Yu Chenghua’s smile stiffened, and he said awkwardly, “Why would Your Highness care about this matter?”
His tone made it obvious that he wanted to brush it off with a joke.
Chen Chu did not press him. “If Grand Director Yu finds it inconvenient to say, then forget it. I can investigate it myself.”
After a moment, Yu Chenghua let out a bitter sigh and gave a wry smile. “Very well. Since Your Highness has reached a cooperation agreement with Marshal Fang, you will naturally want to get to the bottom of this matter. This old servant will tell Your Highness: the one who injured Heir Fang was not someone else, but… His Highness the Imperial Grandson!”
Chen Chu’s pupils narrowed slightly as he murmured thoughtfully, “Just as I expected.”
On the way here, Chen Chu had already figured it out, and Fang Dingzhi should have been able to guess a little too.
If the one who injured Fang Lingqiu had been an ordinary man, His Majesty would have already had him arrested, and even his entire clan would have been taken and sent to the Northern Plains to calm Fang Dingzhi’s fury.
In today’s imperial city, there were only two people whom His Majesty would shelter: the Third Prince, King Xuan Chen Bai, and the Imperial Grandson, Chen Fengyi. Even the Sixth Prince, King Yong Chen Yu, did not carry that much weight.
And among those two, only the Imperial Grandson, Chen Fengyi, would be so reckless and thoughtless.
Even though he could guess it, hearing Yu Chenghua say it himself made it certain.
Yu Chenghua continued, “Your Highness, that day the Imperial Grandson did indeed clash with Heir Fang, but the one who crippled Heir Fang was someone who secretly borrowed the Imperial Grandson’s sword. There were hidden circumstances involved.”
Yu Chenghua then explained the truth of that day.
The courtesan of the Heavenly Palace today was named Shangguan Liuli. Her beauty could be described as a celestial maiden descending to the mortal world. Every man in the imperial city who had seen her was utterly captivated and unable to control himself. Almost every man in the imperial city wanted a taste of her charms, and even His Majesty… had more than once entertained the thought of trying his old hand again.
But because of the Heavenly Palace’s background, unless the courtesan herself was willing, the only one who could use force was His Majesty.
However, His Majesty had already suffered a loss at the hands of a Heavenly Palace courtesan twenty-two years ago, and he was no longer so concerned with beauty, so he did not make a move.
Shangguan Liuli had always been a performer-only courtesan and never accepted guests. Until a month ago, she suddenly announced that she was seeking a private guest. She coveted neither spirit stones nor rare treasures, and only wanted a poem that could move her.
At once, the entire imperial city was swept into a poetic frenzy. Even some literary masters who had been secluded for years came out to take part, yet not a single one succeeded.
Among them, His Highness the Imperial Grandson gathered a large group of scholars and talented men, pooling their ideas just to obtain a poem that could move Shangguan Liuli.
Within half a month, the number of timeless masterpieces appearing in the imperial city even surpassed the previous fifty years, which showed just how insane things had become.
Yet not a single poem made Shangguan Liuli nod.
It was not until Fang Lingqiu brought a poem that went, “A smile meets on the road to the Peng Sea, worldly romance is like dust…” that it truly entered Shangguan Liuli’s heart, and she invited Fang Lingqiu into her pavilion.
At the time, Chen Fengyi was also present, but because of his status he had disguised himself. Enraged, he then attacked Fang Lingqiu.
Fang Lingqiu was at the ninth-rank realm, while Chen Fengyi was at tenth rank. Naturally, he beat Fang Lingqiu to a pulp, leaving him in an utterly miserable state, yet Fang Lingqiu refused to accept it no matter what and hurled all kinds of insults at him.
Chen Fengyi grew angry and pointed his sword at Fang Lingqiu’s lower abdomen, forcing him to leave.
Fang Lingqiu, the dignified Northern Plains Heir, would not accept such humiliation and flatly refused.
Chen Fengyi thrust his sword forward, intending to intimidate him to the extreme.
