Chapter 45: The Emperor’s Difficulties
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
In the Hall of Harmony, the Emperor’s and ministers’ eyes were all bloodshot.
There were so many memorials in front of them.
They hadn’t slept for days and nights.
“It’s the Black Dragon Gang again...”
The Emperor gritted his teeth when he heard the Black Dragon Gang being mentioned.
Rumors about the war began to spread everywhere, particularly to those that slandered the court.
The day before, the Emperor had ordered the warehouse to provide food for the frontline soldiers.
And yet yesterday, in the capital, there was a group of people who instigated a rebellion.
And this wasn’t the worse of it.
The people in the Imperial Capital were all in panic.
But nothing had actually happened in the Imperial Capital.
Once again, the Black Dragon Gang spread rumors on the front line, claiming that the Emperor was sending soldiers to die while he hid safely in his palace.
Why does the emperor have a grand palace while you have nothing?
Was it worthwhile to trade your family’s lives in exchange for the Emperor’s pleasures?
Many soldiers were shaken after hearing the rumors, and several fled the camp overnight.
The entire army had weakened in strength in just a few days.
“Didn’t they stop to ask themselves what good the Zhao family can do to them? If everyone is equal, how can the martial art practitioners be restrained? Will they be willing to accept equality?” The Ceremony Directorate and the Scribe Eunuch wondered out loud.
This was a world where the one with the most power had the most influence.
Would a powerful warrior be willing to distribute resources equally with others?
Wasn’t this how the noble clans had been formed?
“This Black Dragon Gang is very deceptive!”
“I still don’t understand. How does the Black Dragon Gang have so many warriors, many of which are in the Spirit Manipulation Realm?” The Minister of Military turned around and asked the Imperial City Division.
“We are currently investigating that. But one thing is certain. The Black Dragon Gang masters suck the blood of civilians when they cultivate!”
“They are killing people so recklessly. How dare they still call for equality?”
“There are so many stupid people in this world! We have no way to deal with this group of stupid attackers!”
The Ceremony Directorate and the admiral kept shaking their heads.
The Hall of Harmony fell silent.
This group of people would not listen to reason.
Since they were well hidden, it was difficult to beat them.
What was even more terrible was that they still hid in the shadows and encouraged the civilians to fight for them.
The Imperial Army found it both physically and mentally challenging to fight their own civilians.
“We should destroy the Zhao family first. The Black Dragon Gang can be dealt with later,” the Minister of Revenue said.
It would be too expensive to fight both of them at once, and the household department was not left with much money.
It would already be very difficult to maintain the resistance against one of them.
A person from the Imperial City Division stood up and said: “The Black Dragon Gang is like a ringworm. It is impossible to destroy the quickly. We can only deal with them slowly. As for the Zhao family’s army... they are now gradually retreating with the Fourth Prince’s attack.”
“How incompetent! Does the Imperial City Division only know how to shirk responsibility?” The Emperor raged.
In Shouning Palace, Li Mu quietly crept though the yard and walked slowly into his room.
Bah!
He spat out a mouthful of blood and breathed out slowly.
Sitting down cross-legged, he started to do some cultivation exercises.
After two rounds, Li Mu’s injuries started to show signs of healing.
“It’s all thanks to that old man!”
In the Xuan Sect, the Senior Grand Elder had fought with his life, leaving Li Mu injured.
But after fighting for five days in a row, Li Mu finally managed to kill the old man.
In terms of strength, the Senior Grand Elder was clearly above Li Mu.
If it hadn’t been for the Fleeting Snow and Cloud and his Shenfeng Footwork, Li Mu could not have held on for even two days.
In any case, Li Mu had lost a lot of vitality.
Now that he had destroyed the Xuan Sect, he had to find a place to heal his injuries.
The underground palace!
Initially, he had stopped using the underground palace because several princes always went there to find him.
Now that so many princes had died, the underground palace should be rather quiet.
As soon as he left, Li Mu ran into Concubine Jing. “My Lady,” he said.
“Is Yu okay?”
“He’s doing well. He asked me to tell you to eat more and worry less.”
“Where is Liu An?”
“Fourth Prince is also doing very well on the front line,” Li Mu said.
Concubine Jing wasn’t ignorant of the news of Liu An trickled into the palace from time to time.
