Translator: Dj2203
Editor: Dj2203
Advance chapters available for patrons on Patreon. And a chapter can be sponsored by buying me a ko-fi.
The Zhenyuan army returned in triumph, marching into the city in a grand procession. The people of the capital celebrated with gongs and drums, a joyous occasion that spread throughout the land of Yan. After the rewards and honors were distributed, a celebratory banquet was held in the palace for two days and two nights.
While the palace was filled with clinking glasses and everyone harboring their own thoughts, rumors of the Ninth Prince’s great achievements were spreading among the common people.
The common people were unaware of any connection between the illegitimate son of the Ning Wang and the Ninth Prince. The Emperor forbade all officials, both civil and military, from mentioning that the Ning Wang had once had an illegitimate son, forcibly rewriting the truth to that the Ninth Prince was frail and sickly from childhood. He was favored by the Emperor and raised in the Changchun Temple, where he became well-versed in the Four Books and Five Classics and understood the ways of governance. He only descended the mountain a year ago to return to government affairs. After descending the mountain, he performed several great deeds: providing relief to the sick at Yong’an Temple, opening granaries in Fengzhou for disaster relief, securing ten thousand shi of grain from wealthy merchants in Yan, and serving in the army, making significant contributions.
The people suddenly realized the reason why the young doctor who saved people at Yong’an Temple had refused to reveal his name. It turned out that he was a member of the royal family! And the tasks of distributing grain and providing disaster relief and procuring provisions were not something that ordinary people could do. It turned out that it was the work of the unparalleled Ninth Prince.
At this time, the people were all talking about it. Those who had witnessed the incident at Yong’an Temple later recalled in a sycophantic manner that they felt the young man had an aristocratic air about him and was no ordinary person!
….
The emperor’s move was an attempt to win over the people by taking advantage of what Lu Huan had done.
Although Lu Huan had been used, he didn’t have much of an opinion about it, as this move was beneficial to stabilizing public sentiment. Previously, riots had frequently broken out throughout Yan, and this news, once it spread, somewhat calmed the public, reducing the number of riots. In addition, the northern border had won a victory, and for a time, the people of Yan enjoyed unprecedented support.
….
In the past few days, the talk of the town had been all about the Ninth Prince who suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Because of his mystery and youth, Lu Huan had become the most popular prince, surpassing the other princes and becoming the one with the best reputation among the people.
This would naturally arouse the vigilance of the parties of the Fifth Prince, the Crown Prince, the Second Prince, and others.
The Fifth Prince, in particular, paced back and forth in the mansion, his fists clenched and his face ashen.
Back in Qiuyan Mountain, he noticed a resemblance between Lu Huan and his father, but he didn’t think much of it at the time— who could have imagined that Lu Huan was the child left behind by Consort Qing, who had caused the entire palace to fall silent seventeen years ago?! If he had known earlier, he would have made him his study companion instead of just having him disappear before he became powerful enough!
Now, he had unknowingly gained the support of the entire Zhenyuan Army and several high-ranking officials in the court.
When a force doesn’t rise, it doesn’t rise; but when it does, it rises suddenly and astonishes everyone.
He was probably an incredibly powerful opponent.
Previously, the Fifth Prince appeared to be on very friendly terms with the Crown Prince, but the Fifth Prince’s faction and the Prime Minister’s faction on the Crown Prince’s side were actually constantly engaged in open and covert struggles.
However, after Lu Huan regained his identity as the Ninth Prince, the two factions temporarily reconciled and began to focus their impeachment efforts on General Zhenyuan, the Minister of War, and Grand Commandant Yun. However, the Zhenyuan army had just returned victorious, making it extremely difficult to find fault with General Zhenyuan. Thus, the princes’ factions could only anxiously await their fate.
As for Yun Xiupang, Changgong Wu, and others, as well as those who knew Lu Huan at the Imperial Academy, their shock at this moment was indescribable.
Leaving those aside for now, in short, while the people were celebrating, the imperial court was in turmoil.
After the Grand Historian officially began compiling the history of the Ninth Prince’s court, two messages popped up simultaneously on Su Xi and Lu Huan’s sides indicating that the task was completed.
[Congratulations on completing Mission Thirteen (Advanced): Let the entire capital know who is behind the ‘Divine Physician of Yong’an Temple’ and the ‘Mysterious Merchant Who Dispatched 13,000 Coins to Raise Grain’. Reward: +1500 Gold Coins, +12 Points!]
[Congratulations on completing Mission Fourteen (Advanced): Successfully restored His Highness the Ninth Prince’s identity. Reward: Gold Coins +2500, Points +18!]
Once these two main quests were completed, their points instantly jumped from 152 to 182.
Su Xi and Lu Huan were both excited, though in different ways.
Lu Huan silently calculated how many more points he needed to reach 200, and looked at the screen to see what the next task was. He then saw that the next task, which had not yet been announced, was “In June, Chengzhou will be flooded and the dikes will break. Please control the flood and let the people live and work in peace. The reward is 18 points.”
The Chengzhou dike was the largest project undertaken by the Ministry of Works last year. How could it be breached? If it really did breach as the mission stated, wouldn’t millions of people be displaced?! It was probably another case of corruption and malfeasance within the Ministry of Works.
Lu Huan frowned, cursing the Ministry of Works for being corrupt, and continued searching. However, no new task appeared on the screen, meaning that task fifteen had to be completed before moving on.
However, it was only early May. Even if measures were taken in advance to prevent the dam from bursting, the task would not be completed until June. So, wouldn’t it mean that we would have to wait at least another month to see her?