However, just then, Fang Lingqiu not only failed to retreat, but suddenly stepped forward half a step, and the object at his groin happened to slam squarely into Chen Fengyi’s sword.
A shrill scream echoed through the Heavenly Palace, heartbreaking to hear and bringing tears to those who heard it.
“Heir Fang is at least at the ninth-rank realm. When facing danger, he should instinctively seek advantage and avoid harm. Under normal circumstances, he would never have stepped forward like that. There can only be one reason for this: an expert secretly intervened.”
After explaining everything, Yu Chenghua gave his fair judgment.
However, Chen Chu did not care about these hidden circumstances. He only cared about the result.
“Thank you, Grand Director Yu, for your answer.”
Yu Chenghua warned him, “Your Highness, no matter how wrong His Highness the Imperial Grandson is, he is still His Majesty’s beloved. You must be careful.”
That was indeed the truth. Even though Chen Chu was far away at the Imperial Mausoleum, he had heard about the Imperial Grandson, Chen Fengyi: lecherous, frivolous, and incapable of getting anything done, utterly unqualified to be a crown prince.
Yet someone like him had still sat securely in the position of Imperial Grandson for a full ten years, and had not been deposed even now.
If Chen Chu touched him, he would inevitably anger Emperor Wuzhao.
But… did Chen Chu care?
Seeing that Chen Chu paid no attention, Yu Chenghua knew he had not listened, so he changed the subject. “What does Your Highness think of my disciple?”
He was naturally referring to Yu Fengcheng.
“To have reached the twelfth-rank Heavenly Official Realm at such a young age, he will surely step into the Fifteenth Grade given time.”
Yu Chenghua felt somewhat pleased and proud. To be accepted as his disciple, one naturally had exceptional talent.
He praised him generously. “Fengcheng’s most valuable trait is not his martial arts talent, but his loyalty. His personality is upright. Once he recognizes a master, he is no different from those Northern Plains soldiers, and he will never harbor divided loyalties. Your Highness, since you think highly of him, why not keep him at your side to serve you?”
Chen Chu smiled. From the moment Yu Fengcheng came forward to greet him, he had known this would be the case.
He nodded in agreement.
“Since Grand Director Yu is willing to part with such a valuable talent, I will not refuse.”
“That is Fengcheng’s honor! Your Highness, it is getting late. This old servant will take his leave and return to the palace first. If Your Highness needs anything in the future, please feel free to command this old servant.”
Yu Chenghua paused, then added, “That is also His Majesty’s intention.”
After that, he turned and left, his afterimage streaking away as he quickly vanished into the night.
…
The next day, dawn broke.
Chen Chu brought Yu Fengcheng, Xu Zhaoxing, and Su Ru into the city.
On the way, under Chen Chu’s pressure, Su Ru chose to submit. There was only one condition: she would not reveal the mastermind behind the poison. Chen Chu did not make things difficult for her.
Whether sincere or not, Su Ru was already one of Chen Chu’s subordinates.
“Finally back in the imperial city!”
Xu Zhaoxing could not help cheering as she greedily inhaled the fragrant and refreshing air of the imperial city.
If she had known that traveling would be such a troublesome ordeal, Xu Zhaoxing would never have agreed to go to the Imperial Mausoleum with her grandfather in the first place.
At last they were back, and at last she could get a good night’s sleep.
“Huh? His Highness the Imperial Grandson!!”
Xu Zhaoxing was surprised to find that someone had come to greet them, and it was actually the Imperial Grandson, Chen Fengyi.
Her mind filled with questions. What was he doing here if not up to something?
“Little Sister Zhaoxing, you’ve worked hard.”
Chen Fengyi walked over with a swaggering stride, his chin raised at a slight angle, perfectly displaying the dignity of an Imperial Grandson.
He came before Chen Chu, clasped one hand behind his back, cast a sidelong glance, and coughed lightly as he said, “You must be Chen Chu. Let me introduce myself: I am the Imperial Grandson, Chen Fengyi. You may simply call me Your Highness the Imperial Grandson.”
