Upon the pavilion's terrace lay a Go board, similar to the game of Weiqi, and the intermittent sound of stones being placed could be heard... "Your Highness, you have lost again..." After a moment, the faint voice of Zhuge Yi-shi finally sounded...
"Heh, Mr. Zhuge, your intellect surpasses mine; losing is only natural.
Come, let's play another round..." Luo Ruofeng chuckled lightly, completely unperturbed by the defeat... "No, it is that Your Highness has something heavy on your mind, which is why you didn't focus on the game.
Your Highness, our Southern Cloud Empire is currently at its zenith of power, and the battles on the front lines are singing a triumphant song. Why then must you harbor such sorrow?" Zhuge Yi-shi spoke calmly, yet his eyes flickered with a light that seemed to see through everything...
"Mr. Zhuge, you know my concerns only too well.
Before Father ascended the throne, he showed considerable care toward us brothers. But ever since becoming Emperor, he has seemed like a completely different person.
He dotes on Eldest Brother increasingly, while barely acknowledging the rest of us, even the Seventh Prince. Now, with the reorganization of the Four Great Legions—Wind, Cloud, Thunder, and Lightning—he has handed over complete authority to Eldest Brother to manage, while he himself only pursues the Martial Dao and neglects everything else.
Tell me, is he not afraid that Eldest Brother will rebel?" Luo Ruofeng grew more incensed and animated as he spoke; the days lately had been progressively worse for him... Aside from the Iron Army, he possessed no other real leverage.
And as for the court officials, ever since Luo Hai-tian was established as the Crown Prince, they swarmed him like hornets, desperately swearing their fealty, as if fearing Luo Hai-tian wouldn't recognize them otherwise... Consequently, except for Old Second, Luo Mu-yan, who remained on the front lines, nearly the entire court had fallen under Luo Hai-tian's control.
Even Xiao Geng, the most trusted subordinate of Luo Hai-feng, had defected to Luo Hai-tian’s side. This situation left Luo Ruofeng and the other princes with no choice but to worry...
Should Luo Hai-tian harbor treacherous intentions and initiate a rebellion, they, the others, would surely face death... This matter concerned not only the throne but also their very lives and fortunes...
"Your Highness, it is best you speak less of such things..." Zhuge Yi-shi’s tone remained utterly placid... "Hmph..." Luo Ruofeng let out a heavy snort.
The fact that even the usually composed him was so agitated clearly indicated that the situation had reached its most critical juncture... "Actually, Your Highness need not worry.
Regardless of what the Crown Prince intends, as long as General Xiao Geng remains steadfast, he cannot do anything to Your Highness..." Zhuge Yi-shi said softly... "You mean Ling-mei?" Luo Ruofeng’s expression shifted abruptly...
Zhuge Yi-shi nodded gently... "Don't you understand Ling-mei’s feelings?
For over a year, if I hadn't persuaded her, wouldn't she have already fled the palace to find A-Yu? Now that A-Yu is also absent, I truly don't know what madness A-Yu will fall into when he returns and learns that Ling-mei married that fellow Xiao Geng?" Luo Ruofeng's eyes revealed a mixture of anger and helplessness...
He had long understood the bond between his sister and Ye Jing-yu. Initially, he hadn't fully endorsed the match, as, for a man, becoming a consort meant stagnation in one's official career.
But later, he realized Ye Jing-yu was not someone obsessed with status, and he genuinely loved his sister, which is when he finally accepted the marriage in his heart... He had planned to petition the Emperor to propose the marriage after the Northern Expedition War concluded, but unexpectedly, Ye Jing-yu was taken away by that person, and now it had been a year and a half since his departure...
During this year and a half, both the Emperor Father and Mother had been anxious about Ling’er’s marriage. If it weren't for his constant interference, she likely would have been wed long ago...
After all, she was nearly twenty, which was quite old for a young woman... But now, that fellow Xiao Geng was actually willing to forgo his command position just to marry Ling’er.
Given the Xiao family’s accumulated merits over so many years, the Emperor Father agreed outright, and the wedding was set for the third day of the third month next month... This had become an established fact, impossible to obstruct even for him...
The thought that his sister might not marry Ye Jing-yu filled him with utter helplessness... Of course, what worried him most was what frantic actions Ye Jing-yu might take upon learning of this.
No one knew Ye Jing-yu’s temperament better than he. Back when Ye Jing-yu was merely a Martial Master, he dared to refuse kneeling before their Imperial Father.
Who could say what realm he might have reached after returning from the side of that formidable master... Especially since that formidable master was known for fiercely protecting his own.
If he were truly angered, who could guess what might happen... The Southern Cloud Empire did not possess a peerless expert like Xuanyuan Jue...
Luo Ruofeng even felt the impulsive urge to inform his Imperial Father that Ye Jing-yu was the direct disciple of Dugu Ba-chen... However, what somewhat comforted Luo Ruofeng was that such powerful figures generally paid no heed to secular affairs; otherwise, the Shu Cloud Kingdom would never have dared to launch a northern campaign...
"Heh heh, Your Highness still holds Brother Ye in his heart? Then why worry about anything else?" Seeing Luo Ruofeng’s helpless and bewildered expression, a faint smile appeared on Zhuge Yi-shi’s placid face...
"En?" Luo Ruofeng started, "Are you saying A-Yu has returned?" A flash of excitement crossed Luo Ruofeng's face... "Who?" At that moment, Nangong Shang suddenly snorted.
The transparent long spear in his hand flickered, instantly weaving thousands of spear shadows toward the void. At least twenty guards darted out from various locations, shielding Luo Ruofeng and Zhuge Yi-shi in the center, while over ten guards followed Nangong Shang toward the unseen intrusion...
"Clang, clang, clang..." Several crisp sounds resonated in the void, forcing back Nangong Shang's spear thrust. Immediately, a figure flashed out...
Nangong Shang snorted coldly but continued his assault with the spear. The other dozens of soldiers also drew their sabers and lunged at the figure.
The hidden archers directly loosed the arrows from their bows, sending at least several dozen shafts toward the figure... Facing such a dense barrage of attacks, even a Grandmaster would find it impossible to escape.
Yet, the figure abruptly drew a pitch-black iron saber from his back and gave it a gentle swing. Streams of blinding saber light erupted from the dark blade, instantly enveloping the rain of arrows...
"Clink, clink, clink..." With several more sharp sounds, every arrow was severed. The dozen or so guards who had rushed forward were shaken backward, their sabers shattering piece by piece, and their palms were split with long gashes...
Even Nangong Shang, who had already attained the Grandmaster realm, was forced back by a single strike. His hands tingled, and his face was etched with terror...
When the saber light dissipated, the figure's silhouette slowly became clear... Upon clearly discerning the newcomer's appearance, the look of horror on Nangong Shang’s face gradually transformed into elation...
For more novels, visit storyread.net.