Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
The Great Yu great general's Residence.
Wearing a martial practitioner's tight-fitting attire and holding a long saber, Shao Xuxue sent fierce winds sweeping through the courtyard, whipping the tough grass. Every swing of her saber carried a violent astral wind.
After dancing for half an hour, Shao Xuxue shattered the long saber in her hand, its fragments of light-blades breaking apart across the ground.
“Your heart is unsettled. Forcing your training will harm your body!”
An old man walked in through the courtyard entrance.
“Master!”
Shao Xuxue threw the saber hilt in her hand onto the ground and clasped her hands in salute.
“Are you thinking about Li Zhen?”
“No!”
“Hahahaha, Xue'er, I watched you grow up. How could I not know what is in your heart?” The old man calmly sat down in the pavilion.
Shao Xuxue sat down in the pavilion with puffed cheeks.
“Master, I just don't understand. How can a grown man be so unreasonable?
My imperial brother never said he was going to demote him to a commoner. He only wanted him to serve as Prefect of the Capital first, and would promote him in the future!
Why can't he lower his head to my imperial brother? The ruler is the guiding principle for the subject—how can he not understand that?”
Shao Xuxue's voice was filled with anger.
“Xue'er, that is from your perspective. But what about Li Zhen's perspective?
I have seen that young man before. He is a man of unyielding pride! When your imperial brother first took the throne, the civil and military officials refused to submit, the subjects suffered, and the great clans stood everywhere!
Now the government is upright, the realm is at peace, and the great clans have vanished without a trace!
Did your imperial brother accomplish all this? No, it was Li Zhen. With such talent, he refused to form factions and was willing to become a lone minister!
And your imperial brother still wants to chastise him because of his attitude? Can he endure that?
A genius of such extraordinary talent is not one of those mediocre men. How could he be treated the same way?
Besides, demoting someone is easy, but promoting them is difficult!”
The old man held his teacup and spoke calmly.
An outsider could see things more clearly.
Hearing her master's words, Shao Xuxue lowered her beautiful eyes, her heart filled with complicated emotions.
Could they really have been wrong?
Had they failed Li Zhen?
Her master was the person she trusted most.
His words naturally carried great weight.
“Master, according to what you mean, should I go find Li Zhen?”
“No, no, no!”
The old man gently shook his head.
“Quite the opposite! A person like him is unyieldingly proud and will never turn back. I estimate it is already too late to go now.
You would be better off using this time to report to your imperial brother. Li Zhen's dismissal from office has already spread throughout the Nine Provinces.
There are countless people trying to recruit him. We absolutely cannot let this man join another nation!
Otherwise, the consequences will be unimaginable! He is only twenty years old! His future is boundless!
Great Yu's current order was created by him alone. If he joins another nation…”
Shao Xuxue looked at her master, her beautiful eyes widening again and again!
Her master had once been an old grandmaster from the Central Province, and he was extraordinarily perceptive when it came to people and affairs!
“Go quickly. That young man has already been gone for half a month. As for him, either capture him and imprison him for life, or kill him at once!”
Shao Xuxue rose and hurriedly left.
The old man's finger curled slightly. Water rose into the air from the teacup, spiraling overhead and transforming into a ferocious flood dragon!
“The hidden dragon emerges from the abyss! But the difficulties ahead are countless!”
As his words fell, the water dragon instantly burst apart, scattering into droplets!
…
The Imperial Palace!
Ever since Li Zhen left, Shao Xuji had been plunged into endless trouble. All kinds of complicated problems had converged on his desk.
Each matter was more troublesome than the last!
The issues involved were far too broad. The slightest failure to consider every angle would lead to endless turmoil.
Li Zhen had handled all these matters before. It was not as though Shao Xuji had wanted to handle them himself; he had only appointed a chancellor a few days ago.
As a result, the other party had made an utter mess of things. Not only had he failed to share the burden, he had instead caused even more trouble!
Li Zhen's policies were still being implemented, but no one possessed his way of thinking or his method of handling affairs.
