“Respectfully see off the Empress.”
After watching Du Lin’er leave in fury, Yu Chenghua entered the Imperial Study to report the situation.
“I know these two assassins, this old servant does. The cripple is called Lao Fang, and the one who cultivates the Water Control Art is called Bi Yunhe. They are both experts from the Hall of Anomalies. This old servant didn’t ask a single question; I killed them both.”
Yu Chenghua reported.
“Well done.”
Chen Qing nodded, very satisfied with Yu Chenghua’s approach.
Since it involved the Hall of Anomalies, there was no point in questioning them.
Chen Qing seemed to be talking to himself. “Is the mastermind behind this matter really the Imperial Preceptor? Since he has already decided to support Fengyi, there is no reason for him to do this.”
Although the assassins who intercepted Fang Lingqiu on his way back to the Northern Plains came from Zhuge Changsheng’s Hall of Anomalies, Chen Qing still could not conclude that Zhuge Changsheng was the mastermind behind crippling Fang Lingqiu.
As Chen Fengyi’s teacher, he had always stood firmly with Chen Fengyi.
There was no reason for him to do this.
But if one were to ask who in the entire imperial city could make Chen Fengyi stab Fang Lingqiu and cripple him without leaving even the slightest trace, there were no more than three people.
The first was Zhuge Changsheng.
The second was the Grand Princess Chen Banruo, whom Chen Qing had personally enfeoffed, the master of the Heavenly Palace.
The third was himself.
Of course, it was not impossible that an uninvited guest at Fifteenth Grade had arrived in the imperial city. However, that possibility was very small.
These two experts from the Hall of Anomalies were clues, but it could not be ruled out that another faction had bribed them to carry out a frame-up. The most likely possibility was that this was a false trail set by Zhuge Changsheng. If Chen Qing could not find a reason for Zhuge Changsheng to do this, then by now he would basically have concluded that everything was Zhuge Changsheng’s doing.
Many things were increasingly slipping out of Emperor Wuzhao’s control.
That feeling was very unpleasant.
“Your Majesty, no matter how deeply a ghost hides, it will always surface. Since we cannot figure it out, we should just wait for him to reveal his own flaw. Besides, we still have the Ninth Prince!”
Yu Chenghua offered this as a way to ease his worries.
At the mention of Chen Chu, a satisfied look appeared on Chen Qing’s face. “He handled the matter very well!”
Although Chen Fengyi had taken a severe beating and even lost half his life, at least it gave Fang Dingzhi an explanation.
Yu Chenghua said with great admiration, “The Ninth Prince is young, but he is unconventional in his actions. That is extremely rare. Should Your Majesty assign him something to do?”
“Let’s talk about everything after his wedding.”
Chen Qing already had his own plans in mind, but then he suddenly thought of something and said, “If trouble comes to his doorstep, he may not be able to handle it.”
Yu Chenghua asked, “What trouble?”
Chen Qing replied, “The Empress has summoned Du Hanhai to the imperial city.”
Yu Chenghua immediately thought, “Is he here to kill the Ninth Prince?!”
Chen Qing was not sure whether Du Hanhai would be so bold as to kill a prince, and only said, “Probably.”
“Probably” meant it was very likely.
Yu Chenghua immediately promised, “Your Majesty, rest assured. If Du Hanhai threatens the Ninth Prince’s life, this old servant will act.”
A Land Immortal Realm expert… who wasn’t one?
After all, he, Yu Chenghua, was still a senior.
“Do not act!”
Chen Qing refused, and said with deep meaning, “If he cannot even get past one Du Hanhai, how can he replace me, cut through thorns, and guard every inch of the Tianchen Dynasty’s land? Besides…”
“It is time to announce Chen Chu and Xu Zhaoyue’s marriage to the imperial city. Go handle it.”
…
The news that Ninth Prince Chen Chu would marry the eldest young lady of Duke Xu’s estate, Flying Flower Army Young Commander Xu Zhaoyue, on the first day of next month suddenly swept through the entire imperial city.
The first day of next month was less than ten days away.
The streets and alleys were filled with the common people’s discussions.
Some hot-blooded citizens angrily cursed His Majesty for this act as utterly foolish. Duke Xu’s estate was filled with heroes who had given their all for the nation; how could the eldest legitimate granddaughter be married to a Cursed Blood prince with half wasteland bloodline?
There were also bystanders who joked that the Imperial Grandson was finished.