Xu Zhaoxing was baffled.
Chen Chu also blinked in confusion.
So Chen Fengyi had deliberately waited here just to show off?
He knew Chen Fengyi was absurd, but he had not known he was this ridiculous.
At this moment, Xu Zhaoxing’s heart was practically in her throat. After traveling together for so long, how could she still not know Chen Chu’s personality? Heaven and earth were vast, but even the King of Heaven did not compare to him.
Along the way, he had freely spoken disrespectful words about His Majesty. Would he treat an Imperial Grandson as anything important?
She thought to herself, ‘Chen Chu, you absolutely must not act impulsively. Beating up the Imperial Grandson is a serious crime.’
Even she herself had not noticed that, little by little, she had already begun thinking from Chen Chu’s perspective.
However, Chen Chu was unexpectedly unlike himself. He did not suppress everything with overwhelming force. Instead, he bowed respectfully with clasped hands and said, “Chen Chu pays his respects to Your Highness the Imperial Grandson.”
Xu Zhaoxing: “???”
Was this still the Chen Chu she knew?
After thinking about it, she suddenly did not find it so strange. After all, he was now in the imperial city, so he would have some reservations.
Yes, if he kept that fearless, heaven-defying, imperial-defying nature, how could he possibly survive in a place like the imperial city?
Still, Xu Zhaoxing felt a subtle sense of disappointment inside.
She preferred Chen Chu’s look of scorning the sun and moon, with only himself above all else.
Chen Fengyi nodded haughtily. This kid knew how to behave. It had not been in vain that he had waited here so early in the morning.
He had come alone to wait for Chen Chu only to prove one thing to all the court officials: he was the crown prince personally appointed by His Majesty, the future Emperor of Tianchen.
Any prince would have to lower his head in front of him!
In short, he had come here to establish authority.
His goal achieved, just as he was about to have Chen Chu accompany him to the morning court, he suddenly saw Chen Chu push forward a beautiful woman in red and say with apparent enthusiasm, “Your Highness the Imperial Grandson, your Ninth Uncle has only just arrived in the imperial city and has no proper gift to present to Your Highness the Imperial Grandson. I only have one concubine to offer. Please do not despise her!”
The beautiful woman in red was naturally Su Ru.
She looked at Chen Fengyi with a reluctant-yet-inviting expression, her gaze indescribably alluring, making Chen Fengyi practically drool.
He thought to himself that Chen Chu really knew how to play along, even sending him a beauty as tribute.
He pretended to refuse. “This doesn’t seem appropriate.”
Chen Chu suddenly roared, “How outrageous! His Highness the Imperial Grandson actually wants your Ninth Uncle’s woman! Where are the moral principles? Where is the imperial family’s dignity? You have gone too far!”
That shout immediately drew the curious gazes of countless city guards.
Su Ru suddenly collapsed into the arms of the stunned Chen Fengyi, making it look as if Chen Fengyi was being indecent with her while she struggled desperately but could not break free no matter what.
Chen Chu, the Ninth Prince, had his face turn red with anger, and his shoulders trembled violently. “Your Highness the Imperial Grandson, you are going too far!!”
Then, with a loud bang, he kicked Chen Fengyi flying more than ten zhang, sending him crashing to the ground. Blood spilled from Chen Fengyi’s mouth, and then everything went black as he lost consciousness.
The long street fell into dead silence.
His Highness the Imperial Grandson had been kicked unconscious by the Ninth Prince who had just arrived.
Xu Zhaoxing, who had witnessed the entire scene, kept blinking her shocked eyes. Looking at the unconscious Chen Fengyi, she felt a pang of pity: you can only blame your naivety for not understanding the cruelty of human nature.
Inside Taiji Hall, Emperor Wuzhao Chen Qing had still not announced the start of the morning court, and the entire court was waiting for Chen Chu.
But instead of Chen Chu, a eunuch stumbled in, knelt down, and reported in a panic, “His Highness the Ninth Prince just kicked His Highness the Imperial Grandson flying in the street!”
The entire hall was shocked!