Misty Rain of the Old Times

Chen Xuan set out in the morning, but by late at night he had not yet walked more than thirty miles from the capital. He could only say that the capital was too big, and sending the little princess back had taken up a lot of time.

There was no village in front and no shop behind, and it was inconvenient for the horse to travel at night, so Chen Xuan could only find a place to stay for the night.

The land within dozens of miles around the capital was barren, and he had difficulty even collecting firewood to make a fire. However, he did not want to suffer so much. He went directly to the capital to buy wine, food, bedding, firewood, and fodder for the horses.

"Eat, eat. You still have to carry me back for the next thousands of miles." Chen Xuan fed the horse beans and water and touched the sideburns on its neck.

The horse given by Mrs. Gao is indeed a good horse. It can run a thousand miles a day without any problem. But if you really do that, it will probably be exhausted to death. It is easy for it to run four or five hundred miles a day at a leisurely pace.

Of course, a good horse eats well, better than many ordinary people. The people in Xiaomingju have taken good care of it during this period. It is shiny and smooth, with a body full of tendon meat. It is obviously a good horse at first glance.

"This horse needs maintenance just like a carriage. I have to take it out for a run every now and then to prevent it from getting fat. It's so troublesome. Should I return it to the Gao family? Or should I leave it to the maid to take care of it?"

It's quite boring to be alone, with all kinds of random thoughts in your head. Chen Xuan looked at the road and the horse's legs. In this era, people already have the concept of "putting shoes" on horses. They are usually wrapped in leather. When going out for a long journey, you have to change "several pairs" a day. Ordinary people can afford to buy horses but cannot afford to put shoes on them. It seems that the army will put metal "shoes" on horses.

The horseshoes haven't been standardized yet. I'll make one for the horse when I have time. However, this thing is of great significance to this era, so let's put it aside for now. I'll find a chance to show off to Xiao Gao. If he uses his smart brain well, he'll be able to take off.

Personally, Chen Xuan doesn't care, but he doesn't want others to benefit from this kind of thing, and he doesn't want to let outsiders take advantage of it.

The horse rubbed his palm very humanly and lowered its head to eat. Chen Xuan patted it and went back to the fire to sit on the ground and eat the food he had bought. Being alone in the wilderness, there was nothing to be afraid of, and it was not boring at all. It was nice to have the breeze and the bright moon as company once in a while. If he did this frequently, Chen Xuan would be bored to death.

His way of traveling is really speechless. Normally, he should be able to go home in less than the time it takes to eat a meal, and he can even carry a horse back. But he just likes to travel normally. There is no rush. But you can say that he is not suffering and is enjoying himself. He has no shortage of food, wine, and bedding. He even goes out specially to buy them. Anyway, he just does whatever he wants when he is in the mood and makes himself happy.

After eating and drinking, he crawled into the bed on the floor and watched Mingyue sleep for a while. He wondered what so-and-so would be like when he was not around. Tsk, they still had to live a normal life when he was not around.

Chen Xuan didn't sleep very well that night. It was not far from the official road and it was too noisy. There were still many people on the road late at night, but no one came to trouble him and no one was willing to look for him.

The next morning, he took some exercise, went to the capital to have breakfast, fed the horse, and then rode south on a jog.

There are many small towns and villages around the capital, such as Shili Market, Twenty-Li Shop, Thirty-Li Village, and Forty-Li Town. As Chen Xuan moved south, such places where people gathered gradually became less and less.

It's quite boring to travel alone. He just goes wherever there are many people and where there is excitement. In the end, few people pay attention to him. It's not the case that he encounters grudges, fights and attacks everywhere he goes.

This made him scratch his head. Those people in the underworld were either killing people or on their way to killing people all day long. How could they get into so many troubles? Why didn't he encounter any of them? Was it because he wasn't from the underworld that those things automatically stayed away from him?

After Chen Xuan completely left the capital, that afternoon, Prince Jiang Zhou Hong received a report from his subordinates.

"Your Highness, that person has left the capital. The news is true. He is really gone."

Upon hearing this news, Prince Jiang simply nodded indifferently and said, "I understand."

His staff hesitated and said, "Your Highness, since that person has left, should we continue with the previous plan?"

Prince Jiang looked at his staff, who had lost their usual composure, and shook his head, saying, "Mr. Wen, I haven't lived long enough."

Yes, Chen Xuan is gone, but he is not dead. How dare he use the little princess as a pawn?

He felt a chill run down his spine when he thought of the scene where Chen Xuan killed the Jin brothers with two strikes. Although Chen Xuan didn't say anything excessive that time, his intentions were clearly expressed. Normally, he wouldn't care, but if you provoke him, you'll have to bear the consequences yourself!

Although the family and court struggles had nothing to do with Chen Xuan, he probably wouldn't interfere. However, Prince Jiang really didn't dare to provoke the little princess, for he would definitely die.

Chen Xuan dared to kill another country's prince in front of him, so what else would he not dare to do?

If he wasn't the little princess's brother and her father's son, he would have died by now.

Upon hearing this, the staff was also very melancholy. He wanted to help Prince Jiang do great things, but with someone like Chen Xuan appearing, there was really nothing he could do. He would have to be alive enough to plot against him. He would crush them with his strength, and no matter how conspiracies or tricks he had, they would be completely useless. He couldn't beat him, which was very depressing.

