novelraw Book 15: Chapter 96
Book 15: Chapter 96
Book 15: Chapter 96
“... Wh-what are you suggesting? Who are you suspecting is trying to harm my son? Blue Prince? Green Prince? Their mother?”
“You’re even suspecting Secretary Leng? Also, why in the world would Prime Minister Li want to harm your son?”
“I don’t care. Anyone who I know can be a suspect.”
“Wow, every suspect is someone you’re familiar with. Just how despised are you? You been making a lot of enemies in the imperial palace these years?”
Feng Huang bashfully avoided the question. “Don’t give me that. You’re still as cryptic as you were back then. Do you already know something? Just tell me outright.”
“You still refuse to listen to people.” At the same time Ming Feizhen gave the same reaction as back then, he also flipped his hands over in the same fashion. “If you still haven’t gotten used to people trying to harm a Prince, you’re being neglectful if you don’t assign a hundred bodyguards to Zizi. There’s no way anyone can keep count of the number of contests between his brothers growing up. If anything, the six of them who grew up together only hate each other’s guts more with each passing year. Haven’t you learnt anything from history?”
Feng Huang slammed the table the same way she did back in the day. “Great minds think alike. I’ve been wanting to assign a thousand bodyguards for Zizi. It would be best to have three thousand elites staying by his side at all times. I even wrote a request to His Majesty.”
Even though he knew the suggestion was rejected, Ming Feizhen still asked, “He agreed?”
Feng Huang pouted. “He told me I was being ridiculous.”
Ming Feizhen patted his chest. “Thank heavens we have a wise ruler.”
“What are you talking about? He’s so stingy. It’s just bodyguards.”
Ming Feizhen was sure he chewed out the stupid sentiment before, but he couldn’t resist chiding, “You think the military is an inn? ‘Hey, I need a waiter,’ and a waiter comes? Besides, would you be able to feed three thousand elites?”
“If it is their wish, I can provide three times what they can eat.”
Ming Feizhen rolled his eyes.
Feng Huang cleared her throat. “Get on topic. I know I’m supposed to select some skilled bodyguards, but there aren’t many trustworthy people these days. All of my clan’s adepts are assigned to family business tasks, while I can’t search for adepts since I’m stuck in the imperial palace.”
Feng Huang stole a quick glance in Ming Feizhen’s direction, then continued, “I did consider you, but back then you... Long-story short, you became so notorious that no one dared to mention your name, and people I sent in search of you couldn’t find you.”
Ming Feizhen was comforted to hear that he wasn’t forgotten. It happened at a time when Zizi was still a kid walking with a wobble, so it was unlikely Feng Huang sent someone to search for him at that point in time. It was more likely that she sent scouts because she heard her old friend ran into some trouble and wanted to help him. She didn’t send many scouts, but she used her and their network to search for him. Alas, they were unsuccessful. After that, Ming Feizhen vanished from the martial world for a while, so...
“Hey, since you’re here, are you interested in the commission?”
Okay, maybe she was keen on asking him to bodyguard her son...
“Am I so easy? Money treats me as garbage. I treat money as life.”
“An annual salary of fifty thousand taels, 1/6 of an acre of farming outside the capital, two hundred premium horses, and two mansions in the capital. On the day of the shifu-disciple ceremony, I will gift you an extra ten thousand gold taels.”
“I can start today. Where is the g-, ahem, don’t go off track. Do you want to know who wants to harm Zizi or not?”
Ming Feizhen bit the bait until he recalled he had Gongsun Chu’s collection, although he was still living off Ling Jialan... To be fair, leeching off other people didn’t make you poor.
“Who wants to harm him?”
“I had Zizi fight the people after him, and he floored them all.”
“Wait. Who fought them?”
“Zizi.”
“... Ming Feizhen! You let Zizi fight?!”
“Don’t just exclude the last half! He was the one who laid them out!”
“It sounds to me like you’re the one who wants to be laid out! You let people pick on Zizi when you know he’s my son? What are you plotting?”
The two of them went back for an hour on the same topic before Ming Feizhen was forced to change his testimony.
“We fought alongside each other.”