Looking at the deserted Shouning Palace, Li Mu knew that Concubine Jing was beginning to feel lonely again.
“Where’s An Mu! Can he really help Liu An?”
Taken aback for a moment, Li Mu wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead. “Uh... An Mu is very skilled in planning formations. He can help the Fourth Prince to check for any gaps.”
No wonder he hadn’t seen An Mu since he was back.
Li Mu managed to infer this from what Concubine Jing said.
He didn’t know that An Mu had been transferred by Liu An.
This was just Li Mu’s guess based on the regular performance of An Mu and Liu An.
“That’s good,” Concubine Jing said as she left.
Li Mu stood frozen on the spot.
Only he and Concubine Jing were left in Shouning Palace.
It wouldn’t be appropriate for him to leave again.
Forget it, he should just recuperate in Shouning Palace!
In Prince Yu’s Mansion, the walls were mottled after being deserted for so long.
Liu Yu stepped forward and gently knocked on the door, then waited patiently for an answer.
After a long while, an old palace maid pushed open the door.
“You are...” The old lady stared at Liu Yu for a long while.
Usually no guests came to Prince Yu’s Mansion.
And when Prince Yu was there, he was very low-key.
After he left, the gate of Prince Yu’s Mansion was tightly closed all year round.
No matter who knocked, anyone who was unfamiliar was not let in.
For several years, the gate never opened again.
“Why don’t you take a closer look at who I am?” Liu Yu said with a smile.
“You... you are the prince,” the maid said in surprise.
“Are you alright?” Liu Yu asked, tears gleaming in his eyes.
“Your Highness, please come in!”
Back at Prince Yu’s Mansion, Liu Yu invited Xia Wuji into the living room.
“Liu Yu, shall we find your brother tomorrow and see what help he needs?” Xia Wuji asked eagerly before he even sat down.
He couldn’t wait to fight on the front line.
To him, Liu Yu and the Emperor were like his brothers.
In addition, the Emperor was a descendant of Liu Ling, which was just like his own family.
He couldn’t bear to see his own family suffer.
“Okay! When Second Brother and the others are back, we will go there together. Before that, we need to learn more about what is happening in the Imperial Capital.” Liu Yu rolled his eyes at Xia Wuji.
All he knew was to fight.
This time, he had come back to bring his mother away, not to fight for the State of Great Xia.
However, the State of Great Xia was facing such difficulties.
He wanted to see his brother, the Emperor, before deciding whether to help or not.
“Why must we wait for Second Brother?” Xia Wuji asked impatiently.
“With one more master, we’ll have one more bargaining chip,” Liu Yu said.
With the three of them, it would be easy for him to bring his mother away.
Especially when the State of Great Xia was in such a state.
“Huh? Aren’t we on the same side as the State of Great Xia?”
“Sigh. Have you forgotten what was our main purpose for coming back this time?”
“To bring Shiyin to see her mother-in-law?” Xia Wuji scratched his head in a daze.
Wasn’t that the reason?
“Wait for Second Brother to come back. He’ll tell you.” Liu Yu was too lazy to explain.
After cultivating outside for so many years, he missed his mother.
This time, he came back to destroy the imperial system and bring his mother to live with him.
Now, he finally had a glimpse of hope of doing so.
After half a day, the group of them reached the royal study.
The Emperor stared at them for a long time.
“Are you my Ninth Brother?”
When I first saw Liu Yu again, the Emperor couldn’t believe his eyes.
He had been so young.
And he was now so old.
“Yes!” Liu Yu stared at the Emperor for a moment, then sighed.
Half a day later, he finally understood what had happened in the Xia Dynasty since he left.
Being the Emperor was too challenging.
First, the Dugu family controlled the court and used the Emperor as their puppet.
Then, the noble clans rebelled together with the Dugu family.
And now that the Xuan Sect was leading the Zhao family to rebel, the Black Dragon would definitely take advantage of the situation.
Everyone wanted the royal family dead.
“I haven’t seen you for so many years, I almost forgot about you,” The Emperor said.
The fact that the few of them could bypass the masters and easily enter the palace showed that Ninth Brother’s skill was extraordinary.
“I’m just happy you remember me,” Liu Yu said.
“We haven’t gathered together for many years. These few days have been too busy. Let’s get together again when I have more free time.”
“Third Brother, I know you are busy. I came to see you today just to talk.”