Druid Fairy

Chapter 197 Prince
For the first time, Chen Tianxiong's burly, bearded face, usually etched with defiance, showed a look of astonishment.

He had imagined countless ways the conflict would begin, whether it was a forceful suppression or avoiding a fight altogether. But he never expected that the other side would escalate a simple armed conflict into a matter of the entire imperial city's defenses in this way.

"What? Commandant Chen dares not?" Li Mengjin's gaze was calm as he looked directly at him. "Or do you think the Golden Scale Guards are just competing for supremacy in this training ground?"

"Bullshit!" Chen Tianxiong's eyes widened in anger at these words, and he roared with a thick neck, "While I was killing people on the frontier, you were probably still playing in the mud somewhere! The safety of the capital is more important than my life!"

He slammed the broadsword into the ground with a loud clang.

"Alright! Deputy Commander Li, since you've put it this way, I, Old Chen, will go with you today! Brothers!"

He suddenly waved his hand and roared at the thousands of Golden Scale Guards behind him: "All of you, open your eyes wide! Today, we're going to follow the new deputy commander and 'inspect' our own territory! If the deputy commander finds anything wrong first, then the name of our Golden Scale Guard will really become just a decoration!"

"Yes!!"

Thousands of people roared in unison, their voices shaking the heavens.

The initial hostility towards Li Mengjin was cleverly transformed into a competitive spirit within the company.

The eunuch standing to the side was dumbfounded, and felt a sense of awe for this fifteen-year-old boy.

Such methods are not those of a novice, but those of a seasoned official who understands people's hearts!

Li Mengjin said no more, mounted his horse, and took the lead, heading straight for the Vermilion Bird Gate of the Imperial City.

Li Yuanhu and Chen Tianxiong, one on the left and one on the right, led a team of elite soldiers, following closely behind.

Unlike ordinary generals, Li Mengjin did not inspect the soldiers' posts or the maintenance of their weapons. He simply reined in his horse and stood beneath the nine-zhang-high Zhuque Gate, slowly closing his eyes.

A barely perceptible wisp of sword intent, blending wind and cloud, emanated from him and spread out like mercury, permeating every brick and stone of the ancient city wall, sensing the flow of energy from the protective array within the wall.

Seeing his pretentious act, Chen Tianxiong curled his lip and thought to himself, "All show and no substance."

He began to systematically inspect the city gate's fortifications, from the number of arrow emplacements to the reserves of rolling logs and stones, and even the eyes of the soldiers guarding the city—all of which reflected his rich battlefield experience.

Half an hour later, Chen Tianxiong finished his inspection. Everything was in perfect order and without any oversights. He walked up to Li Mengjin, who was still resting with his eyes closed, and said in a deep voice, "Deputy Commander, the Vermilion Bird Gate is impregnable. I wonder what you 'saw' about it?"

There was a subtle hint of sarcasm in his words.

Li Mengjin slowly opened his eyes, but did not answer. Instead, he rode his horse to an extremely secluded corner of the city wall, pointed to a piece of bluestone that looked no different from the other bricks and stones, and said indifferently, "Dig it up."

Chen Tianxiong was taken aback, then frowned and said, "This is where the energy nodes of the formation are located. If we dig haphazardly, it will affect the defense of the entire Vermilion Bird Gate!"

“It’s alright.” Li Mengjin’s tone left no room for argument.

Chen Tianxiong hesitated for a moment, but finally waved his hand. Two guards immediately stepped forward and carefully pried open the bluestone with special tools.

Beneath the bluestone was not the solid wall one might expect, but a bowl-sized hole already clogged with moss and mud.

A chilling aura wafted out from the hole.

Chen Tianxiong's expression changed instantly!
"This is... 'Yin Sha Qi'! How is this possible! Beneath the imperial city, there is dragon energy suppressing it, how could such filthy things exist!"

Li Mengjin's expression was equally grave.

What he felt was even deeper than what Chen Tianxiong felt.

This is exactly the point where the Soul-Suppressing Array was leaked, as mentioned by Brother Li Mengze!
Li Mengjin looked at Chen Tianxiong, whose face was ashen, and said in an icy voice, "Now, do you still think that the capital is impregnable?"

Chen Tianxiong opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word. He felt his back instantly soaked with cold sweat.

This inconspicuous hole is like an ant hole on a sturdy dam. It is inconspicuous in normal times, but when the time comes, it is enough to bring the entire imperial city to its doom!
And this huge hidden danger was easily discovered by the boy he looked down on!

Looking at Li Mengjin's face, the last trace of resentment in his heart finally vanished.

…………

The message was reported up the chain of command as quickly as possible, eventually reaching the Imperial Study.

