooden beads collided, creating a slight fluctuation of spiritual energy. A puppet, as if summoned, rushed from another direction, carrying a corpse on its shoulder. The cultivator lightly touched his clothes, and in the blink of an eye, he was dressed in the corpse.
"Your loyal shadow guard has already delivered the secret message about the Crown Prince's furious execution of his close attendant to the palace."
I know, he answered in his heart.
But the secret letter stated that the Crown Prince had angered the Immortal Lord, and his attendant had been killed by the Immortal Lord in a fit of rage. Thinking of this, a faint smile appeared on his lips.
This trip was quite special; he needed to expose himself completely to his father in order to dispel his suspicions and put his mind at ease.
Even his act of using someone else to kill was under that person's control.
What does it matter? His father is getting older and his strength is waning. Some people and some things will inevitably favor the younger him. All he has to do now is act a little foolish and brainless.
"It's a pleasure to cooperate." The cultivator retreated into the rising wind, the wooden strings on his wrist jingling like clashing swords, and the wooden puppet also retreated.
Xiao Zhichang coldly glanced at the corpse.
Now, he has nipped all the uncontrollable ones in the bud.
He broke off a willow twig that had just sprouted, then crushed it in his hand, the juice soaking into his palm and making it sticky.
The servant who had been guarding the edge of the woods ran to Xiao Zhichang's side when he came out, and listened attentively to his instructions.
He had seen that Sang Zhao had returned to the village, but the Crown Prince had not yet come out, so he couldn't help but feel a little worried.
He only felt relieved after meeting the real person.
"Your Highness." He knelt on one knee and glimpsed Xiao Zhichang rubbing his throbbing temples, while the magnificent clothes of the person in front of him were stained with the familiar scent of blood.
"We're setting off back to the capital today. Remember to dispose of the bodies in the woods properly."
The servants before him were personally trained by his mother, and he trusted them completely.
In the evening, a secret document was added to the desks of the luxurious palace.
"Fool." The emperor flicked away the secret report with his finger, leaving a crisp sound in the empty hall.
The eunuch serving nearby lowered his eyes and, unfazed by the sight, picked up the secret report and placed it aside.
This "fool" is not a father's reprimand to his young son for his lack of ambition, nor is it a king's stern reprimand to his ministers; it is a competitor's mockery of other competitors who overestimate their abilities.
The two men had little fatherly affection for each other; when it came to the throne, it was a matter of life and death.
However, the emperor still regretted his soft heart. After all, the way to immortality had not yet been found, so this person had to be kept, but he must not pose a threat to him.
Looking back now, he was quite satisfied with the crown prince.
He's cowardly and stupid, with some petty schemes, but they're easily seen through. He has a bit of influence, but he's not a force to be reckoned with.
"Anfu, have you found the elixir you were looking for?"
"The alchemy room has obtained a prescription, and they are currently testing it." Yesterday, ten medicine practitioners died, and the image of their tragic deaths flashed through his mind. Even the usually cold-hearted Grand Eunuch Anfu felt a pang of pity.
But emperors don't care about these things.
"Tell those good-for-nothings that if they can't refine the true pill, they don't need any more medicine men. Let them try it themselves!"
Anfu bowed and left the hall, swallowing the sigh that was rising in his throat, and only said respectfully, "Yes, Your Majesty."
Historical records state that Emperor Wen, in his advanced age, became obsessed with alchemy. His official writings and comments gradually decreased, yet despite his declining energy, failing eyesight, and trembling hands, he still tightly gripped the imperial seal. The Crown Prince, now past twenty, could have overseen the state, but instead spent his days indulging in nature and sleeping in the imperial garden.
The nation is in peril.
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