Today the Ninth Prince stole his fiancée; tomorrow he would take his position as crown prince!
And, strangely enough, the entire court, including the officials and the nobles, did not make a single sound.
The reason was simple enough: since His Majesty had announced this matter, he had clearly made up his mind. Whoever jumped out to oppose it would certainly be destroyed.
At Grandson Manor, Chen Fengyi had just been pulled back from the brink by the imperial physicians and had recovered a bit of consciousness. When he suddenly heard a servant report this news, his rage surged and he spat out a mouthful of blood, fainting again on the spot.
Chen Chu had beaten him, humiliated him, and nearly killed him…
And now he was even stealing his Consort of the Imperial Grandson!
That demon!!
At that time, in the Ninth Prince’s Residence.
Chen Chu sat upright in a taishi chair, twirling a gilded invitation in his hand, finding it rather unusual.
“The Heavenly Palace. For a brothel to dare use such an imposing name, the master behind it must be quite remarkable.”
Just then, Yu Fengcheng outside the door happened to hear this. He stepped inside and explained, “The master behind the Heavenly Palace is Grand Princess Chen Banruo. She is a woman even my master’s master is extremely wary of.”
“So it’s her! That does explain it.”
When he was at the Imperial Mausoleum, Chen Qing would periodically send people to report the imperial city’s situation to the Ancestor. During his spare moments from enlightenment, he would also speak with the Ancestor, and what they discussed most was Tianchen’s tangled web of power and influence.
Chen Banruo was, without question, the most legendary woman in the history of the Tianchen Dynasty.
She had originally come from a branch of the royal family whose bloodline had become so thin that it was almost forgotten. Because she was a martial arts monster prodigy not seen in a thousand years, she was once again brought back into the ranks of the imperial relatives.
By the age of seventeen, she had stepped into Fifteenth Grade and achieved the status of a Land Immortal, unprecedented in the past and unlikely to be matched in the future.
Moreover, Chen Chu knew one secret that the outside world did not know.
When Chen Qing was to ascend the throne, the whole world was his enemy.
Even though the forces Chen Qing had gathered by then were already immensely powerful, it still was not certain that he would succeed.
The four frontiers all needed someone to hold them down and guard against unrest, leaving the imperial city empty.
On the night before his ascension, Heavenly Officials were as common as dogs outside the imperial city, Manifest Saints were everywhere, and even fourteenth-rank Unfettered Realm experts reached double digits. More than a hundred experts gathered in the imperial city, all to assassinate Chen Qing and prevent him from ascending the throne.
Chen Banruo alone intercepted them, slaughtering those experts like chickens and dogs.
Chen Banruo shook the world with that battle.
Though victory was achieved, it came at a cost. After that great battle, Chen Banruo’s realm regressed.
After that, no one ever saw Chen Banruo make a move again.
Even now, no one, not even the Dynasty’s Ancestor, knew what realm she was in.
The secret was that back then, Chen Banruo had given her all to help Chen Qing ascend the throne because Chen Qing had promised her that when he eventually passed away, if no prince could shoulder the burden of the Tianchen realm, the throne would be passed to her, making her the first female emperor in the history of the Tianchen Dynasty!
It was as if Chen Banruo had accurately calculated Tianchen’s situation today twenty-eight years ago.
Among the current Tianchen princes, not one could compare with Chen Qing in his prime.
To be precise, they were leagues apart.
Chen Chu knew Chen Banruo, but he truly did not know she was also the master of the Heavenly Palace.
And now, the gilded invitation in Chen Chu’s hand had come from the Heavenly Palace.
However, the person inviting him was not Chen Banruo, but the courtesan Shangguan Liuli, who was faintly known as Tianchen’s most beautiful woman.
Chen Chu did not know how beautiful Shangguan Liuli was, but she was absolutely a disaster.
By herself, she had nearly sparked conflict between the Northern Plains and the dynasty.
After learning the source of the invitation, Yu Fengcheng advised, “This servant thinks it would be best if Your Highness does not go. Setting aside the possibility that Shangguan Liuli may have ulterior motives in inviting Your Highness, with Your Highness’s wedding imminent, it is also not appropriate to appear in a place like the Heavenly Palace.”
“Besides, this servant thinks Shangguan Liuli is inauspicious.”
“Excellent analysis!”
Chen Chu praised him, then said, “Therefore, I have decided to go!”
Yu Fengcheng: “???”
Your Highness, you did not listen to a single word~