After hearing Lin Mang's secret report, the emperor did not show much surprise. He simply waved his hand and calmly said, "Understood. Order the Ministry of Works to send people to quietly seal up that leak. Furthermore, this matter must not be circulated outside; anyone who disobeys will have their entire family executed."

"As you command." Lin Mang bowed and withdrew, but his heart was in turmoil.

Your Majesty... seems to have anticipated this matter?
The emperor slowly walked to the window, looked at the sand table representing the patrol route of the Golden Scale Guards, and finally his gaze fell on the three characters "Kunning Palace", his eyes becoming extremely deep.

"Li Mengjin... your sword is indeed sharper than I imagined..." he murmured, his tone ambiguous, whether it was praise or apprehension.

Tingtao Xiaozhu (Listening to the Waves Cottage)

After Li Mengze heard the news brought back by Li Mengjin, the two brothers' eyes met in the air, and everything was understood without words.

Li Mengjin's discoveries on the periphery, along with the clues he obtained in "Kangjianlu," perfectly corroborated each other's speculations.

“Kunning Palace!” Li Mengze pointed heavily to that location on the geomantic map. “In the previous academy envoy’s handwritten notes, it was mentioned that the place to suppress the soul was located underground in Kunning Palace. Now it seems that there is no mistake.”

"How do we get in?" Li Yuanhu asked anxiously.

“We can’t just barge in.” Li Mengze shook his head. “Kunning Palace is the Empress Dowager’s residence, and its defenses are no less stringent than those of the Emperor’s Qianqing Palace. We must find a legitimate reason to go in and investigate.”

He looked at Li Mengyue and asked softly, "Yueya'er, do you still remember how you felt when the Empress Dowager held your hand at the Hundred Flowers Banquet?"

Li Mengyue tilted her head, thought carefully for a moment, and then her face turned slightly pale: "The Empress Dowager's hands... are so cold, colder than ice."

“That’s right.” Li Mengze nodded slowly. “The backlash from the ‘Dragon Blood Fruit’ has already begun to manifest in her. It’s just that she’s been forcibly suppressing it with royal secret techniques, so outsiders can’t see it.”

"Tomorrow, I will enter the palace to request permission to go to Kunning Palace under the pretext of 'treating the Empress Dowager's spirit and dispelling her nightmares'!"

The plan is set; it's just waiting to be implemented.

The emperor's reply came faster than expected.

A vermilion "准" (approved) character was displayed, with a line of smaller characters next to it: "Princess Mingyue was instructed to accompany them."

Upon seeing these words, Li Mengze's heart sank.

The Emperor... what does that mean?
He truly loved Li Mengyue and wanted her to accompany the Empress Dowager.

Or perhaps he had already sensed something and wanted to use the Empress Dowager to test the true nature of the siblings.

The mind of an emperor is as deep as the ocean, and for a time, no one could fathom it.

... Kunning Palace, located at the northern end of the central axis of the imperial city, was the residence of empresses throughout history.

The palace is magnificent and imposing, and the courtyard is filled with rare peonies transplanted from all over the world. They are in full bloom now, displaying their national beauty and fragrance, a sight to behold.

The moment Li Mengze and Li Mengyue stepped into the palace gates, they simultaneously felt a sense of oppression that seemed out of place amidst the prosperous scene.

It's as if beneath those blooming peonies lies not fertilizer, but countless withered bones.

"The Empress Dowager has been waiting in the warm pavilion for quite some time." An old palace maid bowed and respectfully led the way.

After passing through the winding corridors and around the artificial hills and flower gardens, the two finally saw the Empress Dowager reclining on her phoenix couch.

"I haven't been sleeping well these past few days," the Empress Dowager said weakly, raising her hand. "I'm sorry to trouble you, Minister Mengze."

"Your Majesty is too kind. This is my duty."

Li Mengze remained calm and composed, mobilizing the life force of the "Hundred Herbs Spirit Realm" to slowly dissolve the resentment. At the same time, a wisp of his divine sense silently probed the underground of Kunning Palace, following the source of the resentment.

Meanwhile, Li Mengyue, who was left to drink tea in the outer room of the warm pavilion, also had a serious expression on her face.

She quietly took out the "soul-soothing talisman" given to her by the old priest of the Baiyue tribe from her bosom.

At this moment, the amulet, which originally emitted a faint fragrance, became scalding hot. The strange totems woven with colorful threads on it seemed to come alive, emitting a faint, soft light and resisting the invisible chill that invaded from all directions.

She noticed that although the palace maids and eunuchs serving her all wore smiles, a faint dark aura shrouded their brows, a sign of long-term taint from resentment.