No one could imitate his freewheeling way of thinking.
“Your Majesty, the Great General Princess requests an audience!”
Hearing the guard's report, Shao Xuji hurriedly rose and waved his hand. “Let her in!”
Before long, Shao Xuxue hurried inside.
“Did Li Zhen contact you?”
A trace of hope appeared in Shao Xuji's eyes as he asked.
“No! Imperial brother, my master told me…”
Shao Xuxue recounted her entire conversation with her master.
Shao Xuji's expression turned gloomy!
He had indeed been negligent.
Subconsciously, he still believed that Li Zhen was merely throwing a childish tantrum at him.
Thus, he had never considered so much. No matter what, Li Zhen could not possibly harbor such intense resentment toward him.
But after elder Lin pointed this out, he felt a chill run down his back.
Great Yu's current policies were basically reforms proposed by Li Zhen.
If Li Zhen truly went to another nation, the disaster he would bring upon Great Yu would be catastrophic.
“Imperial brother, do you know where Li Zhen is now?” Shao Xuxue asked, lifting her delicate face.
On the first night, she had not paid any attention to Li Zhen.
She had thought she could wait for him to come find her.
But by the time she wanted to look for him, it was already too late.
Li Zhen had supposedly already left the Capital City.
At that time, she could still have caught up with him.
But Shao Xuxue could not let go of the pride in her heart.
So she had allowed Li Zhen to leave!
After that, she had deliberately refused to think about him, and thus completely lost all news of him.
“I do not know, but Li Zhen would absolutely never dare go to another nation!” Shao Xuji's words clearly lacked confidence.
He immediately waved his hand and ordered, “Summon the Minister of War to the palace!”
Shao Xuxue let out a soft sigh.
They had both greatly underestimated Li Zhen's importance to Great Yu.
Now the situation was completely out of control!
“This subject, the Minister of War, pays his respects to Your Majesty and the Great General Princess!”
A dark-skinned, plain-looking middle-aged man walked in and knelt in greeting.
“Fang Dao, send people to investigate Li Zhen's whereabouts. Notify the cavalry at every borderlands post throughout the nation that they must find Li Zhen!
Once you find him, you must bring him back to me!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
Fang Dao rose and accepted the order.
Li Zhen was merely a first-rank scholar, so he did not ask what to do if Li Zhen resisted.
After Fang Dao left, worry surfaced in Shao Xuji's eyes.
Li Zhen had not dared to do so before, but now Shao Xuji could no longer be certain.
From the moment Li Zhen was dismissed from office, he seemed to have become completely different from the person Shao Xuji had known in his heart.
Shao Xuxue also felt terrible.
After elder Lin's explanation, she felt as though she might have been wrong.
But even taking a step back, was Li Zhen blameless? Could he not have taken the initiative to come find her?
The problem still lay with him.
She was a girl. Even if her brother had done something wrong by him, he should still forgive her.
The princess had married beneath her station to him. Was it not only right for Li Zhen to suffer a little grievance?
As Shao Xuxue thought about it, her resolve gradually strengthened.
This was his problem. What did it have to do with her?
A real man lived between heaven and earth. If he could not even endure a little grievance, what great deeds could he accomplish?
Her older brother thought much the same way.
Shao Xuji.
He was the ruler, while Li Zhen was the subject.
Even taking a step back, even if he had handled this matter incorrectly, was Li Zhen's method of handling it correct? Not necessarily.
From a subject's perspective, even if the ruler was wrong, Li Zhen should have earnestly explained the matter and convinced him.
He should not have protested in such a forceful manner.
Was this how a subject was supposed to handle affairs?
If everyone imitated him, how could he, the emperor, continue ruling?
Absurd!
In other words, when the ruler wants a subject dead, the subject must die.
He had not even ordered Li Zhen to die, yet Li Zhen was already acting like this.
What would happen if he truly bestowed death upon him? Would Li Zhen not be forcing the emperor from the throne?
What an unfilial wretch!
How had he never realized that Li Zhen was this kind of person before?
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