Su Xi quickly checked the current status and saw that it had changed to—
[Wealth and Assets]: The Ninth Prince’s family wealth and 145 farms (already equivalent to one-third of ‘Wan Sanqian’, making him as rich as one-third of the Yan Kingdom).
[Political Party Support]: General Zhenyuan, Minister of War, Grand Commandant Yun, numerous officials of the Ministry of War, and some officials in the imperial court.
[Reputation and Prestige]: It is said that the Ninth Prince is incomparably handsome, has the world in his heart, and is a genius in governing the country.
When Su Xi saw the evaluation of the cub in the reputation and prestige section, she immediately smiled. You see, she had accompanied the cub from a small woodshed to where he was now in just two years. It was really not easy. She felt a sense of accomplishment, like building blocks little by little, and a smile involuntarily appeared on her face.
Lu Huan looked up at her, and perhaps infected by her smile, the urgency and anxiety in his heart finally dissipated slightly. In any case, it was only a little over a month; hopefully, nothing unexpected would happen in this month.
….
The most prominent family in the Yan Kingdom was surnamed Yan, and the ninth prince, according to his birth order, was named Qing. However, apart from members of the royal family, no one dared to address a prince by his given name directly. Therefore, no one called him Yan Qing, and officials respectfully addressed Lu Huan as His Highness the Ninth Prince.
The following day, a sedan chair and a line of imperial guards waited outside for the Ninth Prince to go to Yong’an Temple.
Those who were saved by Lu Huan knelt all the way from Yong’an Temple, pleading to see the Ninth Prince and kowtow to express their gratitude. So the Emperor decided to take this opportunity to let Lu Huan travel as the Ninth Prince to Yong’an Temple to worship Buddha. This was equivalent to officially announcing it to the world, in addition to the Grand Historian and the imperial edict.
Lu Huan accepted the change in his identity quite calmly, but Su Xi was somewhat dazed when she saw the imposing Imperial Guards outside. In the past, her son always went out alone, but now, as the Ninth Prince, he was accompanied by a palanquin and an imperial umbrella wherever he went. This was too extravagant!
She was very interested in Lu Huan’s official robes at all levels, and now, the prince’s robes that Lu Huan had changed into were more noble and exquisite than any of his previous ones. The robes were adorned with jade hairpins, nine chapters, and lifelike dragons embroidered with bright yellow gold thread on the shoulders, back, and cuffs. Gold ornaments and vermilion tassels were hung at his waist. He had cold eyebrows and bright eyes, and his skin was as white as jade. He looked so handsome that it was unbelievable.
Even though Su Xi had grown accustomed to his exquisite appearance, she was still unconsciously amazed every time he raised his eyebrows and looked at her.
This was the downside of having the original artwork enabled. His face could easily distract from the plot.
If the original artwork had been available from the start, Su Xi probably wouldn’t have been able to focus so intently on figuring out how to complete those tasks.
As Lu Huan rode in the sedan chair from his residence to Yong’an Temple, Su Xi couldn’t help but stare blankly at his face. Lu Huan noticed this, and although his ears turned slightly red, he still tried to appear calm, dusting off his robes, and tidying his clothes for her to see.
No man in the world wanted to be so handsome that others overlook everything about him and only focus on his appearance. If anyone else had been staring at Lu Huan, he would probably have been quite displeased and his face would have darkened by now, but only with her— he wanted her to continue looking, to look a little longer. Even if there was only the slightest possibility that she would care more about him because of his face, that would be good.
The people of Yong’an Temple were excited and shouted, “Long live the Ninth Prince!”
The pop-up dialog boxes filled the screen, and Su Xi suddenly came to her senses. Good heavens, she had been staring at her son as he got into the sedan chair, her gaze fixed on him the entire way. Feeling a little embarrassed, she looked away.
Lu Huan stepped into the temple and devoted himself to worshiping Buddha.
The white smoke from the slowly burning incense burner rose gently. He opened his eyes, adjusted his breathing, and suddenly looked at Su Xi, who was separated by a curtain. His eyes held a glimmer of light, and he smiled at Su Xi: “Xiao Xi, do you know what I just asked for?”
Seeing his ears turn bright red, Su Xi knew something was wrong. Her eyelids twitched, fearing he was about to say something that would make her blush, so she quickly said, “No, I don’t know—”
Before she could finish speaking, Lu Huan stared at her and slowly said, “I have prayed for a marriage.”
His dark eyes were moist and glistening, mist rising as he gazed at Su Xi with a deep, unsettling look, as if a desolate leaf would immediately sprout from his head should Su Xi utter a harsh word.
Su Xi’s heart pounded like a drum, and her face flushed again— her son had been acting really strange lately! What was even more alarming was that she herself had been acting strangely lately too; why was she blushing for no reason? He said he was seeking a marriage partner, not asking for reconciliation with her! Why was her heart racing? Maybe he was asking for reconciliation with Liu Ruyan, whom he had a secret rendezvous with by the river?!
Lu Huan stared at her intently, his thin lips parted as if he were about to say something more. Su Xi was so startled that she quickly logged out of the game: “Goodbye, I suddenly remembered I haven’t washed the dishes yet!”
Lu Huan: “…”
Su Xi hid in the bathroom, looking at herself in the mirror with a worried expression, only to see her face turn as red as a monkey’s bottom. And she thought, “…”
Guys, ads are my only source of revenue, so please do not turn on the AdBlock when you are accessing this website…. Thank you, this would be a great help…
You can buy me a ko-fi and sponsor a chapter on: https://ko-fi.com/midnightrambles
Or become a Patron and access advance chapters on: https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=45665005
If you support me, I would be able to provide more chapters….
Previous • Table of Contents• Next