Only after hearing that the mighty Ming Feizhen assisted her son did Feng Huang feel relieved. She knew he was full of nonsense most of the time, but she was aware of the nightmare he was to his opponents, so Zizi should’ve been safe. Of course, he left out the part about Zizi getting hurt.
“The attackers didn’t have any organisation and were average as fighters; you could’ve made a case for them being a tad superior or a tad inferior to Zizi. Either way, they were a threat once there were many of them.”
“They... were sent by the Princes?”
“No. Those thugs were like a band of gangsters trying their luck. If you really meant to assassinate someone, you’d strike without hesitation. They were like fodder offering themselves up and leaving a plethora of traces after their attempts. If that was the way the Princes operated, you have nothing to worry about.”
“Then who was it?”
“Who do you think?” Ming Feizhen stared straight into Feng Huang’s eyes.
Though Ming Feizhen’s stare was intimidating, his question fossilised Feng Huang.
“Every single one of them move accordingly to Emperor’s Entourage’s intel, but there’s no end to them, and none of the people we fight off are punished. Instead, they receive payment.” Ming Feizhen shrugged. “Figured it out yet?”
“... His Majesty?”
Seeing Feng Huang tremble, Ming Feizhen was about to comfort her when she slammed the table as if it owed her money.
“I can’t believe it!” Feng Huang threw the teapot, making Ming Feizhen feel sorry for Ling Jialan. “I married him at fourteen years old. He promised me heaven and earth for me to give birth, promising to take care of us forever, yet this is how he treats us after only some years? Hiring people to bully my son, are we? You’re finished when I return to the palace.”
“Uh... Maybe His Majesty is doing it for the greater good, for his son to be strong-”
“Don’t defend him! He has seven sons, but I only have one. I gave him such an adorable and handsome son, yet he is abusing his son.”
“That’s not quite a fair statement. The other Princes were pretty decent looking when they were little, too.”
Maybe except for Green Prince?
“Enough. He refuses to add some extra green onions to his noodles in the name of being frugal, but he has no problem hiring people to assault his son. I’m going to pull every strand of his beard out of his face!”
Ming Feizhen did feel apologetic to His Majesty; however, it was better His Majesty than himself, so what could he have done besides saying a prayer?
His Majesty tone made it sound as vague as if a big mistake was committed, but it also sounded as if it was a minor offence. The only certain thing was that His Majesty didn’t visit Ming Feizhen for anything Ming Feizhen would’ve liked. If it was somebody else instead of Ming Feizhen, they’d likely have been pleading for mercy on their knees already.
Even though His Majesty wasn’t on the guest list today, Ming Feizhen knew His Majesty would eventually seek him out to speak about something. It was fine for His Majesty to visit today; it just meant that the individual Ming Feizhen was waiting for was likely going to go into hiding for the meantime.
Ming Feizhen remained indifferent to His Majesty’s intention to frame him whilst interrogating him.
“Your enigmatic and wise aura right now reminds your subject of a famous individual in history.”
“A monarch?”
“A matchless monarch.”
“A person of talent?”
“Talent not seen in millenniums.”
“A person who commands respect, excels in delegating wisely, and is adept in martial arts and literacy?”
“At the time, unequalled in all aforementioned fields.”
His Majesty rubbed his hands and, with the smile of a triumphant general, asked, “Who?”
Ming Feizhen solemnly answered, “Wu Zetian.”
“Hoho, Wu Z-, isn’t that a woman? Ming Feizhen, can’t you respect me for a change?”
Ming Feizhen pouted. “The art of monarchy is demanding. However, you and your subject got to know each other rather out of circumstances, so he is used to speaking his mind. What exactly are you here for? Just be frank.”
Since his ruse had been ruined, His Majesty decided to just wrap it up. “You taught Zizi martial arts, correct?”
“Uh, did Zizi tell you that?”
“Hmph, do I need to wait for him to tell me? Did you know that all those people were sent by me?” Because Ming Feizhen looked at His Majesty with pity as if there was a surprise waiting for him back at the imperial palace, His Majesty said, “If it weren’t on account of Zizi’s enormous improvement and you successfully teaching him, I would have you severely punished for your audacity.”
“So, you have pardoned your subject?”
