Shen Yiren dodged the question. “You know I’ve been discussing how to contact Grand Commander Baima or Tianhu, Secretary Lie’s military training results, Red Prince’s state proctor duties and so forth in my meetings. The one conclusion they all reached is that we have to return to the capital.”
“Sounds like you’re against the suggestion?”
“Exercising your wits for your own gains? I refuse to believe you’ve only been lazing around. Let’s hear what you think.”
I guzzled a cup of tea loudly: “Your opinion doesn’t hold weight. His Majesty’s stance is what matters. Judging from him touring Huzhou, instructing us to rest and keeping State Preceptor Lai with him at all times, it’s obvious that His Majesty hasn’t given up on Luo Sword Manor.”
His Majesty came to Huzhou with the goal of rescuing Boss, true. Having said that, his primary goal was to chip away at the Seven Champion White Princes’ system. He assumed Luo Ming was the best place to start in light of their friendship. Even though he nearly cost even his son’s life, he only locked Luo Ming and the hundreds involved with him. The rest of Luo Clan were spared even criticism.
Luo Siming and Luo Yan took the reins of Luo Sword Manor, which included Huzhou’s military, once again. If insurrection was their goal, they only needed to act on it. If His Majesty wasn’t still hopeful Luo Sword Manor would stand by him, then he was just plain inane.
Boss refilled my empty cup. “What makes you say he hasn’t given up on Luo Sword Manor. Take your time drinking. Take your time choking.”
I chuckled cheekily as I passed my empty cup to Boss again and, in spite of it garnering a head shake, earned another refill. “Question: where has His Majesty been recently?”
Boss tucked her arms under her globes, elevating them up closer to my eyes: “… He’s been to the underground secret chamber we visited and the rest of Luo Sword Manor’s islands. He’s also been to their factory outside their manor. I’m not sure where he plans to go next, but he’s frequently with Luo Clan’s people.”
“So he is surveying them.” I set my cup down and titled my head.
“What was the point of your question?” Boss grabbed a hot meat bun from the basket behind her to feed me.
With rotund cheeks, I expounded, “His Majesty visited Luo Sword Manor in his younger days. Technically, he was captured and brought in. As he relived his youth, I’m sure he reminisced all the small things, like the rock he laid on, the fish net he was trapped in and so forth. He’s probably so deep in his memories that Luo Ming doesn’t need to use Emotions Gate Stone on him. His Majesty is aware that his punishment that doesn’t even count as one can’t be maintained for much longer.”
There was no chance anyone could cover up what Luo Clan did. Regardless of how much each sect was able to glean from what they witnessed, the fact of the matter was that they had some clue that Luo Clan had accosted the majority of the martial world and opposed the imperial court.
Since the end of the event, I had been keeping a pulse on activity in the pugilistic world as well as asking Black and White Reflection to keep under wraps whatever they could. His Majesty’s secret agents also had to put in a tonne of effort to reduce the spread of information. At the end of the day, nonetheless, there’s no way you can censor the entire world. Once a second person finds out, a third person will find out, and then it’s only going to continue spreading. From there, it’s just a matter of someone coming this way to search for clues. Once someone finds evidence, there’s no means of censoring the incident.
Once word hit the streets, Luo Sword Manor only had two options: revolt or surrender. That was only the beginning, though. Once one White Prince fell, the entire foundation of the nation would be shaken up.
Hearing the screen behind me flutter, I stole a gander out of my peripherals, and Boss smiled back.
“That’s why the only thing he can do is to resolve the issue with Luo Clan before it comes to that.” Boss wiped the food on my face with her handkerchief. “We have limited time. Stop moving.”
“Three months.” I leaned in for Boss to have an easier time wiping my face and held up three oily fingers. “Three months at most. If His Majesty doesn’t return to the capital in three months, Red Prince will march on Huzhou. I guarantee Secretary Lie will write, ‘Huzhou’s military is attempting mutiny. Your subject owes you, so he shall remind the rebels who rules this nation. Your Majesty, your subject has ten thousand soldiers ready to sally forth. All you need to do is give the order, and your subject shall flood Huzhou in blood, scatter the land with corpses, disfigure their land and slaughter their souls. Henceforth, Huzhou will be a field of bones, a spooky land that can be renamed as Guizhou, the land of ghouls. Henceforward, you can call yourself Zombie Monk Monarch. Henceforth, you will go down in history for your epic, amazing, incredible, abalabala, abracada-’”
“Enough, enough, enough! My goodness me!” Out from behind the screen came Emperor Yuansheng. “Ming Feizhen, I had Yiren summon you to help me analyse future development, not to spout useless nonsense. You a storyteller now?!” Upon circling to the front of the table, he saw Boss and I grinning ear to ear. “Y-you used a ruse to lure me out?”
I licked one finger at a time, taking my sweet time: “Long live Your Majesty.”
“Heh, gutsy punk. Yiren, you told him?”
Shen Yiren got out of her seat. “The rest of the discussion shall be between just you two. I shall guard the door. Take your time consulting Constable Ming.”
