novelraw Chapter 860: I’ll Do It! Lu Ding’s Gift, Ting Yu Xuan, and King Zhao!
Chapter 860: I’ll Do It! Lu Ding’s Gift, Ting Yu Xuan, and King Zhao!
......
Questions were thrown out one after another, but the silence that followed was deafening.
An Wuyang had thought he could go back, but he never expected... never expected this.
He was actually going to become the Crown Prince...
And he hadn't even known.
Seeing his expression, Lu Ding immediately put down his chopsticks and asked, "You don't want to do it?"
"If you don't want to, there's no need to force it. We can just go back to the Great Han together when the time comes."
They were friends, not just drinking buddies. If An Wuyang truly didn't want to be the Crown Prince of Great Jing, Lu Ding absolutely wouldn't force him.
At a moment like this, according to An Wuyang's original way of thinking, he should refuse.
But the words of refusal, upon reaching his lips, were forcefully swallowed back down.Combining the position of Crown Prince, Lu Ding's mission representing the Great Han, and the current situation between Great Jing and Great Han...
He immediately grasped some of the key points.
First was Lu Ding's position. If he didn't become Crown Prince...
An Wuyang opened his mouth to ask, "So your coming here this time, you were tasked with a mission, not just a simple diplomatic visit? And this mission is related to me becoming Crown Prince?"
Lu Ding didn't deny it. Some things didn't require lies.
But he didn't admit it either, because he didn't want An Wuyang's decision to be influenced by his own factors.
So he said, "That doesn't matter. Do it if you want to, don't if you don't want to."
Given Lu Ding's status in the Great Han, he was completely qualified to say this, and the Great Han sending him wasn't a mandatory mission.
The Great Han's management was still quite humane.
Since they had chosen to leverage his personal relationship with An Wuyang, this kind of matter wouldn't be forced to achieve a specific outcome.
It was more about free play. An Wuyang becoming Crown Prince was best, but not doing it was also acceptable.
An Wuyang understood. It was related to him.
He pressed further, "If I don't do it, Great Jing's situation, would it be..."
No matter what, An Wuyang was always a prince of Great Jing. Even though it was the former Great Jing of the Third Circle, and this was the Second Circle, the emperor of this Second Circle recognized his identity and treated him well.
So naturally, he would also lean towards this identity.
This was the sense of belonging ingrained by royal education during his childhood.
If Great Jing was fine and An Wuyang ran away, that could still be understood. But now that Great Jing might be in trouble, and the Jing Emperor had indeed treated him well...
He hadn't lacked for any resources either...
Moreover, An Wuyang thought of another point. Although being a prince wasn't free, if he became Crown Prince... and became Crown Prince with Lu Ding personally coming to show his support...
Then...
Couldn't he use the power of the entire nation to support his own cultivation?
So what if he's Crown Prince?
So what if he's Emperor?
They're all people. Isn't it normal for people to have selfish desires?
Who doesn't love a little something for nothing?
If he relied on his own efforts, who knew when he could catch up to Lu Ding. But if he accepted the support of the entire Great Jing...
Even though catching up to Lu Ding would still be a pipe dream, his progress on the path forward would definitely be faster than if he went to the 749 Bureau to make his own way.
With these multiple factors converging in An Wuyang's mind.
He opened his mouth and said, "I'll do it!"
They had once been glorious together. He didn't want the gap in strength between him and Lu Ding to widen too much. He didn't want Great Jing to face danger from the Great Han directly. And he didn't want to let down the Jing Emperor. After all, one must remember a kindness for a thousand years.
When he first came to the Second Circle, penniless and having nothing, besides the 749 Bureau helping him and sending him off, his current cultivation realm, resources, even the clothes on his back, his mansion, everything, was given by the Jing Emperor.
Of course.
If things really became impossible, An Wuyang wouldn't be rigid about it either.
At least, right now, the one talking to him was his good friend, Lu Ding.
An Wuyang just didn't want to be emperor, not that he couldn't be emperor.
Lu Ding looked at him. "Have you thought it through?"
In that instant, An Wuyang seemed to have matured. "There's nothing to think about, really. The moment my uncle dug me out, I was prepared."
"No, I should say, during those sunless days in the underground palace, I was prepared."
"It's just that after coming out, plans couldn't keep up with changes, and I chose the optimal solution."
Anyway, now that he was on the Second Circle, An Wuyang didn't care about hiding it and spoke his mind directly. "Back in the Third Circle, I had investigated. Forget about whether I could take back the so-called country from the Great Han's hands."
"Even if I took it back, I couldn't manage it as orderly and well as the Great Han does now, with the people living and working in peace and contentment."
"But the Second Circle is different. The Great Jing of the Second Circle has some differences from the Great Jing of old, but many of the stubborn, unchanging things are not that different."
An Wuyang smiled. "Having no ability, no way, and being forced to lie down is one thing. Having ability, having a way, but not wanting the trouble is a completely different concept."
His gaze shifted to look at Lu Ding. "Don't you underestimate me."
"If you let me be Crown Prince, in a few years, I'll show you a different Great Jing."
Faced with his lofty ambitions, Lu Ding didn't say anything to express his own thoughts. That was too empty.
He went straight for the concrete goods.
He raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
*Snap!*
Han Yu stood up. An Ning followed suit and even gave a kick to her father, Prince Zhao, who had no sense of occasion and was drinking and eating vigorously.
Watch.
Han Yu bowed with hands clasped.
"Han Yu of Clear Bright Lake, representing all members of the Listening Rain Pavilion, is at Your Highness the Filial Prince's command!"
An Ning and her father immediately followed, bowing and saluting.
"An Ning!"
"An Ying!"
"Leading our personal troops, imperial guards, private armies, and border garrisons, we are at Your Highness the Filial Prince's command!"
Lu Ding stood up, came before the two parties, faced An Wuyang, and extended both hands. "One civil, one military. One left, one right."
"This is the gift I prepared for you."
"With their assistance, whether you want to conquer cities and seize lands, or govern the world with civil administration, you will have capable talents at your disposal."
"Of course, I can't possibly achieve perfection. You all will still need to work on your coordination. As for the details, you'll have to figure them out yourselves."
An Wuyang looked at this scene in disbelief.
The Listening Rain Pavilion, one of the representative civil faction forces of Great Jing, and also the largest force of commoner origin in Great Jing. Many disciples of the Listening Rain Pavilion served as officials in various places across Great Jing.
Although none held very high positions due to aristocratic family restrictions, it was like playing with the golden shovel. When I have a three-star five-cost unit, I will definitely block someone else's three-star five-cost. The nicer ones buy it and put it on the bench.
The meaner ones buy one copy, then when it appears in the shop again, they lock it to block one copy.
Creating an illusion for outsiders that, on the surface, there's still a chance, but in reality, others have already manipulated everything behind the scenes.
But not holding high office doesn't mean the Listening Rain Pavilion's products lack quality. On the contrary, if there were no restrictions, these scholars would demonstrate even more terrifying talent.
As for Prince Zhao.