After hesitating for a moment, the staff asked, "We have been holding it back, and now that he is gone, should we inform the Major General about his and Her Royal Highness the Princess's situation?" "Sir, do you want to shift the blame?" Prince Jiang pondered.

Quickly shaking his head, the staff member said: "Not really, after all, we are just notifying you, we are not adding fuel to the fire."

Is there a difference? Smiling, Prince Jiang said, "I understand what you mean, sir. Forget it. It's better to be quiet than to act. The young general will definitely know. There's no need for us to interfere. If that person gets upset and comes back to kill him, who can stop him? As for how the young general will react after knowing this, that's their business. We'd be happy to see it happen, wouldn't we?"

The staff could certainly imagine how much benefit Chen Xuan would gain from colliding with the Jiang family, but it was different when he said it himself. He immediately bowed and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

Look, this is the art of flattery.

After a pause, the staff member continued, "But if this happens, the agreement with the Jiang family will be..."

Waving his hand to interrupt him, Prince Jiang said, "I never really promised them anything. Haha, I do want to use the Jiang family's power to accomplish my goal, but aren't they also using me? My younger sister's factor wasn't important before. What's important is that both of us are useful. After the success, I will make up for it in other ways. As for what the young general wants to do to him because he feels he has lost face, I would rather see him do it. This is called watching from the sidelines and following the trend. Neither side will suffer any loss."

"Your Highness is a man of strategy, and I admire you for it," the aide exclaimed.

This kind of horse is just for fun. Although he felt relieved, Prince Jiang's eyes flickered and he changed the subject, "My sixth brother keeps asking the court for money, food, and troops. Can you guess his intentions?"

"It seems that they are trying to stabilize the border because of the situation in Rong State, but in fact they have evil intentions and are very likely to commit treason!" said the staff solemnly.

Nodding, Prince Jiang smiled and said, "Yes, but he is too far away from the capital. Once the dust settles, even if he has ambitions, he won't be able to stir up much trouble."

The staff member did not comment on this, but instead said, "Your Highness, the Wu family has suffered a loss right now, so we can use this opportunity to win them over. Furthermore, although the Wei family favors His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, they have too big an appetite. They want the Crown Prince to make their daughter the Queen upon his ascension to the throne, and they also want the position of Prime Minister. The Crown Prince will absolutely not allow this, otherwise his future ascension to the throne will be too passive. Perhaps we can try to win them over. Even if we can't win them over, we can at least create a rift between them!"

Because the prince was already the heir to the throne, Prince Jiang was not disturbed by his staff's constant talk of the prince ascending to the throne. It was not like he had really ascended to the throne yet, and everything was full of variables.

After thinking for a while, Prince Jiang said, "Then let's give it a try. If it doesn't work, there's no loss. If it does work, what if we promise them something? We can take it back slowly in the future."

There is no such thing as a free lunch. If you want to get something, you need to pay for it. If Prince Jiang wants to sit on the throne, why should others support him? It is nothing more than the promise of rights and interests. He pays first, and he is confident that he can slowly take it back after he sits on the throne.

The staff were of course aware of this. The Crown Prince had a natural advantage and could bargain with all parties, but Prince Jiang had no choice but to pay a price to win them over.

Nodding, the staff member said in confusion: "If the prince wants to accomplish his goal, the Imperial Observatory cannot be avoided, but they only have eyes for His Majesty. As for who His Majesty is, they don't care, so this is difficult to deal with."

If the crown prince did not want to fight for the throne, it would be impossible to avoid bloodshed. However, if bloodshed was involved, everything else would be fine, but the formation protecting the capital city would be unavoidable.

Upon hearing this, Prince Jiang frowned slightly and said, "The Imperial Observatory? Keep trying to find ways to contact them. Everyone has desires, and you can always influence some people. If you really can't...!"

At this point, a hint of madness flashed in Prince Jiang's eyes, and he looked towards the floating island in the distance, hovering above the capital...

The staff was shocked, but if it really came to that, they would have no choice but to ignore the consequences.

This taboo topic cannot be brought up, and even if it is done, it must be done quickly, otherwise the consequences will be unimaginable.

Then he said, "Oh, my Lord, you should also pay attention to the martial arts exam in two months. There will definitely be a group of useful people emerging."

"Well, let's set up secret plans to win him over in advance. This is a good opportunity," said Prince Jiang, his eyes twinkling. Many people who stand out in the martial arts examination will enter the palace to serve. Isn't this an opportunity?
Anyone could see that the old emperor didn't have much time left. He had been planning for years, just waiting for the old emperor to ascend to heaven. It was a pure smile on the face of father and son.

Family affection? There is no such thing in the royal family. If the act of patricide is not too treasonous, let alone becoming an emperor, there is no place for anyone who dares to do such a thing in the world. Otherwise, the old emperor would probably have to be wary of his own eldest sons.

In one day, Chen Xuan had already traveled more than 500 miles away from Beijing, which was much faster than when he came by carriage. He was now on his way home on horseback heading south.

Sleeping in the wilderness is something you can experience occasionally, but it is always more comfortable to stay in an inn.

"Shouldn't a place like an inn be a hotbed of trouble? There are clearly several ruthless-looking gangsters here, so why haven't they encountered anything enjoyable?" Chen Xuan, lying on his bed in the inn, was so bored... (End of this chapter)