“Don’t be a smart aleck. Duke Ming, I have never had any intention of forcing you to do anything; however, you must understand that a vassal has a duty to assist his ruler.”
Ming Feizhen took out the scroll. “Is your subject not carrying that out right now? Relax.”
“Except that you are taking a bit too long.” His Majesty adopted a serious demeanour, one of a ruler. “I am looking to select a preceptor of state. Every Prince has a mentor. Every mentor must possess true skills, have the ability to teach them virtues and earn their respect. You are one of said mentors, Duke Ming.”
Ming Feizhen held his hands up in salute. “You flatter your subject. Your subject does not possess any of those qualities.”
“I can judge that. Deciding whether something is of worthy value or not is not the task of a vassal. Let me ask you: do... you intend to take Zizi as your disciple?”
Ming Feizhen went silent.
“I knew it!” His Majesty hammered the table. “You have no intention of taking him as a disciple as I suspected. Were all your promises just to entertain me?”
“No, but...”
“Duke Ming, I didn’t give you the letter for you to flaunt it wherever you go. If you cannot complete the task, you are letting down a monarch’s grace. Consider the consequences carefully. I can tolerate your unorthodox methods, but you must honour your promise to mentor a Prince. I cannot compromise when this concerns the Crown Prince seat.”
It was obvious that His Majesty dispatched people to challenge Zizi for the sake of bringing Ming Feizhen and Zizi closer. Everything he did was to provide his son with a good mentor.
“I visited you since I came out to visit a friend.” His Majesty stood up and turned his back to Ming Feizhen. “I demand an answer by the end of tomorrow. Else, you will have to suffer.”
As soon as His Majesty opened the door and stepped out, a subordinate of his crept over and whispered in his hear. After hearing how Brilliant Consort was searching for him on the streets whilst questioning, “Who did he ask to assault my son?” His Majesty’s cheeks twitched uncontrollably before he narrowed his eyes and uttered, “I will have to suffer...” and then raced off.
Ming Feizhen gazed at the ceiling as he ruminated. He could’ve made an exception and accepted Li Zizi as his disciple. All things considered, he didn’t see it as a bad thing. In saying that, taking Li Zizi on as a disciple meant that Ming Feizhen had to teach him more than martial arts. In other words, he would’ve been welcoming himself into the midst of the battlefield. Taking Li Zizi as his disciple meant that Mount Daluo and Night Fortress were lending their support to Li Zizi. Accordingly, whether he successfully ascended the throne or ended up miserable, Mount Daluo and Night Fortress’ fates would also be impacted. It was a path of no return.
Ming Feizhen had run scenarios through his head multiple times, and no journey or outcome earned a thumbs up. One day, he’d have to hand-hold Li Zizi and teach the boy how to fight his brothers for sovereignty, which was something that Li Zizi was unlikely going to be willing to do. The art of monarchy was offering an olive branch before telling them you were offering them a blade.
Ming Feizhen took a bite of a fried dough stick, upset over the fact that he couldn’t enjoy it in a good mood, though his sour mood didn’t last long for new visitors distracted him. “This is unexpected.”
The two visitors arrived right after His Majesty arrived as if they were timing their arrival.
“Brother Lian, Elder Fu, how coincidental to run into you two here.”
The duo showed up in the room without shutting the doors behind them, then briskly walked over to Ming Feizhen with big smiles.
“So you were here, Brother Ming.”
“You sure made us search high and low for you.”
“We are here to invite you. We do apologise for not notifying you ahead of time.”
“Please take a seat. Whatever it is you two wish to speak about, it is fine to take your time.”
Once seated, Lian Hua said, “We are inviting you with sincerity. Would you be willing to honour us?”
Fu Dalong added, “Unless you feel we are nefarious in our doings, there is nothing we cannot negotiate.”
“I would never, haha. Labelling Beggars Sect’s eighth pouch elder and Shaolin’s Arhat as outlaws would be a terrible joke.”
Glossary
Wu Zetian – This is a very, very, very brief summary. She’s an interesting figure if you want to do more reading on her. In short, she is the first and only female Emperor in Chinese history, founding and ruling as Emperor of the Wu Zhou dynasty of China. She was exceptional as a politician, was said to be an excellent judge of men, and was attractive.
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