Her gaze finally settled on the gilded crane incense burner, taller than a person, in the very center of the warm pavilion.

In her spiritual perception, the source of the most intense resentment in the entire Kunning Palace was not underground, but... it was continuously emerging from the bottom of that incense burner!
That incense burner isn't an incense burner at all!

It was actually a disguised... array core!
……

the other side.

Li Mengze's consciousness, like an invisible fish, followed the torrent of resentment and plunged into the deep underground of Kunning Palace.

In the center of the space was a Jingguan (a mound of statues resembling mountains), and at the top of the Jingguan was an enormous, blood-red crystal that seemed to beat slowly like a heart, emitting an eerie red light.

That is the mother of the "Dragon Blood Fruit" - the "Ten Thousand Souls Blood Crystal"!
Countless thick black chains, formed from resentment, extended from all directions, tightly binding the blood crystal and forming a natural cage.

And above the cage is the location of Kunning Palace!
The entire Kunning Palace is a huge "soul-suppressing place", using the Empress Dowager's status and the nation's fortune to suppress this resentment bomb that could explode at any time!

"I see……"

A tremendous wave of emotion surged within Li Mengze; he finally understood the core secret of this "ranch."

The resentment and malevolent energy of the soldiers were harvested and condensed into "Ten Thousand Souls Blood Crystals." These blood crystals then gave birth to "Dragon Qi Blood Fruits," which could suppress the backlash of resentment and were consumed by members of the royal family.

This is a vicious, desperate cycle of self-destruction!
He slowly withdrew his divine sense, opened his eyes, and bowed slightly to the expectant Empress Dowager, saying, "Your Majesty's health is fine; it's just that your spirit is overworked and your heart fire is too strong, which is why you're plagued by nightmares. I have a..."
Calming and soothing medicines can be used for conditioning.

This is indeed an excellent calming pill, a priceless medicine for ordinary people.

But for the Empress Dowager, whose foundation had long been eroded by resentment, this medicine was nothing more than a drop in the ocean.

Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager's eyes flashed with a hint of barely perceptible disappointment, but she still nodded: "Thank you for your trouble, my lord."

Just as Li Mengze was about to take his leave, a gentle voice came from outside the hall.

"Hearing that you are not feeling well, your grandson has come to visit you."

The eldest prince, dressed in casual clothes and with a smile on his face, walked in slowly. His gaze swept over Li Mengze and Li Mengyue before finally landing on the Empress Dowager.

"It seems that the health and well-being of our Grandmother still depends on the young talents of our Great Yu."

His tone revealed neither joy nor anger.

Li Mengze and Li Mengyue were both startled and quickly bowed, saying, "Greetings, Your Highness."

"No need for formalities, please rise." The eldest prince offered a helping hand and walked to the Empress Dowager's bedside, asking with concern, "How is Grandmother feeling?"

"I'm getting old and useless," the Empress Dowager sighed.

The eldest prince smiled, turned to look at Li Mengze, and asked casually, "In your opinion, what exactly is the root cause of the Empress Dowager's illness?"

coming!

The air in the entire warm room seemed to freeze for a moment.

Li Mengze's mind raced. He knew that every word he uttered could determine the life or death of the Li family.

If he were to tell the truth and point out that he was consumed by resentment, it would be tantamount to having uncovered the royal family's greatest secret. In the next moment, he would likely be met with thunderous rage and bloodshed.

If he continues to use "excessive inner fire" as an excuse, he will appear mediocre and fail to convince the suspicious royal family members.

In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

Finally, he raised his head, met the Crown Prince's gaze, and said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Your Highness, the root of the Empress Dowager's illness is not in her body, but in... her heart."

"Oh?" The eldest prince was indeed intrigued.

"The Empress Dowager, holding the throne, is a model of virtue for the nation and cares deeply for the people. However, in recent years, although our Great Yu has enjoyed peace and prosperity, there have been constant wars on the borders, with soldiers shedding their blood and people being displaced. The Empress Dowager is kind and worries day and night, which has taken a toll on her mental and physical health."

These words were spoken flawlessly!

In this way, the cause of the illness was explained, and the Empress Dowager was portrayed as a compassionate elder who cared for her people.

After listening, the eldest prince slowly nodded, a hint of approval appearing on his face.

"Well said. He truly deserves to be the young talent favored by Father."

He turned to the Empress Dowager and said gently, "Grandmother, did you hear that? You've been working too hard. Just rest and recuperate."

He completely believed Li Mengze's statement!

A crisis seemed to have been averted.

Li Mengze felt no relief whatsoever.

(End of this chapter)